tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40073348436755671372024-03-14T01:15:33.618-05:00Spiritual Formation in South Kansas CityRejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIVThe Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.comBlogger198125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-38568122747361019292012-04-12T16:31:00.002-05:002012-04-12T16:48:32.240-05:00Dogs and God<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mimUzzoU8NQ/T4dKW8a1E4I/AAAAAAAADkM/15UmlfEVaTY/s1600/100.JPG" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mimUzzoU8NQ/T4dKW8a1E4I/AAAAAAAADkM/15UmlfEVaTY/s400/100.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730630808888480642" /></a><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Sometimes, animals come into shelters profoundly traumatized. They are victims of human mistreatment, or bad circumstances, or both. They have not been loved, or touched. Some animals used in labs have never been outside, or touched the grass. Fighting dogs have been pitted against each other, beaten, forced to rape or be raped, and rarely hear an unconditional word of love or acceptance. Mill animals are isolated, never </span>interacted<span style="font-size: 100%;"> with and </span>continuously <span style="font-size: 100%;">bred...</span></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">So they come to the shelters--the abused, the ignored, the conditionally loved, the hurt. Dogs especially wear their emotions on their </span>proverbial<span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span>sleeves<span style="font-size: 100%;">, their faces and bodies reflecting the fear they feel. Cats retreat into inaction or anger, or are over the top in their reactions, making them tough to handle.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Some, amazingly, come around quickly. They realize that their world has improved and the people in it care about them for who they are now. They respond with love, amazing their rescuers with the ability to love in spite of what has happened to them.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Others take </span>longer<span style="font-size: 100%;">. The wounds are deeper, or their intrinsic make up makes it harder for them to learn to trust humans again. They hold back, afraid that their world will revert to the darkness they had known for most of their lives. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">It so reminds me of people, with their spiritual needs and wounds. We want to trust. We want to love, but we are afraid. We are afraid of the hurt that we could encounter by risking a connection. We are not trusting the intentions of those around us,. In spite of </span>everything<span style="font-size: 100%;"> we know, we don't trust God and His love. We don't see God having our best in His plans, or see the love of the Cross. Our pain gets in the way.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">When an animal at the shelter, after lots of unconditional attention, faithfulness to meeting needs, and just plain love, gets it, and you see the fear recede and the genuine character of the pet come forth, it always is rewarding. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">It reminds this Christian of what happens to the soul that trusts and </span>yields<span style="font-size: 100%;"> to God....</span></span><br /></div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-32984449587402540482012-02-22T23:10:00.003-06:002012-02-22T23:17:38.411-06:00In It But NOT Of It<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; ">Here it is, in a nut shell, <a href="http://johnmeunier.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/marks-of-the-mainline/">credit to John Meunier</a>---from </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/us/within-gay-marriage-battle-a-quiet-struggle-in-churches.html?_r=1" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; ">this article </a><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; ">in the New York Times about gay marriage and the United Methodist Church. Check this highlighted quote:</span><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.467em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span>Randall Miller, assistant professor of ethics at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, is chairman of the commission that organizes the United Methodists’ quadrennial General Conference in April, when bishops and other delegates from around the world will gather in Florida to consider proposed changes to church doctrine, including eliminating the condemnations of homosexuality.</span></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.467em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span>“The United Methodist Church is a great bellwether of where opinions are going in the general society on the issue of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender inclusion,” said Mr. Miller, who will also lead the Northern California delegation to the conference. “Moving the United Methodist Church step by step, and removing these barriers, is a greater step in making the larger society more inclusive.”</span></p></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; ">Really?</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; ">A bellwether of society?</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; ">How about being in the world but not of it?</div><div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">How about a living </span>sacrifice<span style="font-size: 100%;">?</span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; ">How about being set apart? </div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; ">If the church is just like everything else in society, what good is it? </div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; ">Not very salty.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; ">My God is NOT mushy. Neither is His doctrine. Sorry, still one of those stubborn evangelicals.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; "><br /></div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-64157040242875696232012-02-22T22:23:00.002-06:002012-02-22T22:45:11.608-06:00Ash Wednesday and Lent<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Well today is Ash Wednesday--the beginning of Lent, the season that draws the Christian community towards Easter. I have not thought very much about sin for a while--I have been more into the acceptance and love of God. I need very little help to find myself missing the mark, although I immediately confessed to sloth on the confession sheet at church tonight.</span></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">It has been a while since I have blogged here--I am not sure why. In general I am taking less time blogging. Some of that is that old devil Facebook and some of that is just not taking time to seek out time on line (and frankly some of it is my old and busted keyboard--the lack of "h" and "g" is a real pain!). I have recommitted myself to the doctrine of getting at least one thing done every day. This means getting a better handle on sleep habits and getting up in the morning. I think that I need to be up by 0900, and if that means that I find some stupid brainless thing to do, then so be it. In addition, I now have more time commitments. Wayside, KCPP, a Monday class for two more weeks, CR.... I have thought about this and if I ever had a regular scheduled job I would have to get used to not being quite so flexible.