story time with blair

More Lost Than Found: A Book Review

xbtotherockx — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:44:35 +0000

More Last Than Found by Jared Herd was sent to me by Booksneeze review program. By reading the description, I figured this would be a book that resonated with my heart, and I wasn’t wrong. Jared sees young people leaving the church and feeling disillusioned and angry and realizes something needs to be done. Sharing pieces of his story and observations from the culture within and outside the walls of the church, he speaks of the growing disconnect between the church and adolescents. One of my favorite chapters was “Shattering The Fishbowl”, where he shakes up the myth that God is not in the secular world, and only lives in places the church deems appropriate. He paints a picture of God reaching outside of our lines and comfort zones and reaching people in all sorts of ways, right where they are. God uses broken people. Jared wants all to feel welcome at the church, and this book is really about reaching out to those who feel like they are on the outside looking in. He challenges the church and challenges those without faith to come back. All in all, I enjoyed this book. 4/5 on the blair-o-meter.

Close Enough To Hear God Breathe-A Book Review

xbtotherockx — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:00:21 +0000

Greg Paul has been one of my favorites for a while now. I first read “God In The Alley” when I was working in a Christian bookstore and it woke me up to what it means to love the least of these. His community in Toronto inspires me and I value the work he is doing. At any rate, I was excited to receive his new book, “Close Enough To Hear God Breathe”, from the Booksneeze program. What I love the most about Greg’s writing is his story telling. He tells stories beautifully, and he has a plethora of them from his life experience. This book painted a beautiful picture of God as father, and us as his children. He uses his brilliant storytelling to convey this image, using life with his children and relationships with others to show what it means to be in relationship with God and truly feel his love. In Chapter 7, ‘The Beauty of a Broken Mirror”, I loved the way he discussed the fall and Adam and Eve. Often the story is told as if God is an angry judge just waiting for them to screw up and be kicked out of the garden. Greg paints the picture of a father lovingly alongside them, walking with them as they suffer the consequences of their actions. That has been my experience of God as well. That when I mess up, it’s not anger he feels, but sorrow, and a desire to pick me back up and hold me again, the way any good father does. At any rate, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. Support Greg Paul as an author and his work. Keep the stories and inspiration coming. 4.5/5 on the blair-o-meter.

Peace Be With You: A Book Review

xbtotherockx — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 06:04:17 +0000

I was excited to receive this book from the booksneeze program. The description grabbed me right from the start. A monastic response to religious tension in light of 9/11. While it has been 10 years only a few days from now since the awful sight of planes flying into the towers, one doesn’t have to look far in order to see the chaos swirling around us when it comes to issues of terrorism, fear, and religious extremism. In North America, the response has mostly been fear and to relegate muslims to the outside of society, at best holding them at arms length, and at worst, showing prejudice and bigotry towards them. While this is a generalization, it isn’t too far from the norm in my experience. At any rate, this book is a refreshing voice amongst Christian literature. Most titles pertaining to this subject in Christian bookstores speak of Us vs. Them mentalities, stoking the fires of intolerance and injustice. This wants no part in that.

His approach is to visit monasteries and visit with those who live in community there and those who seek solace there. David Carlson wants to know how they responded to 9/11 when it happened, and how they continue to respond now. The monastic way of life is largely ignored in our western christianity, but their voices have much to offer. What he finds is an incredible voice of peace and hope in the midst of all the chaos. It is encouraging to read more hope-filled visions of the future than what is traditionally offered in regards to christian-muslim relationships. 4/5 on the blair-o-meter. Good stuff!

Rumors Of God: A Book Review

xbtotherockx — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:01:48 +0000

When I received this book to review, I wasn’t expecting much, for no reason other than I had never heard of the authors before. But I found this to be one of those pleasant surprises. Almost like when you go to see a band play, and it’s the opening band you’ve never heard of that really catches your ear. Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson do a wonderful job of discussing what it means to have a full life in God, and how what we experience now is only a small glimpse of what God really has in store for us. They talk about rumors of God (hence the book title), which more or less says, “this is the way we are living the christian life and see God, but here is a rumor out there of something better.” To me, I put this book down feeling hopeful. Walking the christian journey has more often than not for me felt dry and not filled with the life we read about in scripture. So the idea that there is more out there to this journey with God resonated deeply with me. The chapter that really did a number on my soul was “Getting The Gospel In Order: Rumors of Grace”. There were things in there I had heard before, but never really believed in the depths of my soul. Something about the way they said it brought new life to me. God loves us, just as we are. We don’t have to change to receive his love. It’s already there. I’ve read this before, heard it before, and even preached on it before. But something about the way they said it woke me up to what that really means for my life. It was a beautiful awakening. I am thankful for this book and will for sure check out any books by these guys in the future. 4.5/5 on the blair-o-meter.

