I've probably posted this before, but I don't care... and if you do, then go visit someone's blog who doesn't repeat themselves.

"When the body of Christ functions properly, there's no need for priests or pastors... just a traffic cop." -- Tom Mohn
posted by Stephen at 10:22 PM | |

 
the meaning of life
This is a conversation I had with a high school junior today:

me: "what's is your life about?"
him: "what do you mean? what are my goals?"
me: "I guess."
him: "well, i guess to make good grades."
me: "why?"
him: "so I can get into a good college."
me: "why?"
him: "so I can get a good job."
me: "why?
him: "so i can make lots of money."
me: "why?"
him: "so i can be happy."

posted by Jimmy at 3:28 PM | |

 
comments missing
I'm not sure what happened to our comments...as of right now they are strangely absent. Hopefully, they'll be back.
posted by Jimmy at 11:25 PM | |

 
Pray for Mark
He's been sick for a week.
posted by Jimmy at 4:58 PM | |

 

I wonder...
If the Hamburger Helper Glove and the Arby's Oven mitt are related? While they are both hand coverings, there are some clear genetic differences. The lack of a nose and digits on the mitt gives me some pause, but they both have a similar red and white coloration. Are they simply varieties of the same species, or are we looking at some type of evolutionary process here. Of course, commercial evidence suggests the glove came as many as two decades before the mitt, so we would have an evolution that moves from complexity to simplicity....which would be rare. It would also be a punctuated type of evolution, as the time period has not been long enough for the changes to take place through gradual modification.



Do you think I have too much time on my hands tonight?
posted by Jimmy at 8:19 PM | |

 
The Sin of Contentment, pt. 2
My grandfather passed away in 1991. He was 87 years old. He spent his entire life on one farm, dying within yards of where he was born. He never finished high school. As a matter of fact, I think he only finished 7th or 8th grade before he went to work in the coal mines of southeastern Oklahoma. He worked hard all of his life and died with a hammer in his hand. The farthest he ever traveled from home was a trip to Nashville...beyond that, West Texas was about the only long trips he ever took (and those he only took to see his children and grand-children). The highest official positions of honor he had were serving most of his life on the hometown school-board (for a school that ran about 400 students K-12) and he was a 32nd degree Mason. My grandfather was a nobody in the world's terms. He didn't achieve much, wasn't wealthy, wasn't institutionally educated, wasn't famous...he didn't change the world.

He was the greatest man I've ever known.

My grandfather was brilliant...and not just to me. I remember people from my hometown--including the highly educated school superintendant--coming to sit beneath the pecan trees near my grandfather's house to get advice from him. He was not only intelligent, he was wise. He was a faithful husband. If he had lived to it, he and my grandmother would have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary this past year. He was a great dad and even better grandfather. His friends knew they could trust him. Recently, someone who knew him said "he's one of two men I've never heard anyone say any cross word about". Because he didn't desire fame, wealth, status, or power, he didn't use people. As far as I can tell, his only motivation in life was to be a good, hard-working man.

There's a contentment found in such a life that is rare in this world. It's not enough for us anymore to simply be a good man (or woman). We must achieve. We must accomplish. We must build. We must pursue pleasure. All the pursuits that left the Preacher feeling that life is lived in vain.

In our culture we cannot be content to live in our "starter home" for more than a few years. In our culture we cannot be content on the salaries we make. In our culture we cannot be content with the relationships we have. In our culture we cannot be content to be followers. In our culture we cannot be content to be a "nobody" in the world's eyes...rejecting the pursuit of rank, fame, or power for ourselves. To be content in such ways in our culture is a sin.
posted by Jimmy at 7:32 PM | |

 

the "L" word
I just finished reading a review of the new TV series about lesbians. At the bottom of the page was an ad for "Little House on the Prairie: A Christmas They Never Forget".

Some things just don't go together.
posted by Jimmy at 9:38 PM | |

 
The Sin of Contentment
Has anyone thought about how in our present culture it's almost a sin to feel content?

"Come to me all you who are heavy laden, and I'll give you a real burden. Don't you know you should be doing more?"



posted by Jimmy at 7:18 PM | |

 
Does anyone hear crickets?
posted by riddle at 3:00 PM | |

 
Question for the Day:

Are you willing to make the changes in yourself that it will take to be the kind of church God is shaping in the world today?
posted by riddle at 10:33 AM | |

 
I see your quote and I raise you one.

"Beauty is the gift of God"
-- Aristotle

"When a building is about to fall down, all the mice desert it."
-- Pliny the Elder
posted by riddle at 2:26 PM | |

 
"He remains a fool his whole life long Who loves not women, wine, and song."
--Martin Luther
posted by riddle at 2:14 PM | |

 
“If you wish to strive for peace of soul and pleasure, then believe; if you wish to be a devotee of truth, then inquire.”
-- Friedrich Nietzsche

posted by Stephen at 12:09 AM | |