Remember has a team leaving for the Middle East this month - pray for them!

But I want to talk about the one that scares me the most, my friends.   This is not meant to be a partisan rant, nor is it meant to be directed at the current Supreme Court nominee - what you see here is the thoughts of a genuinely worried common citizen.

This idea is the one that our judges should be governed primarily by “empathy.”  Merriam-Webster tells me that this word comes from the Greek for passion, feelings, and emotion.  The part of the definition that we are most familiar with says that empathy is “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another…”  If  judge is to be ruled by empathy, it is to say that this judge, when faced with a case, looks not to the law, but looks to his or her own emotions and discerns which party makes them say “awwwww…” louder.  That’s why I’m calling this the “rule of awwww” - and it can be easily distinguished from the rule of law.

But one cannot be bound by both the law and one’s emotion.  One or the other must reign supreme.  And if a judge feels that he or she must choose based on empathy, that judge must literally disown the rule of law.

I don’t claim to be an expert in the rule of law.  There are many who could expound the theory of the rule of law much better than I.  And yet, that’s the point.  You don’t need to be an expert to know why the rule of law is so vital to any sort of justice and freedom.  Our society is based on law.  The rule of law provides us with stability and expectability, giving us a cause-and-effect in societal interaction.  It serves as the great leveller, subjecting every person, great and small, to its universal principles.  Laws can be changed, certainly, and adapted, but not on a whim of some self-seeking person, and not only in subjective application to targeted individuals.  You don’t have to be an expert to understand the value of the rule of law - and you don’t have to look any further than wherever you’re sitting to see how valuable it is in everyday life.

And that is why judges unbound from the rule of law have been hallmarks of despotism for time immemorial.  Now don’t get me wrong.  I don’t mean to automatically equate an “empathetic” judge with the judges that executed “the people’s” whim in revolutionary France, Hitler’s whim in Germany, or Stalin’s whim in Russia, or Pol Pot’s whim in Cambodia (or countless other examples).  But once one looses a judge from the rule of law, you leave yourself open to that possibility.

A politician is necessarily bound by the will of the people, because he can be voted out.  But a judge is bound only to the law, and if you remove that mooring a judge becomes at very best a miniature dictator.  Perhaps that judge will use his dictatorial power for good, but that’s not a risk I am willing to take - and it is not a risk our Constitution was willing to subject us to.

And that is why the “Rule of Awwww” scares me to death.

And because we do debtor work, most of my motions are filed against some kind of creditor, and often mortgage companies.  In order for a motion to be effective, we must serve the papers on them in accordance with Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7004.  Normally, this means I have to go dig through the bowels of the Internet to find out who an officer of the requisite creditor is - and in today’s world, that often means digging through records of who bought what company and what the new name is.  All this searching has taught me much about these corporate entities.

For instance -

You’ve probably heard of Ditech. (If you have watched TV in the last few years, you will remember Ditech from ads where the evil fat local banker bemoans that he “Lost another loan to Ditech.com” while the blissful customer wallows in happiness.  Or the one where they try to convince you that “people are smart” before insulting your intelligence with a poorly animated professorial creature explaining the “advantages” of their rates.)  But did you know that Ditech is a business of GMAC, the financing arm of General Motors?

Incidentally, speaking of poor advertising, GMAC was recently forced to change the name of its banking arm to “Ally Bank” in an effort to improve its image.

Did you know that Wachovia was purchased by Wells Fargo?  That was in the news, of course, but it gets complicated - you see, Wachovia Bank, N.A., is not a part of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.  They haven’t finished that yet.  But Wachovia Bank, N.A. is a part of Wells Fargo Corporation, the mother company who owns an astounding array of entities.  And then there’s Wachovia Bank, F.S.B., which used to be World Savings Bank, F.S.B. and now has been almost sort of more or less phased out in favor of new and improved corporate structures.

Speaking of Wells Fargo, did you know that the company called “America’s Servicing Company” is actually just a DBA of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc.?

