letters on a screen

Merry Christmas friends! I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas with your families.

If you're like my family and go to the movies either on Christmas or over the holidays, DO NOT GO SEE FAT ALBERT. Wow. This may have been the worst movie I've ever seen. Seriously, no plot whatsoever. During the movie I was either a) checking my watch to see how much longer it had or b) thinking up ways to leave or c) falling asleep. I promise you, if you see this, you will be severely dissapointed.

Alright well, have a great rest of the holiday weekend.

Winter....yay. (taken from my bedroom window in Amarillo) 

"When you live in Texas, every single time you see snow it’s magical."
--Pamela Ribon

I woke up this morning to a wonderful sight-- snow! I love the winter, and the fact that Amarillo actually has seasons makes me more fond of this place each time I go back home. I know snow in Texas may seem kind of weird, but it usually always snows here a few times each winter. I hope some of this stays through Christmas... a warm Christmas just never seemed right to me.

I watched Napoleon Dynamite last night with some friends from back home. While parts are funny, honestly I do not understand why every one thinks this movie is so hilarious. I felt like all the jokes and just general way of acting was like something you'd see at a talent show at church youth camp. I half expected the Spartan cheerleaders to come in during some of the scenes.

I finally got a hair cut yesterday from the lady who's been cutting my hair since I was about 5. I love going over there and just talking with her. I guess it's kind of like one of those small-town things you see in the movies, where the hairdresser always knows the scoop on everything and always has a story. She was telling me about how her brother wanted to spray-paint the coffin they were burying their mom in because he was too cheap to just buy a nicer one. Funny stuff.

Until next time....

I'm actually sitting in bed, typing this right now. Someone near my parents house must have wireless internet, and I'm reaping the benefits of it. Yay.

So I'm back home now for what is looking to be a short Christmas break. It was a journey to get here though. Friday night Gyna was in College Station, and so I hung out with her that night. Saturday, after waking to find my bike stolen ( Jay was not happy), I made the journey up to Dallas and hung out with Jeff for the night. That was a fun night.....hmmm.... let's see if I can sum it up: hookah and bachelorette party. If you want to know more, you'll have to ask ;) . On Sunday I went to Deliverance Bible Church (amazing, as always) where John and Lindsay also were that day. After church and coffee with mi amigos, it was off to Wichita Falls to hang out with Clifton. We stayed up way too late downloading music (I'm listening to the B-52's "Loveshack" right now) and hence why I'm in bed typing this tonight.

Ok, I have nothing else right now. Bed time.

After watching a 5th/6th grade orchestra concert last night, and thinking that the kid we were coming to see was named "Willie" (that's not his name), I was determined to make something I'd had in Prague last March. Something that seems to be a tradition all over Europe. Something hot, something with some spices.........

Mulled Wine!

This was my first experience making the stuff, but I'd say it turned out pretty well. Check out this recipe for more information about it all.

Many thanks to Sommer for being my guinea pig and trying it.

Think using a computer as a means to quiet, introspective prayer is strange? The Irish Jesuits don't. Check out Sacred Space, a website that has daily prayers that you can pray while you're sitting at the computer. It's actually really cool.

On a seperate note, the Spicy BBQ wings from Wing's N More are just what they say-- spicy. Ouch. Also, Boondock Saints is not a very good movie. Why do so many people like it? Weird. That pretty much sums up my life last night. Wow.

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me
Nor do I really know myself,
And the fact that I think I am following your will
Does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
Does in fact please you.

And I hope that I will never do anything apart from that
desire.
And I know that if I do this,
You will lead me by the right road
Though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always.
Though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
And you will never leave me to face my struggles alone.

--Thomas Merton

I just finished reading this short little book called Does the Bible Justify Violence? While short, I think the author did a really good job of summing up what can be learned by invoking Scripture to justify any action, including (but not limited to) violence.

