From the comments section on a recent post at The Happy Feminist:

Can someone puh-leeze explain to me the appeal of the band The White Stripes?

I liked “Seven Nation Army.”  It had a great base line, a catchy beat, and an annoying manner of getting stuck in my head.  But lately, my wi-fi connection from computer to Soundbridge has been wonky, so instead of RadioParadise, I’ve listened to Adelphia’s “Adult Alternative” channel.  They play a couple tracks from “Get Behind Me Satan,” and they just plain suck.

If any of you out there like this album, please explain it to me.  Its appeal eludes me.

Before I went to bed last night, I noticed a gray hair, and pulled it out.  This wasn’t so I can maintain a nice, dark head of hair, but rather, so I could admire it.  It was almost white, as thick as thread, and shimmery — beautiful.

Of course, if I keep pulling out the grays every time I find them, I’ll never get that lovely salt-and-pepper hair I hope to gain someday.  Somehow, I don’t think bald will be a good look, so I’d better just start leaving them where I find them.
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I just opened a bottle of wine.  As I tried to push the screwpull into the top, I just wasn’t getting anywhere…what the…?  Damned wax corks.  I pushed harder.  When I still wasn’t making it any farther, I removed the screwpull.  FINE.  I’ll take the foil off first.  Umm…screw cap.  Dude…I asked for recommendations at the store, and he steered me toward something with a screw cap?  WTF?  Of course, now this screw cap has a hole in it.

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I picked up a copy of Teri Hatcher’s book today.  I expected it to be fun fluff, but I think it may make me think more than expected.  Then again, I’m in a “what do I want out of life” head-space lately already, so getting me to ponder this further isn’t exactly difficult.

She focuses (so far, anyway…but I’m only in the first chapter) on expectations.  What do I deserve?  What do I really expect to get out of this life?  My demons aren’t the same ones she’s faced, but reading about hers helps me to see my own.  Ain’t purty.

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Off to soak in the tub, read, drink screw-cap wine (did I buy it because that’s what I think I deserve? horrors!), and attempt to refrain from pulling out any new gray hairs (ooooh, shiny)…

Someone’s been stealing my bandwidth, grrr!

Maya’s Meanderings is down, and I’m not sure how long it will take for it to come back up. My host will be available later today, and will help me address the issues then. It would appear that someone with a busy website *really* likes my background images — images that I CREATED.

Get a camera. Buy some fabric. Make your own damned backgrounds, people. At the very least, please have the decency to right-click and save the file to your own server instead of linking to mine! Harumph.

Oddly enough, MM lists as running at 71% of my monthly bandwidth allowance, yet it’s down. FTLOG shows as hitting 135%, but it’s still up. What the…?

Another day dawns, and I read something like this:

We are not called to save people or help people get saved. That’s God’s job, and Jesus said “it is finished.” As Christians, we are called to love one another.

The mark of a mature Christian has nothing to do with how little you drink, cuss, smoke, have sex or how much you pray or read your Bible, or attend church and participate in the liturgy. The mark of a mature follower of Christ is the way one loves.

“This is how they will know that God sent me (that I am the One); by the way you love another.”

Follow the great commandment in the manner of Jesus and you’ll be living the great commission.

And then, I remember why I still refer to myself as Christian, and what I strive to become. Some day, I might actually learn to be comfortable with the process of becoming, and not so focused on the end result.

Questions from Arwen on this post I referenced before:

Since we’ve got an atheist here, and I whatever I am, both of whom have a dearth of practise whereas Christianity has a long history, I wonder what parts of Christian practise work for you?

Also, is Christ somehow present for you if you’re feeling these emotions? Or, does what Christ said strike you as the teachings of someone coming from a similar place? Or, is there some other connection for you -like praying gets you in touch, or you have experiences in Church or using the Bible?

I’m having a hard time getting started writing a response to these questions, largely because I really wonder if I am actually Christian at all. While I certainly identify as Christian, is this because I identify with the theology of Christianity, or is this because I was raised Christian and can’t imagine not identifying that way?

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I’ve recently had conversations with several people about the nature of morality, and whether believing in God is a requirement for one to lead a moral life. Of the Christians in these conversations, most were unable to fathom how an atheist could *possibly* be moral — because there’s no *reason* for it.

Pharyngula critiqued (okay, shredded) a post that lambasted a commentary about the “virtues of atheism.” Although I believe in God, I find the notion that atheists are amoral to be intellectually lazy. A commenter on PZ’s post summed up my thoughts beautifully. (House of mirrors anyone? Now I comment on someone else’s comment about PZ’s comment about another person’s thoughts about someone else’s…)

The fact is that believers have no more basis for choosing to follow their god’s mandate than non-believers have for their moral convictions. Does the believer follow god’s rules to earn paradise or avoid hell? Then he is merely acting hedonistically, seeking his own interest. Does he do so because his god is powerful? Then the believer is worshipping power. Does the believer obey because he believes god is his creator? Then his morality is simply to follow whatever created him. Anyone who thinks that is the height of moral sense should consider how it plays out when we create artificial intelligence. Or does the believer do what he thinks is right, not because his god orders it, but because he believes it is right? Well, then, he is acting just like an atheist.

The assumption that there is a god does not alter the issue of moral grounding one bit.

Nicely said, and I agree completely. Honestly, I find my faith to be stronger when it’s not coming from a place of “I’d better behave or my (heavenly) Father will spank me when He gets home.” The fear of punishment attitude makes Faith feel like a requirement, not like something I choose.

Your thoughts?

Ack!  That was exhausting.

Verbal: 700
Quantitative: 760

Not too shabby.  Now, I just have to hold my breath and wait for the analytical writing results.  I wasn’t too entirely thrilled with how I did, but only time will tell what the judges think.

Ian McKellen’s response to those who would put a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie:

“I’ve often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer at the front saying ‘This is fiction.’” McKellen responded. “I mean walking on water? I mean, it takes an act of faith.”

…

McKellen went on to say he found the Bible “somewhat preachy” and called the ending “a bit of a downer.”

Via Steeples & People

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Sojourners asks: Is the Da Vinci Code Dangerous?

But do Christians really have anything to fear from The Da Vinci Code? It is true that the novel’s characters make assertions that challenge much conventional wisdom about Christian history and raise difficult issues for believers. But anyone who loses his or her faith by reading The Da Vinci Code, or any single book, needed a stronger foundation for his or her beliefs before reading it.

…

It is a bit embarassing to see groups that claim to be the guardians of eternal, timeless truths prominently scrambling to suppress the popularity of a three-year-old thriller novel. If the fundamentals of Christian doctrine are true, then Christians should have no fear of discussing their faith and objections to it in the public and academic arena. Other claimants to truth - philosophers, writers, and scientists - have to do so on a regular basis.

In a word, no.

Courtesy of MIM, a good post on discipline for very young children, mostly written by a gal who does daycare for five pre-school and toddler kids.  Of course, by “good,” I mean “agrees with my philosophy.”  Her methods line up really well with a book I’ve found invaluable, Setting Limits.
Enjoy!