What color should my blog be?

I took some of those online quizzes today. One of them said my blog should be green! I guess I made a good choice. Another one said I act like I'm 25 years old, which is pretty close to my actual age (23, 24 in September). Another one guessed that among my brothers and sisters I was born 4th. I was actually 3rd. Close enough I guess. That's pretty cool that a computer program can do something like that.

For the class that I've been taking this summer, I'm currently reading a novel called The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman. It's interesting to say the least. I wouldn't recommend it, primarily because of the vulgarity of it. However, if you really just want to experience the absurdity of reading a single story that contains both vampires and pirates, not to mention circus freaks, automata, phantasms, centaurs, pimps, and African tribesmen, be my guest, but remember that I warned you. And if that's not enough, the book also waxes philosophic on time-space, religion, gender psychology, and reality perception. Like I said, interesting to say the least.

Death Was Yesterday

I breathed in death
yesterday

as I gamboled
right past the area
where I knew
there was a decomposing corpse
of a squirrel.

I had passed it a week earlier.
"Surely they've cleaned it up by now."

Nope.

So I breathed in death
yesterday.

Yesterday
that was
yesterday
I don't intend
to do it again, that was
yesterday.

Today I'll go a different way
because I breathed in death
yesterday
and that was
yesterday
and I don't intend
to do it again today.

Death was
yesterday
and I don't intend
to breathe it in
again today.

Ignorance and No Despair

When I walk through darkness
I yearn for the light of others.

At the same time,
God's hand moves me.

Thus
by these two processes,
these two
phenomena
these two
miracles,

I see unlit signs.
I walk straight
on invisible roads.

Great Way to Spend a Day (In 29 Easy Steps)

For all of my readers that live here in Lafayette, I would like to recommend to you a wonderful way to use a day off. I will take you through the whole process, step-by-step:

1. The day before your day off, make sure you have $1.50 in quarters, (that's 6 of 'em), and pack a book or two that you're reading.
2. When you go to bed that evening, set your alarm for 9:00 AM. (That may seem somewhat early to wake up on a day off, but trust me, it'll be worth it.
3. Go to bed, wake up when your alarm goes off, spend some time with God, eat breakfast, get ready for the day.
4. Plan to arrive at the Taco Bell on Johnston and St. Mary at about 10:15.
5. Wait for the Lafayette City Bus to arrive.
6. Get on the bus, put 3 of your 6 quarters in the designated slot, and find a seat.
7. Enjoy the ride.
8. Find the little string hanging above the window next to your seat.
9. After the bus turns from Johnston onto the street leading to the Acadiana mall, pull the string.
10. The bus will stop between Family Christian Bookstore and Barnes & Noble. Get off the bus.
11. Making sure to look both ways, cross the street and head to Barnes & Noble.
12. Browse.
13. Go to the cafe area and buy your favorite coffee or non-coffee beverage and a desert.
14. Sit down in the cafe and eat your desert.
15. Leave the cafe area, with your drink in hand, and find a comfortable chair in the store.
16. Sit down and read, while drinking your beverage, slowly.
17. After finishing your drink, find a good stopping point in your book and head over to the mall.
18. Enter through the Sears entrance, go through Sears and into the mall, and keep right until you find the food court.
19. Eat lunch at your favorite food court restaurant. (I recommend the Chinese food, Combination 1, Chicken Teriyaki w/ fried rice, and a medium drink. You'll be tempted to get the large b/c it's only an extra .09. Don't. It's too much, especially after the Starbuck's beverage you just consumed earlier.)
20. Browse the mall and do whatever shopping you might like.
21. Head back to Barnes & Noble.
22. Browse some more, read some more, and, if you like, between 2:00 and 3:00, get another beverage.
23. Spend some time just sitting in your chair, relaxing, pondering life, communing w/ God, and drifting off into space/sleep. Write in your journal if you keep one.
24. Keep track of the time. At about 5:30, or no later than 5:35, head back to the Sears entrance of the mall.
25. Stand by the entrance and wait for the bus.
26. Repeat steps 5-8.
27. Wait until you pass up Lewis street, then pull the string.
28. The bus will stop a little bit before St. Mary. Get off the bus.
29. Walk back to your home or your car.

If you need to, feel free to print out this blog. Follow all these steps and I assure you, you won't regret it. You'll be refreshed, relaxed, and ready for your next day.

Proverbs 3:6

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight." (Prov. 3:5-6)

I put the word all in bold because that's what I'm focusing on as I reflect on this proverb.

We are to acknowledge him in all we do. I so frequently forget.

What got me thinking about this was Zeke and Lane's wedding Friday night. At the reception everyone was celebrating and dancing and just enjoying each other's company, and I couldn't help but think how much the Lord was being glorified at that time. He must have been rejoicing at the sight of his sons and daughters laughing together and loving each other.

And don't think that the Lord himself was not joining with us in our celebration. I felt his presence there just as much, if not more, than I normally do in church. I believe that he, just as he prompts us to do in his word, rejoices with those who rejoice.

God can be found anywhere, and we deny ourselves so much when we only look for him in church and our prayer closets.

~Ken, Born of Fire

A Man Story

I had only held a shotgun once before in my life, and that was 10 minutes prior, shooting at a piece of cardboard. For that shot, I wasn't holding the gun quite right, and the butt of it kicked me like a mule. I could feel the bruise forming, so I was taking special care this time to press it firmly against my shoulder. I was being told that if I did that, it would feel like a push instead of a punch.

