This is the beginning of two men’s journey to find the best burger in St. Louis.  For the next few month, Noah and I will be traveling around the city tasting different burger from restaurants, pubs, fast-food chains…you name it, we’ll probably try it.  Last Friday we took the inaugural visit to the “Fatted Calf” in Clayton.

Here are our thoughts:

Atmosphere: (Noah)The atmosphere was weird. I felt like I had been transported back in time 500 years into an old English tavern, and then that tavern was transported 500 years forward in time and placed in the middle of a metropolis. It was kinda fun to be in such a funky room, but still be able to see the buildings of Clayton. However, it was really dark inside, which was kind of annoying. That, combined with small tables, and I give The Fatted Calf a 6/10 atmosphere.

(Charles):  It is dark and tavern-like inside the restaurant with exposed wooden beams and medieval banners on the walls.  I actually looked for mead on the menu.  The two person tables were a bit small but we didn’t want to be those people that grab a larger table just for the two of us.  Also…the chairs were uncomfortable.  Whatever the decor they were aiming for, they got it.  The creativity is certainly original and well-done.  (5)

Service: (Noah) The servers at the ordering counter were helpful, especially to someone who had never been to their restaurant before. However, it’s kind of a weird system of ordering that I didn’t really like. Almost like a mix between fast food and a sit down restaurant. It wasn’t terrible but I give The Fatted Calf a 7/10 for Service.

(Charles)  Everyone was nice and answered questions with humor.  They were quick, efficient and kind.  (8)

Taste: (Noah) To say the burger was underwhelming would be an understatement. Probably the best part of the whole thing was the bun. I ordered a burger with cheddar, lettuce, and bacon. However, when they brought the burger to me, you would have thought I had ordered a salad. The lettuce leaf they gave me almost covered the whole paper boat the burger was in! The bacon was alright, but instead of a slice of cheddar, or some shredded cheddar cheese, they put some weird cheddar “spread” on the burger. Needless to say, the spread was not very good at all. Also, I ordered my burger to be cooked medium, and it seemed a little too well done. The fries and onion rings were actually pretty good, and I would almost rather eat those than the burger.

(Charles)  I really wanted to like the burger but I felt like I had to pull more off of it than eat it.  There were a pile of onions and an entire lettuce leaf that dwarfed the bun.  You never want to prune your burger.  I’m not as much a fan of the cheddar cheese spread as I know some are.  Once I got it to a point where I could eat it, it was really pretty good.  A little more done than I ordered, but good.  (7)

Menu Variety: (Noah)  Menu variety revolves around burger toppings. They have quite a large selection to choose from, but it hardly comes close Five Guys for example. 8/10.

(Charles)  They have a lot of toppings available, and a number of other sandwiches you could order.  If you’re creative, which I am NOT, this is a great place to try a lot of different things you make up.  As well, there are salads, onion rings, fries, etc.  They even have this green stuff that they informed me was salad dressing.  I’m not so sure.  (8)

Presentation:  (Noah)  Presentation here is nothing special. The burger came in a large paper boat, and the fries came in a smaller one. No added frills or anything. 6/10.

(Charles)  Everything is served in paper boats.  Simple and effective with no frills.  (5)

Value:  (Noah)The food is REALLY overpriced. I understand that they need to make money to stay open, but maybe if they lowered they would get more customers. 2/10

(Charles)  This was the worst.  Everything is over-priced given what you get.  It’s obviously meant to appeal to the higher-end Clayton lunch crowd, but it was just too much.  (3)

Summary:  (Noah)  Like I mentioned earlier, it was really fun to be in such a cool atmosphere in Clayton. The crowd around us was very lively, which added to the fun. This may seem kinda funny, but when it came time to leave, we had no idea what to do with our trash. Nitpicky detail but still worth a mention. Well, as an overall burger experience, I give The Fatted Calf a solid 5/10. It is quite clearly not the best burger in St. Louis.

(Charles)  I think Noah and I enjoyed our visit to the Fatted Calf.  We had a good conversation and the atmosphere continued to pick up the longer we stayed there.  Nearby parking is expensive…which I hate.  They have hat and coat racks all over the place…which I love.  I think we ordered a decent, over-priced burger, their service was quick and friendly, and I experienced a high level of lethargy upon leaving (important in eating any burger for lunch).  Overall (5).

