Genesis 3:8-Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Question: Does God still stroll around on earth in the cool of the day, wondering where his creation is hiding?

This morning I couldn't get the picture out of my mind of God walking around, enjoying his creation, calling out to man "Where are you?"

What a fascinating picture (to me)...

Labels: Gardens, God

I knew this already, but it's good (by good I mean very sobering) to be reminded that being a CEO or a stock broker on Wall Street can pay a fairly significant (by significant I mean more than the GDP of many third world countries) amount of money. How much you ask? Read below.

In findings that could surely be matched in the United States, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives reported in January that the country's 100 highest-paid business executives had, by 9:46 a.m. on Jan. 2, earned an amount equal to what the average Canadian would earn in all of 2007. And The New York Times reported in December that Wall Street bonuses for 2006 were so large that one real estate broker complained at New York City's shortage of $20 million properties and a Greenwich, Conn., Ferrari dealer complained that Ferrari hadn't manufactured enough 599 GTB Fioranos (price: about $250,000) to fill his customers' orders. [Standard-Freeholder (Cornwall, Ontario), 1-2-07] [New York Times, 12-25-06]

Labels: Job

A few thoughts to close the evening. Html is not as hard as it looks...it's amazing the tutorials one can find online. I've sincerely enjoyed this blogging thing, and thought I'd like to make my page more fun, so a template designer, some html lessons, and some good old fashion trial and error has come up with this. Thoughts, comments, or suggestions are all appreciated. Just hit the little number to leave a comment ;)

**Note to Mac users-1. I'm jealous. 2. The little pull tab won't work in Safari, so use firefox (you should be using firefox anyway). Don't ask me why, I'm doing the best I can...

Labels: new look, template

The title is totally stolen from a Shane Claiborne blog...let's get that out of the way right now. I am not a pacifist. At least, I don't think I am. At least, my limited understanding of the definition of pacifism, coupled with 26 years of hard core right wing christian conservatism (which is currently under assault by the Bible) once led me to believe I wasn't a pacifist. But in reading the story below (in it's entirety here), I was struck by one thought...should I be? Am I already? Please read...

...Cassim and I were walking to the post office, a walk I take several times a week. It's on the "other side of the tracks" in a neighborhood called Port Richmond, where lots of folks say they want to move to get out of Kensington, where we live. In fact, most locals call Kensington "the Badlands." But I always warn folks to be careful with that, lest they think "nothing good can come out of Kensington." After all, that's exactly what folks said about Nazareth, Jesus' neighborhood. God seems to have a special knack for showing up in the Badlands. After all, there are really good kids here, like Cassim. Cassim is one of the gentle kids, one I hope to never see lose his innocence and trust, or his heart grow hard. He likes cooking with us, gardening, getting beat at Othello - even cleaning the house or doing homework. I've always thought it funny and out-of-character that he is in a boxing club run by some Christians around the corner from us. Christian boxing ... hmm.

Cassim is 11 and his mom doesn't let him out a lot, so you can imagine that when we got jumped I was caught a little off-guard. We were walking down the narrow side street, and some teenaged guys started following behind. You could just feel the mischief brewing, and it grew from two young men to four and then eight, until there was a little mob of sorts. They started calling out some names, throwing rocks and sticks, trying to stir up trouble.

It's always hard on the spot like that to know exactly what Jesus would do. I told Cassim, "Let's go say hi." He looked at me skeptically. We turned back and walked towards them (knowing full well that if we had run we may have made it to the post office). "Hey, I'm Shane. And this is my friend Cassim. We live around the corner," I said with my hand out. They weren't really sure what to do with that. A couple of them shook my hand and introduced themselves. Others snickered. One or two refused the handshake. We said, "Nice to meet you guys," and headed on our walk.

With the wind taken out of their sail a bit, they regrouped, and then continued to build momentum towards a violent brawl. They ran after us, throwing some rocks and bottles, and I noticed two of them now carried a couple of broomsticks from the trash. We picked up the pace a bit, and then I looked at Cassim and said, "No, don't run." We turned back, and before we knew it, one of them clocked Cassim on the side of the head with a stick. I said firmly, "Why would you do that? We haven't done anything to hurt you." They laughed. Then they started hitting me with the broomstick until it broke over my back. At this point I decided to bust out a can of holy anger. I looked them in the eyes and said as forcefully as I could, "You are created in the image of God ... every single one of you. And you were made for something better than this. Cassim and I are followers of Jesus and we do not fight, but we will love you no matter what you do to us." That wasn't exactly what they expected or hoped for. They looked at each other, startled a bit ... for the first time, they were completely quiet. And then they scurried off in every direction.

I'll never forget what Cassim said afterwords. "Shane, why am I taking boxing lessons?" We laughed at the irony of it, having just experienced a prime chance to implement his mad skilz. I asked Cassim frankly what he thought would have happened if he had chosen to fight. "It would have been ugly," he said. "They might have been bloody and we probably would have been real bloody." No one would have left any nicer, that was for sure.

