The song in my heart today

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down:
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Oh the wonderful cross, oh the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live

Oh the wonderful cross, oh the wonderful cross
All who gather here by grace draw near
And bless Your name

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all!

Jesus, thank You.

If I Were President of the United States...

I was looking through some of my old journals today for something specific (yes, I still have my journals from 10+ years ago), and I found something from 1996 (age 12) that I thought was funny. This is actually from a journal I kept for my English class, and it was hand-written and very stream-of-consciousness style. Please excuse the spelling and grammar errors, but hey, I was 12. :)

If I was president of the United States, I would change the abortion rights. It's dispicable! It's immoral! It's inhuman! It's gross! I mean, they say it's the mother's choice, but does the baby have any say? No! That is de-spicable!! With a capital D! I would also change how President Clinton gets so involved. I was watching this show on channel 2 (PBS - Pretty Boring Stuff) and Hillary and some other people were talking and Hillary said, "Yes, we need to start training parents how to be good parents." Hello! All parents have different views on how they want their kids brought up! In my opinion, Prez. Clinton gets too involved in people. I would change that. I would let people have their own values. Now, some people would say my views on how Clinton gets too involved and how abortion should be illegal are a double standard. Well, I protest! There's a human life involved where abortion is concerned and it's the baby's choice. I know they can't make decisions, but once they get older, they can decide, "Hmmm, would I rather be alive or dead right now?" What else would I change? Well, for starters, I would try to sponser alot of children for those ministries like Children International and Christian Children's Fund and all that. I would try to help our nation. I would try to get our level of education up so it wasn't 26th!!!!!! That's what I would change.

I find it funny how I seemed to think that the President pretty much runs the country, especially that the President would have the authority to "change the abortion rights." I found out later that we reserve that for the Supremes. :D

Shmuel & Spring Break!

Two things:

1) My nephew Samuel will be here any day, and I'm excited!

2) Spring break starts today! Woo hoo! My plan for the break is to a) get caught up on my sleep. I haven't been doing much of that lately. For example, I got less than 2 hours of sleep on Tuesday night. I think I might have gotten 5 last night; and b) STUDY! I hesitate to say "get caught up on my studying," because I don't know how realistic that is. I'm going to do my best though! I have SO much to do, and this week is going to be CRITICAL (just trying to get myself hyped up for studying over here). :)

Seriously...move over!

Found this story here.

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Emergency Responders in Danger Despite "Move Over" Law

Created On: Tuesday, 10 Mar 2009, 8:48 PM CDT

Ellen Galles

MINNEAPOLIS - When emergency vehicles are on the roadside, by law you have to change lanes to give them extra room. But, the number of squad cars hit on slippery roads is on the rise.

Emergency responders know that driving home during a snowy commute is not nearly as hard as working in it.

"Those troopers who come to work on a day like this absolutely expect to get hit, said Lieutenant Matt Langer. "They know someone will get hit, they just hope it's not them."

Back in December, along Interstate 94 and 280, a trooper sustained head, neck and back injuries after being hit on the side of the road.

The "move over" law is designed to make the job safer.

It requires motorists to move over a lane, or at least slow down when passing an emergency vehicle with its lights on.

There have been 49 state patrol squad cars hit on the side of the road since December.

That's double the amount from last year.

The state patrol attributes the increase in accidents to the increase in snow Minnesota had this year.

Praying the Word of God for the Lost

Who isn't praying that God would save certain lost people they know? When I'm praying for such people, I usually say something like, "Father, save them. Do for them what you did for me..." and so on. A few weeks ago, I noticed a couple of verses in John, ones that I've read before but not really connected with praying for others, even though I guess it seems obvious.

This is Jesus speaking (John 5:44 & 65):

"No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day."

..."For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father."

So now I can also pray for the lost by asking God to draw them. I know I have prayed that in the past, but I didn't have it in my head at the time that God MUST draw them, otherwise they CANNOT come to Jesus. Now I can have that be central to my prayers and know that I am praying the Word of God with specificity.

