What's up with that?

While we were watching the Proud Family on the  Disney Channel (I think it was Disney),  a commercial came on advertising 'emergency contraception'

Oh,  how gross.  Pre-teens are now being assaulted with sex-related products on Disney?  I guess they think they have a demographic that watches the show that would have need of their product.  Honestly, though, I can't see what pre-pubescent kids need with that stuff.

I am sick of tampon, douche, condom, erectile disorder medication, and hemorrhoid commercials.  Can't we have a yuck-free evening with kids without having to have long conversations explaining what erections are, and why someone would have one for four hours or more?

Linux

I am not a novice computer user.  

Trust me.  I've been programming computers since I was 12 (25 years now).  I use a command prompt every day.  I write software for a living.  I've built computers.  I fix computers all the time.  In my house, we have a home network with file and print sharing.  There are times that I am using two computers at once!

I've been trying to get into Linux.  For those of you who don't know, Linux is a alternative operating system to Windows and Mac.  It's free.  It is really fast.  You can't break it (not like Windows, that is.)  Most Distros (think of them as versions or flavors) come with tons of free software too.

The problem is that it's hard.  For me, a professional computer programmer, that's saying something.    Nothing is easy in its setup.

The problem is that it was written for geeks by geeks.  Being a geek myself, that has a certain appeal.  There are big differences between Windows and Linux.

Microsoft has done a lot of work hiding how complex things really are.  

Why would  geeks hide how clever they are?

Microsoft has grey haired old ladies, overweight middle aged men with no technical ability and complete idiots who drool on themselves in mind when they design Windows.

Linux designers have themselves and their buddies in mind.  True, they do  simplify things.  Some of their friends are on the slower side, and only know one  or two  computer programming languages, and couldn't even program a binary search!

Linux geeks think it fun to create another program to do a function even when there are 47 others that do the same thing, just because they can.

Windows has any flavor you want, as long as it is vanilla.

Windows worries about making it pretty, then about making it work.

Geeks worry about how things look after they make it work and work right.

One day soon, I too will become geek enough to use Linux.  Until then, I'll hide my head in shame and use XP.

Grace

One of the Biggest words in the English language is a small, five letter word. Grace means unmerited favor. Often, grace is confused with mercy.

Mercy is when you don't receive the negative consequences of your behavior. You're driving 80 mph in a 25 zone, and a cop pulls you over, but lets you go without a ticket. That's mercy.

Grace is more than mercy. In the above example, if the cop handed you a million dollars, that would be closer to grace.

Grace is the sole means of salvation through Christ. The Bible teaches that works won't do.

I heard a preacher buddy of mine, Randy Wilson, define it as "Gods Riches as Christ's Expense" I've never heard a better definition.

The Change

While looking at a friend's Facebook page, I ran across a video called 'cardboard testimonies'.

The content is the same old story that I've heard all my life. God changes lives. Even though it's old, it's also quite true and very powerful.

The truth of the gospel is evident in the change. Whenever God moves in, there has to be a change.

No matter what our lives were before we met Christ, we know that in Him is the power to change lives. Marriages restored, sickness healed, sin forgiven, families brought together, addictions cured, and it goes on.

No matter what our problems, there is only one solution, and that is Jesus the Christ.

Pondering the Love Dare

Sometimes I feel like I am very different from most men.   I have been learning, however, that my reactions and feelings are within normal parameters.  There is an area, however, that I seem to be different.

For Christmas, my beautiful bride bought me a book called 'the love dare.  The book is taken from the movie Fireproof, in which the husband in a troubled marriage heading towards divorce, takes a 'love dare' from his father, and starts to show his wife he loves her.

I am all about improving my marriage.  To me, marriage is scared and vastly important, and I try( most days) to be a better husband.  As my bride will tell you, I don't always succeed.  Our marriage is far from perfect.  

My point is, though, that the book wasn't written for me.  It was written to get people who are self-centred to stop being so.  For example, some of the dares are 'do one act of unexpected kindness' or 'contact your spouse during the day, just to see how they're doing' 

I have been doing these things for years!  

You see, I am not typically a selfish person.  If anything, I need to be more selfish (I tend to put everyone above myself, which isn't good)  So far, the dares have not substantially changed the way in which I interact with my bride, nor  have they been challenging.  The book is good, however.  I'm going to finish it.

It's like Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Life".  It states, "Your created for a purpose.  There is a reason you're here.  God has something he wants you to do."  I'm like, yea, so where's the news.  I've known that since I was five.  My life isn't about me.  It's about Him.  I couldn't finish the book, because it was so painfully obvious.  

I am not perfect by any stretch or definition.  I have problems with self-esteem and self-confidence.  I am prone to read more into situations than I probably should.  I have a lazy streak (I'm blogging instead of doing laundry.)  I'm a procrastinator (I'll start on the laundry when I finish this blog).  I have many other weaknesses and failures, just like everyone else.  

I don't, however, struggle from thinking the world revolves around me.  And from the reaction of most people who read "The Purpose Driven Life" and the "Love Dare", I must be in the minority.

It's hard for me to believe that most of society is self-centred.