Edwards endorses Obama

From Barack Obama:

I have some very exciting news.

My good friend John Edwards is endorsing our campaign and joining our movement for change.

We're here in Grand Rapids, Michigan -- and if you receive this message in time, you can probably turn on your TV and be part of the moment.

I'm deeply honored by John's support. He is a true leader who dedicated his career to improving the lives of ordinary Americans.

John ran a strong, principled campaign for president, focusing on a number of important issues where we share common ground -- universal health care, bringing our troops home from Iraq, and eliminating poverty in America.

The way he ran his campaign was also important. He ran in a way that reflected our shared conviction that we need to fundamentally change politics.

Like our campaign, John's campaign never accepted donations from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs.

All I can say is: It's about time!

Evangelical Manifesto

Not sure what is meant by "Evangelical"? Me neither. Here's a 20 page attempt at it by some names you might recognize: Os Guinness, Rich Mouw, Dallas Willard.

60 Years for the political state of Israel

If I were anybody important, I too would sign with Palmberg, Brueggemann, Mouw, Wallis, McLaren about the Israel-Palestine situation.

The Declaration

We, the undersigned, church leaders and representatives of our different denominations and organisations, join together on the 60th anniversary of the Israeli state to offer a contribution to that which makes for peace.

We recognise that today, millions of Israelis and Jews around the world will joyfully mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel (Yom Ha'atzmaut). For many, this landmark powerfully symbolises the Jewish people’s ability to defy the power of hatred so destructively embodied in the Nazi Holocaust. Additionally, it is an opportunity to celebrate the wealth of cultural, economic and scientific achievements of Israeli society, in all its vitality and diversity.

We also recognise that this same day, millions of Palestinians living inside Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and the worldwide diaspora, will mourn 60 years since over 700,000 of them were uprooted from their homes and forbidden from returning, while more than 400 villages were destroyed (al-Nakba). For them, this day is not just about the remembrance of a past catastrophic dispossession, dispersal, and loss; it is also a reminder that their struggle for self-determination and restitution is ongoing.

To hold both of these responses together in balanced tension is not easy. But it is vital if a peaceful way forward is to be forged, and is central to the Biblical call to “seek peace and pursue it” (Ps. 34:14). We acknowledge with sorrow that for the last 60 years, while extending empathy and support to the Israeli narrative of independence and struggle, many of us in the church worldwide have denied the same solidarity to the Palestinians, deaf to their cries of pain and distress.
To acknowledge and respect these dual histories is not, by itself, sufficient, but does offer a paradigm for building a peaceful future. Many lives have been lost, and there has been much suffering. The weak are exploited by the strong, while fear and bitterness stunt the imagination and cripple the capacity for forgiveness.

We therefore urge all those working for peace and justice in Israel/Palestine to consider that any lasting solution must be built on the foundation of justice, which is rooted in the very character of God. After all, it is justice that “will produce lasting peace and security” (Isaiah 32:17). Let us commit ourselves in prophetic word and practical deed to a courageous settlement whose details will honour both peoples’ shared love for the land, and protect the individual and collective rights of Jews and Palestinians in the Holy Land.

“Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid” (Micah 4:4)

Mike Huckabee on Rev. Jeremiah Wright

I did not see this one coming. I sure do like it.

As easy as it is for those of us who are white to look back and say, "That's a terrible statement," I grew up in a very segregated South, and I think that you have to cut some slack. And I'm going to be probably the only conservative in America who's going to say something like this, but I'm just telling you: We've got to cut some slack to people who grew up being called names, being told, "You have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie. You have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant. And you can't sit out there with everyone else. There's a separate waiting room in the doctor's office. Here's where you sit on the bus." And you know what? Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder and resentment. And you have to just say, I probably would too. I probably would too. In fact, I may have had ... more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me.

- Mike Huckabee, offering his perspective on the preaching of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. (Source: MSNBC)

Five Minutes of Stillness Remembering Five Years...

On Easter Sunday, four U.S. soldiers were killed in Baghdad, bringing the total to 4,000. Around the country of Iraq, more than 60 people were killed in attacks. The Iraq Body Count database has now documented 90,000 civilian deaths – other estimates go into the hundreds of thousands.

