50,000 years messes EVERYTHING up

I consider myself somewhat of a deep-thinking Christian. What I mean is that I most often don't take things at face value. I hear a sermon, I have to think about it. I hear an arguement as to why hymns suck and praise and worship songs are the ONLY way to go . . . I have to mull that over in my head. I also have a Bachelor of Science degree which means I've heard a whole lot of science in my time.

And then I watch the news.

CNN reported today about an archaeological site in South Carolina, currently being excavated by a USC team that potentially tears down all of the currently held beliefs and/or theories regarding human immigration (particulary into the Americas).

Basically, what they're saying is that (should this be TRUE) there is proof that there were human inhabitants in America 30,000-35,000 years before anyone else really thought they were here. The long-held belief is that indigenous peoples came from eastern Asia into what is now Alaska and through the Americas from there during the last Ice Age (about 17,000 years ago).

Now, if there were people here 50,000 years ago this WHOLE theory goes out the window which means Anthropologists and other -ologists have to refine what is currently understood to be true.

What does all this mean? Well, couple of things. Science requires as much faith as religion: it is built on concepts that are unproven, that are assumed to be true based on what evidence we currently have. Sometimes new truths require an alteration of our foundations, which changes whatever structure has been built ON that foundation.

Secondly, there could be an explosion of new studies into human population (verb, in this case) of the Americas. If you're into that, it's very cool.

I'm glad that my foundation doesn't need to change. I'm glad that Christ never changes, never fails, never becomes the center of debate with anybody in my field!

Now, don't even give my that 4,000 year old earth thing . . .

Grace.

How to Put Links on Your Blog!

Hey All.

I've had a lot of people asking me lately how I put the links to other blogs on desmerizing. So I decided to answer it here since more of you may be wondering, or if you know someone who MAY be just send 'em this way.

First of all, know that it's tough if you don't know anything about HTML (for example, if you don't know what HTML is . . . probably not a good start). But if you're adventurous, continue on.

Here goes; step by step.

1. Go to http://www.blogger.com
2. Log in with your username & password.
3. At the dashboard, select CHANGE SETTINGS.
4. Click the TEMPLATE tab (from here on it gets dicey . . . you may have to be a little interpretive . . . I'm not sure what design you're using, and I have only done this with mine).
5. If you're on the EDIT CURRENT page (which you should be), you'll see a big rectangular box right in the middle of the page. The stuff inside is the code that you'll need to add to to make these links work.
6. What you've got to try to do is scroll down in this box until you get to the point that you want to add your links. Mine are in a place called the sidebar. If your blog has a side bar, keep scrolling down 'til you find something like this - <DIV="sidebar">. If you can't find that, look for ANYTHING saying sidebar (or wherever else you may want to put your links, e.g. bottom, top, etc.). It'll be a long way down, so just be patient
7. Remember, this whole process assumes that all of the other blogs on blogspot are coded the same way.
8. You SHOULD see some of this stuff too: Begin #profile-container, End #profile-container, you'll see things that say previous posts, and MainOrArchivePage.
9. Look for this: <MainOrArchivePage> so that it looks JUST LIKE I HAVE IT WRITTEN.
10. Now . . . again, if you don't know how to write HTML, you may be in trouble. Know that if you start editing this stuff, and you mess something up, you MAY mess up your whole page, but if you DO, you can always go to the Template Tab -> Pick New, and from that page reset your template so it looks normal again.
11. OK, after , you'll want to write something like this:

<center><p>Friends Who Blog:<br>

<a href="http://nameofblog.blogspot.com">Person's Name</a> <br>

<a href="http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=username">Person's Name</a> <br>

Put </center> at the end . . . otherwise, keep repeating this for however many links you need.

Then hit Save Template Changes, and it should all work. Hopefully.

Like I said, I've only ever tried that on my own blog so I can't promise that it would work for you. I tried to keep it as simple as possible, but, quickly realized, it's not that simple. Hopefully it works for you.

Peace and Love all.

Grace.

Youth Specialties #3

My first piece of advice . . . check out http://www.skitguys.com. Funniest people on the planet.

Today was another crazy day . . . i laughed, i cried, i ate chick-fil-a.

