Can’t We All Just Get Along?

I heard a very thought-provoking message recently that really got me thinking about our current global situation. Regardless of who you are or what you personally believe for yourself regarding your eternity, the vast majority of the globe acknowledges the existence of a real man named Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ, etc. and can relatively easy confirm scholarly records from ancient Roman time if Jewish records aren’t good enough.

One of the most commonly known tidbits about His life is that he recruited 12 men to live, follow, learn, and ultimately come to an intellectual and spiritual knowledge of his divine identity. What most of us don’t think about is the makeup of his troupe and how diverse they were, which is what blew my mind in a fit of deep thought that prompted this writing. Let’s run down a few of them, as that will be enough to boggle minds worldwide:

• Jude: a farmer, a man of the land.
• Matthew: a tax collector – worse than today’s IRS, these guys pocketed money for themselves and often charged as much as they could regardless of the tax rate.
• Simon Peter: a fisherman, so think Cape Cod fishy dude with rough hands and smelly hair.
• Simon: a zealot – we have those today. They are called terrorists. Zealots in the day would attack and kill Roman soldiers and other gov’t officials. Terrorism isn’t anything new.

Let’s try to put a religious terrorist extremist (Hamas or KKK, take your pick), corrupt IRS agent, the Gorton fisherman, and a redneck farmboy from Iowa in a dormitory setting with someone, anyone, as their mentor and let’s see how long everyone stays together… or alive. That must have been some group that would automatically generate respect and admiration from local authorities in today’s media hungry society looking for a shocking story.

That’s all I have for now, and maybe I’ll have more later, maybe not.

Quick Thought: Presidential Approval Polls

Just a quick thought that I’ve had recently:

If only 25-40% of the nation votes in the Presidential election, how in the world can approval polls be worth anything?

Even if the polls were directed at those “potential voters,” I’d venture that nearly half of them don’t actually cast a ballot.

I think everyone who votes in November should get to put a card in their wallet that gives them the right to complain or brag about how things are going.

Otherwise, shut the heck up!

That’s another dose of Petersen. What do you think about the polls and the bashing and praising? Do you really think your favorite celebrity voted against Bush and is mad that the result? Really?

Go Ahead and Ask… You May Change History

 what suggestions do we all hold to ourselves?

Here in the U.S. we have great opportunities to shed stigmas and break barriers that are not possible in some societies or countries. A perfect example comes from a little girl in the annals of history — long forgotten, but forever literally changed the face of history.

Grace Bedell

Just 11 years old, young Grace wrote to Abraham Lincoln just before his first election. Innocently, respectfully, and un-presumingly, that little girl told Lincoln that if he grew out his whiskers she could get more people to vote for him. Such honest words of a sweet appraisal of an adult she respected prompted Lincoln to complete the look engraved, stamped, and carved into countless memorials and depictions — a bearded Abe Lincoln.

Her words come alive when you read them. Put yourself in her shoes as you read this:
(more…)

Forget Wedding Crashing, Try Funeral Crashing

if this is a new practice, if it is a practice at all.

My boss’ father passed the weekend before last, so our department attended the funeral, basically as outsiders to their friends and family. It was a small chapel, yet one older man kind of stuck out from the rest.

It is an awkward time to figure out why someone you don’t know is attending your father/husband/uncle’s funeral, but they made an attempt to find out who he was and why he was paying respects.

That all ended when he became disrespectful and beligerant. He avoided questions and would not give his name. He seemed confused that he was in the vehicle processional to the grave site, but followed anyway.

Could it be that he was just looking for free cookies and punch? Too bad we didn’t have any. Too bad he acted that way toward a grieving family.

Have you heard of this happening before?