A new movie called The Mist comes out on November 21st, starring Thomas Jane. Its based off of a short story by Stephen King. When I first saw a preview a while back, I read the story and it was great. Its about a mist that rolls in after a storm and brings creatures with it. Most of the story revolves around people holed up in a grocery store.
Here is a link to the preview. Can't wait.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/themist/
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
And on this rock I will build my church
We had an interesting service this morning at church. Evergreen Christian Community is celebrating 100 years, and we learned about ECC's history. The part I found most interesting was a discussion of an exchange between Jesus and Peter from Matthew 16:15-18
15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
I went to a Catholic high school, so I learned all about church history. The early church used the phrase "you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" to make Peter the early leader of the church and eventually became the first Pope. This authority is what give the Catholic Church its authority on Earth.
But what if Jesus wasn't talking specifically to Peter? In verse 16, Peter tells Jesus that they believe the he is the son of God. Pastor Dale said that when Jesus replies back to Peter, the rock he is referring to is the admission Peter made, not Peter himself.
I hadn't thought to much about this, so I was thinking about this for the rest of the service. I can't see how Jesus would ever give that kind of authority to one man. I did some googleing and found this article:
http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?recnum=4319
I find the Catholic point of view very interesting, but wrong.
15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
I went to a Catholic high school, so I learned all about church history. The early church used the phrase "you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" to make Peter the early leader of the church and eventually became the first Pope. This authority is what give the Catholic Church its authority on Earth.
But what if Jesus wasn't talking specifically to Peter? In verse 16, Peter tells Jesus that they believe the he is the son of God. Pastor Dale said that when Jesus replies back to Peter, the rock he is referring to is the admission Peter made, not Peter himself.
I hadn't thought to much about this, so I was thinking about this for the rest of the service. I can't see how Jesus would ever give that kind of authority to one man. I did some googleing and found this article:
http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?recnum=4319
I find the Catholic point of view very interesting, but wrong.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
The Best Question Ever
I am about 2/3 of the way through the book, The Best Question Ever. It is really good. The books premise is that you can avoid trouble, think clearly, and make sound decisions by asking the simple question: What is the wise thing to do?
The idea I got so far was not to ask if something is wrong when I come to a decision to make, but instead to think of "is this wise?". By making a small series of wise decisions, you can avoid pitfalls that are the conclusion of a long series of this isn't wrong decisions.
The other thing I liked so far, is that this can be applied to almost any part of your life. Whether it be planning your work or what to spend money on, the question lets you think it through.
What does all of this mean to me? Well, I am making a few small changes to my life. I think I live by some of the principles taught already, but there are a few areas of my life that can make some changes.
The idea I got so far was not to ask if something is wrong when I come to a decision to make, but instead to think of "is this wise?". By making a small series of wise decisions, you can avoid pitfalls that are the conclusion of a long series of this isn't wrong decisions.
The other thing I liked so far, is that this can be applied to almost any part of your life. Whether it be planning your work or what to spend money on, the question lets you think it through.
What does all of this mean to me? Well, I am making a few small changes to my life. I think I live by some of the principles taught already, but there are a few areas of my life that can make some changes.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Spiritual walk
Over the last year or so, I have made it a personal goal to renew my faith. In 2000, I went through some trying times (that now seem silly) that helped push me away from God. When I went away to college, I was then in a new place and made excuses to not find a church.
When I got married in 2006, my wife and I started a process of finding a church we could attend. We eventually for Coast Vineyard in San Diego, and we loved it. Unfortunately, we moved to Washington so we had to leave. We have found a new church here, and I am beginning to find it a good place for me.
I have been reading books about faith and Christianity and I will begin talking about some of them. I have also found that my relationship with Jesus comes in many forms and not just in a service on Sundays.
When I got married in 2006, my wife and I started a process of finding a church we could attend. We eventually for Coast Vineyard in San Diego, and we loved it. Unfortunately, we moved to Washington so we had to leave. We have found a new church here, and I am beginning to find it a good place for me.
I have been reading books about faith and Christianity and I will begin talking about some of them. I have also found that my relationship with Jesus comes in many forms and not just in a service on Sundays.
