10 years Running Blind

Christian the Lion - the full story (in HQ)

2008-07-17T15:39:00.001-07:00

I verified this with snopes and it is legit. This is not a hoax. Check it out. You won't be sorry.
Peace!

Thought for the day

2008-07-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

From a book I am reading called Authentic Relationships - discover the lost art of "one anothering"

When people use admonishment to point out the faults of others so the former feel better about themselves, they kill genuine fellowship. We are not called to confront one another constantly or hold one another to exacting standards. We are to encourage one another along the journey of being transformed by God and only admonish others when it will help them walk in greater wisdom.

Our past encouragements will make any admonishment easier to heed. Don't force admonishment on others. Share what you see, and trust the Holy Spirit to make it clear to them. Remember, we are only sharing a journey; we are not called to badger one another into righteousness or nitpick at one another's faults.

Peace!

2008-07-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

From The Porpoise Diving Life - Everything is Upside-Down

A nice middle aged man came up to me and with tears in his eyes related that his life had been changed by something I had said many years ago. I asked what I had said, and when he told me the details, I honestly couldn’t remember saying such a thing. But to him it had been powerful, said in the right way and at the right time, and I was grateful that it had happened.

A man and his wife said to me that a few words I had said on the radio had been used to comfort them at a time of sorrow in their lives. I rejoiced.

A lady stopped me in the aisle of a store, and in tears said that something I had done was her motivation to keep going and to not give up. It really made me feel good.

A young man called me crying and said that he was promising me that his life was about to change as a result of a column I had written. I was filled with gratitude and encouragement.

But wait – I really would rather not tell the whole story, but I must. The complete truth is that there are also some who, because of me, have been offended. The hypocrisies and inconsistencies of my life have alienated some people. My own selfishness, my controlling ways, my insistence that I was a hundred percent right, have made some people decide that they could not really listen to anything I had to say. That is the part that I don’t rejoice in. There have been times when I wondered if the only real ministry I could ever have would be to serve as a bad example.

Am I a great and effective leader and spokesman for truth and for God? Am I a gift to people, a blessing from above, a profound and thoughtful man of truth and faith and love and spirituality?

Or am I a hypocrite, a shyster, a phony, unworthy and unqualified and unable to really help anybody?

The truth is that I am neither. And the truth is that I am both.

And here is the ironic, paradoxical thing, which I hope that I can explain without confusing anybody: When I think that I’m the good guy- I’m the bad guy. When I think that I’m the bad guy- I’m the good guy. If I start to think of myself as good and obedient and right and righteous- if I start to think of myself as “God’s gift to poor dumb sinners”, I am not the solution to anything- I am the problem. My arrogance will know no bounds. The people I hurt will be many. And I will think that all of them are wrong, but I am right.

On the other hand, if I can remember that I am just a messed up person, often weak, often wrong, often sinful and always unworthy, and if I can honestly and humbly remember that, I can help somebody along the way. And I won’t even know that I’m doing it until I hear about it later.

Steve Brown has often said, “The best thing you’ve got going for you spiritually is your sin, when you know about it. And the worst thing going against you spiritually is your obedience, when you know about it.”

Saint Paul put it this way, “I glory in my weaknesses and failures and reproaches, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me- for when I am weak, only then am I strong.” The old spiritual song said it so well: “Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, oh Lord- standin’ in the need of prayer.” A classic “Pogo” cartoon once said, “We have come face-to-face with the enemy, and he is us!’

May I tell you a secret? Nobody but nobody has a handle on the Almighty. If you can understand or explain everything about God, you need to get a bigger one, because the one you have is not God. Some things will always be a mystery. Some things we will never get right. As long as we live on this earth, there will be areas in which you and I will really fall on our face. Accept it. We’re not home yet.

I may get in trouble for saying this, but Jesus did not come to give us all the answers, or to fix our jobs or our marriages or our finances. He didn’t come to give me great success, or to help our football team to win, or even to make your church grow. He didn’t come to lower taxes, to take over politics, or to fill the Supreme Court with conservatives or liberals. Forgive me, but He didn’t even come to “bless America”. He came to show us what a loving God was like, and to forgive all the people who are so absolutely messed up, guilty, and unworthy. Not surprisingly, the sinners loved Him, but the saints killed Him.

Be very careful of people who would have you to believe that they have all of the answers, with no uncertainty, and no sin in their life. That kind of person is very dangerous. Watch out for him. Even if he is us.

Diligence to Detail

2008-07-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

Found this poem on The Porpoise Diving Life written by a guy named Carl. It was beautiful and I hope it touches you too. Enjoy!

DILIGENCE TO DETAIL

God indeed cares about all the details
of people locked up in spiritual jails.

Using bricks of anxiety when they were built
their doors and windows are barred up with guilt.
A vague threat is used like a ball and chain
by the abusive, themselves abused - pain begets pain.
(If you think of a few, be kind and not name.)

"If I can get
people to worry and fret
with the message of
disobeyed details
that still has to be met
then You shall never receive
their praise, their true love
for they shall not know
they are fondly thought of."

Boasted the evil one in the presence of God.
So what do you think He said to that fraud?

"WITH CORDS OF HUMAN KINDNESS I LED THEM, WITH
TIES OF LOVE."
Hosea 11:4 is the precedent to know what is or is not from above.

My heart is led in this way - and follow my heart that I do!

The heart, misunderstood and yet with this message is new.

So with a feel for details, one will be able to know
what applies today from long ago.

Carl: http://www.angelfire.com/pq/ChristianWisdom/brlcw.html#K

My God can Whup Your God! (Wide Open Spaces excerpt)

2008-07-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

I read this post today off of Jim Palmer's (Author of Divine Nobodies and Wide Open Spaces) blog.

