We need heroes. We need those larger than life personalities that we can get behind. People we can root for. That face challenges and overcome them. It’s what we want, it’s what we need.
Heroes are not born. They are created. Sometimes it’s by trial. Sometimes it’s by hard work and success. Sometimes it’s by loss.
And sometimes, they are created through a handy character creation tool on games such as Final Fantasy XIV.
Lately I’ve been seeing friends, Christians and non-Christians alike, driving Toyota Priuses. The past two springs, more and more Priuses (Priuii? Does anybody know the plural), keep showing up on the highway.
Honestly, they look ridiculous. If you drive a Prius, sorry, but your car looks silly. But that’s all the thought I had ever given them. “That’s an odd looking car,” I’d say to myself, then follow up with “but different strokes, right?” Then I would rev up my gas guzzler really loud, fake run the Prius off the road, and be about my merry way. All in a day’s fun, right?
Anyway, the other day, I was looking for things that, as a Christian, I could be needlessly offended by, and I came across this. If you’re too lazy to click the link, it takes you to the “Environmental Impact” section of the Prius Wikipedia page.
At first, everything seemed to be fine. I mean, it’s a car that is good for the environment. Sure, it looks funny, but it’s earth friendly, right?
But then I thought about it.
And my conclusion terrified me. Continue reading “Should Christians Drive Priuses?”
I hope in something bigger than myself. It’s how I can find the desire to get out of bed in the morning.
I hope that there will be a bigger truth than what we often see. For most of my life, I have looked at the world and tried so hard to make sense of it. How there are orphans, and sick, and homeless, and heartless, and so much pain. How there are disasters and tragedies and so many things that I have no power to change despite great desire to. But it’s not the end of the story. I have to hope that there is still good to come out of these places. Beyond that, I hope in the fact that someday, all that is sad will be made untrue.
Continue reading “Sola Gratia”
This is my last post based on my journaling or diarying or whatever it was I was doing while I was in the United Kingdom. Either way, I had a lot of thoughts and experiences that really encouraged me and I just wanted to share. If you’ve read any of it, thanks.
March 14
Even though our flights on on the 14th, the trip home actually starts on the night of the 13th as we sit in the hotel lobby charging phones and allowing ourselves to finally feel like we didn’t have to be somewhere right then and there. There’s an odd feeling of traveling exhaustion when parts of your trip feel as though they were two months ago, yet you also still can’t believe you’re already about to head home.
Home. There’s a fatigue I feel when I’m away from my muddy broken home for too long. I tend to lose my charge when I haven’t heard a “y’all” in a while. This trip didn’t have that, however. Not to the same extent, at least. I felt more at home here in London and Edinburgh than I have with other places I’ve been, even if I was rushed. Things started rushed, and since we’re trying to see as much of these countries as we can in only a week time, it has felt like a bit of a blur. Two months of living crammed into seven days.
Obligatory link to the other posts about my trip.
March 13
“The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. There shall no evil happen to them: they are in peace.” – Scottish War Memorial
It’s no secret that the Scots are proud of their military history. They’re known for being feisty people and don’t exactly try to hide the monuments to freedom fighters William Wallace and Robert Bruce that stand in front of Edinburgh Castle. The Castle itself, built for function and not style, has cannons set up all along the outside wall, showing how prepared it was to deal with intruders. Resting above the entrance to the castle is the Scottish Coat of Arms, which includes the motto “Nemo Me Impune Lacessit”, which roughly translates into “No one attacks me without punishment.”
Simply put, Scots aren’t afraid of a fight.
The beginning of my trip is over here. Thanks for reading.
March 12
It didn’t take long for Edinburgh to offer me everything I ever wanted out of a city. Of course, I mainly say this because I was very hungry, had been walking all morning, and the radio in the place we found was playing R. Kelly’s Remix to Ignition. Either way, stopping in a place called Oink was such a good decision that we had to do it again the next day. There’s something about a sandwich made with a half pound of pork, haggis, and topped with a piece of crackling that did my soul right. Oh, and the pig I was eating was just sitting in the window.
Your Friend Joseph Craven Welcomes You To The GBOAT 