NYC Islamic Center

This is a follow-up to my August 11, 2010 blog post:

In a recent Newsweek article, Fareed Zakaria published a thoughtful article on the issue of the proposed Islamic Center to be built in New York City. Zarkaria artfully articulated my own views about the fundamental First Amendment right the ensures freedom of religion to ALL Americans. [Of course, he expressed this position much better than I since he is the Newsweek journalist and I am a mere amateur blogger.] The title of this blog entry is linked to the Newsweek article.

In addition, Zakaria mentions Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, a moderate Muslim clergyman and this book, What’s Right With Islam Is What’s Right With America, to quote part of Zakaria's thoughts on the book, " {Rauf}argues that the United States is actually the ideal Islamic society because it encourages diversity and promotes freedom for individuals and for all religions. His vision of Islam is bin Laden’s nightmare.'

I share the link to Rauf's book here because I think Americans can make a great step toward peace and understanding if we simply make an effort to open our minds to the thoughts and opinions of others. We do not live in a vacuume the United States is only one nation in the world community. To fear and disparage beliefs that we do not know or understand is simply ignorance. Pick up this book, or any other book, with an open mind. Who knows, a little knowledge might give you a fresh look at the issue.

What's Right with Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West

Who Dat! Two Dat?

Tonight the New Orleans Saints kick off the 2010 preseason as they face the New England Patriots. This will be our first chance to see them in action since their Super Bowl win. WOW! It still feels so go to say that--the Saints not only made it to the Super Bowl, the WON the game. No matter what happens this season you can't take that away from them.

I've been reading Drew's story in "Coming Back Stronger". It is interesting to read about the team journey to victory from his perspective. It is as if a bunch of rag-tag misfits came together as a team to find redemption. Not only did they rebuild a team that had languished at the bottom of the league for its entire 43 year history, they helped rebuild the city of New Orleans from the devestation of Hurricane Katrina. They gave Orleanians hope and showed them what can result from hard work' determination, and a lot of prayer.



UPDATE: The final score was 24-27. Not bad! Of course, I would have preferred that it be marked in the win column for the Saints, but that's okay. It was a good opportunity to see what the newest players on the team can do.

Why can't we all get along?

I just don't get it. For weeks now I've listened to news reports of people ranting about the proposed mosque to be built in New York City a couple of blocks from ground zero--the site of the 9/11 attack. I do understand the sensitivity of the issue; however, I am disturbed by the outright hatred and intolerance toward Muslims. (By the way-- 1. They do not want to build a mosque, they want to build a PEACE center. 2. There is ALREADY a mosque only 3-4 blocks away from the ground zero site and it has been there for over 40 YEARS. It was there BEFORE the twin towers of the World Trade Center were constructed.)

Hmmm, do we need to be reminded of the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Freedom of Religion is one of the most important pillars that established the foundation for this country. The first amendment does not guarantee freedom to practice selected religions--it protects ALL religious faiths. If we want to deny the freedom of a religion that is not our own don't you see that we threaten the freedom of our very own religion?

I love this quote:

"He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself" ~ Thomas Paine

Have we as a nation really become so partisan and intolerant? I am a Christian and cannot imagine any circumstance that would cause me to turn away from my faith. I am also a Christian that deeply respects other faiths. There are so many common threads that should unite people of all faiths. Why do some people feel so threatened or harbor such hatred that they are compelled to fight against people of different faiths? Take a deep breath folks. Let's try to learn from each other.

On the August 10, 2010 broadcast of the Daily Show Jon Stewart did a great job of illustrating the absurdity. I've posted the link above--just click on the title of this blog entry.

A New Reality

Okay, I guess I am over the cybercrime excitement from the weekend and have settled into a new reality when it comes to using Web 2.0 technology to communicate. I'm not back on Facebook yet, but here I am blogging and my rate of e-mail seems to have remained steady. I haven't even given up on making that one-in-a-million love connection via a dating site--out of all of the social media that I use the dating sites are probably the riskiest, so now that I think about it the hacking incident really didn't change me. We live in a constantly evolving world. As new technologies are introduced we must learn to also evolve and adapt from both the perspective of the new functionality they provide as well as adapt to the need for a different means to stay safe and secure.

Hacked!

Yesterday my Facebook and e-mail accounts were hijacked. Today I am feeling violated and vulnerable. I do not like feeling this way. I've become so dependent on technology and social networking to communicate--now I am feeling isolated and cut off from my world.

It is a bit ironic that I feel safe enough to blog about what I am feeling. Although this is a public venue--since no one responds to my posts it seems like I am talking to myself so for now this remains a 'safe' corner of my cyber world. On a personal note, if anyone out there is reading this I would appreciate hearing from you--right now I am sorely in need of human contact.

My nature is to be open and trusting--this makes me feel the need to be more cautious and put up walls to protect myself. I will have to work hard to make sure that I do not allow this experience to change me. As I write that I realize that it sounds overly dramatic however, I am very serious. There is a great line from Winnie the Pooh: "You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes." I realized that I had spent far too long limiting myself to my corner of the forest--the Internet has served as the perfect tool that allows me to step out and explore the forest. Will I now allow fear to send me running back to my safe den for security or will I be able to learn from this experience then brush it off so I can continue to reach out to others? Only time will tell.

LOST

For almost six years now I have faithfully followed the ABC TV series Lost--it is absolutely the BEST show on television. The fun of it has been the constant questions upon questions fans are left with at the end of each episode--yet what we DO figure out is so mentally stimulating that we keep coming back for more. Now in this, the final season, we are finally getting some answers. With only 7 episodes left, until last night, I've had my doubts of whether or not all of the pieces of the puzzle would fall into place and wondered if the writers had enough time to pull all of the loose threads together. No longer do I doubt...in a single hour last night we learn that the island is something akin to Pandora's box and has been holding back evil from flooding into the world with no restraint. We've seen the battle between good vs. evil played out in various characters and story lines over the years, but never before has this foundational element of the series been so clearly defined. It was a very satisfying night of television.

