Prodigal Sons

We are all prone to jealousy or envy from time to time. Jealousy is a gift from God, an attribute of the Lord's which we are blessed to receive to glorify his name. Like many aspects of our nature which were given to us as gifts, our sinful state has since corrupted. Thus instead of being jealous for God and his gifts, and jealous after the redemption of the hearts of men, we are jealous for our own selfish gain.

Recently I had an experience with my own jealous envy. I was jealous of the sin of another. Yes, ridiculous to say, I was jealous that they were able to sin and repent. I thought of my life, of how by worldly standards I have lived a "good life." I haven't broken the law, I hadn't slept around, cheated in school, indulged in worldly pleasures readily available to young men. I was jealous though. Jealous that this other person was able to live both lives. They grew up enjoying all the world had to offer, indulging in various forms of earthly joys, short lived experiences that even the unredeemed eventually tire of doing. I know full well these things bring no true happiness. The brief high they give cannot compare to the eternal joy which comes from the Lord. But still I am jealous. Now they are redeemed. Now they know true joy, and the Lord is blessing them. The Lord is giving them every desire of their heart, and for this I am even more jealous. How is it that they are able to enjoy all the world has to offer, and then all the joys that come from the Lord. Where is my reward for years of faithfulness.

As I brought these thoughts to the Lord he was gracious. He reminded me of the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). Jesus tells the story of a father with two sons. One son is rebellious and takes his whole inheritance and spoils it on worldly pleasures. Then when everything is spent he returns to his father and asks for pity. Instead he find forgiveness and joy at his return. His father showers him with gifts and throws a party in celebration of his return. The other brother sees this and grows jealous. He can't understand why he is not the one being rewarded, after all he was faithful.

I pondered this and found myself relating to the other brother, the one who stayed home. I thanked God for rebuking me and showing me the folly of my jealousy. If I am truly to have the heart of Christ I must rejoice when he rejoices. As I pondered further I came to a new revelation. This story was not about the brother who stays home. Its the story of the prodigal son. I am not the other brother, I too am the prodigal son. I too have, and will fall away. And the Lord longs to see me return. I am the one who should be envied, indeed all who know the joy of the Lord are worthy of the envy of the world. I am not the brother who stayed home, I have indulged in the sin of this world and the Lord has brought me back to him.

Indeed I pray that the unbelieving world might envy me. That they might see the abounding love the Father has shown me, the gifts he has lavished upon me. So that they might use this blessed jealousy and find true happiness as they too are joined with my father. For whose love I am truly jealous.

Bling Bling

After over two years of waiting the girl finally got her bling. Yes, Jess and I are engaged. I took her out to dinner as part of her Christmas present and decided it was a good time to dirty the knee. She said yes, thank God. Hopefully none of you are very surprised by this. Hopefully it was expected.

No we have not set a date yet. The wedding will be some time shortly after she graduates. We are both patient and agree that things will be better if she is done with school first. Don't worry. Most of you will get an invite when the time comes. Most of you.

Disney movie

Review: Enchanted

It seems that Disney may finally have joined the 21st century. I recently had an enjoyable evening at the movies with my girlfriend when we went to see the Disney's newest release, Enchanted. Its a new take on the old story of the fairytale princess and prince charming and how they overcome some evil relative or jealous queen to find each other and live happily ever after. In classic Disney fashion they pack it full of up and coming stars.

Amy Adams (Talladega Nights) plays the naive Giselle, a maiden who is to be queen when she falls into the arms of Prince Edward, James Marsden (X-Men). It is love at first sight and they decide to get married at once. However, Queen Narissa, played by Oscar winner Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking), has other plans and pushes the naive princess down a wishing well which lands her in the sewer in the middle of Time Square.

All is going wrong until she meets her savior Robert, played by Patrick Dempsey of "McDreamy" fame on the hit Grey's Anatomy. A divorce lawyer and a single father with a daughter Robert's views and opinions quickly begin to clash with the fairy book mindset of Giselle (Adams). Soon the once naive fairytale princess has to decide what is real and what is fantasy as the tag line for the movie says; When the real world and the animated world collide.

The movies real strength lies in how Disney has finally managed to merge the classic feel of the movies we all grew up loving, those from the golden age of Disney, with the modern animated comedies like Shrek and Toy Story. The obvious pitfalls of movies like Princess Dairies and A Cinderella Story (Warner Bros.) which isolate a large part of the adult audience with childish gimmicks and the failed attempts at comedy are overcome. Enchanted finds the happy medium which allows children to connect with the basic plots of a princess finding true love or a prince fighting against an evil queen while it still allows the adult audience to relate to the more mature themes of an imperfect and unfair world, failed relationships, and the longing for real romance, or the struggles of a single parent.

The real success of the movie, however, comes from the fact that although it can stand alone as an enjoyable film it offers the adult audience a trip down memory lane. The retro styled animation and scenes like the musical in the park spark memories of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Mary Poppins, Little Mermaid and countless others that adults will remember from their childhood. Meanwhile children get to enjoy what we all had growing up, a new princess, new villains, and new songs, all of which will have young girls wanting to be princesses again. Although the movie has pitfalls, it starts out a little slow, and they missed the mark a little bit with Prince Edward, it is a great leap ahead for Disney and others who are still struggling to find a way to capture the magic of the animated films of former times and present them in live action movies.

Turkey Bowl

Not exactly perfect form.

I know what your thinking, he can't throw on the run. This will be completed for a first down. Eat your heart out Kyle Wright.

Here is the opposition. My dad. Is there any bigger rivalry. Notice the intensity.

Guess its pretty easy to throw when Skip is protecting you. And he only sacked me once.

Yes that is me trying to make a shoestring tackle. And he does go down. Unfortunately he is already in the end zone.

Told you he was in the end zone. Notice me on the ground wallowing in the background.

This is the other Chris. Looks like he is about to have his flag pulled by Shawn Lewis.

Evidently Shawn missed. But Rudy will get him. He played high school ball after all.

Actually it looks like he is breaking away. Amazingly he doesn't score on this play.

And my team wins 21-14 on a last minute touchdown drive. And I get an entire year of bragging rights to my dad and bother.