Our Day To Remember

SEP 12 - SEP 18 2010 — OUR DAY TO REMEMBER — ISSUE 171

It's interesting. I remember growing up hearing my parents recollect exactly where they were when certain events in history happened. JFK's assassination was the main one, but moon landings, the Berlin Wall coming down, and other events were well engraved into their memories as well. Folks older than them could remember equally historic events, Pearl Harbor leading the way. All through my life I remember time and time again hearing such stories about life-scarring events so sensational, those alive when it happened had never forgotten the moment. And all through my life I could not recollect any such moment, other than a few fleeting thoughts of the Gulf War and an even less prominent memory of the Wall falling.

That all changed 9 years ago.

As I sit here, one day and nearly a decade removed from that event, I can honestly say I do remember pretty vividly the events of that day. Unlike many of those told me by parents and friends, though, my memories don't have many visuals of the attacks themselves. Being so close to Ground Zero, we didn't have anything but radios and phone calls to give us descriptions, which only added to that feeling deep in my gut that this was something significant, something larger than a footnote in history, something I'd never get out of my mind.

MATTHEW 27:45-54

The centurion's response to the death of Christ is a very subtle, yet significant response. Speculations have been made about how much of Jesus' final days he may have experienced first hand, and we do not know if it was the entire ordeal collectively, what transpired as soon as it was over, or just the manner in which Jesus finally gave up His Spirit, but there is one thing we know for certain: He knew this was something beyond him, beyond those there, beyond Caesar, and even beyond Rome itself. Jesus' death was timeless.

Unlike the events we've gone through, though, this particular one was not restricted to the confines of one single moment. It's not hindered by the separation of generations or dulled by the retelling of its events. The experience he had, where he stood at the foot of the Cross and came to understand who the Son of God was, is one shared time and time again; since that moment and till well past our days here on earth. It is one each of us has personally come in contact with, and one that has left another day still vivid in our minds, the one of our immersion into the Kingdom of God where our sins were washed away for ever.

Praise God for that day. Thank Him for those who were responsible in getting you to the foot of the Cross. Pray for those who still need to stand in awe of His glory, character, honor, and sacrifice. And Start acting in the lives of those around you, so they can witness the day their life forever changed.

Brett "The last time I tried to dance, someone threw me a life preserver thinking I was drowning on dry land" Hibbler

The Roots Of Faith

SEP 5 - SEP 11 2010 — THE ROOTS OF FAITH  — ISSUE 170

EXPLANATION ABOUT LAST WEEK:
As most of you noticed, I wasn't really around last week. Well, I was, just not as the writer of the 'C. Why not you ask?(or at least I pretend you're asking) With last Monday starting a new chapter in my life, I figured I may as well shake things up a bit. For 164 straight weeks (roughly 3 years and 7 weeks) I've been dropping by your in-boxes with whatever God's put on my heart and attempting to bring a chuckle or two while hopefully giving you some spiritual thought to chew on. The response has been unbelievably encouraging over the years, something I am continually grateful for. This also means if you have 1000 emails in your in-box ('cuz someday you may need one of those, right?) and you haven't deleted any 'Cs, I account for nearly 20% of your total emails. That's a lot of vitamins. Your doctor would be proud.

Anyways, the streak is something I am grateful for and very proud of as it is one of the few things in my sporadic life I've started and continued with; fueled by my love for God, His continual placement of ideas on my heart, and by many of you taking time to respond with personal reflections on what I've written. But in an attempt to spice things up a bit, get some outside influence, give you some fresh perspective, and to end that weird hold pride can sometimes have, I've asked some close friends to take a shot at writing a C. Expect to see guest authors poke their heads in to administer a little Vitamin of their own every now and then.

