Jackson's First Video

Welcome to the official Jackson Thomas Baby Announcement website. The video is only a minute and a half. Enjoy!

Viva Jackson Thomas!

David Brainerd

May 1, 1742. - "I was enabled to cry to God with fervency for ministerial qualifications, that he would appear for the advancement of his own kingdom, and that he would bring in the heathen. Had much assistance in my studies. This has been a profitable week to me; I have enjoyed many communications of the blessed Spirit in my soul." - David Brainerd


I've been reading (listening) to this book thanks to my friend Justin's email telling me about the free download. (You can find other free Christian book downloads here.) I thought it would be encouraging to read about America's first missionary, but I found myself in a bit of a lull. You might ask, "How can this be Troy? How could a book with the above quote be discouraging?"

I find myself realizing that I'm not really doing much for the Lord and then I struggle with that very statement. Brainerd did. He seemed to be constantly going back and forth with his flesh versus relying on the Spirit to do the work.

Wait a second. Maybe this book is encouraging after all. Despite the 300 years that seperate Brainerd and me, we still struggle with the same things. I can learn from his struggles and victories. Oh to be a Brainerd! When his soul was vexed, he determined to go to the Lord and the Word to find answers. He didn't settle for momentary appeasement. I, unfortunately, can easily turn on the TV, check my email, or pet my cat.

Oh to be undividedly focused on our Lord Jesus and his kingdom. Lord have mercy on my soul and make me useful for your glory!!

Babies + Money = Votes?

Recent Headline:
" Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that every child born in the United States should get a $5,000 "baby bond" from the government to help pay for future costs of college or buying a home."

I love how politicians come up with these ideas. Everyone loves babies. Everyone loves money. If we give everyone who has a baby money, then they'll love (vote for) us!!

Do the math: $5,000 per baby = $20 billion dollars a year based on the average of 4 million babies a year born in the U.S.A. If you think illegal immigration is bad now, just wait until their babies get citizenship and money.

How will we pay for this? Stamp this idea: RETARDED!!!!!!

Florida + Baseball = Lost Cause

This is quiet possibly the saddest picture taken this year regarding a sporting event. Some reports said the fans numbered 450 people. This is ridiculous. What is the deal with Miami? I know it's hot and humid. I know there's yachts to be ridden and the Miami Sound Machine 's dance club in South Beach is rockin', but come on! Four hundred and fifty people at a Major League Baseball game?!

If this was the case for the Devil Rays, I'd understand. They've never really had a winning team. But the Marlins have won Two World Series in the last 10 years. Just look at this picture. Pathetic!

The all new 2020 Toyota Oceania

A guy in Indiana has recently claimed that he can burn salt water with radio frequencies. Do you know what this means? If this is true, I'll be buying my first Toyota Oceania by 2020. Imagine driving a car with non-toxic fumes into a non-toxic filling station and pumping your car full of salt water! Amazing! The fuel would be cheaper. The air would be cleaner. And that guy in Indiana would be very rich!

Here's the link to the story.

Let's Win Books Together!

Visit the link above to win some Christian books.
Use this referral number to help increase my chances: 12528

Thanks!

God is Still There

I like this video. It's to the point, authoritative, challenging, and provocative. What do you think?

Riverside Rangers!

This summer I played on my first organized soccer team since I was in the 9th grade. We called ourselves the Riverside Rangers. If we rated the season by fun, we were 10-0. If you went by wins, we were 1-9. Either way, I had a blast despite a few bumps and cramps.


Smile! I hope to make a pin out of this picture for my wife to wear around town.

Blog Sweet Blog

I like to write, but I don't do it that often. I hear this is a common problem among people who write. I feel I have wronged the writer within me by not taking him out as often as I should. I'm sorry dear author. I am sorry.

See you in a couple of months!

A Great TV Show Idea

My brother and friend, Noah and Dwight respectively, created this concept for a "Reality TV" show. Watch our promo trailer and let me know what you think. Don't steal it! It's already registered with the Writer's Guild.

Hello

I haven't blogged in a while. Since I last blogged, my wife and I conceived our first child, we went on a 2 week European vacation, and I gained 3 pounds. Wow! A lot can change in over 3 months.

Here's a video of our cat, Cassie. Enjoy!

Really Long Fingernails!!

I'm not kidding. Melissa and I were in CVS tonight to get our photos for our passports when we spotted a rare, human species. She looked like your typical nurse wearing pastel scrubs, but there was nothing normal about this woman. On all 10 of her fingers grew the longest fingernails I've ever seen in person before. I saw longer on "That's Incredible" when I was a kid, but that was on TV. This was live and in color - hot pink to be accurate.

