10 Things Your Childhood Pastor Didn’t Tell You (But Should Have)

1. The flavor of Christianity you grew up with isn’t the only flavor out there.

2. Visiting and exploring other Christian traditions is beneficial to your journey, not detrimental.

3. The Bible is notoriously difficult to read and understand.

4. There’s no such thing as a “plain” or “straight forward” way of reading the Bible.

5. The Bible actually does contradict itself– but that’s okay.

6. Jesus didn’t always agree with the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament).

7. Jesus valued compassion and empathy over rule following.

8. The end-times stuff was all made up less than 200 years ago.

9. Jesus doesn’t care what political party you belong to.

10. Doubt can make your faith stronger.

Read the details @ Patheos

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Bag of Randomness

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  • DaughterGeeding had her first day of school yesterday (second year of preschool).  To our pleasant surprise, her teacher emailed us her impressions of her first day back at school and included pictures.
  • ‘Hard Knocks’ thoughts:
    • Matt Ryan is much more a leader than any other QB from previous seasons, or he’s at least showcased that day.
    • That new stadium they are building is something else, especially with that round video display in the middle.
    • There was an overly obvious Microsoft Surface plug via embedded advertising.
    • One player’s girlfriend/wife/fiance was wearing Guess mom jeans at a Top Golf.  Either Guess is making some kind of comeback or she’s totally rocking it old school.
    • Jacksonville has a pool people can watch the game from during a game, I think there’s only one other stadium that does that and it’s for a baseball team. Arizona, maybe?
    • I don’t think any GM in the series has gotten as little screen time as Thomas Dimitroff.
    • I don’t remember from past seasons recently released players hauling their stuff off in trash bags.  You’d think there’s a more dignified way of leaving.
    • I had no idea Devin Hester is now listed as a wide receiver.
    • Head coach Mike Smith sure doesn’t have much charisma.
  • Reflecting back on that ESPN article on Jerry Jones, I wish the reporter would have asked him about the debacle of the Super Bowl that he hosted – everything from the weather to the seats that couldn’t be used.
  • Malaysia Airlines Asked for Travelers’ ‘Bucket Lists’ in Ill-Advised Contest
  • Matt Chandler is being accused of pushing a Marxists worldview of white privilege.
  • Six Flags Fiesta Texas will be getting a new Batman ride that features two drops steeper than 90-degrees and six sections where the seats will flip 360-degree independent of the tracks.  You can check out the animation here.
  • I’m a little behind on this, but Keith Olbermann will be doing ‘Sports Center’ segments again.
  • NPR – ESPN now collects an average of $4.69 for every cable home –– four times more than any other network.
  • NPR – A Mall With Two Minimum Wages – The Westfield Valley Fair Mall straddles two cities. One side of the mall is in Santa Clara, but walk a few feet down the mall, and you’re in San Jose. In 2012, San Jose voters agreed to raise the city’s minimum wage from $8 to $10 an hour.
  • The Onion – RGIII Refusing To Let Realistic Assessment Of His Play Get To Him
  • Geographic Center of Texas
  • Today’s dose of ‘MURICA
  • An NFL Player Got A Tattoo On His Face To Keep Himself From Ever Getting A Normal Job
  • A Brand-New “Frozen” Short Is Coming In Spring 2015
  • Map: The most distinctive menu items in every state
  • Deion Sander has finally sold his mansion, but where is he moving to, will he still be in the area?  I’m guessing the house is sold because of the divorce and he’s staying to help with Prime Prep.
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Bag of Randomness

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  • It was my birthday over the weekend.  I’m now one legal drinking age away from 60.
  • While watching the Simpsons marathon there was an episode in which Mr Burns referred to Homer as 247, and Homer responded with “Why does he always refer to me by my weight?”  So at one point in my life I weighed more than Homer Simpson but now I’m roughly ten pounds lighter than him.  That’s all kind of depressing as I’m in the middle of a so called midlife crisis.  That got me to wondering since I’m now a year away from 40, if it would be possible to drop 40-pounds before I turn 40.
  • WifeGeeding bought me some sort of aerial dinner for two over DFW.  I think that’s more of a gift for her than me.  My best gift was from a friend who wrote me a hand written letter.
  • I also caught a Simpsons where they show the Simpsonized version of AT&T Stadium – Buzz Cola Dome –  and the rich cowboy character played the part of Jerry Jones. It’s been in a total of three episodes thus far.  In that last sentence I didn’t need to use “thus far” but I just really wanted to.
  • Baylor Thoughts:
    • While it was perfectly acceptable, it was a bit strange to see George W. Bush do the coin flip at the new Baylor stadium since his presidential library is on the campus of SMU, which was Baylor’s opponent and a main rival.  I wonder if some SMU folks felt a bit slighted.
    • I can’t believe Baylor built a brand spanking new stadium but cut back on bricks and try to fool everyone by using vinyl tarp on their walls disguised at bricks.  Even Baylor alum WifeGeeding thought that was cheap and tacky.
    • Baylor’s quarterback is named Bryce Petty, but when I hear the name I think of Richard Petty, and I have this mental image of a quarterback with a moustache, sunglasses, and a cowboy hat.
    • When I see Ken Starr I want to throw something at the TV.
    • I was worried there was going to be some serious injuries as the Baylor Line ran onto the field as the camera caught may students falling down and getting trampled.
    • Apparently, it was hot.
  • Longhorn QB David Ash should have quit playing football last year with his concussion issues, and he may just be finished for good since he has concussion symptoms again.  He probably gets concussions on his way to class.
  • On Sunday we ate at PI.E 3.14 in the Castle Hills part of Lewisville.  Despite all the buzz I hear about it, I thought it was highly overrated just like Fireside Pies.  But if you are into trendy places, it might just be for you. They may have a future lawsuit on their hands as their men’s room only has hot water with the only warning being a Post-It Note on the mirror.  I also had no idea what a nice place Castle Hills is, it puts a lot of Southlake homes to shame, especially the three-story mansions we saw on the lake/pond.
  • I didn’t believe WifeGeeding when she told me, but the new elementary school in Coppell refers to their teachers or educators as “designers’ and students as “learners”.
  • Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer waived linebacker Mike Zimmer on Saturday.
  • I’m a very anti-social personal, and that may be a surprise to some of you.  When it comes to getting to know people or invited to things I usually do my darndest to find a way out.  A neighbor was nice enough to invite me over to help prep his smoker and to have the family over for dinner, but I was nervous as all get out to actually commit.  I guess I just fear saying something wrong or tip-toeing around accidentally saying something uncomfortable or just feeling out of place.  In an effort to get over this fear I actually accepted the neighbor’s invitation and found the experience fun and was happy this neighbor and his family are some of the nicest folks in Texas.  Oh, and I got to learn how to smoke brisket and ribs in the process.
  • Texan Firefighters Finish Mowing Lawn For Man Who Died Of A Heart Attack
  • Texas’ Top 100 Congested Corridors
  • For some reason, The Dallas skyline is in USA Today’s Best International Skyline competition.  Actually, it’s in the top ten, and you can vote for its place here.
  • Angelina Jolie’s Wedding Dress Is Covered In Her Kids’ Drawings
  • WifeGeeding forced me to record the ‘Saved By The Bell’ movie on Lifetime.  Judging by the activity on Twitter last night, it’s one of those that’s so bad, it’s good.
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