March Blogger Awards

The Best of BBC Blogs

Vote for the Post of the Month
Here are the Nominees

AJ's Versus
Corky Courtney
DJ wonders about ***'s
Elizabeth's Tale of Woe
Micaiah's 1st Pics
Jo's Regurgitation
Kayla's Crazy Town

Overall, though, I was quite disappointed with BBC blogs this month. You all stink. OR it could be that I'm in a bad mood b/c my contacts were bothering me as a scanned 80 blogs. Either way, as a result of my frustration I am breaking a rule and giving the best BBC blog for March to a non BBC blogger

March's Best BBC Blogger:
Stephanie I

January Awards
February Awards

Poll-o-Rama

I am an active member of a large Christian message board. One of the forums on this particular board is made up of nothing but polls. Here are some of the more interesting poll results:

When did you become a Christian?
20-29 = 31%
10-19 = 30%
0-9 = 18%
30-39 = 12%
Other = 09%

Thoughts: I found this pretty surprising. I have been told so many times that almost everyone gets saved before they are 20 and that 20 somethings are the hardest people to reach.

What denominational family are you part of?
Baptist 32%
Pentecostal 20%
Independant 10%
Holiness 9%
Anglican 6%
Other 23%

Thoughts: I actually posted this poll after I read Ron Rhodes Complete Guide to Christian Denominations. The results were pretty much exactly what I anticipated.

Where do you stand on the issue of eternal security?
A believer can fall and lose salvation 48%
A believer can fall but are still safe 31%
A believer cannot fall 21%

Thoughts: Pretty much half in half in terms of whether we are eternally secure or not. But I am baffled by people picking the middle category.

Do you speed?
Yes 75%
No 25%

Thoughts: Somehow I get caught behind that 25% every day on my way to church.

The Tall of Laziness

Everyone has a weakness. I think mine is laziness. Sure, I work. I do my job and try to do it well. But in the little things I often feel like a lazy slob. Here are some practical examples of my laziness:

1. I almost always fall back to sleep after my alarm sounds
2. I never turn off my laptop b/c it takes 2 clicks
3. If the TV is on too loud but the remote is across the room, I'm content to be annoyed for an hour instead of taking 5 seconds to get the remote and turn it down
4. I titled this post the 'tall' of laziness instead of the 'height' of laziness b/c the word 'tall' is shorter (which in itself is kinda funny now that I think about it at 3:56am)
5. I often ignore my bladder until I have another reason to get up
6. I have been on 3 walks since I got my iPod Nano
7. I still can't get myself to put dishes in the dishwasher and not just on the counter
8. I only shave prior to church services
9. I am still angry I had to type out the word 'height' in example #4

LoTR Review

I finished watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Having never read the books or seen the movies before this week, I believe I was able to approach the themes and symbolism in a fresh manner. But my compartmentalizing nature made this a difficult task. All throughout the films my brain was trying to associate specific characters with Christ (like Aslan in Narnia). These associations, however, broke down whenever pushed too far in any direction.

In some ways Aragorn (in the 3rd movie mostly) was much like Christ the King. Gandalf reflected the prophetic and miraculous aspect of Christ at various times. But perhaps no character, to me, better illustrated Christ than Frodo. He was a mere hobbit and Christ became a mere man. He was tempted by the power of the ring and Christ was offered power by the devil. Frodo was, perhaps, the only individual in the movie able to make the journey without giving in to selfish ambition. And both he and Christ completed their journey and then departed.

The other question that came to mind as I completed the trilogy was, "Who am I in the Lord of the Rings?" I believe that I (and we) are most like Sam. We are called to aid the work of Christ in this world. We are called to carry the cross (as Sam carried Frodo). We are left with some pages to fill in the great narrative of Christ's work.

These are probably very obvious (or totally off-base!) connections, but those are my thoughts after watching The Lord of the Rings for the very first time.

Top 10 Cereals

1. Oatmeal Crisp Almond (General Mills)
2. Oatmeal Crisp Raisin (General Mills)
3. Cinnamon Toast Crunch (General Mills)
4. Golden Grahams (General Mills)
5. Honey Nut Cheerios (General Mills)
6. Cheerios (General Mills)
7. Cookie Crisp (General Mills)
8. Life (Quaker)
9. Frosted Flakes (Kellogg's)
10. Cap'n Crunch (Quaker)

End Notes:
~ I had no idea General Mills made almost all my favorite cereals. This reminds me of the time I went to download all my favorite country songs and found out 90% of them were by the same guy (John Michael Montgomery)
~ Kellogg's really stinks at making cereal
~ I once had 22 straight meals of cereal. I do not recommend this
~ I can't find Apple Cinnamon Cheerios in my area anymore, but I remember liking them
~ There is a cereal restaurant now. Click HERE