Today is Sol's 3rd birthday!
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Super Hero
I'm 80% Superman! Go to this site and find out what super hero you are. By the way, life is good. School is good. Family is good. Boyfriend is good. Friends are good. AND, Sol's birthday is tomorrow!
Monday, March 27, 2006
Names
So, I looked up the meaning of my name, and different sites gave different meanings. They are: servant of God or to tie, to bind or to snare, and I guess to snare is the same as to tie or to bind, but tying and binding sound better than snaring. Binding makes me think of that song, “Bind us together, Lord, Bind us together, Lord with chains that cannot be broken…” or is it cord that cannot be broken? Either way, that song makes me put snare and bind in two different categories. I had a little paper thing when I was younger that said what Rebecca means, but I can’t remember what it said, but I don’t think it said any of the above. It would be exciting to me if it did in fact mean servant of God—much better than to snare. I looked up my nephew’s names too… Ashton- ash tree settlement, Haven- safe place, Gavin- little hawk, Levi- united, as one. I also looked up Sol’s, just to see if it was there, and it was! Soledad- solitary. Actually, I looked up just about all of my family’s names, some of my friends, and my boyfriend’s name and some of his family’s names. And you must be thinking, man, “To Snare” must be really bored! But, I’m not!!! I actually have a lot of studying I need to do, but suddenly, looking up names and blogging about it became very important to me. But it's okay, because I have my notebook open next to me; so it's like I'm studying... sort of.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Listening to God
The sermon today was on how God speaks to people. The first point the preacher made was that in order to hear God speak, you must first believe that God does in fact speak to people today. The second point was that in order to hear God speak you must believe that God will speak to you. So simple! But is it? I must say that I have a hard time waiting for God speak to me. I don’t like to wait. I like to just go ahead and do stuff! I guess I end up thinking that God doesn’t speak to me that much, when the case is that he probably does, but I’m just too busy not listening. I’m too busy making plans and filling my day with… well with anything but listening, but earnestly seeking what God is trying to tell me. So, I’ve been convicted! I want to listen.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Desperation
The CNN headline reads, “40 migrants drown off Africa.”
The article says, “Driven by poverty and dreams of a better life in Europe and elsewhere, thousands of Africans leave their homelands every year on hazardous clandestine journeys by land and sea. But hundreds drown or die in the attempt.”
The EU warned that immigration is a “time bomb” and of course the proposed solution to this is to form a joint Mediterranean security force to combat human trafficking, which is good because that would prevent deaths at sea, but it does nothing to fix the root of the problem, the reason why people are willing to risk their lives.
So, that’s right, it’s a time bomb. We have to keep them down. Keep them in their fenced off portion of hell on earth. Out of sight, out of mind. The condition of the human spirit so down-trodden and discouraged, that one is willing to risk his life that MAYBE, POSSIBLY he could find work in another place. Having knowledge that no matter how dismal conditions might be in the new place of residence, they cannot be any worse than the previous miserable situation they are escaping. What do you do when there is no hope of work, no hope of rain, no sight of relief, and starvation is closing in on you from all directions? What do you do when you must feed your child leaves in order to soothe the hunger? What do you do as $11 million (only a fraction of what was needed) in aid relief comes trickling in to your country 9 months after the fact, and by then the proposed $1 per person is now $80 because it is a lot more expensive to treat someone that is suffering from starvation. Oh yeah, and the site where they were handing out food is 20 miles away and you’re starving to death, so you are too weak to make the journey. I wonder if the tears are gone, if they have run out. If all that remains is the quiet desperation to simply not starve to death, because who will take care of your family if you are gone. But there really are few options by the time you reach the point of starvation, because even if there was a job to be had, you’re too weak and sick to work.
What is starvation:
Merriam Webster says:
Starve- to perish from lack of food; to suffer exteme hunger; to kill with hunger; to deprive of nourishment; to cause to capitulate by or as if by depriving of nourishment; to destroy by or cause to suffer from deprivation
www.merck.com states that starvation is the most severe form of malnutrition. In an effort to obtain energy the body will use its own tissue as a source of energy. This results in the destruction of visceral organs and muscle as all of the fat gets used up.
