richard's notions.

and it's not even 10:30 yet.....


posted by Richard Okimoto at 11:44.

this morning on a news show, there was short story about a woman that put her five week old baby in the microwave. she in being tried for murder, and is in jail.

what a difference five weeks makes, eh?


i wonder if our society will come to the point where you have a certain amount of time after a child is born where it is still legal to kill it. like maybe a year or so... i mean, what's the difference?

posted by Richard Okimoto at 11:40.

sometimes i believe all the lies, so i can do the things i should despise

posted by Richard Okimoto at 10:40.

a few political cartoons i scrounged up... (click to for larger)






posted by Richard Okimoto at 09:43.

i love andy peterson. his music is incredible, and he's not such a bad guy, either.

i sort of started a bit of a mess on his message board today. it has to do with a subject that was hot on the mead not too long ago... morality in movies, for lack of a better description.
i bet most of the people that read this blog will even disagree with me, and be offended. but what do the scriptures say? we shouldn't watch naked people at the movies. we shouldn't watch people on tv pretending to have sex. we shouldn't be watching mindless violence.

it completely baffles my mind to hear a professing christian attempt to defend this kind of crud. "there is a redemptive message!" "it's a tool to interact with unbelievers!" hogwash. and here's the most absurd... "So do you skip over the parts of the bible that portray sin or do you stick with it to try to learn something?" please!! can you imagine what kind of lives we'd live if we followed this logic? adultery is bad... so let's have sex with as many people as we can, so we can really experience that sin! how about murder? since the bible talks about these sins, let's experience them!
i'm sure you see how weak that argument is.
the holy scriptures clearly tell us what is necessary for redemption, and it has nothing to do with a man fantasizing about his teenage neighbor bathing in rose petals.
we do not need any man-made tools to assist us in our evangelization, unless we stray from the word of god. when we start believing and teaching false doctrines, the bible doesn't make sense anymore. and its no longer sufficient to witness. but if we hold fast to the truth of the word, then it is all we need. it tells us how to witness. it tells us how to make an impact on the world. and think about the impact you would make on the person who asks you about the latest 'sex and violence', #1 in the box office, smash hit - and you answer him "i didn't see that one". and when they tell you "you have to!", and you say you don't want to expose yourself to that junk. maybe they'll think you're a dork and walk away. that's the worst case scenario. and in it, you still have impacted that person because they know you're different, as scripture says we should be. they know that you don't allow sin to get ahold of you. and they'll most likely be convicted of their sin, which is something the lord uses quite often. witnessing. a better alternative would be if they asked you why you didn't see it, or why you don't want to watch that stuff.

but i agree with what an anonymous post says on andy's board... "The only real justification is that you don't want to be holy; you just want God to think that you want to be holy. He doesn't. And, in love, He wants to know why you continue your friendship with the world in this manner. Is He not enough? The world has all of their base thoughts because they choose to continue filling their heads with base stuff; not knowing that God has died, gone to hell, and come back for them. Will you do the same, knowing what was given up for you?"




posted by Richard Okimoto at 15:53.

silly blogger was messed up on friday, and my big ol' post about liquid paper and cotton swabs was lost...

posted by Richard Okimoto at 11:14.

computers are strange. some times... i just don't understand them at all....

posted by Richard Okimoto at 14:28.

oh yeah... to jump on the 'ol bandwagon, here's me*:


i did this because sco and jon did it. make yours today!


* i don't really have a cat, but i like the cat. i used to have a cat, but he's dead. that little mustache/gotee thing is supposed to be scruff, but the scruff they had was too much for me. i am not as talented (or perhaps driven?) as sco, so i didn't make my wardrobe items.
come to think of it... that really looks nothing like me. but it's the closest stortroopers can do. =)

posted by Richard Okimoto at 16:27.

how many of you know what you're doing with you life?
i don't. i want to start a career, but i have no idea how to do that. i've got an okay job that's paying the bills and doesn't drive me mad. is that what i'm supposed to do all my life? i hope not.
it's enough to make a man a grump, i tell ya.