Why God Won’t Go Away: A Book Review

xbtotherockx — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:28:39 +0000

In Alister Mcgrath’s new book, “Why God Won’t Go Away”, he makes the case that the New Atheist movement is more smoke and mirrors than substance. I’ve read many ideas from christian authors before, but Mcgrath writes in a very matter of fact way. While others seem to let emotion be the driving force behind their critique, he uses reason and argument, and does it fairly well. I am always quite skeptical of these kinds of books, mostly because I think they preach to the choir. A book by Christopher Hitchens most likely won’t convince most christians to become atheists in the same way this book most likely won’t convince New Atheists to become Christians. But he didn’t approach it in an arrogant, “us vs. Them” way, so I appreciated that. Because this age old debate will never end, and the cycle of calling each other stupid isn’t really making any headway. So while I’m not much for books that speak out against others, I thought he did it as generously as possible. And he also had some good points at places in which the “New Atheism” movement falls short (such as referring to themselves as ‘brights’, as if everyone else is stupid) while also acknowledging the shortcomings of the christian faith and places he thinks they are right (althought that is few and far between. Overall, a good read on a subject that if I’m being honest, I am pretty exhausted with, but still has value. 3/5 on the blair-o-meter.

Jesus, My Father, The CIA, & Me: A Book Review

xbtotherockx — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:41:37 +0000

i’ve never been one for memoirs. I passed this up on the booksneeze program, as it looked interesting, but not enough for me to dive into. it wasn’t until i heard an interview with the author, Ian Morgan Cron, along with hearing that he was speaking at the Wild Goose Festival that it got me very intrigued as to what he had to offer. so when another opportunity came along, i happily asked to be part of the book review process, and anxiously awaited my copy. i was not disappointed. it was one of those books you have trouble putting down, and even as your eyes are drooping at 2am in the morning and you know you have to get up at 7:30AM, you still can’t resist just one more chapter.

Ian had a tough relationship with the father, and most of the book is spent navigating the intense dynamic between father and son. a book like this could easily be too heavy, but Ian’s honesty is refreshing and his humor brings enough smiles to give you hope throughout the life of abuse he lived at the hand of his father. it’s a story of seeking redemption, forgiveness, understanding and wholeness. working with teenagers, many of whom don’t have fathers, or who have ones similar to Ian’s, this book gives me hope for their future. they aren’t doomed to repeat the failures and sins of the fathers. and even when it looked like Ian was heading that direction, God still reached out and woke him up.

Very good book. Whether your a christian or not, man or woman, adult or teenager, this is a book that is worth every moment spent reading. 5/5 on the blair-o-meter.

Songs That Changed My Life…

xbtotherockx — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 22:10:38 +0000

I will be blogging elsewhere for a while. This blog has fallen into disrepair, and until I figure out how to revive it, I will take my talents (lack there-of) lebron style here to talk about the impact of music in my life. Someday I will be back to storytime with blair, but the time is ripe for something new and I want to start writing about music that has changed me. There will be several opportunities to laugh at me as there were on this blog, so please follow me over and mock my love of Vanilla Ice. I promise I’ll only blog about him every 3rd post. In the meantime, I will continue to use this for my book reviews, but not much else. Peace.

Lyrics of my life: Oh my God by Jars of Clay

xbtotherockx — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:12:46 +0000

This song hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. Both beautiful and devastating.

“Oh My God”

Oh my God, look around this place
Your fingers reach around the bone
You set the break and set the tone
Flights of grace, and future falls
In present pain
All fools say, “Oh my God”

Oh my God, Why are we so afraid?
We make it worse when we don’t bleed
There is no cure for our disease
Turn a phrase, and rise again
Or fake your death and only tell your closest friend
Oh my God.

Oh my God, can I complain?
You take away my firm belief and graft my soul upon your grief
Weddings, boats and alibis
All drift away, and a mother cries

Liars and fools; sons and failures
Thieves will always say
Lost and found; ailing wanderers
Healers always say
Whores and angels; men with problems
Leavers always say
Broken hearted; separated
Orphans always say
War creators; racial haters
Preachers always say
Distant fathers; fallen warriors
Givers always say
Pilgrim saints; lonely widows
Users always say
Fearful mothers; watchful doubters
Saviors always say

Sometimes I cannot forgive
And these days, mercy cuts so deep
If the world was how it should be, maybe I could get some sleep
While I lay, I dream we’re better,
Scales were gone and faces light
When we wake, we hate our brother
We still move to hurt each other
Sometimes I can close my eyes,
And all the fear that keeps me silent falls below my heavy breathing,
What makes me so badly bent?
We all have a chance to murder
We all feel the need for wonder
We still want to be reminded that the pain is worth the thunder

Sometimes when I lose my grip, I wonder what to make of heaven
All the times I thought to reach up
All the times I had to give
Babies underneath their beds
Hospitals that cannot treat all the wounds that money causes,
All the comforts of cathedrals
All the cries of thirsty children – this is our inheritance
All the rage of watching mothers – this is our greatest offense

