compromise

i have come to the conclusion that compromise is the biggest problem we face right now as christians.
i've also come to the conclusion that the antithesis of that- boldness- is the most honorable, the rarest of qualities of not just people, but christians.
all i'd like to see in the church is total truth, the straight up word of God taught to its people.... but we get the emergent church movement.
all i'd like to see is a pres. candidate who is pro-life, anti-terror, pro-small government, and pro-capitalism... but we get john mccain.
even the democrats prefer barack obama to hilary clinton because SHE is the one who chooses to compromise, pleading to her more conservative voters that she supported the war but wants an exit strategy, while obama is as liberal as they get, with no apologies. good for him- at least he's honest.
as far as the church is concerned, i couldn't be sadder that so many in the body of Christ feel the need to advertise christianity, make it flashy.
Hebrews 4:12- "The Word of God is living and active..."
IF our confidence is not in Christ and the infallibility of His Word, so that we need to make it more attractive with our own flowery expression, if we think we need to doctor up the Gospel to make it more appealing, then we are sadly mistaken. we won't "win" people over that way. and we're not doing the Gospel any justice by selling our own brand of it.
so in the same way that mccain's brand of 50% conservatism isn't going to win many votes, flowery half-wise christianity won't convert that many either.
people respect the virtuous and those not willing to compromise...
and wisdom and truth prevail over a shifting paradigm...

I'll leave you with this somewhat related quote:
"The good is always the enemy of the best." - Oswald Chambers

sunshine.... hopefully

here's hoping florida can give us some sun this week.
my fam and i are leaving this friday for vero beach/ palm bay/ orlando. i'm definitely looking forward to seeing family i haven't seen in too long... and seeing the ocean again!
i've been overwhelmed with new music lately, mostly european artists, actually...

current favorite tracks:

badly drawn boy: once around the block (this one's been playing constantly)
phoenix: run run run
sondre lerche: to be surprised

i discovered sondre lerche by watching dan in real life, my new second-favorite-movie. he does all of the music in that film. funny thing- i also discovered badly drawn boy after seeing about a boy, number-one-favorite-movie

also, the new death cab album is stellar
looking forward to coldplay's new stuff in a couple weeks
very much looking forward to mute math's new album in the fall/winter of course, especially after getting little hints at it from their blog etc.

one last note:
can't tell you what a blessing it is to be back at my church. i can't get enough teaching right now, and i've been motivated to be more prayerful. i'm more content that way.

**i know some of you guys are within reach, so let's hang after next week, ok?
ok.

lyrics

all that's in my head is in Your hands
if it's in my head then it's in Your hands

...from Switchfoot

for those who'd like to know

ok here's the latest:

have i mentioned the study at duke in my blog yet? i'd rather not go back thru posts to see, so here's the basic idea...
since it seems that i cannot go back on remicade and risk a possibly fatal reaction even worse than the last one, we've run out of options other than steroids to keep things stable for me.
therefore, i have been given the option to be part of a clinical study at duke for patients with Crohn's who haven't seen remission from other treatments.
the study involves me receiving adult stem cells thru an IV drug known as Prochymal. this is kind of a step down from an actual stem cell transplant, which would entirely reboot my immune system but unfortunately involves rounds of chemo along the way, so i ruled that out as even a possibility (even though it may be the closest possible thing to a cure for Crohn's).
anyway, i hope that gives some idea of what i'll be attempting. i am praying and hoping that this study is effective, especially since i have a 1 in 3 chance of getting the placebo, and therefore getting no treatment at all.
wow, it's been one roller coaster of a year with this stuff.
i'd really appreciate prayers this summer, hoping that this time, we see success.
i'll be seeing my doctor and the nurse involved in the study on monday, and the screening process will begin.
i'll post an update later.

looking forward to being back at my church tomorrow!

and being home in general.

stuck

i should have left for home yesterday, just after graduation.
but there were too many fun grad parties.
i should have left for home this morning.
but there are storms and hail and tornadoes all along I-40.

so i'm leaving bryan college tomorrow morning, at the same time our chamber singers are leaving for LA (i'm completely jealous.)

yesterday was bittersweet. seeing my friends graduate was wonderful, but i can't say how much i'll miss them. i had a few tears last night, but i really have been given a certain measure of contentment, warding off my bad attitude. :)

:can't wait to be with my family:

ironic answer to the question i posed

so in my last post, i asked everyone to guess where i got the title, and it was from a steely dan song, one of my favorites.
and ironically enough, it was performed tonight by the brady bunch, um, i mean the american idols...