100 posts

This is it! Post #100!!! At times it seemed like I'd never make it, and for sure there have been times when I've quit blogging altogether, only to pick it back up when the time was right. If you are new to reading this blog, I'm going to take a few paragraphs to highlight some of the ways this blog has changed in the last 100 items.

It's funny going back and rereading some of my old posts. I've been blogging for two years now, and a lot has changed in my life since then. My first post was right after a lock in, and includes the prophetic statement "I think Myspace is outliving it's usefulness anyway." That's right, I called it two years ago! Back then I was concerned about the ads that were so prevalent (and still are), now I'm concerned (not really) that no one uses it.

I posted three times in the first 8 days, then took a three month break because it was getting to be too much (really I was just lazy and didn't think I had anything interesting to say (I still don't)). I hit my blogging stride though shortly after that as I posted 10 items during our missions trip. I haven't done that since, but I really need to because it was a great way to decompress and to let parents know what was happening in the ministry.

The blog took on a new direction for a little while as I tried to apply the Bible to current events, which was a noble goal but I didn't have the time to search out new information. In December 2007 our house was flooded, so there are several posts relating to that.

During that same time period our senior pastor left, and I was the interim pastor at our church. This was the one time when I could seriously say I was too busy to blog, it was all I could do to keep my head above water.

Sometime in 2008 I decided that my writing needed to be focused more towards youth pastors, as one of the things God has called me to do is to help resource the next gen of youth pastors out there. So I started a few different series, and each time they ended up being too much work to keep up with. Tools I use in ministry and What Should I do after I get Saved flowed from this line of thinking, and each one took months to complete.

In June we stepped down in Oakville, and for a while this blog became a way for me to get my name out there. When we moved to Lake Stevens, the blog became more a way for me to connect with our Youth Leadership, and to start a discussion about Youth Ministry.

So that's where we've come from, as far as where we're heading, maybe the next 100 will make that clear.

-Jeff-

Announcements

Normally i won't post youth group announcements on my blog, as it's more geared to fellow youth pastors than to the church, but right now I have to because I need to get this info out quickly and I already know how to do it here (rather than messing with the church website). So sorry for everyone coming here for YM tips, those will start back up once I get settled in at the church.

UPDATE: Updated details are in Bold and Italic, also fixed a link and uploaded a permission slip for the camping trip.

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Camping Trip

We'll nail down the final details by Sunday, but for right now here's what we have:
September 12-13 (Meet at the church at 5pm, we'll return to the church at 10am)
Cost: $5
What to bring:
Bible, Tent, flashlight, sleeping bag, pillow, coat, clothes and toiletries. Guitars, sports equipment, or games can also be brought if you'd like.
Transportation: One of the church vans will be available to transport people to and from the Schwendtkes.

Please click here to download a permission slip.

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Youth Conference

October 10-11
Cost: $115 (fundraisers are available, please contact me for more info)
What to Bring:
Bible, Pen, Notepad, Sleeping bag, pajamas, change of clothes, deodorant and other toiletries, swimsuit (optional, not sure if the pool will be open or not, girls no two piece suits), spending money, coat
Transportation: Church Vans
Departure/Arrival times: Leaving at 10am on the 10th and returning home at around 10pm on the 11th.

Please click here to view the permission slip

Please click here to view the scholarship application form

Too much stuff going on!

Hey everyone, I know I haven't posted alot lately, but hopefully that will be changing in the next couple weeks and I'll get back into a Tuesday-Thursday schedule. I needed to take a break though and thought I'd throw out a few updates and thoughts that won't make up a whole blog by themselves:

• We have a new Senior Pastor coming in! I talked with him today for about a half an hour on the phone and he seems like a great guy. I can't wait to really sit down with him and hear about his vision for the church and the community. It's fun to have a new infusion of vision.
  
• That means, I don't have to be the Interim anymore! And Tuesday can't come soon enough! Then I get to go back to just being the youth pastor!
• When I met him he started asking me questions about our house and everything that happened here. It confused me how he knew so much about my life until he admitted to reading my blog.
• Tiff and I went up to her Grandma's house this last Sunday - Tuesday. Her Grandma had open heart surgery to replace one of the valves in her heart and needed someone to help for a couple days. I spent a lot of time with Tiff's grandpa who has Alzheimer's. It was really tough to deal with him, not because he was mean or frustrating, but because everytime he asked where we were going I wanted to cry. He is so confused and just not with it anymore. He's started getting the shakes too. I pray that God takes him home quickly.

