MewithoutAutism

Hey there. Long time no post. I understand, I miss me too. :) Well, a lot has been happening; mostly finishing school, working, and getting stuff done whilst on Christmas break. You may expect a serious blog post due to my long absence, but I guess that will have to wait.

I was talking to a girl last spring about the band MewithoutYou, and I made the comment that they are a very strange band. Indeed they are; especially the lead singer, I noted. She remarked, "You know he's autistic, right?" Umm... no, I actually didn't. I knew about his masterful lyrics, but I didn't know that. Well, that nugget rested somewhere in my cerebral cortex until a conversation I had last weekend with the owner of a drum shop (an especially good one in St. Cloud called Kracker Jacks). He told me that there was a study done on brilliant musicians which found that the really good ones all have a touch of autism. I'd never heard that, but it sort of makes sense in a way.

The people I've met who have autism aren't that great at a ton of things, but they are really great at certain things. For instance, there was a kid I knew who was autistic, and all he talked about all day was playing video games. He'd go into great detail about it. For hours. Autism is manifest in different ways, and some people who have it are way more functional than others. But for those musicians (in particular) who are super good, do they have a tinge of autism?

(genetic cheater?)

The really good musicians (I know a couple) also attribute their abilities to lots of hard work. But there is also something to be said about being "born with it." Kind of an interesting thought I guess. Well, that's it for now.

Merry Christmas all!

Involvement

William Wilberforce was one man who had a profound influence upon Great Britain and the world. Today I watched the last session of the Truth Project (Community & Involvement) in preparation for next week's meeting. In it, Dr. Tackett talked about William Wilberforce and his mission to end slavery in Great Britain.

Immediately after I finished watching the video, I walked over to my office shelf and picked up How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin Schmidt. Hmm, I thought when I noticed a bookmark still in the pages. I never finished reading the book after I was done with the required chapters (a byproduct of late nights at FFI). So I flipped it open to the marked page. Lo and behold, there before me was a description of William Wilberforce. It talked about his marked efforts in the Parliament over 20-some years to bring about the abolition of the slave trade and freedom of slaves. It was an effort he devoted his entire life toward. Literally a few days before his death, he finally received word that Parliament had passed the Abolition Act, freeing some 700,000 slaves in the English colonies.


As the book describes it: "No proponent for the abolition of slavery ever accomplished more." He heard the sound of the slave chains more clearly than perhaps anyone else around him. And according to his love for and fear of God, he was compelled to do something about it. He could not stand idly by.

"If you want to follow Him [God], then you must be involved in the battle." Dr. Del Tackett

Zzyzx Scarecrow

Near the gateway to Mojave
I saw a place
Both beautiful and blistering
And cruel and cold the same
The sun was like a lion
Bearing down upon its prey
Death Valley stained in crimson
For the moon to wash away
And I envisioned rows of gallows
For the world to look upon
One step to bringing order
To a planet tempting chaos

Can you feel it coming down?
The righteous wrath of God
Revealed from out of heaven
For the innocent blood
Crying from the ground

While the wicked seem to prosper
And glory in these days
As if their ways were hidden
As if they had escaped
We have lost our sense of justice
Smearing lines of right and wrong
Despising any standards
We blindly stumble on
Bleeding hearts may scream compassion
What of those that cannot cry?
A life is worth a life
Justice... merciful and blind

Innocent blood
Is crying from the ground

It's coming down

-Zzyzx Scarecrow by Stavesacre

While I normally avoid putting song lyrics in a blog because it's not the most creative thing to do, tonight these words are appropriate to think about.

I am sorry, little ones. You are not forgotten. You are not forgotten.

It Took A Life

Today I was shuffling through some old books and photographs that I stumbled upon last week. They belonged to my great uncle Elmer, who has been gone now for quite a few years. When he died I also ended up with a canteen from his Army days, during World War II. He fought over there as a young man and as far as I can tell, came back to Minnesota and farmed until he retired. It was so interesting looking through the old black and white family photos. There were portraits, pictures of young men and women having fun together, and even a Casablanca-esque picture of a lady traveler with an airplane in the background.

It makes me sincerely long to live in a simpler time. It makes me wonder, what would it be like to spend nearly all day outside? What would it be like to work for everything? What would it be like to take nothing for granted? What would it be like to take time to talk to neighbors? What would it be like to gaze in wonder at an airplane overhead?

What would it be like to appreciate freedom? We run around all the time taking it for granted. During WWII, this country sacrificed over 416,000 men for the cause of freedom. Why would these brave men go put their lives on the line? Because there was evil that needed to be stopped. It was clear what needed to be done. And what a sacrifice.

