A third of our country...ignorant. Sad.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Brace Yourself
This blog is in response to two you will find at Katie's Blog
I was halfway through a response to the latest blog which I will agree with both Herschel and Penny is well researched, thought out, articulated, and scripturally based. All of which I agree with.
Thus leads me to my revelation. I realized we are arguing two completely different points.
Buckle Up.
The Bible CLEARLY states that eventually, the earth will be in ruin. Again I say that it may be near, or it could be 2000 years from now. Noone knows.
We learn in several books of the Bible (Genesis, Job, Psalms, Romans...) That God is the creator of ALL things. We are all equal in our origin. God. However, he makes a distinction for man because it is US who are made in his image. Not the trees, not the muskrats, but man. All God's creatures glorify Him by their very existence, but only one is able to worship and serve Him by an act of will.
I think the reason why many in the Christian community believe environmentalism to be a "New-Age" issue is they think that the verse in Genesis in which God gives us the land to use and subdue is the "end all be all" doctrine for our environmental care. Furthermore, to be bestowed the priveledge to "subdue" does not mean to recklessly exploit. We do not have sovereignty over creation. God does. It's his creation. God told Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:15 to cultivate and keep the garden, and that we could use nature for our benefit, but only use it as God intends.
I believe that God originally indended for us to live in harmony with nature. Increasingly, we have become at odds with it. This tells me that man did not fulfill its orders. Our ecological crisis has come as a consequence to our fallen nature and abuse of the land God freely gave us. Our uncontrollable greed and haste has led to a devastating deteriorization of the environment.
Christians MUST treat nature as having value in itself. We may have dominion, but not the right to destroy. There are several verses in the Bible in which God tells us to care for the land. Lev. 15:1-12 being one. The Lord judges those who misuse the land in Isiah 5:8-10. Jesus even on two occasions spoke of how much God cared for the sparrow in Matthew. The Christian responsibility goes beyond the initial verse in Genesis.
As Christians, we have responsibility to care for this earth that should exceed that in which is given by the unsaved. We are RIGHTLY related to the creator of all things. Lets show that.
By failing to fulfull our responsibilities of taking care of this earth, we have lost a great witness. Many today seek to improve our environment, yet they think that most Christians don't care about ecological issues. One reason is becuase people look at the verse in Genesis and say "Hey, God gave it to me and I'm gonna use it!"
Others, who choose to delve deeper look at the scriptures Katie quoted in Part #2 and say "Hey, its gonna end someday, theres nothing we can do!"
Both are wrong in their own right. Yes, the earth will eventually be gone, but until that day comes, we are ordered by God to take care of that which was bestowed to us. Otherwise, he wouldnt have said it.
Christians have unfortunately allowed the New-Agers to steal environmentalism from us. Because of this, Christians are hesitant to get involved because they confuse the interest in environmentalism with that of pantheism. The leadership in this area is rightfully ours. Whether or not it will soon be gone, we should still take care of God's creation. It was created out of his wisdom.
Again I say that Jesus came to redeem and reconcile all things. Our relationship with God, other people, and with creation. Though the earth and the heavens will eventually be gone, we should still work to heal it now. (Echo.......)
It all comes down to sin. (Doesn't it all..)Greed being the biggie. Using our country as an example, we make up a small percentage of the worlds population, and we use the majority of it's resources. When I think of this, I am reminded of a verse in Chronicles.
2 Chronicles 7:14
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will HEAL THEIR LAND"
What people like Gore are trying to make known is that the greed of America cannot continue. We cannot continue to consume what we want. Waste what we want. Dig where we want. Kill what we want. Just so that our lives are easier, fuller, richer..(insert political jab here) AKA the oil tycoons who run our Executive Branch *cough* *cough*.
Environmentalism is not the #1 thing in God's eyes. Maybe not even #10. However, we are CALLED by him to take care of the earth. That is my only point. Just because Al Gore made a movie about environmentalism does not mean he believes it's more important than the salvation of souls(After all, he's a Southern Baptist). Many dedicate their lives to abortion, to cancer, to aids, etc. etc. etc. It's just one piece of a very large pie.
I was halfway through a response to the latest blog which I will agree with both Herschel and Penny is well researched, thought out, articulated, and scripturally based. All of which I agree with.
Thus leads me to my revelation. I realized we are arguing two completely different points.
Buckle Up.
The Bible CLEARLY states that eventually, the earth will be in ruin. Again I say that it may be near, or it could be 2000 years from now. Noone knows.
