I don't want to give the impression that all I do is sit around and read the New York Times but I was quite fascinated that they wrote such a detailed article on our part of the world.
Inside a Jumble of Poverty, Texans Build a Future
The article is about the poverty stricken subdivisions known as colonias. They mostly focus on the areas further south but these same types of settlement are all around us here in Nueces County. In fact a number of colonias receieved the flood buckets we assembled because they are right along the Nueces river and the bad conditions were made intolerable by devastating flooding.
will
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Thinking of the Poor
In case I haven't mentioned it God has a special interest in the poor and oppressed. If you don't believe, just read the Old Testament prophets or listen to what Jesus says in the New Testament. God is always interested in the plight of the poor and any systems that oppress them. I have been saying for a couple of years, to anyone who will listen, that payday loan companies are one of those systems that further oppress the poor. What happens is that people who are barely scraping by, borrow money at such high interest that they keep taking more loans just to keep from defaulting. They often end under the burden of a debt that they will never repay.
The New York Times did a nice job this morning talking about the issue and pointing out some non-profit groups that are trying to help, to mixed reviews. Give it a read:
Nonprofit Payday Loans? Yes, to Mixed Reviews
(You will need to register at nytimes.com but it is easy and free and worth it.)
I would love to hear your feedback.
peace,
will
The New York Times did a nice job this morning talking about the issue and pointing out some non-profit groups that are trying to help, to mixed reviews. Give it a read:
Nonprofit Payday Loans? Yes, to Mixed Reviews
(You will need to register at nytimes.com but it is easy and free and worth it.)
I would love to hear your feedback.
peace,
will
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Read
I came across this yesterday from the Associated Press:
One in four read no books last year
Read the article, but to let you know it really is what the title implies, one in four American adults didn't read any books at all last year. That originally shocked me but then I thought about a bit and digested the whole article. I have to admit, there have probably been some adult years when I haven't read any books. There were a couple of years in my radio career when I was reading nothing but newspapers and magazines. You also have to take into account the number of people who can't read or can't read well and the number of people, especially the elderly, for whom reading has become difficult due to vision changes.
I actually found some of the other numbers encouraging. If you exclude the people who hadn't read any books at all, the typical person read around seven books. I don't think that is too bad, though certainly down from the days before television and the Internet.
Looking for something to read? Look at the right side column of my blog or search "read, reading or book" in the search bar at the top of the page.
peace,
will
One in four read no books last year
Read the article, but to let you know it really is what the title implies, one in four American adults didn't read any books at all last year. That originally shocked me but then I thought about a bit and digested the whole article. I have to admit, there have probably been some adult years when I haven't read any books. There were a couple of years in my radio career when I was reading nothing but newspapers and magazines. You also have to take into account the number of people who can't read or can't read well and the number of people, especially the elderly, for whom reading has become difficult due to vision changes.
I actually found some of the other numbers encouraging. If you exclude the people who hadn't read any books at all, the typical person read around seven books. I don't think that is too bad, though certainly down from the days before television and the Internet.
Looking for something to read? Look at the right side column of my blog or search "read, reading or book" in the search bar at the top of the page.
peace,
will
Monday, August 20, 2007
Taking a Breath
I finally feel like I can take a breath this week. Last week was wonderfully busy:
Monday night was the last night of the four-week study on Paul's Letter to the Galatians. That was a great experience. We had over thirty people total and I think we found some great insights in Paul's letter.
Tuesday night was the second week of Prayer 101. I felt really blessed to lead that with the help of Lisa, Kathy, Mary Tom and Jimmy. They are going to be taking over the teaching of that class and from how it went last week, I can tell it is going to be a great class.
Thursday night we had the second meeting of our program ministry teams who were working on church-wide goals for 2008. You will hear more about these in September, but let me tell you, we have some exciting things in store!
Sunday, besides worship, we had our "Why Grace?" session where we talked about what it means to be a Christian and a member of the church. Two people have officially decided to make Grace their church home. That is great news!
This week should be a little slower. I will be spending a lot of time writing my questions for my ordination exam which is even more fun than it sounds.
peace,
will
Monday night was the last night of the four-week study on Paul's Letter to the Galatians. That was a great experience. We had over thirty people total and I think we found some great insights in Paul's letter.
Tuesday night was the second week of Prayer 101. I felt really blessed to lead that with the help of Lisa, Kathy, Mary Tom and Jimmy. They are going to be taking over the teaching of that class and from how it went last week, I can tell it is going to be a great class.
Thursday night we had the second meeting of our program ministry teams who were working on church-wide goals for 2008. You will hear more about these in September, but let me tell you, we have some exciting things in store!
Sunday, besides worship, we had our "Why Grace?" session where we talked about what it means to be a Christian and a member of the church. Two people have officially decided to make Grace their church home. That is great news!
This week should be a little slower. I will be spending a lot of time writing my questions for my ordination exam which is even more fun than it sounds.
peace,
will
Thursday, August 16, 2007
And We're Back
No use going too deeply into the details of the lack of postings over the last couple of weeks. It has mostly been an issue of being swamped. It wasn't even that I didn't have a couple of free minutes, it was more that my brain was overtaxed to the point that I couldn't write anything else.
I remember in my last career, when I worked for Clear Channel's Star System in Austin, I had the blessing of working only 5 hours a day. I had plenty of free time. However, those five hours were often so intense that I couldn't really even form coherent sentences in my off time.
Anyway, hopefully I am backing on the blogging. Look for more soon!
peace,
will
I remember in my last career, when I worked for Clear Channel's Star System in Austin, I had the blessing of working only 5 hours a day. I had plenty of free time. However, those five hours were often so intense that I couldn't really even form coherent sentences in my off time.
Anyway, hopefully I am backing on the blogging. Look for more soon!
peace,
will
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