A New kind of Politics

I just started reading "Who Speaks For God?" by Jim Wallis. I am loving it so far, I wish everyone who has a public voice and claimed to be a Christian was required to read it.

We have such a divided political landscape now days, and I think the church often is right in the middle of that divide. Here is what Wallis has to say about true "moral" politics, and I definatly agree:

"Religious values can help us find the path to a new politics. The spiritual politics that we need must be rooted in the values of compassion, community, and civility. These three can be viewed, in fact, as religious tests of politics.

COMPASSION is the first test of politics, from a religious perspective. A new politics of compassion would especially focus on those whom Jesus called "the least of these." It is a selective morality indeed that ignores the Bible's deep concerns about economic justice and racial reconciliation in a divided society. From the Religious Right we simply don't hear that cry being raised with the power of Jesus or of Amos, who called upon his hearers to "let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a flowing steam."

How do we treat the poor, the stranger, the outcast, the weak, the vulnerable, the children? The Hebrew prophets saw this as the truest criterion of a nation's integrity. With this measure of compassion as a moral beacon, we can move beyond the old categories of Left and Right as we make our way through the questions of social policy and welfare reform towards the alleviation of poverty. We must transcend the tired debates between defending old welfare bureaucracies or balancing the budget on the backs of our poorest children. Neither maintaining poverty nor abandoning the poor is a moral option.

The second test of politics is COMMUNITY—whether our political policies and processes build or destroy our common life. Martin Luther King once wrote that the choice before us was "chaos or community." Because we have rejected the latter we are now faced with the former. The breakdown of family and community in our nation must focus our attention on reweaving the fabric of life and relationships that has so seriously eroded. The gangs and violence that now plague even our middle-sized and small towns are a direct consequence of the breakdown of family, community, and economy. They all must be repaired.

A renewed sense of community at both local and national levels would aim at bridging our racial, economic, and social divides; and a politics of hope might offer 5the vision that both liberals and conservatives have failed to provide. Many people are already engaged across the country in grassroots efforts to fashion a new political community. Their stories and experience must become a part of the national discussion.

Our third test of politics is CIVILITY—the character of our public discourse and decision making, and the participation of ordinary people in the political process. The politics of warring factions, "us and them" rhetoric, and the polemics of fear and blame, must be seriously critiqued from a religious perspective. In particular the religious community must challenge the Right to stop blaming the poor, the urban underclass, the homeless, the blacks, the homosexuals, the feminists. And the liberals must be challenged to stop stereotyping and caricaturing evangelicals, conservatives, and religious commitment generally, or belittling "traditional," "moral," and "family" values.

We must try to find common ground by moving to higher ground on a whole range of issues, including some of the most incendiary issues like abortion and homosexuality. Could we not recognize both the sanctity of human life and the equality of women? Couldn't we strongly support the rebuilding of traditional two-parent families while we stop scapegoating homosexuals as if they are responsible for the breakdown of our families?"

Chip Kidd - Book One

I just got Chip Kidd: Book One: Works 1986-2006. For those who don't know, Chip Kidd is the Michael Jordan of book cover design. The book is his complete works from 1986-2006, showing book covers, concept ideas and coments from clients. It is interesting to see some of the process behind such great covers. He shares the ideas behind what he designed and some interesting stories that go along with each design. To any Graphic designers out there, or anyone interested in good art, you should check out this book. I am very excited to dive into it.

Ashes to Ashes

Jenny has a new article up at Circle Six Magazine. It is this weeks "Faith" article. It is a great read with a lot of totaly right on points. Read her article Ashes to Ashes now.

Welcome...

I would like to extend a welcome to all the new readers I have gained over the last few days. Thank you for your interest. I encourage all of you to post a comment when you find something interesting, encouraging, thought provoking, or when you disagree with something. My desire for this blog is to have a place to keep in touch with friends and family, and put some thoughts down on pap... er, I mean, html. This is kind of like my personal journal, but I am seeking public input, as I am very much open to hear other opinions. More then anything else, I desire this place to be completely honest. I am a very open and honest person as many of you may know, I hope that anyone who reads this can feel the same way here.

I hope to always speak the truth, and I know I will come up short much of the time, so be patient with me and maybe we can all learn from each other. Remember, you cannot have truth without honesty.

A New Law

This is a new song by Derek Webb that will be out on his next Album, Mockingbird, in Dec.

_______________________________

A New Law by Derek Webb:

don't teach me about polotics and government
just tell me who to vote for
and don't teach me about truth and beauty
no, just label my music
and don't teach me how to live like a free man
no, just give me a new law

i don't wanna know if the answers aren't easy
so just bring it down from the mountain to me
i want a new law
i want a new law
just give me that new law

and don't teach me about moderation and liberty
i prefer a shot of grape juice
and don't teach me about Loving my enemies
and don't teach me how to listen to The Spirit
no, just give me a new law

i don't wanna know if the answers aren't easy
so just bring it down from the mountain to me
i want a new law
i want a new law
just give me that new law

'cause what's the use in trading a law you can never keep
for one you can that cannot get you anything
so do not be afraid
do not be afraid
_______________________________

It is so true, the church his always looking for a new law, a new stadard on what it means to be a Christian, rules to follow. Sometimes I think we missed the whole point of the Gospels. Any thoughts?

Redefining Relevance

I have been reading farther in the book I posted about earlier, A Matrix of Meanings, and I am getting to a point were I am having a hard time agreeing with him. Here is my reasoning.

First of, the church will never be relevant if it is trying to reach a "post modern" crowed, because post modernism died like 10 years ago. This generation, my generation, has grown tired of the "noise" of post-modernism. We no longer want everything all at once from every direction; we want something solid, something real. You are seeing a movement in young churches doing back to their roots, the truly relevant churches, turning back to TRUE Orthodoxy. We are using more hymns then we use to, we are exploring church history and embracing some forgotten traditions, not the traditions of materialism, hypocricy, gossip, greed, and over programing. We are see the effects now as my generation makes a mass exodus from the suburban mega churches we grew up in, the very churches that throw themselves face first into trying to be “relevant”, to the point of delivering us prepackaged, meaning less garbage. We want something real. The gospel is real.

In the book, the author states "There's no arguing that Generation X is largely unmoved by the language of traditional Christianity, but you don't see many church leaders wondering if maybe the message itself is the problem. With so few people believing in hell, what’s the point in getting so worked up about salvation, whether it’s by grace or otherwise?” arguing that “the message of Christianity does not communicate to people who have grown up in a world in which pop culture is amniotic fluid, largely because what religion talks about does not speak to the spiritual needs of today’s seeker.”

Well, I can tell you right now that the problem is not the message; the problem is the church has lost the message. It is buried under $500,000 sound systems and video screens, under banners advertising the next big thing in the Christian ghetto industry. When the modern church wakes up and realizes it has the truth in it’s hands, and that the Word of God does not lose relevance, that the word of God is not a list of what you “should” or “should not” do, it’s bigger then how you vote or whether you drink or smoke, then they will see my generation regain an interest.

*EDIT*
We are no longer satisfied with the simple answers. We want to dig deeper. The reason the church is loosing a grip on our age group is because the church has become so watered down it has, as Toney Campolo put it, “neutered the gospel”. I have learned more about God, Theology, scripture, original language, and church history sitting around talking with friends then I ever did in church, because most churches refuses to serve us the meat of the gospel.

We are a generation screaming out for something genuine. A church can not be relevant until it understands this. We look at a church following 10 years behind pop culture and it is neither genuine nor relevant, who wants to be a part of that?

So, it boils down to this: “Keep it real!”

PS – We have been lucky to find a church that understands this. Thanks guys.

Radiohead and Christianity

I am currently reading "A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture" by Craig Detweiler and Barry Taylor. Its a great read, I recommend it.

Anyway, I found this excert particularly interesting, not only because it is discussing one of my favorite bands, but I think there is a lot of truth to the statement he makes about the churchs desire to appear orthodox, to apear like we have it together more then we really do that makes the church seem so irrelevant to the world.

"The band's (Radiohead) approach offers some challenges as we think through a theology out of pop culture. The following statements by various band members demand particular reflection. Ed O'Brien, bass player, said, "We can't do anything exactly right. But that's what makes our sound." One of the banes of contemporary Christianity is its intence focus on orthodoxy. The problem is not orthodoxy but the fact that far too many people are running around making their particular theological posture the standard orthodox test. We all have glimpses of truth, but, to echo Paul, this side of the grave we all "see through a glass darkly." The desire to appear orthodox has led to a dearth of creativity in virtually every realm of the contemporary Christian experience, particularly the realms of theology and music. This streak of perfectionism, which runs deep in the American religious mindset, creates atmospheres of fear and trepidation, especially in regard to new ideas. Experimentation is a key ingredient of a contemporary theological construct.

A second point comes from vocalist Thom Yorke: "Aiming and missing is the whole premise." This does not mean to be wrong is right, but it affirms the need for room to fail and also the need to challenge right constructs by being wrong. The pop song demands on some level a degree of conformity. For the last forty years, the basic structure of the pop song has revolved around the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus method. Along with this approach to the structure of songs has come a similar conformity in the formulation of vocabulary and sentiments. In this environment, originality is at a premium, as most artists tend to fall back on the mundane and the mediocre. That is why rhyming is a key element of pop songwriting–words have to fit and sound right. Rhyming helps this process. Unfortunatly, originality can get lost in the pursuit of the perfect rhyming word.

