open for suggestions.

4 children were locked in a 3 x 8 foot closet with 3 dogs for days on end. no light. no food. the dogs were fed, the children were not. it was the month of february and there was a hole in the house that entered throug the closet. the eight year old says, "do you know how warm dog's fur is?"

a boy knocks a packet of cigarettes off of the coffee table. mom's boyfriend gets so angry that he punches and strangles this 4 year old to the point that every blood vessel in his eye breaks and there are strangulation marks left on his neck. don't worry though, the mother sides with the boyfriend, runs away, and the boy is left alone and mentally retarded because she also shook him when he was 2 months old.

situation: a two year old needed 32 staples for a crack in the back of the scull, and also had a 1 inch vaginal tear.
claim: she fell down the stairs.
fact: you don't get vaginal tears from falling down the stairs.

situation: a three year old boy gets jumped on by his 220 lb father. his heart gets crushed. he dies.
claim: he fell of the swingset
fact: you don't get a crushed heart from falling off a swingset.

these are all cases of child abuse in grant county. in 2002 there were about 500 cases of child abuse reported. in 2003: 800 cases and in 2004: 1,020. notice the increase. notice the decrease in jobs. the factory closing down. money. i hate it but never had to deal with not having it. i wonder what types of behaviors would manifest in my life if the money wasn't there, if my father abused me for years, if i didn't know jesus.

empathizing with the children: pretty simple, its natural for us to hate injustice; to hate when those of lesser power are defaced; to hate the abuser.

what about empathizing with the abuser... the mom that locked her children in the closet, the man that strangled his girlfriend's son, the man that jumped on and killed his son, the uncle that had intercourse with his two year old niece. much harder. harder to put myself on the same level. hard not to judge. hard not to compare and justify myself because of their actions.

the truth is, i don't put myself on their level. is it a sin? because i don't beat kids, because i don't kill people, because i don't force myself on others, i have a hard time thinking that my sin is as damaging. that mine is just as deadly. i'm not taking part in those things, but lets be honest we are all just as capable of it. by the grace of god, my circumstance of life has kept me from falling into those particular evils. but it isn't because of anything that i did. can i say that again? it isn't because of anything that i did. how should that play out in the way i view those that are doing "worse" things than i?

any thoughts?

swimming in the deep end

Otter- Otters are very social creature. Otter personalities love people. They enjoys being popular and influencing and motivating others. Otter can sometimes be hurt when people do not like them. Otter personalities usually have lots of friends, but not deep relationships. They love to goof-off. (They are notorious for messy rooms.) Otters like to hurry and finish jobs. (Jobs are not often done well.) The otter personality is like Tigger in Winnie The Pooh.Biblical Example: PeterCase Study: John 21:1-22Strength: People person, open, positiveWeakness: Talks too much, too permissiveLimitation: Remembering past commitments, follow through with discipline.

80% acurate eh?

"hey, how's it goin', PERIOD"

"how are you?"

"i'm.........fine" but you're already halfway to class or lunch or in your room before i got to answer. what if i responded, "actually i would like to jump out in front of a semi-truck today". you would probably be halfway down the sidewalk still listening to your ipod not realizing my fate. maybe you'd notice when the ambulance came to peel me off of the sidewalk. maybe not.

no worries though, i don't really want to jump out in front of a semi. actually i'm probably the farthest from that thought than i've ever been since i've been at this fine institution.

someone might not feel the same way though... why do we greet one another and disguise it as a question of concern. i've heard them all: "what's up."; "how's it going."; "what's going on." the list goes on but notice i punctuate these common questions with periods. honestly we all know they are only statements. and how awkward they are...

have you ever wanted to answer honestly but couldn't handle it if the "questioner" kept walking? or picture this going through their head... "he answered? he wasn't supposed to answer. i have somewhere to be. oh great now i have to pretend to care." then there are those outliers that actually are asking a question, actually do care... the thing is you never know which ones they are so you begin not to answer these greetings only to in turn make you yourself rude to those sincere passersby, as you seemingly ignoring their concern.

moral: to make life less complicated... let's stick to hi, hello, hey, (smile), (headnod) even. honestly does anyone really want to be asked this question in passing ever? no answer ever seems correct or sufficient and the only one anyone expects is "good". those that do want to know... they are always the same passersby, and only passersby, you're tired of telling them aren't you?

"i'm doing great. and you." period.

*disclaimer: don't take the above observance too seriously, chances are the author of this entry doesn't really care and most likely isn't as cynical as you may think.