Baloon Boy: Aftermath

I have to admit I was all taken in on the balloon boy thing. What a story .... With the happy ending we all love to see! I believed in Balloon Boy. Or, rather, I believed that his parents believed that he was in the balloon. And I hoped that they were wrong, that he was hiding under the bed, or in a box. And I was happy - genuinely happy - when I learned that, in fact, he was. Alas ....

IT WAS A HOAX!!!!!!

How naive could I have been? Undoubtedly, my own fond childhood memories coupled with a pretty good set of parents has mislead my thinking on the aims of other families. Did I actually think that lil Falcon Heene was throwing up for no reason on the morning show? (Just nervous I suppose ...) However ... The lies and scam that his parents perpetrated would make anyone vomit. It makes me sick thinking about it. So much for the piety of parenthood. Fame, money and the lure of reality television trumps holding a regular job any day of the week.

Heaven help us. But most of all, help Falcon Heene and his brothers.

Phone Booth Confessions

A few years ago there is this movie Phone Booth which pointed out our culture's growing need for confession, even from a secular viewpoint. What's the attraction all about? Is a new "confession-craze" dawning, or do you see something different, something deeper?

There are even online confession sites, eveen Christian ones like mysecret. tv (Warning: Can be "R" rated):

http://www.mysecret.tv/

Of course confessing your secret to an impersonal, anonymous medium is not Christian confession. There is this probably unintended drawback; the site is voyeuristic. Free "real" entertainment that makes a daytime drama look tame! The idea of confession is to share your sin with a trusted confidant, friend, pastor, etc., not with thousands of people on an anonymous message board where the stories of sin can be laid out like a banquet for the voyeurs!

But the idea is there ... Repentance is good for the soul, and we cannot be Christians without it. Many a "Christian" believes that if he simply mutters his confession into his pillow at night, that is good enough. God may very well hear and forgive, however the sinner robs himself of absolution through Christ's body, The Church. James says in his epistle, "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another that you may be healed." (James. 5:16) "Private" confession to God is nowhere taught in scripture, and this practice is probably responsible for the millions of dollars spent in this country every year on mental health professionals, dealing with "guilt feelings," instead of dealing with the actual guilt through the sacrament. It is important to understand, that if we have trouble confessing our sins to a priest, a fellow sinner, how can we confess our sins to the righteous and Holy God?

Just some thoughts on a Tuesday.

“Good Friday”: A Poem by Christina Rossetti

A poem I wish to share on this Good Friday ...


“Good Friday”: A Poem by Christina Rossetti (Published in 1896)

Am I a stone, and not a sheep,
That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy cross,
To number drop by drop Thy Blood’s slow loss,
And yet not weep?

Not so those women loved
Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;
Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly;
Not so the thief was moved;

Not so the Sun and Moon
Which hid their faces in a starless sky,
A horror of great darkness at broad noon—
I, only I.

Yet give not o’er
But seek Thy sheep,
true Shepherd of the flock;
Greater than Moses, turn and look once more
And smite a rock.

happy being unhappy?

Why do some people have to live with so much drama in their lives.... You know we all know at least one person like this....the one who every time you see or talk to them something "big" is going on in their lives......

I don't mind helping and listening to others but then that one person comes into your life and they make you want to pull your hair out...its always one thing after another...and to make it worse they aren't even trying to change it they thrive on the attention the drama gives them!

Maybe what I need is prayer for dealing with people like this in my life ... I find that with these people you just end up smiling and try to stay out of as much as you can. there is no point in sounding like a broken record if they don't want to listen. But it amazes me that people would rather be unhappy than actually try and work through things. Could it be that some people are happy being unhappy?

Tim, with a vent from work yesterday ...