I asked Cassim if he thought Jesus was happy with how we acted. He thought about it, and then nodded with a smile. I told him that, honestly, I wasn't sure exactly what Jesus would have done if he were in our place … but there are two things I know Jesus would not have done. He would not have fought. And he would not have run. I told him Jesus may have thought of something else, or he may have done something weird to throw them off, as he often seems to do – like drawing in the dirt with his finger (or writing on the road with sidewalk chalk, "you are better than this"), or maybe pulling a coin out of a fish's mouth (or pulling a piece of candy out of a pigeon's mouth). But I think Jesus was happy with how we acted, and that we were good representatives – good witnesses – of Christ to them. Cassim agreed, and then we prayed for them together. And finally, as he was leaving, Cassim reminded me that each of those boys has to go to bed thinking about what they did that day, and so did we.

I'm not sure about those other boys, but Cassim and I both slept well that night … and woke up a little sore but happy the next morning. Hopefully Cassim's mom will let him come out of the house.

I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems. But they asked, and rightly so, what about Vietnam? They asked if our own nation wasn't using massive doses of violence to solve its problems. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today – my own government.

- Martin Luther King Jr., in " A Time to Break the Silence," delivered April 4, 1967 at Riverside Church, New York City.

Labels: Jesus, Love

Our house is so cold right now I can't feel my hands, but I can't type with gloves on. Problem...

Labels: cold

Sorry friends for the lack of posts...I've had the pleasure of being down in Tennessee the past few days taking in the beauty of Norris Lake (no, I didn't wakeboard) and checking out a house a friend was considering buying. The house checked out, the offer was made, and he is now the proud owner of a place on Norris Lake. That's pretty cool. In other news, I watched three movies with my wife this weekend. Very "stay at home, love on her, chill out" kind of Saturday/Sunday. The first two were of the documentary variety (we find ourselves enjoying the stories of real people quite a bit these days). "Born Into Brothels" was number one, and what a film it was. The general summary is a woman (photographer) moves to Calcutta to take pictures of life there, ends up living in the Red Light District with the prostitutes and starts documenting their lives (who hasn't done that at some point?) While stepping into their culture she meets the children of these prostitues who live in the brothels. They are mostly the sad by-product of the sex trade, born into a situation we cannot fathom. She decides hope is in fairly short supply, and the one thing she knows how to do with some proficiency is take photographs, so she decides to teach these kids how to take pictures. The result is amazing (watch the movie).

While watching these kids transform into accomplished photographers, documenting the unbelieveable realities taking place all around them, I kept coming back to one question...who was this woman who was sacrificing her life for these kids? She was barely on screen, almost always seemed to be dodging the camera, and was working herself to the bone day in and day out to secure ration cards, passports, schooling opportunities, etc. for these children. She was being Jesus, but I had no idea if she even cared about him. I'm still not sure if she does, though I did find that she earned a Master's degree in Theology and Religious Studies from Cambridge University (I guess they'd talk about Jesus). Regardless, it always amazes me how narrow my world view is, that I'd assume someone has to know Jesus to love on people that way. At the same time, I'm also amazed how often these types of people do know Jesus, and are drawn to living life out in the most practical examples of Christ's love I could ever imagine. I think a move to Mamelodi is imminent. Part 2 will come soon. Enjoy some of these kid's photographs...

Labels: Born into Brothels, Jesus, Love

Hey friends...I need to make a confession. I used to think I was creative. Then I spent some time looking at a street artist from London area named Banksy. I now realize I am not creative. Enjoy...

Labels: Banksy, cool graffiti

So I've discovered this conference taking place in Ontario, Canada (Eh) on March 24, 2007. The three speakers are all favorite thinkers of mine (Jim Wallis, Shane Claiborne, and Ron Sider). It's a one day deal, but we could make it more. The title is "The Evolving Church, Restoring Justice." What I REALLY like about it is it's put on by four friends who have had their lives transformed by the Gospel of Christ and are actively living it out in everyday ways (loving on people relentlessly, living in community, etc.) They wanted a way to share things they were learning with other people (so in other words, this isn't Willow...it's grass roots.) Click here for the site (it's actually really good.) Let's road trip up...I don't know how many people read this thing (if any), but I'm calling you all out. God is doing something in our community, and I'd love to interact with others who are being stirred in this way and get a shot of encouragement. Plus, road trips are very fun. I've emailed the guys to get more info..I'll pass it along when I get it. Consider it...the dumpster diving request was soundly ignored (except by Christine. Thanks!). I hope this isn't.
Peace.