This past week has been that great and somewhat difficult week of Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.  As I have done for a few years, I read the passages in the four gospels that talk about Jesus during the week before his death on the cross and his victory that was evidenced by his resurrection.  As I read, thought, meditated and prayed over these passages a number of things hit me.  First is Jesus’ attitude during this week.  He clears the temple, proclaims woes on people, cries over Jerusalem and more.  Yet he never turns from his purpose, even though he knows it will be horrible.  Second is his supreme kindness and grace in the face of his death.  He praises the poor woman for giving all she has, even though the total was less than a penny.  He tells a condemned person that he will be with him in paradise that very day.  Finally, I was shocked once again at how the disciples and those who followed him were in deep grief after his death, even though Jesus told them he would rise again.  I guess the point I am making is best summed up in a question: What do you think of Jesus’ death and resurrection?

The Brandons; look at what happens when we dress ourselves

If I am honest, I usually fail to see Jesus as Lord over my life and over all things.  Most of the time it is because I am afraid of what he might call me to do or who he might call me to be.  What if God has planned for me to be a part of a ministry where I would struggle?  What if he calls me to change in a way that would make my life harder and more complicated?  I believe at the root of most, if not all, of these questions is the fact that I think too little of Jesus and what he has done.  Why should I be scared of what he might call me to do?  Are not all good things from our God?  Does he not secure our eternal destiny?  What I need to see is that even though I may experience hardships now, knowing God better is better for me than anything this world has to offer.  In fact, it would actually make my time on this earth better.  How can knowing the Giver of all life and the Savior of the world make my life worse?  How would knowing the Lord who died in my place so that I might be called the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21) and that I would be made rich because he was made poor (2 Cor. 8:9) be bad for me in any way?  Someone once told me that to spend a lifetime meditating on Jesus would be a great way to spend your life.  As I look back at Easter and what it means for those of us who are saved, I have to say that I completely agree with him.

my porch railing - pretty cool, huh?

The snow day.  A day coveted by students everywhere, but only experienced by a lucky few.  A day when you are allowed to sleep in until noon and breakfast turns into lunch and when it is completely acceptable to watch movies all afternoon.  A day when pajamas are the only uniform and hot chocolate with extra marsh mellows is the drink of choice.  Ah, yes, it is good day.

But what happens when there are multiple snow days in a row?  When so much school is missed that you are forced to extend the school year into late June?  Is there such a thing as too many snow days?

I think we are in a week where this question will be asked by many a student and teacher in the Midwest.  Is too much of a lazy thing ok?

I don’t know, and frankly I am not terribly concerned at this point.  All I know is that I have a cup of hot chocolate and The Newsies calling my name from the other room.

“Arise and seize the day!”

I was driving in my car with a student from youth group when I first heard it.  The song came on the radio and I thought, I haven’t heard this song before, so I reached down and turned it up a bit.

“You think I’m pretty
Without any make-up on
You think I’m funny
When I tell the punch line wrong
I know you get me
So I’ll let my walls come down, down”

I turned to the student and said, “Sounds good so far…”

“Before you met me
I was a wreck
But things were kinda heavy
You brought me to life
Now every February
You’ll be my valentine, valentine”

And then the chorus came….

“Let’s go all the way tonight
No regrets, just love
We can dance until we die
You and I
We’ll be young forever

You make me
Feel like
I’m living a Teenage Dream
The way you turn me on
I can’t sleep
Let’s runaway
And don’t ever look back
Don’t ever look back”

Before the chorus was over I changed the station, not something I wanted to listen to with my youth group kids.

Later on I heard the song on the radio again (not hard since they play it every 5 minutes!) and listened to the whole song and it got me thinking, is this song really that bad?  Yeah, it is talking about two people who fall in love and only spend time with one another and decide to “go all the way” before they are married, but it’s just a song – it’s not like I am doing that by listening to it…right?

The real question that we should be asking is this: Is there a difference between listening to and enjoying music for what it is and endorsing what the song/artist is talking about? For example if I blare “Teenage Dream” in my car with the windows down and dance in my driver’s seat does that I mean that I support people who go and get

“drunk on the beach
Get a motel and
Build a fort out of sheets”?

Katy Perry is definitely promoting a lifestyle that is contrary to the Christian worldview.  For those of you who think that it is just a fun song and it’s not trying to tell you anything, think about why we like the song.  First, it is catchy (after writing this I am probably going to be humming it all day long).  Second, it strikes a cord with us.  All of us want to be loved and valued in a way that makes us feel special and unique.  That is what this song is about.  Katy is singing of a boy who makes her feel funny, loved and valued for who she is.  Great!  Awesome!  Sounds like the start to a great chick flick.  But rather than sending her flowers or asking if she wants a “big dollop or a little dollop” (The Holiday, anyone??) he gets drunk on the beach and books a hotel room for two.  Still romantic?  If that were part of the chick flick we would all want our main character to dump the guy and move on.  In fact, it is interesting to think how this type of dream quickly turns into the nightmare that Rhianna and Eminem sing about.

