And on the serious side...

I hope to get back to writing soon, on thoughts ranging from the "fun" (like how I think DC should have rolled out Justice League on film) to the political, such as the "test" I wold challenge any Supreme Court nominee, as well presidential candidate questions that we have never heard in a debate, but be far more useful in determining a choice of world leader.


In the meantime, let me give you some links to one of my other blogs, Do-Gooder Consulting.  Our motto is helping you help others, and hopefully, some of this information will help.

• Why you high school student needs to fill out the FAFSA right NOW! 
• 
  
• Suggestions on using social media more effectively
• 
  
• MAJOR changes to the FAFSA for next year (really only 7 months from now!)
• 
  
• Some of our other best work

Hope these can help!

Vote for Baby Faith!

Yes, it's another blog post will be purely self-serving. But i hope you can be a part of making it special for a special girl. So many people have already.For example, celebrity Sherri Shepherd took time and  retweeted our tweet about Faith. Thank you so much, Sherri!(and the many others who retweeted!)

Please vote for our daughter Faith for Gerber’s baby photo contest on Facebook

, Nov-4 – Dec. 1!

NOYE: you may have to type in Faith's name to search. We live in Chicago.

Go to this website =>  http://vote4faith.paulus.me which will redirect you to the Facebook page to vote for her. (that page is https://www.facebook.com/Gerber?sk=app_586462271392312&app_data=256206 )

Why vote for Faith? She’s the quintessential Gerber baby for the 21st Century: a mix of African-American, Asian-American, Native American and European American. She's got a great smile, and a very happy, smart child with a bright future.

But more than that, she is a little miracle, literally from day 1.

 

She was born at 26 weeks (out of the normal 40) at just 1 ½ pounds (670 grams). This little miracle has suffered some pain early on so she can bring joy to the future.

Faith was trying to be like her big sister, Mia, who was born 8 years ago at 15 1/2 OUNCES (that would be ZERO pounds! Or 430 grams) at 23 1/2 weeks. Mia had several doctor visits, lots of medications, treatments and therapies over the next few years. But she is now a 3rd grader, and happy and healthy, and a great sister, influencing her sister and making her laugh and smile even more than usual.

34 months ago Faith was fighting for her life in the NICU.  Two years ago (November 2011), she wasn't even able to turn over by herself. Now, Faith is in daycare, and has let me know on many occasion that she is a big girl!


There have been a few struggles and sacrifices (especially financially and professionally) over the years. Winning this contest would be a big blessing for our entire family.

Please vote for Faith at http://vote4Faith.Paulus.Me  (that page is re-directed to https://www.facebook.com/Gerber?sk=app_586462271392312&app_data=256206)!

If you have any questions, please e-mail us at vote4faith@paulus.me 

Vote for Faith!

UPDATE #1 : We won't know the results of the Geberer contest until November 1. (They witheld the number of votes, I think, to make sure people didn't drop out of the contest by giving up hope). Thanks so much to EVERYONE who voted!

UPDATE #2: Faith has also been entered in the "Chicago's Most Photogenic Babies of 2012" contest, which is actually a fundraiser for Lurie Children's Hospital (formerly Children's Memorial Hospital). So if you have thousands you want to donate and/or passionate about Children's Hospital, please donate (adding "Faith Paulus") at http://photogenicbaby.com/votingforchicagokids.html The winner will be announced Ocotber 29.

vote for Faith at http://faith.paulus.me





Ok, this particular blog post will be purely self-serving. But i hope you can be a part of it.

Please vote for our daughter Faith for Gerber’s baby photo contest on Facebook, Sept-4 – Sept. 24!

Go to this website =>  http://faith.paulus.me which will redirect you to the Facebook page to vote for her. (that page is https://apps.facebook.com/gerberps/detail.do?entry_id=456209 )

Why vote for Faith? She’s the quintessential Gerber baby for the 21st Century: a mix of African-American, Asian-American, Native American and European American. She's got a great smile, and a very happy, smart child with a bright future.

She was born at 26 weeks (out of the normal 40) at just 1 ½ pounds (670 grams). This little miracle has suffered some pain early on so she can bring joy to the future.

She may have been trying to be like her big sister, Mia, who was born 7 years ago at 15 1/2 OUNCES (ZERO pounds!) at 23 1/2 weeks. Mia had several doctor visits, lots of medications, treatments and therapies over the next few years. But she is now a 2nd grader, and happy and healthy, and a great sister, influencing her sister and making her laugh and smile even more than usual.

