<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244</id><updated>2012-02-16T10:01:20.326-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Randy's Random Thoughts</title><subtitle type='html'></subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>15</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-82037207758310072</id><published>2012-01-26T19:34:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-01-26T19:41:29.054-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Mind Blowing</title><content type='html'>I was reading "Love Wins" by Rob Bell...and it triggered a mind bending, mind blowing synapse.  Chapter 6.  Page 146.&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;I have long used the following logic when defining science and religion:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;-Once upon a time we knew that the world was flat.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;-Once upon a time we knew that the Earth was the center of our solar system.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;-Once upon a time we knew that ours was the only solar system.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;-Once upon a time we knew that ours was the only galaxy.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;-Today we believe that ours is the only universe.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;But...&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;What lies beyond....are their other universes out there.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;At some point in history will people look at history books and say: "Oh, those quaint people in 2012, those simpletons thought that the edge of the universe was the end of matter".&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;But...&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Here comes the mind bending part...&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;...&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;...&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;...&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;What if, perhaps, out there, out beyond the possible billions of universes....&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;What if, perhaps, out there.....there is another container holding billions of whatever is holding the billions of universes?&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-82037207758310072?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/82037207758310072/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=82037207758310072' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/82037207758310072'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/82037207758310072'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2012/01/mind-blowing.html' title='Mind Blowing'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-2571655083767081881</id><published>2011-11-22T18:58:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-11-22T19:15:37.646-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Simple Rules for #NextGen</title><content type='html'>Once upon a time I had a Twitter account.  No teens followed me and life was good.  I could tweet whatever I wanted.  Then teens started for follow me.  So, I changed accounts.  They found me again.  Like trying to get rid of cockroaches I tell you.  So, I decided to say "To heck with it!" I am still gonna tweet my life and if they can't deal with it then they can fly away.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Soon I had a small following of people who were half of my age and were friends with my bio teens.  Most have been over to the house more times than anyone could count.  At some point I figured that I had better come up with some guidelines on how I relate to them in this space.  Boundaries, so to speak.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, here are my twitter ground rules for the next generation (These rules apply to my behavior, they are not a requirement for your behavior.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1) If you follow me, I shall follow you back.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2) What happens on Twitter stays on Twitter...unless I suspect suicide: then I am going to pull out ALL the stops.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3) I will not DM you. Anything an adult has to say to a teen needs to be able to stand up to public scrutiny.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4) I will creep your timeline and your list of follows/following.  Mostly looking for the bad kind of creepy creepers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;5) Once in a while I will pray for you. You are welcome to pray for me as much as you would like.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;6) I may ask you thought provoking questions. If you don't like it, don't answer it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;7) You may ask me questions. I will either answer them honestly, or dodge them openly. But, I shall not lie about the answer.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;8) If the other rules don't work for you, block me or ask me to quit following you and then quit following me.  Or, feel free to challenge me on the rules and I will try to find a way to amend them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;9) My Linked-in account is G rated, strictly business.  My FaceBook account is PG/PG-13 as I have lots of middle school aged teens following me there, and my mother.  My Twitter account tends to have an R rated nature about it.  I trust that anyone following me there has heard the word "fuck" on more that one occasion, and has probably even used it once or twice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;10) Kindly don't give the bio-teens shit about what I say on  Twitter...you wouldn't like to get crap about your parentals. Would you?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;11)  I spend a lot of my life chaperoning church teens.  The world of youth ministry hasn't caught up to the electronic age yet.  Linda B has my FaceBook and Twitter passwords.  It is her prerogative to decide if she wants to check to make sure that I am not sending creepy messages to teens.  Any adult that has 'secrets' with teens needs to not be working in their space.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This blog seems like it doesn't really have a great way to wrap up the topic.  So I'll just post it anyhow, perhaps one day I will come up with a clever conclusion.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-2571655083767081881?