Well, those are my thoughts for now, time to get back to work.

-Jeff-

Can Huckabee score with Texas?

Mike Huckabee has been my favorite candidate from the start, but this video puts him over the top in my vote. Please, if you live in a state that has a less confusing system than Washington, figure out how to vote for Mike. If you live in Washington, your vote may or may not count anyway, depending on your preferred style of voting. Seriously, we may be becoming the new Florida up here, I'm so confused my head may explode. I see that Huckabee is challenging the caucuses, but I didn't think they counted anyway. Whatever, on to the video:



Thanks to Josh from morethandodgeball.com for this video.

-Jeff-

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Here's a couple quick thoughts for you today, enjoy!

I stumbled across this cool looking video trailer today. Ben Stein (I had no idea he was a Christian) is creating a documentary that talks about the "blacklisting" that is occurring of Creation Scientists. In the video he makes the point that if darwinists were confidant in their own views, they wouldn't feel the need to squash creationists. I can't speak to any sort of conspiracy that's happening, but why won't they let creation science be taught in a public school class room?

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In other news on the creationist front, an article was published recently by a New England newspaper that criticized Creationists. Here is a quote from Ken Ham, Founder of Answers in Genesis, that he posted on his blog:

In a mocking news piece by a well-known columnist with a New England paper, the writer discusses the election and statements made by one candidate indicating his belief in Creation. The columnist then makes statements concerning the belief that the Creation Week in Bible was seven literal days:

It’s wrong. Dead wrong.

Seven days is wrong, even as a metaphor.

Seven days is wrong as duration.

Seven days is wrong as sequence.

Then, obviously to imply they should not be allowed to do so, he says, “These people vote.”

I think it's important to see the battle lines being drawn all around us, but standing up and complaining won't help anything. If we want to see the tide change in our post-christian society, the answer lies not in political rallies but in prayer meetings. We will change our country on our knees.

-Jeff-

NFL Playoffs

Every year it's fun to try and see just how little I know about football. This year is no exception, the only difference is that I have a blog and I can post my stupidity on the internet for all to see. Not that anyone cares, but here's how I see the playoffs shaking out:

AFC:

Wild Card Round
(6) Tennessee at (3) San Diego- San Diego
(5) Jacksonville at (4) Pittsburgh- Jacksonville

Divisional Round
(3) San Diego at (2) Indianapolis- Indy
(5) Jacksonville at (1) New England- NE

Championship Round
(2) Indianapolis at (1) New England- Indianapolis

So here's my logic on the AFC: New England looks tired and their defense is suspect. Indianapolis has a great running game and a strong defense, and I think they prevail.

NFC:

WCR
(6) Washington at (3) Seattle- Seattle
(5) New York at (4) Tampa Bay- New York

DR
(3) Seattle at (2) Green Bay- Green Bay
(5) New York at (1) Dallas- New York

CR
(5) New York at (2) Green Bay- Green Bay

I would love to write the Seahawks into the Superbowl, and if they were playing Dallas instead of Green Bay I know they'd win it, but the Packers seem to have destiny written all over them this year. They may win it all, and I wouldn't be surprised one bit. Dallas is done, they peaked too early and they'll be missing TO for the game. There are no other contenders in the NFC.

Super Bowl
Indianapolis over Green Bay 31-17
Two very similar teams here, but it seems like Indy does everything just a little bit better than the Packers. Welcome to the Indy dynasty and shame on everyone for overlooking going into the playoffs.

Thoughts on the Seahawks:
They should roll in their first game against Washington. The only scenario in which Washington wins is if they get to Hassleback on the blitz. The 'Hawks have had trouble picking up the blitz all year long, and Washington loves to send pressure. Still I think they mix in some quick passes when the blitz is coming or run some draw plays and move the ball anyway. Todd Collins has been pretty good, but I wouldn't have any faith in him heading to Seattle in his first playoff game. It's just not going to happen.

