tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27159388703772426042024-02-08T06:43:34.985-08:00Sparrows and Ragsdrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-70915173841091458692008-03-08T16:28:00.000-08:002008-03-08T16:33:00.729-08:00Culture Pt. 1- I Am LegendI have been spending a good amount of time dealing with/ thinking of what “The Gospel in Culture” looks like – I have done the “Run for the hills, the heathen horde is coming!/ God loves us based on our actions/ Legalism thing,” as well as the “Hey I read Blue Like Jazz and Velvet Elvis, I have a tattoo about freedom, and I smoke cigarettes so my eyes are sooooo open…in fact, much more than yours are.” It seems that until people are so often very elaborate pendulums. I have found that there is a lot of value in the idea of protection and wisdom, as well as value in the life outside the “safe” bubble, and there is enough grace and strength to live life in both of those arenas. <br /><br />Jesus actually prays that we would stay in the world. If God talks to God about something, it’s usually really important. And the only way to slow/stop that pendulum swing is to grasp at the feet of Jesus and pray that He gives you the daily grace and mercy to understand how the Gospel works itself out in our lives. Don’t run to the hills; don’t abandon all rules and authority – stay close to Jesus. <br /><br /><br /><br />Having said that, these are my thoughts on I Am Legend - <br /> <br />I love that movie.<br /><br />I am generally startled very easily, but very rarely scared. <br /><br />Since it was second time I went to go see I Am Legend, I did not have to worry so much about the “BOO I AM A DEAD PERSON...well kind of…but anyways BOO!” parts, and I got to really look at the message the movie had to offer. <br /><br />For those of you that have not seen the movie, I will ruin it, and I understand if you don’t read on. Ryan, since the last movie you saw in theaters was the 2nd Pirates of the Caribbean, read on my friend. <br /><br />This is easiest if I just write an account of the movie and let it be what it is. <br />1.The world has a problem – cancer. <br />2.That problem is “solved” by a miracle cure (a mutated virus). <br />3.That cure actually becomes a horrible killer; I believe the stats in the movie are a 95% instant kill rate, 1% immunity, which leaves 4% of humans to eat the rest. <br />4.Robert Neville (Smith) has the responsibility of solving this issue, which sets him up to be the true savior of the movie. At one point he closes his refrigerator and on the front there is a Time Magazine front cover with the headline “Savior?” which he has clearly drawn a question mark after. <br />5.Robert makes some poor choices, which leave him needing to be saved, and when he is the first thing he sees is a cross. <br />6.Robert says “God hasn’t done this, we have”<br />7.Robert enthusiastically says that there is no God.<br />8.Robert must hide in the basement with his newfound lady friend and her son. <br />9.Robert literally takes the blood of a victim that he has cured, gives it to two people who go in a dark whole only to come out at dawn and give the cure to people to save the world. Before he does this he says he is finally listening to God. <br /><br />Its funny, I left that theater thinking, “Huh, Christ is the true and better Robert Neville.” <br /><br />1.There is a problem much worse that cancer.<br />2.That problem has been examined by every single (able) person ever to live.<br />3.There have been endless proposals of solutions. <br />4.Christ went to the garden and prayed that God would do it another way, but that he was ready to sacrifice himself. <br />5.Christ never needed to be saved.<br />6.Christ not only gives us a “second chance” to a medical problem, He doesn’t just wipe our slate clean, but removes it altogether on a cross and offers us his life, death, and resurrection to stand before God. <br /><br />"Can you imagine if there was a question mark after Jesus said - 'It is finished.'" <br />-Ray<br /><br />Anyways, great movie, those were some of my thoughts. <br /><br /><br /><br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-71237618528520619832008-03-03T20:40:00.000-08:002008-03-03T20:41:40.463-08:00Trying to blog more...I...am...tryi..ng...to...<br /><br /><br />nope, just couldnt get it out.<br /><br /><br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-22141756867479088322008-03-01T20:23:00.001-08:002008-03-01T20:25:16.000-08:00Mostly for the BurnsUpdates - <br /><br />1. I work a lot now<br />2. I am growing my beard until I get told it has to go by Starbucks<br />3. For Ryan - I now drink black coffee <br />4. I dont blog much<br />5. I miss the Burns <br /><br />Oh, and the screen on my phone is broken, hence..very few outbound calls <br /><br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-59750135368812497082008-01-15T21:08:00.000-08:002008-01-15T21:12:08.212-08:00European CarToday Colin Dave and I were driving down Monument Ave when we saw a police officer. <br /><br />Dave, "Cop."<br />Colin, "Thanks bud."<br />Dave, "Sure thing, how fast were you going anyways...whoa does that say 50?"<br />Colin, "Yea...but it is in kilometers per hour."<br /><br />At this you can imagine how bad Dave and I laughed.<br /><br />Dave, "You know they can change that back right?"<br />Colin, "Yea, but I really like the feeling of going 140 on the freeway."<br /><br /><br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-14203895038109716162008-01-13T13:21:00.000-08:002008-01-13T13:28:48.728-08:003:10 To Yuma (see post)Last night I had an experience that was hilarious, and at the same time odd enough that once, maybe twice in a lifetime would probably be enough. My little (bigger) brother was in town, and after we opted not to go to the Byrd, we decided on renting 3:10 to Yuma (see title). It was a pretty good movie, your average modern western - lots of shooting, lots of missing, fairly ridiculous outfits, and people eating with very dull looking silverware. Anyways, seeing as my house has no dvd player, and neither does Sarah, we ended up on her couch watching the movie on her fancy Macbook pro (note the bitterness). About 1/2 way into the movie I start to see my lady on my left start to drift, and soon after Jordan on my right started to twitch as he fell asleep. Soon after Jordan was definitely gone.