Coming out...

I will admit that I've been ashamed at times of this little secret. But those closest to me know the truth on my thoughts and now world, you will too.

I have not shaved my legs for at least a month now. Sadly I didn't note the last time I shaved my legs but it's becoming very apparent that I'm not shaving now. Although the picture that I took doesn't do it justice and only helps to spur me to continue to NOT shave.





























So, there it is. Hopefully the next picture I put up you will actually be able to see the hair better and I'll take the picture with something other than my cell phone. And thankfully I am not alone in this endeavor to stand up against this idea that women must shave their legs in America; My best friend Candy is joining me in this rally cry! We unite, our hairy legs and all. And GASP! Hairy underarms too! Read more!

Please ACT!

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Please pray for Uganda!

There is an incredible follower of Jesus who advocates on behalf of the homosexual community in Chicago, Andrew Marin. If you haven't heard of him then I would urge you to go to your local bookstore, or the local library if you're low on funds, and read his book, Love is an orientation. Or you can check out his ministry's website here, http://themarinfoundation.org/ or read his thoughts on his blog, http://www.loveisanorientation.com/

Just recently Andrew began spreading the word about a huge injustice that is happening in Uganda and I beg you to continue to read this post and move into action! The following is some information about a bill that the Ugandan government is trying to pass from the facebook group concerning this issue, http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=198541255168

the orgnaisations said the draft bill’s proposals will result in gross human rights abuses and hamper the fight against HIV/AIDS as gay people will fear to come forth for HIV testing, counseling and treatment if they are found HIV positive.

Homosexuality is already a crime in Uganda, but the Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Dr. James Nsaba Buturo has been complaining that the law is inadequate to curb homosexuality that is reported to be on the increase in Uganda.

He says the current law requires the state to prove that a person is indeed engaging in same sex relations, which has been difficult for the police to establish.

Apart from occasional arrests, torture and harassment, no one has been convicted of homosexuality since the law was introduced in Uganda’s Penal code (Section 140) by British colonialists.

The High Court ruled in favour of gays in a landmark case last December that was filed by gay Rights activists, contending that all Ugandans are entitled to the same rights and freedoms, including from torture and discrimination on the basis of sex, gender, ethnicity or other grouping.

The proposed law now seeks to criminalize those who promote homosexuality, including publishing information or providing funds, premises for any activities by gays or giving them any other resources.

The bill also seeks to punish by up to three year imprisonment anyone including heterosexual people, who fail to report within 24 hours the identities of everyone they know who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

But how all these crimes will be proved and prosecuted is not clear in the draft bill.

Many religious leaders in Uganda and the Family Life Network have been fighting against what they call a proliferation of homosexuality in the country and accuse some individuals and organization of recruiting homosexuals in schools and luring students with money and gifts.

The Gays in Uganda have refuted these accusations arguing that they are aimed at presenting homosexuals as predators taking advantage of innocent children.

You can also read the bill yourself here, http://wthrockmorton.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/anti-homosexuality-bill-2009.pdf

Below is a letter from Andrew. Please join the facebook group, begin praying now! and join us on Nov. 17th as we all pray for this situation and PLEASE write to the public and government officials at the end of this letter. Whatever your beliefs on the subject of homosexuality it's a moot point, this legislation is not biblical.

Hello Everyone,

Thank you all for continuing to spread the message that regardless of one’s theological belief system, this legislation is wrong. Dr. Warren Throckmorton and I are assembling a day of prayer. We know that there are many of you in this group who are not religious, and we are not asking you to do something you are not comfortable with. But for those who do have a faith tradition we ask that on Tuesday November 17th, you take at least 30 minutes to pray for the following:

1. That this legislation be thrown out

2. For protection and peace for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters living in this oppression in Uganda and around the world

3. That the Ugandan Church realize this legislation is not morally or Scripturally correct – as there has been disturbing news recently coming from some of my contacts in Uganda and Parliament that the Ugandan Church is starting to make official statements in favor of this bill. I will be posting those as soon as they are official.

The world will feel this impact! I know that on the evening of November 17th I have a large group gathering in Chicago that will be focusing our time in prayer for the aforementioned three requests. This Facebook group has members located all over the world, and we have a unique opportunity to gather throughout the globe to lift these injustices to our Creator to make a divine impact. If your belief urges you to do so, please join us in this day of prayer. Thank you.

