February 16, 2008
First Impressions
How often do our first impressions lead us astray?
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
February 2, 2008
Book Meme
I am tagged in a meme involving books I am reading.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
January 23, 2008
Juno: A review
Juno is not in any obvious way a Christian movie, except in its celebration of the miracle of life and our deep longing for a love-centered, lasting relationship with someone who sees us just as we are, and wants us anyway.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
December 21, 2007
Christmas Swing
Mike Laprarie's Big Band Christmas collection from the Virtual Victrola.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
December 19, 2007
Questions of balance
What does it mean to live life in balance?
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
December 15, 2007
Christmas by Jeff Rohlwing
Looking for a fine addition to your Christmas music collection?
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
December 6, 2007
Michelangelo and risk-taking
God has not made us all equal, but he has given every one of us a unique set of abilities and opportunities. We get to choose whether to use those things boldly, or timidly.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
November 23, 2007
Depressed by jazz
I don't understand improvisational jazz. Or maybe the real issue is, I do.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
October 27, 2007
Discovering character in the Amazon
In 1913, former President Theodore Roosevelt began an expedition down an unknown river in the heart of the Amazon that would test the character of every member of his team.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
July 12, 2007
Sinéad's Theology
Sinéad O'Connor's newest album,
Theology, was inspired by her search for the real heart of God in the books of the Old Testament prophets.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
January 2, 2007
RoboChrist
Dutch film director Paul Verhoeven wants to make a movie about the "real" Jesus.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
December 29, 2006
Cat and Mouse Games
Consumers and media producers are involved in a continuing cat and mouse game, in which ever more complex and restrictive systems are created to protect intellectual rights, only to be broken by clever, and frustrated, consumers who want full benefit from the products they have purchased.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
December 4, 2006
The Nativity Story: Thumbs Up
If you're looking for a holiday movie that knows what the holidays are all about, Catez Stevens recommends
The Nativity Story.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
November 27, 2006
Johnny U
The thing about Unitas was, he played for the team. In the huddle, he always asked for ideas from the other players. He always wanted to know who needed a little help from the rest of the team. On field and off, those old Colts talk about being a family. They were there for each other, and in the long years after the glory of those days had faded, they continued to be there for each other in times of trial and hardship, as old age and the assaults of life took their toll.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
November 1, 2006
Michael, Milly and Parkinson's Disease
I suspect Michael Fox has thought a lot about God since he first received his diagnosis. Perhaps he has even wondered, as many have in his place, how a good and loving Father could allow his children to suffer so terribly.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 29, 2006
Passion under the stars
Flamenco is joyous music, but bittersweet joy in the midst of a life filled with sorrow and uncertainty. Music connected to the passionate heart of God.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 25, 2006
What I'm reading
The books I am currently reading.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 24, 2006
Bob and Madonna: Uncensored
Bob the Tomato gagged; Madonna crucified. Viewer discretion advised.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
June 7, 2006
Billy Preston
Billy Preston, the electrifying R & B keyboard player, dies at age 59.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
June 5, 2006
Turn: A Review
A review of Jeff Rohlwing's newest album,
Turn.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
May 19, 2006
D-Day
D-Day has arrived. Head for the hills. Or head to Mike's Place.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
March 27, 2006
DaVinci Code Bloopers
The DaVinci Code's art bloopers.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
March 21, 2006
Third Day Rocks Phoenix
Third Day concerts are joyous affairs. Everywhere arms were raised in praise. It reminded me of an old-time tent revival -- sinners all, lead singer Mac Powell invited us to lay our burdens at the foot of the cross and drink deep from the well of forgiveness in Christ.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
December 24, 2005
Handel's Messiah: Glory to God!
Handel's Messiah perfectly captures the joy and hope that is at the heart of the Christmas season.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
December 23, 2005
Handel's Messiah: A great light
Handel's Messiah perfectly captures the joy and hope that is at the heart of the Christmas season.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
December 20, 2005
Handel's Messiah: A virgin shall conceive
Handel's Messiah perfectly captures the joy and hope that is at the heart of the Christmas season.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
December 19, 2005
Handel's Messiah: A highway for our God
Handel's Messiah perfectly captures the joy and hope that is at the heart of the Christmas season.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
December 18, 2005
Handel's Messiah: A brief history
Messiah is one of George Frideric Handel's greatest musical creations, and arguably the greatest piece of Christian music ever written. The
Hallelujah Chorus is instantly recognizable, even by those who do not consider themselves members of the Christian faith.
Messiah has become a part of our Christian cultural heritage.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
December 13, 2005
Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt
Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt is Anne Rice's beautiful and meticulously researched story of the young Jesus Christ, the child who would become the Redeemer.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
November 20, 2005
Cashing In
You always knew when you saw Johnny Cash sing that he had made his way down to the church altar more than once, to kneel and weep and ask Jesus to wash him clean. That's the part of the story that
Walk The Line, the new film about Johnny Cash's life, doesn't tell.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
October 11, 2005
Sara Groves: Add to the Beauty
Add to the Beauty is a wonderful collection of music about living a redeemed life, a life that isn't always pretty, but is always washed over by the miracle of God's grace.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
March 7, 2005
Our Technicolor Heroes
Our heroes have always been actors.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
December 26, 2004
Sara Groves: The Other Side of Something
Sara Grove's music is at times edgy and dissonant, like life. She puts her heart and faith out there, naked, and says, "Well, here it is. I'm trying to figure this out. Maybe in my honesty, you'll see yourself, and you'll see God at work in the two of us."
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 27, 2004
On This Rock
God has placed among us men and women with unusual insightartists, poets, musicians. They have the ability to lift our hearts in worship, to help us see God.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
September 24, 2004
Healing Haiti
Haiti can't catch a break. This poorest of nations in the Western hemisphere has been devastated by hurricane Jeanne and needs our help.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
June 5, 2004
The Longest Day
How can we, who have benefited so lavishly from their sacrifices, ever adequately honor what they did to alter history, to preserve liberty, and to restore justice to a period of terrible human suffering?
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
April 15, 2004
Lost in Translation
Everyone wants to be found.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
April 12, 2004
The Spirit of the Disciplines
To be like Jesus requires more than simply answering the question: "What would Jesus do?" It requires us to build into our daily lives the same spiritual disciplines that he relied on: prayer, meditation, fasting, etc. These are hard things, but there is a payoff: rest, an "easy yoke", and our burdens shouldered by the living God.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
February 29, 2004
The Call
What is God's purpose for my life? Do ordinary Christians have a "calling," or is that just for priests, prophets and pastors?
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
Disappointment with God
Philip Yancey tackles the crises of faith caused by a God who doesn't always do what he is supposed to do.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
The Jesus I Never Knew
In an effort to separate Jesus mythology from Jesus fact, Philip Yancey examines his own preconceptions about Jesus and how they measure up against the Gospel accounts.
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
Knowing God
Who is God? Is he merely the author of a list of rules that no one cares to follow, a heavenly kill-joy, or... is he the God who seeks to know us?
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
Mere Christianity
Does the Christian faith make any sense in this post-modern era?
$MTEntryExcerpt$>
