Okinawa

Recently I have been watching the World War II documentary by Ken Burns called The War. It is an excellent, compelling look at America's involvement in the second World War. Tonight I learned about the battle on the little Pacific island of Okinawa. When all was said and done there, more than 12,000 American men were killed in the battle; more than 60,000 were wounded.

It takes a bit of time to stop and understand the immensity of what was sacrificed in just one battle. Being the age I am, I rarely think of death. I guess I assume that I'll get old and wrinkly someday, stay that way for a few decades, then die peacefully in my sleep. But I'm sure a lot of the men killed in WWII had the same idea before they found themselves in the theater of combat.

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

A look at death is a sobering thing, and rightly so. But I think we ought to face up to our own mortality, with the hope that we will indeed realize our mortal state. Thus our need and desires for the eternal.

The Box

A few months ago I was winding up my job at a pharmacy in a small town. One of the things I ended up doing was tidying up the basement of the building. It was a job that could be considered menial, but I actually enjoyed digging around and finding some old, interesting things amongst all the clutter.

One day I found a plain cardboard box. I brushed the dust off and opened it, and inside were a bunch of old artifacts; papers, maps, and slides from trips to Europe and Asia. There was an envelope from the Dept. of the Army, a gospel of John, and a picture that said "The Ship I Sailed On." I opened the gospel of John, and inside a printer's note advised: "Read this book fifty times." I bet they don't print that instruction anymore, I mused.

I knew that I needed to return this box to its owner, one of the original pharmacists who built the store there. So I called him on the phone and he came to pick it up a couple of days later.

"It's a treasure," he said.

He recalled some of the memories of the things inside the box: working with Norwegian hospitals in Korea, taking trips when he was young. He talked about days gone by; even about his mother's death, and began to tear up. He thanked me for calling him, then took the box home to continue exploring the things inside.

It made me think, What's inside my Box? What kinds of things will I look back on when I'm old?

Regarding yesterday's post, let us not forget the significance of all of this.

The Health Care Bill...

...begins with the words:

"To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes."

Being a 1990-page bill, it makes a person wonder if most of it isn't filled with other purposes. You can see for yourself here. And yes, abortion is in it (pg. 110), as is another interesting detail: a prohibition of the sale of private individual health insurance policies, beginning in 2013, forcing individuals to purchase coverage through the federal government (pg.94). And as always, new taxes on pretty much everyone.

Sweet. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be listening to the sounds of our forefathers rolling in their graves.

Welcome to Monument, CO

It started snowing the night before last, and is supposed to be done sometime tomorrow. Sweet! No school.

Panic! Panic! Panic!

Now that H1N1 is a national emergency, I am officially proposing a list of silly ways to deal with the H1N1 virus (aka "Swine flu").

#1: Run in a tight circle and scream, "We're all going to die! Aaaiieee!!!"
#2: Adopt a "shower-in, shower-out" policy and install a decontamination unit in your front porch.
#3: Contact poison control before eating any pork.
#4: Rinse said pork in Pine-Sol solution before preparation, just in case. It makes a zesty marinade also.
#5: Only go outside on days that are below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. That should be cold enough to kill the virus.
#6: Tell your friends and neighbors you will catch up with them sometime next year.
#7: Quarantine your work space with plastic sheeting.
#8: Notify the CDC every time you see someone cough.
#9: Head down to the Y2K bunker and live on MREs and bottled water for a few months.

Now, a list of sensible ways to deal with the H1N1 virus.

#1: Wash your hands.
#2: Get enough sleep to keep your immune system strong.
#3. Minimize contact between your hands and face in general. Specifically, don't pick your nose.
#4. Drink lots of water. It keeps your body running well all over.
#5. Don't smooch people who have H1N1 influenza.

You may have noticed that the things on the second list are things you should actually be doing already. Well if you are, then congratulations; you are already minimizing your chances of getting sick. I know it seems boring in a way; no magic air sterilizer, no protective shampoo, no flu detox kit, no herbal tea. In fact, you can do a lot for yourself and spend absolutely no money at all.

The key in this whole fiasco is this: fear. Observe some current headlines:

"H1N1 Fears Fill Emergency Rooms." (WCCO, Minneapolis)
"H1N1 Fears Drive Seasonal Flu Shot Shortage." (WBAL, Baltimore)
"H1N1 Fears Overburdening Local Hospital." (KPTV, Washington)
"H1N1 fears lead to rush on Tamiflu." (Washington Post)
"Soccer players warned over spitting amid H1N1 Fears." (Vancouver Sun) -- An interesting twist...
"Fears of Web clogs during major H1N1 outbreak. (MSNBC) --Aren't people with the flu supposed to sleep?

