Get Smarter With Just One Piece

According to Willia Wonka and the Chocolate Factory chewing gum all the time is not a good thing (see this video if you don't get this reference), but could they have been wrong. Recent studies are showing that chewing gum may have benefits to your education. Apparently chewing gum makes you smarter. No one actually understands it but studies all seem to conclude toward the positive in some way. Check out more here.

MMM - The Words I Would Say by Sidewalk Prophets

Its Monday again so that mean its time for another Meaningful Media Monday post. My hope is that you will be encouraged to get through the week.

Check out this youtube video of the song. Its a live recording of the band in the Klove studio.

The chorus of the song goes...

Be strong in the Lord and,

Never give up hope,

You're going to do great things,

I already know,

God's got His hand on you so,

Don't live life in fear,

Forgive and forget,

But don't forget why you're here,

Take your time and pray,

These are the words I would say,

This is my prayer for all of you. God is there to help us through everything that comes our way but it is so easy to forget that in the rough world in which we live. 

May God bless your week and may you live in His strength.

Eww....Gross!

Ever wonder why people seem to get sick so often even if they never leave their own home? Or maybe you have wondered just what is the dirtiest thing in your house. Believe it or not its your remote control. Although so of the other stuff in your house is pretty dirty as well. Check out the infographic below for some idea of just how dirty your house could be. It also includes some cleaning dos and don'ts to help you avoid getting sick this flu/cold season. (Obsessed with clean? Check out their full site at www.keepingitkleen.com)

Miley Cyrus Is A Great Role Model -- Wait Did I Just Say That?

Ok so you read the title and you think I am off my rocker probably. First since when does he talk about celebrities (almost never in case you didn't know) and second Miley Cyrus? Really? You got to be kidding?

Alright so I it does seem a little crazy and I am not excusing her for the things she has done in the past by any means but in a world where most celebrities are never (and I mean never) a good role model, I do believe in giving credit to those that do provide even some resemblance of being a good role model and Miley Cyrus did that.

In a recent twitter back fire, Miley let some of her critics have it. She has been taking flack for gaining weight over the past year. Fox News reported that Miley tweeted "By calling girls like me fat this is what you're doing to other people. I love MYSELF," Cyrus tweeted in response, posting a graphic picture of an emaciated woman suffering from an eating disorder to her 3.5 million Twitter followers."(Read more)

She may not have done it all right in the past but she defiantly made an improvement in her character in my book with a comment like that.

Finally My Potato Chips Will Stay Fresh Without Hard Work

Alright so have you ever thought you had your chips closed up but when you open them the next time they are stale? Well that can now be a thing of the past with the new invention from copco [not capco thanks for the correction Betsy] called the Bag Cap. This handy device lets you make any bag resealable. You can get it on amazon for around $10. Finally my chips can stay crunchy and my marshmallows can stay soft.

Meaningful Media Monday -- Blue Like Jazz

So this past weekend I got the privilege to preview the upcoming movie Blue Like Jazz. The movie is based on Donald Miller's widely popular book by the same name. I had never read the book but knew of it. However when I saw the trailer I was very intrigued and wanted to see the movie. The director was there and explained the movie to us and answered the questions we had about the movie. The movie has an incredible story behind it. It almost didn't happen but thanks to a campaign and funding from almost 4,000 individuals the movie will come out April 13 (Friday the 13 no less).

For those of you that have read the book, you should know that many things were changed so that the meaning behind the movie could get put across the best but before you get up in arms about changes you should also know that Donald Miller helped right the screen play and has his blessing. 

In Blue Like Jazz, the main character Don who grew up in a traditional, conservative, baptist church ends up going to Reed College (which has been labeled the most Godless campus in America). While there he turns his back on God and joins in with the people of the college. Through a series of events Don finds his way back to God. The movie has an open ending but is still excellent finishing up with the confession booth scene (similar to the book).

In a world where the media is just becoming more and more graphic (and not in a good way), its nice to be able to look forward to a movie that is not going to be 

Check out the trailer here and then go see Blue Like Jazz in theaters starting Apr 13.