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">One thing I have been thinking about is the parallel between God's grace and what happens with some animals at Wayside Waifs and other shelters/rescues. Very often the animals are not lovable, but undergo a transformation...how does that transformation come about? I want to develop that idea at some point.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Enjoy the </span>liturgical<span style="font-size: 100%;"> purple, folks!</span></span></div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-90212295481579978982012-01-08T21:15:00.002-06:002012-01-08T21:30:07.145-06:00OlderWell, I went to a funeral tonight at the church I used to attend. <div><br /></div><div>Everyone was older. Really. Now how did that happen? (Insert crazed laughter here.)</div><div><br /></div><div>It was pretty hard to tell how the church was doing from the crowd that was there since it included relations of the deceased. There were people there who wanted me back. I wondered again if that was where I was supposed to be.</div><div><br /></div><div>In some ways I see it, but in others I don't. When you are single it is hard to fit in a small church unless you are young. I know also I would miss the richness of the worship experience that the big church gives me. Pastor Eric is an excellent preacher--sometimes I ache for people like him--people who are of obvious talent but don't seem to be rewarded for their labors.</div><div><br /></div><div>At least on earth. After all, weren't we reminding ourselves that it is not all about what happens here?</div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-74056544872954921562011-12-28T21:54:00.004-06:002011-12-28T22:12:15.822-06:00Advent Over--Keep Christmas All Year<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0IQsxDjMhQY/TvvlW-E7BNI/AAAAAAAADdM/II7UhMT4hH4/s1600/138.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0IQsxDjMhQY/TvvlW-E7BNI/AAAAAAAADdM/II7UhMT4hH4/s400/138.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691394736896279762" /></a><br />Advent is over. The time of anticipation of the Incarnation has passed and the Savior has come.<div><br /></div><div>Our sermon this Christmas eve was challenging the idea of putting away Christmas. Instead of putting away the powerful Incarnational God, embrace Him all year.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pastor Hamilton told several stories, but my favorite was this one, about Healing House. About how Bobbi Jo found the transforming power of God, and upon release from prison just could not find a good spot to land to make the transition from criminal to citizen. At about that time, she came into an inheritance, and used it to buy and rehab an old building in the Gladstone/NE area of KCMO. Since that modest beginning, over 6 buildings are involved, and about 120 women and 30 men are ministered to in the name of Christ.</div><div>They do not forget their roots, or from where they have come: On holidays, like Christmas and Easter, they put together little ditty bags of essentials and give them to people still poor and out on the streets. Christmas 2010, a group were out doing this, driving one of the ministries full size vans around to various places known to be gathering areas for the homeless and down and out. After a bit, they needed gas and stopped at a c-store to get it. While they were fueling up, a KCPD patrol car stopped nearby. One cop got out to see what was what with this van load of mostly women running around during the holiday. When he got near the van, he looked inside, and his eyes widened. "You," he said, pointing at one woman, "We thought you were dead!" He looked some more: "And you too. We thought you were dead too!" He went back to the police car and got his partner: "You have to see this!" The two officers marveled at the transformations before them that day.</div><div>You see, when we become Christians we become new. The old has gone, the new has come! said Paul in Corinthians. This is not the kind of God we put in a box and take out only once or twice a year now is it.</div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-27415324797298262072011-12-27T00:41:00.001-06:002011-12-27T00:43:03.844-06:00What I EnvyPeople who look forward to visiting their mothers.<br />
Yep.The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-10375848858238201842011-12-20T16:40:00.002-06:002011-12-20T16:48:15.439-06:00A Christmas WishI was just reading my <a href="http://www.indybikehiker.com/2011/12/settling-for-little-togetherness-at.html">friend John's latest blog post about Christmas</a>--he talked about not fretting quite so much over traditions and letting togetherness be the major theme of the holiday celebration. Activities together like dinner, and seeing a movie--spending time as a family together after all the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">razzle</span> dazzle is done.<br />Here is my Christmas wish: that families be conscious of those who for whatever reason are not able to be with<em> their</em> families, whether the distance is physical or from family dysfunction. Yes, I know that Christmas is a big family holiday, and it is important to spend time together as a family, but if a family knows a single who will be alone, why not make that person a part of your celebration? Christmas day can be a very long day if you are alone, what with everything closed. After the family phone call, which may or may not be rewarding, that makes 15 hours and 30 minutes of the wake time of December 25 to deal with. <br />Trust me, that is a long time.The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-55456670778455043962011-12-14T19:11:00.000-06:002011-12-14T19:38:23.677-06:00Jesus Jersey<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cE0HB8srIl4/TulOlacQRjI/AAAAAAAADbs/WZsnOzSvuMo/s1600/tim-tebow-custom-jesus-jersey.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cE0HB8srIl4/TulOlacQRjI/AAAAAAAADbs/WZsnOzSvuMo/s400/tim-tebow-custom-jesus-jersey.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686162409191917106" /></a><br /><div>There's been a bit of a flap over the creation of Denver Broncos jerseys bearing Tim Tebow's #15 but instead of Tebow's name on the back, it said "JESUS" there. At first I didn't know what to think, but when I thought about it more, it is the ultimate goal of a Christian to have Christ's name instead of our own. What do we say over and over, that we want to be like Jesus, right? When we become Christians, the Bible says we become "new creations in Christ" and Jesus Himself instructs us to "deny ourselves and pick up our cross." As we open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit and allow him to mold us, we stop looking quite so much like ourselves and more and more like Jesus Christ, God's Son.