The curse of asking why

I was talking to my friend Katie tonight about death and why it happens when it does. Then we wondered if asking questions, searching for meaning....are these really the right things to do in that situation?

We're humans. At some point we train ourself to ask why things happen. Might we be better off otherwise? Instead of hearing how Person X died from a heart attack, then mourning because if we'd only kept him from eating so many cheese fries maybe he'd still be with us today, it's probably better to simply know that Person X died.

Rather than searching for a cause of death, maybe we should read death as more of a statement of fact, a statement of trust. The Lord took him from us at this time. That much we know. Instead of wrestling with why Person X died at this time and what we could have done to prevent it, we should implicitly trust the Lord's plan. Isn't that a real form of worship?

"At least you're not homeless"

I've been in a funk recently. There's a huge burden hanging over my heart, but I don't know what it is. I feel like I'm in the middle of some great big riddle or something.

I was having a whinge about this yesterday at Powell's. I must have been loud (no surprise there) because the guy next to me stood up to leave and muttered "at least you're not homeless."

A part of me wants to rebut that statement. Ultimately all of our worldly possessions fade away, right? And the most important thing -- more than my iPod or MacBook or Posturepedic pillow -- is that I've accepted the Lord in my life. Really, it's not the most important thing; it's the only important thing.

On top of that, "at least I'm not homeless" asks me to feel better based on comparison to someone else. Something about that doesn't feel right. Couldn't I easily go in the other direction, feeling badly because I don't have more?

Yet somewhere in there I guess there's an element of truth. I have stuff. I live in a house. I needn't worry about running out of money (I don't think). My major issues usually involve avoiding the urge to self-destruct. Somewhere in there I need to be thankful. I guess I just don't know how much. In some ways, it seems like the more thankful I am for Stuff, the more I start relying on that Stuff.

maybe they didn't have health insurance?

Parents Pick Prayer Over Docs; Girl Dies

This will probably add more fuel to the faith vs. science war that's not going anywhere but south..

It seems like the family still has a tremendous amount of peace? It's sick but I kind of like that.

Inspirational Country Music Lyrics of the Day

Feeling down? Like life on this world is a bit overwhelming? Let's allow Faith Hill to inject some hope into your life:

It's not easy trying to understand
How the world can be so cold, stealing the souls of man
Cloudy skies rain down on all your dreams
You wrestle with the fear and doubt
Sometimes it's hard but you gotta believe

Chorus: There's a better place, where our Father waits
And every tear He'll wipe away
The darkness will be gone,the weak shall be strong
Hold on to your faith
There will come a day, there will come a day

Wars are raging, lives are scattered
Innocence is lost, and hopes are shattered
The old are forgotten, the children are forsaken
In this world we're living in Is there anything sacred?
There will come a day, there will come a day

The song will ring out, down those golden streets
The voices of earth with the angels will sing
Every knee will bow, sin will have no trace
In the glory of His amazing grace
Every knee will bow, sin will have no trace
In the glory of His amazing grace

There will come a day, there will come a day
Oooh there will come a day
I know there's coming a day, coming a day

Stunning realization of the week

There's a colloquialism (is that really spelled correctly? or is it just not in the blogger dictionary?) saying "better the devil you know than the devil you don't know." It strikes me that this is the complete opposite of the Christian faith. As opposed to trusting the "devil we know", we are basically called to step out on a limb especially when we don't know what's out there.

Thanks to tonight's group members Kristin and Hilary for combining on this thought

Avoiding the temptation to plagiarise

Ordinarily, I'd just take this thought and make it my own, but I decided against that course of action since the author is one of my old roommates from Wyoming. But I love love LOVE these thoughts regarding God and children. Czech it out.

Tiger and Orange Fest

Virtually anything (and anything, virtually) can make it onto the Internet; it's kind of amazing. Sometimes I wish there were inherent online standards that would keep things up to snuff and generate a "Rejected from the 'net" message as it deflects unworthy material. But I realize that such standards are very hard to set and apply, and this blog would probably be a lot shorter and less interesting. Intermittent protests would erupt across Portland, and our bumper stickers would blame Dick Cheney for our lack of freedom. But everything on the Internet would be fantastic.

Anyway, all I wanted to do here is share a couple stories I found recently. First, according to Golf.com, Tiger Woods has verified his golfing greatness by defeating God by one stroke in a round of 18. In case you still haven't caught on, that Tiger Woods guy handles the clubs pretty well. I've never had a tee time with the Lord, but the story makes me think: how do my own endeavors relate to God? What would I do differently if I could see Him walking there next to me? And am I trying to outdo Him at anything?

Secondly, there is this Italian town that holds a festival each year, in which participants hurl oranges at each other, three days in a row. The International Herald Tribune mentions a "civics lesson from annual orange battles," but in reading the report I found no such lesson (there is an implied lesson, but it's about the value of protective eyewear). There's a bit of (questionable) history to it, but the celebration is mostly one of pointless modern excess. Still, I like it. I like it, not just for its humor, but as an example of how something can be utterly useless, yet still be worthwhile. Of course, lots of things are that way (it's called "fun"), but I know that I sometimes dismiss things for not being useful or pragmatic enough, when really there is nothing wrong with them.

Oranges are still in season, right?