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| Well, another holiday and semester milestone bites the dust...and I'm not sure that I feel as completely rested as I'd hoped. Sure, I didn't do much of anything, but that's kinda the point. I need to have a fine balance of rest and work in a vacation, or I feel like a bum. I know, that's totally unstable. And thinking of balance, I took another quiz, and this one shows just how balanced I am--even politically.  I always knew I was a moderate, but this smacks me in the face. I'm only on the edge of being a "centrist" and have moved into the realm of "totalitarian." Geesh, I'm not even sure what that label means. I just know it says I have a well-developed sense of right and wrong (which is totally correct), as well as sense of economic fairness (which I s'pose is true, too). Oh, and on one of the charts not shown below in which people's faces are plastered all over the chart in the area where they would be idealogically located, I'm smack dab on top of Pope John Paul II and fortunately very far away from the Unabomber. Hmmm. Reason #26 to become a Catholic and not an anarchist killer. Not big on labels, though, but now it gives me something to look up and debate (at least internally). Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving break! Higher permissiveness, on either axis, indicates a "live and let live" philosophy. Of course, we're almost conditioned in America, "Land of the Free", to think positively of such a philosophy. But practically speaking, permissiviness (or its opposite, regulation) can create any number of outcomes:
For example, on the economic axis, a highly permissive system, like the American system of the early 1900s, might mean things like low taxes and increased scientific innovation. It might also result, as it did back then, in unrestricted child labor and millions of poor people with black lung.
At the other end of the economic spectrum, a highly regulated system might conserve the environment, establish national health care, and eliminate poverty. But as we've learned from the Soviet system, extreme regulation can also lead to stagnation, sameness, and unhappiness. | | |
| Merry Christmas, everyone!  OK, so I'm a few days late, but I have a good excuse. My family and I (mom, dad, bro, sis-in-law, 3 kids) all headed to Nashville--just after we opened Christmas presents--for a week away at a great resort here near the old Grand Old Opry. It's been great, despite any concern I had about it's iffy-ness. My imagination created various familial (or at least fraternal) disasters that could take place with everyone together, all in one place, especially in a place not only dominated by country music but something worse: an area full of people who love country music...but none of those things have actually happened, and it's been very relaxing. We head out on Friday, just in time to ring in the New Year later that weekend in good ol' Greenville.
My nephew, Andy, got me excited about ice cream the other day, so I thought I would pass along this nice survey and its results. Of course, I'm sure it's not much of a surprise to anyone who knows me. :) I hope you have a happy and safe New Year's weekend, and I look forward to catching up with you over the next few weeks!
| You Are Chocolate Chip Ice Cream |  You are kind, popular, and generous.You tend to be successful at anything you try.A social butterfly, you are great at entertaining a crowd.You are most compatible with strawberry ice cream. |
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| Wow, it's been ages since I've written. Hope that all has been well with you. Things couldn't be crazier right now for me (emotionally, spiritually, intellectually), so I'm struggling with that a little bit...struggling mainly with the guilt of thinking that if I were truly where I needed to be with God, then the circumstances of life wouldn't be getting to me so much. Then I realize that's a bunch of bunk, and things happen to good and to evil people and if nothing else, I have the Hope and a sense of Purpose for everything. Thus, it could be equally true that it's because I'm where I need to be that I'm feeling the stress and strain of life.
I guess I've heard that somewhere before...maybe Matthew 5:44-45: "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
It's just fun to think through the "already but not yet" side of faith...the fact that I'm simultaneously a saint and a sinner...the way my motives can be wretched and holy at the same time...Can't explain it, but I live in that reality and praise God for walking with me through this. 
You are Romans.
Which book of the Bible are you?
brought to you by Quizilla | | |
| I suppose it's fitting that my first entry in almost a month be some thoughts about that which is on many people's minds...Hurricane Katrina. A concept that will always get me thinking (and reacting) is the sanctity of human life, and the dignity that comes with being beloved creations/children of God. It seems that we've been in want of the latter this past week. There is nothing dignified about the conditions families are in right now--or worse yet, single, elderly, sick people who are stranded on roofs and in the streets and left to die. Unfortunately, more press coverage goes to the hurting inside the shelters...but the tough decisions to tip the resources scale to those in the most grave danger are being made and being made well.
