Jesusgreek

nuff said.

To me one of the best parts about the extended Thanksgiving holiday is the seemingly 24/7 football you can watch on TV. Most years the games are meaningless or rather boring but this week featured 3 of the best games I have seem in a long time. First was Arkansas' 3OT thriller over #1 ranked LSU, then the 4OT defeat of UK at the hands on Tennessee. And not to be outdone the NFL had one of their best games of the year last night when Chicago came from behind to defeat Denver in OT. What a great weekend for football fans. To top it off Wake crushed Vanderbilt on their way to their 8th victory of the season (only the 5th time in school history they have reached that mark) and back to back bowl births for the first time ever. Right now it looks like Wake will be in the bowls at either Charlotte or Nashville. Beth and I have decided that which ever game they go to we'll be there. I'm hoping for Nashville! During my many hours of football gluttony this past weekend, I heard some ...

As always, I made my way out into the frenzied crowds this morning for little holiday shopping. Here's a brief recap of highlights and low lights... 3:45am: Wake up I threw on some clothes and headed out to my first destination - Kohl's 4:10am: Kohl's This year Kohl's broke with Black Friday tradition and opened at 4am, one hour before the next major group of stores including Walmart. I usually hit Kohl's first just because it is an easy in-and-out store. With the new earlier start time this experience was anything but that. When I arrived the parking lot was full. I had to park at an adjacent store just to find a spot. Once inside the shoppers were fast and furious, trying to get what they needed so they could head off to their next big store opening. After standing in line for 20 minutes at the jewelery counter, I was told that the jewelry I wanted...err Beth wanted... was not located there but in another part of the store. What?? How can jewelry not be in the jew...

A friend ask me what is the "Fair Tax". Since this will be one of the top issues in the upcoming election, I'll do my best to explain it. First, here is the definition from www.fairtax.org What is the FairTax plan? The FairTax plan is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with an integrated approach including a progressive national retail sales tax, a prebate to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, dollar-for-dollar federal revenue neutrality, and, through companion legislation, the repeal of the 16th Amendment. The FairTax Act (HR 25, S 1025) is nonpartisan legislation. It abolishes all federal personal and corporate income taxes, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, and self-employment taxes and replaces them with one simple, visible, federal retail sales tax administered primarily by existing state sales tax authorities. The FairTax taxes us only on...

Several months ago I asked my friend Ginger, who is very involved in politics, to point me toward a candidate she thought might appeal to me. She immediately mentioned Mike Huckabee. I had never heard of the guy and after doing some research it became very apparent 99% of people being polled had never heard of him either. So I casted him off as a nice guy with the some good ideas that would never have a chance of winning. Now we fast forward to November 16th and two polling stats are worth looking at. Mike Huckabee who was an unknown former governor of Arkansas a few months ago is now second in the Iowa polls at 24% (just 3% behind the leader Romney) and is tied with Romney nationally. The amazing thing about his campaign is that Romney has spent over $10,000,000 on television ads in IA, NH, and SC. Huckabee has spent $0. Again, I'm not ready to throw my support behind any candidate but here is Huckabee's stance on the major issues. You can find out more at http://www.mikehucka...

"It's not such a small world, after all" by Catherine Bodry "Although the Disney company doesn't admit that plus-sized tourists are causing "It's a Small World" boats to bottom out, longtime Disney watcher Al Lutz notes that "heavier than anticipated" loads have caused boats to come to a standstill on more than one occasion. The problem has become common enough that Disneyland has built a platform next to one tricky area where boats commonly get stuck. Disney denies that weight issues are the cause of stuck boats. Instead, the company suggests that "layers and layers" of fiberglass have built up where maintenance teams have patched and re-patched problem areas. Nevertheless, "It's a Small World" will be getting an inch more of water, and some lighter boats. The ride will be closed for ten months beginning in January 2008." Disney is really in a bad spot here. If it were me and I'm sure Disney would rather d...

I'm currently right in the middle of a sermon series on the Ten Commandments. I was reminded of a web site I found years ago by a guy who is putting together the entire bible with Lego's. The web site is called "The Brick Testament" and can be found at www.thebricktestament.com Some of his stuff is very graphic. Which I think is way cool. The Bible is one of the most graphic books you can read and kudos to this guy for not hiding the rawness of it. He has each passage labeled if it contains sex, nudity, or violence. He holds nothing back. The Lego interpretation is directly word for word from the Bible. Here's a peek at his take on the Ten Commandments... #1 & #2. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything #3. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, #4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy #5. Honor your father and your mother #6. You shall not murder #7. You shall not commit adult...