I have attended church for most of my life and in various denominations. What really bothers me is some of the conflict that goes on in churches over petty stuff. Traditional vs. Contemporary, Liturgical vs. Non-Liturgical, Seeker Sensitive vs. Believers Meetings, House Churches vs. Free Standing Churches, Small to Medium sized Churches vs. Megachurches, Modern vs. Postmodern. I've been on both ends of the conflict myself. I don't let it bother me anymore. Go to a place that you feel comfortable instead of creating a conflict.

And now the post from Jim Palmer called My God can Whup Your God:

These last few years, God has supplied a few jolts of his own to rouse me from my religious slumber. One of those jolts was Connie’s July 13 blog post, only nineteen words long. Connie is one of my MySpace friends, and from time to time I read her blog. July 13 was one of those times. I clicked on her blog and read this:

I Hate You.
You Hate Me.
We Hate Them.
They Hate Us.
What does it take to change this?

These words planted a seed within me that has continued to germinate. Religion teaches that God is synonymous with a specific belief system. Each system claims to have “right” beliefs about God, which are passionately held by its adherents—so much so that hate, bitter resentment, bloodshed, and even war can result from disagreement about God. A brief overview of world history shows that bad things happen when religious belief systems clash. This is what Connie was feeling. She had experienced religious hate in her own world, was fed up, and voiced it in nineteen sobering words.

But what if God isn’t a belief system? What if God is bigger than self, bigger than family, bigger than tribe, bigger than nation, and even bigger than any set of doctrines we try to wrap around him? Whereas religion sometimes brings out the worst in people, could the vision of a bigger God cause us to place higher value on expanding our circles of care and compassion and working toward a more peaceful world?

One of the most freeing discoveries these past few years in my relationship with God (and it’s still sinking in) is that God is not a belief system or a fixed set of theological propositions. On the one hand, it seems patently obvious that a list of claims about God can’t actually be God himself. There isn’t a lockbox at the center of the universe containing a divine computer program with doctrinal code. Hopefully we’ve all realized that The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is fiction and that the number forty-two doesn’t answer anything of ultimate significance. And yet for many years, my Christianity was basically a well-worked-out and defined set of propositions and practices in the name of God. I said Jesus Christ was my Savior, but in reality I treated my belief system as if it were my savior. It was my belief in the right suppositions about Christ that made me eternally saved.

When the basis for being a Christian is your specific set of beliefs about God, the most important thing is being right. If someone comes around with contrary ideas, the logical conclusion is . . . well, their ideas must be wrong. It doesn’t take an MIT grad to figure out two people with divergent views of God can’t both be right. Therein lies all religious conflict; there must be winners and losers. It’s a zero-sum game. The “win-win” mentality just doesn’t fly.

For many years, my sense of well-being, comfort, safety, security, identity, and superiority in the world was based largely on being right about God. I was eager to take on theological debates. After I received my masters of divinity degree, I was confident I was “right” about God. When threatened, my response was akin to the little boy yelling, “My daddy can whup your daddy!” I was happy to be counted among the few, the proud, the saved who could emphatically say, “My God can whup your God! My belief system wins over your belief system. My book is better than your book. I win, you lose. I’ll pray for you.”

Wide Open Spaces: Beyond Paint-by-Number Christianity
Thomas Nelson Publishers

Peace!

Breakfast Club - impressions

2008-07-12T00:42:00.001-07:00

Saw this movie the other night and this is probably my favorite scene in the movie. It is a classic movie called The Breakfast Club where they are all spending a Saturday at the High School in detention.

A word of caution...there are several F-bombs in this scene so if that offends you, then don't watch it.

2008-07-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

Romans 12:6-10 (The Message)
6-8If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.
9-10Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

It is a cardinal principle of discernment that the Lord always speaks in peace, even if he is rebuking or chastising those he loves.
- Thomas H. Green

Anyway

2008-07-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

ANYWAY

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.

Love them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.

Be good anyway.

Honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

People need help but may attack you if you try to help them.

Help them anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

From a sign on the wall of Shishu Bhavan,

a children's home in Calcutta

A lesson in hope from a man who should have none

2008-07-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

I received an email from a friend today telling me that one of the local columnists had done a story on him. He was a columnist himself for a competing newspaper. I wanted to share the column with you and also alert you to his blog Slim's Stories. Slim and I are a lot alike in many ways and I met him at my church a few years ago. A fine southern gentleman. I would ask all of you to check out his blog and send him some enouragement. He seems to be doing well now and is on the right path. Keep pushing on Slim, you're doing great man!

A lesson in hope from a man who should have none

by Laurie Roberts - Jul. 9, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

"You may not remember me," the e-mail began, which was sad because I do, though I confess I hadn't thought of Slim Smith in a while.

I never actually knew the guy, but he used to come to my house a couple of times a week. And then, suddenly, he didn't anymore. Maybe that's why his recent e-mail, responding to something I'd written, struck a chord.

"You may not remember me," he began, "but I used to be the metro columnist at the Tribune. This was before I went to prison for DUI, of course. Anyway, that experience has taught me a lot, including a lesson or two on humility . . . "

I made arrangements to meet Smith at his home in Tempe, more a room than a home really, but still, a decent place to begin again. I'm not sure what I expected to find - self-pity maybe, or anger or resignation. Instead, I met a man who has used the last year to profitable result, if not exactly the kind that you can eat.

Smith's a Southerner who grew up reading stories and telling them, which is how he came to newspapering: first in his native Mississippi and later in California and at the East Valley Tribune. For 25 years, he worked in newspapers, the last two as a columnist, his dream job.