We learn in several books of the Bible (Genesis, Job, Psalms, Romans...) That God is the creator of ALL things. We are all equal in our origin. God. However, he makes a distinction for man because it is US who are made in his image. Not the trees, not the muskrats, but man. All God's creatures glorify Him by their very existence, but only one is able to worship and serve Him by an act of will.
I think the reason why many in the Christian community believe environmentalism to be a "New-Age" issue is they think that the verse in Genesis in which God gives us the land to use and subdue is the "end all be all" doctrine for our environmental care. Furthermore, to be bestowed the priveledge to "subdue" does not mean to recklessly exploit. We do not have sovereignty over creation. God does. It's his creation. God told Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:15 to cultivate and keep the garden, and that we could use nature for our benefit, but only use it as God intends.
I believe that God originally indended for us to live in harmony with nature. Increasingly, we have become at odds with it. This tells me that man did not fulfill its orders. Our ecological crisis has come as a consequence to our fallen nature and abuse of the land God freely gave us. Our uncontrollable greed and haste has led to a devastating deteriorization of the environment.
Christians MUST treat nature as having value in itself. We may have dominion, but not the right to destroy. There are several verses in the Bible in which God tells us to care for the land. Lev. 15:1-12 being one. The Lord judges those who misuse the land in Isiah 5:8-10. Jesus even on two occasions spoke of how much God cared for the sparrow in Matthew. The Christian responsibility goes beyond the initial verse in Genesis.
As Christians, we have responsibility to care for this earth that should exceed that in which is given by the unsaved. We are RIGHTLY related to the creator of all things. Lets show that.
By failing to fulfull our responsibilities of taking care of this earth, we have lost a great witness. Many today seek to improve our environment, yet they think that most Christians don't care about ecological issues. One reason is becuase people look at the verse in Genesis and say "Hey, God gave it to me and I'm gonna use it!"
Others, who choose to delve deeper look at the scriptures Katie quoted in Part #2 and say "Hey, its gonna end someday, theres nothing we can do!"
Both are wrong in their own right. Yes, the earth will eventually be gone, but until that day comes, we are ordered by God to take care of that which was bestowed to us. Otherwise, he wouldnt have said it.
Christians have unfortunately allowed the New-Agers to steal environmentalism from us. Because of this, Christians are hesitant to get involved because they confuse the interest in environmentalism with that of pantheism. The leadership in this area is rightfully ours. Whether or not it will soon be gone, we should still take care of God's creation. It was created out of his wisdom.
Again I say that Jesus came to redeem and reconcile all things. Our relationship with God, other people, and with creation. Though the earth and the heavens will eventually be gone, we should still work to heal it now. (Echo.......)
It all comes down to sin. (Doesn't it all..)Greed being the biggie. Using our country as an example, we make up a small percentage of the worlds population, and we use the majority of it's resources. When I think of this, I am reminded of a verse in Chronicles.
2 Chronicles 7:14
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will HEAL THEIR LAND"
What people like Gore are trying to make known is that the greed of America cannot continue. We cannot continue to consume what we want. Waste what we want. Dig where we want. Kill what we want. Just so that our lives are easier, fuller, richer..(insert political jab here) AKA the oil tycoons who run our Executive Branch *cough* *cough*.
Environmentalism is not the #1 thing in God's eyes. Maybe not even #10. However, we are CALLED by him to take care of the earth. That is my only point. Just because Al Gore made a movie about environmentalism does not mean he believes it's more important than the salvation of souls(After all, he's a Southern Baptist). Many dedicate their lives to abortion, to cancer, to aids, etc. etc. etc. It's just one piece of a very large pie.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Hilarious video of the week.
Those of you who know me should know that I love Ellen DeGeneres. Earlier this week on her show she called an elderly woman who wrote the show concerning a plant that Ellen had on her set. Ellen decided to call the woman(as she does often) and this is the conversation that took place.
Warning: You might want to remove your teeth and put a diaper on. I laughed so hard I fell out of my chair.
Warning: You might want to remove your teeth and put a diaper on. I laughed so hard I fell out of my chair.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
What? What's this nonsense?
Cloudy skies.35 degrees.
3 inches of rain/sleet/snow.
Flood watches.
*sigh*
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Loss for words...
There are some things in life I just don't understand.
I just got off the phone with my mother. I am pissed.
Those of you who know me well know the recent issues I have had with my car lately. When winter came, and the temperatures fell, my 2000 Nissan Maxima started acting funny. When I first started the car it would jerk a little bit. The entire car. If I would put it in drive and sit idle, it would jerk a lot more, bigger jerks..back and forth. If I let the car sit and warm up about 10 minutes, all would be fine. It would drive smoothly just as it always did.