The concept of triage is nothing short of amazing to me: when not everyone can live, how do we (fallen people) choose who will live and who will die? I suppose we could take a more providential/predestination approach that says God is ultimately "in control" in this situation and has already made (or already known) these choices, but that hardly makes easier or more comforting the split-second decision of sifting through the thousands of people who need unlimited help in a situation with limited resources. Who among these people are fatally wounded, who are hurt but will live, and who are in danger of dying? I can't help but think that I would have a very difficult time making these decisions. I mean, if it takes me 15 minutes and a lot of pain to choose which movie or restaurant I'll be going to--in order to make everyone in the group happy--then it would definitely take an act of God to help me make these life-and-death decisions a thousand times a day.
The way I choose to look at it is that triage is not a way to determine who will die; rather, it's a decision of who is able to receive treatment to live--so that the most people possible can live. Anything other than quantity seems like we're moving into territory that is not ours to inhabit: a judgment as to who is more worthy to be saved or valuable to society. This is morality moved from the theoretical to the practical--and it's precisely why we need to think about these things NOW...before we will be called on to do anything about it. To this end I will pray and trust that the Spirit will move: that all the workers and volunteers are doing everything that they can and making the best decisions possible to preserve life and to get as many people as much help as they possibly can. And they will do it in a way that preserves as much dignity as possible, whether the person in front of them appears dignified or unrefined.
And for those who view any of this as a sort of judgment on New Orleans or USA or anything else, I call to mind John 9:1-3. "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.'" These things are part of a fallen world, no doubt, but we can't think of it as an act of judgment before the fact; rather, this provides an opportunity after the fact: a chance for God to be made manifest and a time for God's people to show the love of Christ in a powerful and visible way. I actually take great joy in wondering how and then seeing how God will be glorified and how God's grace will be demonstrated over and over and over as we--God's people, both followers of Christ and those who do not know him--come together and make God's love for us real. | | |
| I hope everyone's been well...and that you're prepared to have your summer be completely OVER in a matter of days. :) I don't know how it happens, but it just flies faster and faster every year.
I don't have entirely too much to say this time around, so I'll catch you up on my life and tell you something cool I found out this week. My parents came down for a visit last week, and we had a blast. We didn't do too much, which is probably why it was a blast. :) I still went to work during the day (because housing never ends) and then would come home to a cleaner apartment where laundry had been done, beds had been made, kitchens had been cleaned, and the list goes on. I promise that I did not make or ask them to do it. :) They just love me, that's all, and they choose to show it through very visible means. :)
This week, then, was back to full-time work with several late nights. This work is different because, though it won't always be complete, there are places I can STOP because I've finished everything I can. The struggle with the new housing/res life/oversee student activities job is that (1) there's no way I can make everyone happy, and (2) I will have something other than positive interactions with students. Now, I'm not too naive to think that everyone likes me--don't get me wrong. But before, I could hang out with people and my JOB was to make them happy. In housing, there will be some people that automatically hate me whom I've never met, and who will never know that I actually care about them and their situation. That's a stressor, to say the least. But through this seemingly simple thing, God is helping me move to a place where I "seek the approval of God over the approval of man," and that's exactly where I need to be. I can't control how people perceive me, nor can I be responsible for anyone's actions but my own...so I need to BE ME and (while I would do my best to "remain at peace with my fellow brothers and sisters,") know that I am being obedient to the Spirit. The rest really doesn't matter.
At any rate, I'm off to bed...but here are a few cool things for you:
- You can Google for free on your mobile phone. Just send a text message to "googl" (46645) and they'll send you back a response (great for driving directions, movie times, phone numbers, weather, dictionary, etc.) All it costs is the cost of a text message. You can check out the online demo HERE.
- Can't get enough church signs from around town? Here are few HUNDRED pictures of hilarious signs...and an option to create your own!
- You can test your typing skills here...but don't be deceived. It starts easy and then gets incredibly difficult. :)
- Here's a great Face Manipulator in real time. It's amazing what you can do with this thing!
Take care, friends...and may the peace of Christ be with you! | | |
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