In the meantime, please also contact the following influencers to voice your opposition to this legislation:

CONTACT:

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
State House Nakasero
P.O. Box 24594
Kampala, Uganda
Tel: 256-41-343-311
Fax: 256-41-346-102
info@statehouse.go.ug

Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi
Post Office Building, Yusuf Lule Road
P.O. Box 341
Kampala, Uganda
Tel: 256-41-423-6252
Fax: 256-41-434-1139
ps@opm.go.ug

Speaker of the Parliament Edward Ssekandi Kiwanuka
P.O. Box 7178, Parliamentary Avenue
Kampala, Uganda
Tel: 256-414-377-100
Fax: 256-414-231-296
speaker@parliament.go.ug

Minister of Gender, Labour, and Social Affairs
Honorable Opio Gabriel
P.O. Box 1494
Kampala, Uganda
Tel: 256-41-510-732
ps@mglsd.go.ug

Med Kaggwa, Chair of the Uganda Human Rights Commission
Plot 20/22/24 Buganda Road
P.O. Box 4929,
Kampala, Uganda
Tel: 256-414-348-007/8
Fax: 256-414-255-261
uhrc@uhrc.ug

Directorate for Ethics and Integrity
P.O. Box 7142
Kampala, Uganda
Tel: 256-(0)41-430-1600
Fax: 256-(0)41-434-3177
info@dei.go.ug

Mathisen Gørild
Chair of the Uganda Diplomatic Human Rights Working Groups
gorild.mathisen@mfa.no

Send a copy to:
Jerry P. Lanier, Ambassador to the Republic of Uganda
Embassy of the United States of America
P.O. Box 7007,
Kampala, Uganda
Tel: 256-414-259-791/2/3/5
Fax: 256-414-259-794
kampalawebcontact@state.gov

Send an email and fax to:
Perezi K. Kamunanwire, Ambassador to the US
Tel: 1-202-726-4758
Fax: 1-202-726-1727
pkamunanwire@ugandaembassyus.org

Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda
Permanent Representative of the Republic of Uganda to the United Nations
336 East 45 Street
New York, NY 10017
Tel: 1-212-949-0110
Fax: 1-212-687-4517
ugandaunny@un.int

_________________________________________________________

I pray that we would join in the suffering of the people in Uganda.

Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Shalom

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Beat swords into plowshares!

Isaiah 2:4
He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

I prayed the above passage for the country yesterday. I pray that someday (very soon, I hope) we will never again be in war and instead we will turn the very things that destroy into things that bring about life!

The article below was published yesterday in the Sojourners magazine. I would encourage you anyone reading this to check out the links that he provides, especially the Centurion's Guild.

For God and Country (in that Order)

by Logan Laituri 11-11-2009

Nobody today will be able to celebrate our many veterans without the memory of Fort Hood fresh in our collective conscience. It is a horrible irony that such an inexcusable evil took place so near one of our nation’s most hallowed holidays. As a veteran myself, I reflect quite painfully on the memories of those I knew who never got the chance to become veterans; those who were robbed by lethal force of their chance to return to “the private sector.”

I am fortunate to be part of a community of fellow former warriors (well, actually, one of us is still in the National Guard) who wrestle alongside me with the political implications of our shared faith. Centurion’s Guild members have all, as part of our communal covenant, agreed that our service is “For God and Country (in that order).” For those who vigilantly watch the news, this statement may alarm you, since Major Hasan, the accused Fort Hood shooter, allegedly made similar statements to classmates — that his allegiance to his religion outweighed his allegiance to America.

As troubling as it may seem, several of us can sympathize with the Major without validating his atrocious decision to use violence. After all, in our enemies, we often find hints of ourselves. It is worth noting that several of us can also identify with being subjected to harassment and ridicule on account of our peculiar religious beliefs, one reason being widely proposed as (at least partial) motivation for Hasan’s indefensible actions.

In Centurion’s Guild we take allegiances very seriously, but we differentiate between our national service and our faith in the God who sent the Son to die (not kill) for us. Where we would agree with Hasan’s principle of distinguishing between one’s national and religious service, we cannot part forcefully enough with the reasoning that violence is an acceptable means of affecting our goals. Frustratingly, we cannot know for certain what summoned Hasan to violence (well, besides his combat orders).

As we go about memorializing those who know full well the formidable debt freedom incurs, let the Church not forget the One who has already paid that debt and the body he has given us to remember that gift. Let us remember to differentiate between church and state, including their distinct histories. As Americans, we may pay our veterans homage, or reflect on Armistice, but the Church has a history that actually looks ahead to God’s final armistice. We even have our own veterans that we would do well to remember, at least one of which we actually celebrate today, Martin of Tours.

Martin is a favorite of ours in the Guild, many of us regarding him as a model soldier. Martin, named after the god of war, was part of an elite force commissioned with guarding the Emperor himself (Caesar Julian in Martin’s case). However, being a catechumen, he felt he could not participate in the bloodshed battle asks of all soldiers. He refused to fight at the Battle of Worms in 336 CE, but offered to be placed on the front lines nonetheless. Before his commanders could rush the seditious centurion off to certain death, the Gauls negotiated an armistice, and Martin was honorably discharged, continuing on to be the Bishop of Tours, in modern day France.