Luke Wood: The Sound of War

I recently acquired Luke Wood's new CD, The Sound of War, and I wanted to recommend it to you. This is easily one of my favorites. It is anointed worship music that ministers to me every time I listen to it. Most of the lyrics are straight Scripture. You can read a better review than I could write here, and you can also sample the songs. My 2 favorite tracks are:

Day of the Lord (track 1) and
Lamb Upon the Throne (track 9)

I like them all, but other favorites include:

Ezekiel 1 (track 3)
King and Priest (track 4)
Hosea (track 8)
Jesus, My Lord (track 10)

Enjoy!

Inauguration Day

I saw this slide show of people around the world watching as Obama made history on Tuesday and thought it was interesting. The world was definitely watching...

But what I think is much more interesting is what Revelation 1:7 describes - something that will FAR surpass what happened on Tuesday:

"Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him..."

Grades Update

I DID do better on the other exams than I thought. :)

January 12 already? and Miscellaneous News

I don't how this happens, but somehow it's January 12 already, and I'm getting ready for a new semester to start (next Tuesday, January 20). I kind of dread going back, as always, but this time I'm going to do what I can to change that attitude. I have some ideas up my sleeve...

So it's been awhile since I've blogged about anything substantial, other than re-posting a news story. I figured it's time for an update on me. Me, me, me, me, me! ;) I'm guessing not a lot of people read my blog anymore, since there hasn't been much to read, and I'm also guessing that most of you know what's up with me, so a lot of this will be obvious, but just to get it out there...

Me and 1 1/2 years' worth of law books

I'm officially halfway done with my J.D. Law school is 3 years long, I have done a year and a half, so I have a year and a half to go. I'm "half a lawyer." Some things about it have been exactly as I expected, whereas other things have been completely different. I expected it to be competitive; it has been. I expected it to be difficult and overwhelming; it has been. But I also kind of thought I would just somehow really excel and end up with my dream job by the beginning of my second year; that has not happened. I came out of the first semester in a pretty competitive position grades-wise, thanks to a surprise A+. But I didn't do as well the second semester. I did a little more average on the whole. At the end of my first year, I was in a pretty good, but not super competitive, position. First year grades are very important, because interviewing for second-year summer jobs happens in August right before the second year starts. So that obviously happened this past August. I did get some of those interviews, but I didn't get a job out of it. In reality, few people in the class will get jobs through that process (called on-campus interviewing - OCI)...but I was hoping I was going to be one of them. The jobs interviewed for in OCI are the most prestigious and highly paid, and they almost always turn into full-time after-graduation positions. I'm not saying that's the type of job I would want for the long term, but it is a way to get great training and get your loans paid off quickly - and then you can go wherever you want from there. Anyway, as I've said, that didn't happen for me. I trust that God has a plan. I don't know what it is yet, but I'm excited for it...but at the same time, I can't help thinking that if I just would have worked harder, I could have gotten one of those jobs...I know there's something wrong with that way of thinking, but I haven't been able to figure out exactly what...just being honest. :)

So I'm currently job-searching. I do need to find a really great job for this summer - preferably one that has potential for after-graduation employment. People usually ask me what area of law I want to practice. I still really don't know. I kind of thought I would be able to cop out if I got one of the "BigLaw" jobs (the ones I mentioned earlier), because they have certain areas of practice, and you just rotate through those groups and figure out what you like best. Now I feel like I have to really figure out what I want to do so that my search can be a little more focused. So, as for my practice interests: constitutional law is really why I went to law school in the first place. I was a political science major as an undergrad, and First Amendment issues really attracted me. However, you can't just get a job at a Minneapolis firm doing "First Amendment work." The kind of stuff that interests me is done by, for example, the Alliance Defense Fund or the American Center for Law and Justice - or for that matter, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), although I'd obviously be fighting them, not working for them. ;) I just don't see myself doing that right out of law school. I'd like to get some law firm experience first (and pay off my loans before I start working for a non-profit!). So I need to find a practice area that private firms do that interests me and that I can get into...and I don't really know what that is. One other area that I know I'm interested in is international trade. There are opportunities for lawyers in international trade both in the U.S. government (e.g. the Department of Commerce) or in private firms...but all of that is done in either D.C. or New York...I don't know 1) if I would be able to get any of those jobs or 2) whether I would be willing to move if I did get one. My immediate action plan on the job searching front is to apply for all of the U.S. government positions that look interesting (it's too late for the private firms that have international trade practice areas) and to also pursue as many opportunities as possible with all of the Minneapolis-based firms that haven't done their hiring yet. I'd really like some direction from God right now, though...

