The Movie that Spawned a Sub-Culture

This Friday is the 30th Anniversary of the greatest Star Wars movie of all time.  The Empire Strikes Back has been a fan favorite since it first opened in theaters in 1980.  I was only 7 months old at the time.  Its really crazy when I think about it.  How can someone become a fan of a movie that came out when they were that age and remain so into their thirties?

In 1984 my brother and I recieved Star Wars figures for Christmas.  He had a Gomorrean Guard and I had Lando Calrissian.  I was five at the time.  When I was seven we had The Empire Strikes Back curtains in our room.  I can still see them.  The images invoked adventure, and I loved to look at the different characters.  I became obsessed with Star Wars in the 1990s, when Lucas released the trilogy box set as well as new figures.  I soon had a room that was full of unopened figures.

I spent the night outside the theater for episode 1 and was so disappointed that I  sold almost all of my Star Wars items.  I did manage keep all of the vintage figures.  Episode 2 and 3 were great and somewhere between them and the Clone Wars cartoons, I actually began to like Episode 1.  A great deal of that is probably because of my children (Luke and Leia).

It all really began and hinged on The Empire Strikes Back.  If it had not been for Empire succeeding as a sequel, Star Wars would have only been a great special effects advancement.  It would not have the following or pop culture mainstay that it currently enjoys.  Empire gave us three new worlds, the realization of Vader as Luke's father, and no clear resolution with the freezing of Han Solo.  It also gave us the characters of Yoda, Boba Fett, and Lando Calrissian.  It was as near to perfect as a movie can get.  Empire had it all, action, drama, romance, and comedy.

My family will be going to Celebration V this summer for the 30th anniversary convention.  I cannot wait.  Star Wars fans form a close knit tribe.  I can meet a fan for the first time and we instantly have a common bond.  Sometimes I wish Christians were more like Star Wars fans.  I should be able to go into any church or meet any believer and feel totally welcome and linked in a spiritual way.  This is not always the case.  It is truly sad because what unites followers of Christ is real and powerful.  We could learn a lot from the fictional world of George Lucas and the community it has created.

My Prayer for America

Almighty God, I want to thank you for allowing me to live in a country where we have the right and privilege to seek you through prayer.  Please watch and guide all of the true believers who live in countries where worship of you is forbidden.  I admire their courage and ask for strength to approach you boldly if my country should ever adopt similar laws and attitudes.

Father, I ask that you would bless and guide our President, his family, and staff.  Surround him with people that will speak truth.  Help him to do what is best for our nation.  Please remind me of my duty to not only pray for my leaders on a daily basis, but to respect them as appointed by you to administer justice.

Lord, I lift up our congress to you and ask that you would give them wisdom.  Let those politicians that know you, be a light in the halls of the Capital building and to the states and districts that they represent.  Let our laws strengthen our land.  Help me to obey our laws to the extent that they do not contradict your Holy Law.

I pray for our Supreme Court as well as the judges on the lower courts.  I know that you are the Supreme Judge and will ultimately stand in judgment over every decision that they have rendered.  Please forgive our land for following the ruling that has caused the slaughter of innocent unborn children.  They were knit together in your image, yet regarded as inconvenient.  O God, forgive us.  Lord, I ask that you would call Christians to love the families and mothers affected by a decision to silence a preborn child.  Help them to find hope and forgiveness in your one and only son Jesus Christ.

God, please send your angels to protect and keep watch over our soldiers oversees.  I may not always agree with our methods, but I pray that you would grant safety nonetheless.  I pray that we would bring those who would mean us harm to justice, minimize civilian casualties, and bring an end to the fighting.

Thank you for your gift of marriage.  Forgive us where we have failed you in bringing your lifelong institution to a premature end through divorce.  I pray that your light would be seen through believers to alter the course of marriages through the transforming of our lives by your son.  God, we discuss whether the state can marry same sex couples, and many Christians are angry.  Turn our anger into compassion for those who are far from you.  Reach them with our love, that they may no longer be conformed to the pattern of this world.

Call Christians out of a partisan and denominational mindset.  I ask that we would vote our conscience rather than falling in line with what a political party tells us to believe.  Help us to see that those who trust in you are first and foremost followers of Jesus and not Methodist, Lutheran, Baptist, or any other denomination.  Thank you for the work you have done through these churches, but forgive our division. Make us ONE!

God, help our nation's Christian parents to take seriously our responsibility to raise our children to honor you.  May we no longer rely on the church to do our job.  Let us make them a priority in our families second only to our marriages.

Lord, thank you for the millions that you have called to prayer this day, and I thank you for hearing us.  Thank you for your unending love, your holiness, and your forgiveness that cleanses from all sin.  Thank you for your grace and mercy that never ends.  Thank you for the right we receive through Jesus to be called your children.  I love you.  Thank you for listening to my prayer that I pray all these things in the name of the risen son of God who is Jesus Christ my Lord and my Redeemer.  Amen.

