What Worship Smells Like

Ever wonder what worship smells like? Yeah, me neither. But maybe we should. In an act of pure and impractical devotion, a woman named Mary -- who had recently seen her brother raised from the dead by Jesus -- shocked all the guests at an otherwise lovely dinner party by pouring nearly a pound of uber-expensive and potent-smelling perfume oil all over Jesus' head and feet.

It happened on a Saturday night like this one, the day before the first Palm Sunday. Was it an impulsive act of worship or something she had long planned? We don't know. John writes that the whole house smelled of the stuff, and in the time before quick showers Jesus may have carried the scent on him well into the final five days before His crucifixion. After wiping his feet with her hair, she would have smelled just like Him, bearing the aroma of her worship everywhere she went during that painful week, perhaps even to the cross itself.

Judas and some other disciples grumbled about the cost, but Jesus praised her.

She has done a beautiful thing to me. . . . She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her. (John 12:6, 8-9)

Read two versions of the story in John 12:1-11 and Mark 14:3-11, and ask yourself what your worship smells like this week. Would anyone grumble that you're giving away too much to Jesus? That your choice to follow Him as you do is impractical? Yeah, me neither. But maybe they should.

50 States in a Week's Vacation

Back in '98, this guy traveled to all 50 states during a one week vacation from work. He details how he was able to accomplish hitting every state in 11 days (Friday afternoon through the following Monday morning). He drove it all, except for painfully quick flights to Hawaii and Alaska.

I flew up to Seattle, and then on to Ketchikan, Alaska (#50) where I took a 45-minute taxicab tour of the city, and then got on the next flight back to Seattle (thus entering Washington state for the third time in eight days) and then back to San Francisco.

That's a long way to fly just to drive around for an hour. Not sure it sounds like a fun trip, but it must be a great to say you've done it.

Yellowstone Supervolcano

One word: run!

Hollywood Prayer Network

This group has made it their mission to convince Christians to pray for Hollywood. Prayer is always a good idea, red wristband or not. And it's tough to disagree that the entertainment industry's global influence is a perfect target for prayer. Here's their goal:

We invite individuals, churches and para-church organizations to commit to pray for all aspects of the Entertainment Industry, including the people in film, television, music, the Internet and news media.

Our hope is that believers will pray both for the people involved in entertainment, as well as praying against the deceptions that pour out of the industry. As consumers of the ideas that come packaged with our entertainment, we need both compassion for the messengers and discernment to sort truth from lies in their messages. Pray that the storytellers will learn the Truth, as well as learning to represent it accurately.

Easter Egg Hunt Winners!

The hunt is over! If you haven't found a PW Easter Egg yet, too bad. We just finished picking up the eggs from the site. I'll let you know where we hid them further down this post. But first we want to announce our winners!

Our Grand Prize winner, who wins a copy of The Nativity Story on DVD, the Nativity Story Sacred Songs CD, What Does God Want From Me? and Avoiding Stupidity by Mark Matlock and a PlanetWisdom t-shirt...whew, is...drum role... Amy Balamut (Burleson, TX).

Our second place prize winners, who receive the DVD and CD, are Renee Pilkenton (Santa Rosa, CA), Greg Payne (Garland, TX) and Tim Medley (Seagoville, TX).

In third place, receiving the DVD, we have Janice Linkous (Pulaski, VA), Jenna Guthmiller (Livermore, CA), Nathan Teigland (Houston, TX) and Carolyn Brown (Woodland Park, CO).

And now for our Mega Prize drawing winner... who also receives everything the Grand Prize winner receives plus all 3 Wise Guides from Mark Matlock and MercyMe's latest CD Coming Up To Breathe...and the winner is... Shauna Benson (North Branch, MN)!

Congratulations everyone!

For those that couldn't find the eggs, they were located at Dr.Dare's Snot So Good recipe, Avril Lavigne's Don't Tell Me music review, Corpse Bride movie review, Finding True Love article by Sean McDowell and Mark's Smart Faith book page.

Leave your comments and tell us about your egg hunt experience. Did you find any? Did you find all five? How long did it take you?

Your Worst Job Ever?

Okay, the previous blog post implied that being the judge in a smelliest shoe competition would be the "worst job ever." That might be an overstatement. Jonathan suggested we give you a chance to suggest the worst job ever in the comments to this post.

So what do you think makes a job really lousy? Some unavoidable affront to the senses? Life-threatening working conditions? Minimum wage?

Leave a comment with your vote by clicking on the "comments" link below.