Jim Wallis and Tony Perkins on CNN's Situation Room

Perkins' code word "social conservatives." Prioritizes abortion and gay marriage above other social concerns.

Wallis' code word "evangelicals." Sees poverty, the environment, war and peace, and health care in addition to abortion and gay marriage as the social concerns.

Evangelical Politics: Three Generations

SoundSeen: Video - Three Degrees of Separation

Khakis, blue jeans, and dungarees graced the stage at this public event in San Diego. The generational differences seemed obvious. But this lively conversation revealed a shared theology that guides these three men — as they interpret and live out their values in varying ways.

Krista Tippett (NPR host of Speaking of Faith) has a conversation with Chuck Colson, Greg Boyd and Shane Claiborne as representatives of my grandparents', parents and my generation, respecrively.

View the video here:
http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/evangelical_politics/soundseen_npc.shtml#slideshow

Jim Wallis and Jimmy Carter

Jim Wallis and Jimmy Carter discuss faith, politics, and race.
From Sojourners. March 19, 2008

A Crude Awakening - Oil Crash

Here's a 10 minute video about our current state of addiction.

Hopeful Young Pastors

Some of the fastest-growing churches are now being led by Gen-X pastors who have made caring for creation core expressions of their churches. They light candles like Catholics, sing like Pentecostals, quote scripture like Baptists, drink beer like Lutherans and recycle like Mennonites. And they fill me with hope.

Baptists Battling For Environment
April 23, 2008

http://deepgreenconversation.org/baptists-battling-for-environment/

The Constant Gardener

We have become increasingly aware of our love for conspiracy theories. We don't love the deception that goes along with them, but we are intrigued by the quest for truth and inspired to question "common sense". We have enjoyed watching "An Inconvenient Truth" followed by "The Great Global Warming Swindle" on YouTube. Then we watched "Who Killed the Electric Car" about how hundreds of EV1's were suddenly and almost silently pulled off the road in California in the early 2000's. If you have any documentaries you think we should watch, please let us know!!

A few weeks ago, we watched "The Constant Gardener". I had heard of this movie but had no idea what to expect. Wow. A British man and woman marry and go to Africa. He works for the government, and she keeps her life to herself, using her husband's position to gain access to "big-wigs" and get to the bottom of secret drug testing on the poorest of the poor in Africa. She dies suddenly and he is left to uncover secrets of her research and whether she had loved him or if it was simply a marriage of convenience.

I want to say so much, but I don't want to give it away. What I will say is that you should watch this movie. I have a place in my heart for Africa after spending 7 weeks at a rural hospital in Zimbabwe in college. Have you seen the movie "Sahara"? In it the "bad guys" talk about the poisoning of innocent people that results from their money making ventures and wonder if anyone will find out. The leader says "This is Africa. Nobody cares about Africa."

This movie was one that kept us thinking for several days afterward. If you are interesting in watching a movie that will pull at your heart and mind, this is the movie for you...

A Call for Urinals (He that pisseth agains the wall)

I saw this today for the first time. It is hilarious! I think this guy is serious, but I hope not. Enjoy.

We Are The Ones

Politics

Jen and I both strongly support Barack Obama not only as the Democratic candidate but also as the next President of the United States. At present, MSNBC has Obama up by 130, CNN has Obama by 40, and ABCNEWS has Obama up by 70, FoxNews has Obama up by 55. Here are the 4 links I check daily to see the delegate counts:

MSNBC
CNN
ABCNEWS
FOXNEWS

If you want to learn more about how delegates and especially superdelegates work, take a look at this article.

A Christianity Today interview with Obama can be found here.

A Time article about Obama's spiritual journey (as a Christian; he never was a Muslim) can be found here.

More from Obama himself can be found on his campaign website.

For the best of the news, polls and prediction from a variety of sources, check RealClearPolitics.com.

This is a real time blog that CNN keeps about breaking political news.

