Be a light unto the world

It has been about a month since I last posted something to my blog.  There are many reasons for this, most of them school related and trying to stay focused on my studies.  While driving in the car today on my way to the library to study for my chem final, something really drew my ire.  Recently Elizabeth Edwards, the estranged wife of John Edwards, passed away after a long battle with breast cancer.  There will be a public memorial service for her today, and it is expected there will be a protest staged by Westboro Baptist Church.  To quote from their website (used with permission according to the copyright statement on the website):

WBC will picket a respectful distance from the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards who split hell wide open on December 7, 2010.  Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.  All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?  Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.  (Isa. 14:9-11.)  This witch spent her life in defiance and disobedience to God, and blasphemed Him with her dying breath.  She received multiple warnings and opportunties to repent.  After God smacked her by killing her son, she thought she'd show Him, pumping herself full of hormones to have more kids.  God gave her two more children, and she despised them like she did the first two, raising them to believe God is a liar.  She called her dead 16-year-old brat "righteous" and said the Old Testament promises for God's people are lies. Her blasphemous words:  "I had to think about a God who would not same my son...not only did he not protect him, the hand of God blew him from the road."  If she had been a righteous woman, she would have said like Job, "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord".  Then, when God smote her with breast cancer for her rebellion, she said, "I'm not praying for God to save me from cancer.  I'm not.  I do not have an intervening God.  I don't think I can pray to him -- or her -- to cure me of cancer."  Her pride and arrogance is breath-taking!  The last thing she would think to do is humble herself before the mighty hand of God.  So, when Elizabeth woke in Hell on December 7th -- where she will reside for eternity -- her son, Wade, met her and began an eternity of cursing her for lying to him.  Our message is for the living: do not live like Elizabeth Edwards or you will die like her and spend eternity in Hell where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.  And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.  (Isa. 66:24.)"


Is this what it is meant to be a light unto the world Westboro?  This is nothing but ugly...very very ugly.  Nothing about this quote's efforts shows the love of Christ unto the world. I want to be a doctor, and if I am fortunate enough to become one, nothing about a person's life or situation will be predicated on their life, lifestyle, beliefs, etc.  I want to use what has been given to me as a light unto the world.  Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful things about the world is the church.  Its art, its tradition, its charity.  Even an unbeliever can see good in some of the things the church does when it does it out of love.  I, as a believer, can see no good in what Westboro does because I believe they to be absent of love.  In fact, I believe them to be fueled by hate (without dignifying their website address, Google Westboro baptist church to find evidence of this from their official URL).  I do not want to be one to judge another; I write this today because this church's actions make me sad.  I know people who do not believe, and I want to be a light unto them.  If this becomes the image of what it means to be a Christian to the world, what chance does love have to be a light?

A note on public displays of affection

I was at karaoke last night, and there was a couple in a booth against the wall.  They were sitting in the same seat, and holding each other tightly.  Every once in awhile, they would pretty much start making out right there in the booth.  I'd say they were probably in their upper 30s.

Now I'm very pro-love, and I thought they were sweet.  I'm also the kind of guy not afraid to do anything.  My name was called up to sing, and I decided to show the couple how pro-love I am.  I wrote them a little note on a napkin and placed it on their table on my way up to sing.  Keeping my eyes on them through the night, I never saw them kiss again.  Click on the note for a larger version if you need to in order to read it.  The stain on the napkin was pure class on my part.

Love intoxicated

I'm somewhat of an IM junkie. In fact, I have a soft spot for all communication that is written, whether it be txt messages, email (I love my blackberry), or this blog. People apparently used to write on paper and send them through the mail (weird I know). In chatting with some of my friends and getting their takes on all subjects, I have learned that a lot of my friends are as at a loss about love and relationships as I am. I have sent messages back to friends sharing my hopes, pain, goals and dreams on the subject as they have shared the same with me. I was chatting w/ a friend the other day on the subject when I came to the realization that love is a lot like being drunk. It is a feeling of intoxication that makes you well up with a sensation you usually don't feel, and the newness of it brings you such joy. You start to not care about all the other problems of the world and instead savor the feeling you are feeling at that moment. It causes you to say things you would normally not say. When you are in love, you feel like you feet aren't touching the ground. When you are drunk, you can't feel your feet. Being in love and being drunk often end badly. Drunk people have been known to crash their sports car. In love people have been known to lose their sports car and allow it to become a mini van. Being drunk, if you are not careful, can cause you to lose everything you have. Being in love, if you are not careful, can cause you to lose half of everything you have (depending on the state of course). The sacred love of a man and woman is a time honored fraternity. Getting drunk is a sacred tradition that often occurs in a fraternity. In both we stumble, in both we fall, but it is the pursuit of both that causes many people to ultimately leave the house on the weekend.

