Comic Book Christianity...

From www.msn.com:
X-Men's Dave Cockrum Dies at 63Nov 28, 6:01 PM EST
The Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Comic book illustrator Dave Cockrum, who in the 1970s overhauled the X-Men and helped popularize the relatively obscure Marvel Comics title into a publishing sensation and eventually a major film franchise, died Sunday. He was 63.
In his Superman pajamas and with his Batman blanket, Cockrum died in his favorite chair at his home in Belton, S.C., early Sunday morning. He had suffered a long battle with diabetes and related complications, his wife, Paty, said Tuesday.
At Cockrum's request, there will be no public services and his body will be cremated, according to Cox Funeral Home. His ashes will be spread on his property.
At Marvel Comics, Cockrum and writer Len Wein were handed the X-Men. The comic had been created in 1963 as a group of young outcasts enrolled in an academy for mutants, but the premise failed to capture fans.
Cockrum and Wein took the existing comic, added their own heroes and published "Giant-Size X-Men No. 1" in 1975. Many signature characters Cockrum designed and co-created — such as Storm, Mystique, Nightcrawler and Colossus — went on to become part of the "X-Men" films starring Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry.
Cockrum received no movie royalties, said family friend Clifford Meth, who organized efforts to help Cockrum and his family during his protracted medical care.
"Dave saw the movie and he cried — not because he was bitter," Meth said. "He cried because his characters were on screen and they were living."
Cockrum was born in Pendleton, Ore., the son of an Air Force officer. He set aside his interest in art while serving in Vietnam for the U.S. Navy. He moved to New York after leaving the service and got his big break in the early 1970s, drawing the Legion of Super-Heroes for DC Comics before moving to Marvel.
In January 2004, Cockrum moved to South Carolina after being hospitalized for bacterial pneumonia. As his diabetes progressed, his drawings became limited. His last drawing was a sketch for a fan, who attended a small comic book convention in Greenville, Paty Cockrum said.
Meth said Cockrum, who will be cremated in a Green Lantern shirt, will be remembered as "a comic incarnate."
"He had a genuine love for comics and for science fiction and for fantasy, and he lived in it," Meth said. "He loved his work."

Those of you that know me well know that I have always been a comic book junkie, specifically for X-Men and really for the whole Marvel Universe. So when I saw the headline "X-Men writer dies in his Superman pajamas" I knew I had to read the article. Here is a man who helped to make the greatest comic books what they were today. He wasn't just associated with the X-Men, but even was a part of making the greatest DC comics happen as well. What caught my attention though was the part of the article that talked about they way he was when he died-"under his Batman blanket and in his Superman pajamas." Now that may seem a little bit funny, but here was a man that was dedicated to his life's work. Even after retiring he stayed connected to the comic book world. He even cried when he saw his characters come to life on the big screenNotnot because he wasn't getting paid, but because they were alive. What would it be like if we had the same dedication to Jesus. How many times are we guilty of Sunday and Wednesday Christianity or just simply being satisfied with status quo Christianity. God wants us to be totally dedicated to Him. Now I am not saying go out and get your "Jesus is my homebotshirtirt and your Jesus bobblehead to show your devotion, but we can take a lesson learned from this man in the fact that if someone can be so devoted to what they did as a career what can we do if we are totally devoted to Christ? It's just something to think about. Jesus gave His all for us, can't we do the same for him?
Just thinkin...
-Matt

The Goal for the week...

So the goal for the rest of the week...DON'T GAIN ANY WEIGHT. I finished the first phase of the Fat Smash diet...Almost. I just decided that it was going to be too difficult to manage that type of diet until after the first of the year, BUT I did learn a lot last week. I like the idea of eating healthier. Although it is tough to stomach a salad sometimes I honestly felt ALOT better last week than I have felt in a long time and the day that I finally did go back to eating the old way (well an adjusted version of the old way-less bad stuff, but still the old way) I felt COMPLETELY different. So what I have decided is to continue eating the adjusted new way with less meat and fats and more vegetables and healthier proteins with less carbs altogether. I have done well so far and my goal is to make it through Thanksgiving the same way and NOT gain any weight. I am planning on hitting the gym extra hard tomorrow morning just to give myself a little more wiggle room. So here's what I learned-less carbs, more healthy protein, more fruits and vegetables, and skip the caffeine if at all possible. I lost four pounds last week, so that is good for me. Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!
-Matt

For the Michigan fans...part 2

There ya have it folks...Buckeyes win again!