The first man to step to the plate was Robert Segovia. He handled his approach and my request with the utmost respect, making me feel much more honored than I deserve, and I'm not even sure he realizes how much I look to him for spiritual guidance. Hopefully through his writings last week you got a glimpse into why. I also hope I don't get dethroned by allowing others to write, leading to a revolt from you, the readers, wanting me to hand the reigns over indefinitely. Then I'd have to start some rival email newsletter called "the Email Formerly Known As The Vitamin C". (And it's outdated Prince jokes like that, that made you miss me, right?)

THE MEAT:
Just like the last time I spoke on a Sunday, there were a few things I didn't include in the sermon. As any director, author, musician will tell you, there's a part of you that wants to get some of the things left on the cutting room floor out there, so hopefully these few remnants will be of benefit to you.

Can you believe someone is telling the truth, that they will come through with their promise if you don't trust them? I think most of us would agree under most circumstances, if we don't trust a person, their word holds no weight. Maybe this gives us a clue as to why our prayer life, relationship with God, and the way He works in our life can be almost non existent at times.

Faith is believing God will overlook all your sin, all your mess-ups, all the mean, wicked, and ugly things we've done in our lives, and grant you eternal life. It's believing that He will still use you, despite your shortcomings; that He'll grant you things you don't see, no matter how many things you can see which you think stand in your way. This is a testament to how deeply grace and faith are intertwined. If you can't accept grace, then you don't trust God. And if you don't trust Him, you can't have faith in His promise.

If the demon possessed man (Legion from Mark 5) had lacked faith and did not understand grace, he'd never of wanted to follow Christ. The things he did had terrified the towns so much that they'd put him on the outskirts and had tried to chain him up. Those things could have haunted his mind, plagued his conscience, and never let him sleep at night. But he was able to accept God's grace, and Jesus' offer to go and promote what the Son of Man had done and could do for everyone. Similar stories can be found throughout the entire Bible. David's rise from his adultery, Abraham's rise from his lying about his wife (twice), Peter's comeback after his denial of Christ, and the countless people Jesus healed and forgave sins for during His ministry.

If you want faith, you must start with understanding grace. Only by trusting God's word and His promises to us, that He can overlook anything we've done, can we begin to trust Him to do amazing and powerful things in our lives. Otherwise our uncertainty and doubt will forever paralyze our walk, leaving it lacking and noneffective. Let's be a Church of believers. Let's be a Church of trusters. Let's be a Church built on faith.

DEUTERONOMY 7:9

Brett "If writing the 'C were like playing baseball, people would accuse me of Juicing to get a streak like that" Hibbler

Valiant Deeds

AUG 29 - SEP 4 2010 — VALIANT DEEDS — ISSUE 169
Guest Author Rob Segovia

Surprise Inside This Issue! (It's pretty obvious, so read on and we'll talk about it later)

It’s an honor to be asked to write a Vitamin C, so thank you, Brett, for entrusting one week to me.  Honestly, I was a little afraid to write a Vitamin C when I got an email from Brett asking for people to fill in for him because he always has such insightful things to write every week, but I figured that if Nnamdi Asomugha can fill in for Peter King one week writing Monday Morning Quarterback then I can fill in for Brett one week writing a Vitamin C.  Hopefully you’ll get the daily amount recommended by the USFDA out of this.

I was at my cousin’s wedding this weekend and the DJ put on “The Electric Slide” to kick off the dancing for the reception.  Typically, this is when the people who love dancing immediately jump up and start dancing and then everyone else who was too afraid to start the dance see the very simple dance, remember that they’ve done it before, and join in.  At this reception, however, no one had the nerves to get up to start the dance.  Halfway through the song, after much lamenting by the DJ, two people did the Electric Slide.  Just to prove this was no fluke, when the Dollar Dance started most people sat in their chairs – too afraid or self-involved to give up a few dollars for the new bride and groom (while I chickened out with the crowd during the Electric Slide, I did repent and jump at the chance to pony up the $5 I had to dance with my cousin, only to have my dance with her cut short by some punk kid, who probably got the $1 he paid from his parents).  Everyone loves a good party with lots of fun and dancing, but most are too afraid of looking like a fool to start dancing.  But this is just one small fear in life.

