This will be my last post at BJ Not BK.  After two years and 107 posts I am retiring from the wonderful world of blogging.

Why?

1.  Not enough time - I find myself looking to steal time away to blog.  I don't like that.
2.  Warmer weather - now that the time has changed I want to be outside as much as possible and away from the computer as much as possible.
3. Conscious decision - I am making a conscious decision to stay off the net and to use the net on an as needed basis.  I have too many other hobbies and interests that I want to do.

Thank you for reading and visiting BJ Not BK over the past two years.

As of April 1st this blog will no longer be accessible. 

God bless!

Anyone out there using an Ipod?  Anyone subscribe to a podcast or multiple podcasts?

I find myself searching for better entertainment beyond television, beyond the mundane same ole same ole boring prototypical formula of the sitcom.  I have spoken several times of one of my most favorite gifts ever, my 60gb, video Ipod.

I have already transfered most of my entire CD catalog to my Ipod, several workout DVDs and a couple of my most favorite movies but now I am shifting gears a bit and have begun my quest for the perfect podcast.

Here are a couple of free podcasts I subscribed to this weekend.

12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of the Byzantine Empire
Ask a Ninja....absolutely hilarious
Let My People Think....Ravi Zacharias

I would be interested in hearing of your favorite shows, must haves, escape podcasts if you will.

This week was a blur. It all began on Sunday when me an a buddy traveled to Atlanta to watch the SEC championship game. Our company has a box in the Georgia Dome so we ended up taking a couple of clients. The box was fantastic, catered, and best of all....free.

1. We continue to prepare the nursery for the boy named Sue, just kidding I just had to put a Johnny Cash reference in somehow. The crib is together, the changing table in place, as well as a few other odds and ends. The only thing missing at this point is an area rug M wants and the room should be complete.

2. 70 plus degrees last week, frost this morning in the low 30's...what gives?

3. Yes is was 70 plus degrees last week. Every evening when I get home L begins the chants of "bikes...bikes!" Which roughly translates to "Daddy, hook up my bike trailer to your bike and let's go for a spin around the neighborhood." We both love it as it gives mom a break and give me and L a chance for some one on one time.

4. Dream job....goatee consultant [see pic here]. I watch these shows like monster chopper, OCC, Overhaulin, and they always feature these guys tattooed out the wazoo with the craziest facial hair designs. While I can barely get my beard trimmed straight these guys have zig-zags, braids, and different colors all mixed into their facial hair. Way cool.

What is an ide anyway and why so much fear surrounding them?  Are ides like granola?  Because my doctor has advised me to eat more fiber.  I love trailmix but not a huge fan of the standard, standalone granola.  How much fiber is in an ide anyway?  Do they get stuck in your teeth?  Because I know a couple of people who suffer from Odontophobia, darn anti-dentites!

Anyway today is the day you are the beware of so consider yourself warned.  My hands are now clean.

Is there such a thing as absolute truth?  I know 2+2 = 4 but what about universal truth as it relates to ethics, morals, religion?  Can any one religion have a monopoly on truth?  What makes your truth more true than mine?

I am asking you...

As a kid I grew up watching Bill Bixby/Lou play the Incredible Hulk.  I always loved the line...

"Don't make me angry, you won't like me when I'm angry."

Inevitably someone would ignore Dr. Banner's plea and really upset him through the course of the show.  Dr. Banner would become angry and someone who was once so "peaceful" so "full of love" would quickly turn green, break out of his clothes, and terrorize anyone and everything within a 1000 mile radius that walked, talked, or breathed. 

Have you ever noticed the similarities between the Hulk and Islam?  Are you tired of the Muslim community's anger? 

I get it... they don't like Opera, don't like Cinema, don't like cartoons, don't like America, don't like Barbra Striesand, who does?, don't like little baby ducks, trains, or rain.  Any encouter with the before mentioned will induce a fierce hatred and rage unlike the world has seen....why?  Where does this anger, hate, rage stem from?  Where is the peace?  The love?

I am not sure if it is the gama rays or the heat that is causing all this strife but I know one thing....don't make hulky mad.  While Dr. Banner is a mild manner, loveable man, you will not like the Hulk when he is angry.