Is a rematch in order? I'm still not sure they deserve it, but hey if it happens it's one more chance for the Buckeyes to prove they are number one! Odds are they will drop with 2 more weeks of football left with the other teams. We'll see. Thanks everyone for being good sports and having fun about this!!! GO BUCKEYES!!!

For the Michigan fans...

Thought ya'll might appreciate these images...

You know you fear it...

Prepare to lose...AGAIN!!!Smart kid!!!

Good Dog!!!

Show me the money...

Did anyone else see this show last night? I just happened to catch it out of curiosity because it is being hosted by the "shat" and so I thought it might be worth watching. The premise of the game is deal or no deal meets jeopardy. There are 13 girls who do a rather cheesy dance to the theme music of the show (complete with synchronized claps) and who also hold various dollar amounts. You get the chance to answer some trivia questions (which most seemed pretty easy in my opinion) and then you pick a dancer who then reveals a dollar amount or the "killer card." If you answer right you get the dollar amount ranging from 20k-250k. You get to answer as many questions as possible until you get either 6 right or wrong with your dollar amounts going up or down depending on if you are right. If you get the killer card you either get it right or have to answer the "killer" question which means either you are still in with the same amount of money or leave with nothing. Last night one guy left with a ridiculous amount of money (500K if I remember right) and another left with nothing thanks to the killer card (good move on the editors part). All in all the game show is okay, but the pace is slow and the cheese factor is a little too high for my taste but check it out and see what you think. It premiers next Wednesday the 22nd.

Fat Smash Fever...

So Meg and I started a new diet yesterday...Called the "fat smash diet" which is put out by Dr. Ian of "Celebrity Fit Club" fame. I bought the book after my "free diet advice" from Dr. Ian earlier this year (you can find the post in the archives). After reading it I thought it might be worth a try. So after slowly cleaning out the fridge of all the "bad" stuff we started yesterday phase 1-detox. For the next nine days I am allowed all the fruits and vegetables I want, and honestly several other things that make this diet doable...The hardest part...NO MEAT, NO COFFEE, and NO DIET COKE! It was kinda hard yesterday having lunch with the teens who so nicely enjoyed their triple cheese bacon cheeseburger and 7 oz ribeye in front of me (Thanks Brian and Ashley)...Me I had a nice plain salad with a little light ranch. So needless to say I was hungry most of the day yesterday but honestly I think I felt better last night than I have felt in a long time. I seemed to have more energy and I wasn't dragging in the evening. Maybe there is something to this. So the battle continues....

Michigan vs. Ohio State PROMO

It truly is...THE GAME!!! GO BUCKS! BEAT MICHIGAN!!!

Ohio State Buckeye Football - Past and Present

GO BUCKS!!!

What's God trying to tell me???

So I walked outside this morning and I got a message from the Lord. You may think I am joking....But I promise He spoke LOUD AND CLEAR. I looked up at the beautiful sky and there it was plain as day...

The message???

God was telling me that I can save a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico!!!

WOW! I never knew God was in the insurance business. This was actually courtesy of the Geico sky typers team (www.skytyping.com) who are in town for the big Blue Angels homecoming air show this weekend (the final show before the angels head to Top Gun to train for the winter months). I thought it was funny though. They were actually advertising the show all above us for miles (you can see the previous geicos from before). It was fun to see and I can't wait to see them this weekend at the show. Hope you got a smile out of this one! Be blessed! And remember-don't let Jesus catch you ridin' dirty!