My Pick: Seahawks over the Redskins, 27-10

Here's hoping for a great second season and a Seahawks miracle run,
-Jeff-

Flood Recovery pt 4: Dreaming again

For the first time in a while, I'm dreaming again. I noticed it this morning in the shower. I was standing in there, and I started to think about cool topics for the youth group to cover, and new blogs that I'd like to write, and other things like that. It was a good feeling. I walked into our family room this morning to let the dogs out and I wasn't tripping over tools. There was a clear path everywhere I needed to go. I feel we've finally cleared a path in my head too.

While writing this I got a call from my Grandpa, reminding me of a couple things we still need to do, so I guess it's back to reality for now. We are organizing a work party on New Years Day over at our house, and we'll be painting and pressure washing our shed and making a few minor repairs. We're not out of the woods yet, but there is a definite light at the end. I'm so grateful to my Grandpa and Uncle for all the work they've done, there's no way we'd be in this position if it wasn't for their help. They would say that that's what family is for, but they've been down here three weekends in a row (including tomorrow), taking off time that they could be spending with their families in order to help mine. It's very humbling.

I think I'm gonna use one of those cool blog ideas here in a couple minutes and post a bible study. It's nice that I'm not spending all my time thinking about the house.

-Jeff-

Flood Recovery part 3: An Update

Well, we're still sleeping in our living room, but other than that things are going great! I wanted to write a quick update for everyone who's been following the blog, to let you know how things are going down here.

1. Construction: My Uncle and Grandpa came down here on Sunday and hung about 70% of the sheetrock, which means the rooms are close to being liveable again. We've been having a harder time getting the siding dried out, but I'm confidant that it will be okay by Saturday, when they are going to come finish things up.
2. More Blessings: I neglected to mention our windows when I was writing Neighbors helping Neighbors the other day that our bedroom windows need to be replaced. We were set to do the work and then things happened (you know how that goes) and it was never finished. Because of this one of the windows was only hanging by one nail, and was easily pulled to give John access to the house, so they could get all of our clothes and stuff out. What was once a source of frustration for us has become a point of blessing.
3. Stuff Stuff: A lot of our "stuff" was ruined by the flood. We filled two trailers full of it. Things like tents and lawn chairs were completely yucked up by the mud, and our weed wacker was ruined when water got in the engine. So a lot of that "Stuff" is gone, but the great thing is that it's all just stuff, and it can all be replaced.
4. The kids: They've each had interesting an different reactions to our living situation. Olivia (our 3 year old) has become very clingy. She always wants to be sitting on our laps, or be held, or even help out with chores. She just wants to be near us constantly, she has a hard time staying in her room or playing with her brother. Kadin (our over-analytic 5 year old) thought of something that neither of us had thought of. If we don't have a Christmas tree (due to space), how will Santa know where to leave the presents? Lucky for us, my parents know Santa personally and he's agreed to drop the presents off at their house this year, just to avoid any confusion. Living in such a small space with them can be overwhelming, so on Tuesday tiff's parents came down and picked them up, and they'll be up there until after Christmas.
   

Well, that's the quick update, I'll post more changes as they happen,

-Jeff-

Flood Recovery part 2: Pics from the flood

Here are some pictures of the flood damage so everyone can take a look at them. Some friends of mine have a video that I'm trying to get ahold of so I can post that here as well, it's supposed to show the flood waters rising up to our house. In all there was about 6-8" of water in the family room and master bed room. If the water had gone up 2" more, it would have flooded our whole house. God is truly in control. Onto the pics:


The front and back doors to our house, after the sandbags were taken down.



(L)There was mud everywhere inside our bedroom, and (R) you can see the
Christmas presents that were hidden under our bed.



(L) Our Family Room was also covered with mud, and the tile at the base of the wood stove is starting to crack. (R) It's hard to see from the picture, but there is a crack on the left side because the ground under the slab was washed away and the slab broke and settled down there.



Both of these are pics of the Family room once we got the carpet out and the sheetrock cut away. We found some weird stuff in the walls, including a pop can (full of something) and a broomstick.



This is some of the fun mold that was growing in our bedroom. So we cut it out, replaced it with some wood from our shed and walked in there today to see more mold growing.

So there you have it, I'll post some pics of the work as it's being done and eventually the finished product.

-Jeff-

Flood Recovery part 1: Neighbors helping neighbors

I LOVE THE HOME DEPOT!!!!! They are the greatest company ever!!!!! In a time where they should be looking to rebuild their own store, and really could be looking to turn a quick buck, they seem to be genuinely concerned about the welfare of others. I don't know if this is company policy or was the actions of two very thoughtful employees, but they have a lifelong customer in me because of how they've handled this flood situation.

