It's the start of the school year. All the students are showing up with there books, new pens, and binders on top of binders [I sooo look forward to the day when everything is digital and binders are a thing of the past]. This is a time of anticipation and hope. The year is still young, and the excitement is fresh.
Somewhere buried in distant memories are the struggles of last year, but those are faded now. The remembrance of long projects, all-nighters, and cramming parties have given way to thoughts of friendships being re-established, dreams being pursued, and life goals becoming more of a reality.
I look at school sort of like pregnancy. I just want to say to the girl, "Did you forget what you went through the first time!?" And the answer is invariably, YES! Well, maybe not totally.... As much as it would be nice to attribute such actions to long term memory lost, I think it is so much more than that. It's as if, with perspective, we are able to balance out the pain of an instant with the benefit of a life time.
The truth is that I am pumped for this year. I have so much anticipation for what I am going to learn and how I am going to grow. Are there going to be hard times? Sure, but it is so worth it, which is why I am back for more!
I am leaving today for orientation!!! Ahhhh!! I am sooo excited. We are going up to Trinity Pines Lodge in Cascade, ID. I will see you all next week!!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
With the wind in my face and my stomach in my throat, I hurtled downward toward the icy river below. A second earlier I was standing on the uppermost truss of a bridge, my feet solidly planted on the metal beneath me, and my destiny in my own hands. However after taking that epic step, all control was lost. I had no other option than to ride out the free fall, and enjoy the exhilaration from which there was no returning.
Splash!
Frigid waters encapsulated me, and tried to steal the oxygen from my lungs. Frantically, I paddled my arms to reach the surface... and air.
I Cannot believe that school is just around the corner. In one week I will be going to the HITC [Harvest International Training] Orientation. AAHHHH!! I'm so excited!!!
The fair is truly an amazing event. With roots going back over 150 years into our nation's history, it is a chance to step back into simpler times. Only a few generations back, a man would move out west with nothing more than his wife, a wagon full of supplies, and a dream. The dream was simple: start a new life, a better life, a life where he and he alone was his own master. Many men died on such a journey, but many more succeeded, and it was through the courage of men like this that the Western United States was founded.
Just like today, men in those days complained of overcrowding. The first people to arrive got their pick of the choicest land. The land was pure and untouched by the western world. They were far enough away from civilization to where they felt like the only person on earth, and at the same time just close enough to others in case of an emergency. However, as more and more people moved west, neighbors became a nuisance. People would complain about being able to see their neighbor's chimney smoke on a clear summer day.
Circumstances have changed a lot over the last couple centuries, but one thing that has not changed is people's need for community. With all this adventure and isolation, people still had the need for community, and one thing that they would do is go to the county fair. People lived off the land: they ate what they could grow or kill, they wore clothes that they made themselves, and their hobbies were making trinkets with their own two hands. However once a year people would bring all these items together in one central place to share a sense of community and engage in some neighborly competition.
Technology and modern culture have absolutely had their effect on fairs over the decades, but what strikes me most about the fair is how much has not changed. Yes there are the shows, and the rides, and all the vendors in the sides of semi-trucks. But when I went through the different exhibition halls and look at the quilting displays, and the crafts, and the painting, I was brought back to a simpler time, when these things would have been the center point of culture. It was an amazing journey back into the history pages of our country.
However, after my little jaunt of nostalgia, I needed modern-day thrill. I got three other friends and went on the meanest, wildest ride I could find. It was awesome!!
One thing that I have been thinking a lot about over the course of the last several weeks is the question of timing. When doing something new, timing is perhaps one of the most difficult questions to answer. Often times, when the government works on a new construction project, the project is completed late, and over budget. Also, new product roll-outs for companies are routinely delayed and pushed back. Then there are the numerous explorers and adventurers over the centuries who expeditions took longer, and were more difficult than they anticipated.