Oh my God
Oh my God
Oh my God

Finding Our Way Again: A book review…

xbtotherockx — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:46:18 +0000

Brian Mclaren has long been one of my favorite authors. While he tends to attract lots of criticism, I find his writing insightful, inspiring and a push to move me forward in my journey. So I grabbed “Finding Our Way Again” from and gave it a shot. As the introduction to a series on the spiritual practices, most of which I’ve already read, It kind of felt like watching the beginning of the movie after you’ve already seen the end. I’ve already read nearly all the other books in this series, so it was a little strange finishing with the introduction. But that didn’t take away from the importance of this book. More or less, Mclaren talks about the importance of these practices in our life. He tries to show how significant they can be in awakening us to God’s presence in our lives. It’s not that God needs to be present to us, because he is already all around us. It’s just that often, we are asleep to his presence. I found this book challenging and inspiring me to dive deeper into my relationship with God. With me, that is a tough thing to do, as I can be stubborn as a mule. I was thankful for the chance to read this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in what it means to seek God with all you have. 4.5/5 on the blair-o-meter.

the awkward hush

xbtotherockx — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:50:01 +0000

a hush falls over the room. that’s what happens when politics are brought into the discussion. that awkward hush where no one is really sure how much of their views to share for fear of being rejected, ridiculed, misunderstood. the awkward hush. it’s always followed by something bigger, though. an idealist would say mutual respect and understanding. you believe what you believe and i’ll believe what i believe, and we can still be friends. but the idealist in me has long gone the way of the buffalo. and idealists are just young adults who haven’t been corrupted yet. not morally bankrupt 27 year olds like me. more often than not, the awkward hush is followed with condescension, shouting, head shaking, eye rolling, and irritable bowel syndrome. maybe that last one is just me.

it doesn’t start as shouting but it escalates. from short, measured questions. “what do you think on this issue or of this person?” after fumbling around, some brave soul steps forward and offers themselves as the sacrifice on the altar of the party line. and it all goes downhill from there. the shouting/raised voices are counter intuitive because everyone wants to have the last word. my view beats your view. and whomever shouts the loudest in politics these days seems to be the winner, or at least the one that scares the most people, which is basically the same thing.

kids are disillusioned. i talked to a young friend the other day and knowing them, i know exactly which party would make sense for them to vote for. but they are so fed up with what they see on TV and attack ads in the middle of jersey shore reruns that they just don’t give a crap anymore. they see us fighting, calling each other lesser patriots, lawn signs, billboards, door knocking, flyers, promises mostly broken. and can we blame them? really? there was a time when i thought politics was life. when george bush was bombing the world and phones were being wire tapped and the earth was collapsing on itself, it felt like everything to me. and it still does a little, but not as much. when obama brushed into power with a wave of ‘yes we can’-ism, my heart filled with hope. and it still is a little, but not as much. somewhere along the line, the passion has been killed a little bit inside of me because all i see are promises, lies, fear mongering, and that’s just before breakfast.

and i realize that my soul is being stolen from under me. or inside me. or wherever your soul resides. because politics are not everything. politicians make mistakes. and someone will always follow the awkward hush with a confident shout of defiance. usually it’s me. but when my happiness is being taken away from me because someone else sees the world differently than i do, it’s time to look in a mirror and snap out of it. it’s good to be passionate about what you believe in. it’s good and important to call politicians on their crap. it’s good to challenge people who are toeing the party line, even though this perpetuates the awkward hush/loud noises syndrome. but when it’s stealing my joy and hurting relationships…is politics really everything? no. it matters little. one party will do damage here. another party will do damage there. one party will do good here, another party good there. and the cycle will repeat itself. and i should still love my neighbor through all of that.

don’t get me wrong. i will still vote. i find it irresponsible not to vote. but i will vote with my heart. and i will stop trying to convince others i’m right. at least i’ll try. because we’re all wrong. and we’re all right. sometimes. so lets just shut up and be friends. vote with your heart. and vote with the best outcome of the people in mind. what’s most important to you and your community? is it guns? freedom of speech? social programs? the economy? trustworthiness? study the parties. meet the candidates. don’t listen to stupid sound bites on the news. don’t listen to the 30 second commercial propaganda. don’t even listen to my NDP lawn sign i’m trying to sway you with, as if a piece of cardboard will make you say, ‘hey, that makes sense.’ listen to your heart and vote. and do your best to be a good citizen. respect people who see things differently. i fail miserably at this. maybe i am a disillusioned 20 something. maybe this isn’t the best sales pitch for a new generation of voters. but something needs to change. and if it means me shutting up for once, so be it. if nothing else, lets me more self aware of our tendencies and show some respect. the politicians don’t have any respect for us, so we might as well have some for each other.

This message was sponsored by the Bloc Quebecois.

PS-when i wake up in the morning, it is very likely i will take this all back and hate everyone who thinks differently than me. better to call myself on my hypocrisy now than let you do it. beat you to the punch. at least politics taught me something.