A Judgment...

If you haven't heard already, a striking news report has hit San Diego within the last two days. A San Diego bureaucrat is shutting down a Christian Bible study that is held in a private residence, citing that it is "an unlawful use of land."

This report disgusts me for one reason only: it clearly violates our Constitution. A Constitution that was formed to honor FREEDOM of religion. To so blatantly ignore THAT fact is to forget the reason that our nation was founded in the first place.

Besides that, I am actually encouraged by this attack on Christianity. To me, the fact that this official is SO offended by a small Bible study readily proves that Christianity is the Truth. No other religion is met with such hostility, because Christians actively move against the grain of popular culture. So we offend. We will not cater to general definitions of "love," "success," or "happiness," but instead hold firm to the reality of sin, and the consequences of leading a life without Christ at its center.

I do think we should fight against these attempts to quell freedom of religion, but I also take hope. God is Sovereign over all, and this recent attack on Christians may be His reminder to us that we cannot serve the Lord half-heartedly. It's time to take a stand.

A Review...

Just a quick plug for the BEST cookbook I've ever read: The Golden Door Cooks at Home by Dean Rucker.

I was privileged to sit in on a cooking class with Dean, and was astounded by the fresh simplicity of his recipes. Forget all you knew about healthy cooking: this book revolutionizes good eating. And with so many options, and such fresh ingredients, it would not be hard to maintain this diet forever!

If you purchase it now at Amazon.com, you get 40% off. Go buy it! It's a must have.

A Joke...

We hear it all the time. Mothers, especially, love to say it. I'm beginning to wonder, however, if the mantra "use common sense" has lost all meaning. Common sense, it appears, is altogether uncommon.

For reference, take a look at some actual warning labels printed on products today (these are all real):

1) Liquid Plummer
Warning: Do not reuse the bottle to store beverages.

2) Windex
Do not spray in eyes.

3) Bowl Fresh
Safe to use around pets and children, although it is not recommended that either be permitted to drink from toilet.

4) Toilet Plunger
Caution: Do not use near power lines.

5) Endust Duster
This product is not defined as flammable by the Consumer Products Safety Commision Regulations. However, this product can be ignited under certain circumstances.

6) Baby Oil
Keep out of reach of children

7) Hair Coloring
Do not use as an ice cream topping.

8) Wet-Nap
Directions: Tear open packet and use.

9) Stridex Foaming Face Wash
May contain foam.

10) Zantac 75
Do not take if allergic to zantac.

These are all rather funny, but unfortunately they reveal a larger problem within our society today: greed. Because suing has become a popular pastime in recent years, companies are now having to print warnings to minimize the possibility that someone, somewhere, will find a reason to file suit.

In one famous case, a college student sued a washing machine company after he got drunk, climbed into a washer, turned it on, and was injured. As a result of his poor behavior, he not only received a huge reparations check, but all machines are now required to display the warning: "Do not put yourself, or any other persons, inside this washing machine" as well.

Yes, we might be able to take advantage of the system, but the joke is on us: our product warnings do a great job of making us look stupid.

A Comedian...

Despite bad hair and worse dress, Elaine Benes (Julia Louise Dreyfuss) is my favorite female sitcom character. It's not often that you find a woman whose performance is so organic, so comfortable, so winsome. Most sitcom women are grating, nagging, and bitter house wives, whose sole purpose in the show is to punish and berate their husbands.

What I love most about Julia's performance are her fearless displays of emotion. Her physical comedy, facial expressions, and precise timing are truly noteworthy. Acting opposite of 3 men, it would be easy for her to get lost under the uneven male to female ratio. But she doesn't. Instead, Julia has created a character who stands out for being brash, clumsy, and always lovable: Elaine Benes.

(My favorite moment from his compilation is Elaine's fight with George, over his horrid toupee. Her expressions and blocking are flawless.)

A Struggle...

This post is dedicated to my own version of the forbidden fruit: COFFEE.

I had to give it up recently, and while I don't often miss it, I am this morning. A lot. After a poor night's sleep and a headache on the horizon...I would love nothing more than to brew myself a pot and enjoy a cup before work.

Oh well. Life is full of sacrifices, and I know I can resist this temptation. But, there's till that little voice in my head: Sumatra blend. Half-and-half. 1 Splenda Packet. Stir. Serve.

Enjoy your Friday!!

A Kiss...

It is easy to overlook the importance of subtlety in film today. After all, we are a society that worships immediate gratification. The result? Films that glorify sex, violence, torture, murder, infidelity, homosexuality, lewdness, and gore. That is not art. It is a cheap turn-on.

