This goes with my book presentation.  It is a story of Colton Burpo and his trip to Heaven.

Alternate Universe

Alternate Universe

This is a very powerful video.  I wanted to share it because of all of the recent debate and controversy surrounding the gay rights movement.

Goats

Fainting goats were mentioned in class and I wanted to educate as well as entertain with a clip on fainting goats and a clip on goats and Taylor Swift.  No doubt you have seen the parody of Taylor Swifts "I Knew You Were Trouble".  We talked about scapegoats in class which are people, animals or anything that is used to get out of some sort of trouble.  A scapegoat is used as something or someone to blame to take heat off of yourself or someone else and scapegoats were used in history, including religious history.

Elijah

Elijah is one of the characters in the hit TV series Vampires Diaries on the CW.  The prophet Elijah who is said to have risen the dead, brought fire down from the sky and was said to be the "boldest of the prophets". After researching Elijah I realized the Elijah from the Vampire Diaries was likely to be named Elijah for good reason.  In the series, he has a lot of power and is the boldest of the brothers in the "original vampire family".  He causes a lot of chaos when he needs to and does so in order to pursue his beliefs and values which is similar to the prophet Elijah.

Gaga

Lady Gaga performs Satanic ritual

According to this article, Lady Gaga left red liquid in the bathtub of a hotel she stayed in.  Some think that this is Satanic ritual and others believe that it is just an "extension" of her eccentric behavior.  The picture associated with the article is of Gaga wearing a dress made out of raw meat.  The hotel workers were disturbed by the blood like liquid left in the bathtub and most were convinced that she does some sort of Devil worship.

Engima

Sadeness Part 1-3

The background vocals are Gregorian chants which come from a recording of the Kapelle Antiqua Choir.  Enigma did not ask permission to use the chants and were sued by the choir.  The case was settled.  The song as a whole is about sexual desire and the title itself has to do with sadism.  

Djesus Uncrossed

Djesus Uncrossed

Huffington Post Article

SNL does a parody of Django Unchained, but instead uses Jesus.  

Christian Mingle

Christianity has come to the internet in a new way, in the form of a dating website.  On the site, people can look for friends, romance or marriage.  Christian Mingle prides themselves on "being a personals community where you can find singles that share your values and love for God in Christ." Typically, Christians are seen as being very traditional, but this site has allowed them to be very modern when it comes to communicating with others who share their faith.  On the site, they have a statement of Christian faith which includes their opinions on Jesus, The Bible and The Gospel.  It is free to browse the site and when you first log in they ask for you height, body type, eye color, hair color, ethnicity, education, occupation, smoking habits, drinking habits, martial status, children, what church you were raised in, how often you attend church, what denomination is the church currently attended, the name of the church, where you are from and your name.  Most dating sites ask age, looking for a man or woman between which ages, and where you live.  It is obvious that Christian is more extensive when it comes to looking for people on the internet.

Christian Comic Arts Society

I was browsing the Internet and I came across this arts society that has a specific mission to share, support and document the work of people who hold the Christian faith in relation to comic books and other related industries.

This is one of the images I found on the website.  It has nothing to do with Christianity, but the artist who created it is a Christian enthusiast, Erik Johnson, and likes to share his work with other Christians on the site.

Check out the site: http://www.christiancomicarts.com/

Chick-fil-A

Many people view Chick-fil-A as an overly Christian company and they have been in the middle of some controversy over gay rights.  Most people know the restaurant as the only one they can think of that is closed on Sundays.  In my opinion, Chick-fil-A has done a pretty good job of keeping their beliefs, but also being tolerant of others.  

"Our founder, Truett Cathy, made the decision to close on Sundays in 1946 when he opened his first restaurant in Hapeville, Georgia. He has often shared that his decision was as much practical as spiritual. He believes that all franchised Chick-fil-A Operators and their Restaurant employees should have an opportunity to rest, spend time with family and friends, and worship if they choose to do so. That's why all Chick-fil-A Restaurants are closed on Sundays. It's part of our recipe for success."

Q: What is Chick-fil-A's Response to Recent Controversy?

A:  Chick-fil-A: Who We Are. A Response to Recent Controversy.

For many months now, Chick-fil-A’s corporate giving has been mischaracterized. And while our sincere intent has been to remain out of this political and social debate, events from Chicago this week have once again resulted in questions around our giving. For that reason, we want to provide some context and clarity around who we are, what we believe and our priorities in relation to corporate giving.

A part of our corporate commitment is to be responsible stewards of all that God has entrusted to us. Because of this commitment, Chick-fil-A’s giving heritage is focused on programs that educate youth, strengthen families and enrich marriages, and support communities. We will continue to focus our giving in those areas. Our intent is not to support political or social agendas.

As we have stated, the Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 restaurants run by independent Owner/Operators.

Forever 21

I went clothes shopping for an interview not too long ago and I was putting the bag away and noticed that there was a bible verse on the bottom of it.  I thought it was very interesting that Forever 21 was a religious company because I had not heard of them being so before.  Some say that they add this to the bottom of their bags in order to "protect" others.  Here is the verse:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

karate chops

Christians are all about "treat thy neighbor as thy self" well.. I came across this video today and I found it very impactful and it just goes to show that a lot of people do not feel that love.

Once act can change the world

This is going to be a very short post. I just wanted to share a video with you guys.  Here it is,

I'll let it speak for itself. 

Valentine's Day

Most people think that Valentines day is just the commercial industries way to get people to spend loads of money on their "loved ones".  Actually, there is religious history behind last Thursday's events.  In today's society, people give each other roses, chocolates, teddy bears and make big romantic gestures.  Saint Valentine was imprisoned for marrying those who were forbidden from marriage and before his execution wrote a letter saying "from your Valentine" and the rest was history.

Leeland

Tears of the Saints- Leeland

website: http://leelandonline.com/

From Baytown, Texas comes the Christian Rock band, Leeland.  The band started in 2004 and has created four albums since then. Three of the band members are siblings, Leeland, Jack and Shelly Mooring.  Casey Mooreand Mike Campbell make up the rest of the band playing guitar and drums.  Leeland has been nominated for three Grammy awards and seven Dove awards.  They perform at many different venues including churches and chapels and I hope to be seeing more from them soon!