Acid

If you don't read Nicholas Kristof's articles in the New York Times, you should start. His latest is about a terrible form of violence against women in Pakistan.

For the last two years, Senators Joe Biden and Richard Lugar have co-sponsored an International Violence Against Women Act, which would adopt a range of measures to spotlight such brutality and nudge foreign governments to pay heed to it. Let’s hope that with Mr. Biden’s new influence the bill will pass in the next Congress.

That might help end the silence and culture of impunity surrounding this kind of terrorism.

Nationalism that makes me sick

Chip Kooi says well what I wish I could say about a lot of things. Check it out.

Obama!

I am actually proud to be an Amercian today.

And it's been a long time since I've said that.

giving

From Rick Atchley:

In the March issue of Science magazine, the University of British Colombia and Harvard University published a study called Money Can Buy Happiness. These two Universities did very extensive research and here's what they found: that there is no marginal register of improved happiness just by getting more money. You can take a person, they said, making $45,000 and suddenly raise him to $100,000 a year and there is no noticeable improvement in their marriage or in anything in their life that brings them happiness; in fact it seems the stress levels go up. But they did find out money can buy happiness. They published and said, "What we learned is it's not having more money, it's how you spend the money you have. We learned that even just as little as $5 a day given away to help a kid go to camp, to help a needy lady pay an electric bill, will markedly increase a person's personal happiness." And so the most esteemed learning institution in our country has published in Science magazine a study with this conclusion: It's more blessed to give than to receive.

I thought 2000 years ago somebody said that...


I would like to insert my opinions in here in the form of articles I read, so feel free to ignore these. I am a fan of Nicholos Kristof, who happened to live in China for several years, and he writes about the reputation of the U.S., and the effect Obama will have on that. Also, a recent endorsement McCain is not bragging about.

Think About It

They know us by the t-shirts that we wear
They know us by the way we point and stare
At anyone whose sin looks worse than ours
Who cannot hide the scars of this curse that we all bear

They know us by our picket lines and signs
They know us by the pride we hide behind
Like anyone on earth is living right
And isn’t that why [He] died
Not to make us think we’re right

When love, love, love
Is what we should be known for
love, love, love
It’s the how and it’s the why
We live and breathe and we die

They know us by reasons we divide
And how we can’t seem to unify
Because we’ve gotta sing songs a certain style
Or we’ll walk right down that aisle
And just leave ‘em all behind

They know us by the billboards that we make
Just turning [His]words to cheap clichés
Says “what part of murder don’t you understand?”
But we hate our fellow man
And point a finger at his grave

When love, love, love
Is what we should be known for
love, love, love
It’s the how and it’s the why
We live and breathe and we die

They know us by the t-shirts that we wear
They know us by the way we point and stare
Telling ‘em their sins are worse than ours
Thinking we can hide our scars
Beneath these t-shirts that we wear

Sorry that politics is all I talk about

I am very curious why people who are complaining about the economy can still manage to donate $600 million to campaign funds. How in the world did we reach the point we are at, and when will it end?

I'm pretty disappointed in Bush for deciding to keep Guantánamo
Bay open. Not that I wasn't already disappointed in him though.

From the debate:

"Were gonna have to embrace a culture and an ethic of responsibility. All of us, corporations, the Federal Government, and individuals out there who may be living beyond their means."

Agreed.

If anyone actually reads this, I would appreciate your opinion on the subject of "spreading the wealth around" that was approached by Senator McCain in accusation of Senator Obama. I have my own opinions that are not yet fully formed and very possibly erroneous. I'd love yours.

