It's Been A While

It's been about a week since I've posted on this blog. I know, I know, I haven't been doing my duty to myself but I suppose I'll have to convince myself to get over it. :)

Well, I cannot even begin to tell you how beautiful the Law and Social Justice Conference was this weekend at Malibu. I stayed with the Caseys and I had my own room and my own bathroom and my own deck overlooking the Pacific, and I was so happy. The smell of the ocean has always calmed me, and the climate and the people remind me of home, even though it is indeed, so very very far away.

I'd like to take a moment to share with you something I heard this weekend which struck me to the very core. One of the panelists, Mary Ellen Burns, was a Catholic Sister with a Law Degree from Yale. She works in the inner city and frankly, she's one tough cookie. Anyway, she was talking about the parable in Luke of Lazarus and the Rich Man. Interestingly enough, as she pointed out, we don't know why the Rich Man was rich nor do we know why Lazarus was poor. One could just as easily have been a crook as the other. But Jesus doesn't tell us. He doesn't tell us, because he in fact doesn't care. Lazarus was a fellow human being, and crooked or not, the Rich Man is punished for ignoring his suffering - whatever the cause. You know why we got a savior? - because we needed one. We help and give because people need. Period. oh yah.

So, here goes life!

I think I'm done deciding how it's gonna be and what I'm gonna do: I'm ready to do it and be done with it, you know? Well, here it is, ladies and gentlemen: I'm getting my law degree and my MDIV! More later

Another Good Friday

I really love Fridays! I really enjoyed this past Friday, and I'm glad for that as it was one of my only free Fridays for the rest of the semester. I don't have official office hours, so after Chapel, I went home and cleaned up the house and did some laundry etc. I picked up Casey @ about 1:15 and we headed to Alley Cats for Lunch: it was really good [I don't like riding in his truck while his front passenger seat is still not so much fastened to the rest of the truck...]. Afterwards, we went to the new Texas bookstore downtown and then to the Choclaitre. I got dark chocolate orange cremes and he got milk chocolate carmels.

Afterwards, I went to the office to see what was going on, and the great ORGANIZE A HISTORY OF SA Project was underway. So, I ended up getting sucked into hanging out there untill 7:00 or so. [Actually, I wasn't so much hanging out as I was slaving away reading old files and cleaning them out and organizing. Hm...] Now, I was supposed to see a moive and get dinner with Tyler but it turns out his medicine for his sinus infection didn't just make him high as a kite, it knocked him out for the duration of the evening. So, when it was 7:30 and he hadn't called, I made other plans.

I went to to Taco Bell [shudder - I hate that place] with Suzanne and then we went over to her house to watch Bridget Jones' Diary. Afterwards, we went over to Layne's and picked up him and Alex [the commie] and we went back to Suzanne's and watched White Chicks. It was great fun, and I am now pouring myself into bed someitme around 1:00.

Last semester @ ACU?
So far, so good...

FGM

I'm not quite sure what I think about the word clitondectomy. To be quite frank, actually I'm sure I hate it, and I'm simply unsure how to communicate that without sounding like some zealot who needs some cheese and crakers and an episode of Barney. I personally, prefer to use the words FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION, because that is EXACTLY what it is.

130 million women worldwide have suffered at the hands of patriarchy and undergone this horrific experience. A recent Justice Testament from the International Justice Mission says that FGM occurs most frequently in 28 African Countries and a good number of the 16 Middle Eastern Countries, some in Asia and immigrant families in Europe and here sporadically engage in the practice.

You can use a word like clitorindectamy for a women who gets an operation in a hospital, not for GIRLS under 14 and some as young as 4 who get MUTILATED without ANSTHESIA while being SAT ON and HELD DOWN while NAKED with a TIN CAN LID or a SHARD OF GLASS.

The power of words is the most awesome power in all creation, for one word can rob a world of voices crying in the darkness from their humanity.

I'll be more careful with my words I chose and I hope you will be too.

Jerk

So do you guys ever have those days where you feel like the biggest jerk in America? Today was definately one of those days for me, you know what I mean? Well, after IJM Chapel today, I'm walking through the campus center with Justin and Sarah C. and Joey when Zach comes up and grabs me and says "I HAVE to show you something!!!" He drags me over to the Freshens Yogurt area where there is a guy I've had in class before [and, shamefully yes, I already have a bad impression of him] with a sign in orange highligher on white computer paper that says "REPUBLICANS ARE EVIL LIARS". I asked him why he had this sign on his computer, and he responded "It's an assignment". And when I found out he had no intelligble answer much farther than "I don't really care" and "All people are evil liars" my attitude didnt' really improve much. Shamefull, isn't it?

This is just another example of my hammering someone who probably didn't quite deserve it. I need to be more careful of how I use my gifts I think. But, what should I do? I mean, yes I can walk away, but there are people out there DYING because they just want to speak or vote or walk in freedom and without fear and this uneducated indivdual is NOT taking advantage of his freedom of speech to advocate for antyhing or anyone - just to incite anger and resentment so he can write it down in his Pokeman notebook. No. I'm sorry, just NO.

I'm Sooo Excited!

So remember me speaking at the Economic Outlook Conference yesterday? Well, someone heard me and heard Dr. McCalub buildin' me up and that person happened to work @ THE ABILENE REPORTER NEWS and went back and told someone...

Later that night, someone called me and wanted to INTERVIEW ME!! So, I met him today and I'll be in Saturday's paper - excited, I THINK SO. BUYAH!


Ok, so I am officially leaving Abilene next Thursday after Congress and the Legislative Process on the 4:20 flight to Houston, and then I'm connecting to LAX. THE CONFERENCE IS GONNA BE A BLAST!! Oh, the Lord is showing me so much.


PEACE OUT
A-TOWN STOMP

The Best Weekend Ever

Ok, so I just had the best weekend of my life you know it? Well, first of all, I won 1st in Extemp @ my tournament and that was my last bid for Nationals for AFA. [It makes that my third bid this semester for NFA Nationals in Extemp, and I'm the first person in the HISTORY of ACU Forensics! Buyah!] I also won 3rd place in Speaks for Parli and my partner and I won 1st in Parli by TOTALLY TEARIN' UP these jerks from Arkansas State - it was oh so gratifying [in the most Christian way possible of course.] But oh wait - IT DOES INDEED GET BETTER!

Dr. McCalub's office called me to ask me to make a small thank-you speech at the Economic Outlook Confrence on Monday.

And THEN...

My department called to say that the Pepperdine School of Law had called them to invite me and one other Senior to the Law and Social Justice Conference AS THEIR GUESTS! Ahhh right!!! Hm...what law school should I go to???