Milk in the Mashed Potatoes

A friend of mine sent me his life’s mission statement/mantra, or whatever you want to call it, and challenged me to write one of my onw. I’ve been thinking about for weeks. But this morning I ran across a quote in the book UnChristian by David Kinnaman, and it resonated with what i want my life to be:

My goal is to be an “effective agent of spiritual transformation in people’s lives, whatever that may cost in time, comfort, or image.”

I want my life, my work, my family and my hobbies to all point toward the transforming power of Jesus Christ. It’s not my job to convert or save (that’s God’s). It’s just my job to live in the grace and truth I’ve experienced, and actively point others to the same.

“$100 offer for baby’s name gives dad gas“
from OrlandoSentinel.com

When David Partin heard that a local radio station was giving $100 worth of free gas to the listener who called in with the most interesting item to trade, he wasted no time in making his offer: The naming rights to his unborn child.

I recommend watching: http://lordsaveusthemovie.com/

Here are headlines I found interesting today:

Man designing Camry hybrid works self to death
from CNN.com

Orlando Magic’s plan for 5 community gyms months behind schedule
from OrlandoSentinel.com – Home
The Orlando Magic are months behind in building the five community gyms they promised last year during negotiations to secure public funding for their new arena, two Orange County commissioners said Wednesday.

Year after Sanford plane crash, new home helps man cope
from OrlandoSentinel.com – Home
Joe Woodard could have started over somewhere else. No one would have blamed him for wanting to escape the place where his wife and infant son perished in flames last year after a plane crashed into their home.

Drug stash found in car being used by US police
from BBC News | News Front Page | World Edition
Police in the US find cocaine worth $400,000 in secret compartments in a car being used by the drugs squad.

‘American Idol’ Alum Taylor Hicks Channels Elvis, Liberace For ‘Grease’ Gig
from MTV News Latest Headlines
“American Idol” alum Taylor Hicks says he’s channeling Elvis and Liberace for his “Grease” gig as Teen Angel.

Six months, 343,000 lost homes
from CNN.com
The number of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure continued to soar in June, according to a report released Thursday.

AFA Launches Boycott of McDonald’s
from Phil Cooke and The Change Revolution – The Intersection of Media, Faith, and Change by Phil

The American Family Association, founded by Donald Wildmon, has launched a boycott of McDonald’s Corporation. The reason, as the organization says on it’s website is: “It is about McDonald’s, as a corporation, refusing to remain neutral in the culture wars. McDonald’s has chosen not to remain neutral but to give the full weight of their corporation to promoting the homosexual agenda, including homosexual marriage.”

What do you think?

Joss Whedon, Neil Patrick Harris Aim For A New Cult Hit With Web Series ‘Dr. Horrible’
from MTV News Latest Headlines
Joss Whedon’s musical Web series “Dr. Horrible,” starring Neil Patrick Harris, seems tailor-made to become a cult favorite.

Can you sue the Almighty’s publishers?
Chicago Tribune, United States – 2 hours ago
Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, has filed lawsuits in a Michigan federal court against Zondervan Publishing and Thomas Nelson Publishing, claiming some editions …

How to Go Green: Laundry
from Planet Green Articles Feed by Planet Green Contributor
Don’t think of laundry as a mundane household chore — think of it an opportunity to go green! Get dozens of tips and facts on how to do it in our latest green guide, How to Go Green: Laundry, one in a series of dozens that we’re rolling out to help you go green in your everyday life.

The Business of Death: Can It Be Green?
from Planet Green Articles Feed by Planet Green Contributor
I think it’s a cultural thing, but my parents discuss their grave plot at the family table?a lot. They’ve been making payments on a plot in so the entire Pak clan (all 4 of us) will be able to be together in the after life. They don’t find this depressing or morbid, they discuss these arrangements as if they were buying a used Toyota.

EPA knocks $900,000 off value of a life
from MSNBC.com: Top MSNBC Headlines

A news ticker displays a headline about the funeral for Pope John Paul II 08 April, 2005, as pedestrians walk by in New York’s Times Square. Hundreds of millions of people, from Catholic heartlands to the Arab world, followed the funeral of Pope John Paul II on television on Friday. It’s not just the American dollar that’s losing value. The Environmental Protection Agency has decided that an American life isn’t worth what it used to be.

You’ve heard of occupational hazards. Finding a lizard in your house in the most random places is a locational hazard for us Floridians.

You’ve also heard of “book worms” … maybe this is a “book lizard.”

My pastor preached a great message Wednesday night, focusing on the story of Elijah. One minute he’s on top of the world — the next, he’s cowering under a Juniper tree. We like to think of Bible characters are spiritual superheroes, but the fact is we’re just like them. They were human just like us and subject to emotional rollercoasters. Just because a spiritual mountaintop is followed by a season of drought doesn’t mean I’m backslid or a failure … it just means I’m in need a Savior (like everyone else).

A friend has also blogged about the message (and our Thursday night prayer meeting).

This week a group of women – known in India as scavengers (who use their hands to clean up human excrement for a living) – were invited by the UN to attend a conference to mark the UN’s International Year of Sanitation. Not only were the 36 women honored at the conference – they took part in a fashion show called The Mission Sanitation. The fashion show featured the women alongside top models from India and other countries. Some of the designer clothes worn by the models were embroidered by the women, the article says.

Scavengers are from Dalit community, which is the lower-caste in India, also knows as the “untouchables.” Great prejudice comes along with the title and many never overcome it.
Usha Chomar, who took part in the week’s festivities, quit scavenging in 2003, and urges women not to think the lifestyle is inescapable. “I tell all scavenging women that it is not impossible for them to change their lives and command just as much respect as any other human being,” she says.

This is a unique new book: http://www.redleatherdiary.com/

A New York Times journalist found a discarded diary recording the life and thoughts of a 1930s New York woman. The reporter located the writer — and discovered she was still alive. She interviewed her and put together this unique biography.