Confessions of a Sodaholic

I have had a passionate love affair with soda for years.  When I worked in construction I enjoyed close to 5 liters of Mountain Dew a day.  I have cut back drastically since then and at times (health kicks) I have even stopped completely.  These time I am usually tired and plagued by headaches that drive me back to the sugary substance.

When my readers chose healthy eating as their subject of discussion I decided to do 2 blogs.  The first "What Would Jesus Eat", looked at eating from an almost spiritual perspective.  This allowed me to not only to study the Bible, but also the newest scientific data on healthy eating.  I was almost surprised to see that  red meat and sodas were on the same playing field at the top of the food pyramid.  I decided to quit drinking sodas for one week and inadvertently I also took a hiatus from red meat as well.

What is wrong with sodas?  Where do I begin?  Well, there is nothing wrong with their taste.  They are delicious beyond compare.  The problem lies with how they get that way.  The fizzy goodness of carbonation robs the blood of the oxygen needed to perform any strenuous task.  The sugar content provided by high fructose corn syrup is almost unrecognizable to our digestive system and stored mainly as fat.  The sodium  content guarantees that we will stay thirsty for more.  The caffeine included is essentially an addictive drug, the likes of which have americans lined up at Starbucks every morning.  Some sodas also contain phosphoric acid.  This is the same acid used by dentists to remove tooth enamel before drilling.

The sad thing is I have known all of this for a long time.  It is you the reader who has compelled me to step back and take a second look.  I chose to take one week to test the waters of soda free living.  I decided to chronicle my journey.  Below is a journal of my soda (and red meat) free week.

Sunday:  Today I had a small cup of coffee and two Advil to relieve the headaches that I was getting.  I drank 2 liters of water within 2 hours time.  Why doesn't water relieve my thirst?  My body must be craving the sugar.  I am beginning to doubt that I can do this.

Monday:  No soda and less headaches, only one Advil today.  The downside of today was that I had 5 doughnuts.  I think that my body is craving the sugar it is used to getting.  I couldn't stay awake past 11:30pm (I am normally up until around 1:00am).

Tuesday:  No headaches today!  I cut out the sweets but I feel famished.  I can't seem to eat enough to make up for the calories I'm used to.  I had 3 and a half sandwiches  for lunch (usually 1).

Wednesday:  I am starting to look at food differently.  I ask why I want something and whether I should eat it.  I went to a steakhouse today and had fish, a sweet potato and water.  I didn't even want a steak.

Thursday:  I still find myself avoiding junk food.  I usually eat chips or a frozen pizza at night.  I have been eating almonds or fruit with water all week so far.  I still cannot seem to stay awake at night.

Friday:  My energy level was up today and I am loving the water. I can't wait to have a soda on Sunday! We went to CiCi's and I had two salads with olive oil (what's wrong with me?).

Saturday:  Plain yogurt and blueberries for breakfast, went to the park, and stopped by Krispy Kreme in Salibury.  Hey, it was "HOT NOW" so don't judge me!  I am feeling great, and I honestly do not know if I even want a soda tomorrow.

What Would Jesus Eat?

What Would Jesus Eat?  To answer this question we must look to the Bible.  Jesus is only recorded eating a few times, but we know that being Jewish and perfect he would have followed the dietary laws of the Old Testament.  Jesus did not follow all of the rules that the pharisees had tacked on to the laws, but rather he followed the law with a desire to honor God.  Let me be clear before I begin, by saying that we are not compelled to follow these laws.  These laws were to set the jewish nation apart from the world.  Their very diet helped identify them as the people of God.  We can however learn from seeing God's protective shepherding of his people in this area.


Were these just random rules set by God, or were they healthy eating concepts that were way ahead of their time?  I believe they were the latter.  Jesus would have eaten whole grains at nearly every meal and since olives were native to Israel they would have plenty of healthy fats.  Fish were the most readily available meat source in Jesus' time and he is recorded fishing, cooking, eating and giving fish to others.  


Red meat was seldom eaten and Jesus may have had it once or twice a month.  It could also hardly be called red meat because they would only prepare it well done (no blood).  This is backwards to most people in our culture.  We eat red meat daily and fish once or twice a month.  Whole grains are seldom eaten in favor of white bread, white rice, and flour.  This poison was not even available in Jesus' time nor would it have been allowed.  Pork was off limits completely.  


The fish eaten by the Jewish people did not include catfish, shellfish, or mollusks such as crabs and lobster.  It was pretty much a given that if an animal were a bottom feeder (catfish), water filter (shellfish), or a scavenger (mollusks) they were forbidden.  It is amazing how true to science the Hebrew laws were.


