Join the fight - stop TV violence

Join the fight to stop violence? Sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it? OK, so what I mean is, join the blog campaign to at least raise the awareness that violence on TV is hurting our children and our families.

If you're interested in joining the campaign, visit A Campaign for Non Violence on TV and submit an article expressing your concern. I've joined the campaign and have an article posted on the site. At a minimum, visit the blog to learn more about this important issue.

Thank you to Jenisle for sponsoring this important awareness campaign. Now that's a good reason to blog.


Visit Jenisle's other blogs while you're at it.

Random Thoughts
The Little Children
Working Abroad
The Clamor of Kalingna
Gewgaw Writings

Why high gas prices?

While many environmental enthusiast may be quite happy with the current gas crises, because it forces Americans to think more about gas and oil usage, I don't think our economy can survive letting oil prices get out of control. What we are accomplishing, is increasing our dependency on other countries that want to see our downfall. I'm not a political expert, but common sense tells me this is a bad idea.

What's my Christian perspective on this issue? My concern is that our environmental policies are aimed at glorifying the environment over God. Does God want us to take care of our environment? Absolutely. Does he want us to do it at the expense of ignoring real human suffering and real human needs? Out of control oil prices mean people will lose their jobs. This winter people probably will die because they will not be able to afford heating for their homes.

We can't solve this oil crisis by burning food instead of oil. We can't solve this oil crises by ignoring the need for oil. Yes, we should be looking for alternative energy resources, and yes we should all be doing our individual part to conserve energy and protect the environment. However, let's not sacrifice our country and our people today for the sake of an unproven hope in the future. By unproven hope, I mean that nobody has laid out a realistic plan to protect our environment without devastating our economy. When the economy collapses, it won't be the rich that suffer alone, if the rich suffer at all.

My faith is my secure hope in Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)
¹ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

If our political policies are void of this same hope then we have no hope as a country. To the far right you have big Oil and big Money that want to make as much money as they can. Maybe that has gotten us to where we are in some measure. However, on the far left, you have big government and social activism where the cause is the god and real people are forgotten.

Romans 1:25 (ESV)
²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

As this article below points out, the social left has just as much responsibility to bear on our current crisis as the the oil companies themselves.

The information below was passed to me by a friend. I mention this because this may be posted elsewhere and I don't want to pass it off as my own original post. However, I agree with the premise below that we have over-legislated environmental concerns to the point of crippling our country. Feel free to comment and dispute anything mentioned in this post, however please provide links to articles that support any counter points.

.... Email Text Below ....

Please take a close look at this map. Then print it out and place it on your fridge where you will see it every day. This November on election day, take a long hard look at it before you go vote!

Gas at $4.00 a gallon. Who's to blame?

Thanks to the environmentalist lobby and its influence on Democratic legislators in Congress, the U.S. has, for decades, been prohibited from drilling for oil in places that we know contain billions of barrels of proven reserves.

Check out this map:

All of the 'NO' zones are places where the U.S. , thanks to the Democratic Party, is prohibited from drilling for oil.

But wait . it gets better.

***

China, Cuba, Canada and others continue to drill off our shores where US companies are not allowed to drill because of Democratic policies!

Yes, that's right . China and Cuba are actively exploring oil fields 50 miles from Key West, Florida while U.S. companies are barred from working in this area because of U.S. policy . So, instead of allowing the most environmentally responsible companies to operate there and increase our domestic supply, China, who has a dismal environmental record, is preparing to suck our close, lucrative oil reserves dry.

Unbelievable.

Investor's Business Daily recently explained how irresponsible the Democrats have been on the energy crisis. They lay into what they consider to be the worst Congress ever for ...

• Failing to allow drilling in ANWR. We have, as President Bush noted, estimated capacity of a million barrels of oil a day from this source alone -- enough for 27 million gallons of gas and diesel. But Congress won't touch it, fearful of the clout of the environmental lobby. As a result, you pay through the nose at the pump so your representative can raise campaign cash.

• Refusing to build new refineries. The U.S. hasn't built one since 1976, yet the EPA requires at least 15 unique 'boutique' fuel blends that can be sold in different areas around the nation. This means that U.S. refinery capacity is stretched so tight that even the slightest problem at a refinery causes enormous supply problems and price spikes. Congress has done nothing about this.

• Turning its back on nuclear power. It's safe and, with advances in nuclear reprocessing technology, waste problems have been minimized. Still, we have just 104 nuclear plants -- the same as a decade ago -- producing just 19% of our total energy. (Many European nations produce 40% or more of their power with nuclear.) Granted, nuclear power plants are expensive -- about $3 billion each. But they produce energy at $1.72/kilowatt-hour vs. $2.37 for coal and $6.35 for natural gas.

• Raising taxes on energy producers. This is where a basic understanding of economics would help: Higher taxes and needless regulation lead to less production of a commodity. So by proposing 'windfall' and other taxes on energy companies plus tough new rules, Congress only makes our energy situation worse.

