Don Miller, The Most Sensitive of Vampires?

At McKays Used Bookstore tonight I saw something pretty funny… One of my favorite authors has apparently been writing for a new genre. Check it out!

How this happened is beyond me, but I do think it’s possible that Don’s Million Miles Tour has him feeling like a zombie after over 2 months on the road! Funny stuff!

Don, hope you and Susan are well and looking forward to taking a break! See you Friday in Nashvegas!

Writing Update…

So God has done it again… Done what, you might ask? He’s just done it. He’s shown me how incredibly incapable I am of doing anything well if I’m lazy. For those of you who don’t know, I’m writing a book right now. Not writing an obscure book that probably won’t ever get published. No. I’m writing a book that should be out sometime in 2011.

Two weeks ago I met up with my agent at Panera Bread. The meeting was scheduled so we could go over the first five chapters together, for the book proposal. I was excited. I was nervous. Would she red pen every page like a cruel English teacher, would she love it, or would she make me start over from scratch? The first two options, or doors if you will, I prayed for. The last option scared the proverbial crap out of me. Guess what door I got?

Three!

Why did I get door number three?

Because, while the writing wasn’t necessarily bad, my “voice” wasn’t consistent. (It was the nice way of saying, they sucked, and she would know much better than I.)

I must also say that while I was dismayed to receive the news, I trust my agent implicitly. She is an incredible, INCREDIBLE agent, and to even know her blows me away… Much less work with her! Quite literally, anything she says is as good as gold.

So, over the past two weeks I’ve been rewriting everything. And when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING! The good news is that two of the five chapters I was told to redo, are done. Not only are they done but she approves (THANK GOD)!

I say all of this to illustrate one thing. While God has given me the desire and talent to be a writer, He did not give me the ability to write without working at it… I’m not Hank Moody (if you get that reference, we are now friends), and I am not Hemingway. My tendency to write lazily will never fly if I want to be published…

At a recent Q&A, Don Miller said that though the writer may write 10 times, he will only feel true inspiration and ease once or twice. BUT in order to truly write, the writer must write the other 8 or 9 times to reach those moments. Writing is not effortless and it’s not easy. Writing, I’ve learned, takes a lot of work.

So with this I’ll close. God, thank you for using my agent to teach me this lesson now, and thank you for NOT making my dreams easily achieved. I’m a much better person for having bled onto the page, instead of merely sweating on it. Blood really is thicker than water.

An Interesting Sermon…

I decided to post this sermon from a pastor that I’ve always loved. As I’ve grown and questioned the teaching of my youth I’ve been questioning what to take and what to leave behind. I’m posting this because I agree with some of what he says, and disagree with other things he says. I’m more so interested in what you think. Watch these and let me know.

So… What do you think? Be real, and honest, and comment… I really want to know what you think!

THE MOST IMPORTANT BLOG EVER!

So I work security now! Last night I got to work at the Reliant K concert… Too cool! But something shocked me. I met a girl who quickly became my friend, and as I look at the picture she just emailed me I feel like Andre the Giant…

Is this not the creepiest thing you’ve ever seen? SHE LOOKS LIKE CARS LOOK FROM THE WINDOW OF A 747 AT 10,000 FEET, AND I LOOK LIKE THE 747!

Your thoughts? Seriously, COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW!

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Below are some of the other concert pics, taken from my view in the barricade! Enjoy!

#FollowFriday Plus: Episode 1 @MojoJules

Dear Readers,

Below is a test podcast for a seriescalled #FollowFriday Plus! Due to the lack of a domain, I had to upload the audio as a video with a slide. Please forgive the audio quality! I didn’t have my usual microphone and haven’t mastered Audacity yet.

Today’s Episode features an interview with a good friend Julie Kennedy, aka @MojoJules on twitter. This is a very heartfelt, raw, and unedited look at Julie’s story. I hope you enjoy the show!

To Follow Julie Kennedy Click HERE!

A Benefit I Can Get Behind!

Hey all! I don’t do this often, but there is a cause that I believe is very worthy of me writing about it. Please go to the following site and help this ministry…

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/2243399/Songs_Under_the_Stars/Welcome.html

The benefit concert is going to be incredible… Hope that if you can’t come you might at least be willing to donate a few bucks!

Pax Vobiscum

Another 3am Prayer…

I don’t know why, but for the past year I’ve battled major insomnia. I lie awake at night and stare at the ceiling as if it were a movie screen playing my future. I try to catch glimpses, but the picture moves to quickly and my eyes only catch bits and pieces; blurred images that tell me nothing and leave me feeling empty inside. I think one of the reasons I feel so conflicted is guilt. I feel guilty for saying I love my Father in Heaven, yet I act in ways that hurt him on a daily basis. And then he forgives me, and it makes me feel even more guilty. But tonight is different…

Tonight God has answered my prayers and given me peace. Tonight I lie awake because of hope. A hope that has set me on fire. A hope that has shown me that it will all be okay, no matter the outcome of my present course. And I thank Him for that.

