It would seem a lot easier to fix something that is just starting to crack...than to repair a system so weak that it is on life support or in the bankruptcy courts. But the opposite is often the case. Though it seems that problems can be easier to solve when the losing streak is not so long and the cycle of decline not too advanced there also can be more resistance to the idea of significant change when the situation is not dire. The truly sick are desperate for any solution and too helpless to resist. It is more permissible and a great deal easier at extremes of distress (though less humane) to slash, burn, destroy, cut, lay off, and start over again. Under extreme distress, extreme distress can be taken; the truly obese get their jaws wired shut to prevent uncontrolled food intake, while the merely overweight must struggle through diets.

---from Confidence: Why Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, pp. 160-161, emphasis mine

Before It's Too Late...

It would seem a lot easier to fix something that is just starting to crack...than to repair a system so weak that it is on life support or in the bankruptcy courts. But the opposite is often the case. Though it seems that problems can be easier to solve when the losing streak is not so long and the cycle of decline not too advanced there also can be more resistance to the idea of significant change when the situation is not dire. The truly sick are desperate for any solution and too helpless to resist. It is more permissible and a great deal easier at extremes of distress (though less humane) to slash, burn, destroy, cut, lay off, and start over again. Under extreme distress, extreme distress can be taken; the truly obese get their jaws wired shut to prevent uncontrolled food intake, while the merely overweight must struggle through diets.

---from Confidence: Why Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, pp. 160-161, emphasis mine

As Terry Schiavo is ending...

I would argue that the term "life support" is a red herring in this case. While, as I say, Terri is on life support in the broad sense of the term, saying that she is on "life support" evokes in listeners the same response as if referring to the narrower definition of a person on life support: someone who is essentially dead but for the machinery that keeps their body functions working.

Here's the thing: the Pope is hooked to a breathing tube, and now he may have a feeding tube installed as well. Is he on life support? Yes--arguably more so than Terri Shiavo. But we wouldn't suggest that his feeding and breathing tubes would be removed, because the Pope's mind is still functioning and he can communicate (granted, they say these tubes "aid" the Pope in breathing, but it seems to me they would probably do most, if not all, of the work). So this is really about Terri's mind and her husband's word; "life support" as a term in this case is little more than rhetoric.

[via The Eagle and Child]

When you're at someone's mercy, they had better be either fairly wise or fairly omnipotent at times.

As the Terry Schiavo case slowly ends...

To determine your position, I offer up a few hypotheticals:

1. Assume all facts are the same, but Michael Schiavo and the Schindlers agree that the feeding tube should be removed.

2. Assume all facts are the same, the Schindlers oppose the feeding tube removal, but Terri Schiavo left a detailed living will that specified she would want the feeding tube removed if she were in a persistent vegetative state.

3. Assume that Michael Schiavo has remained completely faithful to his wife all these years, but still testifies that she told him she would want to die in these circumstances, and the Schindlers still oppose him.

If your opinion switches from opposition to support in these hypotheticals, then your opposition is based on the circumstances in this case. So ask yourself: do you really think that you know more about the case from the media coverage and court documents than the judges who actually reviewed all the evidence? It's one thing to acknowledge that the judicial system has the occasional flaw; it's quite another to say that over a dozen judges have actively ignored evidence that proves Michael Schiavo wants to end his wife's life on a whim.

If you still oppose the removal of the feeding tube in these hypotheticals, then you presumably oppose all decisions of this nature. However, the courts have applied the law as it is currently written. Why not work to change the laws, rather than believe, despite all the review, that Terri Schiavo has been denied due process or is the victim of activist pro-death judges

[via Football Fans for Truth]

Last but not least, this Easter, don't forget the Easter Seals

Where and what is Justice?

This Easter, reflect on our understandings of injustice. To use the example of Terry Schaivo:

Here's the part I don't get: why the parents and the husband are fighting so hard.

Consider from the husband's perspective:

Your wife is essentially dead, a corpse kept going by machines. You know or are reasonablly certain that she would not have wished to remain in this state. You need to move on with your life. You've got a girlfriend, whatever money you might have gotten from insurance is long gone, so it's just about what your wife wants. It is perfectly reasonable to talk to the doctors about pulling the plug. This type of thing happens all around America every day.