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/2571655083767081881/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=2571655083767081881' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/2571655083767081881'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/2571655083767081881'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2011/11/simple-rules-for-nextgen.html' title='Simple Rules for #NextGen'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-1292892516857077300</id><published>2011-11-06T17:29:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-11-06T17:41:06.412-08:00</updated><title type='text'>The Girl</title><content type='html'>&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt; 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 &lt;/span&gt;Thousands as I work my way in and out of airports.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;I suppose that I have seen something over a million people in my life…probably more.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;But, there is one girl, on one trip, that is etched into the back of my brain in a way that I cannot forget and probably never will.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;She was a resident of an orphanage in Jamaica.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;A young lady of (17? 18? 19?) years.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;I had seen her before.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;On previous mission trips.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;On previous days of this trip.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;She has some disabilities, lots of them.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;I don’t know what her diagnosis is, and given where she lives it probably isn’t even an accurate one.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;In many ways she was in better condition than other orphans, she could stand upright and didn’t spend her life in a poorly adjusted wheel chair.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;If there was enough staff to keep an eye on her she could move about as she wished.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;She can’t talk, but she can shriek in madness.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Like someone out of an early 1900’s insane asylum.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Some of her behaviors are difficult to recall and difficult to write about.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;For some reason she would grab and tug and pull on her breasts until they looked like than had been rung through an old fashioned washing machine.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;When I had seen her previously she had a shirt on, but would reach in through the neckline and pull.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;It was painful to watch.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;I cannot imagine what drove her to such madness.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Being a middle aged, middle class, white guy on a mission trip I guess I just kind of stood there.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;There wasn’t really anything for me to do.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;There was no way that I could help.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;This young lady also has a mean streak in her.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;When she has a chance she will push over the wheel chairs of the other orphan children.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;She doesn’t seem to have free will in the matter, it seems to be something that she is driven to do.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Where a couple of steps transition from the green grass of the quad into the cottage, she will push wheelchair bound children right off the edge.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;All of that seems extreme enough, but that is not the image that is blazed in my mind.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Sunday morning we well-meaning Christian missionaries show up at the orphanage to help some of the orphans make their way to church.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;It’s perhaps a half mile up a gentle hill.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Some of the higher functioning children can walk with us, or be pushed up the hill in wheel chairs.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Some of the more challenged kids ride up the hill in our buses.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;I was sent into a cottage to get a wheelchair bound girl who I would push up the hill for worship that Sunday morning.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;As I entered the cottage to get my wheelchair girl, there stood the one who would shriek in madness.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Stark naked.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Tied by a dishtowel around her waist to the kitchen door.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Pulling on her breasts as hard as she could.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Shrieking in madness.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;The house mother completely ignored her and told me to hang on for a minute until my orphan was ready to go.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;So, there I stood, in the middle of the cottage, next to the wheel chair girl, and across the room from the single most hideous sight that I have seen in my life.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;There was nothing I could do for her.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Nothing.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Not a single thing.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;In every other situation that I have ever been in there was something for me to do.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Call the cops, call an ambulance, stand forward as a big man to block danger, stand back as a coward, e-mail a counselor, or call a youth director.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;In every other single uncomfortable moment of my life there has been something for me to do to make things better.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;This scene froze for a short eternity, perhaps 5 minutes.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Me waiting for the house mother to prepare my orphan, her screaming and tugging and twisting.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;That scene messed me up.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Bad. &lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;I cried every time I was along for days.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Slowly I came to realize that being tied to the kitchen door was the best care available to her on the island.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;She couldn’t be let free.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;She couldn’t take care of herself.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;There wasn’t enough staff to keep the other children safe from her.