I want to blog...

...but I'm not sure what about. I'm right here at Coffee Amici, planning on a frozen Amici Mocha...the best cold drink ever made--by humans.

I have been thinking a lot about how much in need of a vacation I am. We've got one on the books. Heading to a retreat center in the Poconos and then up to visit some friends in Connecticut.

'Connecticut' is a word that has a pronunciation that defies it's spelling. Others worth mentioning:

Wednesday
Government
Environment
Illinois

I'm sure you can think of others.

I'm glad I don't remember actually learning English. I remember learning grammar, but not learning English. It would've been hard. There are a slew of things that I'm glad I don't remember, such as:

How scared I was the first time I puked.
Wetting my pants in public.
Figuring out that I should pee in the potty and not in my pants when given the choice.

You might have some additions as well.

This random post ought to end.

But I don't know how to do it.

-OVER-

or maybe like an old telegram

-STOP-

Music I've listened to today:

Ellery
Derek Webb
Anberlin
and Alanis Morisette is on the radio at Coffee Amici

...so I guess that counts too...

-STOP-

Revved Up...

Last night, jOURney was pretty great.

Never have I been in and around such an atmosphere of muted excitement. The excitement about the Pentecost story was bigger somehow than other pentecosts that I've experienced. Honestly though, I don't remember many others :)

In its own way, I think the Holy Spirit descended on us last night. We all were there and on the same page on a deeper level. Our comments were different, but I think we were all feeling the same thing.

It was cool.

We do still have work to do. It's almost as if a wonderful foundation was poured out, but we have to still frame up the house. If you drive around, you don't see a whole bunch empty concrete slabs...they've been built on.

We've got a house to build...

...and I'm ready...

a new blog

True, it's mine, but it's new.

It's a blog to chronicle my effort in training for a triathlon.

Check it out if you want...

Find it here.

sorry to hear about this...

Some readers of this blog may know the above two men. They are Ted and Lee, a comedic duo, skit writers, and very talented men. They've used their gifts to bring laughter and relief and rest to many. Mennonite Youth Conventions, churches, Youth Specialites NYWC, and the Zondervan NPC are just a few of their credits.

Lee, pictured above on the right, recently took his own life.

Sad.

He lost a long battle with depression. One that brought so much goodness to many...

...crap...

He leaves behind a wife and three kids. If you think about it, send one up for them.

You can read more here.

an interesting sight...

My workout regiment now includes bicycling. The past few mornings, I've found myself on the streets of town trying to break a sweat on my Wal-Mart special bike. This morning, while riding past a local dining establishment, two folks were out talking...no biggie. I finished my ride and started my day.

This day included a ride out to jOURney...'some' schmuck left his cellie at work :) On my way out, on my bike again, I passed one of the folks that were out talking earlier that morning. He was on a bike too...a sweet chromed out one. You know, the one's that look like a chopper. Cigarette hanging out of his mouth, milk in one hand, and a 24 of Natty Light in the other.

It was a sight to behold...apparently not everyone in town is on their bike for health reasons. If I really think about it, I knew that, but the picture was enough to make me chuckle...

...I'll probably wreck next time I'm out...

-rc

how bi-partisan politics is making America dumber

With an election coming up in my town next week, I am reminded of how much I love our country and it's freedoms to vote and have a say. At the same time, I despise the party system. I think it's making America dumber. Here are my reasons:

First, very few people investigate what candidates stand for and what it will mean in the long run. Most people have been inundated with rhetoric that has become it's own language. Problem here? Everyone simply repeats what they've heard for years and years...no thoughtful conversation there. No conversation equals no exposure to alternate ideas. Why re-learn the same thing over and over? What's worse is that we end up arguing using someone else's brain, someone else's words...no real way to get real solutions.

Second, speaking of real, party politics deal in the ideal rather than the real. Or said this way, "If I was ______________, things would be better." There's no effort to work together for solutions now, just an effort to gain power to fix the 'other guy's mess.'

Third, don't ever EVER change your mind. That's political suicide. It's also the way most people live their life. Suppose you're driving a car. You see a cliff coming up. You decide that the current plan of action (going in said direction) will end badly or at least your GPS shows a better way. You stop, or turn, or at LEAST ASK FOR AN IDEA... There seems to be some pervasive idea among politicans that there's something to be valued by 'driving off the cliff.' Maybe there is, but if I mature, have a set of experiences...anything that illicits a different response than one I would've given in the same situation years before, I am dumb (and spineless).

Fourth, people have to take sides. Suppose I agree with policy from both sides. Person A tells me that one issue the biggest deal. Person B tells me that another is. Worse, my church tells me I'd better vote one way on an issue or another. "Jesus hates abortion" (I think he does), but Jesus probably also hates poverty, injustice, killing (read war) and a number of other things. So, what does Jesus hate the most? Who knows? All I know if I hate abortion and poverty and would like programs to end both...I have no candidate? Freakin' sweet...

I'm sure y'all can think of other reasons, but what it all boils down to is that we've been stripped of the reward of thinking for ourselves. We re-tell the same thing over and over...nothing new. We don't have to think anymore, we just have to look for the elephant or the donkey and they we un-critically digest and thus vote for said symbol. I am convinced that there would be a people that would vote for a person that 100% end all abortions and make them illegal even if said person jailed all those that had ever had an abortion in the past...and then killed them, just to get even...

That's stupid...