Sex AFTER marriage is awesome? Shoot. I thought abstinence was supposed to end at marriage, not after it. I've been enjoying sex DURING marriage for 10 years. Wow, our premarital counselor was way off...

Montana Grizzlies - Up with Montana boys, down with the foes...

Shout to the Lord has all the quintessential elements of the Church Power Ballad/Anthem.

1. The mild-mannered, sweet, sappy, Jesus-is-my-boyfriend" verse: "My Jesus, My Savior, Lord there is none like you. My comfort, my shelter..." (cf. "More Than Words" by Extreme)

2. It's an all-and/or-nothing song: "There is NONE like You. ALL of my days. Let EVERY breath, ALL that I am, NEVER cease to worship You. ALL the earth." (cf. "You're the Best" by Joe Esposito)

3. It's got powerful butt-kicking words. Words you'd find in song about Chuck Norris. "The WONDERS of your MIGHTY love. TOWER of refuge STRENGTH. SHOUT to the Lord. POWER and MAJESTY, praise to the KING. MOUNTAINS BOW DOWN AND THE SEAS WILL ROAR AT THE SOUND OF YOUR NAME." Seriously, it's like the words were taken from www.chucknorrisfacts.com.

4. The mild-mannered verse steadily ramps up to an anthemic chorus. Every time. Without fail. (cf. "The Reason" by Hoobastank - which is a band name that still sounds like something slightly kinky)

5. There's usually a key change. Key changes are anthemic because they create anticipation. You actually have to pay attention to what's going on, even though you've already sung it a thousand times. This month.

And now, 5 real proven Power Ballads that somebody should probably sing in a church that is much hipper than mine:
1. Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
2. My Immortal - Evanescence
3. Right Here Waiting - Richard Marx
4. More than Words - Extreme
5. Faithfully - Journey

A Bible College professor of mine used to say "it's impossible to flee sin and be entertained by it at the same time." He was speaking about the entertainment industry, but I think the application here is the same. Flee from sin, don't flirt with it.

Great post.

Reading a 3-books-in-1 by John Maxwell: The Winning Attitude, Becoming a Person of Influence, and Developing the Leaders Around You.

During my sophomore year at Bible College, where I learned to be a spiritual smart ass:

"Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die." - Genesis 27:4, NIV

But for real...it's 2 Corinthians 5:20 - "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us..."

Wow. You just set a really high bar.

Can I please enter my wife? She's a dork. When she puts her shirts away in the closet, she does her best to match the color of the shirt and the plastic hanger it hangs on. Teal shirt on teal hanger. Burgundy shirt on burgundy hanger. Yup, really.

Wow, terrific post. I am reminded of something singer/songwriter Derek Webb said on his "House Show" album: "We should have no fear in being honest with each other about who we really are – not just offering up the sins that we feel safe confessing, but being completely bold, being completely forthcoming about who we really are. And saying, 'You know what? I am going to stop hiding from you, and I’m going to tell you who I really am because I believe the gospel is true. I can only admit to you who I really am to you because I believe that Jesus is who he really is as well.' And you’re never going to be truly filled with joy unless you truly know yourself for who you really are. And until you are a real sinner with a real Savior, you will be a hypothetical and theoretical sinner – and therefore, with a hypothetical and theoretical savior."

I apologize for the long quote, but it's worth hearing in its entirety.

Oh, I love Tim Horton's. There is nothing like it. I miss Canada.