I love pixar. The dog is my favorite!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Everything's Amazing, Nobody's Happy
This guy is so right... maybe we need to really get some perspective and realize that perhaps the main reason we are in this recession stuff is because we decided to stop realizing the things that are really valuable in life. Think about how much great stuff has happened in just YOUR lifetime!
Monday, February 23, 2009
A Different Perspective on "Pro-Choice"
I was just listening to this interview on NPR while driving and thought I would start a discussion here about a comment the author made about the question of "Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life."
Here's the article on NPR's website. It was today's Fresh Air broadcast. You can listen to it through this link.
She said that in light of this new, unwed, single, octuplet mother, with 6 other kids, we have to reconsider the question of "choice" in pregnancy. She said that the question of choice goes beyond abortion and into the question of the right to choose to impregnate a woman, artificially, with multiple embryos. Is this just as bad? Often the Pro-Life argument says that God created life and it is up to Him and only Him to terminate it or not. We are not to play God. I agree that God creates life and we are to honor that gift of life by not ending it. BUT, I wonder, are we playing God just as much so by artificially impregnating people. I have mixed feelings about this, I know the great success and need of this technology for people who want to conceive and can't. And because of deeply personal experience with it (no, I have not been artificially inseminated) believe that impact and importance of it sometimes being OK. But how much so...
The people I know who have had this practice done never sought to have more than one child this way. But they still have frozen embryos, many years later, must ask themselves each year what to do with those embryos, keep paying for them to be frozen, destroy them or give them to someone else. Its a big question for them. If they choose to let them go, does destroying them equal abortion? They don't believe in abortion, so they have to ask themselves, how can they do that, if it equals this. Do they have parental rights to the child if it is implanted in someone else, its their DNA, so shouldn't they have rights? At least that is how we make decisions in courts nowadays, if its your DNA you can be the parent, no matter how much you suck at it.
How does this work? How does this reflect God's gift and plan for life? And why do we call an artificial pregnancy a miracle? And why in the world are we so FASCINATED by all these multiple births?! If it was something that happened through true natural means I would understand, an egg splitting 8 times?! Amazing! But, why are we fascinated by something that happens because we have put eight fully fertilized eggs in a obviously fertile woman and are surprised they all survived?
Now, once the life has begun, why would we consider ending it. Those 8 new children are in need of love, care and compassion. They each have a personality, a purpose and a reason for existence. But my question is, if she never choose to have all these kids this way, would they have still existed? Was this God's plan or is He just working things to His good? WHY DID WE THINK WE COULD CONTROL THEIR CREATION? They are going to have a hard time. They will experience struggles because of the financial situation and family situation of the mother. This wasn't something that just happened, it was something planned and very intentional. She was allowed to have 8 new births with 6 children at home. She allowed these kids to be born into this. This is not alright... in my opinion....
I have a lot of other thoughts on this dealing with the question of adoption and our luxury of the question of abortion in our wealthy western world when 13 year olds, HIV positive girls in the AIDS camps in S. Africa, who are raising their siblings because their parents died of AIDS are being raped, giving birth to these rape children and asking for the morning after pill because they have no idea if they will be raped again or not and can't afford to take care of another kid. How appalling is it that we are having to deal with the question of multiple births and artifical insemination when half way around the world a 13 year old is longing for her childhood but is having to raise her kids. What kind of people are we....
The interview really made me think... what about you?
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Why I think Christians should watch the Oscars and the movies celebrated by the Oscars
So, below is my last response to a line of commenting on a friend's status on Facebook. The interesting thing is that he was watching the Oscars because he likes them... but some of his friends were commenting on his status, one saying something to the effect, that the Oscars were just celebrating a "movie star's" perspective on the world.
While, yes, I agree it really can be and the whole red carpet stuff with the judging of dresses, etc. can really be just a bunch of crap, I feel like for the first time in a while the awards are about honoring the art of truly great story telling and individual's gifts, abilities and tremendous talents at telling those stories, bringing to life the stories of others.
