My Super Bowl commercial debut

Isn't it awesome to discover obscure commercials done overseas by megastars like George Clooney & Brad Pitt?!  Wouldn't you love to watch one of their obscure cheesefest commercials and laugh at it right now? Well, too bad.  You're on my blog, not theirs, so you'll just have to settle for me in my much sought-after, little-seen, now finally available Super Bowl commercial debut. 

Try to contain yourselves.

Obsessed With FaceBook Friends?

Like many folks, my wife and I had resisted the urge to join in the whole facebook trend. But a couple of months ago, we finally gave in and decided to join, mainly to see what all the fuss was about. Overall, we're glad we did - we both rather enjoy being able to reconnect with old friends we'd lost touch with and the sense of community that comes from being more connected on a day-to-day basis with people we otherwise wouldn't hear from very frequently, as, let's face it, life is just BUSY, especially when you both work and have young kiddos, like we do.

One thing I've noticed that disturbs me about facebook though is the way some folks seem a bit obsessed with having more and more "friends". Now, we all have real needs for love and to feel that we belong - there's certainly nothing wrong with that.

But I've seen enough facebook status's along the lines of "only 40 more friends and I'll have 1000!" that I'm starting to wonder if some of the pursuit of greater and greater numbers of "friends" isn't perhaps more symptomatic of a larger trend going on in our culture - that being, the busier we get, and the more technology we have in our lives that supposedly make things easier and more convenient, the less real meaningful social interaction we may be having with REAL people in REAL (i.e. non-internet) life.

Is this pursuit of more and more virtual 'friends' perhaps covering up the fact that we don't have true friendships and community in our lives? When I speak of community, I mean people who are available, both emotionally, and time-wise, to us, who are able and willing to share the joys and sorrows of life along-side us. People who will be there when the inevitable crises of life crop up. People who will challenge us, encourage us, and celebrate our victories with us. People who will invest both their time, trust, and love with us, and who we invest back those same valuable commodities with.

Joy & I have been searching for that kind of community in our own lives. We haven't found it yet since moving a couple years ago to AZ, so we can certainly understand feeling lonely and isolated at times. But we're not giving up - we're continuing to trust that God can and will bring that into our lives, as we believe He desires us to live and grow our faith in just such a community.

But back to this phenomenon of facebook - if you're one of those folks with hundreds and hundreds of friends in your virtual community, I hope and pray that you're blessed to have at least one or two people in your life you can call true friends. But if those types of relationships are lacking for you, I challenge you not to substitute quantity for quality when it come to friendships - don't give up!

Risk being vulnerable with other people.

Risk being a true friend to others, even if you're not quite sure they consider you a true friend yet.

Risk opening up and being honest about an area you're struggling with in life.

Risk the pain of possible rejection.

If you aren't willing to do that, you may end up spending way more lonely nights talking to your "friends" online and missing out on the better way God has in mind for you.

I think He has a greater plan for your life - one where you live in community with people who love and encourage you to be all God created you to be and where likewise you do the same for others. If you can be honest with yourself, I think you will agree that you want that as well.

Don't settle for anything less than God's best for you!

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13

Why "You Can Do It. We Can Help." Should Also Apply To Homework

After this was graded and the child brought it home, she returned to school the next day with the following note:

Dear Ms. Davis, I want to be very clear on my child's illustration. It is NOT of me on a dance pole on a stage in a strip joint. I work at Home Depot and had commented to my daughter how much money we made in the recent snowstorm. This drawing is of me.... selling a shovel.

Mrs. Harrington

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My Favorite Songs of 2008

These are the songs that I found myself returning to over and over again in 2008...enjoy.

Feel free to comment. Agree/disagree/call me a tool for liking David Cook (you know you watch that show too - stop judging!). Whatever floats your boat. (where did that expression come from, anyway? We'll save that for a future post...)