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;So the very best care that was available to her was the care that she was getting.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;It bothered me then, and it bothers me now.  But what really bothers me is that while I am in my comfortable house writing this blog, almost 2 years after that day...I realize that she is there tonight, shrieking and pulling.  She is in hell and there is nothing that I can do to save her.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;When I got back to my comfortable office my co-workers asked what I did for my vacation.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Most I told that I chaperoned a youth trip to Jamaica.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  To a &lt;/span&gt;couple of my closest co-workers I tried to tell of the girl. &lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;Buy my words fell on deaf ears.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Their eyes glazed over.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;It was as though I was speaking in tongues and they thought I was drunk on new wine.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-1292892516857077300?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/1292892516857077300/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=1292892516857077300' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/1292892516857077300'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/1292892516857077300'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2011/11/girl.html' title='The Girl'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-927010137643008485</id><published>2011-10-30T12:37:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-10-30T19:59:07.622-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Love</title><content type='html'>&lt;!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt; 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  &lt;w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"&gt;   &lt;w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"&gt;  &lt;/w:LatentStyles&gt; &lt;/xml&gt;&lt;![endif]--&gt;&lt;!--[if gte mso 10]&gt; &lt;style&gt;  /* Style Definitions */  table.MsoNormalTable  {mso-style-name:"Table Normal";  mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;  mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;  mso-style-noshow:yes;  mso-style-priority:99;  mso-style-parent:"";  mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;  mso-para-margin-top:0in;  mso-para-margin-right:0in;  mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;  mso-para-margin-left:0in;  line-height:115%;  mso-pagination:widow-orphan;  font-size:11.0pt;  font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";  mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;  mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;  mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;  mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;  mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";  mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} &lt;/style&gt; &lt;![endif]--&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Love&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;I love chocolate ice cream.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;I love you.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;I love my wife.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;I love my children.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;God is love.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Love one another.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Love your neighbor as yourself.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;To Write Love On Her Arms.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Make love.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;There is only one other word in the English language with more connotations, but that is a blog for another day.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Love has so many facets it’s like the surfaces of the diamond on a ladies’ engagement ring, each facet is its own plane, each adjoining the next facet by the thinnest of lines.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Some facets are adjoining to each other and others are on the opposite side of a stone. Yet, no facet can be removed; they are each integral to the whole.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Love as in God is Love.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;I get that God is love.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;I probably didn’t get that until a few years ago.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Now certainly God might also be some old white dude with a white kid that died on the cross for you and me.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;God might be the Judeo-Christian interpretation of what God is.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;But, at it’s core, below all of the opinions on what scripture says: God is love, the rest is just details.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Love of a son.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;I love my children.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;95% of parentals secretly say that they love one child more than the rest.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;I do truly love my children equally, I don’t even like one more than the other.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;They are each awesome and they each teach me a lot about being a decent person.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Somewhere there might be a father that is more proud of his children than I am of mine, but I haven’t met him yet.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Love of a wife. (I have no reference on how to love a husband; you’ll have to make up your own.)&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;In India marriages are arranged.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;In America everyone gets to try to pick their own spouse, and many people pick several times.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;One of my key indicators of the mental health of an adult is the number of times they have been married: once, ok.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Twice, time to be looking in the mirror. Three, you need to be spending more time in the counselors office and less time in the bar.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Four, I’ll make idle chit-chat with you if no one else is handy, but please don’t expect me to invest in a relationship with you.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Five, don’t bother even saying “Hello”.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;But, the thing with those arranged marriages: they work.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Meet a couple who has been married for 50 years and they will be happily married.