Some thoughts from today

I have discovered that I don't want China to change. I know that I'm too late. That much has changed already and that more change is inevitable. I walk around and I see girls holding hands with their girlfriends in such an innocent expression of friendship. It's totally unacceptable in America and yet I treasure it. I see the butt of a waddling toddler hanging out of his split pants and it brings me uncontrollable amusement every time. Already you can see the old blending with the new. An old man carries a basket of vegetables on his back as he is passed by honking taxis and motorcycles. The vegetable market that is spread out on blankets by my front door every morning is only a block away from a supermarket where all their goods and more can be found. I love the heartfelt hospitality of the Chinese people. They are unequaled in their efforts to make you feel welcome. As much as it grosses some people out, I appreciate that it's acceptable to spit in public. In a way, it brings a sense of freedom. There are less rules about many things, and many more about others. In America you could never ride three people to a motorcycle. But that sure is a way to LIVE! I think if all the world were like China I should hate it. But the beauty lies in the diversity. YHWH gave us so much to see and do that we can never experience it all, and that is what is so wonderful about trying new things and knowing that just around the corner is something even more incredible.

Paul was a wise man

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." Sine we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
For HIS love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded HIM in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in HIM, there is a new creation: The old has gone, the new has come! All this is from HIM, who reconciled us to himself through his Son and gave us the job of reconciliation. We are therefore His ambassadors, as though He were making his appeal through us. We implore you on His behalf: Be reconciled to Him.

WHY?

Article about the $700 billion bailout plan:

"Republicans were also working to eliminate a provision sought by Senate Democrats that would direct 20 percent of any profits from the plan to help create affordable housing. The Republicans want all profits returned to the Treasury."

WHY? WHY? Someone please give a good reason.

I love that the Chinese, Australian, and Germans I talk to know more about American politics that most of the Americans. Myself included. And when I say I love it, that's not exactly what I mean. But I was riding in a taxi yesterday and I heard President Bush on the radio, that kind of weirded me out.

Iraq

So I'm really glad no one reads this because it's highly unlikely that very many people see things the way I see them.

A little article I read in the NYTimes about stuff that's happening in Iraq.

"Problems with the ration basket have drawn widespread complaints from Iraqis, for whom the program was one of the few visible connections to the government. The food basket was a constant under Saddam Hussein and even his critics pointed to it as one thing they could rely on. The basket consisted of flour, rice, tea, sugar, salt, dried milk for adults and for children, cooking oil, lentils, chickpeas, soap for washing and laundry, and occasional extras, such as tomato paste or cake flour.

During the past three years, both the selection of products and their quality have diminished, many Iraqis say. Milk has been missing for much of the past three years, although it recently made a reappearance, and there have been cases of rice with bugs in it and stale tea. The extras that families received under Mr. Hussein are a thing of the past.

In violence in Iraq on Tuesday, American soldiers accidentally killed a Sunni Arab neighborhood patrol leader in a small town near the oil-refining city of Baiji, the military said. The man, a member of the American-supported Awakening movement, was shot during an operation to clear a house of insurgents."

I'm not saying that we haven't done anything good there. But I'm not saying we have either. I'm just saying we haven't done all good there. We should think long and hard about the costs of war. Is it worth it?

HILARIOUS!

One of the funniest things I've ever seen!

life

Do you ever have a day when you feel like life just plain could not get any better?

I love those moments. :)

More politics

Nothing is more dangerous in all of human experience than a politician who thinks that those who make war are sent from God.

Not that anybody cares

If I seem to show too little respect for your opinions or thought, be assured I have equal doubts about my own, and I don't mind if you think I'm wrong. I'm sure I am wrong about many things, although I'm not sure exactly which things I'm wrong about. I'm even sure I'm wrong about what I think I'm right about in at least some cases. So wherever you think I'm wrong, you could be right. If, in the process of determining that I'm wrong, you are stimulated to think more deeply and broadly, I hope that I will have somehow served you anyway.

Why I support Barack Obama:

“I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over. I have done more than any other candidate in this race to take on lobbyists — and won. They have not funded my campaign, they will not run my White House, and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I am president.”
— Barack Obama, Speech in Des Moines, IA, November 10, 2007

I took American Political Economy my junior year with Ken Miller which turned out to be, "What I do (or don't do) in the House of Reps." All I learned that semester was how corrupt government has become, including the Christians. I was disgusted by the way he told us he would basically do whatever the corporate lobbyists told him to do, because they were the ones giving him money. It made me never want to vote again to be honest. Contrarily, Obama's campaign has been funded by the "grass roots," donations of less than $100 from individual Americans make up the majority of his campaign finances. How refreshing!

