Let's give 'em something to talk about...

Thoughts based on hearing Jim Wallis on WMBI this morning.

Jim was talking about his recent book, The Great Awakening – Renewing Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America.  I typically (always) vote as a pro-life voter, using a candidate’s stance on abortion as a litmus test, feeling that I’d be morally wrong voting any other way; as a result I don’t really look hard at any other issues.  I’ve often wondered how I would vote if the abortion issue/test went away. Jim got me thinking about this once again this morning.  Are we pitting the lives of the unborn with the lives of those in poverty?  Do we pro-life voters champion the cause of the unborn but ignore the plight of so many others living in poverty and want throughout the world?  Does the church do the same?  I sort of think so.

Perhaps the most potent call to action in the Bible comes from Matthew 25:42 and beyond:

Mt 25:42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,

Mt 25:43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

Mt 25:44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

Mt 25:45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

Mt 25:46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Unfortunately, to some extent, I see it as a scale, putting the value of ending abortion on one side and the value of feeding, clothing, giving a “cup of cold water” to the least of these (us) on the other.  I do believe that no president is going to end abortion; it will only end when we as a society deem it unacceptable, as a result, I admit, I haven’t put much interest into this year’s campaign.  However, I think that both democrats and republicans, conservatives and liberals, can/should find value in providing social justice and benevolence; the church should do the same.

No real conclusion here, just some food for thought……and action.

I've been busy

It took me a while

It took me a while to remember how to get to spot where I can create a new entry but now I'm here.  I wonder how many first sentences of Xanga posts strat with the "it's been so long..." sentiment.  Mine will be in the second half of the third sentence; sorry it's been so long, I've been busy or gone or uninterested or something...

Since there are no throngs of people coming to this site, perhaps no one will notice this new post.  So, why do I do it?  I do it for the weary internet traveler who may stumble into this space and choose to live my life vicariously for a few minutes, looking for a bit of respite from their own; I do it for the sake of tradition and community; I do it because it's better than the work tasks facing me today; I do it because I can.

With that said, here's a recap and some rambling...get yourself a comfy chair and a tall beverage, this could take a while.

We, the Bardolphs, went to Bar Harbor, Maine for this year's roadtrip. Last time we were there I bought a hammered dulcimer; this year I did not.  I need to learn to play that thing. We traveled many miles and spent many nights in the pop-up camper.  It was good.

Justin was home for the summer, this meant lots of visitors to casa Bardolph - he attracts people.  Many evenings of wiffleball ensued in the backyard, Justin's gone now but the scars of baseball ramain on the lawn.

Oh yeah, I hate cars.  We have four drivers, ergo, we have four cars.  The white 83 Rabbit died, so I upgraded. I found a sweet 84 Rabbit for sale at a nearby mechanic's shop.  I bought it; we drove it for a few weeks and then it broke.  It remained in the parking lot at my office for about 6 weeks; fortunately Aaron went to Uruguay for two of those and we vacationed for two more, it (the broken car) had little impact.  It then took a while to find the part used (A/C compressor - drives all the belts) and to get around to installing it.  It's all good now.  What makes it sweet? It's a convertible.

We also bought a white 93 Golf.  Got a good price; then had to spend significant cash to get the exhaust fixed.  Justin drove it back to Nashville a couple of weeks ago.  About the time I got the Rabbit fixed, the Golf died in Nashville; fortunately, it was just a battery.  Justin was able to replace it and he's mobile again.

The Jetta? The usual - check engine light, airbag light, strange electrical things.  The van's been great; did I mention that I hate cars?

Music/church life.  Just got the Greg Adkins CD.  I like it. It's produced by Andy Osenga (have I mentioned him before?); Andy O does all the guitar work; Ben Shive, Andrew Peterson (I need to mention him more), and some other folks from that scene participate as well.  Check out www.myspace.com/gregadkins, Heavenly Descent is my favorite.  Our contemporary service at ECRC has grown too large for the space we have; this week we move to the Timothy Christian HS auditorium while we wait for the new building to be completed.  Of course, we also wait for it to be started.

Last week I played with some old friends at an outdoor concert; I was allowed to unveil a bunch of my original songs.  It was a bit scary but they (the songs, and old friends) were well received; I'm looking into recording them at some point -please send cash. You can find some of them on my myspace account.

Let's see, what else?  Ethan's playing fall ball; Chelsea's playing volleyball, Anna's adjusting to first grade, Justin's back at Belmont and working in the percussion department and going to see the Square Pegs (www.squarepegalliance.com - someday I'll learn how to make hyperlinks) when he can, and Aaron's working on Octoberfest at Timothy - he's the Fine Arts co-chair so it's keeping him busy.

Finally, I think, yet most importantly, it's my wife's birthday!  Happy birthday!!

Now, back to work for me.  Check back often!  Hah!

Currently Listening Photographs By Andrew Osenga see related

Two what?

I was waiting at a stoplight on my way to work today.  The car ahead of me had a couple of those ribbon magnets on the trunk; these magnets were pink and promoted the cause of breast cancer research - something like "find a cure"...

The car's license plate:  "I HAVE 2"

??

Coffee.

You know, I work with a lot of smart people; why is it that I'm the only one who knows how to make coffee?  I've gone to the coffee pot 8 times this week and had to make coffee 6 times!  It's not that tough - put in a filter, open a pack of coffee and pour it in, place the filter thing in its proper location and press the brew button - no need to measure, no need to add water.  Apparently too complex for most of my co-workers.

And......if you're gonna finish the coffee and not make a new pot, can you please turn off the burner so we turn the last few drops into dry-roasted instant coffee?