You Can Win A Hog!

Celebrate Hog Week with PastorDave, and you may be the winner of this hog.  That's right, the winner will receive his/her very own Grow-Your-Own-Hog, postage paid!

First check out the prize that can be yours.  Notice the many lame attempts at humor.  Consider the hardly transparent rip-off of Harley Davidson.  This offer could be shortlived, for surely Harley will soon bring a defamation lawsuit against the cheap Taiwanese company that produces the toy that I offer.  Did PastorDave pay much for this prize?  No.  And it can be yours, if you are the winner.

Hog Week With PastorDave
This week has been declared by PastorDave as Hog Week.  The next 6 days will include daily blogs about swine; much more than you probably would ever spend time to know. 

*Did you realize that the Bible has much to say about hogs?
*Jesus encountered pigs, and even gives us a Pig Parable.
*Why do Muslims and Jews refuse to eat pork?
*A conservative political group in Europe is feeding the homeless with pork soup.
*Can pigs fly?
*Is pork really bad for you, or is it truly "the other white meat"?

These and other hog issues probably will not be adequately addressed with PastorDave's daily blogs during Hog Week.  Come and read everyday.

Here is how to win the Grow-Your-Own-Hog:
Leave a comment convincing me why you deserve/need/want this hog
The comment can be long or short, sarcastic or silly- I don't care
Leave more than one if you would like
Comments can be sent anytime during the week
I will carefully (not really!) consider each and every comment
I will announce the winner on the evening of Friday, February 25
There will only be one winner
I will be the soul determinant of that winner
My methods of determining may or may not be fair, but I will try
Your hog will be mailed to you

Just add water, and he grows 600%.  So get busy and win this hog!  Leave your comments today. 

The October, 2005 issue of The Atlantic has a tremendous article by Joshua Shenk entitled “Lincoln's Great Depression”.  I would like to give you a quick summary of this fascinating article.  And then I would like to share some insights on this very personal issue of depression, gleaned from the writing and from my own personal thoughts.

A Summary Of The Article
Lincoln was a man who struggled with depression, sometimes heavy and almost debilitating, all his life.  His law partner, William Herndon, said, “His melancholy dripped from him as he walked.”  A neighbor and friend, Mentor Graham, writes that Lincoln “...told me that he felt like committing suicide often.”  Easily this could have tipped over into a state of disease.  However, Lincoln chose early in life to resolve to work with his depression, and it actually became a catalyst to spur him to greatness.  He accepted it as a natural part of who he was; an unwelcomed but recognized ingredient of his disposition.  He shifted from expending his energy in protest of depression, to working to master and use his melancholy.  Work became a refuge, as did reading and conversation.  In his rise to political prominence and particularly through his debates with Stephen Douglas on the great issue of slavery, he was able to speak with conviction and depth born from this struggle with self and the intensity of thought it produced.  Such almost uncanny ability to look at matters of life with stark realism enabled him to be the great man, whose steady and moral leadership most likely saved the American experiement.  Yet all his life he never overcame depression.  He never really gained happiness.  But, he ever developed as a creative thinker.  And He grew, especially during his presidency, in his appreciation and reliance upon the wonderful mystery of God, and his place of dutiful service.  Obviously he was a sad man.  And, he was a great man.  The two were inseperably linked.

Some Responses:
*It is estimated that up to 17% of Americans suffer with serious bouts of depression.

*Depression has been scientifically proven to run in families.

*The person who has previously experienced depression is most likely to have additional struggles with the challenge.

*Clinical depression is a very serious condition.  This is more than just “the blues” or “feeling down”.  It lasts for more than two weeks.  It involves feelings of despair, worthlessness, and thoughts of death, even suicide.  The sufferer is most likely helpless to change his condition.  It calls for professional help. 

Some Personal Insights:

(1) Depression is not a weakness of character.  It is not a sin.  It is part of that mysterious mixture of one's personhood.

(2) Depression is not, necessarily, a medical ailment that must be squashed.

(3) Depression is not a disqualification from leadership, or even greatness. 

(4) Depression does not mean distance from God. It does not evidence a lack of spiritual maturity.

(5) A decision is to be made concerning personal depression.  Will I allow this to debilitate?  Or, will I grab ahold of this creature within me, and see that it is a tool to help shape and mold me into a better person?  This is the character facet concerning depression.