I remember being told, when I was pursuing a path not too unlike Martin’s, that good Christian soldiers obeyed the commander in chief, ideologically fusing allegiances that should have been quite distinct. The person who told me this had quoted, of all things, the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” to reinforce his point. Paradoxically, I discovered that there is nothing in it that overtly supports violence, since we are to march as to war, not literally to war.

I mentioned in my last post that when the Church parrots the world’s calls for retribution, we fail to reflect the peculiarity of Christ’s redemptive kingdom, effectively trading piety for patriotism. Derek Webb (an artist I have profound theological respect for) has another avian figure in mind: a mockingbird, with no new song to sing. It was his music that helped me to see that “my enemies are men like me.” I pray the Church has the audacity and the imagination to sing to the world a new song, one so beautiful it honors the patriots as well as the pacifists.

Merry Martinmas, everyone! Just as importantly, I hope you have a happy Veterans Day too.

Logan Laituri is an Army veteran with combatant service in Iraq during OIF II and experience with Christian Peacemaker Teams in Israel and the West Bank. He blogs sporadically and is a co-founder of Centurion’s Guild.

Shalom!

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In response to Candy's comment on my last post...

Candy's questions regarding my last post are in Red and my response is in white.

where on South 9th Street?
A couple blocks past the 9th street bridge. We're on the right side of the street.

Is it at a certain place? or just set up shop somewhere outside? There's a strip of cement that we "set up shop" which is some tables and chairs.

Is it mobile, just moving down the street? I guess we're mobile but we do not move down the street...They set up in the same place every Friday at 10:30am.

Also, "Hot chocolate or a cadillac"? I'm pretty sure I made it clear in the post what a cadillac is; it's coffee with chocolate in it.

YPN = Young People Now? Youth Pastors Network. All the folks who work with youth here in Modesto get together once a week to catch up, talk about struggles, good stuff that goin on, etc.

(Also potentially a point of interest = one of the drop-down searches on Google for "Youth With A Mission" is "Youth With A Mission cult"! Suffice to say, I'm sure the peeps you're working with are cool, but it's very interesting reading about the controversies!). YWAM is not a cult although I'm sure some people would argue that it is.

New Hope sounds pretty cool, as does Chris (you say he journeyed here; where'd he come from?). I'm not going to tell his whole story on here...but he ultimately came from Kentucky, then spent time in Canada, some jaunts in Thailand and is now in Modesto.

Although I suppose I'm not quite clear on the church part- how do they send out the message to non-churchgoing people that they're a community church available for use? Or am I misinterpreting what community church means- is it more along the lines of people from other churches can use it without having to be part of the church? I also feel as if I made this mildly, at the least, clear in my post...the whole example...people in the COMMUNITY can use the church for a birthday. And a church becomes a community church mostly by word of mouth and by getting to know folks.


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South 9th Street....

This morning I joined some YWAMers (Youth With A Mission folks) and hung out on 9th street; the "bad" part of town. Chris, Jimmy, Arlie, Jimmy and Bob (I think that's all their names) go out on 9th street every Friday, along with hot water for coffee, hot chocolate or a cadillac; coffee with hot chocolate and lots and lots of breads and pastries. They hang out there until people stop coming by for something to drink or eat. They've made some really great relationships and it's been the catalyst for deeper relationships throughout the week. I know Chris from a couple of meetings that we've been at together. I've wanted to join them on a Fri. for awhile but I ended up being at a YPN meeting on Thurs. and he was there so he ended up coming by and picking me up. I really enjoyed it.

And it's funny when God knows what you need to hear. I was able to hear the whole back story on Chris' journey to Modesto (the long story long) and it was really exciting to hear about his church here in Modesto, New Hope. Sometimes I feel as if Modesto is this God forsaken place where Christians just aren't stepping up to the plate but then I hear about churches like Chris' and it gives me such hope! And reminds me to continue to pray and challenge my own church about our role in our community. Chris' church just moved in near the Airport District and a church of only 40 people have decided that they want to be a community-based church. That doesn't mean that the whole community MUST go to that church, but that they are willing to be used by the community, even if that means someone is going to have a big birthday party and they need the use of the fellowship, stuff like that. I LOVE hearing how God is working in such powerful ways here in Modesto and it seriously pumped me up and encouraged me in ways that I'm sure Chris didn't realize while he was telling me his story.

