News Flash About Cigarette Smoking

My oldest son (age 6) has been writing again.

As per usual he created a Word document on our old desktop. On a single page, he had typed the following message three times:

News flash!
Good day and we have news for you! People who don’t know this well people who smoke cigarettes that’s a bad choice because it could make you throw up and you can get cancer and you can’t breathe so the good choice is not to smoke cigarettes!

[Now I should explain that our dear neighbor Mr. Bill had surgery for lung cancer a couple of years ago. Mr. Bill helped us in our quest to impart the dangers of cigarette smoking to our children by describing to them—in graphic terms—the consequences of his decision to smoke for many years.

I’m still not sure what sparked this recent desire of my son’s to spread the word on cigarette smoking, however.]

He usually asks for help posting his latest creation to his blog. But this time he asked me to print out the document instead.

Then the following conversation took place:

“Mom, can I borrow your scissors? I want to cut each of the three [identical] paragraphs into separate strips.”

“Sure, honey.”

“Now may I borrow three envelopes?”

“Sure, honey.”

“Now may I borrow three stamps?”

“What for, honey?”

“I want to send these letters out to people.”

“Who, exactly?”

“To people who smoke. Can you give me the names and addresses of three people who smoke?”

If you know of anyone needing to hear just this sort of message, feel free to send me their contact information! :)

I Am Not

"And he confessed, and did not deny... "I am not the Christ." --John 1:20

"I am not;" O words unwelcome
To the lips of men--
"I am not;" O words that lead us
Back to God again!

Speech of him who knows the pathway
To that refuge sweet,
Where is covert from the tempest,
Shadow from the heat.

Speech of Heaven, from wise men hidden,
Unto children taught;
Few the words of that great lesson,
Only "I am not."

Heart of man, another language
Is thy native speech,
Spoken by a thousand races,
All alike in each.

"I am,--" rich, or wise, or holy--
"Thus, and thus am I;"
For "I am," men live and labor,
For "I am," they die.

For "I am," men dare and suffer,
Count all loss as gain,
Toil and weariness and bondage,
Sin and grief and pain.

In the blessed Gospel read we
How a rich man bade
Christ the Lord and His disciples
To a feast he made.

Well it was to feel the prophet;
Thus the rich man thought,
but amidst his wealth and bounty
Lacked he "I am not."

Then there came a sinful woman,
Eyes with weeping dim--
"I am not," her heart was saying--
She had looked on Him.

He beheld her broken-hearted,
Ruined and undone,
Yet enthroned above the angels
Brighter than the Sun.

All the while in dust before Him
Did her heart adore,
"I am not," that song of gladness--
"Thou art, evermore."

For His heart to hers had spoken,
To His wandering lamb;
In the speech of Love Eternal,
He had said "I AM."

Now she thirsts no more forever,
All she would is given;
None on earth hath she beside Him,
None beside in Heaven.

Oh how fair that heavenly portion,
That eternal lot;
Christ, and Christ alone, forever--
Ever "I am not."

--Heinrich Suso, c.1295-1366, German mystic and Dominican friar

(Thanks to my friend Tracie Wallace for first sharing this poem on her blog, Bring Me To Jesus.)

Too Legit To Twit

Even though I’m a suburban-dwelling, minivan-driving mother of three small children, I still like to consider myself fairly hip for my age (forty-something) when it comes to pop technology.

I text.

I have fun on Facebook.

I download podcasts.

I write a blog. (OK, so I was a few years behind the curve on that one. I had three in diapers for a while…cut me a little slack!)

But one thing I simply don’t get is Twitter. I tried it for a while, but it just didn’t do anything for me.

Maybe it would be more practical if I used my handheld more than my laptop. Maybe it would be more enjoyable if more of my friends were on it. Maybe it would hold more use if I had more of a life. I don't know.

I just don’t get Twit.

Feel free to try to persuade/enlighten/educate me otherwise. In the meantime enjoy this video, “Twoubles with Twitters”:



If the video doesn’t show up in your browser, click here.

The Fall, According To My Daughter

Recently our family has been reading the Creation and Fall narratives during our nightly Bible time. The boys have asked some great follow-up questions about sin and temptation.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell how much our daughter—who is only three—is taking in.

A couple of days ago she asked me a question about Satan. Instead of answering directly, I asked her, “E, do you even know who Satan is?”

Her reply:

“Of course, Mom! Satan is a boy. And his girlfriend tricked him into eating a lot of apples. Then the angels came and told them they couldn’t play in this garden anymore…they had to go to a different garden.

Oh, and there was a snake! He wanted to eat an apple, too. But the angel got it first. So he left the garden, too, and went to a bush...”

Queso Quote: That Heaven May Be Sweet

"Here God gives his people some taste, that they may not faint; and he gives them but a taste, that they may long to be at home, that they may keep humble, that they may sit loose from things below, that they may not break and despise bruised reeds, and that heaven may be more sweet to them at last."

