God Loves Scumbags Like Crazy?

Phil Robertson, the Duck Dynasty reality TV star, knows God loves Him like crazy. Even though he's a self-described "scumbag." You have GOT to watch this 4 minute vid!!!

Coexist with Technology?

"It is my phone. I bought it. I pay for it. I am loaning it to you. Aren't I the greatest? I hope that you understand it is my job to raise you into a well rounded, healthy young man that can function in the world and coexist with technology, not be ruled by it" Janell Hoffman wrote. This mom loves her 13 year son. And to express that love, she gave him an iPhone5 for Christmas in December 2012. An iPhone / iPad Mini is an extravagant gift for a teen. But what made me think she loves her son like crazy was her 10 Commandments she gave next. Actually, she gave him 18 Commandments. Here, from her original blog post, they are:

1. It is my phone. I bought it. I pay for it. I am loaning it to you. Aren't I the greatest?
2. I will always know the password.
3. If it rings, answer it. It is a phone. Say hello, use your manners. Do not ever ignore a phone call if the screen reads "Mom" or "Dad". Not ever.
4. Hand the phone to one of your parents promptly at 7:30pm every school night & every weekend night at 9:00pm. It will be shut off for the night and turned on again at 7:30am. If you would not make a call to someone's land line, wherein their parents may answer first, then do not call or text. Listen to those instincts and respect other families like we would like to be respected.
5. It does not go to school with you. Have a conversation with the people you text in person. It's a life skill. *Half days, field trips and after school activities will require special consideration.
6. If it falls into the toilet, smashes on the ground, or vanishes into thin air, you are responsible for the replacement costs or repairs. Mow a lawn, babysit, stash some birthday money. It will happen, you should be prepared.
7. Do not use this technology to lie, fool, or deceive another human being. Do not involve yourself in conversations that are hurtful to others. Be a good friend first or stay the hell out of the crossfire.
8. Do not text, email, or say anything through this device you would not say in person.
9. Do not text, email, or say anything to someone that you would not say out loud with their parents in the room. Censor yourself.
10. No porn. Search the web for information you would openly share with me. If you have a question about anything, ask a person ? preferably me or your father.
11. Turn it off, silence it, put it away in public. Especially in a restaurant, at the movies, or while speaking with another human being. You are not a rude person; do not allow the iPhone to change that.
12. Do not send or receive pictures of your private parts or anyone else's private parts. Don't laugh. Someday you will be tempted to do this despite your high intelligence. It is risky and could ruin your teenage/college/adult life. It is always a bad idea. Cyberspace is vast and more powerful than you. And it is hard to make anything of this magnitude disappear -- including a bad reputation.
13. Don't take a zillion pictures and videos. There is no need to document everything. Live your experiences. They will be stored in your memory for eternity.
14. Leave your phone home sometimes and feel safe and secure in that decision. It is not alive or an extension of you. Learn to live without it. Be bigger and more powerful than FOMO -- fear of missing out.
15. Download music that is new or classic or different than the millions of your peers that listen to the same exact stuff. Your generation has access to music like never before in history. Take advantage of that gift. Expand your horizons.
16. Play a game with words or puzzles or brain teasers every now and then.
17. Keep your eyes up. See the world happening around you. Stare out a window. Listen to the birds. Take a walk. Talk to a stranger. Wonder without googling.
18. You will mess up. I will take away your phone. We will sit down and talk about it. We will start over again. You & I, we are always learning. I am on your team. We are in this together.

Isn't that like God? Who gives us extravagantly good gifts? And is "in this" together with us? Who knew how we coexist with technology could remind us of how we should coexist with God? Who loves us enough to give us some good advice on how to live? No wonder everyone who loved God like crazy before and after the cross also loved His law. Psalm 119:97 says, "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long." 1 Timothy 1:8 adds, "We know that the law is good if one uses it properly."

For your enjoyment, click here to see a vid of Lydia receiving on her birthday an iPad Mini (we gave her the rules after!!!)

Last Words?

His doctor later conceded he had a less than 1% chance of surviving his life threatening Acute Aortic Dissection even with surgery. But he did PTL! Later he sent me this video clip he made (with some help from life flight helicopter paramedics) of what he thought would be his last message to his family on his iPhone. At this point in his experience, death seemed acutely real and imminently close. But he was trying to be courageous...

Some of the apostle Paul's courageous last words can be found in Acts 20:24 NLT, "But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God." What will your last words be?

Hymns Reinvented?

Page CXVI is a band out of Colorado that reworks, re-imagines and sometimes reinvents classic hymns. Their band name is drawn from a page number in a particular copy of The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis, the brilliant passage where Aslan begins to sing Narnia into creation out of a black void.

Here's the quote: "In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. There was hardly even a tune. But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it." - C.S. Lewis, The Magician's Nephew p. 116

In March, they are giving away their entire catalog for free as a way to celebrate their 7th anniversary. Check 'em out. I LOVE THESE GUYS!!!

Or get a taste below

Helen's Home?

Haven of Hope makes over the homes (and often lives) of people one at a time in NW Ohio. Check out Helen's video we showed during Intermission of Valentines for Toledo concert benefiting Haven of Hope. And save the dates JUL 28-31 if  you want to help Haven of Hope with their next make over!