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| Convicted:
"The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor those who explain prayer; but I mean those who actually take the time to pray. They have not time. It must be taken from something else. That something else is important, very important and pressing, but still, less important and pressing than prayer. There are people who put prayer first, and group the other items in life's schedule around and after prayer."
- S.D. Gordon, Quiet Talks on Prayer | | |
| Seeking prayer partners for short-term missions trip! Cambodia!
Two levels of commitment:
If you want "the" letter, send me email or leave a message.
If you're willing to pray for me DAILY while i'm overseas, send me email, call, or leave a message. Praying while we prepare would be awesome sauce as well.
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| For what it's worth, i was thinking as early as late last week that i'd have more respect for the Presidential candidate(s) who chose to put off campaigning to contribute to the work of Congress to decide what (if any) action should be taken to address the current financial turmoil.
It seems sort of odd to me that the American electoral process gives elected officials a free pass from their sworn, elected duties to campaign for another office. What an odd set of priorities... that someone can shirk their current responsibilities to explain why he or she would make an excellent leader when given more responsibility?
This isn't helped by the relentless expansion of the campaign season. The non-incumbent party started campaigning nearly two years before the general election this November. By comparison, other modern Western democracies, like America Junior to the north, have elections that typically span 2 months. (their constitutional minimum is 36 days).
Of course, they also get crazy voter turnout through such innovations as slates of candidates and general election by mail ballot.
"'You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'" - Matthew 25:21b
I don't mean this to make it sound like i'm favoring one side or the other based on their response to this issue. These were my musings before the candidates took their sides on this issue and turned it into a campaign topic. | | |
| TeacherDude: <waves>
scrappykid: What are you guys still doing here?
TD: [My wife] is still in choir practice.
TeacherDude's Sis-in-law: Taking them long enough.
scrappykid: Seriously? They'd better sound amazing next week.
TDS-i-l: Aren't you supposed to be with them, too?
scrappykid: I did choir... once! Man, a guy just can't shake a rep.
TD: Twice a month now.
TDS-i-l: That's why you don't do it!
scrappykid: I have lots of reason why i don't. <beat> That's one of them, though.
TDS-i-l: Why don't you sing in the choir? You're professionally-trained!
scrappykid: Last time i checked, a year of choir in high school does not make one professionally trained. What did you do in high school again?
TDS-i-l: Swimming!
scrappykid: Right, so, what are you doing with that?
TDS-i-l: Umm... nothing!
scrappykid: <smirk>
TDS-i-l: Well, I was teaching TD here how to swim better. <some jargon about kicking above the water>
TD: <miming some kind of swim-stroke>
scrappykid: Well, look, the guy doesn't float. It's hard to when you're all muscle.
TD: <nodding>
I miss having TeacherDude's sister-in-law around.
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| So much good blogging going on lately. Good job, folks!
So North Korea has been on my mind lately for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was a short-term trip that i was praying for over the summer. (Not to North Korea, mind you, but just over the border in China)
Tonight, Talk of the Nation was interviewing Jerry Guo, the Yale student who wrote "My Excellent North Korean Adventure" (obviously 10x more awesome for the Bill and Ted reference). I'm fascinated by the extremely closed societies with which the West has severely deteriorated relations. It's interesting how they tend to be built around a cult of personality, a larger-than-life figurehead who is able to hold together countries that should be disintegrating at the seams.
Anyway, Guo's portrait of Pyongyang and what he saw first-hand was interesting... not for the privation and suffering that is going on there (though i don't doubt that there is), but for how "normal" some of the things he saw were... and how ludicrous some of the the Eastern ideas of self-criticism and denunciation seem to this very biased Western set of eyes... but the fact that they keep coming up, particularly in Communist regimes (with the possible exception of Cuba?), indicates that they resonate really strongly with that particular worldview?
I guess i'm not so much horrified, terrified, or disgusted with Communism as i am mystified by it. What about this seemed like a good idea? That's why when my cabin chose to call themselves "Cabin Communism" one year, i thought it was a bemusing, ironic name, and was really bemused that it evoked such a strong reaction from the camp staff.
Then again, i probably would've had something to say about calling themselves Cabin Darwin, or Cabin Evolution. Not that i think either of those figures/ideas/symbols are remotely as explicitly anti-Christian as Communism generally has been.
Bah. We all know that these regimes are ultimately totalitarian autocracies, and use Communism as mere window dressing... but it IS interesting that they tend to be far more repressive and far more enduring than the petty presidents, generals, and prime ministers in democractically-dressed dictatorships
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