—Thomas Brooks

What Happens To Your Body When You Drink A Coke

I love Coca-Cola.

Ice cold, over ice. Or better yet, in Icee form.

I know it’s bad for me. Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin were right when they dubbed it “liquid Satan” a couple of years ago.

But I didn’t know just how bad it was, specifically, until I read a fascinating post by Liz Lewis over at BlissTree.com.

Her article, entitled “What Happens To Your Body If You Drink A Coke Right Now?” chronicles exactly what you go through following Coke consumption. Here’s a little teaser…

“In The First 10 Minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down…”

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

The New Calvinism

TIME Magazine recently published a special issue entitled, “Ten Ideas Changing The World Right Now”. Coming in at #3, right in between “Recycling the Suburbs” and “Reinstating the Interstate”, was “The New Calvinism”(!)

I have observed increasing interest in Calvinism in the American church, particularly among young Christians, for several years. The popularity of theologians like John Piper and Tim Keller as well as modern covers of old-school hymns like Chris Tomlin’s “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)” have signaled the rise of the neo-Calvinist movement.

But I don’t know if I had put my finger on the “why” behind this trend before.

This quote from the article was particularly insightful. It’s from Collin Hansen, author of Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists:

"A lot of young people grew up in a culture of brokenness, divorce, drugs or sexual temptation…They have plenty of friends: what they need is a God."

And it’s not just people’s personal lives in upheaval. Widespread political and economic instability only increase the appeal of a mighty God who’s in control of the entire world.

For those of us who know and serve this great God, there could hardly be a better time to share Him with those around us.

Read an online version of David Van Biema’s article here.

Interview With My Kids

These questions are from one of those Facebook memes traveling around recently. I interviewed each of my kids separately. Here’s what they had to say…

1. What is something mom always says to you?
J (age 6): “I love you!”
J (age 5): “I love you!”
E (age 3): “I love you!”

2. What makes mom happy?
J: If we obey her
J: When we give her flowers for Valentine’s Day
E: Pictures of me

3. What makes mom sad?
J: When I’m sad
J: When she has to give me a spanking
E: When I disobey and she can’t give me a sweet

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
J: Telling me jokes
J: Silly jokes
E: Tickling me

5. What was your mom like as a child?
J: Cute
J: Excited
E: She played with toys

6. How old is your mom?
J: 42
J: 41
E: 2

7. How tall is your mom?
J: 4 feet
J: 10 feet
E: Bigger than Daddy

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
J: Spend time with her kids
J: Eat chocolate eggs
E: Play with dolls

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
J: Type on the computer
J: Cook tea
E: Miss her kids

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
J: Studying a lot
J: Being a knight
E: I have no idea

11. What is your mom really good at?
J: Showing love
J: Sewing
E: Tickling

12. What is your mom not very good at?
J: Reaching high things
J: Video games
E: Being sick

13. What does your mom do for her job?
J: Go to meetings and tell people about Jesus
J: Tell people about Jesus
E: Work at the office

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
J: Cadbury Crème Eggs
J: Chocolate eggs
E: Fazoli’s

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
J: She’s good at spying on me
J: When she wins a video game
E: She’s happy

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
J: SpongeBob SquarePants
J: SpongeBob SquarePants
E: A raccoon

17. What do you and your mom do together?
J: Go on "love dates"
J: Go on "love dates"
E: Read magazines

18. How are you and your mom the same?
J: We love each other
J: When she sits and I stand, we’re the same height
E: Our smiles

19. How are you and your mom different?
J: We like different things
J: When we’re both standing, she’s taller
E: We have different-colored robes

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
J: She hugs me
J: She kisses me goodnight
E: She tickles me

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
J: He’s awesome
J: He’s a good man
E: His hugs

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
J: Bear Rock Café
J: To the vacuum store
E: Fazoli’s

And The Winner Is...

...Angela Duggins!

Angela's entry into our 1st Annual Limerick Contest won the most votes. So now she is winner of a $10 gift card to iTunes or Starbucks. (Just let me know which, A!)

Big thanks to everyone who submitted an entry and voted in the contest. This was a lot of fun!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Vote Now! Limerick Contest Finalists Have Been Selected

Wow, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be to choose finalists for InfiniteQueso’s Limerick Contest. Thanks so much to everyone who submitted an entry...they were all really great! However, I have forced myself to select three finalists.

(In order of their original postdates)

The first is from Angela Duggins:

Awkward dates can be found on the web
Just one click of my mouse to meet "Fred"
We'll have a short chat
And that will be that
My love life is now less than dead :{

The second is from Skip Dahlmann:

I'm addicted to Facebook and Twitter
At times it makes my wife bitter
She asked very sweet
That I please stop my tweet
But I told her I'm just not a quitter

And the third is from Tracy Ketrow:

There once was a profile with no avatar.
Yet the quest for friendship went wide 'n far.
But he got no Flair and no Twitter
and his Wall did not glitter
Because under "interests" he listed NPR.