<br /><br />I turned to Sarah and pointed at J, we laughed, and 10 minuets later she was snoozin too. So I finished the movie in between two twitching people. It was pretty great. <br /><br />On a sentimental note, it was really cool to get to sit in between my old family and my new one. It was cool to get to see the connections that are being built between our families. I Love it. <br /><br /><br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-88657700093569310182008-01-11T13:10:00.001-08:002008-01-11T13:10:52.348-08:00Two QuotesThis may be my favorite post so far. <br /><br /><br />1. We were watching tv and Sarah asks..."Are you fatter than a fifth grader? Now that would be a great show. Yes, and 15 years older as well." It just made me smile, and also impressed me that Sarah was apparently 5 years old in 5th grade. <br /><br />2. As we finish going through the book of John, Sarah asks, "What did Jesus do for three days?" This question led to a discussion of what God really requires/what it looks like for sin to be paid for. Clearly Christ is our full and final payment, but what does it look like to have our sin crushed in Jesus Christ. Anyways, it was great. <br /><br />Those two quotes within two hours of each other. <br /><br /><br />holiday pounds have set back my race with Colin, so back to the gym it is. <br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-85131372419287142702008-01-07T21:28:00.000-08:002008-01-07T21:33:37.365-08:00Green CoatTodays riddle - What do my green rain jacket and my braces from middle school have in common?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Answer - they are gone. Oh and they were both green...sometimes...<br /><br /><br />Heres the catch, I really miss my jacket.drew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-56558929553701829002008-01-02T21:44:00.001-08:002008-01-02T21:44:50.173-08:00Jesus died.As we were going through John 14 tonight something struck me - we often gauge our suffering based on something so much less than what Christ new the disciples were going to face. This chapter begins and ends with Christ saying - "Let not your hearts be troubled." This begs the question, "Why would our hearts be troubled Jesus?" They are clearly sitting around the table asking questions about where Jesus was going, what he was doing, and he is very frank on the fact that they are not getting it, perhaps most clearly when he says in v29 that he is telling them these things so that later they will believe.<br /><br />Perhaps all this is to you, like it was to me - just the beginning of a really bad week for Jesus.<br /><br />But then these verses came alive with the blood of the Gospel - "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live."<br /><br />I often read this from the standpoint of knowing the end of the story. "Yea yea Jesus, they get it, you will die, and you will return." That is such a terrible look at what is happening. Jesus, the Creator of the universe, the Author of life, God - is telling his friends, friends that have traveled with him for three years, are very committed to him, and are dear to him - that he will not leave them orphaned. He is not talking about the second coming here - he is talking about those three dark days that he was in the ground.<br /><br />One.<br /><br />Two.<br /><br />Three.<br /><br /><br />Three days he was gone, and not expected to return. But then, PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW - HE RETURNS.<br /><br />He comes back. He visits them before he goes to heaven. They see this and they do in fact believe.<br /><br /><br />Because he lives we too may live. Paul tells us that "...if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins...If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."<br /><br />Jesus actually died. It is so easy to see life, death, and resurrection in such a sequential and single dimensional aspect but think about the disciples. Jesus was a real person, who lived in a real place, who suffered a very real death.<br /><br />Oh to Grace how great a debtor -<br /><br /><br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-79013997346385090442007-12-29T16:54:00.000-08:002007-12-29T16:58:58.031-08:00Too FunnyOk, so the other day I was surfing the Mars Hill website, and came across the fact that they had a facebook network. I thought that was pretty funny, so I went looking for it.OOOOOh friends, not only did i find it, to my great delight - friended Mark Driscoll. This was just hilarious. It took him a few days, but he added me as a friend. As you can imagine I totally lord this over Sarah's head, and will continue to do so until she friends him. <br /><br />Now as of today I went to post on his wall, and to which my adviser said, "NOOOO ONE DAY YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO SIGN UP FOR ACTS 29..AND WHAT IF...JUST...NO!" (Of course she will deny this, but as always, what I say is fact for fact actual reality.) <br /><br /><br />Anyways. Thats just too funny.drew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-36921306492631554692007-12-28T14:58:00.000-08:002007-12-28T14:59:29.621-08:00Acts 411/2/07<br />Acts 4 – <br /><br />During the dialogue following Peter’s second sermon, he and John and taken into custody because the religious leaders are, “greatly annoyed” at the spreading of Jesus’ resurrection. But it’s late, so they just throw them in jail until the next day. We then find two apostles in front of a council that will judge them, as is a quite frequent sight in this new spreading of the Gospel. Peter, “filled with the Holy Spirit,” then makes it quite clear that Jesus did the healing, and “Oh, lets not forget…you killed him. You should call on his name, because it is clearly powerful, and there just happens to be no other name that will get you to heaven.