NoelHeikkinen.com

Two Experiences

Sep 28, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Thinking
.:itunes:. Gone Daddy Gone by Gnarls Barkley

Yesterday I had two experiences that I thought were worth sharing.

Dan and I went to Grand Rapids to see the premiere of a play called Seven Passages: The Stories of Gay Christians at Actors’ Theatre. Here’s the Writer / Director’s description of the play:

“We are not all ONE in our opinions. We are not even two or three. As a group we are a motley mix, with a common goal - telling these stories with justice in a good piece of theatre.”
-Director Stephanie Sandberg

Basically, the play is the result of a hundred or so interviews with gay and lesbian people and their interaction with Christianity throughout their lives. It was a powerful play because the script was entirely comprised of the content of these interviews.

They told their stories and incorporated passages of Scripture that address homosexuality. While I don’t agree with the interpretation that was put forward on these passages, one thing really struck me: putting the Scripture next to the individual stories humanized the whole issue of homosexuality. That piece was very well done.

After the play and a short discussion time, Dan and I got a chance to sit down and have a beer with someone who is very closely connected to the show. She shared with us that they had invited over 600 different churches and Christian organizations to come view the premiere.

One of the most common responses she got from churches was “hate mail.”

This was from churches.

Then, she shared with us her own personal story and how she was publicly shamed by a clergy member during a church service when she was in high school. She has never been back. I’m sure the “hate mail” she received really made her want to give church another chance.

It struck me that this play, in many ways, was the gay and lesbian community reaching out to the church to start a dialog.

And the church’s response was “hate mail.”

Begat

Sep 26, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Swell
.:itunes:. Tiny Vessels by Death Cab For Cutie

This cartoon from The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus reminded me of a dinner conversation we had last week.
One of my kids asked how babies get out of the mom.

One of my other kids (who had obviously already thought this through) declared:

“It has to be from one of two places…”

This is where I was getting nervous…he continued…

“The belly button or the privates. Right?”

“Yes, from the privates,” I replied.

Smiles all around the table, a little biology lesson from a blushing/smirking mom, and then the conversation changed to another topic as if we had never even started talking about such a thing.

Tact Filter

Sep 26, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Inspired
.:itunes:. Phony Eyes by The Seventy Sevens

OK, this is awesome. I got it from 43 Folders who got it from Jeff Bigler:

All people have a “tact filter”, which applies tact in one direction to everything that passes through it. Most “normal people” have the tact filter positioned to apply tact in the outgoing direction….

“Nerds,” on the other hand, have their tact filter positioned to apply tact in the incoming direction. Thus, whatever anyone says to them gets the appropriate amount of tact added when they hear it. This is because when nerds were growing up, they continually got picked on, and their parents continually drilled into their heads statements like, “They’re just saying those mean things because they’re jealous. They don’t really mean it…”

So, nerds need to understand that normal people have to apply tact to everything they say; they become really uncomfortable if they can’t do this. Normal people need to understand that despite the fact that nerds are usually tactless, things they say are almost never meant personally and shouldn’t be taken that way. Both types of people need to be extra patient when dealing with someone whose tact filter is backwards relative to their own.

Blog of the Week: Jing Blog

Sep 25, 2007 Blog of the Week

.:mood:. Hi there!
.:itunes:. Higher by Creed

Blog Name
Jing Blog

That’s all your getting in a typed version. Why? Because Jing is a screen capture software and the rest of this Blog of the Week will be given to you via screen capture.

Click here to see it.

Worldviews

Sep 22, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Procrastinating
.:itunes:. Title And Registration by Death Cab For Cutie

Pastors.com just posted an article from Rick Warren entitled: “Six worldviews you’re competing against.”

The thing I liked about the article was that he followed each worldview up with what the Bible has to say about it.

There was a missing link for me, though: Many people (not all) who hold these worldviews don’t take the Bible as the Word of God. At best, it’s “a book full of nice pithy statements to reinforce what I already believe.”

Where’s the bridge?

What do we say to each of these worldviews to help them consider that the Bible may something worthwhile to say?

For the sake of space, I’m just going to quote the 6 worldviews Warren listed:

1. The one with the most toys wins.
2. I’ve got to think of me first.
3. Do what feels good.
4. Whatever works for you.
5. God doesn’t exist.
6. You are your own God.

What do you think? What do we say to each of these worldviews to bridge them to the Bible?

How Would Jesus Excercise

Sep 21, 2007 Uncategorized

Amazing Art

Sep 20, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Amazed
.:itunes:. The Way You Look Tonight by Tony Bennett

OK, this is amazing…and I have to thank Mr. Kenneth Buck for the link.