Jesus "Ridin' Dirty"

If you were to visit my friends Dan and Angie in dangieland (http://dangieland.blogspot.com), you could find their post from awhile back about church signs. We all know they are annoying and a bit overboard most of the time. I have been guilty of such sayings as "Tired of DQ? Try our Sundays" as I was in charge of the church sign at my last church (it was one of those "other duties as assigned things from my job description). However, as I was driving through Pensacola the other night I saw what I think was the king of all corny church signs. If you aren't familiar with the song "ridin' dirty" by chamillionaire that is where they got it...I think. The song is a foul rap song, but popular and so I guess the church was wanting to be culturally relevant. I understand the importance of being culturally relevant, but this is ridiculous. Here it is...Living proof...
I laughed out loud. Props to the church for being this bold, but I still think it is funny...I think I'll change our sign to say "Jesus wants me to be white and nerdy" to quote the Weird al parody of the song.

Will Ferrell is The Phantom of the Opera

Thanks to Josh Griffin for posting this on his blog http://simplyyouthministry.blogspot.com I had to steal it though and put it up here...classic Will Ferrell-He never ceases to amaze me

Don't forget to vote!

So if you are old enough and registered, don't forget to go vote tomorrow. It is our privilege as Americans to be able to do this, so don't miss your chance. Whether you are Democrat, Republican, party or no party, in support of Bush or not...GO DO IT IF YOU CAN! If you don't vote you don't have a voice so if you can tomorrow don't forget to do it!
-Matt

Perhaps the funniest sign I have ever seen...

So I am in Jacksonville with the teens for our Extreme Days fall retreat (district qualifier for regional TNT@TNU). Jacksonville is funny, and perhaps the funniest thing I have seen for a long time is the sign of a restaurant right off I95 and University Boulevard. We have driven by it each day, but I am afraid to try it...But for your laughing pleasure I introduce you to perhaps the most unique Chinese take out restaurant...Ying's...

Sweet and sour chicken...$3.95, Schechzwan chicken-$4.95, Egg Fu Yung-$5.00, laughter ensued from looking at the sign...PRICELESS!

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone...

Anyone else have a problem being motivated on cloudy, dreary, cool days? I got up this morning for the Bible study I lead at one of the middle schools with every intention of going to the gym afterwards...Instead I went back to the house and slept for an hour. Now I am sitting here in the office struggling just to stay awake and be motivated. Anyone else get this way when the sun doesn't seem to want to come out?

Thoughts on community...

I had the privilege of speaking this Sunday morning for the whole church. After a lot of wrestling with what to say and how to say it I decided to share some thoughts on community. I decided to write a bit of a hybrid post from my notes for today's blog. The premise of the message was the importance of taking a "community health exam" just as you would a physical. Here are the thoughts...

It's important for us as Christians to occasionally check ourselves on areas of our Christian walk just as we would when we go to the doctor for our annual physicals. We read in 1st Corinthians chapter 12 that we are a part of the body of Christ, and as churches, youth ministries, and communities of faith we are "bodies" of Christ and our health as a spiritual body is just as important as our physical health...If not more. One area that I think we sometimes fall short is the area of community. So how are we doing in the area of community? How is our spiritual health? (insert your church here, but please understand this was for my church, but I think the principles apply to all churches). Here is how we find out where we stand and how to improve our community health:

1. It's personal (how are you doing as an individual?)

• Do you know Christ as your personal savior? Have you surrendered your life to him? If not why not? He gave us everything, can't we give Him something?
• Do you give to Him? I am not talking just about tithe...Everything we have is His. Do we live our lives seeing the blessings that He has given us or do we hoard what we have and pretend that we are the ones who are responsible for all we have. In addition to this, do we offer Him our time? There are 24 hours in a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. What if we were to simply offer the Lord 10% of our time each day-it's not that much time, are we so busy that we can't offer Him some of our day?
• Do we serve Him? He has blessed every single one of us with some type of talent or gift. He made us unique and we have SOMETHING to offer Him whether we're 6 months old, 6 years old, 16, or 60 we can serve Him in some capacity. What are you doing for the Lord right now?

