stuff i think

brain dump

I have something right now I haven't had in ages....a few free minutes. There are a number of things that have been rolling around in my head begging for blogging, but the thoughts between my ears rarely make it to my fingertips lately. Perhaps I can fire off a few now...

It is becoming increasingly apparent that I need to write more. It is a dirty little secret that it's much easier to speak than it is to write. A speaker can rely on vocal inflection, facial expression, or props...a writer can fiddle with the font, but beyond that, it's pretty much just ideas. I've done a lot of speaking in the last few years and not enough writing. There are parts of my brain that are sharpened only when fingers fly on the keyboard, and those parts need dusting off. This is probably where I should make a goal public or something, but I've never been good at those group things, so perhaps I'll just promise to get right on it.

I find the news terribly disturbing lately - particularly the photos of US soldiers forcing Iraqi prisoners into humilating and dangerous positions. To be clear, I am not anti military, anti Bush, or anti much of anything. I thought it was the right thing to go into Iraq, and while it's obvious that it wasn't as cut and dried as we thought, I still think it was right. This incident with the POW's cannot be confused with good or bad foreign policy (although watch the politicians spin it that way). What cuts me to the core is to imagine the state of mind required to treat people in the way that it appears they have been treated. I am unable to fully imagine how God's heart must be wrenched to see His children humiliated and tortured, no matter their understanding of Him. I pray for the people of Iraqi, the US soldiers, and the mercy of God towards our nation in it's arrogant mistreatment of our enemies.

On a lighter note, we have really enjoyed our company this weekend. Sean Henry, Todd Phillips and two of their friends made their way from LA to KC for a conference, along with John Van Weelden from Cincinnati. I also connected with Bill Hendy and Cameron Moss from Batesville, Indiana. They are on the leadership team of a Vineyard that I helped coach in it's infancy - it was great to grab a bagel with them this morning. We love their hearts. I took John to the airport tonight, the rest leave tomorrow. Their visit overlaps with Skip & Ann Cone's arrival (Tennesseans), soon to be followed by Kathy Nichols (Steamboat Springs, Colorado). Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever be normal and keep our friends in one geographical area. This makes potlucks very unpredictable.

Enough rambling for now. I'll try and pace myself next time.