I’m tired because I only got 6 hours of sleep.  And for a change it wasn’t because I was working.  Instead, I had the chance to hear Natalie Grant in concert (at the Festival of the Bells).

The venue was in a smaller, rural town that’s been hit very hard by the recession.  I’m sure she could have played in other, bigger venues.  Probably with a lot more energetic of an audience.  But she encouraged a lot of people last night.  In a town that hasn’t had a lot of good news recently.

Now I don’t go to a lot of concerts, but every time I go to a Christian concert where people sit cracks me up.  People seem to fill up a Christian concert just like they do church – starting in the back.  How many times does Dave Matthews or Lady Gaga have empty seats at the front of the stage?  Of course for us this meant, even though we were running a bit late, we had seats right up front.  (here you can see from the exclusive crap cam, as Dave Barry says)

Some artists are better in the studio than they are on the road.  But Natalie Grant was great in concert.  There was definitely no need to auto-tune her!

So there you have it.  She was awesome.  We had a good time.  And I still made it into work.

As you’ve probably figured out, I love good Christian humor.  And I think this qualifies.  I’m not sure it was intended to be good Christian humor, but beggars can’t be choosers when it comes to truly funny stuff about faith.  You can buy the snow devil t-shirt here.

What better way to kick off 2010 then with some silent monks who sing?

Everything seems to move at warp speed.

So for this Christmas I encourage you to spend quality, focused, time with your friends and family. Enjoy their company and the community you have. Use this as an opportunity to show what it means to live a life of faith, not by preaching Bible verses, but by being there when they need you.

In the meantime, check out this video. I think we can all wish this was our house growing up…

In the post, “guard your heart,” I wrote that every time we break one of the 10 Commandments we do serious damage to our heart.  We just weren’t designed to live the way we are choosing to live.  In their book, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, Rob Bell and Don Golden agree, saying, “What God begins …with the 10 Commandments is the long process of teaching [Israel] how to be human again.”

God gave us the 10 Commandments not as punishment for being disobedient, but as a guide to how to live a better life.

That’s the serious side of all of this.  But since it’s Friday, and I just managed to run my USB drive through the washing machine, I feel like a little laughter.  So here is Mel Brook’s take on the 10 Commandments…

Religion can be a serious business. People have tough questions about their lives, their futures, and even their decisions. It’s no wonder that many churches are so solemn. But I think this is a shame. Humor is one of the ways God has made us unique. No other creature can tell a joke. Humor is a reflection of God’s own personality.

It’s unfortunate that Christians are seen as the ones holding everyone back. We should be on the cutting edge of science, literature and yes, humor. God has given us great freedom. Why don’t we take that freedom and make people laugh?

So on this warm summer day, are a few funny church signs.

If you have a favorite church sign, leave a comment and we’ll see about getting it featured on R3. We could all use a little more laughter in our day.

I’m on the road this week for work.  So while I’m busy you can enjoy the fact that apparently Jesus has chosen to display himself as a Cheeto.  Naturally the couple who found the Cheeto Jesus have named it “Cheesus”.  Because reallly, what else would you name it?

I love to laugh.  I believe laughter and a sense of humor is one of God’s greatest gifts to humanity.  So I am always looking for funny Christian humor.  Unfortunately, there just isn’t a lot of it.  In fact, if you type in the phrase “Christian Humor” you’ll end up with a lot of bad knock knock jokes and “how many Christians does it take to screw in a light bulb?”  Personally I think that’s sad.

Maybe some day I will be motivated to create a website devoted to good (because it exists) Christian humor.  But until then we’ll just take a look at what other people are creating.  Even if it’s not exactly true.  Of course, we all know snopes is behind urban legends anyway.

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.  And sometimes it takes a terminator to save Jesus.

Happy Easter everyone!