2. It's outreach (How are you with others?)

• How willing are you to help those who are in need. I know I have become cynical over the years of ministry about helping those who ask for money, be it at our church or on the street. Every once in awhile though the Lord prompts me to give and I try to listen to what He is saying and then do my part to meet the need. I am not saying give money to every homeless person you meet, but are you listening for the Lord's voice when it comes to meeting the needs of others? What are you going to do to help those in need during the upcoming winter when giving goes down? What role can you play in helping those who need help during the winter and holiday season? There is something you can offer I promise, begin asking what God would have you do to help this holiday season.
• How do you treat those who come through the doors of your church? This is a big one and I still struggle with this, both as a pastor and as an individual. How do we treat strangers and first time visitors? Do we make them feel welcome? Do we make sure they feel like they are a part of our ministry or do we just stay around those who we are comfortable with and pass off a welcome hand shake as enough? I know there are people from my ministry time who have come as a visitor to the churches/youth ministries I have served in who came once and never came back because they weren't made to feel welcome. Are we attending churches who are full of cliques and close cell friendship groups who don't like outsiders or are we attending churches that reach out to visitors and make sure that EVERYONE feels welcome?

3. It's corporate (How are we with each other?)

• Do we make an effort to step outside our friendship/ministry circles or are we segmented as churches? Do people look at the various ministries as entities in and of themselves or a part of the greater ministry?
• How do we talk about each other? Do we live out Proverbs 27:17 being like "iron sharpening iron" or do we "dull" our churches' ministries because we tear each other down with gossip, harsh criticisms, and lack of support?
• How do we support each other? Do we support our leadership, our lay members, our teens and children? Do we pray for them, encourage them, find ways to serve them?

If we are going to be effective as communities of faith we need to find ways to encourage and support one another. Even if we don't agree with the way everything is done we need to support and encourage each other. We are all part of the same team...We can do so much more if we work together instead of against each other.

So how are we doing in these areas? Those are my thoughts on community. Take your own personal "community health" check up.

So what do you think?

-Matt

Disappointed

Well, I have to admit I am a little disappointed today. Meg and I had been planning on going with the Indiana Wesleyan Wind Ensemble to Europe next May. This was going to be a double treat since that group is where we met AND it is Meg's dream to travel to Europe. Well I received an email today from Mr. Flanagin that the trip has been cancelled. I guess Europe will have to wait. Oh well, there is still PLENTY to praise God for though, and I know we'll get to go someday! More to write as the week goes on.

-Matt

Real beauty video...

Here is the video I was telling you about. It has been on several other blogs, but in case you missed it, here it is. WOW what a message to our young girls today.

Nothing spiritual just TV...Part deux

So I promised to follow up my fall TV post with another one and I just haven't had the chance until now, so here are my thoughts on the two other shows that I'll be watching this fall.

Ugly Betty: Thursdays 8 PM

Now, this one is up against some great competition in Survivor, My name is Earl, and The Office, so if you don't have a DVR I would say skip it until reruns, but it is a good show. Megan loves it, and I'll be honest, although the plot line is a little slow, its redeeming value comes in the confidence of Betty and the occasional "goodness" of the publisher of the magazine who is slowly realizing that image is not everything. It is a cute show though about a Hispanic college grad fresh our into the world of the fashion industry. I really like the fact that it goes against everything Hollywood that says you have to look a certain way to make it in today's world. It fits right in with the "campaign for real beauty" that Dove (I think its Dove) is running. I'll try to find that video and post it later this week. So in the midst of all the good shows check out this "not so ugly" show.

