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• Salon.com Books | We are meant to be here People are not the result of a cosmic accident, but of laws of the universe that grant our lives meaning and purpose, says physicist Paul Davies.

from Phisch

1. Who is your favorite Biblical personage, other than Jesus?

Paul. His life was the most radically changed in the New Testament. From persecutor of the Church to one who led the Church and suffered for the Church and the cause of Christ, he considered himself the worst of sinners for which God has shown mercy. God’s patience and willingness to forgive was markedly demonstrated in Paul’s life.

2. What is your favorite book of the Old Testament?

Proverbs. Many nuggets of wisdom imparted. Wish I had read it as a teen/young man. I could’ve avoided many pitfalls. More on this later…

3. What is your least favorite book of the Old Testament?

Either Leviticus or Numbers. I know they continue the saga of Moses and the nation of Israel, and those parts I like. But the genealogies and the ceremonial laws, whew! I know my eyes glazed over a few times reading the head count of the tribes of Israel and how the numerous sacrifices were to be offered. I realize those books serve to show not only how God is faithful to Israel but also to show how He is pure and holy. But I’m sure glad we live under the New Covenant.

4. What is your favorite non-gospel book of the New Testament?

I haven’t really thought about this much but I guess I’d say the book of Romans. It clearly lays out the Gospel. And, some say that if you know Romans you know all of Scripture because of its allusions and commentary on topics like the Creation all the way to the Last Judgment.

5. What is your life verse?

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. Galatians 2:20

6. Tag 5 people who might want to play

This is a free for all. Have at it!

Woke up on the wrong side of the bed,
The wrong side of the room,
The wrong side of the world.
Can’t put my finger on the mood.
It’s not melancholy, anger or the blues.
I love my (wife), my house, my job.
Couldn’t be any better, and really what else is there?
Then I realize I’m forgetting God,
and that’s the root of all my misery.
Lord, first of all, how is it between You and me?

How is it between us? How is it between us?
When did I talk to You last,
and what has happened since?
How is it between us? How is it between us?
When did I talk to You last,
and what has happened?

When I wake up I am on my way,
reinventing the wheel and saving the day.
I have learned this lesson a thousand times:
I am the branch, and You are the vine.
Apart from You we are mice and men,
With our fancy dreams of grandeur and no way to get there.
Oh, I can think about You now and then,
or I can make a mark on eternity.
Lord, first of all, how is it between You and me?

- Sara Groves, How is it Between Us?

But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead…

There’s this Citibank commercial that cracks me up each time I see it. It shows a woman at a grocery store who mistakes a full-figured woman for being pregnant. The offending woman, embarrassed, utters a simple “thank you?” and all is fine and dandy. The voiceover goes, “It’s amazing what a simple ‘thank you’ can do.” Boy, I wish uttering those two words in real life can diffuse awkward situations just as easily.

“Thank you” songs are similar in a certain sense. There’s something light-hearted about them that takes the edge off of a stressful day. Dido surely feels this way when she sings Thank You, perhaps the most famous pop song about gratitude. Geggy Tah’s Whoever You Are, is so fun to listen to. Its chorus, “All I want to do is to thank you even though I don’t know who you are. You let me change lanes while I was driving in my car,” is a catchy little ditty that never fails to put a smile on my face. Del the Funkee Homosapien ends his 1993 underground hip-hop classic album with a tune called Thank Youse. In it, he takes time to thank his listeners, which is quite a nice departure from the rest of the album where braggadocio lyrics prevail.

Giving thanks has a way of focusing oneself towards the positive instead of the negative. And songs of gratitude, when directed towards the Creator, express the realization that every good thing is a gift from God and is not something earned.

*This was supposed to be my Thanksgiving post but it totally slipped my mind because of the busyness of the holiday.