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;It doesn’t seem to matter how you pick your spouse, assuming that they are not abusive to your and\or your children &lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;it seems that simply by sticking it out through all of the fights that somehow love grows in that space (Side bar: if your spouse is abusive to you or the kids – get out.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Now!)&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;I am convinced that which young people think is love is little more than a Darwinian attraction to the person who can best help them procreate and carry on the genetic lines.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Simple biology.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Survival of the fittest.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Meet someone, they look like decent breeding stock, fall in love, make babies.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Darwin is satisfied, the blood line propagates.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;But, then about 7 years later things fall apart.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;One or the other throws in the towel, calls the divorce attorney, and it’s splitsville.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Now, don’t get me wrong, if abuse of anyone is in the picture than that is the only reasonable choice.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;But, if the mate is simply not in love any more, it might be worth sticking around for a few years. &lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;Remember even the arranged marriages in India end up with happy endings.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;But, it takes like 50 years to get there.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;News flash: it takes about 50 years here too.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Ok, those are the big ones, and there is probably nothing just too shocking in what you have read so far.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Now comes the whammy:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;I love hundreds of people.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Many dozens anyhow.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;And, given the relatively small percentage of the 7 billion people on this planet who read my blog, the odds are really good that if you have read this far that I love you.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Yes, I said that, and I mean that.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;I love you.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Here is the deal, here is how I define love:&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Would I probably cry at this person’s funeral.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;If I would cry at your funeral then I love you.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;If I wouldn’t cry then I don’t love you.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Take a look at the next person you see and think “If I heard that this person died, would I cry at their funeral?”&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Then do that to the next person you see, and the next, and the next.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;I have a son that dates girls.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;A lot.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;I suspect that he loves them.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;I suspect that they love him.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;But, that is that Darwinian kind of love, not that old couple in the front pew at church kind of love.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;But, at a different level, at the level of “would I cry at this person’s funeral?” I love those girls.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Same thing happens for many of my children’s friends.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Guys and gals both and equally.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Look at the people who walk through my front door, knowing that at the very least some peanut butter and jelly is available to them.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Do you think there is one of them that I wouldn’t cry for at their funeral?&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Not a one.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;To the guys and gals that wander into my world: Know that I love you and I wish the best for you in this world. &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;To the gals who have wandered into my world as a result of dating my son: Know that I love you as a decent father should love his daughter and if any guy ever treats you with less respect than you need to drop him like a rock and find a guy who treats you like a princess.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;With this long diatribe on love I still feel like I am just scratching the surface.  What of that first girlfriend that I innocently kissed once.  What of the college friend that I kissed but she didn't think of me that way.  What of that co-worker who knows things about me that even my wife doesn't know.  What of that preacher who I reveal my most confidential thoughts to.  What of the co-ed who I worked alongside of two years ago for just one week, but to this day makes it known that she prays for me.  What of the guy at work who takes the time to be my mentor.  What of the church youth director who has seen me at my best and at my worst.  What of the old preacher who invites me into his man cave to watch football, knowing that I don't follow the game.  What of those 3 key adults that helped me grow into a decent human being yet I haven't seen since 1986.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;I recently came across a phrase that I use when dealing with people: Love them all and let God sort them out.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Now, as far as loving chocolate ice cream: As I write this TJ is at the store buying groceries.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;And, if she really loves me she will pick some up.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;But, if not, I shall stick with her for life anyhow.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-927010137643008485?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/927010137643008485/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=927010137643008485' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/927010137643008485'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/927010137643008485'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2011/10/love.html' title='Love'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-3814533094103928906</id><published>2011-09-22T04:50:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-09-22T05:12:04.361-07:00</updated><title type='text'>My wardrobe is all wrong</title><content type='html'>Yesterday it hit my like a ton of bricks: My wardrobe is all wrong.