Doug Van Pelt

God is good...and my brain is fried.

Tonight should be one of those dreaded "all-nighters."

sigh.

Thank the Lord for those energy drinks. I'll take a 16 ounce Monster, thank you.

"The Pain! The Pain!"

That's what that little short guy was really shouting on that show, Reality Island. If it were true, that is.

Job experienced great loss. The pain was immense. In chapter 5, we see that he was reminded that God "wounds, but He also binds up; He injures, but His hands also heal."

Whenever pain has come in my life from an individual, it hurt, for sure. It's a drag that we can't call a timeout and go sleep for several months. Like a setback in a football game, we need to obey our coaches to the best of our ability and "suck it up." For a defensive player, there's nothing like a goal-line stand, where you thwart the objectives of the other team. It builds a unity amongst the team and swells your inner being with confidence. When I've been offended by others, I have to rely on what's inside. It's quite a good litmus test to see what we're made out of, actually. Just as a grape produces wine when it's squeezed, we reveal what's on the inside when we are pressed. Forgiveness can be a process that needs to be revisited when bad memories surface, but the healing balm of God's Word and faith that He will sustain you are great helps.

Some people say, "religion is a crutch for the weak," but only a fool will never admit that he sometimes gets weak. I'll take the crutch. I hope that by doing so, I can hug the cross as the actor playing Jesus did in The Passion of the Christ movie. That was such a powerful scene and it underscored how others many times just do not understand the purpose of the cross. That sacrifice makes the discipline we face here seem a lot less earth-ending.

The Mess in Uz

There was this good man, considered the greatest among all the people of the East; and he was minding his own business (which was immense, as he was a blessed man) when calamity struck. In one day Sabeans attacked and carried off his oxen and donkeys; fire fell from the sky and burned sheep and the servants working the fields; Chaldeans took his camels and stabbed the servants; and his children were crushed when a mighty wind collapsed the house and crushed them. All of this news was reported to this man at once.

His first reaction? Tearing his robe and shaving his head. Then he fell to the ground and worshiped. "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. This guy is a hero. He is a real man. This guy understood himself and his God. We should all be impressed with him. It would be hard to imagine losing all of your children in one day, much less your livestock (livelihood). He was still alive and he used his breath and voice to praise the God Who lives. In a moment of weakness, he went straight to his strong tower, his "I can lean on You" friend, his God. That was smart and must've pleased God immensely.

One golden nugget I can't help but bring up everytime this story is told is that Satan had a right to take everything but the man's life; but he didn't touch Job's wife. That is odd. Maybe the crafty little punk left her because he had a hunch that she would soon be a thorn in Job's side. This is possible, but I believe he couldn't touch her because she and her husband were one flesh. I think this is a divine plan about marriage. But that's just my opinion.

It all started up in Heaven. The Minister of Accusation, as I like to call him, went up to God in the company of angels. "Where have you come from?" asked the Lord of Hosts. "He asked Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." Satan accused God, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands,so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." God granted that request: "Very well,, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."

3 days, 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 28 seconds left of deadline. "Oh, Lord, will I finish this issue in time? Please help me!"

And God Laughed... (I bet)

In the seventh month all the people of Israel assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. Ezra read the law to them. The people all wept as the law was being read, until they were rebuked: "This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep."

The people were instructed to party -- to celebrate by eating choice food and sweet drinks and by sharing and preparing food for those that had none. This brought them all great joy. They also understood that they were to live in booths during the feast of the seventh month. I can imagine the young ones (especially the boys) getting really excited about this tradition. The whole family, basically, lived in tents for awhile. I can remember the youthful excitement over stuff like that. I bet it made God smile. He probably laughed at the joy amongst His people at that time.

A few chapters later, in Esther 4, a different scenerio is unfolding. Mordecai is mourning, because he has heard of the plot to eliminate the Jews. His cousin, Esther, was a beautiful woman who had been made Queen. Many of you have heard the story: about how Esther heard about Mordecai's "fuss" and tried to get him to settle down; but Mordecai persuaded her to join his cause. The famous line, "for such a time as this" comes from this story. He told her, "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Turns out she was used by God for a specific reason at a specific time. God used her to deliver His people once again. That is one of the coolest feelings in the world -- to believe that God has you in a certain place and He uses you.

