Road Trip to the End of the World

The CNN article begins:


"If you thought you had less than three perfectly healthy months to live, what would you do? Would you travel? Spend time with loved ones? Appreciate the joy life has given you?


Or would you ditch your kids and grandkids, join strangers in a caravan of RVs and travel the country warning people about the end of the world?"


Check this out!

http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/03/06/judgment.day.caravan/index.html?hpt=C2

At least I'll have graduated college...

God is not a white man

I thought this was fun and profound. Enjoy.

The Chick Flick Reality

The screaming. The crying. The jumping up and down. He finally popped the question! It’s a dream come true. A happily ever after. It’s just like the movies.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s exciting. I’ve been there, and I loved every second of it. But it’s not like the movies. In fact, chick flicks have created unrealistic expectations for engagement and marriage.

Earlier this year CNN released an article entitled, “Romantic films put too much pressure on guys?” In the article, Ryan Gosling, who played the male lead in The Notebook, tells a story of a future bride who asked her fiancé if he would build a house for her like Gosling’s character did for his true love. When the fiancé replied that he didn’t know how, she called off the wedding.

While that may be a little extreme, the chick flick expectation still thrives on other levels. I know one girl who was openly disappointed that her fiancé didn’t spend a lot of money on a ring, and another who called off her wedding only to get re-engaged a couple months later, this time with a bigger rock.

Now, guys, don’t pretend this is just a girl-thing. As a two-year RA, I sat in my room listening to guys talk for hours about how much better their lives would be if they only had a girlfriend or fiancé. Why wouldn’t it be? It’s in every movie.

Take ten seconds and jot down the names of movies that end in a proposal or wedding…The Notebook, The Proposal, While You Were Sleeping, The Wedding Planner, 27 Dresses…While these movies present compelling, heartfelt love stories, they forget to mention that when the wedding is over, it’s over.

Teesha and I had a perfect wedding. Had our lives been a chick flick and the wedding the final scene, we’d have let the credits roll. But I soon discovered why romantic comedies end with the wedding.

Before landing in Cabo, we visualized the perfect chick-flick honeymoon, complete with hours of sunbathing on the beach and a personal waiter. Instead, we spent the first three days repeatedly rejecting overeager timeshare salesmen and avoiding resort employees who required a five dollar tip for bringing a glass of water. Shortly after our trip, I ended up in Urgent Care with a sun rash, and Teesha experienced an emergency wisdom tooth removal.

Although our first three weeks didn’t quite meet the chick-flick expectations of wedded bliss, we’ve since learned to set aside our unrealistic expectations and have found contentment in the actualities of marriage. But how could we have known that life-after-wedding wasn’t perfect? The movies never got that far.

The Cave - Mumford & Sons

It's empty in the valley of your heart
The sun, it rises slowly as you walk
Away from all the fears
And all the faults you've left behind

The harvest left no food for you to eat
You cannibal, you meat-eater, you see
But I have seen the same
I know the shame in your defeat

But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again

Cause I have other things to fill my time
You take what is yours and I'll take mine
Now let me at the truth
Which will refresh my broken mind

So tie me to a post and block my ears
I can see widows and orphans through my tears
I know my call despite my faults
And despite my growing fears

But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again

So come out of your cave walking on your hands
And see the world hanging upside down
You can understand dependence
When you know the maker's hand

So make your siren's call
And sing all you want
I will not hear what you have to say

Cause I need freedom now
And I need to know how
To live my life as it's meant to be

And I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again

This song is meaningful to me because it emphasizes the yearning for purpose in life. The writer begins the piece describing someone's emptiness, but says "I've seen the same."

In the chorus, the writer tells his friend that they're in this together and assures that he'll find strength in pain. This could be allusion to the pain of Christ because the next line says, "I'll know my name as it's called again," a possible reference to Christ's second coming.

In the second verse the writer tells someone else to that can believe what they want to, but don't keep him from pursuing the truth that will free his broken mind. He describes a scene where he is bound and his ears are covered, but he sees widows and orphans which ensure him that the call upon his life is real.

After the chorus, the writer implores others to come out of their caves. The assumption is that this alludes to Plato's allegory of the cave, which tells of individuals who are chained to the walls of the cave and the shadows they see on the wall of the passersby are the closest they'll ever get to reality. The writer says, "Come out of the caves walking on your hands," implying that they are archaic without the truth he has found. The line, "You can understand dependence when you know the maker's hand," is an obvious reference to God.

He concludes by telling people to say anything they want, but he won't listen. "Cause I need freedom now, and I need to know how to live my life as it's meant to be."

In light of this, "The Cave" ends perfectly.

"I'll know my name as it's called again."

Jesus Goes Viral

For those who have not yet discovered the NBC show Community, let me give you a very brief overview. The show is built around the members of a Spanish class study group, all of whom represent a different stereotype of people who attend community college.