It’s nothing short of dizzying.  And I haven’t mentioned Citigroup, JPMorganChase, or Bank of America, and countless other entities.

But I digress.  All this to say that finding the appropriate contact information for Rule 7004 service can be a challenge.

But the federal government might be making it easier on me.  If this goes through, the United States government will own a majority stake in GMAC.  So I am given to wonder, will my service list look like this?

GMAC
Attn: Barack Obama, CEO
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500

Thoughts?

Go to CLE, of course.

I really like saying “we” and “our home.”

We had just a wonderful wedding, thanks to the tireless effort of my bride and countless willing and able helpers, and had an excellent trip home, managing to avoid a blizzard one day and survive 90 degree heat two days later.

But most importantly of all, my best friend is now also my wife.

(With a huge thanks to Kelly for these pictures and the ones we have yet to see!)

Increasingly high levels of impending joy have led to the significant possibility of flash-floods of happiness affecting all those that come in contact with the owner of this site. Please be on your alert for rising levels of joy, and brace yourselves accordingly.

In order to focus scarce resources such as time on best meeting this emergency, what little time has been devoted to blogging lately will be re-allocated to the emergency effort. Posting shall re-commence at such a time as the moon shall no longer be made of honey.

No apologies will be forthcoming for this prioritization of resources, but complaints may be made on congratulatory note-cards sent to Fresno, California. However, you are warned that such mailings may, in fact, increase the levels of impending joy and therefore be highly counterproductive to the resumption of blogging.

–The Management

***END EMERGENCY BROADCAST***

I’ve taken a variety of approaches to dealing with this pain.  I’ve hired accountants.  I’ve slogged through paperwork on my own.  I’ve contemplated moving to Andorra.  Long-time friends might remember the year that I actually threw an income tax party in an attempt to reduce the pain - misery, after all, loves company.

This year, I thought that I was going to end up doing them myself.  I’m not next door to my cheap Charleston accountant, and H&R Block is more expensive than I want to pay.  Online programs are expensive, too, and there’s always the fear of the unknown because I’ve never used one of them.  But then, then I found the answer - a tax program that is cheap, and just as important, does not make you pay until you are actually ready to file.  You can be sure that it is going to work for you first.  I don’t know why I didn’t find this sooner.

So I bit the bullet and tried it - and now, my friends, I am on the other side of the pain.  I am on the side of relief, the immense relief that comes from knowing that when April 15 rolls around I will have no worries, for I will not be standing in line or burning the midnight oil.

And finally, I would also note that this year, the relief is even deeper.  Normally, my relief is twinged with cynicism - that though I have done my duty, my duty to fund government extravagance is hardly a duty worth praising myself for.  This year, though, I can rest assured that my tax money has nothing to do with government extravagance, for government extravagance now revolves around spending money nobody has.

But my part is done for another nine months.

And I re-learned just why it is I hate Wikipedia - so many links to explore and be fascinated by, so hard to stop learning cool stuff (and incredibly hard to shake the feeling that I just don’t know enough about, well, everything).  Basically, there is so much to love I just can’t help but hate it.

With my Valentine around 2,000 miles away, today’s true task was to avoid thinking about how much I’d rather be somewhere else.  For those of you that know me, it’s probably obvious that a task like that would involve food.  And as I was running errands, I saw a Middle Eastern restaurant and began craving hummus.

But the whole “rich attorney” thing hasn’t kicked in yet, so I couldn’t justify a stop there, even to assuage the pain of 2,000 miles of space.  Plus, the idea of paying $10 for a plate of garbanzo beans seems weird.  And when I realized that, today’s project became apparent.

Since I already knew the basic structure of hummus, a quick trip to Google was all I needed to figure out proportions, and I was off to the store.

I generally tend to avoid meatless meals whenever possible.  To that end, it strikes me as weird that I enjoy Middle Eastern food so much - it tends to be low on the meat side (though when they add meat, it is superb).  But Middle Eastern food is delicious and rich and satisfying even without meat.