The answer was love.

It’s a love that passeth all understanding. A love that guards our hearts in times of trouble. A love that is available to all men. And a love that confounds me in times like these. So this is my prayer…

Dearest Father, in you I find rest. In you I find fulfillment. In you I find peace. Your love is something I constantly doubt, but you are faithful and just and foolish in the recklessness of your affection for me. And for that reckless longing I thank you. Tonight you taught me that even in the darkest of nights, you are always with me. Tonight you showed me yourself, and your infinite beauty. Help me to never forget your passion Lord, like a lover pursues his mate. I know I fall short, but thank you for never failing me. I owe you my life. I owe you my heart. Help me to believe your word no matter how deep the valley. Thank you for this peak. The view takes my breath away as I feel the wind against my face. Blessed be your name. Amen.

So now I’ll attempt to go to sleep once more. I’ll try to close my eyes and ignore the movie playing above me. And I’ll continue to live  in that splendid victory that is so freely, yet undeservedly mine. Blessings to all of those who read this. May you find the peace of God that passes all understanding.

A 3am Prayer…

I don’t know why, but for the past year I’ve battled major insomnia. I lie awake at night and stare at the ceiling as if it were a movie screen playing my future. I try to catch glimpses, but the picture moves to quickly and my eyes only catch bits and pieces; blurred images that tell me nothing and leave me feeling empty inside. I think one of the reasons I feel so conflicted is guilt. I feel guilty for saying I love my Father in Heaven, yet I act in ways that hurt him on a daily basis. And then he forgives me, and it makes me feel even more guilty. Tonight is no different…

We all have fears and insecurities, but sometimes I have to question why I seem to live in mine so completely. God has blessed me with an incredible family, and friends that I love and admire. He’s blessed me with talent, and with a vision for how to use that talent. He’s blessed me with the most incredible gift, his son, who bled on a tree for my sins. What more could I possibly ask for? What more could I possibly need? Why can’t I live in that victory?

I’m reminded of the fallen King David, and It’s in these 3am moments that I understand why he cried out to God as he did. We are all Davids, I think, fallen men that live mostly inconsistent lives. Yet I take hope in God’s forgiveness. I take hope in the fact that even David was considered a man after God’s own heart. And I hope that God will say the same about me some day. I really do hope.

So I throw this 3am prayer out into the cosmos…

Lord make me more mindful of you. Never let me forget you or forsake you. Help me to love all mankind as you love mankind. Help me to give of myself sacrificially. Bless those whom I love, and those whom I’ve yet to love. Give them my blessings Lord. Help me to be content in your presence. Help me to live free of my guilt. And bless the one whom I hold closest to my heart. Bless that person exceedingly… Amen.

So now I’ll attempt to go to sleep once more. I’ll try to close my eyes and ignore the movie playing above me. And I’ll try to live once more in that victory that is so freely, yet undeservedly mine. Blessings to all of those who read this. May you find the peace of God that passes all understanding.

Next Book Review On It’s Way!

I’m excited today because I just got a copy of Ben Pearson and Henry Arnold’s new book KABUL 24! Can’t wait to see the accompanying documentary, narrated by Jim Caviezel! The review should be up in the next week or two!

Blog Response: “My Checklist 2.0″

Before reading this blog or watching these videos I want to preface this whole entry by saying that these are my opinions and are most likely flawed as I am flawed. I just felt led to weigh in on this issue. Also know that I am not a scholar or theologian, so my logic might be wrong. This is merely an honest attempt at joining into an existing conversation.

I happened upon this video through my friend Jim’s blog, and watched as an intelligent young man, named Scott, eloquently refuted the faith that I hold so dearly. I watched and I listened. And then I watched, and listened again. And then for the hell of it I watched it again, and I listened.

The thing I love about Atheists/Agnostics is that they use the tools at their disposal– language, science, logic, reason, doubt– to sift through life as adeptly as they possibly can. But the drawback to these tools is that they aren’t the instruments crafted to sift through the metaphysical. It is tantamount to a surgeon using eating utensils to perform a delicate surgery, or a chef trying to cook the perfect dish with gardening tools. So, while Scott’s tool belt may be furnished with quite a few beautiful and shiny tools, it has a few empty slots and unfortunately those slots were made to hold the tools that might have helped him put “God’s Checklist” into perspective.

