New Career Idea

I'm:

unemployed
broke
living with my parents
hundreds of miles away from my girlfriend



This is the perfect recipe for a great musician

Youtube video links, myspace account, and website to come...



Paul "now all I need is talent" Murphy

My Hero

Today I would like to take the opportunity to celebrate one of my favorite heroes. Someone who served his country in the Air Force as a test pilot (awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and retired as a Major General), was the first director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (my favorite museum and a dream job), and Astronaut (my favorite).

Congratulations to Michael Collins, and those other guys on Apollo 11, who made the possibilities endless.

Paul "Happy 40th" Murphy

Liberty and the Pursuit of Hapiness

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

This is possibly one of the greatest declarations ever thought. The idea that we have God given rights to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness; values that all people have title to. The problem is I don't think with really believe it.

Economics. Quick economics lesson. An economic environment where all parties are allowed to trade freely with each other creates specialization. Specialized economies with free trade are THE most efficient and productive economies. Specialization and competition allow for the best of the best to rise to the top.

Immigration. It always amazes me that in a country that boast about freedom we consistently and systematically keep people from moving here. It seems to me that if we truly believed that everyone was "endowed" with the rights to liberty and the pursuit of happiness we wouldn't bar them from entering one of the few places in the world where those to rights seem to exist. People have decided that we don't want un-American influence and foreigners in our country. What are we afraid of? Are we afraid that we'll lose jobs? That our health care system will be over run? That our prosperous way of life will be over?

1. You may have been born here, but somewhere, someway, someone in your family showed up on a boat and was given the opportunity that we deny so many people.

2. If we truly believe in the idea of liberty why are we denying it to other people?

3. In an unrestrained economic system people win. Maybe not all people. Those who refuse to try to better themselves, who don't take advantage of the educational system, and who rather be mediocre lose. But for the rest of us its a huge win. If you're truly afraid that some uneducated Hispanic, Eastern European, African, or Asian person is going to take your job then maybe you're in the wrong career. And if you're afraid that some smarter, better educated Hispanic, Eastern European, African, or Asian person is going to take your job, then you'd work harder and prepare better.

I think I'm tired of the strict immigration laws in our country. I understand the need to keep many negatives elements out. But in the end I think if we truly believe that everyone is created with the rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness then we need to get out of the way of their rights.

Paul "Scotch-Irish" Murphy

What's Half a Shekel Worth?

- 10 Gerahs Lev 27:25
- About 1/30th of a prostitute Hosea 3:2
- 1/40th of a Joseph Gen 37:28
- 1/60th of a slave goring Ex 21:32
- 1/160th of a Donkey's head during a siege 2 Kings 6:25
- 1/300th of a horse
- 1/1200 of a chariot 2 Chron 1:17


According to Rabbi Eliezer Posner, about $17 US.

I was having an interesting conversation with Adam Ellis the other day on our way back from Nashville. Ever since the conversation I've been having this idea bouncing around in my head. It taken me a few days on how to get it out and explain it.

Value. According to HumanForSale.com I am worth $2,521,562. I can't believe they took off points for hair color and height. I've been thinking the last couple of days about how we value ourselves. Not just ourselves but what we value in other people. For a long time I've been self-righteous about value. It's easy to scoff at people who value the wrong things about themselves (and others). There are so many women who believe their value is in how attractive they are. Good thing men don't have a problem like this. Our value is in something more reasonable like how good of providers we can be. Hopefully we value other things besides just height, weight, hair color, income, balding, and how much people exercise. I think we should really look deeper and see the other things in people that we value. We should value sense of humor, intelligence, the volunteer work they do, and things about there personality. Because that's how God values them.

Value. One of my favorite verses is the basis for the title. It's kind of weird and comes out of Exodus. 30:11-16

11 Then the LORD said to Moses, 12 "When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the LORD a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. 13 Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, [b] according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD. 14 All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the LORD. 15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives. 16 Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD, making atonement for your lives."

2 Observations

#1 Our value to God isn't in how attractive we are, how well we can provide, our height, our weight, our intelligence, shoe size, drug usage, sense of humor, or any thing else that we obtain, are born with, or develop. Our value to God is solely that he made us. And he would give whatever it took for us to be with him.

#2 God values us all the same. Whether we choose to follow him or not. It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor. If you're a Saint or sinner. If you're on posters or in the projects. Which means that God loves the abusive husband, the junkie, the alcoholic, the murderer, the molester, and me all the same.

Your value isn't a sum of the parts. Your value was determined before time began.

Paul "=" Murphy