Labels: christian influence, Justice

Dear Peyton,

Congratulations. Tonight you played in the AFC championship game, and you won. You overcame an 18 point deficit (and some early mistakes) to lead your team to victory, and get the opportunity to play in Miami for the World Championship (not exactly right, seeing as only the NFL is included in the competition, but oh well). Perhaps the best thing about this evening, Peyton, was watching you as you sat on the sideline, head bowed, unable to watch as your friend(?) Tom Brady drove down the field, looking like the hot, Super Bowl winning QB he is. We all knew it was over. We knew you were going to lose once again. Suddenly, when that interception was thrown, you leapt up from that bench and sprinted onto the field with a smile that vaguely resembled my brother Adam artifically inseminating his first sow (that's a big smile). What a feeling. Peyton, my prayer for you is this...You have one game left. It's the Super Bowl. Please win. Because if I have to watch another season of football and hear one more comment about your inability to win the big game, the proverbial "monkey" on your back, I will personally stop rooting for you. In fact, I will openly root against you. I don't want it to come to this, Peyton. You seem like a great guy. You're mildly funny in that Sprint commercial. Please win. For all our sakes.
-AP

Labels: Colts, Peyton Manning

Credit where credit is due...please read this from Rachel's blog...this set of stories will get her hired by NBC. Enjoy...

Wow. Really weird experience just happened. Ok, back up. I need to explain something. I hate MySpace. I think it's the most awful, weird, twisted commentary on how desperately we (collective we in the eternal sense) are aching for some kind of community and fellowship, no matter how shallow, selfish or sexual it is. That said, I have a MySpace page (J actually made it for me) so our Jr. High kids could message us, we could interact with them, etc. Anyway, I've maybe signed on 10 times. I always have that annoying moment of "Shit, what is my password" everytime I remember to check it. I digress. So I got a "friend" invitation tonight in email from a good friend of mine from high school (not the marine corp, see here for that story) who also used to live in Cincy (she was also my g-friend in third grade, till she broke up with me for Shane Dorsey.) So I logged on (after two failed attempts) and that's when the madness started. On her page I noticed a picture of a girl I went to high school with, but I hadn't seen since 1999 (when I graduated). Surprised, I clicked on her profile, and was blown away. All the sudden half of my high school friends were smiling at me (in those weird MySpace poses), people my world used to REVOLVE around (Would _ invite me over to his house after the game?) Suddenly I'm checking in on all these people, catching up on their lives, their loves, their pets, their careers. The whole time my mind just raced with a thousand memories of desperately caring what these people think of me, of nights sitting on the couch alone while literally EVERY couple around me was making out, and wondering if I'd ever be that cool. I saw a guy who used to rap in his living room, telling us he'd be big in the music industry (he now is a music director for Clear Channel and has an evening radio show on some national radio network. That's awesome!). A friend who didn't necessarily see herself as the brightest, but who is now teaching kids at the elementary school I used to attend. A clean cut guy who is now a self-proclaimed "high hippie" living communally with some people in Nashville. The country farm kid who now lives in the big city with (seemingly) a sweet job making (seemingly) big money. I would spend nights crying over these people. Did they like me? Was I cool enough? Was I ever going to date her? How much energy did I spent on these individuals? How much energy did they spend thinking the same things? Tonight gave me a shot of instant perspective on what our jr/sr kids battle everyday. And it's impossible to convince them that, truth be told, they will RARELY/NEVER see or think of those that rule their lives once they leave the confines of high school. Not that the scars won't be there. Mine certainly still are. But the memories seem to fade (somewhat). Till tonight on MySpace, when they all came back. Dam you MySpace.

Labels: high school, MySpace

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. NIV

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. NLT



Whew. Let that sink in a while. No commentary needed (James is a butt-kicker like that).

Labels: Bible

The following is an article that can be found in it's entirety at this site. It's a review of a video game based on the Left Behind Series. Check out how he describes the game. This review is from someone who does not claim to be a evangelical christian. After reading this, I'm not sure I do either. How can Christ's message get this screwed up?

Imagine: you are a foot soldier in a paramilitary group whose purpose is to remake America as a Christian theocracy, and establish its worldly vision of the dominion of Christ over all aspects of life. You are issued high-tech military weaponry, and instructed to engage the infidel on the streets of New York City. You are on a mission - both a religious mission and a military mission -- to convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, and anyone who advocates the separation of church and state - especially moderate, mainstream Christians. Your mission is "to conduct physical and spiritual warfare"; all who resist must be taken out with extreme prejudice. You have never felt so powerful, so driven by a purpose: you are 13 years old.

This game immerses children in present-day New York City -- 500 square blocks, stretching from Wall Street to Chinatown, Greenwich Village, the United Nations headquarters, and Harlem. The game rewards children for how effectively they role play the killing of those who resist becoming a born again Christian. The game also offers players the opportunity to switch sides and fight for the army of the AntiChrist, releasing cloven-hoofed demons who feast on conservative Christians and their panicked proselytes (who taste a lot like Christian).

Is this paramilitary mission simulator for children anything other than prejudice and bigotry using religion as an organizing tool to get people in a violent frame of mind? The dialogue includes people saying, "Praise the Lord," as they blow infidels away.

