Cute story to start the day here…

I read a short story or two from the Bible each morning with my boys. It’s a blast. We’re still reading through Matthew at the moment. Just got to chapter ten. That was the story where Jesus selected twelve of his friends to go out and do the stuff he was doing, driving out demons and healing people.

As I was beginning to read the list of names, I think I said, “Hey, we just read the story of how Jesus asked one guy to follow him, remember? He wrote this book?”

And Alex (who is four, and quite good at putting things together) said, “Yeah! His name is Bo, right???”

I paused, not sure why he was asking that. I didn’t remember a Bo in the Bible, or anything that sounded like that…

Then I realized what he meant. 🙂

We had just finished reading the book of Acts, which was written by Luke… are you putting it together yet?

“Just the good ol’ boys… never meanin’ no harm…”

You gotta love that 80s TV influence we have inflicted upon our boys. 🙂

So, I told Alex, “Yeah! Good job, Alex! But, it wasn’t Bo… it was Luke who wrote the other book we were reading.”

And somehow, to Alex, that all made very much sense. 🙂

A bit later than anticipated, but as the saying goes, “Better late than never…” The new Apple consumer laptop is a 13.3″ widescreen computer featuring up to a 2.0 Ghz Intel Core Duo processor. Each ships with the built-in iSight camera for video conferences, iLife 06, FrontRow and remote. Fantastic computers, starting at $1099. I thought they would get them under $1000, but $1099 ain’t bad. And if you are patient, they’ll be selling refurbs for sure within 2 months. Those will be under $1000.

Check out the new MacBook

It’s official. The first of two books that I am hoping to publish this month is to the printer. I am going to do this one the same as last time. Print on demand. I will be getting 25 copies, will maybe order another 25 or so, but then all the rest I will sell via online stores, one at a time.

The other book, “There’s The Steeple… Here’s The Church” I plan to print the traditional way, making several hundred copies. That will make the book slightly cheaper, and I’ll be able to give it to people in person, when we’re on that subject.

So, just wanted to share the fun. Look for Rearview Mirror to be available online (or in my hands) by early June.

I have just watched the most appalling thing I have ever seen. That was not written for “shock factor”. I believe it’s true. I have seen some pretty amazing movies over the years, that depict in vivid, gut-wrenching detail the failures of people through the ages. Failures, and heroics. Some that I have commented on include Kingdom of Heaven, and the insanity of killing religious enemies, and Cold Mountain, where brother was turned against brother. People who both bore the name American, and only a few generations earlier had stood side by side, giving everything they had to win the freedom to be brothers in a new land. Only to tear the other down in bitter hatred mere decades later.

A long while back I even watched Saving Private Ryan, which in some ways pales in comparison to the movie I just finished. The visual effects still linger in my mind from that movie, but the goodness of humanity managed to outlast the vicious evil we are also capable of.

Hotel Rwanda was in my DVD slot tonight. I had seen a good review of it by a friend of ours, and Ian and I are going to learn about that country next, so I figured I would watch and learn. Even though I was prepared for a troubling story… I was not prepared.

The LORD looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if there is even one with real understanding, one who seeks for God. But no, all have turned away from God; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not even one!

Psalm 14:2-3

Not one. It was easy to see that tonight. All of us are on the brink of heinous crimes. We could so easily be pushed over the line to do something unthinkable. Close to a million people were just slaughtered in the 1990s because they had the wrong “background”. A name applied to them that would suppose to define them. But, other than that externally imposed difference, the people were indistinguishable. They were brothers. Sisters. Family.

Atrocity. Perhaps the word is over-used these days in our sensationalistic, 24-hour news media. But perhaps not. The movie referenced a web site before it began. Amnesty.org. I can not verify the accuracy or veracity of the content of the site, but for now, I am assuming it’s true. These things are still happening. People are killing people because of some lie that has poisoned their mind and soul. To believe that another human being is less deserving of life than you are is a despicable lie from the Father of Lies.

I am just at a loss. Really.

I sit here in my fully-equipped, air-conditioned office, at my brand new $1300 computer, having just watched on my $2100 lap top a DVD (that I got for free from my library). I know nothing of trouble. I know nothing of the pain that so many deal with, that has been inflicted on them by their own people. Their own family. Sure, I have trouble… who doesn’t? But mine (and ours?) so pale when placed along side the genocide of Rwanda, or the civil unrest of Sierra Leone, or Ethiopia. (Not to mention Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Israel, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, etc, etc, etc.)

