The devotional for today is a good summary of why we need to worship God with a group of believers instead of just on our own. I think we all know folks that say "I don't need to go to church. I can worship God on my own". I believe we can all worship God on our own, but that is not the only way we should worship. Our group worship doesn't have to be in a fancy (or some would say "stuffy") church service. It could be in a small group at someone's home or at a park. Shared belief spurs deeper belief.
The devotional also spoke to me about love. I am in a transition period where I am trying to love people better. Not just my friends and family, but everyone. This is not easy to do as I learned last night when someone cut me off while driving home!
This "love thing" can also be confusing when trying to date. I want to love a new friend with the agape love of God and show that love, but how do I make sure I am not showing something else, like romantic love, during the time we spend together if that is not appropriate? It can also be confusing when I am apart from a guy I want to date. What are my real feelings? It can be tricky differentiating when the agape love ends and the romantic love starts. My experience is when expectations and sex come into the picture, I crossed the line. I will have to think and pray about that more.
Technology Thursday
This week I want to talk about DVD vs Bluray DVD (the ones with the blue case with the Bluray logo on them). So what is the difference between DVD and Bluray DVD? Most folks today have at least a normal DVD player and have experienced how much better the picture and sound are than a VCR. Pretty amazing, right? Imagine taking that much further when you switch to Bluray DVD. It became the standard for high definition video disks about two years ago. There was a competing standard out there. Bluray is a better technology for the masses and vastly superior in many ways. The best part is that you can play your regular DVDs on a Bluray player! May Bluray players will "upconvert" your old DVDs to better picture quality as well.
You should know that to experience the full glory of Bluray DVD you need a great TV that is capable of displaying what is known as "1080P" resolution. That is currently the highest resolution offered in TV sets. There are a lot of other factors, which can be very confusing. I will talk about TVs next week. ;-)
So what is so different? The picture quality and sound quality are as good or better as what you would see in a theater if you have the right equipment. Even if you don't have a large TV and a home theater sound system, you can still get better sound and picture from a Bluray player.
I don't buy all of my movies on the Bluray format. I usually buy action movies or scifi movies on Bluray. They are still more expensive than regular DVDs, however, the prices are coming down. I found some older movies on Bluray that I didn't already own on regular DVD for $8 recently. 2001: A Space Odyssey is very cool on Bluray! A friend told me about gently used Bluray disks at a Blockbuster Video Store closeout.
Lastly, the Bluray players are coming down in price as well. Like other new technologies, the players were very expensive at first. I got mine free when I bought my 1080P TV year before last. Woohooooo! You will need what is called an HDMI cable to connect the Bluray DVD to your flat screen TV. Compare prices on those. They can be expensive!
Check out Bluray DVD sometime. Call me. We can watch a Bluray movie! ;-)
Other Stuff
I am happy to report that my tests from the past two days came back normal. I am very thankful. I will pursue additional tests with the doctors since I still have digestive issues that are very uncomfortable. I can rule out two possible causes now. I will see what happens next.
I plan to visit family this weekend. I always look forward to that. My mother's birthday is coming up. I need to purchase her present.
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