Over the past week there have been several "coincidences" that have helped me to see the hand of God at work in our current problems. Because of these things several people have commented on how great our attitude has been. It's not too hard to be positive when you can see that God is on your side and working on your behalf. I'm sure I'll forget some things, but here is the short list:

1. Our Rental House in Stanwood. It didn't sell for several months. We were very worried about it, but God has shown Himself faithful because if it had sold a couple months ago we would have invested the money in our house, now we have money available in case FEMA doesn't cover everything.
2. Our vacation. We wanted to go on vacation for months, and were really hoping to spend Halloween in Disneyland. Because our Senior Pastor was leaving the church, we took the last opportunity we had to take a vacation and we were warm and safe while everything was happening. I'm sure if we were there we would have stayed too long at our house, and who knows what would have happened to our kids.
   
3. Our car. As soon as we get the money from our house we're going out to buy a minivan. I've been dreaming for a while about walking into a dealership with cash and trying to get the best deal possible. But if that would have happened our car would have been underwater in our driveway, which is a little lower than the rest of the house. Instead it was safe at a parkinglot in Seatac. Plus, they detailed it for us while we were gone.
4. The outpouring of love from friends and strangers. To date we've had about $550 cash, groceries and a dehumidifier given to us, not to mention all of the people who helped us take care of the house while we were gone. One lady overheard us talking at Disneyland and walked up and gave us $20. But the most amazing thing so far has been how people have really stepped up to help us, from John and Susie pulling our stuff out of the water, Melody and the gang getting most of the water up with a carpet shampooer, or my uncle and grandpa helping us get new sheetrock in place, you all have helped us and blessed us more than you'll ever know.
5. The Home Depot. This was so cool, it deserves it's own line. We had heard that a dehumidifier would really help us, so we went to Home Depot to look for one. The only one they had was $220. Tiff and I couldn't afford that, so we passed on it. The kids were getting fidgety so I took them to the car while she payed, and while in line one of the employees walked over with the dehumidifier and placed it in our cart. When Tiffanney balked at the gift, the lady told her "This is what neighbors are for". In almost a week of use it has pulled over 230 pints of water out of the air and has made the whole house much more livable.

This store is right next to Home Depot in Chehalis

If you can't see the hand of God in all of that, you're trying really hard not to. God has blessed us indeed. BTW, our house closed Thursday and we got the money on Friday. I guess God knew what He was doing the whole time.

-Jeff-

I dug through the trash the other day.

Blog posts are supposed to have catchy titles in order to attract more readers, so how did I do? I did have to dig through the trash, but first a little backstory.

In the middle of August Tiffanney and I put our rental house on the market. Since then we've been making two housepayments (no, that's not why I dug through a trash can, we're still getting there, hold on a minute). FINALLY, October 29th we got an offer on the house!!! Yeah!!! We'd spent some time praying and fasting about the situation and felt like God would get us an offer by the end of October, which He did.

The next week I get word from my Senior Pastor that I need to preach on the 11th, only to find out later that he is interviewing at another church (I knew before I preached that Sunday). He comes back and tells us that he is leaving on December 9th.

We've been desiring a vacation for a while now, but making two housepayments makes it impossible to save any money. We decided that we would go on Dec 3rd thru the 8th, assuming the house had closed by then. It didn't. This left us with the hard decision of waiting until we had the money in hand and possibly not taking a vacation for several months (until the new pastor comes in) or putting it all on credit cards and trusting that it would close while we were gone (it didn't).

None of this led to me spilling trash all over the floor in the post office though. Here's the main culprit. On Tuesday afternoon we were running through Toon Town in Disneyland, trying to decide where we should eat after we went to visit Mickey Mouse. Standing on the steps of Mickey's house we got a phone call. It was our Childrens pastor. She said that guys from the National Guard were standing at our front door and were waiting for our permission to put up sand bags around our house. We froze, what could we do? Absolutely yes, please sandbag, but then what? How can we get home, and what will we find when we get there? We didn't make it to see Mickey the entire week.