I closed my left eye and lined my sight straight down the length of the barrell.

Safety off.

Finger on trigger.

"Pull!"

A second later and I see it, almost hovering out there. Watching someone else do it, you think you have to react instantly. I felt like I had all the time I needed and more. I took aim, turned a few inches to my left, and the next thing I saw was a fireworks display of shattering orange fragments. And no pain in my shoulder.

Whether I was a natural at shooting skeet or had a simple case of beginner's luck I was content not to discover. I quit with a perfect record. I hope to come out of retirement soon though. Should it be offered, another shot at glory will be hard to refuse.

Screwtape Proverb

Live life for life itself. In living you find life. In living, you find true life. In life, you find true living. Life is life is life is life, and living is life and life is living. Live for life because life will not live. Live for life because life is all. Life is all that one can live for. To have life is to live, and to live is to have life. There is nothing more to say about this.

My Language Spiel

I've been resisting this for a while now, but I finally would like to blog a little spiel about my perspective on language and grammmar.

If I think edible is a ridiculously illogical word because almost every other -able or -ible word just attaches the -able or -ible to the end of the word and I prefer to keep with the simpler system and say eatable because I don't see any good reason in the world that eat should be so special as to warrant it being treated differently than the rest of the words in the English language, then it's quite unfortunate that if I say eatable I'm perceived as being less intelligent than someone who says edible even if they are merely saying what they've been taught to say and did not actually put any thoughtful consideration into their choice of words at all.

These are the conjugations of the English verb "be": am, is, are, was, were. Now, look at their respective contractions:

were + not = weren't
was + not = wasn't
are + not = aren't
is + not = isn't
am + not = ?

It's unfortunate that that question mark is there because ain't would be incredibly useful in filling that gap. Yet, if I use "ain't" I'm considered unintelligent by many who, if asked, wouldn't even be able to tell you why it's bad. It's bad because over a century ago Joe Shmoe Grammarian wrote a book and said it was and everybody believed him. (Fyi, there are certain dialects of English spoken among upper-class British in which "ain't" is a perfectly normal, acceptable word.)

I find it strange that in a country often so proudly referred to as a "melting pot" because of its rich cultural heritage, in a country obsessively enamored with diversity in ethnicity, culture, religion, art, etc., we believe that everyone should speak the same way and have very little choice in how they express themselves and that people with different accents, dialects, and grammars are somehow less intelligent.

I find it strange that in a country where relativism and pluralism have permeated our lives, we think there is only one "correct" way to speak.

When people talk about "freedom of speech," they should actually say "freedom of content of speech" because the form of our speech is certainly anything but free. It is shackled.

And perhaps most unfortunately of all, many are not aware that language is one of the last bastions of discrimination and racism in our country. It is no longer acceptable to judge anyone based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc., but it is still very much acceptable to judge someone based on their accent, dialect, grammar, etc. If you associate a southern accent with being dumb or uneducated, no one will condemn you for it. If you associate African-American dialects with ignorance, you certainly won't stir up any controversy.

For most, there's nothing wrong with the fact that the European-Americans have dictated the "right" way to speak to the other ethnic groups. Well, I'm saying that it is wrong. Simply put, people should be able to choose how they speak. I would love to say how people might react if the shoe were on the other foot. What if we woke up tomorrow and everyone had to speak African-American Vernacular, and if you didn't, you were stigmatized as, at best, uneducated, at worst, a thug or a criminal? Hmmm . . .

Again, as simply as I can put it, people should be able to choose how they speak.

~Ken, Born of Fire

Just a second ago,
I saw his shoes,
briefly,
and they stung me.

I saw his tennis shoes,
and how the contours comforted him.
I saw his flip-flops,
and how they convenienced him.
I saw his dress shoes,
and their inconvenience.
I saw his boots,
and how they calloused.

Before I could actually try them on and walk in them,
they were invisible to me again,
but the mere glimpse of them stung me hard.

It hurt so bad.

I feel fine now,
but the scar's still there.

I want more scars like these.
I'm not sure I can bear the pain,
but I'm not sure I can return to numbness.

Friends, Pt. 4

This here's Ryan Bourque, and you are reading Part 4 in my ongoing Friends series.

Oh man, what can I say about Ryan? So many memories, but there is one that would perhaps be most interesting to anyone who has seen Ryan and I interact. Yes, the file labeled "Yo Mama" sticks out right about now.

Zeke D'Avy and I led a small group Bible study in the Conference Center back in 2002-2003. We had three guys who were really faithful in attending every week, and one of them was a Freshman named Ryan Bourque. In the course of that year, I recall the exact moment when I felt Ryan and I had really made a connection for the first time.

One day, Zeke, as he often so kindly does when he notices the mop on my head getting out of control, offered to give me a haircut. I never pass up a free haircut. So there we are in the halls of the CC, when Ryan walks up and starts chatting with us. I don't remember who struck first (though it was probably me), but before you know it, Ryan and I were engaging in a friendly exchange of Yo Mama jokes. Our respective mama's got serioiusly torn down that night. And I remember just laughing and laughing, both at Ryan's jokes and his reactions to my jokes.

From that day on, Ryan and I definitely had a closer friendship that would only continue to grow in the years to come. And now you know a little more about my friendship with Ryan, as well as the awesome bond-building power of Yo Mama jokes.

Ken, Born of Fire