<br /><br />The reaction of the council is hilarious and somewhat terrifying. <br /><br />Sadducee #1, “Ok, these guys are bold, they have that going for them.”<br />Sadducee #2, “True, but they are clearly common men, and uneducated.”<br />Sadducee #3, “Yea but they were also clearly with Jesus.”<br />#2, “Alright so what are we going to do?”<br />#3, “Well they clearly did something amazing…”<br />#1, “Yea, lets tell them not to do that anymore.”<br /><br />Literally they see the apostles’ works, see that they knew Jesus, and just missed the point all together. Completely dictated by what they (as righteous religious men) saw as necessary for their culture, they actually tell them to stop. The application here clearly stands that there are some who will oppose the Gospel with all that is inside them, and some that may just do it because they will not understand. <br /><br />I love Peter’s response – “we cannot help” but preach. And even more beautiful, he doesn’t use the word preach. He says they cant help but speak about things they have seen and heard. He doesn’t limit preaching to a podium. He sees it as talking, for the salvation of souls. <br /><br />Everybody is happy when they are released, and there is a very Jewish prayer.<br /><br />Here the role of leadership is clearly seen. Peter and John were noted for their boldness. Then the people also prayed and received boldness. Leaders must lead. Fact.<br /><br />Then everything gets communist and shared, which helps set them apart from their culture. How they spend and give their money really shows where their hearts are at. Take for example the son of encouragement that gives a whole fields profit to the Apostles. <br /><br />God uses people. God also recognizes that money gets things. God doesn’t want money. God wants people, and their hearts. God did not grow up in a nunnery in the woods, He understands that money is a demand for goods, but ultimately wants a pure heart – out of which will flow gentleness and giving to others.drew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-42980698087325634092007-12-12T15:18:00.000-08:002007-12-12T15:23:06.497-08:00The Pope and SantaOk so a while ago (thought the actual time is debated) I agreed to read the Popes book on Jesus if Ryan bought it for me. He "yelled" at me the other day about it, so here is the deal - I will be reading it and posting my thoughts on here as I go. I promised to have it done by Christmas so that is what I am planning on doing. I hope it is enjoyable (the book and the blog). <br /><br />Oh, and to my supreme delight, a little girl mistook me for Santa the other day at the grocery store. It was great, she was all "blahgabla Santa blahgabla" and I was all " What?" and Sarah was all laughing and yea...it was just beautiful. <br /><br /><br /><br />no idea what Colin or I weight. <br /><br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-27865510776562754082007-11-05T20:46:00.000-08:002007-11-05T21:17:20.339-08:00(Queen) Elizabeth - The Golden AgeRecently I have seen several movies that have leadership as a central theme in their message. Munich, Elizabeth, Evan Almighty, and Marie Antoinette all provide the audience with a charismatic, unique, and at times even spiritual leader. <br /><br />I first watched Munich with my Dad the week I got surgery my senior year of HS (to clarify, I got my gallbladder taken out on my birthday...yea..no joke...worst birthday EVER), and to be honest, I just watched it to feel cool. I liked the idea of watching a movie with my Pops. It portrays the slow decay of relationships between a family due to a "job". <br /><br />Marie Antoinette was full of color, overflowing with dry emotion, and undeniably empty of hope. No love, no real relationships, and I really wanted to punch Jason Shwartzman in the face the whole time. <br /><br />Evan Almighty was good, and would have been great if Morgan Freeman had been aloud to just talk for two hours. It really interests me that Tom Shadyac has a big knife in one hand that he stabs at God with, and in the other seems to have what resembles a mostly gnostic bible. Evan, like Bruce, "saves the day," but only to provide people with a good feeling, good time message. The point in the movie that made me think was really when Evan meets God for the first time. Just some guy, in a suite, claiming to be God. I was in bed with mono thinking, "Morgan is the man, but just not God," and then it hit me - Christ did the exact same thing. <br /><br />Elizabeth was fun. As a lead role Cate Blanchette really did a good job. I believed her the whole movie. It wasnt a movie where I walked away saying, "nope, no way, dont buy it." But to tell the truth, it just made me sad. She was so lonely. The end of the movie has her monologuing about her sacrifice of a man (as a "master") and a child, so that she could be the mother of England. I was sad because the one guy that you think might help her out (note I did not say "fix") ended up being a total jerk. The movie really had a "historical" postmodern, anti "religious" (just to make it clear I do not believe that was true religion in the movie) vibe to it. Elizabeth makes a case for reason and liberty and life for England, though it seems to me that she knows none of them deeply. Either way the movie was well worth watching, especially when you have a cute girl to watch it with. <br /><br />Nothing too mind blowing today. <br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-56473547620092679562007-10-29T08:18:00.000-07:002007-10-29T08:19:37.736-07:00Acts 3Acts 3 – <br /><br />Notably the first miracle done after Jesus has left is healing. Not only that but it is an unmistakable gift – meaning that the man was in fact looking for something from the two of them. They in turn tell him that they do not have what he looks for, but something greater. This again displays the paradigmatic series of events that seems to happen several times when people are healed in the New Testament – <br /> <br />1. They are sick/demonized (this may seem like an obvious point but it is important to recognized that people must be sick to be healed, hence the word saved) Often times these people are blatantly overlooked by their own community. Though some are willing to carry this man so that he can beg for money outside the temple.