</div><div><br /></div><div>So instead of our own identity on the back of our team jersey, it is the identity of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.</div><div><br /></div><div>I can deal with that.</div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-56936927782700861632011-11-28T20:39:00.001-06:002011-11-28T20:41:05.878-06:00Advent: My Deliverer Is ComingIf I didn't believe, I think I would have fallen into an abyss...<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ac4GnpqXQAQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /><br />And of course, purple...The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-73548843566538443352011-11-21T19:32:00.006-06:002011-11-22T18:34:18.756-06:00Why the Left Is Frequently Insufferable<div><i>From <a href="http://www.adbusters.org/">Adbusters</a> Issue#99 Jan-Feb 2012 by Darren Fleet. The article takes a minute to find its footing, but basically it busts the left for being moralist, legalist busybodies without the idea of liberating itself from the same issues. The parallels that the author draws with Christianity particularly resonate with this Christian. It is hard to convince someone else about a value system if you, yourself, have not been transformed by that system. It is why Left commentators often seem so self righteous, and also ignorant, projecting wants and desires onto a government system that cannot, even on a good day, begin to satisfy them. It seems that no matter how hard we try, it keeps coming around that true change is an inside job.</i></div><div><br /></div>Lefty arguments are fraught with asterisks, exceptions, caveats, considerations, footnotes, excuses and pie-in-the-sky moral posturing coded in a lexicon that most people don't even get. The right meanwhile is able to stand behind simplistic,strong and wrong optimism,cloaking itself with the grace of God and good intentions. The left is caught navel-gazing and obsessing over whether or not their actions are philosophically correct; stuttering, qualifying, apologizing, accommodating...whimpering along the way. The right meanwhile is going with its gut, shooting from the hip, smoking people out of their caves, straight talking...pick your conservative maxim. The reins of global power are in the hands of those who are able to symbolize a big idea, whatever that idea may be. The fortunes of the global left depend on whether or not they can take a stand on a big idea again. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Zizek</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Badiou</span>, Hedges, Klein, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Ranciere</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Bifo</span>, have all hinted at what the left has lost, but it's Jonathan Franzen who hammers the point home.<div>"Craving sex with her mate was one of the things (OK, the main thing) she'd given up in exchange for all the good things in their life together. Walter tried everything he could think of to make sex better for her except the one thing that might conceivably have worked, which was to stop worrying about making it better for her and just bend her over the kitchen table some night and have at her from behind. But the Walter who could have done this wouldn't have been Walter."</div><div>You might be wondering what does this have to do with the left? In asking, you, like me,and maybe all of us, highlight a common affliction we suffer--the creeping truth that activism has become a mask for spiritual and character rot. That maybe we have erected a progressive facade to cover the worst of denials, our animal. Sex has everything to do with the current state of things. It represents our most basic human desire and our most common trait of voluntary repression. If behind closed doors we cannot be free, what possibility do we have of offering anything to our world? This doesn't mean that you need to be an S&M character in order to be progressive, but it shows the point that for a message to be genuine it must come from a place of personal emancipation. Sincerity and liberation are addictive.The most successful entities in any society know this and use it to their advantage. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Las</span> Vegas was built upon the principle that if you build it they will come. And they did, making a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">multibillion</span> dollar oasis in the desert. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Las</span> Vegas tells no lies. There is no delusion in traveling to Nevada's desolate plains and throwing your money away. You get what you pay for--a casino brothel under the baking sun. The sincerity is quantifiable. The potential for financial liberation, no matter how unlikely, is intoxicating. Likewise, if a movement has currency, sincerity, honesty and a hint of real liberation, people will come. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Tahrir</span> Square, London, Syria. Vancouver Stanley Cup riot. All sincere regardless of cause.</div><div>Australian author and environmentalist Clive Hamilton has been arguing for the past decade that the left has been floundering around like a bunch of whiny holier-than-thou beach bodies, screaming how to save the world without first having ensured that they too won't be sucked under the wave. The left make poor lifeguards is essentially what he means. They don't ensure their own safety-personal liberation--and are likely to be drowned by the victim they are trying to save--the converts.This is not an argument about hypocrisy, far from it. It is a psychological assessment of what Hamilton considers the savior complex endemic in the global left. A complex that has no currency without corresponding personal sincerity. Do this. Do that. Don't consume that. Buy this. We'll fight the corporation. Lets fight the right-wingers. A better world is possible. A cacophony of soft maxims supported by desperate bodies throwing their personal misgivings and unhappiness onto the altar of activism--the same impulse that drives entire populations into ethnic nationalism, religious conversion and other ubiquitous populist enterprises.</div><div>A Christian missionary in Thailand once told me that Buddhists don't hear what you say, they hear what you do. The villagers observed him and his family closely, how they treated each other, noting expressions of love, equality, respect, humility and modesty. The most important quality of all to them, he said, was whether he had a spiritual revelation manifest in an outpouring of personal joy. This caused great concern to his colleagues and despite several years of effort, they converted no one. He and his missionary friends were gloomy and homesick. They offered a new system to the Thai villagers, but not a new way of being. That is where, as Hamilton argues, the left is today. A system without a soul. A people in denial. An obsession looking for a cause. A mass of people looking outward when they should be looking in.