Jesusgreek

Jacob and I were traveling home from the Wake Forest basketball game last night when I decided to take a short-cut through some back roads that my pastor Mike showed me a couple of weeks ago. Now these roads aren't off the beaten path but they also aren't known for being in the safest of places. So as we are cruising down the road at a steady 45mph a sound similar to a gun shot going off in our car caused me to slam on brakes and swerve into a parking lot on the other-side of the road. It was then that I realized that it wasn't a shot but a very large object slammed into my hood and windshield. I spun the car around quickly to see what I had hit fearing as hard as that "bang" was I may have hit a person. It was then that I saw 3 teenagers standing on the side of the road. As my lights made contact with them they took off. It was now clear that I didn't hit something, something hit me. I drove slowly up the road to see if I could find the culprits but no such l...

Here are my top television shows of 2008: 1) Dexter 2) Lost 3) Dead Like Me 4) The Office 5) My Name Is Earl 6) Scrubs 7) Ultimate Fighter

1) Gears of War 2 (360) 2) Lego Star Wars: the Complete Saga (Wii) 3) Rock Band 2 (360) 4) Wii Fit (Wii) 5) Dance Dance Revolution X (PS2) 6) Burnout Paradise (360)

* Note: This photo was taken a few years ago at Augusta when a group of women decided to protest the Masters golf tournament. The guy in the back is holding up a sign that reads, "Iron my shirt". - Priceless Christmas came a bit early this year as my pastor Mike Willard gave me one of the coolest and most unexpected Christmas presents ever, tickets to the 2009 masters golf tournament in Augusta, GA. Now the tickets for us aren't for the tournament itself, those are as close to impossible to get as any sporting ticket on Earth, but that are to the Monday practice round which is still very hard to get (it requires applying, getting approved, then being put into a lottery to see if you get any tickets.) Some folks wait years for tickets just to the practice rounds. The thing I am most excited about is the chance to see Tiger Woods. Tiger is currently my favorite athlete alive today and it's in my bucket list to see him pay one hole before I die. Thanks Mike!!

1) Dark Knight 2) The Bucket List 3) Dan in Real Life 4) Juno 5) Bolt 6) Kung-Fu Panda 7) Bedtime Stories 8) Hancock 9) The Incredible Hulk 10) Baby Mama 11) Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Most Disappointing Movies 1) The Happening 2) 7 Pounds 3) Prince Caspian 4) Semi-Pro 5) Step Brothers

The Streak Jerry: Oh, I'm gonna puke. Bania: Puke? That's a funny word. Can I use that? Some people go through life surprised when they don't puke every time they get sick. I'm not one of those people. I hadn't thrown-up in over 25 years...until Tuesday night. There has been this a nasty stomach bug going around that leaves you head over toilet for several hours. Then as quickly as it arrives it's gone. Once Beth woke up with it Tuesday morning I knew it was just a matter of time before my streak was over. 25 years down the drain. JERRY: Uh, wa? ELAINE: What's the matter with you? JERRY: Uh, I don't feel so good. ELAINE: What's wrong? JERRY: My stomach, I , I think it was that cookie. ELAINE: The black and white? JERRY: Yeah. ELAINE: Not getting along? JERRY: I think I got David Duke and Fahrikan down there. ELAINE: Well if we can't look to the cookie where can we look? JERRY: I feel like I'm going to throw up. ELAINE: Hey, what...

Get use to the next couple of weeks being full of "My Top" or "My Favorite" list. I guess it's the end of the year so that's just the kind of mood I'm in. Beth and I finally got around to watching "Semi-Pro" last night staring Will Ferrell. Although it wasn't one of his best, it is worth a rental (Thanks Netflix) After the movie it got me pondering where were my favorite films "featuring" (cameos don't count) Will Ferrell. Well here they are... 1) Stranger Than Fiction 2) Blades of Glory 3) Elf 4) Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy 5) Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby 6) Semi-Pro 7) Kicking and Screaming

1) Christmas with the Kranks 2) Elf 3) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 4) Home Alone 2 5) The Santa Clause 6) Home Alone 7) Scrooged 8) A Christmas Story 9) The Santa Clause 2 10) Gremlins 11) Die Hard 12) Jingle All the Way There's my list. I know everyone has a favorite and most people will disagree with mine but it's what I like. Am I saying my top 12 are the best? Nope. Just my favorites. I know a lot of people love the classics like "It's a wonderful life", and "Miracle on 34th street" but I see nothing appealing in them. I'm not saying they are bad movie, just not my taste. And while I also enjoy a good Christmas cartoon (Charlie Brown, The Grinch, Frosty, and Rudolph) I see those as more TV specials then full blown Christmas movies.

Kramer: "You shouldn't brush your teeth 24 hours before the dentist." Jerry: "Isn't it you aren't supposed to eat 24 hours before surgery?" Kramer: "No you have to eat! You need your strength!" After my latest visit to the dentist I'm proud to announce that the streak is still alive: 34 years and no cavities. Beth may have the brains, looks, personality, likability , and money, but at least I have the teeth.

There is nothing I love to watch more then a good documentary. Not one that covers a topic that's been seen a hundred times before but one such as "Dirty Driving: Thundercars of Indiana" or the latest I just watched, "King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters". It covers one man's attempt to beat the world record high score for Donkey Kong. Before you roll your eyes and stop reading, just hear me out. Billy Mitchel is the world Donkey Kong champion with a score of about 850,000. He set that record back in 1982. No one has come close to it since. In fact the 2nd place is about 500,000 points. He is the Michael Jordan of the competitive video game world, only Mitchell is portrayed as an evil and heartless villain. He once held 5 different video game world records at once. Steve Wiebe has a wife and children. He just got laid off from his job and he fails at almost everything he does. Since he doesn't have a job, he finds something to do to pass the time. He see...

I passed a gas station yesterday that had regular unleaded for $1.54. This has been the coldest fall in recent memory for NC. It even snowed a couple of weeks ago. Obama's not even in office yet and already he's solved the gas crisis and global warming. Way to go Barak! ABC canceled one of the most creative television shows in the last 10 years when they pulled the plug on "Pushing Daisies" this week. It never had a chance once the powers that be decided not to bring it back last season when the writers strike ended. This is the second time ABC has pulled a show with a lot of promise. I'm waiting for them to cancel the final season of Lost. Actually they will probably wait until it only has 3 episodes left then can it. Sports radio personality and icon Steve Czaben has been pumping up this HBO documentary called "Dirty Driving: Thunder Cars of Indiana" for the past few weeks. I finally had a chance to watch it and it may be one of the most entertaining d...

A few weeks ago a buddy of mine told me about a book he had recently read and loved. It was called "Dinner with a perfect stranger". The premise: A man who is not a follower of Christ receives an invitation in the mail to have dinner with Jesus. Did I mention this takes place in modern day? As he was describing the book all I could think was, "This is exactly why I don't read Christian fiction. This sounds ridiculous." When he finished telling me how much it had enjoyed it I politely nodded and gave the ol', "Hmmm. I'll have to check that out sometime." Knowing good and well I would never pick the thing up. Fast forward to last week. My pastor, Mike, and I were at a Wake Forest basketball game when he started telling me about this great book he had ran across for a $1 at a used book sale. He went on about how much he loved it. The name? "Dinner with a perfect stranger." I've come to realize in life that when God throws up a sugges...