<br /> <br /> 2. They look to a person for something – often times Jesus is called upon by his name, but several times he approaches and the person does not see him for who he is before he heals them – in this case the beggar wasn’t expecting to be healed <br /><br />3. They are healed by the power of Jesus. <br /><br />4. They respond. – “He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.”<br /><br />5. They are seen. People are “filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”<br /><br />6. Their weakness and brokenness is used by God to strengthen others – In this case Peter preaches to them. It is worth noting that Peter does not preach 10 ways to find disciples so that they can heal you, or “How to fix your broken legs- a message of hope.” Peter preaches the Gospel.<br /><br />The rest of my thoughts really come from a reflection upon Peter’s words. <br /><br />First he sets them straight. Apparently he has to do this a lot at the beginning of sermons (applicable? Yes.) “Hey, stop looking at us like we did this. Jesus did.” It reminds me of two things that Raymond told me. He said that when he gets up to preach he often just states what text they will be in, and gets right to it. Why? “Because I want the first words out of my mouth to be scripture,” he sees stories as something that can compliment scripture, not the other way around. Secondly, after he preached the Gospel out of Jeremiah, he looked at me and said, “If your sermon could talk, it would ask, ‘Do I get to talk about Jesus yet?’” <br /><br />Peter gets to Jesus. Fast.<br /><br />He then tells them several very important facts. <br /><br />1. You killed God – “You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life…”(I can’t help but read that verse and feel horrible. The author of life – dead.)<br />2. BUT, “God raised him from the dead.”<br />3. “It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him,”<br />4. “as you can see.”<br /><br />Facts- 1. You killed God. 2. He is alive. 3. His name and faith through him heals 4. You can see it. God has made known to us the “mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,” (Eph 1:9). <br /><br />He then does some work on public relations and says, “ I know I know, you all are idiots. You acted out of ignorance. The good news is that God is God,” – “But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer.” (Gods sovereignty, our choices) <br /><br />And then Peter brings them to the point where the Gospel should always brings us – repentance. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out,” <br /><br />This unfortunately is where many sermons stop. The salvation is seen with a one-dimensional functionality and essentially what happens is that eternity is limited. <br /><br />You should repent now, so that “times of refreshing may come from the Lord,”<br /><br />But wait, that is still not the best part – eternal salvation, daily salvation, but really what we look for is “that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.”<br /><br />Salvation isn’t just not hell. It is Jesus. It isn’t just a life of grace. It is Jesus. Heaven isn’t just not hell; it is the presence of God. <br /><br />An interesting note on blessing (vs 26)– the definition of blessing is so often getting a tangible thing. Here it is not having to continue in sin. <br /><br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-80061681452383535422007-10-27T12:51:00.001-07:002007-10-27T15:01:34.602-07:00Acts 2:21"And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."<br /><br />In my effort to stop sucking at reading my the Bible, I was reading the Bible, and these are some thoughts. In the second chapter of Acts you find everyone sitting around praying. I find it interesting that the first thing they do once Jesus has gone is pray. In the lineup they list Mary the mother of Jesus, which is just a strange thing - Honestly, you just watched your son DIE a little over a month ago, then he comes back, hangs out for 40 days, and ascends into heaven. And now she is praying...to...him...<br /><br />I mean, my mom cried when I went to college...yea...<br /><br />Anyways, Acts 2 has the famous passage about the Holy Spirit (kind of like the inner monologue voice of God {1 Corth. 2:11), that accomplishes in many ways what He wills by strengthening and empowering people {Acts 4:31}) coming and displaying the gift of tongues. At least 12 but up to 120 people then begin to start talking. In fact they make so much noise that people from the city start to come see whats going on. They get there, and all the different ethnicities all hear their own language. <br /><br />This kind of makes me think of Annandale High School. I used to love walking down the hall, because there were literally dozens and dozens of different languages and dialects. As of 2006, there were 87 nationalities and 46 languages spoken. So I know the feeling of saying, "Hey! I know that language!"