Fear is a powerful thing, unfortunately. Stirred by the media, fed by ignorance. I would submit that the fears of H1N1 are more dangerous than the virus itself. The mortality rate of H1N1 is currently around 0.007 percent to 0.045 percent, according to Dr. Marc Lipsitch of Harvard University. So if it isn't that dangerous, then why all the hoopla? My guess is, it makes great news. Because of this, it won't be going away anytime soon. So go wash your hands, then continue on with life.

Song of the Day

Project 86, "The Butcher"

This man came to me, he was looking for action
Pulling a blade to my neck
He said, “Call me the butcher cause that's my trade
And you know that I’ve come to collect.”

I said, "Hit me now and we’ll see where it leads
Cut me out if you think I will bleed
Strike me down if you think you’re a man
Cause I know that you don't understand..."

Chorus:
Because there is no weapon
There is no blade
You wonder why I’m not afraid?
I’ve erased all of my fear of the grave
You’ll never kill him that lives inside of me

He looked into my eyes, all he saw was conviction
Dropping the blade to the earth
I said, “How could you think that I’d ever retreat?
You know that I’m already dead.”

Materialism in the Positive and Negative

Today I was referred to an article by a friend of mine. It talks about the concept of minimalism. That is, approaching life with the mentality of what can I live without? This is something that I have gotten some good-hearted ribbing about from my friends before, and I admit that I am a minimalist. But not to the point of obsession.

Enter Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. The founder of this proudly lives in a house that is about 89 square feet total. He seems to be motivated by his desire to protect the environment, and to live a life as different from the American norm as possible. I will admit, in an affluent suburban culture swelling with mansions, I can understand this sentiment (although the state of the environment concerns me little). The problem this Tumbeweed guy has is that he can't really get a family going in a house that size. Nor can he have more than one person (or two skinny ones) at a time come to visit. This is the point, I think, when minimalism reaches the end of common sense.

What is more important, having as much or as little as possible, or having quality relationships? When a person can't spend time with another because of having too many things, it's a problem. When a person can't spend time with another because of an obsession with having little, it's also a problem. Life is about relationships.

(Continental Divide)

I love to travel remote locations with as little gear as possible. I like that I can fit almost all my possessions in my car. It is a freeing thing. (If you are wondering about getting rid of useless junk, I would encourage you to do so.) But I know that life has a way of changing things. Lord willing, I will have a wife and family someday. Realistically, more stuff will come along with that.

The real important thing is how much priority our things get compared to relationships. When all our stuff (minimalist or not) is gone, what will be left? What really lasts? Relationships last.

(Ma Mason & I)

By all means, get what you need and few things you want. Just don't hold onto your stuff too tightly. Let's take time for the important things.

Beliefs, Ala Carte

Why do we feel like we need to have beliefs customized to our desires?

In the last week or so I have noticed people throwing around phrases like "God has a plan," and "It's just karma, man," as if they come from within the same framework of beliefs. And it is astounding. I see the marks of two trends working here. (1) Relativism. Belief 1 is just as valid as belief 2, even if they are opposed. (2) Customization (i.e. pluralization). "Could I please have a grande, double espresso, decaf, low fat, caramel macchiato, with extra foam, topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a dollop of whipped cream?" Or, "Could I please have a small, happy, non-offensive, double prosperity Jesus with extra mysticism, topped with a sprinkle of higher consciousness, and some Siddhartha on the side?"

No, you can't.

And I'll just have a coffee, and try to add as little to it as possible.

Honestly

The other day a friend of mine was talking to me about the behavior of some local high schoolers. Apparently on the bus ride back from some sports event, the junior high girls decided to play Truth or Dare. One thing led to another, and soon the girls were daring their friends to kiss other girls.

Are you surprised? Why should we be surprised at this?

It is not enough to simply blame the liberals for putting curriculum in schools that teaches about this and encourages it. No, let's look at the poets of our age. (1) Katy Perry [2008]: Her song about kissing a girl made #1 handily and was the pioneer of sorts into the American pop culture. (2) Lady Gaga [2009]: She has released numerous music videos that portray women making out with other women. (3) Fast and Furious [2009]: There are also several scenes in this movie that portray the same behavior.

If we walk around with the idea that a song is just a song or a movie just a movie, we are kidding ourselves. And these are three mainstream examples. It's easy to point a finger at things those other people are influenced by. But what about taking a long, hard look at what we take in ourselves?

What do you let influence you?

Facebook...

... is pretty much dead to me now. Tonight I deactivated my account, resolute against the efforts to keep me around. This last-ditch plea begged me to reconsider:

Your 185 friends will no longer be able to keep in touch with you.

