Two blog posts in one day – it’s a modern miracle! Ha! A friend sent this to me tonight, it’s hysterical and so, so true. Enjoy

Back about a year and 1/2 ago I wrote a little post about how to get free, on-demand TV via the internet (check it out here). Honestly, we don’t use it a ton because we still have DirecTV, but I think that may change this summer once all of our normal shows are off – and here’s why. There’s this wonderful little company called Boxee that’s aiming to take out cable and dish – and as much as I like DirecTV – I’m all for it. The internet isn’t going away after all, and has become nothing short of a necessity in everything we do these days.

Currently, there’s a little setup involved for being able to access the internet on your TV – but it’s relatively simple with just a few adapters and a spare computer/laptop. There’s a great little video here that’ll help you. Once you’ve got everything connected, that’s where Boxee comes into play. It’s basically your menu or guide to everything that’s available to watching via the internet – bringing various venues like Hulu, YouTube and all the main networks like ABC, NBC & Fox all in one place. And it doesn’t stop there – it also accesses any photos, music and movies that you’ve already got on your hard drive and will play them for you on-screen. AND… if you’re a Netflix subscriber, you can tap into their “watch instantly” movies. Check out some of the screenshots below.

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I know this is a purely techie, geeky post for some of you, but I think Boxee’s a game changer and makes this whole “internet home theater” idea a reality for the otherwise, non-techie. If for some reason you don’t have a spare computer or laptop laying around, they’re also developing a stand-a-lone box that allows you to tap into all of the above without having to connect a computer to your TV. Pretty sweet. They claim it will be released sometime this summer and cost less than $200.

So will services like Boxee mark the end of cable & dish? Probably not anytime soon, but with TV manufacturers rolling out new lines of internet equipped TV’s, it’s obvious they’re seeing the writing on the wall too. It’s interesting to watch the trend for sure. Now if only Boxee could make some sort of deal with the NFL to bring Sunday Ticket to their users, I’d drop DirecTV quicker than you can say “HUT! HUT!”

If you want to get a little more fancy (or geeky rather), check out the HippoRemote Pro, that can turn your iPhone into a wireless mouse, keyboard and app launcher… all for $5 in the app store. Did I mention it could remotely turn on your computer too? Pretty cool.

If you ever need help/advice setting this up, let me know and I’d be happy to help.

How many of you have played around with internet TV? If yes, what do you think? If no, why not? Your comments, as always, are appreciated!

It’s funny looking back on my blog journey to date. I tend to write some pretty heavy stuff more often than not… which is funny to me, because that’s not really how I see myself. When I look at my fellow bloggers, the majority take a more casual approach/style – which I admire. For some reason I always feel the need to lay it all on the line every single time I post something, not really sure why that is. My blog was started with the sole purpose of transparently sharing what’s going on in my life. I don’t know how good of a job I’m doing at that, but I’m trying. I also want the blog to be more than that too, so I’m going to try and mix things up a little more often, just for sanity’s sake, if for no other reason. So here goes…

Have any of you seen a movie in IMAX recently? We FINALLY have one close to us and will be seeing Ironman 2 Friday night. It’s been a long time since we’ve been to a movie, so we’re excited… well, I am, can’t speak for Carrie. So is there really a noticeable difference between IMAX and standard besides the screen size? Enough to spend the extra money? It’s definitely not cheap, but I figured this would be a great movie to test it out with. Iron Man 2 & Twilight Eclipse Robin Hood are the ones I’m looking forward to this summer. But we’re so behind on movies it’s not even funny. We’ve had the same Netflix DVD’s sitting in our living room for 2 months now, no joke.

What movies are you looking forward to this summer?

I’m a big fan ruffling feathers when they need to be ruffled, this is one of them in my opinion… church boycotts. In recent memory, we’ve boycotted Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, The Golden Compass and Disney. Do these things contain or support “objectionable elements”? Sure, but what in this world doesn’t anymore? I can’t help but think Jesus must constantly be rolling his eyes at the idiots we (as His church) have become. ChurchMarketingSucks.com is one of the groups I follow on Twitter – their name itself is probably offensive to some, but if you’ve never heard of them, you’ve got to check them out. They posted this link this morning to a megachurch in Florida who replaced their Pepsi machines with Coke machines because of their support of the gay agenda.

