Dirty Knees

To take something that the Devil has twisted and then use it for good is a great thing. I’m referring to an off-color joke having to do with the title of this entry. But it got me thinking yesterday, and I changed the joke a little to make it reflective of the Christian life. So here goes:

How do you tell who is the Senior Pastor in a church?

He’s the one with the dirty knees.

Ok – ok – so maybe it’s not that funny, but it is a reflection of the Christian life. When we are reborn in Christ, it’s not just a one-time event. It isn’t just washing yourself once and staying clean the rest of your life, because nobody can. No, it’s about constantly being down on your knees, repenting of sins and asking for forgiveness.

Matthew 28:19 says “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

Jesus sends us out into the world, and if you’re going into the world, you’re going to get dirty. That’s why you have to go back and get clean. Regularly! In Jesus’ day, people wore sandals, and the streets weren’t paved. I hate dirt driveways because I track sand into my car. I can’t imagine wearing sandals on dirt roads, and WALKING everywhere. So it was customary that when you came into some one’s house, they would wash your dirty feet.

The foot-washing job was usually looked at as a job for the lowest slave. I mean, who would want to wash people’s dirty, callused, stinky feet. Well, the bible tells a story of a time when Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. They were all bickering about who was the greatest disciple, and Jesus just puts on a towel, and begins washing their feet. There is more to that story,as a topic for another blog. The point I want to make, is that we need to keep washing ourselves. We get dirty. We sin. We become angry, and succumb to the flesh. But the important part is that we come back to him, and ask him to clean us again. And we don’t live in the flesh, we live with Him.

Thank God, for continuing to wash us, and cleaning the dirty knees of our pants.

Another Negroponte Hit

I recently Blogged about a man with a mission to give third-world kids laptops. Well, quite by accident I found another blog post referring to an Engadget Article about the same program. While the blogger doesn’t hold the same view as I do on the underlying motivation for the program, it is interesting to see people are actually buying these things. Well, my previous post really says it all. We’ll see how it progresses.

LED CHRISTmas lights

So the newest trend in Christmas lights this year is LED Christmas lights. They are pretty cool – they look like old-fashioned strings of lights, and are Waaaaay energy efficient. An article in the local paper recently pointed out that 600 of these lights, running 5 hours per day for 30 days, will cost approximately 56 cents. Total. Compared, as the article says, to running the same amount of traditional lights for the same time – at the price tag of $23.00. Wow. No wonder my electric bill is so high in December and January.

But of course – my analytical nature came in. These bulbs are great, they use very little energy, and i imagine that they hold up better in storage because there is no glass on the bulbs. But, they cost a lot more. A recent trip to the store priced out a strand of 600 conventional type bulbs for $16. Right next store were the fancy new LED lights – 100 for $18. Yikes! So for 600 lights, you will spend $92 more for LED bulbs. And it will save you $22.50 in energy costs.

Hmmm – so what’s the ROI? Assuming you are buying new lights anyway, just over 4 years at the 5 hours for 30 days run time. Could be more or less depending on how much you are in the holiday spirit . So overall, would I pre-pay 4 years of electricity to save on the fifth and succeeding years? Well, assuming the lights hold up at least that long. This year, I’m gonna have to say no. Too much upfront cost, and I have A LOT of lights to replace. Maybe in a couple years, when the price comes down a little, and I have more disposable income for this type of thing.

Technorati Tags: CHRISTmas, Christmas Lighting, Analytics

Can we say "Gaudy"?

DirecTV last Friday made an offer to NASA. A 42″ HDTV and DirecTV programming for the new living space on the International Space Station. They have even offered to have their top engineer assist in the installation of a dish on the station.

As if NASA Astronauts would be unable to install a consumer-grade satellite dish. I mean, most of the installers for consumers have at least a master’s degree, right?

What a gaudy publicity move. At one point in the article, they were quoted “Sure, there’s the awe-inspiring view of planet earth from more than 200 miles up, but what do you do for an encore after you’ve entered your 180th day in space?” asked Jon Gieselman, DirecTV marketing senior VP.

Yeah -see? Marketing. Gimmick. The press they have gotten already is worth it, even if NASA doesn’t accept the offer. Of course, DirecTV will have a field day if they do take them up on the offer. I can just imagine how far they could take it.

At one point, they do say it is one way to say “thank you” for all the technical advancements that they have obviously benefited from, but they do manage to get a plug in for their “capacity to carry 100 HD channels by year-end”.

Full article on Twice.com Here.