Now i'm almost ready to go to sleep, but I'm watching Larry King Live on CNN and Rick Warren (as in the purpose driven pastor of purpose driven life) is being interviewed and is fielding call-in quesitons. It's the first time I've seen him and I'm not surprised. He looks like a pastor (actually he looks like a senior pastor that used to be a youth pastor - goatee, slightly balding, slighty expanding in the horizontal plane).

I've had a problem with him . . . no, i've had a problem with the obvious commercialization of "Christian" books. He seems nice and all . . . a little side-stepping of questions going on, and Larry King (of the Jewish persuasion) is GRILLING him quite intensely . . . 'So what you're saying is that the Jew isn't going to Heaven?'

Not that any of this has to do with my experience at youth specialties.

The truth is defending your faith is potentially incredibly challenging, because of the battleground, the context. The culture we live in has a picture of the evangelical as the far right-wing pompous word i'd LIKE to say here. On national television, no less. So I'm forced to applaud the Rev. Rick.

Which I don't like doing, but I'm never quite sure why.

In any case, I get to see my wife tomorrow, so I'm pretty stoked about that. Youth Specialties taught me a lot. Please hold me accountable to it, if you're reading this. Make sure that I'm actually doing something with what I'm learning.

Grace.

Youth Specialties #2

Funny thing. I'm still at Youth Specialties in Atlanta. I'm still away from my wife . . . this isn't the funny part. All of my questions . . . correction . . . all of my "mainly for interests sake" questions have been answered. I had a question about video production using real artists' music. It's been answered . . . don't ever ask for my come to Jesus video again.

Secondly, I had a question about media shout (awesome computer presentation program, FYI) and how to show some stuff on multiple screens. Well, today I met the vice president for new technology with media shout. Needless to say, he answered my questions.

So, I'm sure this is a let down, because I started by saying that this was funny, and I'm quickly realizing that it is not.

I apologize.

On the other hand, I'm tired. But I will share this:

Sometimes I wonder, usually at events like this, if we're worshipping God or David Crowder. Maybe I'll get a chance to elaborate more. Shouldn't we worship the same no matter if it's Dave or the rappin' grannies?

Just wondering.

Grace.

Lessons from Youth Specialties #1

Youth Specialties is a very cool thing . . . especially if you're involved with youth ministry in any way. Incidentally, I'm at a YS conference in Atlanta right now.
Unfortunately, that means I'm away from my wonderful wife, which has been very difficult and I miss her very much.

On the upside, I've already learned some interesting things and had some interesting experiences which I will share with you now.

1. When you put a large number of youth pastor type people (approx. 6,500 people) you meet a lot of interesting, and very friendly people.

2. Fast food is seldom good but always convenient.

3. My calling in life has nothing to do with red tape.

4. Truth is everywhere. This is a paraphrase of the thoughts of our first speaker of the day, Rob Bell. He spoke about truth and how you can find truth everywhere. He said to claim truth where you find it: essentially to use whatever truth you can find, no matter what the source, to help your ministry. He based everything from 1 Corinthians 3 where it says that everything belongs to you (you, meaning us, and everything meaning the whole world, life and death, etc) and that we belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God. A=B and B=C kind of thing. Examples: you may find truth in a music video, in a book, from a secular website, etc. In Titus, the writer quotes a Cretan Prophet. In Acts, we read a quote from a Greek poet. The implication he descibed was interesting and hit home with me in a powerful way. He encouraged us to raise our kids, either our own kids or rentals in youth groups, etc., with the mindset that God's truth is everywhere. Don't Christianity as being in a box, where anything outside of said box is not true (example, anything non-army is not true). Imagine raising a child that is taught that only her church, way of life, is correct and that there is no truth outside of that. Said child will go off to college someday, and will hear from professors some things that will be true . . . the now-older-child thinks that they have to choose one or the other - that both Church and world are at odds, when in fact God OWNS the world. He made everything in it. If the child is taught to discern truth from many sources, this problem is quickly eliminated.

5. Tonight, Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker's son spoke. He was supposed to be controversial. I was disappointed in the lack of controversy, though I did like the direction he was headed. He basically said the church is like a hosipital that has shut it's doors to sick people. "Oh, you're bleeding. Do you . . . do you think you could come back later when that stops? Everything is really white in there and the doctors don't want to get messy." etc, etc.

That's all I've really got time for right now. Except to say, I've realized I've become more open in my old age. I've already sought out a few people from my past and new people to ask questions to, etc. Example, the bass player from Downhere. Also, it was very good to hear Starfield again . . . I'm here in a hotel room with Murray. We opened for those guys!