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1/3 of my closet contains a collection of what I call my "chaperone shirts".  Each is a shirt from a youth trip that I have chaperoned.  I can no longer count how many trips I have chaperoned in the last 17 years, but add them all up and it works out to over 6 months on the road.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Before each trip I count up the days, anticipate the work, ponder which young people were on which trip, double check the fit and then pack by bag with chaperone shirts for the trip. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My first chaperone trip was AMAZING, a mountain top experience.  40,000 teens descending on Atlanta for a national youth Gathering.  I had pictures of the bus, pictures of the lines, pictures of the crowds, pictures of 40,000 people singing the same song, pictures of the speakers.  I had pictures of all of the cool and amazing things.  I got home, excited to show my bride and the world all of my exciting pictures....and no one cared.  You haven't taken a camera on a trip since. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But, that collection of T-shirts is something of a postcard collection for me.  I can look back over the years by looking in my closet.  And I can feel good about doing my part to help an entire generation of young people find their way in the world as I earned each of those shirts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But, yesterday it hit me: My wardrobe is all wrong.  There are sooo many important projects going on in this world and my choice of wardrobe does absolutely nothing to expose the young adults that I am working with to these projects.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To Write Love On Her Arms //  Clothe Your Neighbor As Yourself // Polaris Project // ......&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Imagine the conversation I would have over breakfast on day 1 of a trip if I was boldly wearing a bold shirt.  And, I don't mean "I &amp;lt;3 Boobies" (Which is fine if you are a lady, or are a guy who truly is into the cause....but comm'on guys at least get honest about why you are wearing the shirt) Then a second bold shirt on day 2.  By day 3 the young adults would be asking what my shirt was about.  By the end of a week I would have had something like 50 conversations about how young adults can become engaged in the world for justice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Then, instead of wearing postcards about where I have traveled, I begin to create a road map of where they could travel.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-3814533094103928906?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/3814533094103928906/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=3814533094103928906' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/3814533094103928906'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/3814533094103928906'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-wardrobe-is-all-wrong.html' title='My wardrobe is all wrong'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-5165792016303735201</id><published>2011-09-19T04:05:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-09-19T04:20:19.893-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Censorship</title><content type='html'>I live in a fine country, one that tends not to censor what I say or what the press can report about.  Well, at least on the surface anyhow.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There is another kind of censorship, an inner censorship, that pops up most frequently in my social media interactions.  At one level I put a lot of myself out there via FaceBook and much more so via Twitter, at another level I hold so much back....out of my perception of what would be fair to those around me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It wouldn't be wise to post certain things about an employer or supervisor.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It doesn't seem like it would be fair to my wife to Tweet about our fights.  Word would get back to her, or to my bio-teens and that would be hurtful to them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It doesn't seem like it would be fair to my bio-teens to Tweet about the road bumps they hit in life.  Too many of their friends follow my Tweets.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It doesn't seem fair to the young adults who so richly bless my life to Tweet about them and their issues.  Too many of their friends follow my Tweets.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So here I sit.  Putting a lot out there, but also keeping so much back.  FaceBook and Tweeting (and blogging) let me vent so much, and let me express emotions and inner turmoil in ways that I never used to before.  And, yet, there is soooo much more that I would like to put out there but is of a confidential nature.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don't know what to do with this inner struggle of what to post and what to hold back.  It is a continuous tug-of-war in my mind.  Daily.  Hourly.  Each time I post.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-5165792016303735201?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/5165792016303735201/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=5165792016303735201' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/5165792016303735201'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/5165792016303735201'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2011/09/censorship.html' title='Censorship'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-3554055106757761123</id><published>2011-09-18T13:50:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-09-18T14:15:42.223-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Reading the red letters</title><content type='html'>Some years ago I came across an inspirational fellow named Tony Campolo.  I have heard him speak twice, and from each speech I am left with words that will likely be part of my psyche until the day that I die.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The first time I heard him speak was about 15 years ago at a National Youth Gathering.  He talked of visiting Cuba, and the poverty that he saw.  He talked of being approached by a pimp on the way to his hotel, with the offer of of the use of 2 pre-teen girls for the night for $20.  He walked away in disgust.  But, then he went back to the pimp, paid the $20 and rented the girls.  He took them to his suite, ordered kid food off the room service menu and let them watch movies in his bed while he slept on the floor.  He couldn't liberate those girls from their hell, but he could give them one night of being treated like decent human beings.