Fireproof

This evening, I went to see the movie Fireproof. I was very impressed with the quality of both the technical components as well as the story. Kirk Cameron and Erin Bethea did a very good job in the lead roles and Ken Bevel was very good in the main supporting role. The story was told in a very believable way. Even for people who are not married, it provides a challenge to seek after the things of God and His purposes for ones life.

The main character, Caleb, is the captain of fire department who is a hero to many in the community but has challenges at home with his wife. At the beginning he is selfish and has anger management issues. Their marriage is on the rocks and heading for divorce when Caleb's father challenges him to take a "Love Dare" in which for 40 days he does things to be kind to and love his wife. Over the course of the 40 day period, his heart begins to change towards his wife and through an encounter with God he becomes a follower of Christ and turns his marriage around.

There were some intense moments as well as some lighted hearted fun moments. You always know it's a well made scene when your heart gets beating real fast. Sure there were a few parts where a $50 million Hollywood production might could have beefed up the quality a little but for a $500,000 budget I thought Sherwood Pictures did an outstanding job. This movie will be such an encouragement to so many couples to hang in there when the going's tough. The theater I went to was pretty much packed and this is about 2 months after the original release. If you haven't seen Fireproof yet, be sure to go check it out for an entertaining and uplifting movie.

Heaven Has Blue Carpet

Heaven Has Blue Carpet by Sharon Niedzinski

If you've ever thought you couldn't do something because you were unqualified, Sharon Niedzinski provides a modern day example of chasing a dream despite having no qualifications. While she was in the middle of raising a family in the land of Michigan suburbia, she and her husband purchased a farm when their real estate agent from several years past called them up out of the blue one day with a farm for sale. She had dreamed of living on a farm and raising sheep when this opportunity presented itself.

They sold their home packed up the kids and moved out to the farm. Niedzinski then proceeded to order a flock of white sheep to "decorate" the hillside. Knowing virtually nothing about shepherding, she quickly began reading up in the library, magazines, and asking questions to anyone who would listen to her. Over a number of years, she became an accomplished shepherd but not without some very humorous moments and tough labor involved.

The book is really a metaphor of mankind as sheep as portrayed so frequently in the Bible. The Master shepherd teaches her many lessons through the behavior of her sheep and how many times we act so similarly to sheep. She got an up close understanding of the examples throughout the Bible referencing sheep. The book was well crafted to incorporate timely scripture passages as she learns various lessons during her journey as a shepherd.

Also, incorporated in the book were sheep metaphors. The Good Grain section discusses points to absorb related to God's promises. The Shearing Shed is where we learn through difficult circumstances or God's "shearing" of us. Chew On This provides insights or topics to think about and discuss.

The only slightly annoying thing I found was Niedzinksi referring to her husband as "Honey" throughout the book and never by his actual first name. The reader gets used to it after a while but can be a little grating at first.

This book would be good to read as either an individual or as a part of a Bible study. There are plenty of discussion topics and scriptures to study in gaining perspective on life and the Bible's view of mankind as sheep. The humorous elements as well as the various pieces of wisdom shared based on the author's years as a shepherd will be enjoyable to anyone wanting a better understanding of sheep and how their actions parallel our own.

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Ludacares Turkeys

On Sunday, I handed out turkeys as a part of my mom's school's partnership with the Ludacares program, a foundation set up by hip hop artist Ludacris. They identified needy families in the area and we handed out a turkey, sweet potatoes, collard greens, and a lemon meringue pie to each house. My Espanol came in handy for a couple of the houses. I believe all told 500 homes received the meal.

Wild Goose Chase

Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson

In Batterson's follow up to In a Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day (see here for review), he continues to challenge readers to pursue God given callings and break free of mediocrity and the status quo. Wild Goose Chase goes into further detail on some of the "cages" that hold us back from pursuing God's call on our lives.

Be careful though, don't read this book if you just want a warm fuzzy pick me up. Batterson is not afraid to get up in your face and make you uncomfortable. This is exactly the type of challenge that many people need. Rather than sitting back and being "irresponsibly responsible" he encourages readers to pursue "responsible irresponsibility." In other words sometimes, the Holy Spirit, known to Celtic Christians as the wild goose, will prompt you to do something which seems illogical on the surface but when seeking after and pursuing Him, will take you on adventures and higher heights never imaginable from the comforts of the routine.

The book is filled with examples of people who seek after the wild goose and do dangerous things. Satan is afraid of dangerous Christians. He much prefers nice timid Christians who are afraid to break out of the mold and pursue challenges laid before them by God. Like a wild animal in its natural environment, Batterson encourages us to be wild and dangerous in the environment God has called us to.