Unlike other candidates Obama's campaign refuses to accept contributions from Washington lobbyists and political action committees.

Remembering the values of empathy and service that his mother taught him, Barack put law school and corporate life on hold after college and moved to Chicago in 1985, where he became a community organizer with a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment.

I don't even need to say anything else about this. That just plain rocks!

He will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world.

Many people complain about the fact that our jobs are being shipped to other countries, and rightly so, but to me the bigger issue is the fact that we are oppressing the people we force to work in the other countries. We pay them unfair wages and make them work unbelievable hours in appalling conditions. This is worse than the fact that there are fewer jobs for Americans. How selfish are we! Obama will fight for fair trade and good standards as well as keeping jobs in America.

Obama will also provide assistance to the domestic auto industry to ensure that new fuel-efficient vehicles are built by American workers

Obama will create a federal Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) that will require 25 percent of American electricity be derived from renewable sources by 2025, which has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs on its own.

Barack Obama will raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time workers earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs.

Obama will establish a five-star rating system so that every consumer knows the risk involved in every credit card. He also will establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights to stop credit card companies from exploiting consumers with unfair practices.

Barack Obama introduced the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 to provide a tax credit to companies that maintain or increase the number of full-time workers in America relative to those outside the US; maintain their corporate headquarters in America; pay decent wages; prepare workers for retirement; provide health insurance; and support employees who serve in the military.

I don't think that anybody even reads this and if you do you probably don't care who I'm voting for in the presidential election but recently people have been asking me why I support Obama, especially since if you're a southern and a Christian apparently you can't be a democrat. So I thought I'd share just a few of the many reasons I am excited about him becoming the next president of the good ole US of A.

God bless the whole world, no exceptions!

I repent

I repent

I repent of my pursuit of America's dream

I repent

I repent of living like I deserve anything

of my house, my fence, my kids, my wife

in our suburb where we're safe and white

I am wrong and of these things I repent

I repent

I repent of parading my liberty

I repent
I repent of paying for what I get for free

and for the way I believe that I am living right

by trading sins for others that are easier to hide

I am wrong and of these things I repent

I repent judging by a law that even I can't keep

of wearing righteousness like a disguise

to see through the planks in my own eyes

I repent

I repent of trading truth for false unity

I repent

I repent of confusing peace and idolatry

by caring more of what they think

than what I know of what we need

by domesticating you until you look just like me

I am wrong and of these things I repent

The Secret of Life

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature, and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.
- Anne Frank

4

Answer me when I call to you,
O God who declares me innocent.
Free me from my troubles.
Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

How long will you people ruin my reputation?
How long will you make groundless accusations?
How long will you continue your lies?
You can be sure of this:
The LORD set apart the godly for himself.
The LORD will answer when I call to him.

I'm Not Going to Japan

I feel kinda lost and confused right now and I don't like it at all.

Fear

"Don't be afraid of failure, be afraid of succeeding at something that doesn't really matter."

I have always had trouble with the command to "fear" God. I never understood why God would want us to fear him, if he is good. But then I started thinking about how there were times I would have disobeyed my parents if I had not feared the consequences. I was scared to death of what would happen if I disobeyed them sometimes. I don't think God wants us to walk around scared out of our minds of him, but if we fear the reactions of people more than we fear the reaction of our God, we will not be serving him at all. Lambda's theme verse is Galatians 1:10 "Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant." and I've come to a new appreciation of that verse. Our goal should be to please him, not to please the people around us. I'm confessing that I struggle with this a lot. I can't stand conflict, and I can't stand it when people don't like me so I do everything I can to gain their approval. This got Saul in trouble in 1 Samuel too, "Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the LORD's command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded." It has gotten me into trouble too. So as of today I resolve to try a lot harder to please God and not people.

