Psalm 145

The weekend of Feb 16 -17, I have a very cool speaking opportunity. The verse I was asked to speak on is Psalm 145. It is a great passage with lots of cool history. I will be team teaching with another Elmbrook staff member, Dick Robinson. I am really excited to teach with Dick. He is one of the best story tellers that I know, and is a regular Indiana Jones of Christian Missions. He is also a first rate scholar. Our styles are quite different, so at the very minimum people should be entertained by the contrast, but hopefully the something is gained by our interplay.

There are two verses that really stood out to me as I have read through the passage. The first is:

Psalm 145:4 One generation commends your works to another;

 they tell of your mighty acts.

this is part of why I am team teaching with Dick. It seemed appropriate to have this verse tangible demonstrated on the stage even as it is being taught about. Should be interesting.

The second verse is:

Psalm 145:16 You open your hand

 and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

On the surface this verse is one of the clearest in scripture about God's gracious provision for all.

Also, the whole passage is part of a Hebrew liturgical prayer known as the Ashrei.

I have lots of ideas about the passage, but still have not really nailed down what it looks like to me as a message...

If you have a few moments, you should read it and let me know what you think is significant about the passage:

Dead Hard Drive Blues...

This summer my computer took a little jump off of a picnic table (ie was knocked off the table by someone else) and now has a massive dent in it.

I have been backing it up...

but the last full back up that I have is from July...

... which is really sad because yesterday my Hard Drive died...

...Isn't it amazing how such a little thing can cause so much pain!

I am hoping that some of it will be reclaimable by a data recovery specialist... and that it won't cost more than I can afford to pay.


Is it wrong to pray for my hard drive to be healed?

Brandon's Celebrity Video (Part of the Paparazzi series.)

Ok, so it still has a few typos and timing issues to fix, but, it is good enough for youtube... so here is the latest video offering....

Once again, another example of Middle students putting together a phenomenal show. They are so talented. I wrote and directed this video, but the real stars of the close to 50 students who were part of it.

I have a really cool job.

Thanks:Todd, Brad, Tom, Dave, Kristina, Katie, Drew, Mike, and the many others who helped out in the filming process.

This is part of a series of 3-4 videos... I will post the rest whenever I get them done.

Brandon's Visual Old Testament Quiz

Ok... There are like 20 of you each day drop by to visit your favorite internet squirrel, and never say hi. That's ok... but this time you must participate

The image in this post is part of a curriculum that I am writing on the old testament. Each image represents a story in the Bible's Old Testament.

So please give it your best shot and see how many you can guess!

This is really more of a test of my ridiculous artistic ability that your knowledge of the OT!!!

Sheep with out a Shepherd.

Imagine a 7 year old pondering how "sexy" she is, and you see the true poison our cultures obsession with "sexiness" is.

"Am I hot?" While the culturally uneducated may think this question has to do with weather or possible heath, in fact it has nothing to do with either. It has become one of the most significant questions that teens, and even pre-teens wonder about themselves. Note the shift: this is not a question of whether or not they are pretty, cute, or even beautiful. They question is whether they are physically attractive...

"Am I hot", might as well be, "am I sexy."

This is sad.

It is sad that cute lost out to hot, and even more to the point, that people feel more pressure to appear attractive than to actually be good... to look right rather than to make a difference.

I think that in these matters, young students are largely, "Sheep without a Shepherd." Adults are often to embarrassed or ignorant to really engage them, so they are left to figure it out with their peers and the TV.

I think that if you wait until students are facing the issues, then it is most likely too late. Somehow, you have to plant the seeds they need before they need them. That said, I also think that it makes sense that many students would not know how to talk about it. Most students have probably not had much instruction in this area of their life at all.

I think it is really important to find a way to talk about these issues for a few reasons.

#1 The culture is not waiting. They push their values on students from birth, and no matter how sheltered we try or wish students were, they are being bombarded every day. I know in my life that I had already made many decisions regarding modesty and purity by the time I got to 8th grade.

#2 This topic is not sinful or wrong to talk about. Part of the reason the church has lost such ground on these issues is that we blush and look nervously at our shoes whenever it comes up. This communicates the wrong thing about a topic that the Bible speaks so abundantly and clearly about. (Bible stories are full of sex, prostitutes, virgins, and talk about anatomy, humility and modesty.)

