Merry Christmas!!

A co-worker gave this to me the other day, it is now displayed proudly on my desk. If you haven't seen The Nightmare Before Christmas you definitely should.....by the end of the day, one of my favorite movies ever.

Shadow of the Day

The actual video can't be embedded so here is the song itself:




If you want to watch the video click here.

The song is rather moody I think and I kind of like it. However it is incredibly sad when you watch the video and see the message of the song, a message that would be completely different if God wasn't taken out of the equation.

Looking at the never ending evil in the world can only bring one of two responses, and Linkin Park obviously went for the wrong one.

Song of the Moment

Leeland - Yes, You Have

I want one!!

From Half-Life 2

It's for the kids!

This is pretty doggone funny.

Party of Parties

This was yesterday's sermon at my church. I found it to be brilliant, many people found it joyously moving.

Check it out.

New Life Sermons


I'm curious if others like it as much as I did.

Seeker - Sensitive Dreck

Let me but upfront about this, I despise seeker sensitive churches, using the common usage of this term. These churches, just to paint with a broad stroke, wastes their Sunday mornings preaching sermons to the 4 people who were dragged there by their family members in the hopes that one of them will "Convert" to being another person sitting in the pew who isn't being taught anything since that person is now "saved" and can now be ignored.

The incredibly sad part about all this is that there is a church in my area that proclaims itself seeker-friendly, then this very same church closed its doors on Christmas since being there for the seekers was just too doggone hard that day!

Anyway, just as I saw a study that suggests that people are more irritable when they don't get enough sleep comes this report that not teaching what Christ demands we do is failing to bring people to true salvation.

Yes, I am stunned as well.

Here is a quote from the story:

"Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back it wasn’t helping people that much. Other things that we didn’t put that much money into and didn’t put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for."

This is what happens when foolish man decides that he is wiser than an all-powerful and all-knowing God. This is the idiocy that occurs when we turn our backs on God and instead use poll data to decide how we are to run our churches. Hopefully truth will be learned from this pile of horsepoopie that "seeker-friendly" churches have created.

Read the rest of the article here.

David Crowder Band - Remedy

Here we are
Here we are
The broken and used
Mistreated, abused
Here we are

Here You are
Here You are
The beautiful one
Who came like a Son
Here You are

So we lift up our voices
We open our hands
To cling to the love
That we can’t comprehend

Oh, lift up your voices
And lift up your heads
To sing of the love
That has freed us from sin

He is the one
Who has saved us
He is the one
Who embraced us
He is the one who has come
And is coming again
He’s the remedy

Here we are
Here we are
Bandaged and bruised
Awaiting a cure
Here we are

Here You are
Here You are
Our beautiful King
Bringing relief
Here You are with us

So we lift up our voices
And open our hands
Let go of the things
That have kept us from Him

He is the one
Who has saved us
He is the one
Who forgave us
He is the one who has come
And is coming again
He’s the remedy


Oh, I can’t comprehend
I can’t take it all in
Never understand
Such perfect love come
For the broken and beat
For the wounded and weak
Oh, come fall at His feet
He’s the remedy
He’s the remedy

So sing, sing

You are the one
Who has saved us
You are the one
Who forgave us
You are the one who has come
And is coming again
To make it alright
Oh, to make it alright
You’re the remedy
Oh, in us
You’re the remedy

Let us be the remedy
Let us bring the remedy

When it Doesn't Feel Like We are Winning

There is a David Crowder song called "We Win!" It is a very upbeat song reminding us that the outcome is assured, that this great war that we are a part of has already been won, not by our weak means but by the strength of our Savior.

Right now there is a funeral at my church for a 25 year old woman who was murdered in her home last week. She is the daughter of one of the elders of the church. At this moment I'm feeling a bit down, not really down, just sad for the family. I haven't been going to the church long enough to have known her, she moved to Nashville with her husband a few years back, or to really know the elder or his family, yet I feel their pain.

To some extent, all of us who have lost someone very close to us can commiserate, but on the other hand we can't. What can you say to the grieving mother who has to come to grips with the fact that her daughter is dead all because someone decided that his or her life would be better if she were dead.

Or how do you console the father who was unable to protect his child, even though that is what we men do, we protect our families, but at this point he was unable to since she lived several states away.

Or what to say to explain to her siblings who won't be able to grow old with their sister? Or her friends?

Our pastor read from Isaiah 57:15 last week and it was very fitting.

" 15 For this is what the high and lofty One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
"I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite."

Our God who ordains all things has caused this tragedy to come to pass. He promises us that all things work for good for His children, but He also knows that things will be hard.

A thing of great comfort to me is that we do not serve a lofty God who commands from the rear and is distant. Our God isn't the king who has become great on the backs of his slaves, rather He became lowly to make us great. There is not a tragedy or pain that He has not already felt for us. There is not a sorrow or test that He has not overcome. But even our great Savior understands the feeling of sorrow and loss.

