Fever Pitch

After a long drive back from Montreal, Vanessa and I decided to take it easy for the night and rent a couple of movies. We watched Fever Pitch, and Kicking and Screaming (which is the movie with Will Ferrell where he plays his sons soccer coach).

I really enjoyed Fever Pitch. I suppose there are a couple of reasons. I like sports movies, and I think that Jimmy Fallon is hilarious. But I think the main reason I enjoyed it was because I could relate to Jimmy Fallon's character a lot. In the movie he plays a 30ish year old teacher who can never hold down a relationship because he has an obsession with the Boston Red Sox. Now I realize that I am married and so while I didn't relate to him in that respect, I did relate to his sports obsession. I mean, I could watch Leafs highlights and Leaf's related programming all day. In the movie, Jimmy Fallon's room has Red Sox everything... bedsheets, pillowcases, posters, etc. I'm sure that if I was single living on my own my room would have all of these similar things for the Leafs. In the movie Fallon says something about how he loves loving something that he cannot control and that is bigger than himself. I think these are similar reasons about me loving the leafs. I love being part of Leafs Nation, a group of fans that spans across the country. I loved being at the Leafs-Habs game in Montreal and being part of the huge contingent of Leaf fans that made the long drive in order to support their team. There is no other fan base in all of hockey that comes close to Leaf fans. It was cool to watch Fever Pitch and get an insight into Red Sox Nation, a similar group of fans.

On a slight tangent, the movie also made me upset because it reminded me that the Red Sox won the World Series that year. You see, before the Sox won the World Series in '04, they had not won the championship since like 1918. They referred this streak of not winning as "the curse", since they had not won since they traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees. Since that year the Yankees had won like 26 World Series', while the Red Sox won none. It was a cool sporting tradition, and I loved cheering for the Yankees in the playoffs after the Blue Jays playoff aspirations had died. I also enjoyed that there was another sports franchise that hadn't won their championship in such a long time. I mean come on, 1918 made 1967 look like a couple of days ago.

Who the heck is Shelby Lynne??

I was reading the editorial in a magazine put out by Campus Crusade in the States called Y-Jesus. This magazine takes a look at some of the different evidence and research compiled about the life of Jesus Christ. The editor's main point was that Jesus in unique because he has survived the test of time. Our culture is so enthralled in magazines such as Us and Entertainment Weekly, but I am certain that if we looked at one of those magazines from a year or two ago there would be many people who we have no idea who they are. One example is this Shelby Lynne. You can see in the above picture that she won a Grammy. It was for "Best New Artist" in the year 2001. This is only a couple of years ago, but now she is unheard of. Our celebrities are in and out of popularity so fast. In one day, out the next. Many people receive their 15 minutes and then all of a sudden it is over. Think of the Simpsons episode when Bart becomes famous for his "I didn't do it" line. He had posters, pull-string stuffed toys, etc. But then one day no one cared anymore, and he was kicked out of Krusty's studio faster than he was brought in. I know that this is just a cartoon, but it illustrates something in our culture so well.

Then there is Jesus. Here is a guy born in a stable in a little town in the Middle East called Bethlehem. He grew up as the son of a carpenter, and had only 3 years of public ministry. Jerusalem was nothing in the Roman world... it would be like a someone who became famous from Nunivut, and then staying in Nunivut as opposed to moving to LA or New York or Toronto. Imagine if Shania Twain had stayed in Timmins, or if Avril Lavigne had stayed in Napean. They wouldn't be the superstars they are today. Yet Jesus didn't move to Rome, where all the spotlight was. And now his legacy is still renown 2000 years later. There is no one in all of history who has a following so long after their time on earth. There are some famous people who we can still remember from his time or even before, but they are reduced to our dusty history books. Jesus has a following that has not spread by magazines or award shows or political campaigns. He is renown and loved by many because there is something that is different about him, that separates him from other famous leaders like Napoleon, Martin Luther King Jr., or the Many famous Roman Caesars. The thing that separates Jesus from the rest is that he is God. He was fully God and fully Human, something that our finite minds will always struggle to fully understand.

10 years from now names like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will more than likely be obscure figures that we will want to search on Google to remember them. They maybe cool because they will be old school, kinda like how we appreciate Michael J. Fox and his role Back to the Future. But Jesus will remain one of the most popular figures in history, and people will still be talking about him. People will still be arguing that he was just a good teacher, or a prophet, or Son of God, etc, but his followers will remain and so will his fame and renown because he is unlike any other figure in history.

I Hate When This Happens...

Has this happened to anyone else??

Why is this picture amusing to me?

1. I love simple humour and this is simple. Cartoons where I have to read anything more than 3 boxes usually isn't worth the extended read.

2. The cat has a look on his face that says, "meh, I suppose I will indulge myself in a 25 cent goldfish"

3. The fact that this is so ridiculous. If the cat actually inserted the coin and turned the knob, a lot of water would come out, and he is not even guaranteed a fish! Although he does have a chance at two!

4. The cat has a pocket.

If you discover more reasons why this is funny, let me know in the comments section!

P.S. Maybe I should look into having different sections of this blog or create a new one as it is quite funny that I post something like this moments after posting something so serious and from the heart. I think I will leave it all on one blog though as this gives you a better understanding of all that is Jamie Strickland.

God's Power for God's commands

I am reading Piper's follow-up book to Desiring God called When I don't Desire God - How to Fight for Joy. So far I am really appreaciating this book. One of the things that struck me in the last chapter I read was concerning the rich young ruler. In Matthew 19 there is a story of a rich guy who met Jesus and asked him what he had to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus says that he has to sell everything he owns and give it to the poor and follow him. The rich guy walks away sad because he can't give up all his riches. Now usually when I read this story of hear it in a sermon I assume that this story is not aimed at me. I am not rich. But Piper points out that apart from God working in our hearts, we are all too selfish and stubborn to turn toward God. Our turning to God is a gift from him, and not something we can do on our own. After the Rich guy walks away Jesus says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. The disciples knew that was impossible, so Jesus responded by saying that "with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible". With man it is impossible choose God over money, but with God all things are possible.

As humans we need to rely on God's empowering strength to choose him over things of the world. It is a difficult concept to wrap your mind around, that we have to rely on God for the stregth to follow his own commands, but it is also freeing. I know by know that I can't do it on my own. I have tried many times but my heart is just so hard. Only God can soften it. This is a fact that should bring us to prayer constantly. St. Augustine himself prayed, "Grant me the grace (oh Lord) to do as you command, and command me to do what you will! O holy God, when your commands are obeyed, it is from you that we recieve power to obey them." He realized so early into the life of the church that even when we obey God's commands it is only by his strength and empowering that they are done.