"The Bible does not demystify or demythologize itself. But neither does it claim that the stories it tells are paradigms for human actions in all times and places.... But historically people have appealed to the Bible precisely because of its presumed divine authority, which gives an aura of certitude to support--in the phrase of Hannah Arendt, 'God-like certainty that stops all discussion.' And here, I would suggest, is the most basic connection between the Bible and violence, more basic than any command or teaching it contains.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, the great American jurist, reflected late in his career that he had entered the Civil War brimming with certitude over the righteousness of abolition, which surely was a righteous cause. By the end of the war he had drawn a different lesson, that certitude leads to violence. The Bible has contributed to violence in the world precisely because it has been taken to confer a degree of certitude that transcends human discussion and argumentation. Perhaps the most constructive thing a biblical critic can do toward lessening the contribution of the Bible to violence in the world is to show that such certitude is an illusion."
(Does the Bible Justify Violence? by John J. Collins, pgs. 31-33)

I think the idea of violence legitimized by God is important, mainly because we live in a world where war is seeming to become commonplace. How do we, as people who claim to follow the example of Christ, respond to violence? That's a question that I can't really answer yet. I do think that we don't restle with this question near enough though, and too many times just take the route that seems easiest.

Oh God, make me someone who follows You in all aspects of my life, not just when it is convenient!

Control Room 

Last night found me wandering around Hastings... something that seems to happen quite often with me. After talking with my friend Erik for a while, I searched through the movies for something to rent. I ended up coming away with 2: Control Room and Maria Full of Grace. I watched Control Room last night, and it was amazing. I really do think every American should see this film, if for no other reason than to better understand how the Arab world sees us.

The movie focuses on the Arab news network Al Jazeera and it's coverage of the Iraq war. While I'm sure there is some bias involved, I felt like it did a good job of showcasing both the goods and bads of the war and the network's coverage of it. It is also did a great job of showing how our military sometimes "spins" things like it's media releases to the press. My mouth dropped open a couple of times after realizing some of the ways the events in Iraq were sold to us.

Check out some reviews for it here, and then rent it and let me know what you think.

I saw Mewithoutyou last night in Austin. It was a wonderful show. Aaron, their singer, get so into the performance, and that makes it really enjoyable. Other highlights: eating at Magnolia Cafe, seeing my old roommate Robert, hanging out with the current roommates, and seeing KC. I didn't take the picture below, but I just had to post something so everyone could truly see what they missed out on. There' s a live clip of them playing here, if you really want to experience it all.

God is good and He's constantly doing new things in my life. I love Him for everything He's working out through me. Life hasn't been so pleasant lately because of some things, but I know He still loves me, and sometimes that's all you need to know. If we could truly grasp the love of God our lives would be so different. We would experience life as it was meant to be lived, with no insecurities whatsoever. Wonderful.

.....on a side note..... Anybody have an idea why Emo's had the Passion of Christ playing on the TV behind the bar during the opening bands set? Weird.....

Mewithoutyou.... little else needs to be said. 

I just had a sort of umm... experience as I was driving to Coffee Station (from where I am typing this). I was driving down Texas Ave. here in College Station and I guess got caught up in thought. To be honest, I don't really remember what I was thinking about, but it must have been pretty important because when I woke up from la-la land I saw the red brake lights of the car in front of me. Immediately, I slammed on the brakes. Luckily, I saw it just in time and screeched into a stop before I hit the car. The guy behind me was paying attention more than I was (thankgoodness) and he swerved before he hit me as well. And so all was good, in a way.

But this whole incident provoked some interesting thoughts. Right after it happened I thought about how horrible it would have been if I had hit the car in front of me, and how I would probably not have a car after that because it would have been totalled and how awful that would be. As ridiculous as it now seems, my mind just kept drifting into more and more despair over this car incident. And then the thought hit me... If I get this saddened and upset over a car incident that didn't even happen, where am I actually putting my hope?

Jesus, I want my hope to be in You. When bad things happen, or seem like they are going to happen, I don't want to freak out and go into despair imagining the worst case scenario. I want to hope in You, and not be shaken by stupid little life things that sometimes we can't even do anything about. You are so good, and I seem to forget this daily.