Scare Tactics

As the days before the upcoming election dwindle away, it would appear many are getting more and more desperate to garner votes away from Barack Obama.

Even the organization Focus on the Family has gotten involved, posting a sixteen-page "letter" written from the perspective of an American Christian in 2012 looking back on four years of an Obama presidency.

When did Focus on the Family go political? And a fear campaign?

Really?

Is James Dobson turning into Emperor Palpatine?

I really doubt Focus on the Family has the political analysts on-staff to make effective predictions. However, that apparently didn't stop them:

Letter from 2012 in Obama's America

I read this and wanted to shoot myself for how ridiculous the claims were.

The author starts by saying that he no longer feels America can be called the land of the free because "[m]any of our freedoms have been taken away by a liberal Supreme Court and a Democratic majority in both the House and the Senate, and hardly any brave citizen dares to resist the new government policies any more." He continues with a chastisement of "young evangelicals" who provided the narrow lead that allowed Obama to pull a win.

The letter addresses at least 34 different issues, from the Pledge of Allegiance to Russia rebuilding the Soviet Bloc (which could NEVER happen to the extent the letter suggests . . . most of those countries are now part of NATO or the EU).

I have neither time, patience, nor energy to address the issues raised--most of which (at least the domestic ones) hinge on three of the nine Supreme Court justices leaving the court and being replaced by Obama appointees. However, if you have time I think you should read it.

It's just sad.

And a lot scarier than an Obama victory, in my opinion.

Jesus and Christianity: Mutually Exclusive?

* * *

DISCLAIMER

This post was written in response to something I read while blog-hopping that kinda got to me. I apologize for any strong wording or seeming disorganization, I promise it makes more sense in context.

Also, I reworded that sentence down there to be a little more PC for you, Anna. Happy? ;)

* * *

In my opinion, more often than not.

(You may not want to let the kids read this one.)

The biggest fault with Christianity today (as well as most other religions) is that it has evolved to a point at which it ceases to be applicable to the day-to-day lives of people. Instead of humble people committed to the ideas of Christ, all that most people outside the faith are able to see is a seemingly hypocritical group who keep rigid adherence to some rules while blatantly disregarding others without any substantial reason why.

I really don't care to get into the whole homosexuality debate, but it makes a great example. The Bible says this is wrong in the Old Testament. However, the Old Testament also says not to touch the skin of a dead pig (anyone ever played football?) or eat shrimp (cocktail shrimp, shrimp gumbo, shrimp sandwich, shrimp scampi, shrimp . . .), while it condones slavery (as long as the person is of a different people group) and stoning adulteresses to death.

(For more examples, see this site.)

The New Testament even suggests women should put off wearing make-up and fancy clothes.

So why is it okay for a woman to show up to a church picnic in lipstick, play football, and eat gumbo when it isn't okay to be gay? I--like many--would really like to know the justification here.

Besides, I am pretty sure it is easier to choose not to wear makeup or play football than it is to choose not to be gay (as partially evidenced by the fact that gay is an adjective and "wear" and "play" are verbs).

It doesn't help the case of most "Christians" that Jesus Himself didn't mention any of these offenses, preferring to tell people that the important thing was to love each other like they love themselves. I would also like to point out the fact that He didn't generally attend the synagogue picnics, instead hanging out with tax collectors and hookers.

But this discrepancy--between what Jesus said and the ideals that "Christians" espouse today--is the second point I would like to address.

Please tell me how it is possible to draw a connection between a Man who encouraged people to feed children and take care of widows and a militant political party whose chief tenet is to look after yourself?

If you try to make the argument that people don't want the government helping people, they would rather donate their own money to a charity of their choice, I would like to know the last time you made a donation to any charity (your own church doesn't count).

If that is your argument, I would also like to know what you think a government is for, if it is not there to take care of its people. Providing broader healthcare coverage isn't socialist--it's smart. And right now the US has one of the worst healthcare systems of any developed nation.

We're even ranked after Cuba.

Ouch.

Anyway, I've drifted considerably from my original purpose and if I don't stop now, I'll keep talking about healthcare until I'm blue in the face.

To close, I would just like to say that, in my opinion, Christianity needs a major facelift--maybe even another Reformation--if it wants to look anything like Jesus. There's a verse in one of the gospels where Jesus asks if the Son of Man will find faith when He returns to the earth.

