in rotation

Just a few things I’ve been listening to, reading, watching and mulling over…

They Love the Church but Not the Institution – A really insightful blog post over at Out of Ur about what it means to love and serve The Church.

A Gallery of Creative Bookshelf Designs – Pretty self-explanatory. For about 6 months, most of my books have been stacked up on top of my dresser. These designs are definitely inspiring.

Michael Slezak blogs and vlogs about American Idol – I’ve decided to give up the AI prognosticating because Slezak just does it so much better. I love his o’ so appropriate nicknames for the contestants, my favorite being Kristy Lee “Wide Stance” Cook, his constant and incredibly on point criticism of David Cook’s heinous hair, and his unabashed pop sensibilities. That’s not to say I won’t occasionally post an opinion, but if you enjoy Idol, you’ll love Slezak and all of the other pop-pundit EW writers that appear on the Idolatry “set.”

Matt Costa – I’ve apparently missed the boat on this guy. Gorgeous, beautifully rich melodies, catchy hooks and fascinating lyrics. Check him out if you’re as late to the party as I am. You can stream full songs off all of his albums at mattcosta.com/music.

Articles about dating – I guess because I never really did much of it until fairly recently and because I’m fascinated with social psychology. Don’t hate folks, you know you read ’em too. Here are a few I found particularly interesting: 5 Fun Affordable Dates, Why Do I Hit Home Runs in Person, But Strike Out Online?, The Perils of Playing House

The Office on DVD – After finally finishing up the first three seasons of Lost on DVD I’ve been working my way through these for the past few weeks. I’m constantly amazed by the comic genius of Steve Carrell. I also love how Darrell has become a more consistent member of the supporting cast. Dinkin Flicka baby. I’m so excited about the post-strike return of this series in April. Sooooo excited.

Revealing Your Idols – This was a sermon, preached by Tyler Jones, one of the pastors at my church. It included about a dozen questions which, along with my answers to them have been lodged near the front of my mind for three weeks now. Tyler uses the term, “wrecked” a lot and I have to say that becoming aware of the idols in my life has definitely wrecked me as of late. It’s been a very sobering realization for me that the thing I longed for years, that I begged God to give me so that I could be happy, that I promised myself and God would be the only thing that I’d need to be happy has, upon being given, become the very thing that is most hindering my relationship with Jesus.

Half Nelson – A gritty, independent movie about addiction and loneliness and friendship and redemption. While it has a few of the pieces, Half Nelson is definitely not your typical inner-city teacher-inspires-students- to-greatness flick.