While he enjoyed telling other people's stories, his own was something of a mess. A divorce in 2001 led to loneliness, which in turn led to extended stints at the neighborhood bar. Two DUIs in a year should have been a signal. Instead, it became a way of life.

Feb. 19, 2006. Smith doesn't have to fish for the date. A few beers at a bar led to a few more at another. "I left and the lights hit me and boy, my life changed from that point on. Everything got changed inside out, starting with that night."

Smith spent everything he had fighting that DUI, his third, the one that would send him to prison and cost him his job. He did his time - four months - and figured he could pick up the pieces. He worked for a while for Mark Salem, who had given him a place to live and a job in his car-repair shop. But eventually, having no mechanical skills, he ran out of things to paint and did the honorable thing. He moved on, sure that something would turn up.

He worked as an $8.30-an-hour barista at a coffee shop but lost the job when he couldn't provide a doctor's note after an illness. This because he couldn't afford the $112 to see a doctor.

Smith hasn't yet taken another $8-an-hour job. Instead, he's focused on finding something that'll allow him to use his skills and rebuild his life.

It was a year ago last week that Smith got out of prison. So far, he's had one interview, a publishing firm that never called back. The F word - felony - is not exactly a career enhancer.

These days, Smith's reach extends about as far as his bicycle and his determination will carry him, which I'm hoping will be a good distance. If you'd like to follow his story, he's keeping a blog (slimstories.blogspot.com)

There are a lot of unemployed people in the country right now, good people just looking for a chance and finding none. Already this year, 438,000 jobs are gone. That's 73,000 a month.

It would be easy to give up, easy to become isolated, to question where you fit in when who we are is so tied to what we do. Yet Smith sees value in this last year, in coming to terms with his flaws and deepening his faith in God and maybe himself.

"In some respects I know I'm a better person for having been through it," he told me. "I know what it's like not to have $100 to go to the doctor. I know what it's like not to have a job, not to have a career. I know what it's like to be judged . . .

"I think the most important thing to do is don't quit. The only way you lose is if you quit.

And to recognize that there are a lot of things outside your control and you can't let that consume you. I'm hopeful. I mean, look: I think my net worth is like $500. I don't have anything. My family and kids are far away. I'm alone. I don't have any real prospects, and I think if you look at that you can get pretty depressed about it, but I don't. I'm hopeful. I think you have to be."

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8635.

2008-07-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

Blue Like Jazz the movie - Coming soon to a theater near you

A very thought provoking list

2008-07-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

and I really really liked it too. It was written by blogger nakedpastor (aka David Hayward...a Vineyard Pastor in Canada)

10 Little Pieces of Advice to Take or Leave ... I'll take it!

1. Lead leaderlessly. That is, lead in a non-leading kind of way. Serve. Step out of the leadership position continually. Perpetually. Create the vacuum for others to lead and serve.

2. Don’t go anywhere. No goal. No destiny. No vision. Keep it real and keep it present. You either serve the vision or you serve the people.

3. Don’t ever think of the “church” as some kind of entity ASIDE from the real flesh and blood people that constitute it. The church isn’t the entity, even though it wants to be and constantly endeavors to be.

4. Allow worship and expression of all sorts to be indigenous. Never think of worship as instruction. It is God-ward, not human-ward.

5. If prayer is always in the form of a song and never said or read, so be it.

6. Allow freedom of expression, even if it’s going to be weird, uncomfortable, and questionable. Judge it afterwards. Yes, when done with mutual respect, we do get used to this honest and authentic form of dialog and learning.

7. Let sinners play too.

8. Question everything.

9. Never be overly impressed with another person. No one is good but God alone.

10. Don’t be afraid to kill the mood. Always be honest and free, no matter how uncomfortable you might cause others to feel.

Peace!

A nice weekend and some random stuff

2008-07-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. On Friday night Patty and I decided to stay in for the night and we watched an old movie called Born on the 4th of July. An awesome movie that portrayed how the Vietnam Vets were treated when they came back from the war. It starred a very young Tom Cruise who was injured in the war and how he was treated when he got back. In the end he questioned why we were in Vietnam in the first place and ended up leading protests against the war. Hmmmm...kind of sounds like a war we're in right now doesn't it?

We could hear the fireworks from our house as the local fireworks in Gilbert were shot off from the High School my daughter graduated from not too far from our house. The smaller dog could have cared less and was not bothered at all by them. But our bigger dog was a big wuss. She was terrified the entire time. It is no wonder that animal shelters and local pounds fill up on the 4th of July due to pets that run away.

On Saturday morning we went to the gym. Then my parents arrived around 4:30 in the afternoon. The girls went to see the new movie Get Smart. They said it was a good movie. My dad and I headed out to see the Sprint Cars on the half-mile track at Manzanita Speedway. I really enjoy the Sprint Cars. Sadly though, on this night, I saw one of the most horrific crashes I have ever seen in person. In one of the heat races, three of the cars were going full throttle out of the fourth turn and the guy on the outside wasn't going to make it. He hit the wall and then barrel rolled about twenty times doen the front straightaway right in front of us with the final hit upside down on the roll cage ending up on the wheels. It looked to me like something in the roll cage broke. It took about 45 minutes to get him out of the car and he was transported to the hospital. Near the end of the night he was still undergoing MRI's but they said he had a pretty good concussion. I pray that the guy will be okay. The winner of the feature race started near the back and picked off cars one at a time and ended up winning the race.