The group's leader is Jeff, a good-looking, former lawyer who was disbarred after it was discovered that his law degree was from Columbia...the country, not the university. He was extremely successful and lived the high-life, but has been forced to attend Greendale Community College in order to get a real degree. Britta is an unnecessarily rebellious blonde who has never really found her place in life and has come to Greendale in search of something substantial. Abed is an undiagnosable, Middle Eastern individual who is mysteriously brilliant and highly perceptive. No one really knows why he’s at Greendale. Annie was the smart, almost-valedictorian girl in high school who became addicted to pain killers and had to enter rehab rather than pursuing her academic dreams. Troy athletic, African American who was the captain of the high school football team and never cared about school until he didn’t get a football scholarship. He and Annie graduated high school together, but were in completely different social circles. Shirley is a recently divorced, African American mother of two who is going back to school to get a degree. Finally, there is Pierce, the elder of the group. Pierce has lived a complete life and really has nothing left to do, so he enrolled at Greendale. It is assumed that Pierce was really into the 60s…

It is also important to note that each member of the study group comes from a completely different religious viewpoint, which brings us to the clip. Shirley, the Christian of the group, believers that young black kids need to know about Jesus, and what better way to tell them than make a rap video? Abed, who is Muslim, recognizes the intrigue people have with religion and wonders if he can create a new one just because (that gives you an idea of Abed’s personality). Check it out…

http://www.hulu.com/watch/187118/community-jesus-goes-viral

This clip is a solid reminder that the medium is the message. If Christians try to imitate culture and do a lame job, their message becomes associated with the quality of their work. In this case, Shirley tries to make a "Christian" rap, but something immensely more interesting is just outside. As humans, it is our nature to pursue the most intriguing option.

Christians often assume that poor quality is justified by the wonderful message they are offering. I'm sure you can think of a few examples...

The Proof of Your Skills

I have often searched for affirmation of my skills. Am I a good basketball player? What do people think of my singing voice? Little did I know that this search could end with one simple trip. But unlike most trips, this one didn’t move forward. It went back. Way back. Back to first grade.

With one community service credit left and a couple weeks before my summer job, I volunteered at my wife’s alma mater. I started in the kindergarten class, but all they were doing was coloring butterflies and picking noses, so my wife (then fiancée) suggested I visit first grade.

I remember first grade. It was really quite wonderful. Rather than buying food with money, I bartered. An apple was worth a banana, two granola bars were worth a Capri Sun, and a pack of Gushers was worth an entire lunch. But better than our bartering system was our source of motivation. In college, we strive for excellence with the hope of getting into graduate school or landing a fulltime job at Starbucks or something. But in first grade, it was all about the stickers; a tangible form of affirmation.

I was reminiscing when I entered the mayhem of the first grade classroom.

“Are you Dodge’s dad?” one of them asked.

“Nope,” I replied. “I’m just hanging out with you guys for the day.”

“Sweet! Hey guys, he’s hanging out with us for the day!” he shouted to his classmates.

Instant popularity. I could feel the affirmation.

“Recess time,” the teacher said.

The chaos commenced as the first graders collected their jackets and lined up at the door.

“Are you going to come play ‘kick the ball over the wall’ with us?” one of the boys asked.

“As long as you teach me how to play,” I said.

“Ah, it’s easy. You’ll pick it up quick.”

After setting the world record for kicking the ball over the wall, (which I explained to them was actually the college record, so they still had a chance to set the elementary record), they invited me to eat lunch with them. I was almost certain that the key to affirmation was a large group of friends and illustrious invitations.

Even before we sat at the table the bartering began, and soon most of the first graders had exchanged their goods.

“Jake, you’ve got to go to the Family Fun Center. It is the best place in the world!”

“Yah, dude, you have to go! It is the funnest!”

As we continued the feast, my progressing theory of affirmation came to a screeching halt.

“So,” the boy across from me began, “how many enemies you got?”

“Um…I don’t know…” I thought for a minute. “The devil?”

“Oh,” he replied, unsatisfied. “The proof of your skills is how many enemies you’ve got.”

So much for stickers.

I Really F---ed It Up This Time, Didn't I My Dear?

For anyone still unaware of Mumford & Sons, it's time to wake up. After all, Americans have a history of becoming obsessive over bands that contain four British guys, so why stop now? While their entrance into America may not have been as spectacular as the Beatles, it certain hasn't gone unnoticed.


Since the U.S. release of their album Sign No More in February 2010 the band has received so much recognition that in December 2010 they received two Grammy nominations: Best Rock Song for "Little Lion Man" and Best New Artist, which puts them on the save level as, you guessed it, Justin Bieber.

So what's the big deal? More specifically, why should Christians care about Mumford & Sons? I offer an anecdote...


Last February a friend turned to me in class excited and nearly shouting, "Have you heard Mumford & Sons?! They are freaking amazing." So as all good college students do, I made a note in my phone to check them out. About a month past before I found the note again, and the first song I came across was their hit single "Little Lion Man." I had never heard anything like it. It was a high energy mess of acoustic guitar, banjo, upright bass, piano, accordion and kick drum. I later found out that music critics had to create a new genre because of bands like Mumford & Sons, Noah and the Whale, Johnny Flinn, and Laura Marling, all of whom are connected in the British music scene.


I was enjoying the new discovery when...yep...there it is: the f-word. As the chorus says:


But it was not your fault by mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really f---ed it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?


"Oh well," I thought. "Too bad. I like the music." And I put it away...for months.


So, what changed?


September rolled around and started hearing "Little Lion Man" on 101.9 KINK out of Portland, but this time the f-word was edited out. "Man," I thought, "I really need to give these guys another chance."


As I reevaluated Mumford & Sons, I was blown away by the Christian undertone of their album. The song that specifically impacted me was "Awake My Soul," which says,


In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life


Awake my soul, awake my soul
Awake my soul
For you were made to meet your maker


I had clearly pulled a classic Christian move. It was the "one-and-done" cuss word approach.


So, why should Christians care about a band like Mumford & Sons who explicitly throws out f-bombs? Well, one reason is because they're making people think. Just visit sites like http://www.songmeanings.net/artist/view/songs/137438984026/
and you'll find ongoing debates about grace, redemption, the after-life, and morality, all of because of songs on Sign No More.

I really wish I hadn't ditched Mumford & Sons when I did. Yep, I really f-ed it up that time. But I'm really glad I gave them a second chance. And believe me, I'll be writing a lot more about them.