Grace.

A Small, but tasty, joy

The recipe contained herein has brought me joy in the past. Hopefully it can to yours as well. Thanks, Bethany Hawley of Texas, for contributing to my life in this small but significant way. It's no coincidence that her middle name is JOY.

The Ultimate Snicker Doodle
3 tblsp sugar
1 tsp brown sugar
1 box yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 C. vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl
3. Combine cake mix, eggs, and oil in a large bowl. Stir until well blended. Shape dough into 1" balls. Roll into cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place balls 2" apart on cookie sheet. Slightly flatten balls with the palm of your hand (or bottom of a glass if you're hygienically inclined).
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 or 9 minutes

EAT AND ENJOY!

Grace [=Annie ;-)]

The Name Game

Keanu (i.e. Reeves) means (translated from Hawaiian) "cool breeze blowing over the mountain". That's pretty funny to me. My name means "man from south munster". That's also funny . . . apparently it's from a Gaelic surname.

Sometimes I wish I had a name that meant powerful or cool or something more interesting than descibing the fact that I came from a particular geographic location.

Oh well. People say that we have to make a name for ourselves . . .

Another thing . . . MTV commercials. I love 'em. There's one that gives situations from a regular persons point of view vs. a celebrity point of view. It's great . . . but my new favorite is the one that declares the death of "bling bling".

R.I.P Bling Bling - 1997-2003

So, now you know it's no longer cool to use bling-bling when refering to anything-thing. I'm just doing y'all a service.

Grace.

Who Are We Thanking?

Thanksgiving
Pronunciation: tha[ng](k)s-'gi-vi[ng] also 'tha[ng](k)s-"Function: noun 1: the act of giving thanks,
2: a prayer expressing gratitude, 3a: a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness b capitalized : THANKSGIVING DAY
From http://www.m-w.com

Thanksgiving is coming up in my current part of the world . . . not that I own it. But in any case it gets me thinking. Obviously I'm thankful, and I say that I'm thankful for God. I guess I am. It makes sense, at least, that I would be.

Then I got thinking about how pretty much everybody in this country celebrates Thanksgiving blindly. Or observes it at least. They take time off of work, if nothing else. We give thanks to somebody or something. But if people aren't spiritual, if we don't adhere to a set of divine beliefs and principles, then there are only two options: 1) we're not really observing thanksgiving (since Thanksgiving is a public acknowledgement or celebration of divine goodness) or 2) we have declared we, ourselves, as divine.

I don't like calling anything something that it's not. There's something to be said for the power of words to subconsciously manipulate our understanding of something, in some cases to levels of perversion. My favorite example of this is "church". We have churches all over this country. We have a vast multitude of churches here in this region of the country. The problem is the church is the people . . . it became a building much later. I propose that our misuse of the word church to mean a building has severely altered our understanding of the true definition.

So, I don't particularly want to call Thanksgiving "Thanksgiving" if that's not what it is. And I recognize is not a CHRISTIAN thing, per se, in the world. Given that there are many different divinities that are believed to be, members of ALL faiths can recognize the generosity of their respective divinities . . . but if at the heart, no one recognizes the spiritual significance of this day, let's call it what it really is:

"Look at how much stuff I have accumulated and the position which I have attained" day.

Give Thanks.

Grace.

More Pics from the Wedding

Hey . . . here's another link to more pics. I'll be adding a bunch more later . . . so keep checking back!

http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/canadezzy/my_photos

Remembrance Day

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/remembranceday/

Today, in my little world, is Remembrance day. It's really the same kind of thing as America's Veteran's Day and Memorial Day, if those days were both observed at the same time, in November, and given a "Royal-British-Crown" kind of twist. There's a link above if you want to read more about it and how it's different.

Anywho, just like everyone else today, I take a moment to think that people died for my freedom. I have no concept of war, though. There's no way for me to think that these people, these heroes were thinking about my life when they were wading through mud and dodging bullets. I have no concept of how they would have thought because I have had no reason to think that way.

I've seen war on television which as become science-fiction-ish. The only difference is that instead of expensive special computer-generated effects you have expensive reality.

Granted I'm glad that I've never had to face war. I'm glad I'm a citizen of a country that has been fortunate enough to avoid those kind of intense combat situations. I guess it's just odd trying to remember something that never happened for me. It's not so much remembrance as much as it is an imagination tainted by the entertainment industry.

