Ugh...

I officially joined the Hey this sucks, my laptop just got stolen... and my TV, too club this morning. It's my own fault, though... I was next door hanging out with Carol and didn't lock the door behind me. Anyway, I'm not nearly as upset as I figured I would be. I think it has to do with reading scripture and placing less stock in material possessions.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:19-21).

Now if only my research paper that I had just finished yesterday would rewrite itself...

Who Killed the Electric Car?

I finally got around to watching a documentary that came out a few years back called Who Killed the Electric Car? I'm usually skeptical of conspiracy type films, but this one is really good. My response? Fascinated. Confused. Outraged. Angered. However, the movie also leaves me feeling inspired. After poking around on the internet looking for information about plug-in electric cars, I am now determined to own the soon-to-come-to-production Nissan Leaf. Check out the video below:

A Lesson of Honesty From an Unemployed Psychic

After some small talk and the mentioning of her struggles regarding unemployment, she handed me two twenty dollar bills (or so I thought!) to pay for her groceries. When I handed back her change she looked confused/concerned and said, "I only gave you a ten and a twenty." She was right, and I had given her too much change! After sorting out the mishap with my supervisor she said, "I never miss and opportunity to network," and handed me her card with the image above on one side, and on the other the word "Psychic."

Thanks Aria, for your honesty.

Baptism

Surfing can be a frustrating sport. Never mind if you have Saturday afternoon free, if the necessary ground swell isn't there, you're out of luck. So what makes a wave suitable for surfing? Typically, it's a tropical storm or hurricane that has formed hundreds of miles off shore. It's the churning of the seas miles and miles away that eventually create the waves ideal for surfing.

So what's this have to do with baptism? The waters of baptism are a physical sign of God's grace. Helpless and undeserving, we are cleansed and made righteous before God.
In the same way that surfers are dependent upon a great force outside of themselves, we who undergo the waters of baptism are dependent upon God to supply us with the grace that is unmerited and not of ourselves.

Think of the wave in the picture above as God's grace. It's huge, powerful, and a little scary...

America: The 'Good' and 'Just' Society

A couple of weeks ago I was summoned to meet with three representatives from a foundation that provides scholarships to Master of Divinity students committed to congregational ministry. The foundation’s president spoke about how the United States has historically been a “good” and “just” country, and that the enterprise of the foundation was about sustaining America’s standing as a good and just society. I would not have thought much about his comment a few months ago, but now with a greater sensitivity toward racial issues in America, I was quite disturbed by his statement. I thought to myself, Was is ‘good’ and ‘just’ when European immigrants stole land from the native Americans? Was the enslavement of Africans brought to America to work the cotton fields ‘good’ and ‘just’? Was it ‘good’ and ‘just’ for the African Americans who fought for this country to be refused equal housing opportunities? Was it ‘good’ and ‘just’ that women for so long were denied the right to vote? In all fairness, the foundation’s president was partially right in saying that America is “good” and “just”--for him and people like him with white skin.

10 Kinds of Soy Milk That all Taste the Same

I subliminally announced about a month ago that I got a job at Trader Joe's. I'm happy to report that I really like the job and that things are going well. As I'm learning more about the product line and TJ's ideal customer, I'm realizing what an odd and unique grocery store it is. I just watched this video and got a good laugh out of it. If you shop at TJ's on occasion, I hope you get a laugh out of it, too.