remember avalon? they're baaaaaack...

hokey pokey (a live reading)

some good words... by martin luther king, jr.

"A religion true to its nature must also be concerned about man's social conditions. Religion deals with both earth and heaven, both time and eternity. Religion operates not only on the vertical plane but also on the horizontal. It seeks not only to integrate men with God, but to integrate men with men and each man with himself. This means, at bottom, that the Christian gospel is a two-way road. On the one hand, it seeks to change the souls of men and thereby unite them with God; on the other hand, it seeks to change the environmental conditions of men so that the soul will have a chance after it is changed. Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them is a dry-as-dust religion. Such a religion is the kind the Marxists like to see--an opiate of the people."

"There is so much frustration in the world because we have relied on gods rather than God. We have genuflected before the god of science only to find that it has given us the atomic bomb, producing fears and anxieties that science can never mitigate. We have worshiped the god of pleasure only to discover that thrills play out and sensations are short-lived. We have bowed before the god of money only to learn that there are such things as love and friendship that money cannot buy and that in a world of possible depressions, stock market crashes, and bad business investments, money is a rather uncertain deity. These transitory gods are not able to save or bring happiness to the human heart. Only God is able. It is faith in Him that we must rediscover."

music i love right now...

REM

Amazing.

Goldfrapp

my grandmother's birthday...

If she were still alive, my grandmother would be 104 today. For those of you who have read my books, you know that my "Mammom" was my best friend and a true example of what Jesus could do in a person's life. I think a large part of my desire to follow Jesus with abandonment came from watching the way she lived her life. So kind. So gracious. So full of life and wonderment.

I'm pretty sure I got my writing skill from Mammom. I remember watching her sit on her back porch and write poems. The things she wrote about were much less complicating that what I often write about. But no less important. Mammon wrote about simple things. Sometimes she'd write about bluebirds or fish or the sunshine or the sounds of children playing in the distance. Her words were always lovely, and always focused on the good and true things about life.

She was an artist, a housewife, and a follower of Jesus. And I miss her like crazy, especially in February. She loved February.

Do yourself a favor; make sure you value the old people in your life. Get them to tell you stories. Listen to their wisdom. Ask them questions.

They need you.

You need them.

They can change your life.

dc talk's 'heaven bound'

This song was like, totally the coolest thing I ever heard, and since I was Baptist, would more than likely send me to Hell.

Bask in the memory, friends.

rain

My friends Angie and Todd Smith are walking through a very difficult circumstance. Angie is pregnant, but the doctors say that the little one she is carrying can't survive. Jess and I have been praying for them since they found out in early January. Angie is an incredible storyteller. If you'd like to read their story, visit her blog.

jesus light switch

no comment.

'Jesus For President' by Shane Claiborne

JesusForPresident.org


Jesus For President at Amazon.com

blast from the past...

When I worked at Jammin Java in Northern VA, one of the artists I booked quite often was Angela Aki. She opened for Jennifer Knapp a couple times, Sixpence None the Richer, and also Kevin Max. She wasn't impressed by him. That's a long story. Anyway, Angela is now a huge success in Japan. Huge. I found this music video of hers on YouTube. It's in Japanese, but just cool to see an old friend doing what she always loved to do--sing.

another hokey pokey update

First of all, to those of you who sent me feedback--thank you. Your encouraging words about Hokey Pokey have been awesome. I don't think I've ever gotten this kind of feedback before. Again, thank you. For a lot of reasons that I won't go into, I was apprehensive about this book. Also, for those of you who have gone to Amazon.com and purchased the book early--thank you, thank you, thank you. That means the world to me. If you would still like to do it, click here.

OK. Now for the update. I got news from my publisher that they're looking for bloggers who would be willing to give away copies of Hokey Pokey. Now, you certainly don't have to be a famous blogger with a million hits or anything, but it would be cool if you had a decent number of readers. I mean, if you're likely to just end up giving some books away to your family members, you might not be the right fit. (Was that mean? I really didn't mean it to be mean. Promise.) But again, you don't have to be a famous blogger, either.

So... if you're interested in participating, send me an email and I will put you on the list!

Thanks again guys for all of your help. And by the way, I'll be debuting a brand new web site in a few weeks. But don't worry. My blog address will remain the same. It just might look a little different.

Peace.

~mpt

uh... seventeen weeks...

She's just so pretty. Gosh, I love this woman.

florida church wants married couples to have sex....

For 30 days straight. Here's the link to the story.

It was bound to happen. A church using sex--albeit married sex--to get a little free publicity. Relevant Church (original name) wants all of their married members to have sex for 30 days straight. It's to help improve their marriages.

OK, a couple thoughts and questions (just for fun)

1) How are they keeping score? People could lie and stuff. And what's the proof? Oh, and if you have sex seven times in one day, does that make you cool for the week?

2) The pastors are men.

3) Um, "30 days straight" as in, right in a row? No skipping at all? Not even for, well, um, Passover?

4) 30 days--"straight"--my guess is this: the elder board definitely voted for Huckabee. Not that there's anything wrong with it.

5) Can you imagine being a single person at this church? That would suck. I wonder if people who fly solo are allowed to participate. Just a thought.

