BO

"He was never my spiritual adviser, he was never my spiritual mentor — he was my pastor."
- Barack Obama, April 29, 2008

Seriously B.O.? This is how you will be "disowning" Rev. Wright? Really? Would you like to go ahead and claim Snopes.com as your source, or perhaps quote some revolutionary advice from a fortune cookie or two? If a pastor isn't a spiritual advisor, then what might he be? (Yes, that's right I said he, don't worry it was on purpose, we can talk about it later kids.)

Does someone write the dribble for you, or do you come up with it all on your own?

...there I go...about to vomit again...

Two

Today Kitty turned two years old. Quite an accomplishment in the home of the Bings I must say! We are pleased that we have successfully kept Kitty alive and well for the majority of her two years. That's way better than any of the plants we've attempted to keep alive (which we thought was a logical first step in preparing ourselves for children...apparently plants are harder than we anticipated...right or wrong, we quickly moved up to kitties.) We decided to give plants another go today, figuring Kitty has gone quite well, maybe it's time to "move up" in the journey to prepare for kids. Two planters had been purchased, along with our Christmas tree, back in October. Patiently they sat in the garage until springtime. After much deliberation, and reading of little plant ID tags, we settled on marigolds and geraniums.

We now have 3 3/4 cubic feet of potting soil in our garage. We don't estimate things very well. Anyone need any dirt?

Appauling

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351608,00.html

Art?! You call this art?! I agree with Wanda Franz, President of the National Right to Life Committee. This is serial MURDER, not art. And at Yale of all places? How ridiculous has our high education system become...?

This girl had better NOT be a recipient of Federal assistance to pay for her college education. My tax dollars are pissed off enough to be providing funding to frivolous majors which guarantee nothing in the form of actual employment upon graduation, or funding "undeclared" major students trying to "find themselves" while wasting thousands of dollars. They will not be paying for serial murder as well.

College is not for everyone. It should not be for everyone.

Our children will not be going to college until they can tell us what occupation they wish to seek out upon graduation. Should they choose to abandon that pursuit, they will leave school, get a job, and pay us (or someone else) rent until they determine whether or not a college education is necessary for their desired future occupation.

Ugh. I think I'm going to vomit.

Pope

"In a world where some treat life as something to be debased and discarded, we need your message that all human life is sacred and that each of us is willed, each of us is loved, and each of us is necessary." President Bush in remarks to Pope Benedict XVI Wednesday, April 16, 2008.

I may not be Catholic and I may not agree with the majority of Catholic doctrine, but I do agree that all human life is sacred.

Accountants

In honor of Tax Day.

15 Incredibly Awesome Accountants

#16 - Rach =)

Disappointment

Over the past year or so I have been bombarded with disappointment. Disappointment in friends, in family, in all sorts of things. As I have watchd self-destructive behavior rear it's ugly head to some of my dearest loved ones I have ached on the outside, while fighting the urge to shake them uncontrollably until they "get it" on the inside. Speaking Truth into several situations over the past 5+ years has be tough and has lead to the loss of friends and confidantes, but truly, the loss than stings the most, is witnessing the actions of these dear loved ones from the sidelines, having been pushed aside or deemed irrelevant, out-dated, or too conservative. As I watch as an outsider, feeling defeated and useless, I start to doubt. I start to doubt the effectiveness of my influence, the effectiveness of my Walk, my ability to speak Truth with conviction, and most recently, I have begun to doubt whether or not I will be a good parent. Sure, I make the Worlds Greatest Chocolate Chip Cookie (true statement, not an exaggeration according to Husband and others...) but what can I offer if I'm an ineffective witness for Christ? If it hurts this bad when friends and family are ignoring Truth, how much worse will it be if my own child turns their back on me and more importantly turns their back on their faith? I can't, an quite honestly don't want to, imagine...

This past week I have been able to set aside my doubt for something much greater. After talking with some of my Brothers and Sisters (thanks for your prayers by the way, obviously this was a quick turn-around time), Sunday it was all summed up for me in Lon's message about Caleb (yes, that's right...) where I was reminded, yet again, how big our God is (no wonder Caleb's story has stuck with me for so many years...) This concept has been with me through out my whole Christian walk and I wonder if it's something I will ever truly be able to grasp. All I know is that I absolutely LOVE being reminded of just how much God wants to bless us and how much of God's plan we cannot see because of our earthly "blinders".

"I may not know the future, but I know the One who holds the future."

I still love you, still pray for you, and I rejoice in God's sovereignty over all our lives.


PS - No where in Lon's message did he say anything about Caleb's "suspected weight issues". Don't worry, I made sure to point that out to Husband after the service 0=)

Previously

Guy Who Says 'Previously On Heroes' Wishes He Was Guy Who Says 'Previously On Lost'

LOS ANGELES—If it were up to him, voice actor David Cavanaugh would emphasize the t in Lost to avoid trailing off and leaving viewers confused and adrift.

Medicine

The use of medical care (or rather the absence of medical care) is again being brought up in the news. A family for a little girl who died recently due to an illness that could possibly have been treated medicinally is now in danger of criminal prosecution for not taking the girl to a doctor to receive medical care. The family (and their church) do not believe in outside medical assistance, but lift up all ailments in prayer. This one of those things that just keeps coming back into my personal theology definition, most recently as a result of the "Matter of Opinion?" series done at Frontline a few months back. One of the first topics that was discussed was suicide, and more specifically what constitutes suicide and what is God's opinion on the subject. (The "Matter of Opinion?" series addressed various topics that various denominations throughout the "Christian community" have different opinions on, but God's opinion is clearly stated in the Bible, hence the question mark...these issues should NOT be opinions to be varied throughout Christians, but really are no-brainers. Check out www.frontlinedc.com for more info and free downloads from the series.) Part of the suicide discussion tapped into an area that provides me with great confusion, when is medicine a "gift from God" and when is medicine a human attempt to "play God"? Should we regard every medical discovery as a brilliance that only God could have planted in the mind of the doctor or scientist? Or are some medical discoveries only a deception leading us away from faith in God's supernatural power of healing? When is is okay to refuse medical treatment? When is it okay to give your body the boost it "needs" to become pregnant? Is it okay to undergo the popular invetro-fertilization procedures available to pre-moms-to-be these days? Where is that line drawn? Is there a line? Is this a personal decision made between a person and God after much prayer and mediation on God's Word?

Obviously, there is still much work to be done inside both my head and my heart before I will ever understand the power of medicine in co-existence with the power of God.