On August 14, two Fox News journalists, Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig, were kidnapped as they performed their duties in Gaza City. (Read more here.)Both men "converted" to Islam at the business end of a gun. Since their release on August 28th, there has been quite a bit of discussion across the blogosphere about these shotgun conversions.
Plenty of people toot their own horns, claiming that in the same position, they would never think of denying their faith. Most of the people who make this claim are my brothers and sisters in Christ. I'm sure some of these people are speaking the truth, but it's an easy claim to make given the improbability that most Americans will ever be placed in such a situation.
One commenter on La Shawn Barber's blog pondered, "I wonder what an atheist would do if forced to convert with a gun pointed at their head?" I'm not an atheist, and I'm sure someone out there could refute what I'm about to say, but I assume the answer to this question is that an atheist would fake it. He or she would fake a conversion to Islam in order to expedite his or her release, just as Centanni and Olaf did.
Knowing myself as I do, I can't help but think I would do the same. Perhaps it's cowardly, perhaps I need to be more passionate about my faith than I am, but I'm not terribly interested in dying at the hands of extremists who are willing to put a bullet in my head for no other reason than conflicting beliefs.
So, my faithdul readers, what do you hope you would do? What do you think you would do?
h/t Mary Katharine Ham
Beta Woes
Another complaint to add to my list...
Because I foolishly upgraded to Blogger Beta, I can no longer comment on non-beta blogs. Non-beta blogs would include approximately 98% of the Blogger blogs I read. Makes me want to scream!!
Because I foolishly upgraded to Blogger Beta, I can no longer comment on non-beta blogs. Non-beta blogs would include approximately 98% of the Blogger blogs I read. Makes me want to scream!!
Stumble!
Two days ago, I downloaded the Stumbleupon toolbar for Firefox.As an aside, if you're still using Internet Explorer instead of Firefox, you need to switch immediately. Here's a link for your convenience. Stumleupon does work with IE, but let's be serious, it's an inferior browser. ;)
Anyway, Stumbleupon is fantastic fun! The Stumbleupon fairies index websites using 500+ sub-categories organized into 14 major categories, including everything from film noir to car parts to beer to reggae. You choose the categories that interest you (as many or as few as you like) and then you begin "stumbling."
As you stumble, you get to rate the sites you come across. If you like a site, it is stored in your Stumbleupon profile. Just to give you a taste, here are some of my favorites:
1) Album Art - type in the name of a band, singer, or album and this site finds cover art for you.
2) Scott Wade's Dirty Car Art Gallery - this guy creates art on dirty windshields!
3) Pipecleaner Dance - use your keyboard to make the pipecleaner man dance.
4) Mr. Picassohead - use the shapes to make a funny face.
5) And, my personal favorite, Jackson Pollock - a blank screen and a mouse are all you need to make a Pollock-esque creation. Click for a new color.
Try it. You'll like it. Depending on the categories you choose, you might even find something useful, rather than just some fun time wasters...
FOUR!!!
Today marks the beginning of my last week in DC. According to my countdown calendar, it's T-minus four days and counting. I'm not moving until Monday, the 11th, but I only knew what day I'd be leaving work when I started the countdown, so I'll stick with it now.
Fantastic Four Valentine's Day cards. Old school! I loved Valentine's Day in elementary school. No one really passed around Fantastic Four cards when I was in fourth grade, but there were plenty of other amusing ones (e.g. Ren & Stimpy).
The "original cast" of the 1994 aborted film version of The Fantastic Four. Look at the amazing costume work. Anybody know what that blond guy is from?
I've never seen this movie and I don't plan to at any time in the future, but I thought you might like to compare the original cast with the most recent cast. Sex appeal = +10. Costumes and special effects = +2000.
There ya go. Four pictures of the Fantastic Four to commemorate my last four weekdays in DC.Canopy
I live in a beautiful neighborhood. This was one of my favorite pictures from a short jaunt about the place that I went on today. You can click on the leaves to see a short slideshow of the others photos I took. More to come...
Homework
For the past few days, blogging has begun to feel like homework for a class I hate. This feeling makes me incredibly sad because I love blogging.
I think part of the problem is that I'm too perfectionistic about my writing. Perhaps you think this idea laughable given my nonsensical posts in the past few days, but honestly, the idea that people are actually reading my blog freezes me in my tracks. I drive myself crazy wondering whether what I've written is good enough for an audience.
Another part is the pressure to write something important. It's much easier to blog stuff and nonsense and link to other people's substantive posts...