</div><div>We have all seen it. Maybe we are even these archetypes ourselves. The close-minded open-minded person. Well versed in emancipation and cutting edge lefty rhetoric but altogether intolerable, anal, pedantic, arrogant, rude and fully convinced they know what is best for society. Or the idealist who hops from cause to cause, virulently condemning a belief they wholeheartedly embraced only a short time ago, trying to convert you to direct your energy toward the latest paradigm. Or the usual suspect protesters manifesting a collective oppositional defiance disorder against anything and anyone representing vague concepts of power. Their own lives might be in shambles, without spiritual relief, entirely unable to define their action beyond a sentence,but that does not matter to their leaders. What has become tantamount in activism today is collective, organized action, however weak,regardless of the motivation or the emotional/spiritual source of that action. The left must have more to offer than this. It needs the righteous confidence of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">the</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">right</span> without the pride and arrogance . It needs the confidence of Evangelicals and the commitment of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Islamist</span> without the delusion and apologetics. It needs emancipation. It needs a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">new found</span> spiritualism that places a premium on personal enlightenment and monasticism. It needs, in a word, liberation.</div><div>All the great religions talk about liberating the self first and how only out of that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">emancipation</span> can goodness flow. Defiled, this principle becomes the blasphemous health-and-wealth evangelical doctrines sweeping Nigeria, South Korea, Holland and the United States. Undefiled, it is the key that unlocks paradise. In the gospel of John, Christ encourages his <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">disciples</span>, saying people will know you are Christians by your love for one another. His early disciples were afraid and isolated, living under Rome's heavy hand. To make converts they had to show in their joy that the belief was worth emulating. In Islam, Jihad, the struggle against desire and sin within oneself, is the primary task of the spiritual journey. Observed as intended, Jihad goes hand in hand <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">with the</span> bigger idea that if everyone just focused on being a "good" Muslim, being themselves, the law would wither away and society itself would become the creation of each inhabitants' revelation. Buddhism's all-suffering-comes-from-desire equally focuses on righting the self. Without enlightenment, the Buddha insisted, one was destined to replicate the errors of the past regardless of the goodness of intentions. The <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Dali</span> Lama's modern musing, world peace through inner peace, is the greatest political assertion of this principle.</div><div>A wedge has been driven between politics and personal <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">emancipation</span>. Activism has been drained of its mysticism and reduced to a sterile rational prop, a blank slate upon which protesters trace their wants and desires--demands impossible for even the most benevolent and wealthy state to deliver. And despite its futile and Sisyphean character, this is still where the bulk of the left in the West finds itself today. Infinite <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">causes</span>, grandiose ideals...and miserable lives. Perhaps it is time to reverse the paradigm and reconsider what was thrown out with religion long ago--liberation of your animal soul.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-48165026568416798702011-11-02T20:04:00.011-05:002011-11-22T18:30:32.642-06:00The Price of Civilization<div><i>I have long maintained that part of what ails America is that corporations have become far too stakeholder and profit driven. Who cares how it came about, as long as the bottom line is in the black? This ends up driving an amoral quest for profit--profit at the cost of people. Do we want to love people and use things or love things and use people? Corporations these days, I think, have long lost the desire to pay the price of civilization. An excerpt from The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity by Jeffrey D. Sachs captures much of this idea.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>At the root of America's economic crisis lies a moral crisis: the decline of civic virtue among America's political and economic elite. A society of markets, laws, and elections is not enough if the rich and powerful fail to behave with respect, honesty, and compassion toward the rest of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">society</span> and towards the world. America has developed the world's most competitive market society but has squandered its civic <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">virtue</span> along the way. Without restoring an ethos of social responsibility, there can be no meaningful and sustained economic recovery.</div><br /><div>I find myself deeply surprised and unnerved to have to write this book. During most of my forty years in economics I have assumed that America, with its great wealth, depth of learning, advanced technologies, and democratic institutions, would reliably find its way to social betterment. I decided early on in my career to devote my energies to the economic challenges abroad, where I felt the economic problems were more acute and in need of attention. Now I am worried about my own country. The economic crisis of recent years reflects a deep, threatening, and ongoing <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">deterioration</span> of our national politics and culture of power.</div><br />The crisis, I will argue, developed gradually over the course of several decades. We are not facing a short term business cycle downturn, but the working out of long-term social, political, and economic trends. The crisis, in many ways, is the culmination of an era--the baby boomer era--rather than of particular policies or presidents. It is also a bipartisan affair; both Democrats and Republicans have played their part in deepening the crisis. On many days it seems that the only difference between Republicans and Democrats is that Big Oil owns the Republicans while Wall Street owns the Democrats. By understanding the deep roots of the crisis, we can move beyond illusory solutions such as the "stimulus" spending of 2009-2010, the budget cuts of 2011, and the unaffordable tax cuts that are implemented year after year. These are gimmicks that distract us from the deeper reforms needed in our society.