Quick footnote: I don't know that working for a non-profit doing First Amendment work is my ultimate goal - I may never do that full-time. I don't know that I am called to that. It's just an area of interest, just an idea. I think getting some experience will help me figure out where I'm going...and again, I know God will be guiding me. Ultimately, the only thing I want for my life is His will. But I still have to take some concrete steps while I wait for the guidance.

One more thing about last year is that I ended up working over the summer as a law clerk to a solo practitioner...that was great! I was able to get some income (!) and get practical experience. It was a very helpful experience for a first-year law student. However, I am aiming for a bigger firm job for this summer. I also did research for a professor over the summer, which was both a rewarding and difficult experience.

One final thing about law school, since people might be wondering: how did this semester's finals go? Well, it was harder than either of the first 2 sets of finals, because I had finals 3 days in a row (and then the fourth one the next week). It was really quite exhausting - the most exhausting set of finals yet. I thought the first one went the best, the second the next best, and so on in descending order, strangely enough. I've only gotten one of my grades back (for the one I thought I did the best on), and I honestly was not too impressed with it! So I'm hoping I did better than I think on the other ones. Either way, I can't change it now, so I just want to focus on gearing up for this new semester.

OK, I know this post is already getting long, but what can I say? It's all been pent up inside for so long! :) Switching gears from the law school stuff, I wanted to give a brief report on the onething conference.


The focus of the conference was, as Mike Bickle words it, "the coming eschatological revolution," which refers to Jesus coming back to the earth to overthrow all of its governments (every single one!) and setting up His kingdom. So we talked about the book of Revelation. We basically got a broad overview of the sequence of events, went into detail on some of them, and talked about the signs of the times and the church's place in these end-of-the-age events. The point of the conference wasn't to do a comprehensive study of the book (not enough time), but to awaken people's hearts to the reality of what is in this book and get them stirred up to study it. I came away from the conference with two life-changing revelations (no pun intended):

1) We are in the end-times. Jesus said that although no one would know the day or the hour of His return (Matthew 24:36), we would and should KNOW the season (Luke 21:31). We do need to be ready. A lot of people will be offended over Jesus when He comes. I don't want to be one of them. I've had a desire for a long time to understand the times (Jeremiah 23:20; Daniel 1:4; 1 Chronicles 12:32) so that I could equip others, but although I've believed for awhile that we were in the end-times, somehow Revelation and end-time prophecy in general has always seemed foggy and confusing. But the reality is that it's not too confusing, and it's not just for Bible scholars. We can all read it, and we will understand it (Jeremiah 23:20), as the Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and revelation. So I'm excited to study and understand it.

2) The best part of the conference: a renewed passion, zeal, fire for Jesus. A deeper hunger. The realization (again, and in a deeper way) that He is BEAUTIFUL. He is worthy. He is holy. He is the Bridegroom, Judge, and King, and there is no end to His majesty. My words are inadequate to describe it, so I'm going to stop there, but if you've seen Him, you know what I mean...God met me and touched my heart. I didn't have to be at the onething conference for Him to encounter me, but that's where He chose to meet me this time, and as a result, I have a renewed and deeper hunger for Him. So praise Him!

