idiot pastors

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x55yaw_church-sign_news

gas prices

this is not a blog complaining about gas prices. i am concerned in the turn that it has taken the last 5 years. when i was in college gas ran around $1.30. i could fill up between $12-15. that would last me almost a month in college. i did not have to drive that much in college. i chose when it was important to drive. i had friends that would drive from one side of the campus to the other because they thought it was easier. i chose to walk. iwu is not that big of a campus and i try not to be that lazy.

today i drive 8.5 each way back and forth to work. i also drive anywhere between 20-100 miles during the work day in which i am reimbursed $.45/mile. we live about 11 miles from our church and about the same from our closest friends in the area. jenny drives about 4 miles to work at the most. overall we drive about 300 miles a week. the overwhelming majority for work/church.

a lot of people are complaining about gas prices. the ones i see complaining most are driving big trucks and suv's. gas is all about choosing what is important and what you can live with or without. america is starting to see there entertainment funds go down.

i remember going over to canada every now and then over the years and noticing that gas always cost quite a bit more. i always wondered about this and today i looked up gas prices around the world. after reading this i was quite thankful for the $3.81/gallon that i paid for this morning.

Belgium $8.84
Canada 4.73
Italy 7.20
Israel 7.30
Turkey 10.13
UK 8.18

but there were also countries that paid hardly anything

venezuela $.17
saudi arabia .45
kuwait .78
iran .33

what is the difference? these countries produce quite a bit of oil. i believe the united states needs to start using our gasoline.

for more gas prices around the world check out these sites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_usage_and_pricing
http://fabulously40.com/article/2171/Price-of-gas-from-around-the-world/

a bit political

obama is very optimistic. he thinks that if he is voted in as president he will be able to change how politics are done. he says it all with a smile, good mannerisms and an upbeat positive attitude.

i just cant help to think that i heard these same things as i was a student at indiana wesleyan. i enjoyed my time there. the profs we very upbeat and optimistic. they were challenging us to be world changers. and we as students believed we could.

we did not know however what we were getting into. i am now four and a half years removed from iwu. i have done some amazing things in ministry and enjoyed the time. but i cant help to feel a bit disappointed at times.

i almost begin to wonder if we vote in obama if we will end up feeling the same way. he has told us that he can bring change to washington. but what if he doesnt. in four years will we feel a bit disappointed.

every candidate for president has promised something while running but there has been many broken promises. the one that sticks out in my mind is bush, sr with his line "no new taxes." we all know how that worked out for us.

i wonder what would happen if candidates just came out and told us the truth.

"i cannot promise change, but this is what i will do to try to see it happen."
"i will work on trying to pass this bill, but it will probably be turned down in congress."
"life for you will change only when you act to bring about change."

but he or she probably wouldnt be voted in.