I just can't do it.
I just can't pray for a dream home and a new car and all the bells and whistles of life in America. I just can't do it.
Not when THIS is reality for much of the world's residents.
Shameful. We should be embarassed for what we have been striving for and praying for and attributing to God. We should be shuddering and crying out to God for our self-focused lives. More later on this...
Thursday, July 24, 2008
I don't think my kids will be attending this one...
Over the summer, our front door has become the designated posting place for many a Vacation Bible School fliers. Some more appealing than others.
As much as I'm tempted, I just don't think I'll be registering my kids for this one...
[Actual Text]
Come join the fun at Neighborhood Bible Time
Honoring God, Parents, and Country
Everyone's invited
Activities Kids Love: Contests and Singing; Beautiful Award Ribbons
Parents, please let your children come and respond to the challenge to honor God, parents, and country.
Sincerely,
Your Bible Time Staff
The challenge to honor God, parents, AND COUNTRY? Seriously, people?
Hmmmmm...Is this a recruitment for the Kingdom of God or the U.S. Army?
Beautiful award ribbons? Huh? Does my kid get to show his prize 4-H pig?
I don't get it.
Now, I am all for appreciating one's country, but let's just say that this same church was holding this VBS in, well, let's say IRAQ or Afghanistan of all places. Would the motto remain? Honoring one's country? Doubtful.
My husband and I have set out to raise kids that are sold-out to Jesus and His cause on this planet; not little American citizens who don't hesitate to say YES to Uncle Sam because they are sold-out on the American Way. Frightening, really.
Gotta give them credit, though, for an eye for detail and consistency. It IS especially cute that the actual doorhanger flier is adorned with frilly American flags and a happy little boy holding his leatherbound KJV Bible in hand.
God Bless America. And God Bless your VBS.
As much as I'm tempted, I just don't think I'll be registering my kids for this one...
[Actual Text]
Come join the fun at Neighborhood Bible Time
Honoring God, Parents, and Country
Everyone's invited
Activities Kids Love: Contests and Singing; Beautiful Award Ribbons
Parents, please let your children come and respond to the challenge to honor God, parents, and country.
Sincerely,
Your Bible Time Staff
The challenge to honor God, parents, AND COUNTRY? Seriously, people?
Hmmmmm...Is this a recruitment for the Kingdom of God or the U.S. Army?
Beautiful award ribbons? Huh? Does my kid get to show his prize 4-H pig?
I don't get it.
Now, I am all for appreciating one's country, but let's just say that this same church was holding this VBS in, well, let's say IRAQ or Afghanistan of all places. Would the motto remain? Honoring one's country? Doubtful.
My husband and I have set out to raise kids that are sold-out to Jesus and His cause on this planet; not little American citizens who don't hesitate to say YES to Uncle Sam because they are sold-out on the American Way. Frightening, really.
Gotta give them credit, though, for an eye for detail and consistency. It IS especially cute that the actual doorhanger flier is adorned with frilly American flags and a happy little boy holding his leatherbound KJV Bible in hand.
God Bless America. And God Bless your VBS.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Well, it's certainly one way to convey your opposition...
Voters to decide on naming sewage plant for Bush
[cnn.com 7.18.08]
SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- A measure seeking to commemorate President Bush's years in office by slapping his name on a San Francisco sewage plant has qualified for the November ballot.
The measure certified Thursday would rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.
Supporters say the idea is to commemorate the mess they claim Bush has left behind by actions such as the war in Iraq.
[cnn.com 7.18.08]
SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- A measure seeking to commemorate President Bush's years in office by slapping his name on a San Francisco sewage plant has qualified for the November ballot.
The measure certified Thursday would rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.
Supporters say the idea is to commemorate the mess they claim Bush has left behind by actions such as the war in Iraq.
Monday, July 14, 2008
See, it's all for you, babe.
From Shape magazine:
A study reveals that "men in relationships with feminist women are more satisfied with their love lives."