Music is powerful, it evokes emotion, and makes us want to move out bodies in crazy ways.  Just as powerful as music is, the lyrics or message that a song conveys is equally as powerful.  That doesn’t mean that we can’t listen to those songs, but as Christians we need to be very aware of what songs we’re listening to and what message they are trying to communicate.

Don’t be ignorant!

Check it out – hi-larious

Snap, Crackle, Pop

For the past couple of months the NBA has been dominated by the story line of the Miami Thrice.  Ever since the debacle of the Lebron James “Decision” this past summer, expectation and anticipation has grown about what basketball would look like with the South Beach Supers together.  I watched the first official game of the Three Amigos, which coincidentally was also the first game of the NBA season.  The basketball was unimpressive, the game was boring, and the Heat started out their dream season 0-1.  And after the loss, LeBroshAde were left trying to calm everyone down because their season was not going to be perfect.

The whole situation reminded me of the tremendous influence that expectations play in all of our lives.  We have expectations of ourselves and others.  Other people place expectations on us that often effect how we live our lives.  We can be stressed out by expectations, we can be disappointed, we can be arrogant, and a variety of other emotions.  Many times the emotions in life can be directly linked with the expectations that people have and the extent that life is matching up.  Just think about the expectations you experience in your life.  Expectations others have about how well you should do in school or in sports.  Expectations you have about how your life should go or how others should treat you.

A good test of our maturity is how well we are able to recognize the expectations in play all around us.  We need to be aware of these expectations and judge their character, truth, and influence.  Next time you find your self experiencing anger or disappointment, think about what expectations may not have been met in your life.  Next time you have a conflict in a relationship, maybe there have been expectations that have been unfulfilled.

Lebron James has a commercial out right now where he is apparently defending himself against the expectations that so many other people place on him.  Even these popular MV3 athletes have to deal with the issue of great expectations.  But perhaps the best question we can ask is what God expects of us and what He thinks about us?  The answers to these questions put everything else in perspective.

If you missed the first edition of the hit video series “Hunter vs.” or just want to partake of some healthy laughs a second time – here is a link for your viewing pleasure.

Get on board now … the video is soon to go viral

We call him the natural

As someone who likes to think about things that aren’t very important, I have often wondered about the problems of our English language.  Frequently, we say things that simply do not make sense or break basic language rules that are impossible to remember.

Take, for instance, some of the phrases we use.  “To turn a phrase” makes absolutely no sense at all.  How are we to turn it?  Backwards?  “Look at that building burn up” or “look at that building burn down.”  How are both applicable?  Why do we say that an alarm is going off?  Isn’t it actually going on?  That is only the tip of the iceberg: Don’t put the cart before the horse, someone has a green thumb, it’s like a bull in a china shop.  Honestly, the next phrase could be, “it’s like a snoodude completing a wigwam.”

Now on to the language rules we all ignore.  Don’t end a sentence with a preposition?  Where did they come up with that at?  People often say or text run-on sentences because they have a lot to say and most of the time it is really important so it doesn’t make any sense to break it up into several parts unless someone needs to take a breath or stop typing because their text is over 160 characters in which case they’ll just go on to type another one that completes their line of thought.  Um, people, like, always insert fillers, you know, because they, ah, can’t think of what to say next, so….

Don’t even get me started on homonyms.  “They’re, their, there”, “your, you’re”, “you, ewe” (ok, the last one is a bad example).  There is also “i before e except after c”, subject first, then verb (unless you are asking a question or giving a command) and many many other rules.

People sometimes ask me if I know any other languages besides English.  I just look at them, shake my head and say, “Nope, I’m still working on my first.”

Dodge This

Have you figured love out?  We talk about love a lot, there’s no question about that.  We watch movies about love and listen to music about love – but do we really understand love?  There’s no doubt that it’s a challenge to keep it all straight.  We have family love, friendship love, and romantic love.  There’s love that last’s a long time and love that’s over quickly.   So what’s the deal with all this love?

Someone once said that “love is taking a few steps backward …to give way to the happiness of the person you love. “  This is of course the kind of love we all want to receive.  This is love that makes us look good!  Have you ever been around someone like that?  This is the kind of person that when you’re around them, they do their best to make you better.  Now that’s a pretty sweet deal!

One of the awesome things to learn about God is that he is all about the business of making what he loves beautiful.  How do you feel about that?  If God calls you His, then he is working on the job of making you beautiful; making you look good.  Augustine says that as “love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.”  The better you know the Love of God, the more beautiful you become.

So what they say is true … love is a beautiful thing.