The Office and 30 Rock

As you may or may not know I am a huge fan of The Office. I’m talking huge, like knowing the dialogues and having watched each episode five or more times. I really like the story line, the characters and the clever writing. On the other hand, I had seen some episodes of 30 Rock but had not paid too much attention to it. I could see it was a well made show and the avalanche of Awards going to it seemed to confirm it.

So, I decided to give 30 Rock a chance and it has lived up to the hype. It was a bitter sweet feeling when after watching The Office and feeling okay about the episode I saw myself cracking up every couple of minutes because of 30 Rock. It kinda felt like I wasn’t being loyal to The Office, being such a strong follower of it. But then I realized, The Office as a whole is still my favorite show, all the reasons mentioned before and my following it for about 3 years has made it to be. Having said that, 30 Rock is funnier at least the last couple of episodes have been. It’s kinda sad that 30 Rock has not found a really huge following, awards and critics get you out there but if people don’t watch, advertisements won’t pay and the show is cancelled. A good example of this is Arrested Development which had great reviews but not an immense following.

All that to say I am still a fan of the Office, although my brother is even a bigger fan, he knows all the lines of every episode, I can mention something from the show and he can tell me who said it and in what episode. It’s kinda funny, it has also helped him a lot on his English. You see, watching The Office pays. I will keep watching 30 Rock and maybe I will become a fan. I just ordered Season one from Amazon to start from the beginning.

If you haven’t been able to see these shows, it’s not too late. They are on Thursday Nights on NBC and you can also watch the latest episodes in Hulu.com.

Watch them, have fun!

Like a Tree

I want this to be my biography.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree. Planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
Psalm 1

Movies…

These are some movies that I’ve heard about and have never been able to watch… Most of them are pretty old and considered to be must-seen classics.  Have you seen them? Which ones should I watch first? Which ones I shouldn’t bother to watch?

Citizen Kane

Casablanca

Gone with the Wind

Apocalypse Now

City of God

Chariots of Fire

The Shining

Interview with the Vampire

A Clockwork Orange

The Godfather

Carlito’s Way

Cool Hand Luke

Ben Hur

Lawrence of Arabia

Misery

Raging Bull

Taxi Driver

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The Untouchables

The Sound of Music

North by Northwest

To Kill a Mockingbird

Reservoir Dogs

The Apartment

The Wizard of Oz

Gladiator

V for Vendetta

Gandhi

Spartacus

Magnolia

The Usual Suspects

Like a Wave of the Sea

In our lives there are so many choices to make, from the moment we open our eyes in the morning to the moment we close them there are a huge amount of things that we have to choose. Some of these things can be as easy as: “Should I brush my teeth today?”, in which case hopefully the answer is yes not only for your sake but for the sake of others. But there are also other choices to make, hard ones, the ones that we know are right but our minds fight us to go the opposite way. An then there are the ones where we have no idea where to go or what to do.

In all these scenarios, in some more than others of course, we need wisdom. One of the ways of gaining wisdom is through the years, just living, learning, seeing, hearing. But then there is the other way, the humbling way of knowing that on your own you will not get as good an answer as if you asked another.

Here is where we get to some of the main points that I want to talk about, the Bible says that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God. It says that he will not only answer but that he will do it generously to all and that he will do it without finding fault. He will not punish you for not knowing the answers, he will just provide the correct answers needed in your situations. Our part in this I believe is the trickiest part, Why? Because we are proud, because we think that we know it all and that we know better, because it is hard for us to grasp that the uncreated ruler of the universe cares for us so deeply that he will give us wisdom even in the most simple situations. The good thing about this is that he does and he has said that he will give it to us and in a great measure, if we just ask.

The second part in this is our attitude when asking. When we ask God we need to stand firm on the realization that he will answer, we need to believe and have no doubts that we will receive what we ask for. I remember when I was a kid and living in Isabela, Puerto Rico I always lived minutes away from the beach. It was always interesting to me that whenever you brought a mask or cup or anything for that matter to the water you had to hold on to it. There was no putting it on a certain area of the water to keep it safe, the waves wouldn’t allow for that. The waves of the sea would go crazy with your mask and in a matter of minutes or even seconds it would be lost, getting further and further away from the shore with the water currents. There is hardly any stability in the sea, there is always movement because even if it’s a little there is always wind, the wind who is mostly responsible for blowing and tossing the waves. Our attitude when we ask God for wisdom must be an unwavering, solid belief that he will answer. When we doubt we become like those waves in the sea, tossed and blown by the wind, with no stability, nothing to hold on to and just getting further and further from solid ground.

We live in times where we are in a desperate need for wisdom. God has promised that he will give it generously to us if we ask and believe that we will receive it. He is wanting, longing to help us in our daily lives and making the best even from our most mundane decisions. Just ask, believe and he will answer, generously. 

