LAO SZE CHUAN

WiFi'ing from Starbucks while I await our LARGE order to cook from Lao Sze Chuan - perhaps one of the BEST Szechuan restaurants in Chicago. You can check out the menu here. They have a location in Westmont, which is near where we live. They have 4 locations around Chicago including one in Chinatown on Archer Ave.

Tonight, everyone wants "not spicy" except for me. I'm dying to try the Hot Pot, but that's kind of hard to order "to go". Impossible actually...

On another totally non-related note, the Starbucks that I'm in right now is round and I can actually hear a conversation that is taking place on the other side of the circle as though they are sitting directly in front of me. It's crazy man...

Gotta go - my Pork Stomach with Sour Pickle is probably almost finished cooking. (Just kidding...)

THE END OF THE ROAD FOR A MINI-PINCHER

This morning, Amanda and I were travelling on a local tollway on our way to breakfast. As we were coming down the entrance ramp of the highway, we saw a mini-pincher (dog) trotting happily across the busy expressway. And right before our eyes we saw a van go right over it. It was horrible. We screamed, tensed up, yelled and became very sad.

There was nothing anyone could have done. It was busy Saturday morning traffic and the dog had no chance of making it across the busy expressway.

I could understand a cat doing something like this, but a dog?

KOREAN? JAPANESE? CHINESE?

Have you ever thought all Asians look the same? I have friends who think that, but I've always been pretty good at recognizing if someone is from China, Korea or Japan. Maybe it's because of the diversity we have here in Chicago that I can differentiate fairly well. Or perhaps it's because my wife is part Chinese (I'm serious...but I'm sure that has NOTHING to do with it.)

Take a quick test and see how you rate. I scored quite a bit above average.

IT WAS JUST A MATTER OF TIME...

Link

@^&*@#$^!!!!!!!!

I should not have drink that...

GROSS



I drink one of these this morning during my commute. It was pretty good until I got towards the end and experienced some chunkage at the bottom.

I'm not even going to begin to guess what it might have been...

TRAGEDY IN SPAIN

On 9/11, nations around the world grieved alongside the United States after the terror attacks. They reached out and shared their love and care toward our country - and it was felt.

I hope we all do the same for Spain. This is a sad and devastating day for this nation. Let's not forget the pain, shock, fear and sadness that we felt on 9/11 and let us somehow express to the people of Spain our sorrow and support.

You are in our prayers.

STEVE MARTIN'S SCRIPT NOTES ON "THE PASSION"

The New Yorker's Back Page features a commentary by Steve Martin which includes the "Studio Script Notes on The Passion."

Check it out here.

PASSIONATE, BUT NOT FOR MEL'S MOVIE

Brian McLaren posts some interesting thoughts here about The Passion of the Christ movie.

TATTOO POSERS



I'm not a big tattoo guy (although, they do look kind of cool on some people...), but should I ever want to look like a "big tattoo guy" this is the perfect answer!

In fact, I might get one of these to wear on a Sunday morning sometime just to freak everyone out. (Especially my mother.)

Click the pic to check out the site.

(Thanks to New Yorkish for the link.)

EMERGING WORSHIP



Just finished a very refreshing book, Emerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for New Generations, by Dan Kimball. Dan is the lead pastor of Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, California.

If you are a pastor who is lacking 20 & 30 something's in your church community, this is a must read. It helps shine some light on as to why there is such an age gap in most of the modern church of America and beyond.

Kimball breaks down the emerging generation into 3 groups:

Pre-Christian

This is someone who was raised with a basic understanding of God and comes from a Judeo-Christian worldview. This group may have had some "bad" church experiences and have been drawn to a more relevant worship community (including many of the megachurches across America).

Post-Christian

This is an individual who was born and raised "outside of any church influence" and is now heavily influenced by our postmodern culture and values. When they think of church, it usually means either nothing to them or they dislike the overall idea of the church in general. However - this group is very spiritually minded. (This is a GOOD thing! Great opporunity for those churches who desire to intentionally reach unchurched people!)

Disillusioned Christian

This is someone who grew up in a "modern evangelical church" and left dissatisfied with the way most churches function - "with their emphasis on the big weekend worship service being the "church".

Kimball writes, "A rising percentage of younger people are not drawn to the megachurch philosophy or to the church structures and values that they grew up in (even in smaller churches). They desire to experience a different kind of church and different kind of Christianity than they grew up with."

Dan challenges the church to break out of the "I go to church" mindset and embrace the "I am the church" type thinking. He also gives tons of examples of emerging churches and how they are effectively reaching these groups.

For me personally, this book has confirmed and challenged much of my thinking in regards to our emerging culture and how/what it is going to take to effectively BE the church. It has energized and excited me. And, it's helped me realize that I'm not too crazy afterall. Ok, maybe a little crazy... You get the point.

Order it here.

More later...

NOT YOUR FATHER'S POSTMODERNISM

Andew Jones has something to say about our emerging culture - it's good:

Take everything you have read about the emerging culture being materialist, nihilistic, relativistic, consumeristic, individualistic, and of having no ethical code or moral standard. Now, invert it. Because the opposite is much closer to the truth. You are now looking at a culture with a deeper code of ethics, greater capacity for spirituality, a desire for less rather than more, a holistic view of following Jesus and a stronger relational commitment to community. That is a real challenge for the church and requires a whole new level of faith, godliness, prayerful reliance on God and an honesty that has been previously absent.