Compare that with what we see today. "Sacrifice? You mean give up my life for someone else?" Sacrifice in our culture has turned from something honorable into something feared. But there are glimpses of hope still. Flight 93. Wesley Autrey. Our military servicemen and women. Whichever side you fall on with war, know this: people have sacrificed their lives so that we may live freely. Let us honor that sacrifice by living responsibly. It took a life.

A moment of your time, please

Ladies and gentlemen,

There are 20 days now until election day in this country. We have all been subject to political rhetoric on both sides of the campaign, and I like many of you have had my fill of campaign ads. And the spin machines make a person wonder who is actually telling the truth most of the time. For what it's worth, John McCain is certainly not a perfect candidate in my book. But the odds of finding a perfect candidate in a political process like this are fairly slim, I admit. And judging by the most recent polls, we may end up with Barack Obama in the White House come next year.

That concerns me, and that is why I am writing this little e-mail. No I won't mention Barack Obama's connections to ACORN, Jeremiah Wright, his connections to William Ayers, or the current court case to try to determine whether or not Barack Obama was born in the United States. I'm not here to talk about his plans about gun control, wealth distribution, or holding back our support of Israel. If you really want to know more about these things, I will be glad to provide information. Or you could find it easily enough for yourself.

My main concern is this: Barack Obama is not a supporter or protector of unborn life. Now I know what you may be thinking at this point. "Kevin is just sitting there in his Focus on the Family Institute shirt drinking coffee from his Colorado mug." Guilty as charged. But I digress. Mother Teresa once said, "When a mother is allowed to kill her child, what is left of society to save?" According to the Guttmacher Institute, the United States has aborted nearly 50 million human lives ("fetuses") since Roe v. Wade was enacted in 1973. I personally find that to be a staggering number. In a country of 300 million people, it is equivalent to killing every sixth person alive in the United States today. We would find that reprehensible, but somehow can find some justification to keep turning a blind eye to the 3,500-4,000 killed every day by abortion.

Imagine if there were 50 million more people in the United States aged 35 and younger than there are now. Would there be such a massive social security crisis? How about housing? Interesting things to ponder. But my main point is not to talk about making the economy better. My point is this: as a country we have killed more unborn humans in 35 years than the number of people who have died fighting all of our wars since the 1700s. This is a tragedy.

How does this relate to Barack Obama? He not only is pro-abortion, but he supported legislation that would deny the right to life to any child who survives an abortion. Here is a short video that explains it a bit more. A stance like that makes him the most pro-abortion candidate ever. That is why I cannot and will not vote for this man.

For some reason we Americans are known to vote with our wallets, or with our guns, or whatever. Whatever reason you choose to vote, let it not be for money. Let it not be a trendy vote either. I say this with a heavy heart: Human life is at stake here. Let us stop kidding ourselves about it.

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. -Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Intestinal Fortitude

Courage, also known as bravery, will, intrepidity, and fortitude, is the ability to confront fear, pain, risk/danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. "Physical courage" is courage in the face of physical pain, hardship, or threat of death, while "moral courage" is the courage to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, or discouragement. (Wikipedia: Courage)

A 2002 literature review of elective abortion rates found that 91–93% of pregnancies in the United States with a diagnosis of Down syndrome were terminated. (Wikipedia: Down syndrome)

Courage.

Keep the Change

"Change we can believe in." "Change the world." "Change your shorts."

Well, lately I've been thinking about this concept of change. It seems like change on a small level is so trendy nowadays (i.e. fashion and technology). I mean, who doesn't want the newest video game system, flat-screen TV and spiffy outfit? Why settle for plain old tennis shoes when you can have the pair that glow in the dark? Those old light-up soles are so mid-nineties anyway.

Change on a large scale can become a different thing altogether. Think of climate change. Now whether or not you believe it is human-caused or not, the objective fact is that the earth has been warming up ever so slightly. But the shocking thing for everybody seems to be the fact that we can't seem to control it (although many people seem to think we have caused it). This aggravates people; because what fun is change, after all, if you can't control it? We can control small changes like fashion, technology and the like, and make ourselves look good. But when it comes to climate change, or even change in the weather, our lack of control hurts our ego. Therefore, we look for ways to control it. Buy some carbon footprints. Drive a hybrid. Seed the clouds to coax some rain out.

The point is, we humans like to think that we're in ultimate control of our lives, but we keep running into the fact that we aren't. What then? If we accept this, the question becomes who, then, is in control? I believe that person to be God, who himself does not change (James 1:17). He is constant; everything he is, he is eternally. Nothing that happens; no change, big or small, takes him by surprise.