<br /><br />The interesting thing is that it came to this- Peter preaches a sermon. The context in which he preaches is revolutionary to my understanding of preaching to say the least. In a room FULL of people that are talking about the "mighty works of God," and in front of these Jews that were coming to see, who themselves were "devout men," Peter preaches. What he says, the audience, and the time at which he preaches is (to quote a good friend) "great, thats just great." <br /><br />He starts off as all good sermons should, "Whooooa whoa whoa, everyone listen up. My friends aren't drunk.Its only 9 in the morning.Here is the Gospel..." <br /><br />He then off hand starts to quote Joel. Explaining that the Holy Spirit is not a hoax, but has been promised before hand, he then talks about Jesus. He says that David had spoken as to what would happen with him, and that now Jesus (who he makes clear that they knew, and that they watched to miracles, and then that they killed) is now with God. <br /><br /> "Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."<br /><br />This sermon does what sermons are meant to, the audience is, "cut to the heart" and leaves them asking what they must do. It is worth noting that when the Gospel is preached, people ask questions. If the only way for people to respond is an invitation to come to the front of the church to be prayed for, or to change their lives, or to become a better person, then perhaps the gravity of the situation has been lost. "You are a sinner, and you killed God." <br /><br />That kind of thing leads to questions. <br /><br />"Brothers, what shall we do?"<br /><br />Repent. Be forgiven. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. <br /><br />The room is full of people speaking about the works of God (my guess would be that their were personal stories as well as a lot from the Hebrew Scriptures), and to an audience of devout and listening people. Some would say that the work was done. Peter settles for nothing less than the Gospel. That speaks volumes as to what preaching is to be. There is a supremacy to the Gospel. God died. God rose. God lives. We too must look at doing nothing less than these three things through Christ.<br /><br /><br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-20393246047275315062007-10-17T15:43:00.001-07:002007-10-17T16:02:08.458-07:00An explanation of my absence, Morgan Freeman, and a "new" song for RyanThe critics are out in full (aka two very nice people), which is great, because after months of listening to Driscoll I finally feel like I am getting some type of reaction from his constantly mentioned "bloggers." <br /><br />Did I just make that jump? Really? <br /><br />I did. It is a new blog, and it is going to be bold...with the same old spelling errors...<br /><br /><br /><br />As for my explanation, not a defense, because I dont need one of those, it breaks down as follows. <br /><br />I have had mono for the last week and a half. I recently told someone it is strangely reminicent of the last time i completely shaved my face. First I shaved a mustache, and realized that though it made my heart really glad...the world just wasnt ready...so I got rid of it all. In this case the scenario is just that at first I ended up with a sore throat, and then threw up a bunch and ended up in the ER. <br /><br />Those things arent anything alike...yet...<br /><br />Mono - takes 4-6 weeks to get over. <br />Shaving - takes 4-6 weeks to grow back<br /><br />Mono - your breath is really bad and people look at you like a sick person<br />Shaving- people just look at you like a sick person<br /><br />Mono - "people" cant kiss you<br />Shaving - "people" wont kiss you<br /><br />See what I mean? <br /><br />My life has then broken down into about two parts - <br />A. Things that are not blog worthy.<br />B. Things that are not blog appropriate. <br /><br />And lets not forget, I was really sick there for a few days, so even such things the really funny nurse in the ER got put on the back burner until I was feeling better. <br /><br />-------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /><br />Morgan Freeman - <br /><br />After watching Evan Almighty - which might get a post to itself, or at least a post about the movies i have watched while i was sick - I am once again in love with the man. Why? He is AWESOME. <br /><br />Who else can do what he does...which is SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM IN EVERY MOVIE HE IS IN. <br />And do it with a really cool voice. Heck, he even fixed the penguins just by narrating in The March of the Penguins, without him, they could have been lost forever. <br /><br />While watching LA ink last night, which I am accepting money to fly out there in case anyone was wondering, I saw it... A sleeve - dedicated to him, and all of his amazing characters in their sweet suits. It should be good. <br /><br /><br />----------------------------------------<br /><br />Ryan Burns. listen to this. it has ..."helped" with the mono. <br /><br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzDenAvI8tY<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />-------<br /><br /><br />now that post should make everyone happy. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />much love<br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-8085650216574654622007-10-11T12:58:00.000-07:002007-10-11T12:59:32.064-07:00MonoSo just a heads up. I got mono. That means I will be out for a while. Much lovedrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-20095400873029936112007-09-28T15:52:00.000-07:002007-09-29T20:37:16.884-07:00Peace on FloydWith the recent subtraction of my bike, I now have the pleasure of walking to school. Some days it takes me 15 min, others 30 - either way I sweat and am thirsty when I get there. Which brings up a strange fact - I can run, and I can jog, but walking makes me tired. I suspect its the little steps I take, but who knows? <br /><br />Anyways, today I tried walking on the north side of Floyd street because it looked shadyer (a. no I dont know how that is spelled, b. shade here is measure in amount of sunlight being blocked, not amount of seedy people/areas in view) <br /><br />Somewhere around Lombardy, there is a house that has a bunch of signs outside of it. The signs all had verses on them about peace and what Jesus was here to bring and what would happen when he came back. So that is one persons belief in a savior. <br /><br />A block down there was a flag of the United Nations. Another persons view of a savior. <br /><br />Not mutually exclusive, but not always the same either.