no more satellite tv.

God works in mysterious ways. A mixture of conviction, and fear can create a shortage of free entertainment. sometimes. in general.

A lesson on Pride and Shame from the Avatar Cartoon

I watched this and it made me think. I googled around and found the following description of the interaction here. I bolded the last bit for added emphasis because that's the point:

The antagonists in the series are also multilayered and fully realized personalities. Zuko, the obsessed Fire Prince who would be Aang’s nemesis, is disgraced and banned from the Fire Nation, and believes he can achieve redemption only through capturing the Avatar, who, legend has it, is the only thing that can stop the Fire Nation from destroying the rest of the world. Zuko was disgraced arguing with a general in counsel over using troops as cannon fodder in a diversionary tactic, and is told he must settle the matter in a fire duel. He accepts, imagining he will fight the general, not realizing that by speaking out in counsel, he has offended the Fire Lord – his father. He refuses to fire upon his father, and is fire-scarred and accused of cowardice, and exiled.

He is accompanied by his Uncle, who is also disgraced for having failed in a siege against the Earth Nation capital city of Ba Sing Se, during which his son was killed. General Iroh, memorably voiced by the remarkable late actor Mako, is perhaps the most intriguing character in the series, capable of great wisdom and buffoonery, but a man who despite his grief strives to repair the damage to his nephew’s soul. In one remarkable sequence, he is attempting to teach Zuko to control lightning. Finally, after numerous fizzles, he tells Zuko, “You cannot control your anger until you have dealt with your shame,” to which Zuko retorts, “I am not ashamed. I have never been more proud of who I am than now.” Iroh replies, “You think that pride is the opposite of shame. It is not. It is the source of shame.”

Living near Waterloo, this strikes me as very relivant. Waterloo has been labeled Canada's smartest city. Some days, it seems like it could also be Canada's most ego driven city. That may not be fair. Cities in general are not laid back places with people constantly competing for scarce resources. I think it's important to think, when you meet people who act proud and put others down, what is it that they are ashaimed of? Same goes for ourselves.

Youth Ministry Books

I've been reading a bunch of youth ministry books lately trying to get up to speed and fill my head with relevant knowledge. While a lot of these books make a lot of good points, I have to say, what a bunch of over-sensitive complainers. I guess that I just don't get it yet, but it seems like a lot of these authors are really negative about their experience.
I got a lot of helpful points out of, "things that they don't teach you about youth ministry that you should know", and then I've started reading doug fields, "your first two years in youth ministry" and it has a lot of good points, but he makes it sound like such an emotional roller coaster. I've also started reading duffy robbins, "this way to youth ministry" and it has kind of the same feel to it.

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concept

I see that the dollhouse is all boarded up and for sale. Someone should buy it and turn it into a church and arts centre. Just picture it, Come bare your soul on the stage where women once bared their bodies. It could be powerful.

dream

I went into a McDonald's naked. I wasn't being a pervert, I was just too lazy to put clothes on and wanted to get something to eat. I saw some people that I knew and felt self conscious about the whole situation.
I put on a bathing suit and went swimming in a giant puddle in the parking lot.
The police got me. I tried to explain it all to them, but they thought I was a pervert. I was afraid that I would lose my new job. I managed to convince the police that I just wasn't thinking properly and hadn't been walking around naked on purpose. They agreed to take me for some kind of blood test to figure out if there was some reason that I wouldn't be thinking clearly. It was late and they had to catch a few more criminals before they could do the test on me. I was still hungry, so I asked if I could get something to eat. I got a big mac meal from McDonald's because I figured with a big mac meal coursing through my veins they would be sure to find something wrong with me.

we want simple answers

for the most part, none of us really want to think.

I've been told that addicts often obtain medications of their choice by going to a doctor and faking symptoms. Some of us like to imagine that a doctor could have some deep analysis of things, but quite often they just respond to what is presented.

Aren't we all like this for the most part? While some of would like to try to describe life in all it's complexities, what people see is the simple label; that's what he is like.

In the end, is it better to try to present reality as you see it in all it's complexities or is it better to just focus on presenting yourself well? If you show up somewhere and say, hey, life is kind of sad sometimes, people are going to think that you're depressing. If you act like you have it all together, people will probably assume that you do...

It's kind of unfortunate that the world is like that for those of us who would like a little bit more gray and to speak of reality rather than presentation.... but it kind of is.

Yup

So, I'm beginning my first part time position working at a church। I've decided to take the spotlight off this blog a little bit for now for reasons of privacy, and just in case I've ever said anything on here in a moment of contemplation that might interfere with my new assignments.

I have put in place a new design for this blog that reflects a spirit of minimalism and have stripped away a basic reasonable amount of identifying information. If someone where really looking for this blog, they could probably easily find it and figure out the connection with me, but disconnecting it from facebook, I'm at least not shoving it in peoples faces.

I will probably eventually start a new blog with more of a focus on what is relevant to the youth group. I also intend to keep using this blog because I enjoy it. I just plan to keep it more on the down and low.

Please pray for this new journey that I'm embarking upon. Specifically that I will form good connections with the people at the church and that God will bless them through me and also that I will make wise decisions especially concerning what programs to implement and when to keep my mouth shut. My mind has been working hard, and I have a few major ideas for programs to create, but I need to know what is most in line with God's will and not just that I'm coming up with things on my own strength. I need help knowing how best to spend my time and who in the community to work at connecting with and who to reach out to.

While your at it, a friend of mine's mother has brain cancer, if you could say a prayer for his family, that would also be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your prayers and support