That's all for now.

In KC

I'm presently sitting in the lovely living room of Mr. David & Mrs. Molly in Grandview, Missouri. I'm sitting in a very comfortable chair, I might add, watching Molly get the floor very clean with their new vacuum cleaner (yay!). Onething '08 starts tomorrow afternoon. Dave, Molly, Sarah, and I will be doing that morning to night through the new year. Today's drive was long but enjoyable. We stopped by the Prayer Room on the way in and caught a little bit of Misty Edwards' set. That's about all I have to say for now. I'll give a report on onething once I get back.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Makeover!

As you can see, my blog now has a new look! I had been wanting to spruce it up but didn't have the time during the semester. I took my last final yesterday, went to church last night, and promptly started working on my blog after I got home. LOL. I also worked on it for about 5 (yes, 5!) hours today. I actually spent most of that time looking for a good template online but just couldn't find what I was looking for. I even tested out a bunch of different templates. Finally, I decided to look for one that would let me add my own picture to it. So I ended up with a template from this site. Then I added my own picture to the header (it's a picture I took outside the Tour Magne in Nîmes, France) and customized everything else to make it my own design. I'm happy with how it turned out. If anyone wants to redesign their own blog and needs help, let me know! After all the trial and error, I'm an expert now. ;)

Maybe now I will be inspired to write more? Either way, I hope you enjoy the new look.

I had forgotten

...how bad studying for finals is. It's really bad. It's not so much about the studying itself (which is not all that much different than any other time during the semester) but the fear, doubt, and anxiety that come in and makes me want to give up. But despite the fact that I may grow weary, my God NEVER will!

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.

(Isaiah 40:28-31)

Can't beat that with a big stick!

Quote from Justice Frankfurter

"History teaches that the independence of the judiciary is jeopardized when courts become embroiled in the passions of the day and assume primary responsibility in choosing between competing political, economic and social pressures."

-Dennis v. United States (concurring opinion), 341 U.S. 494 (1951)

Who you ARE and who you are NOT

Here are some Scriptures that remind me of who I am and who I am not. I know I need to be reminded. Hopefully they will encourage you too.

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Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.

-2 Corinthians 5:17

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man, and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.

-1 Corinthians 10:13

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

-1 Peter 5:8-9

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

-James 4:7

Therefore we have been buried in Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.

Having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

-Romans 6:4-7, 11-14, 18

Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

-1 Peter 1:13-16

...if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

-1 John 1:7-8

Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.

-1 Peter 2:16

All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.

-1 Corinthians 10:23

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

-2 Corinthians 10:5

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

-Psalm 103:12

Watch out for the worry of the world

And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

-Matthew 13:22

Horrific Violence Against Christians in Orissa, India

Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

-Matthew 10:28
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From The Times
September 6, 2008
India: where Christians are a target for the religious murder mobs

Rhys Blakely in Bhubaneswar

The mob appeared an hour after sunset, armed with axes, clubs and paraffin. The carnage that followed would have been much worse if the Christians of Gadragaon, a remote village in northeast India, had not been warned by text message: “The Hindus are coming to kill you.”

The alert gave most enough time to flee to the jungle, where 114 of them would hide for a week, drinking rainwater and foraging for food.

But the warning did not come early enough for those unable to run. “They doused him with petrol and taunted him; we could hear him screaming,” said Ravindra Nath Prahan, 45, of his paralysed brother, Rasananda, 35, who was burnt alive by Hindu fanatics. “I could have tried to save him. But we had to save ourselves.”

The attack on Gadragaon, by a mob that chanted “Hail Mother India” as they razed the village, was among the first of the grim litany of atrocities committed against minority Christians in the state of Orissa over the past two weeks. The Vatican has called the wave of violence “a sin against God and humanity”.

