Make Kony Famous

Hope you all have seen this already and that it is nothing new.

If you don't know much about Joseph Kony, you can visit www.benbarrack.com or click on the link below. Contact him if you need to, he would be more than happy to inform you. He has been aware of this issue for a while now. Also, if you get the chance to rent and watch Machine Gun Preacher, do so. It will inform you of a lot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc

http://barracknow.blogspot.com/2011/10/lra-leader-joseph-kony-is-not-christian.html

Joseph Kony is the leader of the LRA, otherwise known as the Lord's Resistance Army. For 26 years, Kony has been abducting children, forcing them to kill their family and become his solders. I don't care what you have read, Joseph Kony is NOT Christian. Fact is, he is a radical Muslim and must be stopped.

http://barracknow.blogspot.com/2011/10/lra-leader-joseph-kony-is-not-christian.html

Going Green-- Saving the Planet One Tree At A Time

This should be amusing for a lot of you, just a heads up.

John (for all of you newcomers, that's my fiance) and his roommate have been saving paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum for a little over a month, just to recycle it.
There is a local recycling company that will pay you for bringing your recycled goods. John was getting super excited, his main purpose for all of this was money.
He asked me, as a journalist, what is it that makes a story.
First, I told him he needs questions that he not only asks himself, but his viewers. His question was "Is recycling worth it?" I informed him that it is a good question but it needs to be more specific because for his viewers, how are they supposed to know what he means? Does he mean is it worth it when it comes to money or is it worth it in the sense that it is beneficial for the environment?

Well, we all have common sense (for the most part). We know that plastic bottles do not decompose so obviously it's helpful to recycle it. Anyways, that's a different story. Back to my point.
We took an adventure out to Try2Recycle today. John took all of his recyclables to his place and on our adventure, we took a video. He called and found out that he had to sort all of it otherwise they wouldn't accept it.
John had over 11 pounds of recycled goods. Because places like this are a HUGE deal in places like California, I was guessing he was going to get a decent amount. I was guessing $5 maybe, he was aiming more towards $10. He walked up to a lady at the front of the company, turned in his weight-in and guess what he got?
An amazing 63 cents.

Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BvbXYa9fh8

Soul Surfer Review

I decided that I really like doing movie reviews. The other week, John talked me into doing a "vlog" aka video blog of a movie we saw together called Source Code and a movie I saw with my mom called Soul Surfer. If you want to check out the vlog and the Source Code review, go to Youtube and type in TheJohnVandivier in the search box and it should be the second video.

But I won't be talking about Source Code in this post just because I think we covered most of it in our "vlog".
I would like to talk about Soul Surfer. It is a PG movie that recently came out and let me tell you, I really enjoyed it. Like I said in the video post, most PG rated movies are directly towards children, not necessarily for all ages. This movie, however, was appropriate for all viewers.

If you haven't seen trailers, this movie is about a 13 year-old girl named Bethany Hamilton who grew up in Hawaii and had been out in the water ever since she was little. She started entering championships at a very young age. At 13, she got sponsored and was going to enter the BIG championship. While out on her board with her best friend, she was attacked by a shark and lost her left arm. According to her friends and family, she didn't cry or panic at all (pretty sure I would be doing both, I am terrified of sharks). About a month after the attack, she got back into the water, learned how to surf with a disability and entered nationals.

This movie is based on a true story. Bethany Hamilton was played by actress Anna Sophia Robb. Her parents were played by Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt. I would really like to emphasize how awesome the family in this movie was portrayed. Think back to movies you have seen and answer this:
How many movies have BOTH parents, happily married, never divorced and even after so many years of marriage, they are still in love, happy and able to play?
For me, the movies I see fall under these categories:
1) Parents are divorced and fighting
2) One or both parents have died in some sort of accident
3) They are still married but unhappy

Think even to television shows, for one example: Disney Channel. Out of all the shows they run, 2 at the moment have happily married parents. But that is for a different blog, maybe someday.

My point is this:
The parents in Soul Surfer laughed, played, and went to church together. You just don't see that.

But now to my biggest point.
How many movies have Christian families? And before you answer that, I'm not talking about "hinting" christians. No, I'm not talking about Christian "references" where the movie could go either way. I am talking about church, bible verses, prayer, mission trips, and faith. All of those were in this movie and more. To me, this made the movie (Not because I'm Christian and biased, that's not my point even if it may be true) because the family gave all their struggles to God and gave Him the credit for their strength.
One scene in the movie, Bethany is crying to her youth director and asking why God would do this to her. The youth director did not give a direct answer but she told her that maybe God wanted her to see life from a different view. After this talk, she went on a mission trip and saw all the people suffering because of a natural disaster. She saw people without food and water and ones hurting from loss of a loved one. Long story short, she realized that surfing wasn't everything, it was not the meaning of life. Even through her pain and suffering, she realized she was still blessed.

