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On my Facebook page, I came across an audio file posted by one of my friends. It is pretty disturbing, to me, at least.
Know Your Candidate!
It’s an “on the street” kind of interview with voters in Harlem who state they are voting for Barack Obama. The disturbing part came when the reporters asked which Obama policies they agreed with – and then gave them McCain policies to choose from. None of the people in the interview said “Whoa, those aren’t Obama policies!”
Naturally, I KNOW that this audio file is comprised of carefully selected responses, and I KNOW that someone else could do the same thing with McCain supporters / policies. That’s not the point.
The point, for me is, that there are voters out there, supporting someone, without having A CLUE as to WHY. They are supporting a name, an idea, a race (black OR white.)
People, please. Educate yourselves before you pull that lever on Election Day Tuesday. Know WHY you are voting for the person you choose – don’t do it just because someone else says so, because you THINK you know the candidate’s politics, or because you get warm fuzzies when you listen to him…or because another one simply makes you angry.
Don’t listen to the pundits, listen to the candidates themselves.
Voting Booth Photo courtesy of thepodger, via Flickr / Creative Commons.
- Bruce is getting old.
- Halle is beautiful.
- This movie was better than I expected. A lot of people online think it was lame. I disagree.
- I would have preferred less bad language and less icky sexual references.
- I don’t understand the belladonna stuff, but hey.
- Films don’t have to make sense for me to like them. Hey, I love 24, don’t I?
That’s all you need to know, but there is a little more.
SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER: Do not read if you haven’t seen it and want to be surprised
As a devoted fan of Agatha Christie, who totally loves The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, I really should be ashamed of myself for being taken off guard by the twist. But I was. And I liked it that none of my guesses were correct, with the exception of one – I didn’t think Bruce did it. That was too obvious. I know Columbo would never have been tricked, he would have known before the movie even started, but hey. I may have a rumpled raincoat, but I never claimed to be Columbo.
A guest speaker visited our church yesterday. He had a word or two to share with our group. One of the profound items he shared was to not despise the things that are small and seem weak, because that is where God my show His glory to the strong…or something like that..forgive my clumsy paraphrase.
It was in the context of wanting “big” blessings – big revivals, I suppose…big ministries, big buildings.
I liked that. I’ve long been frustrated by the modern Christian church’s obsession with BIG – big congregations, big church compounds, big programs, big, big, big.
Last week I visited a church that was fairly new. And it was big. Inside was very elegant, very pretty. Directional signs were needed to find the classrooms, the cafe (…cafe?), the pastor’s study. Fancy auditorium style seating – was this a church or a theater?
Yet when Jesus walked the earth, ministering in a much bigger way than any megachurch in America can, He had no place to lay His head.
- Matthew 8:20 – Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
I’m not against church buildings, of course. I guess it just bothers me to see so much money spent on a building when the Lord wants us feeding hungry and offering hope for the hurting.
My friend Marsha shared a touching story on her blog. She had suffered some financial hardships and was forced to move to a “less than desirable” neighborhood. Yet on Halloween when a hungry looking teenage girl toting a baby and a dirty pillow case knocked on her door and said “Trick or Treat,” Marsha filled her sack with candy – and food from her cupboards. I told Marsha that I believed that God placed her there, not to punish her for some wrong doing, but because He knew that she would be able to minister to His people in love and compassion.
Tim Schultz, our guest speaker, mentioned that the current worldy system consists of 5 P’s:
The Passionate Pursuit of Power, Possessions, and Pleasure. (I’d like to add Prestige to that list.)
This is evident in the health/wealth or “name it & claim it” trend of Christianity. I don’t want to call it a gospel, because it’s not a gospel – it’s a deception, leading Christians away from what the gospel is really all about.
The rich preachers living in 10,000 square foot houses…gigantic church buildings that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions….while all over the world, people are living without homes at all.
I don’t know where to draw the line between reasonable and excess…but I do have issues with Christian teachers living lavish lifestyles – living like a secular Hollywood movie star or some other secular millionaire. Sure, these people “give” to charity – so does Donald Trump and Bill Gates.
