Ok, this isn't going to be very long, because I don't have time, but I saw something on TV, and now I have a thought I need to get out here.

Am I the only one pissed off that pornography is referred to as "Adult entertainment"?  As if once you reach a certain age, not only are you ALLOWED to access such material, but it is expected?  As if it is something that all adults enjoy?

I have news for the "Adult" entertainment industry.  We do not all enjoy your product.  Even many who occasionally (or even regularly) indulge in your wares do not enjoy it.  They are simply unable to resist, and their lives are just eroded at a slower pace than those of the performers you exploit.  And yes, that includes those who willingly, even eagerly enter the business...because they would never have reached the point of wanting such a career if they had not been exposed to your product in the first place...probably long before becoming adults.

And that's the kicker, isn't it?  Because you claim you are marketing your product to adults...but how many of you actually make ANY attempt at all to prevent minors from accessing your material?  Any kid who knows the word "Google" can easily find any number of places where all that is required for them to see your smut is to click a button that says "Yes, I am over 18."  And then not only can they satisfy (and diversify) their burgeoning sexual urges, they can do so in a way that makes them feel grown-up, because they are viewing "Adult Entertainment."

Congratulations.

Is your love really love?
Is my love really love?
I think our love isn't love
Unless its love to the end

Is your god really God?
Is my god really God?
I think our god isn't God
If he fits inside our heads



if you haven't picked up Come Now Sleep by As Cities Burn yet, you are doing yourself a disservice.

The term "christian," in North America, has become generic.

Just like if someone wants a cola, they order a Coke, or if they want a tissue, they ask for a Kleenex.  Both words identify specific brands/products, but are used generically for anything of the same type.

In North America, when you ask someone their religion, if they believe in the existence of God, and do not specifically identify with any other religion, they will answer "Christian."  Not because they necessarily have any idea what that word means, but because they are not anything else so they MUST be "christian."

Western Christianity is the "Coke" of religions.

Many who identify themselves as "Christians" don't understand at all what being a Christian means.  They have no personal ownership of their religious beliefs, and therefore do not live according to the beliefs of the religion they claim.  Rarely could their behaviour be classified as "Christ-like." (example: just about every rapper, most pop, R&B and hip-hop artists)

Likewise, those that DO understand what Christianity means do not always live like Christ.  For some, it is because they would rather just do whatever they want.  But even among those who do strive to live a Christ-like life, few if any are able to maintain that all of the time, because of the simple fact of human nature.  Does this make them any less of a Christian?  I don't think so. 

The difference between the 2 groups of people I have mentioned is intent.  We are not, and will never be, perfect in this world.  We will mess up.  We will fail sometimes.  The question is, where someone goes after that.

There will always be good and bad among Christians.  It cannot be avoided.  Few people are exclusively good or bad, and even good and bad actions can be somewhat subjective.  How you perceive something is not necessarily the way it actually is.

So, am I a Christian?  that depends on your definition.

If by "Christian," you mean someone who believes that all have sinned and require redemption, which can only be acquired through the blood of Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, and coming again, and who therefore attempts to live his life in accordance with the words of Christ, then yes, I am a Christian.

What I am not is perfect, or sinless.  I do not have everything together.  Nor do I subscribe to a "catch-all" christianity that says if I'm nothing else, I must be "christian."  If that is what you believe a Christian to be, then do not call me a Christian.

Call me a believer, a Christ-follower, a lover of God.  Know that my faith and beliefs have been worked out with fear and trembling, and that they do not always line up perfectly with what people expect a Christian to be.  And knowing that, understand that it is not up to anyone to determine the faith or heart of another.

Ok, so I downloaded a leaked pre-air copy of this new upcoming TV show called Pushing Daisies.

The premise of the show is, this guy discovers as a child that he has the ability to restore the dead with a touch.  The catch is, if they live for longer than a minute, someone else drops dead instead...and if he ever touches them again, they die again, permanently.