I can honestly say I don't think I have ever seen a movie that was really this open with Christianity. People are standing up for what they believe in now and I like it. I know they are just actors and they may or may not believe in their character, but the fact that Hollywood would come out with a movie like this, tells me our world is turning back around.

On the other hand, Soul Surfer received bad reviews from the critics. One critic gave the movie a C rating because (and I quote) "For a movie about surfing, the focus needs to be a little less on her Christian walk"
I read that and was shocked. It is a true story, yes it has surfing, but I think that all the things she overcame was way more of a story than her surfing. The fact that she had enough determination to get back in the water and re-learn how to surf is awesome, but because she was able to grow in her walk with Christ is what really captured me.

What Is Christianity Becoming? The Museum of Idolatry

Have you ever come across a website where your first thought was something like "what in the world" or "is this serious"? Have you ever had your beliefs mocked and ridiculed?

As I was browsing the web, just trying to possibly find a topic, and I came across a website that literally made my jaw drop in disgust.

The 2nd youtube video on this website is a "man" called The Demoniac Preacher, 'preaching' to his audience while he mocks my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is also a advertisement of a Sunday service at this "church" and the introduction is, and I quote: "Jesus' death and resurrection are just not relevant anymore. So...rather than risk being irrelevant, Pastor Tom Skiles decided to preach about the movie Avatar on the highest holy day in the Christian Church". A church service on Avatar? On Easter Sunday?

Also, this 'church' promotes a play called Corpus Christi. The only reason I have ever heard of this disgusting and offensive play is because it was performed at Tarleton (another reason why the school now disgusts me). Anyways, ever heard of it? Well if you have not, read on for a quick summary.

The 'gay Jesus' play may be hitting the stage in North Texas after all.
Cathedral of Hope , the large Dallas church whose ministry is primarily directed toward gay and lesbian Christians, has announced that it will host a Los Angeles production of Corpus Christi, a play by Tony Award-winner Terrence McNally. The play is about a 20th-century Christ-like figure (called Joshua) who is gay. In one scene, Joshua kisses Judas at the senior prom at "Pontius Pilate High School." In another, he performs a wedding ceremony for two of his disciples, who are also gay.
Earlier this month, the play made headlines when a theater student at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, chose to direct a version as a class project. The student's play was to be staged on the Tarleton State campus. But that show was canceled at the last minute, after vociferous criticism from Stephenville clergy members and others.

Another name for this play is the "Gay Jesus Play".

First of all, I find it shocking that a so-called 'christian' church supports and promotes gay and lesbianism. Does it not specifically say in the bible that homosexuals will NOT enter the kingdom of heaven? Don't believe me. Get a bible and read it! Here are examples:

• If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.(Leviticus 20:13)


• Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)


• Romans 1:26-27 - For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

And what is even worse about this, is while introducing this play, the director said that although there may be some who disagree with this play, he would ask that you not judge. THEN has the audacity to use the bible and say "Judge not lest ye be judged"!

Needless to say, you should check the website out for yourself and speak up against those who mock your beliefs. This is unacceptable and I speak for myself when I say that I am tired of the mockery, I am tired of people thinking it is ok to say it is ok to be homosexual by trying to say Jesus was homosexual. Jesus was perfect, sinless, and died on the cross so that christians could go to heaven, so that they could be forgiven for their sins, and this is how 'christians' are repaying Him? Pathetic. I am at the point now where I do not even want to call myself a christian if this is what 'christianity' is coming too. I know my beliefs and I am sticking to them. I believe in God, the maker of heaven and earth, who sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. Why is there any need to label my beliefs if I stand strong on what they are? Should I give anyone the right to think that I believe Jesus was a homosexual or that I think His death and ressurection are irrelevent to Easter Sunday? Should I give anyone the right to believe that this church's preachings are acceptable? NO! If being a 'christian' means mocking my Lord and Savior, supporting homosexuality, and leading a life of hypocrisy, then I am not a christian.

Here is the website, check it out and get the word out. It is time we start standing up against this mockery and hypocrisy. Also, notice the categories on the side labeled "Christian Erotica" which is a link that takes you to a section of the site where you can purchase pornography, sex toys, prostitution in the church, how you can meet homosexual singles, a "Belly Dance for God" video, and it also talks about about a youth group sex series. The video of this series starts with a line that reads "12 reasons to do it before you're in 12th grade" and "Undress her with your eyes before you get caught". Whatever happened to lust and immorality being a sin? Have these people forgotten that Corinthians says that every other sin is committed outside the body, but immorality is a sin committed inside the body which is where Christ dwells? Or do they just not care? And this is supposed to be ok? This is supposed to be what God wants?! Or how about their line "Undress her with your eyes"? Is that not lust? What if I mentioned Matthew 5:29 where it says: "So if your eye--even your good eye--causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell."? Once again, maybe they just don't care.

http://www.alittleleaven.com/
http://cathedralofhope.com/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=305

That's the website. I know you'll be just as shocked as I was. And just incase, I added the website for the church in Dallas (the 2nd link).