He wept over Lazarus and cried out His anguish over the path He was to take to the cross.

Even now as the funeral is going on and there is so much pain He is there for His children, comforting us and promising us that even this will be good and is a vital part of the victory, even though it doesn't feel like it.

Speaking My Language

From the same website that taught us how to be Christian Gentlemen without reading the Bible comes a fantastic article on money and riches from a pseudo-Joel Olsteen perspective.

How to Use God to Get What You Want

The article is filled with sarcasm and mockery, ergo, I love it.

Lo Pro

Song called "Sunday"

Trying to Stay Humble

So I saw the doctor today for a check-up. He wanted to see how well I was healing from the surgery.

So I got to drop my pants and kneel on the table that rose into the air so the "spreader" could do her job and allow the doctor to see my rectum well. The use of the nearby butt light was put to good use as well.

"Hmm, very nice, looking good," the doctor says while staring at my exposed sphincter.

I felt a burst of pride, I had a good looking sphincter! Very tough to stay humble after a compliment like that one I can assure you!

Assure....maybe not the best word choice there....

New Blog

So I added a new blog to my list of links. If the author, Germy as I will call him, fails as a blog writer I have no issues with yanking him and putting in a relief blogger, maybe someone like Curt Schilling.

Check him out, his first post mocking the Pirates is pretty good.........amazingly.

I'm not saying, just saying....

Apparently my hemorrhoid was the source of strength for the two football teams I follow.

Record of the Penn State Nittany Lions and the San Fransisco 49ers before removal of hemorrhoid:

5 wins and 0 losses

Record of both teams after removal:

o wins and 4 losses.

Odd....very odd.....

What I Said at My Granddaughter's Funeral

By John Piper

Link to Website

I had the privilege of sitting with my family while Tom Steller and Sam Crabtree ministered to us at the funeral of Felicity Margaret Piper who was stillborn at full term on September 22, 2007. Her father Abraham asked me to speak for five minutes on “A Granddaddy’s Thoughts.” Here is what I said.

I didn’t know Felicity Margaret. My experience of her life was entirely through other people for nine months. And my experience of her death, even though it was physically immediate and touchable, has been emotionally experienced almost entirely through other people.

So at this moment, what it means for me to be Felicity’s grandfather is that I am living this loss almost entirely through other people’s experience of this loss. And because of my love for all these people, there is a powerful sweetness in this pain.

Being Felicity’s grandfather means that I have tasted her loss through my daughters-in-law, her aunts Shelly, Melissa, and Lesley. The measure of her worth and the greatness of her loss have been written on your faces, and they are the more beautiful for it.

Being Felicity’s grandfather means that I have felt her loss in the shattered expectation of her aunt Talitha, my daughter. It was not easy to go to school on Monday. But you and Mommy made a good plan with the school counselor to inform the teachers and students. And now, in a way you never expected, your heart is knit together with Dasia whose little brother Zach was killed by the dog a month ago.

Being Felicity’s grandfather means that I have felt her loss through her uncles and my sons Karsten, Benjamin, and Barnabas. I broke the news to each of you and watched all your plans change. You are good brothers to each other. And I cannot tell you how much I love the tears and embraces of strong men.

Being Felicity’s grandfather means that I have felt her loss through her grandmother, my wife Noël. Strange and wonderful. Your tears came slowly and have increased. Mine came quickly and have decreased. Almost the story of our lives. Thank you for knitting Felicity’s blanket, and weeping as you decided to give it to her anyway.

Being Felicity’s grandfather means that I have felt the loss through her mother, my daughter-in-law Molly. For her entire life she depended on you more than anyone. You fed her, you cleansed her, you supported her, you protected her, you knew her better than anyone. The grace that God has given you to love her greatly and let her go is amazing. Christ is on display in your life.

Being Felicity’s grandfather means that I have felt the loss through her father, my son Abraham. The words from Saturday morning’s phone call are cut into my heart, “Daddy, we lost the baby.” Nothing, Abraham, has gone deeper inside of me than your loss.

Being Felicity’s grandfather means that I have felt the loss through her great grandfather, my father Bill Piper. And this experience is totally different from all the others. In this case, the loss is all gain. My father died six months and sixteen days before Felicity did. I believe the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ covers the sins of all who trust him and all who are not old enough to trust him here but will trust him later.

Therefore, I believe Felicity and her great grandfather met each other early Sunday morning in the presence of Christ. And my father said, perhaps, “Hello, Felicity. I’m your great grandfather Piper. Come, there is somebody I want you to meet. His name is Jesus. He’s the reason you’re here. You don’t need to be afraid. Your Savior has led you all the way. And Jesus does all things well.”

