So we conquered In & Out Burgers, but we were only half done. Next stop was the Oregon coast which mean by Mapquests estimates 7 hours. Oh man, somehow 7 turned into 10 + hours. I think as a crow flies it would take less time, but unfortunately we weren’t flying. So to clam the monotony of the ever snaking, looping, turning highway 101 we busted out the seminal road trip activity: the sing along. These kids iPods are filled with music, I was surprised with. Not explicit stuff - 70’s and 80’s rock! I kid you not. Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ became the our theme song. And we needed it because the 101 never ends.

The one new band I was introduced to was Dragonforce. They are amazing in an amazingly cheesy 80’s butt rock way. Picture all of the hair band and slap every music cliche’ and you’ve got Dragonforce. It’s so bad it’s good.

To listen to our top 5 singalong songs go here:

http://stuartdelony.muxtape.com/

Any “best of” road trip songs we should add for our next trip?

In response to my post on Missions, I received this amazing picture from Mel who wrote:

“…my friend Kate went to Malawi and Uganda last summer between her jr/sr year of college…this is a picture of her holding the hand of a leaper while talking to Jesus for the first time…”

What a beautiful picture of missions.

Now I’m not saying I’m a fan of Stephen King - I haven’t read any of his stuff, but I was reading an article  that he wrote about HB1423 - a bill that’s pending in Massachusetts. This bill is attempting to restrict or simply band violent video games. And he has a really interesting point.

Can parents block that [violent games] stuff? You bet. But most never do. The most effective bar against what was called “seduction of the innocent”… is still parents who know and care not just about what their kids are watching and reading, but what they’re doing and who they’re hanging out with. Parents need to have the guts to forbid material they find objectionable… and explain why it’s forbidden. “           Stephen King - Videogame Lunacy

I’m no fan of violent videogames, but why does the government feel that is has a job to regulate morality? Isn’t that a parent’s job in the first place?

What happened to parents responsibly with their kids? So many have no clue about what is going on in their kids lives. Do parents simply expect the government, schools or youth pastors to raise their children? Most complain about their children, but refuse do do anything. They won’t invest in their children because it’s too much work.

Raising kids isn’t easy, but the government making laws isn’t the answer either.

Your thoughts?

I’m back from our Burger Odyssey and it was amazing. I’ll blog about it tomorrow.  As I was catching up on blogs I’ve missed out on for the past few days, I stumbled upon this by My Derbe…

The “hedge of protection” is an Old Testament thought. Our protection isn’t a hedge. Our protection is Christ, Who is far greater than a hedge. We are hidden in Christ.

I’ve always found the “hedge” statement odd when I heard someone praying. Mainly because it reminds me of landscaping, but also it evokes this idea that God is ADD and forgets us. You know… “God I need you now! And now. And now. And in a few seconds. And also now.” If we are covered and walking in Christ AND if Christ is in us… do we need to keep asking for him to do what he already said he would do? Just a thought.

What are your thoughts on the hedge?

I’m around teens all the time and I have to tell you… I wish I had their schedules. Take the idea of Spring Break for instance. They get a random week off school to do whatever.

So say, just for a moment, that this practice where to permeate the adult world. April rolls around and you hit Adult Spring Break. Everyone exits work for a freebie week (or if you’re a homemaker, someone takes the kids).

So if such an occurrence happened… how would you spend it?