Prisoner of Zenda Audio files

For my students: You can listen to the audio tracks by clicking on the arrow.  If you would like to download it to put it on your ipod etc., click on the title (i.e. PoZ Chapter 5).  You will be taken to Soundcloud.com.  There you will see a "download" option.  After you have downloaded it, you can add it to your iTunes library.
***UPDATE: if you play these tracks from my blog and hit pause, for some reason you get a screen asking you to go to Sound Cloud.  To start playing the track again, just click the X in the right corner and you'll see the play button once more.

Mean Girls

Mean Girls was a great movie.  What's so fun about this and other movies is that we know who to hate and who to love.

The Plastics are so fun to hate because they're so bad...all bad.

Real people aren't typically like this, though.  Mean girls, for example, are sometimes wonderful and sweet in class or at home, but nasty at lunch or at sports practice.

They, like others, are real people with hurts, fears, ambitions, feelings, and dreams.

The mean girl needs to be seen as a whole person, but the trouble for the mean girl is the same.  They need to see others as whole persons.

Are you a mean girl?  I'm sure you have your reasons.  But consider that you are judging someone on one detail that you criticize.  As much as you don't want to be pigeon-hold on one detail of your life, that same is true of the other person.

You must fight your nature.

Men are told to fight their natures all the time.  The male sex drive is very strong and, without morals, guys can be lewd, sexually aggressive, and take advantage of women.  But most men learn to control themselves and channel their sexual nature toward love and marriage.  Sure there are playboys out there, but men are constantly told, directly and indirectly, to control themselves.

Girls, however, are rarely taught to fight their natures.  Their challenge is not so much strong sexuality as it is emotional manipulation.  Women are very in tune with emotions and relationships.  This can, of course, be good, but can also be used to take advantage of others.  Uncontrolled, girls by nature scheme, gossip, ostracize, criticize, and reject.

You must fight your nature.

Paul told Titus to "avoid foolish controversies because these are unprofitable and useless."  People who continue in causing divisions after being warned, are called "warped and sinful" and "self-condemned."  Granted he's talking about arguments related to Jewish law, but I think the issue of the destructive nature of petty disputes is applicable.

Animals simply follow their natures.  Humans bear the image of God, though, and one way they do this is by living unlike their natures.

Turn from your teasing, sarcasm, and rumors and be an agent for change, for love, for grace, for bringing the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

An Ugly Romance: Love Without Legs

This story is cute.

But it's actually quite ugly.

Check out this video that shows their story.


Andrew and Tori Smith rushed their wedding to marry before Andrew's military deployment.  Within a short amount of time Andrew, stationed in in Afghanistan, stepped on an IED and lost both of his legs.

The vigorous commitment of his wife Tori is inspiring.  She drove hours to reach the last-minute location of the landing of the plane with her injured husband.  When he arrived at the hospital, she ignored protocol, breaking through the acceptable distance in order to hold his hand, kiss him, and tell him she loved him.

Hospital personnel instructed Tori that she was not to stay with her husband in the hospital room.
She disregarded them and stayed, even sleeping in a chair.

She stayed with him through every bend in the road and helped learn to walk again with prosthetic legs.  Today they are still together.

So cute, right?  But think about how ugly things really are.  What is it like to lay in bed with your husband who has no legs?  How might this affect their romantic relationship?  What limits might this put on their future?  Will he ever be able to run around with their future children?

One article said, "Shrapnel from the explosion ripped through his groin and slashed apart his abdomen...He lost his abdominal muscles on his right side.  Doctors performed 15 surgeries on his intestines."  I have no idea the implications these injuries have on Andrew's daily living, but there's got to be lots.

To me, though, recognizing these 'ugly' factors shows what real beauty is: love, commitment, affection in the midst of sadness, or even in spite of it.

It is proof that light can conquer darkness, that love can stomp on destruction.

Jesus' love is like this.  His cross-bearing is disgusting when you fully understand crucifixion.  And look at us, our failings, our messiness, yet love, His love pushes back the darkness.

Andrew and Tori have seen the evil, the destruction, the darkness that life tries to flood us with, and yet have said, "No, our love, and romance spits in the face of evil."

And there is beauty.

Is there someone you are trying to love, but it is messy?  Do you see the real beauty of your love?  Is there someone who loves you in your imperfections.  Do you honor the beauty of that love?

Do you, now, see why "Jesus loves me" is not just an old-hat, clichéd phrase?  In those three words there is universe-shattering, shocking, excessive beauty.

Here's the article that first introduced me to the Smith's and where I got a lot of the info above.

Is peace possible during finals?!

Exams.  Woo hoo!

Just fills the mind with delight, don't they?!

Not quite.

In fact, I had a student in speech class today deliver a speech about a school that brought in therapy dogs for students to help them relax between final exams.  Apparently, stress and finals are enough of a concern that people concoct weird remedies.

I'd like to offer an alternative.

Okay, let's answer the question: what is stressful about finals?

Well, it affects your grade.

Ok, What is stressful about a grade being affected?

Here's where the root really is.  The answer is one of three things (or a combination).
1. Parents may be upset.
2. It might affect your college (and eventual job) prospects
3. You may be upset with yourself

Paul, a guy who experienced a lot of old friends and family being upset with his faith switcheroo, wrote the following: "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."

The "you" that died is the you that used to live in the world's system, the system that judges worth on accomplishment and acceptability.  For those of you who have followed Christ from an early age, you may not recognize that this part of you ever existed.  Some, like myself, experienced it for many years before receiving Christ.  But even if you don't remember it, I'm sure you can recognize it's tug.  It's the pull that says, "Please her, please him, do this, don't do that, make sure you have this person's approval."

When it comes to exams, the ultimate question is "Whose am I?"  See, if you're a Jesus follower, your life is hidden with Christ in God.

You rest there.

You are whole there.

You are loved there.

You are accepted there.

We don't always realize the position we're in.  That's one of many reasons Paul writes and reminds the folks in Colossae to "set your hearts on things above" and "set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

You see, it takes work to believe the truth, that God's assessment of you is what matters.

If you can settle where your soul is at rest (hidden with Christ in God), then exams can just be that: exams.  They don't determine your worth or your happiness.

Now you can tackle them for what they are: a way of representing what you learned this semester.  Yes, you'll still be anxious, because you want to do well.  Everyone gets anxious at a performance whether a concert or basketball game.  But you don't need to let it determine your worth.

So, go do a good job on those finals, but remember: set your hearts on things above.