<br /><br /><br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-14804993451302677262007-09-23T22:51:00.000-07:002007-09-23T22:56:47.600-07:00A lot of dairy.So I have this friend who desires to remain unnamed.<br /><br /><br />His name is Dave Ryan. <br /><br /><br />So he went to Wendys tonight and decided that he wanted to try the new "Twisted Frosty." Because it was such a long drive to get there said he didnt want to risk not liking it, so he decided to get it, as well as get the frosty that he knew he would like. Needless to say when he picked me up there was an empty Twisted frosty cup, and he was working on #2. This was great for me, because I was hungry, and his car smelled like fries, and because he was so sick from the frostys, I got a medium fry and nuggets for free. <br /><br /><br />Oh, and his story to tell me all of this started off like this, "So you want to hear something funny...that you will prob blog about..."<br /><br /><br />And it ended with me saying, " I will blog about that."<br /><br /><br />Thats about all. Bills are higher than we thought, rent is due this week. Life goes on as usual. You can expect my thoughts on Jonah later this week once I iron out the "sermon" I am writing. <br /><br /><br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-47987249654310018022007-09-22T13:28:00.000-07:002007-09-22T13:38:50.586-07:00Apples.Today I went on a picnic. I had some apples, the red kind, and I didnt eat all of them. I ended up having two left over. I couldnt really think of whether or not I was hungry, and seeing as the birds started to literally poop all around me - one pooped on the blanket, then one on my shoulder - I decided it was time to go. <br /><br />On the way to the mall to pick up a really needed new pair of shoes we saw a man in need of some change. I called to him out of the window and asked if he wanted an apple. <br /><br />"Yea man...I like apples..."<br /><br />"Ok well I dont have any change, but you can have it." <br /><br />As he backed away I realized I should give him the second one as well. So I offered and he took it. <br /><br /><br />No new shoes, just a new appreciation for the fact that God provides, enough to help provide for others.drew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-78122768821629263612007-09-20T21:29:00.000-07:002007-09-20T21:43:17.147-07:00songs and sayings from childhoodOne of my more dedicated readers told me today that I had not posted in a while. I have been lazy, and comments were low (as in 0) on my last post, so I was down. <br /><br />Well guess what - here I am. Whoa freakin whooooo.... <br /><br />Clearly very tired, and I just spent an hour on the porch with a couple guys that were walking by looking for cigs so we sat and talked for over an hour. They were from W+M and were down in richmond picking up a DVD of 40 min of footage (condensed down from 26 hours) from their AIDS awareness teaching in Tanzania. Cool eh? So I asked myself, and prayed to God that I could share the Gospel with them. It became very evident that I should give them one of the dvds I made from the Ukraine trip, so I did. Who knows what will come of that. Praise God for the Handy Mart being closed. <br /> <br /><br />--------<br /><br /><br />My mom used to say a few things when I was young that still come back to me - <br /><br /><br />Be patient, be patient, dont be in such a hurry<br />When you are impatient you only start to worry<br />Remember, Remember, that God is patient too<br />And think of all the times that other had to wait on you<br /><br />- that was a song she sang me. And I have a sneaking suspicion that I spelled patient wrong (or like a doctors client) but meh, I cant spell. MEH thats right. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here is another classic - <br /><br />Where are we going? <br />Crazy<br /><br />Ok who doesnt hate that? Case closed. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Eh those are really the only two I can think of. So this is a big crappy blog to bring them back.drew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-20023767974840357922007-09-13T20:17:00.000-07:002007-09-13T22:03:35.611-07:00The FlinchToday it became very apparent to me that all I do now as I wander the universe is look for things to blog about. <br /><br />Example - I keep track of the things that Ryan Burns says that makes me laugh - i.e. advice such as "well you should punch him in the face..." <br />- I keep track of little things that are out of place - i.e. Ryan Burns picking me up on the wrong side of the street<br />- My thoughts on life in a larger scale - i.e. What does it mean to pack up a family and move? (see The Burns) <br />- The fact that I keep typing Ryan Burns, hoping that magically Ryan Burns will suddenly turn into one of those fancy hyperlinks that teleports you to his blog, but it doesnt work. <br /><br />-----<br /><br />As we rode home today a Police SUV sped up behind us. As the lights got closer and closer the siren slowly just screemed, "BloooOOOooooggggg BBBBlllllooooOOOOoooooGGGGgggg." (again see the scene in Lord of War when the gun shots turn into cash register noises). To my great dismay the lights passed. <br /><br />When I told Ryan Burns (see, still no hyperlink) this, he mused (a nice word for sarcastically mocked