Well, duh.
A study reveals that "men in relationships with feminist women are more satisfied with their love lives."
Well, duh.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
How do YOU want to die?
Morbid I am, some might say, and not just because I have an insatiable fascination with autopsy shows and real-life morgue teledramas. [Dead bodies are truly amazing, people.] But honestly, I think about death a lot. Probably more than the average 30-year-old healthy woman in America.
Why?
For one, because I don't fear it. Three years ago I committed to cast fear out of my life. I chose in January 2005 to choose no path based on fear of what might become or fear of what might not.
But more importantly, I think about death a lot because, well, because I think about LIFE a lot. How I want to live this life. How I want to live this life to the fullest. How we only live once so we might as well throw all caution to the wind and give it all we got while we can.
So, I've already made Kirk very (and perhaps morbidly) aware, that when I die, I just want to have died Tired. Not tired merely in a negative sense in which I am so physically exhausted that I can't lift another finger or take another breath (but maybe), but Tired more in the sense that I gave Life with a capital L my All with a capital A. That I sucked the oxygen out of every opportunity before moving on to the next. That I walked through every metaphorical door that I was meant to walk through. That I didn't leave anything to chance. That I refused to make decisions based on fear, but tackled Life with courage and gusto.
Tombstones often read something to the sweet effect of
When I die, I would like for my gravemarker to simply state:
And then just let it be. Isn't that enough said? (And I might add, it does have a nice ring to it, right?)
And, if I indeed get my last wish and die Tired, wouldn't that mean then that I truly deserve to rest in peace? Aha! It all is making sense now, isn't it! [And to think you thought you lost me at "morgue."]
So, let me ask, how do YOU want to die? Not in which WAY do you want to die (by sword, or drowning, or in your sleep), but HOW?
I'm just dying to hear...
Why?
For one, because I don't fear it. Three years ago I committed to cast fear out of my life. I chose in January 2005 to choose no path based on fear of what might become or fear of what might not.
But more importantly, I think about death a lot because, well, because I think about LIFE a lot. How I want to live this life. How I want to live this life to the fullest. How we only live once so we might as well throw all caution to the wind and give it all we got while we can.
So, I've already made Kirk very (and perhaps morbidly) aware, that when I die, I just want to have died Tired. Not tired merely in a negative sense in which I am so physically exhausted that I can't lift another finger or take another breath (but maybe), but Tired more in the sense that I gave Life with a capital L my All with a capital A. That I sucked the oxygen out of every opportunity before moving on to the next. That I walked through every metaphorical door that I was meant to walk through. That I didn't leave anything to chance. That I refused to make decisions based on fear, but tackled Life with courage and gusto.
Tombstones often read something to the sweet effect of
Devoted Wife and Mother
Loved by All
When I die, I would like for my gravemarker to simply state:
Devoted Mom and Wife.
She kicked the tail out of life.
And then just let it be. Isn't that enough said? (And I might add, it does have a nice ring to it, right?)
And, if I indeed get my last wish and die Tired, wouldn't that mean then that I truly deserve to rest in peace? Aha! It all is making sense now, isn't it! [And to think you thought you lost me at "morgue."]
So, let me ask, how do YOU want to die? Not in which WAY do you want to die (by sword, or drowning, or in your sleep), but HOW?
I'm just dying to hear...
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
A busy week, so must plagiarize...
(Reprinted from sojo.net 2.9.2006)
The Prayer of Jabez falls short in Africa
by David Batstone
Bruce Wilkinson, author of the best-selling book The Prayer of Jabez, made a big splash nearly four years ago when he announced his ambitious plan to help children suffering from AIDS in Africa.
