Each one of us here today will, at one time in our lives look upon a loved one who is in need and ask the same question.

"We are willing to help, Lord, but what, if anything, is needed?"

It is true we can seldom help those closest to us. Either we don't know what part of ourselves to give... or more often than not, the part we have to give is not wanted.

And so it is those we live with and should know, who elude us... But we can still love them.

We can love completely... without complete understanding.


-A River Runs Through It


good movie and not just because Brad Pitt's in it... ;)

from Rick Esenberg's column...

Rarely do I find much of value in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, but today liked this:

Regarding the whole uproar and upset over the Danish cartoonist depicting Mohammed in an unfavorable light and the Danish Gov't's "failure" to move against the publisher of the cartoon, coumnist Rick Esenberg writes about a strange shift in tolerance and what that word is taken to mean...

"Part of the problem resides in our ever-expanding notion of tolerance. In our private lives, when we claim to merely "tolerate" something, we mean that we "put up" with it. Thus, I may tolerate the fact that an adult child smokes, but I do not hesitate to tell him that I disapprove.
The meaning of tolerance in public life, however, has moved beyond simply "letting something be" to include the notion that tolerance of a person or an idea means acknowledging that she of it is "just as good as" anyone or anything else. If a person opposes criminalization of homosexuality but nevertheless condemns it as sinful, he is said to be intolerant.
If my freedom of speech is limited by your offense, we are left with the censorship of the thin-skinned. What we wind up doing is formally insisting upon the freedom of speech, while supressing speech in practice.
CNN and other networks refuse to show the cartoons. An editor of a French paper who ran them gets fired. Former President Clinton likens the cartoons to anti-Semitism.
We wind up with civil peace, I suppose. At least for a while. But we get it on the terms of the intolerant. In the end, they shut us up."



pretty well worded I thought.

on the same page there was a letter to the editor from some reader, which stated:
"In Islam, any represnetation of the prophet is considered blasphemy. How would Christians, especially fundamentalists, feel if Arab political cartoonists depicted Jesus in an irreverant way? Anger and resentment are two words that come to mind"

To this woman I simply say, do you REALLY think Christians don't put up with free-speakers who bash, blaspheme and desicrate Jesus or God on a daily basis? Why should Mohammed be set above and beyond political satire or criticism from outside of Islam if no other religious figures are? The argument makes no sense.

anyway just me sounding off a bit. I can't believe sometimes the steps backward that so many people seem so eager to take!

One day, a 6- year old girl was sitting in a classroom. The Teacher was
explaining evolution to the children. The Teacher asked a little boy:
Tommy do you see the tree outside?

TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Tommy, do you see the grass outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Go outside and look up and see if you can see the sky.
TOMMY: Okay. (He returned a few minutes later) Yes, I saw the sky.
TEACHER: Did you see GOD?
TOMMY: No.

TEACHER: That's my point. We can't see GOD because HE isn't there. HE just doesn't exist.

A little girl spoke up, wanting to ask the boy some questions. The
teacher agreed.

The little girl asked the boy: Tommy, do you see the tree
outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy do you see the grass outside?
TOMMY: Yessssss!
LITTLE GIRL: Did you see the sky?
TOMMY: Yessssss!
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see the Teacher?
TOMMY: Yes

LITTLE GIRL: Do you see her brain?
TOMMY: No

LITTLE GIRL: Then according to what we were taught today, she doesn't
have one.



a little harsh, maybe but fun. :) and this is just nice.


Christians - By Maya Angelou

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."
I'm whispering "I was lost,
Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow!

So this is more of a January type post, but I just felt like it should be posted...

This year is gonna be incredible
This year is gonna be the one
all the planets are lining up for me
This year I'm gonna have fun

this year I'll paint my masterpiece
this year I'll be recognized

January: I'll learn to fly
February: love's gonna find me
March, April, May:
I'll get carried away

this year I'll reach that pinnacle
this year I'll get to the top
people will ask where she got that energy
this year I'm never gonna stop!

January: I'll learn to fly
February: love's gonna find me
March, April, May:
I'll get carried away

this year is gonna be incredible
this year is gonna be the one
all the planets are lining up for me
this year I'm gonna have fun!

I'm gonna have fun!
Just watch me now
this year, this year, this year!
--Chantal Kreviazuk

so, another week gone by-- amazingly enough I seem to be keeping pretty well on top of things, although I guess it is still pretty early in the semester!

I got a really cute email from EmLee the other day, I swear, I wish I felt like I still had her creativity sometimes! :) It's amazing how just a little note can brighten your day so much...

tomorrow is the Rotary Ethics Symposium at the Concourse Hotel here in Madison and our Rotaract club is one of the leaders for a break-out session (which means, as the Rotary Coordinator for our club, I am the one responsible for getting all the material together and set up and whatnot). Should be interesting though, we're doing our session on the ethics of dealing with those different than yourself and some of the stereotypes that there are for "others." We are going to do a really cool introduction section at first-- doing a test of a couple of the students in the session at a website-- https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/selectatest.jsp --that has a bunch of different tests to reveal hidden prejudices.

Anyway, so that will be interesting. And then tomorrow night I get to head for Milwaukee! Dinner at the Coquette Cafe or something like that followed by out--possibly dancing!

Gotta pay the electric and gas bill soon and that stinks.

well, now clearly I've run out of interesting things to say if I've resorted to looking at papers on my desk and commenting.

Today is a beautiful day outside, just a little bite in the wind but sunny and gorgeous! Praise God! :)