These are just a few of Congress' sins of omission -- all while India , China , Eastern Europe and the Middle East are adding more than a million barrels of new demand each and every year. New Energy Department forecasts see world oil demand growing 40% by 2030, including a 28% increase in the U.S.

Americans who are worried about the direction of their country, including runaway energy and food prices, should keep in mind the upcoming election isn't just about choosing a new president. We'll also pick a new Congress.

If you agree with the need to let the American people know who's REALLY responsible for the sky-high gasoline prices we're seeing today, please forward this e-mail to everyone you know.

If we elect a liberal Democrat as president in the Fall and keep the same Democrat-controlled Congress, nothing will change; except gasoline prices, which will keep going up.

Why do you blog?

Why do I blog?

That's a good question. Sometimes I'm not too sure. I have quite a few friends that know I blog but they don't bother reading it. I guess that's ok. So does that mean I'm mostly blogging for strangers? Do I really have anything to say that would interest a complete stranger?

I actually started to blog a few months ago with the intent of sharing my faith-based opinions with strangers and perhaps making new friends along the way. For the first couple of months I received very light traffic to my site. I probably had less than a half dozen visitors a day and probably most of those were family and friends. I was fortunate to meet a few fellow bloggers by posting on their sites. However, usually if I left a comment for someone, my comment would be the last one on that post. I guess once I shared my viewpoint there was nothing left to say.

Recently I started joining a few social networking communities in hopes of increasing the traffic to my site and increasing my network of online friends. Now I have between 75-100 visitors a day. Are they interested in what I have to say, or is everyone just stopping by to drop their card for points and add me to their friend's list for more link exposure?

I don't mind the random drops or being added to a friends list as part of another blogger's campaign to increase their exposure. After all, that's part of the game, right? Drive enough people to your site and you'll have some small percentage that click on an ad or leave a comment. Some bloggers make a good income on click ads.

I'm just as guilty about not stopping long on all the sites I drop on. If I drop 50-60 cards each night, I certainly can't read through 50-60 posts. I do skim the headlines however, and I do make an effort to leave a comment if I think I have anything useful to add. I also try, if time permits, to make it back to anyone's blog that has left me a comment and return the favor.

I think over time that is the way to build a blog community. Just like in the world outside of the blogosphere, you can't get to know everyone. However, if you treat everyone as a potential friend, your circle of friends will grow.

I still blog to share my faith-based opinions with strangers and and perhaps make a few friends from around the world, even friends that don't share my faith but enjoy discussing different opinions. It's not my job to win any arguments. It's just my job to share what I know.

Psalms 40:9 (ESV)
⁹ I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord.

So, why do you blog?

Global warming - hype or truth and does it matter?

The reports that that in a recent poll only 51% of Christians and only 33% of evangelical Christians consider global warming a major issue. On the other hand, 62% of non-Christian religious people and 69% of atheist see global warming as a serious threat.

In 2006, some well known evangelicals signed a document called the Evangelical Climate Initiative. A couple of the more well known Christian leaders that signed the document were Rick Warren and Bill Hybels. However, World Magazine is now reporting another group of evangelicals have initiated a new campaign called, "We Get It." This new campaign is more in line with the majority evangelical viewpoint that there are more important world issues than global warming.

Does this mean that Christians and particularly evangelical Christians are not as concerned about our world that God created as those that those that think the whole world is a lucky accident in the first place?

I think what these numbers reveal is that evangelicals are more skeptical about global-warming hype because they are skeptical of the source of the information. If evolution is forced upon us without any scientific proof, is there really solid scientific proof for global warming?

The answer to this question depends on who you believe. Proponents for the global warming threat point to computer models that show the earth's temperatures are increasing at an alarming rate. However, there are problems with these computer models such as the unpredictability of weather patterns and that when applied to past years these models have a wide variance (wide enough to completely neutralize the results).

It is important that we care for our earth that God created for us. We should not be wasteful, we should recycle and we should think green in our daily lives. However, we should not spend millions of dollars on theoretical solutions for theoretical problems when there are real problems that need to be addressed today. People are starving and people are dying of AIDS. This is not a theoretical catastrophe that might happen in two or three decades. It is a catastrophe happening now.

You can find all the global warming hype you want just by doing a Google search. You can also find plenty of counter-arguments. If you want to read a good balance to the prevailing hype, try articles on these two scientific (not Christian) sites:

Skeptic Magazine - A Climate of Belief

Junk Science - The Real Inconvenient Truth'

I think I have to side with the majority evangelical view. The proponents of the global warming catastrophe theory are too political and the scientific counter-points are sound.

Let's take care of the world God gave us but let's set aside political agendas and focus on the world's real problems today.

What do you think?

Is it a sin to worship on Sunday instead of Saturday

I have posted a couple of times about worship on Sunday. It can be a hot topic among Christians.

