The words to the Think Different television commercials that Apple ran in the late 1990s.
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
So we’re into 2009, where did 2008 go? What a year it was! It started out good, got rough in the middle and somewhat corrected itself near the end. In my family we had:
So that’s a brief look at how our year looked. It was a struggle at times, but thanks to God we have made it through.
We have all been stretched over that past year, but on one more than Simone. She was pregnant, and taking care of me when I got out of the hospital and the girls when they broke their arms. She has amazed me with all her strength and love. Our family is stronger today because of what she persevered through this year.
THANKS SIMONE, YOU’RE NO. 1!!!!!!!!!
I’m not sure about the rest of you, but I am tired about hearing the Big 3 automakers complain that they might be going bankrupt. Now I understand that there are thousands of jobs on the line, but who do they think they are asking begging for bailout money from the government. You don’t see Toyota or Honda going to the government begging for a bailout.
When are the Big 3 going to realize that people are looking for fuel efficient cars. Gone are the days of the big V8 and the 4 barrel carb. People want reliable cars that are good on fuel. For some odd reason Ford, GM and Chrysler can’t get this through their heads.
I find myself laughing when I see ads on TV that say “we have 10 models with 33 MPG or more.” In what world do they think that is an accomplishment. In 2000 I had a Honda Civic that got 44 MPG (in town), later I had a Jetta that got about the same mileage. 33MPG is nothing to brag about, when the Japanese have had better mileage than this for the better part of 10 years.
That being said if they get the bail out will anything change, I DOUBT IT! Not to mention this starts a dangerous precedent. Who else gets a bail out? What about the small business who’s going out of business, does he/she get a bail out?
Why are the automakers any more important than the loggers in BC, or the fishermen in the Maritimes, or the small business person? None of which have ever gotten bail outs from the government.
Chapter 11 might be the best thing for these company’s. Then maybe something will change in the way they do business.
Don’t get me wrong I feel for all the people that could lose their jobs, at no fault of their own, but this problem has been a long time coming.
Just my thoughts!!!
In my short life I have had the opportunity to travel to a number of different countries. And in each of the countries I have been able to see how and where people live. I have seen the homes of the rich and famous and have seen the homes of the poorest of poor.
When I was 11 my family and I attended Youth With A Mission. With this missions group we traveled to and around Asia for three months. One of the most memorable places we visited, on this outreach, was the Philippines. To this day I can remember the smells, the smiles and the beauty of the people and the country.
Manila is home to an estimated 19,150,000 people and is the most densely populated city in the Philippines. With all those people crammed into one area there are hundreds of thousands of “homeless,” as 33% of the population of the city live below the poverty line. Everywhere you drive the roads are lined with tin roofed makeshift shacks.
If living on the side of a major highway is not enough, you can drive down said highway to place called Payatas. Payatas is the home of the Metro Manila dump. This place is not only a dump, but it is home to approx. 10,000 people. That’s right there are 10,000 men, women and children living on a dump. Without seeing it, it is hard to believe that people can live like that, but they do. There are whole neighborhoods formed on the dump. These neighborhoods include homes, and believe it or not stores. For the longest time I thought that this was one of the worst places to live, but then I heard of a worst place.
What can be worse than living with your family living on a dump? How about living in hell, literally? Also in Manila, Philippines there is a place called the Manila Northern Cemetery and believe it or not there are approx. 10,000 men, women and children living in the cemetery. If living in a cemetery isn’t bad enough the cemetery is so overcrowded (by dead) that every five years the crypts are broken open and the bones are thrown on the ground. Children live and play amongst the bones and skulls of the dead.
Don’t believe me, watch this video by Bill Wilson of Metro Ministries.
It’s hard for me to believe that there are people that live like this, but I have seen life on the dump first hand. It’s encouraging to know that there are people, like Bill Wilson and others, that are doing what they can to help these marginalized people.
You too, can help, by going to the Metro Ministries website and making a donation, or by sponsoring a child.
This is an interesting widget that show what’s going on in the world now. See the full sized widget at now.sprint.com. IN the bottom right corner you can click shuffle to see more stats. It’s pretty cool.
Tomorrow is Halloween and I can’t wait to get the kids dressed up and go trick or treating. Halloween is a holiday that I have always enjoyed. I went out trick or treating right up until I was 25. That’s right, till I was 25. The only difference is the kind of treats that people offer you. Instead of candy, I was often offered cigarettes, cigars, and alcohol. But it was still fun to dress up and have fun.
