Interested in learning more about intelligent design? Campus Crusade is offering the following three DVDs exploring intelligent design as a set for $29.95 (sale ends June 30th). I ordered these last week and received them in the mail yesterday. I was going to wait to post until I had viewed them, but the sale ends this month and I don’t know when I will get to them. Here are video clip previews for each of the DVDs.

Unlocking the Mystery of Life

Unlocking the Mystery of Life transports you into the interior of the living cell to explore systems and machines that bear the unmistakable hallmarks of design. Discover the intricacy of a microscopic bacterial rotary motor, which spins at 100,000 rpm. Within the nucleus explore the wonder of DNA, a thread-like molecule that stores instructions to build the essential components of every living organism. It is part of a biological information processing system more complex and more powerful than any computer network.

The Privileged Planet

We now know that a rare and finely tuned array of factors makes Earth suitable for complex life. We depend on our planet’s oxygen-rich atmosphere, its large moon, its planetary neighbors, and its precise location within the solar system and Milky Way galaxy. But the story does not end here. For the same factors that make a planet like Earth hospitable to life also provide the best conditions for scientific discovery.

The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel

In The Case for a Creator DVD, Strobel re-examines the theories that once led him away from God. Highlighted by spectacular computer animation, The Case for a Creator DVD is a remarkable film in which you’ll encounter the mind-stretching discoveries from cosmology, cellular biology, DNA research, astronomy, physics, and human consciousness.

HT: Between Two Worlds

Update:  Here is a detailed account of the service by Jim Houser.

Here is a news video clip from the funeral service for Steven Curtis Chapman’s daughter, Maria, who was killed in an accident last week. Please continue to keep the Chapman family in prayer.

(Video length: 1:59)

HT: Monday Morning Insight

See related posts:

• Steven Curtis Chapman on Good Morning America
• Steven Curtis Chapman’s Daughter Killed

One of our all-time favorite television shows is the Andy Griffith show. Just the other day we were wondering who did the whistling for the theme song at the beginning of the show. That would be Earl Hagen, who passed away earlier this week. Hagen composed original music for more than 3,000 episodes, pilots and TV movies, including the theme songs for “The Andy Griffith Show,” “I Spy,” “The Mod Squad” “That Girl,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” The Andy Griffith song also had lyrics called “The Fishing Hole,” written by actor Everett Sloane (who played Mr. Bernstein in Citizen Kane).

Click to play “whistling” theme song.
[audio:AndyGriffith_ThemeSong_Whistling.mp3]

Click to hear Andy Griffith sing “The Fishing Hole.”
[audio:AndyGriffith_ThemeSong_Singing.mp3]

“The Fishing Hole”
Music by Earle Hagen & Herbert W. Spencer
Words by Everett Sloane

Well, now, take down your fishin’ pole
And meet me at The Fishin’ Hole,
We may not get a bite all day,
But don’t you rush away.

What a great place to rest your bones
And mighty fine for skippin’ stones,
You’ll feel fresh as a lemonade,
A-settin’ in the shade.

Whether it’s hot, whether it’s cool,
Oh what a spot for whistlin’ like a fool.

What a fine day to take a stroll
And wander by The Fishin’ Hole,
I can’t think of a better way
To pass the time o’ day.

We’ll have no need to call the roll
When we get to The Fishin’ Hole,
There’ll be you, me, and Old Dog Trey,
To doodle time away.

If we don’t hook a perch or bass,
We’ll cool our toes in dewy grass,
Or else pull up a weed to chaw,
And maybe set and jaw.

Hangin’ around, takin’ our ease,
Watchin’ that hound a-scratchin’ at his fleas.

Come on, take down your fishin’ pole
And meet me at The Fishin’ Hole,
I can’t think of a better way
To pass the time o’ day.

HT: Don Surber

I am off this morning for a three-day study retreat in preparation for our next sermon series. I don’t often get to do this, so I am looking forward to some uninterrupted time with God in his Word in a different setting than at home or at church.

Needless to say, the blog will be on vacation while I am gone. I should get back to posting on Monday. In the meantime, here is a fun little commercial from the Discovery Channel that has been making the rounds. Enjoy!

