Ok. Time for a change...

... (From the post above you can tell that this is a work in progress.)

I am going to try taking this blog in a "kinder, gentler" direction. Please pray that I can overcome my tendencies to see the dark and sarcastic, as I try to be more true and effectively loving.

I'd like to start with a few quotes from one of the few truly honest men I have met, Rich Mullins.

"There are all kinds of things that are pushed on us and we have no say over. And they shape the way we see everything. Because I grew up in Indiana, in the Protestant tradition, in fact in the Quaker tradition-that had a lot to do with biasing me. That's going to have an effect on the way that I interpret the Scriptures; that's going to give me my perspective. And I need to be aware of what my perspective is, so I can both appreciate it and be a little distrustful of it."

"For me the greatest joy that I have is knowing that I do have a Father who loves me, and that He doesn't love me in a passive way. That He loves me so much that He sent Christ to take away the guilt of my sin, and that it is a real thing, that it really did happen. If I will experience joy in this life, it will be when I let other people know that there is a God who loves them, and He has taken away the sin that separates them. There is no greater joy than just that proclamation."

"The Christian faith is not about mere intellectual assent to a set of doctrines, but about a daily walk with this person Jesus. It's about living in awareness of Christ risen, resurrected, and living in my life. Even though doctrine is important, wisdom in the Bible has more to do with character, and the art of living Christianity is about living out the will of God, and living abundantly."

"If my life is motivated by an ambition to leave a legacy, what I would probably leave is a legacy of ambition. But, if my life is motivated by the power of God's spirit in me and the awareness of the indwelling Christ, if I allow His presence to guide my motives, that's the only time I think we really leave a great legacy."

More quotes from Rich.

Rowdy Roddy Parsley commemorates Oral Roberts in his own, special way...

... and guess what? Rod needs money. What a shocker!

Rowdy Roddy is just giving a little tip of the ceremonial collection plate to Oral Robby, his hero.

Some of this is due not to his extravagant lifestyle, but to an unlawful corporal punishment lawsuit the "church" lost.

And the answer to his plea?

Well, several hundred thousand C-bus residents chant in unison: "Spank me", "Spank me", "Please Spank me!"

The 0-Man's Nobel speech...

I was fairly impressed with the speech. Thought it better written than delivered. It was clear that he was speaking to US voters and not the crowd of elites in the auditorium.

BUT, I think we should have either sent the original 80K troops that McChrystal wanted or get out.

Half ass jobs are what create MORE war, kill unprepared young men and bankrupt nations that THINK they are empires.

How many troops did the Russians orginally bring to Afghanistan? I think it was well over 100K and a lot more artillary. And they were willing to go further on every front.

The odds were with him. The 0-Man had a choice between Two Rights and One Wrong, and he chose the Wrong. Waffling as usual, and hoping on some random occurance to save his/our bacon? If so, Hope&Change ain't got much hope left in the skillet.

Bad, bad, very bad mistake.

Tiger...

... Turns out that Mr. Woods is just another guy who thought he was way too smart.

And, like most guys who think that -- he thunk wrong.

But beyond this, is a more disturbing trend:

In my office, women that never paid attention to golf can now quote chapter and verse of the sordid saga, along with a list of the s---s reportedly involved. And they do so with such salacious attention to detail that I wonder if their values don't more closely correspond with Tiger's paramours than these supposedly normal women would have you think.