It is that time of year when the entire country comes to a screeching halt, when workplace productivity rises to an all time low, when office internet bandwidth trickles to speeds slower than dial-up in a thrid world country, when sick days exceed vacation time.  March madness is upon us! 

Have you filled out your brackets?  Who will win it all this year?  What is your favorite team?

I hate to say this but I am picking Florida to win it all again.  I hope I am wrong.

"God is dead."  Nietzsche

"Nietzsche is dead."  God

Dismissing God, killing God off via philosophy, or ignoring God altogether is nothing new.  New age thinking is nothing more than old world paganism soaked in petulia oil, by the way...why in the world do people wear that nasty stuff?  Our denial of God does nothing to change who God is nor does it alter the TRUTH. 

If you haven't heard of it by now you soon will.  The Secret is the latest feel good, power of positive thinking book to flood the markets.  The thesis of the book is this....think what you want and you will have it.  We are held back by negative thoughts and that if we could only think positive thoughts why then we could accomplish anything.  If you have always wanted a Ferrari then think about obtaining one and presto!  One will arrive in your life someday.   If you want to eat a deep fried Twinkie then focus daily on it and soon, very soon you will have your Twinkie.  Did you just hear that bunch of hogwash? 

This line of el toro caca sounds great on the surface but at it's very roots it is a Godless, secular point of view.  If you allow yourself to buy into this hokey pokey then you are really saying that you, not God, are the one in control.  It is you who are the god, who has the power, and that you are where you are at only because of your thoughts either negative or positive.

The truth is that we have more stuff, more book learning, more prosperity, more wealth than we know what to do with yet we are continually trying to remove God and anything hinting toward God out of our lives.

No amount of positive thinking will ever bring you lasting peace, will ever fill that void in your life, will ever give you purpose or meaning.  How should we then live?  Start by surrendering to God and accepting His son Christ as your personal savior who died on the cross for you, for your sins and then experience the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Besides, isn't Jesus much better than a deep fried twinkie anyway?

Carbon Guilt, Meat Guilt, Global Warming, loss of the Rain Forests, baby seals being clubbed, fur coats, and the death of Bambi's mother.....ugggggh!  I can't take it any longer the guilt is too much to bear.  Oh just a minute, I don't care.

I don't know about you, what your socio/economic status is, how comfortable you are or are not, what material possessions you do or don't have nor do I know or care what your carbon footprint is.  I can only relate to you from my experiences, my perspectives.

I, myself, am fortunate, comfortable, "living the dream," soft.  I should be happy you are probably saying and maybe you are right.  Maybe I should clock in and clock out each day.  Maybe I should prop my feet up high each evening, eat big fat meals, watch a boat load of Television, and increase my pants size each year while my mind grows comfortably numb.  But something inside me rebels against this.  I gotta move forward, do something.

Maybe this is a rant, maybe I am inspired by the warm weather of late?  No, I don't know about you, but I am personally ready for an adventure, some action.

That is why I have joined a weekly fight club.  The group is small, 4 guys total and we meet in the shadows of the morning each Thursday, fists clinched.  Trust is a must as we hold nothing back in word or deed.   But our battles go way beyond the mundaneness of the physical realm.  No, our battle begins in the mind and takes place in the heart.  We hold each other accountable, read God's word, and ask the tough questions.  "Have you been faithful to your wife this week?"  Oh, and we pray for each other, man do we pray.

I don't know about you, your carbon footprint, where you are at or what your pant size is but maybe, just maybe you too are bored, sloppy, and soft.  Maybe you too are ready for an adventure, some action.....maybe you need to join a local fight club.

See you next time I am in town...remember, there is no fight club!

I don't know how many times I have said it.  Over and over again I watch the contestants go out to timid, to weak with their song selection.  The right song can make or break you no doubt but believe it or not I am not talking about American Idol.  I am talking about your life.

Movies refer to them as sound tracks, colleges have fight songs.  A great musical score can add drama, inspire, and evoke emotions, thought and contemplation in a great movie and even not so great movies but a bad soundtrack can bring an otherwise great movie off track.  Colleges pick fight songs to motivate the players and the fans on to victory and most fight songs I have heard do tend to pump you up if nothing else.