I believe, and I’m willing to be wrong about this, but my belief is that when God blesses a believer with wealth, He expects that wealth to be used to further the kingdom. I’m not so sure that God wants his children to hoard all that wealth for themselves…why would He tell the rich young man to give all he had to the poor?
- Luke 12:48 – From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
The Lord praised the widow, who had little to give, and who gave what little she had. The Lord said that it’s harder for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter heaven. He told the rich young man to sell all he had and give it to the poor. The rich young man left sad, because he was very wealthy.
He was caught up in the passionate pursuit of power, possessions, and pleasure…ya think? Sounds like the modern Christian church – only they call it “ministry.”
Who are they ministering to?
Worship photo courtesy of Flickmor, homeless photo courtesy of ShootsNikon, via Flickr/Creative Commons Licensing Agreement.
NOTE: This post originally appeared on my MySpace blog in 2006. I liked it so much I decided to resurrect it.
I had a diary when I was about thirteen, which I wrote in fairly regularly, and I’d love to see it again, though I do remember some of the entries, and I know they’d make me squirm. I worked so hard to hide it from my mother that I lost it myself.
I found a fun diary online, that made me laugh and laugh and laugh…it brought back memories of being nine years old:
I remember one particular day in my young life was very very bad, and it started out horrible. I wrote:
“Today was a bad day. I knew it would be when I went to the bathroom and dropped the toilet paper, and unrolled all over.”[sic]
My, how easy life was for me. Now, I’d know it was a bad day if I dropped it in the toilet, and it was the last roll we had, and my hubby and kids were all banging on the door because they had to go. Now, THAT would
be a bad day.
Well, since I’m on a toilet paper kick (and somehow, I need to tie this in to my title that has something to do with politics), I just learnt a valuable tip from one of my buddies on the (now defunct) Coffee Sinners Thread on Crosswalk.com.
When you run out of coffee filters, according to Utilityfielder, you can use TOILET PAPER to line the basket. As he said “Paper is paper…”. 
And for added dietary benefit, Eutychus helpfully added that since the toilet paper dissolves in water, we can have lots of added fiber per cup. Who knew? As for me, well, I’ll just have a cuppa cowboy coffee, thank you.
What does this have to do with politics? Well, for me it’s not that much of a stretch; you use toilet paper for a dirty job (unless it’s for coffee, the nectar of the gods), and politics IS a dirty job (unless you are 24’s David Palmer, whom I not-so-secretly support for President, and his assassination a few “hours” nearly two years ago has me still in deep mourning and shock. I have a deep burning desire to go purchase All State insurance, simply because HE tells me to)
*shhh those voices in my head are messing up my concentration*
Ahhhem. Anyway, Politics. Today in the car on the way to school, we were listening to the radio, and of course had to hear an ad for some woman running for state senate. A former state senator was endorsing her, saying how wonderful she was. Some doctor claimed she helped fight cancer, diabetes, obesity, toothaches, and the chicken flu for twenty years.
Former Governor Tom Ridge shared that he picked this woman because she was, among other things, “intelligent” and “smart.”
And you sir, are redundant and sound like a buffoon.
But my daughter asked, after the commercial was over, the most important question of all:
“But does that lady put good things in food?”
Children everywhere, like mine, who suffer from having inept cooks for moms, want to know.
Dear Diary image courtesy of Incurable Hippie on Flickr, via Creative Commons licensing.
I’d still like to know why I was banned from the Christian communty of Crosswalk.com / Faith Community Network. I was never told why – even by the moderators who pretended to act like friends.
I just received notice one day from the administrator, that they were permanently banning me based on TOS (Terms of Service) #19. Which basically said they could ban someone for any reason or no reason at all.
The administrator has a long history with banning people he doesn’t like. There are many people who’ve been ousted without any reason given other than “in violation of TOS 19.”
I got into some heated discussions regarding homeschooling vs. teaching your child at home using a virtual charter school.
