Life comes and life goes. Birth proceeds unto death. I appreciate the privilege of being around people at all ages and points in the process.

Today, I held a baby in my arms. I was humming a classic musical tune — a march I am unable to name — and hopping around. The baby giggled and smiled.

I’ve met some of the older men in my church recently. The opportunity to hear even a few stories from somebody who has lived through everything from World War II through the Information Age is amazing.

Then there’s the darker angles. The villager from a poor region in Latin America (I don’t remember which country) — a man named Napoleon — who says, “A farmer without land is nothing.” Napoleon is a farmer and he owns no land.

Do you curse God and point out the inequities in the world? Do you scream and shout and beg someone to change the world, do you fight for peace, do you make demands upon people you can’t keep yourself?

I intend to do what I can. I won’t expect anything more from other people, and I expect less from most. Doing anything is better than doing nothing, and a single action is better than all the words in the world save the word that generates new action in hearts and lives.

John 1:1-5 —

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Tags: death, farmer, Life

Hopefully you’re all getting a glimpse of how my life is going from all the mobile photos and miscellaneous commenting. Just want to give a brief summary of things though.

Last Monday - final preparation for a “Talk Time” English conversation ministry being started at my church. It actually starts on Monday. I’m looking forward to it.

PostSecret book tour in downtown on Thursday night — awesome. I love the site, I love the books (though I only own 2 of the 4). Before the book tour, I stopped at Starbucks and wrote out some of my secrets on a piece of paper and slipped them into one of the books once I got to the book store.

Slashdot party Saturday night — awesome.

As you can see, I’ve actually been getting some social interaction. I’m really hoping I can start to derive some friendships from getting out into the world. I know it’s helping my days to seem more full and less lonely. Granted, life is never gonna be perfect, but I’m even more excited to be living here now that I’m seeing some hope even on the literally dreary days that come as Seattle transitions to Fall.

Prayer: My Grandma went to the hospital on Wednesday. This worried me probably more than anything all week. She’s doing okay and she’s home now, but she and all of my grandparents are getting towards the tale end of life and I’m afraid to lose them. I’ve been fairly lucky in that I’ve only had a few relatives die since I’ve been old enough to understand and most of my memories of them have been letters and birthday cards mailed from distant lands.

Needless to say, I’m not exactly thrilled at the idea of getting to know Death any better.

Tags: church, death, grandma, PostSecret, Slashdot

Last night I performed my errands. I made a trip to the post office. This is not the first trip I’ve made. I have continued my habit of trading CDs, DVDs, and books via the internet. In addition, I sold my old cell phone on eBay, hence yesterday’s trip.

After the post office, I stopped by the grocery store to buy foodstuffs for consumption. In the process of shopping, I walked past the deli section and saw a small crowd gathered around. I then realized a man was laying on the ground and the crowd was gathered around him.

I pushed my cart to a position where I had a better view. An overweight man lay on the floor while receiving CPR. With each compression, I watched his belly rise and fall. The man continued to lay on the ground with no apparent change. A deli clerk called out for the onlookers to back off and make room. At about the same time, various paramedics and firemen arrived and walked towards the man.

I couldn’t tell precisely what was going on, but it didn’t look well. I didn’t know what to do, mostly because there was nothing I could do.

My choices: Gawk or Shop.

I walked to the produce section nearby and selected bananas, apples, lettuce, and tomatoes. Last I saw, paramedics continued to swarm around the man. I saw no signs of hope as I paid for my food and left the store. When I pulled out of the parking lot, two large fire engines continued to sit with their red lights still twirling and chasing away the shadows of night.

I returned home shortly later. I thought it odd that the outer Christmas lights did not illuminate the house. So I entered the door, flipped on the lightswitch, and nothing happened. I spent the next two hours navigating by flashlight and I used the grill to cook my dinner. Needless to say, I went to bed early ’cause I couldn’t see or do much of anything.

Tags: death, shopping