Sadness in Pakistan

Benazir Bhutto is no longer with us.

I didn't know much about her before word of her assassination flooded the news. But a deep sadness grasped my heart as images of her flashed across my TV screen.

She was a woman who stood for something.

Bhutto was trying to make a difference in Pakistan. And she did. Not many women in the Muslim world had the kind of power, influence and education that she had when she first took on the role of prime minister. She was by no means perfect but she represented a positive change in a traditional male-driven society. Even today, activists like Nazanin are fighting for women's' rights in the Middle East.

Although Bhutto has passed away, we must make sense of her tragic departure and re-examine what she stood for and where things are going if we don't pay close attention to Pakistan's significant place in this global war on terrorism.

And lastly, here's an excerpt from her autobiography Daughter of the East:

"I am a woman proud of my cultural and religious heritage. I feel a special personal obligation to contrast the true Islam - the religion of tolerance and pluralism - with the caricature of my faith that terrorists have hijacked. I know that I am a symbol of what the so-called 'Jihadists', Taliban and al-Qaeda, most fear. I am a female political leader fighting to bring modernity, communication, education, and technology to Pakistan. I believe that a democratic Pakistan can become a symbol of hope to more than one billion Muslims around the world who must choose between the forces of the past and the forces of the future."

[Hat tip to Muslamics]

My Blogging Personality

This is just a fun quiz I thought I'd share. They pretty much pegged me. Do the quiz and share your results. You know you wanna.

Your Blogging Type is Confident and Insightful

You've got a ton of brain power, and you leverage it into brilliant blog. Both creative and logical, you come up with amazing ideas and insights. A total perfectionist, you find yourself revising and rewriting posts a lot of the time. You blog for yourself - and you don't care how popular (or unpopular) your blog is!

What's Your Blogging Personality?

[Hat tip to Regina]

The Christmas Blues

Maybe you're not caught up in the holiday spirit. Maybe things in your life aren't going the way you planned. Maybe all the joy you would like to have during this season just isn't there.

So what do you do?

You could put on happy face and pretend like everything is alright or you could come before God raw in all your pain and say "things suck and I need You to make them better."

There's no shame in being yourself in front of God. Because that what He wants. He loves you (problems and all) and He wants to make things better. And not just for the month of December.

Whatever you're feeling, wherever you are, whatever the season, Jesus is there for you. And that's a Christmas gift that lasts year-round.

[Hat tip to Rob for the picture]

Related Post: "Behold, A Great Friend Is Born!"

The Pussycat Preacher

Heather Veitch of JC's Girls just posted a trailer on her MySpace page for an upcoming documentary on her called Pussycat Preacher. It's more proof that big things are happening in Vegas. Even CNN, MSNBC and Fox News are taking notice.

Before you shake your head and criticize think about what Matthew 21:31-32 says...

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Annie Lobert and Hookers for Jesus

Could Sin City be ground zero for the American church's next Great Awakening? With people like Annie Lobert on the front lines, one can only hope. Hookers for Jesus gets raw...



Want more??? Watch part 2 of the interview.

"This Too Will Pass"

I read this quote on Maritza's blog and it was so good I had to share it with all of you:

"No matter how solid or stable or satisfying something is, nothing is permanent in this world and no matter how tightly we hold onto things/people, sometimes they disappear anyway. Even though sad in a certain respect, we should enjoy the moments we have when we have them without any expectations of permanence. In other words, we can either focus on the tragedy of the fleeting nature of these things; the difficulty of choice between a past life and a new one; or we can focus on the beauty of the moments in which we live and have lived and will continue to live with the knowledge that they too will pass."

That's deep. Thanks M!

[Links That Make You Think]

Is Social Justice Serving Christ?

What Celebrity Do You Follow?

Ministry in the age of Zoloft

Size Does Matter!

The Veil Does Not Make A Prison

God and the Olympics

Hollywood Heavyweight: How Ralph Winter's faith influences some of the industry's biggest films

When Your Call Is On Hold

Check them out and tell me what you think.

