I raved about season two of Friends. Most of the times I've started the series over, I've skipped season one and gone straight into the second season. As good as season two is when compared to the first season, season three is even better!
Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Monday, January 27, 2014
A month ago, I made the trek to The Guardtower, my favorite store in the world, and used our Christmas money to buy a new board game. Holly and I love to play board games. Our favorites are Agricola, Lords of Waterdeep and Dominion, but we also own Powergrid, Settlers of Catan, 7 Wonders and Carcassonne.
My friend Nate is my board game sensei and my primary source of information. He had mentioned that he got a couple of the expansions for Talisman for Christmas from his wife, and that made me want to get the game to play it. He reviews TONS of board games and write a fantastic blog. You can either click his name here in this paragraph, or click on his name on the right to check his blog out. If you do, tell him Large Marge sent you, he'll know what it means.
So, I bought Talisman and we played it on New Years Day with Holly's parents.
It was the longest game of all time.
Seriously, you may think Monopoly takes a while, Monopoly is a quick jog through the park compared to how long this first game of Talisman took us. Okay, it wasn't that long, but it felt like it took forever. Also, you shouldn't play Monopoly, it's not a very good game (I'm being a board game snob now).
After our day-long adventure dodging the Grim Reaper, each other and miscellaneous bad guys while attempting to procure The Crown of Command, each of us decided that the game was awesome and we'd love to play it again.
The mechanics are simple, you power yourself up through a few different ways (fighting bad guys, each other and lucky card draws) in order to be the first player to get to The Crown of Command. Once you get there, you essentially get to kill the other players as they try to reach you in order to stop you from killing them.
It's awesome!
Holly and I played again the next day, and the game was considerably shorter, using a couple of variant rules Nate suggested. It also didn't hurt that we had half as many players.
We're looking forward to getting some more of the expansions for Talisman and playing with some of our other gaming friends! It's definitely being added to our favorites list.
What about you, what are some of your favorite games to play?
My friend Nate is my board game sensei and my primary source of information. He had mentioned that he got a couple of the expansions for Talisman for Christmas from his wife, and that made me want to get the game to play it. He reviews TONS of board games and write a fantastic blog. You can either click his name here in this paragraph, or click on his name on the right to check his blog out. If you do, tell him Large Marge sent you, he'll know what it means.
It was the longest game of all time.
Seriously, you may think Monopoly takes a while, Monopoly is a quick jog through the park compared to how long this first game of Talisman took us. Okay, it wasn't that long, but it felt like it took forever. Also, you shouldn't play Monopoly, it's not a very good game (I'm being a board game snob now).
After our day-long adventure dodging the Grim Reaper, each other and miscellaneous bad guys while attempting to procure The Crown of Command, each of us decided that the game was awesome and we'd love to play it again.
The mechanics are simple, you power yourself up through a few different ways (fighting bad guys, each other and lucky card draws) in order to be the first player to get to The Crown of Command. Once you get there, you essentially get to kill the other players as they try to reach you in order to stop you from killing them.
It's awesome!
Holly and I played again the next day, and the game was considerably shorter, using a couple of variant rules Nate suggested. It also didn't hurt that we had half as many players.
We're looking forward to getting some more of the expansions for Talisman and playing with some of our other gaming friends! It's definitely being added to our favorites list.
What about you, what are some of your favorite games to play?
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Thursday, January 2, 2014
2013 was a big year for me and my family. I started the year living with my in-laws and working as a part time cook making nearly minimum wage at a restaurant. I ended the year working full-time as a pastor again, living on a farm!
I've taken some time and thought about ten of my favorite experiences/memories of the year. Here they are, in no particular order.
I've taken some time and thought about ten of my favorite experiences/memories of the year. Here they are, in no particular order.
Monday, November 11, 2013
In 2005, at the age of 26, David Platt became the lead pastor of The Church at Brook Hills, a megachurch in Birmingham. He was known as the youngest megachurch pastor in America. I imagine this has to be a pretty huge honor and responsibility.
