Intrigue

What the hell?

I used to be pretty fat. Then my dad motivated me to get fit - here’s how. When I was in junior high, he said that if I could run around the block 2 times, he would buy me my own computer - nerdy right? Well I did it. And not only was I able to run around the block 2 times, but I could do it 6 times, and I lost a lot of weight FAST. And now I love to run - absolutely love it. At my last physical, the doctor told me I had the heart rate of a baby, and my wellness instructor was pretty impressed! The truth - its not easy though to loose weight, and its not easy to actually get serious and motivated because it demands a change in lifestyle.

I recommend a serious motivational tool - mine was a computer - although now that I’m in college, I have gone through three since then, but still.

Here’s some cool information, I live in Oklahoma City, and attend Oklahoma City University - our mayor, Mick Cornett has embarked on a campagin to help OKC loose weight.

I think this is awesome - absolutely awesome to see government doing an initiative with pragmatic and measruable goals.

Check it out!    

This past weekend I had an awesome time attending the Passion Conference in Dallas, TX with a few of my friends.

It featured some incredible worship by David Crowder

Kristian Stanfill

and the genuine Chris Tomlin

What I liked about Passion Conference:Unlike a lot of similar events, Passion challenges its attenders to “Do Something Now” - we gave clothes to Union University, we helped build wells, as well as helped send another Passion to Seoul, Korea. Additionally, they didn’t try to over-hype anything or compel you over emotionally - it was however passionate, and allowed the message to be delivered freely. One of my favorite quotes,”Why do so many people want to build a life for themselves where they spend their lives looking for to have a big living room, instead of working for the thousands of people who are dying from AIDs, or don’t even have enough clean water. Worship, is not just the songs, its the action, the lifestyle.” A paraphrase from Louie Giglio, founder of the Passion Conferences.

 photo credit: Kelton Hogan

One of my great friends is CRAZY, and cares about crazy things, and I wanted to share with you his crazy discovery about poo.

After a long pre-med class about fecal matter, my friend decided to test the toothbrush in his bathroom to see if it had fecal matter on it because his professor challenged the class that their toothbrushes had a little poo on them. Guess what? It did.

Evidently, if you keep your toothbrush in the same room as your toilet, after awhile - you get a little bit of poo. Apparently its perfectly harmless, and probably enhances hygine (I made that last part up).

Just remember that the next time you pull those bristles up to your pearly whites, there’s probably just a little bit of poo on there.

Minty fresh.

My dad is black. My mom is white. I’m mixed.

The other day at school, we were doing a morals and values workshop, and you were asked to step into the middle of the circle, if you identified yourself as African American.

Do I step in? Do I not? After all, I am African American. Black.

Here is what me, and my black friends recently talked about:

- Black people are incredibly racist.
- Struggles in Black America stem from a lack of education.
- Black people who are educated are not considered black by many black people.
- Black people who are angry, get that anger from their parents.
- My black dad always told me to work hard, and never worry about racism, just work harder.
- Black people who can act white are more successful.
- Poverty in America attributes to the majority of race and class problems.
- Why do people ignore these things and act like they don’t exist.
- Being black is a lot about tradition.
- A black person will never try to go above another black person.
- Education equally is perhaps the greatest key to opportunity.
- Racism is actually something all races have in common.
- Yes we can.

Abortion. Equal Rights Amendment. 19th Amendment. Roe v. Wade

All progressive implementations and application of law that have advanced the rights of women.

Please note, that I’m not attempting to deter, or distract from that progress.

But, what about a man’s right to choose? Why does the sole authority to have an abortion lie within the legal hands of the woman?

Legally, parents are granted a fundamental right to raise their children. Both the man, and the woman. Yet, when it comes to the termination of pregnancy, its just the woman’s right.

Why does that change? I would spectulate because of the progression of the right’s of women in the recent years …

I know, however, if I should ever been in that unfortunate position of an abortion, I would want the right to still raise my child.

Again, don’t assume that I’m anti-the rights of women, I’m just saying - our bodies, our baby, not your body, your baby.

I apologize to those of you that read this blog frequently for our lack of posts - my blogging partner and I have been making some “life” shifts … if you will.

Zach is currently helping his new church launch a new campus - and I’m sure he’ll be letting you know all about that soon.

Now for the Monday madness!