Now, in our way of thinking; and in our experience, "being used" is a negative thing. But being used by God brings us great joy. Why? It must be because He is so great and it's just amazing to be near Him and communicate with Him. If my friends used me or my position to get a free cd or shirt or into a show or something, I could resent that. If my Heavenly Friend used me spread His love or bring His mercy or justice to this place, then I couldn't be happier. I guess one is perceived as meating another's selfish end; while God's use of us achieves a beautiful, sharing, giving, and unselfish end. God is good, and being in His favor brings great delight. And what's so wonderful about His love is that He extends it to us -- the undeserving, the rejected, the loser, the uncool as well as the celebrity and the cool.

Build me up, buttercup...

[Hundred Year Storm at recent HM party]

There is a funny story in Nehemiah 6. He's rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem and the nearby leaders keep sending him messages: "Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono." Nehemiah gives him an answer that's similar to one I've had to deliver to many people asking me to schedule meetings and whatnot for the upcoming GMA week in Nashville: "I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?" They repeated the message four times, and the fifth time Sanballat sent his aide with an unsealed letter, which alleges that Nehemiah is building the wall in order to revolt. Nehemiah answers, "Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head." That's funny.

Many things were trying to distract him from completing the task, but his secret weapon was prayer. He kept lifting up his project to the Lord. This is great. The wall was completed in fifty-two days, which is about the same length as one production schedule of an issue of HM Magazine. The film company for The Day After Tomorrow sent me a keychain with a clock built in. One of its features is you can set a time and date and count down to it. I have been using this since as a deadline countdown. Right now it's telling me that there's 6 days, 23 hours, 35 minutes and 23 seconds left until deadline.

I better pray.

Greg Taylor is my hero

When I was 18 I met a fellow music enthusiast named Greg Taylor. He worked an annoying job with a company I worked for one summer in Northwest Florida -- American Insulation. Every day I came home with little fiberglass stuck to me. We had a mutual admiration for heavy metal music and great guitar players especially. We stayed in touch as friends. Two years later he had gotten right with God and had rekindled our friendship. He hung out with me even though my lifestyle choices included smoking pot as often as possible. He had a burden to see me won to the kingdom of God, so he started praying. He fasted for me. He wept over the condition of my soul. He shared with me some things about Jesus that I knew and respected, but also some things that intrigued me (like the question of "Did Jesus go down into hell to preach to the captives during His three days of being dead?"), things that made me wonder and dig into the Word. Through the course of this prayer (and the prayer of many others) and God's merciful timing, I "came home" to the Lord one night. We were talking in his bedroom and it was there that I counted the cost (of turning my life over to Christ, knowing that certain lifestyle changes would come) and chose to embrace Jesus once again. Full on. It wasn't going to be a game. It wasn't going to last six months and then fade away (like it did when I was 11). I cried. It was such a wonderful feeling. I remember leaving his house that night and passing his mom in the living room. She had a knowing smile on her face, like she knew I'd come "back" to God.

I don't know where I'd be without Greg Taylor. He helped "pray me into the kingdom," and I am so grateful. That someone would show so much love -- weeping over my soul in intercessory prayer, fasting for me. My goodness, what a price to pay! I can't remember seeing that kind of passionate example for Christ. Talk about an inspiration! I've never regretted that decision and I'm so honored to be "on the Lord's side."

Nehemiah (in the first chapter of his book) had a similar reaction when he heard about the refugees of God's people that had returned to Jerusalem with its broken down walls and gates. He sat down and wept. For some days he mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. He prayed boldly. He took ownership of the sins of his people, confessing them as his own. He had confidence that the God he knew to be faithful would do as His Word had said. At the end of his prayer a new one-sentence paragraph sits alone (in today's modern translations and paragraph breaks). It says: "I was cupbearer to the king." It gives a lead-in to the next chapter, where the king notices that his cupbearer isn't his normal, cheerful self. When the king asks what's wrong, he explains about the trouble in Jerusalem, and the kings resources help get the walls rebuilt. It's a great story.

