the wonderful world of being a janitor

Did you know...

The average janitor uses an estimated 28 gallons of chemicals per year, weighing
234 pounds. Hazardous ingredients comprise about 25% of the total, or 58
pounds. The cost for these products is estimated as $250 per worker, which
is only about 1% of the annual salary of $20,000 typically earned by that same
worker. [Church Risk Management Journal, May 2008]

Two points:

• I definitely don't earn $20,000 a year...
• holy cow, I use way too many hazardous chemicals...

And according to this same journal, lightning is the #2 weather killer in the US, more than hurricanes and tornadoes combined. Florida leads the US in lightning deaths, injuries, and casualties... I think I'll stay away from Florida for a while.

This is some of the fun reading I've had that was non-class related over the past week.

the new taboo

"Death has replaced sex as the subject too obscene for polite society" -Guthrie.
Do you agree?

the danger of knowledge

without relationship...
"We have educated ourselves into imbecility." -Malcolm Muggeridge (as heard in a sermon by Ravi Zacharias)
I hope and pray that seminary will not end like this for me. My goal is that education will result in deeper relationship with God and greater desire of service for His kingdom. So far that's working out well.

after easter quotes

"Death entered through one man's obedience

Life is restored through one man's obedience"



"Sin came through the temptation of a woman

Salvation came through one born of a woman"



"The enemy conquered humanity by tasting of a tree

Christ conquered the enemy by bearing suffering on a tree"

(Anselm, Cur Deus Homo)



"In short, since neither as God alone could he feel death, nor as man alone could he overcome it, he coupled human nature with divine that to atone for sin he might submit the weakness of the one to death; and that, wrestling with death by the power of the other nature, he might win victory for us" (Calvin, Institutes).

prayer and time

Good post by Dan Kimball. Here's an excerpt:

If we aren't regular praying for specific people - bluntly, it probably means we
don't care about them and their salvation or we would at least take some time to
pray. Or we may not take time in our lives to build friendships with people. I
shared that I believe in heaven (yes, the Kingdom of heaven in this life and
after this life) and I also said that I believe in a hell. Which means people
will be spending eternity with God or without Him. We are going to be giving a
sermon on hell in about a month. But I know I cannot sometimes sleep at night,
thinking about people I care about and ponder their eternity. When we don't have
relationships with people outside the church - real relationships - it is easy
to sleep at night and get caught in our Christian bubble and not pray for them
or take time with them.

-Ouch! Am I showing my love through prayer and more intentional relationships?

fun quote

Heard in my boss' office spoken by one of my co-workers:

"I think the leading cause of divorce is marriage."

True. True.

Banking = Helping the Poor

I just finished "Banker To the Poor," an autobiography by Muhammad Yunus. Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work with the Grameen Bank, which gives credit to the poor without any collateral in an effort to eradicate poverty (beginning in Bangladesh and spreading throughout the world). It is an amazing story of determination, caring for each other, and working for the good of the world. The obstacles placed in Yunus' way were amazing, even more so seeing how he overcame them. This idea of micro-lending seems to be a good, if not great tool, for bringing all people out of poverty. Yunus himself admits in his book that "micro-credit cannot solve society's every problem. But it can help to support those who would otherwise fall through the cracks..." (230). He also challenges our natural inclination when dealing with the poor:

"When we want to help the poor, we usually offer them charity. Most
often we use charity to avoid recognizing the problem and finding a solution for
it. Charity becomes a way to shrug off our responsibility.
"Charity is no solution to poverty. Charity only perpetuates poverty
by taking the initiative away from the poor. Charity allows us to go ahead
with our own lives without worrying about those of the poor. It appeases
our conscience.
"But the real issue is creating a level playing field for everybody, giving
every human being a fair chance" (237).

And Yunus submits that we do this through lending money to those with no collateral instead of trusting in government welfare or a socialist economy. Though very simplistic, I can't find a fault in his logic or results- especially when there is about a 98% repayment rate (his bank is not being taken advantage of). I'm impressed and want to learn more.

Extra Credit: I haven't had a chance to delve into the following websites yet, but these are two on microfinance I came across recently as I was waiting for this book to arrive:

World Relief (Turame) [learned about this through Mars Hill podcasts]

Kiva

a different definition of truth

Truth= "what your friends let you get away with." (Richard Rorty)
That is an interesting definition of truth and is being discussed here.

quote for the day

Came across a great quote for why women have the right to be ordained ministers as well as men (notice when it was written):

“’An ass reproved Balaam, and a cock reproved Peter, and why may not a woman reprove sin?’”
Roberts, Benjamin T. Ordaining Women: Biblical and Historical Insights. Rochester, NY: Earnest Christian Publishing House. 1891. 92.

new "old" quote

"Where we stop doing and worrying, God begins, and He will be everything in our nothingness" Gerhard Tersteegen (a contemporary of John Wesley).