I saw Bono in 3D. I went to the IMAX and saw the U2 3D movie this afternoon. Really cool effect, like you're right on stage with them and at times, a part of the audience. I mean, it feels just like a concert but it felt a bit weird just sitting there. I felt like I should be standing up, jumping up and down and trying to breathe while being crushed by a crowd of sweaty, stoned people. Ahhh the good ol' days. I went to the movie by myself which was a first for me. My SA always made me too self-conscious to go to a theater by myself. There was a guy one seat down from me that was alone too so it's not a big deal.

Of course, if Lynette was still alive, we would have been camping out at the theater the night before it opened. I lost count of how many times we went to see Rattle and Hum together. We saw it every night when it first opened and then when it hit the dollar theater we kept going back. She was the biggest U2 fan and was the one that got me into them. In fact, the U2 concert at ASU was my first time I saw them live and the first spiritual experience I had. They were videotaping it for the Rattle and Hum movie and to fill the stadium, they sold tickets for 5 bucks each. They recorded two nights. We went the first night and the place was packed to capacity. We had nosebleed seats but we didn't care. The concert was awesome. They ended with the song "40" which is taken from Psalm 40 in the bible. I wasn't a Christian then, had no idea what Psalm 40 was, but I tell ya, when the instruments stopped and everyone continued to sing the last refrain from that song, it was a feeling I'll never forget. I was in an audience of close to 50,000 but when we were all singing, it was as if we were one and it took us some place beyond ourselves. Never felt anything like it before then. We had a long walk back to our car and I could still hear people singing that song.... how long to sing this song...

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Someone asked me recently why I don't debate Christianity. I replied by asking them why they felt I should. They answered that it was my duty as a carrier of the "Truth" to set these wayward souls of the "world" straight. I said that's bullshit. Who am I to pass judgment on anyone and make it my "duty" to change them. I can't even change myself without God.

I'm not God. I don't know people's hearts or what past experiences they've had that have shaped their beliefs. I only know the journey my life has taken and what I've chosen to believe. The only "duties" I know of are to love God with all my heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love others...period. I love God by learning to love like Christ loved and by learning to obey Him and let Him guide my life. And as I learn to love God, His love compels me to love others.

Prominent and influential religious leaders tried to get Jesus to debate. He wouldn't go for it. He simply spoke His Truth and let them decide what to do with it. He only had a short time on this earth and He didn't waste a second of it. He spent His time healing the sick, reaching out to the outcast and downtrodden, loving the unlovable and ultimately offering His life for the redemption of ours. Simply put, Jesus had better things to do.

My life on this earth is but a blink of an eye and I don't want to waste a second of it in meaningless debate. I've got better things to do.

A friend of mine summed it up beautifully...

"There is no argument that can change a doubter's heart. Anyone who can be talked into the faith can be talked out. There are no logical explanations. It is simply the call of love. Heart to heart. Soul to soul. We have embraced forgiveness. We have discovered true peace. We have found hope and mercy. We have been loved unconditionally. We have been rescued and redeemed. We have been adopted. We have been given a reason to live with expectancy. We have been gathered and caressed by the Savior. His gentle hand catches our tears. We can not explain it completely. Yet we know that new life has begun."

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

29But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" 30Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' 36Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" 37He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise." ~ Luke 10:25-37 (ESV)

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The Saturday morning outreaches in the park are going good. Yesterday we decided to do something a little different and had it at night instead. I had no idea the park was so busy at night. Some kid was having a birthday party at one of the other ramadas and there was a large group playing soccer out on the grass. The usual guys playing basketball were there as well. We had the worship band with us and they were really jamming. We also handed out school supplies to the kids that were there. As soon as we started handing out a few bags of stuff, word spread quick and soon we had a bunch of kids and parents running toward us. It was quite a sight and kind of scary! I'll never forget the smiles on the kids faces when we handed them the stuff though. They ran over and sat down and started going through their loot LOL. We estimate we handed out about 230 bags of school supplies, office supplies (for the adults) and personal hygiene products. We were all shocked by how fast we got rid of it all. It was an awesome feeling. We're already talking about what we can do for Christmas for these kids.

Confirmation

There was a grandmother with her granddaughter, who looked to be about 12 or 13, sitting on a park bench. I went over and handed a bag of school supplies to the girl and a bag of office supplies to her grandmother. They were both Hispanic and neither one spoke English. The grandmother was so grateful and tried so hard to communicate with me. I just smiled and tried to tell her no Espanol.

