Filed under: Uncategorized
andrewsikora.com no longer lives here. It lives here.
We’ve upgraded to a new format and self-hosting and I like it
If you subscribe to an RSS feed you’ll want to update that, as well as bookmarks and links.
So, come on over and check out the new digs.
Filed under: Life in General
Preach sermon 2 in the Sexual Revolution series.
Pay Bills (blah)
Do Taxes (blah blah)
Do laundry (half a blah)
Pack a weeks worth of clothes
Fly to Portland for a week of classes!
Clemens v. McNamee
Here’s the thing. If someone has consistantly lied when questioned about breaking the law and then comes clean when threatened with prosecution I tend to believe that person. What does Brian McNamee have to gain by telling everyone about Roger Clemens? Nothing, that’s what. Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind. freaked out on McNamee and called him a liar today, but really, why lie in that spot? If anyone has reason to lie it’s Roger Clemens… not that I’m pointing fingers.
American Idol
I love/hate this show. It’s out of control sometimes. As they were welcoming people into the top 24 and rejecting the other 36 I couldn’t stand was Paula rejecting people saying “we’re going to have to pass on this season.” Just say “NO!”
More importantly, BRING BACK THE KID WHO LIVES IN HIS CAR! He rules and American Idol needs him more than some of those other kids. All my support is going to the Australian dude. He should win hands down.
Presidential Campaigns and Who’s Not Voting
If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately you know that lots of conservative talk show hosts won’t be voting if John McCain is the nominee (some even said they’d vote for the democrat, but of course no one believed them). Add another conservative talk show host to the mix. “Jimmy” James Dobson of Focus on the Family fame said that he wouldn’t be voting if McCain gets the nomination. Why? Let’s ask him…
“I am convinced Sen. McCain is not a conservative, and in fact, has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are. He has sounded at times more like a member of the other party.” The pro-family icon stated if Mr. McCain got the nomination, “I simply will not cast a ballot for president for the first time in my life.”
Now, I’ve heard it said that if you don’t vote you can’t complain. So if Dobson, Limbaugh, Hanity, Coulture and the rest of the gang decide not to vote can we count on them not complaining for the next 4 years? That would be nice right?
Filed under: week-end update
So… like most regular features on my blog my week-end update has been on hiatus for a few weeks. I mostly just want to give you some top posts to check out from the last 3 weeks.
Best Shape Update
In the last couple weeks I lost a few more pounds dropping to around 219. I could have done better but there was a little thing called the Super Bowl and also homemade cookies to contend with. All together I’ve dropped 16 pounds this year (not too shabby). Mark Stegall (the only other real participant in the Best Shape Challenge) is down to 217 and he’s lost 24 pounds. More weight loss to come!
Writers Strike Update
Just as I was forgetting how much I missed my favorite shows the strike has come to an end. Here’s hoping that we get to see a little bit more of Michael Scott and Liz Lemon on Thursday nights.
Grammy Update
Overall I thought the Grammy’s ruled last night. My favorite part?
Top Blog Posts of the Last 3 Weeks
Get Out of the Church Please by Jason Mitchell (on candidates in the pulpit)
Cleveland is Dying by Jordon Cooper
April Fool’s (Signing) Day by The Big Lead
Caucus Voter’s Guide by Jesus Manifesto
Crosswalks and Capes by *thelongbrake
Filed under: Music
I’ve been meaning to post on this all week but I’m just now getting around to it.
My brother is always on the cutting edge of music and is always throwing me new artists to check out. About a month ago he started pushing this guy Bon Iver on me. Every time we would talk he’d ask if I had heard him yet and why I hadn’t. Finally I got my hands on some of his music and let me tell you… it’s incredible!
I’ve probably listened to the songs I have about 20 times in the past week. It’s perfect for winter and I think you’d really enjoy it too!
The full album For Emma, Forever Ago comes out in two weeks (Feb 19), but you can get a listen now. Check out the Bon Iver Myspace or the songs listed on HypeM.
Let me know what you think!
::one::
As I grew up I struggled deeply with depression. Throughout high school this was particularly hard. Towards the end of my senior year of high school as I was driving home alone I flat out asked God why I was so depressed. It suddenly occurred to me that the reason I was always so depressed was because I was putting my hope in the wrong things. I was always putting my hope in whatever person, event or thing that was the focus of my life and without fail these things always left me disappointed. Somehow that day God adjusted my focus and I began to realize that my hope needed to be in Him alone. That if I found life in Christ I could be satisfied and that any other good thing that came my way was a blessing. This truth seems so simple, but for me that concept was life altering.