Here is my comment:
"exactly Mark! you can't avoid the oscars and still understand the influencers of mass culture. these are some of the greatest stories being told out there. that doesn't mean that they are all stories that we have to agree with or believe in but they are windows to the human condition and teach us how and where God is leading, asking and encouraging us to deal with His world and each other. i do feel like we have the responsibility as Christ-followers to see all these movies and understand why they are significant so we can be people others trust in to understand the things that they hope for, long for, question and are confused on. only then, when we understand what shapes people and their stories, will they be able to hear the love, word and truth of God. the oscars are a symbol of all of this... at least to me... "
I trust that few of us understand the true work, the deep art of the creative minds that come up with new, innovative and deeply invoking ways to tell stories, stories that connect, stories that share love, life, glory, honor, sorrow, peace, pain, laughter, happiness but most of all truth and hope. But, Jesus Christ did. How many times did he tell a story that was truly something that connected so deep, so very deep to the honesty and reality of our humanity, so much so as to relate to us intimately enough to change our soul's course and change us into all we have been created to be. I almost can see my Lord telling these stories with great animation, smiling as He felt people connecting with the story and hearing it as their own. I can see Him really deeply longing to tell a story with enough quality, connection and conviction that each and everyone would find their way home.
Jesus uses stories to work His way into our hearts and tell us of who He is, what He loves, how come He cares for us and how His heart and HIS condition will connect with and change the world. Just for this very reason we have to, we must know and trust ourselves to understand the joy and importance of story telling. Its our way of connecting with others, of connecting with ourselves, of exploring our hearts and understanding the Human Condition to which Jesus Christ came to exist within, connect with and understand.
As Christ-followers, if we are to trust His work in the world and actively engage in what He is already doing, we cannot exclude Hollywood nor can we exclude the stories or the story telling of the Oscars. We just have to actively choose to trust He will teach us through these stories, teach us to love His people and teach us to understand how He is working through this world and where/how we are to engage with Him.
Just love others through story. Love others through trusting that a story will help people connect with one another and create a space for us to discuss what matters most in this world. But with this, we cannot watch a story blindly, nor without an educated heart. An educated heart, trust in humanity and trusts that when given the chance to discuss what is going on in the story good will come to the surface, true love will be seen and a healthy direction for our souls will be seen, heard and hopefully embraced.
Stories link us to God, to each other, to history and to eternity.
While, yes, I agree it really can be and the whole red carpet stuff with the judging of dresses, etc. can really be just a bunch of crap, I feel like for the first time in a while the awards are about honoring the art of truly great story telling and individual's gifts, abilities and tremendous talents at telling those stories, bringing to life the stories of others.
Here is my comment:
"exactly Mark! you can't avoid the oscars and still understand the influencers of mass culture. these are some of the greatest stories being told out there. that doesn't mean that they are all stories that we have to agree with or believe in but they are windows to the human condition and teach us how and where God is leading, asking and encouraging us to deal with His world and each other. i do feel like we have the responsibility as Christ-followers to see all these movies and understand why they are significant so we can be people others trust in to understand the things that they hope for, long for, question and are confused on. only then, when we understand what shapes people and their stories, will they be able to hear the love, word and truth of God. the oscars are a symbol of all of this... at least to me... "
I trust that few of us understand the true work, the deep art of the creative minds that come up with new, innovative and deeply invoking ways to tell stories, stories that connect, stories that share love, life, glory, honor, sorrow, peace, pain, laughter, happiness but most of all truth and hope. But, Jesus Christ did. How many times did he tell a story that was truly something that connected so deep, so very deep to the honesty and reality of our humanity, so much so as to relate to us intimately enough to change our soul's course and change us into all we have been created to be. I almost can see my Lord telling these stories with great animation, smiling as He felt people connecting with the story and hearing it as their own. I can see Him really deeply longing to tell a story with enough quality, connection and conviction that each and everyone would find their way home.
Jesus uses stories to work His way into our hearts and tell us of who He is, what He loves, how come He cares for us and how His heart and HIS condition will connect with and change the world. Just for this very reason we have to, we must know and trust ourselves to understand the joy and importance of story telling. Its our way of connecting with others, of connecting with ourselves, of exploring our hearts and understanding the Human Condition to which Jesus Christ came to exist within, connect with and understand.