So now it’s your turn! Go to the “polling booth” on the right to cast your vote for Best Limerick about Social Networking and Web 2.0.

The polls will close at midnight (CST) on Monday, March 16. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, March 17. Happy voting!

More Limericks About Limericks

Well, interest in InfiniteQueso’s 1st Annual Limerick Writing Contest is building to a fever pitch. For those of you scared off by the strictness of the original rules, it should be noted that they have been revised (loosened) slightly.

(Thanks goes to Skip Dahlmann over at Current Christianity, who pointed out that my sample limerick didn’t follow my own rules.)

For those of you having trouble adapting your thoughts to the traditional limerick structure, I leave you with this:

There was a young man from Japan
Whose limericks never would scan.
When asked why this was,
He answered, "It's because
I always try to fit as many syllables into the last line as ever possibly I can.”

And this:

There was a young man from Timbuktu
Whose limericks stopped at line two.

Reminder: All entries must be posted in the comments section of this post by midnight (CST) on Saturday, March 14, 2009. Good luck!

1st Annual Limerick Writing Contest

With St. Patrick’s Day 2009 approaching, InfiniteQueso is sponsoring its 1st Annual Limerick Writing Contest!

The grand prize will be a $10 iTunes or Starbucks gift card. (Sorry, pot o’ gold not available.)

The theme for this year is: "Web 2.0 and Social Networking".

Here’s how to play…

InfiniteQueso’s 1st Annual Limerick Contest Rules (revised):
1. All entries must follow limerick form: one stanza of five lines, with the first, second and fifth having approximately nine syllables and rhyming with one another, and the third and fourth having five or six syllables and rhyming separately.
2. Judging will be based on humor and creativity, within the theme of “Web 2.0 and Social Networking”.
3. Bonus points will be awarded for internal rhyme, alliteration, or some element of wordplay.
4. All entries must be clean! No vulgarity or cursing. Any entry violating this rule will be deleted. I realize this may take the fun out of it for some of you. And it’s true:

The limerick packs laughs anatomical
In space that is quite economical,
But the good ones I've seen
So seldom are clean,
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.

So this ups the difficulty quotient…but I know you’re up for the challenge!
5. All entries must be an original composition of the entrant.
6. All entrants must reveal their identities. Anonymous entries will not be eligible for the grand prize. (If you don’t have a Google or Blogger account, feel free to just include your name in the body of your comment.)
7. There is no limit to how many limericks a person may enter into the contest. (But do try to show some self-control.)
8. All entries must be posted in the comments section of this post by midnight (CST) on Saturday, March 14, 2009.
9. Finalists will be announced in a new post on Sunday, March 15.
10. The grand prize winner will be determined by a public vote. The polls will close at midnight (CST) on Monday, March 16, 2009.
11. The grand prize winner will be announced on Tuesday, March 17.

Facebook users: Click here to post your entry on the InfiniteQueso website.

How Many Americans Have A Biblical Worldview?

Barna Research Group recently released the results of their Biblical Worldview Study:

“For the purposes of the survey, a “biblical worldview” was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.”

What percentage of American adults do you think hold this view?

a. 9%
b. 19%
c. 69%
d. 79%

If you guessed, “a. 9%”, you’d be right.

As someone who works with college students, I found it fascinating (if not surprising) that less than ½ of 1% of 18-to-23-year-olds hold a biblical worldview.

To read the complete survey results, click here.

Feed The Hungry While Playing Games

Want to waste time for a good cause?

Increase your brain power and help feed the hungry at FreeRice.com!

If you haven’t checked out the site recently, you might not know they’ve added new subjects. It’s not just vocabulary anymore; now you can quiz yourself on art, geography, math, language learning and more!

I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather lately, so I’ve been testing my skills while I lie on the couch. I got to level 5 in “Countries on the Map” and “English Grammar”. But I’ve only gotten to Level 3 in “Chemistry Symbols”, 4 in “Famous Paintings”, and 47 in “English Vocabulary”.

Who can beat me?

Who Wants To Join Me In Resisting Racism?

I’m on a quest.

A quest to become more sensitive and less offensive, more intentional and less apathetic, more aware and less blinded, more open and less narrow, when it comes to the issue of race in our country.

When I hear people describing the U.S. as “post-racial” now that we have elected an African-American as our President, I just cringe. Because I know nothing could be further from the truth.

I am racist. And I hate that I am.

It’s time for me to be proactive in trying to change. Like any sin, I know I’ll never be completely free from racism. But I could certainly stand to do better.