It's probably a good thing God never called me to be the youngest megachurch pastor in America because I'd probably be too prideful.
That said, Platt wrote a book called Radical in 2009. I read it and then studied it a little bit with the Northeastern High School FCS group a couple of years ago. The subtitle of the book was "Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream."
Platt is telling us that something is wrong, then he sets out to fix it.
His latest book, Follow Me is about making disciples. He takes aim at the Sinner's Prayer and some of the cliche ways we've gone about furthering the kingdom. I even preached a sermon about this a couple weeks ago called, coincidentally "Follow Me."
Needless to say, the concepts really struck me. He's completely right that too often we preach for converts but not disciples. Because, the truth is, converts are easy to get, disciples are much harder to make. But the mission of Jesus is to make disciples. His call is to follow; his mission is to make disciples.
I was challenged by this book, and a quote from the book jumped out at me more than any other.
"We've taken the lifeblood out of Christianity and put Kool-Aid in its place so that it tastes better to the crowds, and the results are catastrophic."
With 9 and a half months to go before my birthday, I'm 1/3 of the way through my goal of 30 books!
It's probably a good thing God never called me to be the youngest megachurch pastor in America because I'd probably be too prideful.
That said, Platt wrote a book called Radical in 2009. I read it and then studied it a little bit with the Northeastern High School FCS group a couple of years ago. The subtitle of the book was "Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream."
Platt is telling us that something is wrong, then he sets out to fix it.
His latest book, Follow Me is about making disciples. He takes aim at the Sinner's Prayer and some of the cliche ways we've gone about furthering the kingdom. I even preached a sermon about this a couple weeks ago called, coincidentally "Follow Me."
Needless to say, the concepts really struck me. He's completely right that too often we preach for converts but not disciples. Because, the truth is, converts are easy to get, disciples are much harder to make. But the mission of Jesus is to make disciples. His call is to follow; his mission is to make disciples.
I was challenged by this book, and a quote from the book jumped out at me more than any other.
"We've taken the lifeblood out of Christianity and put Kool-Aid in its place so that it tastes better to the crowds, and the results are catastrophic."
With 9 and a half months to go before my birthday, I'm 1/3 of the way through my goal of 30 books!
Thursday, November 7, 2013
I read Kyle Idleman's first book, Not a Fan, a few years ago. It was a great book about seriously following Jesus, as opposed to being a fan of Jesus. We even used that book as the foundation for a sermon series at church. When I saw that he had written a second book, I made sure that I included it on my list of books to finish before I turned 30.
Then, my Sunday School class at my new church decided to use this book as a study resource. I bought the book and read it, we're still going through it as a class, but I finished the book a few weeks ago.
Basically, the premise of the book is that all of our sins boil down to idolatry, and that's why the sin of idolatry is mentioned so many times in the Bible. Kyle suggests that everyone of us has created idols in various forms. These idols range from sex to money to food to self.
The book was hard to read because he cuts through the muck to deliver simple truth that's difficult to digest at times. I'd recommend the book to any of my friends, but I'd also recommend the study materials too. There's a video series that goes with the book including a spectacular section with Chuck Colson's story. He must've recorded it just weeks/months before he passed away last year.
Next up, Follow Me by David Platt.
Then, my Sunday School class at my new church decided to use this book as a study resource. I bought the book and read it, we're still going through it as a class, but I finished the book a few weeks ago.
Basically, the premise of the book is that all of our sins boil down to idolatry, and that's why the sin of idolatry is mentioned so many times in the Bible. Kyle suggests that everyone of us has created idols in various forms. These idols range from sex to money to food to self.
The book was hard to read because he cuts through the muck to deliver simple truth that's difficult to digest at times. I'd recommend the book to any of my friends, but I'd also recommend the study materials too. There's a video series that goes with the book including a spectacular section with Chuck Colson's story. He must've recorded it just weeks/months before he passed away last year.