Needless to say, one of the great artistic masters of film is Alfred Hitchcock. I have always had a great respect for this man, despite his eccentric and often frightening obsessions and oddities. Why? Because he viewed film as a true art form. An opportunity to relate the intricacies of the human mind. And he did so, again and again, with deceptively obvious genius.

I say deceptively obvious because Hitchcock never misses a moment. Although his story lines are rooted in psychological complexities, he shows us exactly what we are meant to see. The camera is our world: every spoken word, every shadow, every movement, every musical note...ALL serve to drive the plot, his plot, in the right direction. Even the suspenseful moments in his films are captured with an effortless grace. And his stories always unfold with meticulous detail and precision, like watching a beautiful dance.

My favorite Hitchcock film is Rear Window. Here, Hitchcock proves his artistic genius by filming a murder/suspense within the confines of a single room. And he does it all with subtle class (which bears zero resemblance to the trashy suspense movies spewed out today).

In the following scene, Grace Kelly is introduced. Although this portion of the movie does not speak for the white-knuckled moments to come, it does provide a perfect example of an onscreen romance as art. I think I can safely say that this is one of the most beautifully choreographed kiss scenes in all of film. It begins quietly, with a slow pan around the apartment complex. It is early evening. A woman is quietly singing scales in the distance. Cut to a high-angled close up of James Stewart, asleep. A shadow softly rises over his body. Cut to low-angled shot of Grace, beautiful. Cut back and forth between Grace and Jim, eyes locked. Finally, the kiss, shot with a soft lens in slow motion. It is perfect. Hitchcock would approve of no less.

Here's to you, Alfred Hitchcock, for creating art through your films.

A Smile...

I borrowed this video from a friend's blog (Colleen Huston), but it helped remind me what an incredible blessing it is to live, work, and play where I do.

Wednesdays are notorious for being a "slump" day. Middle of the week, work piling up, deadlines approaching, etc. But some truths never change, no matter how bleak, stressful, or tiring a day may seem.

1) God is good, all the time.
2) God provides exactly what we need, when we need it.
3) God never gives us more than He has equipped us to handle.
4) God hears our prayers and praises to Him.
5) God holds each moment of our lives in His hands.

It is such a blessing to hold to these truths. So much so, that they can even make a Wednesday as special as a Friday.

A Choice...

In a recent news report, The Obama administration announced plans to reverse a regulation allowing health-care workers to refuse to provide services based on moral objections. The law, expanded on by the Bush Administration, was written 30 years ago. Essentially, it established a "conscience clause" for "health-care professionals who do not want to perform abortions."

If this reversal passes, it would no longer offer doctors the choice to refuse performing abortions on moral grounds. The liberal media is praising President Obama for this decision, claiming that he is putting the best reproductive health care options before ideological demands.

The BEST reproductive health care? Really? This just astounds me. For anyone to stand up and say that killing unborn children, the MOST innocent and helpless population in our society, is to provide the best health care options possible, is simply to ignore basic human facts.

Aside from the fact that abortions kill the child and are dangerous and damaging to the mother, which should be reason enough for any mildly ethical person to reject them as WRONG, it is an egotistical cop-out to include them as a viable option for "reproductive health care." If a woman is irresponsible, lazy, or immoral with her choices regarding sex, the logical result is pregnancy. This is not rocket science; it's basic cause and effect.

Of course, our society has totally ignored these truths in favor of the feminist movement. Women should be free to have sex as they please, with whomever they choose, and not have to pay for the inevitable "consequence:" an unwanted child. The result? Reproductive health "care" now includes murder, simply because the mother does not wish to be held responsible for HER actions.

Let's be frank: there is no valid or reasonable argument in favor of murdering a child. Any rhetoric that validates abortion in our society is focused solely on the woman and her "rights". No terms like mother, child, life, death or murder are used, which, to me, further proves that people know, inherently, that abortions are wrong. After all, there is no way to ignore the scientific fact that conception produces life. But, as this reversal of the conscience doctrine shows, we would rather blind ourselves to the truth in favor of having what we want, when we want it. And not only that, we are now eliminating the right to call it wrong.

I'll leave you with this, a quote from President Obama: “Look, I got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby."

I think that says it all.

A "Queen"...

After watching the above clip on America's Home Videos, flashes of my childhood bounced into my mind's eye. Coined a "Drama Queen" by Dad, I think it's safe to say that even that term is being gracious.