It's also wondering if I would have done the same thing. I love my country . . . but that's tough stuff . . . sacrificing your life. Realistically, you could sacrifice your life and never die . . . you have to make that sacrifice by entering into battle.

My life is not my own . . . . more on this later.

Grace.

Music Stinks

Music doesn't stink.

Writing music out stinks. Even with Finale (a: computer software for writing music; b: a crutch for those of us who need to hear every note to make an arrangement work, either by divine intervention or trial and error; c: the current bain of my existence).

I'm writing some "blues" music for our staff Christmas party . . . . fun.

I wish it would work without the music . . . . maybe if I just keep telling myself its for posterity.

Also, I was really hoping to get some comments on my Mountain Dew post . . . see below.

Finally . . . you may want to check out this cool site - it's like it reads your mind . . . or is carefully calculated to narrow down your choice by eliminating similars based on your response . . . . either way, it's cool:

http://www.smalltime.com/dictator.html

which I found on little Annie Carter's blog:

http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=AnNiE4585

That's it. Though there may be more.

Grace.

Do the Dew

So, I'm on my way to Charlotte Temple today, to pick up my lovely bride. And as I'm travelling down a fairly busy South Blvd. when I see a Mountain Dew van just a little ahead of me, waiting to pull out onto the road. You know the one . . . white van, Mountain Dew logo painted in trademark green on the top rear corner, big funny looking "look-behind-me" mirror attached by a metal arm that's been bent 8 or 9 different times.

Anyway, for some reason, I get excited . . . until I saw the driver. It was your average middle-aged looking guy, just like everybody else. I was TOTALLY expecting, for some insane reason to see Steven Segal.

Now, I've never seen, nor have I ever heard of Steven Segal driving a Mountain Dew delivery van. I'm sure he could, based on his acting merit alone. I reasoned that it must be because of his new MD commercial. I realize this is a stupid story.

In summary, I saw a van marked with MD motif, and identified that with Mr. Segal.

Then I got to thinking . . . .

I wonder how many people look at me and expect to see Christ and are disappointed to see a "Christian" that is to Christianity as Steven Segal is to acting. I wonder how many of them see my markings from a distance and are disappointed when they get a little closer and realize that I'm not Jesus.

Grace. Do the Jew.

In Response to Broken and Molded

(Explanation: This post started as a comment on a friends blog - http://brokenandmolded.blogspot.com - but it wouldn't fit . . . so I put it here instead)

OK, so I'm not an American . . . I've been here for just over 2 years, and aside from watching your major networks growing up and knowing a much higher proportion of your states than your brother-in-law knows my provinces and territories, I'm not intimately aware of much in this country.

It gives me a little bit of a unique perspective though, to be following said election without the ability to vote, or reason to take a side, other than that of a concerned Christian. I've been sick of "Christians" saying that you HAVE to vote for Bush . . . I hear him pray and quote scripture but I certainly don't think that that means he's been God ordained to be the leader of the free world. The devil can do the same thing . . . no, I'm not calling Bush the Devil . . . don't even go there.

I'm sick of democrats constantly tearing down republicans without mention of a better way. Recently, it's come out that Kerry took his stand against Gay Marriage at the advice of Bill Clinton, who said that was the only way to court the evangelical vote. Personally, I think Gay Marriage is an important topic that could really benefit from more discussion that blatent disregard.

The other thing that I've noticed is this. Christians who aren't hardcore Bush almost ALWAYS apologize, or clarify their position when talking to other Christians. Example (names have been changed to protect individuals' identity):

Person 1 (American Christian Voter): There's a lot that I don't agree with. I think "this" about "that" and "that" about this . . .

Person 2 (Objective Canadian Observer): Ah yes. I see what you're saying . . . I also think "this" about "that" . . . . I don't know who I would vote for, if that was an option.

Person 1: Now, I'm not saying that I'd vote for Kerry . . .

That's the line I think I've heard around the office more than anything else. "Now, I'm not saying that I'd vote for Kerry." It's been the oddest thing . . . I wish I could tell you how many times I've heard that, and from how many people. Maybe its a genuine thing. Or maybe it's a part of a larger understood sub-cultural ideal. First of all, I don't care how you vote, that's the beauty of freedom. Secondly, don't apologize for having beliefs on a particular issue.

