This morning I was on google maps trying to figure out how long it would take to drive to Greensboro, and I noticed a link at the top of the page saying, “Support victims of the cyclone in Myanmar (Burma).“

When you click the link, it takes you to this page:

Google gives you the opportunity to donate to Unicef or Direct Relief International, and they say that they will also donate up to a million dollars based on contributions.

Steph and I were budgeting how to spend our economy stimulus tax rebate, and we budgeted some money for giving. My only hesitation is that I’d like to give to a Christ-based group who is working in Burma. Does anybody know if Compassion International or World Vision is over there?

Lemme know…

You know how pop culture has this idea that pregnant women have these really strong, random cravings? When Steph first got pregnant, everyone teased me that I would be making late-night runs to the grocery store to watermelon, ice cream, and pickles.

Well, two weeks ago, this jar had about 20 pounds worth of pickles in it, and I had like two of them…

I better stock up on watermelon and ice cream…

This was in my gChat window a few minutes ago:

…

Stephen: probably, yeah

Shannon enlightened me yesterday to the fact that my macbook, which I have had for over two years, is capable of doing stop-motion videos. Being the geek that I am, I had to try it out as soon as possible, so I recorded various periods of time hanging out with our new friends Jacob and Catie last night, and posted them on youtube.

This particular video has no real usefulness, but I can see where we can do some really slick stuff with this. My next experiment will be the Foyer at our church for all of Sunday morning.

Any other ideas?

Admittedly, most of us wouldn’t be this honest. But if we were…. well…

I believe the guy on the right represents a LOT of the people we encounter every day.

What do you think?

I don’t know if you’ve made it over to “Stuff Christians Like“, but some of it is really good satire about ‘christian’ stereotypes. Here’s a snippet from a post called “Frisbee - God’s Favorite Sport“:

I can’t prove this, but I think Christians might be better at frisbee than non-Christians. I know that doesn’t sound very scientific, but it feels right. Roughly 94% of the Christians I know can really throw the Frisbee well. They’re good at ultimate frisbee, can play disc golf, and can even throw a pretty accurate flick or sidearm if you will. The Christians that can’t throw the frisbee? Probably backsliding.

I like to imagine Jesus and the disciples out on the shores of the Galilee playing a game of ultimate frisbee. Robes would be flying, beards flapping in the wind majestically as they all laughed and played like that volleyball scene from the movie Top Gun. Of course, Jesus had to play using “human rules.” He couldn’t have his throws go farther using the holy spirit or walk on water to catch an errant pass. As the “Sons of Thunder,” James and Jon would probably be body checking everyone and of course Judas would be calling hand fouls left and right.

I have my default webpage on my personal computer set to “Voice of the Martyrs“. I do this for two reasons:

1 - I need to see this page on a regular basis

2 - I probably wouldn’t navigate there very much if it didn’t come up every time I open my web browser.

Why wouldn’t I go there? Because it can be depressing. They have a little news feed right on the homepage with updates about missionaries being persecuted around the world.

It doesn’t give me the quick, fun distraction of a silly blogpost somewhere. It doesn’t give me a warm fuzzy feeling I get by checking out the latest series by a pastor. It doesn’t give me the self-righteous indignation I tend to fall victim to when I read the news about how messed up our world is.

It just makes me sad.

But it also helps me remember.

It helps me remember that this world is temporary.

And Jesus has overcome the world.

And He left me with a mission.

And it has nothing to do with my bank account or the size of my TV or the number hits I’m getting on my blog.

And that gets me excited.

Here’s the headline I clicked on this morning:

CHINA – Children Arrested for Attending Bible Study March 3, 2008

On February 28, 11 children and two adults were detained by Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials while attending a house church Bible study in Qingshuihe township, Xinjiang province. According to China Aid Association (CAA), “PSB officials disrupted the gathering and detained the minors along with Ms. Fu Jun, 41, owner of the house and Ms. Lu Lanxiang, 42. The children, aged, between 16 – 17 years of age, were brought to the Qingshuihe township PSB office in freezing weather and were not allowed to bring adequate clothing.” The report added that CAA had confirmed PSB officials had imprisoned the believers under the charge of “illegal religious gathering;” their wellbeing was unknown and their families had been denied visitation. Christians in China remain faithful despite the Chinese Communist government’s increased persecution leading up to the Olympics later this summer. The Voice of the Martyrs supports believers in China with medical costs, Christmas Care packs for Sunday school children and literature to strengthen believers spiritually. Pray for these courageous children and adults as their faith is tested. Ask God to encourage and protect them. Pray He gives them grace to forgive their persecutors and for the Holy Spirit to draw them into fellowship with Him.

Take five minutes and pray for this situation with me…

Just in case you didn’t know why we celebrate this every year, here’s a quick crash course:

Most people don’t know that back in 1912, Hellman’s mayonnaise was manufactured in England. The “Titanic” was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after New York City.

The Mexican people — crazy about mayonaise back then — were eagerly awaiting delivery and were disconsolate at the loss. So much so that they declared a national day of mourning which they still observe today.

It is known, of course, as “Sinko de Mayo”

Steph already mentioned today that when I go to a christian bookstore, I can be a little like a kid in a candy store. That isn’t to say that I like everything they sell in those places. In fact, I’d say at least 50% of it outright unbiblical… but even the unbiblical stuff engages me because it helps to think through what I believe and why I believe it…

So, this weekend, the stars lined up: we were at a christian bookstore AND had a few extra dollars

…And that’s when I cam across this DVD from Louie Giglio.

As far as I know, this is the ONLY DVD from Louie that I haven’t listened to at least once. And what makes it even more exciting is that there are tons of people in my life right now who could really use some hope, and I could really use a good tool to help point them at the one True Hope.

So we snatched it up and we’re looking forward to watching it tonight. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Here’s the description from the 268 store:

Life isn’t easy. We experience problems and setbacks every day. But during the hardest parts of life, when the bottom seems to fall out, where do we turn for peace? Although God doesn’t offer any easy solutions, He does offer Himself and His cross as an anchor of hope no matter what we face in life. And more than simply enduring suffering, the hope we find in Him allows us to leverage our darkest moments for His fame. When life hurts most, the world listens most intently to our message, allowing us to broadcast through our pain the goodness of the One who loves us the most.