Friday Night Lights: Tuesday 8:00

So the joke about this new show is "if it's about Friday night lights and football, then why isn't it on Friday night." Simple note from communications classes in college and what I know about entertainment: despite the good old days of TGIF you send a show to Friday if it is on its way out...That's why. Anyway though I'll have to admit after seeing the movie of the same name and all the hype about this show I have been a little disappointed in it. However, as the season is developing it is getting a little better, but the plot is a little slow. I honestly don't see this one making it past this year, but I'll keep watching it to see how it goes. The premise here is pretty much the same as the movie...Football in west Texas, which I have been informed by a gentleman in our church IS just like what you see on TV. This town is driven by football and everything revolves around how the team does. Enter a new coach, injured QB and new back up and there is your premise for the show. Then of course you have to throw in the teen love triangles, family conflict and more and there you have it. There isn't a lot on Tuesday's right now except Dancing with the Stars, which is a skipper for me so I say check it out and see what you think.

Those are my thoughts on the new shows this year. I still have to say the new favorite is definitely Heroes (Mondays at 9:00). It's definitely a character drama season for me this year, the sitcoms haven't done much for me. If you want to know what I thought of the other new ones this season, check out my previous blog from the archives.

What do you think?

Gotta love the powder puff...

So if you make a list of teen events that aren't my favorite to attend you know the obvious ones...Junior high band/chorus concerts, dance recitals, SOME school plays, and maybe a few more. It is all a part of youth ministry though, and we do it because it lets the kids know we care. I started to add powder puff football to that event, until last night.

Sunday night, one of my seniors Erin asked if I would come to her powder puff game as this week is homecoming. Now if you have never been to one of these events, know it is definitely something...The girls play the football (flag football) and the guys are the cheerleaders (to the tune of obnoxious outfits complete with balloons up the shirt). That in and of itself was entertaining, but I was worried about the game at first. It just seemed to drag on at first...Junior versus seniors, stopping the clock after every play, juniors running away with the game due to one REALLY fast girl. Meg and I were about to go since we had been to most of the game, had already touched based with Erin's mom,Erin had seen us and waved, and we saw a couple of other parents and some other students and adults. I felt like we had done our part and we needed to get Meg home since she had an early field trip this morning. Then it happened...

1. Large African American junior-push on play one to AA senior girl (who was just as large)
2. Large African American senior-hard block on play 2-trash talk ensues (which was in language I am not quite sure I understood-or chose to block out since there was some profanity)
3. *warning from officials*
4. LAA junior on third play-hard block back and chaos ensues...Officials pulling girls off each other, words flying everywhere,Erin just looks at us and laughs...Which Meg and I were doing also

I LOVE THIS GAME...so I went home and watched Friday night lights (the tv show) just to keep the football energy going

Still breathin...

Yup, I am still alive, it has just been a crazy few days. I started a new Masters Class which is going to eat my lunch (theology of holiness-makes my brain hurt just thinking about it) and so I really haven't had the chance to write much, but all is well.

We started offering Bible Studies on Wednesday and Sunday so that students can come on their off night to dig deeper into the word. It was actually more to quiet the criticism from parents who can't get past the idea of "not" having church on a certain night, but it really has gone well so far. In fact, one of the parents who has opposed most of what we have done since we have been here has asked if she could be a part of the Bible Study so that is a praise in and of itself.

Went to the doctor for my annual physical today and all looks good and for the first time in a long time I am able to be weighed on the old school scales. According to the doctor's scales I was 344 which is great considering that last year when I went for my physical I was up around 370. There is still a long way to go, but I'll take it! My cholesterol also looks good, but they want me to up my good cholesterol because the ratio is a bit off I guess between good and bad, but the bad was not high so another good report there. BUT they did remind me that I need to make sure and hit the gym 3 days a week, which I try to do, but isn't always easy. The only concern was that my iron levels were a bit low and I guess I am borderline anemic...Whatever that means, but they said that would explain why I've been so tired recently. So we'll get that figured out and then maybe it will be easier to get into the gym 3 or more days a week.

But that is pretty much all that is going on...My mom is walking again which is a HUGE praise, many of you know she has been wheelchair bound since helping us move down here a year and a half ago. I am so glad about that as I was afraid she wasn't going to be able to walk again...She won't run a marathon anytime soon, but she is walking!

I'll try to get a youth ministry post on here later this week, but just thought I'd give a quick personal update this time.

Until next time...
-Matt