Radiohead bent and broke these rules both musically and lyrically. They allowed the athority of the lyrics to be controlled by technology. they abandoned standard pop song structure and format in search of new musical horizons. They re-created the rules and boundries of what a pop song is and what it can accomplish. Theology also needs to fiddle with its rules, not in random ways, but with a sense of experiment, excitement, and creativity."

I'M BACK!

Sorry guys, we have been without internet for three weeks! Stupid Metronet decided they weren't going to provide to our building anymore, and gave us a 4 day notice. We signed up for Time-Warner's Roadrunner and they came out to the apartment and couldn't get the wireless to work on either of our computers, so then we signed up for SBS DSL and they made us subscribe to a house phone, sent us a modem and then waited a week to activate our line. I hate internet companies, why can't you just get what you need when you need it?

New Orleans

Wow, have you guys been seeing this stuff? Its unbelievable! It's like a war zone down there. You always think, that no matter what happens, someone has a plan, someone has it figured out, help is on it's way, but when something like this happens it really changes your perspective.

CNN Coverage

It's like a third world country down there.

Jenny wrote a great faith piece on the recent events, this, the tidal wave, and 9/11, in her blog. I would encourage you all to read it.

Remember to pray for all those effected.
Jacob and Faith, you guys are certainly in our prayers.

King v. Unit

King Felix faces his first real offensive challange since is call up tonight, against the Yankees, vs. Randy Johnson. Old vs. New, the future vs. the Past, best every Mariners pitcher vs. Best ever Mariners piching prospect. What an exciting game. Be sure to tune in or watch via MLB.com's Gamecast (as I will be doing). 7PM Pacific time.

King Felix's line so far, after 5 starts:
RECORD: 2-1 IP: 36.0 HITS: 23 RUNS: 8 EARNED RUNS: 7 HR's GIVEN UP: 2 WALKS: 5 STRIKEOUTS: 38 ERA: 1.75 WHIP: 0.78 OPP. BATTING AVERAGE: .178

Congrats!

We had two sets of friends get married this weekend. We missed their weddings because we just move to MO and feel awful about it. There are hard things about moving away from so many people you love, its been great, but hard.

Our congratulation go out to our great freinds Kristina Ringland, and Nate Bown, who got married saturday in Camano Island, WA. We are praying for you and are really happy for you. You guys need ot get out here and go to some cool Jazz clubs with us soon!

Also, Missy and Jason Small got married in Boise, ID saturday. We are also so very happy for the two of you. Missy, I am sad that I havn't been able to meet Jason yet, and you need to meet Jenny. I guess we have a reunion coming up in a year or two.

Love you guys, congrats!

King Felix's Home Debut!

Us Mariners fans don't have much to cheer for these days, but last night was the home debut of the best prospect the system has seen since A-Rod. Felix Hernandez, the 19 year old phenom made his second start of the season, the first coming last week in Detroit (5IP 3H 2R 1ER 4K on 75 pitch leash), and he was brilliant. No only did he pitch 8 innings of shut out ball, but he did it with complet control, and poise. He looked like a season vetren out there, AT 19 YEARS OLD! Becoming the first teenage starter since Jose Rijo in 1984 to get a win. On top of that he made a couple of excelent defensive plays that made him look like he was right at home on the Safco Field mound. I expect many great things to come from this kid.

Felix's line last night:
8IP 5H 0R 0ER 0BB 6SO

He threw 94 pitches, 71 of them for strikes (75.5%)

His fastball topped out at 98 mph (4 times)

See what the press is saying:
Seattle PI
Tacoma New Tribune
Seattle Times (Bob Finnigan)
Seattle Times (Larry Stone)
Baseball Prospectus


above stats taken from http://www.sethspeaks.net/

New photos up!

I finally got some pictures of our new place uploaded. We still have a little work to do, we diffinatly need more artwork on the walls, but here is a little tour of the place. The bottom row has a few pictures of the July 4th Mariners game (thats right, I refuse to call it a "Royals" game when they are playing the Mariners). There is a great shot of Ichiro! doing his little, "wax on" routine.

The Christian Paradox

How a faithful nation gets Jesus wrong: What it means to be Christian in America.
An excerpt. Originally from Harper's August 2005. By Bill McKibben.

Only 40 percent of Americans can name more than four of the Ten Commandments, and a scant half can cite any of the four authors of the Gospels. Twelve percent believe Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. This failure to recall the specifics of our Christian heritage may be further evidence of our nation’s educational decline, but it probably doesn’t matter all that much in spiritual or political terms. Here is a statistic that does matter: Three quarters of Americans believe the Bible teaches that “God helps those who help themselves.” That is, three out of four Americans believe that this uber-American idea, a notion at the core of our current individualist politics and culture, which was in fact uttered by Ben Franklin, actually appears in Holy Scripture. The thing is, not only is Franklin’s wisdom not biblical; it’s counter-biblical. Few ideas could be further from the gospel message, with its radical summons to love of neighbor. On this essential matter, most Americans—most American Christians—are simply wrong, as if 75 percent of American scientists believed that Newton proved gravity causes apples to fly up.

Asking Christians what Christ taught isn’t a trick. When we say we are a Christian nation—and, overwhelmingly, we do—it means something. People who go to church absorb lessons there and make real decisions based on those lessons; increasingly, these lessons inform their politics. (One poll found that 11 percent of U.S. churchgoers were urged by their clergy to vote in a particular way in the 2004 election, up from 6 percent in 2000.) When George Bush says that Jesus Christ is his favorite philosopher, he may or may not be sincere, but he is reflecting the sincere beliefs of the vast majority of Americans.

And therein is the paradox. America is simultaneously the most professedly Christian of the developed nations and the least Christian in its behavior. That paradox—more important, perhaps, than the much touted ability of French women to stay thin on a diet of chocolate and cheese—illuminates the hollow at the core of our boastful, careening culture.

* * *
Ours is among the most spiritually homogenous rich nations on earth. Depending on which poll you look at and how the question is asked, somewhere around 85 percent of us call ourselves Christian. Israel, by way of comparison, is 77 percent Jewish. It is true that a smaller number of Americans—about 75 percent—claim they actually pray to God on a daily basis, and only 33 percent say they manage to get to church every week. Still, even if that 85 percent overstates actual practice, it clearly represents aspiration. In fact, there is nothing else that unites more than four fifths of America. Every other statistic one can cite about American behavior is essentially also a measure of the behavior of professed Christians. That’s what America is: a place saturated in Christian identity.

But is it Christian? This is not a matter of angels dancing on the heads of pins. Christ was pretty specific about what he had in mind for his followers. What if we chose some simple criterion—say, giving aid to the poorest people—as a reasonable proxy for Christian behavior? After all, in the days before his crucifixion, when Jesus summed up his message for his disciples, he said the way you could tell the righteous from the damned was by whether they’d fed the hungry, slaked the thirsty, clothed the naked, welcomed the stranger, and visited the prisoner. What would we find then?

In 2004, as a share of our economy, we ranked second to last, after Italy, among developed countries in government foreign aid. Per capita we each provide fifteen cents a day in official development assistance to poor countries. And it’s not because we were giving to private charities for relief work instead. Such funding increases our average daily donation by just six pennies, to twenty-one cents. It’s also not because Americans were too busy taking care of their own; nearly 18 percent of American children lived in poverty (compared with, say, 8 percent in Sweden). In fact, by pretty much any measure of caring for the least among us you want to propose—childhood nutrition, infant mortality, access to preschool—we come in nearly last among the rich nations, and often by a wide margin. The point is not just that (as everyone already knows) the American nation trails badly in all these categories; it’s that the overwhelmingly Christian American nation trails badly in all these categories, categories to which Jesus paid particular attention. And it’s not as if the numbers are getting better: the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported last year that the number of households that were “food insecure with hunger” had climbed more than 26 percent between 1999 and 2003.

This Christian nation also tends to make personal, as opposed to political, choices that the Bible would seem to frown upon. Despite the Sixth Commandment, we are, of course, the most violent rich nation on earth, with a murder rate four or five times that of our European peers. We have prison populations greater by a factor of six or seven than other rich nations (which at least should give us plenty of opportunity for visiting the prisoners). Having been told to turn the other cheek, we’re the only Western democracy left that executes its citizens, mostly in those states where Christianity is theoretically strongest. Despite Jesus’ strong declarations against divorce, our marriages break up at a rate—just over half—that compares poorly with the European Union’s average of about four in ten. That average may be held down by the fact that Europeans marry less frequently, and by countries, like Italy, where divorce is difficult; still, compare our success with, say, that of the godless Dutch, whose divorce rate is just over 37 percent. Teenage pregnancy? We’re at the top of the charts. Personal self-discipline—like, say, keeping your weight under control? Buying on credit? Running government deficits? Do you need to ask?