Sacrifice of Praise

In 2 Samuel 22, we see David offering up a song of praise. He sang this when the Lord delivered him fromt he hand of all his enemies. Sometimes, however, it is appropriate to stop and offer God praise in the midst of our storms and battles. When our problems are overwhelming and sucking all of our attention, that is a good time to praise God just because He is good. I find myself secretly hoping sometimes that my praise will somehow bribe God into doing my will, but I quickly realize that He is good and deserving of praise, period. Perhaps He will have mercy on me and my limited perspective is correct, or maybe my current situation will teach me something valuable and I don't need to be "delivered" as much as "strengthened" to pass through it.

I certainly desire wisdom over knowledge at times like that. Knowing what to do is a good thing.

PS Who's that picture of? Charles Gates + a friend.

Off With His Head!

Sheba "lifted up his hand" against the King -- David. Joab went off to where he was (Abel Beth Maacah). Joab and his men built a siege ramp up to the city and were battering the wall to bring it down. A woman from the city (identified as "a wise woman from the city") called from the city to speak to Joab. She told him that Abel was a peaceful city and questioned why Joab was going to destroy it. Joab told her that he was looking for one man -- Sheba -- and if they handed him over, they'd leave the city alone. "His head will be thrown to you from the wall," she said.

Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice, and (sure enough) they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bicri and threw it to Joab.

Now who said the Bible wasn't good reading? (2 Samuel 20)

A wonderful SXSW moment

I was leaning on the monitor wedge right in front of the empty stage, awaiting the arrival of Mike Peters and The Alarm MMV, when a large guy with shaved head (a rounder version of Mr. Clean) was talking to people next to him and he mentioned formerly being in a band called Stretford. They continue on to this day, which is impressive for an old school punk band. They were known as Stretford 37 back in '91 or '92, when Lust Control played with them at Sixth Street Records Live. I tapped him on the shoulder and said, "You mentioned being in the band Stretford. Do you remember playing a show at this club with Lust Control?" And his face lit up with excitement. "Yeah, that was awesome! I loved you guys," and we went on and on about what a great gig that was. I remember really liking their catchy and well-written songs. He remembered that we brought them into our pre-gig prayer circle and said how they really were touched by that. That was so cool -- not just because someone remembered, but also because it was a respectable peer that caught what we were doing and liked it. That put a smile on my face.

This guy knew all the words to all those old Alarm songs -- and even knew the new ones, like "45 RPM." That scores big points in my book.
:?)

Mercy is okay

That's a real-life hellgrammite. And you thought it was just a made-up bug name for people like Mitch "Bradford" Roberts to throw around. Ha! Shows what we know! I just want to know why he was called "Booger Foot."

SXSW is over, and my body is grateful. I'm hoping to get the next issue through deadline without having to tax my physical body's ability to work without rest.
:?)

In 2 Samuel 16, we see King David, surrounded by many guards and soldiers, having verbal abuse and stones hurled at him by an angry man (Shimei). David assumed that perhaps God told him to curse at him, so he forbid his angry subordinates (who wanted to kill the guy) from harming him. "Perhaps the Lord will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today."

Wow. What a response! I often hope that I can remain calm and at peace amidst cursing, slander, and insults. That certainly seems the "high road" to take during such a scenario. Even if God wasn't behind the cursing, being able to respond to someone in an opposite spirit (love or kindness instead of hate) is surely the better approach. Cutting off Shimei's head may have been warrented, but mercy is good.

uh-MAZE-ing

Been having a blast at SXSW and seeing some fantastic stuff, including some real human drama. I'm tempted to spill it all out here, but I've gotta save some revelations for the print magazine, man. I will say this, though: Watching Press On, a documentary about the life and music of Robert Randolph (and the "Sacred Steel" movement) was SO inspiring. I shed tears of joy a few times watching the movie, just reveling in the goodness of God that is being poured out on this guy in a very public manner. His music is phenomenal. For a glimpse of the great footage of this documentary, pop your copy of Unclassified into your computer and watch the "Behind The Scenes" video. It's some of the same footage found in this movie.