Now I understand!

I could hardly wait to log in to share what God revealed to me this morning in Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Connection" e-devotional. What a blessing!!!! Rick opened by quoting 2 Corinthians 9:10. Then he challenged us to decide that we will look to GOD ONLY as our source. He said that we often get ourselves in trouble when we confuse the channel with the source. For example, God may use our paychecks as the channel to supply our needs, but God is using our employer as the channel for His provision--and He can shift to another channel anytime He wants. Sometime the channel may dry up, but the source of our every need remains active. God knows our needs and we have to let go and give God the right to choose whatever channel He wants to fulfill the need.

I've said that God is in control of my life yet I have continued to try to figure out ways to solve my own problems. At the same time I've been under the delusion that I got myself into this mess so I have to actively figure out solutions. Oh yes, I've given God credit for my feeble attempts that have only served as temporary, stop-gap measures--the problem is that I have never REALLY let go and allowed God to be God! Forgive me Lord!I know the original topic here is about tithing and I have gotten way off the subject here. It may not make sense to you, but all of this is tied together for me and I just had to publically give God the glory for opening my eyes.

Please continue to pray for me as again I lay my financial, physical, emotional and spiritual needs before God's throne. Pray that the Holy Spirit helps me find the restraint to leave my problems at God's feet and trust Him for His bounty of provision in my life.

Ignore Everybody

Tonight I want to give a quick shout out to Hugh MacLeod author of Ignore Everybody. Check out his blog--I have it linked to the title of this entry. What do you think?

The Perfect Storm

I'll likely regret saying this in about 24-36 hours when I have to begin digging out--but this is the perfect snowstorm. The fluffy flakes have been falling for hours now and we are a little over halfway through. I've sat by the window completely mesmerized by the dance of snow falling. At times it has been so heavy that I now truly understand the meaning of a "white out"-- sometimes it has been difficult to clearly see the building next to mine. The forceful wind is pushing large drifts of accumulation against anything stationary in its path. Temperatures are not expected to rise above freezing so the mounds of snow won't melt for awhile. That's okay with me, I'll stay inside toasty warm, sip my cup of tea and enjoy watching the remainder of nature's winter display, It is what it is.

Gotta Love Facebook

What a treat to log in to Facebook this morning and discover my friends and family were already posting birthday greetings. I'm getting to that age where tallying the passing years is less and less important, but that doesn't mean that I no longer want to be remembered.

Facebook has already proven to be a great way to reconnect with long lost friends and far away family. Discovering the well wishes this morning was an added bonus that made my day.

Happy birthday to me--It is what it is!

First Snow

This morning the first snow of the season is falling. It is so beautiful! We are getting the light, fluffy snow that seems to wrap the landscape in a soft blanket. Having grown up in Louisiana I missed out on snow in my youth, so I delight in seeing the flakes accumulate. Ironically, recent climate change has resulted in occassional snowfall back home. This particular snowfall began down south yesterday. What a joy to hear from family and friends share their wonder and excitement over the first snowfall of the season.

Oh well...It is what it is!

Oh well, ignore my initial promise to muse on an almost regular basis...that obviously isn't happening. The last couple of months probably would have been a little less stressful if I had blogged on a regular basis. I need to learn to get things that bother me out of my head and not dwell on things that I have no control over.

It is what it is.

Day of Remembrance

9/11 will forever remain as a day of remembrance in honor of the thousands of souls lost in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. For my family, Sept 11 was already a day of remembrance as it marks the day we buried my Mom at the end of her valiant battle against ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). She may have 'had" ALS--but ALS never had her. She was joyous and positive until the very end. She may be gone, but will never be forgotten.

To learn more about this insidious disease, or join the fight to eradicate it forever visit the ALS Association Web site alsa.org

Norma Jane Skipper
July 27, 1932 - September 9, 1998

What the...?

Has it really been almost a month since my last post? WTF? Where did the time go? It is fall already--the temperature didn't get out of the sixties today. I look around and see that the leaves are taking on vibrant hues of gold and red.

Speaking of the passage of time...President Obama gave an important speech on health care reform to a rare joint-session of congress last night. About 100 years ago Pres. T. Roosevelt was the first to propose health care reform. Not only were his efforts unsuccessful, subsequent Presidents efforts haven't fared any better. Everyone acknowledges there is a problem and that failure to do anything about it makes matters worse--yet here we are at another partisan impasse. Yet, they all continue to fiddle while we watch our great republic burn. What will it take to motivate our elected officials to set aside thier petty bickering and pass the legislation? President Obama said the two sides agree on about 80% of the issues--so put together a bill that addresses the 80% so we can get things moving then you can focus on a compromise to solve the remaining 20%. Can't we all get along? What the...?

The End of an Era

Wednesday morning we all woke to the news that Senator Edward M. Kennedy had passed away during the night ending his 15 month battle with brain cancer. The last of the Kennedy brothers to die --the onlt one to die of natural causes--Sen. Kennedy served in the United States Senate for 47 years. He authored or co-authored several thousand pieces of legislation--over 300 of which became law. He was a flawed man--as we all are--yet as a public figure from a prominent family his flaws were widely broadcast. Who among us could bear such scrutiny? He did withstand the glare of the spotlight and despite of it was able to profoundly change the lives of millions of Americans through his tireless work in the Senate. Civil rights, health care, education, labor, his professional life was devoted to serving as a voice and champion to the working man. We've lost a giant of a man. He leaves a void that won't soon, if ever, be filled.

"The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."