Not everything for Wilkinson has gone according to plan, unfortunately. A page one feature in the Dec. 19 The Wall Street Journal captures the sad tale in a nutshell: "In 2002 Bruce Wilkinson, a Georgia preacher whose self-help prayer book had made him a rich man, heard God's call, moved to Africa and announced his intention to save one million children left orphaned by the AIDS epidemic. In October [2005], Wilkinson resigned in a huff from the African charity he founded. He abandoned his plan to house 10,000 children in a facility that was to be an orphanage, bed-and-breakfast, game reserve, Bible college, industrial park and Disneyesque tourist destination in the tiny kingdom of Swaziland. What happened in between is a story of grand hopes and inexperience, divine inspiration and human foibles. …[H]is departure left critics convinced he was just another in a long parade of outsiders who have come to Africa making big promises and quit the continent when local people didn't bend to their will."
It is not my aim to gloat at Wilkinson's failure. To the contrary, I mourn what this means for the millions of African children in crisis who apparently will not benefit from his efforts. I also want to honor Wilkinson's desire to help the least fortunate. It would have been easy for him to take the wealth he gained from his book sales and live a life of personal comfort.
This chain of events, however, should not pass without a moment of theological reflection. The "blessed life" that Wilkinson has helped to promote carries with it a number of assumptions about where God is present in the world, and how God acts in response to the prayers of the faithful.
The Prayer of Jabez is based on a passage out of the book of Chronicles, in which a devoted man named Jabez asks God for a favor: "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from hurt and harm!" The fact that God honors Jabez' prayer and blesses him with great riches indicates to Wilkinson a God-principle. If we in pure heart ask God for a blessing - and do so using the very words that Jabez prayed - then God will bring wondrous gifts into our life. As The Wall Street Journal reports, Wilkinson interprets the wild commercial success of his books (roughly 20 million copies sold combined) as yet another proof of the miraculous power of the Jabez prayer. In other words, it worked for Jabez, it worked for Wilkinson, and now it should work for you. With the fiasco in Africa now behind him - and the full Journal report makes clear that fiasco is the appropriate term - I wonder if Wilkinson has reconsidered his theology.
Maybe because I spent so many years in poor regions of the globe I could never accept the prayer-in-blessing-out approach to faithful living. Straight to the point, I have known too many devoted Christians for whom life did not bring them material blessing. Their children still died of infectious diseases that plagued their village. They could not avoid the violence that dictators and ideologues so often use to cow the powerless. Their territory did not expand because their only path for survival was a daily labor with their hands. Yet they did not lose faith, or cease praying for God's blessing.
As I ponder on their lives, I find a more fitting theology for God's presence and action in the world to be laid out in the book of Hebrews. There we are encouraged to have "faith in things not yet seen," and are offered models of individuals who tried to lead devoted lives that honor God. We read that some of them did receive great material blessings, while others ended up in the dens of lions or stoned due to their principled living. We learn, in other words, that God does hear their prayers and loves them profoundly, but it does not always bring them material riches or expanded territory.
Wilkinson's doctrine in fact implies that social structures are immaterial. An individual reciting the right prayer can transcend an AIDS epidemic in his or her village or escape being bought and sold into slavery (like 27 million people on this planet yet today). Perhaps now that Wilkinson has immersed himself in Africa, he better understands that the curse of poverty is not a spiritual punishment, or an indication of a lack of faith. To bring blessings to the orphans and widows of Africa, a dramatic shift in values - political, economic, and personal - will be required. And that challenge cannot be owned by Africans alone; it falls squarely on the shoulders of us in rich nations, who enjoy such great material "blessings."
Just like the next Bible reader, I could pick out individual passages that seem to suggest that God will give us whatever we desire as long as we ask for it with a pure heart. "You can even move this mountain" with such a prayer, as Jesus teaches his disciples in the gospels. I do not summarily discount these passages, nor do I assume that we should never pray for rain in a time of drought.
But the weight of the biblical message balances heavily toward a prayer life that yields courage, love, and compassion to do the will of God. The expectation of material gain and miraculous blessings may even distract us on that pilgrimage. The passage in Hebrews calls us, based on past heroes of the faith, "to run the race in front of us," confident that devoting our lives to God's work is all the reward we will ever need.
