Davinci Code Review

Natalie and I went to see the Davinci Code this week. We both agreed that it was a pretty slow moving movie. Not as much excitement as we expected. They left a lot of the book out of the movie, which created quite a bit of confusion and more than a few holes.

Afterwards, Natalie and I both agreed that the movie was similar to a religious version of National Treasure. It was so absurd that I don't think many people will actually believe the story or fall for its fallacies. There were some theological statements made in the movie that may cause some to ask questions, but for the most part it definitely will not be as influential as people thought.

Dull movie. Definitely not believable. Not quite the assault on Christianity that many anticipated.

Not worth seeing in the theatre, if at all.

Fun with the Stones

We enjoyed a nice dinner tonight and some great air hockey with our friends, Adam and Heather Stone and kids. We ate dinner at Bandidos...it was awesome. Good conversation, delicious food, laughs and everything else. It doesn't get much better. Thanks guys!

Congrats Jordan and Sara Spaw!

Congrats Jordan and Sara Spaw! It was a great wedding and reception...too many pictures to put on here. We pray you have a wonderful marriage together.

Birthday Pics From Last Week

Here are some pictures from our dinner at Smokey Bones in celebration of my birthday.

This is a picture of Natalie and me waiting to dig in to my FREE birthday cake!

This is another picture of me with my cake. Can you tell I'm excited? Is that drool running down my chin?

Here's Natalie trying to sneak a bite. DON'T THINK SO!

Here's me after eating a good helping of spinach and artichoke dip, 1 1/2 pulled pork sandwiches, a full plate of fries, and a huge piece of cake. I'm not looking so good!

Don't let the face fool you. I loved the cake, just not the feeling in my stomach after forcing it all down.

Birthday Celebration Continues and A Busy Weekend Ahead

Tyler and I went to Smokey Bones Restaurant last night to continue in the celebration of his 24th birthday, or as he refers to it as "birthMay", a full month set aside for the celebration of his birth! It was the first time in a while that we had been out, just the two of us. We topped off dinner with a large piece of COMPLIMENTARY gigantic chocolate birthday cake (stay tuned for pics and a video clip of our good time). We rented "Rumor Has It", it was ok.. a good rental movie, we were glad we never saw it in the theaters. We enjoyed a layed back Thursday night with not much to do and we prepare for the busy weekend that waits ahead of us.

Check back for pics and the run down on the festivities: "Setting up for the Wedding" (Friday Afternoon), "Wedding Rehearsal, Rehearsal Dinner and Bowling (a tradition that was started with Tyler and I)" (Friday Night), "Wedding Prep" (Saturday Afternoon) and finally that long awaited " Wedding & Reception" (Saturday Evening). Sunday is not much better as we have church, opening of the wedding gifts, church board meeting and local church conference. Needless to say the festivities of this weekend should be an awesome and memorable experience but we will appreciate catching up on rest when Monday gets here!

The Da Vinci Code

While I am typically hesitant to run out and read or watch the latest best selling book or blockbuster movie, as a pastor now I do feel a certain responsibility to be aware of what people in our church and community are exposed to.

With the release of the Da Vinci Code movie this week the buzz has definitely increased regarding the claims this book/movie makes and their apparent attacks on the Christian faith. Knowing that this was coming, I decided to read the book and I anticipate eventually watching the movie. I am not typically a fiction reader, but I did find myself surprisingly entertained (it helped that I had the illustrated version). It is a very engaging story, but it definitely does present ideas that are both contradictory and confrontational with Biblical teaching.

That being the case, I have not personally found myself to be too bent out of shape by it knowing that it is fictional. However, I have done quite a bit of research in order to clarify my position and to be ready to participate in intelligent conversation with others who have read the book, seen the movie, or have questions regarding the story’s claims. Not wanting to write a book on this blog in defense of my faith, I have simply included some links below that provide some of the articles I found helpful in my research. If you have questions that are not addressed in the articles or need more clarification, leave me a comment on this blog and I will do what I can to help.

http://www.bib-arch.org/bswbOOdavincicode.html

http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/2003/nov7.html

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/2004/002/8.15.html

http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2006/003/2.50.html

http://www.christianitytoday.com/bcl/areas/missions/articles/060426.html

Cebollas Video

Birthday Meal at Cebollas

For my birthday tonight we ate at Cebollas with Natalie's family. I have the privilege of sharing my birthday with my one and only (and definitely my favorite) sister in law, Natalie's sister Nicole. Since we have the same birthday we usually get to celebrate it at the same time with Natalie's entire family. So we did tonight. Below are some of the pictures from our dinner.