They are starving… or are we starving them? They are starving. We are not. We stuff ourselves with ridiculous portions of food. But, they are starving. We spend insane amounts of money on clothes, electronics, pets, cars, houses, hobbies, and the list goes on and on. They are starving. We don’t help. They are starving. I go buy myself another $4 frapacchino at Starbucks. They are starving. We are starving them.
Albert Einstein said, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”
The Bible says, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” James 4:17
I don’t know what the answer is. It’s such a huge problem. Where to begin? Maybe begin with caring… maybe care a little less about who Brad Pitt is dating and a little more about human beings that are slowly wasting away from starvation. And, then, maybe caring will lead to action, to radical lifestyle changes that say just because I can afford it does not mean that I should have it.
The article says, “Driven by poverty and dreams of a better life in Europe and elsewhere, thousands of Africans leave their homelands every year on hazardous clandestine journeys by land and sea. But hundreds drown or die in the attempt.”
The EU warned that immigration is a “time bomb” and of course the proposed solution to this is to form a joint Mediterranean security force to combat human trafficking, which is good because that would prevent deaths at sea, but it does nothing to fix the root of the problem, the reason why people are willing to risk their lives.
So, that’s right, it’s a time bomb. We have to keep them down. Keep them in their fenced off portion of hell on earth. Out of sight, out of mind. The condition of the human spirit so down-trodden and discouraged, that one is willing to risk his life that MAYBE, POSSIBLY he could find work in another place. Having knowledge that no matter how dismal conditions might be in the new place of residence, they cannot be any worse than the previous miserable situation they are escaping. What do you do when there is no hope of work, no hope of rain, no sight of relief, and starvation is closing in on you from all directions? What do you do when you must feed your child leaves in order to soothe the hunger? What do you do as $11 million (only a fraction of what was needed) in aid relief comes trickling in to your country 9 months after the fact, and by then the proposed $1 per person is now $80 because it is a lot more expensive to treat someone that is suffering from starvation. Oh yeah, and the site where they were handing out food is 20 miles away and you’re starving to death, so you are too weak to make the journey. I wonder if the tears are gone, if they have run out. If all that remains is the quiet desperation to simply not starve to death, because who will take care of your family if you are gone. But there really are few options by the time you reach the point of starvation, because even if there was a job to be had, you’re too weak and sick to work.
What is starvation:
Merriam Webster says:
Starve- to perish from lack of food; to suffer exteme hunger; to kill with hunger; to deprive of nourishment; to cause to capitulate by or as if by depriving of nourishment; to destroy by or cause to suffer from deprivation
www.merck.com states that starvation is the most severe form of malnutrition. In an effort to obtain energy the body will use its own tissue as a source of energy. This results in the destruction of visceral organs and muscle as all of the fat gets used up.
They are starving… or are we starving them? They are starving. We are not. We stuff ourselves with ridiculous portions of food. But, they are starving. We spend insane amounts of money on clothes, electronics, pets, cars, houses, hobbies, and the list goes on and on. They are starving. We don’t help. They are starving. I go buy myself another $4 frapacchino at Starbucks. They are starving. We are starving them.
Albert Einstein said, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”
The Bible says, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” James 4:17
I don’t know what the answer is. It’s such a huge problem. Where to begin? Maybe begin with caring… maybe care a little less about who Brad Pitt is dating and a little more about human beings that are slowly wasting away from starvation. And, then, maybe caring will lead to action, to radical lifestyle changes that say just because I can afford it does not mean that I should have it.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Words cannot express
Words cannot express how much I love Sol! Sol is my niece, and of course words cannot express how much I love my nephews too, but I want to talk about Sol specifically right now. Jarrod and Ally are starting the process to adopt her, and I would appreciate prayers that the process will go smoothly and that soon Sol will legally be a Brown. I only get to see her about once a year, and I can't imagine my life without her! She is just the cutest and sweetest little girl with the biggest brown eyes.
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