World Cup Rotation
Around 2001, there was a big controversy with FIFA when Germany was awarded the 2006 world cup instead of South Africa. FIFA President Sepp Blatter wanted the World Cup to be in South Africa, and vowed to create a rotation policy to ensure each continent would be awarded a World Cup in turn.
Now, the rotation policy has ended. What a waste this whole thing was. Why didn't FIFA come up with a common sense rule/policy to rotate the World Cup that didn't guarantee a specific continent a World Cup. Maybe the last 5 countries, or 2 continents to host are ineligible. This would ensure that the World Cup would be moved around, which was the aim of the rotation policy.
There was way too much made about this in 2001, and I'm glad some common sense has prevailed.
Now, the rotation policy has ended. What a waste this whole thing was. Why didn't FIFA come up with a common sense rule/policy to rotate the World Cup that didn't guarantee a specific continent a World Cup. Maybe the last 5 countries, or 2 continents to host are ineligible. This would ensure that the World Cup would be moved around, which was the aim of the rotation policy.
There was way too much made about this in 2001, and I'm glad some common sense has prevailed.
The Little Red Book of Wisdom
The Little Red Book of Wisdom by Mark Demoss is a great read.
It is short, but gives you a lot to think about.
I've read a lot of books about various things, and its funny how the best things are simple.
It is short, but gives you a lot to think about.
I've read a lot of books about various things, and its funny how the best things are simple.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Income Tax
My wife was watching TV the other night, and the NBC nightly news came on. Brian Williams covered the stories for the night and one caught my attention. Warren Buffet complained his tax rate was too low because his secretary paid a higher tax rate while making for less money. The question posed by Brian Williams was "Why is his tax rate so low?"
This got to me. This was exactly the wrong question. He should have said "why was the secretary's so high?" If I remember, the Warren Buffets makes his money from investments which has a lower tax rate than does standard income from work.
Here we go. I hate our income tax system. Why?, you may ask. If you can tell me what your tax rate is in less than 30 seconds without looking at your tax return, then I will retract that statement.
The government decided a while ago they could tax our income at a very low rate and only only the wealthy. They have slowly but surely crept this down to everyone. The other thing is that they create tax breaks and all sorts of complications for political gain.
We do need to pay taxes to be able to have roads, schools, utilities, and other services, but we are taxed every which way already. Think about it. You are taxed when you get a paycheck. Then you are taxed when you use that already taxed money when you go to the store to buy something. You are even taxed when you die. Awesome!
Some (read: Democrats) always like to say increase the tax for the rich and the corporations, but they just turn around and raise prices so we just end up paying that anyway.
So now what do we do? First of all Income tax needs to go. I like the Fair Tax because you voluntarily pay taxes when you buy good and services. The other key there is that there is 1 tax rate, and if this was ever increased, we would know about it.
Read the book by Neal Boortz and Rep. John Linder - The Fair Tax Book.
This got to me. This was exactly the wrong question. He should have said "why was the secretary's so high?" If I remember, the Warren Buffets makes his money from investments which has a lower tax rate than does standard income from work.
Here we go. I hate our income tax system. Why?, you may ask. If you can tell me what your tax rate is in less than 30 seconds without looking at your tax return, then I will retract that statement.
The government decided a while ago they could tax our income at a very low rate and only only the wealthy. They have slowly but surely crept this down to everyone. The other thing is that they create tax breaks and all sorts of complications for political gain.
We do need to pay taxes to be able to have roads, schools, utilities, and other services, but we are taxed every which way already. Think about it. You are taxed when you get a paycheck. Then you are taxed when you use that already taxed money when you go to the store to buy something. You are even taxed when you die. Awesome!
Some (read: Democrats) always like to say increase the tax for the rich and the corporations, but they just turn around and raise prices so we just end up paying that anyway.
So now what do we do? First of all Income tax needs to go. I like the Fair Tax because you voluntarily pay taxes when you buy good and services. The other key there is that there is 1 tax rate, and if this was ever increased, we would know about it.
Read the book by Neal Boortz and Rep. John Linder - The Fair Tax Book.
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