me) about the fact that I wanted him to get a ticket for the sake of my blog. <br /><br />-------<br /><br /><br />Fast forward a few miles to Cary and Boulevard. This is where the joke was on me. Earlier that day Ryan shot me with a rubber band and I decided now would be a good time to shoot him back. So I shot him in the hand. Nothing happened, and honestly I was kind of dissapointed. I turned to my right, and threw my gum out of the window into a huge bush where I felt like it wouldnt bother anything. <br /><br />As I turned back I saw Ryan's hand. In terror I threw up my left arm to block a punch the the arm/chest/face etc. I flinched. BAD. <br /><br />Ryan, who coincedentally was reaching for the steering wheel, started laughing immediately. He is one of the people that really laughs. Ashley, Mac, Sarah, Mr. Thurston, Dave Ryan, Big Tom (my dad), Little Debbie (my mom) and all the Jen or Jenns I know also fit that description. <br /><br /><br />"So we both just got a blog entry at my expense didnt we?"<br /><br /><br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-81964406781144525432007-09-10T00:03:00.000-07:002007-09-10T00:24:12.775-07:00Its either really late, or almost time for a pop tartSo my computer tells me it is 3:03, and clearly I am awake. A little over an hour ago I got a call from a really good friend of mine named Mac out in Seattle. We actually talked about blogs for a little while and he gave strong disapproval that I had started my own.<br /><br /> "I dont do blogs, it is 2 dimentional reality." <br /><br />I made fun of him for having a myspace and still feeling that way and he replied, "Here is my thing with blogs, they are often times way too personal and I cant do anything about that. I read that some guy says, "I tried to kill myself last week" and I think to myself - thats terrible, I want to do something. But I cant. And whats worse, if he is puting it on the internet, no one AROUND him is doing anythin for him either." <br /><br />Anyways, we talked about a lot of things. For the first time we talked about me changing my mind at the last second and not coming out there. We talked about preaching, and money, and work, and women. He wants to start a church that reaches the deaf community in ways that we currently dont. He said that they are not identified as a people group, but if they were they would be the largest unreached people in the world. <br /><br /><br />----------------<br /><br />I started to type a bunch of the rest of our conversation, but it means to much to just post the whole thing up here. <br /><br />----------<br /><br /><br />much love, and congrats to the people that got the sleep that i didnt tonight. though you can have it, because i havent seen 3:16 a.m. in a long time.<br /><br /><br /><br />d<br /><br />-----<br /><br /><br />Drew - 177<br />Colin - 174drew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-54811550096435147132007-09-08T07:48:00.001-07:002007-09-08T08:25:00.587-07:00USANo, I am not writing a post on the well known United States of America. Instead I am writing about the United Secular Alliance. Last night I had the pleasure of going to their (I guess "our" seeing as I am on the active members list) meeting. I mostly just sat for 2 hours or so and did my best to listen and not come across as some crazy wack job that wanted their souls. After about the first 45 min we got through the administrative things, and got on to our discussion of the night - the separation of church and state. I loved getting to sit in on and be a part of this. I know that as a child the first thought I had when I heard athiest was, "O God hates them." It is so crazy to me that after years of fighting that kind of thing, it STILL SHOWS! I had to fight the whole night to not be what they, and even I, are fighting against <br /><br />(THIS IS A REALLY STRANGE THING To think that we are both fighting on some issues against the same incorrect or incomplete gospel. Now of course we wouldnt agree on this, but I tried to make it clear that God DID NOT come to give us a set of moral codes. Without going into detail because that wouldnt be cool to just say things other people say in confidence on the internet, and because you should go to the meetings yourself, I told them that the Bible does not leave the option of being a good teaching book. If all the Bible does is teach nice stories, then it is a load of crap. Because just as someone pointed out, it could be seen as "teaching some very bad things." So A. The Bible is NOT meant to only teach us things. From their I tried to take it to a larger scale and say lets assume that the Bible is on a bigger, more meta scale. It is just trying to teach principles about life - WRONG. B. The Bible is NOT only meant to teach about principles. THE BIBLE IS ABOUT JESUS. If we dont grasp that, and the fact that that INCLUDES morality/principles/specifics/the story of our attempt to have God love us based on our attempts to have God love us/sin/love/condemnation/mercy/grace/forgiveness/lots of bloodshed/lots of miracles/a virgin birth/a death on a cross/a bird being set free in the blood of another/talking donkeys/you/me/Atheist/Jew/Gentile. IT IS JESUS, IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN JESUS. HIM AND HIM CRUCIFIED.)<br /><br /><br /><br />Please. For the LOVE OF GOD - pray that you will understand the love of God. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I did not want to go in there swinging an axe and just have a "bath of blood" (Lord of War, really interesting movie). Granted statistically I was 1/12 in favor of non-christians. So I was rather alone for most of the night, until a rather cute young lady came and sat in on the end of the meeting. <br /><br />Here were the discussions headlines - Evolution taught in schools, Gay rights, Alabama court house 10 commandments thing, and a few other less talked about subjects. <br /><br />There was one thing said that people should know about the moment of silence. <br /><br />Essentially he said that the moment of silence was a completely Christian thing. I areed, but thought it would be hard to really prove on anything other than the, "Lets just say it, and hope everyone agrees" scale. I was so wrong. He said that the instructions have such a clear bias, and the do! <br /><br />1. You may stay silent.