Really? Does this include my family members? Have I now been shunned because of this? How about my best friend? What about my roommate? (Granted, we've talked more on Facebook lately than in real life, but...)

The point is this: If I can't keep in touch with my friends except for on Facebook, there is something terribly wrong. That would mean that either I have no time to spend building relationships in real life, or that they are all quite shallow in the first place. At any rate, I am done with Facebook. Now I will try to further authenticate my relationships in the real world.

When you think you're having a bad day...

Consider this guy.

Today I talked to a 79-year-old man who broke his arm a couple days ago. He was jogging down Barr Trail on Pikes Peak (that's right) in preparation for the Pikes Peak Marathon this weekend. But darkness befell and he had to switch on a light to see the trail. His light ended up running out of battery power, which caused him to stumble and fall, causing a fractured ulna. He had to spend the night on the mountain, and twelve hours later he was discovered by two hikers. They called search & rescue, who came and pulled him off the mountain.

When I talked to him today (with his arm in a cast and sling), his chief complaint was that he hadn't broken his arm with enough healing time to run the marathon. But he still managed to hike up the mountain, down to Barr Camp, up to the summit again, and completely back down today before the afternoon storms.

I admit the title of the post is a little deceiving. Considering this guy's age, I think he's doing pretty well.

The View from the Top

Today I was working on the summit of Pikes Peak (which I do now as an EMT), and I took some time to look outside the summit house and watch some people walk around. Today there was a kid of about sixteen years old, wearing baggy clothing and a grim expression, walking around by himself. After shuffling around for a couple of minutes, he stepped out onto the concrete overlook on the eastern-facing edge of the mountain.

From that overlook there is a vantage point of at least 100 miles of land to the east of Pikes Peak; and the other sides offer similar views. Today was an especially marvelous day to dwell at such a place and look into the distance for hours. As I watched this guy out on the overlook, I saw him gaze out for a few seconds, then look down and send a text message, and walk back to the building.

Sometimes the problem isn't the things we pay attention to, but the things we ignore.

Standing atop a 14,000 foot mountain, we give our attention to a 1.5 inch LCD screen in our hands. Is this a metaphor waiting to happen or is it just me?

For the philosophy buffs out there

I think there is a big problem with the push for multiculturalism. The problem is this. There is always going to be someone somewhere who would react to your hugs, good deeds and gift of Coca Cola; by laughing, shooting you, and laughing some more. In other words, utopian multiculturalism will inevitably fail in the real world.

Now here's the kicker. As a Christian it is my job to love everyone I am around (not the gooey kind of love necessarily, but complete love). It doesn't matter if they are my friend or my enemy. What accompanies this, of course, is that I am responsible to share the truth with them if I am able. If I say to anyone out there that we are all God's children and everyone gets to the same place by different roads, then I would be turning my back on what is true. This conflicts with the idea of moral equivalency. The point is this. Why would people want to know Jesus unless there is something different and better about knowing him? In a society that promotes multiculturalism and moral equivalency between different belief systems, the only way for that to happen is for followers of Christ to live differently than everyone else.

10 out of 10

People die. That is a statistic you can bank on. Today two celebrities died and the national media let us all know about it as soon as possible.

50 year-old men have heart attacks. In fact, two middle-aged men who go to my church had heart attacks last year (both of them survived, thankfully). And 62-year-old women get cancer. These are plain and simple facts of life.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not trying to minimize the lives of anyone, but it is interesting how we react when those who are never supposed to die, do. After all, these were not just people to our culture; they were practically divinity living among us.

So now the focus pans across their careers and lives; over the contributions they left behind. It begs the question also for you and me. What kinds of things will people remember about me when I die? Will I have a hair-do that influences a generation? Will I revolutionize the music world? Will I change my skin color?

Sometimes we stop and think about these questions. But more often than not, we soon forget about it and resume our fixation upon the silver screen immortals in front of us.

"When you want a hot meal without a big deal..."

Well, things are still busy here in my camp. I finished up my pre-nursing classes for the year, and now I'm looking at a program out west. If everything happens right, I may be back in school sooner than I thought. In the meantime I'm working, recording, doing youth group stuff, looking at jobs, and trying to tie up loose ends that have been hanging for the better part of the school year. When I stop and think, all I can think is "Shoot, have I got stuff to do."

However, no one really wants to read about how busy I am, so I will leave you with this. The other day I noticed that Hot Pockets are kind of undignified in the world of food. They are made strictly for the microwave (you can bake them if you really want to, but who does that?). No glamor, no thoughtful preparation; just a few laps around the humming box until cheese oozes out the end. I got to thinking about this poor existence, and what came to my mind are people whose lives seem to fall under the same category. Some folks are dealt a duller hand than others in whatever way, and they can get a Hot Pocket complex if they aren't careful.