Or consider from the parents' perspective:

Your daughter lays in a hospital bed, in a coma. A man wants to starve her to death. You're willing to pay every expense to keep her alive, and unwilling to let her go.

Both seem reasonable enough, but both are actually- as far as I can tell -insane.

[Thanks Boar's Head Tavern for the link!]

This Easter...is there no blood on your hands?

can you identify the persecuted?

will you reimagine Christianity?

Routine can be just a way to compromise between legitimacy and confidence.

Ankle surgery done. It involved 6 screws and 1 plate. It took an 8 hour wait until then, but I got it done. Now comes the challenge of the next 6 weeks.

Special thanks go out to Carol for driving me to the hospital (and LT for trying!). Also thanks to Jayson and Estelle for picking me up after this long day and enduring me for awhile (I just didn't want to go home in the state I was in).

The Difficulty with Grace

In brokenness, may others be healed or more whole.

That's almost a good Easter message, isn't it?

I pondered this since I broke my ankle (I go in for surgery on Good Friday-- if there are no delays). I worry sometimes that my problems are a burden, and I realized that instead of troubling over my situation, I would hope and trust that others would recognize their dignity and potential without shame and would open others up to new things and new experiences. After all, it isn't just about me...it's about those around me.

There was another part of my injury that started me to think:

Sometimes honor can be disabling.

One of the the reasons why I have ambivalence about my personal health (and I have anxiety/panic problems, which doesn't help) is that it puts others in a difficult position. I realize that some just want to help, but I've always worried that it can be exploited. Then something occurred to me...this is how having power, authority or some other advantageous trait can be like. Being honored certainly has benefits, but it can feel like a disability. It can feel good to demand or accept things, but it's not all great.

As for me ....... I don't even know where to begin. People tell me that something good lies ahead. I know they say that because they care and want to help me feel better, and they do hope the best for me. I really don't know what is ahead.... There is no guarantee its all going to be fine.

[via The Cathy J Weblog]

Since Easter/Passover is coming...

The purpose of a blood libel was to distract the Gentile population from their downtrodden condition by having them take out their frustrations on the Jews, rather than on the monarchs who taxed them into poverty. Jews would sometimes try to prove their innocence of these preposterous allegations, but it was of no use. Every Passover Jews all over medieval Europe were beaten and murdered. The blood libel was a smokescreen to distract the Christian population from the real issues but the Jew-haters would not allow themselves to be confused with the facts. Blood libels still exist today in various forms. Recently some anti-Semites have begun to accuse Karaite Jews of unspeakable things. The facts are unimportant to these hatemongers. Their goal is to whip up emotion and hatred to distract their followers from the truth. A wise man from Galilee once said you can know a person by his fruits. If all a person produces is hatred, that says something about that person. My prayer is that those that seek the truth of Torah from among the nations will learn the lesson of history and reject the venom of the hatemonger.

[via The Mensch in the Moon, emphasis mine]

Sorry about the paucity of blog posts the last few days...I've been busier than normal (good stuff), and now I have to deal with a broken ankle that needs surgery.

Kudos to Cathy Johnson and Darren for the Art Cafe at Lakeview Church. (pictures) I contributed some of my poetry for display amongst the many talents.

Gerald Folkerts displayed some of his art (including the one I have now). He was quite moved by my poem wistfulness. I was quite honored.

A Real Crime of Passion!

I can understand there are people in the world like Scott Peterson. What I cannot comprehend is that there are women stupid enough to want to marry him. According to CNN, there are at least two who have made the offer.

Explain this to me. A man is convicted, convicted of murdering his wife and unborn child in cold blood and dumping her body in San Francisco bay. All the while prior to this he was having an affair. What kind of sick, hurting puppy must you be to decide "Hey, he's the man for me!"

