#BecauseWeSaidSo

While en route to try out a recommended gym for an afternoon workout, I decided to stop by my parents house; being it was near my destination.  I'm chatting it up with my dad when across the screen flashes the news about the shocking bombing at the Boston Marathon.  Human nature allows for a person in this situation to assume the worst; and so our silent thoughts and prayers were immediately directed to the [projected] hundreds of victims.  Once it was released that only 3 people perished, we concerned ourselves with praying for the families of those 3 victims while praising God for such minimal loses given the situation.  Apparently, I was in the minority here...as social and professional media alike commanded that we all #prayforBoston.  Well noted and adhered to.  But I couldn't help to think to myself, "Chicago is a little over 100 murders right now.  How come no one is hash-tagging to pray for them?"

Scarred Reflection

I would assume this wasn't the original intent, but it seems like social media is comprised of roughly 20-25% pornography. Now it would be easy to pin this stat on the 20-something year old misguided men and women of urban upbringing.  Or maybe peg the blame on the loose-moral reality television stars.   But the fact of the matter is that many 30 year old (and up) women are lettin' 'em hang and poke out for the camera.  These [supposedly] mature ladies have taken a page from there teenage...uh...mentees and have turned their somewhat clean bathrooms into a photo set; quickly releasing distasteful and vulgar images for hundreds to see.  And in the true spirit of porn, where no amount of money can outweigh the emotion rush of voyeurism  the independent woman does this for free.

Feeding the Monster

When I first learned about some of the ways various forms of cancer can advance throughout the body, I was a little leery.   I always envisioned cancer as this mysterious, unpreventable disease; not thinking that the modern Westernized diet is cancers' breeding ground.  I recall hearing about a woman, who when diagnosed with a cancer, completely revolutionized her diet to nothing but vegetables, fruits, certain nuts, and grains.  After only months of trying the new diet and with minimal treatment the cancer went into complete remission. One day, the woman decided she was going to fry some chicken; a nostalgic treat to herself after reaching a healthier lifestyle and defeating an often-terminal illness.  Within weeks the cancer returned and the woman died.  She essentially encouraged the dangerous cancerous cells that were dormant in her body to be revived...and it killed her.

Pick Fights

A seasonably chilly winter night in mid-March was quickly made warm when 8 national championships, some of the best amateur basketball players in America, and the ever-thirsty ESPN conglomerate descended on Moon Township, Pennsylvania.  And what brought the University of Kentucky and their bluegrass power to lowly Robert Morris University in March?  Weren't the Wildcats supposed to be gearing up to defend their 2012 NCAA title in some major U.S. city?  Not hardly...as a matter of fact, they didn't even qualify for the Men's Championship tournament.  UK's lackluster season left them only able to compete for the National Invitational Tournament; a sort of you're-good-but-not-good-enough type of event.  Even more strange was that the mighty Wildcats were playing at RMU.  Usually in the NIT, the higher seeded team hosts the lower seeded team at their facility.  But Rupp Arena (home of the Kentucky Wildcats) was ironically hosting the second round of the NCAA Men's tournament.  So, with all of their history and tradition and legacy of winning; about 20 or so young and middle-aged men left the "real" tournament to go take on a bunch of no names in some less-than-hick-town school.  However, someone forgot to tell the Colonials to be intimidated.

The Beautiful Silence

Go to sleep (or at least try to) with a number of troublesome issues on the brain...then wake up with none of them solved.  Roll over and snatch your smart phone in one clumsy move; checking your emails, text messages, and bank account - only to find your late-night working boss emailed you three assignments at 1 a.m. that she needs to be completed by lunch.  It seems like that email sparked the memory of all of the challenges in your life.  To quickly take your thoughts off late bills and dwindling finances you thumb through your social media feeds to like a few statuses and reach for the remote control to flick on the T.V., but you catch yourself.  Gotta thank the Man upstairs (after all He is first in your life).  Then, after your 30 second order...uhh...prayer, with your Droid still in grasp, you hop up to get geared for the day.  But maybe the prayer was too long, because you glance at your hand to notice you're about 15 minutes late.  So you fuss and cuss your way through the morning; finally ending up with a hefty, complaining sigh...wondering with all of this confusion is God hearing your ever-so-often 30 second petitions.