in other news... i'm going to see justin mcroberts saturday night. i love that guy. he's really fun. it's him, bebo norman and jennifer knapp. and get this... the tour is called the back 40 tour. now, for those of you that don't get it... take a look at my message board.
and i've had that name for years.
well... at least a year and a half. the first post was on march 23, 1999. oh wait... as i was strolling down the lane, i saw this post. and that's dated april 24, 1999. anyhow...

can't wait to see justin play. bebo bores me. megan and i saw him and justin a few times back in the fall when they were touring together, with andy peterson. and we both fell asleep during bebo's set. sad? maybe. and it's not that i don't like his music. i love it. i can't wait for his new cd (due may 16th!) but i think he needs to spice things up a bit with his live show. or maybe that's just me. i'm sure plenty of people (young girls...) really like it with just him up there. enough already.


for those of you that read my board, here's something i found today about temptation island:



posted by Richard Okimoto at 14:50.

i just finished reading the first harry potter book, harry potter and the socerer's stone, today. it rocks. it's so fun. i'm sure there could be more enlightening things for me to be reading, but this is nice. long live the boy who lived!

megan and i finished reading job last night. i have to admit i didn't understand much of the arguments being made throughout the book (anyone know a good commentary on job?), but the basic message was very clear... god is sovereign and does what he pleases, and what he pleases to do is just and righteous.

why do so many people not want to trust in the lord's sovereignty, but instead take the burden of control on themselves. do we think that we can manage things better than the lord of hosts?
i think we do. and we try and try, and when you read the paper or watch the six o'clock news at night, you see the result.

when will we give up and submit to the one who is in control?

posted by Richard Okimoto at 11:13.

i'm at work and i'm pretty stinkin' bored. and nobody's posting today, so there are no fun arguments to have and stuff.

ho hum.

posted by Richard Okimoto at 13:55.

i figure i will tell ya'll about my wedding. it was great. i am very pleased with it. it was really small... there were probably about 25 people in attendance. it was in our friend valerie martin's parent's house (although, at the time she was valerie wiser)
we set some chairs up in the big living room, and that where we had the ceremony.
megan cried when she was giving her vows. it was pretty cute, i must say. and then we were married, and we walked off and attempted to have a private moment, but the camera was all intrusive, lurking around stealing our privacy. =)

there was a quick change, and the rows of chairs were replaced with tables and we had a tasty meal for everybody. then we had some cake (which was a really beautiful cake...) and opened some fun presents.

i am a poor story teller, i think, so i'm sorry that you didn't get a great description of our day.

megan scanned in some pictures today, and i'll probably upload them them evening to our zing album. i'm listed under okimotor, but the album isn't listed yet, of course. no pictures.

you may ask any questions on my board, of course, and megan will be happy to give you an indepth answer and/or description.

posted by Richard Okimoto at 11:56.

reasons why don chaffer is a closet calvinist* (a continuing series)
reason number: 3
the album: to chase away the birds (buy it!)
the song: get me clear
chorus

Though it's against your nature to be impolite
Would You please break into my heart tonight
and steal away my fear?
Cause it's my nature to just sit and guard it
Though the prison door's open, I'm afraid to depart
I'm stuck right here
You gotta get me clear

i post this as an example of a calvinistic lyric because god clearly has control over man's will in this situation. the person is crying out for god to take away their fear, which is to change their will, their mind. god no doubt has the power to do this to anyone, but arminian theology limits god's power to saving those that first agree to allow him to save them.
in view of scripture's clear teaching on the state of man's soul, this is quite a stretch to make.

some scripture verses i find pertinent:

Psalm 10:4
The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after god. God is not in all his thoughts.

Psalm 53:1-3
1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
3 Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Isaiah 46:6
And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.

John 6:44
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Philippians 2:13
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

* by saying don is a closet calvinist, i don't mean that he's really a calvinist and pretending to the world he isn't. i just mean that he says things that are very biblical, but holds to a theological position that is very unbiblical. he clearly reveals the inconsistency of the arminian position. nothing against don. i love the man and his music.

posted by Richard Okimoto at 07:59.