After never blogging but always wanting to, and staying true to xanga... I may be out-a-here. Facebook updates keep me content and blogspot has offered me email updates without paying for a "premium" subscription. So today begins my trial time at Blogspot. Don't worry though, I'll still stalk all of you through my xanga subscription digests =o) I just may not post here as often as I have been... HAHA... <--- that's funny if you look at the dates of my recent posts.

Xanga, you'll still always have a special place in my heart.

I've been looking for a new outlet to share music. After being inspired by Ninjadrops I decided to start putting music up on youtube. I have a lot of old songs I want to get up there... but I thought I'd start with a new one. This one is more uppity, happy, and it's because it's about Yumi. =o) awwww. Anyways, hope you enjoy.

This is from an email sent out to the Pathway email newsletter:

Today is good Friday. This is the day that we recognize Christ's suffering and sacrifice on the cross. I hope that you can take some time today to just be still, to remember, and to thank God for His perfect plan. This past week, I had the chance to sit down and watch quite a few specials on the History Channel. There were some episodes that I wish that I was able to watch before I spoke last week. One was a 2 hour special called "Crucifixion". If you have a VCR or DVR, it's replaying on Sunday on the history channel. It was quite hard to watch, but it was a really good reminder and it was very interesting in terms of the reason why crucifixion was used, the impact it had on the culture, and a scientific exploration into the physical strain that jesus would have experienced.

The forensic scientists, ER doctors and historians they interviewed were very knowledgeable. They were able to do some experiments to see how healthy volunteers' bodies reacted when hanging on a cross (don't worry, no one was actually crucified- they used braces and harnesses to see how their heart rates and breathing reacted to the strain). One young man's heart rate went from his natural beats per minute around 78 to 172 bpm after 10-15 minutes on the cross. His legs were tired from trying to hold himself up to breathe and his heart was working harder to get blood to pump through his body. This is all without being beaten, without being deprived of food/nutrition for a day, without being sleep deprived and without being whipped, flogged and mocked. I can't imagine the strain that Jesus felt after everything He went through.

The most interesting part of the show for me was hearing what they think the cause of death was for Jesus. On Sunday I said that most people attribute asphyxiation (being deprived of oxygen). They brought up something that I had overlooked. If Jesus was slowly dying due to asphyxiation, he most likely would not have been able to cry out before his death (Mark 15:37 says, "With a loud cry, He breathed His last breath.") These doctors and scientists go through Jesus' time in Roman hands. He was severely flogged and beaten and was forced to carry the patibulum (crossbar of the cross). His hands would be tied to this large piece of wood that could have weighed up to 100 pounds. The bible account tells us that Jesus fell, unable to carry the patibulum. The doctors on this show speculate that if Jesus hands were tied to this crossbar, this fall would cause quite a bit of internal damage. He wouldn't be able to brace himself and the weight of the wood would fall on his neck and shoulders forcing his exposed chest into the ground. This would cause a myocardial contusion (bruise of the heart).

This bruise on His heart could become a big problem while He was on the cross. While hanging, His heart rate would accelerate rapidly causing a lot of strain on this weakened section of His heart. These doctors and scientists think that His heart swelled and eventually ruptured. Blood spilled from His heart into his pericardial sac (which is the term I couldn't remember on Sunday that would be holding the water like fluid from the biblical account). This would feel like a heart attack to Jesus. He would know His time was done. As God, I think He would know already, but this would be a physical cue that His body was giving out. We think about the flogging, the nails, and His time on the cross... but we often overlook the other hurts and discomforts; inability to breath, strain of carrying the patibulum, feeling of isolation and the pain of the mocking, and now a ruptured heart. It is a great reminder of what God was willing to do to be glorified in His plan of redemption for us. Please take time to reflect and remember that.

If you have time and the stomach to watch this show, I would encourage it. It's from a non-christian/science based view but it gives a lot of insight into what crucifixion does to the physical body and uses biblical accounts as they reexamine Jesus' last hours.

On Sunday, we'll celebrate the resurrection, His defeat over death, and His ability to bring us back to the Father. God is good.