Ruminations on Michael Jackson

So a friend of mine who rarely watches TV and is not really into popular culture asked me recently who Michael Jackson was and why everyone was making such a big deal about him dying.

I was saddened by just how many nuggets of wonderment my friend has missed out on and gave him the following list so he'd be up to speed on all that made MJ the King of Pop. Now, for your reading pleasure, I present said list to you:

1. Michael was the first man ever to walk on the moon. Later he incorporated this experience into his dance moves.

2. MJ's father, Joe Jackson, was a popular singer in the 70's and 80's with such hits as "Steppin' Out" and "Breakin' Us in Two".

3. The Gloved One (and only one) wrote the sequel to "Alice in Wonderland", which he called Neverland.

4. Michael Jackson was a child star on 70's TV show "The Jeffersons". He was just "Dyn-o-mite!"

5. MJ was the cousin of hockey great Bo Jackson, the nephew of that girl Victoria Jackson (who used to be on Mad TV), and the brother of Randy Jackson from American Idol (he's the mean British one).

6. Michael's first band, the Beatles, broke up after Lisa Presley and he married. She alienated Michael from other band members, and most of his writing during the period of their marriage did not live up to his previous work. Michael and the Beatles finally patched things up after Michael dueted with Paul McCartney on "The Girl Is Mine", a song about Madonna, who they were both in love with.

7. In the 90's, Michael was fond of smashing car windows while simultaneously, uhhh (how to put this delicately?), "treating his body like it was an amusement park". (See Neverland)

8. He was the inventor of the Commodore 64 computer. Or wait - scratch that. I think he was an original member of the Commodores. Yeah, that's it.

9. More recently, MJ got in trouble when in Europe he decided to dangle a blanket over the railing of his hotel room balcony. It's still not clear to me why this was such a big deal. Rock stars trash their hotel rooms all the time, so why can't MJ throw his bedsheets around, even if OFF the balcony? The media is so weird.

10. In 2005, while performing "Walk This Way" with Britney Spears at the Super Bowl, there was a wardrobe malfunction when Britney accidentally ripped of Michael's pants, revealing MJ's "Man in the Mirror" to an international television audience, for a few brief seconds. Multiple obscenity complaints and legal battles between ABC and the FCC followed.

As I explained to my friend, those are just a few of the myriad reasons why his passing is of such tremendous import to America.

***To ensure accuracy, all facts verified via Wikipedia.

A Challenge for the Guys

Guys,

1 Peter 3:7 says "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers."

If you're anything like me, you don't always live up to the high calling of that verse. It is unbelievably hard, often times, to overcome our own selfishness, pride, etc. and sacrificially love and serve the wife God has blessed us with. And if we're honest with ourselves, we likely haven't taken seriously enough the responsibility of serving our wives and children as Christ served the church (Ephesians 5:25).

A good friend shared this sermon (by Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle) with me on this very subject that has challenged me in a major way. It is not easy, but I admit it's a message I needed to hear (and continue to!). And now I want to share it with you.

I am writing this because I am thankful my friend shared it with me and challenged me to not just be an OK husband, but to work on being the type of husband Jesus calls us to be. I believe change only happens when we challenge one another in life, and as we seek God's strength and power to be more like Christ ("iron sharpening iron"). Single guys - there is incredible teaching and biblical truth here - stuff I wish I had been privileged to hear before I got married - so this is for you as well!

Here's the sermon description from the website: Jesus is the only perfect man to ever live. Because most men fail to look to Him as our example, there exists 2 extremes in men: chauvinism and cowardice. Pastor Mark Driscoll preaches to men about being real men who love God and serve their family well in this sermon from the "Trial" series.

Here's the link:
http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/trial/marriage-and-men

You can watch it online, but since it's long (over 70 minutes), I recommend you download the video or audio (both are available on this page under the tab that says "Downloads") to your computer or ipod to watch/listen to later.

