A friend who is also a web designer passed this along to me today. I thought it was pretty funny. If you do design work, you might as well. 🙂 Enjoy…
Christianity
Christianity is not about learning to live within the lines; Christianity is about the joy of coloring.
That is a quote from the chapter I read this morning from Dangerous Wonder. Jen & I were talking about this last night, how too often Christians are so concerned with what happens after we die, that we miss out on living life here and now.
Jesus was telling people about the kingdom of God once, and he said, “God’s kingdom is right here with you” (Luke 17:21 – link is to Amplified Version) As I read that line recently with our boys I envisioned Jesus pointing to his chest, meaning that the kingdom of God is more of a perspective … a way of thinking, living, interacting with God, the world around you, and others. It’s a heart issue.
I just liked the quote and wanted to share. May your day be full of joyful coloring!
Arnold Speaks
A friend sent me a JibJab video today, and one of the “related video” links was an animated Arnold Schwarzenegger… so I clicked, and found there is a whole site of videos (allegedly) posted by Arnold himself. 🙂 From what I saw, pretty funny stuff. Enjoy.
Currently Reading
You may have noticed that I added a “Currently Reading” section to the sidebar on the right. I thought it would be fun for you to sort of peek over my shoulder and see what’s going into my head these days. (Since this is “Greg’s Head dot net…)
I think maybe the book, Dangerous Wonder by Mike Yaconelli, affected my previous post, and has been reminding me again of the things that are important in my life. Namely, my family, and remembering to just live life with passion and fully enjoy it. To be like a little kid – fully loved by his Dad.
It’s a very good book. I have read it before and wanted to be reminded of these things again. Glad that I picked it up. Been reading a chapter each morning. Gonna try and keep up (at least) that pace for a while. Been missing reading.
I’ll likely have more to say when I finish the book in a couple days. For now, if you’d like to get your own copy, the little widget takes you right to Amazon where you can get one for yourself. I do recommend.
Time
My grandpa turned 85 years old on Sunday. I called and got to chat with him just a little. Had a fun birthday planned with his family (my mom & dad, aunt & uncle, and a couple others) and told me he doesn’t think 85 is that old.
But it is.
It’s odd, but all I’ve been thinking when I think about him, or see the photos my dad sent along from the party is that his time here with us is probably pretty short. I know, it could be 10 or 15 years, which really is a good long time to enjoy, but it’s a pretty short time, too.
Life passes too quickly.
Today is the 11th anniversary of the day that Jen and I chose to marry. Eleven years. That’s a pretty long time. Today is also the 14th wedding anniversary of some friends of ours. That’s a long time. My dad is celebrating his 40th high school reunion this year. A friend celebrated his 50th not long ago. Jen’s parents celebrated 50 years of marriage a couple weeks ago.
Time passes. It just keeps moving on. And for some reason I am noticing that right now.
I am noticing that Grandpa may not be around much longer, and that makes me want to spend more time with him. I am noticing that Ian is not a little boy anymore. He’s going to turn 10 in a few months. He’s getting older, and experiencing life as Ian Campbell, not just our child. And that makes me want to spend more time with him.
What I am noticing – and have learned in my 33 years of life – is that spending time with people is the most important thing. I have learned also that all things in life must be balanced, but when all is finished, the most important thing is to just love and be loved. (As is evidenced by my just wanting to spend time with the people who are getting older faster than I want them to.)
The hope of those of us who live with Jesus is that the “end” that we are all rushing toward is not really an end at all, but a beginning. That life only changes – and for the better – when we reach the threshold between this life and the next. Grandpa has been a rough character at many times in my life, but he’s my grandpa, and I love him, and sometimes I imagine what it will be like when we both – in our new bodies and complete selves – can, along with the other Redeemed, enjoy the eternal “now” of full life with Jesus. (Now we see darkly…)
I can’t know what happens after we die. The Bible is full of hopeful language of resurrection and paradise and life with no more badness. And life with people we love here. No more curse, no more sin, no more death. Seems a good place to be.
We’re not there yet, but the older I get, the faster it seems we’re headed there.
Who knows, maybe we’ll be there sooner than I think? 🙂
Enjoy the time you have with those who are around you. Call up your grandpa and tell him you love him. Spend time with your son, or dad, or mom, or daughter, or spouse…
Today’s as good a time to do that.
Saturn And Mars
I watched an episode of PBS’ Nova recently titled, “Voyage to the Mystery Moon”. It was the story of NASA’s Cassini mission to explore Saturn and land on its enormous moon, Titan. Very cool show about a pretty fascinating project. I am definitely very interested in space and space exploration.
Well, that show led me to do a bit more research on the internets, and while there, I discovered that right now (at least where we live) you can look up in the western sky, just after sunset, and see Saturn and Mars really really close together. It’s pretty cool. You should try it.
This article gives a bit more detail, but it’s basically July 9-11 that the planets will appear to be close together in the sky.
So if it’s a nice night where you are (and you’re near where we are) get out and enjoy the view!
Faith Without Doubt
If you ask God for something specific (and do not doubt), that is faith.
If you do not receive what you asked for, but you remain unwavering in your trust of your Father, presuming that He knows better than you, and by not receiving what you asked for, you are actually better off … is that the epitome of faith? Or is it just back-door doubt?
I’m really trying to figure that out.
Turkey Hill Ice Cream – Celebrating National Ice Cream Month
Just like last year, the good folks at the Turkey Hill Ice Cream blog are posting fun ice cream related stories to their blog every day during July – National Ice Cream Month. I’m not sure what the exact prizes are, but I know they pick commenters randomly and award prizes all month long. Fun stuff! So, stop by and read about ice cream, comment, and maybe get some prizes! Great ice cream, great fun!
And again, happy national ice cream month! 🙂
Free Derek Webb Album – The Ringing Bell
If you’re a fan of Derek Webb, chances are you already have this album. But, if you’re a Derek Webb fan with very limited funds (like me) then perhaps you were waiting for something like this to come along.
I got an email from the DW camp yesterday telling me I could get the album The Ringing Bell for FREE if I just tell three friends about NoiseTrade.com, the site that is offering this free download deal. So… I gave it a try, and am enjoying my new album right now! 🙂
There are many more artists offering their music this way at the site linked above, but you can use the handy-dandy widget at the top of this post to email some friends, and get yourself the Derek Webb album in your email box. Fun!
Enjoy, and spread the word!
Mac Trojan: Real Threat, or Website Traffic Generator?
I’m late to the party with this one, but it’s been busy around here… what can I say?
So, last week there were reports that a genuine Mac OS trojan had been discovered “in the wild” (meaning, in the real world, affecting real Mac users). I checked it out (per the link above) today and found that it’s still just a good opportunity to get some hits to your site.
The so-called “trojan” is an AppleScript file that must be downloaded, and double-clicked (opened) in order to do anything. I must admit, what it is able to do is impressive. It somehow works around the OS safeguards and is able to do some things only an administrator should do. However, it still requires user activation.
So, the Mac continues to be (by far) the safest computing platform available. I do wonder if this particular script “counts” enough for Apple to have to say there are now (1) viruses for the Mac?
(NOTE: I visited a page where Apple used to claim there were currently zero viruses for the Mac OS, and now it does not explicitly say that. Perhaps they are becoming a bit less smug about their incredible security? Perhaps.)