I've known women who have gotten themselves into and remained deeply entrenched in abusive relationships with bad men. I've seen it and I've lived it, but for the life of me I still don't understand it. It is deeply alarming to me how many women today pick up with any guy, just to have a guy. For many years now I've been of the firm belief that there are worse things than being alone. I should know, I once dated a few of them....

Do these women have a death wish? Is celebrity, in any form, that powerful to attract? Or is it the "bad boy" type attraction? Or is it the desire to rescue the one with the broken wing type syndrome - the need of some women to "fix up" a piece of damaged goods? From my observation, the "broken wing" scenario seems to be the most effective at luring women into and keeping them trapped in emotionally and often physically damaging situations.

[via Feeble Knees]

Apathy approaches a point of contentedness if you go about it the right way. It takes a while to fully give up caring, but once it's acheived, life becomes wonderful. Since nothing matters, you have all the time in the world to do anything and since that "anything" doesn't matter, you can do it for as little or long as you want.

[via Decay of the Symphony]

Forgive You!

I hope that when this trial closes the family can move one step farther in dealing with this. They will never be done dealing with it but maybe this will provide at least some more closure. And then the father reiterated that he had forgiven the man already for murdering his son...and I was humbled, and I am learning.

[via Jayson.ca]

Can grace begin when two people feel and believe they don't deserve each other?

When forced, forgiveness, like generosity, does more damage and blows people away.

The Lion Should Not Sleep Tonight?

[via What Amalek did]

The Passion, The Circumcised Edition?

[via grrrl meets world]

Sort as you go...

[via Randall Friesen]

Life creeps up on you, and you get surprised by how things change, how you change. You get worried because time is running out and you don't have precious time to waste on the damn stories. The fluff that takes up precious space in your life.

So you start sorting, life from the fluff.

It's a part of getting ready to go home. Preparing to travel light.

And it's something we all will go through, if we are given the time and place.

But, we do have the time and place if we have today. We don't need to wait till the end. We can be sorting as we go...

Where we give our time. Where we give our money. Where we give our love.

In all of it, there's always the life giving things, and there's always the damn fluff.

Some advice? Sort as you go, and you won't feel rushed when it's time to go home.

[via Unedited Ravings]

Anonymity is often all it takes to evoke a deep genuine soul confession. What is too often lacking, however, is for another soul to play the priestly role of absolution. Guilt lingers... Shame lies in wait, ready to pounce on the first glimmering sign of a hopeful heart.

How NOT to Fellowship?

I've noticed that a lot of Christians go to restaurants after church on Sundays. I've also noticed that I'd much rather share a meal at a restaurant with non-Christians than with Christians....

It all works out in the end. And if it doesn't - so what? The money isn't mine, anyway. I don't get to take it with me to heaven. And if there is fellowship around the table, isn't the money worth the investment into relationships which is eternal? People last forever, money doesn't.

[via The Wild World of Dell]

"Sometimes the only difference / ’tween a pilgrim and a prodigal son / is just the difference / ’tween the dream you begin / and the thing that you become."

---from "Long Way Back Home" by Pierce Pettis on State of Grace

You might choose your friends but not your relatives, yet friends that act like family may have unexpected results.

The next Worship Freehouse is on April 3rd, 2005 at 8:00 p.m. in Faith Baptist Church just off 8th Street in Saskatoon.

We will be experiencing and dialoguing with the Parable of the Prodigal Son along with Rembrandt painting of the parable. Check the Worship Freehouse's page for more details.

Leaving the Rapture Behind?


Featuring interviews with Jerry Jenkins (of Left Behind fame) and Robert Darden. Also check out the latest in Which Circle?, The 23rd Google and more.

Said in a comment about this post at The Invisible Sun:

I know the Phoenix will rise, but I can't be happy someone lit the match.

Making a point by missing someone else's point does not get anything across. It just adds to the stupidity.

Salvation Roulette

The hard lesson that I have learned is that in walking away from a situation, it is not the same of giving up on someone.

