Get Down With The Funk!

The man to the right is Cornel West, he is a professor of African American studies and Religion at Princeton. He is my favorite author and generally one of the people I admire most in the world. I have had the chance to meet him a few years back which was an amazing experience. His writing can be challenging both in complexity and content. It is written as commentary on society as a black man, as a Christian and as he calls it a small "d" democrat (one who believes in the full potential of democracy). The following passage from his most recent book Hope On A Tightrope struck me very deeply and I wanted to share it with you.

Behold, that first century Palestinian Jew was born in a funky manger. He had some funky working-class parents sometimes dealing with unemployment and underemployment. He walked on some funky and dusty roads, didn't he? He brought together 12 funky folk. He didn't go 100 miles to the vanilla surburbs, did he? He picked them right from around where he came from. It's so easy to forget the funk in Jesus's life because our churches can become so deodorized.

The funky Gospel of funky Jesus can become so Americanized that it is reduced to marketplace spirituality, prosperity gospel, and Chamber of Commerce religion. No! We want to keep focused on the funk of Jesus, especially that funky blood at that funky cross.

If you don't find joy in serving others, if you you don't understand the joy in loving people, then come back to the cross. Get down in that funky blood and understand what it means to be at that funky tomb that was when empty when that prostitute Mary Magdalene showed up and had a message for the world.

You can't be be committed to that kind of funky gospel if you're not willing to pay a price. You need to be willing to bear a burden. You need to cut against the grain.

True Christian Love.

This story is showing the best of Christianity.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1

Never miss a chance to tell them you love them.

Yesterday morning our outside cat Ms Kitty was mauled and carried off by a stray dog. I can't believe this happened and am deeply troubled by it. It was a staple of my day to have to slow down for her when pulling in the driveway because she ran in front of the car just to remind you to feed her. Ms Kitty came with the house we bought and we adopted her, feeding her and treating her for fleas because she was allergic to them and her hair would fall out because of it. She got along great with our dogs when they were outside and was just a gentle creature. We could not bring her inside because there would be a fight with our other 2 cats. But she would stare into our house longing to be a part of the inside family. I regret not bringing her in especially as she peered through the front window watching us decorate our Christmas tree the other night. My biggest regret, however, is that the other night after I had just finished reading Marley and Me I went around to all my 4 leg kids and picked them up and told them I was thankful for them and that I love them, I did the same with Sabrina, I left out Ms Kitty. The point of all of this is to take a moment, or several, out of each day to tell those you love that you love them and you are thankful for them, I know that this was a cat was lost, but if you know me you know that I consider my animals to be part of my family as if I fathered them myself. Freak things do happen and anyone of us could be gone at anytime, make sure you don't have regrets.

Merry Christmas

We finaly got our tree decorated tonight. Duke and Dutchess are proud of thier work. It finally feels like Christmas now. I realized that the good that can come out of these troubling times is that you appreciate those things that money can't buy family and friends. Maybe since people may struggle buying gifts this year they will appreciate the true meaning of Christmas. From the Guenther's- Sabrina, Mark, Arden, Dutchess, Duke, Ms Kitty, Callie, and Mollie, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Sign Of Hilarity!

ROME — In the latest fashion statement out of Italy, soccer players are dropping their shorts to score goals.
Catania, a team in the country's top division, unveiled the new look while taking a free kick. The players lined up in a wall and dropped their shorts in an effort to block the goalkeeper's vision.
The Sicilian team carried out the maneuver to perfection Sunday. Three players dropped their shorts practically to their knees so Torino goalie Matteo Sereni couldn't see the kick by Giuseppe Mascara, who scored during Catania's 3-2 victory.
Catania is coached by Walter Zenga, a former goalkeper on Italy's national team.
"This is a strategy that Zenga tries continually in training," Pietro Lo Monaco, the club's chief executive, told RAI state radio Monday.
Former referees coordinator Paolo Casarin called the move "unsportsmanlike and in bad taste."
"It's a trick that should not be tolerated anymore by the referees," he said.
Lo Monaco replied: "A trick? I wouldn't say so. It's up to the referee to decide if it should be penalized, otherwise I don't see where the problem is. ... Good taste is relative."


Three words... Tastelessly Brilliant Hilarity!

November 5th I will have a hangover.

NO, not that kind. I am a political junkie, I read blogs, watch cable news all the time and am passionate about the issues. Well, I have been following the elections daily since, well, as long as I can remember. I got up this morning at 5:30 am to vote, I had been waiting for months and months for the election to come. This was the first presidential general election I have voted in. I 2000 I didn't much care and in 2004 I had issues with registration and couldn't. So I decided I would not vote early because I wanted the experience of voting on election day. After casting my ballot this morning in less time than I thought, because I got there so early, I had this weird feeling come over me. What do I do tomorrow? So on Wednesday November 5th I will wake up with a hangover, depending on results it could be one of those where you swear you will never do that again or it could be one where you ignore how bad you feel to recount the stories of the journey you just went through. Either way I had loads of entertainment and a wide variety of emotions through this whole campaign, and no matter what the outcome our country has some reconciling to do, there have been far to many divisions for far too long, may we continue to strive for that more perfect union our founders envisioned.

YES WE CAN!

Signs of Hilarity!

Derek has on ongoing series on Signs of Hope which is fantastic, especially since Sabrina and the Orange Olive were on of those signs. Well I have decided to do Signs of Hilarity, which could bring hope to some people. It will be funny things that I come across on the internets that I find to be, well, Hilarious. It may be pictures, maybe video, maybe text. I realize that not everything is equally funny to everyone so if you don't agree with me that's fine. Here is our first Sign of Hilarity!


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