Fireproof

Quote of the day:

"'Fireproof' doesn't mean that fire will never come, but that when it comes you will be able to withstand it."

Fireproof the movie

Matthew

First!

[Edit: added Exodus]

For those that understand it, a quote by Merlin Mann:

God enables comments on Genesis: "1. First!" "2. Snake looks fake" "3. Abraham ram = teh lame" "4. LOLCains" "5. Friend me, Creator of man!"

Next, Exodus opens comments: "1. Moses lists, FTW!!" "2. gold calf's hella fake" "3. First!" "4. Free Rolex" "5. Gay Pharaoh Hat=EPIC FAIL!"

Matthew

Trippy!

Before I go, one last thing.

I am reading "Showdown" by Ted Dekker. It started off slow, but has become a really good book. I would best describe the first half of the book like this:
1) Get a decent author.
2) Put a copy of "The Visitation" by Frank E. Peretti in front of him.
3) Give him an empty book and a pen.
4) Tell the author to copy word for word "The Visitation" into the empty book.
5) After he finishes his first page, shoot the author up with lots of LSD.
6) Enjoy your new book.

Ya, so the first half of the book is a lot like "The Visitation" (minus the back story) except very VERY trippy!!! But something happens (or more precisely, something is explained) halfway through the book that makes it very exciting and a very good book. If you can make it through the first half, you will love the second half! (Oh, and don't read it until you have read "Black", "Red", and "White")

So any way, here are my favorite taken-out-of-context quotes from the book:
"'Love is the purest expression of selflessness. It is the desire to please at the expense of one's own sense of need.'" (page 171)
"'Trust me, seeing has very little to do with believing. Belief is a matter of the heart, not the eyes.'" (210)
"'Every good thing is worthy of celebration.'" (248)

The last one is so true! When was the last time that you celebrated a good thing in your life?

Matthew

8 hours...

In 8 hours I will be on my way to Washington DC, my first mission trip in three years! Yea!

They have told us from the beginning that we should not bring our cell phones and iPods. RRIIIIIGGHHTT! I was planing on bringing my iPod Shuffle for the plane ride (I already have a back log of Dave Ramsey), and I was going to turn off my cell phone, but bring it and check my voice mail every once in a while.

Then I thought: why? Why should I go against their wishes? Why do my wants supersede their wants? Why do I always have to be in control?

So I have decided to not bring my cell phone OR my iPod! And I probably won't be able to check my e-mail, RSS feeds, forums, or even Woot.com! Big news for someone who is always plugged into the internet.

So if you try calling, all you will hear is a cute message that I will record before I leave in the morning. And of course, no blog updates for a week. SORRY!

Matthew

The New Skillet

(all links are iTunes links, except where noted, so Sara, don't click!)

So I have gone out running for the last five days in a row... yea!

When running, I used to listen to Skillet. Good exercise music! But even the best bands are less fun to listen to when you listen to them too much (which is why the Beetles suck... they have been listened to one too many times). Anywho, I have found some new good exercise music.

In the last few days I have been listening to Family Force 5. They have an amazing sound... if you like their genre. They are punk rock, and "I Love them to Death". If you want a taste of their music, check out their most popular song "Love Addict", and if you want to see trippy Ninjas, cute girls, and robots, watch the YouTube version of the Love Addict music video. (BTW, am I the only one that when watching that YouTube video, the video and audio are not synced? It is very obvious when the lips fill the screen and everyone is dancing off beat.)

In the beginning of this week, I was listening to Éowyn. Yes, that is her real name. No, she is not the fictional character from Lord of the Rings. Yes, her dad was a big fan of the books, and... well, you get the picture. Anywho, she has a great sounding voice, and her music is amazing. Great exercise music! (her homepage and MySpace have more samples of her music). Oh and she is hot.

The other day, while running, some of her lyrics stood out to me. From the song I'm Ready:
I've come to this place in my life
Where I know all I really need is You
I'm your child, I'm your beloved
So I'll wait, trusting you while you [something]
I don't care what they say, I'm ready
Ready for your outpouring of grace
I'm ready to be all that you have made me to be
Ready for your glory Lord,
I'm ready for the plans you have for me

Anywho, I just thought that those lyrics were cool. Something I don't mind praying every once in a while.

BTW, I turned off the "autoplay" on my "new theme song" in the other post... your welcome.

Matthew

My new theme song!