Church boycotts are one of the things that have irritated me for a really long time. What purpose do they serve? Are they spurred by true, Spirit-led conviction or just by personal preference or simply out of fear? The bottom line is, the world is used to seeing the church act out of fear than it is out of love and compassion. Kevin Hendricks from CMS wrote an excellent article entitled Don’t Cause Unnecessary Offense,where he talks about the churches image and how we are hindering the spread of the gospel:

This ‘unnecessary offense’ is such a foreign concept, especially to a rights-driven Christian American like myself. The idea that I should compromise with people who I think are morally wrong is ridiculous. Yet Paul told us to become all things to all people (1 Corinthians 9:22), that if something bothers somebody else we shouldn’t do it for their sake (1 Corinthians 8:13), that we are slaves to righteousness(Romans 6:18). So much for the land of the free. I think part of the issue is with the word ‘compromise’. Today compromise is a dirty word. But it’s possible to compromise and not sell out your beliefs. It’s possible to agree to disagree and still find enough common ground to move forward, without causing lightning bolts to fall from the sky.

Kevin’s right, the word “compromise” is probably the single most scary word to us Christians. You might as well be saying a 4-letter curse word. So is the point of this post just to say we should just roll over and let the “onslaught of wickedness” ensue? No. But as God’s been teaching me lately via Proverbs, we should be wise when we open our mouths, when we voice our opinions and call out the offenses of those we disagree with. Jesus was the perfect example of this during his ministry on earth… he was surrounded by murderers, thieves and whores yet the one group that He consistently and publicly spoke out against the most wasn’t any of those groups, but the religious of His day who thought they were carrying out His will.

God didn’t put us on this earth to point out every offense to the cause of Christ, nor vocally stand in opposition to those who support groups and agendas that we disagree with. Our sole purpose on this earth is to share the message of Jesus with the world. Somewhere along the line that purpose has gotten muddled and confused. I’m afraid we’re communicating anything but the message we were put here to communicate. We (the church) need to be rebuked, we need to be re-educated and we need to be reminded why we’re here, what our mission truly is and what it was never intended to be.

Your thoughts, as always, are welcome.

Ok, so I can’t wait to be a dad… I keep counting down the days and months in my head. While some guys kind of dread the interruption of their routines, I welcome it with open arms. Not that I don’t enjoy my carefree evenings of just plopping down after work and watching TV or just hanging out with Carrie doing whatever we feel like doing, whenever we feel like doing it – I enjoy all those things very much. But I’m ready for the drastic change that’s about to take place. And yes, I know it’s going to be a drastic change… the rude awakenings at 3 in the morning, the endless stream of poopy diapers, the spit up, the throw up, the smell.

While I’m not at all looking forward to those things, I can’t wait to hold my little guy in my arms for the first time and see the little miracle God’s given us. In a weird way, I think when that happens for the first time, I’ll finally understand God’s love for me as His child, and I can’t wait for that moment either. Maybe some things will just start to click for me like they never have before, I don’t know.

It’s seemed like forever ago since we found out Carrie was pregnant, and I know for Carrie, it feels like she’s been pregnant forever too. I keep thinking ahead to February 2nd and then realize it’s only the end of September. Kinda feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, doing the same thing day after day after day. I know little Landon will be here before we know it, but it sure feels like an eternity away at this point. If you’ve read my Bio, then you know I’m not a patient person… at all, ever. But at the same time, I know if there was ever anything worth waiting for, this is it.

126 days and counting…

Ever had one of these? Thankfully, God’s been very patient and merciful to me and while I have had some wake up calls of the extreme variety, He’s used the simplest of things to get my attention lately, to let me know He’s still there and loves me no matter what.

Tonight we went to see the movie FireProof and it really did open my eyes to some things I need to change in my own life… both in my marriage and in my relationship with Him. As you can see in my About me page, I am by nature a very lazy individual, not going to lie, and I’ve got to fight it with every ounce of my being. When I don’t it’s one of the many “parasites” (referenced in the movie) that grabs hold of everything I hold dear and seeks to tear it apart.

That movie was exactly what I needed to see tonight. It’s made me really stop and think about my commitment to Carrie, what I can be doing to show my love and respect for her. It also renewed my focus for having a deeper and more meaningful relationship with God, not just a casual one.

If you’ve never heard of the movie FireProof, be sure to check it out, you’ll be glad you did. While it is a movie about saving marriage, it’s so much more than that. The guys at Sherwood did an amazing job and it was good to see one of my childhood favorite actors, Kirk Cameron again too.