Ped Shield

I want to introduce to you all a new term: the "Ped Shield." Credit goes to Mister Harford, though apparently he doesn't remember dubbing the term. It stands for "Pedestrian Shield." It would be nice if I could illustrate to you the term with a series of pictures, but words will have to suffice since I don't think I can make great pictures.

When I'm leaving my apartment in Berkeley, there's an intersection that I have to stop at because it tells me so. It tells me so with a stop sign. The cross traffic, however, does not need to stop because there is no stop sign for the cross traffic. That means that if there is an infinite amount of cross traffic, I will be stuck there forever. Oh noes!

Though I have not yet encountered the problem of infinite traffic, sometimes there is a lot of traffic that feels infinite. "Oh ouroboros!", I think to myself. Is that comma supposed to be inside the quotation marks? Anyway, so many cars, and I must wait heres forevers at this stop sign!

Luckily, however, pedestrians begin to cross at the intersection. Since most of the time the cross traffic cars decide not to run over the pedestrians, the cross traffic has been blocked, allowing me to get through the blasted intersection! The pedestrians have formed a shield for me against the oncoming cars allowing me to enter the intersection safely, hence, the "Ped Shield."

Ped Shield is great! I love the Ped Shield. It is handy to me often.

Defying Gravity

As I look at the sky my neck grows tired and gravity pulls my gaze downward: I see only people. As I look at people my neck grows tired and gravity pulls my gaze downward: I see only my dirty feet. I think, my dirty feet, is this all there is? It is a small world.

Tired, dirty feet marching along, where am I going? At church. Praise God, I sing, but see only my feet, and these feet are still tired. Maybe others know.

I lift my head and see others, walking. Going in different directions. Quite a better view than my feet, perhaps my answer lies here. Where can I rest, friend? The answer lies inside, he says. I look at my bellybutton. I am not inspired.

I turn to another. Where can I rest, friend? In the company of others, he says. I stand with others, and feel relieved that I am not the only one standing. But my feet are still tired.

Look up, look up, I hear. I look up. I see the heavens that declare the glory of God, the skies that proclaim the work of His hands, pouring forth speech and displaying knowledge. I glimpse majesty incomprehensible, holiness overwhelming.

Looking upward, I find rest, for my soul finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from him. Once hath God spoken, these two things have I heard: strength is the Lord's, and to thee, Lord, is mercy.

As I look at the sky my neck grows tired and gravity pulls my gaze downward: I must defy gravity. As I resolve to rest alone in the Origin of power and the Fountain of mercy my neck grows tired and gravity pulls my gaze downward: I cannot defy gravity. But the one who is merciful extends his might to defy gravity, and lifts my head. It is a good view.

Absurd Line from Notting Hill

I finished "The Napoleon of Notting Hill" a couple weeks ago. Pretty good. Started off slow, a lot of the time it was like what is this madness what's going on. I felt it was worth it, though, built up well, the end was worth it.

Here's an entertaining line from one of the characters: "How can these people strike dignified attitudes, and pretend that things matter, when the total ludicrousness of life is proved by the very method by which it is supported? A man strikes the lyre, and says, 'life is real, life is earnest', and then goes into a room and stuff alien substances into a hole in his head."

I'd write and quote more, but alas, it's late. If I started earlier in the day, maybe I'd have a real blog post for you =). That's what I tell myself, anyway.

Spending Life

In economics we use this concept called "opportunity cost." Let's say I have 20 bucks to spend on Christmas gifts. I could spend that 20 bucks on a 20 dollar jacket for myself. That'd be good, I want to do that. But I also want to buy gifts for people. I could instead buy two 10 dollar t-shirts. I can't buy the jacket for myself AND the t-shirts for others. If I buy the jacket, I can't buy the t-shirts, and if I buy the t-shirts, I can't buy the jacket.

We see here that doing one thing necessarily means not doing another. The cost of spending all my money on myself is best understood in terms of what I am giving up for it, the opportunities foregone, hence the term "opportunity cost."