My New Theme Song:

by Bill Eckhardt under a Creative Commons Liscense

Matthew

Bed Time!

So, the last two nights I have gone to bed after 3 in the morning and have gotten up at 11:30... which is not bad in and of itself, but next week we will be in Washington DC doing volunteer work, and I KNOW they won't let me sleep until 11:30. So, tonight, I have taken some sleeping pills and am off to bed at 11:15 with my alarm set for 8:30. I then plan on going running (it will be my 4th day in a row) and run some errands.

Wish me luck!

Oh, and I still haven't closed my windows... I love living on the second floor! =: >

Matthew

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

The best time of the year is when you can open and leave open all of your windows for more than 48 hours at a time; it is cool enough during the day to not overheat, and it is cool enough at night to not get cold. Yea.

The only problem is, no matter where you live, you will always have one bird that crows/whines all morning long like Scuttle from The Little Mermaid. That is why I keep an extra pillow on my bed.

Matthew

late...

OK, I should really stop playing War Craft at 1 in the morning... nothing wrong with it, until you get into a 2 hour game... *sigh* time for bed.

Matthew

Stat Counts

About a month ago, I installed a statistical counter on my blog to see how many people come by, and where they are going (so yes, I know how many times you check my blog a day).

Anywho, one of the neat things is that if people search on Google and find my blog, I can tell what they searched on Google for. So, here is the list of things that people search for on Google and have found my page (in no particular order):
fowow
katanna.blogspot
beat those commies backwards
what tha font
you can identify them ahead-of-time -- they lead with their left foot when the music starts.
apple new products every week?
suitable for murder denton texas
mundane life quotes
folk of the fringe quotes
apple product every week
http://katanna.blogspot.com/2008/03/close-call.html
lufthansa jet close call landing
why were the german pilots trying to land
close call for landing jet texas
germany flight close call
lolcatz smile
chick fil a mints
german flight close call
velugu tv
recording do you poop out at parties, are you un popular?
apple every tuesday 23 29 5 12 19 macworld air 50 weeks
i want chic-fil-a on sundays
college ministry church
wuv, tru wuv,
apple air
leopard or leper
leaky basement
suitable for murder denton
matt kelling photos
vista leopard leper
chick fil a honey roasted bbq sauce
mucus in throat can't breathe
matt kelling
mundane used in a sentece
hate chick-fil-a

Matthew

Urbex Update

I thought that I would update you guys on my fundraising for Urbex, my mission trip to Washington DC in two weeks.

I am excited to announce that so far I have raised $1,455! Truly, God has blessed my life! That is 264.55% of what I asked for! God continues to show me that I am surrounded with family and love in ways that I can only imagine.

If you have recently sent me a check, or are still planning on it, don't worry. They said that the expenses were more than they expected because air fare was more than expected. If you would still like to donate money, I would recommend one of the links that I included at the end of this post.

Thanks again for showing love and support for what I do!

Matthew

PS: News story of the day: Would you be exposed to Malaria (which kills 1 million people a year) for a little cash? linky

Frustrated...

I am tired of TV shows showing guys sleeping with their girlfriends.

I recorded "New Amsterdam," a show about a cop that doesn't die. With literally less than a minute into the show, the main guy is shown sleeping with a girl, and while there is no nudity, he is shown taking off her bra and they are shown moving around in bed. Needless to say, I turned it off at that point.

It is so amazingly tiring to see sex on TV over, and over, and over, and over. It does not progress the story at all, and yet Hollywood is compelled to insert sex into EVERY TV SHOW OUT THERE! Hollywood, grow up, leave your college pheromones behind, and see that some people don't want sex thrown into TV shows for no reason.

Every fiber of my soul aches to see this stop.

Matthew

Super Bowl...

I never did post my favorite Super Bowl commercial! (OK, this ran during the pre-game, but still...)



Matthew

Snow!

So, it is snowing here in MARCH! So I went out and took some photos around "the square" and at UNT. Here are the results:
Linky

BTW, for those not photo savvy: the photos with white dots all over them I took with the flash. The flash hit the snow and it makes a bunch of white dots everywhere. The photos without white dots I did not use the flash. There was little direct light on the snow, and the photo was exposed longer, so the snow appears as white streaks.

Matthew

Myself

(This is a followup to the Transition to Leader post at my other blog. I have not re-read that post, so some information will be repeated. Deal with it.)