Pretty Funny

Wanted: Midfielder


Check it out.

Funny Stuff

Fantastic Rant

Just a bit of background here. The Quarterback for the Oklahoma State football team was demoted to backup since things were not working well. A member of the media wrote some not nice things about the quarterback in an article about the team. The coach got mad since since his players are amateur players and called a press conference.

I think what the coach does is fantastic. Many of these guys look to the coach as a father figure since, sadly, they didn't have one growing up and this guy is defending his guy. He even talks about his players as if they are his children. Anyway, I applaud this guy for doing what he did, maybe he could have done it differently, but it will hopefully remind the next writer about to write mean things about a college player that they are indeed amateurs and they do need to be treated differently.

Listen at the end for the applause from the people as he leaves. I'm not the only one who agrees with the coach.

Of Hemorrhoids and Heart Palpitations

I went poo! I went poo! The Lord does answer prayer!



.........uhhhhh........



Maybe I should start at the beginning......

I hadn't been to the doctor in years as of mid August 2007. My wife had wanted me to go get a family doctor all set up in case something happened, which is a good idea, it just wasn't working out for me.

Then, one day, I had a literal pain in the butt. We were a little nervous until we found out it was merely an extremely painful external hemorrhoid. Looks like it is definitely time to go to the doctor now. And I say "merely" since the first thought that jumps into everyone's head when there is a lump is cancer. Those who suffer from these awful afflictions know there is nothing "mere" about them.

So I go to the doctor and get some medicine prescribed. Some really fun medicine that you have to shove into your rear and make you feel like crap. They turn all gooey and, just to be perfectly honest about this, if you have to release gas you feel like you might have just crapped your pants.

Anyway, the medicine wasn't working and it made me feel lousy. But at least I could still go to the gym and exercise. I like to play racquetball, its a good workout and fun which is really quite amazing since most things that are good for you are rather boring.

Last Monday when I left the gym my heart started racing and beating VERY hard. I could see my shirt moving from the force of my heart pounding. I was sure that it would just explode at any moment. I sat in my car and waited for it to slow down but it didn't. I remember praying, "Lord, I don't really want to die in this parking lot."

I figured I should call 911 and I got my phone out, but then the accounting side of me took over and I figured I would just drive. If it didn't stop by the time I reached the hospital I would go in.

It didn't.

As soon as I told the nurse what was going on they grabbed me a wheelchair and wheeled me into the back. They asked me the heart attack questions which I must have answered correctly since they then decided to ignore me.

The pounding stopped.

It was so sudden that I was worried my heart had just stopped working. After having it pound that hard for 20 minutes I wasn't used to it not being so noticeable. I started thinking that since I hadn't been checked in yet they couldn't bill me. So I got up and told them I was leaving. I figured if it was something serious they would have had a doctor over to see me by now...and really, it was the Pekin hospital, chances were that they would kill me trying to treat me anyway.

So I went back to the doctor and had an EKG done, of course everything was normal. We also scheduled a time to see a surgeon about my other issue, one that wasn't so life threatening but still rather painful.

I went to the butt surgeon on Thursday and he decided just to remove it in his office that day. Nothing is quite as humbling as kneeling on a table with three people looking at your rear. I need to start sun tanning nude.

He walked up in front and said to me, "I'm not going to lie, the shot is going to hurt."

It did.

He showed me the removed hemorrhoid, if was nasty looking. But I felt great....until the anesthetic wore off. Fortunately my boss and my wife had convinced me to go home since they figured I would start hurting badly soon.

It is almost comical now. I was whimpering in pain on Thursday night each time I had to pass gas. I was doped up on pain medicine, drinking Metamucil and taking stool softeners.

In the midst of this week of facing death in a parking lot and having a large pain in the rear, just to prove that God does indeed have a sense of humor I had a filling crack and had to have it replaced.

This was done Thursday morning so by the time my face un-numbed I was getting my butt numbed. Growing older is fun!

On Friday I used the Sitz Bath I had been told to get by the doctors. Anytime you have to add an attachment to your toilet you know that you are definitely not ever going to be on 90210, your coolness days are over.

The pain had made me constipated too. even with the Metamucil and stool softeners. I was getting worried and not feeling all that great.

This morning I woke up prayed:

"Lord, you are so powerful and can do anything, I would really like to be able to go to the bathroom, could you let that happen?"

Really now, what a great God we have that we can ask for anything. I doubt that a Muslim ever prayed that prayer, he is probably worried he will have one of his 70 raisins taken away.

So, about an hour ago I went to the bathroom, causing me much joy, so much so that I had to come here and type this whole story out...while sitting gingerly on a donut.

Was There a Second Matrix Movie?

I know only one person will care that I put this back up, but here it is:

The only good part of the Matrix Reloaded

Yeah, this was taken on my phone so sorry for the quality.