In this world of change, it's good to know that there is someone consistent who is really in control of things. That ought to make us thankful; it ought to make us humble.

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Ps. 90:12)

The Crack

A user guide to navigating "The Crack." Rule #1: go after dark. Rule # 2: only one person gets a light, only to be used during emergencies. Rule #3: it's not for the faint of heart. Now, a set of approximate directions for navigating The Crack.

First, shimmy across a log to reach the main entrance. Climb straight up a narrow rock face about 10 feet, then reach up to the right and pull yourself up into a small crevice. Then reach up and across and find a tiny outcropping in a nearly vertical crack about 18 inches wide, running to the left of the first crack. Literally wedging yourself into the crack using your knees and shoulders, move 10 feet to the left. There you will find a small place to stand on while preparing to move through the next hole. Crouch down to the left and squeeze through a tiny hole, while finding a ledge behind you to prop yourself up on. Sitting on that ledge, move to the left and down inside a vertical crack about 24 inches across. Once far enough down, you will find a tiny ledge on what feels like the opposite wall, which you must use to step across the gap into another crack that runs straight away from where you just were. There is a place to put your feet while you lean back and rest on the rock wall behind you. Now, move to the left about 15 feet until you find a hole going straight beneath your current position. There will be a little crack in the rock in front of you in which you wedge your left foot to control your descent. Lean forward and move down slowly, propping your shoulders against the back wall for more leverage. Continue downward for roughly 15 feet until you find some stones under your left foot to step down on; then stretch your right leg down until you find a solid gravel trail underneath you. Move about 10 feet to the right until you find another hole in the rock going straight down. This is called the "birth canal." Either slide straight down freely, or move down slowly, propping yourself with your arms and legs. Once to the bottom of this 6-foot tunnel, crouch down and move forward through a low tunnel until you find yourself back at the main entrance. Cross the fallen log again, and you've made it.

(inside view of The Crack)

Note: inside The Crack you must completely rely on those ahead of you to guide you; those behind you must do the same. Be safe and be steady, and have fun. Challenging. Captivating. Dark. The Crack.

Truth

"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.

Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

"What is truth?" Pilate asked.

"Sometimes truth isn't good enough," Batman says. "Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded."

Question #1: What is the difference between faith and truth?

Question #2: What sort of confidence can a person have in a lie?

Work

Farming probably won't be my lifetime career. However, for now it's pretty cool. This summer I have gotten to: pick rocks, stack hay bales, pound in fence posts, attach wire to said fence posts, drive an old truck around, mow the barnyard, dig a trench and bury wire in it, and (most recently) destroy thistles with a big piece of steel.

Thistles. Yuck. The electric fence we've been building goes through some horrendous patches of thistles about head-high and as thick as hair on a dog. Incidentally, it turns out that mosquitoes consider thistle patches to be prime real-estate, especially this time of year. Well, yesterday I was told to go thin out the thistles around the fence, so I grabbed the nearest goodly sized piece of steel rebar and went to work.

Nothing quite reminds a person of the Fall of Creation quite like an experience like that. Nature, made for our enjoyment, became an untamed force when sin entered the picture. It made me wonder, what was the original purpose of thistles? Did they exist before the Fall? What about mosquitoes? How about their original intent? I suppose I'll never know this side of eternity. Until then, I'll keep swinging my rebar; fighting entropy.

On an end note, happy birthday, America. Remember the God of your fathers.

The Del Button

I just looked at my keyboard and noticed that I have a Del button. If only life had a Del (Tackett) button, and when you pushed it, an attractively winsome voice would give you a snippet of sound advice. I tried hitting it on my keyboard, but you guessed it, no voice. Siggies out.

Speaking of Del Tackett, when I was in his class at the Institute, he required us to memorize the hymn Holy, Holy, Holy. As of late, I've been thinking about the words to that song more and more. Tonight I was sitting by the campfire, and the words from the last verse echoed through my mind: All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea. Over the constant hum in my ears (from shooting my big rifle last week), all was silent but the cracking fire and the chitter-chatter of crickets. The nearly-full orange moon crept up over the black horizon. And the fire kept on burning bright and steady.

...in earth and sky and sea...

I am a firm believer that if we take some time to shut our yaps, turn off the artificial light of the television, and go sit outside for awhile, we can catch a glimpse of God's works singing their praise songs to Him. As Jesus said, if we're silent, even the rocks will cry out. Sometimes we need to be alone to be reminded that they're still singing, and what a pity if they're singing louder than we are.