The one thing I don’t understand about this holiday, is all the controversy in the Christian circles. I have grown up in the church and have heard all the arguments about why Christians shouldn’t celebrate Halloween. But what I really don’t understand is why it’s not good to get dressed up and go door to door in the community. But it is okay for Christians to get dressed up and head to the church for a “Harvest Festival” or a “Reformation Service.” Whether you are out and about with your kids going door to door, or if you are at church participating in a Christian celebration, are you not still celebrating Halloween, just with a different name?
I am not sure why bad things happen to good people. But this is the case with a friend of mine. His name is Graham and his wife (Shannon) is fighting Lyme Disease. Graham and Shannon are great people. Graham has been in full time ministry with Youth for Christ for 17 years.
I am asking you to pray for Shannon and Graham as they fight this disease. You can read more about there struggle and keep up to date with Shannon’s battle at their blog: http://www.ticksandtrust.blogspot.com/
Thanks for supporting them and lifting them up in prayer.
After Robert Powell hit the Florida Lottery jackpot last month and took home more than $6 million, he thought of his church. And he offered to drop his tithe, around $600,000, in the collection plate of First Baptist Orange Park. But the church and Pastor politely declined and told Powell they will not accept the lottery winnings.The pastor would not say exactly why the church refused the money, saying only he ‘didn’t want to talk about members’ gifts’. Question?
Does the church check to see where other tithes and offerings are coming from… you know… just to be safe?
Would your church accept the money?
Technorati Tags: church, thoughts, just because
If you live in California you have probably seen one of these. No, not the Mercedes SL500, but the license plate frame which says 11-99 Foundation. The 11-99 foundation is a charitable organization which supports familes of California Highway Patrol employees. Primarily they help out in cases of sickness or death. This is a very good thing.
But the puzzling thing is the way they go about it. The license plate frame is an example. For a $1800 donation to the organization you get a license plate frame, a certificate and a wallet with a special 11-99 badge in it. The wallet has a place for your ID just opposite the badge. The perfect thing to hand to an officer who has just pulled you over.
Now, perhaps they don’t intend to create the impression that this sort of prominent identification with the program is helpful in avoiding prosecution by the Highway Patrol, but the general public certainly thinks it is. For example:
“Well for those who don’t believe in the CHP11-99 Foundation, this story will make you change your minds. In California, time around 3pm. …I looked to my left for on coming traffic and didn’t see anyone, so I pushed it from around 55mp to 100 in no time. All a sudden I see a front bumper next to my side door? I was in shock, then looked quickly and it was a black bumper with steel guards. Guess what it was a COP… He told me I was clocked at 102 ! I told him some Mustang was on my *** on 85 and I wanted to get him off my bumper. I gave him my CHP-1199 badge and membership card….He comes back and tells me he doesn’t know what to do, 1. give me a ticket or 2. give me a warning. Well he gives me a warning and says goodbye”
So, when I see something like this on a fast car – and they are always on fast cars… it tells me something about the driver. Sometimes it means that they really care. But you can care in private right? Care without the badge and license plate frame? So my mind rejects that approach and assumes the worst. I really think they need a tagline. Something like:
Really, I don’t know what else to think. Would tax cheats wear their fraudulent returns so proudly?
This is an excerpt from Culture of Corruption!
You can see an update to this story here.
I have been reading through the Gospels again and taking a look at Jesus all over again. What I have realized is that the Jesus I was taught about in Sunday school and even today in church is a sanitized, cleaned up, tame version of the Jesus that is in the Bible.
What characterized Jesus and the 12 was their unpredictability. Jesus was always surprising the disciples, by eating at the wrong houses, hanging around the wrong people, and healing on the wrong day. The disciples never knew what to expect with Jesus. One minute he could be teaching a large crowd, or walking with the disciples. The next minute he was cursing a fig tree for bearing fruit out of season. And after that he was in the temple making a whip and trashing the place. If that’s not enough after trashing the temple he sat down with the people he didn’t send out, and began to teach. When the disciple finished making new rules, no kids around Jesus; don’t let the crowd touch Jesus; don’t talk to the Samaritan woman; don’t let people waste expensive perfume, Jesus told them to knock it off and the rebuke was often followed by a lecture.
The pharisees wanted Jesus to be like them and I think today we want Jesus to be like us, tame, predictable and domesticated. But the truth of it is that Jesus is not like us, he is unpredictable, he is not tame, he is not domesticated. When Jesus is present everyone is uncomfortable, yet glad at the same time. People don’t like surprises, they don’t want to be uncomfortable. We want a tame Jesus.
When we tame Jesus we lose our awe. Lose your awe of God and your left with and impotent deity (Mike Yaconelli).
We need to again get back to a relationship with the real untamed, unpredictable Jesus of the Bible. When we come into contact with this Jesus, that is when we become alive.