WIRED this Sunday!! a poetic celebration

WIRED goes Crazy
Joyful sounds ring out all night
Seriously, come

Mouth Sores... and the Resurrection

Do you ever feel like you are living mouth sore to mouth sore? Man, I do! It seems like I'll bite my lip while I'm eating Mexican food, or something, and I'll keep biting the same spot, since it is swollen and painful. When it finally starts to heal, I get another one in a different location. I know what you are thinking, but I actually have a pretty good attitude about the whole thing. It makes me long for my perfect flawless Resurrection body. It's cool to think about the little stuff that makes us hope in Jesus, and what He is going to do when He comes back!

Test Drive

OK, so I have this great friend named Tripp Purks. He sent me an email on Tuesday about this promo fundraiser that BMW does to raise money and awareness for breast cancer and to promote their cars. You get to drive any BMW model you want and they donate one dollar for each mile you drive. We arrived at 9am on Thursday, signed the "you break it you buy it" form, and settled into a brand-new BMW 328ci. It was amazing. I drive a Nissan XTerra, which is a cool car with a small engine: about 170 horse power. The 328 has 300hp and is much smaller with a tight sporty suspension. Needless to say, when you tell it to go... It Goes!! For the sake of decency I will refrain from telling you how fast I got that thing up to, or how quickly it arrived at that undisclosed speed, but I will tell you that it was incredibly exhilarating. Now here me when I say that I am not going to buy this car, and I don't even really recommend that anyone else go and buy this car. All I am saying is that it was really fun to drive. Tripp was in the passenger seat, messing around with the hi-tech digital display for navigation, music, etc. We cranked the music on the amazing speakers and rocketed around the back-roads outside of Charlottesville, wishing the rain would go away so we could really push it. We did a 14-mile lope and parked back in the dealership parking lot.

Next, Tripp says, "Is there a Z series available?" The next thing I know we are squeezing into the doors of a Z4, the top-line BMW sports coupe. It was amazing. The speed on that thing was scary. In most cars, you can tell what the limits of the care are, but in this thing, our emotional and physical limit was reached while the actual performance limits were not even within sight. Tripp demonstrated driving skills worthy of a participant in the 24-hour Le Mans race in France.

I guess I don't really have a point other than to say that Driving nice cars is really fun. I'm also considering getting a rocket-engine booster for the back of my XTerra, so I can have batman-like acceleration.

Office Decorations

Well, let me first apologize to all my many many many readers who have wondered where my blogs have gone for the past three weeks. I am back. I further Apologize that I don't have a catchy rhyming saying for being back like some recent presidential candidates.

So here is the new news (whoa) in my Life: Wait a second. Doesn't "news" by definition mean that it is info that is new? So what about the term "old news?" Apparently that is completely meaningless. It's like saying, "the color purple... that's not really purple but instead is orange."

Anyways, I digress. The news in my life is that this morning I finally started decorating my office. My first day of work was August first, so it has been a while. I'm trying to calculate how many days I have been working at Trinity Presbyterian Church, but that is beyond my abilities at the present.

As you can see from the picture above, the first thing to go up on my wall was a huge University of Tennessee (Rocky Top!!) flag. I know what you are thinking. You are thinking, "Hey Lewis. Isn't Tennessee really terrible this year? I Mean aren't they the worst team in the SEC. I mean, didn't they just loose their homecoming game to Wyoming?" To those people I have this to say: SHUT YOUR YAPPER! You know and I know that we'll be back. Then we'll say, "The Rocky Top Attack is Back!" Or something like that. Maybe, "The Vols have undissolved!" Or, "Tennessee is the returnee!" You get the picture. Back to my office.

It sort of feels a little more like home now. I have pictures of my wife, my family and friends, some beautiful places I've been, etc. It reminds me where I've been. It also takes my mind off the color of the paint on my office walls. You probably noticed in the picture that my bright orange flag sort of dissolves into the wall. That's because my walls are painted "papaya." Like the fruit, only an office color, and not a delicious food.

Rainy Day Reflection

I'm sitting in a coffee shop in Lexington, VA right now, two rainy blocks away from the campus of Washington and Lee University, where my wife is presenting and interviewing students who are thinking about going into teaching.