Please Pray

I have a long time family friend from church who was fatily injured in a motorcycle accident sunday afternoon. Please pray for her husband, family and friends. I don't really know what else to say about it. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of how it must feel to lose a spouse.

We may have found a church!

We tryed a church this sunday called Trinity Nazarene. We were sucked in somewere between the "Christian Social Justice Group", the Open Conversation on "God in Politics", and the Fine Arts Ministry. But besides all that, the message was great, the music was good, and the people were awesome. This church is very similar to one Jenny attended in college, in fact it had a couple people from that church going here. I also found out two of my friends from college attended there too, Krystal Lober and Megan Selby! It was good to see them again, and we are excited about the possiablities of this become our church home in KC. A nazarene church that cares about social justice and art, and allows for open conversation on anything, let alone politics. Could it be true?!?!
We sure hope so.

A Chord of Three Strands

Jenny got an article published in Circle 6 magazine!!!

Here is the article: "A Choard of Three Strands"

She also has a blog now. Check it out, she is an amazing writer so I am sure there will be some great reads posted on there sometime soon.

In other related news, she got a job offer that is really great, she has not accepted it yet, but she probably will. It is going to pay more then she was making in Olympia and they have already offered her a higher position then the one she applied for in the first place. Pray for God's hand in her decision. Thanks!

Photos of our new place, and the 4th of July will be coming soon, I promise. We need to find the USB cable for the camera.

We made it!

Sorry about the dealy, we had an uneventful trip out to KC and we got here Thursday night the 16th. We moved in all day Friday. We love our new place, its perfect. I started my job Monday and it has been great as well. Pray for Jenny in her job search.

We will have some pictures of our new place soon, I promise.

Last Day of Work!

This is my last day at ReachONE and Jenny's last day at WIRB! I am going to miss it here, I worked with some amazing people.

We got the apartment finalized and we will be headed out to Kansas City on tuesday.

This is going to be a busy weekend of packing.
Keep us in prayer, see ya in about a week!

Be creative!

This is a cool little flash-based scratch-pad called Art Pad.

Here is mine, now you give it a try!,

Coldplay - X&Y

I picked up the new Coldplay album, X&Y yesterday, its very good. I little less piano then the last album, but a lot more guitar, like the first album. They have firmly positioned themselves to be the next U2 with this one. As my friend Jacob said in his review of the album at Circle 6, "Buckland apparently stole the Edge's effect board to get his delays". But, you all know how much I love U2, so I can think of worse bands to sound similar to.

Anyways, if you haven't, check out X&Y, its money. I especially like the song White Shadows.
Good album art design as well!

KC Update!

Jenny and I will be leaving for Kansas City on June 13-14th. We both have our last day of work in Olympia on the 10th. I start at NPH on the 20th.

I just put an apartment on hold for us in the River Market District of Kansas City. We are renting a 990 sq ft., 1 bedroom, 1 bath loft with a study in this building. The floor plan is kind of like this one , but a little difrent in shape. We are so excited about living in this area!

Now we can be cool urban people....

WWJRLT?

What Would J.R. Listen To?

(I am sure you all are dying to know)

This is a handy little plug in that lets you know what I have been listening to in iTunes, when I should be working.

BIG NEWS REVEALED!

I just accepted an offer to go work at the Nazarene Publishing House.

This means a move half way across the country for my wife and I, it is located in Kansas City, MO. We have been praying about it (and so have you guys, you just didn't know it) and feel this is were God is leading us. It is hard because we love Washington, and as of now are planning on returning someday. I just dropped the news to my boss a few minutes ago and he was very supportive and happy for me, he even prayed with me about it.

This is the same place I did my internship in the summer of 2000, I will be working with one of my best friends Branond Hill.

Continue to pray for us as we proceed in this course. We need to get the moving all worked out and find a place to live. We were thinking of renting a downtown apartment or near the plaza and be urban dwellers for a few years, so that should be a fun adventure.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for us.

Music Baton Passing...

One Mr. Joshua Hynes has passed me the music iTuning baton.
I dropped it after the pass, but I am catching the rest of the pack heading into the second corner...

Total volume of music files on my computer: 33.63 GB.

The last CDs I bought were:
"Stand Up" by Dave Matthews Band and "Drunkard's Prayer" by Over The Rhine

Song playing right now:
"Go With The Glow" by Queens Of The Stone Age

Five songs I listen(ed) to a lot (recently):
1) "Speed Of Sound" by Coldplay
2) "Go It Alone" by Beck
3) "Louisiana Bayou" by Dave Matthews Band
4) "Ballad In Plain Red" by Derek Webb
5) "Born" by Over The Rhine

Five people to whom I'm passing the baton:
Brandon Hill
Telfer (and/or) Andrea Griffith
Amanda Marble
Drew Smith
Jason Wilcox

Prayer Request

Could you guys keep me in prayer this weekend, I can't say why, but know that its a good thing, so don't worry. I may have more details soon.

Madison (the movie)

My wife and I went to see this last night. Most of you may have never heard of it, but it was good. I may be a bit biased as I have grown up around hydroplane racing my whole life. My dad and I were crew memebers on a hydroplane from the time I was about 8 til I left for college. It was fun to see a movie about a sport I am so passionate about. From a historical standpoint, they got a lot of the facts wrong, but it was a good movie non-the-less.

Here is the website

If it is playing in a theater in your area support an independent film and go see it! If you liked Hoosiers (and who doesn't?), you will like Madison.

Here is the trailer

Crop Walk

Jenny and I did the Crop Walk this year, a 10k walk to raise money to fight world poverty and hunger. It was last Sunday and we walked from the Capitol building in Olympia, down around the lake and over to the brewery, then back to the Capitol. We got our youth group involved; it was a lot of fun.

This is one thing I like a lot about our new church; it seems to focus more on what we CAN do to have a positive effect on the world around us instead of what a lot of Christian churches do in complaining about the things we cannot change.

If you have a Crop Walk in your area I would encourage anyone to get involved.

Also, on a similar note, check this out, sign up and take action:

VACATION PHOTOS!

I told you!

We had a blast, it was a great vacation.

VACATION!

Jenny and I are leaving this afternoon for So-Cal. We will be spending a few days in the LA area with her grandparents then headed down to Pt. Loma in San Diego, we are going to stay in the alumni house at PLNU. We got some Padres tickets and are hoping to visit the Zoo and maybe Sea World, well see. Mostly Jenny is going to show me her old "hood".

I'll have pictures for you all when I return!

Irony at its best, hypocisy at its worset.

'Left Behind' Authors Blast End-Times Mini-Series as 'Unbiblical, Weird'

Read The Article

some choice quotes:

Jerry Jenkins, novelist of the "Left Behind" series, which has sold 62 million copies since its debut in 1995, said "Revelations" is "a mishmash of myth, silliness, and misrepresentations of Scripture."

"'Revelations seems to draw from everywhere and nowhere," said Jenkins.

Two new Derek Webb songs!

I am guessing these will be on his new live dvd coming out this summer. Again he seems to have opened up my skull and come inside my head and efectivly said in song what I have a hard time saying in words. Thank you Derek for kicking my arse.


A King and a Kingdom:

Who’s your brother, who’s your sister
You’ll just walk past him, think you missed her
As we’re all migrating to a place where our Father lives
Cause we married into a family of immigrants

So my first allegiance is not to a flag, a country or a man
My first allegiance is not to democracy or blood
It’s to a King and a Kingdom

There are two great lies that I’ve heard
The day you eat of the fruit of that tree you will not surely die
And that Jesus Christ was white, middle class, republican
And if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like him

Repeat chorus

And nothing unifies like a common enemy
And we’ve got one sure as hell
He may be living in your house
He may be raising up your kids
He may be sleeping with your wife
Or he may not look like you think
____________________________________________

Rich Young Ruler:

Poverty
Is so hard to see
When it’s only on your TV
Or 20 miles across town

Where we’re all living so good
We moved out of Jesus’ neighborhood
Where He’s hungry and not feeling so good
For going through our trash

He says “More than just your cash and coin
I want your time, I want your voice
I want the things you just can’t give me”

“So what must we do
Here in the west we want to follow you
We speak the language and keep all the rules
Even a few that we made up”

“So come and follow me
Sell your house, sell your SUV
Sell your stocks, sell your security
Give it to the poor”

“What is this, hey what’s the deal
I don’t sleep around and I don’t steal
I want the things you just can’t give me
I want the things you just can’t give me”

“Cuz what you do to the least of these
My brothers you have done it to me
Cuz I want the things you just can’t give me
I want the things you just can’t give me”

You've created nothing that gives me more pleasure then you.

David spent almost all of his young life in the fields, saturated by God’s majestic creation, yet he never let it overtake the gladness he found in fellowship with Him. So often I find myself manufacturing contentment with the petty things that I am meant to forsake. I believe that if I were to throw myself toward the minute-by-minute confrontation of the gospel, as David did, I would discover that God did not put anything among, around or inside of me that achieves even a loose definition of satisfaction when compared to God and the beauty of His grace. I truly desire to have an understanding of God’s presence and mercy that compels me to supernatural joy, but for now, I still seem to be obsessing with the things that God gives me, instead of His presence alone.
--Joshua Moore

New Website Launched by CainesDesign

I launched a website I have been working on as a freelance project last night at like 12:30. I am pretty dead tired today, but here it is:

G-17.com

I use to crew for these guys in High School, my dad was the Crew Chief back then.