This morning we went to the early service with my parents and Pastor Danny gave an awesome sermon. Afterwards we went out to eat (yes it was sushi) and then my folks headed back to Tucson. Patty and I went to the gym in the afternoon. Her sister is without Air Conditioning in her house until at least tomorrow so she is staying with us tonight.

Tomorrow it's back to work for me. I've enjoyed the week off. Tomorrow I'll need to catch up on a lot of my cooperative observer paperwork and Tuesday I'm heading out to Alamo Lake to make a repair. I have a string of radar shifts coming up too which will be fun now that our monsoon season in in gear right now. Perhaps I can encourage some of these storms to come into the Valley? We'll see.

I was approached by a co-worker not too long ago asking me if I would run a full marathon with her. She has never done one. I swore to myself that I would never do another full one again, but...I don't want to discourage someone from doing one. I'm going to start a formal training program in September and run the Tucson Half-Marathon with her in December and see how I'm doing then. I will make my mind up then.

I hope you all had a nice relaxing time over the long weekend. Be nice to someone this week, just because you can! :-)

Peace!

Happy Independence Day

2008-07-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

I hope all of you are enjoying the day with friends and family and being thankful for our freedom.

Wednesday evening I drove down to Tucson to see my parents. We went to one of my favorite little eateries called Hot Dog Heaven. They serve a real Chicago Style Dog. My mom, dad, grandma and myself all went.

Thursday I took my mom out for lunch. The place she had chosen was closed for remodeling so we headed to another Mexican place and had lunch. It was fun, food was good and it is something my mom and I look forward to every year now.

Drove back to Phoenix and borrowed Obie's truck again (thanks man). Patty and I took the loveseat back and instead of exchanging it for another, Patty changed her mind and we got a futon instead and put it in the spareroom/computer room.

Today, Patty and I just putzed around the house and did some cleaning. We also went to the gym and then came back home for some hot dogs and hamburgers. We're not really going to go see any fireworks tonight, it's just too damn hot out. But I have a feeling that Mother Nature is going to supply her own fireworks tonight.

Tomorrow, my mom and dad are coming up here. The girls are going to see a movie and my dad and I are going to see the Sprint Cars on the half-mile dirt track at Manzanita Speedway. Then they will go to church with us Sunday and we'll go out to eat afterwards (my guess is it's gonna be sushi).

Be safe out there tonight. Be blessed and bless someone else too.

Peace!

Being Blessed is good too!

2008-07-02T15:51:00.000-07:00

Blessing others is awesome. I love doing it. But today, I was blessed by two people that gave me a helping hand.

Patty and I purchased a new sofa, loveseat and recliner. I had to get rid of the old sofa and chair too. Obie was kind enough to let me use his pickup truck which made getting stuff back and forth a lot easier than it would have been had I tried to use the Ford Escape. So Obie was a blessing to me for letting me borrow his truck.

Bryant also blessed me today by sheer muscle. Him and I loaded and unloaded the stuff. So Bryant blessed me by tagging along and helping me.

Thanks Obie and Bryant! You guys definitely Rawk!

There is a slight problem with our loveseat though and I may need to take it back. One of the legs will not go on due to a defect. I'm on my way to Tucson in a bit so I will worry about it when I get back.

I'm heading to Tucson in about an hour. I'm spending the night at my parents house then taking my mom out to lunch tomorrow for our annual Mothers Day date. Obviously it's past Mothers Day but we couldn't connect then so we're doing it tomorrow.

Peace!

2008-07-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

From the devotional Jesus Calling by Sarah Young:

My children make a pastime of judging one another - and themselves. But I am the only capable Judge, and I have acquitted you through My own blood. Your acquittal came at the price of My unparalleled sacrifice. That is why I am highly offended when I hear My children judge one another or indulge in self - hatred.

If you live close to Me and absorb My word, the Holy Spirit will guide and correct you as needed. There is no condemnation for those who belong to Me.

Luke 6:37 (The Message)

37-38"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don't condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you'll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity."

Peace!

Jesus for President - The Issues

2008-06-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

I am reading a book written by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw called Jesus for President. This excerpt called The Issues was awesome. What would it look like in the church if ALL subscribed to this principle? All of the petty differences on doctrine cause too many rifts in the church today. Check this out:

As I (Shane) was growing up in East Tennessee, my political worldview was carefully crafted by Bible Belt culture. I had all kinds of views on the hot-button political issues. But mostly I had ideologies, which aren't very compelling, even if they are true. I've learned from conservatives and liberals that you can be politically correct and still be mean.

I can remember ripping liberals up in debates on homosexuality. But I didn't know anyone who was gay or who felt like talking to me about it (which is understandable). Years later I met a fellow in college who shared with me that he was attracted to other men and that he had grown to feel that God had made a mistake when God created him. Far from finding any sense of community or intimacy in the church, he was alone and confessed that he wanted to kill himself. I thought that if this brother cannot find a home in the church, who have we become? I marveled at the complexity of the struggle to understand our sexuality, a complexity I couldn't understand until the issue took on a face and had a story and cried tears.

We would do much better to create communities in the church in which people can find intimacy and love than to split congregations over issues. Christians should stick to replicating the sacrificial love of Jesus toward gay people and trust that this loving service will do more to transform people than laws ever could. Besides, the contradictions in evangelicalism are clear. Take divorce, for example, a sin Jesus spoke clearly about. The divorce rate of evangelical Christians now surpasses that of the rest of the population in the United States. Evangelicals are getting divorced, and gay folks are wanting to get married, and religionists keep accusing homosexuals of destroying the family. Yikes. If we truly had a church in which people could love and be loved, we would tanscend so many divisive issues and be free to become the people God has created us to be.

