Ranoodle

Late Summer Delights!

I just enjoyed the last of the pears of the summer today. These beauties were from my Dad's pear tree... the best pears ever! This year was a great year for local fruit! Last weekend the muscadines were delicious! These are just some of the joys of living close to mom & dad!

Coercing the desperate to convert?

Tonight's Muslim/Christian discussion group centered on how Muslims perceive Christianity and Christians. It was not hard to see why they have certain perceptions. One perception that took me by surprise is that mission-minded Christians are perceived to prey on the poor/desperate to coerce conversion to Christianity. One cited a recent experience where a philanthropic Muslim group was calling on local Afghan refugees and inquired about material needs... food, shelter, and other essentials. One particular family had their basic needs met but asked for things like HD TV's, X-boxes, and other unnecessary items. They politely declined the invitation to provide those items and moved on to help someone else in need. Later they revisited the home and found that a group claiming to be Christian had provided the unnecessary items and advised the family that all they needed to do was to show up for an occasional church service in exchange for the goodies. That certainly isn't the Christianity I practice, but I have to ask, is it becoming a new norm?

Many mission organizations that are rooted in the Christian faith are humanitarian in nature, serving the needs of those who are often poor and in desperate conditions to demonstrate the love of Christ. While that is the "mission" of the organization, it is also often a part of the mission to seek to meet spiritual needs as well. Is this perception some Muslims have based on isolated incidents of people claiming the name of Christ but behaving in a non-Christlike manner? Or has focus for an alarming number of missions organizations been changed from loving others for Christ's sake to claiming new converts regardless of the manner in which they come? Any thoughts?

How might you respond to this perception?

Hurricane Season 2008

I thought my brother was hilarious when he vowed that if we evacuated for Hurricane Gustav he would strap his deep freezer to the back of his truck and take it along with us. "I ain't gonna lose my fish!" he said. And he wasn't lying. We did evacuate and his freezer came right along with us. We all made fun of him until we saw about 2 dozen other evacuees along the highway in the middle of the night with their freezers in tow as well. Wish I had a snap of it to share...

Turkey Run

After a stressful week, what better fun than a weekend in the wild... Lori, Matt, Brian, Ruth & I headed southward to Turkey Run State Park in Indiana. We hiked over the river (via a suspension bridge) and through the woods (we never made it to grandma's house) while the guys went kayaking. The weather was perfect for camping and I did not see a single snake. It was a good weekend! Thanks to Ruth, we ate well all weekend. Gourmet campfood! Mmmm...

Millennium Cloudgate

This is Millennium Cloudgate in downtown Chicago, affectionately known as "The Bean" to the designer's chagrin. The following snap is what all of the people under "The Bean" in the above photo are gawking at...