All fruits and vegetables were permitted by God except grape products prepared by non Jews.  This was probably because the alcohol content would have been higher.  Let us also remember that wine today is different than Biblical wine.  Wine was permissible, but had only a mild amount of alcohol in it.   "Strong drink" (which was forbidden) in Biblical times was 3-11% alcohol.  Today, distillation increases alcohol content.  This method was not discovered until A.D. 1500. Modern wine has 9-11% alcohol.  In Jesus' time no Jewish person was drinking this amount of alcohol.  


What about snacks and drinks?  Jesus would have had fruits, grains or other healthy snacks.  We know this because he is recorded in Mark 11 as being hungry and going to a fig tree in search of a snack.  Another time his disciples chow down on grain in a field.  Jesus also enjoyed a honeycomb.  These were rare treats in those days but still more natural than the refined processed sugars of today.  It may be interesting to note that the only time he is recorded eating honeycomb is in his glorified body, but I think he probably had some before.  When it comes to drinks he is recorded as having wine and telling others to give water to people in need.  Jesus may have also had milk, but this was considered more of a luxury like honey.


How does this diet match up with the latest food pyramid based on scientific research?  Well, there are two variations.  Harvard has done one that has exercise as its base.  This is right up Jesus' alley since he did manual labor (carpenter), and walked everywhere.  The other more widely accepted pyramid begins with whole grains.  This just happens to be the most regularly eaten food of Jesus' time.  Produce, vegetable oils, and fish and poultry are the next steps of the pyramid.  The top contains sugary foods and red meat because we should only have them every now and then, and pork, shellfish, and mollusks don't even make the list.  


The food pyramid continually changes from decade to decade.  The newest one is based on our cunning 21st century scientific knowhow.  It is strikingly similar to how Jesus ate 2,000 years ago and God's people for 1,500 years before that.  All we had to do was read the Bible.  This timeless book continues to speak truth even in these postmodern times.  Jesus' diet may not be required for today, but it sure could not hurt.  Let's not forget Jesus' most important lesson on food--"It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"  There is always a need for healthy eating, but only God can make us truly whole.


If you enjoyed this post you might like this:
Confessions of a Sodaholic

Obama Canceling the Day of Prayer is a Hoax!

I have seen a lot of postings about
the National Day of Prayer that are
simply not true.  Most of them are
saying that President Obama has
canceled it to appease atheists.
Please research actual news
before posting or forwarding this
garbage!

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb
of Wisconsin ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional on
Thursday.  President Obama's administration had two things to say.
First they disagreed, stating that the statute simply acknowledges the
role of religion in the United States.  Secondly, a spokesman for the
President named Matt Lehrich e-mailed The Associated Press saying,
"As he did last year, President Obama intends to recognize a National
Day of Prayer."  

Once again I will remind my readers that we must PRAY for our
President and not be so quick to judge.  It took me less than 1 minute
to find the truth after reading a "repost".  I highly recommend Google
News as opposed to just plain Google.

Actual AP News Report: The Truth

President Obama on the Resurrection of Jesus

I have no formal opinion about the transcript from the White House Easter Prayer Breakfast.  It speaks for itself.  I cannot judge one's heart, but I hope that these words are felt deeply, and not crafted by a speech writer. 

One of our roles in government is to pray for our leaders.  I recently bought the bobble head doll pictured above.  It is my hope that this doll be a reminder to me of my obligation to pray for our president.  I can only hope that the words spoken by our President at the prayer breakfast are fueled by the prayers of you and I.  If you are not praying for President Obama then now is the time to start.

I have left off the beginning greeting as it does not pertain to his Easter address. 

This is the speech verbatim:

One of my hopes upon taking this office was to make the White House a place where all people would feel welcome. To that end, we held a Seder here to mark the first Passover. We held an Iftar here with Muslim Americans to break the daily fast during Ramadan. And today, I’m particularly blessed to welcome you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, for this Easter breakfast.



With us are Christian leaders from all across America, men and women who lead small-town churches and big-city congregations, and major organizations in service of others; folks whose sermons are heard and whose examples are followed by millions all across the country. So I wanted to join you for a brief moment today to continue the Easter celebration of our risen Savior, and to reflect on the work to which His promise calls all of us.


I can’t tell any of you anything about Easter that you don’t already know. (Laughter.) I can’t shed light on centuries of scriptural interpretation or bring any new understandings to those of you who reflect on Easter’s meaning each and every year and each and every day. But what I can do is tell you what draws me to this holy day and what lesson I take from Christ’s sacrifice and what inspires me about the story of the resurrection.


For even after the passage of 2,000 years, we can still picture the moment in our mind’s eye. The young man from Nazareth marched through Jerusalem; object of scorn and derision and abuse and torture by an empire. The agony of crucifixion amid the cries of thieves. The discovery, just three days later, that would forever alter our world -- that the Son of Man was not to be found in His tomb and that Jesus Christ had risen.