#3 Students are at the age where they are already experimenting with their standards for modesty and purity and they need our help.
In many ways they are like sheep without a shepherd when it comes to this area of life. If we do not talk about it now, they will (and already are) learn about it from their peers, media, and the celebrities they read and hear about. This is our small chance to make a difference so that students do not make mistakes out of pure ignorance.

My Wife is an AWESOME gift giver.... (and she is beautiful too!)

Without a doubt, Emily is one of the best gift givers I know, (and I know some great ones such as Tory and Mathias).

She gets that gifts are about the person you are giving them to, and not about the person giving them.
This is not a obvious as it may seem... I have received lots of gifts that have made me wonder what sort of taste that I am projecting to the world!

But Emily really gets me, and her gifts to me are always carefully thought out based on what she knows I want.


She has gone to great lengths to figure out which swords I wanted, what foosball table would solve my obsession, and even which clothes will make me feel comfortable.

But this Christmas she really nailed me.

She had our friend Tory take like a million pictures of her!

It was exactly what I would want, and even though Emily is one of the least vain people that I know, she was willing to be the center of Tory's Camera's attention for a few hours so I could have a new centerpiece in my office...

Who is the best gift giver that you know?

Christians & Chlorophyl: Death to Life Story

So Kudos to my friend Charlie for making me aware of this, but apparently a recent myth busters episode brought new sonic integrity to an age old fundamentalist myth.

If you grew up in a legalistic faith you probably have heard many times about the evils of Rock music... about how rock music contains the drum beats of the devil and how the devil's temptations are strengthened by beats.
Charlie notes that:

I was actually taught in my Baptist school that if you played rock albums you were, in effect summoning the devil. In fact, one of the stories that we were told, illustrating the destructiveness of rock music, is that there was an experiment done where they played rock music and classical music to plants, and after some time, the plants exposed to the classical music thrived, while the music exposed the the rock music was withered and puny.

Bummer... I guess I have to burn all my beat laden music... No wait... Didn't King David more or less say that all instruments are capable of being played, strummed or beaten to the Glory of God?

Apparently David was right, and now there is some research to back it up.

Enter MythBusters.

While doing some research to determine if plants that were spoken to actually grew better, they also found that plants which were exposed to large amounts of “death metal” grew the best (even better than classical music & silence).

Charlie notes:

"I wonder what else I was lied to about as a child in the name of religion?"

Juno Movie Review.

Ok, so last weekend Emily and I had the opportunity to see the movie Juno. Ever since I saw the trailer I have been looking forward to it!

First off, the movie is about a 16 year old girl who gets pregnant after having sex with her good friend. The encounter is basically an experiment for both.

Spoiler Warning: If you are going to see the movie, you might spoil it if you keep reading, as I am going to give away lots of details.

SO, after taking 3 pregnancy tests in the drug store bathroom, Juno realizes that the unyielding little plus sign is "one doodle that can't be undid."

Her first response is to get an abortion. So she heads to the abortion clinic that does not require parental consent. In the parking lot a Christian Classmate is protesting abortion all by herself. She tells Juno that her baby already has finger nails. This simple truth is enough that Juno in the end cannot go through with her abortion.

So... she turns to adoption.

SO on the negative side, perhaps the movie does give an overly rosy view of how well that teenage pregnancy will turn out... I think though that much of what Juno goes through is anything but glamorous.

On the other hand, it deals with some very mature and interesting issues.

The Beauty of Life
Abortion vs. Adoption
Infidelity, divorce, and marriage.
the effects of casual sex
The effects of self-centeredness on relationships,
Prolonged adolescence
How stupid aging 30-something guys can be dealing with young girls
Relationships and Love
Maturity
Family

One of the best lines, is when Juno's mom asks her where she had been and Juno replies, "Dealing with things way beyond my maturity level."

Overall, I found the acting awesome to be awesome, the script to be great, and the soundtrack perfect. It is a well constructed and thoughtful movie, that deals with some very mature and relevant issues in a way that cuts through many of the stereotypical preconceptions.

Help Needed

Ok... so I am working on a new series with my Middle school students and need a little help with it.

#1 How would you define Modesty?


#2 I am not sure which of the graphics I like better. Which is your favorite.

#3 The byline: "Modesty is not a sin" is still open for negotiation...

Here are some other ideas:
"I See London..."
"Modest is the Hottest..."
"Bringing Modest Back..."
"Modest is the new hot"
"Modesty Redefined."
"Redefining modesty"
"Naked Modesty"
"Revealing modesty"
"Modesty is back, baby."

What do you think?