Expelled

Darcie and I took the Forge students to see Ben Stein's movie, Expelled, last night. Normally we don't go see movies in the theatre, but I wanted to support any movie that was bringing to light a topic like Intelligent Design.

It is a documentary film, so don't expect to be entertained - although it is riddled with Ben Stein's subtle, dry-witted humor throughout the film. In as much as the movie focuses on the topic of Intelligent Design, it is more a movie about freedom of thought and importantly makes a case not that Intelligent Design is the "right" theory - simply that it should be allowed to be a part of the discussion.

Although Stein's argumentation may be a little non-sensical at times, his seemingly innocent approach to this subject is quite revealing and compelling. I even found Dawkins & Myers struggling to find some way to criticise the movie. Dembski's blog wasn't impressed with the response either. What is most unexpected and pleasantly surprising about this film is that it's not an attack on Darwinism or Evolution - it's an attack on the community that holds those beliefs for not allowing other hypothesis to be honestly investigated - regardless of what conclusions they may lead to. The parallels to the Berlin wall and Nazi-ism are certainly harsh and perhaps extreme - but Stein uses the metaphors to effectively advance his argument.

This is an important film and should be supported with your time, money and attention.

Every Day Has Its Dog

Now that I'm back from New Orleans it was time to pay some much needed attention to the two loves in my life: my wife and my dog. The attention I gave my wife is none of your business, but the adventures of Cinco will always be blog-worthy!

On Saturday we ventured out to First Monday Trade Days in Canton, TX because we needed to buy Cinco a new crate because he has gotten so big (he turned 6 months on the 5th and now weighs around 50lbs!). Well we decided it would be fun to take him out there with us and it proved to be quite the adventure for him as we walked him through "Dog Alley". Overstimulation, I think was the word he would have used to describe his experience. Whether it was coming face to face with a goat or tolerating all the people who wanted to pet him, he was sufficiently worn out - hence the sleeping picture in the car ride on the way home.

He got pretty dirty out there and he was long overdue for a bath, so on Sunday we took him out back and gave him a bath. Always a fun and giggly experience for Darcie and me, but sheer torture for Cinco. Well, maybe not torture - it's just not his idea of a good time. :)

This month will be a busy one for us. The Forge is wrapping up, my 30th birthday looms large on the horizon (ugh), I will be traveling 3 out of 4 weeks this month for job related things and we start our pre-baby classes this month, too. But we're always busy, so that's nothing new.

Mmmmm, Crawfish!

We made it up to Clinton tonight for our crawfish broil with the Hitt and Dearman families! We started the day with beingnets at cafe du monde and then did some street evangelism for a few hours which was a great expeience for all. we then packed up our things and headed for the beautiful house in clinton where we got to hang, eat good food and reflect on a great week. we head back tomorrow early and would appreciate your prayers for safety and for rest as some of the students have to work tomorrow night. enjoy these last few pics from our day today!

Last day of work!

We finished up our work at both job sites today and we're excited about the ministry we were able to accomplish here. Tomorrow we head back down to the French Quarter for some evangelism before heading up to Baton Rouge for a crawfish broiled with Matt and Rachael's families! We're exited to be heading home!

Another work day!

Here are some pics from our second day of work. At the deaf church, we hung drywall, taped & floated it, prepped a concrete floor for staining and primed & painted the baptismal. Very productive day but not much else to report! The rain stayed away until we were done working, thankfully! Enjoy the pictures!

Work day!

Today we were back to work as our group got split up in to 2 groups. one group got to work on a house that needed siding and new windows. the other group got to do some clean up and drywall prep at a church for the deaf on canal street. Both groups had a good long day of work before coming home. Once back, we celebrated Bashaw's 25th birthday! A great day to serve alongside one another. Pray for Christal as she appears to be on the sick side today. Hope you all are well! Looking forward to being home on Friday!