(6) Dealing forthrightly with personal hardships enables one to look at other complex issues of life with greater honesty and clarity.  this was how Lincoln was able to look so insightfully at such divisive issues as slavery, the Civil War, and even the nature of God.  I believe an upright and earnest encounter with depression helps to develop such quality of insight in us.

(7) “Happiness” is far overrrated.  It can make one vulnerable to illusions and an overestimation of self.  It can lead to poor judgments.  (Of course, sadness is not so great, either!  But it does serve its purpose.)

(8) A great quotation comes from the article.  It is by the playwrite Eugene O'Neill, whom I understand to have been a fatalist much like Lincoln: “Man is born broken.  He lives by mending.  The grace of God is glue!”

Have you considered that depression can be a tool for good in your life?  A character shaper, not breaker?  Your thoughts, please.

GROW A THERAPIST

Since life is so filled with pressure and challenges, we all have times when we need a therapist.  Now everyone can!

I came across this little item at the local store, hanging next to the register and begging for my purchase.  Some tend to think I often waste money, but here is a huge savings.  Your average therapist can easily cost at least $100 per session.  And, all that probing of your thoughts, relationships, and experiences can be exhausting.  Why not “Grow A Therapist”?  That's right.  For a couple of bucks you can buy this little guy and take him home.  Pop him into a bucket of warm water, and he will grow to 600 times his size; it says so right on the cover. 

Since I only have a 2 megapixel camera, and a cheap one at that, here's what is proclaimed on the package:
*He won't judge you.
*Drug free therapy
*He's the only shrink that grows.
*He is available any time you need to talk.
*He can listen to your problems all day long.
*No matter how unbelievable your issues are he will always keep a straight face.

I give you permission to right-click this image, and save it on your computer as a screen-saver.  Then you can have a therapist available everytime you sit down at the computer.

I'm soaking my therapist even as you read, and tomorrow morning he should be swelled to full size. 

You know, that sounds a little wierd.

I seriously doubt that Rocky even exists. 

I came on the scene less than a year ago, and T-blog was already here.  I found it interesting, loved the subjects and easy format.  It appeared someone, some mysterious someone, did a pretty good job setting up the place.  Oldtimers, from long ago, called him “Rocky”.  There were ancient archives of his writings.  Some even alluded to past conversations with him.  I was so impressed I sent in my $20 for premium membership and started blogging.  Rocky never showed up.  Things deteriorated somewhat, active membership dropped, and sometimes the server would mess up for many days at a time.  We had no real way of complaining.  If Rocky did exist, he would never answer his e-mails.  And then, after a while, the problems would be repaired.  How?  And, I often wondered, who took my money if this guy did not exist?

A couple of months ago "Rocky" supposedly came back.  Or so we are told.  He purportedly passed along all of these promises of a new and better T-blog.  One day it seemed to happen!  T-blog changed.  The options offered were more and better, the site upgraded to be a bit more hep, more appealing to a larger crowd, hopefully.  Most of us liked it, though we continued to struggle with the changes.  And someone calling himself Rocky started showing up on t-blurt.  I even chatted with him a time or two.  “PastorDave, I'll get on that right away.”  I still have that line saved and archived in my files.  "Rocky knows my name; Rocky communicates personally with me!"

Weeks have passed.  Now I'm beginning to wonder.  I personally have not seen Rocky on t-blurt for quite a while.  He has a website.  But it looks suspicious, makes you wonder if someone so adept at computer programming would have such a simple and unattended presence.  Forget about leaving a message at the website; no answer will come.  There's a picture of him, supposedly.  Perhaps the blond-haired young fellow is actually a model from LA, or a serial killer from New Zealand.  Who is to really know?

If there is a Rocky, he certainly is not fair.  Take the arbitrary listing of HotBlogs.  The harder I work to produce interesting blogs, the lower I drop in the rankings.  I write thoughtful content, I have lots of hits on my blog, and I interact regularly with others.  Some of those ranked higher than me are bots!  And so many have little or no hits, and little creative content.  Take the efforts of genuine and creative bloggers like Sweetsue or Ruined; are they rewarded for their efforts?  No!  Like me, they are dropping in the rankings like a rock.

Perhaps, in reality, Rocky is really the creation of some behind-the-scenes blogger with a sick sense of humor.  Perhaps he is really kurtmaddox? 

