whereisjodi.

To me, the most frustrating thing about scams is that it makes me more wary of trusting anyone. I'm trying to sell my scooter on craigslist and just got the usual I really want your item but I'm out of town and oops I paid too much can you just deposit the check and give me a western union transfer of the overage and I'll give you 100 bucks for your trouble because I'm just too rich and busy to worry about sending out another check...

ok...my name is Brian Whales from new york brooklyn...i;m out of the state right now and i  will have to instruct my secretary to mail out the check to you..you dont have to bother yourself about the shippment cause my  moving shipping company will take care of that....i cannot get good one around NY...that is the reason i look your area...i will be waiting to get your full name and address..where the check will be mail to...plus the phone number...i will be waiting to hear from you soon so,we m the seal our deal..

At least this one is obvious and slightly laughable. I wish there were an easy way to report scammer addresses, and more importantly, that they couldn't just go out and create 7 kajillion more so that reporting them is basically worthless. So, on the off-chance you're ever unfortunate enough to have dealings with this dope <and yes, he didn't even spell his alleged first name correctly>, his address is:

"brain whales" <leliky5@hotmail.com>

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Hollywood star Tom Cruise is planning to build a bunker at his Colorado home to protect his family in the event of an intergalactic alien attack, according to new reports.

The Mission Impossible actor, who is a dedicated follower of Scientology, is reportedly fearful that deposed galactic ruler 'Xenu' is plotting an evil revenge attack on Earth.

Of course, reading further in the British article, I see they're quoting our premiere magazine of journalistic integrity...the Star...so I guess the report might not be strictly accurate. ;)

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*except Bible-Believing Christians

This morning the Senate passed a Defense Spending bill that has mostly to do with getting the troops better equipment and raises. Great, right? Oops, they also attached a hate crimes bill to the legislation, paving the way for thought crime enforcement. Somehow those two issues don't seem related, but maybe that's just me. You can read more about it here. <thanks Stacy!>

In related news, the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco is moving forward despite a small speedbump. Miller Brewing Co. folded to pressure and asked that their logo be removed from a "promotional poster portraying Jesus Christ and his disciples as 'half-naked homosexual sadomasochists.'"

That almost makes me want to go out and buy a beer -- I'm not sure I can recall a time in recent history when a company folded to a Christian protest -- except that the article I read says Miller only pulled their logo from the poster, not that they've actually removed their endorsement of the publicly-funded event where folks strut around naked and engage in public sexual acts.

And a final note about the Church of Tolerance: Germany is preparing to "forcibly deport" an American missionary family because they won't send their children to public schools <you may recall that homeschooling is illegal in Germany>. Apparently the government position is that missionaries generally do not "give their children over to the state school system," therefore they have refused a residency permit to the family. Read more here.

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I was doing my Daniel study this morning and was moved by this reference:

Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. Malachi 3:16

That's quite similar to what I felt happened over the weekend -- almost like we who feared the Lord got together and opened the earthly scrolls of our lives for one another. How marvelous it will be one day when we get to hear the heavenly scrolls read and everything that didn't make sense starts coming into focus. 

And speaking of those who fear the Lord, I received an e-mail today <forwarded from a missionary in Africa> which described torrential rainfall in the region. On a recent Sunday they walked eight blocks through knee-high mud and sewage <because the sewage lines had overflowed> to make it to their church fellowship. Would you walk even one block through knee-high raw sewage to meet with your church? What a testimony!

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I just got back from registering with a temp agency in an attempt to earn a little cashola before Senegal. I don't know if it was the zero-sum bank account that finally knocked me out of my change-in-life lethargy, or whether I've just finally had enough time to process...but I feel like I've got a little energy back to charge ahead.

This weekend I was up in the mountains with my Senegal compadres having a team-bonding experience. We spent hours upon hours sharing our stories with each other -- everyone got a half hour and most of us used it. And I have to say, hearing where people have come from and what different pains they've experienced throughout their lives...it's remarkable. It was such an encouragement to hear how God had worked in each life -- every one a unique story, but the common thread of salvation running throughout. What a blessing to be entrusted with those stories!