As it looks right now, He may find a faith . . . but He may not be able to recognize it much as His own.

So I'm a Little Frustrated.

I was looking back over the website for the study abroad program in Rome yesterday to see if I could find out when I would find out whether I was accepted or not and I noticed a very interesting date.

October 1st.

This is the date their website said applications to the program were due.

I was told October 15th by the study abroad advisor at Memphis. And that's when I turned in my application.

Now maybe Memphis is special as a member institution of the group supporting the program.

But I don't know how much hope I hold out for that.

So I'm frustrated.

I mean, I understand that maybe it was my responsibility to make sure I knew all the dates.

But if I go to the office at my university and they tell me the 15th, I'm not really going to question them.

What's the point in a due date, anyway, if it takes place after the date of the programs?

And, if you are a study abroad advisor, aren't you at least partially responsible for advising me correctly?

Shouldn't she have known or said something?

I think so.

If no one is going to help me, why am I paying ridiculous tuition to pay these people?

To complicate matters further, my passport has disappeared into thin air. I've torn my dorm room at Memphis apart. Eight or nine times.

And the same goes for my room at home which has been scoured by me, Mom, Dad, and any of my friends that happened to come close enough to my house to get dragged inside.

Problems that could cause:

I have to fill out two forms. The first one says I lost it, and as soon as I put that one in the mail, my old passport is no longer valid (which, knowing my luck, means I would find it 3-4 minutes after they pick up the mail). The second form(s) involves almost the exact same process as getting a regular passport would. Including, the best I can tell, the roughly $100 in fees and the 6 to 8 weeks for it to be processed.

I don't really have that long, especially since I need a visa.

In addition to all of this, I'm also having one of the busiest weeks academically I've had in a very long time. Papers. Tests. Torment. Anguish. Gnashing of teeth.

That is my life.

I know everything will work out the way it is supposed to, and I have faith enough in God to know that He has a plan.

But that doesn't make all of this any less frustrating.

So, if you were brave (or bored) enough to read all of this, please pray for the whole situation.

Thanks.

Love you.

Swimming

If a mother has a son and wants to teach him to swim, does she throw him into the deep end alone? No! She starts him out in the shallows and works with him until he has learned to swim on his own.

And, once he has learned, can he not swim anywhere? Pools, rivers, lakes, and oceans are his for the exploring.

It is the same way with your Father.

If there is a man who knows all about swimming--the name of every stroke, the physics behind every motion--yet he has never been in the water himself, what good is his knowledge?

Is it not worthless if he never dives in to experience the changing ebb and flow himself?

Think on that.

Then jump in.

French 101: Words Ending in É

As someone who knows French--and is obsessed with grammar--I find it particularly disturbing when I see words borrowed from French that are spelled incorrectly. In order to remedy the situation, I shall offer a series of corrective lessons as a sort of public service announcement.

Our first topic?

Disparities between the masculine and feminine forms of words ending in é, most notably the word fiancé and the name Renée.

The rule is quite simple:

In order to make a word ending in é feminine, add an extra e to the end.

Therefore, fiancé (masculine) becomes fiancée (feminine).

The same rule applies, consequently, to the name René; French for "reborn." René (masculine) becomes Renée (feminine).

Please note that the accent remains over the first e in all cases.

Naming your daughter Reneé, Réneé, Rénéé, or any other variant besides Renée makes France cry.

No, I lied. Crying isn't a very French thing to do. Misspelling Renée makes France stick up her nose and scoff at your ignorance.

You don't want to be scoffed at, do you?

You have now been educated. Spread your knowledge.

Four Topics, None Related

I just completed my study abroad application for the spring semester and turned it in with a sizable $350 deposit (refundable if I am not accepted into a program). I'm excited and nervous about the whole thing, so if you wouldn't mind throwing a word or two in my favor up to the Big Guy, I would appreciate it.

I applied to the American University of Rome, a school I got accepted into after high school but couldn't attend because they wouldn't give me money. Stingy Europeans. They have a strong International Relations program, so I was able to find lots of useful courses to take.

Not to mention, it's Rome.

Think of the art. And the history. And the Pope.

. . . Okay, so maybe that last one isn't a big selling point. But still.

