Blog Action Day '09: Climate Change

First off, I'm not green.  I'm not some city living, manage my window garden, protest if the tree outside my apartment gets chopped, Al Gore follower.  I'm not a save the whales, protect the dolphins, leave the reefs alone activist.  I'm just someone who cares about the direction we're headed as a species with regard to our world.

I do many different "green" and activist actions, but it's not an attempt to define myself or shame anyone else.  It is an attempt to try and wake up a bunch of sleepwalkers who follow the status quo simply because they don't know any better.  I doubt we'll make a huge impact on big oil or the automobile manufacturers.  The President drives around in his SUV's and leaves them running during his venues.  He's supposedly the "greenest" president we've had yet.  Where we, where I can make a real difference is in the lives of those around us who do environmentally unfriendly things simply beacuse they don't know any better.

Do you guys know about Jerry Sternin an the Positive Deviance Initiative?  Basically, the idea is to find someone in a community doing something better than their peers with the same resources, elevate their status so that they can help others do the same, and thus better the living conditions for all.  That's what I'm talking about.  Go to BAD's webpage for all sorts of ways to make a lasting difference.  The point is not so much what you do, but how you do it.  Don't throw yourself out there against the world; be a positive, constructive deviant.  Gather others onto your ideas.  When there are enough of us quietly making a real difference, we'll see the change expressed at the top.  As long as we're just a vocal minority screaming at white castles, not much will happen.

Plant a tree, teach your kids to do the same.  Leave the lights off during the day and ask your neighbors why they don't.  Use fans instead of the A/C and blankets instead of heaters, then see if the folks at work will do the same.  It works and it's a lot less stressful than protesting outside GM (or whoever they are now).
Peace

This Year's Action Day Topic

Long Time Broken Promises

Who knew?

I thought getting back into blogging would be like getting back on a bicycle. I thought surely, going from the poorest country in the world to the 4th poorest would mean better internet and more reliability. But alas, it has not meant any of those things. We have to drive almost 30 minutes to use the internet and so I have been cut off from the news and separated from the outside world.

I hardly know what's going on outside of the few connected countries and most of that I don't have any time to write about. It's an odd feeling, but I'm hoping for change. We are moving to a new town and hopefully to internet in our house. That would be lovely and I look forward to being with you all again soon.

Tired

Every once in a while everyone needs a hiatus. This last month has been mine. I am about to complete an online Hebrew class. I have bought more stuff in the last few months than the rest of my life combined. I have packed all said stuff into a few big wooden boxes and am now packing the rest into suitcases that will fly with me rather than take the boast across the ocean. I have traveled to a few different states and spoken at numerous engagements. I have gotten the official nod from my company to return to Africa. I've played a lot with my kids and gotten ready for a new one. I've spent time with my wife. I've climbed and cut trees. I've watched the news on TV.

Really, this was just a hiatus from blogging. I've grown tired of what is happening in the States and am preparing to get back to the "real" world. All of this political back and forth that goes on here has real consequences, but we rarely see it from this side of the ocean. Beyond that, it's actually hard to hear about what is happening anywhere else. We are so wrapped up in ourselves that we don't even care to hear about what is happening in the rest of the world.

So, I'm coming back online. I know you missed me.

Abstinence

While "On the Record" Bristol Palin said that sexual abstinence is not realistic for teenagers. As someone who managed to be abstinent until marriage along with a wife who did the same, I can say that she is wrong. However, I have many great friends who were not abstinent. What makes the difference?

I really like what Dr. Al Mohler has written about this issue.

"The real issue for Christian teenagers and their parents is not to debate whether sexual abstinence before marriage is realistic or not. The larger and more important issue is that sexual abstinence until marriage is the biblical expectation and command. Once this is realized, the responsibility for everyone concerned is to ensure that expectations and structures are in place so that abstinence is realistic.

The debate over whether abstinence is realistic or not misses the more important issue -- abstinence must be made realistic.

Parents and teenagers must make certain that adequate protections and expectations are in place so that sexual abstinence is very realistic indeed. Far too many Christian parents allow their teenagers to be part of the "hooking up" scene of teenage culture. In that highly sexualized context, sexual abstinence would appear unrealistic in the extreme."

"Those who reject the norm of sexual abstinence for teenagers will leap on Bristol Palin's statement as evidence for their cause. But the real issue here is our responsibility to ensure that abstinence is made realistic and stays realistic. Anything short of this is truly 'not realistic at all.'"

Aid for the Nations

As we work in the poorest countries of Africa, I am keenly aware of the poverty and need surrounding us. How can we assist those in the most need? I am constantly looking for the answer to that question. Really, the answer lies right under my nose.

We need an organization with an extremely wide support base, with a huge amount of talent and giftings. We need a group that naturally cares about others and their well being. We need a group that will look for long-term answers and not just short-term solution. Who fits all of those requirements? The Church!

Oh yeah, the organizations specifically instituted to show a divine love to the world. I know that the Church often gets distracted and focuses more on internal issues than external ones, but that doesn't change the fact that the church is the most well-equipped organization in the world to fix the problems of world hunger, poverty, and corruption. It just needs people to wake it up to its potential. That's what I'm trying to do.

It's not about proselytizing, it's about really caring about people.

Burris

I'm not going to say I told you so, but seriously?!

When Burris came out saying that he had not taken given or received anything from Blago, I said he sounded just like Blago when he said he hadn't done anything wrong. It turns out, it was just like Blago saying he hadn't done anything wrong. All of a sudden, never having had any communication with anyone from Blago's team turned into fund raising with Blago brother.

Wow!