In Ezra 7 we see that "the gracious hand of his God was on him, for Ezra had devoted himself to the study and ovservance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel."

We (speaking of myself) look at the Law as some sort of negative thing, a list of rules we don't have to keep anymore because Jesus fulfilled the Law on our behalf, yada yada. But I think a better perspective is to look at it within the context of how it was applied. God's Law was His Word given to His people. His laws are not mean party-killers, but guidelines that keep us healthy and safe and prosperous. For Him to visit man was a marvelous thing. And even moreso, Ezra had His gracious hand upon him, blessing what he did. God's favor is an amazing thing, and something to be super thankful for. I wonder what it's like to never feel like God's favor is upon you. I can think of times where I was assured inside my soul that God was with me and that He showed me grace and favor. I think of someone who might say, "I've never felt that. I've never sensed God as being close to me or showing me favor." I imagine the feelings of condemnation and unworthiness that would accompany such thoughts. I'm not sure what to tell someone in that situation. Our relationship with God at some point becomes subjective and personal. There are promises in His Word and descriptions of His care and love which are inclusive of all that believe. To somehow exclude yourself from His care and family is believing a lie. To not be able to say, "I've felt such and such emotions" is one thing, but to say that, "I don't belong, God doesn't love me," or "He doesn't care about me," is quite another (and false, according to Scripture). I hope that if I encountered such a hopeless one that I would have hope to offer, like the "reason for the hope that is within you," as Scripture states. I believe that one way to be "ready" for that is by having a regular spiritual diet that includes God's Word. There's certainly been times in my life where I've felt dry and hadn't "eaten" or "digested" God's Word in a while, and that would probably impair me a little towards the effort of "feeding" or helping someone else. There have been deposits in my "well," some that go down deep into my soul and comfort me, but having been recently "refreshed" with God's Word, like splashing clean water on my face, equips me all the more to share that hope.

Rebuilding in Fear

In Ezra chapter 3 we read about the people of God rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. Even though they were afraid for their safety, they built the altar on its foundation. This is cool. Brave people are not people who are absent from fear, but they are those that press on in spite of fear. Sometimes it's easy to conclude that fear is a sin. Experiencing fear is a given and expected. Feeling fear is not bad, but surrendering to it or shrinking away because of it is lame. Facing fear is noble and courageous.

I remember two anecdotes about fear. One is spiritual and one is sexual.
(not really or technically, but I wanted to get your attention... the other is about "attraction to the opposite sex," not "sexuality")

Anyway, I used to try to be sensitive to the Lord's voice when I was on campus at the University of Texas. I believe it helped train me on how to hear the voice of the Lord. Sometimes I would "hear" or have a thought in my head that was as if it was spoken. 'Tell him I love him,' or something like that. One time I heard this and the object of the message was this burly guy with "tough guy" written all over him. It was intimidating, and I feared an angry backlash as I told him God loved him, but I actually received a warm and grateful response from the guy. Shows you what I know, and how fear can keep us from relating to people that will enrich our lives.

Okay, now on to girls. In the last stages of my 'single life' (before I found my wife), I learned to "embrace fear" or "feel the fear." What I mean by that is I simply accepted the nervousness of talking to another girl. That whole "fear of rejection" and nervousness were very real emotions that could influence me to not act or run away from the opportunity to talk to a lovely lady. I determined to let the fear and nervousness come, and I simply experienced the emotions and acted in spite of them. It actually became like a "rush" or thrill to walk and talk amidst the fear. This embolded me to have fun in a context that would otherwise make me feel miserable or fail to act. I gladly shared this with some of my single male friends, and it helped us enjoy a fun part of life, rather than dread or endure it.

There: was that little bit of sex education so bad?

That's Ashton, of the Awakening

Pictured here, in front of the banner that hung on the rear of the trailer they used for their tour last Fall.

