Esther Brady Crawford - faintstarlite

And I’m 23. woo hoo.

Working at a homeless shelter this summer has opened my eyes to the desperate needs in my new community. In many ways I’ve consciously walked past the homeless, unaware of what I might be able to offer them. A desensitization to the dirty and needy took place while growing up in affluent suburbia. Perhaps it’s a necessity to stay satisfied with the status quo which keeps the poor out the door, and under the mat.

Today a new family came in – a woman, her teenage son and grade-school aged son. All three looked embarrassed, and angry. I welcomed them, and for a brief moment I felt their pain, their rage. This wasn’t what she wanted or expected for her life, or theirs.

At Kristen’s church on Sunday the pastor talked about what it means to be a Christian. She explained that once a person has decided to join a faith community there are expectations placed on them. Every group acts a certain way. Having a relationship with Christ isn’t just about believing the right creeds, or saying the right things, but it involves joining a family with expectations about how to live. It involves feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and sheltering the homeless (just to name a few).

I think we do what we love. We talk about what we are truly interested in. It’s easy to make time for people if you genuinely care for them. As soon as it becomes about getting a reward (present or future), people can feel it. Sometimes I’m able to love others, and sometimes I am too selfish to slow down. I’m working on it.

We received a crate this afternoon – a donation of back to school backpacks loaded with supplies for our 30+ kids.

There is always hope…

1) Nick picked out Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Bobby Night Ricky Bobby. It was long and pretty boring – Will Ferrell seems to have peaked, several years ago.

2) Nick then redeemed himself by picking Little Miss Sunshine. Quite possibly the best movie I’ve seen in years – sweet, endearing, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny. It was so good that the audience burst into applause at the end.

3) After returning from the state fair I’ve decided Wisconsinites celebrate everything of importance with a beer in hand.

4) I’m leaving in just under 5 weeks for the UK, and I’m nervous. More than I’ve ever been about a move, or an academic program.

5) I sold my first item on half.com (an eBay affiliate) – a book on predicate logic. I can’t wait to see unnecessary items get shipped off to other people.

6) I bought a tiny camera/camcorder combo on eBay, from Hong Kong. Thank you globalism. Out with the old – in with the new!

Using the most innovative technology in the world, precision missiles blasted into the Jiyyeh power station in the first week of Israel’s offensive moves against Hezbollah (code name: Lebanon). Pardon my distrust of the IDF’s motives, but uh, their naval blockade has spent 3 weeks refusing Lebanese and foreign officials access to Lebanon’s territorial waters to enable surveying of the damage. Not that it could be cleaned up since convoys of aid aren’t even safe.

Seen from satellites, the spill is among the worst ever and according to the UN, could end up rivaling the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989 with its 11 million gallon spill. Beaches across Lebanon are soaked in sludge. Ya see, when they bombed the power station, there just happened to be 10.8 million gallons of oil storage at the plant. I’m sure it was all just a big mishap – like in Qana.

“Experts” say along with the detrimental impact on the environment, this will likely cause cancer and damage to the endocrine system among the 2 million residents of Beirut… but what do they know? The idiots say say the same thing about cigarettes.