To be fair, the website for the game says that the "main" weapons to be used in this battle are "prayer and the Word," but later it mentions (with an exclamation point) controlling "battle tanks." I don't remember those being mentioned as viable weapons in the Bible. I do remember the belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness. Oh well. I'm going to go vomit in my mouth now...

Labels: battle, christian influence, left behind

I've never said I'm a gifted musician. I really like to play guitar and piano, but that doesn't make me excellent at either one of them. My Grandma recently asked me to sing "a solo" at my grandfather's funeral, but I politely choose to speak instead. Still, (especially in college), I enjoyed sitting down with the guitar and a journal and saying hi to God. That was until I found this. This is the love poem generator, but guess what...you can create KICK ASS worship songs with it. Seriously, I feel like Michael W. Smith (is he still singing?) with this thing. Go ahead, try it out. Enter something like "Jesus" or "My Lord" into the Love portion. Then get creative on the gift portion. I entered "heart." And out shoots something (a song?) that (unfortunately) would pass on many a worship album today. Take a look at mine.

I wrote this letter especially for you
To prove that my love for you is true
Love is our connection
To you I dedicate all my affection

My Lord, you are unbelievably beautiful
When I am near you my heart goes like a raging bull
Words cannot express
What I felt when you said 'yes'

My Lord, you mean so much to me
I never knew this could be
I anxiously await our time ahead
With impatience, I am fed

I hope you can put this heart to use
It is a gift you cannot refuse
Until soon, when we meet again
I will please you in whatever way I can

I'm not sure what this says about my feelings for many contemporary worship songs, but I'd lean heavily towards a big "They Suck."

I'll leave you with this..."Friends are friends forever, If the Lord's the Lord of them. And a friend will not say never, 'cause the welcome will not end. Though it's hard to let you go, In the Father's hands we know...That a lifetime's not too long (dramatic pause) To live as friends."

Labels: love poem generator, music, worship music

I can't tell you exactly why, but I think this piece of graffiti is absolutely beautiful. It caught me off guard when I saw it. I'm thinking alot about this Kingdom concept, that God's Kingdom is alive and active here on earth right now, and that he's not so interested in our personal autonomy, our little kingdom we'd so gladly like him to fit into. I think I think (catch that?) the gospel of Jesus is difficult. The whole of my christian life I've tried to reduce it into neat soundbites. It just doesn't work well in that context. It seems like a core piece of Jesus' message is the Kingdom is arriving...he says "The kingdom of God is at hand." Ok. So is it present tense? "The kingdom of God is within you." Really? Or could it be coming in the future, with the kingdom coming in the clouds at the end of time? We end up with lots of pre-, post-, -systematic, smarty pants thinking that basically serves to create divsion in the Body. But where's the Kingdom? And if I'm looking for the Kingdom, then can I really know the King? I'm reading this book right now called "The Beautiful Mess" by Rick McKinley. It's good. Here's a sampling:


It's interesting to me that the Jews of Jesus' day understood Kingdom language a lot better than me...they were actively looking for a King to arrive and deliver them from the crap oppression they had enjoyed for the last five hundred years or so. When Jesus arrives on the scene, he's talking Kingdom talk, and they all get excited. "Is he the one?" But he's not what we expected! He's not powerful. He's not talking about overthrowing the Romans! His cousin wears a loin cloth! So the Jews have been aniouxly awaiting this Kingdom's arrival, and it blew right by a whole lot of them.

To make Kingdom matters even more interesting...anybody notice Jesus leads with "Repent..." So in turning around, in going the opposite direction, in saying "Hey, I thought my little kingdom was true, but I think I might be wrong" am I laying down the reign of my Kingdom and submitting to God's Kingdom? Ahhh....repent. What a great word. Let's rest tonight on that. Comments welcome.
(PS-The piece of graffiti is beautiful, but I'm not sure if I'm even up for fighting the fighters...I think in the Kingdom my King says something about loving them too)

Labels: cool graffiti, Kingdom stuff

Let me remind you, if you wake up in the morning, it’s because Jack Bauer spared your life. When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer hates lemonade. Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin. Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer. Jack Bauer believes it’s not butter. Guns don’t kill people, Jack Bauer kills people.

I'm not good at detail stuff. I especially hate details that are really boring. Supply chain management sounds boring. I'm not even certain what it is. I just know it sounds boring. More boring than almost anything I can even comprehend. God bless supply chain managers. I know they get my shampoo to Target for me, and I appreciate that. Never the less, I would screw this job up so bad I might take Walmart down(not a bad idea...) Here is the first installment of "Worse Job On The Planet for AP." I'm going to explore all my ideas for re-occuring pieces on this blog, to guage audience response. Please post your suggestions to "A Solicitation for input" to give me insight on what you'd like to read about. As always...enjoy.