This problem continued and I did nothing about it for about 2 or 3 weeks. I never had time to take it into a shop since I needed it for school and the mechanics do not work on weekends.
Then the temperatures fell some more. To the single digits in fact. The first morning I went out to start my car and it immediately died. It ran about 3 seconds. I continued to restart it and have it die about 10 times. I eventually began starting it and giving it gas. I had to do this for about 15 minutes to get the car warm enough to stay running. I decided it was time to get it fixed so I took it down the road to Marion Nissan.
Marion Nissan had the car for 10 days. They told me with absolute certainty that the problem lied within the Mass Air Flow Censor. A part that I had had replaced in the car not 3 months beforehand by a mechanic at home. Since the part was under warranty, the part was free. I did have to pay $180 for computer reprogramming and whatnot. Problem solved... Not.
I drove to Mississippi. Car ran great during the drive, the week we were there, and the drive back. (Keep in mind the weather was in the 50's the entire week.) Once I arrived back home to the mid 30's weather, the car once again would jerk when it was not warmed up. I was on the phone with Marion Nissan immediately and told them they did not fix the problem. This conversation occurred on December 26th and the car went back into their shop on December 28th.
They. Still. Have. My. Car.
They have no clue what is wrong with it. They told us the battery needed replaced. They did it. No improvement. They say they have done every possible test they can to the car and still do not know what is wrong. HOW CAN THIS BE?! How can a car have such an obvious problem and mechanics not be able to diagnose it? Can someone explain this phenomenon to me?!?! I am at a loss.
I just got off the phone with my mother. I am pissed.
Those of you who know me well know the recent issues I have had with my car lately. When winter came, and the temperatures fell, my 2000 Nissan Maxima started acting funny. When I first started the car it would jerk a little bit. The entire car. If I would put it in drive and sit idle, it would jerk a lot more, bigger jerks..back and forth. If I let the car sit and warm up about 10 minutes, all would be fine. It would drive smoothly just as it always did.
This problem continued and I did nothing about it for about 2 or 3 weeks. I never had time to take it into a shop since I needed it for school and the mechanics do not work on weekends.
Then the temperatures fell some more. To the single digits in fact. The first morning I went out to start my car and it immediately died. It ran about 3 seconds. I continued to restart it and have it die about 10 times. I eventually began starting it and giving it gas. I had to do this for about 15 minutes to get the car warm enough to stay running. I decided it was time to get it fixed so I took it down the road to Marion Nissan.
Marion Nissan had the car for 10 days. They told me with absolute certainty that the problem lied within the Mass Air Flow Censor. A part that I had had replaced in the car not 3 months beforehand by a mechanic at home. Since the part was under warranty, the part was free. I did have to pay $180 for computer reprogramming and whatnot. Problem solved... Not.
I drove to Mississippi. Car ran great during the drive, the week we were there, and the drive back. (Keep in mind the weather was in the 50's the entire week.) Once I arrived back home to the mid 30's weather, the car once again would jerk when it was not warmed up. I was on the phone with Marion Nissan immediately and told them they did not fix the problem. This conversation occurred on December 26th and the car went back into their shop on December 28th.
They. Still. Have. My. Car.
They have no clue what is wrong with it. They told us the battery needed replaced. They did it. No improvement. They say they have done every possible test they can to the car and still do not know what is wrong. HOW CAN THIS BE?! How can a car have such an obvious problem and mechanics not be able to diagnose it? Can someone explain this phenomenon to me?!?! I am at a loss.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Hollister isn't lying...
Everything IS Better in California!
The first 24 hours here in SoCal have been absolutely amazing! There is a reason 20 million people live in the Los Angeles metro.Is it the 82 degree weather in January? (I hear they got sleet back in IL)
Is it the restaurant/cafe on every corner?
Is it the beach on one side, with snowy mountains on the other?
Perhaps.
Yes, SoCal is magical. But it's not just the perfect weather, beautiful sunsets, or abundance of shopping malls that draws me here. Here are a few things I've noticed about California:
It is home to the friendliest people I've ever seen in a city. Not only are they friendly, but they are also...
Friendly drivers! Unlike the cities of the Midwest, the drivers here understand that everyone is in a hurry and everyone has somewhere to be. If you need to change lanes, they let you over. No cutting off and flipping of the finger like you'd experience in Chicago. I think its the 360 days of sunshine...it makes people happier.
I've spent the day exploring Orange County (there's a lot to see!) The public transportation system here(voted #1 in America) has been very good to me. Bussing me from mall to mall, stadium to restaurant, and everywhere in between.