Fast-forward 20 years, and he hooks up with a con-artist, and the 2 of them set out temporarily restoring the recently-murdered to life in order to find out who killed them and collect whatever reward may be offered.  But when one of his resurrections is his childhood sweetheart, things get complicated...

This show is absolutely unique...I've never seen anything like it on TV.  Pretty freaking weird, and fun...though the hyper-color palette, the odd tone, and the narration may get annoying after a few episodes.

Give it a try if you want to see something different.  Definitely worth a watch, even if you don't usually watch much TV.

focus on the horizon, men
should you grow seasick
but don't expect silhouettes
of rescuer ships coming

coming, they aren't coming for us

we've got prices on our heads
and millstones around our necks
we try to live forgiven but they won't let us forget
the bodies we're still in
the bodies that we still war against

son, this is it, this is it
you're gonna sink for your sins
unless grace be the wind
son, this is it, this is it
we're all sinking for our sins
unless grace be the wind

forget about being honest
forget about being passionate
wear that smile like you feel it
even when you don't
forget about being honest
forget about being passionate
i think they forgot about Jesus
seeking us out

in the bodies we're still in
the bodies we still war

son, this is it, this is it
you're gonna sink for your sins
unless grace be the wind
son, this is it, this is it
we're all sinking for our sins
unless grace be the wind
to fill our sails



I love As Cities Burn.  New CD, Come Now Sleep, is out tomorrow.  Go buy it.  Do it.

til we leave for Cornerstone.

Be jealous.  Haha, just kidding.

I'm really excited...almost as much to just be in the U.S. as for Cornerstone itself...its just been too long since i've had a vacation.

Also excited to see my American friends that I only get to see at Cornerstone.  OOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLSOOOOOOOOOONSSSSSSSSSSS, haha.

And, of course, the bands...the bands...

Yeah, this was a pointless blog, but I don't care.  See everyone in a weekish.

...let friends wear camoflage.

I just got back from a small town fair (Niverville, Manitoba to be exact).  I have never seen so much camo in my life.

It seemed like at least half of the people I saw were wearing at least one item of camo clothing.  In every color and pattern you can imagine.  Often with clashing colors and patterns appearing on a single person.

One kid was wearing a camo shirt, and camo pants, with a camo sweater tied around his waist.

Ridiculous.

Many of these were adults, who clearly should know better than to wear such a thing.  With the kids, it is somewhat more understandable...however, these kids presumably have parents, who should know better.

Ugh.  Camo must be banned.  BANNED.  I will be so happy when that trend expires.  I have never in life owned, or even worn, an article of camo clothing...and I intend to go to my grave able to say the same thing.

Speaking of ridiculous...I saw another girl who, based on her attire, clearly does not own a mirror.

Start with a typical scene-girl base...tight black capri pants, with black and white striped stockings, studded belt, black t-shirt...then add elbow length purple gloves, with something orange on them, and a little orange backpack...and a headband with a pair of huge, fluffy, hot-pink ears on it...and a lion tail hanging from her butt.

It was like Krusty the Clown had sex with the singer from My Chemical Romance, and then the resulting baby puked on her.

On the bright side, I did see a Showbread t-shirt, a Maylene and the Sons of Disaster t-shirt, and a hoodie from The Reception wandering around (with people inside of them, but they were not interesting).  Pretty good for a small town.

There was also an old woman, probably in her 60s, who had visited the spray-on highlights booth and gotten her silver hair sprayed so it exactly matched her lime-green windbreaker.  Very amusing.

Saw this on the Relevant magazine website, thought it was interesting:

WHAT HAPPENED? by Andrew Fouche (http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god_article.php?id=7361)

Now I'll admit, from time to time I ask myself, "What if I just closed the door on my faith and lived for myself?" The answer I always come back to is that it's too late for me. I know too much. Like taking the red pill in The Matrix to pretend I didn't know the reality of life with Christ would be impossible. But that doesn't change the very real fact that friends of mine have done just that. After being leaders and missionaries, they decided to forget it all. How is that possible?