*starry eyed*

Pray for me to get in . . . it could mean shiny souvenirs and postcards for you. :D

. . .

On an altogether unrelated note, I was walking across campus earlier today and overheard a girl telling her friend about a conversation that had apparently taken place the night before. And I quote,

". . . and then she was all like, 'Don't make me confiscate your Streisand collection!' So I had to be all like, 'Mom! Leave Barbra out of this!' . . . "

. . . Really? Are you serious?

I just had to shake my head at that one.

. . .

Fall break was good, but not nearly long enough. Spent the first part of the weekend with the family at Standing Stone State Park, somewhere we hadn't been in ages . . . the last time we went as a family was probably when I was in the 4th or 5th grade.

Needless to say, everything looked a lot smaller than I remembered.

When we got back I managed to get a little reading done and tried to keep from overcrowding the social calendar.

And, of course, I avoided getting any serious work done like the plague.

. . .

If I can get all my homework done, I intend to watch the debate tonight. Not because I don't know who I'm voting for, but because--like many Americans--I've developed a sick fascination with this election.

If this isn't the most important election of my life, it will at least be the most groundbreaking (whichever side wins).

As a nation, we are currently balanced on the blade of a very precarious knife (to borrow an analogy from The Lord of the Rings). The decision we make regarding our next president will either set us down the path of reconciliation with the international community and lead to a peaceful, respected withdraw from the position of hegemon, or erode what little remains of our image abroad into nothingness thereby destroying our ability to get anything done in the world . . . without guns.

And guns, my friends, are a very poor international bargaining chip.

Especially in the long run.

Always from the child's hand the sword
should be removed.

I think every nation
is an infant.

-Saint Francis of Assisi

Epiphany

An ant, lifted from his home beneath the grass to see the wonders of the wider world, must know the same awe and confusion encountered by man when his soul is lifted by God to ponder the vast, beautiful expanse of His countenance.

Thoughts on the Feast of St. Francis

Too often people view nature as something separate instead of something of which they are a part. Nature--mountains, trees, squirrels, frogs--is not something beneath you for you to control or bend to suit your needs. It is something around you in which you are meant to participate.

How many people, looking at a tree, see something more than part of the backdrop? Something more than an object that needs trimmed, maintained, or put to "better" use?

How many people hear the laughter of their leaves when God tickles them with the breeze?

Too few.

I wonder how long and how much it will take for humanity to realize their interconnectedness with the rest of Creation.

I wonder if, by then, it will be too late.

I once spoke to my friend, an old squirrel, about the Sacraments--
he got so excited

and ran into a hollow in his tree and came
back holding some acorns, an owl feather,
and a ribbon he had found.

And I just smiled and said, "Yes, dear,
you understand:

everything imparts
His grace.

--The Sacraments, St. Francis of Assisi
(translated by Daniel Ladinsky)

Talking to other people,

I often pause and wait

for the "Ooh, I get it!"

but it never comes,

leaving me no course of action

but to write a silly poem

to ask You

"Why?"

So which is it?

Sometimes I feel You

right next to me

laughing


And at other times

it seems like You are

a million miles away

and crying.


So which is it?


Both?


I know You never leave,

but I'd appreciate it if

--right now--


You'd give me a hug.

Any smiling face

is God

trying to improve your mood.

Sometimes

fevers come

from God


and


Sometimes

God comes

from fevers.


It is a strange,

strange world

in which we live.

Every step taken

is one towards God.


It is only when we stop moving

that we cannot feel Him.

Devotion

is a thing complicated;

How do I know where You are

if You won't tell me?

Command me and I will go,

but don't leave me here

guessing--I'll flounder every time.

The Fall of Man

On His slow walk home,

God put you in His shirt pocket

to keep you close by His heart.

He, regrettably, didn't notice the hole;

though He did let out a little gasp of surprise

when He felt you slip out.


Now, years later,

if you stand outside

looking up at the night sky,

you can see the concern in His eyes

and feel the warmth of His grasping hand

as he reaches out to catch you

before you hit the ground.

No One Said Anything Back

I closed my eyes last night and the world exploded,

expanding beyond everything I knew

until I couldn't recognize it anymore.


"Hello?" I ventured tentatively,


but no one said anything back.

A Challenge

I want to see

how you would do

spending just an hour

stuck in this

infinite heart of Mine.