Transitions: 2012

Sunday, December 23, 2012

So, You Want to Feel Good?

I have worked hard to find the words to express my sadness over the mall shooting December 11th in Oregon and the school shooting on Friday of that same week.

First, I feel sadness and have said prayers for those involved. I don't go to that mall very often but I have been there. I am also a classroom teacher in a public elementary school. I am also a parent who sent both of my boys to school the following Monday.

The days immediately following these tragedies the issue of guns and gun control hit the media. The "conversations" are often vicious and seem to speak from fear rather than knowledge. While many in our country have taken some time to morn, some are using these events to launch their agenda. Hasty reactions and words seem to to do little more than make people feel good. The reality is that the result will do little if anything to make a difference. I found a post that speaks more eloquently than my words can express. The original post can be found here.

Reposted with permission

Feeling Good

Posted on December 18, 2012 by A Girl

This morning while paying bills I turned on Mike and Mike on ESPN. David Stern the NBA commissioner was on talking all things basketball. I do not care much for that sport, so I pretty much tuned out the interview until Mike Greenberg brought up the recent shootings in Connecticut. Mike had asked Mr. Stern why they did the tributes to the victims before each game. Apparently they held a moment of silence to honor the victims.

Mr. Stern said(paraphrasing here), really it was worthless. There is nothing to do. We do these things to make ourselves feel better. It makes us feel like we are doing something and that helps us to feel good, but what did it do to help? Nothing.

Very well said.

This is what we do and I am no exception. I want to help others and I want to feel good. Who wants to dredge through life miserable and afraid? Not me. But feeling good should not legislated and it shouldn’t be paid for with the rights of others.

When we pass new laws, cancel television shows, stop accepting coupons from gun companies, when we enact new laws, etc, etc, etc. We are doing things to make ourselves feel good. It doesn’t matter if any of these things had any barring on the events that unfolded in that school or if they have any hope at all of stopping the next one. All that matters is that for a second we can feel better and we can go then back to sleep having effected nothing.

We control the mind not the other way around. If we just stop thinking about it and convince ourselves a few more laws or a few more restrictions will be enough we go on. That way we have “done” something. We have “done” all we can and plus it means we don’t have to actually DO anything. We don’t have to take responsibility or make any changes. We get to tell ourselves we did something, we tried and then we can blame the cops, the politicians, the crazy gun owners… We get to call folks who stock up on food and supplies wacko preppers because then we don’t have to give up a trip to Disneyland when we should probably be taking a look at how we can better prepare ourselves to first avoid and then deal with a disaster.

The only problems is people are dying and in gruesome fashion. They are dying. Those children died. They were murdered. Violently and without mercy murdered. If you have shed a single tear. If you claim to have an ounce of compassion. If you really care at all you will stop trying to do things to feel good and you will do something good. You will do something that has at least a chance of working. Making more laws that criminals will not follow is about making you feel good. If that killer was willing to break 24 laws then I doubt the 25th would have made a flying flip of difference. This monster was not sitting around watching Top Shot and planning his rampage. People do not murder casually. Punishing law abiding citizens who have committed no crime is about making you feel good.

I hate to break it to you, but when people are murdered it really isn’t about you or how you feel. I really have no desire to put my life at risk or my children’s and walk around defenseless, so you can feel better.

My mugging should have zero barring on the laws of this land. I am emotional about it, so right or wrong, I can offer nothing more than an understanding of what it is like to be mugged. Emotion does not have a place in law making. Laws are there to protect us from the power hungry, the corrupt and the emotional. For every victim who is for more gun laws there is an equal number against them. Laws should be made for the good of the entire people and should be put in place to guide us in times of emotion, not be developed out of them.