The Prayer of Jabez falls short in Africa
by David Batstone
Bruce Wilkinson, author of the best-selling book The Prayer of Jabez, made a big splash nearly four years ago when he announced his ambitious plan to help children suffering from AIDS in Africa.
Not everything for Wilkinson has gone according to plan, unfortunately. A page one feature in the Dec. 19 The Wall Street Journal captures the sad tale in a nutshell: "In 2002 Bruce Wilkinson, a Georgia preacher whose self-help prayer book had made him a rich man, heard God's call, moved to Africa and announced his intention to save one million children left orphaned by the AIDS epidemic. In October [2005], Wilkinson resigned in a huff from the African charity he founded. He abandoned his plan to house 10,000 children in a facility that was to be an orphanage, bed-and-breakfast, game reserve, Bible college, industrial park and Disneyesque tourist destination in the tiny kingdom of Swaziland. What happened in between is a story of grand hopes and inexperience, divine inspiration and human foibles. …[H]is departure left critics convinced he was just another in a long parade of outsiders who have come to Africa making big promises and quit the continent when local people didn't bend to their will."
It is not my aim to gloat at Wilkinson's failure. To the contrary, I mourn what this means for the millions of African children in crisis who apparently will not benefit from his efforts. I also want to honor Wilkinson's desire to help the least fortunate. It would have been easy for him to take the wealth he gained from his book sales and live a life of personal comfort.
This chain of events, however, should not pass without a moment of theological reflection. The "blessed life" that Wilkinson has helped to promote carries with it a number of assumptions about where God is present in the world, and how God acts in response to the prayers of the faithful.
The Prayer of Jabez is based on a passage out of the book of Chronicles, in which a devoted man named Jabez asks God for a favor: "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from hurt and harm!" The fact that God honors Jabez' prayer and blesses him with great riches indicates to Wilkinson a God-principle. If we in pure heart ask God for a blessing - and do so using the very words that Jabez prayed - then God will bring wondrous gifts into our life. As The Wall Street Journal reports, Wilkinson interprets the wild commercial success of his books (roughly 20 million copies sold combined) as yet another proof of the miraculous power of the Jabez prayer. In other words, it worked for Jabez, it worked for Wilkinson, and now it should work for you. With the fiasco in Africa now behind him - and the full Journal report makes clear that fiasco is the appropriate term - I wonder if Wilkinson has reconsidered his theology.
Maybe because I spent so many years in poor regions of the globe I could never accept the prayer-in-blessing-out approach to faithful living. Straight to the point, I have known too many devoted Christians for whom life did not bring them material blessing. Their children still died of infectious diseases that plagued their village. They could not avoid the violence that dictators and ideologues so often use to cow the powerless. Their territory did not expand because their only path for survival was a daily labor with their hands. Yet they did not lose faith, or cease praying for God's blessing.
As I ponder on their lives, I find a more fitting theology for God's presence and action in the world to be laid out in the book of Hebrews. There we are encouraged to have "faith in things not yet seen," and are offered models of individuals who tried to lead devoted lives that honor God. We read that some of them did receive great material blessings, while others ended up in the dens of lions or stoned due to their principled living. We learn, in other words, that God does hear their prayers and loves them profoundly, but it does not always bring them material riches or expanded territory.
Wilkinson's doctrine in fact implies that social structures are immaterial. An individual reciting the right prayer can transcend an AIDS epidemic in his or her village or escape being bought and sold into slavery (like 27 million people on this planet yet today). Perhaps now that Wilkinson has immersed himself in Africa, he better understands that the curse of poverty is not a spiritual punishment, or an indication of a lack of faith. To bring blessings to the orphans and widows of Africa, a dramatic shift in values - political, economic, and personal - will be required. And that challenge cannot be owned by Africans alone; it falls squarely on the shoulders of us in rich nations, who enjoy such great material "blessings."