Uzziah did some amazing things. 2 Chronicles 26 lists some of them. In Jerusalem he made machines designed by skillful men for use on the towers and on the corner defenses to shoot arrow and hurl large stones. That is rad. It sounds like things seen in the movie Braveheart or something. All his accomplishments, though, went to his head and he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense before the Lord, which was a priestly thing. The priests followed him in and tried to talk him out of this, but he argued and raged, and then he broke out with leprosy, which he kept until his death. He even had to live in a separate house the rest of his life, cut off. As some are ought to say these days, "It sucks to be him." Good thing for us we have their example, though. Sometimes a good way to learn is the "Other People's Mistakes University," in addition to the old "School of Hard Knocks."

Yesterday, on my way into downtown Austin for the SXSW convention, my mind wandered into thoughts of hurting people and how God can bring such hope and peace to someone willing to be honest with Him and surrender to His care. I felt gratitude that I wasn't hurting, so I offered up a prayer, "Father, I'll keep my eyes open for any hurting people that You bring across my path. If you'd like to comfort them through me, I'm willing to be used." (or something along those lines) I hesitated a moment when I prayed that prayer, because I knew the seriousness of it -- that God could stretch me or take me out of my comfort zone. It's real easy to "stay inside" my "comfort zone" and not get involved in someone else's problem, but it's usually always rewarding later, when you see God at work. I thought of the potential discomfort, but trusted that it was okay since God was involved, and went ahead and mentally said, 'okay.' Funny thing is, looking back, I don't recall any conversations that would qualify as that. Maybe there wasn't pain around me. Maybe it wasn't God's will. Maybe I didn't mean it. Maybe I missed an opportunity by not looking carefully. I don't know. Maybe He wants me to ask that more often, maybe He wants "today" to last longer than one day. Who knows? I won't worry about it.

It's always fun to read about King Hezekiah, because you can say, "I was reading the book of Hezekiah," or something, trying to trick people who don't know the books of the Bible. "1st Hesitations 3:12 says, 'blah blah blah...'" Hezekiah was a lot like us, though. He made mistakes, and repented of the pride of his heart. And then he made mistakes again. And repented again. It's kind of inspiring to be able to identify with leaders with flaws. It's also interesting to look at the men that opposed him, like this punk named Sennacherib, king of Assyria. He wrote letters that insulted God. That guy was primed for an awakening. He got whipped something fierce by the power of the God he mocked. That's a mistake.

One last business tidbit: Our Ad Sales Director, Heather Reynolds, is attending the Niche Media seminar today in Dallas. It should be a real beneficial thing, as it focuses on selling ads for specialty, or "niche," magazines, of which we are. It'll be neat to see ads from unexpected sources in the future (or places that have always "made sense," but we've never seen in the mag).

Lord, we bless You today, because You are good. Thanks for giving us tongues to praise You and minds with which to simply think, "You are good. I love You." I pray that we all, by simply pausing to consider You, may be blessed to know and sense that we are really Your valued, cherished, and precious children, given life because You so chose it. Amen.

Wi-Fi City

This is so rad!
I am parked outside the Austin Convention Center, sitting in my car, and I have a high-speed internet connection, thanks to the move to make Austin, TX a wireless city. I had heard about this and I have thought it was a great thing, but this is the first time that I've just been outside in the city and logged on to the net. It's pretty darn cool. Imagine being able to connect anywhere in the world. Wow.

Saw another interesting movie -- Pallindrom, which takes the issue of abortion. More on this later.

SXSW Interactive & Film

Seeing lots of film people. The press room is cool here, with a wireless connection, but I need to subscribe to a mobile smtp host, so I can send emails from Outlook (my pop mail account) when I'm mobile. There's always internet email.

Chris Masterson is doing lots of interviews here in the pressroom. He sounds smart. There is a documentary on Robert Randolph & The Family Band (on the sacred steel movement) that I must see this week. It's good that many of the films here show/screen three times or so.

I'm planning on seeing Palindromes and CL.ONE tonight, as well as milling around the exhibit hall.

I need to figure out how to renew the domain name for hmmag.com
It's listed under David's email account, and he got a notice yesterday that said we had two days to renew it! I hope we can solve this, so someone doesn't watch a list and swoop in and buy the domain name rights. It's a drag that people can do that and that there aren't more user friendly safeguards to keep stuff like that from happening.