Eugene Peterson Interview

The Article

How do we know when they have moved from merely adapting ministry to the culture to sacrificing the gospel?

One test I think is this: Am I working out of the Jesus story, the Jesus methods, the Jesus way? Am I sacrificing relationship, personal attention, personal relationship for a shortcut, a program so I can get stuff done? You can't do Jesus' work in a non-Jesus way and get by with it—although you can be very "successful."

Fantasy Baseball

Well, I drafted my team the other day for the CircleSix Fantasy Baseball League. Here is who I got:

Batters
C - V. Martinez (Cle - C) 
1B - C. Delgado (Fla - 1B) 
2B - L. Castillo (Fla - 2B)
3B - M. Mora (Bal - 3B)
SS - C. Guillen (Det - SS) 
OF - C. Beltran (NYM - OF) 
OF - V. Wells (Tor - OF)
OF - C. Lee (Mil - OF) 
Util - D. Wright (NYM - 3B)
BN - J. Bay (Pit - OF)
BN - J. Estrada (Atl - C)
BN - J. Guillen (Was - OF)

Pitchers
P - J. Santana (Min - P)
P - B. Lidge (Hou - P)
P - J. Peavy (SD - P) 
P - Ol. Perez (Pit - P) 
P - E. Guardado (Sea - P) 
BN - Od. Perez (LAD - P) 
BN - D. Baez (TB - P)

Looks like it could be a big season, or could be a weak one, we'll see. I am counting on a lot of young guys to have break out seasons, could be risky.

the funny

These is the funny.

Lent

Well, its Ash Wednesday, and I know what I am going to give up for lent.

This year I am giving up criticism; this is something I have struggled with a lot my whole life, I think my own criticisms distract me from God, and mostly from living Christ like.

Teen Group

Jenny and I are starting a teen group at our new church, as we are really the only people withing 20 years of the age of the teens. It should be fun, but a lot of work. There are about 5 teens that we know of so far, so we have a lot of work to do. Pray for us, our first group is next sunday evening. We are going to watch Napolian Dynomite, what better way to kick off a youth group?

Garden State

Jenny and I rented this last weekend. Great movie if you can get through the first few scenes. The first few scenes he is getting reacquainted with his high school friends and they are a bunch of stoners, but it is well worth it to hold out because the rest of the movie is great. I love these newer "romantic comedies" (Eternal Sunshine…) were the relationships have the weirdness and quarks of real life, not the fake sappiness of most movies labeled "romantic comedies".

So, see it if you haven't! Great soundtrack too!

The unrest in my soul.

I have been thinking, and reading a lot lately, I have gotten back into the bible on a daily bases again and its wonderful, but painful. I just wanted to share some of the things I have been struggling with.

I am begining to feel unrest in my soul, I want more, I want to want less. I want to be completely sold out to Christ I want to hold nothing back from Him and what He has for me to do on Earth. I am tired of holding things back from God, I am sick of justifying away my sins. I want to do all these things for Him instead of making myself look better. Who am I to think I deserve anything? What makes me think that I should be able to have a new car, or buy a house, or an iPod or a new computer? Who am I to think God needs to bless me with more then eternal salvation and a life with Him?

I rejoice that I am finally feeling unrest with my complacency; I pray that my unrest doesn't end. I feel guilty, prideful, arrogant, ignorant, angry, scared, and completely loved. Now comes the hard part, changing. Anyone want to join me? Atleast pray for me to be completly Christ centered, I want to have the faith that says "leave everything and follow me".

No Snow Yet!

I have been waiting for snow for the last two weeks, the weather man is a tease!

I found this to hold me over thoguht.
FUN IN THE SNOW!

Top 10 Movies of 2004

Note: some of these came out in theaters in 2003, but on DVD in 2004, and I saw all of them in 2004.

1. Napoleon Dynamite
2. The Passion of the Christ
3. Big Fish (2003)
4. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
5. The Motorcycle Diaries
6. Saved!
7. The Terminal
8. Secondhand Lions (2003)
9. The Station Agent (2003)
10. Miracle

Here are some movies I really want to see that were released in 2004:
The Aviator
Ocean's Twelve
Meet The Fockers
Life Aquatic

Prayer Request

Mitchell Hollis attended the young adults bible study my wife and I attened. I did not know him well, he had been only a few times, but he had been atteneding the church and a small group that some of my close friends are in.

News Article

Please pray for his family, he was working on getting back together with his wife, pray especialy for her and their kids. Thanks.

All I Want For Christmas is....

From my wonderful wife:
1 Year subscrition to PRINT Magazine
Corn Cob Pipe (the bent one)
Some fine tobacco selections
Boxers
and some other random stocking stuffers

From my mom and dad:
Cordless Drill

From my in-laws:
Air purifier (for Jenny and I from her mom and dad)
Tools and a tool box (from her brother, who drew my name)

Top 10 Albums of 2004

1. U2 - How To Dismantel An Atomic Bomb
2. Derek Webb - I See Things Upside Down
3. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
4. The Cure - The Cure
5. Mutemath - Reset
6. Indigo Girls - All That We Let In
7. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
8. Pedro The Lion - Achilles Heal
9. Carbon Leaf - Indian Summer
10.Caedmon's Call - Share The Well

Andrew Peterson - Behold The Lamb of God gets mad props too, but its seasonal, so i am not sure if I can add it to my list.

pa-pha-doink!

That was for you Hill.

Congrats on the MFA dagree!

Here is the thing....

I have been busy and lazy, mostly busy, but partly lazy, so I have nothing new to say, but Hi, and I will come up with somthing witty someday, don't hold your breathe.

As for my review of the last few tracks of the U2 album, I love them, you will too, go buy it!

Thats all.

U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - Crumbs From Your Table

Track #8 - Crumbs From Your Table

From the brightest star
Comes the blackest hole
You had so much to offer
Why did you offer your soul?
I was there for you baby
When you needed my help
Would you deny for others
What you demand for yourself?

Cool down mama, cool off
Cool down mama, cool off

You speak of signs and wonders
I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table

You were pretty as a picture
It was all there to see
Then your face caught up with your psychology
With a mouth full of teeth
You ate all your friends
And you broke every heart thinking every heart mends

You speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table

Where you live should not decide
Whether you live or whether you die
Three to a bed
Sister Ann, she said
Dignity passes by

And you speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table
___________________________________________________
This is another song about the AIDS crisis in Africa. I see it as a song being sung from an unbelieving world to the American church as they watch the crisis unfold and they here us speak of "signs and wonders" but we "deny for others what we demand for ourselves".

"Three to a bed /Sister Ann, she said /Dignity passes by "
This line is actually a quote from a nun working in an African AIDS relief tent, when Bono went to visit she explained to him "dignity passes by this place".

"And you speak of signs and wonders /But I need something other /I would believe if I was able /I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table"
This line points out what I feel is a great problem with the church and us Christians in general. We are called to be Christ like, we talk about right and wrong, we judge by standards no man can keep yet we do little to help our fellow man, something Christ spoke about more then anything. Let us not be known for what we say but what we do.

U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - A Man and A Woman

Track# 7 A Man and A Woman

Little sister don’t you worry about a thing today
Take the heat from the sun
Little sister
I know that everything is not ok
But you’re like honey on my tongue

True love never can be rent
But only true love can keep beauty innocent

I could never take a chance
Of losing love to find romance
In the mysterious distance
Between a man and a woman
No I could never take a chance
‘Cos I could never understand
The mysterious distance
Between a man and a woman

You can run from love
And if it’s really love it will find you
Catch you by the heel
But you can’t be numb for love
The only pain is to feel nothing at all
How can I hurt when I’m holding you?

I could never take a chance
Of losing love to find romance
In the mysterious distance
Between a man and a woman

And you’re the one, there’s no-one else
You make me want to lose myself
In the mysterious distance
Between a man and a woman

Brown eyed girl across the street
On rue Saint Divine
I thought this is the one for me
But she was already mine
You were already mine…

Little sister
I’ve been sleeping in the street again
Like a stray dog
Little sister
I’ve been trying to feel complete again
But you’re gone and so is God

The soul needs beauty for a soul mate
When the soul wants… the soul waits …

No I could never take a chance
Of losing love to find romance
In the mysterious distance
Between a man and a woman

For love and faith and sex and fear
And all the things that keep us here
In the mysterious distance
Between a man and a woman

How can I hurt when I’m holding you?
___________________________________________
This is a classic love song as only U2 could do it.

"You can run from love /And if it’s really love it will find you"
Some of these lines are so cheesy that I would not be able to take them seriously, but Bono has a way of giving them meaning anyway.

"I know that everything is not ok /But you’re like honey on my tongue "
As with every U2 love song its born out of some conflict.

"I could never take a chance /Of losing love to find romance "
This is one of the best love song lines ever, I love that idea, Romance is somthing that you can find in many places, love is much harder to find.

"How can I hurt when I’m holding you?"
Great closing line of a great love song.