Worst Job Ever

Our congrats to Katharine Tuck, 13, of Utah, for landing herself the $2500 prize for smelliest sneaker. I know a few middle-schoolers who could give her a run for her money, but they're all (really sweaty) guys. Who says girls can't compete in the really important things?

Our condolences, though, to the poor saps forced to judge the contest. Imagine getting hired for this gig:

"George, we think you're qualified to represent our corporation in a big-budget publicity event by judging between closely qualified and competitive candidates. The bad news? Well, you've got to stick your nose in the worst-smelling shoes we could find in the whole country -- and take a big whiff -- and pretend you're having a good time. Trust us, though, this is just a stepping-stone to judging much more prestigious contests, like, say, worst amateur rap song -- or most undercooked pork products. Yes, the sky's the limit from here -- right after you fill your lungs with the airborne bacteria of teenage toe cheese."

Remember, kids. Stay in school.

Coolest Furniture Ever

If anyone's wondering what to get me for my birthday, here's an idea. Actually, I don't think this design contest winner for "teenage" furniture exists in the real world, yet, but it's a very cool idea. I'm sure it won't cost more than a couple of grand.

Of course, an iTunes gift card would be fine, too.

PW Easter Egg Hunt!

In case you missed hearing about it, it's time for our annual high-protein contest. The hunt is on. Get all the info here. Bottom line: You could win valuable PW prizes, and/or a shiny new DVD of The Nativity Story.

Remember, Jonathan is crafty. Them eggs could be anywhere in the site. Go. Hunt. Now.

[Note: That egg to the right is not one of the eggs you're looking for. It's just a sample egg. It's got no gooey, clickable yolk. Move on, already.]

What Narcissism Means to Me

I stole the title of this blog post from a book by poet Tony Hoagland. It might be the best title ever, at least in my opinion.

Narcissism, defined by Princeton’s online dictionary as ”an exceptional interest in and admiration for yourself,“ is on the rise. According to a recent report by the authors of a long-term study of college students, your generation is more into self than ever before. And these guys don’t think that’s a good thing.

"We need to stop endlessly repeating 'You're special' and having children repeat that back," said the study's lead author, Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University. "Kids are self-centered enough already."

Their survey of over 16,000 college students revealed that lots more people are likely now (as opposed to 25 years ago) to answer ”yes“ to statements like, ”"If I ruled the world, it would be a better place," "I think I am a special person" and "I can live my life any way I want to."

If you don’t see any problem with that, Prof. Twenge and co. say your romantic relationships could be in big trouble, for starters.

“Narcissists ‘are more likely to have romantic relationships that are short-lived, at risk for infidelity, lack emotional warmth, and to exhibit game-playing, dishonesty, and over-controlling and violent behaviors.’ ”

Christians are certainly capable of selfishness and narcissism (at least I am), but that only proves that we’re not practicing the upside-down teaching of God’s Word. Jesus famously said we can’t follow Him without denying ourselves. (Luke 9:23) Paul wrote that we must not think of ourselves too highly (Romans 12:3) and we should treat each other as more important than ourselves (Romans 12:10). And James warned that selfish ambition is the opposite of wisdom and always leads to yucky stuff. (James 3:13-16)

More than ever, those willing to make themselves nothing will stand out in a culture that’s all about making something of ourselves.

How to Go to Church

Have trouble getting yourself out the door and to church once a week? Lots of people who would otherwise think of themselves as church-goers often have a hard time actually going to church. If you still live at home with a couple of insistent older people (parents), you might not have this problem.

For the rest of us, here's a bunch of good ideas from the good folks at lifehack.org to get your seat in a pew (or folding chair or futon or whatever sitting devices your church provides) 52 weeks in a row.

Ultraviolet Eclipse

This might be the coolest thing you'll see all day. It's a NASA image of our sun seen in "four wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light." Even cooler: The short video includes an eclipse with the moon traveling between the camera and the sun as a small black disk.
From the story:

"The images have an alien quality," notes [STEREO program scientist] Guhathakurta. "It's not just the strange colors of the sun. Look at the size of the Moon; it's very odd." When we observe a lunar transit from Earth, the Moon appears to be the same size as the sun—a coincidence that produces intoxicatingly beautiful solar eclipses. The silhouette STEREO-B saw, on the other hand, was only a fraction of the sun's diameter. "It's like being in the wrong solar system."

Check out the story and video. Seriously amazing. Even in ultraviolet, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." (Psalm 19:1)

Blame Your Hormones

Researchers may have discovered the hormone responsible for making teenagers moody. Do you realize what this means? You can just print out this article and show it to your parents, teachers, or youth pastor any time you’ve been acting like a jerk. “See, it’s my hormones. I couldn’t help myself.” It’s a scientific get-out-of-jail-free card.

