Author: Robert

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rest easy

i know that some of you have been worried about my standing in our student ministry march madness bracket competition (wow that’s a mouthful). you’ve probably been having sleepless nights and anxiety attacks over the fact that i was second from the last. free not my friends. i have slowly started my climb back to the top. i’m presently ranked 6th out of 9 participants (an improvement of two spots) and my outlook is looking good. i feel a rally coming.

for those who are curious here are the present ranks (the ranks are below the white space – which i don’t understand why it is there i must have coded something wrong but i can’t figure it out. if you figure it out please email me or comment and tell me what to fix because it really bugs me. otherwise you can just use the white space to doodle on. go ahead. pick up a sharpie and draw something in the white space. do it right now.):

name score correct best score best correct
eddie hirst 212 34 247 36
stephen miller 206 35 220 36
sam jones 202 34 237 36
stephen ware 202 33 237 35
steven sparks 200 35 249 38
me 199 34 248 37
kevin lee 189 34 189 34
alan lusk 170 31 219 34
blake wallace 168 31 168 31
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disciplenow videos

this blog began as some ramblings concerning my entry into the world of using homemade videos within the student ministry. it is with that in mind that i am amazed that i forgot to post the videos we made for the discipleNOW we held earlier this month. so here they are, albeit a little belated.

you’ll need realplayer to view the videos.

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the simpsons

i’m presently watching the simpsons episode “a street car named marge” and it displays why the simpsons are the greatest. the episode is a musical remake of a street car named desire. while this is going on there is another theme of maggie acting out rendition of “the great escape” within a childcare nursery. i mean really how great is that.

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easter service

easter always feels me with awe and frustrated. i feel awe because of what happened on easter sunday and i feel frustrated because of how little i live out what actually happened on that day. this morning caused even more of that than usual. for our youth sunday school i took the teens over to the mausoleum in resthaven cemetery (it’s next door to the church). within our group of students who were wandering around the cemetery there were two kids who made me wonder about what easter meant to them. one of the student’s mother was killed by derrick todd lee (the serial killer terrorized baton rouge a few years ago) and another student’s mother killed herself about a year ago. only the miracle of our easter faith can bring hope in situations like these.

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easter morning #2

    i find that holy week is draining. no matter how many times i have lived through HIS crucifixion, my anxiety about HIS resurrection is undiminished. i’m terrified that this year it won’t happen; that that year it didn’t. anyone can be sentimental about the nativity. any fool can feel like a CHRISTian at CHRISTmas, but easter is the main event. if you don’t believe in the resurrection, you’re not a believer

john irving, a prayer for owen meany � 1989, ballantine books, new york, ny. pp. 250-251

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movie report

it’s a holiday weekend and therefore my family and i have indulged in the consumption of movies. here are my thoughts on what we have watched:

  • wednesday i watched “braveheart” for the umpteenth time and as usual it was great. i can’t believe that the yahoo summary of the critics’ reviews is only a “b+“.
  • thursday the boys and i watched “the incredibles” and i have said earlier in the blog it was great. the yahoo summary of the critics’ reviews is an “a-” which i definitely agree with (though i can’t believe it rated higher than “braveheart”).
  • friday the boys and i watched “robots“. i thought it was great. yahoo’s summary of the critic’s opinion is a “b+” and i would basically agree with that. it was well worth going to see and we’ll buy it when it comes out on dvd. “robots” has some very good themes in it such as following your dreams even when it cost you, discrimination, and an underlying possible discussion of plastic surgery (“why be you when you can be new”). then when you add robin williams to the mix it just gets better and better. if you were worried that you would just see “the genie” everytime you heard robin williams in the movie i think i can rest that fear. i didn’t think it was the same character at all.
  • pam and i watched “the forgotten” last night and it was stupid. based on its trailer i had high hopes for the movie. it did not live up to those hopes. yahoo’s summary of the critic’s reviews is a “c+“. i think it was probably more like a “c” at best.
  • tonight pam and i are going to watch “cellular“. i hope it’s good because i need something to was the bad aftertaste of “the forgotten” out of my head. i’ll post my thoughts on the movie later.
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bowling

today the family and i went bowling with baaji & sam our two adopted indian college students. who knew that the bowling alley on a saturday afternoon was the place to meet people? i saw four or five people that i knew. pam and i really enjoy spending time with baaji and sam – they’re basically cool people.

speaking of our indian friends i thought i would bring up a new agency that i personally think is worthy of support. dalit is the indian word for the “untouchables” of india. the word itself means “broken ones” and it is a classification that the dalits have given to themselves. they represent approximately 16% of the population of india. they are the lowest of the low and are treated as such. the dalit freedom network is an organization that is working to improve the lives of the dalit and insure them the same opportunities that everyone else within indian society has. you can read more about the dalit and the dalit freedom network by clicking here.

SIDE NOTE – pam is howling once again. as i’ve said before – my wife is psychotic.

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gmail

like everyone else in the world of gmail i have tons of “invites” left. so if you have been wanting to move up to the world of “gmail” then just email me at my gmail address or post a comment and i’ll send you one.

i’m presently watching my kids play halo 2. noah just picked up a “plasma rifle” and adam asked how he got it. noah’s response was “you have to kill somebody to get there go. it’s fun”. the n.r.a. would be proud. i however was a little disturbed, not disturbed enough to make them quite playing the game, but a little disturbed nonetheless. i think i’ll watch noah a little more closely.

SIDE NOTE – pam is howling again. my wife is psychotic.