Last night we had a World Vision lady come speak to us who has been to Senegal about 12 jillion times. She talked for just about 2 1/2 hours straight and we were all still leaning forward soaking it in at the end. I think we're all feeling a bit under-qualified...but it's nice to know we're all feeling that way. ;)

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Last week I met with a gentleman who works in a closed country and, among other things, he told me how different even their daily lives are in regards to spiritual matters.

Because they're so restricted on what they can say, they have to be very careful about how they live. I had such a strong reaction to that -- it made me think that if we worried more in America about living lives that reflected the grace and love of Christ instead of just talking about it, we'd certainly be better off. I know we are

"...the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life." 2 Cor. 2:15-16

I take that to mean we'll smell regardless of how we may live out our faith, but how much better if the witness of our lives drew people to Christ even more than our words.

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Yesterday my mom talked me into going to the first video session for one of the women's Bible studies our church is starting this fall: Beth Moore's Daniel. I've got to say, I was wildly impressed.

The thing about the first session which impacted me the most...I'm saving for next week's newsletter...which you can sign up for on the upper lefthand side of the screen. :p

But another thing that stuck in my mind was something she said about God and how He warns us again and again about certain sins. We dabble, we flirt. And then after awhile -- if we're not careful -- we get burned. She said there was a time in her life when she felt like she heard God say to her "I'm not kidding!"

It reminded me of a poem I wrote many years ago. If you want, you can laugh at the dorky flash presentation I made with it here. It continues to amaze me how God can deliver us from besetting sins, from pits that have almost destroyed us, and then after awhile we start dancing around thinking...oh, it wasn't that bad.

She also said it'd be lovely if Satan would just say "come with me and I'll have you in the worst hellhole of your life in three weeks." It'd be easy to resist that kind of call...but of course he presents his plans much differently. I love the quote Francine Rivers uses <I think it might be from Shakespeare> at the beginning of her novel Redeeming Love, "the Prince of Darkness is a gentleman." I always think of that when I think of how Satan so slyly makes his sales pitch.

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First of all, I'm sorry, but I find this topic pretty hilarious. Apparently a few cities are cracking down on saggy pants. I, for one, would be happy if I never saw another pair of men's underpants hanging out their jeans as they bee bop down the road...but a law against it? And racial profiling, seriously?

Second, I was too busy attending a team meeting for our upcoming medical mission project to watch the Emmy's last night <not that I probably would have anyway> ... but this morning I see that there's a dust-up over Fox cutting away from Sally Field's acceptance/anti-war speech. Poor gal, it's always a pity when actors can't get their political messages out at awards ceremonies, but apparently Fox would have stuck with her if she could have just kept herself from cussing.

And finally, apparently it's legal for sheriff's to taser unruly U.S. citizens and let them sleep on a pad instead of a bed in cases of overcrowding...but, according to the U.S. Office of Detention and Removal Operations, those things are not ok if jailers are dealing with illegal aliens. What? 

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Remind me again, which country do we live in?

SAMPSON COUNTY, N.C. – On the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, students at one high school were not allowed to wear clothes with an American flag.

 

Under a new school rule, students at Hobbton High School are not allowed to wear items with flags, from any country, including the United States.

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I recently read an interview with Sally Field, discussing her ABC drama Brothers & Sisters. I'm not going to link to it because of the profuse usage of the F-word throughout the article, but one thing that interested me was something she said about a fan who came up to talk to her.

The woman said I love the show, but I wish you'd quit showing so much kissing between gay people because it makes me uncomfortable. Sally responded by asking whether the woman's mother was uncomfortable with shows back in the day that showed a black person and a white person kissing and that her uncomfortableness was her problem and she needed to get with the times.