Scott did an admiral job at proving what he believes to be an obvious and observable fact; that based upon what “isn’t” we can  completely prove what is. The problem with that logic, is that there is far more physical and perceptible obvious evidence, “what is”, that he forgot to mention, “what isn’t”. Concepts that are unexplainable no matter how hard we try, are more numerous than any amount of “knowledge” that science has garnered. Love is one of them. Science tries to boil love down to a combination of instinct and chemicals, but as anyone who’s been in love will tell you, it’s more than a survival mechanism, it’s an experience. And it’s in that experience that we learn what love really is. Sex is another. To the world sex is merely a physical act meant to create pleasure or offspring, but that’s not completely what sex was created to be. Sex is an intimate exchange that spiritually binds the individuals engaging in it together. Hence the term “making love”. It is a gift meant to strengthen the relationships of loving couples.

But the point of this blog and the reason I posted these videos is to demonstrate a much larger point to an audience that I hope will listen. The second video is from a Christian man named Jack. And it is Jack’s response to the Scott’s video, God’s Checklist 2.0, entitled “God Has No Checklist”, that made me decide to write this blog. I don’t think the “Christian” response makes Christianity look any better than the first video did. Here are a few bullet points I took while watching the response. To Jack:

• Your tone wasn’t so much passionate as it was insulting.
• You undermined the importance of a beautiful tool we have in Youtube, which I might add you use regularly having posted 111 videos as of right now.
• You insulted Scott multiple times by speaking to him as if he’s an idiot.
  
• You proved to me, as most Christians do, that you don’t understand one of the most fundamental rules of debate. You don’t use the book in question, the Bible, as evidence to prove your point! That defeats the entire point of the debate!
  
• You never addressed his concerns or sought to alleviate them, instead you took the easy way out and talked about the “moral issue” as opposed to the issue itself, the very credibility of the faith you seem to be so defensive over.
  
• You taunt Scott for using intelligent language, and yet you spoke yourself the same way, though not as intelligent because you hammed your words up with the most theatrical and melodramatic delivery that I’ve ever heard outside of an 8th grade production of Macbeth.
  
• You speak no peace, yet you end your video by wishing peace. That is not the way of Jesus.

So I write this as a challenge to Jack, or to anyone that reads or sees this, whether you be atheist or Christian– though it applies more to the Christian. Please consider the following checklist before opening your mouth, especially to Atheists.

1. Ask yourself, “Why am I responding?” This is the most important question and your answer should become the very foundation upon how you build your response.

2. Do not let emotion play a part in a re-action unless it’s out of compassion. Always try to look deeper than the argument, and try to grasp the reason said person is making said argument.

3. Remember that when it’s all said and done, all beliefs are based off of personal choice. I choose to be a follower of Christ and I believe wholeheartedly that it is the truth, however that does not mean that my neighbor has come to the same conclusions and has a less valid viewpoint. (Note: Affirming anothers worldview does not mean you are endorsing it as truth. It simply means that you are acknowledging his right to differ with you and what you believe to be true.)

4. Do not make yourself guilty of the very thing you are accusing your “opponent” of. It’s not only hypocritical, it defeats the point of having an intelligent conversation.

5. Please present a well thought out case for whatever it is you’ve decided to argue. In this case Scott did an excellent, albeit ignorant, job of presenting what he believes to be the facts, while Jack floundered on a different topic altogether.

6. Your goal in debate should never, ever, EVER be about winning. It should be about learning how to appreciate others and sharpen your own truth. (Note: If you are a Christian, trust the Holy Spirit to speak to the person you are talking to. That’s his job anyway!)

7. Please try to avoid the further polarization of individuals trapped inside the culture war. Defend your viewpoint and discuss them by all means, but never let your beliefs make you arrogant.

To Scott,

I’m sorry that you view my belief system the way you do. I would probably view it the same way myself had I not experienced the love of God so radically in my life. I will not try to prove I’m right. It’s not my job and it’s your right to believe differently. BUT I would love to have a conversation with you sometime if you are willing, so I can hear more about the process that led you to the worldview you now possess. I’m not interested in a debate. I would likely lose haha. I’ve never been one for studying and in order to answer your questions I would have to be much more well learned than I am!  Lastly, please do not hold Jack’s video against him, or against me at the very least. The important thing to remember is that while Jack didn’t do anything but further perpetuate the very ignorance you were speaking out against in your video, he means well and wants the best for you too… Or so I assume. I don’t know the guy. Grace and Peace to you.

Outlaw Preacher,

Timothy Kurek

Twitter: @TimothyKurek

To see and hear more from both parties:

Scott- http://www.youtube.com/user/TheoreticalBullshit

Jack- http://www.youtube.com/user/TogetherForPeace