I almost dry heaved. I pointed them out to Melissa and she nearly choked as well. What was going on? Was this a dream? Was Abe Lincoln going to come walking down the Aisle with a beaver in hand? Nope. This was real and quite disturbing.

As a female, Melissa deduced that these nails were real. (She noticed things only girls would know.) Her pointer fingers looked like curly cue fries. All of her nails were easily 6-10 inches long. Freddy Krueger would've been jealous.

Upon leaving the store, Melissa and I looked at each other and asked the same question: How does she go to the . . . .?

The Unreviewed Movie Review

This is not a big weekend for the cinema. There's only one New Release - The Hitcher.

Here's the synopsis from www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hitcher/:
This new thriller, which tracks the terrifying trajectory of Grace Andrews (Sophia Bush) and Jim Halsey (Zachary Knighton), a collegiate couple who are tormented by the mysterious hitchhiker John Ryder, a.k.a. The Hitcher (Sean Bean).

Oh, scary! Scary for who? Who in their right mind picks up hitch hikers? I can't relate.

Here's the low-down:
This movie is not good. Sure, I haven't seen it, but I know it's not good. Why? The trailer tells me absolutely nothing. There's a guy and a girl. They're on a road trip. This crazy guy tries to stab them in the car. Craziness ensues. Who cares?! Another reason this movie is not worth your time: The studio that made it didn't make it available for reviews. That should say something.

Should I stay or should I go? Stay home and watch a good road-trip-gone-bad movie like Breakdown or Vacation.

A Cold Comment

Has anyone noticed that it's really cold? It's so weird. Here it is January and I actually have to wear layers. Must be global warming, right? I mean it's winter and I see my breath. I actually saw snow fall on Friday. There was ice on the ground yesterday. It's unbelievable and all Bush's fault!

Massive Blog! Friday-Tuesday

Today and Today Only! 5 for 1 Special! I could fake it and post some scribblings over the last few day. I could give up and say I already blew the year. But I won't. I just pick myself up and start writing.

Coming soon!

I hope to start publishing my "Unreviewed Movie Review" next week at this time. Stay tuned!

Wednesday

When you're busy, it's not easy to blog. Especially when no one is reading.

Bible Study

Tonight we discussed 1 Peter 4:7-11. Good stuff. I hope to glorify God in all that I do - particularly serving the body of Christ.

Blog, Blog, Blog

It's just another manic blog day!

Sunday, Sunday

Had a wonderful day worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ with His people. I am so thankful for the grace He has shown me. He is truly worthy of our praise!

Preparing for Worship

Tonight I continued my meditations on Colossians 1:9-14. What encouraging and challenging words these are to me. D.A. Carson's book, A Call to Spiritual Reformation, reflects on what it truly means to "be filled with the knowledge of [God's] will". He says it's more than just having an understanding about future events such as who should I marry or what career should I choose. He writes:

The rapid growth of many churches in, say, sub-Saharan Africa and in Latin America, as humbling and as thrilling as it may be, will be jeopardized unless it is accompanied by a deepening knowledge of God's will. And in the Western world, where much of the church continues to squander its remarkable heritage in the grace of God, the knowledge of God declines while our fascination with techniques and fads increases. Are these not reasons to join Paul in his prayer that God might fill believers with the knowledge of his will? (p. 104)

Oh that we would desire to meet with God in His word constantly so that our minds and hearts might continually be transformed!

Night at the Museum

Melissa (my wife) and I just saw "Night at the Museum" and I have to say I had a great time. I haven't had that much fun in a family movie in awhile. I enjoyed every aspect of this film.

The actors were well cast
Ben Stiller was fantastic as the night time guard who learns that "history comes to life" during his shift. Owen Wilson had me cracking up playing the role of a "tiny" cowboy. Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney (yes he's still alive), and Bill Cobbs were a delight playing the retiring night guards. And I can't forget all of the actors who played characters from Attila the Hun to Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams). What a fun cast!

A Great Story
Stiller's character plays a loving but divorced dad who is not stable in his employment. He's tried to "make it big" in life with various "schemes", but always seems to fall flat on his face. His ex-wife is concerned that the instability is bad for their 10 year old son and suggest that he not live with Stiller until he stabilizes. This is what prompts him to find the job he ends up with at the museum.

I don't want to over analyze the film, but I did like the fact that a dad could find "greatness" in providing for his family. Sure Stiller ends up in a quite unusual job, but nonetheless, he ultimately finds pleasure in being a good dad.

