Blog is moving out

Hello Blog Readers.
This is my last blog here, and it's to let you know this blog is shutting down. The 614network website is now an information clearing house, and therubicon.org has become the location of thought and discussion. To this end, a blog on an info site seems obsolete. Surf over to therubicon.org to check out material there, and watch for the development of the blog with guest writers. OR, come and check out www.cfot.ca for news and information relating to officer training in the Canada and Bermuda territory.

Anyway, thanks for reading...
peace,
rZ

First Times Free

I remember when we first moved into our community, we would walk down the street and the dealers would ask us if we needed anything. They would follow that question with the statement, "1st Time Free!"

All the dealers have to do to get a former addict hooked again is give him "1st Time Free." After that, they would find away to get more.

I saw this cash advance the other day and had to snap a picture.

I wonder if it is somebody from my neighborhood that owns this place?

coryh

Pull the pin and count to 10...

"People are leaving the church, and going back to God" Lenny Bruce

If you haven't listened to Drew Marshall then give a listen to the link (click on his name) and see what you think. He contends that church is boring and irrelevant, and doesn't do what it's meant to do. He says the mark of a true church is measured by the number of ugly people in it, and his mission for his radio show is to reach up and pull the pin on the holy hand grenade that christians have inserted in their butts.

Drew is on the edge, but he makes an excellent argument, and just wants to make it through life as a Jesus follower. You'll love him or you'll hate him, but for sure you'll be talking about him.

grace, rZ

Link

When you wish upon a star...

This isn't a movie review, but I saw Pirates of the Carribean 3...boring. Let's see if we can resolve 14 story lines in 2.5 hours. Wait for the video.

Here's the rub...My son and I were talking about the movie, and in the course of discussion we got on about the heroes of the movie, and his conclusion, which is probably representative of many moviegoers, is the guys who are supposed to be the goodguys end up being the badguys, and the pirates, the supposed villains, come off as the good guys. Scrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeech (sound of brakes coming to a halt).

This is the problem with most Disney movies. A good movie will always unearth the goodhuman/hero, and at the end will give you a glimpse into imagining the possibilities of what can be when the evil or conflict is resolved in the movie. With Disney movies, we're always taken back to status quo and nothing gets resolved.

Bear with me...so in Pirates we have the British army, or some of them, as scoundrel, and the pirates, become the group everyone cheers. How did it happen that this group of thieves, murderers, perverts and rapists...yes, that's what pirates do...how is it they become the heroes?

It's because we like them. They're characters who are funny, and interesting, but we take celebrity, and translate that into, "they're the good guys".

Back to Disney...Think of a movie (other than the princess ones), and follow the plot. Goodguy/underdog runs into conflict/opposition with evil villain. In the end the villain falls flat as a non-entity, poised to rise again, and the underdog goes back to status quo or rises to middle class American existance. When do we ever see the movies as resolving the problem of evil and showing us what can be in this world with the absence of evil.

The gospel tells a different story, and the power of the story is the image of possibility for fullness of life through Christ in His kingdom incarnate in the church.

Yo Ho, a pirate's life for me...

rZ

Friday's Useless facts

From the website:
On Tuesday, December 1, 1998 at 6:46:40pm I celebrated a milestone birthday...If only I realized it then I would have celebrated in true fashion for a woman of 1,000,000,000 seconds. That's right...1 Billion seconds and counting, after all that was 1998. It is almost a decade later...My next significant birthday celebration is scheduled for Friday, April 18, 2008 at 5:pm. I will be 15000 days old...now that I think of it this doesn't seem all that exciting, I think I will wait for November 10, 2012, 9:am - I will be 400000 hours old...now that sounds like something to celebrate!
To find out your milestone birthdates and other useless information check out
timeanddate.com.

Link

Do you Swear?

This is not a survey on the use of expletives, however, that might be an idea for a later blog. What I'm referring to is my foray into the public forum of exercising my democratic right to vote. I'd tell you who I voted for, but I can't. We're apolitcal in The Salvation Army. If you look at us you can't tell if we're male or female. No, that's not it. I know, if you look at us you can't tell what our political leanings are. Although.....I think we look a little conservative in some circles.
Regardless, I went to the polling station tonight, and was I blown away. On every ballot box was a Bible, the real book. It's for the purpose of swearing your identity if you aren't registered. Of the 8 tables, the NIV was the Bible of choice. Who would have thought in this day and age that the Bible would still be used. I mean, we hold the value of separation of church and state. Wait, that's not us. We don't have that inherant in any of our societal creeds, but if you asked most Canadians we wouldn't know whether that statement is true or false.
The church, by the way, does hold to this truth, or do we? Christendom under Constantine ushered in an era of combination of church and state, and along with it came incredible power. Crusades were fought under the banner of the cross with the power of church and state (yes, the muslim conquests were also fought). Interesting point. The Eastern churches that sat between the muslim nations and christian nations tried to distance themselves from the western church in an attempt to separate church and state. In the end they were decimated by the western crusades, and 10 years later as a weakened church were destroyed by the muslim conquests.
Anyway, my point? The church likes power and all too often we leave the margins of society to align ourselves with the power structures. Jesus railed against it, and spoke clearly about it. I probably have tons to say about this, but ask you to reflect on the implications of aligning with power rather than finding ourselves in the margins. I'll leave it with you. Do you swear to tell the truth?
peace,
rZ

More on driving...

Almost a month ago I was taking my friend out to a restaurant in the evening. Before we got there, some 'crazy' driver hit me on the driver's side. Initially it seemed he wasn't stopping. He went through the light, wasn't pulling over, and went through the next light. Eventually he pulled right onto the next little street.

When, in my mind, the guy wasn't stopping, something inside me kicked into gear and I took off after him like a mad woman. My friend Tara was quite surprised by my aggressiveness as I sped after him and honked my horn with a vengeance. After all, I am a quiet and reserved lady.

Funny thing about this all - the guy was an undercover cop who was going through some training exercise. Ha! I wonder if he passed?

One thing I thought of through all of this though was how I want to be this tenacious spiritually. When it seems as though the enemy is sneaking in and getting away with some business, I want to RISE UP in my Spirit and go after Him with all the authority the Lord has given me. I don't want to settle for any "hit and runs"; I refuse to sit back and allow the enemy to take ground that is not his own.

And just to clarify here: I'm not likening cops to satan.

Shalom!