Guess our national leaders didn't expect this, hmm? On Thursday,
Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the  Columbine
High School  shootings in  Littleton,  Colorado, was invited to address the
House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national
leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful. 
 
They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received
well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every
politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called
expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful,
penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man
as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the
transcript: 

'Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the
hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds
of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the
deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must
not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers. 
 
'The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel
out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the
NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the
reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart. 
 
'In the days that followed the!  Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how
quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA.. I am not a
member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not
here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are
responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they
need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's
murder I would be their strongest opponent. 
 
I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it
was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real
blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame
lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem
just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question 'Why?'
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

'Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and
spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we
create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak
havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational  systems for
most of our nation's history. Many of our 20 major colleges began as
theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us
as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the
doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's
tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the
NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to
erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more
restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal
detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months
planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.. 
 
'As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his
two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in
school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge
every young person in America, and around the world, to realize that on
April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our
schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain.
Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for
legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To
those of you who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a
sincere challenge. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first
stone! 
 
    My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this
country will not allow that to happen!' 
 
    Do what the media did not - - let the nation hear this man's speech.
Please send this out to everyone you can. God Bless

I played soccer for many, many years. During the first practice of every season, my coaches would always start talking about how we should kick the ball. After 20 years of playing soccer, you would think I'd know how to kick a ball but every year I'd have to remind myself on some of the simple things. Even professional baseball players talk about working on their "basics" this time every year.

These are some of the things that popped into my head as I thought about todays verse. I can see Jesus telling his disciples that they needed to always keep working on the basics. I know that is not the specific context of this verse, but those are my thoughts on the verse today.

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I am still learning my way around in here and am looking for a few pointers. I make websites and write HTML 40 hours a week so you would think I could figure this out but here is my question...

I've seen lots of profiles already that have been customized with backgrounds and different colors. Is the only way to make these changes by writing the HTML for it or is there a place on here that I am overlooking that make it easier than writing code?

 Thanks for any pointers! I will start regular blogging and less discussing stuff like this soon!

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My dad sent me a link to this site and I am liking what I see. I got really tired of the mySpace/Facebook/Yahoo social sites assuming that everyone that uses them is there looking for a date. Being a graphic designer, I am interested in networking and speaking with people in my field and in similar areas of interest but was unable to find anything like that on those other sites. I don't know how much art and design is spoken bout here, but at least I will at least be able to see, hear, and participate in some interesting conversation here...   I hope.

God Bless and I look forward to seeing and exploring more of myChurch,org!

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