SXSW Films

I saw a fantastic movie tonight. I guess it was the world premiere.
It's called The Wendell Baker Story, and stars the Wilson Brothers -- Owen and Luke. So funny. I haven't laughed that hard in a while. Lots of actors (from the movie) were in the Paramount Theater for it. It was filmed in and around Austin, which is always fun to see landmarks you know on the big screen.

Dude Did A Flip

The guitarist for the opening band, This Side Up, brought new meaning to the band's name. Stage left guitarist in a twin axe lineup, this guy was a bundle of energy the entire set, often bouncing into the acoustic foam that lined the wall at stage left, leaning against it to keep his spastic motions from sending him sprawling at high speed. Right before the last song he started at center stage and ran to the wall, planted both feet about two feet high on the wall and sprung up and backwards, completing a back flip and hitting the next chord on time. Amazing and fun.

There's a cool tiny verse in 2 Chronicles 25 that speaks volumes:

"He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly."

While our culture here in the West is very stoic and downplays men showing emotion, I think this really works against us in our lives. As humans, our whole being is balanced with emotion and energy. There's a time for being quiet, but there's also a time for gusto and passion. I hope that I do not fail to show passion for the Lord when it's my time to do so. I pray that I may not care "a tinker's cuss" (to coin a phrase from Monty Python's "the Architect's Sketch") about what others around me think; but that I may revere the Lord and place Him first with my actions.

Everybody have a great weekend.

HM Party Tonight

A big welcome back goes out to Alex Norman, my nephew-inlaw, who returns to his fort from duty in Iraq. I don't think he reads this, but I'm appreciative of his service over there (and that of Brian McGovern, the former Assistant Editor at HM Magazine (from 1994/95 to 1997/98) and Maury Millican, aka Duane, the original bassist for Lust Control, and the other friends who are over there who have sent word and the occasional photo (including congressional aid Wesley Denton, who served as Director of Ad Sales at HM from 2000 to 2001). There'll be lots of celebrating tonight in Killeen as many soldiers have returned.

HM Magazine is having a party at the Red Eyed Fly tonight, with some really good local bands. I'm looking forward to it. The SXSW Film Conference kicks off tomorrow night with a couple films I'm going to try and check out: My Big Fat Indepedent Movie and a new flick by the Wilson brothers.

I wonder if one of Jehoshaphat's men will attend the party. If I see one of them, I will shriek, "Jumpin' Jehoshaphat! You must be 4,000 years old!" Jumping is not what Jehoshaphat did when he heard about vast armies headed his way (2 Chronicles 20). He inquired of the Lord and called his people to fast. They had instructions to sing praises to the Lord as they marched out to battle. Now, most people familiar with Bible stories know what's coming next -- God delivering their enemies into their hand. But stop for a minute and think about how ridiculous those instructions must've sounded. I remember a friend of mine on our JV football team started singing, "Shaboom, shaboom, Sha-na-na, sha-na-na, shaboom, shaboom," while he was playing defensive tackle, and the opposing offense jumped offsides, it freaked them out and make everybody laugh. That's how strange an act like singing into battle must've appeared. I wonder about the faith and courage that those men had to swallow their pride and do something that might've seemed "girlie" or "sissy." But man, did God receive that praise and deliver with power! Wow.

Steve Camp Couldn't Have Said It Better

"For the eyes of the Lordrange throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Is this true, Lord? Are you seeking out those whose hearts are fully committed to You? If so, I want to be found by You, wanting You and seeking You.

To be strengthened by God is a wonderful thing. Talk about a pick-me-up! Wow. Here's a cool thought:

The only One Who has a right to put us down chooses instead to lift us up.

I like that.

Katie and Matt, Al and Ann

Listening to some indie music makes you hate music... Well, almost.

If I want to accomplish a lot of stuff at work, do you know what I need to do? I need to put off reading email until a certain time (like noon or the end of the day). This is very hard to do, because I think, 'I wonder what's waiting for me in my inbox?' Or, 'Did so and so answer that question?' But, if I actually sit down and go through my inbox, it'll eat up two hours just like that. it stinks.