19 months ago Faith was fighting for her life in the NICU.  A year ago (Novemeber 2011), she wasn't even able to turn over by herself. Now, Faith is starting to walk, and speaking specific words along with many cute baby sounds. 


Ther have been a few struggles and sacrifices (especially financially and professionally) over the years. Winning this contest would be a big blessing for our entire family.

Please vote for Faith at Faith.Paulus.Me (that page WAS re-directed to https://apps.facebook.com/gerberps/detail.do?entry_id=456209 )!

If you have any questions, please e-mail us at vote4faith@paulus.me 

My entry for TrekBBS

This is a test, showing my entry for TrekBBS's June 2011 art challenge.

You never know what you might find on the internet...

Just typed in my name, and found, out of nowhere, an old news article i wrote as a college intern with the Boca Raton News. It's nothing extraordinary, but just surprised how this just seemed to appear.

This is just a reminder that things, wtherer good, bad, neutral, important or trivial, can reappear when we least expect it.

New Blog = The End - 2020

Hey guys!

You guys might have been seeing a lot of commercials for the new movie, 2012. You may have even seen websites like ThisIsTheEnd or WHo Will Survive 2012

Well, I have a new blog, called The End - 2020.

If you've read the Left Behind series, then you might be interested in it. The basic concept of a ficitonalized story of the biblical Apocalypse is the same, but theologically different. When it comes to the End Times, also known by some as the Tribulation, there seems to be 3 main thoughts: pre-Trib, post-Trib, and Chicago Trib.

1. pre-Trib: There is this vague biblical idea of the Revelation. Pre-Trib people read the Bible to mean that Christians will be raptured up before the anti-Christ is revealed, and THEN there will be a Tribulation. People can still get saved, but it will be much harder.


2. post Trib: These people An extremist might buy a cabin in the mountains & stock up on supplies (like the Y2K fears in 1999). "Normal" post-Tribbers will simply prepare for bad times, and preach the gospel in the midst of any persecution, and try really hard not to complain.


3. Chicago Trib: OK, i made that term up. This philosophy says they don't know if either pre- por post-Trib will happen. They'll just go with the flow, and read the Chicago Tribune (or other news sources) and deal with events as they come.
   

However, one of the best thoughts i've heard on the above philosophies is summed up like this: "Pray, pray, pray for the Rapture, but prepare, prepare, prepare for the Tribulation."

I started this blog now, due to a couple of reasons:

1. some extra free time


2. The movie 2012 is coming out, and they too have a blogger, so i'd like to exploit that if i could


3. The desire to challenge American popular Christianity, which made Left Behind kind of trendy, and the Church not as effective as it could in addressing social issues in the world


4. i'd like to see if i have any potential as a professional writer.

Some peculiarities about The End - 2020:

1. i found a glitch in the Matrix - er, Blogger's set up, where there is a way to essentially post blogs from the future. (check the date of this entry) How i did that is a trade secret for now. Should I get some kind of book or media deal, then perhaps you can find out.


2. If this blog got any traction, it could open the door for a book. The blogs would serve as the openings for each chapter, and create the background for what was about to happen, plot-wise.


3. If anyone really gets into it, i am very open to having other contributors,who can give the perspective of another type of believer, such as someone from China, who might already have been under persecution.


4. i plan on linking to some real life blogs, as The End 2020 blogs might reference those as a way to talk about certain issues. If you wouldn't mind me doing so, let me know if i can link to your blog as well.


5. Comments will be from real people. i'll moderate them so we don't get anything too crazy. But i think th eonly way people will want to come back, in addition to creative entries, will be to see that the blog really engages people.

i would like to see how it goes by the end of the year. Let me know if you think i should continue. If so, please spread the word. Also, if there are any ways you can boost traffic, i'd appreciate it. For example, I have a link to one of 2012's fictional blogs, e ThisIsTheEnd. I am wondering if you click it through my blog, it might somehow enhance my blog's visibility.

Also, try google searches (especially blog searches) that include key words: 2012, 2020, Charlie Frost

and see if you can find it. If so, there's an option for you to bump it up (in Google), so I would appreciate that a lot.

Look for more entries beginning Nov. 2 or so.

Thanks for your support!

EDIT: This blog entry originally had the post date of 12/21/12, but I changed it to make room for more relevent material.

How a Glenn Beck statement affected me

Out of all the things I could blog about…I decided to use this space to respond to a Facebook status & comments made. Facebook isn’t good for elaborate discussions, so I thought I would post it on a blog.

