Spring Reg Line is over. I am sad. I am happy. Mostly, I am tired. School starts Monday. I have good classes, but I think the work load will be heavy. That is also both sad and happy. Work load makes me tired. Working through the work load helps me learn. It's all just a mixed bag, kinda like life.

Saw this link to Whale Guts on Relevant.

Just one word... eeeeew! Check out the guy holding his nose.

Can I just say that due to the effectiveness of WebReg (a good thing) the pace of the Reg Line is slooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Ug.

It's time again for student registration here at Biola and I'll be down in the basement of Metzger helping with the line (which is shorter this year due to WebReg, but not gone yet). May blog. May not blog. Who knows.

I've been reading "When is Worship Worship?" by Harold Best and came across this paragraph:

"Once we get the faith/love/worship issue straightened out, only then we can say that just as love is unto more love and faith is unto increased faith, worship is unto continuing worship, and the more we truly understand that Christian worship can only be unto continued Christian worship, we will make the startling discovery that church-going, as we typically perceive and practice it, well might turn out to be redundant, maybe even irrelevant. However, if we truly understood worship as a seamless garment, comprising all of faithful living, made startlingly new by the Holy Spirit, then 11:00 Sunday morning in particular could be something radically different. Worship, prophecy, ecstasy, and overt witness would merge into oneness. And it would be in this difference that the seven day week and Sunday worship would meet on common ground, for church is not catch-up time. It is not the blessed alternative. It is not how-will-my-felt-needs-be-met time, nor is it what-kind-of-experience-will-I-have time. Worship is not what, at any perceptual or aesthetic level, just happens to feel good. It is not a fraction of Christian living. It is forthright, ongoing stuff, isometric stuff, striving, wrestling, hungering, thirsting stuff. It is not titillation. It is not show-off. It is not superficially emotive, sacramentally orgasmic stuff. Sunday worship is simply and powerfully the corporate synergy of all its moment-by-moment parts: a corporate summation of all those things we were to have been doing all week long."

I have to ask myself, if I'm not living a life towards God--a life of worship--is Sunday morning a waste? I'm not sure. I do know one thing: This article is probably the most convicting and convincing one that I've read in a while. He really says it as he sees it and had biblical and logical back up for everything.

Best's final statement--"a corporate summation of all those things we were to have been doing all week long"--is the kicker. If we have been living for ourselves, is Sunday morning the summation of that self-focus? Scary thought. Has our individualistic, consumer society created Christians with individualistic, consumer worship? From what I see the unfortunate answer is, "Yes." I'm thinking it's time to start rustling up some sackcloth and ashes.

I put some new pictures up on Laura`s Mind: The Fotolog. It's the beginning of a visual study of sorts, looking at reflections of imago dei in the details of manmade objects--finding beauty and creativity in everyday stuff. Enjoy.

Oscar Nominations

2. Actor: Johnny Depp, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"; Ben Kingsley, "House of Sand and Fog"; Jude Law, "Cold Mountain"; Bill Murray, "Lost in Translation"; Sean Penn, "Mystic River."

4. Supporting Actor: Alec Baldwin, "The Cooler"; Benicio Del Toro, "21 Grams"; Djimon Hounsou, "In America"; Tim Robbins, "Mystic River"; Ken Watanabe, "The Last Samurai."

Sean Astin (Sam Gamgee) was robbed. His portrayal of Sam was one of the absolute high points of ROTK and a excellent example of the actor's art. The Academy should be ashamed.

BEYONCE, BRITNEY AND PINK HAVE RECORDED A VERSION OF QUEEN'S 'WE WILL ROCK YOU'

RELEVANT magazine :: SLICES correctly says,

"The saddest news in rock 'n' roll today: Beyonce, Britney and Pink have recorded a version of Queen's 'We Will Rock You' for their upcoming Pepsi gladiator commercial. What's worse, two of the three surviving members of Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor, actually played on the track "

This is just wrong!! How could they? How dare they! I may just have to dive for the remote and hit the mute button for this one.

This is too cool: Virtual Bubble Wrap

Word and Table: Reflections on a Theology of Worship

"The concept of the word and table or word and sacrament is an expression drawn from a particular theology of worship that has its roots deep in the early church. A service of the word and table is worship that emphasizes the dual aspects of the spoken word built around Scripture and the embodied Word centered on the celebration of the Eucharist or Communion."

Haven't read the complete article yet, but the idea intrigues me. Though my recent discussions about Communion centered on the lack of a commandment in Scripture, I do believe that the current practice in my faith community--which for some is "once a month whether I need it or not"--is somewhat lacking. I still believe that Communion need not be taken at every service, but it is an intriguing idea for an alternative service (not alternative for all, but definitely alternative for me and my church buddies).