::two::
My first couple years of ministry were less than encouraging. I remember constantly feeling like a failure and wondering if I was really cut out to do ministry. During a darker period, when I was really questioning my call to ministry, I attended a conference at Willow Creek where Rob Bell spoke. The main idea of his talk was “why aren’t you more you in the ministry that you do?” If God has created me, redeemed me, gifted me, called me, and placed me in the ministry that I am in then I need to realize that God wants me and no one else. I had constantly fallen into the trap of trying to be someone else as opposed to embracing who I was in my ministry context. As I embraced this idea it gave me the confidence to embrace the ministry that God had called me to.
::three::
About four years ago God allowed me to be a part of some of the richest community that I have ever experienced. Through “circumstances” my wife and I became great friends with about five other young adults in our area. We all attended the same church, lived, worked, and shopped in the same area. It gave us multiple opportunities throughout the week to connect and know each other. We naturally started to spend time together talking about the things that we were most passionate about and at the center of it all was God. It was very easy to be intentional with these friends about studying scripture, praying for each other, encouraging each other, calling each other out, serving each other and serving along side each other. I experienced some of the strongest growth in my Christian walk during the time that we all were in community together and in that time I became convinced that we really were made for community and that God uses the body of Christ both to shape each other as individuals and to make impacts on the world around us. This community also taught me the value of experiencing community on an organic level. I had been and have been a part of programmed community and have experienced some of what was found with these friends but the depth that comes from discovering and developing this kind of community is worth working for and pushes me to pursue this wherever I am.
Filed under: week-end update
I wasn’t too busy to do this over the weekend but somehow I just never got around to it. I will now. Sorry.
I Like Movies
This Thursday at 11.59pm my friends and I went to the long awaited premier of…. RAMBO. I have only gone to one other opening night primier in my life (3rd LOTR) and let me tell you there was very little hype in the room this time around. Rob, Kevin, about 6 other people, and I tollerated less than 90 minutes of this bloody pic. When people ask me if it was good I say “it was Ramb0″.
Friday afternoon I went to see There Will Be Blood by myself. Jake had seen it and told me it may be his favorite movie EVER so I went in hoping for the best but thinking my expectations may be too high. They were not. It was amazing! Such a great story with even greater characters that parallel each other in such beautiful and challenging ways. I hope it wins lots of awards and that you all go see it.
This Friday Meri and I will go to see another Oscar nominee (we’re not sure which one though, any thoughts?).
TK is Back
I have what could be considered by some a small obsession with PTI’s Tony Kornheiser. While I lived in Iowa (8 years ago) I listened to his ESPNradio show and loved it. He left ESPNradio and ended up back in local radio but takes long breaks to do Monday Night Football. This week he returned and I couldn’t be happier. The show is normally about sports, movies, American Idol, Tony’s problems, and the coming Animal Revolution. I listen via podcast while working out. You should too! (click HERE for more info).
Best Shape Update
After running 8 solid miles this past Friday I weighed in 3 points lighter than last week. That’s 14 pounds so far this year with one more weigh in for the month of January. Not too shabby. Not the best shape of my life yet, but we’re getting there.
I’ll try and get some Links of the Week tomorrow. I’m tired.
To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives – the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections – that requires hard spiritual work. Still, we are only grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for. Let’s not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God.
Henri Nouwen
This week we are doing a liturgical exercise for our prayer class. Our professor has introduced us to a website called Sacred Space that gives fresh themed prayers every day. This morning as I was praying through them a piece stood out to me.
“Be still and know that I am God.”
Lord, Your words lead us to the
calmness and greatness of your presence.Lord, may I never take the gift
of freedom for granted. You gave
me the great blessing of freedom of
spirit. Fill my spirit with Your peace and
Your joy.
After praying through this about 3 times I was struck by the idea of freedom. So much of my stress in life comes from the ability to decide what my next move in life is going to be. Should I go here or there? Should I pursue this or that? Should I make this decision or that decision. As I consider them, weigh the options, argue with that imaginary self in my head, and even look for advice from others I am often left stressed and frustrated.
Yet God tells me I can be still.
I can rest.
I can trust that HE is God.
Some may take this to mean that I don’t have to decide any of these things because God is in control, and while that is a nice thought very seldom do our toughest decisions get made for us. Instead I think this encourages me to step into the tension that God has allowed me to walk through confidently and not let it rattle me. They are a gift and I can follow Him through them, no matter how volitile they appear, and know that I can be still, rest, and trust that God is God.
amen.