Egyptian Christians

I'm starting a new feature on my blog where at least twice a month I'll be writing about issues that pertain to the persecuted church. Around the world brothers and sisters in the Christian faith are risking their lives to share the Gospel just like Paul and Peter did in Biblical times. In places like China, India and the Middle East where it seems like all odds are stacked against the message of Christ, communities of believers are springing up like wildflowers and flourishing despite heavy resistance.

The first country/group of Christians I want to bring to your attention are those in Egypt and here's why:

"Egypt’s population of 80 million is composed of about 90 percent Muslims and only about 10 percent Christians. Although the percentage of Christians in Egypt is small, it represents the largest Christian population in the Middle East." [source: TCP]

Stories about the Middle East are constantly in the news and most American media outlets seem to focus on the negative facts. Let's pray that Egyptian Christians (also referred to as Copts) will continue to grow in numbers and that they will be bold in their proclamation of Jesus in a country where they are the minority.

I'm still figuring out what the situation is really like for Christians over there but from what I've read so far it seems like one major issue is that the government has a strong opposition from them changing their legal religious status from "Muslim" to "Christian".

Here's an excerpt from The Christian Post that deals with this issue:

“My wife is pregnant. I want my son to be born within my own religion and for the fact that he is Christian to be written on official papers,” said Hegazy, according to Agence France-Presse.

In Egypt, a child’s registered religion is based on the father’s official faith. As a result, Hegazy has to change his religion to Christianity in order for his son to be raised openly as a Christian and be able to enroll in Christian religious classes at school, wed in a church, and attend church services openly without harassment.

That's pretty alarming.

For more info on Egyptian Christians check out the following links:

Free Copts

U.S. Copts

The Persecution Blog

If you are an Egyptian, lived in Egypt or know of any blogs by Christian Egyptians please leave a comment and share your opinion.

Nooma

I watched one of these Nooma videos at a Bible study.

What would your T-shirt say???

The Evolution of Crissy Moran

Crissy Moran used to be a porn star but now she's a star for Jesus.

A little over a year ago I read the blogs of one of my MySpace friends (the XXXchurch) informing me about a woman who decided to leave the porn industry. That woman was Crissy Moran. I had never heard of her before but Craig asked us to stop by her MySpace page and send her some encouraging words as she started her new life outside the industry. And I did.

Flash forward to Monday, Dec. 3, 2007 - Crissy sent out a bulletin letting us know that her story (a.k.a testimony) was featured in article for a Florida newspaper.

I've been reading her blog since she decided to take that bold step and follow Jesus and her entries are seasoned with the highs and the lows of what it means to be Christian. She doesn't shy away from the tough questions that every believer must grapple with, like "Why did this happen to me?" and "Why do bad things happen?" She's open and honest with her weaknesses and therein lies her strength.

Crissy has encouraged me and countless others. And hopefully her story will inspire you too.

Miss World 2007

It's good to see women of color come together.

Over the weekend, Miss China was crowned Miss World and Miss Angola and Miss Mexico came in 2nd and 3rd place.

Now if only Hollywood would give us more starring roles. If magazines would put us on more covers. If corporate America would give us more respect. And if rappers didn't perpetuate sleazy stereotypes of us in music videos.

The world would be a better place.

I'll leave you with a quote from Miss Angola (Micaela Reis):

"...I suffered from racism. There have been times when I have walked down the street that I have been called names because I have an interracial heritage. I have received insults from both sides - African and Caucasian. It is very humiliating; I feel very sad about it because it is horrible when it happens."

Breakdancers With Disabilities

What would you do if you lost one of your legs?

Would you let that stop you from following your dreams or would you be creative and figure out another way to make it happen?

These two guys didn't let their disability stop them from dancing. We could all learn a lesson from them on never giving up.



(Hat tip to We Need to Stop!)

Related Posts: "disAbled" and "Dystonia"