Tuesday, June 20, 2006

New Blog

Just wanted to share that I have created a new blog for our church in Brockton, MA. To visit it, simply click on the picture above or go to www.thatsgrace.blogspot.com

On this site, you will find videos of our sermons as well as other events. I also hope to post other items such as ministry opportunities, prayer request (which you can leave in the comments section), upcoming events, possibly sermon outlines, photos and more. The side bar features helpful links found on our church's homepage (www.thatsgrace.org) as well.

When you have time, stop by and let us know what you think!

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Robert's Recommendations

First off, thanks to those who kindly commented on my previous post regarding the video. I am waiting for the 'okay' to sign up with a company which will allow me to post entire films (as opposed to the 2 minutes you watched) online.

Speaking of that number, I have 2 recommendations for you. First is a T.V. show. Many of you may watch it already, but I just got into it this summer. I am talking about "The Office" on NBC. This show stars former "Daily Show" alum Steve Carrell and is hilarious. For anyone who has ever worked (in any capacity) in an office setting would not only love but easily relate to this show. Check it out Thursday on NBC and click the picture to check out the website.

My second recommendation is an incredible book that I haven't been able to put down. Unless I am eating. Or sleeping. Driving too. In the shower is a no-no. Walking would be difficult. You get the point. The book is titled "The Ezekiel Option" by Joel C. Rosenberg. I was hooked from the first sentence, which is a rare thing for me. From the dust jacket: "...a new evil looms on the horizon. A dictator is rising in Russia. Iran is feverishly building nuclear weapons. A new Axis of Evil is emerging, led by Moscow and Tehran." What makes this such a great read is that it really feels as if these fictional events could happen soon. Iran and the nukes part rings very true even today. Parts remind me of an article

Then again, the author has a knack for writing fiction which turns to truth. In his first hit novel, "The Last Jihad", he wrote of a hijacked jet on a kamikaze mission into an American city. No biggie right? Except that he wrote it nine months before 9/11. In the same book, an American President finds himself at war with Saddam Hussein over terrorism and WMD's. The book was published 5 months before the war in Iraq.

His second novel, "The Last Days", opens with the death of Yasser Arafat...Thirteen months before the man's actual death. An excerpt from the same book reads, "Daoud Juan checked his watch. He tried to picture what he and his men would be doing 24 hours later. Would they have been able to reach Canada yet? Would they have already slipped across the border into the United States? Once safely across the Canadian border into the United States, and once convinced they weren't being tracked, they'd rendezvous at the cabin, set up their shortwave radios, and gather any last-minute intelligence they could about homeland security preparations underway in their target cities." For those who don't know, Canadian authorities recently arrested 17 people whom they allege are part of a radical Islamic terror cell planning major attacks throughout the U.S. and Canada.

All that to say this guy has a great mind and his books are mind blowing. For those who love a great read, check out this book!

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Famous Tombstones

There are two types of people in this world: Those who read in the bathroom and those who don't (and a select few who do crosswords). I am not ashamed to say I am a bathroom reader. The reason is simple. The bathroom is one of the quitest rooms in the home. You can lock the door, you have a seat and more than likely no one will disturb you. I used to read in the bathroom even if I had no other...business to attend to.

For those who do enjoy bathroom reading, there are a series of books I highly reccomend (for non-bathroom readers as well). You may have heard of "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader". These are book jamed with numerous fun stories and facts. Some are long, some medium and others short. I currently have two of these books, though I can't find one. The one I do have is "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into History" (get the play on words there? Nutty Uncle John). I came across the engravings of famous tombstones while reading the other day and thought I'd share.


Alexander the Great
A tomb now suffices for him
For whom the world was not enough

Alphonse Capone
My Jesus Mercy

Emily Dickinson
Called Back

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (one of my favorite authors)
Steel Truth, Blade Straight

Wyatt Earp
...that nothing's so sacred as honor and nothing's so loyal as love

Robert Lee Frost
I had A Lover's Quarrel With The World