Read this book then go out and be a mighty warrior, chasing where the wild goose leads.

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Word of the Day

Eminence Grise: a person who wields power or exerts influence behind the scenes.

La Jolla and Sunset Cliffs

On a recent trip to Southern California, I had the opportunity to check out some very nice scenery at La Jolla beach (pronounced la hoiya) and Sunset Cliffs in San Diego. Both were very beautiful and a part of the country I wouldn't mind spending a bit more time enjoying. While at La Jolla, I got to see some seals barking, playing in the water, and sunning themselves on the rocks. There were also a ton of Seagulls, Pelicans, and some black birds that made a sound like a straw going up and down in a cup. Since it was on Halloween, there was a random pumpkin on the lawn which a seagull was investigating and nibbling on. Not something you see every day.

Lost Your Cellphone?

If you ever misplace your cell phone and you know that it's close by but aren't sure where, check out Wheresmycellphone.com. It will give your phone a call so that you can hear and locate it.

Kansas City Marathon & Half-Marathon

Here are a few pictures from the Kansas City Marathon & Half-Marathon that I took on Saturday. Along with a few friends, we spent the morning running from spot to spot along the course to cheer on Andy, Sue Ellen, and Sarah. Having run quite a few races myself, it's kind of fun to be on the sidelines cheering on people. I like the race organizer's idea of putting people's names on the race number so you can cheer for random people by name. The runners appreciate it.










For more pictures, please see the Community Faces link here.

Joshua Tree National Park

Last week I was in the Los Angeles area for work and while there I took a quick trip out to Joshua Tree National Park. Due to the sun going down earlier these days, it was almost dark when I arrived. Joshua Trees are very unique looking and a bit of a cross between a palm tree and cactus. They're suited for desert dwelling and the accompanying low quantity of rain.

I first became aware of the existence of Joshua Trees from the music album "The Joshua Tree" by the band U2.

On the way to Joshua Tree National Park, I saw a windmill farm with thousands of windmills. Due to the geography in that particular area, wind is funneled through the mountains and so the wind power is harnessed in using these windmills.

Japan Festival

A couple weekends ago, I went to the Japan Festival in Overland Park, KS. They had a variety of Japanese culture items such as bonsai trees, candy art making, martial arts, dance, and Taiko drumming. I also partook of some fairly tasty noodles mixed with salmon topped off by coconut cake which I don't believe was necessarily Japanese. Johnson County Community College hosted the event and it is assumed that some of their culinary students prepared said fare.













For more pictures please see the Community Faces link here.

Final Salute

Final Salute by Jim Sheeler

Final Salute looks deep into the inner part of grief and sorrow that is experienced by families affected by the war in Iraq. The numbers of people lost in the war reverberate and ripple through numerous lives both on the battle field and the home front. The thousands of lives lost represent tens of thousands of those who loved them and are affected by their deaths.

The book gives the reader a sense of intense sadness and loss but you don't want to stop reading it the way you don't want to stop listening to a sad song. It touches a nerve which gives a far deeper grasp of and sympathy for those who are directly affected. It helps put a face on the numerous fallen heroes.

Jim Sheeler tells each family's story genuinely and without a hidden agenda. When finished, the reader is left with a strong sense of the tremendous sacrifice given. The story is told from a variety of viewpoints including the wives and children, parents and siblings, fellow soldiers as well as casualty assistance officers who notify and provide support to the families once the news is shared with them.

Included in the book are striking photographs capturing moments throughout the families ordeals which provides an additional element of realness. Sheeler first wrote the stories for a newspaper which went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing.

Those who make flippant comment about the military would do well to read the deeply personal stories of these families and how the soldiers they loved willing volunteered and served their country. Politicians would also do well to read this book and put a face on the people and families they are sending into battle. If you want an understanding of the impact and loss experienced by countless families as a result of the war, read this book.

If you found this review helpful, please let Amazon know at this link.

Phishing

In this segment, we'll look at a topic related to online identity theft. From time to time you may receive legitimate emails from your bank. However, people called phishers sometimes send an email masquerading as if it were from a legitimate financial institution. The obvious homonym of fishing for phishing indicates the style of theft which occurs. Let's take a look at a couple of examples.



In this first example it appears to be a legitimate email from the security department at Bank of America. They request that you login to a specified site and provide information about your account. In the last line of the first paragraph, there is a misspelled word which reads "submin" when it should have been "submit." An official Bank of America communication would have at a minimum had a spell check completed. Another key sign if you note the address listed in the bottom left corner directs you to an address which is nothing like Bank of America's web address. This was found by hovering over the link instead of clicking on it. If a user goes to this site and provides the requested information, it is likely they would have wiped any money in the account.