When I was mugged I blamed only 2 people. My attacker and myself. I can’t control him, so I looked at myself to figure out what I could do to put myself in a better position for survival should the element I couldn’t control decided to come after me again. I took responsibility. I didn’t blame the cops or the grocery store parking lot or even my parents. They had some influence as did society, but it was me who stood there and did nothing. It was me. I did not come after you or anyone else. I didn’t go to congress and ask for new laws to protect my lack of action. I took action. Law abiding, legal action and I took responsibility for my part in that day. I can tell you none of it felt good. I didn’t feel good after I picked myself up off the ground, I didn’t feel good as I hid in the bathroom and took care of my scraped up arms and back. I didn’t feel good when my so called friends turned their backs on me. I didn’t feel good when my daughter looked me in the eye and told me she didn’t feel safe because I didn’t stop the and guy. It didn’t feel good when I showed up in the park to learn how to defend myself. I felt anything but good. I felt sad and lonely. I felt lost and broken. I felt ashamed and confused. I felt scared and and hopeless. And I fought all of that everyday for over a year in order to take responsibility. In order to feel good again.

Not a single law has changed in my town since the day I was attacked, but I am safer. My children are safer. My community is safer. Granted I feel better, but I feel better because I know if my life is in danger again, I have viable solutions to up my odds of stopping the threat.

My extra bag of rice, my gun, my ammo, my kerosene heater are of real value to my survival. I used no government funds to purchase those items. In fact the purchase of those items only helped contribute positively to a failing economy. I have never harmed a single person. I am of no threat to you. Your desire to label me crazy and limit my rights will only serve to put me at more risk and it has ZERO chance of doing anything for you other than to make you feel good.

Please forgive me, but your facade of happiness just isn’t worth my life. I won’t hand it over without a fight.

While I don't want this blog to be a second amendment platform, It seems that some are going to attempt to make a transition that will not benefit this country. So, rather than stand by and watch, I'll simply take a stand.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Grandma Coker

My Grandmother's birthday is today. I'm not sure how old she would have been but It doesn't matter any more.

I grew up a long ways away from her but it seemed like every time we visited them in California we would show up at her door to find her in the kitchen making BBQ beef (similar to pulled pork). She always made sure I had enough for a few extra meals as well.

I don't know why I thought about her birthday today as it's been more than 20 years since her passing. I have some short glimpses of memory that include her but mostly I remember how I felt. It felt like I belonged. It didn't matter that I forgot (read "didn't take time to") write her back the last time she wrote me - It didn't matter that it had been two years since we had last been there - I mattered and they let me know it.

So today I will spend a few minutes thinking about my Grandmother and remembering. I was a young person then and I don't remember all the details but I do remember how it felt...

Monday, October 15, 2012

"Taking out the Trash" and other songs

I found this today. What a great reminder...

I found this entry here.

Hey everyone! My name is Lee McDerment, Worship Director at NewSpring Church.

Worship can be a confusing word. For most people, the word “worship” means “singing” in a church. And that would certainly be true. In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel would gather to worship God by offering sacrifices, singing songs of praise, hearing God’s voice, repenting of sin, receiving his forgiveness. In our day, we follow a similar pattern when we come together. Every Sunday, we give sacrificially, sing songs of praise, hear his voice, repent and receive.

But that’s just Sunday.

In the Old testament, we find rule after rule describing exactly how worship is to be done in the temple of God. In the new testament, this type of detailed prescription is notably absent.

The temple of God has changed locations. It is no longer in Jerusalem… you can’t find it on google maps. Where can you go to see God’s new house? Go to your bathroom and look in the mirror. There it is. (see 1 Corinthians 3:16).

God’s temple is open 24 hours a day. Worship is happening 24 hours a day. Paul redefines true worship for us in Romans 12:1-2 (verse here). It’s more than singing. It is a whole life devoted to God. Worship is everything. Every thought, every word, every action. The hidden motives of your heart are making music.

The crazy thing is, this has always been God’s desire, even in the Old Testament. He detested external worship that was not born from an internal fear, love and reverence. (see Isaiah 29:13).

As a worship leader, part of my job is to craft a setlist… a group of songs that will help us worship God in church on sundays. But in this New Testament world, where my body is God’s house, the setlist is much more than a 4 or 5 songs on a Sunday.

“Taking Out the Trash With a Joyful Attitude”

After I finish singing “No Other Name” on Sunday night, I must re
alize that the next song in my setlist is “Taking Out the Trash With a Joyful Attitude” and then the next one is “Praying with my wife Ali Before We Go to Bed” and the next one is “Waking Up Early to Get in the Word.” Other hits include, “Tithing” and “Forgiving _______ Again for the 490th Time” and “Taking A Sabbath.”

What’s the next song in your setlist?