At the first coffee shop I tried, I sat next t a family of 5, with loud children, and a college sophomore who was playing loud youtube videos. I was trying to work on a sunday school lesson, and have come to this conclusion. People who play loud music or videos on their laptops in public work areas should have their toenails ripped off. OK so maybe that's a little harsh, but let's be real, she was way out of line. Now, I have moved to the Daily Grind, which has inferior coffee, but a much quieter atmosphere.

Although I started my time studying Exodus 1-4, I have started thinking a lot about community, a major topic in my house right now. Maggie nd I are relizing that marriage cannot be a replacement for authentic community and fellowship. I know I know... duh. For obvious reasons, I guess, as newly weds, we have neglected to reach out to our closest friends to walk through this time with us. It's as if we think that we can do it on our own or something. Marriage has been a truly sweet thing for us, but the truth is that we don't really have any idea what we are doing. I think I need my friends to know my heart now more than ever. A lot is at stake. Here's my point. If you know someone who get's married, don't let this thought happen: "Oh well. We won't see thosw two for six months, so I'm not gonna bother them. After all, they are newly weds, and they just want to be with eachother." Even if that is what they want, I am telling you that it is not what they need. They need their friends to gather around them in prayer, and to challenge them more than ever. Love your friends.

I think I'll drink some Apple Cider...

Haikus about Dan Marotta

Banana pudding
Dan should use it as hair gel
He won't look sixteen



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To spell Marotta
Like Climbing Mount Everest
Strenuous training



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Cool Chaco footwear
Dan crosses mighty rivers
Comfy and no slip

Prayer in Iraq

I watched a show last night called "God's Soldier." It was about an Army chaplain in a battalion stationed in a very dangerous part of Northern Iraq. It was the most fascinating thing I have seen in a long time. This is a guy who's full time job, as a soldier, is to counsel, befriend, comfort, and lead in worship soldiers who are patrolling Iraqi towns and villages where insurgents are hiding. He talks to soldiers about their relationships with their wives back home. He talks to them about faith and teaches them from the Bible and services in his tent, and at various military outposts. One of the things he encounters is questions about God and war. One question is, "how does God allow war to happen?" The other big one is, "If I am a Christian, is it OK for me to shoot and kill the enemy?"

The second question is evidently on the minds of many soldiers, which is great comfort to me. It is encouraging to know that American soldiers are trying to follow a moral code for war. The Bible talks about a time for everything, including War. Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 :

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heavenC
² A time to give birth, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted.
³ A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to tear down, and a time to build up.
⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance.
⁵ A time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing.
⁶ A time to search, and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep, and a time to throw away.
⁷ A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; A time to be silent, and a time to speak.
⁸ A time to love, and a time to hate; A time for war, and a time for peace.

The Chaplain used this verse, in a sermon, to encourage Soldiers that, if they are fighting the enemy, it is their duty to fight and to kill. This war is a time like in the verse above. It is a time for war. Overall, the show was incredibly uplifting. This chaplain is leading soldiers in prayer, even as they see their friends killed every day. He seemed like a very Godly man and a blessing to the soldiers around him. Here is my question: Who's call are they following, God's, or Americas, and can we assume they are the same? I think it is very important to differentiate between God and America in situations like this. America is a great nation, but it is not God's nation. America is proud to be a democracy, so it is the people's nation. We must remember that Israel was a theocracy, the nation of God. We cannot act like living in America is the same as living in God's nation. I am very very thankful to have a president who prays, but the truth is that America's direction and leadership does not equal God's direction and leadership.

I hope I don't sound too cynical here. If you hear about this show, "God's Soldier," please check it out. My best guess is that God loves that chaplains are speaking the Word of God to those Americans who have been entrusted with the deadly responsibility of fighting wars. I'm reminded to pray for our soldiers and their hearts as they encounter death, destruction, and hatred in a way I never have. I also now pray for the men and women whose job it is to try and morally and spiritually guide our friends, brothers and sisters, and sons and daughters, fighting around the world.