[via Jordon Cooper]

When walking away is hard:

While most of you have only been aware of this tragedy in the past year since the national press picked up on it, the Terri Schiavo saga is over 15 years old...The timeline of this story is far too extensive to put in this Devotional, so here is a link that will take you from the birth of Terri right up to the present day:(http://www.miami.edu/ethics2/schiavo/timeline.htm)

...The REAL story of Terri Schiavo is about 3 issues: eating disorders, Living Wills, and playing "salvation roulette." One of the biggest problems we have in our nation today, especially among young women, is eating disorders.

Sadly, we deal with it daily here at Liveprayer and I have done entire Devotionals on this bondage so many young women, and some young men, are in today. Terri had an eating disorder. Having been overweight throughout her teen years, Terri became a slave to "binging and purging." This is where you eat a large meal, and then go to the bathroom and force yourself to vomit the food up. DOING THIS CAN KILL YOU!

The famous singer of so many great songs during the '70s, Karen Carpenter, died from this. What happens to those who binge and purge is that it throws off the electrolytes in your body which can cause your heart to stop beating. You have a heart attack, not caused by clogged arteries which cuts off the blood flowing to your heart, but from what amounts to an electric shock. This is what happened to Terri on the night of February 25th, 1990 as she had a heart attack after vomiting, and literally layed dead for over 5 minutes on her bathroom floor. Most doctors say that after 3 minutes of no oxygen, your brain dies. This is what happened to Terri, and I pray today that every young woman reading this who is in bondage to an eating disorder will wake up and realize that what you are dong can KILL YOU! The time to fight this battle and get victory over it is NOW!

The second issue is having a Living Will. Even though every court has ruled that Terri did not wish to be keep alive artificially, and yes, a feeding tube is artificial, this is a great lesson on why everyone should have a Living Will. It is a legal document that covers tragedies like Terri's, and clearly spells out your wishes. I would encourage you to contact your lawyer and draw one up. This way, YOUR TRUE WISHES are clearly spelled out, and you do not have to put your family through the gut wrenching choices of what to do if something like this ever happens to you.

The last issue I want to talk about is what I call "salvation roulette."... I deal daily with too many people who felt fine when they woke up, but before the day was over they were dead from a heart attack or some other illness.

[via Liveprayer's March 4/2005 Devotional by Bill Keller]

and when it ends in death:

My wife, talking to me on the phone as I was in the south part of the state, said she had a premonition, a feeling that he was dead. She had thought he committed suicide and I said, no. It wasn't in his character. Both my sister-in-law and my wife are somewhat relieved at his death knowing that he cannot injure their mother emotionally and financially anymore. My wife was relieved that he died away from home. Had he had the coronary at home, my mother-in-law would have called 911...he would have been resusitated and then she would have to care for an invalid man and his invalid mother whom, at the time, was living in their home.

Funny as it seems, the Grace of God works in mysterious ways.

[via Blog of the Lost Dog]

[via Poor Blogger]

What Makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life? Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions: {read more}

a comment made at Been There...Still There, referring to this post:

Someone told me a story years ago. A teacher was walking with a bunch of kids when one little girl made a comment about hell. The woman stopped abruptly, turned around, and told her, "How do you know this world isn't hell?"

[via Llama Drama]

We are organic, raw, and imperfect; we are dependable in that our personalities differ greatly but collective affinity is established through parallel thinking. No matter of technology will diminish our empathy...

(a poem I wrote today, mainly inspired by warm thoughts about someone while walking home one night)

fo(u)nd

when trust becomes a tender age
between stages that belong,
there comes unstable ground
left behind like buried treasure
just to be safe

where doppelgangers of desire
can become fully conscious
after missing in actions
collected like exhibits
too attached to the walls

which prompt the realization
across the longing distance
to test the unavailability
like poltergeists that disrupt
out of jealousy

to honor and to cherish
unsure facts and fantasies
not yet discovered to be
fleeting afterimages

...at the heart of the void.

Joy and Sorrow, Truth and Pain
The same walls, same windows, same pews and aisles, doors and carpeting. Joy and sorrow are not so different as we think.

---

How come, no matter which I choose, someone will be adversely affected?
The truth isn't easy to live.

How come, when I dare to dream, I'm looked upon with doubt?
Will the truth be that which upholds me?