Timing is a difficult question to answer, and it is one that I am facing right now with my blog. As many of you know, I was originally hoping to go to Mexico this fall. While I have talked to people individually, I wanted to officially announce on this blog that this plan has been delayed, at least for one year. I want you to understand that I am not disappointed, dismayed, or discouraged by this turn of events. In some ways it was expected.
Mexico was a dream that is still very much alive in my heart and mind. This is not the end! On the contrary, one thing that I discovered is that in order to make Mexico happen, there was something else that need to happen first: training. Through talking to family, friends, and leaders in my life, I realized that I need to finish my education before I stepped out on the mission field. I have one more year of bible college before I have my bachelors degree, and I need to talk advantage of this opportunity. In looking at my life and the direction that it is headed, not only will this education be vital in fulfilling my mission in life, but it is likely my last opportunity of complete it. I am not getting any younger, and my life is moving so quickly right now, that must take this chance to finish college while the door is still open.
With that said, something I want to say to all of you is: don't be afraid of detours. Yes, it seems glamorous and romantic to drop everything and run after a dream without any inhibitions, but how effectively will you accomplish your goal? The position I am in right now is that I want to best accomplish the work that God has for me. If I were to say that I wanted to most quickly accomplish this goal, I could get down to Mexico a lot more quickly.
In truth, I have the money where I could go down there right if I really wanted to. But what would I accomplish after I got down there? How effective would I be? What work would actually get done? The way I look at it, if I prepare now, then I will be much more effective later.
And so I say to you: don't be afraid to prepare now. Don't be afraid to invest in your future. Don't be afraid to become the best you can be so that when you do step out you are equipped and ready for the work that God has for you.
I will see you all tomorrow for more adventures. I have pictures and stories to tell you from the fair last week. It was so much fun. Don't miss it!
Todd Akin: Imbecilic the Month
Provided by: en.wikipedia.org
It has been said, that the fastest way to kill a movement is
to support it with false arguments.
There has been a lot of news lately about a misguided
politician who has blundered his way though one of the most sensitive and
intimate subjects in modern politics.
This buffoon, in a few short sentences, managed to do more harm than the
entire liberal media has been able to do in the last several years. In the hearts and minds of so many Americans
across the spectrum of the political world, his comments were condescending,
offensives, and just plain wrong!
As a social and political conservative who has strong views
on the subject of the origin of a human life, I feel as though it is my obligation
to stand up for the truth after it has been so egregiously assaulted over the
last couple of days. I fully understand
that it is not the type of subject that is typically discussed in religious
circles. Christians often times do not
like to discuss this type of thing; it’s too uncomfortable. Instead, many Christians adopt an abortion
form of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”
Christians who have grown up within the hierarchy of church know how
they are supposed to be, know how they are supposed to think, and know how they
are supposed to act. If they are out of
step with that view, then they do not say anything out of respect for those who
have gone before them. And if they do
tow the social-conservative-Christian line, then why talk about something so
uncomfortable?
Akin disqualifies himself for office in 38 seconds
The problem with this logic is that it provides little-to-no
guidance for those following after them.
It leaves new Christians open to confusion and question when they hear a
bungling idiot come along like the one who was flapping his mouth several days
ago.
In order to fully encapsulate this subject, it is vital to remember
the full context of what the Bible says.
The Bible talks about marriage being the most beautiful, sacred, and
precious relationship in a person’s life.
This relationship is distinct from anything else in all of
creation. It is given special priority
and significance in scripture, and it is designated to be the one relationship
that best helps us understand our relationship with God. In fact, out of all the rites and ceremonies
in the bible, the institution of marriage is the only one that appears in both
the Old and the New Testament of the bible.
It is designed to be a little taste of heaven with joy unspeakable,
unmatched closeness, and totally vulnerability.
And… at its most special and intimate
point, a miracle happens: life! While
science seeks to explain it, it cannot duplicate it. It is truly amazing that the combined
facilities, money, and genius of the entire scientific community cannot produce
out of inorganic material what two loving people can produce: a child.
The intimacy between a man and a woman is the single most
remarkable thing in all of creation, because out of this union an eternal soul
begins its existence.
