The highest

Blimey Cow photo-a-day 27. A favorite quote

Since I first read this quote in Nate Kerr's Christian Tradition class (the class that is responsible for the destruction of my faith), I have not been able to shake it.  Morning, noon, or night, it will creep into my head, and I will find myself meditating on it.  No matter where I am when it hits, a quick prayer, even uttered by my heart in the spirit of the quote, will never fail to bring me back to the feet of Christ.

I don't know if it's because I'm finally fulfilling my purpose as a creation to praise the Creator...

I don't know if it's because, in praying this, I must fully turn my attention to G-d...

I don't know if it's just because I resonate so deeply with Augustine here...

But I do know that I never feel more right than when I'm acting with this quote at the forefront of my plans.

I would strongly, strongly recommend that you read a copy of Augustine's Confessions, which happens to be my favorite book.  I've linked an online preview of it for you, to make my point for me.  This book has entirely shaped the way that I write about faith and G-d (if you read it and read some of my such writings, I promise you, the influence will be unmistakable).  Seriously, check it out.  You won't be sorry you did.

Beyond that, I would encourage you to start praying this, as Augustine (and, to an extent, Paul) prayed.  I guarantee you, it will change your life.

Keep loving.

16. Inspiration

I was in the middle of writing an entirely different blog post to you, when, suddenly, I got up, changed into jeans and just left my apartment.  I had no intention of doing it; it jut happened.  I started by stopping by the kitten area from yesterday's photo.  I hadn't seen a mom with them, so, as per my friend Nick's request, I went to see if they had someone/something caring for them.  I'm pretty sure I saw a momma cat today.  But, instead of coming back home, I started wandering around aimlessly.  I'm pretty sure I saw the Korean version of the mob, but I kept on moving.  I didn't stay around long enough to confirm it for you.

Blimey Cow photo-a-day 16. Inspiration
This is a photo of my receipt from Applebee.

I didn't know where I was headed, but my feet beelined for the most expensive restaurant I know here: Applebee (not to be confused with America's Applebee's).  It's this expensive buffet place that offers some high class food as well.  They're really good, and my pastor is always desperate to take people there.  But, in being there, I broke almost every rule I'd set for myself.  I broke my budget (the meal was roughly $25), I broke my water rule (I couldn't find the water filter at first, but was surprised to find that I didn't like the pop I had at all {as KelliTaylor said would happen} -too sweet!), I broke my unwritten "no eating out alone" rule, and I actually even broke my kosher rule (I'll come back to that).  To tell you the rather embarrassing truth, I didn't even have on socks, makeup, or deodorant.  My brain hadn't intended on going there, but, surprisingly, it was really refreshing and just what I needed.  Go figure, the introvert had an almost extroverted night.  Almost.

The entire staff there went out of their way to help me out.  We played charades for a bit, because Applebee has this not-so-complicated-but-feels-complicated-at-first system of placing plastic coins in the receiving bucket of your choice to order the food item of the corresponding picture above the bucket.  I knew this, but they really wanted to explain it to me, so I let them, first in Korean, then by a guy grabbing me by the hand and leading me across the restaurant to pantomime the whole process not one, but two times.  I later found out that one of the bus boys studying English in the US for 8 months, and, consequently, spent the rest of my meal pondering why they hadn't just grabbed him.  Either way, the directions were given and understood, so I grabbed one of the coins and went to place an order.  My mime, however, came running after me with my other coin, saying "Two!  Two coin!"  As it was the only thing he had worked up the courage to say to me, I figured it must be important to him.  Thus, I read through the Korean names, only recognizing one word: Creme.  I figured that was a pasta dish and ordered it.  Everything else looked to be meat, but I selected one that looked like it had the possibility of not being so.  I was right and wrong at the same time; it was shrimp.  Thinking of what Paul would say if he was there, I ate every last bite of that shrimp, and it was surprisingly delicious.