To make a long story short, here's what the next few days looked like. We called around to find out about changing our plane tickets, but the waters didn't receed until Thurday, meaning that even if we had flown home we couldn't have gotten to our house. We had to trust the people in our church to help us out, and they came through for us in a BIG way. Even during the flood we had people over at our house giving us updates, and once the waters went down a little there was a crew over there moving furniture, building fires and trying to make sure that everything was contained.

We got home on Saturday just after Sunset, and were greeted by piles of clothes in our living room and all of our furniture in our dining room. In all there was about 8 inches of water in the bottom of our house and only our family room and master bedroom were affected. I will detail the clean up process and our interactions with insurance companies, FEMA and Home Depot in other blogs ('cause this one's getting too long), but right now I know you want to know about rubbish.

Before we leave our house for a few days, we always try and make sure everything is clean and that any food that might spoil is taken care of. We also typically eat a lot of the food in our house, knowing that when we get back we'll be grocery shopping anyways. So we returned home not just to piles of clothes, but we had no food and our vacation had been payed for with credit cards, so we had no money to buy food. Add to that the fact that the house still hasn't closed and we need to make Decembers house payment still and I think it's safe to say we were a little stressed out. We called a friend who works with the mission and got some groceries from him, and tried to go to the store to pick up some newspapers for firestarters. First we stopped at the post office and I saw that we got those little circular ads in the mail. I thought to myself, if I got one everyone must have, and everyone throws them away, so I jumped into the garbage can and pulled out all the newspaper I could find. I only stopped when I stuck my hand on top of a moldy banana peel. I was so proud of myself for thinking of this that it didn't even occur to me that it was people's trash until that point.

I'm not used to asking for help from people. Usually I'm going out of my way to help others out. To be in the position where I need help is most humbling. Thanks to everyone who's helped during this time, you've all blessed me so much. Please remember to keep praying for the flood victims here in Washington, we can all use it.

In closing I just want to say that while the majority of this post was probably a little depressing to read, we're doing well and we can see God's hand in everything that's happened all along the way. I just needed to vent and this is one way that I can do that.

-Jeff-

What's the fun in hiding all the time?

If you've ever owned a turtle, you know they're no fun when they're in their shells. They don't do anything. Tiff and I had a turtle for a while, but Kadin was scared of it most of the time, and our schedule meant that we were always needing people to watch it. The joy of having a turtle was outweighed by the cost of ownership. Especially since he spent a lot of time inside his shell.

Last week was See you at the pole. I had a couple students peek their heads out and it was a thrilling experience for me. I was so excited to see them step out of the safety and comfort of their shells and put their neck on the line by declaring to their friends what they believed. God was moving in that moment, and I hope these students are beginning to see what God has for them. Because this christian life is meant to be lived, not hidden away from.

-Jeff-

Vick in the Doghouse

I first saw this image at La Shawn Barber's Corner.

I'm not one to side with Vick, but it seems the hypocrisy of the situation is disturbing. Here is an article by Gregg Easterbrook of ESPN Page 2's Tuesday Morning QB¹ talking about how we're all hypocrites for eating meat². Tim Keown also wrote an interesting blurb about this case in This Weeks List. I link to both of these articles because I think people have lost their heads over this whole Vick case. I know we all like to root for the Underdog³ but I think this is getting a little out of control. As Grant⁴ over at The G Sides pointed out, there have been several athletes doing things far worse to other people (not dogs) who won't get any jail time at all. Too often we allow the sensation of a story to take it out of it's proper perspective.

I think the part of this story that's hard to take in is all of the horrible things he did to these dogs. I hate dogs and yet could never imagine doing something like that to an animal. It's despicable. But I've yelled at my kids. Earlier this afternoon I poked my two year old girl in the eye while we were having a little shoving match⁵. I've kicked my dog before in anger⁶. I guess we've all done things we regret, my question is whether or not Vick regrets what he's done. We'll never know if he laid awake at night feeling remorse about what was happening, or if he was thinking up ways to get a new edge for his dogs the next day.

-Jeff-

1- TMQ is a very interesting and informative read, dealing with a wide range of issues not just football. I'd highly recommend you checking it out during the season.
2- He doesn't really go that far, in fact he heartily endorses the eating of meat. He's merely pointing out the hypocrisy of the situation.
3- Although not for the Disney movie, which I've heard isn't very good (interestingly though, yahoo thinks I'll like it). That's him in the red suit and cape by the way.
4- He's Sick of Vick, and who can blame him, but if you're interested in the ramblings of another youth pastor, you should read more of his stuff.
5- She totally deserved it. She's been sporting a little attitude lately, and I thought it was about time to adjust it.
6- But never in love. That's why hate is better and why I can never love my dog, it's too much fun to kick him.