Last night I watched the sunset at Huntington Beach (birthplace of surf). I could watch that every night for the rest of my life and it wouldn't get old.
Yes, I have fallen in love with SoCal, and it only took a few hours. I finish school in December, I'll be relocating here in January ;)
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Hitch up the 'ole wagon..
I'm Headin' West!
Five days in sunny Orange County, California could not be the better finale to this crazy Christmas Break!
I love having a dad who travels. I learned today that he was leaving Monday morning for Anaheim to work at the Orange County Gazette/Herald something or other and after a moment of pleading the folks are allowing me to accompany him!
Beautiful Huntington Beach is but moments away. Where shall I go first? Disneyland? The International Surfing Museum? The Block at Orange? The Hills? In less than 65 hours I'll be soaking up all the SoCal my body will handle.
Did I mention I'm flying first-class? I hear its full of half-naked ladies and free massages!
Oh the things I'll see!
I love having a dad who travels. I learned today that he was leaving Monday morning for Anaheim to work at the Orange County Gazette/Herald something or other and after a moment of pleading the folks are allowing me to accompany him!
Beautiful Huntington Beach is but moments away. Where shall I go first? Disneyland? The International Surfing Museum? The Block at Orange? The Hills? In less than 65 hours I'll be soaking up all the SoCal my body will handle.
Did I mention I'm flying first-class? I hear its full of half-naked ladies and free massages!
Oh the things I'll see!
Friday, January 05, 2007
FEEDS!
In an attempt to make NFB Undone your new homepage, I have installed something new and exiting into the side navigation bar...FEEDS!
What are feeds you ask? I'm not really sure. All I know is that they allow you to take new updated content from a site and place it on your own ;)
If you'll scroll down you will see what I am talking about. Now you're able to see if those in our little "blogger world" have updated without having to go to each site individually. How convenient!
If you are wondering why your feed is not included, it is because I was unable to get yours to work. If you feel left out, please either update to the new Blogger, or login to your account, go to "Settings" and "Site Feed" and enable "Full Feeding."
I have also chosen to include Latest Headlines courtesy of CNN.com into the navigation bar. NFB Undone allows you to stay on top of not only Blogger world but the real world as well! The pot doesn't get much sweeter!
Thursday, January 04, 2007
On a different note...
I woke up at 2 o'clock this afternoon without a voice, a massive lump in my throat, and a headache...I am sick.
Who do I blame?
My sister who was sick a week ago with similar symptoms?
The town of Fairfield for always acting as a breeding ground for such bacterial infections?
The 200 Urbana attendees that were diagnosed with the flu throughout the week?
Katie (allergic to red dye) Vaughn for getting sick not 2 hours after I drank from her bottle of water?
The odds were against me, and now I must pay my dues. 2 glasses of Emergen-C later my vocal chords will at least produce sound, not a pretty one but beggars cant be choosers. At least I'm able to tell the countless telemarketers who call that "Nah-thon-uwl Brendahl" isn't home right now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On yet another note, from my time in Arbonne I received a $150 gift certificate to Hammacher Schlemmer. H.S. is a ridiculous extremely over-priced catalog order company that offers such novelties as a $45,000 race car motion simulator for the home. It took me 5 months to finally cash in the certificate. What did I receive for my $150?
Earbud Headphones & an umbrella.
The umbrella looks like I went out back and stole my parents patio umbrella. IT'S MASSIVE! It does fold up nicely and can sustain winds of up to 35 MPH! When I get to feeling better I might venture up to the roof and see how she does.. ;)
The Headphones are Bose. "Very Niiice!". I am faced with a dilemma however. Should I place the headphones on eBay (where I can get around $80 for them), or should I keep them and use them for myself?
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Stock the Concrete Bunker
ARMAGEDDON IS COMING!
Says Pat Robertson.
Pat Robertson, host of the 700 Club news show has announced Tuesday that God revealed to him at a prayer retreat that a terrorist attack of massive magnitude will cause "mass killing" in the United States in late 2007.
"The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that." Robertson said. He also claims that God told him that major U.S. cities will be impacted and that millions of lives will be affected. The event is believed to take place sometime after September.
Robertson is known for his predictions. He predicted that President Bush would "easily win re-election" over challenger John Kerry. Bush received 51% of the popular vote. Easy?
Robertson also predicted that early last year that major storms and a possible tsunami would crash into America's coastline. This did not take place however he claims that the New England floods partially fulfills that prophecy.