I Samuel 31:11-12

Picture the situation: the Philistines had just routed Israel’s army, and killed the king and his sons.  Now, they were brazenly displaying his dismembered body in their country.  No one in Israel was doing anything about it.  City after city heard the news of what the Philistines did to Saul, and city after city were too afraid to do anything.  That is, until a few valiant men saw the situation, marched all night into enemy territory, and did the honorable thing for their fallen king.

What things are you afraid of doing?  Maybe it’s something as little as denying yourself at a party to dance and help others to have a good time, or maybe it’s something as big as reaching out to that person in the cereal aisle with you.  When do you have an idea of something you could do, but you hold back out of fear or selfishness?  What times have you held back when you had an opportunity to inspire, encourage, love, or serve somebody?  Don’t follow the crowd; be valiant and dance.

Robert “if I see that kid again I’m going to steal his lunch money” Segovia

Artificial

AUG 22 - AUG 28 2010 — ARTIFICIAL — ISSUE 168

As August wraps up, so too does our fun in the sun. The days are growing shorter and our opportunities to get outside and enjoy warmer weather provided by the sun is slipping away like a sock sneaking out of the laundry. Oh, that wonderful sun, which provides many benefits such as Vitamin D for fighting off cancers and other health issues, causing photosynthesis in plants so we can breath and not be left sucking wind every time we chase the Ice Cream truck down the street on one of those hotter summer days, allowing autotrophs to produce crops, giving us food (directly or for us meat lovers — and I don't mean pizza —  from animals that consume those plants) and warming the entire earth so we're not stuck wearing ugly Xmas sweaters every day in a bizarre, never-ending winter.

This means we'll be spending more time inside, under those good 'ol 60watt (or 13watt for you energy savers) light bulbs. Their benefits include being able to see at any time of day in any room of the house, helping you to not stub your toe during late-night raids on the fridge, and giving you ample light to look presentable before someone tells you those are navy pants, not black, and you're now a fashion disaster. Obviously artificial lights are helpful, but they can never do what the sun can. So, even though a long day in the sun can be rough, staying exclusively under artificial lights will only lead to dire results and that happiness brought will be short-lived.

JOHN 3:19

If you've ever taken a good, long look at yourself, or spent time with the human race, you know how true this scripture can ring. Many times in life we are drawn to do wrong, and we feel so bad about it we try to hide it, pretend it didn't happen, brush it off, or just never talk it about again once it's been exposed.

Sometimes I wonder if our lives aren't a lot like the differences between daylight and lamplight. We like to do bad things, but we don't like the guilt and shame that comes with them, so we convince ourselves in our minds we didn't do anything that bad through justifying our actions, seek to surround ourselves with others who do similar things so we're not alone in our deeds, or compare ourselves to others we view as worse, all so we can still feel like we're in the light, even though we know deep down we are not. No matter how much time we spend under even the highest watt light bulbs, and no matter how earth-friendly they are, they will never provide the life-sustaining energy we need from the sun.

But some would protest this, saying that too much sunlight is bad. It gives us yucky wrinkles (juvenile word used on purpose) and can even lead to skin cancer. If you've ever looked into that argument you'll see it's not nearly as straight forward as you would think, and usually it results from, amongst many other things, misuse of sunlight, not over exposure. Under exposure on the other hand, leads directly to far more issues, and the complete absence of sun has obvious and usually tragic effects, facts no one can deny and all too many real-life scenarios confirm.

In our walks with God, we cannot let ourselves be lured into artificial forms of Christianity, into weak, diluted relationships with our Creator, or into lives so numb to the reality of sin we can't even see or feel its tragic effects. We can't let the sometimes tough process of learning how to handle God's Word appropriately, the battles it takes to have real, honest and deep relationships, the endurance we must have to be humble in all circumstances no matter the injustice, and the effort it takes to stay positive in a negative world prevent us from spending time in the real Light.

So go ahead, spend some time in the Son today. I promise you'll feel better.

