Hello, I am Caleb

Holy cow I forgot I had this thing

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:12:35 -0500

Holy cow I forgot I had this thing

My lunch kicks butt every day #justiceleague (Taken with...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:10:44 -0400

My lunch kicks butt every day #justiceleague (Taken with instagram)

"CIA Agent or Cadet. I have a job interview today. The goal would be to get either the CIA Agent or..."

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:57:26 -0400

“CIA Agent or Cadet.
I have a job interview today.
The goal would be to get either the CIA Agent or Cadet positions.
Really, I will take whatever they give me.
My goal is to work into either a CIA-Supervisor or Double Agent position.
They will also pay for A+ Certification.
So yeah, after today, I hope to be working with the…Geek Squad at Best Buy.”

Poor kid.

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:01:12 -0400

Poor kid.

Photo

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:06:36 -0400

This better happen in the Dark Knight Rises

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:02:51 -0400

This better happen in the Dark Knight Rises

"In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight Let those who worship..."

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:49:09 -0400

“In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight
Let those who worship evil’s might,
Beware my power… Green Lantern’s light!”

- Hal Jordan

I thought I would have more to say.

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 21:45:35 -0400

I guess I just don’t want to get in the way.

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-8-28)

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 04:41:58 -0400

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-8-28):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-5-29)

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:05:23 -0400

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-5-29):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Jonah and the Whale 1/2 Sleeve

Sun, 29 May 2011 17:34:00 -0400

I will try to keep this updated as I go, but it will probably be a long time between updates, since it will be a long time between sessions. Two reasons for this are: One, we are going on tour for several months and two, I will have to work when I get back and save money as I go. As the artist was working on me, he asked me, “Why Jonah and the Whale? What does this mean to you personally? Cause it must mean a lot for you to get it tattooed on your arm.”

“In my distress I called to the LORD,
   and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
   and you listened to my cry.
³ You hurled me into the depths,
   into the very heart of the seas,
   and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
   swept over me.
⁴ I said, ‘I have been banished
   from your sight;
yet I will look again
   toward your holy temple.’
⁵ The engulfing waters threatened me,^[b]
   the deep surrounded me;
   seaweed was wrapped around my head.
⁶ To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
   the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, LORD my God,
   brought my life up from the pit.

⁷ “When my life was ebbing away,
   I remembered you, LORD,
and my prayer rose to you,
   to your holy temple.

⁸ “Those who cling to worthless idols
   turn away from God’s love for them.
⁹ But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
   will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
   I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the LORD.’”

For one, that is one of my favorite prayers in the bible. Jonah prays this while in the belly of the fish and when he is done, the fish spits him up onto dry land. But, on the other hand, Jonah is the antagonist of the story and in a lot of ways, I see myself as Jonah. I hope when the time comes that God calls on me, I won’t run the other way. And, overall the story’s hero is God. It’s a story of his love and compassion for the people of Nineveh and has always been a favorite of mine. There are some pretty big areas in my life that will be difficult to leave when God calls me elsewhere. When that time comes, I plan to pray and see the warning on my arm to not run and not be angry.

SESSION 1:

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-5-8)

Tue, 10 May 2011 08:38:28 -0400

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-5-8):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-5-1)

Sat, 07 May 2011 08:45:14 -0400

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-5-1):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-4-24)

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:28:36 -0400

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-4-24):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-3-27)

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 04:31:56 -0400

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-3-27):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-3-20)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:23:54 -0400

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-3-20):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

"This is a paragraph written by Albert Mohler on Protestant Liberalism, the Emergent Church, and tied..."

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:58:00 -0400

“

This is a paragraph written by Albert Mohler on Protestant Liberalism, the Emergent Church, and tied it all in with a review of Rob Bell’s new book. It is a good read if you want to understand a little more what the Emergent Church is about and the dangers of removing God’s holiness, justice, and even his wrath.

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

“Protestant Liberalism emerged in the 19th century as influential theologians argued for a doctrinal revolution. Their challenge to the church was simple and straightforward: The intellectual challenges of the modern age made belief in traditional Christian doctrines impossible. Friedrich Schleiermacher wrote his impassioned speeches to the “cultured despisers” of religion, arguing that something of spiritual value remained in Christianity even when its doctrines were no longer credible. Church historians, such as Adolf von Harnack, argued that a kernel of spiritual truth and power remained even when the shell of Christianity’s doctrinal claims was removed. In the United States, preachers such as Harry Emerson Fosdick preached that Christianity must come to terms with the modern age and surrender its supernatural claims.”

”

- AlbertMohler.com – We Have Seen All This Before: Rob Bell and the (Re)Emergence of Liberal Theology

Our art is to blame.

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 19:45:00 -0500

“If ever there was an arrogance perpetuated in the Church, our art is to blame.”

So I don’t ever read Relevant magazine. Not because I choose not to, but just because I am never around it and never had the desire to care or subscribe. I’ve always heard about it and have known what it is. It’s a Christian publication that stays “relevant” with current pop culture. Well, my fiance got one sent to her in the mail randomly, I think, I could be wrong about that. That is not important. What is important is that I found it at her house and being bored, because she was at a bible study, I picked it up and started browsing. The image above and the title, “Can Offensive Art Be Christian?” caught my eye, so I started reading. The article starts by talking about offensive language and Christians and then in turn focuses on offensive art as a whole.

