iPopCulture.NET

This post is a plea. Maybe by now you’re sick of hearing coverage about Haiti. Maybe you’re tired of seeing all of the Facebook statuses, tweets, CNN headlines, commercials asking you to text to donate $10 to the Red Cross. But the truth is, this is still a major problem. The earthquake in Haiti was only the beginning of the problems.

The people that survived the quake are now facing starvation because there is no food. Gas prices are now around $14/gallon. Think about that for a minute…the people in Haiti survive on less than $2 per day and now gas prices are $14/gallon.

In addition, people are hurt and there are not enough doctors or medical supplies to meet these needs. This is a serious serious issue.

My friend Ryan Akers has close connections with Mountain Faith Mission in Haiti. Both him and his father have been over to the country and interacted, worshiped, and fellowshipped with the people. These same people, including children at an orphanage, are now facing possible death if they do not get the supplies they need.

Here’s what Ryan wrote recently on his blog: http://run4haiti.wordpress.com/

This past week has been a big distraction for me, simply because I work with a mission that’s involved in Haiti. I can only imagine, and definitely pray for those, who are living in the midst of this nightmare.

I am truly heart-broken. My mind stays so distracted by Haiti that I feel useless in other areas. Presently, there’s about 4-5 Americans with MFM who are emailing and strategizing the best way to be very effective on the central plateau. The earthquake has happened, damaged buildings horribly, and killed numerous people. That seems bad enough, but now, as the email from yesterday proclaimed, the food supplies are being slowly shut up. There is simply not enough coming in, and what is, seems to be staying in Port-au-Prince.

That’s simply put. Here’s my way of telling you what I’m trying to say. If you are a Christian, and you have not given to this effort, then you need to. I don’t care if it’s thru MFM or some other organization, but you should be giving. It’s Biblical to give. It’s Christ-like to give.

We’re assessing how the best way to go about getting things to the people is. Honestly, there’s no simple way to do it. Roads are blocked. Air is blocked. Ports are shut down. We’re working hard to contact, make connections, and trying to get stuff down to our people. Some thoughts are to fly in to an airport in the north if at all possible. Other thoughts are to find somewhere above the compound on the mountain to have a brave soul land a plane with supplies. Other thoughts are to mobilize a truck to head to the Dominican to buy food. In truth, all of these are super difficult. Fuel is scarce. Food is scarce.

Please donate. And please pray. Pray for open doors.

Here’s what is happening. People are dying. People are dying from injuries. People are dying from hunger. People are dying from basic things that you can easily access as you read this. Think this is a guilt trip? Maybe it is. But the point is…you should be involved. I don’t care if you mail a check, donate on PayPal, or work with a local group to organize a fundraiser to give. Just do something. Move, work. In the name of Christ, look at the faces of the children in our mission. Do it for them. Feed them. Be moved by these scenes. Don’t be disconnected. Team with MFM and let’s further the kingdom.

Please do what you can to help the Mountain Faith Mission of Haiti or some other organization in Haiti. These men and women and children need your help. Even just $5 can go a long way. Put yourself in their scenario. Imagine you were not hurt by the earthquake but everything you had was destroyed. While things might initially seem okay, imagine if you had no food and there was no promise of food on its way. Now add to that injuries, disease, the death of loved ones, etc and that’s a fraction of what the people in Haiti are dealing with.

If you can give anything at all, here is the website for  Mountain Faith Mission: http://www.mountainfaithmission.com/

Ryan has set the site up to accept PayPal donations. You can also send a check. PayPal has verified the site as a non-profit organization so your donation is secure. Simply click on the “Donate” tab on the web site.

Please help!

Now that the new year is well on its way, hopefully many of you have picked up a book or two and started reading. I’ve made it my goal to finish 24 books this year. Do you have a reading list in place for 2010? If not, do you have a few books that you plan to read or want to read? Here is my tentative list with more to be added later:

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (Completed)
Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller (Currently Reading)
The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum (Currently Reading)
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence (Started Reading…Need to pick it back up)
Forgotten God by Francis Chan
The Gospel-Driven Life by Michael Horton
The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum
SuperFreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
Batman: Year One by Frank Miller
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Something by John Grisham

As you can probably see, I’m trying to read different things from different genres. I’m hoping that will open my mind and creativity.

What are you reading?

Here’s a list of 10 Sporting Events I Want to Attend. Some of them are very specific and some are very generic. If there are things that would make your list, add a comment and let me know what that would be.

10. A basketball game at Madison Square Garden
I’d love to be there for the Coaches vs. Cancer college basketball tourney or even a Knicks game. Just want to sit in that building.