After all, our deepest longing is for love, not sex. As my celibate mentor reminds me over and over.

"We can live without sex, but we cannot live without love."

And there are plenty of folks who have a lot of sex but very little love, and plenty of others who have never had sex at all but experience a great deal of love.

As I continued to wrestle with complex human and political issues, I resolved myself to one thing: the starting point must be that the church is a place where we can grapple with difficult questions with grace and humility. And I believe that, even more important than thinking identically on every issue, we must learn to disagree well. Our ability as a church to disagree well is as powerful a witness to the larger society as our uniformity on every issue.

I really loved that last part that I put in bold. Could you imagine what would happen if all churches did this? Think about it..................................................................................................

Peace!

Barack The Vote 2008: Join The MOVEMENT

2008-06-28T17:57:00.001-07:00

BA-RACK the Vote 2008

2008-06-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

If you feel so inclined please speak out against the verbal attack that Dr. James Dobson spewed about Obama by signing here

Peace!

A night of sushi and then some folk music

2008-06-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

Patty and I had a nice date night last night. We went out to eat at one of our favorite places, the Pacific Seafood Buffet. This place is awesome and if you're a sushi lover, then you need to check this place out. Even if you don't like sushi, they offer all the asian hot dishes too. It is all-you-can-eat, which is awesome if you like sushi, because sushi can get pricey if you have to order and pay for different types of sushi at an ordinary sushi bar.

After dinner we headed over to a little coffee bar called Cup O’ Karma located at 1710 W. Southern Ave. Mesa, AZ 85202-Directions: Between Dobson & Longmore, across from MCC & next to Cheba Hut. My good buddy Todd Baio sent me this invitation:
Hi Friends,

gonna be playing some acoustic music with my friend Paul in Mesa this Friday night from 7:00 to 9:00pm......

I'll be packing the guit-fiddle, ukuleles, harmonicas, kazoo, and my new washboard!!!

He blogs at ragtagshope and you can buy some of his music here. If you like folk music, I highly recommend checking him out and supporting him. You can listen to some of it here.

The coffee bar was cool too. It was donated to a non-profit organization that helps and trains victims of domestic violence and battered women to get back on their feet. An awesome organization to say the least.

Thanks Todd for inviting us, it was a blessing to see you and your friend Paul play.

To my readers,
Todd is a great humble guy and I encourage you to buy his CD to help him out. He is a very encouraging kind of guy and has been a blessing in my life.

Peace!
Keith

Pets of the homeless

2008-06-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

A person by the screenname of happytails left a comment on my previous post. They pointed me to an organization called http://petsofhomeless.org/.

A few years ago I knew a homeless guy that hung around the church we attended back then and he had a loyal dog that was always with him. We used to feed the dog too.

Thank you happytails, whoever you are, for sharing this site with us. Bless you!

Peace!

Helping the Homeless

2008-06-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to start a ministry to the homeless. There are many here in the Phoenix area due to the climate. Keith Giles, a blogger that I read daily, offers some excellent guidelines in starting a ministry to the homeless.

Ministry to the Homeless: What You Need to Know Before You Go

Ministry to the classically homeless is much more challenging than you might think.

Our family has centered mainly on ministry to families who live in motels or to individuals who find themselves suddenly in danger of becoming homeless, or to the elderly.

Ministry to those who have lived on the streets for long periods of time, those I call "Classically Homeless", can be difficult. Here's some of why that is and what can be done to provide assistance.

Why are They Homeless?

Many of those who live in a state of long-term homelessness are there because of drugs, alcohol or mental illness issues.

Addictions

For those who are homeless because of addiction and substance abuse issues, you should keep in mind that they will do whatever it takes to get money from you in order to get their drug of choice. Don't be surprised or offended if they lie to you. Don't be afraid to tell them you know they are lying (if you suspect it to be so). Honesty can go a long way and it helps them to know you're not easily fooled.

How to Help

Usually the best course of action to take is to help them with the condition in place that they seek out help for their addiction. So, if you buy them something to eat or if you put them in a hotel, etc. you let them know that next time your helping them will depend on whether or not they have followed through with getting off the streets and addressing their greater need to escape addiction.

Mental Health Issues

Many of those who are living on the streets for long periods of time are dealing with mental health issues. Local mental health hospitals have the unfortunate habit of releasing residents who are not dangerous to themselves or to others due to over-crowding and a lack of funding. This puts many homeless on the streets who are not taking their medications and are suffering (not just due to hunger but also the pain of their illness) without any hope of getting better.

Communication with them can be difficult, if not impossible. Some cannot carry on a coherent conversation while others can appear lucid at first and then drift off into delusional behavior and display wild mood swings and unexpected changes due to their illness.

How to Help

In these cases I usually refer them, if possible, to a local mental wellness organization or to a non-profit that is more adept at treating people like this since it's very far outside my area of expertise.

Of course, not all of those who are homeless are mentally ill or struggling with addictions. Some of them have emotional issues and others have simply fallen deeper into the pit of poverty due to a loss of employment or other unexpected event.

Challenges

Ministry to the classically homeless is much more difficult to do as a family due to the erratic and sometimes frightening behavior which can be encountered. Our family has focused mainly on ministry to the elderly and to families living in motels or in low-income housing since its something we can do with our children. However, there is plenty of great ministry to be done with those who are living in long-term homelessness. This will usually involve a more specialized skill-set and typically requires a person have lots of patience and a high level of discernment.

Ministry to Prostitutes - Into the Real Darkness

I've only been out about four times to the streets here in Orange County to minister to women caught in prostitution. Most of what I've learned is based on research and several crushing episodes of utter, empty defeat and failure.