I had signed up for a Beginning Spanish class last week but was wondering how the heck I was going to be able to speak to people in Spanish when I can hardly talk to people in English (due to SA). But this encounter with the grandmother and her daughter was yet another confirmation that I'm supposed to learn Spanish. I have no idea how this is going to work or why God wants me to do this. Time will tell I guess. If they have enough people signed up, class starts September 19th, otherwise they cancel it and I go to Plan B...whatever that is.

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It's supposed to be 117 outside today. Guess what I'm doing for my Fourth of July?  Yep, nothing!

Looks like a good day to catch up on some movies...or watch a Monk marathon.

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It's really HOT here in the metro-Phoenix area. I think it got to 112 today.  Anyway, we started a new outreach last week. We're going to go out every Saturday to this park that is known for having a lot of homeless people and drug addicts and low income housing and cook them hot dogs and have drinks available.  The nearest shelter is pretty far away so there's a big need for something like that.  We served 80 hot dogs last Saturday and we served another 80 today! Not bad for just starting out.  I made the rounds through the park and handed out cold water bottles, apples and granola bars to anyone that wanted any.  Most accepted but some were leery of me, like there were going to be strings attached to anything they received. I can sure understand that but that's not what we're about.  They'll come around once they realize we don't want anything from them.

We approached this man who was drinking a beer out of a paper bag. He had his two young sons with him.  He told us the youngest kid turned five today so we got a chance to feed them and sing Happy Birthday to him.  You could tell they didn't have much money and were trying to make the best of the day.  The boy's face really lit up when I reached into my backpack and pulled out a beanie baby stuffed animal and a matchbox car.  Seeing his face made my day!  His big brother got some too.  Thank you God for allowing me a chance to bless these little ones today.

We talked to a few people that had just gotten off drugs and were trying to stay clean and gave them some information on some local resources and I saw several people that were there last Saturday show up for the free food today so word's getting around...that's a good sign.

My SA wasn't too bad.  Most everything I did, other volunteers were with me so that always helps.  I tried to make conversation with some of the folks we served hot dogs to. I did ok but of course when I got home I ruminated about everything I should have said...blah! I'll do better next time.

I'm exhausted from being in the heat all morning, but it was a great day and I'm looking forward to going back out there. 

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That's right, I took the day off, and my brother and parents and I went to the D-backs day game. We had fun and the D-backs won...yay! At one point, I felt like I was in the Ferris Bueller movie.

I really think that God's trying to bring us closer as a family. There's never really been any animosity between us, but we've never been close at all. Mom and Dad are retired now and getting older, most of our relatives have died off, and I think we're realizing that we're all we have left. That's a scary thing though, to get closer to people. You know it's going to hurt that much more when they're gone... I battle with the "get close...don't get close" thing a lot.

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• • A U.S. DELEGATE to the Baptist World Alliance
Congress in Berlin in 1934 sent back this report of what
he found under Hitler's regime: "It was a great relief to
be in a country where salacious sex literature cannot be
sold; where putrid motion pictures and gangster films
cannot be shown. The new Germany has burned great
masses of corrupting books and magazines along with its
bonfires of Jewish and communistic libraries." The same
delegate defended Hitler as a leader who did not smoke
or drink, who wanted women to dress modestly, and
who opposed pornography.

It is all too easy to point fingers at German Christians
of the 1930s, southern fundamentalists in the 1960s, or
South African Calvinists of the 1970s. What sobers me is
that contemporary Christians may someday be judged as
harshly. What trivialities do we obsess over, and what
weighty matters of the law–justice, mercy, faithfulness–
might we be missing? DOES GOD CARE MORE
about nose rings or about urban decay? Grunge music or
world hunger? Worship styles or a culture of violence?

Author Tony Campolo, who makes a regular circuit
as a chapel speaker on Christian college campuses, for a
time used this provocation to make a point."The United
Nations reports that over ten thousand people starve to
death each day, and most of you don't give a shit. However,
what is even more tragic is that most of you are
more concerned about the fact that I just said a bad word
than you are about the fact that ten thousand people are
going to die today."

The responses proved his point: in nearly every case Tony got
a letter from the chaplain or president of the college protesting
his foul language. The letters never mentioned world
hunger. • • • • • • •

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My friends and I have gone out to the skid row area of Phoenix and handed out food, water, clothes, etc. to the people on the streets.

The last time we were there we chained up a wooden cross to a fence on a vacant lot. We wanted to see how long it would last before it got destroyed or marked with graffiti. Well, that was in April and it's still there, in one piece and no graffiti. Here's a pic of it...

The words on the cross is a poem my friend wrote...

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