Worse Job On The Planet for Ap #1:
The Meijer Collaborative Planning, Forecast and Replenishment (CPFR) Analyst manages and analyzes the entire replenishment process for the Meijer account and is responsible for the CP shipment forecast (rolling 18 months) generation and management. This position will serve as the source of communication regarding all turn and promoted volume to Forecasting, Specialty Packaging, Customer Service and Supply Chain areas. The Meijer CPFR Analyst will utilize CP’s customer data tool (DME) to analyze promotional performance, new item execution and identify in-stock opportunities. The Meijer CPFR Analyst will operate within the Meijer replenishment group and utilize Meijer systems and processes in order to manage all CP inventory at Meijer DCs and stores to include: forecasting, receipt flow and planning, and promotional allocation to the stores. The CPFR Analyst establishes multi-level relationships with individuals in varied supply chain disciplines within Meijer as well as internally within the multi-functional selling team in order to ensure maximum effectiveness of forecasting and inventory management initiatives. The Meijer CPFR Analyst will utilize and analyze data from varied sources (Meijer POS data from DME, Meijer forecasting data and key internal Colgate information) to accurately forecast future demand. This position will serve as a liaison between the Multi-Functional Selling Team and Customer Service/Logistics to assure desired alignment, communication and drive flawless execution. The Meijer CPFR Analyst will also assist in identifying compliance opportunities within Meijer in order to promote overall supply chain efficiencies and have direct interface with the customer. Specific responsibilities include:

• Utilize/analyze Customer Data (via DME) to identify in-stock opportunities; analyze promotional performance and new item execution. Work within Meijer replenishment team and systems to implement improvements. Track progress through internal and external key performance indicators.
• Collaborate and negotiate on volume projections based upon sales calendar, new item introductions, in-stock objectives and presentation levels
• Successfully manage Colgate inventory at Meijer DCs and Stores to Meijer expectations through accurate store level forecasting and replenishment utilizing Meijer systems
• Utilize/validate Customer Data (POS and Meijer Forecast) in development of CP shipment forecast

• Responsibility for new product execution with store level in-stock reporting

• Monitor and track sell-through performance to provide information to supply chain and commercial team.

• Serve as liaison between MFST and Customer Service to assure strong execution of the order fulfillment process.

• Facilitate the development and implementation of customer continuous improvement initiatives; promoting innovation and win-win situations.

• Work with Customer Alliance Team to help to identify and evaluate service improvement and logistic efficiency opportunities with Target.

• Provide knowledge of best practices and CP Logistics capabilities a part of a cross-functional team.

As a newbie blogger I've decided to create a re-occuring piece my loyal readers (Read: Rachel) can look forward to with regularity. I've spent some time thinking about, and am having some difficulty coming up with, that (insert lots of cool adjectives here) thing that will bring people joy and/or give them pause. That's where you come in. I'm going to throw out some ideas. You're going to tell me if you like them. Or not. Or you're going to list your own ideas. And I'll tell you if I like them. Or not. Then I'll make a decision (because it's my blog) and we'll move forward from there like civilized human beings. Please note: Bible Verse of the Day, Quote of the Day, Puppy of the Day (Rachel), and Pin-up of the Day are not good ideas. They are, in fact, horrible ideas. And will be ignored. Drum roll please....

1. Wakeboarding Move of the Day-Title and description of various ways to hurt yourself while gliding on water at 23 mph on the Licking River

2. Credit Card Offer of the Day-A brief summation of one of the myriad of offers that hit our mailbox everyday. R and I get so many offers, I should probably do something with them.

3. Favorite Daily Blog Post from Someone Else's Blog-I have started reading several blogs (both real friends and virtual internet friends). I could post my favorite piece from someone else so your knowledge base would grow.

4.Worse Job for Me on the Planet-Being in the middle of a job search, I've been thinking about career stuff alot lately. My friend Stevie has the world's weirdest list of jobs he's held ever considering who he is. With that in mind, I've been considering, given my gifting, what the worst jobs on the planet would be for me. It could be very insightful. And finally...

5.Self Portrait of the Day- This is truth...I am the world's LEAST photogenic person. LEAST. No questions asked. My wife looks amazing in every snapshot we take. I, meanwhile, look like Quasimodo on a bad hair day. My wife says I need practice. She says I should practice taking pictures of myself so I learn how to smile for the camera. That seems vain. And stupid. But I'm getting desperate.

So please, post a comment and let me know what perks your interest. Or post an idea. If it's bad, I'll let you know :)

Labels: ' of the day, Help me, input

Ok, so this is genius (in a this is so weird it's awesome kind of genius). Some artist took his favorite quotes from Pat Robertson and created a bunch of coloring book pages out of them. He then sent them to his friends (who are also artists) and gave them artistic liberty to color at will. They did not stay within the lines. A sampling:

Labels: fun with crayons, Pat Robertson coloring book

So I'm not the biggest fan of grocery shopping. I'm often pressed for time, rarely do I even know what I need to get, and when I leave I generally feel like I've spent fifty bucks on three bottles of A1 and a bag of lettuce. So imagine my delight at this little piece I discovered about some believers (not mentioned in the piece) who think paying for groceries is silly when America is throwing away billions of dollars worth of perfectly good food everyday.