This ministry is easily the most challenging and "outside my comfort zone". It means entering a dark, dangerous world where you are an outsider and the level of commitment required is off the charts.

First, a little bit of background about the issue.

Hard to Quit

Most girls who are on the streets will either get off and back into a normal life in the first three months or it will be another ten years before they can escape this lifestyle. Why? Because the work is so repugnant and degrading, at first, that if they're ever going to escape it has to be in those first few months. Otherwise, they get trapped into this lifestyle through fear of their pimp and/or through dependence on the drugs their pimp supplies them with.

Hooked by Fear and Addiction

What keeps most girls on the streets is the fear of being abused or killed by their pimp, and/or their need to keep an expensive drug habit going. Their pimps usually get them hooked on drugs as quickly as they can in order to control them. They know that no other lifestyle would afford their girls the kind of money they need to keep the drugs flowing, so the girls are essentially trapped into this life of prostitution.

Human Slavery

Another difficult and impossible situation is where you have forced prostitution through organized crime syndicates. Many girls are here from Russia, the Ukraine, Romania, Thailand, Cambodia, and other impoverished nations. Many were tricked into coming here and are kept here by the threat of harm to their families back in their home country. They cannot leave, even if they desperately want to escape, because to leave would mean the murder of their mother, father, siblings, etc.

It's very shocking to realize that human slavery is alive and well in the United States of America. Just about a year ago the Orange County Police Department broke up the largest human trafficking/forced prostitution ring in the history of this region. I remember it because it was just weeks before the Freedom Day on March 25th at Vanguard where hundreds gathered to protest slavery and bring attention to this very real problem.

America is the number one market for human sexual slavery. Anaheim, the home of Disneyland, is one of the largest markets for human trafficking in the Nation.

You can find out more information about this online at www.stopthetraffik.org/

Different Types

You'll encounter one of four different kinds of girls who work on the streets.

1)Street level- Normally these are homeless girls who have no pimp and work prostitution for the food and for drugs. It's purely survival and quick cash.
2)Weekenders- These girls come and work to support their children or save money for college or other reasons. They are healthy and generally wear clean, attractive clothing.
3)Circuit Girls- These girls work a circuit throughout California, Nevada, Florida, etc. They wear exaggerated clothing (very Hollywood-esque). These look the most like obvious prostitutes and are the easiest to spot.
4)Transvestite- A man who dresses like a woman to turn tricks. Some have had surgery and take hormones to round off the illusion. You think it would be easy to tell the difference. You would be wrong.

Ministry Ideas

*Stay Up Late

Due to the nature of this ministry, to find the girls you need to be where they are, and that means on the streets between 12am and 4am. You're guaranteed to loose sleep over this ministry.

*Mixed Teams

If you go out you need to always stay in mixed teams of guys and girls. It's a bad idea for guys to go out alone, since they might be arrested for soliciting, and it's not safe for girls to go out alone either. Mixed groups of at least four people work best.

*Pray, Pray, Pray

Prayer is crucial since you are entering into the Enemy's camp. This is where the Kingdom of Darkness clashes with the Kingdom of God. Expect a lot of spiritual attack at home and during the ministry time.

*Bless Them

You mainly want to get to know these girls. As with other ministries weve discussed thus far, consistency is the key. Build a relationship. Buy them breakfast if they'll let you. Listen to their stories. Ask them what they need and try to meet practical needs.

*Gift Bags

One local ministry to prostitutes brings gift bags to the girls with make-up supplies, gift cards to shops and food stores, clothing stores, etc. It brings down their guard and allows you a chance to smile, bless them, find out their names and ask if you can pray for them.

*The Pimps

Believe it or not, getting to know these guys can be a significant part of the process. One ministry I know of actually spends a lot of time trying to help these guys change their lives and turn to Christ. If they do, the girls usually follow and the operation is shut down because the girls, and their pimp, have surrendered to Christ and are seeking to live a new life.

*Statistics

Sadly, 98% of the girls who are on the streets now will stay there, and die there. This means that out of every 100 girls you reach out to, only 2 of them will get off the streets and stay off.

For those who do get off the streets, the process means getting off the streets and then relapsing over and over again for a few years before finally, eventually, getting off the streets for life.

Of course, these statistics don't tell the whole story. Some girls get off and stay off in one shot, some leave after several years, others after only a few months. But you should know what you're getting into before you commit to such a challenging ministry.

Getting Them Real Help

If you encounter girls who are under 18 you should refer them to "Children of the Night" (if you have one in your area) or even the local police department. These are minors who need to be rescued from this lifestyle.

The challenge I've run into is the lack of resources for girls who are under 18, don't have a Driver's License, or a SS card. These are usually girls who are here illegally or runaways.

If the girl is over 18 you can send them to Teen Challenge and/or another drug and alcohol treatment center where their addictions can be addressed and they can receive spiritual guidance and emotional healing. Sadly, most non-profit groups will not accept a girl who is under 18. Go figure.

What is really needed to minister to these girls is a long list of resources:

*Trained counselors
*Free shelter
*Addiction treatment
*Job Training*Free Child Care*Healthcare access (for health checkups, STD's, etc.)

As I said before, the most challenging and overwhelming ministry I've ever known is ministry to prostitutes. Not for the faint of heart.

I know this series doesn't even come close to scratching the surface of this topic of serving the poor and the homeless and people in need, but hopefully this is enough to get many of you thinking and praying about your own first steps.

I do hope you will email me directly if you have further questions or response to this series of articles. Many of you have already asked me for permission to reprint them and use in your Church or ministry efforts. That's what these are for. I do appreciate knowing about where these are being used and how, but otherwise they're meant to help you to serve others more effectively.