And in spite of guessing at a variety of things, today’s project was not a disappointment…

Later on, for the record, I fully intend to make up for a meatless lunch by making chorizo/bacon/monterey jack quesadillas.

In other news, don’t use cheap forks to juice limes.

Ah, DMV!  That giant among bureacrats, patron saint among inefficient morasses, guardian angel of all drab waiting rooms.  And when the little mechanical voice said, “A023 at Window Number 9,” our hero knew that every weapon at his employ would require the most skillful of weilding.

And each, one by one, was taken and assimilated by DMV.  Each accomplished its purpose, but none could deal the deathblow.  In the end, it came down to one weapon - the debit card.

Our hero begged.  He signed over a lien on the house he does not yet own.  He promised to donate his wavy locks to the California Department of Aid for the Hairless.  He spat upon signs that said “Threatening a State Employee is a Felony” and demanded justice and freedom.  All to no avail.

But in the end, debit card prevailed.  It was bereaved of its motive force, the green energy that powers its economical workings, but it prevailed, and our hero emerged with a small piece of paper broadcasting to the world that he had an Interim License to Drive.

–From A Pointless Oral History of One of Mankind’s Dimmest Luminaries

I didn’t bother, I’m afraid, studying the California textbook on driving.  Perhaps it was naive, but I assumed that since I had been driving for quite some time with a clean record, I’d be able to buzz right through a written test.  (Though the inner man chafed at having to take a written test, I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal.)

But when I sat down and started reading I was worried.  I didn’t know the answers.  I discovered, though, that the questions I didn’t know the answers to were based entirely on the fact that I’m just too good of a person.  I don’t drink, so the BAC limit just doesn’t matter to me.  I don’t smoke, so regulations on when you can smoke and drive just never entered my mind.

And as I sat there, thinking to myself that if I failed this test because I don’t drink and smoke, I was going to be rather put out.

It turns out, though, that California is strangely predictable on how it regulates drinking and smoking.  I found it rather ironic, though, even in my relief at passing, that while I got the questions about smoking and drinking correct, of the three I missed one involved a blind man in a crosswalk, one involved talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device (it’s more legal than I thought!), and the third involved how much information you have to give the imbecile that smashed his car against yours.

But this I can say, with a highly genuine sigh of gratefulness - it’s done.  I’m licensed and registered.  I need not darken the door of a DMV for a long while yet.

My goal is quite simple: work as hard as I can to get as much of the bankruptcy learning curve under my belt before I get married.  I can spend these last months where 60-hour-weeks only effect me working, well, at least 60-hour-weeks.

So far, I’m doing good at accomplishing that practical aspect of my goal!  Combined with a head cold, a chest cold, and an ear infection (and yesterday, all three at once), there are times I have felt utterly overwhelmed.  And yet, I must admit that I’m having fun learning this whole “practice of law” thing.  It is highly satisfying to be able to put so many years of education and hard work into practice.

I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 13:6

I had big plans to give gas mileage averages and gas price comparisons from all sectors of I-40.

But when push came to shove, I just drove - long and hard.  And by the grace of God and the help of my family, I made it to a new home in Fresno, California.  With a trailer, it took a bit longer than the 40 hours estimated by Google maps, but my brother David and I made it in three and a half days, spending the latter half of today emptying truck and trailer and piling up stuff in the living room.

We had a few moments of teeth-gnashing right at the beginning before the trailer settled down, one stop in Nashville that was fast enough to be terrifying, and a few moments of terror as my gas gauge rode well under “E” for miles in Middle of Nowhere, New Mexico.  But God is so good, and none of those led to the problems they could have - and the rest of the trip was uneventful, and as enjoyable as such interminable travel can be.

This weekend is for unpacking, and on Monday I add a new job to the new home…thank you for your prayers.

So I have been mercilessly hacking my subscriptions in Google Reader.

Four days of hacking, and I’m down to 164 subscriptions.

*sigh*

Katie and I visited Carlisle to be with my family for Thanksgiving.

Then, with the help of a self-timer, a couple of stools, and a cookie sheet, we had a family Christmas portrait.