In the second example, everything looks legitimate including the web address. However, if you note the other email addresses in the To: line, it looks very much like a bunch of auto generated email addresses. Phishers use software programs to automatically generate email addresses hoping that they send one to an actual address being used. They sometimes also use bots which browse the web and anytime an email address shows up online will capture it and use it when sending out this phishing spam.

Be very cautious anytime you receive an email from a financial institution and especially if they request your personally identifiable information. A legitimate institution will not ask for this information in the unsecure medium of email. When logging into a bank's website, always type the web address in yourself rather than following a link in an email. This helps ensure that you are at the actual bank's website and not a fraudulent site masquerading as a legitimate one.

The Greatest Generation

The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw

Tom Brokaw has coined the World War II generation the greatest generation ever. In this book, he chronicles the lives and times of those who fought in World War II and how it affected them. The book is broken up into sections with miniature biographies of individuals telling of their lives before, during, and after the War.

Undeniably, there were tremendous sacrifices by those in uniform and at home and the whole country rallied to help the troops win the war. The book includes average Joe and Jill type of people as well as more well known veterans such as Hank Greenberg, Bob Dole, Andy Rooney, George H.W. Bush, John F. Kennedy, and Art Buchwald. It also covers the story of women's contributions to the war effort whether in or out of uniform. Additionally, the civil rights issues of equality to minorities is covered in fairly extensive detail. Some of the stories describing the inequalities and discrimination which occurred provided better insight into the nature of things in that day.

By and large, veterans following the war were eager to get on with life, start families and successful business and political careers. The war helped shape their focus and sense of purpose. This generation helped create a framework upon which all living in America today now benefit.

Towards the end of the book, things seemed to slow down a bit and the overall flow of the book could probably have benefited from cutting down the length 50 or so pages. This is not to say the stories were not worthy of being told, it simply had a feeling of weightiness and length at 390 pages.

This book should be a required part of high school curriculum so that all students would better understand the tremendous sacrifice, efforts, and heroics performed by the incredible men and women of this generation. By understanding the values and things that drove this generation, the youth and upcoming leaders of today can draw upon their wisdom and positively shape the future of our nation. Like individual pieces in a jigsaw puzzle come together to create a picture, the individual stories of the regular folks and well known come together to create a picture of the greatest generation America has yet seen.

If you found this review helpful, please let Amazon know at this link.

Quote of the Day

Michael J. Fox once said, “I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.”

Get It, Read It, Give It Away

It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It by Craig Groeschel

For anyone in leadership at a ministry, this book should be required reading. Groeschel describes the characteristics of that elusive "it" that some ministries have where God is very clearly moving on a regular basis. Places with "it" have aspects similar to the early church of Acts. They commonly have strong vision from leadership as well as specific focus on areas of ministry. Rather than trying to be involved in 500 different things, ministries with "it" tend to focus on certain core areas that they are good at and believe God has called them to. Groeschel also discusses the importance of having fun and being involved in each others lives. Churches with it are vibrant, active, and alive.

Just because a ministry doesn't have "it" doesn't mean it can't get "it." And just because a ministry has "it" doesn't mean it will always keep "it." Copying another church's successful program or style does not necessarily work for everyone so the church needs to evaluate how God has uniquely called them at a particular moment. This clearly involves lots of prayer for direction and humbleness to admit mistakes and move on.

Though geared towards people in leadership of church ministries, lessons can be gleaned from It for an individual's life as well. I particular drew some ideas on developing vision and focus for life.

Throughout the book are pictures illustrating various points that Groeschel makes.

If nothing else, the book will help in evaluating your ministry to see determine areas for improvement and getting back to the important things of the Bible and God's leading.

If you found this review helpful, please let Amazon know at this link.

Tour of Missouri

Yesterday, I went to the finish for stage 1 of the Tour of Missouri at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. Professional cyclists from around the world came to compete in one of the top 3 stage races in the US. They started in St. Joseph, Missouri and after approximately 90 miles, finished with three 5 mile circuits of the Plaza and downtown area. There were hundreds of people watching at the finish. Mark Cavendish a phenomenal sprinter from the Isle of Man who won 4 stages of the Tour de France won the 1st stage in a time of 3:15:14.









See more pictures at Community Faces.

Upward Soccer

Here are some pictures from Upward Soccer at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church. The kids also got the opportunity to play on several inflatable moonwalks.












For more pictures see Community Faces.