Quotes about Barry Bonds

"Everytime you point your finger at someone else, there are three fingers pointed back at you..." --- My Mom

"We're a nation of cheaters. We chase wrinkles away with Botox, get our stomachs stapled, our fat suctioned out, our noses resculpted, our teeth whitened, our hair transplanted, our assets filled out with implants. We fudge our taxes, swipe pens from the supply cabinet, take 10 over the speed limit, and scarf down pills and potions for everything from restless leg syndrome to erectile dysfunction. There's very little some of us won't do to get an edge. … But, d--mit, our athletic heroes better not cheat. Does anyone detect a note of hypocrisy in this? Does anyone who reviles Barry Bonds as a cheater admit to even the tiniest flaw in his or her own personal code of ethics?" —MSNBC sports columnist Mike Celizic, in the wake of Bonds' record-breaking (and controversial) home run on Aug. 7

1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." ---Jesus Christ, Matthew 7: 1-5

Training Camp opens!!!

The Seahawks are back at it. Training Camp is officially underway and I am so pumped for the coming season. I even started openly asking my wife for Madden 2008 for my birthday (August 26th) and I watched a recap of the Patriots 2004 season, plus a little arena football yesterday. We (yes I refer to myself as part of the Seahawks - 12th man baby!!!) are looking very, VERY, VERY strong on paper. I've been watching news stories and reading articles on this years team, and it may be the best ever. Our defense seems to have been shored up, now if only the offense can stay healthy we may be looking at another Super Bowl run.

One of the things I love about football is all of the analogies you can draw from it. I'm sure we'll run through a bunch of them during the season. I just had a weird thought though. I'm big into fantasy football (you can view or join my league here) and my weird thought has to do with it. For some reason I was imagining Peter and Paul up in Heaven when the Earth League Fantasy Draft comes around. I'm not sure what stats they'd use to determine a person's value, but maybe there would be points earned for witnessing, time spent in prayer, overcoming temptations, things like that. I'm sure that the first draft pick would be some little old lady in Argentina who's been praying non-stop for 74 years. And then it would probably be the guy who gave up his great business to help orphans in Malaysia or something. I think the guys we consider to be spiritual giants probably would be second or third round draft picks, because they've got to be doing something right, otherwise God wouldn't have put them in the position they're in. I don't think that seeing a million people making one time decisions for Christ would be weighted as heavily as seeing one person saved and walking with them until they are strengthened in the Lord. What would you look for in someone on your spiritual fantasy team?

-Jeff-

For more information on the Seahawks training camp, check out some of these links:
The Seahawks homepage
Seahawks blogs
The Seahawks Insider
NFL.com

How pure is your water?

What's in your bottled water? Is it pure, clean refreshing water bottled from an artesian spring? Or is it merely tap water that has been put into a fancy package and marked up? Pepsi is looking to clear up the confusion in their Aquafina line of bottled water by putting the words "Public Water Source" on all their bottles. Yep, that's right, it's tap water. For years now I've sworn to people that Aquafina was the very best type of bottled water, because of it's taste. But now I know it's merely average, just like the water I get at my house or maybe worse. I have a friend who works at the Pepsi bottling plant in Olympia. I've been to Olympia hundreds of times, and the water there always has a funny taste to it. Who knows what's in the water supply!

It reminds me of the Pharisees, because everyone thought they were so great, and yet Jesus called them out for being "full of greed and self-indulgence (Matt 23:25)". And that was Jesus being nice to them. In verse 26 He says this: "Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean."

The word of God is compared several times to clean, pure water (Ephesians 5:26, Hebrews 10:22, 1 Peter 3:21) but like the Pharisees if your cup is dirty then it doesn't matter how clean the water is, the drink is coming out muddy.

Sure Aquafina is tap water, but I'll still end up buying it because it's convenient and it quenches my thirst. Plus the bottles are clean, which is something that God is still working in me.

-Jeff-

For more on the Aquafina story, click here. Also here is an interesting video about the effects of bottled water on the environment.