Will you come with me on this quest?

To my (fellow) white American friends:

One obstacle that stands in the way of you and me in our desire to become less racist is that we are members of the dominant culture. The result is that we have a huge blind spot when it comes to race issues. We can’t really change our cultural background. But we can help shrink the blind spot by learning from members of minority cultures.

I’ve just subscribed to a great blog called Resist Racism. I’d love for you to subscribe, too. Even if you don’t subscribe, I highly recommend you reading their post called “Racism 101”. (Also…if you feel compelled to comment on any of their posts, make sure you read “We’ve Heard It Before” first!)

I’m also going to start utilizing this blog more to highlight other great sources that help me in my journey to become less racist. Please also share with me anything that has helped, or is helping you, on your journeys as well.

To my American friends of color:

I don’t want to you to feel like you have to try to be a representative for your entire culture. But I do want to learn from you. It’s not your responsibility to educate me. But if you have a personal account or a resource you would like to share with me, I would be very grateful.

By God’s grace, may we all grow to be more like Christ, and make this world a better reflection of Him, through this journey!

MIXTAPE: Got No Destination

Theme: A Road Trip with U2

I created the original version of this mixtape a few years ago for my friend Renee. The two of us have been friends since kindergarten, and in many ways this mix represents some of the biggest things that have bonded us through the years: a love of music in its many forms, long hours in a car together, and since we were 18, a pursuit of the mysteries of Jesus Christ.

One of Renee and I’s common beliefs is that there are certain songs that make excellent “driving songs”: tunes just meant to be played (at full volume of course) while behind the wheel of a car. It's hard to say what exactly qualifies a song for "driving" status; it's just something you feel.

Over the years we’ve created compilations of driving songs for each other, usually featuring various artists. But U2 is one of the few bands who deserve their own "driving songs" mix.

In honor of U2’s new album “No Line on the Horizon” (LOVE the cover art!) dropping on March 3, I’ve updated the mix a bit and posted it here. I tried to cover most of U2’s 30-year career, but couldn’t get to everything. (Sorry Sean, no “Pop” music!)

So grab your keys, some snacks, and your sunglasses. Open up the sunroof and roll down the windows. And don’t forget to turn the speakers all the way up.

Got No Destination - A Road Trip With U2

1. The Three Sunrises
2. Mysterious Ways
3. Hawkmoon 269
4. Beautiful Day
5. I Will Follow
6. All Because of You
7. Bad
8. Scarlet
9. Where The Streets Have No Name
10. Desire
11. Elevation
12. Two Hearts Beat As One
13. One Tree Hill
14. A Sort Of Homecoming
15. Gloria
16. Even Better Than The Real Thing
17. City Of Blinding Lights
18. Hallelujah Here She Comes
19. Window In The Skies
20. “40”

Selected Commentary:
The Three Sunrises – During our college years it was tradition to begin road trips with this B-side from “The Unforgettable Fire”, which is still my favorite album after all these years. The first time Renee and I saw U2 in concert was the tour for this album as well.
Hawkmoon 269 – Legend has it that the “269” in the title comes from the number of takes it took the band to finally nail this song, during a particularly brutal recording session.
I Will Follow – Gotta go with the live version from “Under a Blood Red Sky”. It always reminds me of driving away from high school football games through the muggy Houston night. The air was always so thick you could feel it.
Bad – Renee and I actually watched “Live Aid” live in 1985. When U2 performed this song at Wembley Stadium, it was the closest I had gotten to transcendence before becoming a Christ-follower.
Where The Streets Have No Name – "Rock 'n' roll stops the traffic." When U2 announced the first leg of their Joshua Tree tour, their only Texas dates were in Houston. But both shows were school nights, and Renee and I were freshmen at TCU in Fort Worth. Of course that wasn’t going to stop us. Even though Renee locked her keys in the car and I ripped my favorite pair of jeans, we both made it back for our 8 o’clocks the next morning. (We were too young and responsible to skip.) A year later U2 added a second North American leg, this time with a stop Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth (check us out in the film “Rattle and Hum”)! I gained free admission to one of the shows by serving concessions during the opening act. Did you know that up through the "Joshua" tour U2 didn't allow the sale of alcohol at their shows?
A Sort Of Homecoming – “Oh don’t sorrow, no don’t weep / For tonight, at last / I am coming home.”
Window In The Skies – A great expression of the joy of the gospel. Plus I love this version of their video.
“40” – Back in the day U2 closed their shows with this ode to Psalm 40. Thousands of people would be pouring out of the stadium and the entire crowd would still be singing the chorus, in unison, all the way back to their parked cars. I love that they brought this tradition back recently.

Don’t forget to catch U2 all week (March 2-6) on the “Late Show with Dave Letterman”!

To check out my other mixtapes, click here.