Be sure that...

... One part of your life is not warring against the other.

A Rule of Saint Benedict says, “Take care of everything, revere one another, eat and drink moderately, pray where you work, think deeply about life every day, read, sleep well, don’t demand the best of everything, pray daily, live as community”

CRAZY CRAZY TIMES

OK so I am about to talk politics, using a football analogy, neither of which I know what the heck I am talking about, but here we go.   I have always been into the news, but lately I have been into politics more than I ever had before.   Partly because of the candidates and partly because of bazaar and extreme set of circumstances they are being tested under, this current economic 911 being the latest of them all.

It is like watching an intense football game, where both teams have amazing offences but just mediocre defenses, thus there it is an exciting game with a lot of action.   Then, out of nowhere, a thunderstorm blows through.   Before you know it, the rain is so thick you can hardly see though it and mud is covering the players so much, it is hard to tell who is playing for who.   On top of that, the wet ball keeps popping out of the receivers’ hands and the running backs are slipping and sliding all over the place.   Suddenly, everyone looks like a rookie and the mediocre defense is recovering an all time high of turnovers.

In short, this is just a fun game to watch.

Anybody else having this much fun?

UPDATE: Is McCain postponing the debate for legitimate reasons, or is the reason he wants to move it to when the VP's were supposed to debate because he is trying to keep Palin off the platform?

A few more Martin Luther King Jr Quotes

Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.

A few Martin Luther King Jr Quotes

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

A lie cannot live.

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

A right delayed is a right denied.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness

So how does that work?

The Southern Baptist just pulled from the shelves of it's bookstores (Lifeway Christian Book Stores), the latest issue of a magazine that they have carried for years, because the cover on it features Woman Pastors.  Evidently that is a bad thing. 

On the other hand, they endorse and support Sarah Palin for Vice President.  

Now, of course, they do allow for women to serve as "children's ministers" so perhaps Palin is like the United States Children's Minister or something.  Perhaps this is is a way of like getting extra insurance, because surely God would not allow the aging 70 something year old McCain die or go senile, because God knows you need male anatomy for the "Lead Role". Right?

Now there is one redeeming factor, if you go to a LifeWay book store, and you ask for the magazine, they are keeping copies behind the counter.  

Oh wait, isn't that why they once called a boycott on Royal Farms some years ago, because they had dirty magazines behind the counter?  Ok, so now i am really confused.

Sorry to pick on the Southern Baptist, it's my heritage, and I regularly fear what will show up on the headlines next.

I SURVIVED

Today i ran my first official 1/2 marathon.  In fact when i rounded the 10k / 15k marks i realized it was their first time for both of those also.  It went pretty good actually.  Unquestionably the first half was faster than the second half.  The hardest part physically was on my knees.  Yet, consider that I did formal training for only a month, I was satisfied with the results.  My goal was to make it by 2 & 1/2 hours.  My final time was 2 hours and 28 minutes.  This works out to be an 11 min 28 second mile.  So, for my first one - i am good with that.

Recovery has been good also.  My knees are a bit sore, but with a 2 hour nap behind me, i am ready to rock and roll!  Since it is the Rock and Roll 1/2 marathon, that is good place to be - off to see the B52's!

One Day - Oh NO

this morning i did a warm up run before my 1/2 marathon tomorrow.  I was not prepared for the humidity!  Not so much because of the sweat, but because it was so hard to breath!  As it turns out, this morning was 75% humidity with low winds.  WHile i am running it is supposed to be 90% humidity with high winds (13 miles per hour)

Ok - A bit concerned! 

Mr Bean Goes to Church