I keed. It’s no secret that one of the many perks of being an adolescent is the free coaster rides provided by your unpredictable emotions. Way up one minute; utter despair five minutes later. Some have it worse than others, but it does help a little to know it’s not just you. Everybody’s hormones are attempting to sabotage them and ruin their lives. See, much better.

But you don’t have to stop at, “Well, that’s just the way it is.” Christian teenagers have an option; the Holy Spirit is still stronger than hormones. In the power of God’s Spirit, they can live with “peace, love, joy (a happy perspective even when the happy feelings run away), patience, gentleness (avoiding overly extreme reactions), good choices, faithfulness (staying on course with God), and self-control (not letting the hormonal emotions drive the boat).” (See Galatians 5:16-26, esp. vv. 22-23.) Yes, you’ll feel crazy in the head sometimes, but God gives the power to hold on and make good choices.

The Voco Clock

Ever wish you had a proper English butler to attend to your every need? Yeah, me neither. But it might be fun to have one wake you up every morning, very respectfully, of course. At least, it's fun to think about while playing with the demo for this kooky British clock.

"I'm so sorry to disturb you, Sir, but it appears to be morning. Very inconvenient, I agree. I believe it is the rotation of the earth that is to blame, sir."

Dance Dance Immolation

Whoa. I'm not a Dance Dance Revolution guy, but I've watched a few hardcore competitors in action. I admit that I both admire their crazy skills and understand I'd never have the guts to humiliate myself like that in public. But my respect level goes through the roof when you throw in blowtorches and firesuits.

Makes me wonder what other awkward, fun, slightly geeky pursuits could add some cred with a serious bump in the stakes. Synchronized swimming in a pool of pirhaunas? Full-contact mini golf? Polka dancing with razor wire hoop skirts? I'd watch that. Someone call ESPN 8, "The Ocho."

Hooking Up Hurts Women

Is the high school and college hook-up culture (in which couples get together for sex with no plans for a “relationship”) damaging to women? In a new book called Unhooked, Laura Sessions Stepp suggests that it does, and she’s taking heat for it. Subtitled, How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love and Lose at Both, the book follows nine high school and college students, age 15 to 21, to track the impact casual making out and sex has on their emotions and relationships.

This New York Times story (featured on AOL) relates quotes from several harsh reviews about the book, including this one from the Washington Post: “resurrects the ugly, old notion of sex as something a female gives in return for a male's good behavior." And this one from Slate: "makes sex into a bigger, scarier and more dangerous thing than it already is."

I have not read the book, but these reviewers seem angry, in part, NOT because Sessions Stepp is basing her argument on any religious conservatism. She’s a longtime feminist, and she doesn’t even assert that sex before marriage is wrong. She just has the gall to suggest casual sex might be bad for women emotionally, that perhaps being feminine and dating and building relationships would be healthier than having sex (or making out) with a guy you just met today and don’t plan to hang out with tomorrow.

Of course, many books like this have also been written from an explicitly Christian perspective. And yes, it should be enough for us that God clearly communicates in Scripture that sex is not only intended to be shared with ”someone you love,“ but also some you’re married to. Still, it’s significant that even those coming from a secular perspective notice that casual hook-up sex often leads to emotional scarring and deep regret. For very different reasons, Sessions Stepp seems to join the writer of Proverbs in telling women, ”Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.“ (Proverbs 4:23) And she believes, at least, that guarding your sexuality is essential to guarding your heart.

If You Can’t Trust Wikipedia . . .

For all you paper-writers leaning on the old Wikipedia for help with those big end-of-the-year projects, check out this story about one of the site’s “prominent editors.” Obviously, Wikipedia is still a great place to start a search for info on a topic, but you’d better always double check those sources before going to the effort of typing them into your footnotes.

The site’s co-founder is quick to point out that Wikipedia is “based on the twin pillars of trust and tolerance.” I’m sure the vast majority of info on the vast site is mostly correct, but as Stephen Colbert so hilariously pointed out last year, the reliability of any knowledge is limited by the trustworthiness of those telling you about it. It might have the smell of “truthiness,” but that doesn’t mean the source isn’t making it up.

In an era when so much information is so freely available, it’s getting easier to deceive lots of people about what the truth really is. How can you know anything for sure? More than ever, we need what Proverbs talks about over and over: wisdom, discernment, understanding. We need God’s perspective on life to sort out truth from truthiness, to figure out how to really live a life that matters.