And remember, if the question is: Should I brush my teeth? The answer is clearly yes.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:5-6

Religion

This generation is a bit upset with religion. A new generation of Christians is rising up with ideas to make Christianity more like it was meant to be, living like Jesus. In the midst of that they have turned against religion. Wearing shirts and all sorts of propaganda stating things like: “Religion Kills”. And while I understand some of it and how they state it as a way to say that religion keeps us away from God and a relationship with Him is what really matters, I believe there is a lack of understanding in this.

I have heard many times that religion is just our way to trying to reach God, while he has already reached out to us. Sounds good. But God’s Word in the book of James talks about a good religion, an acceptable one.

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. James 1:27.

I believe this is God’s view of religion. I believe as Christians this is what we have to strive for. Don’t get me wrong, it all starts with Jesus, he has reached us and made it all worthwhile. But that’s the important thing, true, undefiled religion is born from a close relationship with Jesus.

It is through that relationship with Jesus that we start to care for what he cares the most, and is through being close to Him that we desire to be more like Him. Holiness and purity are part of a pure and undefiled religion, as fallen human beings this is only attainable by surrendering all to the one that already surrendered the most precious thing, his own life.

Religion… Your life unto others and unto God.

A Word About Sarah Palin from The Call’s Lou Engle

 

 
45 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. subpoenaed the conscience of America and drove the injustice of segregation like a wedge into the soul of the nation. The wedge has been driven again. When Senator John McCain courageously chose Governor Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate, he drove family values back into the conscience of America.

The liberal media played into the hands of a Higher Wisdom when they injected former Vice President Dan Quayle into the debate by comparing Governor Palin to Dan Quayle. Now, everyone is beginning to realize that this election is not about a man’s charisma or his nebulous notion of change. No. This election is a battle for family values and to the victor goes the soul of this nation.

Governor Palin is more than just a brilliant choice for Vice President. She and her family stand as a sign and a wonder for life and for children. They are a living parable parading in blazing Technicolor before the eyes of the whole nation. This goes way beyond elections. This is about us healing our families, regaining moral responsibility, and exhibiting forgiveness.

Palin boldly stood by her conviction that all life is sacred and chose to have her Down Syndrome child while leading her state. Senator Barack Obama, on the other hand, declared that the first thing he will do as President is pass the Freedom of Choice Act, which will remove every restriction from all abortion procedures, including many restrictions that most Americans agree with, By doing this, he will open up the doors to promote deviant sex education to kindergarteners and exclude even parents from their right to know of their underage daughter’s potential abortion.

When the pregnancy of her 17-year-old daughter became an insensitive liberal media circus, we were given a rare view into love and support as Governor Palin embraced her grandchild in her daughter’s womb as a blessing. Again, on the other hand, Obama was once quoted as saying that if his two daughters made a “mistake” and became pregnant, he would not want them to be “punished” with babies.
What a stark contrast of the value of human life!

The ideological beast of Obama’s worldview has been drawn out of its lair and now stands naked and exposed by Palin’s compassion and conviction. The beast is not just Quayle hunting. It is hunting our children, our nation’s destiny, and us. The rage of the media against Palin simply further exposes the moral bankruptcy, bigotry, and lack of compassion of liberalism. The media, Obama’s court prophets, have become Selma’s new sheriffs of the South beating the new heirs of the civil rights movement – the millions of unborn children attacked in the womb and countless women hurt by abortion – with their journalistic Billy Clubs and loud hectoring.

With his choice of Governor Palin as his running mate, John McCain has once again gone to war. However, this time, not in the distant lands of Vietnam and Iraq, but he has gone to war for America, for our families, and for our children. And this war, we cannot afford to lose.

Lou Engle
The Call

Utah…

It’s saturday and I just came from Utah yesterday. What can I say, Utah exceeded my expectations. At least the area where I went to, Park City, is a beautiful place. It may be that I haven’t been surrounded by mountains while in the states, Texas and Florida do not provide a lot of that, but it was great.

It didn’t snow while I was there but it did the weekend before so there was still some snow covering the mountain tops and the weather was perfect. As it usually happens when I travel, I had nasal allergies, which I hate, but this time they stuck for the whole trip which sucked big time. It really took some of the enjoyment of the trip, but just being somewhere else for a few days is nice. I stayed at the Canyons Resort, amazing place and they gave me a  Suite which was pretty nice.

The conference was good, good food, interesting information. I just blanked out so, I may or may not write more later. I’m still a bit tired, my nose hurts and my lips are dry. So, I will just watch TV (CSI:Miami, The Office and SNL) for the rest of the weekend.