A nun has been gang-raped; a worker at a church-run orphanage burnt alive. In the Kandhamal district, the site of the worst attacks, Kamalini Naik, who was seven months pregnant, was ordered to denounce Christianity and convert to Hinduism by a baying mob. When she refused, she and her one-year-old son were “cut into pieces”, witnesses said.

So far 36 deaths have been recorded by the Catholic Church — compared with 16 by the state authorities, which have been accused of being complicit in the tragedy.

With the worst violence occurring in remote regions, there are fears that the toll is much higher. “It is hard to tell. The mobs are burning their victims,” said Father Ajay Singh, who is trying to keep a list of the dead in the office of the Archbishop in Bhubaneswar, the state capital.

Of the estimated 50,000 Christians forced to flee, most have little to go back to: more than 3,000 homes and 115 churches have been destroyed.

The villagers of Gadragaon watched from their hiding places as their possessions were looted, their cornfields and banana gardens spoiled and their goats slaughtered. Then they walked for more than 200 kilometres (125 miles), most of them barefoot, through the jungle to reach a makeshift sanctuary at a dilapidated YMCA hall.

“They said that we must convert if we want to return. We can never go back,” Ravindra Prahan said. A mountain of a man who served in the Indian Army, he now wears the shell-shocked expression of a wounded veteran.

Many are similarly scarred. Namrata, 8, one of more than 8,000 refugees held at a camp in Raikia, was badly burnt when Hindu fanatics torched her family's house. She has bad dreams and says she is too frightened ever to go home.

Hindu extremists claimed the attacks were a spontaneous reaction to the murder of a local Hindu leader. Others believe they were orchestrated — as the purge began trees were felled to block roads across the region to prevent Christians from escaping.

On Thursday India's Supreme Court ordered the Orissa government to answer charges that local police had stood by — an accusation also made by paramilitary forces drafted in from other parts of the country.

Orissa has a dark history of intolerance. Last Christmas 95 churches were razed and at least five Christians murdered. At the time, the unrest — far surpassed in the past two weeks — was branded the worst anti-Christian violence in India since Independence.

The roots of the current misery have festered for generations. Despite being enormously rich in mineral resources, Orissa is one of the sub-continent's poorest regions. Its low-caste Hindus and tribal populations are among the world's most impoverished people.

It is from these groups that most Christian converts have come — attracted by the opportunity to study at church-run schools and the chance to leave the lowest rungs of Hinduism's rigid caste system.

“There is resentment among some Hindus that the Church has reached out to these people, for whom nothing was being done,” said Father Prabodha Pradhan, one of the many Christians in Orissa who now owe their lives to Hindus who hid them as they were hunted by fanatics. “Some feel threatened.” However, the state's Christians make up only 2.4 per cent of the population — in line with the figure for India as a whole.

Other movements are also recruiting among Orissa's poor — notably, the Naxalites, a fierce cadre of atheist Maoist militants whose influence now extends across half of India.

Compared to the AK47-toting communist guerrillas, however, Orissa's Christians have made soft targets. “We don't fight. We are not many,” Father Prabodha said.

There are now fears that the attacks directed against Christians in Orissa may be replicated against other religious minorities across India as far-right Hindu groups seek to mobilise support ahead of general elections that must be held before May.

The latest violence was triggered by the murder on August 23 of Swami Lakhmananda Saraswati, a local figurehead of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), an extremist Hindu organisation. Ignoring a claim of responsibility from the Naxalites for the assassination, the VHP immediately accused Christians.

Some suggest that the VHP and its parent organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu fundamentalist group that holds sway over India's largest opposition party, the BJP, have exploited Saraswati's death to achieve a long-stated mission: to make Orissa “a poster state for Hindutva (Hindu-ness)”.

