I'm back!

I just got back from my Christmas holidays with my brother and sister-in-law' place in Michigan. It was awesome. Mike and I totally surprised them and we had a great time hanging out in the following week. I will have to write a full blog entry on everything that conspired and hopefully get some video up so everyone can see what actually happened. But, I have lots of stuff to do today so I'll write that later. In the meantime, you can read this article I came across on digg through Steve. It tells you what happens to you when you drink a can of Coke. Luckily, I stick to my diet pop. I also found out that Diet Pepsi tastes great at 30,000 ft in First Class. But... more on that soon.

Have a Blessed Christmas Everyone and a Joyous New Year!

No Heaven

I've been writing a rather lengthy post about Creation and related stuff, but it's not ready yet. In the meantime, maybe you want to ponder this song with me. I've heard No Heaven by DJ Champion many times on SONiC and I have also heard some people voice their dislike for the song. It has quite the catchy tune and I dig the beat, but I think some people have misgivings about the lyrics. I wonder if there are lots of Christians out there who don't like this song. Well, I want to just go over exactly what I think this song is talking about and what it seems to resemble.

Here's the lyrics:

No Heaven - DJ Champion

Oh lord (oh lord)...

Oh boy well I've told you
Well I told you but I thought you'd know
There ain't no heaven
Oh lord, there ain't no heaven
There ain't no heaven
On the county road

Don't talk about it
Boy oh boy, don't talk about it
Don't talk about it
If you do, I'll cry
Don't come around me
Oh lord, don't come around me
Don't come around me
If you do, I'll die

Oh lord, there ain't no heaven
Oh lord, there ain't no heaven

Down at the station stood my dear old mother
Oh well she keep on, keep on screamin' and a cryin'
"Oh lord I wonder what my son has done"

Oh lord, there ain't no heaven
Oh lord, there ain't no heaven
Oh lord

Did you bring me, bring me any silver
He didn't bring me, bring me any gold
Oh did you see me, workin' on South Carolina
Just to see me work on the county road

Oh lord (oh lord), there ain't no heaven
Oh lord (oh lord), there ain't no heaven
(Oh lord, oh lord)

There ain't no heaven (there ain't no heaven)
(Oh lord, there ain't no heaven)
Oh lord (oh lord), there ain't no heaven.

I didn't get these lyrics straight from the song, I got them off the internet. I might change some of the punctuation if I was copying it down though (I did change some of the lyrics that were way off after listening to the song a bunch). Our speaker here is talking to a boy. If you remove the refrains and read it like a complaint to someone else, it seems to work well. You can then read the focus as being on the bad circumstances that this person has been through, rather than assuming she is discussing the fact that there is no heaven. The speaker is observing what is happening around her and sees tragedy. She can't even talk about some of it, she sees a mother lamenting over what her son has done, and she has been working on the county road for what seems to be no pay. The refrain of "oh lord, there ain't no heaven" then becomes a lament telling us that there is no justice in the world. It really reminds me of the lament psalms we have in the Bible.

Check out Psalm 88

O LORD, the God who saves me,
day and night I cry out before you.
May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of trouble
and my life draws near the grave.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like a man without strength.
I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care.
You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
Your wrath lies heavily upon me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.

You have taken from me my closest friends
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, O LORD, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do those who are dead rise up and praise you?

Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction?
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
But I cry to you for help, O LORD;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Why, O LORD, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?
From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death;
I have suffered your terrors and am in despair.
Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
You have taken my companions and loved ones from me;
the darkness is my closest friend.

I would say that Psalm 88 has the speaker beat if you are comparing problems. I think "No Heaven" can be read as directing the complaint towards God as well, but I guess that is where some may disagree with me. I enjoy the song, in fact I see more Christian discussion and overtones in it than most other music that I listen to. Remember guys and gals, theology is a discussion, and if you want to talk about God, you have to be willing to listen to what other people have to say. Even if that means listening to someone talk about how horrible God is. I mean, the Bible seems to have done that first. And really, I'm not just trying to "Christianify" a song that seems to be atheistic, I'm just trying to listen to the discussion.

Oh and make sure you send a comment my way. It's hard to have a discussion with yourself.

