Psalms

Seems like a common theme in my life these days is Anger at God. People in my life (Myself included) seem to be angry at God for one reason or another. Be it finances, family matters, or just general disgust with the state of the world. What's worse, is most people run from this anger. We avoid it. We are embarrassed by it. We refuse to bring that anger to God. Why? Why why why? Do we think we can fool God? It's like we're so pissed at him, but we're afraid to let him know so we hide it. But, if you open your bible to Psalm 139, you'll see Verses 1-4 say:

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

So what can we possibly hide from God? We can't hide anything. So we come to him. In tears, in laughter and even in Anger. Is that bad? NO. No it isn't. God wants us to come to him as we are. Don't hide how you feel so that you can give him the reverence he requires. If you're pissed, be pissed. I discovered a while back, that if you do that you will often find a certain amount of peace. Now I'm not saying you should come to him with the intention of being a pissed of Jerk. Not at all. But, it's so easy to be afraid to show our true feelings to the almighty. So easy. And I do it all the time. If I have strong feelings or thoughts that I deem 'ungodly' I try to convince God (and myself) that every thing is okay and that it's something I need to deal with on my own. And that's dangerous. Dangerous stuff!

So what are we to do? Well, the obvious Christian answer is: Look to Jesus. He will show you how to deal with it. So, can we think of a time when Jesus was pissed? (the temple. (Matt 21:12-13) A time when he was unsure? (Gethsemane. (Matt 26: 39-45)

How about anger with God? (The cross) Now I'm not saying that it wasn't his will. He willfully went to the cross. No doubt. But the words "Eloi Eloi lema sabachthani?" (The little bit of Aramaic I remember from Catholic school.) speak Volumes. God why have you forsaken me? So when Jesus was angry with God he quoted a Psalm. (His words are the opening lines of Psalm 22) So, I decided to read through psalm 22 and it seems to hit home how I and a lot of people around me are feeling. Crying out to God with no answer. Then getting more and more angry with him because he isn't answering. Sending us on a vicious cycle of sorts. Ps 22 is a prayer. It doesn't give any answers. It ends with King David asking God to not be far away and begging him to stay close. I guess a prayer we can all ask when we are feeling lonely.

But what about answers? Well, we've established we can't hide our feeligns from God. Maybe we can run from him?

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. (Ps 139:7-8)

Damn. So much for that idea. As I read on through 139, I found a lot of hope. Hope in a place I never used to find it. In the fear of God. I always felt that had a negative connotation to it. But I really don't feel as though it does anymore. Fear doesn't mean threatened into submission (That's not how God rolls.) No, instead I would translate fear as awe, wonder, amazement or - dare I say - being blessed. Yes. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am, because I count myself blessed that God looks after me. Unworthy as I may feel, he has proved that I am worthy. (Gen 1:31) Everything I have - every blessing in my life - I owe to God. So I come to him in fear. I come to him in anger. I come to him in sadness. I come to him as me. He is creator and King who has given me life. The least i can do, is be myself.

__________

Today's Piece of Worke
Bernard Madoff and his 150 Year Jail Sentence

Facebook, life and MJ

It never ceases to amaze me. Same thing happened in the 2008 presidential election. As the results began to pour in, everyone's statuses were updated to read "OBAMA!!!" "YES. Finally. The world is safe." "A brother in the white house!" Just page after page after page of people praising the first black leader of the free world. It was an incredible social experiment. But I figured it was a rare occasion. I mean, how often does a moment like that happen... But it happened again. Within Minutes of Michael Jackson's Death today, my Facebook home page was just flooded with people (myself included) clogging the information highway with the same news. "The King of Pop has beat it."

Now I'm not knocking it. I'm just making an observation. I'm marvelling at the incredible interconnected nature of the world we live in. Between facebook, myspace and now Twitter, news and gossip spreads like wildfire. It gets me thinking about all the limitless possibilities that this technology can supply us with. Think about it. I'm seeing ads on TV now for apps that know exactly what road you're located on. With the app, your friends - at the push of a button - can know exactly where in the world you are located. Now that doesn't bode well for people who are trying to live a secret life (but if you don't want people knowing where you are, why would you invest in the application on your phone? That's another question all together.)

But think about what can be done with that. We could revolutionize emergency response. If someone is getting raped in the middle of the night, there can be a button on her phone that automatically notifies authorities of an emergency and where the person is located. Of course, phone companies would see opportunity for profit there, and no one would invest in the app unless it wasn't gonna cost them an arm and a leg to do it. That's just a crappy idea that I pulled out of the air now. But, imagine what could be done with the brain of a person who can think up GOOD ideas!

Not even the GPS application, but just thinking bout the internet and it's wonders. Within a matter of seconds word can be sent from one corner of the earth to the other. Gone are the days of taking time to get in touch with someone. If I want to tell my friend in Australia something, I just hop online and within 5 seconds I can be telling them all about my new jeans (or what have you) It's mind-blowing. Positively mindblowing.

It's even crazier when you think of the spreading of news. If I take Michael Jackson as an example. My sister and my friend Kim both told me that within a matter of minutes they had received at least 5 text messages or emails or FB messages telling them about his death. But it goes further than Hollywood. Look to Iran. The Grand Ayatollah and his council of "Clerics" have banned international media from covering the protests against Ahmadinejad's re-election. But it's impossible. Twitter posts, myspace posts, and Cell Pics are popping up all over mainstream Western Media, showing that this opposition is a reality. A reality that mirrors the Islamic Revolution that brought down the Shah. 'Tiananmen Square Moments' simply won't happen anymore. Which is amazing. It really is. I used to be very scared and skeptical, and proudly called myself anti-technology. But the way I see it, the authorities will keep tabs on us one way or another. They have files on people that aren't even born yet. Might as well reap the benefits of our ingenuity.

As long as we don't lose touch with our humanity. That's another topic all together. Perhaps for another post.

Guess whoooo

Hello Internet!
I've found I'm spending more and more time on people's blog's of late. I'm commenting on posts and sparking discussion.

Then I gots ta thinkin'... Why don't I gets me one of dem thangs.

So here I am. At 3 AM, unable to sleep trying to figure out how to make my blog look as badass as Sarah Pee's. So far, no luck. Ok Ok. I'm just a rookie in this whole sub-culture, so I will give it a little time. Hopefully I will get the hang of it and blow your minds!

In any event I have created this because I think it's a great way to get my thoughts out in the open. (And to the CIA. What are they gonna do with my thoughts? I'm not too worried. I don't have much of relevance to say.) This is more or less gonna be a place for me to tell people where I'm at. What I'm thinking. What I'm feeling. How much the world is pissing me off. Or how I am reminded of how magical it is. Whatever. We'll see.

On that note, I'm gonna try to sleep now. I'm gonna get crackin' on this again in the AM. Well, it is the AM. I mean more in the Latter-AM!

BAHA.

Goooooooooooooodnight Internet.