Among other instances, I can vividly recall crying spells carried out in front of my mirrored closet (always better to watch yourself indulge in rant); placing my hand on my forehead in a conceited attempt to convince Mommy that I was ill; holding the thermometer under hot water to display just how much I NEEDED to stay home (it never worked...or it worked too well, 109 degrees tipped Mom off immediately); setting up elaborate stages in the hallway where I would perform beautiful plays and operas to a full house (of stuffed animals and Barbies); making up names and characters so elaborate for myself that it prompted my brother to regularly ask me, "Who are you today, Sarah?"; accepting my Oscar (a soccer trophy) time and again in front of the bathroom mirror, beautifully adorned in a sheet or dress (stolen from Mom); and barricading myself into my room, along with a poor little playmate, simply because she would not adhere to the Barbie fantasy world I had created.

Today, I can clearly reason two things from this:

1) God has given me a very clear desire-of-the-heart to act.

2) If and when Clint and I have a daughter someday, it will be the best poetic justice ever.

A Terror...

I am never ashamed to call myself an American. I am, however, appalled by the actions of many colleges around the United States, who have substituted dignity and respect in favor of political correctness. Funny turn of phrase, "politically correct". In my view, there is nothing correct about kow-towing to the radical demands of hate-filled religious groups, as the University of California at Irvine has done for the Muslim Student Union.

Of course, I am deeply grateful for the Freedom of Speech doctrine, as it applies to different religions. I count myself daily blessed to live in a country where I have the right to speak freely about the Truth of Christianity. But I think we're forgetting that "freedom of speech" naturally requires some limitations. The value and functionality of a State is directly linked to how well a law is defined and applied. No one would argue that religious groups should be able to speak openly about their faith under the protection of "free speech." But what if those groups are actively promoting hatred, torture, and murder of another set of people? Is that what we want to aspire to as a nation?

UCI, by allowing the Muslim Student Union free reign on campus, has implied that their aspirations, in part, fully support religious radicalism and hatred. Extracurricular activities, clubs, and religious groups are an essential part of the college experience, but they should never overshadow a secular school's first priority: a great education. And when a secular school does support religious groups or clubs, it ought to serve as the neutral host, not a biased "politically correct" coward, as UCI has done here.

Let's take a look at some facts:

• Every year, the Muslim Student Union (MSU) hosts an event in the Spring called "Holocaust in the Holy Land." A literal "wall of shame" is resurrected with anti-Israel propoganda covering it.
• Attempts by other students or other religious groups to dialogue with the Muslim Student Union are met with violent retorts. This event does not promote education or understanding. Rather, its sole purpose is to demonize Israel and Jews.
• Over the past few years, the MSU has regularly sponsored similar programs. Jewish student groups have repeatedly pleaded with the MSU to invite more moderate speakers and to engage in dialogue instead of hate-filled rhetoric. They are ignored.
• The UCI administration has remained totally deaf to Jewish groups’ concerns, claiming "free speech" trumps all else. Events have been allowed to continue as scheduled. The result? A week-long assault against Israel and Jews that is blatantly anti-Semitic and has glorified violence and terrorism.
• Muslim speakers have included such radicals as American born Imam Muhammed Al-Asi, who is notorious for his anti-Semitic comments, such as "You can take the Jew out of the ghetto but you cannot take the ghetto out of the Jew," and for claiming that Nazi anti-Semitism was justifiable.
• Despite a general public outcry against the events (which included the voices of many conservative Muslims), the administration at UCI has not only allowed them to continue, but has provided financial support and police protection for the Muslim Student Union.
• Other groups aiming to speak out against the MSU, including Christians and Jews, are encouraged by the administration at UCI to keep quiet and are given little to no financial support or protection.
  

What stands out to me amongst these facts is the simple line "UCI claims that free speech trumps all else." Really? So, freedom of speech is more important than the value and respect of another human life? It is more important than protecting peaceful students, who are being personally attacked and maligned simply because of their heritage? It is more important than remembering the simple fact that we are ALL image-bearers of our Creator?

You decide.

A Glimpse...

What is beauty? It seems like such a simple question, but posed to 20 different people, I'm sure there would be 20 different answers.

Skimming the surface of the word "beauty," we come in contact with the pop-culture mantra: beauty is purely physical. Height, weight, dress size, hair color, eye color, skin color...the list goes on, but it all points towards the same end: beauty is defined simply by external appearance. If you look right, you can do or have anything you wish; the prettier you are, the more successful or happy you will be.

Modern-day artists (authors, poets, painters, actors, etc.) define beauty with more sensory terms: feeling, line, form, rhyme, taste, sound, rhythm, or song. Beauty is a relative experience to the modern artist; you define beauty as you see it, therefore it is neutral. There is no right or wrong.

Religious groups (namely Christians) define beauty by adhering to a misguided belief that self-denial is the way to achieve spiritual blessing (i.e. true beauty). External appearance has no place or value, and those who do appreciate it are condemned.