<br />2.You may pray<br />3. You must stay in your seat. <br /><br />He explained that Jewish people pray standing up, and Muslims pray on their knees. <br /><br />Unfortunately there was a yelling outbreak and a lot of people missed that. Anyways I thought it was great.<br /><br /><br />More thoughts later. <br /><br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-68499473508193351182007-09-05T20:43:00.000-07:002007-09-05T21:35:30.520-07:00The Gym and International RelationsIn case it isnt paintfully obvious, I enjoy writing titles to blogs that say, "This and That." The reason I do that is because I would like to have people lean back in the chair and say, "WOW he is profound." I realize that if I wanted to truly be profound I would do it with the post itself, but honestly the title is just easier. So hopefully everyone feels that way. If not, I just...dont...like...you. <br /><br /><br />Alright - the Gym. <br /> So here is the quick rundown on the life and times of Drew Cowles in terms of the scale. The first time weight ever really "officially" got in the way of me doing things is when I tried to play football. I played one season in grade school. I can still close my eyes and see the look of the coach and the room when he said that because of my weight I would have to play with guys my age. I am pretty sure I was in the 4th grade, and he told me I was looking at playing with 8th or even high school kids. Great. That will be just awsome to get creamed by a bunch of post-puberty guys that can actually dictate where they want their limbs to go. They told me that I had to drop weight, and gave me suggestions as to how that would happen. Shorty after that meeting you could have found me in my shower wearing a trash bag on thinking that I was going to die. Fast forward a little to middle school. I can distinctly remember graduating the 8th grade at 225 lbs. I can remember getting out of Blakes car and telling his Dad what I was ringing in at and his response was, "Wow you are a big boy." (Note that the titles of the blog are not trying to elicit that response) Needless to say, I was quickly snatched up by the football coaches at Annandale High, and did that for two years. Football/Baseball, and a natural weight loss left me around 200 lbs at the end of my freshman year. Over the summer I lost some more and was about 185. After my second season of football I was pushing about 175. Christmas time brought about some difficult times and I internalized a bunch of things, and decided eating was dumb. So for about a month I tried not doing that, and lost another 10 which placed me at 165. In less than 20 months I lost 60 pounds (I dont know if that is fast or slow). I remember getting into the car one day and my mom saying, "Baby you are so handsome, but you dont look good. You look like you are on drugs." So life (and time) have brought some of that back on. In fact I had about an 100 lb weight loss/gain/loss/gain/loss shift in the last four years. <br /><br />If you are still reading after all that crap, you should either be congradulated or smacked. <br /><br />So recently I have decided (for numerous reasons) to try and keep weight off/be healthy. And today I went to the gym. I ran for a little while, did some arm and back stuff, and then ran/jogged home. I was glad to find that is a good 1.3 miles so its nice. <br /><br />Thats really all there is to say about that. <br /><br />----------------<br /><br />The Decemberists are singing about people running around killing people, in their usual way, which is putting me to sleep - which means the next song on the album will keep me awake, but then I am going to sleep for sure - so I will try to make this fast. <br /><br />Today in international relations we talked about Political Realism, and there were some things said that really interested me. "Basically he( Hans Morgenthau) feels that because each nation state is made up of individuals, individuals that all want a little bit more, state will always make moves towards power." Apparently we live in a Zero Sum System. Who knew? Anyways, with Power (simple measure of material capability) being a fixed sum, this means that the world doesnt just create power. Everytime one state gets a plus, another one gets a minus. So there is that....<br /><br />"How do you know if a country is powerful? ITS OBVIOUS! If they have enough missles to blow you up, and then enough money to buy whats left, they are more powerful than you." <br /><br />The Decemberists are on to the crane wife, which is making me sleepy.<br /><br />Night everyone. <br /><br />d<br /><br />Colin - 174.4<br />Drew-176.6drew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715938870377242604.post-55124034347424431802007-09-04T21:58:00.000-07:002007-09-04T22:49:26.056-07:00FunnyListen to the wise words of Mr. Asher Charles Burns. I was complaining after work before we had some amazing pizza at his house, "Hey Asher, you know what?" He set down either his Shark and/or Tiger Car to listen intently. "I am really tired of looking at colonoscopies." With that perfect untrained little kid timing he looks at me and says, "I am tired of bedtimes." As I roll on the floor laughing he gets a huge smile and says, "Im just kiiiiiiiiddddding."<br /><br />---------------------------------<br /><br /><br />Colin - 174.2<br />Drew - 177.8<br /><br /><br />ddrew cowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17786124664994663984noreply@blogger.com2