Okay, enough random thoughts. On to the Bible commentary. In 2 Chronicles 12, we see King Rehoboam receive some mercy. Jerusalem was being attacked by Shishak, the king of Egypt. Jerusalem was going to fall. The prophet Shemaiah told him that, "You have abandoned me (sayeth the Lord); therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak." The leaders of Israel and the king wisely humbled themselves and said, "The Lord is just." When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, He delivered them. What a great example of mercy.

A couple chapters earlier we see Rehoboam make a stupid mistake -- he followed his friends' advice rather than that of the elders. I remember one nugget of truth from the 17-page f-word rant letter that Roger Martinez foolishly sent out to people on his mailing list, many of them young teenagers, I'm sure. But one thing he said makes sense. He related a story about his wife wanting him to hang out with another young leader at a pastor's lunch or something. He argued and protested that he wanted to hang around those with grey hair, for they were the ones with wisdom. (if I can comment here, both had good points. One was about receiving wisdom; and the other was about imparting or sharing wisdom. One was trying to get her husband to mentor a young man; and one was trying to get mentored by an older man...) Anyway, Rehoboam should've listened to the elders, who advised him to treat the people with mercy. Instead he followed his friends' advise of, "Show 'em who's king!" The people ended up splitting the kingdom (12 tribes). What a mistake.

Big BIG Tires

David, the king of Israel, stood up before the people and told them what he had given to the nation's temple-building program (1 Chronicles 29). He revealed what treasures he had given to the project, above and beyond all the previous giving to that point. Part of me cringes when I hear that, as building programs can be such weird and manipulative events. It seems there's been some abuse (there's at least been the appearance or perception of abuse) in this area, so it's easy to be sensitive to money-raising tactics and the like. But Scripture shows us a blessed and good fund-raising, where David's admission as a leader was apparently a healthy example of leadership in giving. He gave 3,000 talents of gold and silver. Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly. They gave toward the work on the temple 5,000 talents and 1,000 darics of gold, 10,000 talents of silver... It was a lot of money and the people rejoiced "at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord."

I guess someone has to talk about giving to the Lord, and here is an example of it being done right. I love the idea about secret giving, but this public giving wasn't a show of pride nor self-righteousness (which is what Jesus was attacking when He brought His example of secret giving).

As Solomon began the huge task of building the temple, he sent out letters to other kings, like Hiram, king of Tyre, asking for a skilled man to work on the temple, and big logs. The other king replied with praise to God, and sent a guy named Huram-Abi, who was described as a "man of great skill...trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him." Wow. That's one heck of a resume. This guy had mad skills. It's cool how these talents make a way for the person who has them.

Solomon did something interesting that seems wise: he took a census of all the "aliens" who were in Israel, and put them to work carrying the logs, cutting the stones. 3,600 foremen were used to keep the people working. I like this idea. I like the fact that America lets aliens into its borders. I hate the thought of people beating, torturing, abusing, or persecuting people simply because they come from another nation. I admire the many immigrants that have come before me who landed on these shores and worked really hard to make a living for them and their families. I hope that many aliens coming over have the opportunity to work hard and make a living and a life here. I trust that many are. I hope that none are being lazy and coddled and enabled to start over here with an "easy" life. Living in Texas, I see a lot of workers who are good examples of people that are anxious to work and jump at the chance to earn a living. There's a difference, of course, between slave labor and hard work. Both make look the same at about 3pm, but one should look far different than the other at quitting time (and on payday).

Big Foot at 1 o'clock

1 Chronicles 16
David kind of dedicated his tabernacle when they brought the Ark of the Covenant into it. He gave a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each Israelite man and woman. I can imagine being a young teenager. "Cool! Free cakes! King Davis is awesome!"

David committed a really cool psalm of thanks to the Lord that day:

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on His Name;
make known among the nations what He has done.
Sing to Him, sing praise to Him;
tell of all His wonderful acts.
Glory in His Holy Name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Look to the Lord and His strength;
seek His face always.
Remember the wonders He has done,
His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced...
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His love endures forever..."

