Gut Check

Ever ask/been asked those kinds of questions that result in a gut check? I have. Quite a bit recently. Well check out Cerulean Sanctum The "Gut Check" Series. Dan Edelen asks the tough ones. The responses given in the comments are what you would expect. Some echo exactly what you or I are thinking and some are exactly the kind of "knee jerk" response you come to expect. (Not a lot...but some.)

So give it a whirl. Some, after I read them, caused me to just want to pass right on by and not delve any deeper. I saw myself in everyone of them.

Eric

If You Can Bless It...

...it must be legit!

(HT to First Things)

Michael Novak writes:

Beer Blessing
From the Rituale Romanum (no 58)

Bene+dic, Domine, creaturam istam cerevisae, quam ex adipe frumenti producere dignatus es: ut sit remedium salutare humano generi: et praesta per invocationem nominis tui sancti, ut, quicumque ex ea biberint, sanitatem corporis, et animae tutelam percipiant. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen

Bless, O Lord, this creature beer, that Thou hast been pleased to bring forth from the sweetness of the grain: that it might be a salutary remedy for the human race: and grant by the invocation of Thy holy name, that, whosoever drinks of it may obtain health of body and a sure safeguard for the soul. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Pass the beer...

Eric

10 Questions About Books

1. One book that changed your life:
The Bible

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
Several:
LOTR Trilogy
Stephen Lawhead's "Arthur/Merlin" series
"Hitchhiker's" Trilogy

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
The Bible


4. One book that made you laugh:
Any Calvin and Hobbes Anthology
The aforementioned "Hitchhiker's" Trilogy

5. One book that made you cry:
"An Alien at St. Wilfred's" - Adrian Plass

6. One book that you wish had been written:
"How Not To Be Socially Inept as an ADD'er"

7. One book that you wish had never been written:
The "Left Behind" series...can I have that time in my life back??

8. One book you’re currently reading:
"Knight Life" by Peter David

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
Finish Calvin's "Institutes" and several other "big books" I've started and are gathering dust on my shelves...

10. Now tag five people:

If'n you 'ount to...

Eric

Wimmin in Ministry...

...Just so's you know...I have nothing against female missionaries, female sunday school teachers, or female small group leaders. I think wimmin can do most anything a man can do. That said, I still have a hard time reconcilling women in authority over men in the church. Some churches have wimmin pastors and that's their choice. They think they have the right to do so and have been able to back it up with scripture (I think "spin" is a wonderful word don't you??). I think that men, who have gotten so tired of radical, feminist ranting about how evil men are, how men don't understand wimmin, (We don't most of the time and some of the time we understand you better than you think!), and how men let the power of a patriarchial society, inside and outside the church, go to their heads and put down and destroy wimmin in general. These same men have given up leadership to wimmin.

(My mom was the spiritual leader in our house growing up. Dad wasn't a Christian and still isn't. I had mainly men sunday school teachers throughout my church life but had more wimmin than men school teachers.)

Now men are starting to assert themselves more. And some wimmin are glad of that. Some aren't. Some see it as an usurpation of their power base although I doubt any of them would willingly admit it. After all, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely regardless of your gender!

So I stick to a mainly conservative approach to wimmin in ministry. Mine might be a little more liberal than some of the more staunch, die-hards of the faith, but I still say wimmin pastors are a no-no. Like I said in the first paragraph, I can reconcile wimmin missionaries, (Yeah Kari!) wimmin sunday school teachers and wimmin small group leaders (of other wimmin). I'm not a misogynist. I'm not "putting wimmin in their place". I'm not forcing submission of the "weaker" sex. It's what I believe based on what I read in the Bible.

This has become a topic of conversation over at the BHT. Ellen has a pretty good post on the subject HERE. And Michael has one HERE.

You read, you decide...

Eric

New Link on the Sidebar

It's called CCM Patrol and their motto is:

WHERE CHRISTIAN MUSIC IS ALLOWED TO GET BAD REVIEWS. REALLY BAD REVIEWS.