Why focus on this? Well, I made a promise to respond, and I am trying to really fulfill what I promise. There’s a new season of my life blossoming, but I need to work on some things first.

Anyway…This was prompted by a relative who was in town form Holland & watching Fox News’ Glenn Beck show.

He was ranting & raving like a right wing extremist, but it caught my ears when he said something like “Social Justice is just a code word for…” and I think it was communism or something anti-American. Why did it spark such a hot response form me? “Social justice” is a phrase that CONSERVATIVE EVANGELICALS use to talk about issues that Christians need to address in our society. It’s a phrase used very often by students, graduates and faculty of MOODY BIBLE INSTITUTE. It’s a college, but certainly NOT one that a right winger could claim has been co-opted by Liberals. Social Justice is also talked about by the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA). Several CCDA members have ties to Moody Bible Institute, as many of CCDA’s members are MBI graduates.

So when Beck attacked “social justice’, I felt he was attacking Christianity (probably without knowing it), and really reveals a heart of NON-Christians on the Political Right. Because of the Political Right/Republican Party’s verbal stance n issues like abortion, sex, etc., many Born again Christians have assumed that all of the republican platform is OK (or at least, “not that sinful”). And that will lead to moral compromise among Christians involved. (And I know that’s not everyone…see some of the responses from Facebook to get examples of those who may have a political orientation, but yet still aware of the sin around them)

I think there are far more Born again Christians on the Left who are aware of the the “sins” of that side, and still represent Christ in those areas, and vote/work accordingly. (Some examples of Christian’s who may seem on the “Left”: the work of the Marin Foundation, or Soong Chan Rah’s book The Next Evangelicalism). I think far more born again Christians on the Political right may not even be aware of the sins on their side and thus don’t speak on them.

Here’s the Facebook status conversation that was started:

JP John Paulus
A visitor was watching Glenn Beck and called "Social Justice"
a code word for socialism (or somehting like that). Can someone set up a viral
message/video that calls him an anti-Christian deceiver. Note how he is against
the CCDA & its... principles (which use capitalism as a tool for SOCIAL
JUSTICE)?!??!
August 28 at 4:18pm • Comment • Like / Unlike • View Feedback
(6) Hide Feedback (6)

Geoffrey D. Wessel
Why stop at "anti-Christian deceiver," he's been masquerading as a respectable journalist for years now...
August 28 at 8:24pm • Delete

Suzanne Alexis
Wouldn't it be better to do a more thorough investigation into what he really believes before calling him names? (It's possible your visitor misunderstood him or took his
words out of context). Is he allowed to have a different opinion than others?
August 28 at 11:06pm • Delete


David Pensgard
Let me be a little provocative here. Biblical communism (all things in common) is biblical and therefore Christian only when voluntary, communism that's forced is
robbery... which is unchristian. Beck's just a boiling chip for what most
Christians already know, which is that stealing isn't an acceptable
justification for giving to the poor. Giving is beautiful. Giving other people's
money against their will is ugly. I'm not defending Beck, I don't care for him
much. I'm just stating the evils of governmental communism. Capitalism (in
practice) isn't moral either, but it could be participated in by moral people
who work hard for the right reasons, take care of their needs, provide for their
families, and donate voluntarily to the needy and to the Church. I.e., charity
is the place for the sorts of activities that left- and right-wing ideologues
try to squeeze into government and corporations respectively. How's that for
provocation?
August 29 at 1:20pm • Delete

Suzanne Alexis
Good provocation, very good!!

I will continue provoking . . .

I strongly disagree with this administration's economic and social
policies, but would not join a group that calls the president names. I'm a lot
more interested in articles, groups, etc. that point out what is wrong with the
policies and why. That is freedom of expression. It's true that Jesus called the
Pharisees "white-walled sepulchres", but He could do so because He knew what was
really in their hearts. Since the rest of us don't have that kind of knowledge,
we should discuss our differences with civility, even if the other side isn't
being civil.
August 29 at 4:08pm • Delete


JP John Paulus

I wanted to write something before the status expires...won't be able to
today...but check my blog tomorrow. I wanted to respnd to what you had to say,
Suzanne & David. It's good stuff, but wanted to throw some other ideas out.
The blog address is http://more2ignore.blogspot.com
Hope to have it by 1pm tomorrow (Friday, CST)
Yesterday at 4:48pm • Delete

Suzanne Alexis

I didn't know our status could expire!!?! I'll be away for the weekend but hope to
read it when I get back.
2 hours ago • Delete

As far as health care… one thing no one has mentioned is that private industry has HAD their chance, for decades to help build something to help people.