Then all the people said, "Amen" and "Praise the Lord."
Appropriate response. It is good to remember what God has done. Sometimes when I'm down or I feel like seeking His face is hard or far from me, I can remember the good things He has done. When I face a struggle, remembering His deliverance from another struggle can lift me up and encourage me that this too shall pass and He will deliver me.

I'm speaking at a middle school in Austin today. That should be interesting. Each student will get a free copy of the magazine and a couple cd samplers. I'm trying to add some HM merch to our store every other day or so, because we have a bunch of stuff that isn't posted up there (like our video magazines, and a ton of older back issues). Today is a very special day, too. It is my mother's birthday!

Dancing Naked (or Bearing Down on Bigfoot)

1 Chronicles 15 talks about the story of David and Israel bringing the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem. 1st and 2nd Chronicles are kind of the historical facts are facts version of many stories that 1st and 2nd Samuel tells from a more personal (coming from a prophet) perspective (if I remember my Bible history). I prefer the 2 Samuel 6 version, because verse 20 makes the reference that David "uncovered himself," and thus giving my old past-its-prime punk band the "license" to write a song called "Dancing Naked." The other versions (and even parts of 2 Samuel 6) bring up the minor detail that he wore a linen ephod under his garments.

Remember those days when Christian bands would have Bible verse references in their lyric sheets with their albums? I had to whip out a copy of Dancing Naked to make sure 2 Samuel 6 was the chapter I was referencing, because reading that chapter and the 1 Chronicles chapter in the version (NIV) I was reading was confusing me, cuz they both referenced that dang linen ephod. A lot of people miss those days of biblical referenced lyric sheets, but a good student of the Bible will be able to spot the allegories and inspiration him or herself. So I don't necessarily equate a lower number of such album art/text as being of reprobate or rebellious direction.

Speaking of differing viewpoints, what do you guys and gals think of the back page comic on the latest issue of HM? I've been having a dialog with some very disappointed readers about that comic (which I think is an absolutely wonderful and inspring story).

Oh my gosh! It's Bigfoot!

I like the books of First and Second Chronicles. In chapter 4 of 1 Chronicles, we get a lot of geneology information, including Jabez, whose mother named him that because she "gave birth to him in pain."

The prayer that Jabez is remembered for is simple, and found here:

"Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain."

It's interesting that he kind of resisted his name (pain). I'm not a fan of pain, myself. I told the doctor who cut off my mole on Monday a stupid joke ("I guess the big question is, 'Will I be able to play guitar tonight?' He looked at me seriously and said, "Oh, sure." I said, "That's great, since I couldn't play before." I'm such a sad comedian.). I almost told him another joke prior to that one. If he would've asked me if I was allergic to anything, I would've said, "Just pain."

Mmmm, Big Foot!

I had a mole sliced off my neck yesterday. I got a shot to numb the area, and then I didn't feel the scalpel at all. It hurts more now as a wound than any of the removal procedure. The Bigfoot Truck is approaching. You can see from this picture how much taller it is than other vehicles (pickup trucks).

The king of Assyria drove a Bigfoot Pickup Truck, which is why they called the land Assyria. Of course, I'm just kidding. In 2 Kings 17, a bunch of God's people were captive and they were worshipping idols and not worshipping the Lord, so He sent lions among them and killed some of the people. Wow. It's interesting that the king of Assyria responded in a helpful way when he heard about it. He had them get a priest from their religion to show their people how to properly worship, and 'so not anger their gods.' I'm surprised that the king of Assyria would take notice of the problems of a people he was lording over; but it kind of makes sense. If you're going to lead a group of people, you oughta see about keeping them safe and happy.

In 2 Kings 22, we see that Josiah was only eight years old when he became king! That is crazy. He ruled in Jerusalem for 31 years. In his 18th year of reign, they found the Book of the Law in the temple. Josiah did what was right and quickly responded when he discovered that his fathers had not been following the Book. He had his priests inquire of the Lord to see what should be done. He was still a youngter (26) and yet he had to correct the mistakes of his elders and forefathers. This is a heady act, but was done out of respect and godly fear of the Lord. The answer they got back was not good. God was going to destroy. However, Josiah was told that because of his response that he would be laid to rest in peace and not see the devestation that would be coming.