<br /><br /><div>The first two years of the Obama presidency show that our economic and political failings are deeper than that of a particular president. Like many Americans, I looked to Barack Obama as the hope for a breakthrough. Change was on the way, or so we hoped; yet there has been far more continuity than change. Obama has continued down the well trodden path of open-ended war in Afghanistan, massive military budgets, kowtowing to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">lobbyists</span>, stingy foreign aid, unaffordable tax cuts, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">unprecedented</span> budget deficits, and a disquieting unwillingness to address the deeper causes of America's problems. The administration is packed with individuals passing through the revolving door that connects Wall Street and the White House. In order to find deep solutions to America's economic crisis, we'll need to understand why the American political system has proven to be so resistant to change.</div><br /><div>The American economy increasingly serves only a narrow part of society, and America's national politics has failed to put the country back on track through honest, open, and transparent problem solving. Too many of America's elites--among the super-rich, the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">CEOs</span></span>, and many of my colleagues in academia--have abandoned a commitment to social responsibility. They chase wealth and power, the rest of society be damned.</div><br /><div>We need to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">re conceive</span> the idea of a good society in the early twenty-first century and to find a creative path toward it. Most important, we need to be ready to pay the price of civilization through multiple acts of good citizenship: bearing our fair share of taxes, educating ourselves deeply about society's needs, acting as vigilant stewards for future generations, and remembering that compassion is the glue that holds society together. I would suggest that a majority of the public understands this challenge and accepts it. During my research for this book, I became <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">reacquainted</span> with my fellow Americans, not only through countless discussions but also through hundreds of opinion surveys on, and studies of, American values. I was delighted with what I found. Americans are very different <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">from</span> the ways the elites and the media pundits want us to see ourselves. The American people are generally broad-minded, moderate, and generous. These are not the images of Americans we see on television or the adjectives that come to mind when we think of America's rich and powerful elite. But America's political <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">institutions</span> have broken down, so that the broad public no longer holds these elites to account. And alas, the breakdown of politics also implicates the broad public. American society is too deeply distracted by our media-drenched consumerism to maintain the habits of effective citizenship.</div><br /><div>"The unexamined life is not worth living," said Socrates. We might equally say that the unexamined economy is not capable of securing our well-being. Our greatest national illusion is that a healthy society can be organized <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">around</span> the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">single minded</span> pursuit of wealth. The ferocity of the quest for wealth throughout society has left Americans exhausted and deprived of the benefits of social trust, honesty and compassion. Our society has turned harsh, with the elites on Wall Street, in Big Oil, and in Washington among the most irresponsible and selfish all. When we understand this reality, we can begin to refashion our economy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two of humanity's greatest sages, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Buddha</span> in the Eastern tradition and Aristotle in the Western tradition, counseled us wisely about humanity's innate tendency to chase transient illusions rather than to keep our minds and lives focused on deeper, longer-term sources of well-being. Both urged us to keep to a middle path, to cultivate moderation and virtue in our personal behavior and attitudes despite the allure of extremes. Both urged us to look after our personal needs without forgetting our compassion towards others in society. Both cautioned that the single-minded pursuit of wealth and consumption leads to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">addictions</span> and compulsions rather than to happiness and the virtues of a life well lived. Throughout the ages, other great sages, from <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Confucius</span> to Adam Smith to Mahatma Gandhi and the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Dali</span> Lama, have joined the call for moderation and compassion as the pillars of a good society.</div><br /><div>To resist the excesses of consumerism and the obsessive pursuit of wealth is hard work, a lifetime challenge. To do so in our media age, filled with noise, distraction, and temptation, is a special challenge. We can escape our current economic illusions by creating a <em>mindful society</em>, one that promotes the personal virtues of self-awareness and moderation, and the civic <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">virtues</span> of compassion for others and the ability to cooperate across the divides of class, race, religion, and geography. Through a return to personal and civic <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">virtue</span>, our prosperity can be regained.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>It is not perfect; for some reason Mr. Sachs resists Jesus Christ as one of his sages. I think it is because Jesus Christ also asks for internal transformation and commitment. Your treatment of others flows naturally out of the love that God has placed in your heart via his forgiveness, grace and love. We have lost something in our country, however, and to at least acknowledge that loss is an important start.</i></div><div></div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-41822868744588301292011-10-17T19:27:00.002-05:002011-10-17T19:31:09.633-05:00We Bring The Sacrifice of PraiseThis old praise song came to me while we were discussing the old testament sacrificial system. We no longer bring sacrifices of goats or cattle or doves. We just need to bring the sacrifice of our praise.<div><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/h2OmaKsVfxs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The song came back to me in bits--I hmm'ed and sang my way to remembering the whole thing in time--correctly even!</div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-54699855410910542612011-10-13T22:31:00.001-05:002011-10-13T22:41:02.615-05:00What To DoLast week I got in a bit of a shout out with two Thursday evening buds. They were pressing me about jobs and that fed into the worthless/defective/fearful-of-rejection thing and I reacted with cursing anger. I felt a bit attacked and given that "oh just get over yourself" stuff that is more irritating than anything else. I should have just smiled, said "thanks." and gone on my way. No I felt attacked and so I responded that way. I talked it out with S. and felt a little better. I also did some small action steps this week that helped too.<br />
