What caught my attention was the idea that we generally catergorize everything as either sin or not sin. Anything that falls in the grey area usually gets lumped into "not sin". So it becomes "doing" good is reduced to not "doing" evil. (Smoking is not in the Bible, so it can be justified, so long as im not smoking in a school.) In this sense we look to the Bible as an ally, rather than a judge. Love this post and thank you for saying this: "The worst kind of bondage imaginable is adding ridiculous, legalistic rules to our lives that God could care less about."

There is something so intriguing to me about being "marked by this moment". every moment with Him leaves a mark. I'm with P. Justin, this is beautiful!

I HATE that we can be desensitized so easily. I refuse to watch The Passion because of this very reason. I never want to be at the place where the passion week looses its potency. With that said, I can't imagine how real and vibrant Easter is to you, having been in the room, walked the streets, smelled the air. I don't have an issue admitting that I'm jealous. I want that experience, I want to stand at Golgotha and mourn. I want to go to the tomb and rejoice. In the meantime, expect many questions and keep writing about your experience there. I know there is more...c'mon...don't be stingy. (and Mike, I totally see the face! Maybe we should fly there, plant some shrubs to make it more obvious)

Great point! The big picture is easy to lose sight of, especially if we are using a human time frame. From believers viewpoint, we are to view injustice (in terms of our own pain, suffering and persecution) through a lens of joy, gratitude and perseverance knowing God will "avenge the blood of the saints". Sometimes though, I get so caught up in what's due ME rather than what God deserves, the big picture view becomes a microscopic dot. If I love God with everything and if He is first then the first thing I must consider, whether in thought, attitude or deed, is how does or will this affect God? What God deserves, and what God actually receives is the real injustice.

"Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great.”-Oscar Wilde. That's what you do for me. :)

I was blown away by all of the stories that come out of tampa, jacksonville and ORLANDO! I read Maria's testimony on a website and felt a real burden to tell her story Her english isn't very good so I took some creative liberties in retelling it, (in fact i had to leave some stuff out due to the graphic nature) but everything in it is the truth. Once I read her testimony I HAD to find a practical way to help, and that's the point I think. We can talk all day long, but if it doesn't lead to action we are worse than ignorant, we are indifferent. I am not willing to tolerate that. I am glad that you have a passion for this issue, I know you can make a big impact especially through raising awareness.

What I love about this blog is the "jewishness" of it. I have often wondered about this commandment; of all the possible commands, why this one? Telling someone not to kill and steal seem obvious enough, but "taking a day off" feels...out of place. But taking the day off is not remembering or guarding the Sabbath. "The silencing of life's noises gives us a chance to hear God." Bro, that right there is hot!! And Cassie, you brought up a good point, feeling "important" can be a great way to encourage someone, but I often make the mistake of turning it into a motivation. There is a fine line between the two. Oh, and forgive me for sounding like a legalist, but those guys on the video...not legal Sabbath activities. But they make great alarm clocks.