We are awed by the grace He showed even to those who would have killed Him. We are thankful for the sacrifice He gave for the sins of humanity. And we glory in the promise of redemption in the resurrection.


And such a promise is one of life’s great blessings, because, as I am continually learning, we are, each of us, imperfect. Each of us errs -- by accident or by design. Each of us falls short of how we ought to live. And selfishness and pride are vices that afflict us all.


It’s not easy to purge these afflictions, to achieve redemption. But as Christians, we believe that redemption can be delivered -- by faith in Jesus Christ. And the possibility of redemption can make straight the crookedness of a character; make whole the incompleteness of a soul. Redemption makes life, however fleeting here on Earth, resound with eternal hope.


Of all the stories passed down through the gospels, this one in particular speaks to me during this season. And I think of hanging -- watching Christ hang from the cross, enduring the final seconds of His passion. He summoned what remained of His strength to utter a few last words before He breathed His last breath.


“Father,” He said, “into your hands I commit my spirit.” Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. These words were spoken by our Lord and Savior, but they can just as truly be spoken by every one of us here today. Their meaning can just as truly be lived out by all of God’s children.
So, on this day, let us commit our spirit to the pursuit of a life that is true, to act justly and to love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord. And when we falter, as we will, let redemption -- through commitment and through perseverance and through faith -- be our abiding hope and fervent prayer.

Many of you are living out that commitment every day.

The full speech is available at: Easter Prayer Breakfast

How to Train Your Dragon--Review with No Spoilers!

I saw How to Train Your Dragon today with some teens from my youth group.  We all agreed that it was the best movie that DreamWorks has put out.  Dragon is definitely on par with anything that Pixar has done except maybe Toy Story.  I have seen a whole lot of "fluff" animated movies recently.  I even enjoyed some of them (i.e. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Astro Boy, and Monsters Versus Aliens).  These movies are entertaining but will never be classics.

Dragon appeals to the "boy and his dog" that makes any pet story popular.  The only difference is that this is a comedy, action, and coming of age masterpiece.  I am being careful not to spoil the story, because everyone should see this family friendly fun ride.  The 3D is worth the price, but I am sure that 2D would be fine because the movie is driven by the story and not the effects.  This is more than I can say for the last 3D movie I saw.  Clash of the Titans was a special effects circus gone wrong with a weak story, acting, and 3D that seemed more like 2&1/2D.  Well, enough about Titans, Dragon is a must see!  It is the best animated picture since Up and the best movie of 2010 so far period.

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.

The Health Care Fiasco

Well, I am finally going to weigh in on the Health Care bill.  I am very much in favor of obeying the powers that be, unless they ask me to do something that violates God's standards.  With that being said I am appalled to have any of my taxes going to support any abortions (even in the cases of rape and incest).  Sadly, this is just one of the problems I have with the bill.

This is the first time that the federal government has EVER forced the American people to buy ANYTHING!  Even car insurance only affects those who drive automobiles.  This bill affects everyone.  We must buy health insurance under penalty of law.  Fortunately, over thirteen states so far are suing to show that the commerce clause of the constitution does not permit this type of mandate.

I have also been watching MSNBCs ultra-biased coverage of the threats that are being made against democratic congressional members and the rocks thrown through windows of DNC offices nationwide.  Ok, aren't there cameras outside of the these offices, and can't we tap phones? Why are we are recording calls but not tracing calls?  There is no footage of any of the rocks or bricks?  No arrests have been made and any threats actually claiming that they will kill a congressman have no recordings.  It is just them saying that it happened.  Now does all of this mean that it is being faked to demonize the right wingers of this country?  No, not necessarily, but I do have to ask myself who stands to gain ground in the eyes of Americans when this is a top story on every network.

If these acts are really being perpetrated by so called "conservatives"  then my response is to say, "Why"?  Why terrorize families and democratic congressmen for expressing their beliefs and voting their conscious?  We will not always agree and sometimes there is a price for stupidity.  There is not a reason to insight violence or revolution over a healthcare bill that may see its downfall in the states.  We should be calling our state Attorney Generals and asking them to file suit along with the rising number of states coming to their senses.  Let's take the high road in realizing that the U.S. Constitution is on the side of the States and their people.

Discussions on Christianity- Part 7 of 7

Here is the final blog in our 7 video discussions on Christianity.  This video talks about spending time with God.  We should all as believers seek to walk in the light.  Can this be a hard thing to do?  Why is it often difficult?

Discussions on Christianity- Part 6 of 7

Today's discussion is on distractions.  What is distracting you from your purpose?  Are you to distracted to even know what that purpose is?  Watch this brief video and leave a comment letting me know what you are thinking when it comes to distractions.