I dispute whether there is truly an all-powerful Rocky in control of all things t-blog.  T-blog was already here when I came along.  I just plugged into it.  I'll bet your story is the same.  Who is a witness to the beginning?  Speak up.  As I suspected!  Maybe T-blog has always been, never a time when it was not?

If there is really a Rocky, I challenge him to come forth on this blog and make his presense known!  He is supposed to be a computer whiz; surely he could change some colors here, or strike some graphics there!  Come on, "Rocky", if you are really Rocky, I defy you to zap the websites of Surrogate and TabooTenente.  (silence)  I thought so!

Just some thinking about this troublesome war in Iraq, and the larger conflict with militant Islamic terrorism. 

Have you ever thought that, maybe, God was not on our side?  I know it is a troublesome concept, to be almost offhandedly rejected by many, including myself.  I mean, we are America, that “city set upon a hill”.  Although the term is outdated, many of us still believe in the “manifest destiny” of the United States, that God's hand is with us in international affairs.  God is behind us, right?  Add to this the wickedness of the enemy.  These people serve a pagan god; in reality, they serve Satan.  You can see it in their fiery zeal to strap bombs to their bodies to kill women and children, and especially those who publish cartoonish pictures of Allah.  Surely God is for us, and against them.  Maybe not.

Maybe God is not so simple.  Maybe God's love is much broader than we want to believe.

Perhaps we should continue to confront this issue with our guns and our blood.  Whether soldier, working stiff, or societal elite, surely we should start every day with prayer for God's guidance and strength. We should approach the task with the greatest of diligence, always seeking to temper efort with the popular question, “WWJD?”  But as we do our best, let us not be so presumptious about God.

Is God on our side?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Maybe God is not on either side.

Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of dark days of the Civil War, scribbled the following statement.  I respect this great man for being wise enough not to declare exclusive ownership, or even understanding, of God.

The will of God prevails - In great contests
each party claims to act in accordance with
the will of God.  Both may be, and one
must be wrong.  God can not be for, and
against the same thing at the same time.
In the present civil war it is quite possible
that God's purpose is something different from
the purpose of either party- and yet the human
instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of
the best adaptation to effect this is purpose.  I am
almost ready to say this is probably true- that
God wills this contest, and wills that it shall
not end yet- By his mere quiet power, on the minds
of the now contestants, He could have either saved
or destroyed the Union without a human contest-
Yet the contest began-And having begun
He could give the final victory to either side
any day- Yet the contest proceeds-

This has come to be known as Lincoln's “Meditation on the Divine Will”.  As followers of God, we need to think deeply about where God is at, and what God is up to, in this current conflict.

Tonight we began a study of the book of Nehemiah.  The namesake of this Old Testament book was a displaced Jew, a slave in Persia.  His job?  He served as cupbearer to the king.  Now on the surface that does not sound so bad, unless you are thinking of an athletic cup.  His responsibility was to sample the food and drink before the king would partake.  This was not so much for the sake of taste, as for the sake of poison.  In other words, if Nehemiah fell over dead, then the king would know to order a different dish.

Now I know many of us sometimes complain about our jobs.  Perhaps the hours are too long, pay too little, appreciation seemingly non-existent.  How wuld you like to have this man's job?  No wonder he felt the need to be close to God; the next cupcake could be his ticket to Judgment Day.

Of course the message of the book is how God took this ordinary man, living under less than ideal circumstances, and used him in amazing ways.  It is a fast read, with practical application, and I encourage you to take less than an hour to read it through.

I was thinking about bad jobs, and I've had my share.  As a teenager I spent one summer picking up dead animals from the county highways and disposing of the bodies.  And my supervisor did not care what we did with them, as long as they were out of sight.  Now that was a bad job!  I remember being offered a day's pay to wade out into the sewage disposal facility of my hometown, to unclog the drain.  They offered pretty good pay.  I declined.  Probably my worst job as an adult was to pastor a church full of nice folk, who happened to be racists.  Given the choice, I'd rather unclog the drain.

I remember a Saturday Night Live skit, from years ago, which featured Bill Murray as an attendant in a Roman vomitorium.  His job- to wipe off the spittle after the disgorging.  That's bad!

How about you, can you futher enlighten my knowledge of bad jobs?  Please tell me about the worst job you have ever had.