The Visual Effects were stunning
This movie wasn't easy to make. From the small but epic Roman legions attacking Stiller's character to the enormous T-Rex that just wanted to play fetch, the digital effects blended seamlessly with the live action.

The Music was well scored
Alan Silvestri (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump) once again wrote a magical score to accompany the film. It was a joy listening to his charging action music as well as his enchanting sentimental tracks.

No Bad Content
Amazingly, this movie had no bad language, no sexual innuendos, and no bad messages. The only reason it was rated PG was due to some intense, but fun action sequences that a 4-5 year old "could" get a bit startled by.

All in all, I truly enjoyed this movie and highly recommend it to both adult and child.

You Gotta Have Faith!?

America is full of faith. It's a miracle. Everywhere I go, people are talking about it. Just today I saw a car with a bumper sticker with a simple question - Got Faith?

And yesterday a co-worker was telling me how important "faith" was to her. After all, faith is a good thing.

A couple of weeks ago my wife left her job and her co-workers gave her some parting gifts.
One of the gifts was a mug with the simple word of (you guessed it) "Faith". The friend who gave it to her said "faith" was a special part of her life.

But I'm concerned. Everyone's talking about "faith" but no one is defining what they have "faith" in. If you believe things are going to work out, what are you trusting in to make those things work out?

Pressing the "Faith Full Faithful" to define what they are relying on to make their lives better gets a little tricky. Some say they believe in some form of a god. Others aren't sure, but they just know deep down inside that "all things will work out".

Sadly, some of these people have a "personal" version of the God of the bible. What do I mean by that? They take all of the caring and loving passages about God in the bible and forget about the holy and righteous verses. By doing this, they constructing a God they don't need to be accountable to, but who is obligated to make their lives better because they have "faith" that he will do so.

As George Michael once sang, "You Gotta Have Faith - Baby!"

The Bible defines "faith" as "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." But to a person of "faith", this is easily redefined. The problem is they hijack these words and forget to continue reading in Hebrews 11 who their faith should be in - the very God who created them and the universe.

Take a moment to consider our grand planet. Then think about how big the solar system and galaxy is compared to us. Now move on to the universe. It's mind blowing! The very God we should be trusting created everything we see (and have yet to see). We should tremble to think that we treat Him so haphazardly.

I was reading in 1 Peter the other day and was reminded why we should trust God. Peter writes:
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

This is true faith. Faith comes from an understanding of who you're trusting in. When we repent of our sins and humble our selves under God's might hand, then and only then, can we trust that He will care for us. The same hand that could easily tear us apart (Ps. 50:22) can through the righteousness of Christ comfort and care for us. This is amazing!

Faith in anything but the God defined by the bible is false-faith. From time to time it might offer a few tingly moments, but in the end it leads to confusion, frustration, and death. So the next time someone asks you if you've "Got Faith?", ask them "In What?"

Two Posts in the Same Day

If I post two segments in one day, do I need to write the next day? With a bit of confusion about the rules, I will try to blog each day and not post two in one day and think the next day is covered.

I used to HATE Bowl games

I just watched 2 1/2 bowl games today. What happened to me? When I was a kid my dad completely bored me on New Year's Day by watching football all day long. I told myself I'd never be that way. I'd go to the mall with my wife and not waste anytime on football.

But the only reason I cared was because two of my favorite teams were in these games - the Arkansas Razorbacks and the USC Trojans. The later barely lost and the former won big. (Did I get that right? It's late.)

At least I was able to take our extremely dry Christmas tree down and store away our decorations until next December.

What was the 1/2 game? Well, as we played Apples to Apples at my brother's apartment with some friends, he had the Fiesta Bowl on with Boise State vs. Oklahoma. Boise State dramatically scored with 7 seconds left in the fourth to tie the game. Then they went on in OT to win with an amazing trick play to the chagrin of the OU fans. That was exciting!

Good night. Only 364 blogs to go!

Living in the Year 2007

When I was a kid, I remember thinking that anything past the year 2000 was really in the future. I thought for sure that "living in the future" would bring great changes. I wanted a computer that would allow me to communicate with other computers anywhere in the world like in the movie "War Games". I hoped that the USSR would fall so scenarios like "Red Dawn" wouldn't take place. I dreamed of cars like KITT on "Knight Rider" that were smart and could tell you the temperature, you gas mileage, and give you driving directions. I wondered what it would be like to have a "car phone" like this rich guy had on an episode of "CHiPs".

Well, you can't have everything. But it sure is nice to be living in the future - the year 2007!