Now while both P and C were definitely engaged in somewhat codependent fixing behavior, I was wrong in responding with so much anger. Do I need to make amends by apologizing or do they need to realize that they were trying to control and fix? I don't think I can try to do them both at the same time because it takes away from the sincerity of the apology to offer a criticism of their behavior. Yet it would be good for them to know that while their hearts were in the right place, their techniques left something to be desired.<br />
I was all set to apologize tonight in writing but I forgot to follow through. So I figured I'd do it tonight in person. Well C. wasn't there and my first thought was that it was on account of our conversation and I felt responsible for that. And as soon as P. was near me to talk she started asking me what action I took and something else which sounded like more fixing--I ignored it. And I was like, is my saying sorry for reacting to fixing the most useful thing to do? So I held my tongue with the apology.<br />
As I say, a problem.The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-58985617619190686742011-10-12T20:52:00.002-05:002011-10-12T20:56:20.082-05:00Turn AroundThe latest from Matt Maher<br /><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GCi8P7W_tAw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /><div><br /></div><div>Serious breakdown last week--so weird while I am working on trying to find God's will for my life. Tempest is moving and her paid part time staff position is open. I don't really have enough computer for it, but I think I will write up a resume and give it a shot. it is more administrative then ministerial, but you just never know.</div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-72276420464399206372011-09-24T22:55:00.002-05:002011-09-24T23:00:38.646-05:00What Wonderous Love Is This<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CgwGY6xpvLI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: medium; "><p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: serif; "></p><span><span>What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!<br />What wondrous love is this, O my soul!<br />What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss<br />To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,<br />To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: medium; "><span><span>When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,<br />When I was sinking down, sinking down,<br />When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,<br />Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,<br />Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: medium; "><span><span>To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;<br />To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.<br />To God and to the Lamb Who is the great “I Am”;<br />While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;<br />While millions join the theme, I will sing.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: medium; "><span><span>And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;<br />And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.<br />And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be;<br />And through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;<br />And through eternity, I’ll sing on.</span></span><p style="font-weight: bold; font-family: serif; "></p></span></div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-16833006473426008002011-09-24T22:54:00.001-05:002011-09-24T22:55:24.577-05:00Isaiah 59 NIV<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18802" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">1</sup> Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,<br /> nor his ear too dull to hear.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18803" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">2</sup> But your iniquities have separated<br /> you from your God;<br />your sins have hidden his face from you,<br /> so that he will not hear.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18804" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">3</sup> For your hands are stained with blood,<br /> your fingers with guilt.<br />Your lips have spoken falsely,<br /> and your tongue mutters wicked things.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18805" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">4</sup> No one calls for justice;<br /> no one pleads a case with integrity.<br />They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;<br /> they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18806" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">5</sup> They hatch the eggs of vipers<br /> and spin a spider’s web.<br />Whoever eats their eggs will die,<br /> and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18807" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">6</sup> Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;<br /> they cannot cover themselves with what they make.<br />Their deeds are evil deeds,<br /> and acts of violence are in their hands.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18808" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">7</sup> Their feet rush into sin;<br /> they are swift to shed innocent blood.<br />They pursue evil schemes;<br /> acts of violence mark their ways.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18809" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">8</sup> The way of peace they do not know;<br /> there is no justice in their paths.<br />They have turned them into crooked roads;<br /> no one who walks along them will know peace.<p> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18810" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">9</sup> So justice is far from us,<br /> and righteousness does not reach us.<br />We look for light, but all is darkness;<br /> for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18811" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">10</sup> Like the blind we grope along the wall,<br /> feeling our way like people without eyes.<br />At midday we stumble as if it were twilight;<br /> among the strong, we are like the dead.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18812" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">11</sup> We all growl like bears;<br /> we moan mournfully like doves.<br />We look for justice, but find none;<br /> for deliverance, but it is far away.</p><p> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18813" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">12</sup> For our offenses are many in your sight,<br /> and our sins testify against us.<br />Our offenses are ever with us,<br /> and we acknowledge our iniquities:<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18814" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">13</sup> rebellion and treachery against the LORD,<br /> turning our backs on our God,<br />inciting revolt and oppression,<br /> uttering lies our hearts have conceived.