Archive — April, 2008
30 Apr
Genuine Item or Fake?
I go to a college full of pranksters. You have to be constantly on guard around my friends. In the words of a cowboy friend, we’ve all “been had” at some point or another. There have been some pretty good pranks since I’ve been at college, but this week a prank was pulled that beat the rest – I mean, this was the practical joke of the century!
A friend of mine, Zach, had been pranked by another friend, David. So Zach decided to exact revenge. He created a Facebook account for a fake girl. Her name was “Kelly.” He created all of her personal information, posted pictures of one of his friends (a girl David wouldn’t recognize) and made her appear perfect. Among other things, her email address was proverbs31girl04@____.com.
Facebook and the Incarnation
I have a twenty-something friend who recently declared that a single event signaled Facebook’s imminent demise: his mother friended him.
Bizarre annoyances are nothing new for Facebook. How many times must I hit ignore in response to a barrage of loony requests? No, thank you, I don’t want to be a pirate or join in a snowball fight or poke anyone with a broccoli stalk or plant a geranium in someone’s (virtual) garden. However, this motherly intrusion unnerved my friend on quite a different level - his virtual reality collided with real life in disturbing ways.
29 Apr
Freedom’s Promise
In 1999, 33-year-old Marina answered an ad to leave the Ukraine and study abroad in Israel. When she arrived, she was taken to an apartment in Ashkelon where she was introduced to other women who explained that she was now a prostitute.
Amber Barron
Imagine her surprise! Marina became hysterical. As a result, she was beaten, raped, sold off, and finally locked in a windowless basement for a month, drinking water from the toilet and going without food.
She finally managed to escape. But now, she rarely leaves her two-bedroom home in northern Israel because she fears the government will deport her or the criminal gangs will force her back into prostitution.
This story came from the blog of Amber Barron, a 28-year-old freedom fighter for humans being trafficked all over the world.
28 Apr
Out Of Control!
I hate flying. I have had opportunities to fly overseas several times, and the air travel has always been miserable. At first I thought this resulted from the severe lack of anything to do while in the plane, but I have recently discovered this is not the only reason. The real explanation is that I’m scared. It’s funny, because I participate in much more dangerous activities everyday (such as riding shotgun while my brother drives), but every time a plane hits turbulence I start to panic. I struggle grasping the fact that an unknown pilot is deciding my destiny while thousands of feet in the air!
25 Apr
Daniel Blackaby Story
Twenty-year-old Daniel Blackaby, regular blogger on Josiah Road, was born “sandwiched between an older brother and younger sister” into a strong Christian home. At the young age of four, Daniel came to know Jesus—fully understanding the decision he was making even then.
At the local ice-skating rink one day, Daniel decided it was time to accept Jesus into his life. “I closed my eyes and prayed, and asked [Jesus] to forgive my sins and be my Lord. I opened my eyes just in time to see the end boards before I ran face-first into them. … My dad always told me I started my Christian journey with a bang.”
24 Apr
I’ll Do It! …Later
I don’t have what you’d call a “driven” personality. My motto is: Why put off until tomorrow what you can put off indefinitely? Over the years I have tested my dad’s patience many times with my token phrase: “I’ll do it later….” I thought I was getting by just fine with this approach to life until last year, during my second semester of college. That was a time when my dad would say: Justice is sweet.
23 Apr
Got Milk?
I had two very disturbing experiences the other day. The first happened while I was at band practice… . My other experience came when I returned home that night.
Empty Vessels
“‘Go and borrow empty containers from everyone—from all your neighbors. Do not get just a few. … pour oil into all these containers’. … When they were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another container.’ But he replied, ‘There aren’t any more.’ Then the oil stopped.”
2 Kings 4:3-4, 6
Empty is an adjective. Empty jars. Empty hands. Empty hearts. Empty pages. Hollow, aching, empty vessels … waiting to be filled, waiting for rain from heaven, waiting for oil from God’s provision. Yet, isn’t that just what a useful vessel should be? Empty? How can a jar hold oil unless it is empty? If hands and hearts are hanging on to material things, they cannot be held by the love of God. If it is already full, a page cannot be written upon. That is why Elisha told the widow to ask for all the empty jars she could find. He wanted her to be able to receive as much of God’s blessing as she could hold. As soon as she ran out of empty containers, the oil stopped flowing.
18 Apr
Who Could Ever Learn to Love a Beast?
Next week, my school will be showcasing Beauty and the Beast, the classic Disney fairytale about a beautiful young woman who falls in love with a soul matted by an outward, beastly appearance. My director’s favorite quote and theme of the musical is taken from the narrator’s introduction in the opening scene – Who could ever learn to love a beast?
17 Apr
Musings of a Newlywed
Ten months ago, after a whirlwind eight month courtship, Andrew and I embarked on the journey of marriage. We marvel now at how much we thought we knew but how little we really did. We’ve been delightfully surprised and duly humbled in our first months of married life. During our engagement, we regularly invited the advice of family, friends, books, and marriage counselors. We were warned that sex, finances, and family relationships could be “hot topics” for newlyweds and advised to handle these issues with care.