Religion and caste

— India's Constitution is secular. Hindus account for 80 per cent of the country's billion-plus population, while Muslims account for about 13 per cent

— The most recent Indian census, in 2001, states that 2.3 per cent of the population is Christian, but converts often claim to be Hindus to retain government privileges reserved for Hinduism's lower castes

— Most Indian Christians are Dalits, at the bottom of the caste system, who were once known as untouchables

— Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two children were burnt to death when their car was set alight by a Hindu mob who went on the rampage in Orissa state in 1999

— Over Christmas last year, 55 churches and 600 houses were set alight in Orissa, as part of a vicious anti-Christian campaign

— 35 major incidents of violence against Christians were recorded in the state of Madhya Pradesh alone between January and August this year

— Last March a United Nations freedom-of-religion investigator gave warning that the scarcity of prosecutions and “political exploitation of communal tensions” put India at risk of more religious violence

Sources: www.cia.gov; Times Archive; Human Rights Watch

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4687075.ece

House Churches Growing in Iran

By Gary Lane
CBN News International Correspondent
September 5, 2008

CBNNews.com - TEHRAN, Iran - A major crackdown against house church Christians is proceeding in Iran.

And while the Islamic government could halt its nuclear program if it wanted to, it's finding it's incapable of reversing the rapid spread of Christianity there.

The idea behind the Iranian revolution was to establish the world's first modern state governed solely by Islamic law.

Ayatollah Khomeini believed a more prosperous society could be created if the Iranian people and their government adhered to tenets of the Koran.

But nearly 30 years on, the Revolution is faltering and many Iranians are disillusioned.

Todd Nettleton is with the Voice of the Martyrs.

"The people look around, they see the poverty, they see the discontent, they're not happy so they have questions. Why isn't it working out, we're doing it the Islamic way, why isn't our country great? So, they are ripe to hear a new way," Nettleton said.

And the new way many are embracing is Christianity. But the faith is not new to Iran. The gospel actually arrived here 500 years before Islam. Persians are believed to have been among those in Jerusalem at Pentecost.

Less than one half of one percent of the Iranian population is Christian.

There were nearly four times as many Christians just before the Islamic Revolution, but many fled the country because of Islamic extremism.

Some of those who remain often share their faith with Muslims. As a result, the evangelical house church movement is now growing rapidly.

"The church is exploding in terms of numbers, but it is coming with a price," Nettleton said. "The people are arrested, they're harassed, they're persecuted, in some cases they are beaten severely. It is not an easy pathway."

Christian praise songs blast from the cassette player of an Iranian tax cab. The driver is a Muslim convert to Christianity. Depsite risk of arrest and possible death for apostasy, he's unafraid to share his faith.

A cross hangs from his rearview mirror. He keeps his Bible on the front passenger seat beside a can of STP gas treatment. He shares the gospel with his passengers and gives them a Bible if they want one.

That alone could lead to his arrest.

Other Christians have even been martyred for sharing their faith with Muslims.

Their suffering and sacrifice is not just a modern day experience here.

Many have come before them like the missionary Mary Catherine Ironside. She was here until she died in 1921.

She was not martyred, but she was one of many Anglicans from the church missionary society sent to share the gospel throughout the Middle East.

An inscription on her tombstone reads, "Will you not follow if you hear the call?"

Her grave is given a place of honor at the Armenian Cathedral in the city of Isfahan. It is one of 73 churches registered in Iran.

It's not established churches that the Iraniain government fears most, but the rapid growth of unregistered churches.

President Mamoud Ahmadinejad is so concerned that he has made it his aim to stop the house church movement, declaring: "I will stop Christianity in this country."

He's launched an unmerciful crackdown against Iranian house churches.

Just this past summer, a war veteran and his wife died from beatings they received during a raid on their house church meeting in the city of Isfahan.

A month earlier, Christian Tina Rad and her husband were arrested and severely beaten. Held for four days, they were accused of committing activities against Islam and Iranian national security. Both are former Muslims.

A house church leader said the crackdown has caused Christians to grow stronger and more serious.

"God is testing our faith because he wants us to become more like Jesus," she said.

The house churches are now meeting in smaller groups.