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The second time I heard him speak was at Concordia, perhaps 5 or 7 years ago.  He spoke of happening into a local restaurant of a major US City that was frequented by working girls.  The working girls would come in for some food before turning their next trick.  He showed up for a few days and the young ladies got to know him a little bit.  After a couple of weeks he heard that one of the hookers birthday was coming up, so he went out and got her a cake.  On her big day he presented the cake.  She said: "Hey, I thought you were a preacher, what kind of preacher are you?"  He said: "The kind of preacher who would buy a hooker a birthday cake."  It was the first birthday cake she had ever received.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tony Campolo talks of being a "Red Letter Christian".  Some older bible translations have the words of the Great JC written in red, with every thing else written in black.  When he talks of being a Red Letter Christian he is talking about following the words of the Great JC.  Not the words of my mother, nor my wife, nor my mother-in-law, nor my preacher, nor the blue haired lady in the church choir.  Not the TV evangelist nor societies view of what a Christian "should" be.  But, trying, as closely as possible, to follow the words of the Great JC.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don't follow Tony Campolo, I am not a Camoloian.  I don't follow Rob Bell, I am not a RobBellian.  I follow the words of the Great JC.  I am a Christian, and a red letter Christian at that.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don't go out of my way to upset the apple cart, that just isn't a good way to get along with other people.  But, when I have to choose between what some old woman at church would have me do vs what the Great JC would have me do, then there is no contest.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That kind of behavior gets me in trouble all of the time.  There are those who would have me stop flipping pancakes on days when there are church fundraisers.  There are those who hide doughnut balls from small children, and get upset with me when I give doughnut balls to 4 year olds.  There are those who get upset when I leave my hat on to pray.  But, when they asked the Great JC: "Dude, teach us to pray!" He didn't start out with "take off your hat, fold your hands, close your eyes, bow your head and assume an attitude of prayer." Instead he said "Our father...."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If that kind of praying was good enough for the Great JC, it is good enough for me.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-3554055106757761123?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/3554055106757761123/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=3554055106757761123' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/3554055106757761123'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/3554055106757761123'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2011/09/reading-red-letters.html' title='Reading the red letters'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-7641936902056461122</id><published>2011-09-17T13:51:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-09-17T16:51:43.143-07:00</updated><title type='text'>I'm back</title><content type='html'>I'm back.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I created a few blog posts a few years ago, and got into some trouble with a relative who read my writings.  At that point I simply gave in.  I gave up.  I quit blogging.  I quit being honest with the world via this space about what was rolling around inside my head.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, 2 years later, after 'blogging' rants via Twitter, a young man asked me if I blog.  My initial answer was "well, I used to but I don't any more."  But, the reason I quit blogging has been bugging me since he asked that simple question.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I quit blogging because a relative couldn't handle what I was blogging about.  I didn't figure that my blogging was worth a broken relationship with someone who has the capacity to make my life a living hell (select relatives have that capacity...it's part of the role).  It didn't seem fair to my kids, to have my blogging be some kind of wedge between their relationship with the relative.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Relationships are funny things.  Power is a funny thing.  Power in relationships is like some kind of funny thing squared.  Weather I blog of not, I suspect that I will never been a good enough Christian in some people's eyes.  But, at the end of the day, when I look myself in the mirror, I am very comfortable with the kind of Christian that I am.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, if people wanna read my blog then good on them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If people don't wanna read my blog then good on them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If people wanna throw crap in my face about my blogging, then they can go to hell.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-7641936902056461122?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/7641936902056461122/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=7641936902056461122' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/7641936902056461122'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/7641936902056461122'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2011/09/im-back.html' title='I&apos;m back'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-1747919291475588956</id><published>2009-09-29T13:33:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-09-29T13:45:37.760-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Intellectual Honesty</title><content type='html'>I like to be honest. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don’t like “The ‘N’-word”, I like nigger.&lt;br /&gt;I don’t like “The ‘F’-word”, I like fuck.&lt;br /&gt;Ever wonder what ‘word’ will be next, and what happens when we run out of letters?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It’s not about being politically correct.&lt;br /&gt;It’s not about being polite.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It’s about intellectual honesty: Saying what I mean, and meaning what I say.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When ‘we’ are intellectually dishonest ‘we’ end up with things like:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A)     The people in front of our local abortion clinic claiming to “pray”, when they mean “protest”.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;B)      The people in CORE who are claiming to “renew” the ELCA, when they mean “remove gay clergy from the roster”.