The Aggravation of Love

God loves you. Probably the most used phrase in all of Christian history, and for good reason. You could say that that tiny phrase is one of the irreducible cores of all of Scripture. God loves you. But like most phrases, when it’s been used enough, it begins to lose it’s meaning. If God loves me means that God has sentimental feelings of affection for me, then that’s super. But doesn’t He have that for everybody? Does this mean anything for my daily life? But what if the love God has for us isn’t just sentimental feelings of affection? I believe that God’s love for me isn’t a fact that I should know in my head. It’s an active, aggressive process that He wants to engage me in, one that will provoke me throughout the entirety of my life. His love seems to push and pull, beckon and seduce, challenge, and at times even appears to ignore. I can never take His love for granted because I never know how it will manifest itself at any given moment. His love makes my life an unpredictable adventure. Just when I thought I had this whole thing figured out, God sits me next to most chatty person in history at the coffee shop, and seems to whisper into my heart that His love has something to do with what’s about to happen. Because the experience of His love is constantly changing, my response is constantly changing as well. Sometimes I love God by singing to Him, sometimes by reading, sometimes by talking to a stranger, sometimes by simply trusting, and other times by being angry. The song I was taught to sing when I was young wasn’t joking when it taught that God’s love is like “a fountain flowing deep and wide”. Being loved by God is a lot like being carried down stream. It’s deep so my feet can’t reach the ground and control it. It’s wide, so I can’t reach to the side and escape it. It bruises me, frustrates me, cleans me, and calms me. It’s constantly changing and at the end, I will be in a very different place because of it. 

Seeing is Believing

Tony here:
I was driving by a church recently and the sign out front had the quote from John 20:8…”he saw and believed.” It started me thinking about the image that we, as Christians, project to a world that desperately needs to believe. Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying “Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.” If those around us take that advice, they are basically ignoring what we say and are forming an opinion of us based at least partially on their observations of what we do. What are we, as Christians, doing to influence those around us? What do people think of us as individuals and as Christians? I did a little internet research on the perception that our society has towards Christians in general. I found a blog (andrew-ong.com) entry about a 2007 book by David Kinnamon called UnChristian: What A New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity. Kinnamon discussed 6 negative perceptions that non-Christians have toward Christians:
Christians are hypocrits
Christians are too focused on getting converts
Christians are anti-homosexual
Christians are out of touch with reality
Christians are too political
Christians are judgemental
The Great Commision says: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Yet, how can we successfully make disciples or teach people to obey God’s commands when the world has such a negative opinion of us?

Ultimately, to me, the real question is, what can I do to make people see the love of Jesus Christ and the positive aspects of Christianity in my daily life? Because, no matter what I say, I know they will not believe unless they see.

If You Were In Charlotte....

If you were in Charlotte, I would tell you to go to Price's Chicken Coop and order the fried chicken. Price's is a great "hole-in-the-wall" place in downtown Charlotte. There's no seating at Price's, you just grab your box of chicken and go. In my opinion it's not easy to excel at fried chicken, but they have managed to do it. Anything deep fried can be a shot to the system, so you might want to prepare yourself by eating spoonfuls of Crisco in bed before you go to sleep at night. I promise the chicken will be well worth your prep time and possible resulting coronary issues. Enjoy!

Food Review: The Roast Grill

At long last, back from a four month hiatus, the blog returns….

It takes a truly remarkable topic to be the post after such a long lay off, and the Roast Grill is just such a topic. I had passed by the small, unassuming restaurant a number of times, but had never darkened the door. So, when a quick lunch meeting with Tony became possible, we both agreed that The Roast Grill was the perfect, long over due choice. There are maybe 15 seats in the entire place, including the bar. The first thing that catches your attention is all that the eatery does not serve including: ketchup, fries, cheese, mayo, kraut, sweet tea, or chips. Also, don’t plan on using the plastic there. The Roast Grill is a cash only establishment. What the Grill does have is hot dogs, and a 70 year old chili recipe that is worth the trip. The hot dogs were perfect and the chili was amazing. The glass bottled Coca-Cola’s seemed to fit as well. So, if you haven’t been, do yourself a favor and swing by the Roast Grill. The food is wonderful and the unpretentious atmosphere is even better. (Just make sure to not ask for ketchup!)

Reflections on Ash Wednesday

Michael here...

Today was my first experience with an Ash Wednesday service, and I found it to be meaningful and thought provoking. (I'm not Catholic, so the newness of the service allowed me to focus on the message more clearly.)The short phrase that was spoken as the sign of the cross was being marked on our foreheads really caused me to think. It was simply, "turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel". The more I thought about, the more profound it became for me. After all, isn't sin simply those times when we don't have faith in the Gospel. When I write Gospel I mean the good news that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord. That despite the broken nature of our world and the pain and suffering all around us, Jesus is indeed ruling over our universe, and will set things back to right. Not only that, but that he plans to use each of us to help accomplish that mission. It's faith because I can't always see that. The world is just too messed up and too painful at times, so I have to trust that Jesus is indeed at work, and that His plan will ultimately prevail. My anxieties and fear come when I don't believe that Jesus is really in charge. It's in those times that I fear that the powers that are in charge will destroy me and crush any hope that I have. But if Jesus is indeed Lord as the Gospel proclaims, then it's not all up to me after all. The pressure's off. I don't have to work so hard to make things work out, after all that seems to be GOD's job anyway.

Film Review: Like Dandelion Dust

There are literally thousands of movies released every year, and several thousand from the past that await viewing. In order to make sense out of that chaos, you need a plan and some basic rules on how to choose what movies you plan to watch. Two of my rules coincided in a movie that I recently viewed. Rule #1: The Barry Pepper Rule: Simply put, if Barry Pepper is in a movie, then it is mandatory viewing. I don't know why exactly, but i know that it's true. This rule rarely leads me astray (see the movie "3" about racing legend Dale Earnhardt for an exception to the rule). Rule #2: Avoid movies that have clear and blatant agendas. This is almost impossible, because all movies have an agenda of some sort. It's the blatant ones that I feel are trying to manipulate me that I work hard to avoid. This includes religious movies that include crosses in every scene, evangelism by the bucket loads, and some sort of tearful repentance scene set to a backdrop of Casting Crowns music. While invoking the Barry Pepper rule I picked up the movie "Like Dandelion Dust" recently. I didn't realize that it was adapted from a book by a well known Christian inspirational author. I am pleased to say, however, that I didn't feel manipulated in the least, and actually enjoyed the film. It's a story about adoption and redemption, and the inner turmoils that occur within the family that gives up a child and in the family that takes a child in. The film does a nice job of not villifying either side of the struggle, which provided a great tension throughout. It's movie worth seeing, and yes, Barry Pepper was excellent.

Also, do you have any movie watching rules that you employ? Feedback is welcome!

Sugarland's Grasshopper Cupcake

Michael here...

Tony has said of me that I am unable to pass by a new or cool looking bakery or coffee shop, and sadly it's true. This past weekend led me to Chapel Hill where I took my daughter and her friend our for her birthday. After a gut exploding dinner at Pepper's Pizza (I went with the Ball Park slice, which was pizza with andouille sausage, feta cheese, and pork bbq), we strolled down Franklin St. for a little dessert. We landed in Sugarland bakery, a carb lovers delight, that is obviously operated by people who love their craft. The girls went with gelato, but I chose the 72,000 calorie Grasshopper cupcake. It was delicious, all minty and sweet. If you ever get the chance, drop in at Sugarland and enjoy any of their wide assortment of dessert items. (Also, the coffee was really good).