Recently I looked back at my older posts, glancing through all of them (over 250). I realized that recently (in the last six months), I have become much more philosophical. Yes, I still post quirky links, funny photos, and AMAZING REAL LIFE VIDEOS!!!!! Maybe it is because I am now out of school, giving me more time to think, but I have been trying to be more pro-active in thinking about my life (notice posts here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here (and yes, those are the same links that I had in my e-mail that I sent to EVERYONE, so it is no use clicking on them)).

But I digress to the original reason for this post: explaining the aforementioned Transition to Leader post at my other blog (I wanted to keep the other post less personal, so here is the personal side of the post).

Six months ago, I was getting ready to graduate from college. I had a "dream" of what I wanted to do (make movies), but I knew that: a) it probably wouldn't happen, and b) if it did happen, it wasn't a simple "start here and work your way up" job. So, I started to pray. Every night, I would pray that God would lead me down the path that he has chosen for me. I would pray that this path be easy to find, and that I would know what I would do. I also prayed that God would show me where he was taking me, where this path lead. See, I was worried about what I was going to do once I graduated, so I turned to God for comfort and support.

But by the time I graduated, this prayer had not yet been answered. I was going on a week long vacation, and the week I got back I would be working on a film set and acting as the driver to the star. But when I graduated, I didn't have any thing planned after January; no jobs, no career, nothing. Yes, I had a small income (working with Cathy and AUMC), and don't get me wrong, those are amazing opportunities, but I did not see how they would further my film career. And while they were steady as in I did the job every week, they were not steady in that both put together would not pay for my rent.

However, the Bible tells us to not worry, but pray, so I did. I continued my prayers that God would lead me down his path, and that he would show me where he was taking me. (On a side note: what is the accepted thing: yes or no to capitalizing pronouns that refer to God? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't... I don't mean no disrespect when I don't... Some Bibles do, some Bibles don't... what are your thoughts?)

Anywho, I continued to pray, and now, less than three months after I graduated, I can say with full faith that I believe that God has answered my prayers. I feel that God has brought me down the path that he has planned for me, and looking back, I can tell that he has not only been guiding me in the last six months, but also in the last six years. I also feel that God has shown me where he is leading me to: church media. In the last two months, I have been overcome with a passion and desire for this area, and I can't deny the power of these feelings. Six months ago, I had never given a serious thought about being in church media full time, but now I could totally see myself spending the rest of my life leading a team of people to help the congregation to worship. These feelings often overwhelm me, and I think about it night and day.

This is why I feel like God has answered my prayers. I see this passion as God leading me to where he wants me: church media. At one level, I look at what I had originally thought my life to be (in the movies), and I am slightly saddened that I am leaving that behind. Not only that, but I feel bad about leaving this futur, because it was not just my future; Hurley and I had big dreams for ourselves! Add Burrow into the picture, and we had plans on taking over Hollywood! But I have deserted that dream for a passion that I have never felt before. I feel bad about leaving others behind, but how can I deny this new passion in my life? (I have talked to Hurley about this, and he is totally cool with it, saying "If God is leading you there, who am I to stop it?")

So now that God has answered my prayers, do I stop praying them? No! God has lead me to where he wants me to be (now), and he has shown me where he wants me to be (church media), but who am I to say that I will end up there? In fact, I have expanded my prayers. I still pray for him to lead me, and him to show me, now I also pray that God will give me the leadership skills that I will need, and that God would help me understand myself better (because I don't have enough philosophical posts as it is). While God has already answered my prayers, please continue to pray with me that God will continue to answer my prayers.

Matthew

PS: I referenced my own blog 16 times, including referencing one post three times, and even referencing THIS POST TWICE! OK, make that 17.

Close Call

OK, this pilot should be given an award for pulling this off, then fired for trying to land in the first place.



Violent Jet Landing in Storm Caught on Tape in Germany

A jumbo jet nearly crashed Saturday as it attempted to land in the midst of a tropical storm in Germany, Spiegel Online reported Monday.

The Lufthansa jet, with 137 passengers onboard, struggled through the strong winds of a powerful winter storm to land at Hamburg Airport, Spiegel Online reported. An amateur video captured the dramatic landing.

After skidding along the runway and rocking violently, the pilot was forced to abort the landing. Later, all 137 passengers arrived safely.

Insiders said that the landing was one of the most dramatic incidents in German aviation history.

"It's extreme — I haven't yet seen anything like that at a German airport," Axel Raab, a spokesperson for German Flight Safety told Spiegel Online.

Matthew