I'd like to think I'll never grow old. But one day I'll grow old, weak, ugly (uglier), dead. Right now I'm alive, young, and I have energy. How shall I spend it? On myself? On others? Both? There seem to be many worthy causes, and many pleasurable pursuits in the world. What should I do with this small amount of life I have? I can't do everything, as much as I'd like to. Doing one thing necessarily means not doing another.

I really enjoy the song "Dancing through Life" from the musical Wicked. Quite a fun song. One part goes:

Dancing through life
Down at the Ozdust (ballroom)
If only because dust is what we come to...
Nothing matters
But knowing nothing matters
It's just..
life

Makes sense that if dust is what we all come to, then nothing matters except knowing nothing matters, and then why not just dance through life? As it says in 1 Corinthians 15, "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ... If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. ... If the dead are not raised, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.'" But, "knowing nothing matters" is only liberating in fiction, because in truth, life without meaning and purpose is full of despair, for there is no hope.

But how shall I live life, since I believe that dust is NOT what we all come to, since I believe that Christ has been raised and there is life after this one? I choose to spend my life for the one who spent his life for me. I was a slave to sin, but Christ spent his life to pay the ransom so that I might have freedom. I too now spend my life so that others might have freedom, I spend my life for the gospel, the only worthwhile pursuit in life.

Yes, it means I have to not do certain things I'd like to do. Then again, that happens any time I do anything, there is always opportunity cost. Is it worth it? Yes. No regrets.

Rudolphian Semblance

My project is dying! With the holiday season approaching and all I thought it appropriate to grow a red bulb at the tip of my nose. It was going quite well (or should I say, swell!). The timely zit is now shrinking, however. Now how shall I see in the dark??

Of Manners

Hello friends and non-friends. I know I told you I'd post more, but then I went ahead and posted only once all of last month. My apologies. I have some thoughts about things I've been working out in my head, but it's late and it'd take some time for them to be put into a form ready for public consumption. So! How about some more shallow thoughts =)

I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice. It's really interesting how concerned they are with courtesy, civility, manners, form. They're so concerned about such things that it's really quite ridiculous. Its gotten me thinking more about social conventions in our world today. Certain things can be said at certain times, and are just inappropriate or awkward at others. Historically I like to pooh-pooh conventions if I can, but, I've become increasingly aware of my need to at least be aware of what the conventions are.

Rules can be broken, but only under certain circumstances. Awkward can be funny, but sometimes its just awkward. Anyway, that's all. Trying to learn.

Oh boy I'm going to be tired tomorrow.

Gospel Mechanism

I listened to a message yesterday by R.W. Glenn and at one point he talked about the great assurance that Christians have from Romans 8:28, which says "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." God causes all things that happen in our lives, good and bad, to work for our good and for His glory. He went on to point out that secular people sometimes have the optimistic belief that all things will work out in the end, but that this is not true. God does not work in all things for the good of those who do not love him and have not been called according to his purpose.

When I heard this and thought of my nonchristian friends and coworkers, it made me sad. As a Christian, even in the darkest of nights, I can still take comfort in the fact that however bad the circumstances, God is working for my good even through these circumstances. I realized that for someone who is not saved, something bad that happens could just be straight up bad. No guaranteed redemption of ill fortune.

One thought I've had recently is that it would be hard for me to handle life without humor, which alleviates pressure off of life's all-too-serious issues. But life would be incomparably harder without my relationship with God. With God, there's assurance, there's meaning, there's love... there's relationship. But for a person who does not even believe that God exists, there's no one to even yell at except the empty sky.

Sometimes when I sing worship songs, I sing of the cross and salvation and the gospel, and I think to myself that my actual appreciation for these things does not match my enthusiastic (albeit off-key) singing. Why? I consistently value and appreciate my relationship with God, but I do not consistently value the gospel. I realized today that this makes no sense, since it is the gospel, Jesus' death on the cross that allows me to have a relationship with God. The gospel is the mechanism through which we were brought from estrangement from God to fellowship with God, and for that we appreciate it.

This renewed my burden to share the gospel: that those who do not know God can come to know Him, through Jesus' death on the cross.