Reflecting on our blessing

In Luke 24, just before Jesus ascends into heaven, it says that He was blessing the Eleven apostles and those with them, promising to send them the Holy Spirit.

Luke also wrote the book of Acts and gives more detail of what Jesus said in this blessing. Acts 1:8 says "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

It is a blessing to be a witness to all people, to the ends of the earth. This is to be understood differently than a commandment. Instead of saying just "Do this," Jesus is saying "You get to do this. This is a privilege, a blessing."

We are blessed as members of the body of Christ. We were bought with blood and are now blessed to be witnesses to Christ.

A fun bathroom

The Dead Schembechlers have a song titled "I Peed in Ann Arbor's Water Supply."

Using the bathroom at Quaker Steak & Lube in Mentor, Ohio was reminiscent of that.

I might be a marketing genius

A couple months ago I wrote a post about what I thought was an embarrassing example of grasping for words while I was filmed for a commercial for Best of Athens Rentals has turned out to be an excellent marketing line.

I said that it was a "pure joy" to rent from Best of Athens.

Look at McDonald's new line:

The inconvenience of a life

I recently saw a video from a CNN interview with a businesswoman from Wisconsin. She, on September 21st, tweeted "I'm in a board meeting. Having a miscarriage. Thank goodness, because there's a f***ed-up 3-week hoop-jump to have an abortion in Wisconsin."

If the tweet wasn't troubling enough, the interview was even worse.

Rick Sanchez, of CNN asked the woman "Have you no shame?!?" and asked why she felt it was a good idea to "air her dirty laundry" like that. She began talking about her miscarriage and said that 75% of women have miscarriages, so it's really a part of the female experience. I'm not sure why she went to her miscarriage as her dirty laundry, but a miscarriage is not something to be ashamed of. It's something to be mournful of, but not ashamed.

As the interview continued, I became even more perplexed. A question revealed that the woman is a mother of two- and I believe that she loves her kids. In between the two kids she had a miscarriage and said "It was really terrible. I was very sad because I wanted another kid." She used to value the life of a human being- when it was convenient for her.

When it was convenient for her. This is where it really gets me. She was relieved to have a miscarriage this time because she didn't want to have to drive down to Chicago to have an abortion. It would be an inconvenience to end her pregnancy and the life of her unborn child. A human life was an inconvenience to her.

Can you imagine if we took similar action to what this woman presumably would have done every time a human being inconvenienced us? This side of the womb that's called murder.

She said she has had an abortion before and that it was very difficult physically, emotionally and on her relationships, yet she takes it so lightly that she would do it again. She said it's hard because there is a desire to keep the baby, but blames that on hormones. Rick Sanchez countered that with asking if maybe she thought those hormones were "God's way of telling you 'this is yours and you shouldn't give it up.'"

Right on with that one, Rick. Of course it is! We are made in God's image and feelings like that prove it! If He uses hormones to influence those feelings, He made us that way and what is that to us?!? That woman's baby was a person, made in the image of God and God wants us to feel that.

It's something to mourn when a miscarriage happens; it's something to hate an abortion when it is performed. (Note: Hate the abortion, not the abort-er.) My heart breaks for this woman, and all women who don't want to deal with the inconvenience of a pregnancy and choose to end the life of their children. I can't imagine what it will be like on the day when she and so many others are really awakened to the evil of abortion. I can't imagine that heartache.

But the good news is there is a God who will have compassion on these babies, when their moms consider them inconveniences and throw them away. The Mark Driscoll video below is, I think, pretty powerful. He shares this good news toward the end of the clip.

How to fail an exam with dignity

I usually ignore e-mail forwards, but this one was too good. There have been so many times that I have been stumped on a quiz and tried to come up with something as clever as some of these. In eighth grade history there was a question about "Where did (something) happen?" I said JC Penney and I'm pretty sure I got credit. Sometimes it pays to be completely random.

Enjoy.

How many points do you get for 'Engagement?'

One of my housemates got engaged this fall and I was honored to take some engagement photos for him and his bride-to-be. The two of them like to go to Donkey Coffee and Espresso and play Scrabble. Of all the photos I took that day, this is my favorite.



Wishing you the best, Austin and Audrey!

And the World Spins Madly On

I went home for a visit last weekend and I was met with a very clear realization that my childhood is over. It's done, gone and relegated to memories and photographs. This realization did not come because I feel like I'm an adult, not because I'm a senior in college, but because quite literally my childhood is disappearing as half of Painesville is being torn down.

Painesville City Schools is almost done with the construction of all new schools, which in a few months will mean the demolition of every school I've ever gone to.

Hobart Pre-School: Gone.
Lathrop Elementary: Gone.
Hobart Middle School: Gone.
Harvey High School: Will be gone in the next few months.

TriPoint Medical Center opens 19 days from now. It will be a beautiful facility and I imagine the medical care will improve as well, but it means the demolition of Lake East Hospital in Downtown Painesville. I was born at Lake East (I don't remember that, but it is among the more significant moments in my life). My dad worked there when I was born and in my younger years I remember eating grilled cheese and chocolate milkshakes from the place in the lobby and watching the helicopter take off with my dad.

This is all in the name of progress. Lake East Hospital is not an especially attractive building, neither was Hobart Middle School. Painesville is in need of a face lift in a lot of ways. It's just a shame that progress means I'll never be able to take my kids to see these places where I grew up.