Then I had the chance to shoot some family portraits of Sauers as a small “thank you” for engagement pictures!

And finally, today I designed a tri-fold brochure for a beautiful retreat center in Ravenel, SC (with pictures I took a couple months ago).  Here’s the first draft…

One reason this post is so delayed is that words just don’t seem to cut it.  So I’m going to skip them and let the pictures do the talking.  (And a huge thanks to Kelly for photographing!)

More coming.  It’s been a crazy, wonderful couple of weeks since last I updated…

***

It’s Thanksgiving, and I would like to thank God for the chance to see one of His most amazing gifts at work.  Truly, the Body of Christ, the Living Church, is an incredible gift that we often forget to thank Him for.

We can, and do, pray for them – that they would remain strong, that they would be protected and covered with His grace.  Those intercessions are vital, as you well know, but let’s not forget to combine them with the thanksgiving that is due.

Maybe that sounds strange, but it’s Scriptural!

The precious saints of the persecuted Body of Christ are lights in a dark world.  They are pillars that stand though the storm rage about them.  To all those around them – to believer and unbeliever alike – they are proof of God’s faithfulness in the midst of suffering and pain.  Have we stopped to thank God for them?

In this season of Thanksgiving, let’s praise God for our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Let us thank Him for their prayers for us, for their testimony of faithfulness, and for the chance that we have to minister both with and for them.

I am reminded of the words of Paul in Ephesians:

Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2

The General Principle

If there has one thing I have noticed living in the deep South, it is how my accent can change based on what I hear around me. Sometimes I put on the drawl on purpose, of course, but sometimes it just happens – what I hear around me tends to influence how I talk. I can see that same principle acted out all around me, and I bet that you have seen it in your own life. If you admire someone, as you focus on them you tend to become like them.

This principle, true in the physical realm, is even more true in the spiritual, as John documents in the above verse. Though we may be sons already by the work of saving grace, we are not perfected until we see him. That perfection is discussed in much greater detail in the next chapter, but this is where it begins – we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. There’s a cause and effect here: seeing Him as He is causes us to be like Him.

The opposite is also true. We can focus ourselves on evil, or even on good things not of God. Israel, for instance, had a history of doing just that, and getting themselves into trouble – in the wilderness, remember how they focused on the leeks, onions, and garlic that they had in Egypt? In I Samuel, remember how they demanded a king so that they could be like all the other nations they were seeing around them? Their focus, off of God, led them to admire what was in reality far less than God’s best.

So then, we see that both in Scripture and in practical application, that what we focus on goes a long way towards determining who we are, and what we do.

Two Stories – and Two Applications

Guiding Our Prayers for the Persecuted

Just a few weeks ago, violence erupted in Orissa, a state in eastern India. The violence was sparked by the assassination of a Hindu holy man, or swami. Now if anyone deserved assassination, it was this swami. For years, he has been working with ultra-fundamentalist Hindus to force low-caste converts to Christianity back into the Hindu fold. He personally sparked numerous instances of violence against Christians during the years he was in power.

I am not aware of any Christian, however, that would argue that the fact he “deserved” death gave them permission to kill him. And they did not kill him; he was murdered by a Maoist group from Tibet.

That fact did not stop the Hindus from rioting in response, however, carrying out false “retribution” against innocent Christians. Dozens of Christians were killed. Homes were burned, families split apart, and unspeakable atrocities committed. The violence continues to this day.

Because of the persecution, Christians have been left with a choice. The Maoist groups are still there, seeking to ally themselves with Christians. They offer the false hope of Maoist violence. And focusing on the violence leads to only one logical consideration; in the face of such tragedy, why not join the violence?

But focusing on the violence isn’t the answer. As I have met Christians living in oppression, I have marveled at the way that they have risen above the circumstances of their faith to focus on the author and finisher of their faith. But you can imagine how hard it must be for a Christian in Orissa – and so many other places – to take their eyes off of the pain and put them on Jesus.