U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - All Because Of You

Track # 6 - All Because Of You

I was born a child of grace
Nothing else about the place
Everything was ugly but your beautiful face
And it left me no illusion

I saw you in the curve of the moon
In the shadow cast across my room
You heard me in my tune
When I just heard confusion

All because of you
All because of you
All because of you
I am… I am

I like the sound of my own voice
I didn’t give anyone else a choice
An intellectual tortoise
Racing with your bullet train

Some people get squashed crossing the tracks
Some people got high rises on their backs
I’m not broke but you can see the cracks
You can make me perfect again

All because of you
All because of you
All because of you
I am… I am

I’m alive
I’m being born
I just arrived, I’m at the door
Of the place I started out from
And I want back inside

All because of you
All because of you
All because of you
I am
____________________________________________
This song is basicaly a praise song that rocks.

"I saw you in the curve of the moon /In the shadow cast across my room /You heard me in my tune /When I just heard confusion"
This verse leaves little doubt that he is talking about God.

"I’m not broke but you can see the cracks /You can make me perfect again"
speaking about God's redemptive abilities.

"All because of you /I am"

U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - City Of Blinding Lights

Track #5 - City Of Blinding Lights

The more you see the less you know
The less you find out as you go
I knew much more then than I do now

Neon heart dayglo eyes
A city lit by fireflies
They’re advertising in the skies
For people like us

And I miss you when you’re not around
I’m getting ready to leave the ground….

Ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh

Oh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights

Don’t look before you laugh
Look ugly in a photograph
Flash bulbs purple irises
The camera can’t see

I’ve seen you walk unafraid
I’ve seen you in the clothes you made
Can you see the beauty inside of me?
What happened to the beauty I had inside of me?

And I miss you when you’re not around
I’m getting ready to leave the ground

Ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh

Oh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights

Time… time
Won’t leave me as I am
But time won’t take the boy out of this man

Oh you look so beautiful tonight
Oh you look so beautiful tonight
Oh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights

The more you know the less you feel
Some pray for others steal
Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel… luckily
_______________________________________________________

Hulkster on the Circle 6 boards nailed this one, so I am just going to steal his post, I couldn't have said it better....

Hulkster said:

I think Bono is just saying that, the older we get, the more complicated things tend to get in our lives. The more complicated things get, the more gray things become, and answers seem less black and white.

The line about knowing much more "then" than now is just a look back to his youth when he no doubt(like us all) thought we knew it all. And again I think it's just a way Bono in saying "back then things were a little bit more simple than they are now." Everything now is complicated. He's having to jump through government hoops across the world to get things done in Africa, whereas before he thought(mistakenly) that he could change the world with a song, like Sunday Bloody Sunday. It's just a wakeup call of sorts, an admission of the reality of what he's facing.

U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - Love And Peace Or Else

Track #4 - Love And Peace Or Else

Lay down
Lay down
Lay your sweet lovely on the ground
Lay your love on the track
We're gonna break the monster's back
Yes we are...
Lay down your treasure
Lay it down now brother
You don't have time
For a jealous lover

As you enter this life
I pray you depart
With a wrinkled face
And a brand new heart

I don't know if I can take it
I'm not easy on my knees
Here's my heart I'll let you break it

I need some release, release, release

We need
Love and peace
Love and peace

Lay down
Lay down your guns
All your daughters of Zion
All your Abraham sons
I don't know if I can make it
I'm not easy on my knees
Here's my heart I'll let you break it
I need some release, release, release

We need
Love and peace
Love and peace

Baby don't fight
We can talk this thing through
It's not a big problem
It's just me and you
You can call or I'll phone
The TV is still on
But the sound is turned down
And the troops on the ground
Are about to dig in

And I wonder where is the love?
Where is the love?
Love and peace
Where is the love?
Where is the love?
Where is the love?
_________________________________________________

This song is about the Israeli - Palestinian conflict. Bono is calling both sides to look for Love and Peace.

"Lay down/ Lay down your guns/ All your daughters of Zion/ All your Abraham sons"
Leaving little doubt about the subject matter of this song.

"Baby don't fight/ We can talk this thing through/ It's not a big problem/ It's just me and you/ You can call or I'll phone/ The TV is still on/ But the sound is turned down/ And the troops on the ground/ Are about to dig in"
Comparing it to a fight between two lovers.

"Where is the love?"

U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own

Track #3 - Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own

Tough, you think you've got the stuff
You're telling me and anyone
You're hard enough

You don't have to put up a fight
You don't have to always be right
Let me take some of the punches
For you tonight

Listen to me now
I need to let you know
You don't have to go it alone

And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you when I don't pick up the phone
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

We fight all the time
You and I...that's alright
We're the same soul
I don't need...I don't need to hear you say
That if we weren't so alike
You'd like me a whole lot more

Listen to me now
I need to let you know
You don't have to go it alone
And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you when I don't pick up the phone
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

I know that we don't talk
I'm sick of it all
Can - you - hear - me - when - I -
Sing, you're the reason I sing
You're the reason why the opera is in me...

Where are we now?
I've got to let you know
A house still doesn't make a home
Don't leave me here alone...

And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you that makes it hard to let go
Sometimes you can't make it on your own
Sometimes you can't make it
The best you can do is to fake it
Sometimes you can't make it on your own
________________________________________________________

This song was written for Bono's father's funeral.

"We fight all the time/ You and I...that's alright/ We're the same soul/ I don't need...I don't need to hear you say/ That if we weren't so alike/ You'd like me a whole lot more"
This line is pretty typical of a lot of father son relationships.

"Listen to me now/ I need to let you know/ You don't have to go it alone"
I heard an interview were Bono was talking about how his "old man" was losing his faith, I think this is Bono's plea to his dad to give up, to stop trying to "make it on your own".

"Can - you - hear - me - when - I -/ Sing, you're the reason I sing/ You're the reason why the opera is in me..."
His father loved Opera and Bono feels that has been passed on to him.

"Where are we now?/ I've got to let you know/ A house still doesn't make a home/ Don't leave me here alone..."
I take this line as admitting, that 'hey, you can't make it on your own, but either can I, I need you here to help' maybe I am wrong with that one, but that’s how I like to think of it.

U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - Miracle Drug

Track #2 - Miracle Drug

I want to trip inside your head
Spend the day there...
To hear the things you haven't said
And see what you might see

I want to hear you when you call
Do you feel anything at all?
I want to see your thoughts take shape
And walk right out

Freedom has a scent
Like the top of a new born baby's head

The songs are in your eyes
I see them when you smile
I've seen enough I'm not giving up
On a miracle drug

Of science and the human heart
There is no limit
There is no failure here sweetheart
Just when you quit...

I am you and you are mine
Love makes nonsense of space
And time...will disappear
Love and logic keep us clear
Reason is on our side, love...

The songs are in your eyes
I see them when you smile
I've had enough of romantic love
I'd give it up, yeah, I'd give it up
For a miracle, a miracle drug, a miracle drug

God I need your help tonight

Beneath the noise
Below the din
I hear your voice
It's whispering
In science and in medicine
"I was a stranger
You took me in"

The songs are in your eyes
I see them when you smile
I've had enough of romantic love
I'd give it up, yeah, I'd give it up
For a miracle, miracle drug

Miracle, miracle drug
__________________________________

This song is about the Africa AIDS crisis. It is dirceted to God, Bono is crying out for a Miracle Drug, not a "sign or wonder" but a solution.

"I want to trip inside your head/ Spend the day there.../ To hear the things you haven't said/ And see what you might see/ I want to hear you when you call/ Do you feel anything at all?/ I want to see your thoughts take shape/ And walk right out"

This line recalls the song "When I Look At The World" from ATYCLB, in which Bono is calling out to God asking to better understand His ways.

"God I need your help tonight/ Beneath the noise/ Below the din/ I hear your voice/ It's whispering/ In science and in medicine/ "I was a stranger/ You took me in""

This line he is calling for God's help, or for the church to listen to God's teachings. That God even is in the worlds of scince and medicine, a place that the church is often fighting against. Echoing the words of Christ "I was a stranger/ You took me in" calling the church to action.

U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - Vertigo

The cd is coming out this coming Tuesday. In the next few days I plan on posting the lyrics for each track and take a look at what its about.

Track #1 - Vertigo

Unos, dos, tres, catorce [1,2,3,14]

Turn it up loud, captain!

Lights go down
It's dark
The jungle is your head
Can't rule your heart
I'm feeling so much stronger
Than I thought
Your eyes are wide
And though your soul
it can't be bought
your mind can wander

Hello, Hello
Hola! [Spanish for Hello]
I'm at a place called vertigo (¿Dónde está?) [Where is it?]
It's everything I wish I didn't know
But you give me something I can feel
Feel

The night is full of holes
Those bullets rip the sky
Of ink with gold
They twinkle as the boys play rock and roll
They know that they can't dance
At least they know

I can sell the beat
I'm askin' for the check
Girl with crimson nails
Has Jesus 'round the neck
Swinging to the music
Swinging to the music
Woooao

Hello, Hello
Hola!
I'm at a place called Vertigo (¿Dónde está?) [Where is it?]
It's everything I wish I didn't know
But you give me something I can feel
Feel

All this, all this can be yours
All of this, all of this can be yours
All this, all of this can be yours
Just give me what I want
And no one gets hurt

Hello, Hello
Hola!
I'm at a place called Vertigo
Lights go down and all I know
Is that you give me something I can feel
You're teaching me...hahahaha-ow
Your love is teaching me...hahahahaha-ow
How to kneel
Kneel

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
__________________________________________

I covered this song earlier here.

