I never really liked motorcycles, mostly for safety reasons. But after spending a good portion of last year zooming around on Chinese moto-taxis, I think I grew a strange affinity for their freedom and convenience. I’ve also been thinking about how I could save a lot of gas money, enjoy the weather more, and put a lot less strain on my car if I had one. So yeah … I’m seriously considering buying a motorcycle.

But I need some help … I’m not quite sure where to start the hunt. Here are the main factors I’m looking for:

1. Fuel efficient, especially in city driving
2. Seats two comfortably, with a little storage
3. Can travel highway speeds safely and smoothly
4. Dependable without requiring tons of maintenance

So … know a bit about bikes? Know someone who does? I’ve got a couple of friends in mind who might be able to help out, but the more opinions, the merrier. I’d even be open to a scooter or moped (but not a crotch rocket).

“If ten men are carrying a log — nine of them on the little end and one on the heavy end — and you want to help, on which end will you lift?”

– William Borden

I love how this quotation, which refers to world missions, implies that church work and missions work are two sides of the same log. And the imagery of nine men struggling to be successful while their solution is so obvious … it’s just poignant.

As you’ve probably heard, there was a massive earthquake in the heart of China yesterday. It hit a pretty densely-populated part of Sichuan Province, collapsing tons of buildings, burying tens of thousands, and leaving at least 12,000 people dead (that number is steadily rising). From what I hear, many of the roads going into these towns are wiped out … and evacuation/aid efforts by helicopters have failed because of extreme weather. Thousands of people are buried … and the 50,000+ troops that have been deployed have had a lot of trouble just getting there.

Here’s where the earthquake was is in relation to Loudi, my home last year:

I have a couple of friends who are teaching, studying, or living in Sichuan. And I traveled there a couple of times last year, one time specifically to Wenchuan (it was described by our guide as the “Hong Kong for the Aba area”, the most prosperous county around). And when I read articles like this, I can’t help but think of my students in Loudi, packed into poorly-constructed six-story concrete buildings like sardines.

Last night I went to an emergency prayer meeting at the Cincinnati Chinese Church … several of the people there have family members in the affected area who they cannot yet contact. It was quite powerful for me … because I couldn’t understand the Mandarin they were using to lift their cares and concerns to the Lord, their emotions were totally amplified in my heart. So sobering.

Please pray for these people, both inside and outside of China, as they physically toil to rescue victims, as they struggle to reconnect with family members, and as they turn their hearts to Something Bigger. Pray for strength and wisdom for Melody, a Chinese friend in an underground house church in the area, and for Rick, a close friend who’s studying in Chengdu.

When is divorce the right (or “acceptable”) choice in a marriage?

How can a person who has chosen to remain abstinent until marriage find a sexually compatible mate?

In May 2004, Bill Cosby gave a famous talk at the 50th Anniversary commemoration of the Brown vs Topeka Board of Education Supreme Court Decision. It has since become known as the Pound Cake speech.

His words were scathing in their criticism of black culture. And they ignited quite a bit of controversy … just check out this excerpt to see why.

They’re standing on the corner and they can’t speak English. I can’t even talk the way these people talk: Why you ain’t, Where you is, What he drive, Where he stay, Where he work, Who you be … and I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk.

Everybody knows it’s important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can’t be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth. In fact, you will never get any kind of job making a decent living.

People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education, and now we’ve got these knuckleheads walking around. The lower-economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids. $500 sneakers for what? And they won’t spend $200 for Hooked on Phonics.

I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit. Where were you when he was 2? Where were you when he was 12? Where were you when he was 18 and how come you didn’t know that he had a pistol? And where is the father? Or who is his father?

People putting their clothes on backward … isn’t that a sign of something gone wrong? People with their hats on backward, pants down around the crack, isn’t that a sign of something? Or are you waiting for Jesus to pull his pants up? Isn’t it a sign of something when she has her dress all the way up and got all type of needles [piercing] going through her body?

What part of Africa did this come from? We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans; they don’t know a thing about Africa. With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all of that crap, and all of them are in jail.

Brown or black versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person’s problem. We have got to take the neighborhood back. People used to be ashamed. Today a woman has eight children with eight different ‘husbands’ — or men or whatever you call them now. have millionaire football players who cannot read. We have million-dollar basketball players who can’t write two paragraphs. We as black folks have to do a better job. Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids, you are hurting us. We have to start holding each other to a higher standard.

We cannot blame the white people any longer.

Now that’s real.

To learn more about the speech (and some of Cosby’s other recent social activism), check out this fascinating article. It’s long, but definitely worth the read.

