One of the spiritual gifts my wife and I have is ‘hospitality’. We love to entertain friends at home, the more the better. Some of our past Titans parties approach legendary status. Chad, you’ll have to join us some Sunday this season! If we play the Seahawks we can put JJ on speakerphone and taunt him as his team loses!

But, I digress …

Something we’ve done to get together with friends is establish regular annual celebrations or events. For instance, for years on the Friday before Christmas, M’Lady K and I get together with one specific couple and others (the others vary from year to year) to share some great hors ‘dourves, fellowship and then we watch Frank Capra’s ‘It’s A Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart. We know all the lines and have our favorites and thoroughly enjoy it every year. It’s one way we implement JJ’s ‘Lesson of the Day’ from a couple of weeks ago.

M’Lady K and I were talking the other day about this sort of tradition and wondered why we had one for Christmas but not for Easter. We decided to start one up this year.

We have invited 2 or 3 couples and their kids to join us on Good Friday evening and we’ll be watching Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ together.

We bought a copy of the film when it came out having already seen it at the theater. For those of you that have seen it, you understand that it is a powerful film. I think that’s part of why we’ve not watched it since then. But it’s time. 3 of our 5 kids have seen it and we’re going to allow the younger 2 to watch it with us this year if they want to.

We’re looking forward to time with good friends. We’re looking forward to the new tradition. Most of all, we’re looking forward to remembering the price paid for our redemption.

Over and over the Book encourages us to remember what God did in the past so we have specifics to hang our faith on in the future. This is true whether the event you are remembering specifically happened to you or not. For instance, stories in the Book inspire us and produce faith in us today even though the events happened to other people hundreds of years ago.

If this seems like something of benefit to you and yours, feel free to swipe the idea and fine tune it for you. The key is to lift up the Son, to fix our eyes on Him and magnify His name. Why? Because if Christ be lifted up, He will draw all men to Him.

Realizing I, too, am part of ‘all men’ and looking for a seat closer to the action …

BCM

9 Comments
Heroes, History, Holidays, Hollywood, Spiritual Warfare

My wife and I have 5 children ranging in age from 8 to 18. Something we have experienced with every child is the dislike they had for punishment when they did something wrong. Each child went through the same progression. First, they were sorry we disapproved of them doing something wrong. Next they were sorry they had been caught doing something wrong. Finally they were sorry they had done something wrong.

These three stages are ones we all pass through. At first we don’t know what we do is wrong. Then we only do what is right if we are forced to or if we believe that we’ll be caught and punished if we do the wrong thing. Finally we arrive at the place where we do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.

With the exception of psychopaths, pretty much everyone older than 10 knows right from wrong. That just leaves two stages to pass through. It is amazing how many people get stuck in stage two.

The time spent in stage two varies from person to person. Some never move on. Some do so only after many years. Most of us make the move anonymously and it’s a good thing since there is much we’ve done that we wouldn’t want to be made public. But some of us don’t. The latest to miss the anonymous trip is American Idol’s Antonella Barba.

Ms. Barba, recently voted off of the popular reality show, is just 20 years old. Despite being talented enough to make the show’s lineup, her personal life left a few things to be desired. She was involved in a sexually active relationship with a recent boyfriend. She allowed him to photograph their intimacy. She also posed for erotic photos in very public places, including a graphic wet t-shirt picture while she was in the fountain at the WWII memorial in Washington DC. After her breakup with the boyfriend she became an American Idol celebrity and her ex posted these pictures on the Internet.

In short, Ms. Barba got caught and is suffering the consequences. Not because she did something right, but because she did something wrong.

They media won’t spin it that way, of course. They’ll sympathize with her, feel sorry for her and denounce those who think what she did was illegal, immoral or, worst of all, sinful! The truth behind the story, however, is Ms. Barba’s actions wouldn’t be newsworthy if we didn’t all know, deep down, what she did was wrong. We may not say it, but everyone knows it.

Sometimes you get away with what you do. The Lord knows I surely have on multiple occasions and I’m grateful for the grace. But sometimes, sometimes the world crashes in on you for one moment of carelessness. I’ve had that happen, too. When it does, you show the world what sort of person you are by how you respond.