After hearing the rest of the cd I am sticking to my first thought, that this track is about the unrest in the world.

"The night is full of holes/ Those bullets rip the sky"
"I'm at a place called Vertigo/ It's everything I wish I didn't know"

The unrest in the world makes it feel dizzy, uneasy, like Vertigo.

But there is hope and your "soul can't be bought" it is still tough because "your mind can wander".

"The jungle is your head/ Can't rule your heart/ I'm feeling so much stronger/ Than I thought/ Your eyes are wide/ And/ though your soul/ it can't be bought/ your mind can wander"

McPhisto (devil/rockstar altra-ego) from the Zoo Tour days shows up and offers the world, or the "place called Vertigo"

"All this, all this can be yours/ All of this, all of this can be yours/ All this, all of this can be yours/ Just give me what I want/ And no one gets hurt

Ultimatly there is a final hope, a hope in God.

"But you give me something I can feel/ Feeeeeel"
"Your love is teaching me...hahahahaha-ow/ How to kneel/ Kneeeeeeel"

Derek Webb - T-shirts

They'll know us by the t-shirts that we wear/ they will know us by the way we point and stare/ at anyone whose sin looks worse then ours/ who can not hide the scares of this curse that we all bare/ They'll know us by our picket lines and signs/ they will know us by the pride we hide behind/ like anyone on earth is living right/ and isn't that why Jesus died/ not to make us think were right/

chorus/ when love, love, love/ is what we should bew know for/ love, love, love/ its the how and its the why/ we live and breathe and we die/

They'll know us by the reasons we divide/ how we can't seem to unify/ because we gotta sing songs a certain style/ or we'll walk right down that aisle/ and just leave 'em all behind/ They'll know us by the billboards that we make/ just turing God's words into cheap cliches/ says "what part of murder don't you understand?"/ but we hate our fellow man/ and point a fingure at his grave/ chorus/

They'll know us by the t-shirts that we wear/ they will know us by the way we point and stare/ telling them their sins our worse then ours/ thinking we can hide behind our scars/ beneath these t-shirts that we wear.

It's been a while.

Sorry guys, I have been really freakin' busy. I have a bunch of stuff I want to post, but I am going to spread it out over the next few days.

Pictures!

From the hinking trip (read about it below)

From a trip my wife and I took earlier this summer.

ALCS

The biggest collapse in the history of professional sports.

And it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving team.

Thank you Red Sox.

Is a vote for Bush a Pro-life vote?

Pro-life? Look at the fruits
by Dr. Glen Harold Stassen

I am a Christian ethicist, and trained in statistical analysis. I am consistently pro-life. My son David is one witness. For my family, "pro-life" is personal. My wife caught rubella in the eighth week of her pregnancy. We decided not to terminate, to love and raise our baby. David is legally blind and severely handicapped; he also is a blessing to us and to the world.

I look at the fruits of political policies more than words. I analyzed the data on abortion during the George W. Bush presidency. There is no single source for this information - federal reports go only to 2000, and many states do not report - but I found enough data to identify trends. My findings are counterintuitive and disturbing.

Abortion was decreasing. When President Bush took office, the nation's abortion rates were at a 24-year low, after a 17.4% decline during the 1990s. This was an average decrease of 1.7% per year, mostly during the latter part of the decade. (This data comes from Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life using the Guttmacher Institute's studies).

Enter George W. Bush in 2001. One would expect the abortion rate to continue its consistent course downward, if not plunge. Instead, the opposite happened.

I found three states that have posted multi-year statistics through 2003, and abortion rates have risen in all three: Kentucky's increased by 3.2% from 2000 to 2003. Michigan's increased by 11.3% from 2000 to 2003. Pennsylvania's increased by 1.9% from 1999 to 2002. I found 13 additional states that reported statistics for 2001 and 2002. Eight states saw an increase in abortion rates (14.6% average increase), and five saw a decrease (4.3% average decrease).

Under President Bush, the decade-long trend of declining abortion rates appears to have reversed. Given the trends of the 1990s, 52,000 more abortions occurred in the United States in 2002 than would have been expected before this change of direction.

How could this be? I see three contributing factors:

First, two thirds of women who abort say they cannot afford a child (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Web site). In the past three years, unemployment rates increased half again. Not since Hoover had there been a net loss of jobs during a presidency until the current administration. Average real incomes decreased, and for seven years the minimum wage has not been raised to match inflation. With less income, many prospective mothers fear another mouth to feed.

Second, half of all women who abort say they do not have a reliable mate (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life). Men who are jobless usually do not marry. Only three of the 16 states had more marriages in 2002 than in 2001, and in those states abortion rates decreased. In the 16 states overall, there were 16,392 fewer marriages than the year before, and 7,869 more abortions. As male unemployment increases, marriages fall and abortion rises.

Third, women worry about health care for themselves and their children. Since 5.2 million more people have no health insurance now than before this presidency - with women of childbearing age overrepresented in those 5.2 million - abortion increases.

The U.S. Catholic Bishops warned of this likely outcome if support for families with children was cut back. My wife and I know - as does my son David - that doctors, nurses, hospitals, medical insurance, special schooling, and parental employment are crucial for a special child. David attended the Kentucky School for the Blind, as well as several schools for children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities. He was mainstreamed in public schools as well. We have two other sons and five grandchildren, and we know that every mother, father, and child needs public and family support.

What does this tell us? Economic policy and abortion are not separate issues; they form one moral imperative. Rhetoric is hollow, mere tinkling brass, without health care, health insurance, jobs, child care, and a living wage. Pro-life in deed, not merely in word, means we need policies that provide jobs and health insurance and support for prospective mothers.

Avrg. IQ vs. PROJECTED Electoral Vote

This chart is based on the 2004 Election PROJECTIONS and the average IQ of those states. We shall revisit it after the election and see if it holds up, but it is pretty interesting none-the-less. Draw your own conclusions ;-)
Dark Red = Bush by more then 10%
Red = Bush by 5% - 9.9%
Light Red = Bush by < 4.9%
Dark Blue = Kerry by more then 10%
Blue = Kerry by 5% - 9.9%
Light Blue = Kerry by < 4.9%

scroll down, blogger is stupid.....

	State	Avg. IQ	Votes
1	Connecticut	113	Kerry
2	Massachusetts	111	Kerry
3	New Jersey	111	Kerry
4	New York	109	Kerry
5	Rhode Island	107	Kerry
6	Hawaii	106	Kerry
7	Maryland	105	Kerry
8	New Hampshire	105	Kerry
9	Illinois	104	Kerry
10	Delaware	103	Kerry
11	Minnesota	102	Kerry
12	Vermont	102	Kerry
13	Washington	102	Kerry
14	California	101	Kerry
15	Pennsylvania	101	Kerry
16	Maine	100	Kerry
17	Virginia	100	Bush
18	Wisconsin	100	Kerry
19	Colorado	99	Bush
20	Iowa	99	Kerry
21	Michigan	99	Kerry
22	Nevada	99	Bush
23	Ohio	99	Bush
24	Oregon	99	Kerry
25	Alaska	98	Bush
26	Florida	98	Bush
27	Missouri	98	Bush
28	Kansas	96	Bush
29	Nebraska	95	Bush
30	Arizona	94	Bush
31	Indiana	94	Bush
32	Tennessee	94	Bush
33	North Carolina	93	Bush
34	West Virginia	93	Bush
35	Arkansas	92	Bush
36	Georgia	92	Bush
37	Kentucky	92	Bush
38	New Mexico	92	Kerry
39	North Dakota	92	Bush
40	Texas	92	Bush
41	Alabama	90	Bush
42	Louisiana	90	Bush
43	Montana	90	Bush
44	Oklahoma	90	Bush
45	South Dakota	90	Bush
46	South Carolina	89	Bush
47	Wyoming	89	Bush
48	Idaho	87	Bush
49	Utah	87	Bush
50	Mississippi	85	Bush

If nothing else, we learned that the souf' is stupid.

Backpacking with God

I had an opportunity to go backpacking with some friends this weekend. We went up to Lake Stuart and Horseshoe Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. It was amazing. Every time I am surrounded by God's creation I am just blown away by it. How can anyone not believe in God when they are surrounded by such splendid beauty? Every piece is planed out, everything is put were it is for a reason, yet in such amazing beauty. Accidents are not that beautiful or well thought out.

Anyways, as we were hiking up to Horseshoe (about 1,500 feet above Stuart) by legs were burning, I had 40 lbs strapped to my back (nearly 1/3 of my body weight) and I was headed straight up this cliff. I got to thinking, everything worth getting to is not easy, and everything worth having takes a lot of work. Marriage is a lot of work, but the awards are amazing. Friendships take a lot of work, but the awards are great. Heaven takes a lot of work, you have got to follow a long, steep, windy path to get there, but it is the ultimate in rewards. As I crested the top of the cliff and set my eyes on Horseshoe Lake, I forgot all about the hard journey to get there and was overwhelmed with the amazing beauty around me. I can only imagine how much more that is going to be the case when the golden gates are flung wide open and I step in.