Next up, Follow Me by David Platt.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Yes, I'm bitter. My hatred for the Red Sox just flows through me. I will admit, however, that the Sox had some incredible beards, though! One of the first posts I made on this blog was my predictions for the baseball season. So, it's time to pay the piper and see how I did.
I had the Orioles winning the AL East. They did not.
I had the Tigers winning the AL Central. They did!
I had the Angels winning the AL West. They weren't even close.
I had the Blue Jays and White Sox winning the 2 Wild Card spots. They finished a combined 25 games under .500, and nowhere near the playoffs!
I had the Nationals winning the NL East. They did not.
I predicted that the Reds would win the NL Central. Nope.
I felt that the Giants would win the NL West. They finished 16 games back.
The NL Wild Cards, I thought, would be won by the Cardinals and the Dodgers. They were not.
Now, in the NL, I had 3 of the 5 playoff teams correct, just in the wrong place!
All in all, I got 40% of the MLB playoff teams correct. How'd you do??
Just for kicks, who's my money on for next year? The Dodgers.
I had the Orioles winning the AL East. They did not.
I had the Tigers winning the AL Central. They did!
I had the Angels winning the AL West. They weren't even close.
I had the Blue Jays and White Sox winning the 2 Wild Card spots. They finished a combined 25 games under .500, and nowhere near the playoffs!
I had the Nationals winning the NL East. They did not.
I predicted that the Reds would win the NL Central. Nope.
I felt that the Giants would win the NL West. They finished 16 games back.
The NL Wild Cards, I thought, would be won by the Cardinals and the Dodgers. They were not.
Now, in the NL, I had 3 of the 5 playoff teams correct, just in the wrong place!
All in all, I got 40% of the MLB playoff teams correct. How'd you do??
Just for kicks, who's my money on for next year? The Dodgers.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
I'll be honest, CS Lewis is one of my absolute favorite authors; but before this year, I had never read what many people consider to be his best book. My friend Daniel gave me this book a few years ago, and I never got the chance to read it. I made sure that I added it to my list of 30 books to read before my 30th birthday, because I wanted to read one of the pinnacles of 20th century Christian literature.
Before I talk about the book, I'd like to mention something. I have tons and tons and tons of respect and love for teachers. I originally went to college to be a math teacher. With that said, my favorite teacher through 13 years of non-college schooling was my 4th grade teacher. Mr. Kirker started reading The Chronicles of Narnia to us right at the beginning of school. We read through the entire series together. I still have that original set of those books, as you can notice, with our kitty, "Lucy the Valiant."
Once I became a Christian, I already knew of CS Lewis since I was such a fan of the Chronicles of Narnia. I ended up taking a long while to read through Mere Christianity just because of everything happening in our personal lives. We moved and I had a lot going on in the job front.
That said, it was an absolutely fantastic book and I'm so happy to have read it. Lewis basically runs through a logical explanation of Christianity starting with the basic premise that there is a moral code that exists apart from individual and even cultural bias. He calls it "The Law of Human Nature."
At any rate, I heartily recommend this book for anyone. It's a very manageable entry into the thoughts behind Christian principles.
One of my favorite passages, from later in the book has Lewis' thoughts on marriage from a Christian perspective:
Have you read it? What were your thoughts?
Once I became a Christian, I already knew of CS Lewis since I was such a fan of the Chronicles of Narnia. I ended up taking a long while to read through Mere Christianity just because of everything happening in our personal lives. We moved and I had a lot going on in the job front.
That said, it was an absolutely fantastic book and I'm so happy to have read it. Lewis basically runs through a logical explanation of Christianity starting with the basic premise that there is a moral code that exists apart from individual and even cultural bias. He calls it "The Law of Human Nature."
At any rate, I heartily recommend this book for anyone. It's a very manageable entry into the thoughts behind Christian principles.
