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Movie Review – Break Away from Word Films

Break AwayI recently had the opportunity to watch and review the new movie, Break Away, from Word Entertainment. It’s due for release on April 23.

I was pretty excited about watching it, since it deals with cycling. One of my favorite activities is cycling, using both my road bike as well as my mountain bike. While neither of my bikes are top of the line, not by far, they are both decent quality.

But my dream is to own a Pinerello one day. And with this film being sponsored by Pinarello, as well as playing a role in the film itself, it fuels my dreams of riding one someday.

So with dreams of cycling running through my mind, the family settled down to watch Break Away.

Check out the trailer:

While it was an interesting movie, there was a mix of both good and bad things about this particular film.

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Coffee Break – 04.15.2013

Coffee Break

How Much Caffeine Would It Take To Kill You? – After a family filed a lawsuit against Monster Energy Drinks last year, this question has popped up every now and then. But what does the science say? Just how much caffeine would a person have to consume for it to be lethal? The conclusions are pretty interesting.

8 Official State Dinosaurs – Every state has a state bird and a state flower. Many have a state fossil. But did you know some states have a state dinosaur? Here are seven states that do, and one tongue-in-cheek dino added to the list. Proud to be a Missourian right now…

How To Use Milestones To Kick-Start A New Thing – Jon Stolpe discusses in this article how a mile stone can be a great motivator. This principle is one of the main reasons I journal.

Life Is Too Short To be In A Hurry – Productivity is the currency of our time it seems. Everyone is in a hurry, striving to be as efficient and effective as possible. But is that the right thing to do and be? This article reminds us of some important priorities.

The Antidote To Materialism – As Americans, we tend to be caught by our stuff. Materialism is rampant. But what’s the answer? Generosity. Here are eleven brief principles on how to develop this quality.

3801 Lancaster – It doesn’t take us long to sink to depths unimaginable because of our sinfulness. This is a very disturbing documentary of what is happening in our nation under the guise of choice. It’s time we put this to a stop. Be warned: you will be disturbed by this film.

Consumerism is not based on the amount of money we have to spend; it’s rooted in the way we think about the amount of money we have to spend. – Randy Frazee

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:9-10

Paul is finished with his call to prayer, but isn’t yet finished instructing Timothy about worship. In this week’s passage, he moves on to other matters. Take a peek at the two verses we’ll be looking at in 1 Timothy 2:9-10:

1 Timothy 2:9-10

Paul begins here a section of his letter that has stirred many discussions over the years. He instructs Timothy on the role of women in the church.

And yet, before he talks about how women should serve, he addresses how women should dress.

He draws a very clear distinction between two realities: the inner versus the outer, much like Peter discusses in 1 Peter 3:3-4.

He calls women to dress decently. This probably isn’t referring to revealing or suggestive clothing, although that application certainly fits to our culture today. He is more likely referring to the “dressing up in order to show off” attitude that is also common in many places in our society today. When he refers to the braided hair, gold and pearls, and expensive clothes, he is suggesting that such extravagance completely fails to recognize that the inner person is much more important than the outer. Such an external display would prove to be a distraction in worship.

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Coffee Break – 04.08.2013

Coffee Break

Microwavable Moka Pot – One method of brewing coffee that I’ve never been interested in trying is the moka pot. I’ve heard too many stories of bad coffee resulting from such a device. I’d love to have one for displaying in my collection of coffee accouterments, but not necessarily to use. A couple of German brothers decided to make one that works in the microwave. Good idea or not?

Deleted Wikipedia – You have to take Wikipedia with a grain of salt. If anyone can change the information on the page, I have to question its reliability. Useless, yet humorous, pages that were deleted also hurt its credibility. But they are amusing.

Bottled History – I love seeing and hearing of people who are dedicated to something consistently. This guy has been building ships inside bottles for years. The video is pretty captivating, but I’m sure I’d never have the patience to do this myself.

Why Christians Should Read Fiction – I enjoy a good story. Every now and then, I have to set aside whatever it is I’m reading and pick up something fictional, usually when Ted Dekker releases a new book. Here’s a great article explaining why adding fiction to your reading schedule regularly is important.

A Scary Confluence Of Trends – The average age of marriage is trending older. Yet the average age of the first born child isn’t. That’s frightening, frankly, especially as I consider my own children. What and how I teach them about marriage, sexuality and purity has never been more critical.

The State Of The Bible In 2013 – The Barna Group has released an interesting infographic on the state of the Bible in America today. This is interesting because their conclusion is that the Bible remains a major source of influence in many people’s lives. And yet we seem to be on a speeding train away from God and morality culturally. There’s a major disconnect there somewhere. This info is interesting, but I think there’s more to be seen.

The truly wise man is he who always believes the Bible against the opinion of any man. – R. A. Torrey

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:7-8

Paul’s explanation of God’s desire for all men to be saved is directly tied to his call to prayer. And he will finish that thought in this week’s passage. But first, Paul seems to go into a bit of an explanation concerning his own calling. You can see it in 1 Timothy 2:7-8:

1 Timothy 2:7-8

There seem to be two separate thoughts going on in these two verses. The NIV and other translations separate these two into different paragraphs. However, I think verse eight wraps up Paul’s thoughts on prayer quite nicely, before he moves on to other aspects of public worship in the following verses.

But before he finishes off that thought, he refers to his own calling as an emphasis of God’s desire for all to be saved. He uses three terms to describe himself.

  • A herald: This is one who publicly proclaims a message.
  • An apostle: One sent on a mission. In fact, he received this mission directly from Christ himself in Acts 9:1-19.
  • A teacher: This term seems to emphasize instruction and exhortation, in contrast to the first term, referring more to evangelism.

As a result of these indicators of his authority, Paul declares his desire is similar to that of God’s; he wants us to pray for the salvation of all men. Verse eight concludes his thoughts here on prayer, though the next section is linked to public worship as well.