Message In The Media - Movie: Immortals

Alright so I went last Saturday night I went and saw the movie Immortals. (Check out the trailer here if you don't know the movie) Typically it is not the type of movie I would go see but the people I was with said they wanted to see it and I really didn't care. (I was happy to be out of my house lol). The movie was so much better than I expected it to be though. Aside from one scene (I won't say much other than they didn't leave much to imagination) the movie was great. The more I watched it thought the more I realized that it was more than just an action flick with great fight scenes and lost of blood and gore. As anyone who knows me knows I like to do, I began to analyze the movie for points to make a message or messages out of (hence the title of this blog series)
Here is what I came up with for Immortals:

1. There is a battle between good and evil that is going on all the time that we never see.
        The movie is based on greek mythology. It talked about a war that mortals never saw. The gods even hid their form from the mortals. The entire movie is founded on events the mortals never saw, they only knew about them. This is similar to what goes on around us all the time. The forces of Satan wage war over us all the time with the forces of God and we will almost never see it. Now just like in the movie, every so often if we are paying attention we see something of this war; sometime involving us and sometimes involving others but overall we don't see it. This is important to remember because just like in the movie, although we don't have an impact on the outcome of the war, everything we do has an impact on the battle. So make sure that your impact is for the right side.

2. The unseen makes believers out of unbelievers.
        The main character in the movie starts out as a professed unbeliever of the gods. However, as the movie progresses he becomes a believer. One of the major factors in this is the fact that the war is going on and he saw the war happen. I think this is important because it reminds us that we don't change people, but that God does.

3. The battle between good and evil is never over (at least not in this life).
        One of the last scenes of the movie has the son of the main character being told that he will follow in his father's footsteps because the war between good and evil is never over. For the most part this is true. As long as this world exists this will be true. Yet as Christians we can be certain that in the end evil will be defeated and good will win. This is just a great thing to know and gives us hope to make it throug the battles around us all the time.
\
(NOTE: This is not a review of the movie nor a recommendation. For more info on the movie itself check out www.pluggedin.com)

This One Is For All My Bible College Friends

Check this out. 

Not much more to say than what you can already see. (No debates please lol)

Coolest Green Project Ever

Alright so check this out...a vertical forest

Trees on top of each other...genius

Already under construction

If you wanna check this out more follow this link

Electronic Etiquette - Yeah vs Yea

So I am gonna start an ongoing series of posts called Electronic Etiquette. In this electronic age, people don't seem to take care when they text or IM people. The entire age shows a lack of etiquette and I find it very frustrating so I am going to write my frustrations out here to all the many (or few) people who read this.

So have you ever asked someone a question and they respond with 'yea'. For those that don't know it, 'yea' is pronounced with a long A sound and is not the same as 'yeah' (pronounced with a short A sound). 'Yea' is a cheer or an exclamation of happiness. 'Yeah' is a affirmation to something. It shouldn't be that hard to get it right but most of the time I get texts that back from people after I ask a question and they are cheering. I'm like "Did the question really get you that excited?" So the next time you are text keep in mind that 'yeah' and 'yea' are not the same. Figure it out please!

One Of The Best Pranks I've Seen

So I came across this going through the blogs I follow. This is arguably one of the best pranks I have ever seen. No lying, no messes, and no hiding. Not to mention its cheap. Check it out and let me know if you try it cause I wanna know.

There Are Places Without Facebook?!?!?!

Yeah you read that right...there are actually places in the world that don't have Facebook. How do I know? I have a map. Alright so its not a conclusive science or anything but the bright yellow areas on the map are places without Facebook. Wanna know how they came to this conclusion check it out here.

Getting Where You Need To Go And Staying Healthy

Here are two articles to help you get where you need to go and stay health doing it this flu season

Our society relies on GPS to get anywhere and to find everything. Even our cameras have GPS now. But what are you gonna do when that system goes down? What happens if, God forbid, you battery dies? Can you get where you need to go? Most people know I am like a human GPS but what if you struggle with getting lost on a daily basis. Well here are some tips on becoming a better navigator.

Every year the flu comes and goes and seems like everyone gets sick. What might be worse than the free of when you get sick is all the stuff you do to keep from getting sick. We all have heard of the ways to keep from getting sick...wash your hands a lot, pump your body full of vitamin C, eat chicken noodle soup...but which of these actually work? Find out in this article which of these home remedies work, which of them are good to try, and which of them are busts. It may surprise you how easy some of the things are to do that might help keep you from getting sick this flu season.

When I Was Your Age....

Seems like every conversation I have with one of my students at church ends up with me saying something along the lines of "When I was your age..." or "You really don't know what I'm talking about do you?" People say I'm not old and I agree but I certainly feel like it. I finally figured out the reason why this is true.

Most of us feel like we can't remember a time where we weren't using those type things but truth is most of the electronic and online things we use today didn't exist 15  years ago. Everyone under the age of 20 has a hard time remembering at time when stuff didn't exist. Check out this article to see just how different things were only 5, 10, or 15 years ago.