9. See LeBron James play in person
At some point I want to go to a Cavs game. Or who knows…maybe in a couple years that will mean attending a Knicks game…at Madison Square Garden…hmm… By the way, Kobe was a close second. Not a Kobe fan, but he’s an incredible player.

8. A major college football rivalry
I got to attend an Oklahoma-Oklahoma St. game at OU years ago, but I was working the game for the first half. Long story. Anyway, I want to attend a major rivalry game where the stadium is rocking and team pride is at an all time high.

7. The Olympics
Winter or summer…doesn’t matter. Just want to attend an event.

6. Yankees-Red Sox game (particularly at Fenway)
If I can’t see these 2 teams play, I’d at least like to see a game at Fenway and new Yankee Stadium.

5. Cardinals-Cubs series at Wrigley Field
I’ve seen plenty in St. Louis and they’re amazing. Before they tear Wrigley down, I’d love to attend a weekend series between my Cards and the baby bears.

4. North Carolina-Duke game at the Dean Dome
Greatest rivalry in college sports. The Tar Heels are my favorite team in college sports. It doesn’t get much better than this!

3. World Series
If the Cardinals are playing, this might jump to number 1. If not, it actually might move to 5 or 6. Therefore, I tried to find a median. I’ve been to an NLCS game, but not the World Series.

2. Final Four and NCAA Championship Game
Since you usually get tickets for both, I’d love to attend the 2 Final Four games and then the National Championship game. If the outcome is like 2009, it only makes it sweeter!

1. Super Bowl
This is perhaps the most prolific event in all of sports and maybe the number 1 sporting even in the world (the Olympics and World Cup would be at the top too). No matter who is playing, the Super Bowl is always incredible. If it happens to be your team…simply amazing!

With the devastating earthquake that took place yesterday in Haiti, something desperately needs to be done. For those of us who can’t go, we can give and we can pray.

USAToday.com has a site you can visit that lists the different organizations that are collecting money for relief efforts. This money goes toward food, water, shelter, temporary housing, medicine, etc. You can visit that site by clicking here.

Do something about this problem. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and one of the least developed countries in the world. Even at their best, they have nothing compared to those of us in the United States. Now they’re really facing disaster. If you can give a gift of $5, $10, $15 or more, please do. And no matter what, please pray for this issue.

As my friend Ryan Akers mentioned earlier today, it’s really sad that it takes something this catastrophic to get people to take action, but maybe this will cause people to take action.

If you’re looking to pray specifically, pray for the Mountain Faith Mission and orphanage. Since communication lines have been shut down, there has been no word from them since the earthquake.

Today I’m starting my first day of P90X. I never thought an exercise program in a box could have so many components. Since receiving the kit (through Craigslist) last week, I have had to buy dumbbells, resistance bands, a door attachment for resistance bands, an extra resistance band kit that I now have to return, and a yoga mat.

Alas, I think I am now ready to begin. I fast forwarded through the first workout a couple nights ago just to get an idea of what I would be doing. From what I can see, it’s going to kick my tail!

However, I need to do this and I want to do this. Like most people, I hate going to the gym. I don’t mind it once I get there, but actually getting there is a task in itself. Plus, the gym always seems like a place of intimidation. It doesn’t help that the equipment in the gym at my apartment complex keeps breaking. That kind of limits what you can do.

So starting today, I begin my 90 day journey. I’m hoping to give it all I’ve got and come out on the other side feeling better, looking better, and maybe being a little sore.

A “fun” component of the program is taking a before and after picture. Don’t worry. I won’t be posting either online.

Well, here we go…

Have you noticed the words that come out of a Christian’s mouth when he or she wants to add emphasis? They’re not the typical “four letter” words we’re used to hearing. Typically, the “f-bomb” isn’t included in the mix.

However, it seems Christians have their own sets of words. They’re not necessarily “cuss” words…but they’re our own set of cuss words. What am I referring to?

Ever said “That sucks!”? How about “That’s a load of crap!”? Ever tell someone you’re really “p*ssed off”? I’m guilty.

Whether or not we think those words are wrong, the truth is some of them offend others and we know that. However, we say them anyway. We could debate that “words are just words” and “words aren’t inherently evil” all day. But have you stopped to take the time to think about the connotation behind a word like “sucks”? When you say something “sucks” or tell someone they “suck,” what are you really saying? Sure, you may have your own interpretation, but think about what the connotation that the word came out of.

We often throw around our Christian cuss words like “sucks” and “crap” and “OMG” and “freakin’” without even thinking about it. It’s almost become second nature for us to say things like that. Sometimes we do it because we want to sound cool or rebellious…without really going all the way and saying the “bad” words.