This illustrated for me yet again how pervasive the propoganda has become that homosexuality is on the same level as race -- something you're born with that involves no decision-making. If that's the case, ex-homosexuals like Stephen Bennett shouldn't even exist, right?

Of course, I imagine that's the kind of "damaging, false myth" pro basketball player John Amaechi is referring to when he says:

"It is incredibly important to reach out to a wide spectrum of people, to encourage the support and understanding from those who might become our straight allies and also to dispel the damaging, false myths and unfounded fears propagated by bigots and zealots."

He was talking about a new GLAAD campaign called Be an Ally, Be a Friend wherein a bunch of celebrities tell us that LGBT people are people too and we shouldn't be mean to them.

While I wholeheartedly agree that LGBT people are people too and we shouldn't be mean to them, I'm getting a little bit sick and tired of being lectured to by Hollywood. I'm also getting a little bit sick of being called a bigot and a zealot. I think it's a damaging, false myth and it's an unfounded fear to think Christians want to take over the world and make everyone wear black and sit on hard, wooden pews 12 hours a day. Maybe I should start my own ad campaign...

In related news, California's SB 777 is rearing it's ugly head again -- the one that says the use of "mom" and "dad" are discriminatory and "partner 1" and "partner 2" should be used instead. Also, you should be able to use the restroom at school which most closely matches your perceived gender, not necessarily your physical gender. That sounds super tolerant toward anyone who believes the parent, not the school, should be responsible for sex ed...dontcha think?

Anyhow, here's an article I read today and here's a former post I wrote about the bill.

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I guess I'm going through a transition phase, but I haven't felt like I had even a smidge of something interesting to write about lately. Part of it is pure busyness and letting blogging fall to the wayside now that I don't have quick topics like what stranger I talked to today or what's happening with the book. Part of it's probably the fact that I'm trying to clear away the haziness to figure out the next steps in my future...

Regardless, sorry about the dearth. I'll try to not let a large chunk of time go by again without at least posting some weird news. For instance, did you read about the town that outlawed dog barking? Previously your dog could be cited for a noise disturbance if it barked for more than five minutes...but as of Sept. 18 barking for less than five minutes can bring the police to your door.

Me and my sore arms will now head to bed. I spent three hours at Central District Health today with some of my Senegal compadres getting caught up on shots. I got Yellow Fever in the left arm and Hep A in the right, and I've got a Typhoid booster in the fridge. In a couple more weeks I'll go back for Meningitis, Hep B and a Malaria prophylaxis. I'm pretty sure this is the most shots I've had to get for any country I've been to...

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• My brother sent me a really cool link where you can see a map of all the places mentioned in the Bible. It's called Bible Geocoding.

• For those of you who don't read my newsletter, here's a story about 36 Iraqi Christians kidnapped from one Baghdad church last week. 

• The Chinese military apparently hacked into our Pentagon computers last June. 

• The Canadian Mennonites I wrote about a couple weeks ago -- threatened with losing their children to foster homes unless they sent them to public school to learn about evolution and alternative lifestyles -- have begun moving from Quebec.

• An encouraging story about the conversion of the lead guitarist for the band Korn, detailing how he found Christ in the midst of fame, fortune and addiction.

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Kidding! I just got done reading a blog entry called "I was on Oprah!" and I have to tell you...if I'd been drinking anything at the time I would have spit it out in laughter. ;)

Apparently a gentleman trying to promote his book claimed on his website and to at least one reporter that his book had been chosen for Oprah's book club and was being made into a feature film. Seriously, did he think no one would check on a detail like that? What a crack-up.

Meanwhile, yesterday I continued work on my second novel which, no doubt, will also enjoy an Oprah-free marketing campaign. I got quite a bit of work done between distractions, including:

#411: Oh wow, I should trim my bangs
#613: My but my fingernails are long

If I hadn't been housesitting I could have included favorite distractions #119: clean room and #78: do laundry, but those were absent opportunities sitting in someone else's living room. :p

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