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18815" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">14</sup> So justice is driven back,<br /> and righteousness stands at a distance;<br />truth has stumbled in the streets,<br /> honesty cannot enter.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18816" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">15</sup> Truth is nowhere to be found,<br /> and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.</p><p> The LORD looked and was displeased<br /> that there was no justice.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18817" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">16</sup> He saw that there was no one,<br /> he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;<br />so his own arm achieved salvation for him,<br /> and his own righteousness sustained him.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18818" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">17</sup> He put on righteousness as his breastplate,<br /> and the helmet of salvation on his head;<br />he put on the garments of vengeance<br /> and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18819" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">18</sup> According to what they have done,<br /> so will he repay<br />wrath to his enemies<br /> and retribution to his foes;<br /> he will repay the islands their due.<br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18820" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">19</sup> From the west, people will fear the name of the LORD,<br /> and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.<br />For he will come like a pent-up flood<br /> that the breath of the LORD drives along.<sup class="footnote" value="[<a href="#fen-NIV-18820a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: 0.5em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2059&version=NIV#fen-NIV-18820a" title="See footnote a" style="color: rgb(101, 19, 0); text-decoration: none; ">a</a>]</sup></p><p> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18821" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">20</sup> “The Redeemer will come to Zion,<br /> to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”<br /> declares the LORD.</p><p> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18822" style="font-size: 0.65em; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: text-top; ">21</sup> “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the LORD.</p></span>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-87105222226963934512011-09-18T21:32:00.002-05:002011-09-18T21:35:21.472-05:00Your Great NameWorship--expressing homage, honor, to bow down, to acknowledge power and greatness.<div><br /><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1gbBrlAVm20" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>We are called to worship our creator, redeemer and sustainer...</div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-31555917015719023342011-09-10T23:59:00.000-05:002011-09-10T22:33:33.114-05:00Lost and Loss<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YundVLiCi_w/Tmwk-i7DJrI/AAAAAAAADJ0/_lffLGADZnU/s1600/014.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YundVLiCi_w/Tmwk-i7DJrI/AAAAAAAADJ0/_lffLGADZnU/s400/014.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650932289388095154" /></a>Lower Manhattan, 1972 or 1973, either spring or fall, cloudy windy day--that is why there is hardly any contrast--it would have had to have been conjured up in the dark room. From the ferry out to the island in New York harbor where the Statue of Liberty stands.<div><br /></div><div>I was a New Yorker, born a New Yorker, might still be a New Yorker, and at bottom I have to say that they did attack my city--I don't think it would have as deep a resonance if it was LA. I watched these towers go up, and the terrorists mugged them in front of the whole world.</div><div><br /></div><div>It certainly didn't help that my personal world would go all to hell in about 50 days after this event...</div><div><br /></div><div>So much loss from 2000 to 2008, so much hurt, so much stress, so hard in so many ways...</div><div><br /></div><div>Have I processed it all? Not sure. Have I taken care of all the sequelae? Not by a long shot.</div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-52907248133060235052011-09-10T22:39:00.001-05:002011-09-10T22:40:52.164-05:00KindnessOpen up the skies of mercy and rain down the cleansing flood...<div><br /><iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SidOp4dmj6k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /></div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-21378707153971888202011-09-10T22:31:00.000-05:002011-09-10T22:32:35.178-05:00Take Heart<div>Appropriate, I think...</div><div><br /></div><iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8MfBQ30Ta9w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-84074424154086260632011-09-06T22:54:00.002-05:002011-09-06T22:59:49.054-05:00Holiness Unto The LordI was considering the symbol of the Church of the Nazarene--it has the words, "Holiness unto the Lord " on it. This is still something I take pretty seriously, to live holy, like Jesus. <div><br /></div><div>This hymn is pretty much the denominational hymn for the Nazarene church:</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Holiness Unto The Lord</i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; background-color: rgb(213, 214, 215); "><p style="font-size: 1.05em; ">Lyrics and Music: Leila N. Morris</p><p style="font-size: 1.05em; padding-left: 30px; ">“Called unto holiness,” church of our God,<br />Purchase of Jesus, redeemed by His blood;<br />Called from the world and its idols to flee,<br />Called from the bondage of sin to be free.</p><p style="font-size: 1.05em; padding-left: 30px; ">Refrain:<br />“Holiness unto the Lord” is our watchword and song.<br />“Holiness unto the Lord” as we’re marching along.<br />Sing it, shout it, loud and long,<br />“Holiness unto the Lord,” now and forever.</p><p style="font-size: 1.05em; padding-left: 30px; ">“Called unto holiness,” children of light,<br />Walking with Jesus in garments of white;<br />Raiment unsullied, nor tarnished with sin;<br />God’s Holy Spirit abiding within.</p><p style="font-size: 1.05em; padding-left: 30px; ">“Called unto holiness,” praise His dear Name!<br />This blessed secret to faith now made plain:<br />Not our own righteousness, but Christ within,<br />Living, and reigning, and saving from sin.</p><p style="font-size: 1.05em; padding-left: 30px; ">“Called unto holiness,” bride of the Lamb,<br />Waiting the Bridegroom’s returning again!<br />Lift up your heads, for the day draweth near<br />When in His beauty the King shall appear.</p></span></div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-61989638579105641442011-08-09T19:38:00.003-05:002011-08-09T19:43:39.980-05:00Family Rules<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fglnGcqL37s/TkHTJ9awzBI/AAAAAAAADEg/x00CSeK_Y3M/s1600/001.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fglnGcqL37s/TkHTJ9awzBI/AAAAAAAADEg/x00CSeK_Y3M/s400/001.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639020376503667730" /></a>We could do worse than to follow these rules at church. Maybe signs like this in the narthex, visible just as you enter? <div>