Just like the next Bible reader, I could pick out individual passages that seem to suggest that God will give us whatever we desire as long as we ask for it with a pure heart. "You can even move this mountain" with such a prayer, as Jesus teaches his disciples in the gospels. I do not summarily discount these passages, nor do I assume that we should never pray for rain in a time of drought.
But the weight of the biblical message balances heavily toward a prayer life that yields courage, love, and compassion to do the will of God. The expectation of material gain and miraculous blessings may even distract us on that pilgrimage. The passage in Hebrews calls us, based on past heroes of the faith, "to run the race in front of us," confident that devoting our lives to God's work is all the reward we will ever need.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Tru Dat
"It is not a matter of engaging in both the gospel and social action, as if Christian social action was something separate from the gospel itself. The gospel has to be demonstrated in word and deed. Biblically, the gospel includes the totality of all that is good news from God for all that is bad news in human life—in every sphere. So like Jesus, authentic Christian mission has included good news for the poor, compassion for the sick and suffering justice for the oppressed, liberation for the enslaved. The gospel of the Servant of God in the power of the Spirit of God addresses every area of human need and every area that has been broken and twisted by sin and evil. And the heart of the gospel, in all of these areas, is the cross of Christ."
- Christopher J. H. Wright, International director of John Stott Ministries (from Knowing the Holy Spirit Throught the Old Testament)
- Christopher J. H. Wright, International director of John Stott Ministries (from Knowing the Holy Spirit Throught the Old Testament)
Monday, June 23, 2008
Your state tax dollars proudly at work!
[David Huebner = my father!]
SJR0881
01605651
-
TENNESSEE SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 881
By Johnson
A RESOLUTION to honor and congratulate David Huebner, on his
receipt of the Mullane Award for his selection as
Tennessee Geography Teacher of the Year.
WHEREAS, it is fitting that the members of this General Assembly should pause to
specially recognize those outstanding teachers who have devoted their careers to providing the
highest quality education for Tennessee's students; and
WHEREAS, David Huebner is one such estimable educator, who has distinguished
himself as a professional of the greatest dedication, ability, and integrity; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Huebner has recently received the Mullane Award for his selection as
Tennessee Geography Teacher of Year, an honor most befitting his outstanding tenure as a
teacher as it recognizes the positive influence he has had on so many young lives; and
WHEREAS, the prestigious Mullane Award is named in honor of Tom and Stella Mullane
and is given to the Tennessee Geography Teacher of the Year; in addition to this honor, Mr.
Huebner also received a plaque and a cash award; and
WHEREAS, an ordained pastor with a background in music business, David Huebner
received his bachelor's degree in geography and a master’s degree in religious education from
the University of Texas-Austin and a master's degree in teaching from Belmont University; and
WHEREAS, David Huebner has served with acumen and alacrity as a geography
teacher for six exemplary years and is currently teaching for a second year at Ravenwood High
School, where he is also the geography department’s team leader; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Huebner is an extremely talented and compassionate educator who
works assiduously to motivate his students to reach their full potential, both as scholars and as
citizens; and
WHEREAS, David Huebner brings a unique world perspective to his teaching; he spent
four years of his childhood in Japan, lived in Alaska when he was a teenager, and has traveled
all over the United States, and he brings all of these experiences into his classroom lessons;
and
WHEREAS, a forward-thinking teacher, he grabs his students’ attention by starting each
class with a song of the day that is related to the day’s lesson and incorporates the latest
technologies and educational tools into his teaching, using programs such as Google Earth,
Movie Maker, and Photo Story 3 to make his lessons come to life for his students; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Huebner generously donates his time and talents to the students at
Ravenwood High School as the sponsor of Ravenwood’s Model United Nations club; and
WHEREAS, although he has received top recognition for his admirable teaching, David
Huebner continues in his tireless pursuit of quality teaching, stating that he will never be
satisfied with who he is as a teacher, and he will always try to be a better one; and
WHEREAS, David Huebner truly serves as an inspiration to his colleagues and students
alike, and his friendship and counsel are highly valued by those who are fortunate to know him;
and
WHEREAS, his many professional accomplishments aside, David Huebner is most
appreciative of the love, support, and companionship he shares with his family; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Huebner truly epitomizes the ideal of the dedicated teacher who is
wholly committed to the highest ideals of public service and quality education for all, and he
should be specially recognized; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIFTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
CONCURRING, that we hereby honor and congratulate David Huebner of Ravenwood High
School on being chosen as the recipient of the Mullane Award as Tennessee Geography
Teacher of the Year, commend his exceptional service to the children of Tennessee, salute his
professional expertise and personal excellence, and wish him all the best in his future
endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy.
