my "a-like" bro

Timo! (tee-moe) my coolest bro, who can't stay serious for more than the length of a family dinner prayer. "T", this post is for you, I'm so glad you're here with us, making jokes, playing pranks, and serving more than the rest of us combined. I remember when you started saying that I was your "a-like" brother because we like the same things and looked the same and said things the same way. So rock on, I love you, and don't get too cool for your older bro...

-brubber

"may I present to you, the class of '09"

that was what he said...and I guess he meant it.  High school is kinda over.  I finished four years of tough education to begin four tougher years..     The ceremony was short and sweet, and I have my mom to thank for that.  She worked long and hard to make it the most perfect graduation ceremony anyone's ever had to endure.       Everyone is asking me how I feel different now that I'm out of high school, and truth be told, I don't.  It's sorta like what I've heard about when someone dies, it doesn't really hit you until later...

But philosophy aside, I'm maxing out this summer, working at Jason's Deli (cream of the fast food crop) and hopefully soon a morning shift across the street at Panera Bread.  I was the recipient of many generous graduation gifts..I didn't phase out enough not to be extremely grateful to all those who contributed.  I have enough to go on the Mexico E-team trip and buy a car, with some money still left over.  

I just bought Kevin DeYoung's book "Just Do Something" on practically making decisions and following God's will.  DeYoung spoke at NEXT '09 which I neglected to post about, but was really totally awesome.  I would encourage anyone and everyone to go download all the messages given there because they were simply amazing.

If anyone has any suggestion on what to do with my summer free time, or whatever time slips through the cracks, I would welcome them...

mp

YES!

The Murphy family will be moving to Virginia July 1st! Thanks a ton, God!

It's May, so I decided to write a post. I think it's been about a month since my last post. I am a truly prolific writer, am I not? Anyway, I have some time on my hands and Jars of Clay's surprisingly strong album "The Long Fall Back to Earth" is playing through the speakers, so I might as well ramble for a bit.

* I graduate in less than a month. That's a rather frightening thought. The last four years have been an absolute whirlwind. I'd like to say I learned a lot, but I'm not sure how true a statement that is. I think I can identify a lot with Calvin's answer to the history question, "When did the Pilgrims land at Plymouth?" His response - "1620. As you can see, I have memorized this utterly useless fact long enough to pass a test question. I now intend to forget it forever. You've taught me nothing except how to cynically manipulate the system. Congratulations." Poignant, isn't it? But then I suppose a lot of life involves "cynically manipulating the system". If we can do that well, we're bound to succeed, right? Anyway, I think I did learn one thing, and that is that high school never turns out the way Disney wants you to believe it will.

* I now have a Twitter. I even have ten followers on Twitter. That means I'm hip, connected, and in tune with the cutting edge of society. Does being on the cutting edge of society offer any tangible benefits? Um........no. But hey, at least I now know what Ashton Kutcher is doing every moment of the day.

* Does swine flu remind anyone else of bird flu and SARS? Maybe we as a nation just like being under constant threat of a global pandemic. The looming prospect of disaster makes us feel alive, doesn't it?

* X-men Origins: Wolverine was terrible. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that I ate a whole bag of popcorn smothered in some sort of half-butter, half nuclear waste beforehand. I felt sick the entire movie.

* Why is it that life can seem so wonderful one moment and so horrifying the next? You see things so beautiful they make your heart ache, and then the spectre of what this world actually is, what we as humans truly are, is enough to overwhelm you with loathing. "What is this evil in the heart of nature?" (Brownie points if you can name the movie I copped that line from)

* "We're the middle children of history, man. We have no great war, no Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war, our Great Depression is our lives." Does this quote accurately characterize our generation? Why or why not?

Okay, that's it for today. I just read over what I had written, and most of it could have been compressed into a couple of Twitter posts. Twitter's making everything obsolete.

"Seriously?"

hey-yo...its been kinda fast lately so I havn't really been on here that much.  

