Aug 27, 2009 at 4:54PM Took me a while to get ahold of it. Everyone was either sold out or their release date was not until next month. The mug celebrates the 30th anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam and I decided to treat myself for finally going to college.
Gundam Aug 27, 2009 at 1:01PM Have been reading A People's History of Christianity by Diana Butler Bass. Definitely recommend it. Stories of our history that you probably haven't heard. Inspiring.
Books Aug 18, 2009 at 2:33PM 
Leonard Sweet has given us a gift with his latest book, So Beautiful. In it he compares human DNA and its 3 strands to the 3 strands of life that he believes are to be most fully expressed in the Church.
Sweet refers to the 3 strands of the church as MRI: "M= missional, R=relational, I=Incarnational. He contrasts this with CAWKI church(church as we know it) or the APC church. Here A=Attractional, P=propositional and C=colonial. He points out that the APC church produces: A-members, P-believers and C-consumers. Where as the MRI church creates: M-missionaries, R-Disciples and I-world changers.
The book is separated into 5 parts; Introduction, 3 parts for each of the strands of MRI and an epilogue. The 3 parts for MRI are each separated further into 23 sections/chapters. Sweet is characteristically heavy on references and quotes. There are 45! pages of notes at the end of the book.
I am thankful the book is split uplike it is. With the profoundness of each chapter and Sweet's creativity and wit with the English language (i would like to be a fly on the wall if he and Brad Sargent ever should meet...and they should). I found that I prefer to only read a chapter or 2 at time. Letting the DNA/MRI get in my blood.
As profound as Sweet is he writes with clarity. So Beautiful is exactly that. In my opinion it belongs on every Christian shelf. I will find myself coming back to this for devotion and for reference over and over again I am sure.
So anyhoo, go buy it already. Go.
Books, discipleship, review Jun 2, 2009 at 9:35AM Check out more from Daito on Youtube or over at his site. The Sonic floor is really cool.
May 29, 2009 at 9:06AM 
Title: The Lapis Lazuli Crown
Mangaka: Natsuna Kawase
Volume: One
Publisher: CMX
In the Kingdom of Savarin 20% of the population are magic users and stones are the conduits of these magical powers. Lapis Lazuli is the protective stone of the Kingdom.
18 year old Miel Violette lives in the capital city of Zala. The middle daughter in an aristocratic family who, up until two generations ago, were famed for being Palace Sorcerers. Miel is an awkward yet strong-willed teenager. She does not have confidence in her own magical powers which she has inherited and she has, what she views as, a freakish physical strength. Miel seems to want to go unnoticed in life not drawing too much attention to herself. Desiring to fit in to this predetermined ideal of what a girl should look and act like she hopes to snag a 'man of position'. But fitting in to that ideal is hard for her and she wonders if she should have been born a boy.
She tries to hide her strength and her not-so-good magic abilities, but one day she meets a stranger named, Radi, who finds her fascinating and sees her as having great potential. He views her flaws as honest mistakes and encourages her to train. He is also totally impressed by her brute strength.
The two seem to really enjoy each other.
We learn that Radi is actually prince Radian. Of course Miel is totaly impressed by this but there are also moments of imbaresment and blushing for having acted in a not-so-traditional manner in his pressence. But even as Radian he continues to encourage her.
The two have quickly developed feelings for each other and Miel decides to go to magic school and make her way to the Palace as a sorcerer. It is her hope that she will one day be by Radian's side and be a protection for him.
My take on the book is that Miel has not decided to work real hard on her magic and being her self so that she can win Radian the Prince. Her change of attitude and direction is a result of the love and encouragement of Radi. This is not a story about how to win a guy in position it is a really great manga about Miel, the embodiment of the Lapis Lazuli stone of protection. Like the stone her purpose is to protect the Kingdom. And like the stone, she is in ways soft and fragile but at the same time she contains immense power. The power she struggles to control but is determined to. Not because she is trying to win the favor of the Prince but because this guy she met on the street saw her as she was and encouraged her and she desires to be for him what he has been for her.
Lapis Lazuli Crown's art is really well done and as you would expect from shojo manga the characters are cute/pretty. It is my understanding that this series is only two volumes long so following it wont be too much of an investment. My favorite aspect of the book, along with the art (which surprises me), is how the two main characters encourage each other.
Lapis Lazuli Crown is raited (E) for Everyone. I will totaly be giving this to my 7 year old daughter to read. I let you know what she thinks.
(Review copy was provided by the publisher)
May 26, 2009 at 12:12PM An excerpt from Christ in Y'all that touched home and exemplifies how Neil does not just paint a simplistic or easy picture of authentic Christian community.(pg. 81-82)
Living like this, we become vulnerable to the personal problems that each person has shouldered alone until now. We bear one another’s burdens.* In our church, we have only just begun to discover this aspect of “suffering one another.” For example, when a sister in the church makes life difficult for everyone because of her quirks and neuroses, our first reaction is annoyance. We wish she would just get over herself and move on with life. Then we begin to realize that those things that are weighing her down may be burdens that she cannot cast off. She may be stuck with them for life. But now she does not have to shoulder them alone. Together we can come beside her and share the burden of her past, her memories, her genes, or even her addictions. We can lighten her load a little by spreading it around. Adding her troubles to our own lives may stretch us to our capacity, but something beautiful is happening there. The Body of Christ is doing what it does best. It is building itself up in love.**
May 26, 2009 at 10:03AM 
Neil Carter has give us a great gift with his book Christ in Y'all: Following Jesus into Community. I feel blessed and yet a bit disturbed by reading it.