Before this morning, I had a great deal of sympathy for Ms. Barba. She messed up, was caught publicly and is paying the price. I wondered how she was really dealing with it and figured I would never know since I don’t know her personally.

This morning, though, World Net Daily linked to a Houston Chronicle story on that very topic and my heart sank. The headline to the story is, “After racy photos on Web, ousted Idol singer wary of trust”.

Having endured all of the negative publicity, the scorn, the pain, the anguish an event like this must certainly bring, the most important thing she learned was, “Be careful who you trust!” I was hoping for, “Be certain anything you do you would be proud to have splashed over the front page of media around the world!” How tragic not to have come away with more considering what this has cost her.

Tragic because Ms. Barba is stuck in stage two. Chief among her criteria for judging her own behavior is, “Will I get caught and how bad will it be if I do?” If I can be certain I won’t get caught, if I’m sure my companions will not rat me out later, I can do whatever I like because there will be no consequences. If I’m not sure my companions are trustworthy, then I better be careful because they might roll over on me later and I’ll have to deal with what I’ve done.

There is no morality. There is only, “What can I get away with!” You can protest, “I do TOO have morals!” However, that some of what you choose to do is generally accepted as “good” means nothing. What you do when everyone is watching is not ‘Character’. ‘Character’ is what you do when NO one is watching, when you’re SURE you won’t get caught. It’s when you do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do! It’s stage three.

Hoping Ms. Barba chooses to perform there soon…

BCM

2 Comments
Heroes, Hollywood, News, Porn, Spiritual Warfare

In an article on Fox News entitled, “Sales of Rap Albums Take Stunning Nosedive”, it states that sales of rap music is down 21%. A drop! Historically rap music has been a climbing genre, let’s hope this trend is over and it continues to decline. The article tries to point out that rap music is negative and it may be affecting our culture negatively. Chuck Creekmur, a Rap industry insider, said, “I wish America would just be honest. America is sick. … America loves violence and sex.” But why should America be honest? What is honesty? What is right and what is wrong, can we know the difference? (more…)

4 Comments
Evil, Hollywood, News, Porn, Spiritual Warfare

I don’t know if you guys have seen this. But I just got it in my inbox from my aunt. I laughed, maybe you will too.

7 Comments
Hollywood, Politics

As some of you already know, on June 27 thru July 7th in New York City the UN has scheduled one of it’s famous propaganda conferences. This one was carefully and tactfully entitled, “The U.N. Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons.” What genious came up with that name anyways? Conference namer guy: yur fired!

Anyhow, these numbskulls have put out a public service anouncment staring the Hollywood blowhole, Michael Douglas. “Messenger of Peace” is what the corrupt globalist Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the UN, named him. I call him: Enemy of the State.

From WND:

Douglas’s public service announcement is part of a U.N. public information campaign, and “calls attention to the dangers posed by the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, including their humanitarian and social impact on children and the civilian population in general,” says the U.N. website’s story. Douglas was appointed a “messenger of peace by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1998. His focus has been primarily on disarmament – from nuclear on down to small arms. Last month Douglas presented Annan, who has been besieged with corruption complaints in recent months, with an award for his dedication to ridding the world of land mines. Although an effort by the U.N. to control Americans’ guns seems far-fetched and improbable to some, as WorldNetDaily has reported in a major investigation, that plan has its roots back in the early 1960s with a 20-page State Department pamphlet titled “Freedom From War: The United States Program for General and Complete Disarmament in a Peaceful World.” More recently, National Rifle Association Vice President Wayne LaPierre warns that the U.N. is concerned about banning a lot more than just land mines and illicit weapons in African hot spots. He says the global body also wants the firearms of American citizens as well.

I know I wrote a quick post about NRA Vice President LaPierre’s book but I thought this conference needed our full attention. There is something very sinister abrewin’ at the UN and as Freedom lovin patriots we need to be prepared. This means knowing our enemy.

Read this article: Loosing Freedom: The UN attacks the Second Ammendment.

13 Comments
Gun Rights, Hollywood, Politics

Chad posted a cool movie on PTA so I thought I better keep up with the Jones’ and do a movie clip post.