I got back a couple of days ago from a "field trip" to the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek.  I don't think that the people there who were conducting us through the "field trip" knew that is was a field trip.  There were several officers who were in charge of us for two days, and they worked us like we were in boot camp.  But I can't tell you about that stuff because I had a calc II test that morning so I missed the tough stuff (push-ups, leg-raises, getting yeld at) and came after the officers had already blew most of their steam.  We got to shoot M-16s and 12-gage shotguns, go in the gas chamber, run through Marine obstacle course, and repel down a 90-ft wall.

My favorite moment was, right before we got to repel, the marine who was checking our safety harness to make sure they were on properly (after he had explained it to us several times) came to Brett and took one look at his harness.  It was on backwards.  The marine looked up at Brett and groaned: "Seriously?"

mikey

And Then They Came For Me

On January 8, 2009, unidentified gunmen on motorcycles shot and killed Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga. Mr. Lasantha was editor and columnist for the Sunday Leader, a controversial newspaper that outspokenly attacked the Sri Lankan government for their human rights abuses during their campaign against the Tamil Liberation Fighters. On January 11, the Sunday Leader published a letter Mr. Lasantha had written and requested to be published after his death. In it the journalist, who for some time had been aware that he was going to be assasinated, explained the reasons behind his highly dangerous campaign for justice and issued a final plea for change. Here's the link to the letter: http://www.thesundayleader.lk/20090111/editorial-.htm

I'd encourage everyone to take some time and read this. It's rather lengthy, but it is a touching and moving last testament to a man who refused to be cowed by injustice and sacrificed his life for a cause he believed in.

"There is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre, and security" Mr. Lasantha writes. "It is the call of conscience"

Intermission.

As a break from this heated debate...check this band Liam and Me. I just found them and love their music but aint so sure about their lyrics. I put one song on the blog but please check out their myspace site for their better songs. Tell me what you think!

Here's Ashley's take:


Okay, here's what I think the problem is here.We are operating from different bases. You are arguing from a view that is filtered through purely religious views. Not everyone believes in a God and therefore, not everyone is going to be motivated by the whole "God will smite us if we allow homosexual marriage" thing.
Okay here's a source for you to check out: http://media.www.mainecampus.com/media/storage/paper322/news/2008/03/27/SoapBox/Gay-Marriage.Is.Required.By.The.Bible.And.The.Constitution-3286055.shtml
Here are some of the main important points:"The primary argument against gay marriage is that it's seen as an abomination under Christian doctrine. Indeed, there are several passages in the Bible that make this point, the most prominent being Leviticus 18:22 which states:"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."It's kind of hard to avoid the clarity of such a statement. Reinforcing this view are passages from Genesis, Romans and Deuteronomy, but can these passages establish a legal precedent in the United States? The answer is no. Homosexuals have a constitutional right to marriage"The author goes on to explain Jefferson, the 1st amendment and the separation of church and state."in justifying the legality of gay marriage, one must first define marriage as a state function and not a religious one. It can be argued that marriage is a state function because it has the power to modify other state functions such as Social Security and tax filing status. Because marriage affects state functions, constitutionally, it too must be a state function for it to legally do so. If not, the government is violating Article Six and is actively discriminating against unmarried citizens. If marriage is a state function, then it's protected under various civil rights laws."The church doesn't have to recognize the legality of it, much less endorse it, but it will exist nevertheless.According to Matthew 22:21 [Jesus] said:"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's."Jesus himself advocated keeping religion out of the law."Romans 13:1, says:'Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. If the law of the land is that everyone must pay war taxes then that is what we must do. It is the law!'The legality of gay marriage is incontrovertible when these passages and precedents are taken into account. Romans 13:1 goes on to say that those who believe a law is wrong should work within the system to change it. Simply denying homosexuals the right to marry on the basis of religion is illegal. According to Christ, it is also against Christian pathology."So there you go...this is a much more eloquent and better reinforced rendition of what I meant.