Now my question is...how much stock do we put into this? How does the U.S. respond? How does the Christian world respond? I am not a huge fan of Pat Robertson, and his record obviously shows him to not be completely accurate(false prophet?) Should this be taken seriously?
Discuss.
Says Pat Robertson.
Pat Robertson, host of the 700 Club news show has announced Tuesday that God revealed to him at a prayer retreat that a terrorist attack of massive magnitude will cause "mass killing" in the United States in late 2007.
"The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that." Robertson said. He also claims that God told him that major U.S. cities will be impacted and that millions of lives will be affected. The event is believed to take place sometime after September.
Robertson is known for his predictions. He predicted that President Bush would "easily win re-election" over challenger John Kerry. Bush received 51% of the popular vote. Easy?
Robertson also predicted that early last year that major storms and a possible tsunami would crash into America's coastline. This did not take place however he claims that the New England floods partially fulfills that prophecy.
Now my question is...how much stock do we put into this? How does the U.S. respond? How does the Christian world respond? I am not a huge fan of Pat Robertson, and his record obviously shows him to not be completely accurate(false prophet?) Should this be taken seriously?
Discuss.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Back to Normalcy
Honey, I'm home!
Yesterday I returned home from a week long missions convention at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis called Urbana. It was attended by over 23,000 college-age students from practically every country in the world. I will admit I had my reservations about it, and did not go into it hoping to learn or grow, but thankfully I did. (I also won an iPod Shuffle...Yay for me!) I can't put into words the experience I had, perhaps soon.
I spent 4 days at home prior to Urbana to celebrate Christmas with the family. Since November my friend Cheryl has been telling me in regards to the Lost hiatus "They can take away our Lost but they can never take away our Christmas!" "They" referring to ABC and no, they didn't take my Christmas but something else almost did. A few days before the 25th an event took place that caused me to completely rethink my faith, life, and view of the world. It was the first of it's kind that I had ever had. It wasn't fun. I was challenged in a way I had never been challenged before, and instead of seeking answers and trying to understand it all, I wimped out. Did nothing but cry about it and made no attempt at progress.
Luckily after a lot of thought, prayer, and phone calls to/from friends I began to work my way through it. I know what Dena is talking about when she speaks of the "tilling" we all go through. It's painful, but necessary for the end result...a beautiful, meaningful creation that can provide happiness, comfort, and nourishment to those around it.
Thankfully, as my title now states, "I am not forgotten."
Continuing our "in reverse" road trip through December, Katie and I spent a week in Gulfport, MS doing every kind of work imaginable. We cooked, cleaned, and even rewired a house. It was very encouraging to me to know that there are people who realize the need for help on the Gulf Coast and have sacrificed all they have to help the people in the destructed areas. A lot has been done, but there is a long way to go. Continue to pray for these people...they desperately need it.
I have posted a few images from our Gulfport trip on my Flickr.
Happy New Year!
Yesterday I returned home from a week long missions convention at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis called Urbana. It was attended by over 23,000 college-age students from practically every country in the world. I will admit I had my reservations about it, and did not go into it hoping to learn or grow, but thankfully I did. (I also won an iPod Shuffle...Yay for me!) I can't put into words the experience I had, perhaps soon.
I spent 4 days at home prior to Urbana to celebrate Christmas with the family. Since November my friend Cheryl has been telling me in regards to the Lost hiatus "They can take away our Lost but they can never take away our Christmas!" "They" referring to ABC and no, they didn't take my Christmas but something else almost did. A few days before the 25th an event took place that caused me to completely rethink my faith, life, and view of the world. It was the first of it's kind that I had ever had. It wasn't fun. I was challenged in a way I had never been challenged before, and instead of seeking answers and trying to understand it all, I wimped out. Did nothing but cry about it and made no attempt at progress.
Luckily after a lot of thought, prayer, and phone calls to/from friends I began to work my way through it. I know what Dena is talking about when she speaks of the "tilling" we all go through. It's painful, but necessary for the end result...a beautiful, meaningful creation that can provide happiness, comfort, and nourishment to those around it.
Thankfully, as my title now states, "I am not forgotten."
Continuing our "in reverse" road trip through December, Katie and I spent a week in Gulfport, MS doing every kind of work imaginable. We cooked, cleaned, and even rewired a house. It was very encouraging to me to know that there are people who realize the need for help on the Gulf Coast and have sacrificed all they have to help the people in the destructed areas. A lot has been done, but there is a long way to go. Continue to pray for these people...they desperately need it.
I have posted a few images from our Gulfport trip on my Flickr.
Happy New Year!
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