Discovery Channel: I Love the World
(Video length: 1:00)

Governor Mitt Romney shared the following top ten reasons why he dropped out of the 2008 Presidential Race. Most of these were pretty good. The only one that didn’t seem to go over well was number seven, which I also winced at. Number five was downright mischievous.

(Video length: 3:43)

The Annual Radio & Television Correspondents Association Dinner
April 16, 2008

Mitt Romney’s Top Ten Reasons for Leaving the 2008 Presidential Race
    10. There weren’t as many Osmonds as I had thought.
      9. I got tired of the corkscrew landings under sniper fire.
      8. As a lifelong hunter, I didn’t want to miss the start of varmint season.
      7. There wasn’t room in the campaign for two Christian leaders.
      6. Word leaked out that nobody had bothered to search my passport files.
      5. I’d rather get fat, grow a beard, and try for the Nobel Prize.
      4. I wanted to finally take off the dark suit and tie and kick back … in a
          light-colored suit and tie.
      3. Once my wife Anne realized I couldn’t win, my fundraising dried up.
      2. I took a bad fall at a campaign rally and broke my hair.
      1. There was a flaw in our campaign theory that as Utah goes, so goes
          the nation.

Related post: President Bush Speaks at the Radio & TV Correspondents Dinner

Note:  The videos of both performances are at the end of the post.

Last week on American Idol, the eight finalists joined together at the end of the show to sing the popular praise and worship song, “Shout to the Lord.” The next night, they opened the program with the same song. This created quite a stir for a number of reasons:

1. The first night they sang it, they substituted the words “My Shepherd” for the original lyrics, which are “My Jesus.”
2. The second night, they sang the original lyrics, putting the words “My Jesus” back in.
3. People were surprised that a show like American Idol would feature such an overtly Christian song, twice, especially sung by all the contestants together.

There was a lot of buzz about this around the blogosphere during the week. Here are three articles in particular that I thought covered the story well and provided some good food for thought.

• The Christian Post:  ‘American Idol’ Brings Jesus Back to Worship Song.
• Bob Kauflin over at Worship Matters shared some positive thoughts on what happened as well as some concerns.
• Josh Harris posted some interesting inside information relating to the whole incident. This comment from a woman who works at Fox TV is especially worth reading:

I work on one of the “sister shows” of American Idol … so picture an office, with all of the producers, crew, etc. gathered in watching the live feed at our CBS offices, then this song comes on … an office filled with a few Christians … atheists and agnostic Jews. You could hear a pin drop … it was awesome … the power that came through … nothing had to be said … no debates … just people being touched more than they realized … producers, writers … crew that had never darkened a church door in their lives, or their only experience with Christians was a negative one. You don’t always see the workings of us Christians that are behind the scenes … you don’t know how much prayer went into getting a song with that message on a, let us not forget, a SECULAR show. So, from someone behind the scenes, the best thing you can do is write to the producer of Am. Idol and simply state how much you appreciate the diversity they showed in having an very inspirational song in their program. Period. No criticizing. This will go farther than you realize. Also, pray, pray, pray for us Christians that have chosen Hollywood as our vocation, career and our mission field.

And finally, here are the videos of the two performances so you can check them out for yourself.

First performance (Video length: 2:56)

 

Second performance (Video length: 3:08)

So, did you see either of these performances last week? What are your thoughts?

This video of a little girl singing the Lord’s Prayer is one of the nicest things I have seen in a long time. Zoei Isabelle Toh is only 2 years and 8 months old in the video. My favorite parts are when she sings, “And lead us not into temptation,” and also when she starts swinging her arms and conducting herself near the end. Awesome! Thanks to “Mommy” for directing this video and sharing it with the rest of us.

(Video length: 1:58)

HT: Perigrinatio
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Taming Technology in the Home series:
    ● Taming Television in the Home
    ● Taming Video Games in the Home
    ● Taming the Internet in the Home

One of the dangers that comes along with TV, video games and the internet is the potential for wasted time. We have found this particularly true with video games. Video games can be incredibly addictive and time-consuming. If you are not careful, they can quickly turn into a giant sinkhole of wasted time for your child. How do you help your children manage their time with video games and other technology in the home? Here are some of the things we do.