Click to make a difference

Came across this on digg. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company is going to donate $1 to the National AIDS Fund in America for every person that clicks to light a candle (up to $100,000). I think my procrastination actually did something beneficial today.

https://www.lighttounite.org/

So now we have snow

It's surely cold out, but I still love it. My favourite part of fall has passed... the time when things are almost too cold outside for just a tshirt and hoodie, the leaves have all changed colours, the wind is blowing and you go for a long walk for the added benefit of coming home to a cup of hot coffee or tea to warm up. It makes me think of football. And other good things, but it always brings me back to my most favourite football memories. Playoffs always start in November; this time of the year reminds me of the feeling that all the hard work we did over the season is going to be tested. It is a feeling of apprehension and excitement. Sometimes I wish I had that feeling about school, I don't really think I ever have. Pity. Maybe I should try it someday... it might help in the motivation department. Now... if only I could devise a way to condition myself to associate that feeling with preparing for an exam or doing an essay or something like that. Any Psych majors care to help me out? I seem to have wandered down a rabbit trail here. Oh well, I don't mind if you follow my train of thought (or attempt to). Skip paragraphs or sentences at leisure. I'll just keep typing.

It seems to me that I have moments of deepest reflection when outside while the air feels cold. Well, that is if my memory serves me right. I guess that is one reason why I would never like to live in a place that was hot all the time. I could learn to be different, but there is something about just being cool and content. One thing that I miss most about Lac La Biche is the stars. I used to stop on the side of the road after being out late and sit on the back of my car, listening to music playing on the stereo inside and just look at the stars. You could actually see them there... unlike the orange that attempts to be a night sky here in Edmonton. I usually laid there for a while, cool and content, just being quiet. I miss those nights. And sometimes, when God was blessing us awesome people in the north, you could watch the Aurora Borealis. I have seen it here in Edmonton. It is like the difference between a trio of candles and a congregation of candles at a Christmas Eve service. Everyone should at least once travel north, as far as financially feasible, just to experience Northern Lights that are brighter than a full moon and that dance. Maybe something like this.

Yeah so, back to moments of reflection. I really could not explain why I feel like I have moments of deepest reflection while I am cold. Maybe I feel like God is closest when it is cold. I guess that means I will have more moments with God while driving Lindsay now (my car). Especially since moving to Sherwood Park will mean a half-hour commute to just about everywhere that I frequent right now. Ok... it is getting late and there were a few things that I wanted to tell you before I go so I need to get back on topic.

I watched Life is Beautiful today. And, let's face it, I cry every time I watch it. I teared up at the part where he talks over the loudspeaker to his wife, and I cried at the end of the movie. It didn't help that I watched it with my Mom who cried too. It always hits me how significant each person's life is when I watch that movie. It is the story of one life among the 10 million Jews that were killed during the Holocaust. And that story, of one life, evokes so much emotion. It gives me a very small picture of what I think God's love is like. To look at one life, to laugh and cry and care (albeit a very superficial way when you are watching a movie... but try to follow me here) so much, even when you just see a snippet of it, is huge. And what if God views my life like that. Laughing with me, crying with me, caring about me, loving me. And God takes it one step further, he gets involved and acts on his outpouring of love for me. Wow. I don't deserve it, yet God loves me. Go watch it again (or for the first time, it is a classic). Bring some Kleenex.

Now I'm going to sleep. I have started to fade and will give in to sleep. Sorry if you didn't get what you wanted in this blog entry. But, I make the rules here. Tangents are allowed and encouraged. I have had some interesting "news" in my life lately, but you'll just have to ask me about them... as I stated earlier, I'm going to sleep.

Your viewing habits revealed...

Just thought I would post a quick message to all you who visit this blog. It seems that 50% of you view this blog with Firefox. That's a whole 2% more than Internet Explorer. And in case you were wondering, the rest goes to Safari. So congrats Firefox! You truly are the better browser.

*****Update*****

I really am making a difference. Over 60% of you now use Firefox. I know that IE7 just came out, but Firefox 2 just came out. Firefox is much better and allows so many cool extensions that you just don't get in IE. For example, Firefox is checking my spelling as we speak. If I write "eachother" it puts a dotted line under the text so I can click it and change it to "each other." Look Mom! No more random spelling mistakes posted to forums or comments or blogs!