Now is that too funny or what???

Go there...have some fun!

(BTW...Kari...email me you blog link...I lost it from my sidebar about a month ago...

Eric

Bringing One Of Our Own Home

A local man, a Sgt. Turner of the US Army, was killed in Iraq this month. He is being brought home and it's created quite a stir. Read the article HERE and especially the comments.

Why do people have to be such jerks when someone dies? To make someone's grief their platform to protest? I know it's a not-so-subtle and very effective weapon in one's oratorical arsenal but to drag your opinions of this war and this administration at a time when a wife has lost her husband, a father and mother have lost their son, is just, well, despicable.

And yet, there was a time when I was younger (not by much!), when I would have jumped on that very same opportunity to voice my opinion in the marketplace of ideas because, after all of my 30+ years of experience, I knew it all!

What a dork!

Let's mourn first. Let's help those in need. Let's honor this man's sacrifice. And then, if you want to debate the war, call O'Reilly. Call Larry King. Enter into a debate on your local newstalk show. Just don't do it in front of those who have come to mourn when the wound is still fresh, when the pain is still poignant, when the tears haven't stopped flowing.

Eric

Deep Thoughts

From Mickey's Funnies!

Over the years, I have engaged in considerable deep thought about (among other things): Our place in the universe, ancient civilizations, human migrations, international conflicts, local and world economics, ozone depletion, the human genome, cloning, pollution, racism, local and world politics, population growth, extinctions, natural disasters, the environment, health care, MySpace, human relations, the space-time continuum and other aspects of relativity, and other factors that affect mankind's struggle to exist.

After all of that deep thought, I have arrived at this conclusion: When all is said and done, in spite of or because of what we may or may not do or think, it is just as likely as not that, for better or for worse, everything will turn out one way or another, sooner or later.

Yeah...like that.

Eric

Release Your Inner Jackson Pollock

Follow the link and make some art!

Jackson Pollock dot Org

Eric

Thoughts On 25 at 41

There's a young man over at The Boar's Head Tavern who lacks a bit of couth. He states, at age 25, that his "experience" has given him greater insight than most.

What a crock!

Just read some of his posts and you'll see that he is either a rather clever fella who enjoys pushing and knowing what buttons to push or he's just a pain in the arse who really hasn't grown up.

I can relate.

Looking back at 25 from the halfway point of 41 I can see I was a lot like this young man. I was recently married, progressing in my chosen profession, growing in my faith, working with youth and seeming to have arrived in some sort of fashion. If asked, I would humbly admit I had a lot to learn but my arrogance lie in the fact that secretly, I understood it all. At the ripe old age of 25.

What a crock!

Looking back I can see those who were in their 40's, sly grin on their faces because they knew, they just knew, I was full of shite.

I was arrogant, self-righteous, full of piss and wind and I wasn't afraid to do the Lord's work and call a spade a spade. I offended but didn't care. After all, if they couldn't handle a little offense then they had no business being in the marketplace of ideas. Compassion was sending money to the poor orphans overseas via World Vision or Christian Children's Fund. Compassion was telling the homeless guy to get a job then buying him a Big Mac. Compassion was telling the homosexual he's receive his reward for his behaviour.

What a crock!

I probably did more harm to the cause of Christ, more harm to my family, more harm to my friends between 25 and 35 than I realize.

At 40, after failing miserably in my career twice, after two near neravous breakdowns, after relying on God then going my own way once things were hunky-dory, I see that I was a fool. Not even a fool for Christ. Just a plain, old fool. It wasn't my great apologetic abilities. It wasn't my insight into nuanced situations. It wasn't my "core beliefs" and "christian worldview". No, it was something I'd forgotten from day one. It is the Gospel of Christ. I completely screwed up telling about the one thing in the universe that means more than anyone's theology. The Gospel of Christ.