• Set time limits: We allow our kids a set amount of time to play video games each week. We know if we did not set limits for them, video games could easily take over their lives. Most kids have not developed the willpower or self-control to make good choices in this area yet, so as parents we need to help them. Setting time limits for our children has allowed them to pursue other interests and to use their time more productively. (More on setting time limits below)
• Set alternate activities: Video games are not a priority in our home. School work, reading, musical instruments, activities and chores come first. When you require certain activities of your children, it automatically limits the time they have for other things. By setting up alternate activities, there is only so much time left over for video games.
• Kick them outside: We don’t do this one as often as we should, but there is nothing wrong with telling your kids to go outside and play for a couple hours. Kids are naturally creative, and they will find plenty of stuff to do.
• Know your kids’ games: Time isn’t the only problem with video games. Some games have inappropriate content. Be sure to read the ratings on your kids’ games and set the ground rules for what is and is not acceptable in your home. When your children get a new game, sit down and watch it with them to make sure you are comfortable with the content.

Now, I promised you I would tell you more about setting time limits. This was the biggest frustration at our home for the longest time. At first we just told our kids how much time they could spend. But then they would forget how long they had been playing. Next we tried sign-in sheets, but they would forget to sign in. Or they would sign in and forget to sign out, and then when they came back later to play they would have no idea how much time they had remaining. Sometimes it got so bad we thought about just getting rid of all the video games in the house. But we knew they enjoyed the games, and we didn’t mind them playing as long as they kept their time under control and were doing other things as well.

Then we discovered Bob. Bob solved all of our time problems when it came to video games overnight. Suddenly the kids knew how long they had been playing and when to stop. They began to monitor their own game time and budget it carefully through the week. We no longer had to get on their case or constantly police them. It was amazing. We like Bob! Bob is our friend.

You are probably wondering, who or what is Bob?

• Bob is an electronic time manager. It looks like a miniature ATM machine. You set the daily or weekly time limits, give your child a passcode, and Bob takes care of the rest. When your child exceeds their time limit, Bob shuts off the TV and will not turn it back on again. Bob can manage time for up to six different users. Bob set us back about $100, but it was worth it. We like Bob! Bob is our friend. We mostly use Bob for video games, but Bob can also be used to manage time spent watching TV.

So, what things have you done to help tame video games in your home? Feel free to share in the comments below.

Click here for next post in series: Taming the Internet in the Home

UPDATE: My wife pointed out to me that much of what I wrote in this post deals more with the past in our home than the present. There was a time when we really had to crack the whip with video games in the house, but it is no longer an issue. Our oldest son no longer has any time restrictions, and he does fine. And the younger two really don’t need the time restrictions anymore. They do plenty of other things on their own – including playing outside! So, sorry boys. I hope I didn’t make you look bad. It was not my intention, and it certainly does not reflect where you are at now.   – Dad

I saw this video clip over the weekend. You supply the title in the comments section. (There is no audio on the clip, but you should understand it just fine.)

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

Here is the video montage that was shown at Larry’s memorial service. Most of these images have never been seen before. (Click below to see the video.)

(more…)

Check out the new behind the scenes video for the upcoming movie: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Behind the Scenes: “Prince Caspian: Return to Narnia”
(Video length: 2:46)

Countdown to Caspian:

Click here for more Narnia and Caspian related posts.
Click here for Narnia sermon series.

HT: NarniaWeb

Extreme sports edition.

Daredevil Robbie Madison jumps 322 feet (the length of a football field) to
set a new motorcycle distance jumping world record on New Years Eve.

(Video length: 0:35)

HT: Neatorama
 

Every basketball player dreams of hitting the game winning shot at
the buzzer. How about doing it from the full length of the court?

(Video length: 0:44)

HT: Presurfer
 

Mike Parsons rides a 66-foot-high wave at the Jaws Maui Tow-In
World Surfing Championship.

(Video length: 1:29)

HT: Christ is Deeper Still