"Grace and Love" (with a sidenote about fasting)

In relation to the post below, this is a message I listened to a couple weeks ago by Francis Chan of Cornerstone Community Church.  Podcast him.  Awesome message.

My love-hate relationship with fasting.

For the weeks leading up to Easter, my church has been challenged to abstain from certian heart pleasures to renew the hunger for God in our lives.  In other words...fasting. 

I hate fasting.  No matter how many times I fast, it doesn't get easier.  You'd think it would, but it really doesn't.  I mean it does if you fast something that you don't really care about in the first place.  Like...I could easily say, "I'll fast golf."  But anyone who knows me, knows that I loathe golf with a passion (playing, not watching) and abstaining from it wouldn't really be fasting.  I wouldn't really be denying myself something that I enjoy...I would just be doing something to make me feel "holier" I suppose.  I'm not talking about that kind of fasting.  I'm talking about real fasting.  Really denying your heart something that it desires...something that you know is occupying space in your heart.  Space that rightfully belongs to God.  That's always hard.  But it's not because it's so difficult to give up that thing, whatever it is.  It's not that the heart truly cries out for tv or games or internet or food.  At least, not for me.  The real reason it's so hard is because I really don't want to look inside myself and deal with all the chaos that's going on in there.  I would rather occupy myself with something that takes my mind off everything.  I would rather bury my face in a book or watch something mindlessly, or do something active.  I don't want to be honest with myself about my sin, I don't want to think about my problems or my anxieties or my insecurities.  I would rather leave those things untouched.  That's the worst part of fasting.  Having to deal with yourself.  Having to look inside, shut the doors to the world outside and sit in the darkenss.  That's what I hate most.  But I know I have to go through it.  You have to.  Because it's only when you do that, that what I love most about fasting happens.  And what I love most is that when you can finally sit still in that place and get over your want for the things outside and get over the fact that your life just isn't going the way you expected and the fact that yes, you really are that pathetic...It's only then that the hunger for God that was so far removed from you suddenly shows up.  And you remember that it doesn't matter how pathetic you are.  It doesn't matter how bad you think things are.  And whether you won last week, or who the new member of the oceanic six is, has never mattered less.  It doesn't matter that you have failed and most certainly will fail again.  Because you remember that God's in there.  He's been in there the whole time just waiting for you to rediscover Him.  And once you can get the incessant noise of the world to just shut up for a second, you hear him again.  You see him again.  You want him again.  And you realize that he never stopped listening to you or watching you or loving you, he was just waiting for you to realize how much you wanted him and then you go to him, and there's nothing better.  I love fasting.

Airborne's a FRAUD.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=6785169

FINALLY! I've been saying this forever.  VINDICATION!!!

Gasol's in town, Pats go down and Nick Patera is wowin.

This was a great week.  A GREAT week.  Why?

First off, the Lakers are Finals bound.  Thank you Kupcake for finally doing something that makes sense.  You're all of a sudden up for GM of the year by first sending D-Leauge bound Brian Cook and Mo Evans to Orlando for Trevor Ariza and now sending the "worst player to ever step foot on a basketball court" (according to J.Lymn) Kwame Brown to Memphis for Pau Gasol.  Wow.  That's just wow.  I am one happy Laker fan.  2008 predictions: Kobe - Regular season MVP, 1st team All NBA, 1st team All defensive, Finals MVP.  Lakers - World Champions.

Secondly, the Pats lose.  THANK the LORD.  So much for the "best team of all time," eh, Boston fans?  Guess we'll have to listen to Mercury Morris rant on about how great those Dolphins were.  It's a small price to pay, I suppose.

Finally...I was finally introduced to this man this week - Nick Patera.  If this doesn't put a smile on your face, I'm not sure what will.

The Best Basketball Player on the Planet.

       I haven't blogged in forever, but I have been compelled to write about something.  As the NBA season has just begun, I've been on the message boards reading predictions and comments, and I keep coming across Kobe-haters talking about how he's not that good of a player.  How he's overrated.  One person said that Kobe was "maybe one of the top ten players in the league," failing in his list of ten best players to include Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony, and instead including Luol Deng and Deron Williams.  Wow.  Another person stated that Steve Nash was "way better" than Kobe and that if he were with Shaq he'd probably have three titles, too.  "Sure, Kobe has rings, but Steve Nash has two MVP titles and Kobe has zero," the ignorance continues.  As a fan of the game of basketball, I can't stand for this. 
       I can't say that Kobe Bryant is a great guy or a likable guy or an unselfish guy.  As a matter of fact, he's not.  He's kind of a jerk, he's definitely selfish and he's no role model, but let me set the record straight.  Kobe Bryant is the best player of the game of basketball on the planet.  Period.
       No one on earth can match his combined skill set and his physical ability.  Offensively, he's unstoppable.  He makes open jumpers, he makes them with a hand in his face.  He makes shots when he's guarded, double-teamed, triple teamed.  He can drive the lane and he finishes.  He dunks.  He tomahawks, he windmills, he does 360s.  He makes ridiculous up and under layups, flip shots, finger rolls.  He makes "are you kidding me" falling out of bounds, turnaround fade away, 28 foot threes.  He passes.  You don't think he does, but he does.  And if he didn't have Kwame Brown (who couldn't catch a cold, naked in Antarctica) then he'd avg. more assists than the 5.7 he already does.  He's clutch.  And I'm not just talking about buzzer beaters (although he drills those too), I'm talking about taking over a game in the last 6 minutes of the fourth quarter and assassinating the other team.  Defense?  Steals, blocks, intangibles, you name it.  So far: Rip, Yao, AK - they're all on his list of victims so far this season just 9 games in (I'll just assume I don't have to remind you of the blocks against the Michael Redds, the Ray Allens and the Andre Millers of past seasons).  He has killer instinct.  Drive.  Determination.  He imposes his will on the game.  He's an all-star, a veteran, a leader, a champion.  He is the MJ of this era.
       So for all you Kobe haters out there, listen, I understand.  I was once in your shoes.  At one time in my life I thought Eddie Jones was better than Kobe.  I was wrong.  Very, very wrong.  Please, it's time to stop the debate.  The sports writers have.  The players have.  Ask Lebron or Gilbert.  They'll tell you.  There may be someone better at basketball on the moon or on Mars or on the planet Krypton, but on this planet, the best player's name is Kobe Bryant.