SOOOOOO here is the question (Stevie, pay attention)...who wants to go explore the dumpsters of the Oakley/Hyde Park area with me? Seriously! I can only imagine the delicacies being cast away from Hyde Park Kroger or Whole Foods down the street. Can you even imagine the delicious organic treats being tossed at Wild Oats? I'm really serious and excited about this, but I'd like at least one other person to go with me (moral support, to call Rachel if I get arrested, etc.). So who's in???? Come on, it'll be fun! And I'll cook the first meal in our home.

Hi banana. Welcome to my desk.

I am a fine communicator. I typically can speak clearly, with passion and purpose, and I enjoy all manners of writing. I actually studied (little known fact coming up) creative copywriting in college. Oh well. The execution of Saddam Hussein has really bothered me over the last week or so, and I haven't been able to quite articulate why. The following post (from a writer I am particularly fond of) encapsulated exactly how I was feeling. I had that Aha! moment, when my insides say "Yes yes,that's it!" Your thoughtful consideration of what he has to say is deeply appreciated...and your thoughts are also welcome.

Shane Claiborne: Communicating Through a Noose

"What do you think of that man?" the old guy asked in a raspy voice as I settled in next to him on the plane. He pointed to the face of Saddam Hussein on the front of his newspaper with a headline story of the looming execution. I gathered myself, and prepared for what could turn out to be a rather chatty plane ride. I replied gently, "I think that man needs some love." And the rather boisterous gentleman sat still, perhaps not exactly the response he predicted. Then he said pensively, "Hmmmm. I think you're right..." And finally, he whispered in a forlorn tone, "And it is hard to communicate love through a noose." (bold added for effect)

Sometimes we just need permission to say, "It's not okay to kill someone to show everyone how much we hate killing." As Christian artist Derek Webb sings, " Peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication. It's like saying murder is wrong and showing them by way of execution." I am encouraged by how many Christians I hear voicing an alternative to the myth of redemptive violence in light of the recent killing of Saddam, folks who love Jesus and have the unsettling feeling that Jesus loves evildoers so much he died for them, for us. I have heard many evangelicals who see Saddam's execution as the ultimate act of hopelessness and faithlessness – after all it is humanity stepping in to make the final judgment, that this human created in God's image is beyond redemption. And for those who believe in hell, executing someone who may not yet know of the love and grace of Christ is doubly offensive.

It is rather scandalous to think that we have a God who loves murderers and terrorists like Saul of Tarsus, Osama bin Laden, or Sadaam Hussein – but that is the "good news" isn't it? It's the old eye for an eye thing that gets us. But the more I've studied the Hebrew Scriptures the more I am convinced that this was just a boundary for people who lashed back. As the young exodus people are trying to discover a new way of living outside the empire, God made sure there were some boundaries, like if someone breaks your are, you cannot go back and break their arm and their leg. If someone kills hundreds of your people, you cannot kill 160,000 of theirs.

We've learned the eye for an eye thing all too well. A shock and awe bombing leads to a shock and awe beheading. A Pearl Harbor leads to a Hiroshima. A murder leads to an execution. A rude look leads to a cold shoulder. An eye for an eye we have indeed heard before and learned its logic all too well. But Jesus comes declaring in his State of the Union Sermon on the Mount address (Matthew 5): "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,'" but there is a another way. No wonder Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the people "did not know the things that make for peace."

Gandhi and King used to say, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth leaves the whole world blind" (and with dentures). The gospels tell the story of a group of people who have dragged forward an adulteress and are ready to stone her (this was the legal consequence). Jesus is asked for his support of this death penalty case. His response is this... "You are all adulterers. If you have looked at someone lustfully, you have committed adultery in your heart." And the people drop their stones and walk away with their heads bowed. We want to kill the murderers, and Jesus says to us: "You are all murderers. If you have called your neighbor 'Raca, Fool' you are guilty of murder in your heart." Again the stones drop. We are all murderers and adulterers and terrorists. And we are all precious.

When we have new eyes we can look into the faces of those we don't even like, and see the One we love. We can see God's image in everyone we encounter. As Henri Nouwen puts it: "In the face of the oppressed I recognize my own face and in the hands of the oppressor I recognize my own hands. Their flesh is my flesh, their blood is my blood, their pain is my pain, their smile is my smile." We are made of the same dust. We cry the same tears. No one is beyond redemption and no one is beyond repute. And that is when we are free to imagine a revolution that sets both the oppressed and the oppressors free. The world is starving for grace. And grace is hard to communicate with a noose.

This is Shane. Read his book, Irresistible Revolution. If you don't dig it, I'll buy it back from you. I think I've bought 7 copies so far...what's one more going to do.