JOHN 3:20-21

Brett "Before rising in the morning, the sun has to put on Chuck Norris Screen" Hibbler

Restricted

AUG 15 - AUG 21 2010  — RESTRICTED — ISSUE 167

Totally saw Expendables today. I'm not a fan of people talking about movies in case others haven't seen them, so I won't say anymore. However, if you'd like to know my thoughts on it, head over to Review N Chew Category.  You can also head over to Random Web-tacularness if you want to see some really funny Help Wanted signs and two genius commercials from Dodge. Then you can leave comments to prove you went there, and contact everyone you know about how great the posts were. Then you can wash my car, bake me some home-made cookies, and give me an iTunes gift card so I can spoil myself with new music by House Of Heroes. Or you could just ignore this part of the 'C and skip to the meat. I personally think you should at least consider my demands, but I suppose if you want to move ahead, then that's fine too.

We've talked before (well, I've written and you've read would be more accurate) about how Christianity should be joyous; that our souls should be a thing of happiness, not heavy. Jesus said His yolk is "easy" and His burden is "light." (Matt 11:30) And we know Jesus and God are one, and God cannot lie, so that would mean Christ can't either, and thus His words are true. Yet we all know our walk doesn't always seem easy or light. If anything, at times it feels like concrete blocks are shackled to our feet, holding us in place and inhibiting our every move. And it's those moments, and the reasons for those moments, that I feel like we sometimes don't always address in our lives.

There are times when Christianity can become a restrictive armor. It's great at protecting us but limiting our functionality, gracefulness, and depriving us from the joys that unrestricted movement can bring. If you remember David and his preparation for Goliath, he experienced this.

1 SAMUEL 17:38-40

When he wanted to do something for God, others around him gave their best advice and assistance because their hearts were to help him. Unfortunately, they inadvertently tried to make him fight the way they would do it, not allowing David the option of serving God in his own unique way. Ultimately we know that David took off Saul's armor and faced Goliath with the only thing he believed he really needed, God. He'd been successful before (not-to-mention how those ways make Bear Grylls look like Pee-wee Herman) and knew to return to the lessons God had already taught him.

Advice from spiritual people is an amazing asset to life, and remember that David did try Saul's way before concluding that it would be better to challenge Goliath his way. We too need to be humble to advice and to implement good advice into our lives before doing things our way and assuming the advice won't work. But also don't believe you have to always do everything exactly how others are advising. Sometimes God's already shown you how to approach certain challenges, and you need to trust in Him to grant you victory as He has in the past.

Likewise, when dispensing advice, we need to realize not everyone is the same and not everyone can have success using the same method. We need to be like Saul who did not seem to stop David, argue with him, or assume he would fail, even though David chose not to take his armor.

Don't let your faith be hampered because you're trying to fit into a mold that isn't designed for you. But never forget God is always reshaping us, and advice will often help get you there.

Brett "Advice is great, unless it's coming from Tom Noe" Hibbler

Expendable

"Who sent you?!" barks an angry, and still intimidating despite his age, Steve Austin. Stallone, grasping at the rope being used to cut off circulation to his brain, manages to let out some muffled comment about Austin's Mother. Steve, being the gracious villain that he is, lays into Stallone's rib cage as any good thug should in response to such defiance.

"WHO. SENT. YOU." he repeats as the generic lines drip from his lips. This time, Stallone can't reply and points to his throat. "Breath" he chokes out, his face growing weird shades of red.

"Give him air," Austin commands the goon holding Stallone. He complies and Stallone bends over, sucking in precious oxygen once more.

"Tell me who sent you," tries Steve again. And what does Stallone utter in reply? Why an oh-so-clever "Your Hairdresser!"