8:30 - Workout
9:30 - Shower
10:00 - Meeting with Student Bar Association Vice President
11:00 - Class, Restorative Justice
11:30 - Leave class early for State Capitol
12:00 - Watch the joint session of the state legislature, and the State of State Address of Gov. Brad Henry, and watch my boss chair
1:30 - Meeting with University Leadership Council to discuss Relay for Life and the New Constitution of Student Government
3:00 - Return to work
5:00 - Dinner
5:30 - Development Committee Meeting with Relay for Life
7:00 - Chapter Meeting - Kappa Sigma
9:00 - Homework

My Gym I Pod Playlist

This is Your Life - Switchfoot
These are the Nights - Making April
With You - Chris Brown

tried to mix it up

Great Reads:

Signs of Immaturity 
Opio Toure 

Random Thoughts:

- Governor Henry’s State of the State Address today was very aggressive. He talked agressively about raising teacher pay to the regional average, his plan to improve high school retention, opportunities to send all Oklahomans to college, repairing and fixing bridges, and many more subjects.

- The house republicans are having some trouble finding leadership because the Speaker of the House and then, the Speaker of the House elect, both can’t pay their property taxes on time. Jeez …

-  Why are there no good movies out?

- I need a new candidate - I originally was a huge John Edwards fan, but he dropped out of the race, and now I don’t know who to vote for tomorrow. Darn big money and special interest groups driving out small candidates.

60 Minutes had an incredible story that unveiled the incredibly atrocious story about war and rape in the Congo.

Soldiers systematically rape women, constantly. One account tells a story of a victim who was raped, washed, and raped again in front of her brother. When her brother was told to rape her, he refused, and was stabbed to death. She was then raped every day for 8 months, everyday. She eventually became pregnant by her rapist, and her husband left her. She named that child, “Love,” because she was eventually able to return home and find hope.

Love? Freaking Love? Where’s the love?

Rape here is so bad, women with polio are raped, women who can’t control their bodily functions … raped.

Their government, and the justice system, does nothing.

Tell me why we are fighting the war in Iraq again and not helping these people?
Oh that’s right, we have to protect “our” interests.

When do we begin asking a real question about how we can really create peace in the world?
Oh that’s right, we throw money at it.

How does the church respond to crisis like this?
Oh that’s right, we have to add a new ministry that specifically targets the big tithers.

Where is the hope?

This story is so devastating.
I really feel called to causes like this, and I’m seriously considering not spending thousands of dollars on graduate/law school, but instead - living my life fighting these causes.

Watch about it, and read it … let it burden you. Tragically, like most people we’ll read this story, comment on this blog post, and move on and return to our lives, because tragically we are too removed and too separated from the situation to genuinely be compelled to action. Tragic.

A Crisis, in the Congo.

Monday Maddness:

My Schedule today

8:30 Gym
10:00 Book Pick Up for Classes
11:00 Restorative Justice - Class
12:15 Lunch
1:00 Work - Jari Askins, Lt. Governor
6:30 Chapter Meeting
8:00 Relay for Life Meeting

Not too bad toady!

Gym iPod Playlist

You Give Me Something - James Morrison
LifeChurch.tv South OKC Podcast

Great Links this Morning

Amputee Barred from Olympics
Fillig the Void After Highschool
You Version
American Idol

Great Blog I’ve Recently Been Reading recently

Cindy Beall

Random Thought:

I’m a political science major, and I absolutely despise these early polls that give candidates a distinct advantage before people even have the opportunity to listen. Polling should be utilized for scientific data and targeting efforts, not to “keep a man down.”

Some of the best advice I have ever heard was from my boss Craig Groeschel, he said,
“Some people say, Failure is not an option, Here at LifeChurch.tv, we believe Failure is mandatory.”

Today was my last day to be skiing in beautiful Red River, New Mexico, and after awhile, it was just my buddy - who just learned how to ski one day ago - and myself. Needless to say, my friend kept falling … and falling, and falling hard and funny. The great thing about it, was we just laughed, yelled, and probably cursed once or twice every time. But he got up, and kept going. Eventually, he learned it pretty well, and found his skill for skiing and had a blast.

We ended up going down some radical blues (a step up in difficulty) and a major black (really hard) because he was willing to keep on trying.

If you aren’t falling and making mistakes, you are not trying.

Don’t be afraid to fall on your butt on failure and learn from those who have fallen in failure before you.

Fall, and fall hard - and as you learn, you’ll fall into your skill, your passion, your mission, well I believe, your life.