I am excited about continuing to join them on 9th street and I am also really excited to get to know Chris and the other fellas and learn from them. I miss my community in Fresno and the way I was able to relate to them, but slowly I think God is introducing me to people here in Modesto who have the same vision for the city and have God's heart for justice and the poor. I pray that God continues these relationships and that soon I would have the kind of community and support that I've missed since I've been here. Exciting stuff. Read more!

Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds, cannot change anything. - George Bernard Shaw

I'm feeling a bit depressed so if that's what you sense from this post then you've been warned as to why.

I hate to admit it but I really don't like when things change in my little world. It's bad enough when you sign onto Facebook in the middle of the day and the format has been changed, after you've been on there several times that morning and it was delightfully regular. But, for me those things I can adjust to rather quickly, it's other things that are changing right now in my life that aren't as easy to get accustomed to.

So, here's a few things that are changing here at the ministry house that I live in;
Patty is moved out.
Devan is moved out.
Kevin is moved out.

That's a lot of people moving. It is especially going to be hard with Kevin gone. I have known that Devan and Patty are moving out and thankfully Patty is just down the street but Kevin just decided to move out. He's preparing to move onto seminary down in L.A and needs to save money so he's decided to say the $325 and move in with his parents until he decides whether he's going to leave in January or in the summer time.

It's kinda crazy that I care so much that he's moving out. We've only known each other since June when I moved back to Modesto, but since then we've spent a lot of time together while figuring out how best to serve the ministry house and in what direction we'd like to see the houses move, plus in all that time just getting to know each other as brother and sister in Christ. And I can say without a shadow of a doubt that he's become a very good brother and friend. I don't care that he says that he'll, "be around" it's not the same :(

And now it shall be interesting to see where the houses go. Kevin and I will continue to work on the logistical paper work but after that is when the real fun begins. So, please pray for God's will in the direction and vision of the house.

And with this whole changing thing...sometimes I don't really like myself changing. It's easier to just be the same, not change the way you think or act. Then people don't have to adjust to your new ideas or the new way you behave. Of course, I don't agree with this. I wouldn't want to go back to the days before college and before God really got ahold of me, but there are those moments when no one gets me and actually make fun of me or get mad at me and for just a second I wonder if it's worth it...but then I have a great conversation with a friend who gets me or start reading the Bible and am reminded of how much I've grown and what God has done in my life and I thank HIM for it! Read more!

Vine House

I love writing down my thoughts and ideas yet it's taken me FOREVER since I established this blog to actually write anything down! I hate when I do that.

But, I am really going to try to at the very least write once a week or so, even if it's just pictures or an article that impacted me. And I am opening up this blog for all to see. I had another on-line journal that only a couple of friends knew about but this one will be "broad casted" so to speak. So, I warn y'all that this is merely my thoughts and reflections. Most likely you won't agree with me always, if ever and that's okay. If you feel the need to tell me that I'm wrong then please do so in a civilized, non-combatant way. I love to dialogue about things, I do NOT enjoy fighting.

Now, on to more important things. I am 5 months into living on the west-side of Modesto. Crazy. Sometimes it feels like I've been in this house for a very long time and other days it feels like I just left Fresno. Those are the days when I miss the Pink House, my amazing community of friends who loved so well. But I know God really does want me here on Vine Street for a purpose and He has slowly revealed some of those reasons even in the last 5 months.

I've been going down to the Vine House for the past few weeks. The Vine House is something completely separate to my house. The Vine House is run by Cheryl Van Horn, a great lady-of-God. She has a group of volunteers who comes twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays to feed folks from around 9-ish to 11. They offer snack foods, cookies, pastries and coffee. I haven't really gotten to know any of the frequent participants but I have fallen in love with the volunteers. They have become family and probably don't even know it. They are all very sweet. Victoria is one of my favorites. She is a cancer survivor and used to be a drop-in at the Vine House and is now giving back by serving there. Very sweet lady. There's a couple other ladies who are sweet and fun. Then there's Bob who lives in the back of the Vine House. He's an older gentleman and has the most amazing spirit about him. He calls me all sorts of cute nick names and reminds me that I'm a star. He's definitely grandpa material. And Harvey is a preacher! That man can't help but get excited while praying. But Don is one of my favorites. He's a blind man and LOVES to help whenever he can but the best part of who he is (that I know) is when he talks with Jesus. He starts off every prayer by saying, "Hey God" and ends by saying "See you later." I've never heard someone with such child-like faith pray and every time it seems to touch me. His prayers are always shorter than everyone else's and he normally stops just short of crying as he prays for the folks that came to eat that day but I truly believe he's one of those people who has it down on the prayer thing.

I've really been blessed by serving at the Vine House. It's funny when you go to serve and feel overwhelmed by God's love. Good stuff.

Shalom Read more!