Tales From Another Planet

This is mostly a post based on Paul's famous statement of "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Romans 7:15. I've mentioned this verse before, but I do have a slightly different take on it this time. Basically, I want to use this verse and a brief explanation to try to explain why Christians are often perceived as "hypocrites". My premise is this: If there is one thing a Christian should never do, it's hate or dislike or talk baldy another person. Yet, most of us fail every day of our lives. I think the premise is pretty easy to understand, God is love, yet Christians and "the church" fail at showing this. Every day people are turned away from churches or their Christian families, or their Christian acquaintances, friends, or co-workers. Even Christians who are in the same church, life group, or Bible study may dislike or talk badly about each other. In fact, that may be the most prevalen...

I hope that no one is offended by the name of the website for my blog. I'm not actually calling anyone a moron, it just rhymed. So what is Zoron or what is a zoranian (my web-moniker of many years). Well, it all started in the 7th grade (or maybe a year or two earlier). I don't remember the exact year, but I can tell you that I was in the foyer at the church I grew up in. It may have been our regular Sunday night meal/fellowship time. Or maybe it was during a youth group event or even our "All Saints Eve" celebration. I do know there were Tootsie Rolls that day for some reason, so maybe it was "All Saints Eve" (or Halloween to any non-liturgical denominations). Either way, I was talking with one of my friends and asked whether or not they could hear the Tootsie Rolls singing. I am not schizophrenic, and was not actually hearing voices or sound, I was just bored and thought it would be a good conversation starter. Well, that discussion somehow led to me say...

Let me be clear here. I'm not saying there is no longer racial tension in this country. I'm not saying racial profiling doesn't exist or white privilege doesn't exist. However, there are actually two issues that are getting mixed up together in most people's minds: 1) ongoing police brutality and 2) black communities tend to have higher crime rates and lower income. Let's take the first issue. We need to get a better system of checks and balances in place (which is what our country is built on). For example, in the Eric Garner situation, the internal police department has not fired or suspended this man despite clearly violating protocol. I'm not arguing that police officers shouldn't have the right to use force when arresting someone or that any specific laws were broken. But there is clear, visual evidence that an internal police protocol was broken, which contributed to a man's death. Arguably, the two other officers involved should have also st...

I saw an article today that claimed the average cost of childcare for a baby or toddler was over $11,000 per year for one child! I also saw an article talking about how dangerous it is to stay home with your children for your long-term career plans. Then, of course, there is Obama's now infamous comment of "That's not a choice we want Americans to make" regarding at-home parents. I think the most difficult thing to do is make a clearly rational and financial decision on this topic without making it all about dollars or desires. Here are my steps, when we found out we were pregnant with our first child. Crunch the numbers, how much will each parent bring home "net" after taxes, daycare, work-related expenses. Decide whether additional income can be made to bridge that "gap" Decide how much it is worth to you to know that you are the one raising your children. Look at long-term career path goals for both income earners prior to making a final d...

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, we are starting to count down the days to the next big holiday: Christmas. Most of us have already experienced some form of holiday anxiety such as what to buy for those people who don't need or want anything or where to go shopping or when or whether or not to involve the children in tradition X, Y or Z. I am not here to tell you what you should or should not do this Christmas to ease your anxiety. I will, however, share my strategy for doing so. My first plan of action is to set a clear focus or a few clear goals for the holiday season. My main goal is to keep Christmas from being just about receiving gifts and make sure my attitude reflects the true "reason for the season". A secondary goal is to keep in mind that I want my kids to end up with an overall picture and goal and not every step (or day, week or year) along the way will work out exactly as I planned. For instance, we want giving to be a primary focus for our children, ...