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;C)      Presidents who say “I did not have sex with….”, when they mean “I got a blow job from…”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pretty soon, our words don't hold much meaning.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Let’s be grown up.&lt;br /&gt;Let’s be honest.&lt;br /&gt;Let’s be people of integrity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And, well, if “they” won’t join “us”….then fuck’em&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-1747919291475588956?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/1747919291475588956/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=1747919291475588956' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/1747919291475588956'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/1747919291475588956'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2009/09/intellectual-honesty.html' title='Intellectual Honesty'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-298226549685758044</id><published>2009-09-25T12:39:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-09-25T12:59:56.399-07:00</updated><title type='text'>I Stand Corrected</title><content type='html'>An earlier posting on this blog site is now being corrected.  For the sake of posterity I will leave the original (and incorrect) posting in place.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The original post addressed the topic of On God: "He Exists!"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And, there is some chance that I was right about that.  However, upon further review I feel it would be better to simply say: "God Exists!"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This change in thought comes via 4 insights:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A) When I see the face of God, it is only a man about half of the time.  In fact, 2 out of 3 of my primary 'God faces' are indeed women (Mrs. Renault and Mrs. Newatne).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;B) A clergy member (Jen) challenged me to think about the gender of God.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;C) I now know that gender isn't as simple as XX vs. XY.  Turner Syndrome = XO, Klinefelter = XXY, Poly-X = XXX, Jacob's Syndrome = XYY.  See, sometimes we have to get past a middle school understanding of a topic, and dig into the collegiate level, before we can solve some of the world's problems.       *     ** &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;D) Moments after my first son was born, the doc looked between the baby’s legs and declared in a strong voice: "IT'S A BOY".  So far, no one that I know of has had the guts to check the gonads of God.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Therefore - I hear by publicly declare that I do not think of God as "He".  Any references to the 'he' of God is simply an oversight on my part....from now on please infer 'he\she\it\unknowable' for the gender of God in my writings.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Of course, the “Exists!” part of that original post still stands unedited.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Footnotes:&lt;br /&gt;* = No, I have no clue which restrooms each of these folks feel comfortable in.&lt;br /&gt;** = Yes, this blows the doors wide open on the topic of women and gays in the clergy.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-298226549685758044?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/298226549685758044/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=298226549685758044' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/298226549685758044'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/298226549685758044'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-stand-corrected.html' title='I Stand Corrected'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-9185493512003514349</id><published>2008-01-01T17:55:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-01T18:04:43.416-08:00</updated><title type='text'>On Religion</title><content type='html'>Religion teaches me how to get along in life.  It teaches me to forgive myself for stupid things that I have done.  It teaches me to forgive others for stupid things that they have done.  It teaches me to be a better person today than I was yesterday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Religion gets a bad wrap.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think that people misunderstand it.  Certainly we misunderstand other people's religion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Odly, we seem to get along well with people who's religious views mirror our own.  I feel uncomfortable around people who are too 'bible-bangerish' and, I feel uncomfortable around people who disclaim religion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While my personal religious beliefes closely mirror the Triune God of the ELCA Lutheran persuasion, I certainly have respect for people of other religoins.  I think that great men have come out of Christian, Jewish, Budist and Muslim traditions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It facinates me that many world conflicts happen around fractures of believe systems.  Our current world struggles could be characterized as Christian vs Muslim.  Certainly the crusaides fit into that cetegory.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I hope that my religious believes are ok with you.  The odds are that your religious beliefes are ok with me.  Now, if your religion is telling you that it is ok to kill a person of a different tradition - then we will have issues getting along.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-9185493512003514349?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/9185493512003514349/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=9185493512003514349' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/9185493512003514349'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/9185493512003514349'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2008/01/on-religion.html' title='On Religion'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-656209988249991046</id><published>2008-01-01T17:46:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-02T05:51:02.522-08:00</updated><title type='text'>On Science</title><content type='html'>Science isn't wrong.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mankind's understanding of our world has changed and evolved over time. Living in 2008 gives us many thousands of years of experience and observations to base our current ideas uppon.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We don't have the whole place figured out yet, but we are getting there. Just a couple of generations ago the idea of walking on the moon was science fiction. Today the idea of walking on Mars seems plausable.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Generations ago mankind didn't understand the shape of the earth, it's role in our solar system, or our place in the universe.