Much of what Neil is talking about is what we've been going on about for 6+ years now. That the death and resurrection of Christ....the whole life of Christ does not only affect what happens to me after I die. The Good News not only brings me to a right relationship with my Lord it brings us to one another.
Neil points out that whether it is our understanding and presentation of the Gospel or the way we do 'church', many are left unchanged in their self-centered, fragmented and consumer driven lives.
He draws on scripture and challenges us to go back and read entire books of the Bible for ourselves. He also points out that the Spirit will lead us to demonstrate the character of God in the world, but that that can only happen in community. Something that is lacking in most expressions of 'church'.
So many go through their Christian lives wondering why they do not hear God speak to them. Neil shows us that the Lord has always intended to speak to us through each other. "We need only to raise our expectation for the Lord Jesus to speak through his whole Body." The way we live as the Church, "the way we structure our whole lives speaks to the nature of this kingdom".
What I am disturbed by is that on reading the book I realized that even though my family has experienced the power of Christ in our lives through our recent years in Dallas with LGBC, now that we are back in our rural hometown I have been tempted to go back to my pew as if nothing has happened.
Neil has reminded me that I can't. I shouldn't. I have walked out of the cave to see a deeper reality and know now that much of what we know of as 'church' are but shadows of the life he has called us to.
That having been said, we find ourselves in a position to go back into the cave and share stories of what He is up to.
Neil's book is fantastic and a very easy and accessible read. Such a great resource from one who is living it. I hope to go through this book again with a discussion group some day.
He is part of a fellowship of believers (25 adults - 30 kids) in Georgia that meet in each other's homes.
So go download the abridged eBook version and then pick up a copy(or a few) to read and discuss. Even those already taking the road less traveled will be challenged. I assure you. The book is $13.67 at Amazon but only $10.00 if you buy direct from the website.
(pic is grabbed from Neil's blog)
Books, house church, review May 22, 2009 at 2:24PM Will I spend this day and the rest standing there looking up into the heavens feeling abandoned and confused....left to my own devices?
Am I just happy to be a part of the family?
Or do I recall that I have been given the Spirit to do even greater things? Do I live knowing I have a glorious heritage? Going about learning the family business of serving and loving. Storytelling and laughing. Teaching and listening. Directing and repenting. Reposturing myself each day as one of his own. Actively preparing for his return.
Does my view of life and death, expressed by my whole life, bring hope to others?
And how does this look practically? Today? In this house? With this family? In this town? On this blog?
My Lord has died.
Jesus, my Lord is risen.
Jesus our Lord will come again.
scotty
I went back and read pgs. 109-117 of N. T. Wright's Surprised by Hope today. His thoughts on the ascension are an important correction and should be read by all (IMHO). If you do not have a copy of the book or access to one go check out this message by Wright from 2007 that Andrew has pointed us to.
May 22, 2009 at 12:53PM 
Title: Ballad of a Shinigami
Mangaka: Asuka Izumi (Original story by Keisuke Hasegawa)
Volume: One
Publisher: CMX
Release Date: June 9, 2009
Ballad of a Shinigami is based on the light novel series by Keisuke Hasegawa. It later became a successful anime series as well as a live-action TV drama. I have not read the original novels or watched either of the series and therefore I do not know how the manga compares to those works. I am sure existing fans will have some expectations upon first opening Asuka Izumi’s rendering but I came at this ignorant of the story and it caught me by surprise.
I have come across the term shinigami before having read and viewed the Death Note series. I have also noticed it in other anime such as Terry Sanders Jr. being nicknamed "Shinigami Sanders" in Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team as well as references in Princess Mononoke and Darker Than Black. Usually a dark figure causing the deaths of the living. But in Ballad of a Shinigami, shinigami number A-100100, or Momo for short, is not our usual dark character one would expect as a Death God. She has the appearance of a beautiful young girl with white hair. At times she is referred to as the White Shinigami.
Arousing the frustration of her partner, a black cat with bat-like wings named Daniel, she likes to get involved and help the living. She comes with messages of encouragement from the dead and prevents others from ending their own lives. A shinigami whose view of life and death brings hope.
Momo is not the only central figure here though. The manga is episodic. Volume 1 contains four separate stories which introduce us to new characters that are dealing with a loss or loneliness and we follow them as they work this through with the help of Momo.
The ongoing theme here seems to be life vs. death. Keeping on vs. giving up. Companionship and love vs. loneliness. Sure it comes wrapped in a cute package that I probably would have overlooked because of my own biases and tendencies pertaining to manga style, but I would have missed this little gem.
Izumi’s artwork is really good. She goes from the cute and angry chibi faces to close-up panels where she does this amazing job of communicating so much emotion and sincerity with just the eyes of the characters. Really impressed by this.
There is this air of sadness that comes with each story as characters come to terms with the death of loved ones or as they struggle with their own lives but it is done in a silly and heartwarming manner. Shinigami was a refreshing change of pace for me.
For honesty sake I do have to add that there were a few panels where I found it difficult to figure out who was speaking, but it did not take long to get used to Izumi’s style.
I will be looking for volume 2 and I am really curious to see if we ever learn of Momo’s background.
(Review copy was provided by the publisher)