And f you need to think economically…how does it help society if your kids get sick because a family couldn’t afford to go to the doctor or wait hours at a clinic? When a person drops dead or goes to the emergency room for a situation that a doctor visit could have prevented…doesn’t it cost you and me time and money?




On the bigger picture, if those on the political right really do want to help, not just cause division (especially to stroke their own ego), then they need to do a couple of things;

Repent of the sins on “their side”…the evil parts of capitalism that David Pensgard mentioned. Bernie Madoff and the whole “Mortgage derivative” mess…that wasn’t due to big government: that was sin from the private world

Communicate to build up rather than speak to destroy - People like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, etc. could be using their media influence to do things like get people to volunteer more, give more money to worth charities, network communities so the giving can be more efficient (i.e. one church in a neighborhood might provide nightly dinners to the homeless, another gives clothes. But without communication, these services can’t be maximized, nor can they catch abusers of “the system”),.We can cgo all over scripture.


The attitude and vicious talk is what especially galls me about the non-Christian conservatives, who can poison Christians’ thinking as well

A sharp contrast to Glenn Beck is Mike Huckabee. While I don’t agree with everything Huckabee says politically, he is a model Christians (and non-Christians) can respect and follow. In addition to having stances on some issues that are not typically considered Conservative/Politcal Right (i.e. support for the Arts in public schools, immigration reform that has some compassion on the immigrants), he actually DIALOGUES with people. He’s done so on the daily Show with Jon Stewart, talking about issues like abortion. Again, Huckabee wasn’t perfect on there, but I think he definitely opened doors in terms of dialogue and was a peacemaker.

We as Christians, wherever we’ve been called, need to be peacemakers and bridgebuilders, not just between people, but ultimately pointing to Jesus.

A personal update

I should've wrote something on March 21, my daughter's 4th birthday.

But since i procrastinated too much, how about a re-cap of the past four years....or at least enough stuff to let you know that i have a lot to be thankful to God about:


4 years & 1 month ago:

2 years & 5 months ago:

2 years ago this week: we closed on a beautiful bungalow in a good & vibrant yet working class (those qualities seem contradictory on the North side, at least in some people's minds)

1 year & 2 months ago: I was unemployed. Even the temp agency, where i got "Temp of the Year" in 1998 couldn't get me a temp job!

Sorry if it sounds like bragging...but ultimately, these things happened, not because of some amzing thing *i* did, but that God had done.

Mia's 3! It's a miracle

Today is Good Friday. It's good because Jesus died for us and what we have done, and made it "all good" with God.

It's also a good Friday because it's our daughter Mia's birthday, born 3 years ago today... and my daughter Mia is a miracle!

A quick summary: my wife was fine at our last doctor's visit. Then the next week, she started getting these headaches that wouldn't go away. So we called the hospital, who told us to come to the emergency room. Just a few minutes afyer we got settled at the hospital, they saw her blood pressure was off the charts, and Sythera went into at least 2 seizures (that i saw!). Our doctor came and let me know that she had to deliver the baby, or both could die!

As soon as those things took place, we called our church secretary, who prayed & spread the word to not only our local church, but to friends as far as Washington, Thailand, Russia, India. A friend later told me "People you don't know are praying for you."

Mia was 10 inches long and 15 1/2 ounces when she was born. As a friend enlightened me, she was smaller than a pack of Twizlers when she was born!

A lot of her story is detailed on an old web page .

Since those early days, Mia has changed a lot. She came home on oxygen. She had four therapists, covering speech, occuational, physical & developmental therapies. The therapies she still had until age 3 (when the state of Illinois' Early Intervention program for preemies runs out) were more for us parents, to help us make sure Mia was on track.

Today Mia is a healthy girl who now is fighting mommy & daddy so she can have more sweets instead of fighting for her life.

Some of her recent phrases:

I want to wash my hands.

Let's go to gymnastics!

I like the money, daddy!

MY (fill in the blank of whatever we're trying to pry out of her hands) !!!!!

In the midst of this, we had several other life changes:

• moved out of our Rogers Park condo and settled in the South Side fo Chicago, in the Chatham neighborhood
• Sythera got a new job!
• Recently, JP got a job with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, utlizing many of the skills & experiences he gained from previous work & volunteering

Thanks to all who have prayed for Mia & supported my family.

We can't wait to see what the future brings!

If you've been through this, or know someone who has...God CAN bring you through. He won't give us what we can't handle.