My gut aches at the powerless feeling that overwhelms me right now. I think, “God, why do I get to just worry about if my sports team is making the right decisions in the off-season? Why do I get to be so wealthy, and complain about not paying my bills on time?” I figure, I need to sell everything and give all the money I can to the effort to bring justice to the world. Organizations like Amnesty International are trying to do that, right? They could use my money to end injustice.

Wrong.

I’m not saying they are not worth supporting. And perhaps we will. But that is not the answer. It’s just not. “There is none good, not one.” It is the human condition. Amnesty has pleas on their website for government intervention. If the federal government would just step in, all would be well. But it won’t. It would be quieted for a time, perhaps. But hatred will once again prevail. Bigotry and fear will once again cause one human being to loathe and despise another, eventually snapping and taking action on those emotions. Put enough of this together, and you have the genocide that occurred in Rwanda.

This may sound fatalistic, but I don’t believe there is an answer. And I don’t believe we are protected either. Yes, for the moment it seems as though we are. But we are not. The enemy only lives to “steal, kill, and destroy”. That does not just mean in Africa, or the middle East, or Asia. That means we here in the US as well. Perhaps he is doing it silently at the moment. But he is doing it. And will do it.

The only thing we can do is this:

The LORD God has told us what is right and what he demands: “See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.”

Micah 6:8

Love God, and love the people around us. No matter what we may think about them. All are created equal. God has knit each one together in their mother’s womb. Be they welcome members of a family who loves them, and loves God (like we are learning, longing to be), or even an outcast because of physical or mental limitations, or, dare I say, even a child born of rape or some other despicable act. I do not think God wills those things, but everyone who has been given breath is a child of the King. And they deserve to be treated that way.

Our condition is bleak, but I suppose that’s the message of the gospel. God loves us despite our ugliness. He must cry just like I did at the limitless depths of our depravity – like the hateful killings in Rwanda. But maybe he also glows with fatherly pride when one of us lives those words above. Justice, mercy and humility. The hotel manager in Rwanda understood a piece of that. I can only hope that I would as well.

Today I noticed again how much my four and two year olds love themselves. 🙂 It’s not narcissistic, or selfish. It’s not bad at all. They genuinely think that they are cool! My 4-yr old will pray for everyone in the family, saying how he loves them all, and then he’ll finish with himself. “And I love ME!” And my 2-yr old daughter this morning was just super excited that the answer to one of my questions was, “ME!!”

How cool is that. And how sad. I just thought of all the kids who not many years from two or four learn that not everyone loves them. Even worse, they learn that they are not “loveable”. They don’t fit. They aren’t good enough. They can’t keep up. They only make mistakes. They’re not wanted. They don’t belong. Sometimes, the measuring sticks are self-inflicted. No one else thinks they fall short, but in their hearts, they know they don’t measure up. And the joy of loving who God made us to be is lost.

There was a response today to a thread that I began at The God Journey forums that reminded me of this innocence that I saw in my kids earlier.

I don’t witness at all… however, I seem to be a magnet to certain people. These are the people I influence just by being me. I really like it that I can just be myself these days. There is no pressure to perform. I don’t have to save the world. Really… I don’t have to save one person. Truth be known… I’m incapable of saving even one person. So… being me is good enough. Amy is good enough. Gosh… that feels good to say that. I spent 40 years of my life unable to say that or believe it. Let me say it again… Amy is good enough. Whew!

It’s so easy to lose the child-like joy of being you. Whether from outside, or within. You figure out you just aren’t good enough. Lucky for us, God finds us wherever we end up in that journey into our fallenness, and he leads us out, at whatever pace we’re ready for. Bit by bit, he reveals the greatness we were created for. And the real you and me begin to be discovered. And eventually, on occasion, some of the enthusiasm of childhood returns.

And you can say gleefully with my little ones, “ME!!!!!” 🙂

A friend of ours is a finalist in the sing-off for singing the national anthem at a Buffalo Bills game this fall! It’s kinda like American Idol, probably… 🙂 She’s great (you’ve heard her on a few of our CDs!) So, when the time comes, I’ll put up a link, and you can vote for her!! 🙂

Click the photo for the larger version, and you can see her name all circled and stuff!

Or, click the link below for the full article at the Bills website:
Bills Anthem Finalists Announced – Buffalo Bills

Just found this out via my “This Day In History” widget on the ol’ Tiger Dashboard…

History of Memorial Day:
Several communities claim to have originated Memorial Day. But in 1966, the U.S. government proclaimed Waterloo, New York, the birthplace of the holiday. The people of Waterloo first observed Memorial Day on May 5, 1866, to honor soldiers killed in the American Civil War. Businesses closed, and people decorated soldiers’ graves and flew flags at half-mast.