That, I believe, should be our first request for our persecuted brothers and sisters: that they may be like Him, because they have seen Him as He is.

Lessons from Uzziah

Uzziah was a great king. He reigned for 52 years over the kingdom of Judah, and is one of few of whom it was said, “he did that was right in the eyes of the Lord.” We are told of many of the great things that he did, such that he became strong and spread his name abroad by the things that he did – because he was “marvelously helped.”

But Uzziah was not perfect; in his strength he became proud and usurped the role of the priests by burning incense in the temple. His punishment was swift and sure.  Instantaneously he went from admired king to outcast leper.

And then he died.

Can you imagine being a Judean in those days? The king that made your nation great is dead, but dead only after suddenly and dramatically failing in his leadership. His untested son is next in line for the throne. Just three years ago, the death of Jereboam II in neighboring Israel plunged that nation into anarchy; how will Judah respond to these challenges? Indeed, will you even survive them?

The year that King Uzziah died could only have been a time of turmoil for every citizen of Judah, a time of doubt and fear and depression. The greatness of Judah, the peace of Judah, the stability and protection of Judah all hung in the balance.

It is with that background that we turn to Isaiah 6, a chapter probably familiar to all of us.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord…

In spite of all the turmoil, Isaiah saw the Lord. He saw past all of the fright, the uncertainty, and the desperation on the physical level to see something so much greater on a spiritual plane – the glory of our all-powerful God. The picture of Judah that he saw was not pretty at all, as we see later in Isaiah 6, but it didn’t matter in the presence of God. In seeing the Lord, Isaiah found both peace and a calling.

I should note that I do not mean this application in the political sense, at least not entirely. If your politics are like mine, you are undoubtedly dreading the next four years. But who we elect is more of a symptom than anything else, and the answer is not electing “the other guy.” The answer, in fact, is not in any human at all.

The answer is in seeing the Lord. Where are we focusing?

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Aside from being inane and totally unimaginative as a headline, I really expected a story like this…

****

“Voters Ready”

PALM SPRINGS, FL - After a countywide voter education project, voting authorities claim that voters are ready to cast their ballots.

“We’ve had extensive training for the citizens of Palm Springs on the use of a Number 2 lead pencil to fill in an oval.  In addition, we have handed out thousands of pamphlets with detailed instructions and definitions on the use of chads, the meaning of a straight line between a candidate’s name and an oval, and the emergency number to Barack Obama’s campaign headquarters in case of confusion,” one election official told CNN on the condition of anonymity.

Mary Jones is a Palm Springs resident that experienced difficulties understanding the ballot eight years ago.  “Before, I was frightened,” she told CNN.  “I thought maybe the line between the oval and the name meant ‘minus,’ and I did not want to cast a negative vote for anyone except Pat Buchanan.  But because of this voter training, I know that if I accidentally fill in the oval for John McCain, Obama campaign lawyers will read my mind and know who I meant to vote for and fight it all the way to the Supreme Court, so I am confident that justice will be done.”

When reminded that Bush won the landmark election case of Bush v. Gore, involving similar mind-reading issues, Ms. Jones claimed that breakthroughs in European theories on chad-reading, like European theories on socialism, were on the rise, so she was confident that her ballot would be read properly.

John Doe told reporters that, prior to the training, he had difficulty fitting the candidate’s name inside the tiny oval provided.  “Before voting, I tried to shrink my handwriting so that I could write the answer in the space provided,” he complained.  “But my friendly Obama rep assured me that I just had to fill in the oval with little circles next to the candidate I want to vote for.  That alone convinced me to vote for Barack,” he went on.  “If someone would have told me this in high school I might not have flunked the SAT and be stuck in this soup kitchen.  Barack has the information Americans need to succeed!”

In a token appearance so that this article does not appear biased, CNN interveiwed a John McCain spokesman who claimed, “It is the McCain campaign’s contention that putting ‘George Bush’ next to Mr. McCain’s name on the ballot misleads voters into thinking that John McCain is, in fact, George Bush.”