If I WERE able, I still don't know who I'd have voted for. I agree and disagree with various parts of each candidates' platforms.

I applaud you, Ms. Sarah! I think we could all benefit from the gift of an open-er mind . . .

A Naked Canadian

First of all . . . . NO, it's not me.

I read this this morning on MSNBC.com . . . it's pretty funny:

A Canadian man, angry that he was refused a plane ticket to Australia at Los Angeles International Airport, stripped naked, sprinted across the tarmac and climbed into the wheel well of a moving jumbo jet, officials said.

The man, Neil Melly, 31, tried to buy a one-way ticket on the Qantas flight on Monday evening, but was turned down because he could not supply a valid credit card, Castles said.

Later, he managed to climb over an airport fence, topped by three strands of barbed wire, without injury and was spotted by a ramp worker “running, naked, full-speed” toward the plane.

I posted this one, mostly for my family . . . . so they wouldn't start thinking wondering about me.

Weird Things to Think About As You Wake Up

I haven't figured out why, but I woke up this morning thinking about Catholocism. Not that I'm Catholic, and not that I really understand anything about Catholic theology . . . . but apparently it's so deeply seeded in my subconcious that sometimes it floods my brain(s) whilst I'm sleeping. I did watch Raising Helen which has a Lutheran Pastor in it . . . he was dressed kinda like a Catholic Priest.

So, anyway . . . I was thinking about confession . . . thinking about how symbolic it is, and even though many protestants rag on it because, "Jesus provided a direct connection with God, therefore we don't need to go through anyone else.", I think it has some merit.

I think like most other things in the religious world, it's a symbol that we've put too much emphasis on. We do the same things with other things too: Salvationists and their uniforms; charismatics and their speaking in tongues, etc. It's like we take our one piece of theology that we differ on and emphasize it so that people will know that whats different about us; what you get if you go to our church.

Confession, for example, is great. We need to be accountable to someone. I think it's clear from Scripture that we don't need anyone else to speak for us to be saved. It's not really up for discussion. But so many of us think (perhaps also subconciously) that that translates into doing whatever we want to, as long as we keep asking God to forgive us. But that's equally as described in the Bible. BUT, at least in my life, if I knew that I had to (or was expected) to go and tell my PASTOR that I'd be lying and lusting, I'd probably have some second thoughts about it. For whatever reason, we don't invest anything into the lives of others and we wouldn't think about have a weekly meeting with a friend to discuss our weaknesses and decide to do something about it.

Something to think about.

Grace.

Pump Up the Bass

It's a fish.

Not what you were thinking? The Bass . . . it's a fish. If you're still confused . . . you're not pronouncing the word correctly. Bass . . . Bass . . . looks the same, reads differently.

In any case, all that to say that there are new shirts at http://www.randomshirts.com. I'm a little excited about this . . . as there is a shirt that says "Pump up the Bass" and there's a picture of a fish and hook . . . . very funny.

I'm hoping my wife buys it for me. THAT is weird . . . I have a WIFE!

So . . . anywho, I love Randomshirts but I have just one . . . that says "Get Krunk". If you go to the site you can see it.

It's 1:22 PM . . . still no news on who the President will be . . . I'll keep you posted as I KNOW you're relying on ME for information. I'll do my best.

Grace.

Indecision 2004

Well . . . it's election day. The day when an entire country gets to pick who they want to lead them into the future. I have to say that I'm glad I can't vote, because even though I've been following this for a while . . . I wouldn't be able to pick between the two. I've listened to the debates and realized that no one has a clear idea of what to do with this country. So, luckily, being very Canadian, I can't cast a ballot anywhere remotely close to here.

It's very odd though. I feel like an undercover agent, or at least an objective observer. Working at an organization that has interests in who gets in, and working with people within that organization who have their own opinions, and watching them all clash is a great expereince. Nothing dramatic, I should add. No fights or violence . . . just interesting debates.

In any case, I wouldn't be satisfied with my vote, because neither of them universally represent what I believe. Either way I voted, I'd be thinking, "Yeah, but the other guy said this about that . . . " so it just wouldn't work. Things like Gay Marriage, Stem Cell Research . . I haven't heard a position that I agree with yet . . . and I guess this are fairly newly debated issues and I should wait and see what happens with it all . . .

This is boring. I apologize. I'll be more exciting later.