FCB4

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Made for spirituality, we wallow in introspection. Made for joy, we settle for pleasure. Made for justice, we clamor for vengence. Made for relationship, we insist on our own way. Made for beauty, we settle for sentiment. BUT, new creation has already begun, the sun has begun to rise. Christians are called to leave behind, in the tomb of Jesus Christ, all that belongs to the brokeness and incompletness of the broken world. It is time, in the power of the Spirit, to take up our proper role, our fully human role as agents and heralds and stewards of the new day that is dawning. That, quite simply, is what it means to be Christian, to follow Jesus Christ into the new world, God's new world, which He has thrown open before us. - NT Wright's

God intends us to penetrate the world. Christian salt has no business to remain snugly in elegant little ecclesiastical salt cellars; our place is to be rubbed into the secular community, as salt is rubbed into meat, to stop it going bad. And when society does go bad, we Christians tend to throw up our hands in pious horror and reproach the non-Christian world; but should we not rather reproach ourselves? One can hardly blame unsalted meat for going bad. It cannot do anything else. The real question to ask is: Where is the salt? -John Stott

"The foundation has been laid. The garden has been planted. The musical score is written. The principalities and powers that kept us in exile have been defeated; they need reminding of this, and we need reminding of it too, but it is a fact -- if it isn't, the cross was a failure. Our task is now to build the house, to tend the garden, to play the score. The human race has been in exile; exiled from the garden, shut out of the house, bombarded with noise instead of music. Our task is to announce in deed and word that the exile is over, to enact symbols that speak of healing and forgiveness, to act boldly in God's world in the power of the Spirit."

- N.T. Wright

Friday, June 29, 2007

Alicia

Alicia
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Alicia brought her son Jackson over for a visit today.
It was good to have all the family together...she turns 20 on July 4th.
I pray it is a good year for her and Jackson, she deserves it.

Still got it...

Jackson and grandma...
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Jackson fell asleep on LeeElla today.
She has still got the mommy...now, grandmommy touch.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

huh?

wow...nutsorama...

This will mess you up....

Can you imagine, what life would feel like, knowing that no one cares about you...I mean really, no one cares...no one to care if you cry alone in your urine soaked bed, or if you have flies buzzing around your mouth, but can't swat them away, or if your brain can't make the muscles in your mouth and throat cooperate so you can do something as simple as swallow, or if you have a sad day, a lonely day, you think something is funny, if you are scared...I can't even go there mentally I have no idea what that would even feel like and nothing to compare it to and know that it is worse than I could possibly imagine as most of us have never NOT known love and security....even worse, imagining that life for any of our children. Well there is a country of children here in Guatemala who know that kind of suffering...take a peek at the video of Sam on Dick's site, just one of the many children in Hermano Pedro (hospital/orphanage) here in Antigua http://dickrutgers.com

watch the short video here:

http://www.dickrutgers.com/Sam%20SamWeb.mov

Foster children waiting for homes...

For American readers, this link is really helpful and informative: http://kidsarewaiting.org

- check out foster care statistics in your state.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

bird flu hits trailer park...

bird flu
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

tragic...

Destiny

Destiny
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

I am so proud of my daughter, Destiny.
She will be turning 13 in a few days and for a teenager, she's the tops. She brought home a solid 4.0 on her report card this quarter. She's got a good heart, amazing talent, beauty and a brain, and her laugh could melt the hardest heart. She is a singer and guitar player as well. If you are at our home you can always hear her singing and writing songs in her room...which she always loves to share. Nothing makes me more proud than hearing her ask me if I want to come in her room and listen to her new song...I am sure Christian will be posting some of her stuff on the net real soon, so stay tuned.

Guitar hero

Guitar hero
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

My oldest son (14) Christian not only has a film studio growing down in our basement but in the last 6 months a recording studio has taken over too. He has only been playing around with a guitar for the last year. It is amazing what giving a kid a MAC mini will inspire. Film and Music a plenty.

You can hear his 3 current songs:

http://www.purevolume.com/777epochofwar777

All three are different but thank God he is still carrying the guitar hero torch...

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

The 305

Monday, June 25, 2007

watch a clip...

burma film
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Prayer of Peace: Relief & Resistance in Burma's War Zones" is the recent film produced by my younger brother Matt. This 28 minute documentary film follows ethnic Karen relief workers as they document and bring aid to internally displaced people suffering under the Burma Army. A first hand account of the oppression and human rights abuses the military dictatorship inflicts with impunity on an ethnic people. The film reveals a people that have maintained their dignity and hope for peace despite the odds.
See it here:
http://www.frontfilms.com/POP.html