I was also surprised to find myself writing more of my novel in my head while sitting at my table.  I rather wished I had brought it with me.  For some reason, sitting and people watching gave birth to a new character, who I think will help get everything moving.  Well, I guess it's not really "for some reason."  When you meet her in the story, she'll be exactly where I was, doing exactly what I was doing.  She's just going to have a slightly different motivation.  She's going to be a lot of fun to write.  I

I'm thinking of naming her Charity, but I need a good last name for her.  My gut is saying Cambridge, but I'm thinking that's more of because J.K. Rowling named one of her characters Charity Burbage.  I'm thinking it would be better to not copy her so much, so, if you can think of a sophisticated, older-sounding, somewhat cooly intimidating surname for her, please list them off below.

In fact, how about this?: The person who comes up with the best name will win a giveaway.


Here's how this is going to work:

1. Make sure you leave your name in the comment section.
2. Make sure you leave your surname ideas for Charity.
3. Make sure you pop back in to see if you've won.  I plan to introduce her in the next chapter, so, I should be needing a name by next week.
4. If you win, I will send you something cool and exciting from Korea.  I haven't decided what yet, as I just decided to have this giveaway, but I'll go out soon and browse for the perfect prize.

Looking forward to your names!

"...And still we open the door for him to surrender." - Ambassador Francisco Madeira

On April 13, 2012, The Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, Jacob Oulanyah, announced that their government would be extending the Amnesty Act, in order to protect any member of the LRA who wanted to surrender.  One month later, Caesar Achellam came out of the bush.  The words of Ambassador Francisco Madeira (as quoted at the top of this article) seemd to make it clear that this Amnesty Act included everyone in the LRA, including Joseph Kony himself.  However, that is now being disputed.  Read up on that HERE, then come back to me.

Amnesty Acts are nothing new in Africa.  The most widely successful example of it is that which happened in South Africa.  As an American, I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around that idea, but I'm a lot closer to it now than I used to be.  I used to write the idea off as preposterous, something that was only working for now by some miracle of G-d, while people were biding their time to return to how they had been.  But I have changed my mind.  Christ would extend these people grace.  As a person who claims to follow His lead, I cannot do anything but the same without tarnishing my witness and His reputation.

Why?  Because it's not black and white.

"[Cesar Achellam] is wanted by the International Criminal Court for rape, mutilation and murder of civilians, as well as forcibly recruiting children to serve as soldiers and sex slaves" (BBC).  It's hard to ignore those crimes.  They're horrific.  They make me want to vomit.  They rip out my heart.

Ceasar Achellam also spent at least 20 years under Joseph Kony.  20 years.  One look at his face spells it out for you: He was captured as a child.  He grew up in a culture of rape, mutilation, murder, and slavery.  He is no more responsible for thinking those actions are a way of life than I am for thinking that waffles are a breakfast food.

Don't get me wrong.  I do think that there was a part of him that knew those actions were inexcusable, just like there's a part of me that knows that waffles are not universally a breakfast food, but I am saying that it's not something that he could have avoided (and kept his life). 

Maybe waffles isn't an appropriate example.  Let's say lying - lying is pretty acceptable in American culture, especially white lies.  Or what about gluttony?  That's entirely acceptable in American culture, but it's on the list of the Seven Deadly Sins.  Interestingly enough, murder is not.  Wrath, however, is, and it is out of wrath that we want "justice" for this man.

Wrath (Latin, ira), also known as "rage", may be described as inordinate and uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger. Wrath, in its purest form, presents with self-destructiveness, violence, and hate that may provoke feuds that can go on for centuries. Wrath may persist long after the person who did another a grievous wrong is dead. Feelings of anger can manifest in different ways, including impatience, revenge, andvigilantism.

But let's talk about what it was that Mr. Achellam said.  Mr. Achellam went on record before the world, saying, "My coming out will have a big impact for the people still in the bush to come out and end this war soon."  If you ask me, these are not the words of a man who was acting of his own volition.  These are the words of a child, who finally found a way to return home.  Maybe I am being fooled by a man looking to save himself.  Maybe.  But I cannot in good conscious condone "justice" for this man.

