an update

My last post was about a girl who was assaulted. I am most happy to say that in the past weeks she has regained her confidence, and is who she once was. She has moved on and achieved some excellent goals, including Jazz awards etc.

My apologies guys, it has been far too long since I have updated this blog. One thing I want to touch on, ever so briefly, is the male idea of domination. This topic hits home fairly hard this week, as one of my friends was a victim to a males need to dominate. She is a nice looking girl, and well, she's got a shapely figure. This guy decided he wanted her, despite the fact that she is dating one of his friends, and tried to force himself upon her. She is usually the definition of confidence, but since then she has been changed. His sexual assault ruined her.

Now, as a male, I understand that we like to be in control, but what he did is wrong. Unfortunately that happens all the time, to differing degrees mind you, but none the less, it affects the girls in a strong way. All I ask guys, is that you back off a little on your need for domination, and allow the girl to have a say, have her way, etc.

9/11 I havn't forgotten

September 11, 2001, a day that went down in infamy. It is one of only a handful of days that’s gone on to change the world. America’s sense of invincibility was destroyed, her people terrified. Forever after, the sound of a jet flying too low would strike fear in our hearts. Yet as time has passed American’s seem to have forgotten those who were lost. Local papers write about the high school sports teams, what celebrity got a dui, and the ever important political bull, but not even a small chunk is devoted to 9/11. As an American I feel that there is something wrong with that. I was just a child at the time, and have no family bonds to what happened there, yet I still remember the fear I felt. I still remember the images from that day as if I were watching them on TV today. I can understand if our nation feels that we need to move on, I even agree with that, but I feel it is in humane to forget what happened that September day. Many people lost their lives because of a terrorist organization named Al-Qaida. Millions were terrified by their actions, between the attacks on the Twin Towers, and the Pentagon, and the attempted attack with United Airlines flight 93. Many more lives were lost when we went to war with Al-Qaida. Unfortunately people no longer realize why we are there. In the last nine years we have grown numb to the fact that we were attacked. The heightened security has become a norm for us, and we forget why it is there.

As an American I feel that we should remember what happened that day. It keeps us from getting to secure in our nation again, for once that happens we will be open to attack. It will also keep those who lost their lives, fresh in our memory. In all honesty 9/11 should be made a day of remembrance, similar to Veterans Day, or Memorial Day. It is one of the greatest tragedies to befall our nation, and the only way it could be worse would be if we were to forget it completely.

a possible view of hell

One thing that is fairly debated in religious communities is the idea of hell. The Bible is never real clear on what Hell is, it just paints it to be a place you don't want to be in. We never really had the idea of Hell as a burning inferno, before Dante wrote his story "The Divine Comedy". Before that the idea of Hell was that "I don't want to go there, Heaven is much much better." While that is an over-simplification, it kinda gives you the gist of what they thought.

My idea of what Hell could be is much less dramatic than Dante's. In the Bible, God and Satan are viewed as exact opposites. God created us, the devil tries to destroy us. God wants whats best for us, the devil tries to slight our needs. God loves us, the devil hates us. And if this train of thought were to continue on, Heaven is everlasting life. If that is the case, then Hell would be the opposite, or instant death. My view of Hell is that instead of having everlasting life, when we die thats it, we're snuffed out, we cease to exist. In my opinion this goes fairly well with other views of Hell. It is supposed to be our greatest fear, and for many, not existing is their greatest fear.

Their are many views of Hell to be certain. Stephen King feels that it is reenacting the same event over and over for eternity. For some Dante's view holds truth. One thing that is certain though, Hell is a place I most certainly don't want to end up in.

Almighty

Today I re-watched the movie, "Bruce Almighty". Before I was a Christian it was one of my favorite movies because Jim Carrey is one funny dude. But now that I am Christian, I have a new found respect for the movie. The director was able to take a religious topic and show it in a way that everyone can enjoy. But the most important thing is that it shows just how hard being God is.

For those of you who have not seen the movie, it is about a man who feels that God has wronged him. Because he feels so wronged, God decides to give him a unique privilege. God gives the man, named Bruce by the way, all of his powers. He can do anything he wants, short of altering free will, and telling anyone that he is God. Through the course of the movie, Bruce makes his life as good as possible, but ends up ruining the lives of most of Buffalo, as well as causing mass chaos all across the world.

One thing most people don't understand is that the thing that makes good movies truly good, is that they have a moral. The moral in this one, I believe, is that God is God. By that I don't mean the obvious that God is not a camel or something. I mean that God is the only entity that could possibly be capable of what He does. Bruce realizes this the hard way, as many have in the past. As science progresses, too many people use the knowledge we gain, to try to play God. In the past couple decades people have gotten worse about this. In some ways it has lead to good things. Our medicines have improved, so much so that we can bring people back from being dead for extended periods of time. But in many ways it is for the worse, and the side-effects are disastrous. Now, I'm not gonna go off on a tangent, like I almost did, but the movie really shows just how great the lord really is. Yet even that movie doesn't really do God justice.

I guess what I'm trying, in a rather round about way, to say is that we don't give God the credit He deserves for the most part. When you next pray, don't just pray for your needs, but also pray a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord.

A cruel bit of reality

I heard a sad story today. This woman that I know is currently living in low income, raising her son on her own. Now, that isn't overly sad anymore, in-fact it's fairly common these days. What is sad is that she has a father in a nursing home just down the street from her. He is dwindling in health, I'm not sure what from, and they could lose him any day.

My mother and I were outside this evening, just catching up on how the day went, and this lady came over. She wanted to know whether or not she would be able to call my mom in the night to watch her son. He was exhibiting signs of West Nile Virus, and she wasn't sure if she should take him to the hospital. On top of this her father had another of his 'episodes' or a period where his health is even worse. They thought he was having a heart attack. I'm not sure what he really was suffering from.

Best as I can tell, this woman is over all a decent person. She is a little shy, but once you get to know her she is quite humorous. Of all the issues I have with religion, the terrible things that good people are put through, while the bad have prosperous situations, is number one. But for the first time when I heard a story like this, I didn't think that god was cruel, or nonexistent, but I thought that this woman needed my, and many other people's, prayers. I hope that when you read this you pray for this woman, and other people like her.

it's been awhile

I'm quite sorry my fellow Christians, for I have neglected this blog. Marching band has taken up the majority of my time, with my other band, and family filling up the rest of that time.

This summer I had a long battle with a relative of mine, where he was constantly trying to tempt me. Thankfully I was able to persevere, with the aide of the lord above. If any of you had problems that could only be solved by God, please feel free to share them.