And to be honest, I am such a weenie when it comes to looking like a hypocrit, I hide my faith behind a translucent wall of wishy-washyness!

I guess I should live what I believe....

Eric

Random Thoughts

Are you a man?

“A Man should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently and die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. – Robert A. Heinlein

So says Robert Heinlein...

I'm a writer. I got kudos from another writer who said, quote, "Okay dude, you can write."

Made me feel all tingly inside! ;)

So here's an article from Reuters about the worst opening sentence of a novel...

It was a long and twisting sentence...

Wed Jul 12, 8:34 AM ET

An opening sentence containing a burrito, an angel and a shovel was judged appalling enough to win the annual Bulwer-Lytton literary parody prize on Tuesday.

Retired mechanical designer Jim Guigli of California was proclaimed winner of the contest, which challenges entrants to submit their worst opening sentence of an imaginary novel.

Guigli's winning entry read: "Detective Bart Lasiter was in his office studying the light from his one small window falling on his super burrito when the door swung open to reveal a woman whose body said you've had your last burrito for a while, whose face said angels did exist, and whose eyes said she could make you dig your own grave and lick the shovel clean."

Guigli's powers of invention and his determination to succeed -- he submitted 60 different entries -- also won him a "dishonorable mention" in the historical fiction category.

"My motivation for entering the contest was to find a constructive outlet for my dementia," Guigli quipped.

The Bulwer-Lytton fiction contest was started in 1982 by the English Department at San Jose State University to honor the Victorian novelist who opened his 1830 novel "Paul Clifford" with what were to become the immortal words, "It was a dark and stormy night."

It began as a quiet campus affair and now attracts thousands of entries from around the world. But the grand prize winner receives only a pittance and other winners "must content themselves with becoming household names," organizers say.

The 2006 runner-up, Stuart Vasepuru from Scotland, played with one of the most famous pieces of dialogue from the Clint Eastwood movie "Dirty Harry."

"I know what you're thinking, punk," hissed Wordy Harry to his new editor, "you're thinking, 'Did he use six superfluous adjectives or only five?' -- and to tell the truth, I forgot myself in all this excitement; but being as this is English, the most powerful language in the world, whose subtle nuances will blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' -- well do you, punk?"

I loved that scene from "Dirty Harry" almost as much as the "Make my day" scene.

This last week saw me fighting off three panic attacks. Excuse my French but I fucking hate these things. I know what comes next. They are the prelude to depression. Combine that with another bout of head rushes whenever I stand (they seem to all come together...panic attacks, depression and orthostatic hypostension syncope), and this last two weeks have just sucked.

I understand depression. Don't know if what I have is just run-of-the-mill blues due to circumstances of diagnosable clinical depression. I undestand most of it is my response to situations and circumstances. And I know it steals joy like a thief who knows when to grab the candy bar when the store clerks back is turned. Joy comes and goes fleetingly. Things which brought me a smile and made my day brighter burn out faster than before. Maybe it's because it's been one year since I crashed and burned at the USFS? Maybe it's a bit of self-loathing that, at 40, I still don't get it. Like someone said at the ADD Forums on-line, it's like we were absent that day in school, back at age 7, when all of this was explained to us.

I want to get angry at the depression. At the ennui. At the boredom. At the inanities like I used to. But lately I feel like Marvin the Robot in the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". "What's the use?", Marvin is fond of saying. I know, I have a lot to be thankful for; my life, my faith, my family, my dogs. But right now, I just want to sit in the backyard and watch the grass grow; that's how much motivation I have to do anything.

Funny...I just thought about motivation. I've been procrastinating on two stories I'm writing. They are pretty much outlined in my head but I haven't put more than a couple thousand words to paper...er...computer. One is 3/4 done and needs to be overhauled. One has just started and the ideas need to be put down. And yet, I have no motivation to do any of that. Funny...I could be doing it now instead of whining on the internet.

"What's the use?" - Marvin the Robot

Eric