Category — News

Want to watch a short MTV video my daughter Laura stars in? 
Maybe “stars” is overstating it, but she is in the video throughout anyway. 
Laura is a graduate of the DAAP school of design – majored in fashion design.  She is now working as a designer in the Big Apple and living in Brooklyn. 
Last week she was with friends when an MTV video was being shot.  They asked if she and company wanted to be in it – of course they said yes. 
She is the girl with the light brown hair, smiling with the orangeish-red Adidas sweater.  It’s the third video down – “Parking Lot Nights.”  Keep in mind, they are making fun of the Nintendo culture most Gen Y kids grew up in…  Would be helpful if you voted for the video a few times after you watch it…

http://www.mtvu.com/music/freshmen/

Was on TBN last week on Tuesday PM on a nationwide broadcast that ran from 10:00 PM till midnight, EST and all other simultaneous times across the country.  Topic:  Near Death Experiences.  Was one of the better interviews I’ve done.
 
I rec’d a report the viewing numbers were unusually high for that night’s show so that is good news.
 
Confession time:  I have made a few jokes over the years about Christian TV in general, but in the days leading up to this event, God dealt with my heart in a significant way.  Was reminded specifically of a friend who was a bigwig in the Krishna movement some time ago – ended up becoming a close friend of Janie’s and mine.  He was literally at the top of the organization when it was at it’s peak before Parupada died.  He was secretly watching TBN – especially a fire and brimstone preacher – forgot his name.  God was speaking to our friend big time.  He left the organization, got a job in PR (not difficult to do that – he had several Master’s degrees from Columbia – super bright guy – who now goes by his real name – Ed).  One day as he was driving down the I-10 in L.A. listening to Dylan’s Precious Angel (from the Slow Train album) he said God simply filled his car with his presence.  He couldn’t stop weeping over his awareness of both his sinfulness and the fact that Jesus’ blood had covered that.  He cried out for mercy.  His weeping was so profuse he pulled over on the freeway.  A California Highway Patrolman stopped to see if he was okay.  He got it together eventually and drove on – a new person in Jesus.  But the TV element played a big role in his Jesus story.  No one would have argued him an inch forward.  Many had tried.  But an old dude using King James English broke through by God’s Spirit.  It’s always the same in the end.  Only God can lead a person to himself.  But he certainly uses people who are available.

Life has been a bit hectic around the Sjogren homestead this week. We are preparing to move. Part of the preparation is getting our home ready to sell and that involves lots of little repairs, painting and other odds and ends. On Monday I made three trips to the hardware store! That is two more trips than my annual quota. Lots of anticipation is building, though, for our move to Tampa! Janie is still mending, I am writing every day, and we are getting ready to move. Lots of fun!

We are about to sell our house in West Chester on the north side of Cincinnati. It is often said, “Amazing how much stuff a family collects in the course of a few years stay at a house.” When we moved into this place we thought, “This place is so big we’ll never fill it!”
Now all of our children have moved out minus Jack, but they have left their stuff behind.

A word to those who are nearby – we will likely load our moving truck on about July 10th. If you want some amazing FREE stuff stop by that day… bring a big vehicle. Talk to me – not Janie. She usually sells stuff. I usually give it away for free!

I have been in the Los Angeles area for several days as a part of the previewing of a Universal film entitled Evan Almighty that will be hitting screens on June 22nd. I was a part of about 60 leaders from the Christian “media” who have been asked to give Universal their two bits about the film for one thing (I give it 3.5 stars out of five by the way – family friendly – PG rating – funny, engaging, no language difficulties for parents to worry about with their children – I predict this film will be a sensational box office hit provided there is not another film released that same weekend).

Why was I specifically invited? Two strong themes that run through the film, without giving it away, are ideas I write about constantly.
1. How to change the world…
2. The power of simply serving the next person God puts in front of you.

In short, the film was so strong, this audience stood to their feet and give it a nearly full minute ovation. The last time I saw that happen was when I saw Forrest Gump. The two films had that same magical sense to them. Yes, we can all make a difference.