Trusted Computing?

I'm on a bit of a crusade against Windows Vista. One of the many issues has to do with Trusted Computing...yet another form of DRM. Basically, between DRM and Trusted Computing, you--as the user and owner of content--lose the right to decide what you want to do with it.

Watch this for more:

a letter from a friend...I almost cried

I got a lengthy email today from my good friend, Matt Morrison, whom I left back in South Dakota. Matt is a great guy, a fellow emergent-type-church-person, and the worship leader at Mercy Church in Sioux Falls. Anyway, he wrote me this great, encouraging email--probably one of the nicest letters I've ever received. He has been/is where we are now, in terms of feeling led somewhere but not necessarily seeing the path after having made the jump. He has a unique perspective on our situation, and I was really touched by the time he took to write. I almost cried.

Proverbs 25:25 is a truth: "Like a cool drink of water when you're worn out and weary is a letter from a long-lost friend." (The Message) It was just what I needed, Matt. Thanks for caring!

the problem with sickness

I mentioned earlier that my wife is in very bad shape right now. As I think about Jesus in the Gospels, and the way He intended for us to be - naturally supernatural - I struggle a bit with my wife's illness. This disease is, according to the earthly doctors, chronic and incurable. I know that's not the final word...but here we are. Struggling. It doesn't seem fair that a beautiful, 30-year-old woman should have to deal with these things. Granted, others have dealt with far greater tragedy than this--but that doesn't make it any easier.

Do we lack faith? I mean, it's pretty consistent through the Gospels that Jesus heals on the basis of two things: His discretion, and faith...mostly the second. In Mark 1:40-45, we read the account of a leper who came to Jesus, saying, "If you choose, you can make me clean." We see both elements at work there--the leper believed in Jesus' ability to cleanse him. And because of his faith, Jesus chose to deliver. So, I wonder if we lack faith for healing today. Do we even understand what it means to have faith for healing?

Sometimes it seems as though we humans--and especially we USAmericans--define ourselves by our pain and suffering. We do scores of things to hurt ourselves and then use that as the framework for the, "this
is why I am the way that I am" discussion. I guess my question is, "Do we even want to be healed?" There's no pity, no handouts, far fewer excuses if we are healed. Yet when Jesus swept into people's lives, that just what he did--He healed them.

So, the bigger question becomes...do we really know Jesus? Are we really living in the kingdom?

It's been a long time...

It's been awhile since I've blogged, so I figure it's time to get back into the habit again. A lot has happened since I last wrote.

• We've moved again. This time into permanent housing. We are living in Bloomington now (Normal's sister city...it's inevitable that we couldn't stay in "Normal" for long...).
• We have a church. We are a part of the Bloomington Vineyard (www.vcfbn.org). The pastor and I have become great friends; it's been loads of fun to be on the "other side" of the pulpit and try to be the kind of parishioner I always wished I'd had myself.
• I am working two jobs. (boo, hiss...) I'm almost-full-time at Office Depot, doing tech sales. I'm also a manager at Godfather's Pizza in Normal. One or the other will turn full-time eventually, so I covet your prayers in that area. My hope is that the income from one job will make the other unnecessary.
• My wife is not well. For those who don't know, my wife is afflicted with a neuromuscular disease commonly called CMT (Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease). Technically, it is known as sensory-motor neuropathy. Basically, it causes her excruciating pain in her muscles, particularly her arms, back, and lower torso. For the last week, she's been the worst I've ever seen her. I'm so grateful for the wonderful people in our church, as meals have been provided when I'm working, so the kids don't have to fend for themselves. By evening she just doesn't have the fine motor skills or endurance to cook a meal. We covet your prayers for her.
• Me, I'm still just out here trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. God brought us here to Illinois, but I'm still not sure what He has in store for us. I suppose He'll reveal that as we go--I'd probably run away if He told me up-front.

My email address has not changed, so if you've got it, write. Or you can post a comment here.