And, finally, the worst part of the problem is that many of the things I want to blog about are off limits. The thoughts I would normally type and publish are securely in the not-to-be-blogged category.
So, anyway, I'm getting desperate. Anybody have any suggestions? Is there anything you want to know about me? Are there any thoughts I've started that you want to see completed? Please, help me appease my blogging jones.
I think part of the problem is that I'm too perfectionistic about my writing. Perhaps you think this idea laughable given my nonsensical posts in the past few days, but honestly, the idea that people are actually reading my blog freezes me in my tracks. I drive myself crazy wondering whether what I've written is good enough for an audience.
Another part is the pressure to write something important. It's much easier to blog stuff and nonsense and link to other people's substantive posts...
And, finally, the worst part of the problem is that many of the things I want to blog about are off limits. The thoughts I would normally type and publish are securely in the not-to-be-blogged category.
So, anyway, I'm getting desperate. Anybody have any suggestions? Is there anything you want to know about me? Are there any thoughts I've started that you want to see completed? Please, help me appease my blogging jones.
Snoop Dogg Is The Wittiest
On the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards an interviewer was asking the question, "Will there always be an MTV?" Most of the responses were along the lines of "Of course!" But, in my opinion, Snoop Dogg had the best response of the night."I don't know, but there'll always be a Snoop Dogg."
Sure, he's arrogant, but there's just something irresistible about Snoop...
Finding Church
Church was not a part of my family's life. Sundays were mostly spent playing outdoors, watching TV, visiting with friends, and other similar activities. My mother had various reasons for not attending, but I think the biggest factors were some negative experiences she had at her rural Mississippi church as a child and a reluctance to admit her need (to anyone...even God). Despite the lack of a family habit, several middle school friendships drew me into the church around age thirteen.In many ways, church was my salvation. It was the first place, outside my family, where I could be myself and people still accepted and loved me. During junior high and high school, Sunday was my favorite day of the week. Enjoying time with friends in study and worship re-energized me for the tough weeks I often faced at good ol' Watertown High School. In college, church was a time to get away from campus and enjoy time with people other than my classmates. We sang in the worship team, taught Sunday school, helped out with the brought dishes to the potluck, led the youth group, and became an integral part of the church community.
Near the end of college I began to weary of what I felt was a weekly obligation, a burden which I no longer wished to carry. For approximately two years, my church attendance was spotty at best. In Buffalo I had an excuse not to go because I worked on Sunday mornings, but once I moved to Arlington, I no longer had that excuse. Being completely lazy, I tagged along with Emily to the church she'd been attending for a year or so. Our attendance was hit or miss because neither of us really felt any draw to Cherrydale, we didn't fit there.
Finally, last summer, Emily began attending the Falls Church and I, once again, tagged along. What a drastic change! I finally wanted to go to church again. Sunday services energized and excited me like they hadn't in several years. It was incredible! After learning more about the church through a Discovery Class in the fall, I joined the choir and began attending the 9 a.m. service, where I fell in love with Anglican liturgy. Week after week, I was touched by the sermons, the music, the people, everything... Once again, I found the perfect fit.
I've only been at the Falls Church for a little over a year, but I'm going to miss it desperately. Moving to a new town and finding a new church is not a fun prospect. Finding a church that can follow on the heels of the Falls Church is downright daunting.
Pray for me, folks. Seminary's going to be difficult and I don't want to do it without a family...
FIVE!!!
In the next few months, birds will begin heading south. I will begin my own short migration, five days from now, as I travel 189 miles to the north with all my worldy belongings to begin the newest phase of my life at Princeton Theological Seminary.Learn more about Pelicans, they are pretty cool animals. "In medieval Europe, the pelican was thought to be particularly attentive to her young, to the point of providing her own blood when no other food was available," as a result, they were used to symbolize the passion of Christ.
And Now For Something Completely Frivolous!
I interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to annouce that Paul Bettany is my new favorite British hottie.
He's so blond and British and tall! Look at those eyes (almost as good as Cillian Murphy's).
Just in case you don't recognize him, he was in A Knight's Tale, A Beautiful Mind, Wimbledon, Master and Commander, and, most recently, The Da Vinci Code.
Too bad he's already married to Jennifer Connelly because I'm sure we have a ton in common.
I will now return to your regularly scheduled programming.
He's so blond and British and tall! Look at those eyes (almost as good as Cillian Murphy's).
