by mr oak

As I was aiming with a friend, I realized how much AIM is like asking someone out on a date and dating itself....

messing up a pick up line
mr oak:  hey there
girl:  hi
mr oak:  so...want to hang out later?  how abou tit?
girl:  ....
mr oak:  i mean "about it"
girl:  ....

the walk out
mr oak:  hey, i know you're mad at me but got time to chat?
[girl signed off]           

More Here...

by revelife crew

We receive quite a few messages from people asking for help with certain issues, and oftentimes, we're not sure how to relate or answer the person's question - which is where you guys come in! Like we announced last week, we'll put up an advice post every Thursday, where we'll feature a reader's problem and leave it open for you guys to offer your two cents. Please feel free to message us here for advice! It can be about anything from parents, to keeping up with devotionals, to unwanted suitors, to difficulty praying without falling asleep (don't worry, we'll keep you anonymous.)

Here's a problem one of our readers sent us a few days ago. Please chime in with your insights!

I'm going to be a godmother. The baby shower for my soon-to-be "niece" is this Sunday. I'm gonna help with the gifts.

But I don't want to go.

I don't really know how else to explain it but to say that the mother of the baby is not much of a friend... When I say that, I don't mean we're merely acquaintances or whanot. No. We were "best friends" back during last summer. That is if you want to claim drinking buddies as best friends. Now that we don't drink, there isn't much we have in common. Her only interests are as follows: her boyfriend, her unborn baby, and herself. She doesn't give a lick about me. More Here...

by mr maple

My friend wrote this recently in his blog:

Several months ago a colleague of mine told me about a case he was working on. Four years ago a 14 year old orphan girl in Moyamba district, Sierra Leone, was offered “love” by a young man. She rejected him. Later when she was going to collect palm wine, he ambushed her, attacked her with a cutlass and raped her. As a result of her injuries, she menstruates every month through her nose and nipples. She needs to be hospitalized every month, and recently has been going into a severe fit every time.

After the initial attack, the man said he’d take medical responsibility for her. No surprise he didn’t. Instead, a year ago he attacked and assaulted her again. She’s now confined to a safehouse and a hospital every month when she menstruates. He’s living in his town, out on bail.

Since I heard about this girl in Moyamba, I haven’t gone a day without thinking about her. It’s with me wherever I go.

Perhaps the most powerful purpose behind suffering is its meaninglessness and capacity for terror.  It reminds us that we are helpless and powerless despite the intensity and ferocity of our own protests.  I cannot explain it.  I cannot rationalize it.  While doing so may bring temporary relief in the guise of sanity and purpose, in the end it strips suffering of its power and denies validation to those who have been cursed by it.

This is precisely why it is insane, appalling, and terrifying to believe that God himself suffers.

Christianity resonates so strongly with reality because at its center is the belief that Christ himself became a helpless babe in a manger, wept at the tomb of Lazarus, was tortured and beaten and maimed in such an appalling and senseless way. More Here...

by miss goldenrod

I called my Mom this morning to see how things were going in Puppydom, knowing she's been alone with our new dog, Gaelen.  "I'm overwhelmed," she said.  "He's chewing everything, doesn't listen to us, doesn't come when he's called.  He's messed in the house twice and he's still biting!  He eats the flowers outside and hates his crate...  If I could give him back, I would!"

She wouldn't, but I still determined to finish my day early and head over to relieve her of the puppy for a while.  When I called her a few hours later to tell her so, she was crying.

"He found Alec's kibble!"

"What?  Alec's kibble?" 

"Alec's kibble!  Gaelen found Alec's kibble!"

Because it was raining, she had taken Gaelen into the basement to run around; there he found some stray pieces of our former dog's food.  When Mom pried what the pup was chomping on from his mouth and recognized the food, she broke down into sobs.  Confused the poor puppy entirely...he sat down at her feet and just stared at her, put his huge paw on her knee even. More Here...

from foxhound_hq

As a Christian, before I joined the military, I was concerned with the question of whether Christianity and warfare are ever compatible with each other. I knew about Biblical warfare, particularly during the history of Israel, and I believed there have been just causes for people and nations to fight for, such as the Allies in World War Two, the American Revolution, the Kuomintang in the 20th Century Chinese Civil War, etc.  In spite of all of this, I wanted to know specifically what the Bible says about war.

Many are familiar with the commandment, "You shall not murder." Read closely - it says murder instead of kill. In the original Hebrew text, the word used to describe the act is the equivalent of murder and death by neglect, while there are separate words that exist to describe killing and death in combat. Some though believe it says, "You may not kill," interpreting the commandment to forbid killing another human regardless of the situation. The Old Testament and the history of Israel are full of war, conflict, bloodshed, etc. so that interpretation is refuted by actions that were not only not condemned, but were approved by the Lord as a just war. More Here...