Last night my family and I had the chance to share in something special. We loaded up the car and headed out to the "Joel" for the opening game of Wake Forest's 2007-2008 season. But the night was much more meaningful then just another opening season game. Last night was all about our late Skip Prosser who passed away suddenly this past July. With the honoring of his family at mid court, to the announcement that the ACC distinguished service award would be renamed the "Skip Posser Award", to a video tribute, to the unveiling of a commemorative banner in the rafters of the "Joel", it was a night I am proud to say I was able to witness first hand. Onto the game...I didn't have clue what to expect out of this team as far as talent or emotion. But boy did I LOVE what I saw. I know Wake was only playing Fairfield but the talent and execution of their game plane was light years ahead of the past two Wake teams. They played with confidence and a "let...

Last night I attended East Forsyth’s production of “Pride and Prejudice”. I’ve never read the book or seen any of the 100 movie adaptations of it and honestly only went to support two of the students form my youth group. All in all I had a great time and thought all the students involved did a wonderful job with it. Top eight highlights from my trip to see Pride and Prejudice”: 8) Drama teacher getting the mic and blasting the students for talking during the play. Quote: “If you have to talk you have to leave!!!” 7) Students then “ssshhhhing” very loudly when the lights went back down. 6) Drama teacher yelling on the mic with the lights off, “That’s not helping!!” 5) Kaylyn explaining to me that if Beth and I rented and watched “Pride and Prejudice” then we’d have sex. (Beth and I not Kaylyn and I) 4) Melinda being denied entrance into the auditorium until she finished her candy. 3) Catching Lindsay’s kiss with “Mr. Darcy” on my cell hone then posting it on You Tube. 2) Lindsay & S...

Tonight on The Office: INTO THE WOODS-SPECIAL GREEN WEEK EPISODE - After Ryan excludes Michael from a corporate wilderness retreat, Michael heads into the woods for his own survival adventure with nothing but the suit on his back. Back at work, Jim tries to revolutionize the office birthday party. Highlights from last week: Michael Scott: You cannot take the hilarious black guy from the office. Stanley is part of what makes this branch extraordinary. The blusy wisdom, the sassy remarks, the crossword puzzles, the smile, those big watery red eyes. I don't know how George Bush did it when Colin Powell left. Oscar: Besides having sex with men, I would say the Finer Things Club is the gayest thing about me. Michael Scott: Look, this is very hard for me but I am going to give you my best man. You may have Toby. Karen: Toby's not a salesperson. Michael Scott: You can train him! He's very, very smart and funny and charming... Lehhargh! You know, I can't do it. Toby is the...

Last week someone in my neighborhood put out two "Ron Paul for President" signs in their yard. When I got home I asked Beth if she knew who this "Paul" guy was and she had never heard of the guy either. But like countless other Americans each day, I now know who Ron Paul is and for the first time this year I'm actually intrigued by one of the 2008 presidential hopefuls. If you were like me and had no clue who Ron Paul was/is, then check out the following news article and clip I found online: "This morning, a collective gasp of dismay was heard coming from the Republican party candidates for president. The news? Texas congressman Ron Paul has set a new GOP single-day fundraising record. In a 24-hour period Mr. Paul raised $4.2 Million dollars through on-line donations. The astonishing total suddenly has people wondering: Is this guy for real? Though he may not win the Republican nomination, his candidacy can no longer be written off as "the longest of ...

Over the course of the past few years I've had the privilege of meeting and working with some wonderful musicians. Two such very talented artist I'd like to pass along are Cindy Johnson and Bethany Crooks. Cindy and I met a few years ago when I was the speaker at a camp for the week and she was the worship leader. Since then we have become good friends and she has come several times to lead worship at The Refinery. Cindy is a national award winning artist and has opened up for bands such as Jars of Clay and Point of Grace. You can check her out here: http://myspace.com/cindyjohnsonmusic Cindy will be returning to The Refinery @ Main on Sunday, December 9th for our 11am service. I discovered Bethany Crooks a couple of months ago when her manager emailed me to inform our church of an upcoming concert in our area. After listening to her on her website I thought I'd give her a try and invite her to lead worship at The Refinery. No one was disappointed. To only be a Junior in hi...

Tonight on the Office... BATTLE OF THE BRANCHES - When Karen tries to woo Stanley away from Scranton, Michael fights back, dragging her ex, Jim into his war. Meanwhile, the existence of a "Finer Things Club" further disturbs Dunder Mifflin's calm. Last week on the Office... Andy: Best ad ever, 'gimme a break, gimme a break, break me off a piece of that--' I am totally blanking. What is the thing? Jim Halpert: Nobody tell him! Andy: Wh- no, why? Jim Halpert: You got it. You're so close. Dwight Schrute: Second Life is not a game. It is a multi-user, virtual environment. It doesn't have points, or scores, it doesn't have winners or losers. Jim Halpert: Oh it has losers. Dwight Schrute: I signed up for Second Life about a year ago. Back then, my life was so great that I literally wanted a second one. In my second life I was also a paper salesman and I was also named Dwight. Absolutely everything was the same. Except I could fly. Michael Scott: Li...