The thing that was interesting to me was not the debate of whether offensiveness should be used as a “counter-Gospel” tactic or if we can be impacted positively through offensiveness, we can save that for a later debate, the thing that got my attention was the dissection of what Christian art is and where it originates. Based off this definition, “our art describes the world we live in,” what does mainstream Christian art say about our Christian culture and the world we live in?

Christ hung out and lived with prostitutes, beggars, tax collectors and the worst of the worst by the culture’s standards. Did they offend him? Is that an offensive world to live in? We, as Christians, are called to live in the world, but not be a part of it. Jesus lived in that world and I’m sure experienced some pretty offensive things, but that didn’t make him a prostitute or beggar. We are not supposed to live apart from the world and I fear that is what most of mainstream Christian culture does. I feel as if Christians live in this little protected bubble that is in the middle of this world and they are trying as hard as possible to “be in the world and apart from it.” I feel this way because I see it in our art.

The author of the article made a good point when he asked, “If something is deemed inappropriate for children, should it not be sold through ‘Christian’ distribution channels?” Take a walk through a typical Christian bookstore and it seems as if everything in the store from tshirts, to music, to books have this safe, fluffy, cheesy feel to it. It is all stuff appropriate for children. Where is the stuff that is made to impact mature adults to get us thinking? There are parts of the bible that I would deem inappropriate for my kids until they reach an age of discernment. Parts from Song of Solomon describing the author’s relationship with his love gets pretty descriptive of her body and the actions they partake in and I would not want to have to explain that to a 6 year old. What about all the bloody descriptions of battles in the old testament? What about descriptions such as, “There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.” as found in Ezekiel? I sure as heck don’t want to have to try and explain that one.

When I look at our art, tshirts, gifts, books, etc., I see a group of people living in a world that is not real; a world that we want to exist and live in, but not the real world that we actually do live in. Probably my favorite quote of the whole article is, “We are only offended because we forget the kinds of depravity we could reach if not for God’s grace.” Don’t think for a moment that if not for God’s grace, you couldn’t be a prostitute, drunk, addict, or struggle with lust, fear, and greed. I’m not writing this exposition on that article because I think we need to start offending people to the Gospel. I just think it is a good topic to think about and discuss. And I also think that the next time a Christian uses a tool that we may think is slightly offensive, we probably shouldn’t jump down their throat or pull their art from the shelves, but maybe step back and think who that may be helping. (If you want an interesting story, ask me why my band’s cd is not sold in Lifeway stores but is sold in Hot Topic.)

This is something I have been thinking a lot about recently and this article just kind of fueled the fire and gave me the words. I suggest you follow the link below and read the original article and jump in the debate going on in the comments. I was also impressed with who the author is. His name is Dan Haseltine and he is the singer/songwriter of Jars of Clay. And personally I tend to be a little jaded towards mainstream CCM so this more or less made me respect that band a little more and think about not judging bands like that so quickly. But, I want to leave with two more quotes from the article. “The Gospel I know was not written wholly for children and I cannot, for a second, think it is not God’s truth because some expressions of it are not appropriate for my 7-year-old.”

“The only thing that should offend us is art that lies.”

RELEVANT Magazine - “Can Offensive Art Be Christian?” by Dan Haseltine

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-2-6)

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 19:42:35 -0500

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-2-6):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

A big year...

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:05:20 -0500

This is the year I have decided to seriously save money. And get a “real” job…whatever that means. Do you know what that means? If you do, enlighten me. I would like to know what I am supposed to look for. Okay, I am getting off topic. Back to saving money. I want to. Need to. Because I am recently engaged and there is a good possibility that I will be getting married this year. If not, early next year. So obviously I need to save up a “cushion.” My fiance has told me she wants this. Well, to the point: my dilemma. THIS IS THE BIGGEST FREAKING YEAR FOR VIDEO GAMES! Okay so besides some of my most anticipated games (and some are conclusions to my favorite series) coming out, Dead Space 2, Killzone 3, Mass Effect 3, Batman Arkham City, Uncharted 3, Gears of War 3, there are others that would be cool to have like, LittleBigPlanet 2, Modern Warfare 3, LA Noire, and a ton of others, and to top that all off, there are two handheld systems coming out that I just have to have.

First there is the Nintendo 3DS. The first DS won the handheld console war totally outselling the PSP. And now Nintendo has taken the best and made it better by making it more powerful and adding glassesless 3D. Yeah some people think 3D is a gimmick but I freaking love it. I’ve been stoked on this since it was announced.

And announced today, the Sony NGP. Where Nintendo went with security and following a trend that is known to be successful, while adding a little fun with the 3D, Sony went with pure power. This thing packs almost as much processing power as a PS3, has an OLED touch screen, double joysticks, a back touchpad, and 3G connectivity. It’s pretty much a PS3 packed into a handheld. Now that is freaking awesome.

So let’s add all that up. We’ll say $60 per game, only adding the games I listed above and not all the others that will come out that I want and not even any games for the two handhelds, and I am at 540 bucks just for those games. I should probably add $200 to cover the others I need + some for the handhelds. The 3DS has been listed at $250 and the NGP hasn’t confirmed a price point but it will have to be at least $300. So all that together is $1,290.

Freaking $1,290!!!! That’s enough for a nice honeymoon!!

Decisions, Decisions