Major General John A. Logan in 1868 named May 30 as a special day for honoring the graves of Union soldiers. Logan served as commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans of the Civil War. They had charge of Memorial Day celebrations in the Northern States for many years. The American Legion took over this duty after World War I.

So, Happy Memorial Day from 30 miles northwest of Waterloo. 🙂

I play basketball on Wednesday mornings from about 8am till 9am. It’s an hour of playing hard and having fun. We have anywhere from just two players to one time we had five. Most commonly we have three. So, we have had to be slightly inventive in the format of our games. And, on occasion, no one but me will show up, so I have had to be even more inventive. 🙂

I came up with a game a while back that I thought was pretty challenging and fun for a solo player. Yes, basketball solitaire! I was solo again today, so I tweaked it a bit, and thought I would share my nameless game here. It could be called just Basketball Solitaire. Or, maybe 5-4-3-2-1. That’s kinda long.

You let me know what you think it should be called…

Nameless One-Player Basketball Game

• Object:
  Get as many points as you can in 20 turns. Best possible score is 100.
• Play:
  Play begins by taking a half court shot. If you make this shot, you get 5 points. As soon as you release the shot, follow it for your rebound. Wherever you get the ball, that’s where you shoot from. (For a more challenging game, dont’ dribble or set your shot. Just fire as soon as you have control of the ball.) If you make this shot, you get 4 points. Continue shooting wherever you grab the rebound, scoring one less point per shot attempt until you score. If your point value goes down to zero (by missing all 5 shots), proceed to the half court circle and begin again toward the other end of the court.

  A turn consists of up to 5 attempts to score. The game is divided into quarters. The action does not stop until five turns have been completed. After you have completed a quarter, you may shoot one (1) foul shot per turn where no points were scored. So, if you had two turns where you scored a zero (0), you may take 2 foul shots, which are worth 1 point each.

  Tally your score. Best score would be 25 points. After a break, continue with the next quarter. After four quarters, tally your score and try to beat it next time!

So, that’s the game. Have fun!

Now, I’ve never actually said those words. I can’t recall ever having been to an actual “pub”. Oh wait, one time we took a group of students from our campus ministry to a pub to hear a friend’s Celtic band. Was that a pub or a bar? I know I’ve visited several bars, but, I don’t know about pubs. Is there a difference between a pub and a bar? Pub sounds more friendly?

Maybe that’s it.

Let me back-track here. I’m not just engaging in trivial chit-chat about places of druken revelry.

Today as I was driving around town, listening to the local sports station, one radio guy was trying to convince the other radio guy that an evening at our town’s soccer games was worth the trip. The convincee just doesn’t think he likes soccer, so the convincer says to him, “It’s not really about the game. My wife and I go, have a couple beers, talk with the people around us, and it’s an overall, enjoyable evening.”

Somehow, that got me thinking about my friends from Bible college who went on a mission trip to Ireland, and spent a majority of their time in the pubs. (Which was not standard practice when they were back at Bible college.) 🙂

See, the reason people go to a pub, from what I have gathered, is not so much for the event, or even (dare I say it) for the drinks. I think (though I have no authority in this matter, to be sure) that the majority of the folks who frequent a pub go there to “talk with the people around [them]”. The evening is not as much about what they are doing, but more who they are doing it with.

As my mind is always connecting things, I quickly thought of the weekend programs most Christians attend or serve in. I think many people are part of such events not for what they are doing, but rather who they are doing it with. It’s a meeting place. A connecting point with people who have a common purpose or direction in life. And are in the same family. It’s an essential part of who the church is. We are connected.

But the problem is, over time, the event has overtaken the connecting. For various reasons, we end up “going to church” more for what we do there than who we are there with. The schedules, the people flow, all of the activities… these end up dominating our time together, and not a simple connection. Partly it is the fault of we who plan the events. We feel a burden to provide something worthy of attending. Perhaps instead we should treat it like the local pub? There are some good extras (a pint or two, some pretzels, some games) but the real reason to be there is to just be together.

So, a few quick mental connections just had me thinking today that maybe we (the church) could benefit from a little trip to the pub.

This is a good article about the strategy and success of the Apple Retail stores. We definitely love them! Thanks for the link, Chi.

Wired News: The Genius of Apple’s Stores