Just in case you don't recognize him, he was in A Knight's Tale, A Beautiful Mind, Wimbledon, Master and Commander, and, most recently, The Da Vinci Code.Too bad he's already married to Jennifer Connelly because I'm sure we have a ton in common.
I will now return to your regularly scheduled programming.
SE7EN!!!
I have one week left before I begin the process of shoving all my belongings into my car for the shortish drive to Princeton. My pile of stuff-that's-going-with-me gets a little bit larger each day. While I'm confident of my packing abilities, I wish I had the heart to part with more of this stuff...it would certainly make my life easier. At least the goal of fitting it all in one car is reachable.As for my choice of a picture to represent this day in my countdown, I know it may seem strange, but this movie was once the sign of another transition for me. Brad and Morgan's detective work ended my very first all-nighter and ushered in my very last day as a student at Houghton College. I've never been able to watch the movie a second time, but I'll never forget that first viewing.
30 Days
I've been seeing the picture to the right on people's blogs for the past few days. You can click on the picture to learn more about the Intent of Tonia Sparrow, the woman who presented an invitation to her readers to try a fast from unnecessary spending.My own participation in this challenge is less a choice and more a requirement. Money is going to be tight for the next few years, as I wend my way through seminary, and it seems far better to begin my heightened budget-consciousness with a thoughtful fast rather than an anxious mind. So, for the next month, I will not buy anything that is not required of me. (Now I have to decide whether I really need to have a hot pot to make myself hot tea and oatmeal in the morning since I'm on the 15 meal plan at PTS.)
From Tonia:
Tonia answered some of her critics here. I know this is short notice, but I would encourage all my readers to try this fast on for size and see what God does in your heart and life. Maybe for you it will just be giving up Starbucks or choosing the library over Amazon.com. Let me know if you choose to participate and spread the word!For 30 days, my family will buy nothing except our basic necessities. No clothes or books. No movies, no trips to the ice cream parlor. No paper, or pictures, or magazines. No fancy hair gel or take-and-bake pizza. Lattes? Nope. Nothing except what it takes to live. During that month, I will journal our experiences, and blog my thoughts about poverty and hunger and our response to those issues. I'd like to try and identify with some of the "least" (economically) of the world...
The goal of this month-long fast is to break the grip of materialism in our hearts and minds. We want to live in gratitude, not discontent; and we want to live with awareness of the great responsibility our affluence has laid on our shoulders.
I encourage you to pray about participating in this challenge. For those of you who are interested, take the next two weeks to pray about the parameters. Decide as a family what are your necessities and what you will give up. You can participate as much or as little as you feel led.
RGBP Friday Five: Fender Bender
Will Smama, one of the RGBPs, was in a small fender bender this week. This Friday Five was created for her.1. Driving: an enjoyable way to clear the mind? a means to an end? a chance to be quiet with one's thoughts? a necessary evil? the downfall of our planet and its fossil fuels? Discuss. I love driving on long, empty highways with some really great music (Matthew Good Band, Burlap to Cashmere, Radiohead, Rusted Root, Lincoln...) pumpin'. Driving into the city is my worst nightmare, however, so I don't drive much around DC.
2. Do you drive the speed limit? A little faster? Slower? Have you ever gotten a ticket? I usually drive a bit over the speed limit. I've only gotten one speeding ticket for going nearly 85 mph in a 55 mph zone. Rural highways in NY just beg the car to go fast.
3. Do you take public transportation? When? What's your opinion of the experience? I've taken public transportation to work since I moved to the DC Metro area. Driving to work would cost me hundred of dollars a month... The law firm where I worked paid me $65 a month to ride the Metro. Generally it's been nice; I get to read and leave the driving up to someone else. In the summer it's hot and full of tourists, who don't know the "rules of the ride," if you will, that gets sort of annoying.
4. Complete this sentence: _____________ has the worst drivers I've ever experienced. NEW JERSEY!! It's a good thing I'm moving there... Fortunately, I won't have to think about driving.
5. According to the Census Bureau, reverendmother's fair city has the 6th longest average commute in the United States at 29 minutes each way. How does your personal commute rate? It took me about 45 minutes from my door to the office door. DC has the second longest commute (33 minutes), behind NYC, but I don't think they count peopleusing public transportation because some of my co-workers were on the train as much as 2 hours each way. 2 HOURS EACH WAY!!! When do you live?
Bonus for the brutally honest: It has been said, and the MythBusters have confirmed, that cell phones can impede driving ability almost as much as drinking. Do you talk on a cell phone while driving? I try not to use my cell phone while driving because I'm really bad at concetrating o two things at once.
