Honey, I Shrunk the Car!

I only remember going trick or treating once as a small child. The rest of my childhood was spent hiding in the dark on Halloween with sheets over the windows so that children would not know we were home. We would take our stand against the evils of Halloween in the silence of the family room.

Several years later we begin going to a kids carnival put on by our church. Unbeknownst to my family, I was slowly developing a deep appreciation for Halloween. It wasn't necessarily the candy or scariness as much as fun of dressing up.

I grew up reading comics and the thought of becoming a different character still excites me. If it were socially acceptable I would where a cape every day.

Now that I have kids Halloween has become one of my favorite times of year. Yes, I know the origins, but I do not care. If it was once meant for evil, I definitely mean it for good.

The annual Trunk or Treat for our church is coming up and I am preparing a shrink ray for "Honey I Shrunk the Car". We will be scientists (except my wife who will decked out in curlers as my wife) There is something about getting into character as someone else that is awesome fun for my whole family.

I am not done with the ray yet, but here is a pic of it so far:

Is Reese's Taking Over The Chocolate Market?

Reese's is owned by Hershey's Chocolate, but it is pretty apparent that they are slowly offering a peanut butter alternative to every major chocolate candy on the market.  They already have an actual brand of peanut butter, a cereal, and Ice cream toppings, but lets examine the actual candy.


The following are the chocolate based candies with their Reese's alternatives:

Mallo Cup--Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
M&Ms-- Reese's Pieces
Twix--Reese's Sticks (Which oddly rhymes)
ButterFinger--Reese's Crispy Crunchy
Snickers--Reese's Nutrageous  
Milky Way--Reese's Fastbreak
3 Musketeers--Reese's Whipps

There is even a Pringles adaption--Reese's Swoops

See what I mean?  All of the candy bars that they are copying are from other companies such as Mars.  Am I angry?  No.  I actually love Reese's Cups and Reese's Pieces, but the other ones fall short in comparison (and I have tried them all).  They are still good but not as good as the "cups" and "pieces".  My absolute favorite Reese's product is not even listed on their website.  Reese's Snack Barz is like a Rice Crispy Treat topped with peanut butter and a bottom layer of chocolate.  It is extremely satisfying and only sold at a few convenience stores in my town.  It is not even found at Walmart.  You should definitely try a Snack Barz.  So, what do you think?  Are you a Reese's fan?  What candy bar should they hijack next?

Unsolved Mysteries of Easter

Well, Easter is tomorrow and I for one am excited.  I am anxious to see my children's faces as they rummage through their basket of goodies.  I'm looking forward to playing Lego Indiana Jones for the Wii with my son Luke.  (Is it really fair that I secretly hide a gift for myself in his basket even if it was on sale for $10?)  However, I am most excited to be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus and the salvation he brought to an undeserving populace that includes myself.

I was reading the final week of Christ this week in the Gospel of Mark and I noticed a couple of characters that I usually overlook.  People that I would love to interview in a church setting, newsroom, or my front porch (I'm not picky).  The first are the casual observers of the grand theft donkey that the disciples pull off without a scratch.  Get this, Jesus tells them where a donkey will be hitched.  Then he tells them to take it.  If anyone tries to stop them they are to say that the master needs it and will bring it back shortly.  Wow!  They are going to treat someone's animal like a library book.

So, the first thing I notice is that the donkey is not in a stable.  Why is this important?  Well, if it hitched out front someone is still using it.  When the disciples untie the animal there is a group of people who ask them what they are doing.  They respond with the answer Jesus said to give and they actually go for it.  Now I know God is omniscient and knew that this answer would suffice, but why?  What reason do these people have for letting this happen?  I want to know!  That would be a fun interview.

Then a couple of chapters later the disciples are to walk through town until they see a man carrying a water pot.  They are told to follow him to whatever house he goes to and ask for the owner.  That specific guy would have an upper room furnished and ready for a passover feast.  They were to tell him that the teacher wants it for him and his disciples.  He was fine with that.

First off why was the feast prepared?  Did Jesus know that somewhere a party had canceled and it would be open.  Why did this man let them come for free?  They did not even say that the teacher was Jesus.  It is also a good thing that they saw the right man with a water pot (although not many men carried water pots as it was looked on as a woman's job).  Well, God is sovereign.  I know he knew what the people of both situations would say.  All I am wondering is why they would say it?

You have either never thought about this, noticed it before, or lose sleep each night in a deep quandary of thoughts and questions.  All I'm saying is that the final week of Jesus' life holds a lot to be explored.  Have a blessed Easter!  I hope you grow closer to Christ or discover him for the first time during this season.  Regrettably, I do not have time to write about why the Cadbury Bunny lays eggs.