SJR0881
01605651
-
TENNESSEE SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 881
By Johnson
A RESOLUTION to honor and congratulate David Huebner, on his
receipt of the Mullane Award for his selection as
Tennessee Geography Teacher of the Year.
WHEREAS, it is fitting that the members of this General Assembly should pause to
specially recognize those outstanding teachers who have devoted their careers to providing the
highest quality education for Tennessee's students; and
WHEREAS, David Huebner is one such estimable educator, who has distinguished
himself as a professional of the greatest dedication, ability, and integrity; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Huebner has recently received the Mullane Award for his selection as
Tennessee Geography Teacher of Year, an honor most befitting his outstanding tenure as a
teacher as it recognizes the positive influence he has had on so many young lives; and
WHEREAS, the prestigious Mullane Award is named in honor of Tom and Stella Mullane
and is given to the Tennessee Geography Teacher of the Year; in addition to this honor, Mr.
Huebner also received a plaque and a cash award; and
WHEREAS, an ordained pastor with a background in music business, David Huebner
received his bachelor's degree in geography and a master’s degree in religious education from
the University of Texas-Austin and a master's degree in teaching from Belmont University; and
WHEREAS, David Huebner has served with acumen and alacrity as a geography
teacher for six exemplary years and is currently teaching for a second year at Ravenwood High
School, where he is also the geography department’s team leader; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Huebner is an extremely talented and compassionate educator who
works assiduously to motivate his students to reach their full potential, both as scholars and as
citizens; and
WHEREAS, David Huebner brings a unique world perspective to his teaching; he spent
four years of his childhood in Japan, lived in Alaska when he was a teenager, and has traveled
all over the United States, and he brings all of these experiences into his classroom lessons;
and
WHEREAS, a forward-thinking teacher, he grabs his students’ attention by starting each
class with a song of the day that is related to the day’s lesson and incorporates the latest
technologies and educational tools into his teaching, using programs such as Google Earth,
Movie Maker, and Photo Story 3 to make his lessons come to life for his students; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Huebner generously donates his time and talents to the students at
Ravenwood High School as the sponsor of Ravenwood’s Model United Nations club; and
WHEREAS, although he has received top recognition for his admirable teaching, David
Huebner continues in his tireless pursuit of quality teaching, stating that he will never be
satisfied with who he is as a teacher, and he will always try to be a better one; and
WHEREAS, David Huebner truly serves as an inspiration to his colleagues and students
alike, and his friendship and counsel are highly valued by those who are fortunate to know him;
and
WHEREAS, his many professional accomplishments aside, David Huebner is most
appreciative of the love, support, and companionship he shares with his family; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Huebner truly epitomizes the ideal of the dedicated teacher who is
wholly committed to the highest ideals of public service and quality education for all, and he
should be specially recognized; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIFTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
CONCURRING, that we hereby honor and congratulate David Huebner of Ravenwood High
School on being chosen as the recipient of the Mullane Award as Tennessee Geography
Teacher of the Year, commend his exceptional service to the children of Tennessee, salute his
professional expertise and personal excellence, and wish him all the best in his future
endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy.
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