Facebook is a Beard
July 4, 2011
Beards, Facebook, Running Leave a comment
Within the 14 days Facebook gives you before it permanently deletes all of your Facebook data, I decided that I wasn’t sure enoughabout my decision. I have deactivated (so that it is recoverable any time) my account instead. G.K. Chesterton is reported to have said:
“You cannot grow a beard in a moment of passion.”
How very true that is, and in fact I’m working on that right now. But the same does not apply to all things. The opposite of growing a beard, for example, is to shave one off, which I can say from experience can be done in a moment of passion. So can other forms of hair removal, as well as computer reformatting, and friend assaulting, but let’s not get into all of that. So maybe getting rid of Facebook is like shaving your beard. The question is: will it grow back? I predict it will try to. I suppose one could take measures analogous to laser hair removal: permanent account deletion, but I have already strayed away from that direction. It seems I haven’t really made up my mind as to whether or not I am finally rid of Facebook, or I would not be hashing this out at the moment. Both Facebook and beards have their advantages (ease of connection and trust), but I’m apparently not finished weighing them against their disadvantages and my ability to avoid abuse/misuse. In all actuality it may be mostly an issue of boredom, which the wiser of you readers would rightly suggest that I find something better to occupy myself with.
This reminds me: have you ever seen Running Jesus?
Halloween
October 25, 2010
Every year around Halloween it has always been awkward for me. Growing up, nearly all of my friends would dress up and go trick or treating, but my family didn’t. We new better, because Halloween was an evil holiday, even if most people’s intentions were innocent enough. I was basically okay with this since our church had a “fall fest” which basically served the same purpose for kids–we got to dress up, and get a whole bunch of little candies. Good times. But is Halloween really evil? It kinda seemed so to me, with all the emphasis on ghosts, demons, and most of all just scaring people/being scared.
I hate being scared. I don’t understand why anyone would like it, I mean, Look it up. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scare Being scared of anything but Almighty God’s judgement upon our sin is simply a waste of time, energy, and emotion–and even that fear should not lead to despair, but to humility, hope, and love. But again, is that what Halloween is really about?
What spurred me to write this post, besides the impending day, is this article I ran across the other day.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2120849/posts
He makes a good point. After all, what is sin except the (partial) corruption of something good. The only thing I would like to comment on about the article is that while he notes that Easter time was also a holiday for the pagans, which finds is true fulfillment in Christ’s resurrection, it is also important to note that while that is true, Easter is first and foremost a true Historical event putting it far above the level of even Christmas.
I find the analogy between Mardi Gras and Halloween very helpful–and I can see some logic in it’s defense, but don’t think I’ll be frequenting any haunted houses.
Update: Called to Commuion, who writes some great stuff, by the way, has a good little article on Halloween.
Kansas City and A Simple House
June 7, 2010
Well, I made it to A Simple House. I’ve been up here a week, and it’s been pretty good. I accidentally left my computer power adapter with my brother, so I have to borrow a computer anytime I want to use the internet. When I get my computer back and running, I don’t really think I’ll be able to do too much interneting anyway, though, but at least I’ll have the advantage of being able to type things like this offline and from the convenience of the house before I go to use the wifi wherever.
So far, it has been good here. There is plenty to do here, and they haven’t held back too much on my share! This is good for me. The work is hard, but we make sure to go about it in such a way that it is always centered in and revolving around prayer. It keeps my focus on God, and on my faith and trust in Him instead of on me and my abilities.
Ah, well I ran out of time. I really just wanted to let everyone know I’m up here and doing well. Thank all of you for your prayers!
Dust in the Wind
March 22, 2010
Wow. So during the gospel (Jn 8:1-11) today, which was the story of the woman caught in adultery, I noticed something different. Jesus wrote something. What and why was Jesus writing in the dust? I don’t know of any other recording of Jesus writing anything, and he writes it in the dust! I was thinking along this path, and wondering about it when I ran across this cool article over at Standing on My Head. Check it out:
http://gkupsidedown.blogspot.com/2010/03/woman-taken-in-adultery.html
Spare Some Change?
March 22, 2010
Hey guys, I feel like changing up my theme here, so please bear with me as my blog may become unrecognizable for the time being. I won’t be changing the URL or deleting my posts, though, so don’t worry too much. 
In This City
March 18, 2010
Life, Prayer Requests Leave a comment
I have come to realize that there is not much keeping me here in Ruston. I don’t have a promising job. I have some friends, most of whom will leave upon graduation–as some really good friends have already done. I intend to finish my schooling and finish my degree, but I find that secondary to the discernment of my vocation. So I’m moving to Kansas City.
Why KC? Two main reasons: I want to be near my girlfriend. She lives in KC, and intends to stay there. It is not just that I want to be near her, but I think it will help me a good bit in discerning God’s will for my life. That is because part of my discernment is to discern if God want’s me to be married to my girlfriend. I can discern the priesthood from many locations, but it’s not so easy to date (court, discern marriage) from a distance. The other reason for me to go to KC is A Simple House. A Simple House [asimplehouse.org] is a lay missionary organization that serves the poor. I have visited them before, and even helped out a little with their work. They called me about a month ago to try and convince me to become a volunteer. After thinking about what I have mentioned above, and other factors, I let them know I want to be a full time volunteer. Why? Mainly discipline. I really think that I need a disciplined environment–a community of people committed to the Christian life who will pray with me daily and hold me accountable for my actions. I also want to be challenged because I know I need challenges to grow. I believe the ministry they have in KC will be a challenge for me, probably in ways I don’t expect.
So this is what I’m doing. I would like to ask all of you to pray for me as I enter into this phase of my life, that I may be open to whatever it is that God calls me to. It is a little crazy feeling, stepping out into the unknown. Thanks to you all.