Jesus is Lord

the more one respects Jesus, the more one must be brokenhearted, embarrassed, furious, or some combination thereof when one considers what we Christians have done with Jesus. That's certainly true when it comes to calling Jesus Lord, something we Christians do a lot, often without the foggiest idea of what we mean. Has he become (I shudder to ask this) less our Lord and more our Mascot?

Lord means "master" (the very opposite of mascot), and there are at least three senses of the word master that apply to Jesus. First, Lord suggests authority and kingship. Now whenever we use words like king, kingdom, kingship, or reign, we run into problems similar to those when using son and father. In addition to dominance and masculinity issues, we face the problem that for contemporary people these words all feel archaic--quaintly archaic or barbarously archaic. Associating monarchy with nondemocratic and corrupt regimes (because "absolute power corrupts absolutely," we've seen again and again) or with symbolic monarchies without much real power, it's so hard, perhaps impossible, for us to have a feel for the word king even remotely similar to what people would have felt in Bible times.

--Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy

This book is seriously amazing, so if any of you are bored and looking for someone to challenge you, go get it. But that part really stood out to me because when I was 14 I stood up in front of the church and told everybody that I wanted to make Jesus the Lord of my life, and I don't think I had any idea what I was saying. I still struggle with trying to dethrone myself as Lord over my life, but at least now I think I have at least a tiny grasp on that idea. Back then I really do think that I wanted Jesus to be my mascot, more than my Lord. Thankfully he had other ideas. I hope I will continue to let him be my ruler, and stop trying to take over.

Crossing the Jordan

This morning I read from Joshua about where the Israelites crossed the Jordan river and then my iTunes on shuffle started playing Chris Seidman's keynote from NCYM two years ago and he started talking about the same story. He brought up a good point. After the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus, who would talk about the Jordan river parting? "That's like me talking about how God healed me of my sinus infection to someone who has been healed from cancer." The difference lies in the fact that the Jordan river happened to a new generation. When we experience God's movement in our lives, instead of reading about it in someone else's life all the sudden we want to tell everyone. The river didn't part until they got their feet wet. Faith takes you getting your feet wet. Understanding comes from reading and then doing, not reading and studying.

“I’m tired of reading about other people’s experiences with God, I want to have one.”
-Randy Harris

Trust

I started reading Joshua on my daily bible reading and four times the first chapter spoke some words that I really needed to hear.
Be strong and courageous...Be strong and very courageous...Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go...only be strong and courageous.
I know he was talking to Joshua and the Israelites, but the God who took care of them is going to take care of me, and I need to rest assured in that. I keep worrying about my future but he's got it under control if I will just let go.

So, what's it like in the real world? Well, the food is better, but beyond that, I don't recommend it.
—Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin and Hobbes during a University commencement speech

Sunshine On My Shoulder

Whenever I start to feel sorry for myself or get caught up in my wimpy problems God does a good job of straightening me out. There are so many hurting people out there and all I have to do is open my eyes and all the sudden my problems disappear. I think he has wonderful ways of healing us by allowing us to help others. I'm thankful for so many things today. For the amazing, incredible friends that I have, and the sunshine on a country road, for the time I got to spend with my sister, for triple play Thursday, for the job that he led me to, for the opportunity to serve others, for the God who loves me so much that I can't even begin to understand it.

“God’s highest purpose for you is not to make you comfortable, wealthy, or happy. If you have put your faith in him, he has something far more wonderful in mind—he plans to conform you to the likeness of his Son!”

A New Hope

I have decided that my other blog will be for updates on my life and general information like that, and this one will be my thoughts that I wish to share with the world, whether it wants to hear them or not. That way people who want to keep up with what I'm doing won't be bored by my opinions and such.

I'm not very good at this:
There should be no poor among you, for in the land YHWH your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey YHWH your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. For YHWH your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.
If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that YHWH your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: 'The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,' so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to YHWH against you, and you will be found guilty of isn. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this YHWH your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.