I welcome any additional thoughts on this topic. Please leave comments. If you leave a comment as anonymous, please leave your initials or consider signing up for an account!

The grace of mom

What is Grace from God? Perhaps an interesting way to start off in this post considering the title, but again I ask it; what is grace from God? Grace from God, as I understand it, is the receiving of something that as humans we do not deserve and can never earn. Is there anything on this earth that more closely resembles this than the relationship most commonly experienced between parents and children? In all other relationships we have in life, there is no other relationship more instantly filled with love that that experienced between parents and children. For those of you who are married and reading this, if you think of the love you have for your spouse, you may not have loved them right away. Certainly, you were most likely not ready to lay down your life if it called for it the first time you saw them. Yet these two things seem to be present in all parent to child relationships. The first time a mother holds her newborn baby, there is a love that is instantly felt for the child, even though the child is in a state of development in which they can not return the affection. Similarly, I would believe that most mothers would tell you that they would gladly lay down their lives for the life of their child, even though, again, the child does not have the ability to do the same for the parent. What, therefore, did the child do to earn this love? Did they have witty conversation with the parent over a romantic dinner as the spouse of the mother did...of course not. They simply came into existence, hopefully out of the love shown between the child's parents love for each other. Their existence alone warrants the grace and love of the parents. If you think about it, it may also be the one prerequisite for our love and grace from God, to exist. How do you say a thank you that is worthy of the grace and love of your mom on this day? You can't...at least in a way that is worthy of earning the love. You can only show tokens of your love to your mom directly, and perhaps give the other best gift you could give; the love and grace to your own children that you and your spouse may be blessed to have. This is dedicated to my mom...I love you!

If I had a spoon...

I have set across the table from many a different girls in my day on many of dates, and practically all of them have ended badly. Well, maybe "badly" is too strong of a word, but many of them have either ended with no connection, or had something happen during the date that made it bad or at least awkward. Now, I really don't think I am a guy that goes into things with a pessimistic view. In fact, most people who know me would consider me an upbeat, happy optimistic type. Despite this, it is starting to get hard to be optimistic on dating for so many go awry...such was the case tonight.

Things somewhat started off on the wrong foot because we were supposed to meet at the restaurant, and being that this was a blind date, I didn't know what she looked like. As it was, we were at the restaurant for 20 minutes before we realized the other person was there. We even sat next to each other at a point at the bar, but didn't talk, not knowing who the other person was (I was told by the hostess that she hadn't arrived yet, so I didn't think it was her). To her credit, she did hand me a bowl of popcorn w/o knowing who I was, so that was nice. Where the date really went off track however was when I started being myself (I knew that was a mistake). I was very outgoing tonight, and she was not. I'm not sure if it was the east coast in her, but I don't think she knew how to take me. After I had told a few jokes and tried to lighten up the mood, she actually looked at me and said...and I quote "If I had a spoon right now, I'd gouge out my eyes with it". She then went on to compare my humor to her grandpa. Naturally, I took this as a commentary of how much fun she was having on our date...sigh.

I did convince her to get a cup of coffee w/ me after dinner. At this point, I thought the line was so funny that she told me that I decided to hop on my phone and update my facebook status w/ the quote...it wasn't 50 seconds later that my friend Doug called from Arizona yelling into the phone "She said what...". You've got to love technology and how quickly it allows for information to spread.

I suppose I am one more person and one more day closer to the one I'm supposed to be with. Someday, they will let her out of the nuthouse and our paths will finally cross...ah love in the springtime :)

Dying 9-Year-Old Girl 'Weds' Friend

I don't usually post serious things on this blog, but this story really touched my heart. I don't have kids myself, but I do have two very sweet nieces, and when I see something like this, I think about them and how I pray they are always healthy and never sick. I was also in the play "Our Town" when I was in college, and that play is a lot about universal rites of passages and feelings we all experience regardless of the time period we live. I hope I'm fortunate to see my nieces, and my own future children, grow up to see their wedding day.

http://news.aol.com/health/article/jayla-cooper-wedding/356245