As Christ-followers, if we are to trust His work in the world and actively engage in what He is already doing, we cannot exclude Hollywood nor can we exclude the stories or the story telling of the Oscars. We just have to actively choose to trust He will teach us through these stories, teach us to love His people and teach us to understand how He is working through this world and where/how we are to engage with Him.
Just love others through story. Love others through trusting that a story will help people connect with one another and create a space for us to discuss what matters most in this world. But with this, we cannot watch a story blindly, nor without an educated heart. An educated heart, trust in humanity and trusts that when given the chance to discuss what is going on in the story good will come to the surface, true love will be seen and a healthy direction for our souls will be seen, heard and hopefully embraced.
Stories link us to God, to each other, to history and to eternity.
Monday, February 2, 2009
The Mother of all Mullets
Seriously buddy... decide, Joe Dirt or GI Joe... who's it gonna be?! Ran into this guy today... he doesn't know I took his picture. Think the pic needs a caption... suggestions?
A Psalm for Today: "I will wait..."
Just choose between life and me.
Just choose to be or to leave.
Just choose to glorify or seek your own glory.
Can you choose to wait?
Can you choose to be something you are not?
Can you choose to be glorifying to God always?
Can you choose to hear me?
Can you choose to listen to me?
Can you choose to remove me for me?
Be my glory Lord.
Be my soul.
Be my life.
Be my light.
Be my hope.
Be my direction.
Be my soul purpose in life.
Be my glory and love of and to all of humanity.
Be my soul’s longing, my heart’s waiting, my soul’s longing...my soul’s longing...my soul’s long...
How long must I wait for you to hear me?
How long must I wait patiently to hear your ways and call?
How long must I just wait patiently....for you Lord?
To be patiently waiting for you, though, O, Lord
is to be patiently waiting for all your soul longs for.
To be patiently waiting for you, O, Lord,
is to be patiently waiting for all the hope of the world.
And to be patiently waiting for you, O, Lord
is to be patiently waiting for the call of the soul, the call of the wild heart, the call of all love within me to be fulfilled
with the full and complete knowledge that it will be fulfilled - filled - made whole again, through you....
For this longing, for this hope, for this wholeness...I will wait, always.
For I have known its fulfillment at other times in my life and know that You, O Lord will fulfill your hopes, your dreams and your promises within, through and in spite of me...
I love you and for your Holy wholeness I will wait...
poem written by Becky Pierson 2/2/09 - based on Psalm 13
For further reading, study and prayer on the subject of waiting and struggles with this waiting, read Psalm 13 and 40 and Lamentations 3
Just choose to be or to leave.
Just choose to glorify or seek your own glory.
Can you choose to wait?
Can you choose to be something you are not?
Can you choose to be glorifying to God always?
Can you choose to hear me?
Can you choose to listen to me?
Can you choose to remove me for me?
Be my glory Lord.
Be my soul.
Be my life.
Be my light.
Be my hope.
Be my direction.
Be my soul purpose in life.
Be my glory and love of and to all of humanity.
Be my soul’s longing, my heart’s waiting, my soul’s longing...my soul’s longing...my soul’s long...
How long must I wait for you to hear me?
How long must I wait patiently to hear your ways and call?
How long must I just wait patiently....for you Lord?
To be patiently waiting for you, though, O, Lord
is to be patiently waiting for all your soul longs for.
To be patiently waiting for you, O, Lord,
is to be patiently waiting for all the hope of the world.
And to be patiently waiting for you, O, Lord
is to be patiently waiting for the call of the soul, the call of the wild heart, the call of all love within me to be fulfilled
with the full and complete knowledge that it will be fulfilled - filled - made whole again, through you....
For this longing, for this hope, for this wholeness...I will wait, always.
For I have known its fulfillment at other times in my life and know that You, O Lord will fulfill your hopes, your dreams and your promises within, through and in spite of me...
I love you and for your Holy wholeness I will wait...
poem written by Becky Pierson 2/2/09 - based on Psalm 13
For further reading, study and prayer on the subject of waiting and struggles with this waiting, read Psalm 13 and 40 and Lamentations 3
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