The Quest

As cited by Brian McLaren in The Secret Message of Jesus, this statement was made by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in "Where Do We Go from Here?" annual report delivered at the 11th Convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference on August 16, 1967 in Atlanta: Through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can't murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can't establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can't murder hate. Darkness cannot put out darkness. Only light can do that. The chapter I'm reading now addresses war and its place in "Christianity" (or lack of place). It makes me wonder anew about going to war. And the comments about torture and its use make me all the more thankful today for Barack Obama's dedication to closing down the prison at Guantanamo Bay. I'm thinking now about the place that the military has in our country. I do appreciate the sacrifice that the men and wome...

Why am I so annoyed by everything this morning? Maybe it's because I'm surrounded by idiots. Oops did I say that out loud? Okay, maybe I'm not surrounded by idiots, but there are a few. And it seems like a few idiots make everyone else seem equally idiot-prone. Before you know it, you feel claustrophobic... like they're somehow going to suck your brain down the drain with them and you can't get away fast enough!!! I'll stick my earplugs in to stymie their attempts. Okay. Earplugs in. That rant was completely un-Jesus-like and I'm embarrassed by it. But since it's the real me I'm not going to erase it. On to bigger and better things... I'm continuing to read The Secret Message of Jesus and I have to say that I haven't felt so inspired and empowered by a message in quite some time. If ever. Being the type of person who likes answers, I've been painfully devoid of them for a while now. But this book has helped me see things in a ne...

Since I've started blogging here more than myspace, I wanted to requote this... I'm continually trying to remember what it says. As quoted in the book Prayer by Philip Yancy: May God bless you with discomfort At easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships So that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger At injustice, oppression and exploitation of people, So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. May God bless you with tears To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war, So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and To turn their pain into joy. And may God bless you with enough foolishness To believe that you can make a difference in the world, So that you can do what others claim cannot be done To bring justice and kindness to our children and the poor. Amen.

"Change we can believe in" was one of the campaign mantras from Barack Obama. It was one of the ways in which he successfully instilled hope in a generation of Americans who had largely become apathetic. I include myself in that group. I hadn't become apathetic about the future of our country (or my own future), but rather apathetic about politics... assuming that it was hopeless. That nothing could be done to change the direction of our government. That my beliefs and concerns and hopes were of little import to the people governing my country. Obama changed that... his own "audacity of hope" giving me the audacity to speak out about politics in a way I have never done before. But that hope for change didn't come straight from Barack Obama. That hope came from a newfound hope in who God is... and who he isn't. My faith has been stretched and reshaped in recent years. I've had trouble believing in the God that much of "evangelical, conserva...

I'm almost speechless... almost. Last night was one of the most amazing moments of my lifetime. There are three times in my lifetime that are noted as "remember where you were" moments: when the Challenger blew up (I was in band), 9-11 (a Tuesday morning - work and staff meeting), and when Barack Obama became President (I was sitting on the edge of my cushy chair). Of those three moments, last night is the only one that isn't noted because of its unbelievable death and destruction, but rather because of its hope and promise for the future. I grew up in a house where dating outside your race was prohibited. You wonder why I'm single today? It's because there were no white boys in my town. I never got to learn how to date... to be in a normal relationship. The only relationship I was in during high school had to be kept a secret from my parents. What I learned about relationships at that pivotal time in my life was how to make sure no one ever knew abou...