There are a couple of options.

The first is what I call "Israelite Syndrome." After seeing some of the weirdest, craziest, most amazing, supernatural things in history, the Israelites of the Old Testament still wanted to go back to slavery. Slavery! We've all been guilty of this at one time or another. God speaks something to our hearts, or we see something happen that could only be Him, and the next day we forget or rationalize it away. I'd like to think that if I saw a sea part or a pillar of fire lead me on a trek through the dessert that I'd never doubt God again. Odds are that I would though. I do it all the time with "smaller" stuff. Israelite Syndrome is the ability to doubt God no matter what you've experienced or seen with your own eyes.

The other possibility—and this is true for any relationship—is that emotions don't equal a solid relationship. If my relationship with my wife was based strictly on emotion, than it would last a few years at most, and as the emotions declined, so would our relationship. Eventually we'd realize that we didn't really know or even like each other that much. Because feelings were the only fuel, the relationship would die. My relationship with God is no different.

If everything about my faith is based on the emotion I feel when I'm in a worship service, at a Christian gathering or engaged in some kind of Christian activity, it will die. Eventually, I'll find myself pointing a finger at those very things that fed my relationship and call them fake. In reality, I was the fake. I had an emotional, almost lust like relationship with God that didn't go further than my mind and emotions.

Today, I'm only 12 inches away from leaving the faith, walking away, backsliding or whatever you want to call it. The only thing that keeps me from going the same way that friends of mine have gone is my heart. There's a vast chasm between it and the emotions and knowledge of my mind. Physically it's only 12 inches, but spiritually it's quite a ways. I can't really explain it. It goes beyond knowing and beyond feeling. There is a connection and a knowing in my heart that remains no matter how badly I perform as a Christian. It's there when I rock as a Christian, and it's there when I suck. My heart is taken, and there is no room for anything else.

I still have to ask myself, "Can I walk away?" Yes, I could. But if I did, I would be the most miserable person you've ever seen, as I try and forget about God and recapture the emotions of my experiences with Him through meaningless relationships and anything else I could shove into my heart. While I pray for my friends who have chosen this path, I can only hope that their search will reveal their heart. And that their heart will lead them back.

www.relevantmagazine.com

Swallow this...it will make you feel better.

"You've got a disease that there is no known cure for.  We have run the appropriate tests and found alarming conclusions.  This is a very troubling circumstance.  But what is more troubling is how you developed this condition.  It seems that due to constant exposure to the dangerous realities around you, this extremely rare virus has infected you.  I'm afraid there is no known cure.  On top of this, the disease is extremely contagious as well."  Perplexed as usual, I had to ask, "What is the disease?"  The answer: "An unyielding hunger for the truth, a passion for the people around you, and sorrow for those who still lie in darkness.  To put it plainly, you have a heart.  We must amputate immediately."



(i just got 2 books by Andrew Schwab, vocalist for Project 86.  I like the way he thinks.  The quote above is taken from "They Caught You Plotting Murder.")

so somebody on my MSN list has, as their personal message, the following statement:

"If no one loved God anymore, we would have to love each other."

an interesting idea...but horribly backward, in my opinion.

I personally am not inclined to love people.  In fact, the average person on the street kind of pisses me off.  Everywhere you go, you see person after person with absolutely NO thought in their mind about how their actions affect others.  All they care about is what is going on in their own little world.  Driving, walking, screaming at store clerks, and just generally acting like selfish, spoiled children...and in many cases, raising their own children to be even worse than they are.

The only reason I am remotely capable of loving anyone outside of my own bubble is because I love God.  And I am sure I am not the only person like that.  Anyone who thinks there is any good in them aside from God is deceiving themselves.

So...remove God from the equation, and what do you have?  Do we all love each other?  Or do we destroy each other?

Not a difficult question to answer, in my opinion.