Does anyone remember the Bill O’Reilly interview on The Letterman Show in early January? I almost peed my pants watching Letterman make an idiot of himself. Letterman (instead of keeping true to form with his dry humor shtik) tries to get serious on Bill O’Reilly. Hey Letterman: What are you smokin? Just a friendly suggestion, stay outta politics. It makes you look like an dumbass dodo-head.

4 Comments
Hollywood, Politics

Go Stephen, go Stephen. One of Hollyweird’s rare breed, Stephen Baldwin, is about practicing what he preaches. Stephen became a born-again Christian after the tragedy on 9/11 and he hasn’t looked back. His faith has brought him to Christian activism, fighting for what he believes and fighting against evil. Baldwin has been waging a war against a business that shows pornographic movies on Route 59 in Nyack, New York. He has been standing outside the business taking pictures of thier customers and is threatening to publish their photos in an advertisment in the local newspaper. This guy is my freakin’ hero. How often do you hear about a celebrity talkin’ the talk and walkin’ the walk? Because of this I think I will forgive him for making the movie “Bio-dome.”

“I won’t stop until it shuts down,” Baldwin told the Westchester Journal News. “I don’t want it this close to my house. I’m personally not OK with pornography. I definitely think that it adds to the moral decay or our culture.” “In my position, I just don’t think I’m supposed to keep my faith to myself,” Baldwin told a group of Texas Southern Baptists in 2004. “I’m just doing what the Lord’s telling me to do. You know, if the Lord’s not telling anybody else [in Hollywood] to [talk publicly about their faith], well, then God bless ‘em. But I don’t think that’s the case. I think there are a lot of people who don’t put their faith before everything else, you know. And that’s a big problem. I’m just doing what the Lord’s calling me to do. Period.”

If only we all had the internal fortitude to do what the Lord calls us to do. Read more about Stephen’s mission to rid his town of filth.

8 Comments
Hollywood, Porn

From American Family Association: On January 6, NBC will begin a new series entitled The Book of Daniel.

While the public has not seen the program, NBC is promoting “The Book of Daniel” as a serious drama about Christian people and the Christian faith. The main character is Daniel Webster, a drug-addicted Episcopal priest whose wife depends heavily on her mid-day martinis.

Webster regularly sees and talks with a very unconventional white-robed, bearded Jesus. The Webster family is rounded out by a 23-year-old homosexual Republican son, a 16-year-old daughter who is a drug dealer, and a 16-year-old adopted son who is having sex with the bishop’s daughter. At the office, his lesbian secretary is sleeping with his sister-in-law.

NBC and the mainstream media call it “edgy,” “challenging” and “courageous.” The series is written by Jack Kenny, a practicing homosexual who describes himself as being “in Catholic recovery,” and is interested in Buddhist teachings about reincarnation and isn’t sure exactly how he defines God and/or Jesus. “I don’t necessarily know that all the myth surrounding him (Jesus) is true,” he said.

NBC considers The Book of Daniel a positive portrayal of Christ and Christians.

71 Comments
Hollywood, Religion

Joe Thorn, from Words of Grace posted about a Spike Lee film coming out in the near future. It puts out the question “What if the South had Won?”

This movie is so blatantly rascist, that I’m offended. And it ain’t against the poor negros. It’s against whitey. Thats right. This director, Kevin Willmott, makes it out like slavery would still be in tact had the south won.

After going to the home page, they have a mock up ebay setting, where you can purchase your very own negro. Isn’t that nice. Click anywhere to go to the lousy made flash site.

Under ‘Updates from Kevin’, He even had this to say about the stars and bars being displayed in the Dukes of Hazzard movie.

The Dukes of Hazzard is a great example of why we made our film, CSA. The images of those who fought for slavery, segregation and white supremacy are now being introduced as just “good ole boys” to a new generation of kids. Don’t be offended by Daisy’s shorts, Mom and Dad – be offended by the murderous history it celebrates.

What crock of horse apples. This Kevin guy comes off as the only rascist associated with this movie. Go ahead and talk all the trash on whitey that you can, while you use Hollywood as your medium.

Visit the CSA Movie Website.

66 Comments
Hollywood

If you get the FX station, I encourage everyone to go watch the new show about the war in Iraq, called Over There. Really Good!

5 Comments
Hollywood, War