PS I use StatCounter.com to get this and other anonymous information from those you view this blog. If you don't want this or any other site to track you, just disable or reject the cookie it sends you.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's that time of the year again. Turkey naps and pumpkin pie, football games and windy weather, meeting family and that day when all of this happens at once. Happy Thanksgiving!

I feel like I should have a list or something with a bunch of things that I am thankful for this year. Now, it is hard to remember all the things that have happened over the year, so I will give a list that is more recent.

Things that I am thankful for since the start of summer:

• First and foremost, I am thankful that my brother is still here, and while the rollover left him a quadrepeligic, he is still Mike. God has shown me quite a few things since Mike had his accident, and I'm sure that it will continue to shape my view of this life. I love my brother.
• On that note, I'm thankful for my whole family. You guys rock. Please continue to rock when I move back in with you.
• I am thankful for Steve and Lori's baby on the way. God had his hand in that one, there is no doubt about it. (You have to say that last sentence with a Canadian accent, seeing as this is Canadian Thanksgiving.)
• I am also thankful that I am going to be the favourite uncle. (I could use any advice at how to achieve that cause it is going to be hard with Mike being able to give them a rides and having all the cool power toys...)
• I am thankful for Terri-Lynn. She is waaaay too good to me.
  
• I am thankful for being able to work at McKernan again this year. I grow so much because of that experience, I love it.
• I am thankful for good friends and always knowing I have a couch to crash on after a hard day if needed. (I am also thankful that I can still kick all their butts in Halo 2).
• I am thankful for my small group. They are an amazing group of Christians that have helped me grow spiritually and supported me when I needed it. I don't think I could have got through this past summer without you guys. Thanks a million.
• I am thankful for my expanding like of new and different music. Thanks SONiC and Mike.
• I am thankful for school. I know that it may sound weird, but I really enjoy the reading I do and the mind that my Liberal Arts education is giving me. It feels like I couldn't even think before I really got into this stuff. So a thanks has to go out to some of my profs too: Williams, T. Dubs (although I never call him that), Grentz, Joost, Wilson, Korner, Duquette and Fisher (the lessons I learn don't always come from the classroom). Thanks for sharing your love of the Bible, knowledge and life with me. Ok, so that last paragraph doesn't sound too weird there are a ton of things about school that I'm not that thankful for, but that doesn't mean I can't like a good portion of it.
• Lastly, and most importantly, I am thankful for my relationship with God. Without it I would be totally lost and a completely different person. It's all because of what He has done in me.

You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

-Psalm 30:11-12

Ok. I'm all done. Time to watch the football game. Go Esks! We need this one!

3...2...1...

It's HERE! I am finally going to begin blogging again, and this is the start. If you are like me and want to watch something that captures the elation that you are feeling right now, don't scour the internet cause you won't be able to find anything. Instead, watch the launch of some Missile to Mars.

Ok. Now down to business.

I really wanted to come back to blogging. I used to keep a blog on MSN Spaces but it fizzled when I stopped putting effort into it. I was more about trying to make it look cool and feel good when you checked it out so that people would check it out. I've changed a bit. The best times that I had blogging were times that discussion arose, opinions were given, and responses were written. In a way, I want to get back to that. Maybe no one will read this thing and I will end up having discussions with myself. If that happens I'll get really good at self-criticism I guess. The coolest thing that could happen would be you, my readers, and me having open discussions about all kinds of topics that provoke deeper thought. I want us to struggle with hard questions and strengthen each other.

I am a Christian. That fact is going to permeate everything I write. I have a unique history, a unique mind and a set of beliefs that makes me view the world in way that no one else can. Open discussion means being honest about where you are coming from so that you can get a better picture about who you are. Maybe none of that makes any sense. What I am trying to say is only I can be "me" and, following that, I can't be anyone else. My goal is discussion, and the only way that I can know your point of view is if you express it. So, do it!

One last thing. I want to explain the title of my blog. The old title of this blog was "Much about Matt," but I didn't really tell you much about me, so I scrapped that. Then, just recently, I gave my blog the working title of "Attempting to Lose it All." This comes from Matthew 16:25 where Jesus says, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." That is a goal of mine, but I don't want to have a "lofty" goal define my life struggle. Everyone lives day by day not by momentous achievements. That's why I've finally settled on "Traversing the Path." Life is a journey and hopefully I can share some of my journey with you through this blog. And maybe, you can share some of yours with me too.