And that pretty much marks why I consider the movie itself to be sadly self prophesying. Is it possible for a movie that you went into with very low, very achievable hopes for, to let you down? Apparently so. The Expendables, for me, was supposed to be a trip back to the 80s with over-the-top action stars pulling off impossible, but imaginative, action moves while taking out hordes of bad guys without getting so much as a nick. The dialogue was to be sparse, but witty and conveying a true sense of comradery amongst the cast of former and current movie leads. Just watching these guys together was supposed to be a blast in and of itself. The plot only needed to be thick enough to give us a motive and a villain, and the rest of the movie was to be non-stop guns and explosions.

Not-so-much. It was a tad sluggish, the majority of the dialogue was somewhere between genuinely funny and not quite corny enough to be Arnold one-liner funny, leaving you either confused or feeling like you needed to be 13 to appreciate it, and the side stories never gave the characters enough depth to justify taking time away from more crazy, mercenary action. The movie did have some bright moments and the climax was amazingly satisfying. There were spurts of humor, a great scene with Micky Rorke, and some action that was all a fan of this genre could ever want. And in retrospect, recapping some of the movie with fellow watchers made it more satisfying (like Napoleon Dynamite), but still not enough to make it recommendable as a "must see" or even a "get it as soon as it comes out." I'd mark it down as more of a "if it's on, check it out, it's worth watching", but not much more. Stallone's last two efforts, Balboa and Rambo are much better movies despite missing the amazing supporting cast if you're looking for a better trip down nostalgia lane.

Over all, I'll give this movie @@ out of @@@@. It has some great moments and some spot-on rediculousness, but not enough to overcome the dead weight shackling too much of the movie.

Brett "What's a guy got to do get Commando 2 made?" Hibbler

Expendable

"Who sent you?!" barks an angry, and still intimidating despite his age, Steve Austin. Stallone, grasping at the rope being used to cut off circulation to his brain, manages to let out some muffled comment about Austin's Mother. Steve, being the gracious villain that he is, lays into Stallone's rib cage as any good thug should in response to such defiance.

"WHO. SENT. YOU." he repeats as the generic lines drip from his lips. This time, Stallone can't reply and points to his throat. "Breath" he chokes out, his face growing weird shades of red.

"Give him air," Austin commands the goon holding Stallone. He complies and Stallone bends over, sucking in precious oxygen once more.

"Tell me who sent you," tries Steve again. And what does Stallone utter in reply? Why an oh-so-clever "Your Hairdresser!"

And that pretty much marks why I consider the movie itself to be sadly self prophesying. Is it possible for a movie that you went into with very low, very achievable hopes for, to let you down? Apparently so. The Expendables, for me, was supposed to be a trip back to the 80s with over-the-top action stars pulling off impossible, but imaginative, action moves while taking out hordes of bad guys without getting so much as a nick.  The dialogue was to be sparse, but witty and conveying a true sense of comradery amongst the cast of former and current movie leads. Just watching these guys together was supposed to be a blast in and of itself. The plot only needed to be thick enough to give us a motive and a villain, and the rest of the movie was to be non-stop guns and explosions.

Not-so-much. It was a tad sluggish, the majority of the dialogue was somewhere between genuinely funny and not quite corny enough to be Arnold one-liner funny, leaving you either confused or feeling like you needed to be 13 to appreciate it, and the side stories never gave the characters enough depth to justify taking time away from more crazy, mercenary action. The movie did have some bright moments and the climax was amazingly satisfying. There were spurts of humor, a great scene with Micky Rorke, and some action that was all a fan of this genre could ever want. And in retrospect, recapping some of the movie with fellow watchers made it more satisfying (like Napoleon Dynamite), but still not enough to make it recommendable as a "must see" or even a "get it as soon as it comes out." I'd mark it down as more of a "if it's on, check it out, it's worth watching", but not much more. Stallone's last two efforts, Balboa and Rambo are much better movies despite missing the amazing supporting cast if you're looking for a better trip down nostalgia lane.

Over all, I'll give this movie @@ out of @@@@. It has some great moments and some spot-on rediculousness, but not enough to overcome the dead weight shackling too much of the movie.

Brett "What's a guy got to do get Commando 2 made?" Hibbler