Pirates or Braveheart?

Ok so at least one of tasks got checked off this afternoon! I finally got to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean. I thought it was great until I started to notice it dragging on and on. Wow what a long movie! Of course the special effects and animation were incredible and at least most of the script was above par. Oh wait wait I especially loved the part when William Wallace was standing there monologuing and then threw his sword and cried "FREEDOM!!!" Wait, oh yes, that was another movie. I remember now. Why is it that all movies with an intense battle scene must have a passionate plea to all the cowards standing with the proverbial hero? I don't get it but anyways I would definitely recommend seeing the movie but only if you can go to a matinée cause anything above eight dollars is way to much to pay for this flick!

Window or Aisle?

Can I just tell you how much I hate flying! I fly a lot which certainly doesn't help my frustration. I always try to get a window seat but in certain situations I don't mind an aisle seat. I do however mind the horrid middle seat! Even in the exit rows this seat just screams for you to be uncomfortable. Tonight I am flying home finally and I haven't had a shower all day and had a very hot show this afternoon in a non air conditioned gym. So you can imagine how much nicer it must feel for me. But at least soon I will be with my family again! I miss them tons!

Coming Soon!

Keep your eyes out for a post that I have been working on for a while now. Although it is turning out to be less of a blog and more of a dissertation but nevertheless, I hope it will be enjoyed. I will post it soon!

Learning to Give

I've been reading a book called "Blue like Jazz" by Donald Miller for the past few weeks. I have read all of his other books and for some reason just hadn't read this one yet so I decided to dive in on it at the end of last month. Just the other day I read something that really impacted me and got me to thinking again. Donald was recounting a story about a friend of his who firmly believes that being a Christian has little to do with what you believe and more to do with what you actually live out and do. So if you say you are a Christian but no one could tell by your actions then you aren't really a Christian. That hit me kind of hard.
Yesterday I was walking around Washington D.C. and came across numerous homeless people and my spirit was really uneasy about it. One gentleman in particular asked me if I had any spare change and I told him without pause that I didn't and walked on my merry way. Almost immediately afterward I thought to myself, " Now why did you do that, you have some cash you could have given him." So I decided and asked God to let me see him again after I came out of the store I was headed into. Once I came out I was thankful to see him sitting on the corner and stopped to talk for a few moments. I still didn't have any change but I gave him three dollars instead. He was grateful and said God bless you and I responded by saying no bless you brother! His smile was all I needed to see. It was amazing afterward to think about why I don't do that more often. Why I shun so many of these people out of my ability to give grace. What is it that has made me so hard to this part of the Gospel? I don't completely know the answers to those and many other questions but I do know that I was grateful that I could hear the spirit tell me to go back and give that man some money! Not that my feelings are the only reason I do things for but I felt God bless me with joy and peace from that little exchange. I was grateful!

Progress through Pain

On a much heavier note than my previous post, I have been chewing on this topic for quite some time now as you can see from my last post that was exactly a month ago to the date. I recently listened to a sermon by Marc Driscoll, formally of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, entitled Progress through Pain, that has really left me processing this idea in my life. I have always battled the thought of why everything in my life has been so gut wrenchingly difficult. Even as a teen and college student I processed ideas of why my path and my journey led me down dark corridors that left me scarred and broken. Every battle and every fight left me more and more disturbed and looking at those around me wondering why life didn't seem any more difficult for them as well. One of the greatest compliments I ever received was from someone who said that they were inspired by how I always battled and fought for my faith and struggled to be who I was and who I was becoming. That put me in tears because before then I hadn't really been able to put my finger on what exactly I had been feeling inside for so long and after that comment a light seemed to go off in my head. In Mark's message he spoke about Nehemiah rebuilding the temple and all the opposition he received in the progress. He went as far as describing in great detail how even people who typically oppose one another will join forces whenever we're doing something great that they do not agree with. This makes perfect sense that there is a very real opposition to the good work of the Gospel in our lives and explains my battle scars through out the years. I am left at the end of these streams of consciousness encouraged to think that surely scripture is true when God says He has begun a great work in me and is faithful to complete it! If these things are true, then I have indeed been set upon a path that is being guided and directed by my Savior! My only prayer is that the words of James rings true in my life and that I can in fact persevere through these pains to come out on the other side redeemed and perfected by the Perfecter of my faith!

Way to go Lefty!!

I love watching golf and Phil Mickelson is by far my favorite golfer! He seems like a genuine gentleman and a man of character and integrity. He won The Players Championship this weekend by a commanding 2 strokes (-11) over Sergio Garcia, who played an outstanding final round of 66. This was just his 31st career win sitting solidly in second place in career wins amongst active players behind Tiger Woods (57) and ahead of Vijay Singh (30). I love that he always posses poise and honor in his victories and always gives credit to the other players especially the player he was paired with. Way to go Phil! Congrats!