Star Wars Character Quiz

You scored as Obi-Wan Kenobi. One of the last jedi knights. People find you to be a bit aloof, but you know you travel the honorable path and that is all that matters. Now if only you could get your padawans to listen to you. Obi-Wan Kenobi 81% Leia Organa 75% Padme Amidala 75% Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader 69% Han Solo 63% Luke Skywalker 56% Yoda 50% Palpatine 50% Boba Fett 44% Darth Maul 44% Which Star Wars character would you be? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

Celebrate the Bard

Today is Shakespeare's birthday. YEA!!!

Are you Scary?

You Are Not Scary

Everyone loves you. Isn't that sweet?

How Scary Are You?

Cat or Dog?

You Are: 90% Dog, 10% Cat

You're a dog at heart - and it's not a bad thing at all! You love unconditionally, and you're extremely loyal. And while you may act silly at times, you're really quite smart - and a good learner!

Are You More Cat or Dog?

Tragedy

Officially the worst single shooter massacre in American history occurred today at Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, VA. My prayers to the victims and their families.

Post and Times coverage.

Breaking the Color Line

Jackie Robinson is often credited as the first man to break the color line in professional baseball.

On Sunday, April 15, 2007, the Pirates, the Dodgers, and the Cardinals entire rosters will be wearing the number 42 in honor of the 60th anniversary of Robinson's MLB debut. That's just awesome.

Easter Reflections

So, this past weekend, I experienced Easter in a whole new way. Some of the things in this post are hard, but I'm not saying them in search of pity, I only say them to explain the mindset that enabled me to appreciate a whole new side of Easter; the disciples' viewpoint.

Let me start with some background. Wednesday afternoon I received a phone call from my Mom telling me that my great-uncle had died. His funeral was Thursday morning, so there was no way I could get home for it. Good Friday took on new meaning as I reflected upon the death of Christ. Saturday, I helped with the NCC Easter Eggstravaganza and went home depleted emotionally.

This mindset is what took me into Saturday evening. As I sat in my room early Saturday evening getting ready to go to a baptism service, I picked up my Bible and turned to Habakkuk chapter 3. I often turn to this chapter when my heart is breaking for its encouragement and beautiful poetry. Saturday, it provided the final blow, and as tears started to fill my eyes and I closed my Bible and simply wept. Grabbing my teddy bear from the floor where he had fallen, I held him tightly and soon began thinking about why I was weeping. I was mourning my uncle, that was clear. I was pitying myself because I was sitting alone when all I wanted was a friend and my family. I was weeping because for the first time in ten years, I had no plans to sing at a church for Easter, not for lack of invites but due to wanting to be at my own church. And soon, I was reflecting upon the irony of mourning when others were celebrating the good news of Easter.

See, we often hit Good Friday and reflect upon Christ’s death but it’s always with the rose colored glasses shouting, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming.” The truth is I knew that, as did the disciples who Christ told that they would see Him again. The difference is the experience. The disciples weren’t saying it’s hard today but He’ll be alive again on Sunday. Although Christ had told them that they would see Him again and he had explained that he would be raised to live on the third day; He had also mentioned that He was going to prepare a place for them in His father’s house. They knew he was the son of God, so his father’s house meant heaven. They may have thought that they wouldn’t see Christ again until heaven. Even if they knew that they would physically see Him again on Earth, they were mourning. Their Lord and friend was dead. Some had denied Him in His final hours. Others stayed and watched Him stand in the face of false accusations, face insults and lies, suffer torture, and finally, agonizingly die.

John specifically came to mind. I identified with him as He stood at the cross caring for Mary. I felt the strength that John must have needed to care for Mary and to watch his friend die; a strength that doesn’t come from yourself, but rather can only come as love flowing through you despite yourself. I imagined John’s heart and eyes flooding with grief. I pictured him slowly walking with the aged Mary, helping to guide her footsteps down the hill at Golgotha, lending his shoulder while she cried, and wondering to himself to whom would he turn as she and others turned to him. I could almost hear him asking, “Why now? I miss Him already. Who will teach us? Who will teach me? What will I do without Him?”