Nettleton says while Ahmadinejad is trying depserately to halt church growth, his crackdown is actually having an opposite affect because Christians are moving around more.

"We see outreach of people traveling to other cities, they're traveling to other parts of the country and they are in turn planting these little house churches in those cities and in those parts of the country as well," Nettleton said.

What should Christians around the world know about their brothers and sisters in the faith in Iran? The house church leader tells us they should know that Jesus Christ is with Iranian Christians and will never leave them nor forsake them.

And what can believers around the world do for the persecuted Christians in Iran?

"We have to pray for them. That is their first request. Pray for us, pray for us, pray for us… and I challenge people to really pray for the Iranian government," Nettleton said. "Pray for Ahmadinejad to have a personal meeting with Jesus Christ. Imagine how that would change that country; imagine how that would change the world."

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/437006.aspx

Back to School

It must be something about law school that makes me want to blog...an avoidance tactic, maybe? Who knows? I just wanted to say that I was reviewing how much reading I have for this week, and I figured out that I have 125 pages to read just for 1 of my 5 classes. So at 5 pages an hour, that's 25 hours. Then I have the other 4 classes. Here we go again...

Blogging

So it's been 2 1/2 months since I've blogged. Basically, I finished my final exams and journal petitioning on May 31, and I've been doing other things ever since. I've been thinking about blogging for awhile, but I'm ambivalent about it...if it's becoming just one more chore to take care of, I don't want to do it. And it kind of has been feeling like a chore, rather than something that naturally flows out as I sit down to write. The other thing I've been unsure of is the direction of the blog - do I want it to be a platform for me to talk about myself and keep people updated about what I'm doing? Or would my time be better spent doing other things? Do I want it to be a forum to share about issues that are interesting to me - for example, the 2nd Amendment and gun control? Or do I just want to use it whenever I feel like getting my thoughts out into cyberspace (about a neighbor's barking dog, final exams, whatever). Not that a blog has to have a direction. I think mine has been a little bit of everything in the past, and that's fine with me. It's just that regarding talking about myself and what I'm up to - well, most people know what I'm up to. Or they can just talk to me and find out. And I don't really want to spend so much time focused on me - frankly, I don't need any help in that area. As far as using the blog as a forum to talk about interesting issues - that takes so much time! And there are so many other things vying for my attention...but I do like writing about things...but I feel like I need to blog regularly then if I'm going to do that. And I don't think that's a commitment I'm ready to make. Ditto with respect to getting thoughts out into cyberspace...

Sigh. I know I'm making this into a bigger deal than it is. But this is what's going through my mind and why I keep ignoring my blog.

Anyone want to give me some feedback? Does anyone understand what I'm trying to say?

Wish my neighbor would read this

Excessive barking is nothing new. Dogs appear to enjoy barking, and they do so for various reasons. They bark when they want something, when they say “hello,” when they are having fun, when they are startled or alarmed, when they are defending their territory or threatening someone, when they are frustrated, and when they hear other dogs barking. Unfortunately, a dog who barks incessantly can drive the family crazy—and disturb the entire neighborhood.

Compulsive Barking
There are occasional compulsive barkers who bark in situations that are not considered normal or bark in a repetitive, rigid fashion. If your dog barks repeatedly for long periods of time, apparently at nothing, he may be a compulsive barker. If your dog repeatedly barks at things that would not bother other dogs, such as shadows, light flashes, mirrors, open doors, the sky, etc., you may have a compulsive barker. If your dog also engages in other stereotypic behaviors while barking, such as spinning, circling, or jumping, he may be a compulsive barker. A good first step may be to make a change in his lifestyle. For instance, if the dog is tied up, try keeping him loose in a safe fenced area. If the dog is left alone for long periods of time, increase his exercise, mental stimulation and social contact.

If you suspect your dog is a compulsive barker, please seek assistance from a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist or a Veterinary Behaviorist; his condition may require drug therapy.

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Taken from http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pets_barking (emphasis mine)