What do our words say about us?

Ephesians 4:29 makes it very clear that no unwholesome speech should come out of our mouths. Rather, we should build one another up so that we may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 5:4 tells us there should be no filth, foolish talk, or crude joking. Those things are out of place.

As Christians, is our speech any different than the rest of the world? It may be different in spelling, but is it truly any different in meaning?

Last year I came up with 21 resolutions for 2009. Only about 18 were realistic. I was able to accomplish about 11 of them. This year I thought I would give it another shot. Some of these aren’t serious, but I’m hoping they’re attainable. As you can see, some are just plain fun. This list is more about what I would like to accomplish in 2010 rather than resolutions…but oh well, here goes (in no particular order):

1. Complete 90 straight days of P90X.
I recently bought the program on Craigslist from a guy who got it and decided he didn’t want to do it. I’m making it my goal to complete the system at least once and try to lose weight, add muscle, and tone up.

2. Read 24 books.
Last year my goal was 12-15 and I made it through 18, including the entire Harry Potter series. This year I’m going for 24.

3. Avoid all Twilight movies.
Yuck.

4. Attend a midnight showing of a movie.
I’ve only done this once (The Dark Knight). I’d love to do it again for Toy Story 3…if they have midnight showing for kids’ movies.

5. Lead 1 person to Christ.
The number may sound small, but you have to start somewhere.

6. Get published in a publication outside of Randall House.

7. Play Mario Kart online with at least 10 friends at once.
Interested?

8. Watch every DVD I own that I haven’t seen yet.
People are amazed at the amount of DVDs I have that I’ve never seen. I have a habit of buying great movies that are $2 at a used bookstore and never watching them. Time to change that.

9. Finish The Chronicles of Narnia.
I think I’ve read the first book 3 times and stopped the second book soon after. Maybe this year I can persevere.

10. Buy a 5-shelf bookcase and organize my DVDs.

11. Pay off 1 student loan.

12. Win over 100 tickets at 1 game at Dave and Busters.
I’m awful at those games. But I will beat you in basketball!

13. Consistently read the Bible and find a reading plan that helps me do it.

14. Beat 1 video game.
I’m not good at video games.

15. Serve others more

16. Attempt the Blazin’ Challenge at Buffalo Wild Wings
…and live to tell about it.

17. Give more money and stuff away than I ever have before.
Money is just temporary and stuff is just stuff.

Over the past couple of weeks, so many people have been praying for my family and offering up words of encouragement. I’ve tried to get back to some through text and Facebook but I know I’ve missed some. So first off, let me say thank you to everyone for their prayers for my family. The past few weeks have been rough, but your prayers have made a tremendous difference. Also, thank you for all the help with transportation, food, cards, etc. The love has been overwhelming!

Let me try to give a quick background and update for this who are wondering:

On December 20 my dad went to Urgent Care because of what he thought was a rapidly spreading rash below his belly button. When the doctor saw it, she immediately sent him to the ER by ambulance. What he thought was a rash turned out to be a serious infection. When my dad got to the ER, they told him about the severity of the infection and told him the infection and the needed surgery could very well be life-threatening. As we found out later, it was a staph infection (MRSA). The doctor thought they might have to cut out a major section of skin and then go back and do skin grafts later on, which would be incredibly dangerous and would involve an incredibly long recovery. They put him in ICU.

Thankfully, the doctor decided to put my dad on antibiotics and see what happened. However, if the infection spread in the least bit, he was going to do surgery immediately. Thankfully, the infection did not spread through Sunday night. The doctor decided to wait another 24 hours. As time progressed, the antibiotics seemed to kick in and begin to work. The redness seemed to go down and the area began to slowly get smaller.

On Monday afternoon, the doctors decided there was no flesh-eating bacteria in the infection and they felt the infection would not be fatal. After a couple days, my dad was moved to a regular room. The infection continued to get better and finally, the surgeon came in and drained the infection. This was very painful for my dad because he had to cut on infected skin. I’ll leave out the gory details but basically he stuck his finger down in the wound and pulled out a lot of the junk in there. Yes, still gory. At that point, gauze had to be packed inside the wound so it could heal from the inside out. This meant it had to be pulled out and packed again 2-3 times a day to get all of the infection out.

If you have not been through this, it is EXTREMELY PAINFUL. I had to endure it in high school. What my dad had was much worse. My dad was in the hospital for 10 days total but got to come home with a pic line in place on December 29. Since then, he has been getting antibiotics through an IV and my mom has been replacing the gauze in the wound a couple times a day. Yes, he says it’s still painful.