Therefore, out of all the perversions that exist on earth,
there is nothing as abominable as one that would seek to transform what is most
precious into something vile. The act of
a man trying to “take” what can only be “given” is more than just a violation
of law. It is a violation of humanity.
While I cannot totally relate to what a woman would go
through is such a horrendous circumstance, my life has been personally touched
by this type of tragedy. Things could
have been worse for me. Others have had
it worse than I. But suffice it to say
that I have experienced more than I would have chosen, at an age earlier than what
I would have chosen. Dealing with this
tragedy has been one of the greatest victories of my life, but arriving at this
place of wholeness has only been possible through walking my own personal trail
of tears.
On the downhill side of my mountain of adversity, I am
grateful that it was not worse. It could
have been much worse. I don’t know how I
would have coped with circumstances that other people have had to face. This acknowledgement is not a repudiation of
God. He is faithful. Rather it is a simple acknowledgment of the
limitations of my own soul. I do not
know how I would have been able to deal with the questions, the shame, or the
confusion that could have ensued had things been worse. Therefore, when I hear about someone who has
been touched by this type of tragedy, my heart goes out for them. Words cannot express how this type of violation
wars against one’s own soul.
And then, after I think about all this, I let me mind wander
a little further….
What if someone was to suffer everything I suffered and
worse, and what if that “someone” was a young lady, and what if that young
lady, on top of everything, else was to be faced with an unplanned
pregnancy? I cannot imagine. The grief… the confusion… the shame…. I shake my head. I cannot imagine.
Everyone knows: this is not
how life is supposed to begin, this is not
how it’s meant to work, and this is not
how it is supposed to be…. And yet, it is…. This circumstance that never should happen…
does happen.
What do we do with that?
Where do we go? What do we do
with the innocent victim that was so brutalized? What do we do with the scum of a male [I
avoid the term “man” on purpose because he has abdicated his role in society]
who has violated the purpose of his very existence? And what do we do with the miracle of life
that is now growing inside of her?
These are tough questions.
No sane person will deny that it was not suppose to happen this
way. We are stuck in a situation where
there is there is no “good” answer. All
we have is the “least worst” answer. And
what is that answer? Where do we go from
here?
In the instance of a “planned” pregnancy, if a woman is
attacked, and the baby does not survive, the wretch of a man is guilty of two
crimes: assault, and the murder of an unborn child. Is this a good law? Is this a bad law? It all depends on your definition of when
life begins.
If a woman chooses to have a late term abortion, or a
partial-birth abortion, is that ok? It
all depends on your definition of when life begins.
When does life begin?
Does life begin when the child becomes self aware [somewhere around the
age of two-years-old]? Some actually do
say yes. Does life begin when the umbilical-cord
is cut? Again, some would say yes. Does life somehow spontaneously come into
being out of living-tissue which is simultaneous “not alive” until it is more
convenient to call it “alive?” [empathetic
shrug]. Or does the miracle of a new
living soul start when two independent and autonomous people come together and
produce a separate living soul?
What is true? My
beliefs are obvious based on the tone of this article. I do not write this article because it is
politically expedient, or because it is the convenient answer. My views are neither. No, I write it because, through my study of
the Bible, my interactions with society, and my knowledge of biology, my
conscience convicts me of the truth.
So what do we do in the case of incest or rape? How do we, as a society, handle a tragic
circumstance which is compounded by an unplanned pregnancy? This is a debate that we need to have as a
country, and it is a debate that must be handled with the utmost care and
respect for the heart wrenching circumstances of the people that must live with
the consequences of the outcome of this debate.
But it is a debate we must have, and it is an issue that we must settle.
There is one more thing I will enter into this discussion:
if “life” does indeed begin at conception, as many would suggest, then even in
cases of rape and incest, there is only one intellectually honest answer to
this debate. It may not be easiest
answer in the short-term, nor will it be most convenient answer. But if true—if life does begin at conception—then
we are left with no alternative, even in these catastrophic cases.