But the bottom line is, God has made all human beings with the same worth. All have been made with wonder and dignity; in the very image of God. Circumstances do not equal worth, although that is a lie that we can come to believe at times. May that not be the case, or at least no longer.

Of Floods and Folly

Today I kind of feel like ranting about a couple of things that have been bugging me this week. This doesn't happen very often, but today just happens to be the day.

First of all, I can't stand the global warming theory. Whoever believes it needs to come to Minnesota. Right now it's 19 degrees outside. Five days from now (April 1) our forecast high temperature is 31. This year we can use that day to celebrate the foolishness of the global warming crowd together. The crazy thing is the way the media has spun the Fargo/Moorhead flooding, as if it is all being caused by the warming earth. That's funny, because I was up there a couple of days ago and didn't see a single person in a swimsuit or flip flops. In fact, it's been snowing there almost all week. Also, a big reason for the high river levels in North Dakota is that there are ice jams in the rivers. Global warming indeed. They might have convinced me, but for all that pesky ice and snow.

Before my next topic, I will take a moment and point the finger at myself first. I'm altogether imperfect. I screw up all the time. My only saving grace is from God, who is working on me constantly. That said, I truly wish that excellence was something that I saw more people pursuing these days. It grates me when something gets done halfway and then left alone because it's "good enough." This attitude is what ends up destroying the drive to do anything well. I realize that not everyone is capable of doing everything like a prodigy, or at least not at first. But that in no way excuses us from desiring to do what we do excellently. If you are capable of doing better at something, then you should.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men... Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. -the apostle Paul (Colossians 3:23, 2 Timothy 2:15)

Never settle for "good enough."

Till We Have Faces

I just finished reading C.S. Lewis' epic retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. Though it usually takes me awhile to make it through his books, I finished this one in three nights' time (albeit late nights, but three nonetheless). The story, written in a first person perspective, is set in a barbaric world occupied by humans and mythical gods. It largely revolves around the mystery surrounding the main character's life, which finally unfolds in the last chapter or so. I won't give anything away, but the last paragraph makes a profound statement which I would like to include here:

I ended my first book with the words no answer. I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice? (p. 308, Till We Have Faces)

One of the main points of the book is that we must approach one another and God with unveiled faces. To be honest; to mean what we say. To voice our concerns and cries instead of keeping them inside, because holding them in will make us bitter and rob us of answers. Let us remove our veils of offense and pride, and honestly approach the One who himself is the answer; meet him face-to-face.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. -Hebrews 4:16

This Year

This here is an update to my blog. What can I say? It's cold. The little indicator in the corner of the screen says -22 degrees, and that isn't a bit surprising. The Camry never woke up this morning, but thankfully my folks let me borrow the truck, which started like a champion.

This is also a note to say to those of you who actually read this and are interested, "I'll be busy for about the next four months and subsequently away from the blog-o-space." Two jobs, three classes, and life have caught up with me now and I have no choice but to tighten up the spare-time belt at least two notches (it was pretty loose over Christmas break).

So here's to buckling down and getting through the next semester. To all of you who are in the same boat, I call,

I heard in Addison's Walk a bird sing clear
'This year the summer will come true. This year. This year.
'Winds will not strip the blossom from the apple trees
This year, nor want of rain destroy the peas.
'This year time's nature will no more defeat you,
Nor all the promised moments in their passing cheat you.
'This time they will not lead you round and back
To Autumn, one year older, by the well-worn track.
'This year, this year, as all these flowers foretell,
We shall escape the circle and undo the spell.
'Often deceived, yet open once again your heart,
Quick, quick, quick, quick!—the gates are drawn apart.' (1)

As the frost thickens around the windows, I look forward to the end of the semester and to new adventures just around the bend.

(1) C.S. Lewis, "What the Bird Said Early in the Year

Resolution

This is a fitting song for today and for me. I didn't write it; it's an old Supertones tune actually. Nevertheless, it means a lot.

I've meant to do this for some time
I've gotta get it right this time
This time my God I will be Yours
All my heart, my soul, and mind
Been so long since I truly smiled
But You touched my heart today
Reached through my mind of mud and mire
Consumed the idols in Your way
So I am brand new
Today I make my resolution

Been down so long that it seems like up
I took it now I've had enough
Of the life that I've been living
It feels so cold this far away
So today I will make a change
I will make a change today
Purge my mind of mud and mire
Cast all my gods away
So I am brand new
Today I make my resolution

Looking back the way I used to be
It was just me and God
Can I be there again?
Today I make my resolution.