Thankfully, the doctor took the pic line out today and said my dad can take oral antibiotics. He’s happy with the progess that’s being made and they expect a full recovery. My dad is itching to go back to work on Monday.

Once again, thank you to everyone for everything. I’d ask that you still continue in your prayers because there is still a little ways to go in this. But God has been faithful through all of this and we have truly felt his love and peace as well as the love of others around us.

As a sidenote, I’d really appreciate it if people would bring exercise equipment instead of food next time. There was not one bad dish or dessert. It was all delicious and therefore has caused me to gain 15 lbs in the last week.

Yesterday I gave my list for the Most Annoying Christmas Songs. Today I’m changing it up and looking on the bright side. This is a list I’ve complied of the Top 10 Greatest Modern Christmas Songs. By “modern,” I don’t mean they were written in the last 10 years, although some were. These are simply the greatest versions of Christmas songs that have been done in my lifetime. I wanted to make sure I didn’t repeat the same song twice. I tried not to repeat the same artist, with one exception. Hopefully you’ll understand why.

10. “Angels We Have Heard on High” -  The Brian Setzer Orchestra
This is mainly instrumental, but it’s a very fun song with great guitar playing by Brian Setzer. Other songs by the band that almost made the list: “Jingle Bells” and “Jingle Bell Rock.”

9. “When a Child Is Born”  – Il Divo
This quartet of guys probably has the best set of vocals in this entire list. Absolutely amazing and stunning, even if I can’t understand most of their music (They sing in 4 different languages if I’m not mistaken.) No surprise, but these guys are another Simon Cowell creation. Their version of “O Holy Night” is amazing as well.

8. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” – Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan
A group of Canadian guys just had to pick that name for their band, didn’t they? Ugh. I learned a rough lesson many years ago: Never ask your grandparents for a “Barenaked Ladies” album for Christmas. They had a serious discussion with my parents. Anyway, with the added vocals of Sarah McLaughlan, this is a great version of the classic song. Simple music, but a song I love to hear during the Christmas season.

Check it out here: http://bit.ly/7hb0eL

7. “Stille Nacht (Silent Night)” – Mannheim Steamroller
Now that we’re in 2009, some of the music from Mannheim Steamroller sounds cheesy, like a Midi file from the days of Windows 95. However, this soft and soothing song is a classic. It’s a very relaxing version of “Silent Night.”

6. “The First Noel” – Josh Groban and Faith Hill
I could probably put every Christmas song by Josh Groban on this list. The man is amazing! This duet with Faith Hill is the best version of this song I’ve heard. Their voices sound so pure and even the high notes sound effortless.

Check it out here: http://bit.ly/6ni4rK

5. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” – Mariah Carey
Did this one catch you off guard? People may laugh, shake their heads, or roll their eyes, but let’s be honest, it’s a great song that most everyone recognizes. It’s been covered by John Mayer, Shania Twain, Miley Cyrus, and even My Chemical Romance. You may not like Mariah Carey, but this may turn out to be a classic Christmas song that has more staying power than Mariah.

Check it out here: http://bit.ly/4vhRqU

4. “Silver Bells” – Kenny G
Who would have thought a Jewish saxophone player would make the top 5 on a Christmas song list? Although he produces some really laughable songs, this is by far one of the greatest instrumental pieces of Christmas music. When I hear it, it immediately makes me feel like Christmas is coming soon. It also reminds me of the sax playing at the end of SNL during the mid 1990s, but that’s just random.

3. “Christmas Canon” – Trans-Siberian Orchestra
I’ve always been a huge fan of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D.” TSO took a wonderful classic from the 1600s and turned it into something incredible. Although this doesn’t contain their usual screeching guitar riffs, it does contain a choir that really helps bring the song to life. In 2004, the group added to the song with “Christmas Canon Rock.”

2. “O Holy Night” – David Phelps (Live)
This is my favorite Christmas song of all time. It seems like people either master it or butcher it; there’s no in between. After listening to many different versions and arrangements, I’m convinced this is the best version you can find. And to think this is Phelps doing this live…incredible! Also, don’t over look the incredible piano part by the late Anthony Burger.

1. “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24″ – Trans-Siberian Orchestra
As you probably already know, this is a medley of “Carol of the Bells” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” As much as I didn’t want to repeat an artist, TSO deserves to be on this list twice. With this arrangement, Trans-Siberian Orchestra took classic Christmas songs and cranked up the amps to put Christmas right in your face. This is a song that’s still enjoyable in July. Whether you love the scaling guitars, the pounding piano, or the opening lines of the cello, this is a song that can be enjoyed by everyone…or almost everyone!