These artists take garbage and make phenomenal art out of it. But you have to see it in the right light. Here’s one example:

Look for this to show up in a teaching this weekend…

Giant Chinese Piano and Violin

Sep 20, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Musical
.:itunes:. High Tide or Low Tide by Ben Harper & Jack Johnson

The best part of this new building in China is the commentary by Gizmodo:

There’s not much detail on why this Huainan building was built in the shape of a violin and a piano, but our guess is it’s to shame every little Chinese kid into taking up the two stereotypical instruments they play: the piano and the violin. Of course, their instruments aren’t made of glass and aren’t 100 feet tall, but these weigh just as much as the real ones do on those little kids’ souls. We can still taste the tears.

Quote of the Day

Sep 20, 2007 Quotes

.:mood:. Not Enough
.:itunes:. So Long by Adam Again

(via PastorHacks)

“If my private world is in order, it will be because I have made a deliberate decision to begin the “ordering” process. Now!”
- Gordon MacDonald

This comes form the book

“Ordering Your Private World” (Gordon MacDonald)

Links

Sep 19, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Hopeful
.:itunes:. Hide Away by Adam Again

OK, so I promised this weekend that I would provide links to organizations that may be able to get you started on doing something about the smell of pain and suffering in the world.

Here is a list that is by no means complete. It’s just to get you started. If you have an organization you would like to see on this list, add it in the comments section.

Oh, and one other thing.

Just because I list an organization here, it doesn’t mean I stand for everything they stand for (that means I’m not endorsing any of these groups just because I am linking to them). You’ll see organizations on both sides of the political fence with very different approaches to tackling the same problems. I’m not making any kind of political stand here, I am just giving you places to get started. It’s up to you to figure out whether each organization is one you would personally feel comfortable working with.

Abortion
Center for Bioethical Reform (This site has a pretty graphic video on the front page…you’ve been warned.)
Right to Life

Adoption
Bethany Christian Services (in East Lansing)
National Council for Adoption

AIDS
Blood Water Mission
Lansing Area AIDS Network

Country Specific Relief
Uganda - Invisible Children
Darfur - SaveDarfur
United States - Justice Fellowship

Human Rights
Amnesty International
Child Voice International
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Wilberforce Forum

Poverty
One
World Relief

Religious Freedom
One Free World International
Voice of the Martyrs

Slavery
The Amazing Change
Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking
Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking
Free the Slaves
International Justice Mission

Breathe In Deeply

Sep 19, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Sober
.:itunes:. Waitress by Live

Wow.

The response to this weekend’s teaching has been massive.

Based on this clip from the movie “Amazing Grace,” I asked everyone to “breathe deeply” of the pain and suffering in this world.

A lot of people have asked for the stats I shared so I thought I’d post the transcript of that part of my message, along with the references. My thanks to Brett who compiled much of this research for me.

Just a few weeks ago, 23 South Korean missionaries were captured in Afghanistan and two of them were killed. After six weeks, the rest were released but not until many were severely beaten for not converting to Islam. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi has vowed to do it again. He told the Associated Press

“We will do the same thing with the other allies in Afghanistan, because we found this way to be successful.”

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/08/30/hostages-korea.html?ref=rss
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070904/29174.htm

In July of this year, 36 Christians were kidnapped in the span of one week from one church in Baghdad. None of them have been seen since then but because they are not foreigners it hasn’t received much press.

http://www.persecution.com/news/index.cfm?action=fullstory&newsid=535

In April this year, 3 Bible publishers were killed in Turkey.

http://www.persecution.com/news/index.cfm?action=fullstory&newsid=511

Last year, a Christian woman was clubbed to death publicly for street preaching in Nigeria.

http://www.onefreeworldinternational.com/?q=news/nigeriaalert4192007

The year before, 3 Christian school girls were publicly decapitated in Indonesia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4387604.stm

But all of these are small numbers…let’s look at the big numbers for a few minutes.

In Darfur, since 2003, 2 Million people have been displaced from their homes and 400,000 have been killed.

http://www.savedarfur.org/newsroom/policypapers/darfur_update_july_18_2007/

In the Netherlands, if your child is born disabled in some way, it is legal to kill them and it has been that way for over 15 years.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/003dncoj.asp?pg=1

I couldn’t find any stats on how many babies have actually been killed but I do know that in the United States 4000 babies are killed in the womb through abortion each day—that’s 1.3 million deaths a year and a billion dollar industry.

That only scratches the surface of abortion. The Center for Bioethical Reform reports that each day 126,000 babies are aborted worldwide—that’s 46 million a year!

http://www.abortionno.org/Resources/fastfacts.html

Many of those are in China where 500,000 – 750,000 baby girls are aborted each year because the government has enacted a “one child policy” and many people want a male heir to pass on their family name. So as soon as they see the ultrasound of a girl, they have her killed.

http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/2/14/202119.shtml

Speaking of China, 500 million Chinese citizens have no access to clean water and cancer has become the leading cause of death in China because of the severe pollution. There is something called the “Asian Brown Cloud” that blocks out 10-15% of the sunlight in China causing massive health problems.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/asia/26china.html?_r=1&oref=login