And if you get into this (or all the way through it even) and don't believe it applies to you, I challenge you to ask your wife to check it out and lovingly tell you your blind spots - we're all in need of continual improvement in how we love our wives and if you don't take anything out of it, I am pretty darn sure your wife will have some suggestions for how you can better love her!

; )

I've listened to it a few times in the last couple of months and will continue to revisit it every so often, so I don't forget the lessons here.

Thanks to all the men in my life who challenge me to be better - you know who you are!

Ladies - please pass it on to any guys in your life who could benefit from hearing it...

I'd love to hear any ways this message challenges and encourages you, as I believe it will, if you are willing to put your pride and defensiveness aside (as I had to) and really hear what Mark is saying.

May God bless you and your marriage and may we all have a hunger to grow closer to Christ and be a little more like Him at the end of every day!

"All My Tears" by Jars of Clay

I was listening to this song this morning and reflecting on how powerful the lyrics are. I'm guessing the premise for the song comes from Revelation 21:4: "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

We truly are only here for a short time, like a mist in the wind, and then our lives will be over. In light of that, what could matter more than getting to know Jesus better every day? Those who have accepted Christ will spend eternity in His presence and all the troubles of this world will be done. All the pain, all the suffering, all the misery, all the tears - wiped away!

We'll have eternity in paradise - what an amazing gift grace is!

Here are the lyrics - check the song out if you don't know it - from the excellent album "Good Monsters":

"All My Tears"

When I go, don't cry for me
In my Father's arms I'll be
The wounds this world left on my soul
Will all be healed and I'll be whole
Sun and moon will be replaced
With the light of Jesus' face
And I will not be ashamed
For my Savior knows my name

It don't matter where you bury me
I'll be home and I'll be free
It don't matter where I lay
All my tears be washed away

Gold and silver blind the eye
Temporary riches lie
Come and eat from Heaven's store
Come and drink and thirst no more

So weep not for me, my friends
When my time below does end
For my life belongs to Him
Who will raise the dead again

What joy we have to look forward to - praise Jesus for His mercy on our wretched souls. Amen?!

There's This Cricket...

There's this cricket
It lives upstairs
I can't find it
When I go there

Now it's chirping
Chirping lots
I go up there
Then it stops

I will smash it
If I find it
It must know this
And would mind it

So I'm dealing
With the racket
When I see it
I'll attack it

It knows I lurk scarily
Yet chirps on merrily
Without a care in the world

With crushing destiny
It soon will have a date
But hey, it got to star
In this blog update

An Up-Down Conspiracy? or Reflections On How English Is A Really Weird Language

Follow me DOWN the proverbial rabbit hole, if you feel UP to it...

This is a verbal checkUP - I'd offer a checkDOWN but it just can't happen.

Once you pick this UP it's hard to put it DOWN.

We can sit UP or DOWN, but only listen UP.

You can be beat UP or suffer from a beat DOWN but can only jot things DOWN and only look things UP.

We can calm or settle DOWN but not UP.

I can be DOWN in the dumps, but never UP in them.

We could hook UP for coffee later but could never hook DOWN, whether we wanted to or not.

What's UP with that?

I can be DOWN for the cause, but only UP to the challenge.

I can only straighten UP but not in both directions.

Why do touch DOWNs and touch-UPs have so very little in common?

I could move DOWN under but not UP it.

It would be quite chaotic to be dressed DOWN while being dressed UP.

You wanna get DOWN with some more or have you had it UP to here with this?

Just thought I'd break it DOWN for you.

I was UP to my neck in deadlines writing this so it came DOWN to the wire & I was UP all night finishing it.

Ultimately, it all boils DOWN to this:

It's UP to you to decide if you're DOWN with what I'm saying.

And for the record, I did just DOWN some 7-UP, but no, I'm not Catholic - why do you ask?!

I'm OUT.

Wacko Sales Manager Spot

This one is quite ridiculous and would probably annoy me if I were to start seeing it on TV  - but then again, most car commercials are that way, especially local ones.  So I will spin it that I was just paying homage to the genre. That sounds artistic, sorta, doncha think?

Heavy Metal for Preschoolers