So, what is beauty? Is it an adherence to the pop-culture's ever-changing-outer-only view? Is it an artist's post-modern reflection on thought and feeling? Is it a rigid religious denial of the outer-self in favor of the inner?

I would argue that God is bigger than all of this. It is myopic and sinful to reduce beauty to any one of the above views. Besides, these views are defining beauty by itself, or what they wish it to mean. A word, of course, has no meaning unless it is defined by its source, or Creator.

God is a God of beauty. Proof of this is present all throughout the Bible. The intricacy and detail of our created world is a daily reminder that God is actively present over His work. And in the first chapter of Genesis, not only are we reminded that God brought light and life out of nothing, He also called it "good." Of course, the theological complexities of these passages run deep, but one obvious key truth is this: God's creation is something that ought to be admired, appreciated, respected, loved and cherished. Beautiful? Indeed. This truth has particular relevance for the artists; sensory reflections on beauty are important, but only insofar as they flow out of joy and wonder for the Lord's handiwork. Our artistry ought to praise and glorify Him.

What we often skip over in an effort to define beauty is God's view of man. In our culture, we are apt to think of ourselves in one of these two ways (as I said before): man's beauty is either external, or internal, exclusively.

To the "beauty externalist": To focus merely on the outward appearance of man is to forget God's investment in our souls. The internal workings of our hearts and minds must be a daily outpouring of our faith in, love for, and worship of Christ, for His life, death, and resurrection. The life we have has been given to us by God, it is not for ourselves or for a worship of self: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20). 1 Peter 3: 3-4 calls women in particular to remember that "beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." It is easy to see that the Lord places primary emphasis on our hearts as a source of beauty. Our hearts are regenerated, transformed, beautiful if we believe in what Christ accomplished on our behalf, and live in accordance with God's will with joy and humbled thankfulness.

To the "beauty internalist:" To focus merely on inner self-discipline is to rob ourselves of the joy God intended us to have as His image-bearers. Yes, our hearts are of primary importance to the Lord as sources of beauty, but they are not of sole importance. God intended for us to place value in physical appearance. Psalm 139 expresses that He "knit us together" in our mother's wombs; and in Genesis 1:31, God calls his creation of man "very good." Both point to the intimate relationship God has with us, a relationship that encompasses both soul AND body. This, along with the truth that our bodies "are temples of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:9) , ought to compel us to treat our bodies with respect and honor.

Perhaps the most clear proof that God intended for us to admire physical beauty is Song of Solomon. A love song, Song of Solomon is a Biblical book full of adoration and love for the body. Of course, this joy and appreciation for physical beauty is only experienced fully within the confines of marriage, a covenant that God has established between one man and one woman. When the culture refuses to abide by the standards of marriage God has set forth, it immediately cheapens physical beauty, and produces the lurid, immodest images that are rampant in our society today. Marriage increases the importance and beauty of the body by raising it to a place of honor and value. Matrimony does not put limitations on beauty; rather, it frees a couple to love and celebrate each other the way Christ loves and celebrates His bride: the Church.

A Beginning....

It's hard to know where to begin a blog. So I'm not going to try. I think life is better when it's simpler.

Today, I've had a recurring thought, brought about by one of my favorite sounds: a Cessna engine. When I was a little girl, I practically lived on the beach. Boogie-boarding, building sand castles, playing mermaids, and swimming until my fingers and toes turned blue. My favorite pastime was to race out of the water, roll in the hot sand, and stare up at the sky, waiting for the planes. They would arrive, many times in a long line, with beautiful advertisements flowing behind them, in all sorts of bright colors. I would lay there hours, watching the planes fly by, never forgetting that distinct sound of the engine drone.

Today, I've heard a few planes fly overhead, and my mind has rushed back to those long, sun-filled days at the beach. I wish I was there, without a care or worry. Just sand, sun, water, and time.

This longing is no accident. I've experienced it before: during a great party, around the Christmas tree with family, even just listening to a beautiful song. C.S. Lewis describes this feeling when he describes Heaven:

"We cannot name it because it is a desire for something that has never actually appeared in our experience. We cannot hide it because our experience is constantly suggesting it, and we betray ourselves like lovers at the mention of a name. Our commonest expedient is to call it beauty and behave as if that had settled the matter. Wordsworth's expedient was to identify it with certain moments in his own past. But all this is a cheat. If Wordsworth had gone back to those moments in the past, he would not have found the thing itself, but only the reminder of it; what he remembered would turn out to be itself a remembering. The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited."

That's it. A little gift from God, given freely through a simple sound. My memories, those longings, are a tiny glimpse into the reality of eternity, and Heaven. I cannot wait.