sightseeing

And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

Over the past couple of months, I've seen some rather interesting sights around town... both locally and regionally. Take this first one that I spotted while driving through nearby Cleveland.

Here's how it went down... I was driving our van and spotted this garage advertisement. Being a quick reader, I scanned the features that this recording studio listed. Singers. "Of course," I thought - after all, it's a recording studio." Rappers. "Sure - makes sense that Ice-T gets the same opportunities as Carrie Underwood." Actors. "Well, okay... maybe for voice-over work." Dancers. "Huh? Wait a minute, why would a dancer need a recording studio? Does someone need to hear how swiftly his/her hips move?" Speakers. "Well, okay... makes sense." Preachers. "Say what?" Teachers. "Say what... again?"

Those last two threw me a curveball, to which I started laughing and had to drive back for the picture (to be clear, my wife took the pic as we did our second drive-by because I talked her into doing this nonsense favor for me). But I needed to get a shot of that because I imagined (all within the few seconds I drove by) what a conversation might look like at this establishment as each person waited behind the others.

Singer: (singing in the studio) "Whoah-a-whoah-a-whoah-a-whoah-a whoaaaaaaaaah!"

Rapper: (next in line, beat-boxing) "A-pttt-a-pttt-a-pttt-a-pshhhh-yeah-yeah-yeah-yo..."

Actor: (poorly trying to mimic the rapper to prove his range) "I said a rip, rop, a rippity-rip-rop, a rip-rop-rippity-do!"

Dancer: (boasting to the others) "So like, I hear Shakira registers 122 shakes a minute and I'm, like, up to 136."

Speaker: (trying to schmooze the dancer) "Yes, but why are you even thinking about investing your money in this when instead you can through me buy tiny little ads in newspapers that over time will make you a multi-millionaire?"

Absurd, right? Only then there's the preacher and the teacher... which, in case you don't know, is my gig and my wife's gig. So there we are... hanging out with the homies, getting ready to record our stuff.

And I found it cool that I get to roll with such playas.

"So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I'd say it leaves you looking pretty silly—or worse. Eventually, we're all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren't going to improve your position there one bit." (Romans 14:10-11, MSG)

This next one I caught while shopping at a local grocery store... as if Cookie Crisp wasn't enough sugar, now we can give kids a double helping of crunchy sugar for breakfast. Don't worry... the free toy inside is an insulin sample.

And having spent most of my childhood years digesting Frankenberry and destroying the roof of my mouth with Captain Crunch Crunchberries, I was reminded again of how many things look good on the box but really decay our insides.

You know the old saying, "First you eat to live, and then you live to eat"? Well, it may be true that the body is only a temporary thing, but that's no excuse for stuffing your body with food, or indulging it with sex. Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him with your body! (1 Corinthians 6:13, MSG)

You can't see this one... trust me, you can't see it. But up in the sky circling over our house (on the left) is a turkey buzzard. "A what?" you may ask. "A turkey buzzard," I'd reply. "What's a turkey buzzard?" you'd continue to wonder. "Let me tell you what I found on the internet," I'd answer.

When seen on the ground, the vulture or turkey buzzard as he is more commonly known presents one of the most repulsive sights in nature with his bald, grotesque head, hooked beak and awkward method of locomotion. Once airborne, all clumsiness is left behind, for as a glider and sailer, the turkey buzzard has few equals.

This is flying over my house... looking for something to chow down on. I learned tonight from a friend that a lot of the small animals that hibernate during the snowy months are too weak to resist these birds... and so it's easy picking for the hunters. Apparently all that time without any solid food leaves the critters vulnerable.

Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. (1 Peter 5:8, MSG)

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)

Finally, this car was spotted (ha - no pun intended) when we were at a local mall (called "The South Park Mall," but no Cartman was seen). My wife saw it first, noting how a cleaning company would advertise on a dirty car. I agreed, of course, that this was ironic... so I took a picture.

And then I realized... I am the car.

"Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean." (Matthew 23:26)

After all of this nonsense, though, I went back to wondering why God doesn't make Himself known, and where is He, and blah blah blah blah blah...