Some Christians believe that the Sabbath is Saturday and that as one of the ten commandments, God has commanded that Saturday be our day of worship. Any other day is a compromise on God's commandmants and thus a sin.

Other Christians hold that the church moved the Sabbath day from Saturday to Sunday to recognize the day of Christ's resurrection as our day of worship.

Still some Christians don't hold to any particular day at all and many may not even feel that any day is required.

Personally, I fall into the Sunday camp. John Piper gives a great sermon explaining this point of view. I believe God still expects us to take a day of rest but that this rest now illustrates the rest achieved from Jesus' resurrection as opposed to the rest from creation. Pastor Piper cites John 5:17 as showing that God was no longer in the rest he declared after salvation but has started the work of redemption. With the death and resurrection of Jesus we have now entered and begun (but not completed) our final rest (Hebrews 4:9-10).

On my previous two posts I had a great contributer that takes the opposite view. Banner Kidd believes that God still holds the Sabbath as Saturday and the church has changed this law for their own purposes or conveniences.

See his comments to my posts "Saturday, Sunday, or any day" and "Has grace replaced the ten commandments".

You may agree with one of these views or you may have a completely different opinion. That's the point of this discussion post.

Remember, this is a discussion post and all opinions are welcome. However, I will use my moderators prerogative to delete any comments I deem as hateful or spam.

Romans 14:10 (ESV)
¹⁰ Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

Everyone has choices to make every day. Some choices are easier than others. Sometimes they are easier because there are no lasting ramifications to whatever is chosen (Life Cereal or Mini Wheats). Some choices are more difficult because the ramifications are great or we have no idea what the ramifications might be.

Should I buy a new car or save the money?

Should I work longer so I can provide better for my family or should I work less so I can spend more time with my family?

Should I take the new job offer that will require our family to move?

How many children should we have?

The objective way to make a decision is to write down the pros and cons of each choice. Whichever choice has more pros wins. The problem is that the list of pros and cons is often very subjective and for sure, the importance of each is subjective. This makes the decision based on your own subjective prejudices and experiences which may or may not lead to a good decision.

A few years ago, my wife and I had one of those big decisions to make. We had just had our fourth child. We had surpassed the normal 2.5 child household. Our family felt complete. We decided to get a vasectomy ("we" - kind of like "we" had a baby). There were lots of good objective and subjective reasons on the pro side of the checklist to do it.

The problem was, my wife and I did not seek out God first. Four years later, God started laying it on our hearts that we made the wrong decision. Now we had a new decision. Do I have surgery to give control of our family size back to God? This time we did seek God and did the reversal.

God's Word is clear. We are to seek His will in all of our decisions.

Really? All of our decision? Even between Life Cereal or Mini Wheats?

I don't believe God intends to micro-manage your life. After all, in the Garden he did not tell Adam and Eve which fruit to eat each day. He only told them which fruit not to eat, ever. God gives us similar guidelines today through his Word.

Romans 2:18 (ESV)
¹⁸ and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law;

For example, while he may not tell you which cereal to eat, he does tell you that your body is His holy temple so His will is for you to treat your body right.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)
¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
²⁰ for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

We unfortunately try to figure out God's ways based on our own understanding rather than seeking His way.

Isaiah 55:8 (ESV)
⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

So what are we supposed to do?

Pray...

Psalms 143:10 (ESV)
¹⁰ Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

Obey...

Matthew 7:21 (ESV)
²¹ "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

These are the two areas where I usually fail. I either rush to a decision based on my own understanding and don't pray first or I don't like what God's Word says so I do it my way anyway. If I wasn't so stubborn I'd make much better decisions.

Romans 8:28 (ESV)
²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

What has been your toughest decision? Did you seek God or did you do your best on your own? How'd that work for you?

Please share your experiences good or bad, Christian or not.

Update on Moses

A couple of posts back I introduced everyone to Moses from Liberia (he's the one on the left). Since that time things have changed a little bit around this story.

The Hand Center wanted to make sure that Moses' visa could be extended before they performed any surgery. The most important part of his treatment will be the rehabilitation. If he could not stay in the U.S. long enough to do the rehab then it would not be worth doing the surgery.

God is working through this whole process. The visa was extended until November 2 which gives us plenty of time for the surgery and the needed rehabilitation.

The next big change in this story is that Moses has moved in with our family. He'll be staying with us until his visa expires in November. My kids, as well as my wife and I, are very excited about being able to share our family with Moses for the next five months.

So far, the transition with Moses living with us has been extremely smooth. Moses gets along great with our other kids, although the four year old is still playing shy with him. However, Moses is up for the challenge. I think he's made it one of his goals to win her over. It's really pretty cute as he tries to get her attention and she hides her face (with the smirk that only the baby in the family can have).

I'm sure the next five months will be go by as fast as they always do. Before long it will be late October and we'll be trying to figure out how we're supposed to say good-bye to Moses.

Are we supposed to say good-bye?

It will be interesting to see what God has in mind.