While I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. How could I possibly say that this man deserves anything less?

Controversy in what matters most

It seems like I'm always struggling with one writer in the Bible or another.  For a loooooooong time, it was Paul.  In fact, I spent a lot of time in which I refused to read him, harbored bitterness and angry toward him (I know... totally not a waste of time... yeah right), held him responsible for the misinterpretations of his writings, and so on.  It was ridiculous, to be sure, but I do maintain what I think to be the most important part of that long-time exercise in disbelief:  You should not quote Paul (or any Epistle for that matter) without also quoting Jesus (and I would prefer Torah and a prophet... wisdom literature for a bonus point) in agreement with him.  Paul is far too easily misrepresented, because much of Christendom has forgotten the context in which it was written.  Like Kierkegaard, I think this is a most heinous loss, and while it will not separate anyone from Christ, it will separate their minds from His.  People miss out on so many true meanings and liberations in His words by ignoring the context into which they were spoken.  Additionally they (like I) miss the agreements between Paul and Christ without first knowing intimately that context.


My suggestion?  Find an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and soak up what he says.  But you don't need to take my word for it.  Ask this guy about the benefits.  (Incidentally, he's the one who was able to start me on the road to reconciliation with Paul.)


But, believe it or not, this posting isn't about Paul and me.  It's actually about John and me.  John, John, John... So many people have a hard time with you, and so did I... until G-d spoke clarity into my mind.  Ironically enough, my name comes from the name John, routing through their Hebrew equivalents.  The coolest part is found in their meanings, which deal with Grace.  Don't believe me on the connection front?  Fine... you shouldn't just take my word for it, anyway: John.  Anne.  And, just in case you wanted another eerie connection: Saul.

So yes, lately, I've been having problems with John.  But, instead of letting that fester this time around, I immediately began seeking out those wiser than myself.  I prayed, I read, I talked... but it wasn't until I finished John and started again that G-d spoke into all of it.  I had to prove my faithfulness on the subject.  I had to show my commitment to truly seeking Him and not discounting what He has given me as a witness to Himself (scripture, in case you missed it).  This is what he gave me:

November 6, 2011

This is John's testimony.  Every testimony will be affected by a person's opinion and circumstance.  John very probably wrote this after the Temple was destroyed, and it was clear that Jesus woud not be coming back to "establish" His Kingdom in their lifetimes.  Therefore, John is probably writing with the mission of reassuring people of Christ's deification - that He is, in fact, G-d, and the fact that He wasn't doing things the way everyone wanted or expected (still) was not reason to discount Him.  (Hebrews was most likely written around this same time as well.)  John starts this illustration at the beginning of the world and goes up through Christ's time on Earth.

He's writing many years after all the events happened, so it's likely that he did not write in perfect chronological order or with perfect quotes from the people in the stories (especially since that was perfectly acceptable in the day), but he does write, capturing who Jesus IS.  He urges us to fully understand Jesus' situation as a deity and, consequentially, writes a very different Gospel from that of the Synoptic writers, who focus on the incredible revolution that Jesus brought.

And yes, you will hear John's emotions come out at times (especially in reference to Judas or the Pharisees), but it is important to remember the setting and who John was:  John is referred to as "the disciple whom Jesus loved."  That is, of course, his own testimony, but the writers of the other Gospels also acknowledge that Peter, James, and John were considerably closer to Jesus than were the rest.  That being said, John would reasonably feel rather more passionately about the people to whom he assigned responsibility for Jesus' death.

John writes with a very interesting perspective.  I would encourage you not to dwell on the differences in format, but to drink in what a member of Jesus' most inner circle has to say about Him.

And really, that's all I have to say about that.

What do YOU have to say about that?  I'd love to hear from you!

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