Pictures will come soonly.

awesmoe

Derek Webb on his new album - I See Thing Upside Down

“What are the things that we American Christians value in our culture and how is that different, and often ‘upside down’ from true Kingdom values? I’ve found that often success looks more like failure, riches more like poverty, and have found that real life often feels more like death, as the Christian life is very literally the process by which we are killed.” - Derek Webb

U2 - Vertigo

The first single has dropped!
I heard it on the radio yesterday.

HERE IT IS!

After listening a few times, I think I am getting the gest of the song. It seems to me to be about the unrest in the world and the possability of hope in God.

"In a place called vertigo,
its everything I wish I didn't know.
But you give me something I can feel."

"I can feel you teaching me how,
your love is teaching me how to kneel"

New U2 Album Info

I have been waiting for this for about a year now. Here is the latest info from U2.com

Ok, so the wait is nearly over and the new album is on the way. So what do we know... and what do we not know!
There’s still a lot to be revealed in the coming weeks, but, when you pull it all together, quite a few of the vital statistics are already out there. We figured it might be time to separate some of the facts from some of the wilder flights of virtual imagination and online chatter. Of course, some of these outrageously speculative stories may yet turn out to be bang on the money - others will fade within days into the obscurity of rock'n roll trivia quizzes.
So here’s our top ten checklist to guide you through the jungle of rumour and speculation.

1. U2 have been recording a new set of songs over the past two years. Set for release on November 22nd, the album is called How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

2. According to Edge, at least one of them is called All Because of You. Or at least that's what the track was called when they were recording it. But what we do know for sure are titles of six other tracks on the album. Check them out here.

3. A handful of influential people - outside of the band - have heard some of these songs. The unanimous verdict seems to be that it's a pretty dang hot collection. Take Bill Flanagan, sometime U2 biographer, who says: 'I've heard it, it's great. It's the best album they have ever done. It's going to knock them out!'

4. In case you were hibernating or holidaying on Mars, earlier in the summer some of the new material went missing during a photo shoot with the band in France. 'A large slice of two years work lifted via a piece of round plastic.' reflected Edge.'It doesn't seem credible but that's what's just happened to us....'

5. The first single will be on air before the month is out. It’s called Vertigo and comes complete with a Kraftwerk cover and live studio performance. Complete story here.

6. The album has been produced by Steve Lillywhite, his first time at the desk for a whole U2 album since he produced the bands' first three albums, Boy, October and War. But others have been in the studio too - including Flood, Jacknife Lee, Nellee Hooper and Chris Thomas.

7. Any clues about the sound of the record ? Lillywhite says, 'I've heard some great songs. The Edge is playing some really great guitar.' Time Magazine, which also claims to have had an ear to the studio wall, is delighted that 'there's no crunk-style rapping, no gospel choirs or techno experiments.' 'Instead, this as-yet-untitled album is just full of confident, expansive guitar rock from the masters of the form.'
It will, according to Bono, ‘be our first rock-n-roll album'.

8. Oh yes, the title. Well, in case you missed it above - the album is called How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

9. When Vertigo goes to radio later this month, expect to find U2.Com undergoing its own revolution in look and content. When the album arrives, expect even more startling changes.

10. Plans to tour are also underway - the date of the tour will be 2005. (Rest assured, you’ll have the dates first from U2.com, just as soon as they’re buttoned down.) Paul McGuinness says the tour will be defined by ‘the character of the new album and the new production.’ So we can speculate more on the tour, when we've heard the album!
(Throughout September and October U2.Com will be posting official confirmation of all new U2 releases - as and when we get it!)

OH, I CAN"T WAIT!

Political Compass

http://www.politicalcompass.org/

I know we have all done these tons of times, but I find it interesting each time, and I like to see how i have changed over time.

My Score

Economic Left/Right: -6.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.23

I scored similar to Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama

WOOT!

Prayer Request

Some of you may know I have a brother-in-law, Jon, in Iraq. I just got this e-mail forwarded from my sister-in-law. Please pray for these men and all the service men and women in Iraq. It makes me sad, then angry that lives are being lost, they could use all the prayer they can get.

I received the following email from Jonathan early Wednesday morning.
You may want to be sure you have a few min. available to pray before
reading the following.
Crystal Tolson

Jonathan Tolson wrote:

So my old platoon got shot up in a drive by shooting yesterday. One
of the guys was killed (he got to the platoon about a week before I
left, so I didn't know him other than talking to him in passing). His
name was SGT Jacob Demand, was divorced, but had a child

Scott Thorne concerns me the most. He had neural surgery in Baghdad,
but the fact that he made it through surgery and made the 3 hour
flight down to Baghdad is good signs. Still too early to tell. He
had a daughter just about a month ago when he was on leave. As you
know, I've prayed for him and he has asked me to pray for his family
in the past.

PFC Majors was in my platoon, but I did not know him that well...he'll
probably be partially paralyzed, also critical condition.

Will Duran and James Wingate, who wrote you during NTC you may recall
, had some serious wounds, but are both in stable condition and should
make a near full recovery. I got to see both of them at the hospital
yesterday, which was very good.

Another guy, Mullins, who i didn't know also got injured but is doing
well along with Duran and Wingate.

Chris McCracken was the only guy there who left without a physical
scratch. Well, him and the interpreter that was with them. He
concerns me as he's taking it really hard.

"Bon Bon" Bonjiorno, the Platoon medic is also taking it fairly hard
since he treated them all.

It has also hit the squadron fairly hard since Corey Harris, Greg
Mills, Ray, and Scissons and others that knew them from the platoon
are now at Squadron.

I don't feel like sending this out to my usual prayer list, but you
can and I'll let you decide what should be filtered. For now I'm
doing fine, although I'm sure it will hit me in a day or two. If you
do tell people at church, my parents, etc, please stress to them that
I do not want them to pray for me until they have prayed for the above
people, their families, and the other soldiers of B Troop. Only then
do I want them to pray for me in this regard. These people need the
prayer more than I do. I have Christ, many of them don't.

Your shook up, but loving husband
Jonathan

I will only add a request to pray for their wives and families as
well. Scott Thorne's Wife is Theresa, I believe. I do not think any of
the other gentlemen were married. These guys are all due home soon and
that feeling of "so close" can easily leave you unprepared for
something like this.

Crystal

p00p

I was talking to my wife the other day about the word "poop". I decided its my favorite word.

1. It is funny to those of all ages, for a test say it around a 4 year old, they love it.
2. It makes me laugh, go ahead, say it outloud.
3. It looks cool.
4. Over the Rhine sings about it here
5. You can spell it backwards and it still says the same thing.
6. and best yet, when you turn it upside down it says "boob".

*TOAST: to the word "poop"

JR - The Motion Picture Soundtrack Vol. I

I got this idea from Michaela (Ass Machine Lobos), and I have no problem with blatantly ripping it off.

Here is the song track of my life:

Opening song: “Beautiful Day” - U2
Waking up: "Welcome to the Cruel World" - Ben Harper
First date: “I Want to Hold Your Hand” - The Beatles
First kiss: “Casual Affair” - Tonic
Heartbreak (relationship 1): "Song for the Dumped” - Ben Folds Five
Heartbreak (relationship 2): "Screaming Infidelities" - Dashboard Confessional
Heartbreak (relationship 3): "Better Off As Friends" - The Waiting
Heartbreak (relationship 4): "Glass" - Five O'clock People
Recovery from relationship 4: “Halloween” - Dave Matthews Band
Falling in love with Jenny: "The Luckiest" - Ben Folds
Still Falling in love with Jenny: "When You Say Love" - Over the Rhine
Driving fast: “Open Road Song” - Eve 6
Guys Night: “Don't Mug Yourself” - The Streets
Romancing the Wife: "If You Wear That Velvet Dress" - U2
Alone with God: "Somewere North" Caedmon's Call
Missing Jenny: “Angle" Dave Matthews Band
Summer vacation: “Sail Away" - David Grey
Traveling: “Into the Great Wide Open" - Tom Petty
Thinking of Friends: "Bowl of Oranges" - Bright Eyes
Christmas time: “Oi to the World" - No Doubt
Falling asleep: “Lullabye” - Over the Rhine
Closing song: "In My Life" - (Johnny Cash version)

Brennan Manning - The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus

Wow, What a great book. I am only on the second chapter but I am loving it. My wife and I are leading a small group were we are reading this book, I highly recommend it to everyone. My experince is that it is hard to find a book that says anything I havn't already heard, being someone who has grown up in the church, but this one really got me thinking about my view of God.

Here is one of the quotes that really stood out to me:

The old religious image of a vindictive, mean, and jealous God gives way in Jesus to the God of faith who cherishes people, all people, and has made his abode with them. Jesus presented a God who does not demand but gives; does not oppress but raises up; does not wound but heals. A God who forgives instead of condemning, and liberates instead of punishing. Woe then to those who demand, opress, wound, condemn, and punish in His name. It can only be said that they do not truely know him."