China also has an estimated 10 million child laborers many of whom are forced into it. For instance, in 2000, 84 kids were kidnapped to make Christmas lights in a factory. Any guesses where those lights were probably shipped?

http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/36/11097

It is estimated that between 400,000 and 4 million people a year are enslaved into either forced labor or sex slavery—it’s a $10 Billion a year industry. Around the world, 80% of forced laborers are women and 50% of them are girls.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/slaves/etc/stats.html

Each year, an estimated 17,500 women and children are sold as sex slaves and smuggled into the United States!

http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/kralis/060720

Baseball Trick

Sep 19, 2007 Uncategorized

Chris Cornell Covers a Classic

Sep 18, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Alliterate
.:itunes:. Coverville 359: Just take my strong advice: Remember to always take cover requests by Brian Ibbott

So I’m sitting here listening to Coverville and I hear the most amazing cover by Chris Cornell. I immediately went online to try to find an embedable version of some sort. I found a video of him performing it live.

I actually like the original a lot, but the cover is even better. It takes a very familiar pop song and gives it some amazing depth. You actually get the meaning of the song much more clearly in his version.

What song is it? Well…I guess you have to watch the video.

The Pain of 256 and The Joy of 1.34765625

Sep 18, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Ahhhhhh
.:itunes:. Polar Opposites by Modest Mouse

One of the hardest things about being on vacation is playing catch up.

Here’s what I accomplished today:

7:30am - 9:30am - Elder Meeting
9:30am - 12:30pm - Responded to Backlog of Emails
12:30pm - 1:30 - Lunch Meeting
1:30pm - 4:15pm - Responded to Backlog of Emails
4:15pm - Smiled at Empty Inbox
4:16pm - Counted how many emails I sent today: 256

That means I sent out an email message every 1.34765625 minutes today. (My iPhone calculator gave me that beautiful number.)

Now off to work in my yard.

Normal blogging resumes tomorrow.

Awesome

Sep 18, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Awed
.:itunes:. Beautiful Addiction by Audiovent

OK, this is seriously one of the coolest ad ideas I have ever seen. (via Rocketboom)

Quote of the Day

Sep 17, 2007 Uncategorized

“Young men are apt to think themselves wise enough, as drunken men are apt to think themselves sober enough.”

- Lord Chesterfield

Quote of the Day

Sep 17, 2007 Uncategorized

(via The MondayMorningMemo)

“You and I know the world is changing at an unprecedented rate. The big fish are no longer eating the little fish. The fast fish are eating the slow.”

-Roy Williams

Jon Stewart

Sep 16, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Thinking
.:itunes:. Innocence Again by Switchfoot

Art sent me this video of Jon Stewart’s first broadcast after 9/11. He included this note:

I’ve really been trying to get buckets together. Thanks for your message this weekend.

I had no idea what he meant until I watched the video.

Gotta Love Stereotypes

Sep 15, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Hi
.:itunes:. Hello by Lionel Richie

We’re Home!

Sep 15, 2007 Uncategorized

.:mood:. Jet Lagged
.:itunes:. Transformer by Gnarls Barkley

After 19 hours of travel, we finally rolled back into town last night at 8ish.

Grace and I had an amazing time in Maui. The best thing to happen to us was that our internet in our condo didn’t work until the day before we left for home. The first day we were there, I put my iPhone in the safe and only pulled it out occasionally.

What that meant for me was for the first time ever, I had a vacation where I didn’t think about work at all!

It was so refreshing.

Because of this, I have to dive in to get my message ready for tonight, but I thought I’d slap up a few of my favorite pictures from the trip first.

On our second day in Hawaii, we went up to Mount Haleakala. It was a 40 mile drive up a volcano (which was 10,000 feet tall). We left at 3:00 in the morning so we could catch the sunrise.

It was friggin’ cold! Not what you think of when you think of Hawaii. Grace snapped this picture of me waiting for the sunrise. It’s her favorite picture from the trip:

Here’s a shot of the clouds and moon. Yes, we were over the clouds…we had to drive through them on the way up.

Sunrise:

Enjoying Hawaii’s warmth:

I love this picture of Grace. Check out her hair and the rainbow she is “holding.”

We had this amazing convertible mustang:

Unfortunately, so did a lot of people. This could get confusing in some parking lots:

We did “The Road to Hana” while we there. This is a 68 mile drive, with over 600 curves and 54 bridges, most of which were 1 lane. It’s insane. And insanely beautiful. There are so many waterfalls (one of which we went swimming in). Here’s one shot Grace took:

We saw rainbows every day. God must really really want the Hawaiians to know that he isn’t going to flood the earth again:

Our favorite part of the trip was a 4 hour trek into the mountains to zipline. We went with Skylne Eco Adventures, which was awesome. We took a very dusty ride up a mountain, then we zipped our way down. Our guides were hysterical (in the funny way, not the anxious way):

I took this picture with my iPhone from the dinner table our last night there: