Today is the day that I get up before 10, because I have things to do.
Today is the day that I find the smell in the kitchen, and clean it.
Today is the day that I do all the laundry in the house, and get it folded and put away.
Today is the day that I clean the living room, and set up the couch pieces that currently reside in the garage.
Today is the day that I call a service to clear trees in my back yard, trim/remove bushes in the front yard, and get some sod to resurface the yard.
Today is the day that I find a tile guy to redecorate the bath. Maybe he can frame the garage door on the side of the house, too.
Today is the day I stop wasting money on the gym I never bother to go to anymore.
Today is the day that I blog again.
Today is the day that I finally start up my novel.... again.
Today is the day that I stop eating for two, even though I am not pregnant.
Today is the day that I allow myself to say NO when someone asks me to do something I am not really wanting to do.
Today is the day that I stop making lists, and start working.
I think about many of these things every morning. And I get up out of bed. And I sit down in my spot on the couch, and open the computer. And it is then that I realize my addiction. I haven't blogged for MONTHS, I haven't cleaned beyond what is necessary to live, I haven't done much of anything! I have stared at Facebook. Whew! Need to stop that now.
This blog post will probably be posted to Facebook, as well. Why? Because I am that addicted.
In my professional life, I have almost always had a clean desk. It may be stacked with work, but I can always find the random piece for someone else. In my personal life, I can't say anything about organized. I have never had a good routine at home. I noticed that when I worked outside the home, the home was cleaner. I had to keep a routine!
When I was a child, our home was always cluttered. Mom and Dad both were pack rats in their own ways. Mom was a Collector, and I have that strong gene in me. I want this thing because it will match/coordinate with X, Y and Z at home. Dad was the Insulator, the one who said, "This is useful, and if I throw it out, I will need it tomorrow. I can fix that." Mom had Coca-Cola memorabilia all over the house, and a collection of lighthouses, and the collection of videos. The list grows larger every time I see what I brought home from her house. I have cookbooks, and books of every other sort. I have Precious Moments figurines, and things I have collected over the years since I left home. I also have broken computers, and parts to things I don't even remember a use for.
I can remember a time when my room was the cleanest in the house. It was a very short time. And probably right before I left for college.
All this rambling is to say that I have let the house run away without me. I have no control over the contents. The S.T.U.F.F. (from Flylady: Stuff That Undermines Family Fun) has taken over, multiplied like so many bunnies, and I am feeling crushed.
Today is the day. Today is another day in which I spend a minimum of 15 uninterrupted minutes cleaning ONE area. Dishes, probably. Sadly, Laundry and Dishes are my go-to chores. The first things I do, until I get tired and give up. I also have a goal of emptying one box. Open it, decide where things go and put them there, fold box flat and take it to my friend who is packing her home to move. Trash things... Donate things... Clean things... Find purpose or love in every THING I keep.
Psalm 118:24 (English Standard Version)
This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
So, Today is The Day.
Today is the day that I stop worrying about what others think.
Today is the day that I give up hounding myself over chores undone.
Today is the day that I allow myself to make mistakes, and be fine with that.
Today is the day that I write again.
Today is the day that I think again.
Today is the day that I water the plants. Hey, I have plants... that have survived me for over a year!
Today is the day that I stop allowing the rabbit trails to distract me.
Today is the day that I thank God for every thing I have, all I can do.
Today is the day that I expect great things from God.
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Chateau L'Feet, Vintage 2009, Baby Toes. White Wine. "And I helped!"
Last year, I went to Tres Suenos Winery, and harvested and stomped grapes. This weekend, I got the bottle of that wine.
They call it Chateau L'Feet. Yes, we stomped a few gallons of grapes in the bottom of a 50 gallon drum. I call it Baby Toes, because of a little boy, who was fine stomping, until he realized that he was IN a 50 gallon drum. And it was taller than he was, and he couldn't see anything but grapes and mommy's knees. He started screaming, so they took him out of the drum. He stomped all the way up the side, still having fun, I think, but just a little scared with claustrophobia in the drum. Who can blame his cute little toes? Not me.
"You aren't gonna drink that, are you?" several people asked. Some of them were grossed out by the thought, as if the fact that my feet, and the feet of many others touched those grapes, and it might taste of feet. Some of them were sounding wistful, as if they would take it and drink it if I didn't want it. The idea is the same. Did I have plans to just let the bottle sit some more, or was I planning to drink it?
I honestly don't know yet. I was planning on drinking it. The BOTTLE is what is important to me. The label has MY NAME on it. This wine was helped by ME, and the bottle was labeled just for ME. The bottle will end up as a centerpiece on a shelf of my bottle collection. I think it would be a dirty shame NOT to drink the wine I helped create. A full bottle of wine is heavy, and the shelf will be heavy enough with all those glass bottles on it.
I pondered God last year, about vines and the vinedresser, and the harvest and how it all was used as a "flannelgram" to teach the church about God's care for His people. This year, I ponder the wine. The waiting. The Becoming.
I wonder how wine was made in Bible times. Didn't they generally squish the grapes by walking in them? Doesn't the age and the fermentation take care of whatever icky stuff was hanging on? Basically, the fact that it is alcohol should kill any germs from any feet in the grapes, right?
When Jesus turned water into wine, I have to believe it was good stuff. The host of the party said it was good, and he wondered why the best stuff was saved for the end of the party. Seems they usually served good stuff to get you happily drunk, and then switched to the cheap stuff, because after you are drunk, you really don't care what you drink, as long as the glasses keep getting filled. Having never been drunk, I have no idea if this is so. I just know what I like, and usually wine isn't it.
The winemakers are a family of God-believing people. They are genuinely nice. They treat their growers with courtesy and respect. They follow the laws of the land, and check the I.D.'s provided by their visitors. They have a fair business, and they make impressive wines, award winning wines. I didn't realize how much I liked sweet wines until I tasted the dry wines they offer. (Ugh. Dry is just too tart for me.) And I didn't ever think I would have a "favorite" wine, knowing how much I detest grape juice in general. Some days, getting through communion on Sunday is tough. And that is one thimble full of Welch's 100% Grape. Usually purple, Concord grape juice. And more often than not, on the verge of being wine (or maybe vinegar is a closer description). Yuck.
Whenever this might happen, I do plan to drink the wine. I might even share a little with Jeff, if he is brave enough to try it. The empty bottle will be my prize. I missed this year, because I checked into it too late. Next year, I plan to do this at least once, maybe twice. I plan to get more bottles of Chateau L'Feet, maybe in RED next time!
This year has been a crazy, tumultuous, lost and even blessed sort of year. All this time, that wine was in a cask, and then in the bottle. Sitting. Waiting. Fermenting. Becoming.
How can it be good if I do not taste it? Consuming the wine seems to be the POINT of it all.
I think this year has been some fire, refining me like gold. This year has not been the calm waiting on God, like the wine. Maybe the coming year will be calm, like the fermentation hold. But then, fermenting is a process, and I bet the chemical transformation is anything but calm. Maybe I HAVE been the wine. I have gone through a transformation, and I will never be the same. A little more tart, a little more rich, a little more depth to my "character". A little fruity note, a little spicy note... some time spent in the cool of the cask, some time squeezed into the smaller space of a bottle.
All the while wondering... Who will find me? Who will taste, and see that the Lord is good? Who will appreciate my more subtle qualities? Will I be the bottle that has had feet in it? (I certainly felt stomped this year!) Has this process cleansed my impurities? Am I sweeter for the time spent, or am I a dry finish?
I don't know all the answers. I know the ONE who holds the answers, and He hasn't really been sharing them with me. I guess I get to do what my Dad always told me to do: Hide and Watch. So, I hide in the shadow of the wings of the Most High, and I watch to see what becomes of me. I am fermenting. I am being enriched by the waiting. I am Becoming a fine wine from the Lord's vineyard.
How SWEET its that?
They call it Chateau L'Feet. Yes, we stomped a few gallons of grapes in the bottom of a 50 gallon drum. I call it Baby Toes, because of a little boy, who was fine stomping, until he realized that he was IN a 50 gallon drum. And it was taller than he was, and he couldn't see anything but grapes and mommy's knees. He started screaming, so they took him out of the drum. He stomped all the way up the side, still having fun, I think, but just a little scared with claustrophobia in the drum. Who can blame his cute little toes? Not me.
"You aren't gonna drink that, are you?" several people asked. Some of them were grossed out by the thought, as if the fact that my feet, and the feet of many others touched those grapes, and it might taste of feet. Some of them were sounding wistful, as if they would take it and drink it if I didn't want it. The idea is the same. Did I have plans to just let the bottle sit some more, or was I planning to drink it?
I honestly don't know yet. I was planning on drinking it. The BOTTLE is what is important to me. The label has MY NAME on it. This wine was helped by ME, and the bottle was labeled just for ME. The bottle will end up as a centerpiece on a shelf of my bottle collection. I think it would be a dirty shame NOT to drink the wine I helped create. A full bottle of wine is heavy, and the shelf will be heavy enough with all those glass bottles on it.
I pondered God last year, about vines and the vinedresser, and the harvest and how it all was used as a "flannelgram" to teach the church about God's care for His people. This year, I ponder the wine. The waiting. The Becoming.
I wonder how wine was made in Bible times. Didn't they generally squish the grapes by walking in them? Doesn't the age and the fermentation take care of whatever icky stuff was hanging on? Basically, the fact that it is alcohol should kill any germs from any feet in the grapes, right?
When Jesus turned water into wine, I have to believe it was good stuff. The host of the party said it was good, and he wondered why the best stuff was saved for the end of the party. Seems they usually served good stuff to get you happily drunk, and then switched to the cheap stuff, because after you are drunk, you really don't care what you drink, as long as the glasses keep getting filled. Having never been drunk, I have no idea if this is so. I just know what I like, and usually wine isn't it.
The winemakers are a family of God-believing people. They are genuinely nice. They treat their growers with courtesy and respect. They follow the laws of the land, and check the I.D.'s provided by their visitors. They have a fair business, and they make impressive wines, award winning wines. I didn't realize how much I liked sweet wines until I tasted the dry wines they offer. (Ugh. Dry is just too tart for me.) And I didn't ever think I would have a "favorite" wine, knowing how much I detest grape juice in general. Some days, getting through communion on Sunday is tough. And that is one thimble full of Welch's 100% Grape. Usually purple, Concord grape juice. And more often than not, on the verge of being wine (or maybe vinegar is a closer description). Yuck.
Whenever this might happen, I do plan to drink the wine. I might even share a little with Jeff, if he is brave enough to try it. The empty bottle will be my prize. I missed this year, because I checked into it too late. Next year, I plan to do this at least once, maybe twice. I plan to get more bottles of Chateau L'Feet, maybe in RED next time!
This year has been a crazy, tumultuous, lost and even blessed sort of year. All this time, that wine was in a cask, and then in the bottle. Sitting. Waiting. Fermenting. Becoming.
How can it be good if I do not taste it? Consuming the wine seems to be the POINT of it all.
I think this year has been some fire, refining me like gold. This year has not been the calm waiting on God, like the wine. Maybe the coming year will be calm, like the fermentation hold. But then, fermenting is a process, and I bet the chemical transformation is anything but calm. Maybe I HAVE been the wine. I have gone through a transformation, and I will never be the same. A little more tart, a little more rich, a little more depth to my "character". A little fruity note, a little spicy note... some time spent in the cool of the cask, some time squeezed into the smaller space of a bottle.
All the while wondering... Who will find me? Who will taste, and see that the Lord is good? Who will appreciate my more subtle qualities? Will I be the bottle that has had feet in it? (I certainly felt stomped this year!) Has this process cleansed my impurities? Am I sweeter for the time spent, or am I a dry finish?
I don't know all the answers. I know the ONE who holds the answers, and He hasn't really been sharing them with me. I guess I get to do what my Dad always told me to do: Hide and Watch. So, I hide in the shadow of the wings of the Most High, and I watch to see what becomes of me. I am fermenting. I am being enriched by the waiting. I am Becoming a fine wine from the Lord's vineyard.
How SWEET its that?
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The Grape Squishery Of 2009
When I signed up to harvest grapes at Tres Suenos Winery, in Luther Oklahoma, I was not expecting a spiritual revelation from God. But, in essence, that is what I got. The growing of grapes and the making of wine has been a part of the world's economy for centuries. God knew this exacting process would be around for a long time. I believe this is partly why He chose to use the "fruit of the vine" for His remembrance supper. It brings new understanding of Jesus saying "I am the Vine, and you are the branches."
A few years ago, a crowd of our friends attended a wedding at a winery. The bride wanted an outdoor wedding. It was very pretty. They have a small vineyard right on the property, and a small grove of trees on the other side of the main building, where the wedding took place. I fell in love with the beauty of it all. The wine was something new to me. I had never before found one that tasted good to me. This wedding had two flavors of wine that did taste quite good.
DH and I went back later, to an annual festival and wine tasting. We heard wonderful live music, tasted several varieties of wine, and had a grand time. We have been to the festival two years in a row, and are planning to attend our third this fall. The owners of the winery host a harvest in August every year, once the grapes are ready. This year, I signed up to be notified of the harvest. DH did not come, I was on my own this time.
I drove the almost hour from my home, and got there near 7:00 am. I met with the owner of the Winery and about 20 others. We then drove in a caravan to a contract vineyard about 8 miles away, to harvest a white variety of Sauvignon grapes. We snipped grapes off the vines from 8:00 until 11:00 am. Some of the grapes we harvested after the picture.
This is me, among the vines. The first picture of the day. A nice lady came by and said she wanted to take pictures, but her camera was at the house. I handed her mine, and asked that she take a picture of me (so she would know whom to bring the camera back to).
We were each given a white 5 gallon bucket. This is my bucket, mostly full of white grapes.
When those were filled, we put the grapes into bigger crates that could hold 3-4 buckets of grapes. This is one of those crates.
The crates were then picked up, and workers transferred the grapes to huge white containers, and brought back the crates to be filled again. This is one container being loaded on a forklift.
The owner had the load weighed, but he didn't know his empty weight, so there was no exact number for the weight of the grapes we harvested. He estimated that we picked around 3 tons of grapes.
This is one of the owners. His name is Richard.
We got to watch the grapes be moved from the small crates and big white containers through a machine that took off the stems, crushed the grapes, and sent them through a tube to large blue drums. This machine was quite noisy.
For our work the owners provided lunch. (The owner's wife had bought Red Table Grapes at the grocer for us.... and got picked on about it.) After lunch, we had the opportunity to personally stomp on a small batch of grapes. The owner had pulled many stems out of about one crate of grapes, and put them in the bottom of a 55 gallon steel barrel. We got to wash off our feet, and step into the barrel to mash the grapes. There was a baby about 1 year old, and he was having a stomping good time, and then he realized that he was not able to get himself out of the barrel. He cried, and continued to stomp all the way up the side of the barrel. Poor baby. His older brother was also having a great time squishing grapes, ending up in the barrel at least 3 times, with others and by himself. I was the second to last person to step on the grapes. Have you ever stepped on one grape accidentally in your kitchen? This was messy and fun, and totally squishy. These are my toes in the grapes.
The owner will further press those grapes and keep them separate from the rest of the harvest. He will bottle that wine, and put our names on it. He said there would be about 20 bottles from this barrel. White wine should spend about 6 months fermenting before they put it in the bottles, where it will spend another 6 months before it will be drinkable. A year from now, I will have a bottle of wine from the harvest I helped to pick. I plan to refer to it as Baby Toes. This was the baby.
The grapes at the winery property are purple grapes, but I don't know what variety.
The white grapes we harvested.
God truly is an artist. He created such lovely plants, people and processes. I plan to do this again and again. DH hopefully can come next time, and several of my friends have also volunteered. I have to go back there to collect this year's wine: 2009 Sauvignon Baby Toes. If you get a chance to taste wine from Tres Suenos Winery, do it. The name means Three Dreams, and the dreams of the owners have come to be a tasty reality.
A few years ago, a crowd of our friends attended a wedding at a winery. The bride wanted an outdoor wedding. It was very pretty. They have a small vineyard right on the property, and a small grove of trees on the other side of the main building, where the wedding took place. I fell in love with the beauty of it all. The wine was something new to me. I had never before found one that tasted good to me. This wedding had two flavors of wine that did taste quite good.
DH and I went back later, to an annual festival and wine tasting. We heard wonderful live music, tasted several varieties of wine, and had a grand time. We have been to the festival two years in a row, and are planning to attend our third this fall. The owners of the winery host a harvest in August every year, once the grapes are ready. This year, I signed up to be notified of the harvest. DH did not come, I was on my own this time.
I drove the almost hour from my home, and got there near 7:00 am. I met with the owner of the Winery and about 20 others. We then drove in a caravan to a contract vineyard about 8 miles away, to harvest a white variety of Sauvignon grapes. We snipped grapes off the vines from 8:00 until 11:00 am. Some of the grapes we harvested after the picture.
This is me, among the vines. The first picture of the day. A nice lady came by and said she wanted to take pictures, but her camera was at the house. I handed her mine, and asked that she take a picture of me (so she would know whom to bring the camera back to).
We were each given a white 5 gallon bucket. This is my bucket, mostly full of white grapes.
When those were filled, we put the grapes into bigger crates that could hold 3-4 buckets of grapes. This is one of those crates.
The crates were then picked up, and workers transferred the grapes to huge white containers, and brought back the crates to be filled again. This is one container being loaded on a forklift.
The owner had the load weighed, but he didn't know his empty weight, so there was no exact number for the weight of the grapes we harvested. He estimated that we picked around 3 tons of grapes.
This is one of the owners. His name is Richard.
We got to watch the grapes be moved from the small crates and big white containers through a machine that took off the stems, crushed the grapes, and sent them through a tube to large blue drums. This machine was quite noisy.
For our work the owners provided lunch. (The owner's wife had bought Red Table Grapes at the grocer for us.... and got picked on about it.) After lunch, we had the opportunity to personally stomp on a small batch of grapes. The owner had pulled many stems out of about one crate of grapes, and put them in the bottom of a 55 gallon steel barrel. We got to wash off our feet, and step into the barrel to mash the grapes. There was a baby about 1 year old, and he was having a stomping good time, and then he realized that he was not able to get himself out of the barrel. He cried, and continued to stomp all the way up the side of the barrel. Poor baby. His older brother was also having a great time squishing grapes, ending up in the barrel at least 3 times, with others and by himself. I was the second to last person to step on the grapes. Have you ever stepped on one grape accidentally in your kitchen? This was messy and fun, and totally squishy. These are my toes in the grapes.
The owner will further press those grapes and keep them separate from the rest of the harvest. He will bottle that wine, and put our names on it. He said there would be about 20 bottles from this barrel. White wine should spend about 6 months fermenting before they put it in the bottles, where it will spend another 6 months before it will be drinkable. A year from now, I will have a bottle of wine from the harvest I helped to pick. I plan to refer to it as Baby Toes. This was the baby.
The grapes at the winery property are purple grapes, but I don't know what variety.
The white grapes we harvested.
God truly is an artist. He created such lovely plants, people and processes. I plan to do this again and again. DH hopefully can come next time, and several of my friends have also volunteered. I have to go back there to collect this year's wine: 2009 Sauvignon Baby Toes. If you get a chance to taste wine from Tres Suenos Winery, do it. The name means Three Dreams, and the dreams of the owners have come to be a tasty reality.
Friday, March 6, 2009
I'm Not A Tool... I'm An Instrument!
I interrupt myself in the posts about Vegas to bring you a very good thought. My friend Rick Rossing penned this ponder on his Facebook account, and I got permission to reprint it. I did a copy/paste, and didn't change a thing, title and all.
Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~
During a Bible class, we were reading the passage in Acts 9:15 where Jesus says that Paul is his chosen instrument, and someone commented that Paul was a tool. I didn't like the concept, and I've been mulling it over ever since.
It is never a compliment to be called a tool, at least not in my experience. A tool is a person who is useful enough at what he does, but is only being used. He might not even be aware that he is not admired so much as tolerated. Like a hammer, he's used for whatever task he's needed for, then tossed carelessly back into the box with all the other tools. Tools are not generally loved, and they are easily replaced.
But an instrument is far more special! The word conjures up to me the image of a saxophone or clarinet, or a finely honed surgical scalpel. A saxophone is comprised of many intricate valves and parts that are precisely joined together and tuned to produce sweet music. An instrument is specially designed for its purpose, painstakingly and even lovingly. It is not easy to replace an instrument. The one who uses the instrument cares for and even loves it. When not in use, the instrument is carefully placed in a location prepared for it to keep it safe.
The God who created Paul and used him also formed him and loved him. The same God created me and uses me, but God also forms me and loves me. I am beautifully and wonderfully made, because I am loved.
We are His workmanship, created for good works.
I'm no tool... I'm an instrument. So are you.
Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~
During a Bible class, we were reading the passage in Acts 9:15 where Jesus says that Paul is his chosen instrument, and someone commented that Paul was a tool. I didn't like the concept, and I've been mulling it over ever since.
It is never a compliment to be called a tool, at least not in my experience. A tool is a person who is useful enough at what he does, but is only being used. He might not even be aware that he is not admired so much as tolerated. Like a hammer, he's used for whatever task he's needed for, then tossed carelessly back into the box with all the other tools. Tools are not generally loved, and they are easily replaced.
But an instrument is far more special! The word conjures up to me the image of a saxophone or clarinet, or a finely honed surgical scalpel. A saxophone is comprised of many intricate valves and parts that are precisely joined together and tuned to produce sweet music. An instrument is specially designed for its purpose, painstakingly and even lovingly. It is not easy to replace an instrument. The one who uses the instrument cares for and even loves it. When not in use, the instrument is carefully placed in a location prepared for it to keep it safe.
The God who created Paul and used him also formed him and loved him. The same God created me and uses me, but God also forms me and loves me. I am beautifully and wonderfully made, because I am loved.
We are His workmanship, created for good works.
I'm no tool... I'm an instrument. So are you.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Ask, Seek, And Knock. Simple Instructions.
God is so big. Massive. My realization of this fills me with awe. Saying "awesome" doesn't really share the immensity of the relationship, or the epiphany. God could be concerned with governments, planets, galaxies... or birds, fleas and grass.... but He chooses to be concerned over me. Chooses to give me more than I could ever really know I needed.
I keep coming back to the Scripture. One idea in particular stands out recently. A theme, of sorts. The words of Jesus. The way he conversed with the apostles and the people. The words he said. I can imagine him shaking his head at us... like a frustrated parent. What were you thinking? Don't you know? I have told you over and over.
It shows in the way he started different explanations. "Have you not read the Scripture?" And it is in the way he instructed by reminding. "You do not have because you do not ask!"
For Christmas in 2007, I asked for a new car. I was frustrated with the Buick and didn't want it to die on me again in some remote place. I put the request in my Elfster account that we had for our family gift exchange. I added that if I didn't ask, I would never receive. Not that I was asking the family to provide, but that I wanted the request known.
Before Christmas 2008, I had the new car.
For Christmas in 2008, I decided to ask for the grandest thing I could think of. I know that I do not have a NEED for any THING, but I have many desires. God says he longs to give us the desires of our hearts. So I went bold. I asked for a new house.
Yesterday, we received the pre-approval letter to take to our contract meeting. We have been approved to make a loan to get a home. We have chosen the home, and are working to purchase it from the owners. This "For Sale By Owner" is a friend of ours, and they never even had to put a sign up at the house.
Before Christmas 2009, if all goes well, we will have the new house I asked for.
What have I missed out on by not asking for it?
Go talk to God. He wants to give us good things.
I keep coming back to the Scripture. One idea in particular stands out recently. A theme, of sorts. The words of Jesus. The way he conversed with the apostles and the people. The words he said. I can imagine him shaking his head at us... like a frustrated parent. What were you thinking? Don't you know? I have told you over and over.
It shows in the way he started different explanations. "Have you not read the Scripture?" And it is in the way he instructed by reminding. "You do not have because you do not ask!"
For Christmas in 2007, I asked for a new car. I was frustrated with the Buick and didn't want it to die on me again in some remote place. I put the request in my Elfster account that we had for our family gift exchange. I added that if I didn't ask, I would never receive. Not that I was asking the family to provide, but that I wanted the request known.
Before Christmas 2008, I had the new car.
For Christmas in 2008, I decided to ask for the grandest thing I could think of. I know that I do not have a NEED for any THING, but I have many desires. God says he longs to give us the desires of our hearts. So I went bold. I asked for a new house.
Yesterday, we received the pre-approval letter to take to our contract meeting. We have been approved to make a loan to get a home. We have chosen the home, and are working to purchase it from the owners. This "For Sale By Owner" is a friend of ours, and they never even had to put a sign up at the house.
Before Christmas 2009, if all goes well, we will have the new house I asked for.
What have I missed out on by not asking for it?
Go talk to God. He wants to give us good things.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Do The Lost Souls Really Congregate In Tulsa?
In the line of deep subjects, I have another that has been eating at my brain for a while. I warn you now, this one is religious. If you don't care, feel free to ignore this post. Seriously. I won't be hurt.
In our Sunday evening services with our church, we have been studying the Deep Subjects of the Bible. The deep questions that people have, and what the Bible says about it all.
I have been to the Tulsa International Soul-Winning Workshop (ISWW) many times over the years. I have gone a few times since I have been on my own, and able to drive myself. I know that good friends of mine have in the past and now live in Tulsa. As it is in Oklahoma, I feel a little more of an attachment to the workshop now that I am an adult. I don't want to make anyone upset. I am just thinking (typing) out loud.
Garnett church of Christ has bowed out of co-managing with Memorial Drive church of Christ. That makes me no never mind, but what is said at the end of this article does bother me. This bit is directly copied, not retyped by me. The quotes are from Terry Rush.
In order to bring people to Christ, the speakers who are invited to share MUST share the same belief in the Bible. I don't think that the Church of Christ (with or without that first C being capitalized) has the lock on salvation. I believe that the Body of Christ ~ His Bride, His Beloved, His church ~ needs to be told in no uncertain terms what is in His Book. Nothing more. Nothing Less. If we do not check what is said against the measure of the Good News, we are likely to be hoodwinked.
Do the elders of Memorial Drive oversee the lessons that are being presented? They should if they do not.
Yes, Mr. Rush. I am smart enough to "discard the rest", because I have read the Bible from an early age. If you want to bring people to Christ, but you start by presenting conflicting views of the message, you will be sowing the seed in rocky soil, and you will be putting the final nail in the coffin of the Workshop with the remaining attendees. Many have already boycotted the festivities, because they are entertainment more than education, and no longer exclusively Bible based. New Converts may not be studied enough to sort out the junk. It is part of your job to offer only speakers that are proven to be God's mouthpieces. By stating that speakers can come in from other brands of faith, you have joined in the Denominational shell game. Which one is right? You lose when you do not show others how to win.
Separating the saved from the church is impossible. The saved ARE the church. The church is not some name on a door; it is the gathering of family, believers to worship God. Your plan to attract people “toward Jesus — not toward the church” is ludicrous. Those people attracted toward Jesus will be added to the church by God. Not "the Church" as a denomination, but the "THE church" as God's chosen bride for Christ. It isn't your job, Mr. Rush, to decide how the message will be received. Your job, sir, is to tell the message without distortion.
What about the people who have never heard the name of Jesus as anything other than in vain? They don't know how to "discard the rest", and they should not have any of "the rest" to discard. If we are preaching Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified, and Raised from the Dead, then there is nothing left to discard.
I do not claim to know all there is to know about God's plans for me, but going to Tulsa's ISWW is probably not going to be in the works anymore.
In our Sunday evening services with our church, we have been studying the Deep Subjects of the Bible. The deep questions that people have, and what the Bible says about it all.
I have been to the Tulsa International Soul-Winning Workshop (ISWW) many times over the years. I have gone a few times since I have been on my own, and able to drive myself. I know that good friends of mine have in the past and now live in Tulsa. As it is in Oklahoma, I feel a little more of an attachment to the workshop now that I am an adult. I don't want to make anyone upset. I am just thinking (typing) out loud.
Garnett church of Christ has bowed out of co-managing with Memorial Drive church of Christ. That makes me no never mind, but what is said at the end of this article does bother me. This bit is directly copied, not retyped by me. The quotes are from Terry Rush.
At a session titled “The Future Direction of the Workshop,” Rush also discussed the workshop’s practice of inviting speakers from outside Churches of Christ. The minister stressed that the direction of the workshop is “toward Jesus — not toward the church.”Now, I am not going to tell you that ONLY the Church of Christ (as a denomination) is going to heaven. I don't believe that. I have discussed those opinions before, and you can look it up, or we can have another conversation about it on email, whatever you like. However, I do believe that drawing people to Christ first requires knowing Christ, and what the speakers believe about Him, and how they will speak.
To that end, workshop coordinators will continue to invite speakers that will inspire attendees to win souls for Christ, he said.
“You are smart enough to sort out the things that are valuable to you and discard the rest,” Rush said.
In order to bring people to Christ, the speakers who are invited to share MUST share the same belief in the Bible. I don't think that the Church of Christ (with or without that first C being capitalized) has the lock on salvation. I believe that the Body of Christ ~ His Bride, His Beloved, His church ~ needs to be told in no uncertain terms what is in His Book. Nothing more. Nothing Less. If we do not check what is said against the measure of the Good News, we are likely to be hoodwinked.
Do the elders of Memorial Drive oversee the lessons that are being presented? They should if they do not.
Yes, Mr. Rush. I am smart enough to "discard the rest", because I have read the Bible from an early age. If you want to bring people to Christ, but you start by presenting conflicting views of the message, you will be sowing the seed in rocky soil, and you will be putting the final nail in the coffin of the Workshop with the remaining attendees. Many have already boycotted the festivities, because they are entertainment more than education, and no longer exclusively Bible based. New Converts may not be studied enough to sort out the junk. It is part of your job to offer only speakers that are proven to be God's mouthpieces. By stating that speakers can come in from other brands of faith, you have joined in the Denominational shell game. Which one is right? You lose when you do not show others how to win.
Separating the saved from the church is impossible. The saved ARE the church. The church is not some name on a door; it is the gathering of family, believers to worship God. Your plan to attract people “toward Jesus — not toward the church” is ludicrous. Those people attracted toward Jesus will be added to the church by God. Not "the Church" as a denomination, but the "THE church" as God's chosen bride for Christ. It isn't your job, Mr. Rush, to decide how the message will be received. Your job, sir, is to tell the message without distortion.
What about the people who have never heard the name of Jesus as anything other than in vain? They don't know how to "discard the rest", and they should not have any of "the rest" to discard. If we are preaching Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified, and Raised from the Dead, then there is nothing left to discard.
I do not claim to know all there is to know about God's plans for me, but going to Tulsa's ISWW is probably not going to be in the works anymore.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Motivation Revisited
Note: All scriptures noted in this post are copy/paste in New International Version from Bible Gateway.
I know my last post on this subject seemed like it came in from way out in left field. It is an old subject. I have been mulling over this much more, recently, since the AFA link was sent to me by a member of my church community. Flip Flop Mamma posted about the church (not one kind of denomination, but Christendom at large) needing to be accepting of homosexuals into their assemblies. Go check out her post, she has some great thoughts (even if I don't totally agree with her on all of it). She has a perspective of this that is different than my own. Her post sparked my thoughts and this discussion here.
I have said (in real life) that having the tendency to be attracted to the same sex isn't the sin, it is choosing to live in that lifestyle. All humans can choose a celibate life.
I don't want to argue with others about whether a gay is born that way or nurtured that way. I cannot believe that God CREATES gays, and then tells us that being gay is a SIN. God does not create sin. I think that "disease" is a result of sin. The original fall, the first sin, allows for bad things to happen. I referenced Romans 1:27 in the last post. This time I will post the actual verse and explain a little further.
Children are born every day with horrible diseases, and they did nothing wrong to acquire them. No child deserves AIDS, cancer or even asthma. Having diseases is not a sin. It is a punishment. (Don't get all mad yet, keep reading! Plenty of reason to get mad at me later.) In the Bible, some of the punishments God handed out were extended to the 7th or 10th generation down from the sinners. We have to live with the consequences of our actions, both good and bad. Our children sometimes have to live with our consequences. A child living without a parent while a dad or mom is in jail is a child who has consequences without committing sin.
I also will tell you that not all sicknesses are punishment for sin. I do not believe that I get ear infections because I do something that is against God. I don't get them for being a bad person. I get them because water gets trapped in my ears, or because my body reacts badly to cow milk. Allergies and other airborn maladies are not the result of direct sin. The common cold does not float around looking to alight upon the worst sinner it finds.
Sometimes bad things happen to us for good reasons. We may live our entire lives not knowing that reason. The Jews of Jesus' day thought that disease was a result of sin.
The church is full of broken people. A place for the sick, the infirm. Hospital. Not a museum of the greatness of humanity. Christians are not perfect, they are forgiven. This is REHAB, people. The place where we try God's new way, we learn how to live again, with the help of others. This is not the Olympics of Purity. We don't show off how good we are... we rejoice when we make small steps toward our recovery.
The church should also accept murderers, hookers, liars, thieves and the proud. The church should accept me. Should accept you. Should help us fix our brokenness, not condemn the bad job we have done so far. Once we go through that door, we should be helped to become better, become like Christ.
Comment from last time, by Flea: "I think, too, that Paul says it well in I Cor. 5:9-13. I think that's what you are saying. At the same time, I hear you saying that you're calling out the sinners who aren't Christians. Specifically the homosexuals. It's been a struggle for me for awhile, this sin versus the ones Christians are comfortable with, like gluttony." (Bold emphasis mine, not Flea's.)
For the benefit of those who don't know the scriptures like they know their own name, here is the passage to which Flea refers. (Yeah, I had to look it up. I don't know everything. See? Pride, right out the window here.)
I agree with Flea that Paul says it best here. In verse 13, that "expel from among you" is an internal instruction; do not let such a man (brother living a lie) stay as a part of your community. I do not want to call out the people who are not part of the church. They are outsiders, and not willingly under the same rules I have accepted. I do want to call to sinners who aren't Christians, not to call them to the mat for their sin, but to offer them the love, peace and forgiveness that God offers freely. The world doesn't often wish to change. They don't see that what they do is against God, and they certainly don't see the eternally damaging results.
I don't want to say that there are no homosexuals in the church, because people are people, and their issues are their own. There are recovering homosexuals in the church. There are recovering dieters, recovering alcoholics. There are divorced people in my congregation, and God hates divorce. I am fat. I have no excuse for it. I make the excuses that I have hormonal issues (which I do, but it should not be my crutch) and I say that I am not good at exercising. But I also concede that I alone have control over what I put in my mouth, and I have not exercised that control. Glutton, just as pointed out.
I have the grace of God. He doesn't want to leave me in this pit of food addiction. God doesn't want to leave me alone any more than He wants Satan to be against Him. Understand this: God even wants to save Satan. Satan has different ideas. Satan fell, by his own willing rebellion against God. He wishes to take as many of us as he can away from God, to hurt God. Satan loves it when we are pitted against one another on the technicalities of our beliefs. When we argue, we are not doing the will of God.
The Amazing part of Grace is that, while God meets us wherever we are, He refuses to leave us there. How can we help but be transformed after being washed by the Creator of everything?
If a homosexual comes to my church, I have no right to call him/her out for the life they are leading. If they come to be added by God, baptized to forgive their sins, then I have nothing to hold against them. That sin is gone, just like my self-loathing is gone, by the grace afforded to any who accept it. However, if they go back to that lifestyle after accepting God's gift of salvation... I suddenly have an obligation to point out what God has to say about it. Not because I want to be the first to point out their faults, but because I want to be the first to help them. I would expect no less from any member of my congregation toward me.
Our first job is to share the good news of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.
I have had an epiphany, of sorts, over the past two years. I have spoken to people who are being the hands and feet of Jesus, and I have watched how to be a loving person to the broken sinner in the street. It is a special job. I have a firm grip on my own prejudices, and my fear, and my pride. Those little pews help me to be so self-righteous! I want to tell the world about Jesus. The world sees me coming in my naivete', and does their best job to knock me down. I don't want to call out the average Joe in the street, but I don't want the average Joe to call me out, either. It is a continual tug-of-war.
We are not supposed to judge the sins of others. That is God's job. I don't do well at giving up that job. I took it from God, and I am loathe to give it back. I am more likely to share about my new toy (I did buy a camera this weekend.) than I am to say out loud that I want a friend who is not saved to meet my Jesus. That is a fault I am working to change. I am not there yet.
I am still in Rehab.
I know my last post on this subject seemed like it came in from way out in left field. It is an old subject. I have been mulling over this much more, recently, since the AFA link was sent to me by a member of my church community. Flip Flop Mamma posted about the church (not one kind of denomination, but Christendom at large) needing to be accepting of homosexuals into their assemblies. Go check out her post, she has some great thoughts (even if I don't totally agree with her on all of it). She has a perspective of this that is different than my own. Her post sparked my thoughts and this discussion here.
I have said (in real life) that having the tendency to be attracted to the same sex isn't the sin, it is choosing to live in that lifestyle. All humans can choose a celibate life.
I don't want to argue with others about whether a gay is born that way or nurtured that way. I cannot believe that God CREATES gays, and then tells us that being gay is a SIN. God does not create sin. I think that "disease" is a result of sin. The original fall, the first sin, allows for bad things to happen. I referenced Romans 1:27 in the last post. This time I will post the actual verse and explain a little further.
Romans 1:27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.This verse says there is a due penalty, a punishment, for having same sex relations. Inferred is that this penalty is physical and earthly, not spiritual and eternal. I believe this is AIDS. Many diseases were classified as "natural causes" when people died, before their causes were discovered and they were given names in modern medical history. I can't imagine that heart-clogging cholesterol is really new. Nor is the common cold, flu, cancer, diabetes, herpes, leprosy or AIDS.
Children are born every day with horrible diseases, and they did nothing wrong to acquire them. No child deserves AIDS, cancer or even asthma. Having diseases is not a sin. It is a punishment. (Don't get all mad yet, keep reading! Plenty of reason to get mad at me later.) In the Bible, some of the punishments God handed out were extended to the 7th or 10th generation down from the sinners. We have to live with the consequences of our actions, both good and bad. Our children sometimes have to live with our consequences. A child living without a parent while a dad or mom is in jail is a child who has consequences without committing sin.
I also will tell you that not all sicknesses are punishment for sin. I do not believe that I get ear infections because I do something that is against God. I don't get them for being a bad person. I get them because water gets trapped in my ears, or because my body reacts badly to cow milk. Allergies and other airborn maladies are not the result of direct sin. The common cold does not float around looking to alight upon the worst sinner it finds.
Sometimes bad things happen to us for good reasons. We may live our entire lives not knowing that reason. The Jews of Jesus' day thought that disease was a result of sin.
John 9:1-3The church should accept homosexuals with open arms. But we can't let them stay in their sin. This is the part that "unchurched" people balk at. They want us to let gays be gay, and preach that being gay is OK, when God's word clearly states it is NOT OK.
1 As he (Jesus) went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
The church is full of broken people. A place for the sick, the infirm. Hospital. Not a museum of the greatness of humanity. Christians are not perfect, they are forgiven. This is REHAB, people. The place where we try God's new way, we learn how to live again, with the help of others. This is not the Olympics of Purity. We don't show off how good we are... we rejoice when we make small steps toward our recovery.
The church should also accept murderers, hookers, liars, thieves and the proud. The church should accept me. Should accept you. Should help us fix our brokenness, not condemn the bad job we have done so far. Once we go through that door, we should be helped to become better, become like Christ.
Comment from last time, by Flea: "I think, too, that Paul says it well in I Cor. 5:9-13. I think that's what you are saying. At the same time, I hear you saying that you're calling out the sinners who aren't Christians. Specifically the homosexuals. It's been a struggle for me for awhile, this sin versus the ones Christians are comfortable with, like gluttony." (Bold emphasis mine, not Flea's.)
For the benefit of those who don't know the scriptures like they know their own name, here is the passage to which Flea refers. (Yeah, I had to look it up. I don't know everything. See? Pride, right out the window here.)
I Cor. 5:9-13
9 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—
10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.
11 But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
13 God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."
I agree with Flea that Paul says it best here. In verse 13, that "expel from among you" is an internal instruction; do not let such a man (brother living a lie) stay as a part of your community. I do not want to call out the people who are not part of the church. They are outsiders, and not willingly under the same rules I have accepted. I do want to call to sinners who aren't Christians, not to call them to the mat for their sin, but to offer them the love, peace and forgiveness that God offers freely. The world doesn't often wish to change. They don't see that what they do is against God, and they certainly don't see the eternally damaging results.
I don't want to say that there are no homosexuals in the church, because people are people, and their issues are their own. There are recovering homosexuals in the church. There are recovering dieters, recovering alcoholics. There are divorced people in my congregation, and God hates divorce. I am fat. I have no excuse for it. I make the excuses that I have hormonal issues (which I do, but it should not be my crutch) and I say that I am not good at exercising. But I also concede that I alone have control over what I put in my mouth, and I have not exercised that control. Glutton, just as pointed out.
I have the grace of God. He doesn't want to leave me in this pit of food addiction. God doesn't want to leave me alone any more than He wants Satan to be against Him. Understand this: God even wants to save Satan. Satan has different ideas. Satan fell, by his own willing rebellion against God. He wishes to take as many of us as he can away from God, to hurt God. Satan loves it when we are pitted against one another on the technicalities of our beliefs. When we argue, we are not doing the will of God.
The Amazing part of Grace is that, while God meets us wherever we are, He refuses to leave us there. How can we help but be transformed after being washed by the Creator of everything?
If a homosexual comes to my church, I have no right to call him/her out for the life they are leading. If they come to be added by God, baptized to forgive their sins, then I have nothing to hold against them. That sin is gone, just like my self-loathing is gone, by the grace afforded to any who accept it. However, if they go back to that lifestyle after accepting God's gift of salvation... I suddenly have an obligation to point out what God has to say about it. Not because I want to be the first to point out their faults, but because I want to be the first to help them. I would expect no less from any member of my congregation toward me.
Our first job is to share the good news of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.
I have had an epiphany, of sorts, over the past two years. I have spoken to people who are being the hands and feet of Jesus, and I have watched how to be a loving person to the broken sinner in the street. It is a special job. I have a firm grip on my own prejudices, and my fear, and my pride. Those little pews help me to be so self-righteous! I want to tell the world about Jesus. The world sees me coming in my naivete', and does their best job to knock me down. I don't want to call out the average Joe in the street, but I don't want the average Joe to call me out, either. It is a continual tug-of-war.
We are not supposed to judge the sins of others. That is God's job. I don't do well at giving up that job. I took it from God, and I am loathe to give it back. I am more likely to share about my new toy (I did buy a camera this weekend.) than I am to say out loud that I want a friend who is not saved to meet my Jesus. That is a fault I am working to change. I am not there yet.
I am still in Rehab.
Monday, August 11, 2008
What's Your Motivation?
Apparently, I am motivated by hate.
I know this may shock most of you. My brother might agree, but the rest of you don't know me as the mean teenager I once was.
From the American Family Association, we now hear that those who are opposed to Same Sex Marriages are motivated by hate.
McDonald's has joined forces with gay rights groups, and while I never was a fan of McDonald's, this is the basis for the AFA to call for a boycott. Now, I don't want you thinking that buying one less cheeseburger will really stop the madness. Boycotts are not the best answer, but they are not completely useless, either. However, that is not the issue I wish to discuss. I wish to discuss the real issue at hand.
Homosexuality is a sin. God condemns it in the Bible. It is against His plan for nature, it is against His law, it is against everything I believe in. But...
While I believe in God and do my best to follow his laws (obedience in my freedom in Christ), not everyone on this planet, or even in this country, believes the same way I do. Not even my own father, it seems, has the exact same views. Shocking, isn't it? There are people in this country who worship other ideas, created images, or creation itself. Many other kinds of religion have flooded society with lies, shades of truth, and information out of context. And, unfortunately, they have the right as Americans... no, as Humans... to do so.
I believe that everyone would benefit from a relationship with Christ. The church is His Bride; we are a people that He adores, and wishes to bring home with Him. Even Christ understands that Humans are proud. We are not fond of being in a relationship at all, much less the best one with Him. We like our love to be shallow; we settle for physical pleasure and call it love. We are so ignorant of what real, honest, true Love actually is.
So, as our hate-monger selves, Christians go around trying to legislate the lives of the unchurched. And vice-versa. Which causes a lot of strife. The Bible tells Christians this: 1 Corinthians 5:12-13a "For what have I (Paul wrote this letter) to do with judging outsiders? (those not in the church) Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges." (Notations in parentheses are mine.)
Same Sex Marriages are nothing more than an attempt by a sinful people to give previously denied "rights" to people who are already sinning. If you are the one person in the waiting room while your partner dies in an emergency room, that is not right. To say that only a spouse or blood family member can be in the room is just... inhumane. There are many people who are single or orphans who have none but their closest friends with them. It has nothing to do with one's choice of sexuality. Those basic human rights, to be close to a loved one in a time of crisis, have been denied for many humans. Homosexual couples should not have to demand that courtesy, it should be handed to them with the same care as any human would get. I believe that hospitals have not adapted on this subject to truly serve the public at large. On the hospital side of things, they have the obligation to limit how many people come into strategic areas, but they should not limit whom.
If you choose to live with a person of the same sex and you want to insure your partner, I believe the government has no right to deny that. The insurance companies can argue, but on the basis of health only. They must operate within the laws of the land and the rules in their own policies. It is bad business to deny taking money from customers who need and want your services.
All this is to say that while I have beliefs that homosexuality is wrong, and the people living in that lifestyle choice are going to hell, I do not want the American Government to make laws for or against such behavior. Not the Government's job. (Back to Paul here... we have no jurisdiction over "outsiders", and they have no jurisdiction over the church, either.)
Atheists (which I believe is a religion, but that discussion is also for another time) want Christians to stop demanding God in everything, which is against our relationship. Christians want Atheists to stop ignoring the God of everything, which is against their guesses about the universe. God makes no sense to those who deny that God exists. The tolerance demanded of Christ's followers is not applied to them in equal measure.
Stating the sentence that has already been set for an offense is NOT judging. Those who don't want to hear what I have to say will tell me (yes, I hear this in person a LOT) what the Bible says, but out of context. "Judge not, lest ye be judged." They don't know where to find it, but they know it is in there. This is in Matthew 7:1. Notice how they like to quote good old King James? The education of youth really does stick with you.
I am not making a judgment. I am reciting the sentence that God Himself handed down.
If I told you the penalty for speeding was a ticket, and I could tell you the amount of money you must pay for each of the miles per hour you were above the limit, that is not a judgment. That is a reminder of the sentence. It doesn't change that I want for you to never speed again.
If I told you that the penalty for killing in cold blood is your own death in an electric chair, that is not a judgment. That is a reminder of the sentence. I have not witnessed the murder, bypassed the trial, or condemned you to that death. I have merely stated what law is on the books.
If I told you that the penalty for homosexuality is a life cut short by an unthinkable virus (I think Romans 1:27 shows that God allows AIDS as a result of sin. Not a popular opinion, I know.) followed by a short trip to hell, that is not a judgment. That is a reminder of the sentence. I have not lived the lifestyle choice for you, nor have I argued with you about whether you were born with those tendencies. I have simply shown you where God will judge in the end.
Not believing in God does not stop the fact that He exists, or the fact that you will face Him.
God is the Judge, Jesus is your Defense Attorney. If you don't have THE Attorney, your Defense is lost. God will have no choice, if you are not repentant, but to hand down the verdict that you earned, that last thing you cannot deny... the Judgment that I can predict. No human will escape the Judgment. Read that again, in case you missed it. NO HUMAN will escape the Judgment. We all will have to stand before God, and those with Jesus as their Attorney will receive grace and mercy from the laws they have broken. Those without Jesus will receive the punishments they earned by breaking God's laws. I don't have the right, or the desire, to judge. I didn't write the laws, I can't even interpret them. I break them all the time. We all do, and little white lies are just as sinful as murder, pride and hate. There is prescribed punishment for sin.
There is no defense without Jesus.
The problem I see here is that the world doesn't see the rest of the story. In Romans 1:32, God tells us that those who practice such things (outlined in the verses above) are worthy of death. But then it says that those who heartily approve of such sins and the people who practice them are also worthy of death. If I ever say that it is OK for anyone to be gay, I am worthy of the same death they are subject to. God hates the sin of sexual immorality so much, that if I agree with one who is in that lifestyle, I am going to hell too. Pretty sobering stuff. Notice I did not say that God hates people. He absolutely does not. But, He cannot be in the presence of a willful sinner.
I cannot agree that homosexuality is OK. I cannot sit by and let people in my family and friend circle go to hell, without at least a conversation. I have to say something. I have to try.
I don't want anyone to go to hell, but God says some will. He doesn't want them to go there, either, but He will allow them to make their own mistakes, and give them chances to repent. That is the amazing thing about God's true Love. I think He would have sent Christ, even if it only meant that one of us would be saved. Out of the Billions of humans who have ever lived, I truly believe that Jesus would have come to save only ONE. This salvation isn't limited to ONE, though. You could have it, just as I have accepted it.
If those I love don't listen, I am compelled to try again, even if they don't like hearing what I have to say. I don't think of this as hate. Do you? If your family member is dealing with addiction to alcohol or drugs, do you try once and give up on them? NO. Of course not. You keep trying, hoping they will listen to you someday. They need help, not condemnation. The accusations of hateful motivation come from people who have felt the condemnation, but not felt the help offered in love.
There is also reasoning to shut up. (I know that the "religious right" has a hard time with this) There is Biblical reasoning to take the message elsewhere. When people will not listen, will not repent, and will be hateful to the messengers, that is the time to move the message to another target audience. I cannot change the people who will not see that God's law is superior. I cannot change the fact that homosexuals are still human, and they desire like I do to have basic human respect. I cannot force my beliefs on anyone else. I can love others, and still disapprove of their actions. My goal is to show the love, without ignoring the sin.
So why am I being accused of hate? Satan has taken hold of the Politically Correct trends, and used them to beat up on Christ's followers. Twisted the truth to his own advantage. Made it bad to be good. Sneaky. He has also taken hold of people's fears, and made it offensive to be corrected. In America today, we can no longer discipline our children, arrest our criminals or state ancient rules. When I state God's disapproval of anything, I am hateful. When I show a better way that is contrary to another's pride, I am hateful.
I remember that Jesus said that I would be hated, because I took His Name, and the world hated Him first. The shouting matches will do nothing to calm the hate coming from the outside. I can deal with being hated. I can deal with being accused of hating, even though it is a lie.
Is it hateful to be firm in your beliefs? I don't think so.
I know this may shock most of you. My brother might agree, but the rest of you don't know me as the mean teenager I once was.
From the American Family Association, we now hear that those who are opposed to Same Sex Marriages are motivated by hate.
McDonald's has joined forces with gay rights groups, and while I never was a fan of McDonald's, this is the basis for the AFA to call for a boycott. Now, I don't want you thinking that buying one less cheeseburger will really stop the madness. Boycotts are not the best answer, but they are not completely useless, either. However, that is not the issue I wish to discuss. I wish to discuss the real issue at hand.
Homosexuality is a sin. God condemns it in the Bible. It is against His plan for nature, it is against His law, it is against everything I believe in. But...
While I believe in God and do my best to follow his laws (obedience in my freedom in Christ), not everyone on this planet, or even in this country, believes the same way I do. Not even my own father, it seems, has the exact same views. Shocking, isn't it? There are people in this country who worship other ideas, created images, or creation itself. Many other kinds of religion have flooded society with lies, shades of truth, and information out of context. And, unfortunately, they have the right as Americans... no, as Humans... to do so.
I believe that everyone would benefit from a relationship with Christ. The church is His Bride; we are a people that He adores, and wishes to bring home with Him. Even Christ understands that Humans are proud. We are not fond of being in a relationship at all, much less the best one with Him. We like our love to be shallow; we settle for physical pleasure and call it love. We are so ignorant of what real, honest, true Love actually is.
So, as our hate-monger selves, Christians go around trying to legislate the lives of the unchurched. And vice-versa. Which causes a lot of strife. The Bible tells Christians this: 1 Corinthians 5:12-13a "For what have I (Paul wrote this letter) to do with judging outsiders? (those not in the church) Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges." (Notations in parentheses are mine.)
Same Sex Marriages are nothing more than an attempt by a sinful people to give previously denied "rights" to people who are already sinning. If you are the one person in the waiting room while your partner dies in an emergency room, that is not right. To say that only a spouse or blood family member can be in the room is just... inhumane. There are many people who are single or orphans who have none but their closest friends with them. It has nothing to do with one's choice of sexuality. Those basic human rights, to be close to a loved one in a time of crisis, have been denied for many humans. Homosexual couples should not have to demand that courtesy, it should be handed to them with the same care as any human would get. I believe that hospitals have not adapted on this subject to truly serve the public at large. On the hospital side of things, they have the obligation to limit how many people come into strategic areas, but they should not limit whom.
If you choose to live with a person of the same sex and you want to insure your partner, I believe the government has no right to deny that. The insurance companies can argue, but on the basis of health only. They must operate within the laws of the land and the rules in their own policies. It is bad business to deny taking money from customers who need and want your services.
All this is to say that while I have beliefs that homosexuality is wrong, and the people living in that lifestyle choice are going to hell, I do not want the American Government to make laws for or against such behavior. Not the Government's job. (Back to Paul here... we have no jurisdiction over "outsiders", and they have no jurisdiction over the church, either.)
Atheists (which I believe is a religion, but that discussion is also for another time) want Christians to stop demanding God in everything, which is against our relationship. Christians want Atheists to stop ignoring the God of everything, which is against their guesses about the universe. God makes no sense to those who deny that God exists. The tolerance demanded of Christ's followers is not applied to them in equal measure.
Stating the sentence that has already been set for an offense is NOT judging. Those who don't want to hear what I have to say will tell me (yes, I hear this in person a LOT) what the Bible says, but out of context. "Judge not, lest ye be judged." They don't know where to find it, but they know it is in there. This is in Matthew 7:1. Notice how they like to quote good old King James? The education of youth really does stick with you.
I am not making a judgment. I am reciting the sentence that God Himself handed down.
If I told you the penalty for speeding was a ticket, and I could tell you the amount of money you must pay for each of the miles per hour you were above the limit, that is not a judgment. That is a reminder of the sentence. It doesn't change that I want for you to never speed again.
If I told you that the penalty for killing in cold blood is your own death in an electric chair, that is not a judgment. That is a reminder of the sentence. I have not witnessed the murder, bypassed the trial, or condemned you to that death. I have merely stated what law is on the books.
If I told you that the penalty for homosexuality is a life cut short by an unthinkable virus (I think Romans 1:27 shows that God allows AIDS as a result of sin. Not a popular opinion, I know.) followed by a short trip to hell, that is not a judgment. That is a reminder of the sentence. I have not lived the lifestyle choice for you, nor have I argued with you about whether you were born with those tendencies. I have simply shown you where God will judge in the end.
Not believing in God does not stop the fact that He exists, or the fact that you will face Him.
God is the Judge, Jesus is your Defense Attorney. If you don't have THE Attorney, your Defense is lost. God will have no choice, if you are not repentant, but to hand down the verdict that you earned, that last thing you cannot deny... the Judgment that I can predict. No human will escape the Judgment. Read that again, in case you missed it. NO HUMAN will escape the Judgment. We all will have to stand before God, and those with Jesus as their Attorney will receive grace and mercy from the laws they have broken. Those without Jesus will receive the punishments they earned by breaking God's laws. I don't have the right, or the desire, to judge. I didn't write the laws, I can't even interpret them. I break them all the time. We all do, and little white lies are just as sinful as murder, pride and hate. There is prescribed punishment for sin.
There is no defense without Jesus.
The problem I see here is that the world doesn't see the rest of the story. In Romans 1:32, God tells us that those who practice such things (outlined in the verses above) are worthy of death. But then it says that those who heartily approve of such sins and the people who practice them are also worthy of death. If I ever say that it is OK for anyone to be gay, I am worthy of the same death they are subject to. God hates the sin of sexual immorality so much, that if I agree with one who is in that lifestyle, I am going to hell too. Pretty sobering stuff. Notice I did not say that God hates people. He absolutely does not. But, He cannot be in the presence of a willful sinner.
I cannot agree that homosexuality is OK. I cannot sit by and let people in my family and friend circle go to hell, without at least a conversation. I have to say something. I have to try.
I don't want anyone to go to hell, but God says some will. He doesn't want them to go there, either, but He will allow them to make their own mistakes, and give them chances to repent. That is the amazing thing about God's true Love. I think He would have sent Christ, even if it only meant that one of us would be saved. Out of the Billions of humans who have ever lived, I truly believe that Jesus would have come to save only ONE. This salvation isn't limited to ONE, though. You could have it, just as I have accepted it.
If those I love don't listen, I am compelled to try again, even if they don't like hearing what I have to say. I don't think of this as hate. Do you? If your family member is dealing with addiction to alcohol or drugs, do you try once and give up on them? NO. Of course not. You keep trying, hoping they will listen to you someday. They need help, not condemnation. The accusations of hateful motivation come from people who have felt the condemnation, but not felt the help offered in love.
There is also reasoning to shut up. (I know that the "religious right" has a hard time with this) There is Biblical reasoning to take the message elsewhere. When people will not listen, will not repent, and will be hateful to the messengers, that is the time to move the message to another target audience. I cannot change the people who will not see that God's law is superior. I cannot change the fact that homosexuals are still human, and they desire like I do to have basic human respect. I cannot force my beliefs on anyone else. I can love others, and still disapprove of their actions. My goal is to show the love, without ignoring the sin.
So why am I being accused of hate? Satan has taken hold of the Politically Correct trends, and used them to beat up on Christ's followers. Twisted the truth to his own advantage. Made it bad to be good. Sneaky. He has also taken hold of people's fears, and made it offensive to be corrected. In America today, we can no longer discipline our children, arrest our criminals or state ancient rules. When I state God's disapproval of anything, I am hateful. When I show a better way that is contrary to another's pride, I am hateful.
I remember that Jesus said that I would be hated, because I took His Name, and the world hated Him first. The shouting matches will do nothing to calm the hate coming from the outside. I can deal with being hated. I can deal with being accused of hating, even though it is a lie.
Is it hateful to be firm in your beliefs? I don't think so.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Weeds In My Heart
Beep. Beep. This is a test. This is a test of the Emergency Christian Network. Were this an actual emergency, you would have jumped to action instead of sitting like a lump and questioning "How high?" It seems you have passed this time, but the next time you might not be so gracious. We now conclude this test. Beep.
Do you ever think of minor questions as major tests? Today, a teen neighbor came over and asked if he could borrow our lawnmower. Technically, since I don't use it much, it is DH's lawnmower. I called him to ask if it was OK. I hesitated. He said yes, without much thought. I was the doubting one. My DH is so good!
Now, if it had been for his own yard, I would have been skeptical. But this was for my next door neighbor's yard. Across the street from the teen's house. I have to say that I am... ashamed. And I am still skeptical. I took a bit to go out and clean sticks from our yard, and the teen was mowing across the fence. I was watching him, hoping that he would not break our mower. Begging God that the mower come back full of gas, as it left. I still do not know what will happen. The lawn was tall, and the mower strong, but the teen inexperienced. I do not know if the boy has been raised with the courtesy I hope to see.
This seems to be a small thing, and the part of me that is embarrassed that I hesitated is hoping that his home circumstances allow him to be more than what I expect. It is no small cost if the mower gets broken. His single mom can't afford a new mower for me if he damages ours. After all the car repairs we have had lately, more household expense looks scary.
This seems to be a large thing, and the part of me that gave in is reading the Bible, and remembering that giving to the "least of these" is giving to God. I could be entertaining angels by this kind action. The lawn in question gets mowed nicely, and they only have to pay the teen. The teen learns responsibility, learns to return borrowed items in good condition.
This was a test. I feel as if I passed (I did loan the mower), and failed (I was too wary) at the same time. Does this make sense to anyone but me?
While I was typing this, the lawnmower was left on my front stoop (where the squirrel was a couple of posts back), and there was nobody to be seen. I had only checked the front yard because I saw the car leave across the street. The mower was full of gas, which is very nice, but it was left out in the open in a time when the wrong person could wander by and steal it. I swept off the little green leftovers, and locked it in the garage. He didn't even knock on the door, to tell me thank you. Sigh.
So did I pass? Did I fail? Did the teen? Jesus would have loaned the mower, don't you think? Life is full of little hypothetical questions, and daily challenges. How we act in the face of such determines where we go when our time is up. I hope I made the right choice in the face of my own worries.
It all makes me want to go put on some sunscreen, and go mow my own lawn. Work out my salvation... with work (as well as the fear and trembling). Yard work seems to be like gardening. If I can clean up the yard, maybe I can work out the cleaning of my mind's cobwebs. I am reading a book called "The Shack" by William Young, and while I have not yet finished it, it is making a lot of sense in regard to the mess of our souls. We have to clean out once in a while, and be left with a good, empty patch of fertile ground to receive the seeds that God intends to plant in us. More on that later, especially with Niki, who recommended the book to me.
I need to devote more of my time reading the Bible, and less time thinking about the reasons not to loan the mower out.
Do you ever think of minor questions as major tests? Today, a teen neighbor came over and asked if he could borrow our lawnmower. Technically, since I don't use it much, it is DH's lawnmower. I called him to ask if it was OK. I hesitated. He said yes, without much thought. I was the doubting one. My DH is so good!
Now, if it had been for his own yard, I would have been skeptical. But this was for my next door neighbor's yard. Across the street from the teen's house. I have to say that I am... ashamed. And I am still skeptical. I took a bit to go out and clean sticks from our yard, and the teen was mowing across the fence. I was watching him, hoping that he would not break our mower. Begging God that the mower come back full of gas, as it left. I still do not know what will happen. The lawn was tall, and the mower strong, but the teen inexperienced. I do not know if the boy has been raised with the courtesy I hope to see.
This seems to be a small thing, and the part of me that is embarrassed that I hesitated is hoping that his home circumstances allow him to be more than what I expect. It is no small cost if the mower gets broken. His single mom can't afford a new mower for me if he damages ours. After all the car repairs we have had lately, more household expense looks scary.
This seems to be a large thing, and the part of me that gave in is reading the Bible, and remembering that giving to the "least of these" is giving to God. I could be entertaining angels by this kind action. The lawn in question gets mowed nicely, and they only have to pay the teen. The teen learns responsibility, learns to return borrowed items in good condition.
This was a test. I feel as if I passed (I did loan the mower), and failed (I was too wary) at the same time. Does this make sense to anyone but me?
While I was typing this, the lawnmower was left on my front stoop (where the squirrel was a couple of posts back), and there was nobody to be seen. I had only checked the front yard because I saw the car leave across the street. The mower was full of gas, which is very nice, but it was left out in the open in a time when the wrong person could wander by and steal it. I swept off the little green leftovers, and locked it in the garage. He didn't even knock on the door, to tell me thank you. Sigh.
So did I pass? Did I fail? Did the teen? Jesus would have loaned the mower, don't you think? Life is full of little hypothetical questions, and daily challenges. How we act in the face of such determines where we go when our time is up. I hope I made the right choice in the face of my own worries.
It all makes me want to go put on some sunscreen, and go mow my own lawn. Work out my salvation... with work (as well as the fear and trembling). Yard work seems to be like gardening. If I can clean up the yard, maybe I can work out the cleaning of my mind's cobwebs. I am reading a book called "The Shack" by William Young, and while I have not yet finished it, it is making a lot of sense in regard to the mess of our souls. We have to clean out once in a while, and be left with a good, empty patch of fertile ground to receive the seeds that God intends to plant in us. More on that later, especially with Niki, who recommended the book to me.
I need to devote more of my time reading the Bible, and less time thinking about the reasons not to loan the mower out.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Boil That Trouble, Cauldron Bubble
Word of the Post
Today's word is: forgive
/for*give"/ verb
To cease to feel resentment toward; to give up claim to retribution upon. The person or the action can be the object of this verb; commonly one is the direct object, while the second is the indirect object, i.e. "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." - words of Jesus, Matthew 5:12.
To stop blaming; to absolve from payment. This does not imply that the action was not wrong, but that the feelings of the wronged can be put aside for the betterment of the wrongdoer.
~~~~~~~~~~
Forgive me, I have not posted in a long while. This life gets crazy at times. I have been dealing with travel, helping my friends, and depression. I don't know what causes my depression, but I know that I have it. I have never been diagnosed, because I have no insurance, and do not feel comfortable talking to a doctor that may not be a Christian. I know to some of you, that makes no sense. To me, it is everything. I want to talk out my problems, but I don't want a heathen to listen to the issues that effect my Christianity, because I don't think they can understand the background music. I don't want to talk to a Christian counselor (there are some fine options at my congregation), because I am afraid that I may end up as an example in a public lesson. Either way, I sit here without help, and don't know exactly where to turn.
So, in an effort to get myself out of the funk I have allowed myself to fall into.... I pour myself into work. Around the house, I have done dishes and laundry enough to make my hands raw. For my friends, I have traveled to St. Louis, picked up kids from school and laughed. I have not tried writing, which is usually my first course of action. I have gone through the motions of having a normal life, and hated most of it. Today, I felt I must write. If not for you, then simply for me. In an effort to stir up conversation, and maybe to get myself to think more critically, I want to start a new topic.
I have many strong opinions on this subject, and you may not agree with me at all, but I have to state them, as it is my right to do. I have been prayerfully considering my statements, and I ask that you prayerfully consider your answers. I do not mean to cause division, and I am trying to maintain my own humility toward the subject. My first resource is the Bible. I want to make sure to keep the integrity of the Word, and allowing my opinions to form from there and not from my own pride or humanity.
Many times over the past few months, I have thought on the subject of sexuality. Primarily the sinfulness and public acceptance of the homosexual community. Their public push for equality mirrors that of many minority groups in America. They all want so much equality that they become the standard, not the aberration.
What if the tendency is a born trait? I have a hard time believing that God would create a trait, and then tell us it is a sin. Leviticus 18:22 calls this act "detestable" or "an abomination" depending on the translation you look at. Leviticus 20:13 says that both parties in such an act should be put to death, and the guilt of their blood is on their own heads. Death is the God-decreed punishment for such sin. Why would any god, especially a Creator God, make something that He calls sinful and plans to destroy?
Romans 1:27 - "and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error." (*NOTE: Politically Incorrect thought warning: I don't care that my opinion is not PC. I don't try to be PC. Politics can kiss my left toe. I would rather be a Jesus Freak.) Seems that AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a punishment, a disease brought on by the sin of sexual misconduct. Probably not a new way to die, simply the new term for an age-old illness. I am not saying that everyone with AIDS is a sinner in this manner. There are many ways to Acquire this Deficiency. Children of drug users can get it, having done absolutely nothing wrong. Maybe it got its start in the depravity of sin?
I won't argue if the tendency to be attracted to the same sex is a born trait. I will say that, like any other sexual choice, it is the action and the lifestyle that are sin. I do believe that a person can change. I believe that sexual conduct is a choice. A person who has lived a gay lifestyle can repent, and abstain, as any heterosexual person can abstain. If the tendency is born, then it is a result of human error, not of creation.
I truly do not wish to know what goes on behind the door to anyone else's bedroom. It is none of my business. It is not my place to know, nor to judge. However, if it is brought to my attention (as in, "Hi, I'm gay!") I can feel the need to comment. God has already pronounced judgment on this sin. For me to call a sin by its name and to inform the sinner of the verdict is not a judging. I share only the judgment that is God's word. Sexual conduct in this manner is sin.
The spark on the kindling for this discussion for me this week was a movie ("What Makes a Family", made for TV, 2001) about a woman who had lost her partner (death), and was suing the maternal grandparents for custody of the child (the partner had a sperm-donated baby) she had helped to raise but she had no blood tie to. According to the movie, Florida was at that time the only state with laws still on the books preventing same-sex couples to adopt. Rosie O'Donnell (not my favorite political spokesperson) tried to adopt, in New York, a child from Florida, and was denied because of their laws.
I am not heartless. I want kids to have stable, safe, loving homes to live in. There are way more kids in this world who are unwanted by their birth parents, than there are foster and adoptive homes to care for them. There have been many studies to show (and used in these Florida court cases) that same-sex couples are not any more likely to raise gay children. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. The problem I see is that they are promoting "tolerance" for something that God does not tolerate. The children raised in these homes may not feel that they are personally supposed to be gay, but they are raised with the idea that being gay is OK. That it is "normal". That it is simply a persecuted minority, or a misunderstood cult.
I am not happy about it, but I have family members who have differing opinions and lifestyles than I do. We have had long discussions about this. We all still get along fine. We have a mutual respect. We all understand that Public Displays of Affection are gross, no matter who is doing it. We do not spend the night in each other's homes. We still invite them over for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I pray all the time that their souls will be saved by a change of heart that may never come. It is hard to change a person who 1. does not want to change, and 2. has been with his partner longer than my own parents have been married (more than 38 years).
God calls homosexuality reprehensible. To raise a child in the opinion that it is OK is wrong. To have a strong opinion based on God's laws does not make me "intolerant".
To ignore God is an exercise in futility.
Let the games begin!
Today's word is: forgive
/for*give"/ verb
To cease to feel resentment toward; to give up claim to retribution upon. The person or the action can be the object of this verb; commonly one is the direct object, while the second is the indirect object, i.e. "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." - words of Jesus, Matthew 5:12.
To stop blaming; to absolve from payment. This does not imply that the action was not wrong, but that the feelings of the wronged can be put aside for the betterment of the wrongdoer.
~~~~~~~~~~
Forgive me, I have not posted in a long while. This life gets crazy at times. I have been dealing with travel, helping my friends, and depression. I don't know what causes my depression, but I know that I have it. I have never been diagnosed, because I have no insurance, and do not feel comfortable talking to a doctor that may not be a Christian. I know to some of you, that makes no sense. To me, it is everything. I want to talk out my problems, but I don't want a heathen to listen to the issues that effect my Christianity, because I don't think they can understand the background music. I don't want to talk to a Christian counselor (there are some fine options at my congregation), because I am afraid that I may end up as an example in a public lesson. Either way, I sit here without help, and don't know exactly where to turn.
So, in an effort to get myself out of the funk I have allowed myself to fall into.... I pour myself into work. Around the house, I have done dishes and laundry enough to make my hands raw. For my friends, I have traveled to St. Louis, picked up kids from school and laughed. I have not tried writing, which is usually my first course of action. I have gone through the motions of having a normal life, and hated most of it. Today, I felt I must write. If not for you, then simply for me. In an effort to stir up conversation, and maybe to get myself to think more critically, I want to start a new topic.
I have many strong opinions on this subject, and you may not agree with me at all, but I have to state them, as it is my right to do. I have been prayerfully considering my statements, and I ask that you prayerfully consider your answers. I do not mean to cause division, and I am trying to maintain my own humility toward the subject. My first resource is the Bible. I want to make sure to keep the integrity of the Word, and allowing my opinions to form from there and not from my own pride or humanity.
Many times over the past few months, I have thought on the subject of sexuality. Primarily the sinfulness and public acceptance of the homosexual community. Their public push for equality mirrors that of many minority groups in America. They all want so much equality that they become the standard, not the aberration.
What if the tendency is a born trait? I have a hard time believing that God would create a trait, and then tell us it is a sin. Leviticus 18:22 calls this act "detestable" or "an abomination" depending on the translation you look at. Leviticus 20:13 says that both parties in such an act should be put to death, and the guilt of their blood is on their own heads. Death is the God-decreed punishment for such sin. Why would any god, especially a Creator God, make something that He calls sinful and plans to destroy?
Romans 1:27 - "and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error." (*NOTE: Politically Incorrect thought warning: I don't care that my opinion is not PC. I don't try to be PC. Politics can kiss my left toe. I would rather be a Jesus Freak.) Seems that AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a punishment, a disease brought on by the sin of sexual misconduct. Probably not a new way to die, simply the new term for an age-old illness. I am not saying that everyone with AIDS is a sinner in this manner. There are many ways to Acquire this Deficiency. Children of drug users can get it, having done absolutely nothing wrong. Maybe it got its start in the depravity of sin?
I won't argue if the tendency to be attracted to the same sex is a born trait. I will say that, like any other sexual choice, it is the action and the lifestyle that are sin. I do believe that a person can change. I believe that sexual conduct is a choice. A person who has lived a gay lifestyle can repent, and abstain, as any heterosexual person can abstain. If the tendency is born, then it is a result of human error, not of creation.
I truly do not wish to know what goes on behind the door to anyone else's bedroom. It is none of my business. It is not my place to know, nor to judge. However, if it is brought to my attention (as in, "Hi, I'm gay!") I can feel the need to comment. God has already pronounced judgment on this sin. For me to call a sin by its name and to inform the sinner of the verdict is not a judging. I share only the judgment that is God's word. Sexual conduct in this manner is sin.
The spark on the kindling for this discussion for me this week was a movie ("What Makes a Family", made for TV, 2001) about a woman who had lost her partner (death), and was suing the maternal grandparents for custody of the child (the partner had a sperm-donated baby) she had helped to raise but she had no blood tie to. According to the movie, Florida was at that time the only state with laws still on the books preventing same-sex couples to adopt. Rosie O'Donnell (not my favorite political spokesperson) tried to adopt, in New York, a child from Florida, and was denied because of their laws.
I am not heartless. I want kids to have stable, safe, loving homes to live in. There are way more kids in this world who are unwanted by their birth parents, than there are foster and adoptive homes to care for them. There have been many studies to show (and used in these Florida court cases) that same-sex couples are not any more likely to raise gay children. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. The problem I see is that they are promoting "tolerance" for something that God does not tolerate. The children raised in these homes may not feel that they are personally supposed to be gay, but they are raised with the idea that being gay is OK. That it is "normal". That it is simply a persecuted minority, or a misunderstood cult.
I am not happy about it, but I have family members who have differing opinions and lifestyles than I do. We have had long discussions about this. We all still get along fine. We have a mutual respect. We all understand that Public Displays of Affection are gross, no matter who is doing it. We do not spend the night in each other's homes. We still invite them over for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I pray all the time that their souls will be saved by a change of heart that may never come. It is hard to change a person who 1. does not want to change, and 2. has been with his partner longer than my own parents have been married (more than 38 years).
God calls homosexuality reprehensible. To raise a child in the opinion that it is OK is wrong. To have a strong opinion based on God's laws does not make me "intolerant".
To ignore God is an exercise in futility.
Let the games begin!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Those Graphics Were AWESOME in 1987!
Word of the Post
Today's word is: boon
/boon/
Noun: Favor, benefit; especially in answer to a request or prayer. "Every good and perfect boon is from above." ~ James 1:17 (Rev. Ver.)
Adjective: Favorable, convivial; as in "boon companion". Good or prosperous; as in "boon voyage".
~~~~~~~~~~
Having not ever been excited about video games, I am really happy we have a Wii. I actually like watching DH kill time playing his downloaded copy of Super Mario World. Every task is named for food. Donut Ghost House, Chocolate Fortress (the lava is chocolate, how funny!) and Vanilla Dome. Makes me hungry. I look forward to my own copy of the Adventures of Lolo. I remember Grannie having the NES, and playing that puzzle game. It was fun. You could put things in a bubble and push them out of your way, or block the spines that were shot at you by the faces in the wall. DH also got the original Legend of Zelda. We got the laptop, and promptly neglected the Wii for most of a month. We have fixed the situation, by the downloading of sweet old games (for a nominal fee).
Now, I am trying to appease the laptop witch. I named all our computers for witches. The first was Maleficent, because it sounded good. He spent more time with her than he did with me. (Granted, we were not yet married at the time.) Her floppy disk drive is now in our current computer. The current office computer is Druscilla. I couldn't think of a name I liked, so my tech friend who built her named her. The Wii is Ursula. The wireless router is Medusa. The laptop has no name yet. I am fast running out of Disney witch names, so I have to come up with others. I guess Cruella De Ville is my next in line? I would love to hear options, if you all have any. Wicked Step-Mother doesn't count.
It is fun to name the appliances, cars and computers. They each seem to have a mind of their own. Mom used to say that the cars saw her coming, and started plotting what to do to her. I have that same gift. I am not the only one to have two cars fail in the space of a day. At least we know where I got it from. Mine is not the only family to name cars. I had a teacher in 4th grade who had named her car "Knight" (in shining armor). It was a huge white car. She decided that horsepower sufficed. DH had an Accord named Fenry Honda. We had the Green Monster, a Ford F150 that was 20 when we bought it, and close to double that when we sold it. When we washed it, the paint would turn the sponge green. I called it that before I was old enough to know about the baseball field. I drove the Blue Bomb, a Chevy Suburban. The kids of the family who owned it before us called it the Spruce Goose, after the plane. I thought it was atrocious, but it got me to school the last two weeks of my Senior year. The Baby Battery was a "Copper Top" like a Duracel Battery, my white Ford Fairmont. She was a decent car, until I was away from home and tried to fix her.
Some days it seems as if everything mechanical is out to get me. Possessed. Evil. Demonic. Those days, everything goes wrong. The car won't start, the lights are all red, the popcorn burns in the microwave. On those days, I don't think to ask God for relief. On the good days, when the parking spot at the top of the row opens just as I get there, the lights are all green and the one cop I see takes off to chase someone else, I don't think to thank God. I am so ungrateful.
Ferret and I were just talking about this a few days ago. I get embarrassed and annoyed when other people make a habit of saying "Praise the Lord" or "Thank God". When people curse, I am the first to notice and be offended. Where is the sense in that? I should make the Lord my first thought, not be embarrassed that someone else has. My problem, so far as I see it anyway, is that the people I know who make it a habit to praise over good stuff use it almost as a hollow expression. It doesn't sound as if it holds any real meaning. It becomes a title, like PTL network; or it becomes their catch-all expletive, like the guy who shouts a mild curse every time a play is stopped in his football game. I am somewhat a quieter person when it comes to my faith. I will look up and say "Thank You" when that parking space opens, but I do not praise for good things as much as I should. I guess I don't want to sound fake. How shallow of me.
Today's word is: boon
/boon/
Noun: Favor, benefit; especially in answer to a request or prayer. "Every good and perfect boon is from above." ~ James 1:17 (Rev. Ver.)
Adjective: Favorable, convivial; as in "boon companion". Good or prosperous; as in "boon voyage".
~~~~~~~~~~
Having not ever been excited about video games, I am really happy we have a Wii. I actually like watching DH kill time playing his downloaded copy of Super Mario World. Every task is named for food. Donut Ghost House, Chocolate Fortress (the lava is chocolate, how funny!) and Vanilla Dome. Makes me hungry. I look forward to my own copy of the Adventures of Lolo. I remember Grannie having the NES, and playing that puzzle game. It was fun. You could put things in a bubble and push them out of your way, or block the spines that were shot at you by the faces in the wall. DH also got the original Legend of Zelda. We got the laptop, and promptly neglected the Wii for most of a month. We have fixed the situation, by the downloading of sweet old games (for a nominal fee).
Now, I am trying to appease the laptop witch. I named all our computers for witches. The first was Maleficent, because it sounded good. He spent more time with her than he did with me. (Granted, we were not yet married at the time.) Her floppy disk drive is now in our current computer. The current office computer is Druscilla. I couldn't think of a name I liked, so my tech friend who built her named her. The Wii is Ursula. The wireless router is Medusa. The laptop has no name yet. I am fast running out of Disney witch names, so I have to come up with others. I guess Cruella De Ville is my next in line? I would love to hear options, if you all have any. Wicked Step-Mother doesn't count.
It is fun to name the appliances, cars and computers. They each seem to have a mind of their own. Mom used to say that the cars saw her coming, and started plotting what to do to her. I have that same gift. I am not the only one to have two cars fail in the space of a day. At least we know where I got it from. Mine is not the only family to name cars. I had a teacher in 4th grade who had named her car "Knight" (in shining armor). It was a huge white car. She decided that horsepower sufficed. DH had an Accord named Fenry Honda. We had the Green Monster, a Ford F150 that was 20 when we bought it, and close to double that when we sold it. When we washed it, the paint would turn the sponge green. I called it that before I was old enough to know about the baseball field. I drove the Blue Bomb, a Chevy Suburban. The kids of the family who owned it before us called it the Spruce Goose, after the plane. I thought it was atrocious, but it got me to school the last two weeks of my Senior year. The Baby Battery was a "Copper Top" like a Duracel Battery, my white Ford Fairmont. She was a decent car, until I was away from home and tried to fix her.
Some days it seems as if everything mechanical is out to get me. Possessed. Evil. Demonic. Those days, everything goes wrong. The car won't start, the lights are all red, the popcorn burns in the microwave. On those days, I don't think to ask God for relief. On the good days, when the parking spot at the top of the row opens just as I get there, the lights are all green and the one cop I see takes off to chase someone else, I don't think to thank God. I am so ungrateful.
Ferret and I were just talking about this a few days ago. I get embarrassed and annoyed when other people make a habit of saying "Praise the Lord" or "Thank God". When people curse, I am the first to notice and be offended. Where is the sense in that? I should make the Lord my first thought, not be embarrassed that someone else has. My problem, so far as I see it anyway, is that the people I know who make it a habit to praise over good stuff use it almost as a hollow expression. It doesn't sound as if it holds any real meaning. It becomes a title, like PTL network; or it becomes their catch-all expletive, like the guy who shouts a mild curse every time a play is stopped in his football game. I am somewhat a quieter person when it comes to my faith. I will look up and say "Thank You" when that parking space opens, but I do not praise for good things as much as I should. I guess I don't want to sound fake. How shallow of me.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Cutting Class
Word of the Post
Today's word is: aver
/a"ver/ verb
To affirm, verify, declare as truth; assert, avouch, prove.
"It is sufficient that the very fact hath its foundation in truth, as I do seriously aver is the case. ~ Fielding. {1913 Webster}
~~~~~~~~~~
Just before Gum Drop was born, Jelly Bean invented "itty bitty fives". If you asked for "fives" and held out your hand, she would put her thumb on top of your hand, and her forefinger on the bottom, and rub a little, like rubbing two pennies together, very soft and gentle. Then, she will usually just give you the "fives" you asked for. DH decided to steal her hand, and give it kisses. He pretended to eat her hand, even. She responded by taking her hand back, and saying, "Don't eat my Fives!"
Regarding my class-hopping, I didn't speak to the elder in question, yet. I decided that I needed to have our group's Agenda with me, the part where we want anonymity at all costs highlighted. I have considered that I may need to do this with one of the men from our group, one of the two who are our liaisons to the eldership at our church. I don't want to get to the point of attack. I just want to impress upon him that I don't appreciate being called out in a classroom. I am not in college anymore, and I will (who can stop me?) speak up if I have something to say.
This brings to mind the issue of women speaking. This is probably something you are tired of hearing from me. Once in a while, I just get a subject stuck in my head. I feel I have to "talk" it out, and it takes a while (and the help of others) to get it out of my mind's forefront. I apologize if you don't care anymore. It will not hurt my feelings if you stop reading here. You have seen all the new, important stuff for today. Sneak out of class. Be my guest.
In the churches of my youth, women were teachers in children's classes, but not to speak in the congregational worship service. My Methodist friend in High School was allowed to help serve the Communion at her services. This was unthinkable at my congregation. My Baptist friend was a frequent solo singer at her services. She has an amazing voice. This also would have been unthinkable, but for slightly different reasons.
My question is this: Is it wrong to allow young women to serve Communion? My thoughts: This is not a Speaking role, it is a quiet service role. Women served the meals in homes... how is this different? I personally would not be comfy walking around in church service. It kinda irritates me that my Hubby has to do this so much. I like to sit next to my hubby during services, and there are plenty more men around to serve. Having no children to watch, having a great radio voice, having no limping age or injury, and having not refused ever before... DH gets "drafted" a LOT. How would DH feel if he had to sit there in our regular place without me? If we allow women in this quiet role, however, what would stop them from desiring more public roles? How is this different than making announcements, praying or (swoon) preaching? Is the age of the servers something to consider? I have seen some teens serving who were very much against God all week long, and spiffied up on Sunday. Would this be better or worse or not any different at all if it were girls?
Next question: Is it right to allow young women to serve Communion? My thoughts: This is a public role. If she were asked to do so, it would not be usurping authority over any man. If she refused, would that be any better? In our service, five of the eight people serving Communion never speak. The other three each lead a prayer. Paul said in the Scripture that he did not allow a woman to speak in the service. Was that a directive from God, or just Paul's view of what was proper? If Scripture is God-breathed and inspired, then God doesn't want women to speak in the ceremony of a church service. Yet, Paul says "I". Does this include singing? Speaking to God in church through song is a community act. We also speak to each other in songs, hymns and spiritual songs... so should women be silent in all of the service?
Most of this questioning is tongue-in-cheek. I don't feel comfortable with women at the front of the service. I don't want to be the woman at the front of the service. I do not think it is always wrong, but it certainly is not always right. So, to be fair, I am happy to err on the side of caution when I have no firm opinion of my own. I don't like the "worship teams" that other local congregations have. I don't need four to eight people attached to microphones swaying. I could close my eyes. I do like the idea of microphones for each of the parts in a cappella harmony, especially if there is a new song that most of the congregation doesn't know. I don't believe that the "song and dance" is necessary, but I am not convinced it is wrong.
Powerpoint is not of Satan. Just so you know. I know many people who think that having the songs and sermon notes plastered on the wall so big and bright that everyone can read them (and will look up instead of slumping to sleep) is wrong. Like having a piano in the church, having a speaker system or video capabilities is of Satan. These people won't play dice or cards, don't drink (or even use mouthwash, for fear of Al-Key-Hol touching their lips) and don't even think about dancing. They don't like reading that David danced before the Lord, and his wife was struck barren for telling him that it was inappropriate.
It seems to me that God desires us to celebrate Him. Music (speaking instrumentally here), dance, singing (speaking without instruments) and shouting all can have their place. The discussion comes when we try to find the place for each. God wishes us to be civil to each other in an orderly service for Him. What I am seeing in my area is that people are almost more concerned for their own comfort zones than they are about what God requires.
This study is ongoing. I read a Scripture or two, and form an opinion. Then I find another Scripture or two, and that nudges my opinion in a different direction. My goal is to find the stance that most closely matches the attitude that God asks for. My American Human logic will not always match what God has to say. I don't like all of what God has said. It is hard to know that I can do things to change my eternal destiny. It is tough knowing that many members of my family, not having followed the instructions of God, will not be in Heaven. It is difficult to understand why a God of infinite power would allow humanity to make detrimental choices. We can never remove ourselves from the Love of God. However, we can remove ourselves from the Presence of God.
Today's word is: aver
/a"ver/ verb
To affirm, verify, declare as truth; assert, avouch, prove.
"It is sufficient that the very fact hath its foundation in truth, as I do seriously aver is the case. ~ Fielding. {1913 Webster}
~~~~~~~~~~
Just before Gum Drop was born, Jelly Bean invented "itty bitty fives". If you asked for "fives" and held out your hand, she would put her thumb on top of your hand, and her forefinger on the bottom, and rub a little, like rubbing two pennies together, very soft and gentle. Then, she will usually just give you the "fives" you asked for. DH decided to steal her hand, and give it kisses. He pretended to eat her hand, even. She responded by taking her hand back, and saying, "Don't eat my Fives!"Regarding my class-hopping, I didn't speak to the elder in question, yet. I decided that I needed to have our group's Agenda with me, the part where we want anonymity at all costs highlighted. I have considered that I may need to do this with one of the men from our group, one of the two who are our liaisons to the eldership at our church. I don't want to get to the point of attack. I just want to impress upon him that I don't appreciate being called out in a classroom. I am not in college anymore, and I will (who can stop me?) speak up if I have something to say.
This brings to mind the issue of women speaking. This is probably something you are tired of hearing from me. Once in a while, I just get a subject stuck in my head. I feel I have to "talk" it out, and it takes a while (and the help of others) to get it out of my mind's forefront. I apologize if you don't care anymore. It will not hurt my feelings if you stop reading here. You have seen all the new, important stuff for today. Sneak out of class. Be my guest.
In the churches of my youth, women were teachers in children's classes, but not to speak in the congregational worship service. My Methodist friend in High School was allowed to help serve the Communion at her services. This was unthinkable at my congregation. My Baptist friend was a frequent solo singer at her services. She has an amazing voice. This also would have been unthinkable, but for slightly different reasons.
My question is this: Is it wrong to allow young women to serve Communion? My thoughts: This is not a Speaking role, it is a quiet service role. Women served the meals in homes... how is this different? I personally would not be comfy walking around in church service. It kinda irritates me that my Hubby has to do this so much. I like to sit next to my hubby during services, and there are plenty more men around to serve. Having no children to watch, having a great radio voice, having no limping age or injury, and having not refused ever before... DH gets "drafted" a LOT. How would DH feel if he had to sit there in our regular place without me? If we allow women in this quiet role, however, what would stop them from desiring more public roles? How is this different than making announcements, praying or (swoon) preaching? Is the age of the servers something to consider? I have seen some teens serving who were very much against God all week long, and spiffied up on Sunday. Would this be better or worse or not any different at all if it were girls?
Next question: Is it right to allow young women to serve Communion? My thoughts: This is a public role. If she were asked to do so, it would not be usurping authority over any man. If she refused, would that be any better? In our service, five of the eight people serving Communion never speak. The other three each lead a prayer. Paul said in the Scripture that he did not allow a woman to speak in the service. Was that a directive from God, or just Paul's view of what was proper? If Scripture is God-breathed and inspired, then God doesn't want women to speak in the ceremony of a church service. Yet, Paul says "I". Does this include singing? Speaking to God in church through song is a community act. We also speak to each other in songs, hymns and spiritual songs... so should women be silent in all of the service?
Most of this questioning is tongue-in-cheek. I don't feel comfortable with women at the front of the service. I don't want to be the woman at the front of the service. I do not think it is always wrong, but it certainly is not always right. So, to be fair, I am happy to err on the side of caution when I have no firm opinion of my own. I don't like the "worship teams" that other local congregations have. I don't need four to eight people attached to microphones swaying. I could close my eyes. I do like the idea of microphones for each of the parts in a cappella harmony, especially if there is a new song that most of the congregation doesn't know. I don't believe that the "song and dance" is necessary, but I am not convinced it is wrong.
Powerpoint is not of Satan. Just so you know. I know many people who think that having the songs and sermon notes plastered on the wall so big and bright that everyone can read them (and will look up instead of slumping to sleep) is wrong. Like having a piano in the church, having a speaker system or video capabilities is of Satan. These people won't play dice or cards, don't drink (or even use mouthwash, for fear of Al-Key-Hol touching their lips) and don't even think about dancing. They don't like reading that David danced before the Lord, and his wife was struck barren for telling him that it was inappropriate.
It seems to me that God desires us to celebrate Him. Music (speaking instrumentally here), dance, singing (speaking without instruments) and shouting all can have their place. The discussion comes when we try to find the place for each. God wishes us to be civil to each other in an orderly service for Him. What I am seeing in my area is that people are almost more concerned for their own comfort zones than they are about what God requires.
This study is ongoing. I read a Scripture or two, and form an opinion. Then I find another Scripture or two, and that nudges my opinion in a different direction. My goal is to find the stance that most closely matches the attitude that God asks for. My American Human logic will not always match what God has to say. I don't like all of what God has said. It is hard to know that I can do things to change my eternal destiny. It is tough knowing that many members of my family, not having followed the instructions of God, will not be in Heaven. It is difficult to understand why a God of infinite power would allow humanity to make detrimental choices. We can never remove ourselves from the Love of God. However, we can remove ourselves from the Presence of God.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Am I Fragrant, Or Do I Stink?
Word of the Post
Today's word is: often
/off"en/ adjective (So oft mispronounced as /oft"en/ that it is the first pronunciation I found; this is a sad state of the language.)
Not seldom; frequently; many times at short intervals; common; repeated.
Teh Club often gets together to celebrate; birthdays, accomplishments, holidays. We look for reasons to gather around food.
~~~~~~~~~~
This is a continuation of the discussion sparked by the Fragrant Oil post a few days ago. I start with the question that Niki presented. "Why do you believe THAT power was only given to the Apostles,etc. and why are you sure that those types of miracles aren't happening today? Or did I misunderstand?"
I suppose you could have misunderstood my meaning. I don't feel my thoughts were clear, so I don't blame you for feeling confused. I am still trying to stretch my own boundaries, while not "falling for anything". I am still not solid on my thoughts here. This post, and probably several more like it, will be me mumbling, and opening my study to hear what others have to say, while keeping the Bible as my first witness.
I am most certainly NOT sure that those types of miracles are not happening today. They can, and probably should. You (directly to Niki) have heard stories of miracles happening, and you have had a few in your own life. I have not witnessed anything like that, but I do not doubt that it can happen. As I said somewhere in here, God's power has not changed.
I have also seen "healing" gatherings that were just as fake as the sleight of hand at the circus. Mike Warnke did a stand-up bit about going to a "healing service" and getting hit in the head... "In the name of JESUS! (hit)". He says he got back in line, and the guy says, "I already healed you!" and Mike says, "Yeah, but now I got a headache." Impersonators were a problem in Jesus' time, and have not gone away.
I see this rather like the early baptisms, where the converts were using the Apostle who converted them to lift their own status. "I am of Paul, I am of Apollos". The gift of healing is rare, and precious. Paul said the gift of prophecy was rare, but that other gifts were just as much a part of the whole of the church. In Romans 12, he listed many gifts: prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, mercy. I believe that the next few verses, while most will apply them to the gifts, are also gifts themselves: perseverance, devotion to prayer. So, if I believe that all of these gifts ever existed, I can be sure that they still exist today. If they are rare, then maybe I have not seen the truly gifted. Is that an issue of location or unbelief?
I believe that demon possessions and influence still happen. I have recently become aware that some "diseases" may actually be supernaturally caused. I have personally experienced removal of headaches by prayer. So, if the bad exists still, why not the good? We all want to believe in the reward of Heaven, but we don't really believe in the punishment of Hell. Why is that? I think we have been lulled into forgetfulness.
Maybe Americans are jaded, to the point that even miracles won't sway them. We are so caught up in our own glory and instant gratification, that we tell God that we can do without Him. Which, of course, is folly. Lazarus and the Rich Man come to mind. Luke 16:19-31 The Rich Man is told that his brothers had their chances, and even if they saw a dead man, they would not believe.
I believe that the gift that the Apostles received, to heal by laying on of hands, was a gift they could pass on. In Acts 8, we see Simon the sorcerer trying to buy the ability. All gifts to others seem to come from the Holy Spirit only, not from a human decision. I don't know if that can be given to another anymore. I don't think that the Apostles' gift was carried on beyond that first generation. I don't believe that there is anyone alive today carrying an Apostolic gift of healing. Like the "Apostolic Churches", I think that the gift specifically handed down would make more glory for man than for God. The gift still exists, but not directly from the Apostles. Does that make sense? God chooses who will be blessed, and it is God who deserves all the glory.
I will have to do more searching. I welcome any thoughts you (all my lovely readers) have, any ideas you present, any discussions you can spark. Those things I said about you, Niki, from the "Nice Matters" award, I meant. You truly do humble me; you keep me sharp and on my toes. That thing had a ballet slipper on it, didn't it?
Today's word is: often
/off"en/ adjective (So oft mispronounced as /oft"en/ that it is the first pronunciation I found; this is a sad state of the language.)
Not seldom; frequently; many times at short intervals; common; repeated.
Teh Club often gets together to celebrate; birthdays, accomplishments, holidays. We look for reasons to gather around food.
~~~~~~~~~~
This is a continuation of the discussion sparked by the Fragrant Oil post a few days ago. I start with the question that Niki presented. "Why do you believe THAT power was only given to the Apostles,etc. and why are you sure that those types of miracles aren't happening today? Or did I misunderstand?"
I suppose you could have misunderstood my meaning. I don't feel my thoughts were clear, so I don't blame you for feeling confused. I am still trying to stretch my own boundaries, while not "falling for anything". I am still not solid on my thoughts here. This post, and probably several more like it, will be me mumbling, and opening my study to hear what others have to say, while keeping the Bible as my first witness.
I am most certainly NOT sure that those types of miracles are not happening today. They can, and probably should. You (directly to Niki) have heard stories of miracles happening, and you have had a few in your own life. I have not witnessed anything like that, but I do not doubt that it can happen. As I said somewhere in here, God's power has not changed.
I have also seen "healing" gatherings that were just as fake as the sleight of hand at the circus. Mike Warnke did a stand-up bit about going to a "healing service" and getting hit in the head... "In the name of JESUS! (hit)". He says he got back in line, and the guy says, "I already healed you!" and Mike says, "Yeah, but now I got a headache." Impersonators were a problem in Jesus' time, and have not gone away.
I see this rather like the early baptisms, where the converts were using the Apostle who converted them to lift their own status. "I am of Paul, I am of Apollos". The gift of healing is rare, and precious. Paul said the gift of prophecy was rare, but that other gifts were just as much a part of the whole of the church. In Romans 12, he listed many gifts: prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, mercy. I believe that the next few verses, while most will apply them to the gifts, are also gifts themselves: perseverance, devotion to prayer. So, if I believe that all of these gifts ever existed, I can be sure that they still exist today. If they are rare, then maybe I have not seen the truly gifted. Is that an issue of location or unbelief?
I believe that demon possessions and influence still happen. I have recently become aware that some "diseases" may actually be supernaturally caused. I have personally experienced removal of headaches by prayer. So, if the bad exists still, why not the good? We all want to believe in the reward of Heaven, but we don't really believe in the punishment of Hell. Why is that? I think we have been lulled into forgetfulness.
Maybe Americans are jaded, to the point that even miracles won't sway them. We are so caught up in our own glory and instant gratification, that we tell God that we can do without Him. Which, of course, is folly. Lazarus and the Rich Man come to mind. Luke 16:19-31 The Rich Man is told that his brothers had their chances, and even if they saw a dead man, they would not believe.
I believe that the gift that the Apostles received, to heal by laying on of hands, was a gift they could pass on. In Acts 8, we see Simon the sorcerer trying to buy the ability. All gifts to others seem to come from the Holy Spirit only, not from a human decision. I don't know if that can be given to another anymore. I don't think that the Apostles' gift was carried on beyond that first generation. I don't believe that there is anyone alive today carrying an Apostolic gift of healing. Like the "Apostolic Churches", I think that the gift specifically handed down would make more glory for man than for God. The gift still exists, but not directly from the Apostles. Does that make sense? God chooses who will be blessed, and it is God who deserves all the glory.
I will have to do more searching. I welcome any thoughts you (all my lovely readers) have, any ideas you present, any discussions you can spark. Those things I said about you, Niki, from the "Nice Matters" award, I meant. You truly do humble me; you keep me sharp and on my toes. That thing had a ballet slipper on it, didn't it?
Monday, September 10, 2007
Fragrant Oil and Healing Prayer
Word of the Post
Today's word is: anfractuosity
/an*frac'tu*os"i*ty/ noun
The state of being anfractuous (yeah, like that helps), or full of windings and turnings; i.e. spires on a horn, or roads near cliffs.
Like a road full of hairpin turns, the mystery was full of anfractuosities.
~~~~~~~~~~
Enough about my mood....
I have been doing a lot of reading in the past few days. I love to study. The Bible, Dictionary, Encyclopedia, the Harry Potter series, whatever book I can get my hands on. I love to have discussions with people who read the same things, and actually think about what they have read. Ideas get stuck in my brain, and I have to express them, generally in writing. Usually, I make notes in a binder, and either tear up the paper (the angry writings) or keep it forever, to clutter up my house and make me wonder what I was thinking.
Today's ramblings were inspired by Niki's miracle story. Go check out her Journey blog (there is a link on the left side of my front page). She expressed sadness that the people who raised her (religious family) told her that the miracles died out with the Apostles. I was brought up with this notion as well. Now, I think the reasons for those early miracles are no longer valid. The Apostles were given the power (I believe THAT power was given to the Apostles, and only the people they laid hands on to pass it on. That bit of power DID die with the Apostles) because they were spreading the Gospel to a world that could not read the Bible for themselves. The miracles were performed in public, to glorify the God who was offering salvation to the masses. I think that the frequency of the miracles is no longer necessary, either. Any miracle can be done at any time, with the approval of God, but we no longer need to have public forums with multiple miracles in order to share Jesus.
Now, having said all those classic ideas, I agree with Niki that I (we humans) have no right to limit God's power. I do not want to express hubris by telling others that miracles are not possible anymore. God's power has not changed. The God who created the "laws" of physics can just as easily rewrite DNA, clear leprosy, remove tumors and allergies, and relieve physical distress. The fact that I do not have the faith enough to bother to ask Him to do it is not a limit on God's power, but on me.
I have said for years that the churches I grew up in didn’t seem to believe that the elders could pray and lay on hands, and that they could really bring about healing by these things. What a sad loss to the faithful! The church has missed out on a great power. In all my years in the churches of Christ, over 5 states I have lived in, through 8 congregations I have been an active part in... I have never seen, or even heard of, an elder in the church going to visit the sick, anointing the person, touching them and praying over them. The elders go visit, and pray, and sometimes touch. But the anointing is overlooked.
James 5:14-15 (New American Standard Bible translation) ~ "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him."
I think that the practice of anointing has fallen out of popularity. I see this New Testament verse as a direction. It is the responsibility of the elders to do, but also the responsibility of the church members to call the elders. In Niki's story, there is no mention of anointing, but only prayer. God is powerful, and I believe that the hearts of the petitioners were pure in their request to God. I see that anointing is not the only component, but it is the one that I know the least about, so I decided to research it.
When the Bible talks about anointing a King, or things in the Temple, there is an Holy Oil mixture. There is a recipe in the book of Exodus. It speaks of fine spices and the measure of olive oil. The Holy Oil is supposed to be very fine, the work of a Perfumer. This is not to be any run-of-the-mill oil. Like tithes, it is to be made of the finest ingredients, the best of what we have. However, there is a warning. Exodus 30:33 ~ "Whoever shall mix any like it, or whoever puts any of it on a layman, shall be cut off from his people." So this is not the oil intended for anointing a sick person.
Most of the "oil" references in the Bible, that I have found anyway, are speaking of Olive oil. It seems that Olive is a good "carrier" oil, that works well with other scents, and does not overpower the spices used with it. Almond oil tends to have its own (while usually sweet) aroma, and the mixtures would smell differently. There are many spices, fruits and essences that are mentioned in the Bible. Cinnamon, Myrrh, Frankincense, Henna, Rose, Lily, Apple, Grape, Fig, Pomegranate, Milk, Honey, Cedar, Cypress, Dates, Balsam, Fruit Tree Blossoms, Herbs, and "mountains of spices".
I had trouble finding any example of anointing oil recipes, other than the Holy one. It seems that the oil itself is good. I need to research the customs of the Jews, hoping that they have a "common man" oil recipe. I have seen bottles of "anointing oil" that are used by others, in places like Mardel and Cokesbury (local Christian supply stores).
I have not completed the research I wish to do on this subject. Please do not think that I have made any definite findings. I don't want anyone who reads Niki's story to be critical. Her son is healed. God did it, and God gets all the glory for it. Humans asked for it, with fervent prayer. In her post, she quotes a Scripture in reference to one healing Jesus performed.
Mark 9:24b ~ "I do believe; help my unbelief."
I am ending this open post with part of my response to Niki's story.
"We are bound by the limitations of our finite thoughts, and I think God laughs. He wants us to break out of the limitations and jump like crazy into trusting only Him. I must confess, I was skeptical when I started reading. Now, I am convinced, and convicted. God also used you to help our unbelief!
Today's word is: anfractuosity
/an*frac'tu*os"i*ty/ noun
The state of being anfractuous (yeah, like that helps), or full of windings and turnings; i.e. spires on a horn, or roads near cliffs.
Like a road full of hairpin turns, the mystery was full of anfractuosities.
~~~~~~~~~~
Enough about my mood....
I have been doing a lot of reading in the past few days. I love to study. The Bible, Dictionary, Encyclopedia, the Harry Potter series, whatever book I can get my hands on. I love to have discussions with people who read the same things, and actually think about what they have read. Ideas get stuck in my brain, and I have to express them, generally in writing. Usually, I make notes in a binder, and either tear up the paper (the angry writings) or keep it forever, to clutter up my house and make me wonder what I was thinking.
Today's ramblings were inspired by Niki's miracle story. Go check out her Journey blog (there is a link on the left side of my front page). She expressed sadness that the people who raised her (religious family) told her that the miracles died out with the Apostles. I was brought up with this notion as well. Now, I think the reasons for those early miracles are no longer valid. The Apostles were given the power (I believe THAT power was given to the Apostles, and only the people they laid hands on to pass it on. That bit of power DID die with the Apostles) because they were spreading the Gospel to a world that could not read the Bible for themselves. The miracles were performed in public, to glorify the God who was offering salvation to the masses. I think that the frequency of the miracles is no longer necessary, either. Any miracle can be done at any time, with the approval of God, but we no longer need to have public forums with multiple miracles in order to share Jesus.
Now, having said all those classic ideas, I agree with Niki that I (we humans) have no right to limit God's power. I do not want to express hubris by telling others that miracles are not possible anymore. God's power has not changed. The God who created the "laws" of physics can just as easily rewrite DNA, clear leprosy, remove tumors and allergies, and relieve physical distress. The fact that I do not have the faith enough to bother to ask Him to do it is not a limit on God's power, but on me.
I have said for years that the churches I grew up in didn’t seem to believe that the elders could pray and lay on hands, and that they could really bring about healing by these things. What a sad loss to the faithful! The church has missed out on a great power. In all my years in the churches of Christ, over 5 states I have lived in, through 8 congregations I have been an active part in... I have never seen, or even heard of, an elder in the church going to visit the sick, anointing the person, touching them and praying over them. The elders go visit, and pray, and sometimes touch. But the anointing is overlooked.
James 5:14-15 (New American Standard Bible translation) ~ "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him."
I think that the practice of anointing has fallen out of popularity. I see this New Testament verse as a direction. It is the responsibility of the elders to do, but also the responsibility of the church members to call the elders. In Niki's story, there is no mention of anointing, but only prayer. God is powerful, and I believe that the hearts of the petitioners were pure in their request to God. I see that anointing is not the only component, but it is the one that I know the least about, so I decided to research it.
When the Bible talks about anointing a King, or things in the Temple, there is an Holy Oil mixture. There is a recipe in the book of Exodus. It speaks of fine spices and the measure of olive oil. The Holy Oil is supposed to be very fine, the work of a Perfumer. This is not to be any run-of-the-mill oil. Like tithes, it is to be made of the finest ingredients, the best of what we have. However, there is a warning. Exodus 30:33 ~ "Whoever shall mix any like it, or whoever puts any of it on a layman, shall be cut off from his people." So this is not the oil intended for anointing a sick person.
Most of the "oil" references in the Bible, that I have found anyway, are speaking of Olive oil. It seems that Olive is a good "carrier" oil, that works well with other scents, and does not overpower the spices used with it. Almond oil tends to have its own (while usually sweet) aroma, and the mixtures would smell differently. There are many spices, fruits and essences that are mentioned in the Bible. Cinnamon, Myrrh, Frankincense, Henna, Rose, Lily, Apple, Grape, Fig, Pomegranate, Milk, Honey, Cedar, Cypress, Dates, Balsam, Fruit Tree Blossoms, Herbs, and "mountains of spices".
I had trouble finding any example of anointing oil recipes, other than the Holy one. It seems that the oil itself is good. I need to research the customs of the Jews, hoping that they have a "common man" oil recipe. I have seen bottles of "anointing oil" that are used by others, in places like Mardel and Cokesbury (local Christian supply stores).
I have not completed the research I wish to do on this subject. Please do not think that I have made any definite findings. I don't want anyone who reads Niki's story to be critical. Her son is healed. God did it, and God gets all the glory for it. Humans asked for it, with fervent prayer. In her post, she quotes a Scripture in reference to one healing Jesus performed.
Mark 9:24b ~ "I do believe; help my unbelief."
I am ending this open post with part of my response to Niki's story.
"We are bound by the limitations of our finite thoughts, and I think God laughs. He wants us to break out of the limitations and jump like crazy into trusting only Him. I must confess, I was skeptical when I started reading. Now, I am convinced, and convicted. God also used you to help our unbelief!
Praise be to God alone!"
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
What I Should Have Said Was...
Word of the Post
Today's word is: enmity
/en"mi*ty/ noun
Hostility or unfriendly disposition; the quality of being an enemy; a state of deep-seated ill will.
I try to be a nice person, but sometime enmity attacks my spirit. I feel it in return to the people who display it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Yesterday, I was at the grocery store with Roadrunner and her two boys. The boys were being boys. They were not, however, being boys run amok with orneriness. They were not in the way, not running away, not disobeying (yet), and not even showing a little bit of hyper. There was a woman who walked past us, as she was leaving the store, and apparently the big boy was in her way. I don't see how he was in her way, he was next to me.
She walked past us, mumbling hateful things. The parts I heard were "BOY, you better move out of my way!" and "GAWD, I am glad I am not a parent, Thank GAWD, I am thankful I am not a parent!" I have to admit that the anger rose in me. Quickly, fiercely rose in me, and stayed there for a while. I yelled at her, "Yeah, well, SO ARE WE!"
The way she called my buddy "BOY" was rude. I don't want to make this about race. She was a mad woman. I can tell you she was black and she said it the same way white slave owners in the deep south used to call black people "BOY". It was uncalled for, because he was not in the way. It was mean and hateful. What a horrible way to treat another human!
I realize that there are several factors here. One, I am not a parent either. This wasn't my child she insulted. Their mother didn't hear the hate. The boys didn't hear the hate. But these boys were not misbehaving in any way. There was no reason for her to be angry at them just for existing. Two, I want more than anything to become a parent. I can't explain it, I just desire it. She doesn't. That makes no difference to me. I get tired of hearing other people's kids screaming or shouting rude comments. I get angry at those same children who disrespect their parents, and I get angrier that the parents don't do anything about it. Three, the way she "prayed" to GAWD made me angry. To thank God is one thing, but to be so flippant with His name was sharp on my nerves. And Four, I am not sorry that I yelled back at her. I AM ALSO glad that she is not a parent. Why would I wish her to be a parent if I know that she would raise her children in the same rude, mean, hateful manner? I am sure that God knows that her children would be terrors. Good for Him to make sure that she does not have children.
The last point here is the one that scares me. I was hateful to her, too. I do not know who the woman was, nothing about her age, her education, her culture. Her voice sounded just like a woman I used to work with, and that may have been more of a nail on the chalkboard of my nerves than what she actually said. I could have chosen to ignore it, and never told Roadrunner that some random woman at the store was rude to her son. But I chose to yell, and that was not a good example to anyone.
I need to stop and think before I speak. I have always had a quick tongue and temper. This is against the ideal of the person I want to become. I obviously have a lot of work to do. God has a lot of work to do in me.
Today's word is: enmity
/en"mi*ty/ noun
Hostility or unfriendly disposition; the quality of being an enemy; a state of deep-seated ill will.
I try to be a nice person, but sometime enmity attacks my spirit. I feel it in return to the people who display it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Yesterday, I was at the grocery store with Roadrunner and her two boys. The boys were being boys. They were not, however, being boys run amok with orneriness. They were not in the way, not running away, not disobeying (yet), and not even showing a little bit of hyper. There was a woman who walked past us, as she was leaving the store, and apparently the big boy was in her way. I don't see how he was in her way, he was next to me.
She walked past us, mumbling hateful things. The parts I heard were "BOY, you better move out of my way!" and "GAWD, I am glad I am not a parent, Thank GAWD, I am thankful I am not a parent!" I have to admit that the anger rose in me. Quickly, fiercely rose in me, and stayed there for a while. I yelled at her, "Yeah, well, SO ARE WE!"
The way she called my buddy "BOY" was rude. I don't want to make this about race. She was a mad woman. I can tell you she was black and she said it the same way white slave owners in the deep south used to call black people "BOY". It was uncalled for, because he was not in the way. It was mean and hateful. What a horrible way to treat another human!
I realize that there are several factors here. One, I am not a parent either. This wasn't my child she insulted. Their mother didn't hear the hate. The boys didn't hear the hate. But these boys were not misbehaving in any way. There was no reason for her to be angry at them just for existing. Two, I want more than anything to become a parent. I can't explain it, I just desire it. She doesn't. That makes no difference to me. I get tired of hearing other people's kids screaming or shouting rude comments. I get angry at those same children who disrespect their parents, and I get angrier that the parents don't do anything about it. Three, the way she "prayed" to GAWD made me angry. To thank God is one thing, but to be so flippant with His name was sharp on my nerves. And Four, I am not sorry that I yelled back at her. I AM ALSO glad that she is not a parent. Why would I wish her to be a parent if I know that she would raise her children in the same rude, mean, hateful manner? I am sure that God knows that her children would be terrors. Good for Him to make sure that she does not have children.
The last point here is the one that scares me. I was hateful to her, too. I do not know who the woman was, nothing about her age, her education, her culture. Her voice sounded just like a woman I used to work with, and that may have been more of a nail on the chalkboard of my nerves than what she actually said. I could have chosen to ignore it, and never told Roadrunner that some random woman at the store was rude to her son. But I chose to yell, and that was not a good example to anyone.
I need to stop and think before I speak. I have always had a quick tongue and temper. This is against the ideal of the person I want to become. I obviously have a lot of work to do. God has a lot of work to do in me.
Friday, August 3, 2007
A Penny In My Pocket - Burning A Hole
Word of the Post
Today's word is: ululate
/ul"yuh*layt/ or /yool"yuh*layt/ intransitive verb
To howl, as a dog or wolf; to wail; as, ululating jackals.
I don't really yet know what "intransitive" exactly entails. I am working on it. That part of speech stuff was a LONG time ago for me. That will probably be the next word. While you wait, you may ululate.
~~~~~~~~~~
I am going to go out today and "shop, shop, shop until I drop, drop, drop". This is Oklahoma's tax-free weekend. We are trying to keep business here, instead of consumers going to Texas to do their back to school shopping. I need jeans, and baby gifts. Roadrunner's kids need school uniforms. We are going to go together.
I have an ear infection (this is far too common for me). I got to the doctor yesterday, and now have medicine. The coughing is not as bad, but the headaches are not going away, and I feel like I have cotton in both ears. Ugh. I HATE being sick. It is no fun. But, I will be fine in a few days.
Jelly Bean now has a toy microphone that she carries around the house, taking requests. Karaoke Kiddo! She is really good at "Baa, Baa Black Sheep" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". She even pauses for applause when she is done. She is so clever. It makes me laugh out loud to hear stories of her cuteness.
Go for a moment to Lisa's Perspective, she has a picture on her post that is amazing. The human brain is still such a mystery to doctors. How can people say there is no God, when the complex and minute (very small, not time) cannot be explained or reproduced?
Accident has never produced such complexity; even fortuitous accidents cannot produce the sheer quantity of complexities this world holds. Explaining the existence of the Earth, and all the animals and plants that live here, by evolution is as likely as piling a lot of lumber in a pit and using dynamite to have an explosion, and expecting it to build you a house. Change over time is ultimately true, but things left alone will only decay, not improve. Even adaptation is only a lateral move.
That seems enough deep thought for the day.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Today's word is: ululate
/ul"yuh*layt/ or /yool"yuh*layt/ intransitive verb
To howl, as a dog or wolf; to wail; as, ululating jackals.
I don't really yet know what "intransitive" exactly entails. I am working on it. That part of speech stuff was a LONG time ago for me. That will probably be the next word. While you wait, you may ululate.
~~~~~~~~~~
I am going to go out today and "shop, shop, shop until I drop, drop, drop". This is Oklahoma's tax-free weekend. We are trying to keep business here, instead of consumers going to Texas to do their back to school shopping. I need jeans, and baby gifts. Roadrunner's kids need school uniforms. We are going to go together.
I have an ear infection (this is far too common for me). I got to the doctor yesterday, and now have medicine. The coughing is not as bad, but the headaches are not going away, and I feel like I have cotton in both ears. Ugh. I HATE being sick. It is no fun. But, I will be fine in a few days.
Jelly Bean now has a toy microphone that she carries around the house, taking requests. Karaoke Kiddo! She is really good at "Baa, Baa Black Sheep" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". She even pauses for applause when she is done. She is so clever. It makes me laugh out loud to hear stories of her cuteness.
Go for a moment to Lisa's Perspective, she has a picture on her post that is amazing. The human brain is still such a mystery to doctors. How can people say there is no God, when the complex and minute (very small, not time) cannot be explained or reproduced?
Accident has never produced such complexity; even fortuitous accidents cannot produce the sheer quantity of complexities this world holds. Explaining the existence of the Earth, and all the animals and plants that live here, by evolution is as likely as piling a lot of lumber in a pit and using dynamite to have an explosion, and expecting it to build you a house. Change over time is ultimately true, but things left alone will only decay, not improve. Even adaptation is only a lateral move.
That seems enough deep thought for the day.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Turn With Me, If You Will, To Page Five Hundred Sixty-Five
Word of the Post
Today's word is: quicken
/quick"en/ verb
To come to life; to make alive, resuscitate; to stimulate or revive; to show signs of life; to move, as in a fetus in the womb. I remember a song in church about being "quickened from the dead", referring to Jesus. I also was influenced by the "quickening", which seemed to be the transference of life-force from one Immortal to another in the Highlander movies and series. There can be only one, after all.
~~~~~~~~~~
I am my Father's child. It drives me nuts when someone asks me to turn to the Page, instead of what they really mean: the Number. The songs are often placed more than one to a page, so a book with 900 songs can have a mere 750 pages. Yep, I am that crotchety old woman who insists that the English language be used correctly. How sad for me. One of the guys who leads singing sometimes says "Notice with me number..." That is cute. Different than anyone else, and probably more accurate.
Music is a strong signal of memory. For me it is second only to smell, and the two are very close. A tune can bring me back to a time in my childhood long forgotten. In our songbook at church, called "Praise for the LORD", there is a song that I have known pretty much all my life. The title is listed "Savior, Thy Dying Love", and is also more commonly known (in previous editions of the books?) by the title "Something For Thee".
Those of you who have not grown up knowing this piece from church would probably recognize the music if I could play it for you. Elvis Presley used a very similar tune for his hit, Love Me Tender. Now I know that I probably heard Elvis use this tune first, which is really funny to me. The tune was written in 1871, and the song lyrics we use in church were written in 1862. I know Elvis isn't near that old. He's 72, living out his life in some rural part of the country. Just makes it hard to concentrate on church services, when you have Elvis running around in your mind, singing Love Me Tender, and Blue Suede Shoes.
Mom is an Elvis fan. DH is a Beatles fan. I have found that people who like the music from the decade of the 60's are fans of either one or the other. It is very rare to find anyone who likes both equally. It becomes almost an argument about serving two masters... fans often love one, and despise the other.
I don't know why that really struck me today, it just did. Many times I find myself thinking farther back than music in my memory. A simple thumbtack, and I am thinking of watching my friend jump up off the staircase we were sitting on to talk, because she sat on one. I was about 5. Which leads me to think of the Vacation Bible School song about the Devil sitting on a tack if he didn't like us praising Jesus. (OUCH!) A cheap kid's perfume reminds me of the Christmas my cousin and I got matching presents. I can still see the perfumed spongy dabber, the silly comb that was shaped like a fudge Popsicle, and the matching dolls in different colored dresses. I don't remember liking that year, because we both wanted trucks, (neither of us was a girlie girl, we were both very tomboy at the time) and we didn't like the colors we were given. I think we even tried to switch before the day was over. We talked about it years later, and decided that the parents didn't want us feeling jealous of each other, but we felt we both lost out on the specialness of thought toward our gifts.
There is a group of people at church who are learning new songs written by a man who lives in St. Petersburg. He has written whole symphonies to God in Russian, and many of the songs he has allowed to be translated into English. He visited here about a year ago, and he had a group of his music students with him, to sing for us. His music is phenomenal. There are not words to describe it, truly, until you hear it. He spoke in Chapel at Oklahoma Christian, and said (in complete honesty, and with all frustration) that when our groups went to his school in Russia, that it was neat to have us there, but our music was terrible. Knowing the Contemporary Christian stuff they are promoting these days, I would agree with him. I sing whatever I don't hear, so I am learning these in Soprano for now. I will move to Alto (more my comfort zone) when we get more Sopranos learning, or we get the whole congregation singing them correctly. I really love being in a group again. I would even be willing to perform, given the right situation.
On a totally unrelated topic, I never had indoor pets as a kid. Mom was allergic to the cats I wanted. We always had outdoor cats, because mom would let us feed them dry food sometimes, and of course, they would just stick around for the free lunch. I feel lucky to have indoor cats now, I love having something to purr next to me when I am feeling lonely, or to make me laugh when I am feeling depressed.
The rescue, Marvel, is my sweet boy. He is very happy with his schedule (not pronounced with the K sound in it, but like shed-ule, imagining Rush Limbaugh and his fake British accent) around here. Eat, drink water dripping from the bathroom faucets, run like mad all over the place, beat up the sister, and nap. (Lather, rinse, repeat.) He is always so clean and soft, it is amazing. Here he is being a 12-pack of Dublin Dr. Pepper cans.
Little Girl, Mystic, is just the cutie pie, who makes you want to pick her up. Which she doesn't like, so she squirms to be released. She does a push-twist-stretch that would be perfect for Cirque du Soleil. We fondly call her "Princess Touch-Me-Not". She is very good at knowing just how far away she can step, so that you can no longer reach her, then turning and looking at you. It is as if she is challenging you to try it again. This is Mystic, from the comfort of being in my way.
This is their mutual favorite spot, on top of the thing I am looking for or the thing I am using. This bag is permanently their property, so I guess I can't ever throw it away. Not that I want to, it is a good bag.
Look for your memory triggers. Is it music, smells in a kitchen, or the sounds of traffic rushing by? Is it something that you do the same way as someone taught you? Is it the thing that you once said you would Never do? Take some time today to remember more innocent times, and see if you can learn something new from your past.
Today's word is: quicken
/quick"en/ verb
To come to life; to make alive, resuscitate; to stimulate or revive; to show signs of life; to move, as in a fetus in the womb. I remember a song in church about being "quickened from the dead", referring to Jesus. I also was influenced by the "quickening", which seemed to be the transference of life-force from one Immortal to another in the Highlander movies and series. There can be only one, after all.
~~~~~~~~~~
I am my Father's child. It drives me nuts when someone asks me to turn to the Page, instead of what they really mean: the Number. The songs are often placed more than one to a page, so a book with 900 songs can have a mere 750 pages. Yep, I am that crotchety old woman who insists that the English language be used correctly. How sad for me. One of the guys who leads singing sometimes says "Notice with me number..." That is cute. Different than anyone else, and probably more accurate.
Music is a strong signal of memory. For me it is second only to smell, and the two are very close. A tune can bring me back to a time in my childhood long forgotten. In our songbook at church, called "Praise for the LORD", there is a song that I have known pretty much all my life. The title is listed "Savior, Thy Dying Love", and is also more commonly known (in previous editions of the books?) by the title "Something For Thee".
Those of you who have not grown up knowing this piece from church would probably recognize the music if I could play it for you. Elvis Presley used a very similar tune for his hit, Love Me Tender. Now I know that I probably heard Elvis use this tune first, which is really funny to me. The tune was written in 1871, and the song lyrics we use in church were written in 1862. I know Elvis isn't near that old. He's 72, living out his life in some rural part of the country. Just makes it hard to concentrate on church services, when you have Elvis running around in your mind, singing Love Me Tender, and Blue Suede Shoes.
Mom is an Elvis fan. DH is a Beatles fan. I have found that people who like the music from the decade of the 60's are fans of either one or the other. It is very rare to find anyone who likes both equally. It becomes almost an argument about serving two masters... fans often love one, and despise the other.
I don't know why that really struck me today, it just did. Many times I find myself thinking farther back than music in my memory. A simple thumbtack, and I am thinking of watching my friend jump up off the staircase we were sitting on to talk, because she sat on one. I was about 5. Which leads me to think of the Vacation Bible School song about the Devil sitting on a tack if he didn't like us praising Jesus. (OUCH!) A cheap kid's perfume reminds me of the Christmas my cousin and I got matching presents. I can still see the perfumed spongy dabber, the silly comb that was shaped like a fudge Popsicle, and the matching dolls in different colored dresses. I don't remember liking that year, because we both wanted trucks, (neither of us was a girlie girl, we were both very tomboy at the time) and we didn't like the colors we were given. I think we even tried to switch before the day was over. We talked about it years later, and decided that the parents didn't want us feeling jealous of each other, but we felt we both lost out on the specialness of thought toward our gifts.
There is a group of people at church who are learning new songs written by a man who lives in St. Petersburg. He has written whole symphonies to God in Russian, and many of the songs he has allowed to be translated into English. He visited here about a year ago, and he had a group of his music students with him, to sing for us. His music is phenomenal. There are not words to describe it, truly, until you hear it. He spoke in Chapel at Oklahoma Christian, and said (in complete honesty, and with all frustration) that when our groups went to his school in Russia, that it was neat to have us there, but our music was terrible. Knowing the Contemporary Christian stuff they are promoting these days, I would agree with him. I sing whatever I don't hear, so I am learning these in Soprano for now. I will move to Alto (more my comfort zone) when we get more Sopranos learning, or we get the whole congregation singing them correctly. I really love being in a group again. I would even be willing to perform, given the right situation.
On a totally unrelated topic, I never had indoor pets as a kid. Mom was allergic to the cats I wanted. We always had outdoor cats, because mom would let us feed them dry food sometimes, and of course, they would just stick around for the free lunch. I feel lucky to have indoor cats now, I love having something to purr next to me when I am feeling lonely, or to make me laugh when I am feeling depressed.
The rescue, Marvel, is my sweet boy. He is very happy with his schedule (not pronounced with the K sound in it, but like shed-ule, imagining Rush Limbaugh and his fake British accent) around here. Eat, drink water dripping from the bathroom faucets, run like mad all over the place, beat up the sister, and nap. (Lather, rinse, repeat.) He is always so clean and soft, it is amazing. Here he is being a 12-pack of Dublin Dr. Pepper cans.
Little Girl, Mystic, is just the cutie pie, who makes you want to pick her up. Which she doesn't like, so she squirms to be released. She does a push-twist-stretch that would be perfect for Cirque du Soleil. We fondly call her "Princess Touch-Me-Not". She is very good at knowing just how far away she can step, so that you can no longer reach her, then turning and looking at you. It is as if she is challenging you to try it again. This is Mystic, from the comfort of being in my way.
This is their mutual favorite spot, on top of the thing I am looking for or the thing I am using. This bag is permanently their property, so I guess I can't ever throw it away. Not that I want to, it is a good bag.Look for your memory triggers. Is it music, smells in a kitchen, or the sounds of traffic rushing by? Is it something that you do the same way as someone taught you? Is it the thing that you once said you would Never do? Take some time today to remember more innocent times, and see if you can learn something new from your past.
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