Keith Giles is the author of "Nobody Follows Jesus (So Why Should You?)" which is available as a free PDF download at his website, keithgiles.com.

Dobson's a dork

2008-06-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

Found this blog on republicansforobama.org. She really breaks down Dobson's attack on Obama point by point. Great stuff.

Dobson's a dork

Thu, 06/26/2008 - 11:33am — Barbara.

Okay, not really a dork. But still.

Now this is going to get awfully long, and I apologize, but Dr. Dobson's broadcast really pissed me off.

In case you missed it, Tuesday Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family and the unofficial leader of the Christian Right, the man millions of Americans turn to for direction in voting decisions, decried Obama as "confused" and a "fruitcake." He did so in a scathing deconstruction (his discussion of Obama starts at the 11 minute mark of his broadcast) of Obama's brilliant 2006 "Call to Renewal" speech on the place of faith in politics.

Now, I don't know if Dobson has watched or read the entire speech. But I have done so several times, and the delivery is one of the finest in a generation of politics. Either Dr. Dobson did not read the entire text, or worse, if he did, he deliberately distorted the meaning and purpose of Obama's remarks.

Dobson takes segments of the speech out of context to suggest that Obama

1. lacks the Biblical understanding necessary to derive appropriate political direction from the Scriptures.
2. desires an entirely secular government based on the "lowest common denominator of morality."
3. endorses legislation of ethics/morality only if 100% of Americans agree, thereby rendering any ethical legislation impossible.
4. "doesn't give a flip" about the preservation of the family.

Here is my response to Dr. Dobson's allegations:

1. Dr. Dobson uses Obama's discussion of Exodus, Leviticus, and Matthew, to suggest that Obama is equating Old Testament law with New Testament grace, and that Obama somehow believes OT law offers political direction just as legitimate at that derived from the Sermon on the Mount.

That's absurd. Anyone listening to the entire context of Obama's remarks would understand that Obama is simply suggesting that we cannot rely on any one sacred text alone to determine our colective political course. The decisions of government must be rooted in the will of the people (which indeed is often determined by our beliefs and our faith) combined with the written parameters defining the scope and purpose of our government.

2. Dr. Dobson continues his analysis in suggesting that because Obama does not see Scripture alone as a valid source for law, Obama is proposing a secular state, an amoral state. Again, that's not what Obama was saying. Why would he even make such a proposal while speaking at a church venue in a forum dedicated to the renewal of faith in politics?

What Obama is suggesting is that when we as Christians desire to effect change in political direction, we cannot rely simply on our own Scriptural interpretation to do so. We must appeal the law of our land and the purpose of our government when forming our arguments. It is possible to ground most of our moral and ethical arguments in these, and in doing so our arguments and movements become legally stronger, not weaker.

3. Dobson suggests that because 70% of Americans are self-proclaimed Christians, the Christian voice effectively serves as a majority voice, and majority rule. He caricatures Obama as believing that 70% is not enough, that "we the people" means every last person must be in agreement in order to effect any change. But obviously Obama is not suggesting a need for unanimity in direction.

What Obama is suggesting is that this nation was founded on the notion that there will be no official American relgion no matter how great the number of adherents. Neither 70% nor even 100% of the population following one religion is enough to make that religion the foundation of our laws. This is why Obama rightfully asserts that we as Christians must be able to make our policy arguments independent of Scriptural citation. If we as Christians are allowed simply to appeal to Scripture to make policy changes, we've effectively become the state-sponsored religion.

4. Dr. Dobson says that none of the three candidates has uttered "a single word" on the importance of preserving the family. This is patently false. Obama has won accolades by being unafraid to challenge Americans to stop making excuses and start effecting change in their own homes. He's said we have to turn off the TV and start spending time with our kids. He's said we need to get "Uncle Willie" off the couch and help him find a job. He's said we need to show our youth how to invest in the community to help break the cycle of broken families. And Obama, unlike his opponent, has honored his commitment to his marriage.

Throughout the broadcast, Dobson and Minnery are openly mocking of Obama's message, his church, and his faith. This strikes me as the utmost in hubristic self-righteousness and utterly inappropriate for a Christian leader. Last I checked judgmentalism was not among the fruits of the Spirit, and it is His throne, not ours, that was established for judgment.

At one point Dr. Dobson and the show's moderator have this exchange:

Tom Minnery: I think he is dragging Biblical understanding through the gutter, I just don't know whether he's doing it willfully or accidentally.

James Dobson, replying to Minnery: I think he's deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own world view, his own confused theoogy.

Well, this is my take. Dobson and Minnery are clearly dragging Obama's message through the gutter. I just don't know for certain whether they're doing it willfully and accidentally. But when I think about it, it seems they're deliberately distorting Obama's remarks to fit their own political views and their own confused agenda.

Jim Wallis Responds To Dobson's Attacks On Obama's Faith

2008-06-25T17:21:00.001-07:00

2008-06-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

Dobson and Obama: Who is 'Deliberately Distorting'? (By Jim Wallis)

James Dobson, of Focus on the Family Action, and his senior vice president of government and public policy, Tom Minnery, used their "Focus on the Family" radio show to criticize Barack Obama's understanding of Christian faith. In the show, they describe Obama as "deliberately distorting the Bible," "dragging biblical understanding through the gutter," "willfully trying to confuse people," and having a "fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution."

