A Couple of Attention Grabbers

I thought I’d share a couple of items that have caught my attention that last couple of days. First up is a news item from Reuters: Iran demands UN Security Council condemn bomb attack. Really? Is this the same Iran that in the past has supported the taking of hostages for political gain? Was that not terrorism? Is this the same Iran that has supported similar suicide type bombings in Israeland other countries for years? Was that not terrorism? Hey Iran, did you support action from the UN Security Council then? Isn’t it a little disingenuous for Iran to now call on the international community to condemn terrorism when they themselves have been guilty of the same type of behavior for years? I'm just askin... Last night I was watching the television when a commercial came on selling phone cards to call India and the Philippines. You know, even at a penny a minute it is too expensive. I call those countries every week and don’t pay anything. It’s called customer service for Dell, Sprint, or any number of other companies from the U.S. intent on saving a few coins by outsourcing their customer service. My beloved Angels from Anaheim are about to be eliminated in the ALCS by the Yankees. Last night when they were down 3-0 I told my wife it was over. Chelle tried to cheer me up by reminding me of the comeback of the prior night. One thing you learn if you are an Angels fan. They are going to find a way to lose. I know they won the World Series a few years back, but that was a fluke. There are not many teams in baseball as stricken with bad luck as these guys. Finally, I first saw this over at James’ Blog, but I suspect he pulled it from the Mexico City News. It seems that Mexico City wants to put their cops on a diet. Here’s the news story complete with the admonition of the city's Public Safety deputy secretary for citizen participation [that’s a title, isn’t it?] to eat more vegetables. Doesn’t she know that every taco comes with onion, cilantro, salsa, and usually avocado and a radish? Last time I checked, those were some pretty tasty vegetables.

Whatever You Have Done...

I was talking to a friend last week who lives and serves in Perú. After a few minutes of sharing like stories about being Americans in other countries, we got into some of the nitty-gritty of life. She told me about the street where she lives in one of the poorer areas outside of Lima. About how there are incredible numbers of homeless people, street children. She shared how for many, there is no work, food, or hopes for as better life. I listened as she shared about one man who makes his living daily by walking her street and rummaging through garbage cans. Looking for empty plastic and glass bottles. Looking for discarded soda cans, and anything else he can sell to the scrap yard for a few Perúvian coins, or soles. He also looks for any discarded extra food that he can take to his family. I then asked her the $64,000 question. I asked her if she made sure to “throw away” some extra food for the guy on a regular basis. My question stunned her and she looked around, as if to make sure no one would hear. When she was sure we were alone, she said that yes, she did, and then asked if I thought it was weird. She went on to tell me that sometimes she would even go so far as to make extra and wrap up those “leftovers” just enough to keep them clean. But not so much as to be obvious. The bible teaches that “whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done unto me [Jesus].” While many of us spend our time trying mightily to define what it means to live a life pleasing to God, I think my friend has a good idea.

Bend Over

Monday is a big day for me. I am going in for a colonoscopy. Yep, I am heading to the airport where in just a few short moments, someone I have never met will ask me to strip, x-ray me, and run their Star Trek Tricoder over my body. The process is much like the dreaded colonoscopy, only without the drugs. And not nearly as effective. You see when the doctor takes a look, he may be saving your life. When these guys take a look, they are supposed to be saving lives, but more often than not, it is just busy work. How else can you explain my adventure a few years back traveling around the US? Answer me this. Haven't you ever wondered if these folks are even paying attention? Especially the people watching your bags go through whatever that machine is. I mean, how vigilant can you be? Hours upon hours of seeing nothing but bags full of junk passing in front of you. Talk about needing cable to avoid reruns! I'm surprised when they find anything. But let's look at this logically. Since the FAA has determined that we must turn off all of our electronic gadgets for landing and take off, they must believe there is a real threat to the avionics of those planes in which we travel. Otherwise, they would never have that ban. So why do we get to take these electronics on board at all? It's simple. Money. I have a good friend who says all you have to do is follow the money. And in this case, it is business interests. Can you imagine the havoc if we banned these potential weapons of terrorism from airplanes? Anyways, I digress. I am flying this week because I am part of the Fellowship of Short-Term Mission Leaders. Each year we get together to pray, dream, worship, and try to improve how we serve Christ, and others when we go, and take teams with us on short-term mission trips. I've posted some of my thoughts on this over at my other blog titled "notes from dave." I have learned a lot from this group of leaders and cannot imagine missing this annual gathering. It has really, in the words of Chuck Swindoll, improved my serve. Now until I return, all kidding aside, guys, go get your colonoscopy, ladies, your mammograms. These tests really do save lives!

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