Dice Wars

For all you Risk lovers out there...

Dice Wars is a ridiculously fun, simple, and slick flash-based version of the Risk board game.

I've been playing this for maybe two hours a day this week.

But it's addicting.  Don't say I didn't warn you!

Flying Fragments

I really like snow.

I have a favorite reason for liking snow, and it's not the aesthetically pleasing effect it has on my eyes, nor is it the dangerously fun driving conditions it creates, and it's not even the playful aspects of the white stuff.

After icy, bitter cold snow storms like the one we've just had here in New Jersey, rock-hard snow tends to cling to the tops of cars that are parked outside overnight.  Most sensible people will clear the snow that accumulates on the windshield and the rear window, but not many people clear off the ossified snow that clings to the roofs of their automobiles.

And this is wonderful!

Why?

Because when these cars carry these sheets of hard snow on their roofs onto the streets, and especially the highways, plates of this shell begin separating from the tops of these cars and go flying through the air, almost creating the scene of an ice-snow explosion.  If you've ever seen this wonderful phenomenon then you know exactly what I'm talking about.

It's beautiful to see plates of snow go flying through the air.  It really is.  I saw it happen multiple times on the Parkway this morning, and it was not only aesthetically pleasing to my eyes, but it warmed my heart, mind, and even my soul.

This is because in these moments, I see an encouraging reflection of my progress.  The fancy word, I believe, is sanctification.

Before I was captured by God, there really was an icy shell that had formed around me.  I didn't know it at the time, but now as I see parts of this shell flying off of me I know it clearly.

And that's the beauty of it: that shell is really falling apart, and bits, pieces, and plates of it are flying off of me.  I am becoming softer and warmer as my brittle, icy shell loses its grip on me.

I forgot to mention that when I see these icy snow plates flying off of cars, the process tends to be catalyzed by bumps and ditches in the road.  As the cars run over these bumps and ditches, the explosions are sparked.

I am trying to believe and understand that the same is true with my life.  When I encounter these bumps and ditches in the road, I see that these are the places where pieces of my shell are most likely to fly off of me.  Yes, it's not pleasant at the time...I am jarred, stunned, and a bit scared, but afterwards it is great to know that these bumps and ditches were not without their purposes.

Maybe these rough patches really are good.  I know it's easy to say it or to nod your head as you hear it, but to believe it is another thing.  I will admit that I have not yet fully reached the point of believing this, but I think I am slowly getting there.

So, let the bumps and ditches come!  I will try my best to believe, with full earnestness, that once I have passed over them I will see shards of this darned shell flying off into the air in my rear view mirror.  And once I've reached my destination, I am confident that none of this shell will remain, and that those rugged, uneven, and jagged parts of my past will be largely to thank.

Sweet Dice Almighty...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Taken today from the Ask.com Blog:

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Love,

--The Ask.com Team

---

So, Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!  Whether you are single or taken, here's to avoiding that darned Carpal Tunnel of Love (see song above).

And throw all that mushy "Be Mine" nonsense, along with all those other specious and emotionally misleading beau ideals out the window and into the slushy roads!

We are His, and He is ours.

"They will be my people, and I will be their God." - Ezekiel 11:20

The Go! Team - Junior Kickstart

Worst Fight Scene Ever

No one likes watching a horrible fight scene such as the one above.  It's unbelievably infuriating.  Why?  For multiple reasons, methinks.  Here are just a few of them:

1.  Bad acting gets on everyone's nerves.  Actors get paid decent sums of money to put on a sad display of what's supposed to be a "fight."  Any person off the street could do just as well, if not better.  The same goes for the people that choreograph and film these sorry excuses for a fight scene.

2.  Poor special effects are just plain lame.  Of course, this is easy for us to say now.  In fact, it's inevitable that a few years from now we'll be looking at the movies from the past few years and think the same exact thing.  But that doesn't change anything.

3.  Blatant deviation from reality is hard to stomach.  This is mostly the culmination of 1 and 2, but it's true nonetheless.  There is something in us that can't stand watching fights that are far from reality.  This isn't to say that fights involving mythical monsters in other worlds are not good, because most times they are.  But when fights involve slow punches, unbearably fake grunts, and laughable reactions, there is little that is worse.

4.  Weak, unlikable, or poorly portrayed protagonists and antagonists ruin these fights.  It's hard to get excited about a brawl that involves a sissy hero fighting a monster dressed in stiff rubber.

And I think that this is why much of the world looks with disdain and condescension upon the church.

1.  We are bad actors.  To unbelievers, we are just acting, and doing a poor job of it, too.  Our good deeds, muted humility, and carefully chosen words are not signs of sanctification to them, but indications of a facade that we put on in order to either fit in, or worse, work to earn our place in heaven.

2.  Our pyrotechnics are far from entertaining.  Prayers, sermons, songs, and personal sharing are not exactly the same as gun fights, explosions, and cinematic deaths.  All of our special effects are the same as they were way back when the church first started.  In a sense, our weapons have not advanced much at all.

3.  We are loony for believing the reality we do.  Everything that is tangible and real in this world that we live in seems to have nothing to do with what's involved in 1 and 2 above.  Our beliefs seem irrelevant and foolish...mere idee fixes.

4.  Our hero is a man who was nailed to wood.  Our enemy seems to be a figment of our imagination that is oftentimes portrayed as red, with hooves and horns.  Ridiculous.

The sad thing is that many (if not all) Christians fall into this line of thinking, too.  We begin to buy into 1, 2, 3, and 4, and start wondering whether we really are on the right side.

There are so many ways to respond to these times of doubt, some good, others bad.  And it all starts with a voice reminding us, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength."

Yes, in these frail, awkward bodies, in this downtrodden, suffocating world our daily and lifelong battles seem absurd.  But I do believe that with every weak line we deliver, every lame detonation, every unconvincing punch we throw, our God is working behind the veil that shrouds our eyes in this life, and is fighting the real battle that is more real than any great cinematic battle has ever been, or will ever be.

There is an awesome, stunning, and horrifying war being fought behind what we see.  Whether we know it or not, by faith, we are either helping or detracting from that cause.

The reason we can boldly take part in this fight, regardless of what we can or can't see at the moment, is not found in some missive or conspectus, but in a moribund man on a cross.  Not only that, but also in that same man truly risen again three days later to grant us our Pyrrhic victory.

Why would he do this?  Why would he take on our sin, our death, our shame, our wrath, our name?  It certainly wasn't because of some silly bet.  I guess the short and simple answer would be "grace," but let's face it...the insufficient ideas, emotions, and truths hidden in that word will take eternity to convey.

Isn't it great to know that that's exactly the amount of time that we'll have to listen, understand, and respond?

So, let's keep on fighting, no matter how ridiculous we may feel or look.  The ending will prove us right (don't we see hints of that even now?), and will show the world that this battle was truly one for all time.

Eternal Embrace

 

Caption: A pair of human skeletons lie in an eternal embrace at an Neolithic archaeological dig site near Mantova, Italy, in this photo released February 6, 2007. Archaeologists in northern Italy believe the couple was buried 5,000-6,000 years ago, their arms still wrapped around each other in a hug that has lasted millennia.

Caption: The Indianapolis Colts hold hands in prayer after winning the Super Bowl XLI 29-17 over the Chicago Bears on February 4, 2007 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.