The clear purpose of the show was to attack Barack Obama. On the show, Dobson says of himself, "I'm not a reverend. I'm not a minister. I'm not a theologian. I'm not an evangelist. I'm a psychologist. I have a Ph.D. in child development." Child psychologists don't insert themselves into partisan politics in the regular way that James Dobson does and has over many years as one of the premier leaders of the Religious Right. He has spoken about how often he talked to Republican leaders -- Karl Rove, administration strategists, and even President Bush himself. This year he tried to influence the outcome of the Republican primary by saying he would never vote for John McCain or the Republicans if they nominated him, then reversed himself and said he would vote after all but didn't say for whom. But why should America care about how a child psychologist votes?

James Dobson is insinuating himself into this presidential campaign, and his attacks against his fellow Christian, Barack Obama, should be seriously scrutinized. And because the basis for his attack on Obama is the speech the Illinois senator gave at our Sojourners/Call to Renewal event in 2006 (for the record, we also had Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republicans Rick Santorum and Sam Brownback speak that year), I have decided to respond to Dobson's attacks. In most every case they are themselves clear distortions of what Obama said in that speech. I was there for the speech; Dobson was not.

I haven't endorsed a candidate, but I do defend them when they are attacked in disingenuous ways, and this is one of those cases. You can read Obama's two-year-old speech, [audio link] which was widely publicized at the time, and you can see that Dobson either didn't understand it or is deliberately distorting it. There are two major problems with Dobson's attack on Obama.

First, Dobson and Minnery's language is simply inappropriate for religious leaders to use in an already divisive political campaign. We can agree or disagree on both biblical and political viewpoints, but our language should be respectful and civil, not attacking motives and beliefs.

Second, and perhaps most important, is the role of religion in politics. Dobson alleges that Obama is saying:

I [Dobson] can't seek to pass legislation, for example, that bans partial-birth abortion because there are people in the culture who don't see that as a moral issue. And if I can't get everyone to agree with me, it is undemocratic to try to pass legislation that I find offensive to the Scripture. ... What he's trying to say here is unless everybody agrees, we have no right to fight for what we believe.

Contrary to Dobson's charge, Obama strongly defended the right and necessity of people of faith in bringing their moral agenda to the public square, and he was specifically critical of many on the left and in his own Democratic Party for being uncomfortable with religion in politics.

Obama said that religion is and always has been a fundamental and absolutely essential source of morality for the nation, but he also said that "religion has no monopoly on morality," which is a point I often make. The United States is not the Christian theocracy that people like James Dobson seem to think it should be. Political appeals, even if rooted in religious convictions, must be argued on moral grounds rather than as sectarian religious demands -- so that the people (citizens), whether religious or not, may have the capacity to hear and respond. Religious convictions must be translated into moral arguments, which must win the political debate if they are to be implemented. Religious people don't get to win just because they are religious. They, like any other citizens, have to convince their fellow citizens that what they propose is best for the common good -- for all of us, not just for the religious.

Instead of saying that Christians must accept the "the lowest common denominator of morality," as Dobson accused Obama of suggesting, or that people of faith shouldn't advocate for the things their convictions suggest, Obama was saying the exact opposite -- that Christians should offer their best moral compass to the nation but then engage in the kind of democratic dialogue that religious pluralism demands. Martin Luther King Jr. perhaps did this best, with his Bible in one hand and the Constitution in the other.

One more note. I personally disagree with how both the Democrats and Republicans have treated the moral issue of abortion and am hopeful that the movement toward a serious commitment for dramatic abortion reduction will re-shape both parties' language and positions. But that is the only "bloody notion" that Dobson mentions. What about the horrible bloody war in Iraq that Dobson apparently supports, or the 30,000 children who die each day globally of poverty and disease that Dobson never mentions, or the genocides in Darfur and other places? In making abortion the single life issue in politics and elections, leaders from the Religious Right like Dobson have violated the "consistent ethic of life" that we find, for example, in Catholic social teaching.

Dobson has also fought unsuccessfully to keep the issue of the environment and climate change, which many also now regard as a "life issue," off the evangelical agenda. Older Religious Right leaders are now being passed by a new generation of young evangelicals who believe that poverty, "creation care" of the environment, human trafficking, human rights, pandemic diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and the fundamental issues of war and peace are also "religious" and "moral" issues and now a part of a much wider and deeper agenda. That new evangelical agenda is a deep threat to Dobson and the power wielded by the Religious Right for so long. It puts many evangelical votes in play this election year, especially among a new generation who are no longer captive to the Religious Right. Perhaps that is the real reason for Dobson's attack on Barack Obama.

Obama responds to Dobson

2008-06-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

Obama dismisses Dobson criticism about Bible

By SARA KUGLER

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Barack Obama said Tuesday evangelical leader James Dobson was "making stuff up" when he accused the presumed Democratic presidential nominee of distorting the Bible.

Dobson used his Focus on the Family radio program to highlight excerpts of a speech Obama gave in June 2006 to the liberal Christian group Call to Renewal.

Speaking to reporters on his campaign plane before landing in Los Angeles, Obama said the speech made the argument that people of faith, like himself, "try to translate some of our concerns in a universal language so that we can have an open and vigorous debate rather than having religion divide us."

Obama added, "I think you'll see that he was just making stuff up, maybe for his own purposes."
In his program, Dobson focused on examples Obama cited in asking which Biblical passages should guide public policy. For instance, Obama said Leviticus suggests slavery is OK and eating shellfish is an abomination. Obama also cited Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, "a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application."

"Folks haven't been reading their Bibles," Obama said in that speech two years ago.
"I think he's deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology," Dobson said.

Asked about Dobson's assessment, Obama said "somebody would be pretty hard-pressed to make that argument" that he was distorting the Bible.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080624/D91GOA180.html