This is the picture of the "kids" table. The photo includes me, Natalie, Nicole (Natalie's sister), Joel (Natalie's brother), Jordan (Natalie's brother), and Sara (Jordan's soon to be wife). We enjoyed humorous conversation over queso, salsa, and chimichangas.

This is the "adults" table. It includes Powell, John, Jeff, Holly, Mary, and Penny.

This is a picture of me with my beautiful wife. She makes everyday a great one!

This is a picture of me with my birthday partner Nicole. I can't believe that I turned fifteen today and she turned twenty-four! Or is it the other way around? Coco...there's nobody I'd rather share my birthday with! (No offense to Hamlin or Angie H.)

This is a picture of Natalie being Natalie. Here she is posing like the man in the picture behind her.

What a great way to celebrate 24 years. Thanks guys!

Happy Birthday to Me

Today I celebrate my 24th birthday. 24…half way to 48…a fourth of the way to 96! Although it’s hard to believe that I’m already 24, as I look back it seems like there has already been so much life packed into these years.

As I consider the past 24 years, I’m grateful for the wonderful life that God has blessed me with. I’m grateful for the incredible childhood I had with many memories, opportunities and experiences; and also for High school that proved to be a time in my life that I will never forget. Time spent with friends, slacking through classes (always doing just enough to get an A), competing in athletics, figuring out girls/dating, starting the Wreck, and so many laughs and good times. I have a lot to look back on and smile about.

In addition to those wonderful memories, the past six years since high school (I can’t believe it’s been six years) have been infinitely more amazing as these years have involved experiencing life with the love of my life, Natalie. We started dating right after I graduated from high school and we have never looked back. Together we have endured many challenges: going to college, distance dating, my parents' divorce, deaths in our families, challenges in ministry, and many other difficult times in life. We have also celebrated many more things though: our marriage, our first home, our dogs, vacations, and many ministry accomplishments. She has definitely made the past six years of my life the best ones of them all.

Finally, as I remember the past 24 years, I am most grateful to my God and to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Apart from Him all of these years would have been for nothing. But because of Him, these years have proven to be powerful for me, and hopefully for many others as God has accomplished His work through me. I am so blessed to have been a part of serving God and His Kingdom through my involvement in Youth for Christ, the Wreck, Harvest Community Church, St. John’s Lutheran Church, Huntertown UMC, Keystone Schools, and now LaOtto Wesleyan Church. I would never have imagined that by the time I was twenty-four God would use me to reach high school friends with the message of Christ, create a Christian concert venue and coffeehouse, serve three different churches as youth pastor, oversee spiritual formation and teach Bible classes at a Christian school, and lead God’s people as a Senior Pastor. It is all to His glory and because of His grace. He has chosen me (Praise God!), saved me (Praise God!) and blessed me (Praise God!) with more than I deserve, and I acknowledge Him today as the giver of life, my life, and also the fulfiller of it. He loves me and I love Him, and I praise Him today for the life He has given me and for all that He has done to make my life a great one.

Another year is down. Hopefully so many more to come. I am one year older, one year more mature (not THAT mature though), one year more experienced. What an adventure! What a ride!

Our Busy Weekend

To all of you who check our blog from time to time, sorry that we have taken so long to update it. Things have been crazy lately with Natalie finishing up her school year. The pictures below are ones taken with our new digital camera. They will give you a good idea of what we did this weekend.

Natalie kicked off her Friday night at the end of a very hectic week with a Mother/Daughter Banquet at our church. Below is the picture of Natalie, her mom, and her sister who all enjoyed the evening together.

After the banquet, Natalie and I hung around the church with our friend Mike. We set up additional sound equipment until 2 am. Lots of fun. The cookies were especially good too. Thanks Mike!

Our Saturday was packed with bachelor and bachelorette parties. Natalie's brother and his fiance get married next weekend, so we spent the day helping them to celebrate their final moments of freedom. The guys went to race go-karts and then came back to Avilla for a barbeque cookout, horse shoes, cards, and a bonfire.

The girls spent the night painting pottery, going out to dinner, and then card games and movies back in Avilla. It was a great day, but another late night!

Today (Mother's Day) was also a great day. We had a really powerful time of worship at church this morning. Then we went and visited with my mom and grandma, and afterwards met up with Natalie's family at Applebees. We ended the night with double Solitaire (a.k.a. Pounce) at the Spaws.