“That is blatant hatemongering,” an Obama spokesman responded.

****

Alas, the actual story was far more boring.  And to be fair, I did intend to write a more serious election post.  There’s just so much to write about that anything but parody is overwhelming.

But that calling will be taking me away from the work that has been such a blessing for me over the past couple of years.  That is to say, it will be taking me away from the full-time work with that ministry, as I will be heading out to Fresno, California at the end of this year to accept a job offer.  And while I am excited at the opportunities that will bring, it is putting it mildly to say that I will miss the privilege of working with Remember full time.

I’d certainly appreciate your prayers as my life takes a huge turn, and I would be blessed by your continued prayers for Remember.  The work will continue to grow and prosper as the Lord opens the doors, and I can’t wait to see what He does through the dedicated people that make this ministry reality.

Therefore, it is with no small amount of excitement (and quite a bit of fear and trepidation) that I announce that my next port of call will be working with Peter Fear, where I will be starting January 5.

But the more news I hear out of Sudan, and specifically out of South Kordofan - the north/south border state that I have visited twice - the more worried I am.  I say “worried,” but that word isn’t strong enough.  I’m scared.  Scared for the people I know there, for the pastors that are already the targets of localized violence, for the ongoing work of Christ throughout the Nuba tribes, for the existing widows and the widows-to-be, for the generation of children that are only now barely becoming accustomed to peace.

There can be a lot of things that go into the rekindling of a civil war.  Political strife, religious disagreement, interpersonal quarrels, even tribal feuding that goes back centuries are all present in this state.  The Nuba tribespeople feel abandoned, not just by their central government, but by the southern SPLM, who they feel have used them as a bargaining chip in an attempt to control oil-rich territories in the east.  Even within the Nuba, individual tribes fight with each other constantly, the ongoing expression of centuries of infighting.  And always, sometimes just under the surface, sometimes above, but always there, is the inevitable tension between Sharia and freedom of religion, between NCP and SPLM - between Muslim and Christian.

Last time I was in South Kordofan, our team met with the deputy governor, a soft-spoken Christian man affiliated with the SPLM.  (Under the peace agreement, power in South Kordofan is split between the Muslim NCP governor and the Christian SPLM deputy governor.)  We talked about our desire to minister there in a variety of ways, and were blessed by his spirit.  Little did we know - in fact, I didn’t know until reading a report last week - that just months before we were there, he had been the target of an assassination attempt.  His story highlights the nature of the situation in Sudan, because the assassination attempt was not a sniper with a gun, or even a grenade lobbed into a car.  No, the would-be assassin handed a grenade to a child and told the youngster to take it up to the stage.  The ensuing explosion, while it didn’t kill the deputy governor, ripped the child’s hand to shreds.

South Kordofan just may be the spark that reignites the smoldering memories of all-out war.  Some are even calling it “The Next Darfur,” but unlike that tragedy, this one has the potential to plunge the entire nation into violence.

Pray for Sudan.

***

Rising Animosity in Central State Could Fuel Conflict

And if you have more time, read the following report.  It’s long, but well worth the read.

Sudan’s Southern Kordofan Problem: The Next Darfur?

But that perspective is not the only one available.  Some Hindu leaders in India, for instance, are holding up the Orissa violence as a model of what a state should be.  “We will make our district like Orissa,” they have pledged.  That horrifying violence, the destruction and slaughter, is their idea of what constitutes good.

I should not be surprised, I suppose, that this perspective is alive and well - without it, there would be no persecution! - but seeing it displayed in such brazen prominence is a wake up call.  Evil is alive and well, and there are those that are so deceived as to think that it is their calling to persecute our brothers and sisters in Christ.

But truth does not depend on our perspectives, and as we minister and pray we can do so in the confidence that we are serving the God of that truth.  Let us pray with that confidence against the evil that pervades this world of ours.

[Cross-posted.]

Aside from the fall colors, it was an excellent weekend–meeting new folks, hanging with old friends, and unexpectedly getting elected president of the Alumni Association were certainly highlights.