As I mentioned last week, I've created some training videos for people at my church.  You can find my quick intro HERE. 

Before you hear what I have to say, take a look at the following Scriptures.

Now that I'm back to writing after my break, I can finally write about some of the great movies that came out this summer!  Among them is Dark Knight Rises!  It's probably for the best that it's taken me time to get to this one because there are so many twists and plot points to spoil.  By now, the majority of you have probably seen it, but be warned, "There be spoilers ahead."

Batman Begins was a movie about falling to or mastering one's own fear.  Dark Knight was about justice and morality from the common folk on the street to the politicians we idolize and how even great men can fall.  Dark Knight Rises picks up right there with an absent Batman and a devastated Bruce Wayne.  It is a movie about rising out of the ashes and not letting anything keep us down.

Batman really takes some hard falls in this movie.  Just when you think things can't get worse. . . they do again and again.  When the movie starts, he is out of shape, has a bum leg, and is an emotional wreck over the loss of his love, Rachel.  His company is failing because he sunk its money into a supposedly failed clean energy project.  On top of all of that, the people of Gotham hate Batman for the killing spree pinned on him in the last movie.

But come on, he's Batman!  He picks himself up, does some push-ups, gets a fancy knee brace, puts on the Batsuit, and jumps back into the action.  He even picks up a sidekick in Catwoman.  There's nothing to it.  Right?

**Teensy Weensy Spoiler Alert: I'm gonna use a quote from the movie but nothing that really ruins the plot.  Just wanted to give fair warning to my spoiler paranoid friends.

Finally, a movie that has it all!  Its been a long time since I saw a movie this good.  Obviously,Avengers is an action packed flick with loads of special effects and crazy combat scenes.  But its more than just an explosion fest to herald in the epic summer movie season.  This movie actually has substance.  The dialogue is great and the movie touches on some great themes such as the strength of teamwork and the question of what makes a true hero.  Be warned, there is some swearing and obviously violence, but nothing over the top.  I highly recommend it and give it two thumbs up!

That's a picture of my daughter Michaela.  Before you call DCFS, I'll fill you in on a secret: The picture is totally photoshopped.  I love her with all my heart and I delight in her.  I'm happy when she smiles and it makes me sad to see her upset.

This morning, I was holding her and eating my breakfast.  She is at the point now where we are feeding her the standard mushy baby food but also giving her a few small solids like Cheerios.  So every time I brought my English muffin up toward my mouth, she would reach out to grab it and try to eat it.  I'd lovingly look at her and say, "No, no, no, this is for Daddy."  She'd stare at me with her pretty eyes and start playing with the tablecloth.  I'd take another bite and she would reach out again.  This happened the whole time I ate.

 First order of business, I apologize for my lack of updates lately.  I took a trip to California two weekends ago with family and was busy before and after prepping and catching up.  Now I'm back and hope to resume my normal Tuesday, Thursday, Friday routine.

You guys have voted in the next apparent contradiction for me to debunk today and it is the one found in the following verses.

Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go, number Israel and Judah."  -- 2 Samuel 24:1

Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.  --  1 Chronicles 21:1

Both of these passages are telling the story of the same exact event.  So the question is "Who incited David to number Israel?"  2 Samuel says that God did it.  1 Chronicles says that Satan did it.  Is the Bible calling God and Satan the same person?  Did the author of Samuel (likely Samuel) and the author of Chronicles (likely Ezra) disagree?  What's the deal?

*Warning: Minor spoilers below (Very minor)* 

Chances are you haven't seen John Carter.  There was a lot of hype and many trailers building up the latest sci-fi movie.  But sadly, very few people were lured into the theaters to watch the man on Mars.  In fact, its been reported that Disney expects to lose $250 million dollars on the movie!!!  As a movie, I thought it was pretty good and entertaining.  However, a lot of the women are scantily clothed so depending on your maturity and weaknesses in that area, you may want just want to avoid seeing it. 

Last weekend, I went to an Acquire the Fire conference with the youth group.  The speaker brought a really good message that I'd like to share with you.  His name is Mike Guzzardo.  I'll be paraphrasing what he said and sharing what I learned.

We all want to be cool.  No one epitomizes this more than Tom from Parks and Recreation.  But we are all like Tom in one way or another.  We want people to like us.  We want to be popular.  We want to dress in style.  We fear being uncool.  We fear wearing a lame outfit.  We fear being made fun of.  We jump through a lot of hoops to be cool.  But what is cool?

Cool is this ever changing thing that only matters because we think it does.  What was cool in our parent's generation is now totally lame.  What is cool today will be lame in less than ten years.  Cool doesn't even make sense half of the time.  Cool has told guys to wear their pants halfway down their waists and told girls to take those stupid tongue sticking out pictures on Facebook.  But we do it to be cool.  Is it worth it?

When I'm driving the speed limit and I get tailgated, sometimes I think to myself, "I should just slam on my brakes and it will go down as their fault...that'll teach them!" 

When I got home from the airport last week, Michaela was crying and everyone was talking while grandma was trying to buckle her into her car seat.  We were parked for too long at the pickup curb and the lady came up and told us to move.  I snapped at her quite rudely.

I got a huge and unexpected bill yesterday.  When I went in to dispute it and things didn't go my way, I thought about throwing my documents in the lady's face for a second... just for a second. On the outside, I smiled and thanked her.

Do you get angry?  Do you punch walls?  Do you lose your temper?  Do you yell at people?  I'm not the only one right?