Slappy J's Vegan Roundup!

I'm not a vegetarian, but I am married to one.

And I have a lot of respect for it, truth be told. Carey's a vegan, actually (though she does cheat with the free-range eggs), and when I'm asked why, I know the answers people are hoping for: "she's allergic" or "she's lactose intolerant" or "health reasons" or "she's just never liked meat". While there are elements of truth in most of those, the biggest truth is the one people don't want to hear:

"She loves animals and she thinks eating them is cruel and unethical."

And she's got a point. Not too sure I agree with the 'unethical' part, but 'cruel' is hard to argue against. 95% of the meat and dairy production industry (sorry, farmers) is friggin' horrifyingly inhumane and unsanitary. Miserable cows, pumped to the gills with hormones and antibiotics. Bloated pigs whose legs can't even support their own body weight stuffed with synthetic shite. Frenzied, tortured chickens that have never seen the light of day laying eggs around the clock. It's a mess.

Often, I'll see Christians and conservatives write it off with the same flip attitude that bothers them so much when they see Christianity or conservatism being written off: "ah, it's not that bad. The tree-huggers are exaggerating. They're just looking for a cause, next month it'll be 'Save The Peruvian Titmouse.'"

Carey's a member of PETA, which means she gets invited to a lot of protests and is asked to organize a lot of boycotts. I'll admit it: I boycott KFC. And I say this without apology: the KFC organization is peopled by exceptionally greedy, exceptionally heartless and/or exceptionally ignorant individuals.

(Don't take my word for it, see if you can manage to sit through this little gem. 'Tree-huggers' looking for a cause? Yeah, tell me another.)

Anyhow, it's been all over the news lately, but Carey can't resist throwing links my way whenever animal welfare is involved, so she sent this along, which petitions the federal government to include animals in rescue efforts in the case of natural disasters.

All that's to say... do your part. Maybe it's not vegetarianism or protests, but I'd encourage any and everyone: spay and/or neuter your pets. Stick to organic meats and free-range eggs. Don't buy fur. Limit the fast food and hunting for sport.

Don't go to KFC.

Just little things that may not seem like a big deal but they really do make a big difference.

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I've been meaning to mention this for nearly a year, but it's always slipped my mind... Carey and I have more or less settled on a church, Mosaic in Los Angeles.

It's a really great place with fantastic teaching, courtesy of pulpit dynamo and author emeritus, Erwin McManus (a personal hero of Gary's, so he must be a pretty cool cat).

And Carey and I have begun getting involved with a small group in Long Beach from the church. It's a big deal for us, as it's been over three years since we've felt really, truly connected with a church body and it's definitely taken its toll on us. We're still nervous and we're still new, but we really like the people we've met thusfar and they've been nothing but warm to us.

So, simultaneous deep breaths and sighs of relief there. New church, new adventure.