Labels: Grace, Love, Saddam Hussein

So it's not like we don't know this already...somewhere, deep in the pit of our stomach where we don't like to look and sometimes pretend doesn't exist. The problem is, we do know this already. When I saw this map it was just a different way of telling me that I live in a place that CANNOT FATHOM what real poverty is. I fret about my $1,000 /mth mortgage payment. I praise myself for living "within my means." What a joke. This wealth map shows which territories have the greatest wealth when Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is compared using currency exchange rates. This indicates international purchasing power - what someone’s money would be worth if they wanted to spend it in another territory. For some their money will gain value when they move - others’ money will lose value. This facilitates the movement of some people, while severely limiting that of others. In other words, we can't even comprehend what our money means to us. Talk about a demonic force. Notice how bloated the US looks? Territory size shows the proportion of worldwide wealth. Just for fun, here's a map showing population, using the same size scale.

Mama USA lost a little weight, didn't she? The fascinating site I got this info from is Worldmapper. Play around on it. It will probably cause you to either 1. Get mad 2. Get sad 3. Feel overwhelmed. 4. Have peace? "But it seems so overwhelming?," you might say to yourself. And you'd be right...it is overwhelming. The peace part comes in here...I can't say that I totally get it, but there is a certain realization in my core that God provides some special stuff for people living in the real skinny part of the map that the bloated part just doesn't seem to get. Jesus says "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Thanks Jesus. But sometimes it doesn't feel like it. Until I remember my friends in SA, and the undescribable joy they seemed to radiate. Could it be? On a dollar a day? Their purchasing power would be exactly...zero. But true joy? My guess is if they worldmapped that, we'd barely be a sliver, and my friends in SA would be quite wide.

It's a good day for the blog. I checked my email around 11 this morning. I had one. It was from the Marine Corp. Here it is.

Hi Andrew,

United States Marines would like to be added to your MySpace friends list.

By accepting United States Marines as your friend, you will be able to send United States Marines personal messages, view United States Marines's photos and blog, and interact with each other's friends and network!


Click the following link to view United States Marines's profile and accept or reject this user as your friend:
http://www1.myspace.com/reloc.cfm?c=1&id=E2DC6610-BD1C-4ACD-81F2-FA1EB8794BDD


Now, I immediately had several thoughts flood my brain.

First...I wish I had the tape of the initial meeting when some corporal in the PR department at the Marines said "Eureka! Everyone knows we need to attract 18-30 year old males to come fight in this war and be all they can be. I know where to look...MySpace! We'll create a profile and ask them to accept us as their friend. Once we become friends we can ask them to enlist! It's fool proof!"

Second...This has got to be a joke.

Third...This isn't a joke.

Fourth...I've got to approve them! They could come hunt me down, stab me, etc.

So I approved them and visited their page.

You might find this little tidbit interesting...

United States Marines's Details
Status: Single
Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Let me disclaim this post (for Vac). I am in no way belittling the Marine Corp...I'm simply stunned that they have a MySpace page.

Enjoy.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&
friendid=124413513

Labels: MySpace, United States Marines, USMC

So I'm not ashamed to say it...I've recently discovered YouTube. Not like "I'm completely internet illiterate and never had any idea what YouTube was...", just "I'm gainfully unemployed right now and I have the time to explore a medium that is rapidly changing the way we as a society operate and what we decide is news." So, armed with 10 minutes before my shower I sat down to check my email and try to find a video of Griffin House playing a song I like that I heard was on YouTube. Anyone who has ever ventured into this creation playland can appreciate the mind numbing twists and turns three minutes on this site can produce. I somehow went from Griffin to a cat turning backflips to a Pearl Jam concert in Hawaii to this...God, Inc. Given my interest in God (Creator, Savior, Lover of Me, etc.) I decided to check it out. The premise is as follows: God has a corporate office in heaven, where people work executing various responsibilities people on earth believe God has. Examples include population control, disasters, publicity, animal development, etc. There are three episodes of this series, and while it's not the greatest thing I've ever seen, they're certainly entertaining. The second episode was particularly amusing and/or thought provoking. The question I found myself asking was "What do we classify/approve of as a miracle?" The miracles team is arguing over what submissions they've made in the last month, and whether they each contain a "hug moment." I found it revealing that the stuff they were discussing tends to be what's held up in our world today as obvious miracles. Do we have an idea what a miracle even looks like today? The dictionary says this:

mir·a·cle (plural mir·a·cles)
noun

Definition:

1. act of God: an event that appears to be contrary to the laws of nature and is regarded as an act of God

2. amazing event: an event or action that is amazing, extraordinary, or unexpected

Certainly curing a sickness, healing a blind man, or casting out a demon would qualify as an amazing event. Christ commonly performed these things while here on earth. He also gave authority to others to perform miracles in his name. In Matthew 10:1 he freely gives to his disciples..."He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness." But he also makes it clear in John that "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:9-14). What do we consider "even greater things?" Is coming to a place where I truly love my enemy and pray for him a miracle? Is God coming to earth in flesh to die a death intended for me so that I can live in relationship with him a miracle? Is freely receiving God's unconditional love for me a miracle? Seems so. Is a cat returning to its home in Maine after being left in Colorado four years earlier a miracle? Hmmmmm... Enjoy the episode...feel free to comment at will.

