This is worth watching!

I've seen this a couple places, but hey, for those who haven't seen it, it's quite the laugh!

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Harry Potter Marathon

I've pretty much been out of the loop on blogging for the summer. Between vacations and managing all three of my kids at home, I'm keepin' busy. But, I do have to admit my guilty pleasure. I ready the first Harry Potter book about a year ago and have been meaning to read the rest. So, I popped down to my brother and sister-in-law's about three weeks ago and borrowed all theirs.

Then, I made a goal. You see, my kids start school August 11th and I start two weeks later. Once we're all in class, there won't be much time left over. So, I decided to read books two through seven before summer break ended. Needless to say, I met my goal in advance. I read them all in three weeks (and yes, I actually accomplished some other stuff in the midst of it).

I loved the books, especially books 4 & 7. The end was amazing. Julie over at One Hand Clapping has a great post she did after book 7 was released. She has some great thoughts and I agree with her (I think I read too fast to do much reflecting...I just wanted to find out what happens!)

If you haven't read them (and especially if you have kids who have or will be reading them), I encourage you to read them for yourself and then sit down for some great conversations with your daughter or son.

Off the Map coming to Denver

I'm excited about a conference coming to Denver in October. My church is a sponsor for Off the Map's Born Again Church Tour 2008.

Check it out and if you're in the Denver area, join us! You can buy tickets via this link.

Rights vs. Responsibility

I've been getting a lot of political e-mails lately. It's that time of year, I suppose. Most of the ones I'm getting have a lot to say about my rights. Specifically, about protecting my rights as a "Christian". The information I'm receiving tells me it is in my best interest to protect my right to be protected; to maintain distance between "others", with whom I disagree politically, in lifestyle philosophy, etc.

I had a conversation with a friend about one of these e-mails. She was concerned about a bill passed here in Colorado and felt that as an American citizen, a person should have the right to hire who he or she wanted. I wondered allowed what would have happened if we had that attitude when civil rights legislation passed. As I mulled over that conversation, I began thinking about my rights as an American citizen and my responsibilities as a person participating in the Kingdom of Heaven. I used to think that to participate in the Kingdom, it only made sense to do so within the political/social structure of the US. I don't think that anymore.


Well, quite frankly, I don't think it works. It doesn't seem to me that Jesus would be all that impressed with me, say as a business owner, only hiring people like me, who make me feel comfortable, happy and content. Or maybe, if I were renting a house, only renting to those I feel comfortable with (i.e. white, middle class, heterosexual). It seem to me that per Jesus' example, my concern should be much more about my responsibility to others rather than that of my personal rights. It is in his death and resurrection that I find reason to reach outside myself and what I "want" to a bigger picture of his Kingdom.

The problem for Christ-followers is that this approach is just a whole lot messier. It's rarely a cut and dried scenario. The safety of the known is so much more comfortable that the risk required as we take the responsibility of being messengers of the Kingdom, the ones who are to bring good news. How can we be those messengers if we've spent our time and energy protecting ourselves and our personal rights? I believe that it is necessary for the follower of Christ to step back from the American view of "rights" and fashion her life based on the responsibility given in the death and resurrection of the One we call Lord. It's a completely different scenario.