Just my Imagination?

Did you ever entertain the question, "What if this is all just a big dream?" As a teen, I recall wondering about that a lot. Perhaps the life I was leading wasn't my life at all, but merely a vivid dream that I would soon awake from.

Sometimes, I hear that same concept applied to faith. "What if God is just a figment of your imagination?"

These are good questions. What if? How do we know that we're not all really asleep? Or living in a computer grid world of some sort? Or that God really exists?

Basically, it all comes down to faith, doesn't it?! At some point in our lives, we must all decide what we believe to be true and what we sense to be true in our hearts. Believing that I am awake and alive and living in a real world requires faith. Believing the opposite - that we are all living in a dream, or perhaps we are all living in a fabricated world where others watch our lives on TV, or perhaps we are being controlled by alien forces - requires faith. Believing that a grand explosion turned a minuscule fragment of an atom into living, breathing matter takes faith. Believing in a God that created us, the world, and everything in it - you guessed it, takes faith. (Frankly, I think it takes less faith to believe in a Creator than in some of those other concepts. But anyhoo...)

There are no "right" answers to explain the hows and whys of God. All we can offer is our faith and our testimony. The story of how God has worked in us and changed us is the best evidence we can offer to back up our faith. Our testimony is better than any scientific argument, better than any intellectual debate. Our testimony is OURS, and whether someone believes it or not, they cannot argue against it. They can only choose to accept or reject is as true, on faith.

This leads us to a tough question. Does our testimony offer evidence of that which we believe? Does Jesus really work? Are we actually different because of God in our lives?

Share with me your random thoughts on such matters.

(The concepts listed above - such as living in a dream world, computer world, and movie world - are fantastic imaginative ideas borrowed from the silver screen. Movies referenced are: "Inception," "The Matrix," and "The Truman Show." I'm sure there's a movie about how we live in a world controlled by aliens as well, but it's not coming to me. Also referenced is a theory on how the earth came to be, called the "Big Bang Theory," which is also a relatively hilarious TV sitcom that actually has nothing to do with said theory. The theory referenced which I put my faith in is aptly named "Creationism.")

Review: Bibleman DVD

I recently discovered a book review site that got me excited. Hosted by Thomas Nelsen publishers, BookSneeze offers free books to bloggers who are willing to post reviews. Since I would be reading constantly anyway, and I get to choose the book I want to read/review (they don't choose for me), I figured I'd give it a try.

My first pick to review was a children's DVD. (Spring break was coming up, and being the planner that I am I know the value of stocking up on entertainment.)

Bibleman: Combating the Commandant of Confusion looks (based on the cover) similar to Power Rangers. My kids tend to enjoy PR (I don't get it, but whatever) so I thought to myself, "Why not get a DVD that's action-packed like PR but Bible-based?" I clearly missed the description "A Bibleman live adventure."

It was an adventure in boredom!

The DVD is a recording of a live presentation of Bibleman. As in, guys wearing action hero costumes and standing on the platform of a church, talking and acting for the kids in the pews. Perhaps they recorded a teaching session of VBS (Vacation Bible School)?

My three girls - ages 8, 6, 4 - walked away from the DVD after 15 minutes (and trust me, they would have gone sooner had I let them). My oldest boy - age 12 - sat a bit longer, but kept asking me, "Mom, when does it get better?"

If you're looking for some good DVD resources to entertain your kids, I suggest sticking to the tried and true found at your local Christian bookstore - Veggie Tales, Hermie and Friends, etc.

* Just a reminder that the Bibleman DVD was provided to me for free, for the purpose of review, via BookSneeze.

Grit and Determination

While we were visiting our friends in Louisiana, Pat and I got comfy in their living room and shared in the watching of an NFL game. Now, we've never really been NFL fans (nor CFL, for that matter). Hockey is more our (by our, I mean Pat's) sport of choice. But this game was a big deal - the winner was going to the Superbowl. As it turned out, for the first time in nearly a zillion years, the New Orleans Saints had made it to the big game.

It's funny how that little piece of relationship made such a difference for us. We (by we, I mean Pat) were glued to the TV set yesterday afternoon. There was a little bit of hootin' and hollerin' going on in our living room. Shouts of, "Who Dat?!" (The NO Saints have a whole song based on that little phrase.) Our whole family was so intent at watching the game that we completely forgot to don our Who Dat t-shirts last night. Don't worry, we'll all wear them today to rub it in just a little bit. ;)

Those of you who were watching probably saw video footage of the French Quarter after the game. Can I just express my great relief that we visited two weeks ago when everything was MUCH quieter around there? But here's something I bet you didn't know - the celebration is by no means limited to the city of New Orleans. From what I hear, most of the state is having a 24-hour long statuatory holiday in honour of the Saints' win. Businesses all over the place are shutting down so their employees can spend the day paying homage to their champions.

Wouldn't it be cool if we celebrated God's victories in our lives with a day-long party? I think we need to start a new tradition, one where we buy cake, wear beads, and pop the champagne open when God does something awesome. We can even run around shouting, "Who Dat?!" to everyone we see for the next several days (or weeks).

In the meantime, though, I will also celebrate with my friends. Because I watched portions of that game, between bits of housework and parental refereeing, and their our team worked hard for that victory!

Another little spiritual parallel comes to mind... Our victories in life, over our sin and struggles, are also won with hard work. Tenacity in seeking after God, perseverance in our time with God, fortitude in choosing to resist temptation, commitment to prayer. The things worth having in this life - like Superbowl rings and victory over the enemy - are won only through grit and dedication.

Now, without further ado, let's celebrate!

Losing Big Time

I tend to have a case of ADD when TV watching, so bear with the incomplete details...

I spent one hour of my time last night flipping channels back and forth between NCIS and The Biggest Loser (grand finale).

There's something about TBL that just inspires a girl! I mean, those folks made me really believe I could do it! Eat right, work out HARD, and get back down the slender 130 lbs of my dreams.

So I sat, watching a man who had been dead renew relationship with his family (NCIS) and people who had been dangerously obese gain new life (TBL), and I cried. Not just an "awwww how sweet I'm getting a little choked up" sorta cry. More like an "all out sobbing and hiccuping and snot dripping from my nose" kinda cry. The only explanation I have for this behaviour is hormones.

Seriously, who SOBS with joy seeing people lose 135 lbs in six months? Something had to be done to stop my absurd display of, well, sobbing.

So as I watched an alive-again man hug his granddaughter and a woman win $250,000 for losing nearly 50% of her body weight, I self-medicated with a most wonderful and gigantic piece of chocolate cake soaked in canned evaporated milk. (Don't knock it till you try it, people. It's sheer yummy heaven. Heaven, I tell you!)

Yeah, I'll be inspired after Christmas...

Finally!

After months of reading books, I can finally return to my regularly scheduled programming. That's right, people, it's season premier month!

Here's what I'll be watching:
Tonight and every Tuesday - House
Thursday this week, maybe a few others - Survivor
Wednesdays, always (starting on the 24th) - NCIS
And here's my big ticket day...
Thursdays (starting on the 25th) - ER (didja hear Carter's coming back???), Grey's Anatomy, and the Office

Unfortunately, we must wait for Tuesday, October 14th for Eli Stone. And - get this - sometime early 2009 for Lost! What these people do to me...

If you want to see when you're favourite shows start back up, visit the TV Addict (he even has printable calendars, though I'm not sure about time zones).