One of my favorite passages, from later in the book has Lewis' thoughts on marriage from a Christian perspective:
"Before leaving the question of divorce, I should like to distinguish two things which are often very confused. The Christian conception of marriage is one: the other us quite the different question-how far Christians, if they are voters of Members of Parliament, ought to try to force their views of marriage on the rest of the community by embodying them in the divorce laws. A great many people seem to think that if you are a Christian yourself you should try to make divorce difficult for every one. I do not think that. At least I know I should be very angry if the Mohammedans tried to prevent the rest of us from drinking wine. My own view is that the Churches should frankly recognise that the majority of the British people are not Christians, and therefore, cannot be expected to live Christian lives. There ought to be two distinct kinds of marriage: one governed by the State with rules enforced on all citizens, the other governed by the Church with rules enforced by her on her own members. The distinction ought to be quite sharp, so that a man knows which couples are married in a Christian sense and which are not."
Have you read it? What were your thoughts?
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
It didn't help that this reading fell over the job transition into Hillside, so it was a pretty busy time in my life.
Anyway, this biography on Bonhoeffer was full of the fluff that I find frivolous, but it did have some definite gems and some major points to make about the way Christians reacted and were treated in the growth of the Nazi movement throughout Germany.
The insight into the German psyche following World War I helps a reader who is 70 years removed from the Second World War to understand a little more of how it was possible that a man like Hitler ever came into such a dangerously powerful role. As I read this, I remembered learning some of it in high school history.
But the impact on the church was relatively impactful for me, since the church is my vocational setting and primary concern when reading a book like this.
How did the Christians of Germany allow themselves to get so taken by the horrible Nazi movement? How did they so quickly and easily lose sight of Christ, the Prince of Peace?
One word. Nationalism.
There are some incredible parallels to be made between the German church of the 1920's and 30's along with the American church of the early 2000's. I'm afraid the nationalistic tendencies are running rather deep here, too, with many "American Christians" identifying first as Americans then as Christians, similar to their German predecessors.
We should all be quick, I think, to learn a lesson from these German Christians and understand that our Kingdom is not of this world. We are dual citizens, but our primary citizenship is in Heaven and because of this, we should allow heavenly thought to impact each of our decisions, regardless of our American citizenship.
I feel obligated to make a clear point of what I am not saying. I'm not suggesting that we burn our flags. I'm not suggesting that we move to another country. I'm not suggesting that America sucks. I'm not suggesting that Christians shouldn't feel blessed to have a freedom of worship guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
It is most assuredly a blessing to live in America, but it's a far greater blessing to be a citizen of Heaven. Let us never lose sight of that.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
If you've known me for any length of time, you know I had a major man crush on David Crowder and the entire David Crowder* Band. I practically worshiped at the altar of his discography and I would continue to rank "A Collision" as one of my favorite albums of all time, possibly even my all time favorite over Jesus Freak by dc Talk, which probably just holds more sentimental value for me than anything, but I still love it and am totally willing to rock out to it whenever.
A couple summers ago, while at NYC in Louisville, KY; my good friend Kevin got a pair of tickets for a meet and greet with the dcb. His wife wasn't feeling well, so she graciously allowed me to take her place, I was as giddy as a school girl to meet David Crowder, and the whole band!
Their first full length album came out today. I'll put the cart before the horse and say, it's fantastic!
I expect nothing less than greatness from these guys because they're unbelievable creative and doing things that you don't hear very often in Christian music. The music has a heavy electronic/digital feel (go figure) with some complex drumming by B-Wack.
Captured was released a single a few months ago and starts the album off on a great note, it's a seriously great track (you can find it on youtube here).
They also redid "All the Poor and Powerless" for this album, it was one of my favorite tracks off of Rehearsals.
My favorite tracks, though are "Overcome" and "Believe." Believe is a song rendition of some of our most cherished ancient creedal statements. Overcome is just an out and out awesome song.
All in all, check this album out, it's fantastic!
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