Wow, sometimes the truth cuts deep.

New G5 iMac!

Suhweeet!

http://www.apple.com/imac/

I want one!

DodgerBlues.com

Check out this website, very funny.
http://www.dodgerblues.com/

I wish they had something like this for Mariners fans.

My Art

I got a little bit of my art work up on the ol' world wide web.

http://www.jrcaines.com/

Check it out. I will be getting much more up eventually, and designing a site for it. I have got to get my new design site done first, the old one is bad news.

Were is the Balance?

My wife and I have been frustrated with our current church lately because they seem to be taking a conservative approach to everything. Politically, spiritually, ect. I for one do not think any church should take any political side, but that’s beside the point here. I get annoyed with the idea that seems to be popular among conservative Christians, that we are the last line of defense of moral values, and the idea that we are right and they are wrong, so they can shove it. It seems so contrary to Christ's teachings to me.

So in our frustration we have been talking about going to St. John's Episcopal Church on Sunday mornings, but staying involved in our church at the same capacity the rest of the week. So today I went to check out their website. After reading around a bit and reading their newsletter I find the opposite problem our church has. They are over relativising everything. I don't understand how you can believe in the Bible and be so vague on truth.

When will we learn, there is a balance to everything. There is truth; there is right and wrong. But we do not have the market cornered on what that is, only God does, but we should strive to know it and learn it. We should base our beliefs in it on the bible, and on the teachings of Christ. We should have loving attitudes towards everyone, no matter what their opinions on "truth". We should accept all people, but reject all sin. We should not bring along an attitude of "I know the truth, and what I say is it" but with the attitude that you do not know everything, that God is teaching us new things everyday. You have to be open to the idea of being wrong before God can show you or tell you when you are wrong.

I pray that I do not let my own beliefs, pride, and arrogance, get in the way of letting God reveal truth to me. I pray that I listen to that truth, and I live by it, and stand on it. I pray that I respond to those who disagree as Christ would, with absolute love.

P.S. - We may still check out this church, that was just my impression on it based on the website.

Bye Edgar.

Edgar was Mariners fans' best friend
Steve Kelley / Seattle Times staff columnist

Remember the day your best friend came up to you in the elementary school hallway and said his father had been transferred and he was leaving your hometown for good?

Remember how sad you felt?

That's how yesterday was.

In a crowded interview room underneath Safeco Field, Edgar Martinez announced that, after 18 years as a Mariner, he will retire at the end of this season.

It wasn't a death in the family. It wasn't a tragedy. But it hurt anyway.

It was one of those inevitable time passages you know in your head will come, but you hope in your heart will get postponed this year and next year and the year after that.

"Today feels a little bit like a funeral," said former Mariners reliever Norm Charlton, who played with Martinez in 1993, '95-97 and 2001. "You pay tribute to Edgar the same way you do for a war hero, but you try to turn it into a celebration, not a time of mourning."

Everything good that has happened to the Mariners has had Edgar Martinez's imprimatur.

He is this franchise, the one player in the team's history every fan feels he or she knows. They lazily chant his name "Ed-guuur," every time he comes to bat.

He is a neighbor who just happened to win batting titles. He is that smiling face who became the greatest designated hitter ever.

He is the Mariners star who delivers his lines with perfect pitch in almost all of the team's award-winning commercials.

In Seattle, he simply is Edgar.

"His legacy will be felt by this organization for many, many years to come," Charlton said.

When all of the other Mariners left, Edgar stayed. Through the worst of times and into the best of times, when he could have moved, he didn't. In 1992, when the team was horrible, Edgar led the American League in hitting. In 1995, when he helped save the game in this city, he won a second batting title.

"His name is synonymous with the team," Mariners president Chuck Armstrong said in his eloquent tribute. "He is what Cal Ripken was to Baltimore, Tony Gwynn was to San Diego and Ted Williams was to Boston. It is impossible to picture Edgar in anything but a Mariners uniform."

He will forever be linked with the greatest moment in team history, the double down the left-field line he hit off Jack McDowell that beat the New York Yankees in the fifth and final game of the 1995 American League Division Series.

On that night, Mariners manager Bob Melvin was sitting at home watching like every fan and marveling at Martinez.

"It was perfect Edgar," said Melvin, a former major-league catcher with seven teams, six of them in the American League. "You know he's looking out over the plate. The ball's a little bit in and he pulls his hands in and reacts to it. I still get goose bumps when I see it.

"I've been behind the plate many a time where you think you've finally set him up so you can get him inside, then he pulls his hands in and whips one down the left-field line."

Edgar has hit 305 home runs and 510 doubles. He has driven in 1,244 runs and has a career batting average of .312.

He is so respected around the league, players on every team call him Papi.

"It is a term of endearment and respect in Puerto Rico, and Edgar has earned it," said Mariners vice president Lee Pelekoudas. "He is the kindest, humblest man you'll ever meet."

This is Edgar Martinez:

It is early in the morning in the Mariners' spring-training clubhouse in Peoria. He looks everybody in the eye when he smiles and says good morning. Then he disappears into the training room to mix up a protein shake. A reporter asks him how it tastes, and he smiles and says it tastes great.

And the next morning, he not only makes a shake for himself but he makes one for the reporter.

Of course I'll remember "The Double" that beat the Yankees, but I'll also remember the two home runs he hit in the fourth game of that series. He had seven RBI in that game. Without them there wouldn't have been The Double.

Even more important, I'll remember the small moments.

The tears that welled in his eyes when he talked about where he was and how he felt when he heard his idol, Roberto Clemente, had died.

I'll remember many times waiting by his locker stall as deadline ticked closer and closer — waiting not because he was voraciously chowing down his post-game meal but because he was finishing his elaborate and exhausting workout routine.

Edgar always was the best weapon the Mariners had, in season or offseason.

"I was trying to get Ellis Burks to come here last year," Melvin said. "Ellis had pretty much made up his mind that he was going to Boston. He had played there before, and his wife's family was from there.

"But I said to him, 'Hey Ellis, I want you to think about one thing. If you come to Seattle, you'll be able to spend a year with Edgar Martinez. If you were an art major, it's like spending a year with Picasso.' He called (former manager) Dusty Baker that night and said that affected him so much he had to think a little more about it. That's the effect Edgar Martinez has on guys."

Burks thought seriously about spending the year with Edgar before he surrendered to his family's wish to be back in Boston.

Although Edgar Martinez is the last person who would want a fuss made over him, we should feel fortunate he announced his retirement this week. Now we can come to the stadium these last two months and cheer him as if he were our neighbor and give him the thoughtful long goodbye he deserves.

We can say, "Thanks, Edgar."

Thanks for enriching our lives with your skills. And for making it feel, at times, as if you really were our best friend.

When I Look At the World

I was thinking about this song the other day from U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind. The song is basicaly a pleed to God to let him see the world how God does, because when he looks at the World all he sees are the bad things.

When you look at the world
What is it that you see?
People find all kinds of things
That bring them to their knees

I see an expression
So clear and so true
That changes the atmosphere
When you walk into the room

So, I try to be like you
Try to feel it like you do
But without you, it's no use
I can't see what you see
When I look at the world

When the night is someone else's
And you're tryin' to get some sleep
When your thoughts are too expensive
To ever wanna keep
When there's all kinds of chaos
And everyone is walking lame
You don't even blink now, do you?
Don't even look away

So, I try to be like you
Try to feel it like you do
But without you, it's no use
I can't see what you see
When I look at the world

I can't wait any longer
I can't wait till I'm stronger
Can't wait any longer
To see what you see
When I look at the world

I'm in the waiting room
I can't see for the smoke
I think of you and your holy book
When the rest of us choke

Tell me, tell me
What do you see?
Tell me, tell me
What's wrong with me?

As I was thinking I pictured a little glob in my head and I was looking down on it seeing all the bad things, armies marching across nations and planes crashing into buildings, ect. Then I started thinking about God and how he could let it go on. Then it hit me, if you look really close you can see why, you have to look past the surface, the nations, the things that go on on a major scale, look past all that to the little things. To people who love their children, to great friendships, to little boys helping old women across the street, to people smiling at oneanother as they walk past at the grocery store, to people working in a food bank, to people giving there time, and lives to help others. If you add all these things up, there is more good in this world then there is bad.

This was really encouraging to me, thought I would share.

DNC: Day 3

I was sad that Dennis Kucinich spoke early in the day and I was unable to watch it. Instead they gave a good slot to the babbling idiot Al Sharpton, I can not beleive they even let that guy speak, he makes the democratic party look bad, shut him up!

Here is a quote from Dennis' speech:

"I was mayor of Cleveland, and I tell you have seen weapons of mass destruction - - in our cities. Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction. Joblessness is a weapon of mass destruction, homelessness is a weapon of mass destruction, racism is a weapon of mass destruction, fear is a weapon of mass destruction.

We must disarm these weapons and we must turn the military budget into books, schools, teachers, housing, health care, job creation and stronger neighborhoods."

Thats good stuff, you can read the whole thing here.

John Edwards speech was okay, it was nothing I have not heard him say 50 times before though, but good non-the-less, he is a good man.