It's A Beautiful Day!
It's raining and windy and a little bit chilly and, guess what, I couldn't be happier. This weather means that fall and winter (my favorites seasons) are on the way. As an added bonus, I can open the door to cool the house and listen to the beautiful sound of rain rather than running the noisy, energy-sucking air conditioner.Last night, at my choir picnic, I met the wife of a fellow choir member. In the course of our conversation, I learned that she grew up in Binghamton, NY. AHA! Another person who spent her early years in the frozen north. We shared our secret love of winter and gray skies. The native southerners in our group stared blankly as we recounted stories of sledding, skating, and skiing.
Hate me if you will, but I can't wait for winter to descend like a fluffy, white blanket...
Site Redesign
I just updated my blog with a beautiful new template. Take a look around and offer suggestions if you have any. I'm still working on my blogrolls...
I'm so excited! IT'S SO PRETTY!
I'm so excited! IT'S SO PRETTY!
Blog Day 2006
According to Wikipedia, today (August 31) is blog day. This "holiday" was created last year by Israeli blogger Nir Ofir (whose blog is either offline or experiencing technical difficulties). To celebrate, I'm going to direct you to a few of my favorite blogs.
The first one I'm going to spotlight is Adventures In Mercy. The author's name is Molly. I first encountered her gentle, inquisitive spirit in the comments on Jason Clark's blog. My favorite post by here so far has been My Once Upon A Time.
Another good one I found fairly recently is Emerging Women. If Blogger beta wasn't getting in the way, I'd actually be a member of this blog right now... If you want to hear some women's voices in the emerging/emergent conversation, this is an excellent place to start.
I don't know if I've ever mentioned it before, but I love PostSecret. This blog is touching, funny, creative, shocking, encouraging, challenging and fun! And it's a pretty small commitment because the author only posts once a week.
I'm excited about this next blog because it's written by a fellow soon-to-be first year, female, Princeton Theological Seminary student. Jenny's not a blogging newbie, but she did just start her own personal blog, called Zoe: Reflections of the Journey Toward Abundant Life.
Finally, if you're looking for some wonderful, tasty, simple recipes, stop on by Fill 'Er Hup, written by a very cool girl I knew of in college...
Happy Blog Day!
Every Blogger's Burden
Another conversation about how to encourage women in minstry has been started by Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed. Scot's question springs from this article from the NY Times: "Why is it that, in denominations that have chosen to ordain women, ordained women are not being appointed or called to churches of 350 or more members?"
Many different opinions have been offered, but one question has captured my thoughts: How many women choose to abandon a calling from God to be in the ministry because they see the lack of support/mentors and feel unable to bear the burden of being a pioneer?
Obviously, there are women already in the pulpit, already bearing this burden. I appreciate these women because even though I have no plans to be a pastor, the same type of support is needed in academia, especially in an extremely male-dominated field like religion/Christian theology.
I've been convicted lately with the idea that if I want changes, I have to be willing to step into the positions that I believe should be open to women. Leadership is not something I naturally grab for, I feel much more comfortable as a follower, but if I whine about not having women in leadership, not having women to mentor me, shouldn't I be willing to become a woman in leadership, a woman who will be able to mentor?
So, I don't have any specific plans on how to do this, but I am going to begin to intentionally prepare myself for the roles of leader and mentor. Hopefully, seminary will be an aid in this preparation. Maybe I will be able to find a mentor of my own...I know they're out there.
Any thoughts, readers?
Many different opinions have been offered, but one question has captured my thoughts: How many women choose to abandon a calling from God to be in the ministry because they see the lack of support/mentors and feel unable to bear the burden of being a pioneer?
Obviously, there are women already in the pulpit, already bearing this burden. I appreciate these women because even though I have no plans to be a pastor, the same type of support is needed in academia, especially in an extremely male-dominated field like religion/Christian theology.
I've been convicted lately with the idea that if I want changes, I have to be willing to step into the positions that I believe should be open to women. Leadership is not something I naturally grab for, I feel much more comfortable as a follower, but if I whine about not having women in leadership, not having women to mentor me, shouldn't I be willing to become a woman in leadership, a woman who will be able to mentor?
So, I don't have any specific plans on how to do this, but I am going to begin to intentionally prepare myself for the roles of leader and mentor. Hopefully, seminary will be an aid in this preparation. Maybe I will be able to find a mentor of my own...I know they're out there.
Any thoughts, readers?
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