So I'm a guy. Guy's like electronics. I used to be WAY into electronics, until I realized how much money they cost. So now I enjoy admiring from a distance. Apple made admiration from a distance decidely more difficult this afternoon. iPhone...I am eagerly anticipating your arrival. As my friend Stevie put it..."Welcome, future. Make yourself at home."

No sporting event I've ever watched has left me more confused than the game I saw last night. There really isn't any insight I (or anyone else) has that might lead to a rational conclusion of how a perfectly good football team who has played in several high profile games this season against tough opponents could get obliterated by a team that barely won several games this season. I understand the SEC is a tough conference, but not THAT much better than any other conference. It appeared as if high school kids magically morphed into the OSU team and thought it'd be fun to play some football against Florida. Tressel appeared to forget how to coach (and I LOVE Tressel). I have no idea what happened. None. We got our ass kicked. Disappointing.

As I am mentally and physically preparing for the national championship tonight (read: devouring every article I can find on the game, getting my voice in game shape, letting God know where he should stand on this match), I would like to go on record say that my obsession with OSU is potentially unhealthy. Not in a Brett L. kind of way (Brett, I love you), but just in a recognition that this truly is only a sporting event . That said...

GO BUCKS! BEAT FLORIDA!


I will post extensive commentary following the completion of this game. Stay tuned.

I will give one whole dollar to the first person who posts to my comments where the name of this blog comes from. I will give you a hint...it is a place I have not visited. One whole dollar. You're like a fifth of the way to a Starbucks Carmel Machiato.

I just changed the title to Part One, b/c I now recognize that this is not a one post kind of blog. Enjoy.

I am not totally certain of what I am about to try and explain...it's a bit like a hazy idea that just won't let go of me. The question is this...why is it, as a younger(er), respectable, moderately intelligent, product of a solid Christ based marriage, committed follower of Christ am I drawn to the concept of a deliberately simple, perhaps even nomad-esqe life? More clearly articulated...why don't I want to be like everyone else my age? Namely, trading up in homes, career, cars, retirement accounts, media systems, etc... The part that really baffles me is in the very recent past (less than 2 years ago) I was exactly that person. And all of this is being asked with genuine love for all my friends who live in great houses, drive fast cars, and make six (or seven) figure incomes. I will tell a story. Stories work better. I went to Miami University with a guy named Donnie. Donnie is cool. Not like, "Hey, he's cool" but "That guy is freakin' unbelieveably cool." Donnie could have dated ANYONE at Miami. He choose not to. Donnie used to camp out on the lawn of the main administrative building, 'cause the grass was softer there. Anyway, Donnie graduated from Miami with a good degree. "It's time to start life now Donnie boy...buy your first BMW, go work at Proctor, meet a pretty girl and get married." Donnie said "No thanks life. I think things could be more interesting than that." And Donnie's life has been. He has yet to "work" anywhere, but he's traveled the world, rock climbing in Ibiza, Spain, entertaining people on his flybar (this ridiculous pogo stick on steroids) at the World Cup, raising money in Boston then hitching a ride to New Orleans THE DAY AFTER KATRINA to work in a shelter loving on people (sorry Bush, but my friend Donnie beat the government there. Embarassing). All the while Donnie has loved on people, kept this ratty soft cover Bible in his back pocket, and basically lived. Unencumbered. Free. For years. And while I realize I am romanticizing what has at times been an extremely faith laden journey for him, he is also the first to say that he would not trade a moment of the last several years. For anything. Donnie doesn't really have a home. No joke, he JUST got a cell phone a month ago (b/c all his friends were pissed when they tried to pick him up somewhere and he'd no show for 6 hours). A life lived simply. No credit cards. Car payments. Business deals to close. Emails to answer. Donnie spends a few hours a day in the Word...b/c he can. So anyway, why am I attracted to that? The answer might seem easy, but I'm not so sure it is. Life lived on faith (not credit) is not easy. Perhaps that's why so few of us live it. I try to, but somehow my car insurance premium always gets in the way (damn you Brian). I heard through a friend of mine about a lunch Donnie had with this lady (high powered christian conference running lady) who somehow met him and got interested in his life. Her quote after lunch was "I feel like I just had lunch with Jesus." No more thoughts for now...just questions. Enjoy some pics of Donnie living.

Fair readers (all 2 of you)...my time has been spent lately working on a new blog with a very special purpose. Please visit bachelorben.blogspot.com to see my handywork. If you have any contributions yourself please feel free to email me. I will return soon with wit and wisdom.