I got into some scuffles with a guy who posted really rude comments quite often. He would engage in personal attacks, and yet, he seemed to be a pet there. The moderators, who came down on others with an iron fist would turn a blind eye to his rudeness.
I did have a demon-pig avatar. Maybe that was why I was banned.
Anyway, I’m not denying that some people and I had words – but that’s the nature of forums. People disagree, people argue. When I asked why I was banned, I got no answer other than a cut and paste email of TOS 19. When I sent private emails to two moderators whom I considered my friends, just to find out what I did wrong, they ignored me.
But what I find really interesting is that some of the moderators are visiting my blog. Why? Why would they care?
Guilty conscience perhaps?
My advice to anyone getting involved in discussions on Crosswalk (or [b]any[/b] of the forums that are part of Faith Community Network) is to make sure you have private email addresses for your friends so you can contact them later on. One day you may attempt to log in and find yourself banned for being naughty and violating TOS 19, and you won’t get any answers from ANYONE. You also won’t be able to access your private messages or say goodbye to your friends.
Oh, be careful with your private messages on the forum; they are not private at all. The moderators and administrator like to read them.
I don’t have much time to hang out on forums these days, but when I do, I head over to Believer’s Coffee Cafe – which was started by another refugee banned from Crosswalk.
I’ve died and gone to music heaven. Finally, there is a place online to cater to my bizarre and eclectic music tastes, and I can find that there are other people who like Buck Owens, Grandpa Jones, Duke Ellington, Ronnie Milsap, AC/DC, Queen, Abba, and Peggy Lee.
Welcome to Blip.fm. The place for music lovers to meet, greet, and share what they love.
Blip.fm For Musicophiles Everywhere
While it’s unlikely that I’ll find another person who enjoys all of these, the fact that someone blipped Grandpa Jones and Buck Owens makes me feel less insane.
Not only do I get to create my own playlists, and grab songs from other playlists, but I can comment on the songs, just like a DJ.
Well, okay, maybe not JUST like DJ, but close enough for me!
I originally signed up to Blip with the call letters of the old radio station I used to obsess over, WLSP (Hit Kickin’ Country). I wrote about that and my obsession with the DJ’s here. Cool side note: I recently “met up” with one of those DJ’s online and had a grand time shooting emails back & forth, asking “Remember this?” and “Remember that?”
Blip with me here! Start your own “station” and let’s swap songs!
Highland Mystique: A Suspenseful and Romantic Scottish Adventure
Highland Mystique is probably one of the best suspense / romance novels with a
Christian perspective that I’ve read in a long time. While I enjoy reading some Christian romantic fiction, after a while you see the blueprint for the novels tends to be the same; the characters are often one-dimensional caricatures with very little resemblance to real people with real desires and weaknesses as well as strengths. Not so with Highland Mystique.
In this Christian romance, you find a hero and a heroine with real emotions and a strong desire for one another, with an equally strong desire to honor their faith and each other. They are intelligent, strong, and courageous; not the least bit boring or unrealistically perfect.
Missy’s story begins when she leaves her home town and heads to Scotland, trying to find the answer to an enigmatic vision. Once there, she finds herself captured in a dangerous adventure that could be the death of her.
Will the handsome, mysterious artist she falls in love with be able rescue her from the life-threatening danger she never expected?
I had the honor of reading Highland Mystique when it was still in its early stages, before it was published. I stayed up all night long reading it; I could not put it down. It actually reminded me a lot of the Victoria Holt mysteries I have loved for years – with a modern setting and more distinct Christian point of view.
What truly sets this Christian romance apart from others is that the characters are real people whom you can relate to…they have real passions, desires, and temptations; their struggles are real without being sinful.
The author, Debra Thomsen, lives in northeast PA with her husband and three children. Debra is not only a talented writer and terrific mom; she is also one of my long-time friends and I’m excited to review her book on my blog!
Order Highland Mystique (great Christmas idea!!!) directly from the publisher here (paperback or ebook versions available.) It is also available from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.