Lastly, I leave you with my favored Republican candidate, Ron Paul. From the man who conined the phrase "compassionate conservatism" comes this article about who really won the GOP primary.

If you're unfamiliar with him, this 15 minute YouTube video will help.


More about Ron Paul from his campaign website.

I leave you with a humorous thought called "Hillary's Dream"

The Blondins 11-25

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. The alarm went off for church, Andrew turned if off and decided we would sleep in, and Jen woke up an hour and a half later and realized church had started 15 min earlier! So we had a slow morning and made waffles and eggs for breakfast. As we were sitting down to eat, Andrew got a call from Rus, who said they had spontaneously decided to come to Chicago for the day. We told them to come on over!! They were about 20 min away, so we quickly ate breakfast and took showers!

It was great to hang out with them. We talked about a little of everything. Jen was supposed to work at 3, but was able to be put on call. We walked a few blocks to eat lunch at Los Magotes (I think that's how it's spelled???), a small Mexican diner. Barrett enjoyed the walk, especially over the river. He spent a lot of time on that bridge! We got plenty of photos, but again, mostly of Barrett! These kids are just so photogenic! :) Here's Barrett learning to play Nintendo:And Barrett rearranging magnets on the fridge:

And Barrett going for a ride in our cooler:

Holidays in Michigan!

We left for Michigan the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We had great plans for the short trip, and they all went swimmingly! We got to Grand Rapids about 2:30, just after Beth got home from work. Our plans for this Wednesday were to prepare her home for Christmas!! Yes, that's right! The day BEFORE Thanksgiving we put up the tree and lights and ornaments! Ahh, the joys of being first! We listened to Christmas music and ate green and red wrapped Hershey Kisses.

Andrew gave subtle tributes to Meredith by taking note of how many ornaments have here name and how few have his! Mer, we talked about you a lot while preparing the house for Christmas and for your return!

The next day we went to Lansing to have Thanksgiving with the zurBurgs! It was great to see Mary and Henry and to meet their "kids" for the first time. Their kids are about 10 years older than Andrew and me. The zurBurg tradition is to do a holiday craft after dinner. This year we painted ornaments, which was great fun! In the early hours of painting there were about 5 of us, and after maybe 2 hours, it was just me (Jen) and Deb and our ornaments! Deb was great and taught me a lot about this kind of painting. The Packers beat the Lions and we had a lot of laughs with these guys, so it was a great day!

The next morning, "Black Friday", we woke up at 5am, and were at Circuit City(which opened at 5am) by 5:40 and still had to wait in line for about 15 minutes before getting in the front doors! Once inside, I quickly found the "shortest" line and stepped in. Andrew and Beth gathered purchases and gave them to me in line. Then they went to Menards. They called when they finished and I was still in line. Then they went to Staples, and I was still in line. Then they picked up some breakfast at Panera, Andrew ate his, then came and took my place in line! I was finally about 4th in line, but after standing in line for 1:30, I was ready to get some breakfast!

The rest of the day was fun too! We shopped for ourselves and had a marvelous time! We took a break after lunch to watch Enchanted and take a sit break, then back to shopping! We got home after 7pm, which made for a long but fun day!! The next morning was back to Chicago because I had to work at 3pm. It was great to take a break from home and see Beth!

The Pistons Game (Oh, and the Bulls were there!)

On Nov 8, we went to the Bulls vs. Pistons game here in Chicago. Andrew got us some great tickets online (great as in the price was low for the seats we had, not that we were center court in the lower level of course!) We took the train down to Dan and Edith Michmerhuizen's apartment to meet Edith and pick up dinner. This is Chicago, so there was a hot dog/polish sausage stand that we frequent together for dinners! Then Dan got home from work and we headed off to the game!
It was not the best we've seen the Pistons play, but it was great to be there! We sported the Pistons colors and amazingly we were sitting by some other Pistons fans. No one threw their Cokes at us or tried to beat us up, so the night went well. Until...