Honorable mentions:

“The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)”
“Ave Maria” – Placido Domingo and Michael Bolton [Beautiful song, but not a fan of the translated lyrics]
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” – Michael Buble
“Believe” – Josh Groban

Did I miss any? Feel free to add to the list!

Tomorrow: Top 10 Classic Christmas Songs

We all have Christmas songs that just annoy the mess out of us. Here’s a list of 10 that I could do without. You may disagree with me, but oh well. It’s my list

10. “Deck the Halls”
It may be a classic, but have you ever looked at the words. I don’t understand what half the song means, and the other half is littered with “fa la la’s.” And I know the meaning of words change over the course of time, but I really don’t want to “don” my “gay apparel.”

9. “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth”
The song sounds like the kid from Up recorded a Christmas album. This video shows how “goofy” the song actually is:

8. “I Saw Three Ships”
It sounds like an old Irish drinking song and repeats itself over and over and over and over. I’m not not even sure what the song is about, except there were 3 ships, and it was Christmas.

7. “Feliz Navidad”
When every English-only-speaking American knows every single word to the song, it’s time to invent something new. The song is catchy and fun around November 29. By December 24, it’s annoying. Maybe it’s time for us to learn new Spanish songs.

6. “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer”
Have you read all the lyrics to the song? Grandma gets run over and killed and the family takes it just fine. No big deal. Apparently she was drinking too much egg nog, not taking her medication, and wandering around aimlessly. This song isn’t fun. It’s family neglect! Grandma is dead and no one cares! Very disturbing. Not to mention, it’s backwoods hillbilly music. Here’s a clip from the movie that was based off the song. Yikes!

5. “Baby It’s Cold Outside”
When I heard this song in Elf, I loved it. That was until I read the lyrics. This guy sounds like a total pervert who is bent on seducing the girl in any way possible. Don’t believe me? Check out the lyrics:

I really can’t stay – Baby it’s cold outside
I’ve got to go away – Baby it’s cold outside
This evening has been – Been hoping that you’d drop in
So very nice – I’ll hold your hands, they’re cold as ice
My mother will start to worry – Beautiful, what’s your hurry
My father will be pacing the floor – Listen to the fireplace roar
So really I’d better scurry – Beautiful, please don’t hurry
Well maybe just one drink more – Put some records on while I pour

The neighbors might think – Baby, it’s bad out there
Say, what’s in this drink – No cabs to be had out there

She’s trying to get away. He’s trying to get her to stay. And then comes the kicker: “Say, what’s in this drink?” Did he spike it? Sounds a little concerning to me! Here’s a video featuring Rainn Wilson with a funny take on the song:

4. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”
Even though the song is innocent, in the kid’s mind, he just saw his mom cheating on his dad with Santa. But no worries for the boy. Just plenty of laughs. Riiiiiight.

3. “Santa Baby”
When I hear this song, it makes me feel dirty. It seems like it turns Santa and Christmas into something sexual and deviant aka the opposite of what Christmas is about! And sorry…but NO video for this one.

2. “The Little Drummer Boy”
“Pa rum pum pum pum” are not real lyrics. They’re not even words. Well, “rum” is, but that clearly has nothing to do with the song. I don’t know why but this song has always annoyed me. Maybe because it takes a biblical story and adds a fictional character. Maybe because I’m never seen an ox and lamb keep time. Maybe because drums can’t be used in worship (kidding). I don’t know. Here’s a very awkward encounter between Bing Crosby and Davie Bowie:

1. “Christmas Shoes” by Newsong
This is difficult to put on here because I’ve met and talked with the band many times and they are incredible guys and incredible musicians. I love 99% of their music and their concerts are always great. However, this song makes me hate shoes. I’m not big on “feel good” and “make you cry” Christmas songs. Also, if Momma is about to die, shouldn’t the boy be at the hospital and not buying shoes? And doesn’t he know Momma can’t take those shoes to heaven with her? (I’m being ridiculous. Don’t hate me.) Actually hate me if you want, but when “Christmas Shoes” is being performed live in July, I have reason to make it #1 on my list.

There are many other songs that could have made the list, especially if I journeyed outside the realm of “classic” Christmas songs. Things like “Last Christmas” by Wham, “Do They Know It’s Christmas” by Band Aid, and “Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas)” by John Denver could all make a list somewhere.

What Christmas songs do you find most annoying?

(P.S. The 10 greatest versions of Christmas songs coming tomorrow)