Myspace Girl – The Afters
Say This Sooner - The Almost
Dirty And Left Out - The Almost
Amazing Because It Is - The Almost
Roast Beef - Andy Gullahorn
That Guy - Andy Gullahorn
No Ones Gonna Love You - Band Of Horses
Britney - Bebo Norman
The IV – Braille
Give Me Your Eyes - Brandon Heath
Believe - The Bravery
Empty Me - Chris Sligh
Eleanor Rigby - David Cook
Hello - David Cook
Everything Glorious - David Crowder Band
Remedy - David Crowder Band
(If I Called) All of the Ways the World Will End – Dawson Wells
A New Law - Derek Webb
Jealousy Hurts - Dizmas
Shake It Off – Dizmas
Little Is Much - Downhere
My Last Amen - Downhere
Last Night - Elias F. Tyrone Wells and Kaboose
Let’s Go Back - Everyday Sunday
Free Me - Fike & Dana
Come Into The Light - Fike & Dana
Not Crying - Flight of the Conchords
The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room) - Flight Of The Conchords
Robots - Flight Of The Conchords
Handlebars – Flobots
I’m So Sick - Flyleaf
The Pretender - Foo Fighters
Best Days – Graham Colton Band
Let Go - Grey Holiday
Where I’m Not Wanted - Heath McNease
Tick Tick Boom – The Hives
Joy Control – Ian Gallaghar
Blessed Be - Jason Gray
Hypocrisy # 785 - Jeremy Casella
Say - John Mayer
Make Money Money - John Reuben
The Cure For Pain - Jon Foreman
America & The Soul - Justin McRoberts
Done Living - Justin McRoberts
Run On For A Long Time (Featuring Chris Sligh) - Kevin Max
Tennis Shoes – The Khrusty Brothers
Don’t Hear a Single – The Major Labels
4321 – Manafest
We Could Take the Backroads – Micah Dalton
Prodigal - Michael Gungor Band
Song For My Family - Michael Gungor Band
White Man - Michael Gungor Band
Perform – Monarch
Mugiboogie – Mugison
Welcome To The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
You Waste Time Like A Grandfather Clock – Myriad
Sleeping In – Nevertheless
When Angels & Serpeants Dance – P.O.D.
To Bring You Back – Paul Allen
Down to Earth – Peter Gabriel
Emergency Broadcast – Playdough
Breathe Into Me - Red
Already Over - Red
What Happens (At the End) - Remedy Drive
Heartbeat - Remedy Drive
Buildings & Mountains – The Republic Tigers
New Day - Robbie Seay Band
Rise - Robbie Seay Band
Fake lt - Seether
Something Wrong - Separated
Crack the Shutters – Snow Patrol
beautiful the blood - Steve Fee
Save Your Best – Steve Reynolds
Cinderella – Steven Curtis Chapman
You, Me & The Bourgeousie – The Submarines
Down in Flames – Superbeing
By Your Side – Tenth Avenue North
This Is Who I Am – Third Day
Slow Down – Third Day
Born Again – Third Day
Falls Apart -Thousand Foot Krutch
My Favorite Disease - Thousand Foot Krutch
More – Tyrone Wells
Patience - Tyrone Wells
This Is Beautiful – Tyrone Wells
Honestly - Vota

When I'm the Man...

When I'm the Man I want to Be

You'll know that Love and I are tight
By the patience that I show
When I'm stuck behind your car
And you're just driving way too slow

When I'm the Man I want to be

My eyes will turn from hungering
after more things for myself
Plasma HDTV?
I don't need you on my shelf
And while you're at it, Vickie
Keep that Secret to yourself

When I'm the Man I want to be

You won't need what's on my bumper
Or to read my clever shirt
Cuz you won't hear me speaking words
That tear you down or hurt

My mouth will fill your ears
With words that build up and bring trust
And my treadmill will wear out
While my remote's collecting dust

When I'm the Man I want to be

Are You TrueFaced?

Have you learned to wear a mask to hide your true identity?

Do you believe it's way too risky to show God and those closest to you (and even yourself) who you really are?

TrueFaced: Trust God & Others With Who You Really Are challenges us to take these masks off and be real with ourselves, God and others.

I must admit that though I love to read, it's much easier when I'm tired at the end of the day to veg in front of the TV than read, though reading is far more satisfying in the long run. I'm glad I chose to make the time to read this book. God has been showing me a lot about myself and how I have related to Him through the material.

We are asked to consider whether we really TRUST God, or whether we are more likely working to PLEASE Him, and what the difference there looks like. The book deals with unresolved issues we may struggle with, i.e. sins we've committed against others or that they've committed against us, how forgiveness really works and what it looks like in relationship, and learning what God's heart for us really looks like.

TrueFaced also speaks to the importance of being in a community of grace, where people will love and accept you right where you are, and how those people will help you learn to trust God with your whole heart, and all that you are, the good and the not so good. I'm still seeking out that community, but I know if I don't give up, God will provide it.

This book has helped me see that I've lived a lot of my life trying to please Him, rather than living in grace and realizing that what He wants most is for me to trust Him. And that He desires to walk alongside me (not condemn me!), so that we can work on my issues together. A much different perspective than my constant sense that I need to work on my sin alone to prove to Him that somehow I am good enough. Because I'm not good enough and I never will be. If I was good enough to deserve grace, I wouldn't need it. (reminds me of those righteous theologians, the Newsboys, who once sang "When we don't get what we deserve, that's a real good thing. When we get what we don't deserve, that's a real good thing." But I digress)

TrueFaced talks about how God has a specific dream for your life - a unique destiny He has mapped out for how He wants to use YOU to love others with the same grace He loves you with. And as you learn to trust Him more, He will reveal that specific plan to you, in His timing, once you're ready for it.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." --Hebrews 12:1

God longs to help each of us release the burdens of our lives that weigh us down and keep us from the path He has created for us to run.

I cannot recommend TrueFaced more highly. You will be impacted by reading this book! And if you do pick it up, I'd love to hear what God has to say to you through your reading.