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A generation ago medical science was light years behind where we are today. My father talks of the days before cutting operations when it was routine to die from things like apendicitis.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;No one person seems to be able to hold all of the current scientific knowledge in his head. And, often a scientist seems to be more right than wrong, but never does he seem to be 100% right nor 100% wrong. Future scientists will pick up his work, prove the places he was right, and spend time working on places he was wrong. Along the way we get a better and better view of our world.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Peace,&lt;br /&gt;Randy S.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-656209988249991046?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/656209988249991046/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=656209988249991046' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/656209988249991046'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/656209988249991046'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2008/01/on-science.html' title='On Science'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-5954127029557930064</id><published>2008-01-01T17:45:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-01T17:46:05.148-08:00</updated><title type='text'>On God</title><content type='html'>He exists!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-5954127029557930064?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/5954127029557930064/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=5954127029557930064' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/5954127029557930064'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/5954127029557930064'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2008/01/on-god.html' title='On God'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-8676130375773151968</id><published>2007-12-27T09:36:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-27T09:52:11.557-08:00</updated><title type='text'>On The Virgin Birth</title><content type='html'>Greetings,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This Christmas I was watching a documentary on the History channel regarding the Virgin Mary.  It talked of the anchient books that didn't make it into THE book.  A light went on.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have always had trouble swallowing the idea of the virgin birth.  It's a matter of science.  Chromosomes.  It takes (46?) of them.  1/2 from mommy, 1/2 from daddy.  That's just math.  Bad things happen when the math doesn't work right.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think the idea of a virgin birth worked well in the middle ages.  But, since about the time I took health class the idea hasn't rang true for me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now it clicks:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Option 1: Assume that Joseph was dipping his quill in the well.  Could be, might be, doesn't ring true to me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Option 2: Assume that God put the right number of chromosomes into the egg.  Could be, might be, doesn't ring true to me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Option 3: Assume that God suspeneded the rules of biology for the Great J.C.  Could be, might be, doesn't ring true to me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Option 4: Assume that 'virgin' is a mis-translation of the origional text.  Could be, might be, doesn't ring true to me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;New option: Assume that a roman soldier was in the picture.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The jewish people were an occupied nation.  The roman regieme was a brutal regieme (slaughter of the innocents!).  IF, and this is pure speculation on my part, Mary was raped by a roman soldier several things fall into place:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A) The right number of chromosomes would be in place.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;B) Joesph would still not have carnal knowledge of Mary.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;C) Mary would still qualify as a virgin.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;D) God would choose to have the bastard child of a rape victim as the Great J.C.   (This is eath shattering to me!)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I wish that I had the linguistic ability to impart the profoundness of this idea into these words:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;IF God chose the bastard child of a rape victim as the Great J.C.......what greater lengths would he go to for someone like me?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Peace,&lt;br /&gt;Randy S.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-8676130375773151968?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/8676130375773151968/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=8676130375773151968' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/8676130375773151968'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/8676130375773151968'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2007/12/on-virgin-birth.html' title='On The Virgin Birth'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985063146047675244.post-3236401856276512264</id><published>2007-12-27T09:28:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-27T09:34:36.347-08:00</updated><title type='text'>THE Disclaimer</title><content type='html'>Greetings,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My thoughts are mine.   You are welcome to your own.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From time to time I think of things.  They may not be complete thought.  They may be a whim.  They may simply be a glimps into my brain at any given moment.  Sometimes I even hold two contradictory thoughts in my head at the same time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Feel free to let me know if you agree or disagree, but understand that I may well not care if you agree or disagree.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Peace,&lt;br /&gt;Randy S.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7985063146047675244-3236401856276512264?l=randythinks.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/feeds/3236401856276512264/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7985063146047675244&amp;postID=3236401856276512264' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/3236401856276512264'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7985063146047675244/posts/default/3236401856276512264'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://randythinks.blogspot.com/2007/12/disclaimer.html' title='THE Disclaimer'/><author><name>Randy S.</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00684397353116209801</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