To think about the passion of Christ in death is humbling. To consider His death was the only sacrifice for erasing sin, overwhelming To think that He died for me is truly and heartbreakingly awesome. Still, this is only thinking. This is not watching, wondering if you had been a better person would he have lived; if you hadn’t denied Him would He not have been killed; if you had spoken would the lies have been disproved. It is not watching someone you have learned to love, cherish, and hold above all else, perish. For while we each came to know an already risen Christ, the disciples knew and loved a living, human Christ who died and then rose. They loved the man before they loved His deity. We can reflect upon Christ suffering and how sad it may have been, but we cannot know the pain of losing a Lord, brother, son, confidant, teacher, and friend all at once. We’ll never lose Christ, whereas they did for two days.

The Jewish literary tradition explains eternal suffering as dictated by the distance you are from God for eternity. In other words, the disciples experienced hell, in the truest sense for two days as they were completely separated, physically and spiritually, from Christ, something that we never have to experience unless for some reason we choose it. In the midst of celebrating the angel of death passing over their ancestors, the disciples faced God himself dying before them.

We don’t like to talk about pain or about God’s justice; rather, we like to focus on the hope and love that comes from Christ. This year, I experienced Easter in light of pain and better understand that justice and mercy can coexist; that it is too easy to look to Sunday on Friday without appreciating the torment in between; and, that without suffering and justice, hope and mercy are meaningless. In my mourning, I turned to Christ while alone in my room, but the disciples had lost Christ for a while. The hope I seek, they did not yet have available. And that makes Easter morning, the stone rolling away, all the more precious to me.

Good Friday

A day to consider that one man voluntarily faced an excruciatingly painful and gruesome death to save others. We don't cringe over Memorial Day or Veteran's Day, why should we cringe over this? Maybe, because it personally affects us. It was because of us that this man died. He died because we sent him there with our actions just as those who had come before us have. It was no political death, no government or similar authority sent him to die. God made sure that we knew about this through the illustration of Pontius Pilate literally washing the guilt and responsibility of Christ death from his hands. This is from where the figurative washing hands of something comes. But while Pilate as an authority washed his hands of the death, as man he faced the same decision as the rest of us. Do we accept that this one, blameless man and His voluntary sacrifice like one thief? Or, do we mock Him and deny that He died for us under the false, boastful guise of intellectual or moral superiority?

It's about time...

So running low on lyric submissions and busy out of my mind the past month or so, I have not posted a real, honest to goodness written post for quite a while. To make up for this, I've decided to share some thoughts on life in general.

Life goes on and so must I.

There is always time for a cup coffee (tea, whatever) with a friend.

Life isn't fair.

When life gives you lemons, thank it graciously for the lemonade, or when appropriate, throw them back.

Life is a highway, and I'm gonna ride it all night long...
(yes, I know it's a song lyric, bonus points if you can name both the one hit wonder and the current group that have re-popularized the song)

If God is good and God is life; then life is good.

Life is measured by how you live your dash. (cliche but accurate)

I have no regrets, for as my Pappy used to say, "The man who never made a mistake, never did anything." Christ excepted as he was considered God, not man, in this context. Beyond that, Christ never sinned but who's to say that he didn't hit his thumb with a hammer at least once while helping Joseph or trip over at least one rock as a child. Maybe he didn't being God incarnate and all, but it does make me wonder. Anyone have thoughts on that?

As Dolly Parton said, "You can't have rainbows without the rain." And no, we are not including clinically produced rainbows using prisms, only the natural ones arcing across the sky, though this does make me wonder and proves the awesomeness of God. After all, he placed a rainbow in the sky as a promise to Noah that he would never flood the entire earth again to destroy it. The Bible doesn't mention it raining at that particular juncture. It may have been, though I like to think that after 40 days and nights of rain and the time spent on the ark surrounded by water, God was merciful and it wasn't raining at that covenant's proclamation. On the other hand, being trapped on an ark with all those animals for that long, maybe sending rain was the merciful thing so that Noah and his family could have a shower, the stench must have been awful. Maybe I'll have to add that to my gazillion and one things to ask when we get to heaven, was it or was it not raining?

YEA, I deserve to be here...

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?