charlieDEAN’S Blog

If you like Donald Miller, check out this vodcast from Catalyst 2006.  (Actually, even if you don’t like DM…check out this vodcast.)

I highly recommend Guiness’ book for anyone that wants to think seriously about evil in our world today.  This quotation jumped out at me because it really struck a chord with something I’ve been feeling about the violence that seems to be imbedded in the American psyche — going back to the founding of the nation, to the current time.  Are we perhaps the most violent civilization the world has ever seen? 

“Abu Ghraib was a warning sign that, if not heeded, will not be the end of the story.  The fatal combination of factors — America’s securing dominance through her own power, America’s always seeing her cause as virtuous because it is in the name of freedom, and America’s insistence that her citizens are above and beyond international review — can lead only to the arrogance that befalls all dominant powers, and then to further cruelty and evil, which is the outcome of such hypocrisy.”

Os Guinness, Unspeakable, p. 163

Yesterday was a busy day. I gave the announcements for both of our morning services, then rushed home, fixed lunch for the family, mowed the yard (in my case a 1 and a 1/2 hr. process), raced to a softball scrimmage, came home and helped Jennifer cut the boys’ hair, made dinner for everyone, took Caleb to t-ball practice, then finally collapsed on my bed and watched the SNL in the 90’s special on TV.

Anyway, I was driving home from softball thinking about mowing the yard, t-ball, softball, the Derby party I briefly went to on Saturday at Kevin & Summer’s, and I was thinking about how satisfying the rhythms of life are. It seems the older I get, the more satisfaction I derive from the changing of seasons, traditions and the like. I’m not sure if it’s a function of age or what, I’m just saying…it satisfies me.

What do you think of this?  (Read the comments…some of them are pretty funny!) 

Over at Church Marketing Sucks, they report that there’s going to be a debate with these guys and two atheists.  To me, it feels like a joke…do they really believe that presenting a logical argument for 13 minutes will erase all doubt, bad experiences, questions, etc.? 

I’m skeptical.

What a pair we made for our anniversary — Jennifer nine weeks pregnant and me covered in poison ivy.  So instead of going out to eat, I spent the same amount of money (probably a little less) and cooked.  It was a nice quiet evening of Jennifer sitting at the snack bar talking to me while I cooked for her.  Here’s what we ate:

Fried Ravioli — I took frozen cheese raviolis, dipped then in an egg wash and then coated them with Italian-seasoned bread crumbs and fried them — served with marinara sauce on a plate that I made for Jen recently at Fired Up (a place in Peoria where you can paint pottery and they fire it for you).

Salad — no big deal

Bacon-wrapped Fillets w/ Sinatra Sauce — The sauce comes from Johnny’s Italian Steak House — it’s awesome.  It has button mushrooms, portabello mushrooms, crab meat, shrimp, white wine, butter and lots of cream.  It’s rich and delicious (& not cheap to make)!

Shredded Potato Omelet — heated up a pan with oil, put in a layer of shredded potatoes, added green onions and cheese.  When the potatoes had browned, I slid the potatoes out of the pan and folded them over omelet style.  Delicious. (ht: Kerry — who gave me the idea.)

Dessert — Coffee Creme Brulee — creamy goodness, strong coffee flavor.

11 years ago today…we stood at the altar and said our vows.

Wow!  Have things changed — but I love her deeper today, than I knew was possible then.

not exactly but pretty close…

Karen: You know what…you’re a misogynist.

Micheal: Thank you, I really appreciate that.

Karen: What I’m saying is that you’re sexiest.

Michael: No I’m not…I’m a misogynist.

I’m working on a class that we will begin offering at Northwoods, that will be our “Starting Point,” where we help people understand some basics about Christianity.  We’re breaking down the class into three segments: The Bible, Jesus & The Christian Life.

So I’m thinking about the Bible and here’s the question for you…

What are some of the things that you think new(er) Christians need to know/learn about the Bible as they begin their journey?

Let me know what you think.

Today I stayed home sick from work.  I got into a poison ivy patch on Sunday, and now my arms and legs are covered.  The reason I stayed home is because I’ve found that Benedryl seems to relieve the itching most effectively, but it knocks me on my butt.  Yesterday morning I went to work after taking Benedryl and almost fell asleep with my head on my desk.  So anyway…today I just laid low, wore as loose-fitting clothes as I could find, sprayed Ivy Dry on myself and doped myself up with Benedryl  (I feel a little loopy!)  Hopefully I’ll be back in the office tomorrow morning!

Okay, this is a little late, but I’m still thinking about some things from this talk that I gave to our high school students about heaven.

From a biblical standpoint, I think heaven is difficult to talk about because the Bible really say very little, and what it does say seems ambiguous in that it’s hard to know what to take literally and what to understand figuratively.  Here are a couple thoughts and/or questions to chew on:

• Does the bible ever say that after we die we go to this place called “heaven”?  I’m not sure it does…it talks about being united with our bodies…only an unblemished version.
• Is the phrase “kingdom of God” synonymous with “heaven”?
• It seems to me that there is much more focus on heaven coming to earth (the “already” as opposed to the “not yet”)