Today I’m leaving to go to the Smoky Mountains for the weekend with some friends. We’ll be staying at this cozy little cabin, hiking around the mountain trails, taking in the scenery, playing lots of games, and soaking in the hot tub (oh, yeah). Sure, summer’s right around the corner … but I still need a break.

Truth is, work has been really hard for me this year. I’ve had to find a way to fit back into a culture and system that is both familiar and foreign, to juggle both the-way-things-used-to-be and the-way-things-have-become at the same time. I’ve had more interpersonal conflicts at work this year than ever before, and there were many more days when that ever-elusive joy was simply impossible to find. And the pace itself has been difficult to deal with … sure, I’m slowing down, but I also think there’s just something futile about the rate at which we live.

So yeah … this weekend should be a much needed break from the grind and a chance to be around some pretty fantastic folks. And when I get back, I’m going to take yet another personal day to relax at home with some movies and blankets. If I’m gonna do it, I figure, I might as well do it right.

How about lunch on Monday?

For today’s installment, I’d like to direct you to one of the most sobering websites I’ve seen in a long time … Dear God. It’s chock-full of letters that people have written to Him … heartfelt declarations and messy questions, brutal challenges and saturated pleadings.

Be warned … these are real people, grown-ups with gritty stories and graphic imagery. But if you’re a mature adult, I’d say that it’s worth spending some time there, browsing the categories and peeking into the hearts of some beautiful people. Who knows … maybe you’ll even find yourself submitting a letter!

Sometimes people who read my blog tell me that I have strong opinions. Other times they say that I have strong arguments. I tend to disagree with both statements.

I’ll start with the arguments, that one’s simple. Just look at the last few posts and you’ll see that my arguments are anything but strong … they’re usually full of holes, contradicting other people’s experiences and leaving out key factors and variables. I’m not a mathematician or a scientist, and rarely do I really want to “prove” these arguments beyond a shadow of a doubt. My intentions are almost always otherwise (but I’ll leave them to your imagination).

And my opinions? In person, it’s probably easier to tell that I don’t feel nearly as strongly about things as it might seem from my blog posts. I’m very willing to listen to other ideas, and I usually, over time, morph my own opinions to reflect the ideas and experiences that I am exposed to. In fact, the opposite is often true … people sometimes get perturbed because I’m too casual, accepting, or laissez-faire. I simply “don’t care” about some of the things that they really think are important.

So if it’s not strong opinions or arguments, then what’s up? A strong writing style? Arrogance? Not knowing when to say when? Or just plain lunacy? I’m not sure … in fact, I don’t think I have an opinion on that argument.

We all know which subjects American schools focus on … math, English, and sometimes science. Occasionally, we sprinkle in some social studies, language, physical education, and fine arts … but a quick glance at any of our standardized tests clearly shows our priorities … the SAT and ACT are almost exclusively English and math.

But why?

In my opinion, we are well beyond the Industrial Age, a time when America led the world in the production of innovative goods. Now these industries are moving on to more fertile overseas grounds while we as a nation are moving forward into a world that values creativity, collaboration, and expertise. But does our choice of curriculum really prepare our students for this new Information Age, or are we simply teaching what we’ve taught for centuries?

As an educator, I’m probably not supposed to think this way … but I feel like almost everything I learned in school (except for writing and typing) is now useless to me. I’ve barely used math since high school, I haven’t had to dissect literature, and I haven’t utilized almost any of the knowledge from my biology or chemistry textbooks. And while I understand and appreciate the necessity for basic knowledge and age-appropriate developmental learning, I can’t help but question the content that our schools are focused on.

What about Personal finance? Social networking? Consumerism? Netizenship? Environmental stewardship? Craftsmanship? World cultures? Social justice? Do any of these subjects have a place in our curriculum?

Can you think of any others that we might be leaving out?

Anger is always a choice … the wrong choice.

One of my hurdlers this year has a lot of potential … but her confidence level is really really low. I often catch her standing there on the track for minutes, totally immobilized by fear and overwhelmed by distractions. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has a history of falling … a lot of memories of risks that just didn’t turn out very well or times when others let her down.

I’m the same way with love … I think that I’ll eventually be pretty good at it, but I’m simply terrible at getting over that first hurdle. I don’t really know how to discern what’s real and what’s not … to figure out who’s worth chasing. And when I do seem to get that right, I always end up falling flat on my face. I’m a total loser … never in my life have the time, place, and person lined up well.

And I wonder if my repeated tumbles have left me immobilized too.