<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span class="woj">“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.</span> <span class="woj">By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Jesus to the disciples as recorded in John 13:34-35 NIV</span></span></div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-11606228817913202322011-08-08T19:52:00.001-05:002011-08-08T19:54:19.307-05:00A Little Scared...Struggling a little not to be really fearful about the future of things...both personally and for my country, state, city....The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-82839371936845882652011-08-02T20:25:00.003-05:002011-08-02T20:28:57.542-05:00After the Battle<div><br /></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-taxqVcOIkpI/Tjiju9ix-RI/AAAAAAAADDg/IcOuuL1Vcrk/s1600/HamburgerHill-Illustration2.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 308px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-taxqVcOIkpI/Tjiju9ix-RI/AAAAAAAADDg/IcOuuL1Vcrk/s400/HamburgerHill-Illustration2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636434960843929874" /></a>A moment of rest, after hard earned victory. Note however, that the weapon is not far away.<div><br /></div><div>Image is a snip from a video--I google searched battles on hills and found that "Hamburger Hill" gave some appropriate results!</div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4007334843675567137.post-2704994076907423582011-08-02T19:12:00.003-05:002011-08-02T20:11:56.549-05:00Random Rumblings of a Low and Restless Heart and Mind<div style="text-align: left;">Well, let's see how far this gets because I am having key board trouble again. I have the rubber keyboard stretched out to my right and I hit keys as I need them, like a keyboard player.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mood: Low. For sure. </div><div><br /></div><div>First, too damn hot! Crap hot! Way too fucking hot (Pat, I'd like to buy an h). The electric company visited me and the neighbor. They allowed as they wouldn't turn anyone off during the awful heat. I paid my bill ($242 through August 1), but I don't know about them. I think their gas is still off.</div><div><br /></div><div>Second, employment and taxes. I don't know which is worse. I think taxes. While job apps are intimidating, tax crap is worse. I need help and everyone offers phone numbers. No one seems to want to introduce personally anymore. I hate the pone for this! Remember when the EAP person had to call Kaiser for me that first time to contact a psychiatrist for me? This is the same thing--shame and humiliation for needing the help, fear of being rejected, or worse, used and taken advantage of and ending up getting taken, both by the helper and IRS/DOR.</div><div><br /></div><div>I forgot to mention: Missouri has tied the nursing license to tax debt. So I can't even job hunt in Mo. Topeka has not been heard from since I sent the full document to them back in May so I have no idea what is going on there. I have no idea how to job hunt for a non-nursing job. </div><div><br /></div><div>I don't need a lot of money or hours. I've broke down my basic expenses six ways to sunday and I can tell you that if I make $120-$150 a week I can support myself. I wouldn't be able to save much of anything, but I could leave my savings alone for a little while.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thirdly, getting very pessimistic about our country and world. Sin every where--just too much. If you think it happens somewhere else it happens every where. Right here in KC--some kittens had to be rescued from some kids who were killing animals. Beyond rescuing two cute kittens, the neighbors were too afraid to do more. I swear, people who are "nice" are going to end up having to take up violent opposition to those who are not nice, who are evil. We will have to defend the weak and helpless, not with words, not with bread but with guns. Is it OK to stand up to evil with strength of that nature? Does God honor that?</div><div><br /></div><div>I think our standard of living will go down. Oh, I forgot about this, but Rush went on the most interesting rant today. He said that our "standard of living" was all built on debt. Our poverty, which looks like no other country's poverty is all an illusion, built on debt. People really couldn't afford how they were living. All those McMansions out there in southern Overland Park and Leawood--can you really afford that? It is amazing how you can use credit to build a house of cards--and one hiccup can cause the thing to fall. One thing I can say about all my junk: It's all mine. Car, house, crap, cats: I own it all outright. (Except for Jeff City's lien...)</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, back to the big world again. The coursing of our culture. It's funny to go home to Vermont and see all the White kids running around with baggy pants and straight brims on their ball caps. It vies with the A and F crowd, with the tight caps with bent brims, tight pants or baggy cargos. Women wearing tight shirts that show every roll, and skirts/shorts that are far too short and neck lines that dip far too low. And tattoos--every where, including the ubiquitous "tramp stamp' which may now be so ubiquitous that it is no longer trampy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Worse than everyone's dress is everyone's self centered tendencies--the entitlement culture and the center of the universe culture. On Drudge there was a link about how a lady is being charged with assault because she tapped a guy on the shoulder in order to get his attention so she could speak to him about texting in a movie theater. He whines and says he hurt his neck--she says he whipped around so hard and fast that his reaction is what injured him! Stupid!</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, this has been good, to get this out. I know that I am going to have to confront the tax demon--I just need to confront my reluctance to ask for help first. I need someone willing to do a little hand holding. Once I start building some kind of relationship I am OK. The action point is closer now then it was when I started writing this drivel. Now, my job is to keep pushing it and pushing it until it results in action, and at least to hold the point, hold the ground that has been won with hard work and fighting.</div><div><br /></div><div>This hill is mine, I earned it, me and God, and we are not giving it up without a fight!!!</div><div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6TlID4vcj1I/TjifrL0DffI/AAAAAAAADDY/u2dFfnuOsPA/s1600/HamburgerHill-Illustration.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 275px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6TlID4vcj1I/TjifrL0DffI/AAAAAAAADDY/u2dFfnuOsPA/s400/HamburgerHill-Illustration.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636430497908489714" /></a>Photo is from the movie about the Vietnam battle over Hill 937 in 1969--one of the bloodiest battles in the Vietnam war.</div>The Observerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696168395133075354noreply@blogger.com0