Yay Jesus!

pre-order 'hokey pokey'

OK, friends. I'm not going to beg--at least, not too much. But if you love me or like me a lot or like me a little or heck, only tolerate me in very small doses, you might desire to help me by pre-ordering my new book Hokey Pokey: Curious People Finding What Life's All About at Amazon.com. Believe it or not, those "sales" number on Amazon really do make a difference on whether or not a bookstore decides to stock a title. So, if you're up for helping a guy out, please go click here and buy as many copies of Hokey Pokey as you think you need. The book is about "calling," which I know is an odd perhaps even cliche topic. But hopefully, I don't cover the topic in the same way it's been done in the past.

I'll let somebody else's words tell you about it. Here's what one of my blog readers--Meg--had to say about it...

I've gotten through the first couple chapters of the copy you've sent me, and I'm really loving it thus far.

As for my feedback thus far, I just have to say that I'm really enjoying the read. I think one thing that will appeal to readers is that it doesn't read like a self-help book, nor does it give readers some magic formula that will bring them to their "big picture" destiny immediately. You encourage your readers to be curious about life, to appreciate where they're at.

After heading straight to graduate school after receiving my BA in English, sometimes I feel like a professional student, and I wonder where my life is going from here. Your book has really served as an encouragement and a reminder to appreciate where I'm at, and to recognize that this is only a stepping stone in the rest of my life.

Thanks Meg. OK, no more begging for now! :)

'take this bread' by sara miles

I began reading Take This Bread last night. This is more information than you need to know, but I had one of those evenings when I was forced by a pain-filled stomach to sit on the toilet--a lot. But it gave me a chance to do some reading, since my wife isn't a fan of me taking my laptop into the bathroom with me. Yeah, I am a gross human being. I literally could do almost anything sitting on the toilet.

Anyway, so far I'm very much enjoying Sara Miles' story about coming to know Jesus at the age of 46 through real hunger--she starts a food pantry. She's got a very easy writing style, one that lulls you in with humor and insight, but doesn't push too far. While I can already tell this book isn't for those who like their Christianity served black and white and well done; if you're a fan of Anne Lamott, I think you'll enjoy this down-to-earth memoir about a woman realizing her place in the Kingdom.

Buy it here.

anne rice's second novel about jesus... coming in march

Unlike her first venture into Jesus fiction, some of the first reviews are very good, including this one from Publishers Weekly. She even got the coveted "star." Starred Review. In the New Testament, the miracle at the wedding at Cana-where Jesus turned water into wine-marks the commencement of his tumultuous three-year ministry. In Rice's beautifully observed novel, a sequel to 2005's Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, however, the wedding miracle is in fact the culmination of an intimate family saga of love, sorrow and misunderstanding. As the novel opens, Yeshua (Jesus) struggles with a sense of restlessness of purpose and a deep love for a comely kinswoman. Waves of isolation sweep over him as he comes to understand that serving the Lord's will takes precedence over the desires of his own heart. Whereas the first novel in this series hewed so closely to Scripture and to the author's meticulous research as to be somewhat arid as fiction, this book, imagining the "lost" young adulthood of Jesus, offers wise and haunting speculation where the Bible is silent. And the final chapters, which pick up the story with the New Testament's accounts of Jesus' baptism, temptation and early miracles, manage to be soulfully insightful even while faithfully tracking the Gospels. Rice undertakes a delicate balance: if it is possible to create a character that is simultaneously fully human and fully divine, as ancient Christian creeds assert, then Rice succeeds. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Christ the Lord at Amazon.com.

quote...

Give them not hell, but hope and courage. Preach the everlasting love of God.

1 corinthians 13 (the message)

Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. Love never dies.

Good reminder for any day...

valentine's day

My wife posted on her blog ten reasons she loves me. Here's ten things I love about her...

1. She's passionate
2. She believes in my calling more than I do
3. She's sexy (even barefoot and pregnant)
4. She's independent, smart, and driven
5. She prays
6. She sends handwritten letters
7. She gets excited about small things
8. She looks beautiful in red, maroon, green, sea blue, and black
9. She lets me be me (for the most part)
10. She tells me that she loves me at least three times a day (sometimes more)

I hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day!

interesting quote...

The difference between the Christian and the non-Christian is not one of salvation. Salvation is given by grace to everyone. Christians are simply those charged by God with a special mission. The meaning of being a Christian is not working at your own little salvation, but changing human history. --Jacques Ellul (French philosopher and theologian)

union university

Last week those of us who live in Tennessee (among other states) experienced some horrible storms. One of the places that got hit worst of all was Union University. This video tells a little about their story...

umm... i'm confused...

Is God Jewish after all? Or is it like my OLD pastor once said, "God doesn't care much for Catholics." What do you think?

the original video. (yes we can)

god wants men to pee standing up... (and yes, the guy is being serious...)

hope. but different. McCain '08

colbert on satan... watch the whole thing...

video blog...

leeland...

I love Leeland. The band has a brand new record coming out that I think is pretty damn hot. Of course, since they do a good bit of worship music, they probably would not endorse the use of the word "damn" in describing their music. "Damn" & praise don't mix. Kind of like "healthy" and "Britney." It's not out until 2/26, but you can visit Leeland's web site right now and hear the entire album!

I'll try to remember to mention it later in the month... when it releases... but go hear it now!

the creation museum

My friend Tommy went to the Creation Museum up in Kentucky. I'll be featuring some pictures from his trip this week. Just in case you forgot on which day God created water... a little $1.99 reminder...

quote of the day...

Responding to anti-war hecklers in San Francisco, Republican presidential nominee Mike Huckabee said this:

"The beauty of America is that a person can come and even make a disruption, and you know what, that person is not going to be taken out and shot."

Anybody up for singing "Oh, Beautiful, For Spacious Skies..."?