Well, what about you?  I mean, what is your soundtrack, your fight song?  I have almost too many to choose from but I wanted to share with you a couple of the songs that add drama to my life, inspire me, evoke emotions and thought as well as spur me on to victory in the face of an attack.  Here they are in no particular order:

Amazing Grace on the bagpipes
The Theme song from Conan the Barbarian
Bitter Sweet Symphony
My Own Prison - Creed
Vodoo Child - Jimi Hendrix (don't ask)
Where the Streets Have No Name - U2

What is your fight song/songs? 

A big thanks to our wonderful webmaster for giving me access to add links to my homepage.

If you look over to your right you will notice that I have added a new section....

Please be sure to check out Joe Thorn and Reformissionary.  Both guys really love Christ, are great photographers, and have great material.

Please note that I do not always agree with everything and everyone 100% of the time so each author is responsible for their own content.

Hope you enjoy!

bjnotbk

"We and the world, my children, will always be at war.  Retreat is impossible.  Arm yourselves."
                                                                                                                   -Leif Enger

Have you ever wondered why some things just won't go away?  Why we are always fighting what seems to be the same battles over and over again in the culture war?  I do.  But that is mainly because I often forget that we are born into a world at war.  At war against our creator at war against each other and at war against ourselves.

I could say the war is good vs. evil and not be wrong...simplistic, yes, very, but not wrong.  I think I frustrated a couple of friends the other day when we were discussing some of society's "ills,"  my main comment to every problem was simple...."they need Jesus."

"What about the war in Iraq?"
       "The need Jesus."
"What about abortion?"
       "They definitely need Jesus."
"What about Global warming?"
       "I believe much of the science is based on a misunderstanding of the universe.  Scientist view nature as a closed system...meaning if you can't observe it, can't measure it, then it doesn't exist and can't be apart of the conversation.  The negate God the creator from any discussion.  They know about creation but have never consulted the master architect to truly understand how it is all held together and by the way....they need Jesus."

I know that as soldiers of the cross we have to meet needs, real needs, physical needs, but when do we stop playing games, stop caring what others think, say or do and start sharing the good news of the Gospel?  

 

While there are many battles being fought in the streets of poverty, injustice, terrorism, drugs, obesity, illiteracy, fascism, religious fanaticism, idolatry, materialism, narcissism the real war rages in the realm of the invisible and is not so much for our stuff as it is for our hearts and our minds.

 

Here is a great question….

 

“Would you sell your soul for 1 million dollars?  No?  Why then are you giving it away for free?”

 

The war is real and is not going away anytime soon.  When was the last time you had one moment of clarity?  A brief spell of time to reflect, to understand what is at stake?

 

To arms!

One of my goals, as listed in a previous post, was to complete the Knoxville 1/2 marathon [link] this year.  The race has several unique features that attracted me to it including:

1.  A finisher's medal for all who complete the race.
2.  Finishing on the 50 Yardline of Neyland Stadium [link] while being shown on the jumbotron.
3.  Familiar haunts that I have run in the past.

I looked at my calendar this morning and realized that there are 26 days until race day!  I have been steadily training but not as often and as well as I would like.  In January I raced in a local 10 mile event and did fine so I believe I can go the distance in this one.

My goals are as follows:

1.  Finish the race.
2.  Try to beat 1 hour 50 minutes.

I will keep you posted.

My wife and I are big fans of American Idol.  It seems that the choices for family friendly shows dwindle as more and more sitcoms revert to bathroom humor and many of the dramas contain language or inappropriate behavior.

So what does that leave us with?  Sports and American Idol.

I have to say though that my enjoyment of American Idol does not come from the banter between the judges, or the dialogue between the contestants and the judges, nor does it come from Ryan Seacrest's hair, which is quite nice by the way, and believe it or not my enjoyment of the show doesn't even come from the singing.  In my opinion, with the exception of one or two people, the talent is mediocre at best this year.  Why watch the show then you ask? 

I am glad you asked.

To me the beauty of the show is the unknown.  Who will emerge from the shadows week in and week out and rise above the rest with a truly unique and entertaining performance?  I like to see how the contestants grow in their confidence each week and how the competition level raises as the true contestants begin to emerge.

I can't say that I have really seen this yet although some of the ladies have come out strong.  So far the season has had few lasting moments.

Who knows though?  We still have a lot of time left as the competition has really just begun.