The Pistons were within range to take the win with about 2 min left. At this point in the season, the Bulls had not yet won a game, and the Pistons had not yet lost one. Both teams broke their streaks on Nov 8! The Bulls won! Of course we were disappointed, but it was a close game and we had a lot of fun just being there. It has been great having the Michmerhuizen's in town! We love you guys!

The V-hyde surprise! Nov 4

We were on our way back from church on an average Sunday morning... oh, except it was Daylight Savings, when the phone rang. Chris and Holly were in town from Minnesota and were eating lunch at the Charcoal Delights just a block and a half from our apartment! We hurried to get there just as they were finishing eating lunch. They came back to our apartment for a few hours and it was great to catch up a little! We got a lot of photos, mostly of a smiley little girl!

Grand Rapids Marathon (Oct 28)

Well, after the incredible disappointment of the Chicago Marathon, we registered to run the Grand Rapids Marathon on Oct 28, just 3 weeks after the Chicago! Did we continue with the rigorous training schedule, you ask?? The answer is a less than enthusiastic no. Jen tried a nice and easy 5 mile jog on the Thursday after the Sunday Chicago Marathon, and by the time she finished she wasn't sure she could make the 1/4 mile walk home. Left knee pain was nearly crippling, and this was the first time she had experienced it. Andrew was enjoying the rest and all the free time he now had without hours of running each week. We each jogged about 2 times between the marathons!

We arrived in GR on Friday and stayed with Beth, Andrew's mom. On Saturday afternoon we went to the expo, and discovered how different the GR marathon was going to be from the Chicago. Instead of pace teams to finish in 4 hours, 4:15, 4:30 etc, the teams are named after famous people who have finished marathons! There was the P. Diddy Pacers, Team Oprah, and many more! The people were easy going, and we knew this race was not just about finishing, it was about having fun too.

Sunday morning it was about 29 degrees at the starting line! We lined up and left our coats and pants with Beth, but the gloves and ear bands stayed on! Beth drove to several points along the race to cheer us on! It was great to see her. It was a beautiful run with the leaves changing and a good part of the run along the river. Much of the run was on paths, not on roads, so although it was paved it felt freer and closer to nature. The runners, at least the ones as slow as us, were laid back and open to conversation.

We ran separately and both had a strong start. About mile 12, Jen's knee was becoming problematic again. Until this point, she was ahead of the 4:44 pace team which put her well ahead of her goal of finishing in 5 hours. With the knee, she was forced to walk, jog, and limp. As she watched the 4:44 group pass by, she was nearly in tears. It was about 2 miles until she finally decided she would have to stop early (again!). It was the longest 2 miles she's gone, but felt much more at peace with this than with the Chicago. She met Beth at mile 14, limped to the car, and went to the finish to watch Andrew.

It didn't seem like too long until Andrew came barreling down the straight-away to the finish line! He was surely giving it his all. After a strong finish in just under 4:12 his whole body was shaking! He was so exhausted that he didn't remember how to recover, so Jen assumed the role of coach and told him to stop standing still and bending over! He needed to walk! After 20-30 min of walking and drinking water and nibbling snacks, he felt great. We posed for some photos in the now balmy low 40 degree day and headed off to Panera for lunch with friends.

We regret to inform you... we have no photos of this lunch! But, I assure you it happened! There were about 12 of us from as far away as Lansing and Holland, and we had a nice time of catching up. After that, back to Beth's for a nap and more food, then back home to Chicago.

Most Americans Take Well-Known Bible Stories at Face Value

The Barna Group released a report on October 21 revealing that the following percentages of adult Americans believe the following Biblical accounts to be “literally true, meaning it happened exactly as described in the Bible” as opposed to "meant to illustrate a principle but is not to be taken literally."

• 75% "the story of Jesus Christ rising from the dead, after being crucified and buried"
• 65% Daniel surviving in the lion’s den
• 64% Moses literally parted the Red Sea
• 63% David, killed the giant warrior, Goliath, with stones and a sling
• 60% Peter walking on water with Jesus
• 60% God creating the universe in six days

"This report is based upon a nationwide telephone survey conducted by The Barna Group in August 2007 among a random sample of 1000 adults, age 18 and older. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. "

Read the entire report here.