The force is with us!!
Summer is both the best and worst time to blog! There is a ton of stuff going on to blog about but at the same time very little time to do blogging! Hence my newest post since the 4th of July! I have many new ministry items to blog about and I will get to them soon but I want to share a little of my last couple of days with you.
Last spring I planned a short vacation for my boys and I. They wanted to attend the Chicago Comic-con together. So for Nick's birthday we bought he and Alena tickets to come visit us. Alena stayed at home with Cindy and while they hung out the boys and I and my nephew Dan attended the Comic con which is one of the largest get together of comic book, star wars, gaming and costume aficionados in the nation!
We spent the last three days wading through quite and interesting collection of humanity! And we also spent three days examining some interesting collectibles and talking to artists and actors and fans who have dedicated their lives to large parts of their imaginations! Take a look at some of these photos and then please read my comments at the end!
Andrew and C3PO!
Ready to take on Comic-Con 09! 
Beware of Troopers!
Lots of celebrities to sign autographs!! (only $30 dollars a piece!)This Edward James Olmos.
Mad Gamers!!!
I have to admit that despite the overpriced everything and the fact that I don't think any one's autograph is worth 30-40 dollars and the alternator going out in the car- we had a great time! It was fun to see cool stuff and entertaining to watch people in costume and awe inspiring to see some of the artists and the amazing work they do. But in one of the panel discussion I was especially intrigued by a discussion concerning the construction of star wars costumes! The panel was made up of the folks you see in costume at the top of this post!
These folks are part of two different groups. One is a "storm trooper" unit of folks who like to dress up as star wars empire bad guys and the other is a group of folks who like to dress up as star wars good guy rebels. Many belong to both groups!
What amazed me was the dedication each had to the construction of their costumes! Many had invested several thousands of dollars in their uniforms. The Chewbacca costume cost it's owner about $5,000 dollars and is one of eight in the world! Chewie (not his real name) spent a year before a single stitch was sewn just researching the outfit to make it perfect. The costume was made of the same bolt of fake fur used by the costume artists to make Chewbacca's original costume in episode 3! He even hunted down the original molds used to make the teeth in the mask and hand sewed the hair a piece at a time into it! Many shared the joy of finding single pieces in their journey to complete their outfits!
And by the way do not think you can join this group by purchasing a store bought costume! These folks have high standards and a list of costume requirements that must be perfect before you can be considered for membership! Their dedication is intense!
It was interesting that this Sunday in church we were discussing the kingdom parables in the book of Matthew and one of those is the "Pearl of Great Price" where a merchant sold all he had to obtain a single pearl of great value! This made me think of the star wars fans whose dedication to their costumes was so intense that they sacrificed valuable time and money to complete each one with loving care!
I believe that is the same dedication that you and I are asked to have towards the Kingdom of God. As Pastor Bruce shared this morning it is our pearl of great price!! I have to admit that why I desire to have that kind of dedication to the Kingdom of God many times I find myself doing things that do not reflect that kind of attitude! It is a constant re-adjustment each day to live as a citizen of the Kingdom of God - the Pearl of Great Price!
Let's not let a group of star wars fans prove their dedication is greater than ours! How much more worthy is our endeavor than theirs! We need to live as citizens of the Kingdom today! The Kingdom of God is at hand!
PS - I don't normally spend a lot of time preaching on my blog so I hope you will indulge me this once! If you are interested in more of our trip to comic-con I will soon be posting some video on my facebook page!
