I don't really feel like writing anything complex today. I simply want to take a nap. I have been stuck in the house so much this summer because of lack of money, that I am beginning to wonder how bad I really want a job. As soon as I think that thought I want to kick myself. I can't go without a job! But maybe instead of questioning if I want one, maybe I am gearing myself up for the possibility of not getting one. UGH. The idea of diving into a classroom with a bunch of kids without any prep time scares me to death! I could be getting lesson plans ready now, but I don't know what age or class I will be teaching. I really don't want to sub again. Especially not with the new automated call system. You get less choice of where you go or who you sub for.
Oh, randomness on a summer day! I wish I were kicking it on some big back porch out in the country! Someday...someday.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Life without the news.
Last year we dropped all of our cable except the local stations. I kept in touch with the world on my way to and from work while listening to satellite radio. I have Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC all on radio! Great for a news junkie like me. BUT, I did not even notice how little news I was getting over the summer since I am not in the car much. I have read some blogs and stuff, but they are political in nature and with the upcoming elections...well you know what the majority of those posts are about.
My husband told me over the weekend that Iran was rattling sabers! WHAT?!?! They launch mid range missiles and declared they could attack US outposts in the Middle East? How the heck did I miss such a thing?!?!?! Well, once I realized I missed that news, I never even looked it up to read about it. Guess I am not such a news junkie after all.
Anyway, I'm kinda Machiavellian where that kind of thing is concerned but upon hearing about it, I asked hubby what we are doing about it-hoping we kicked butt and told them where they could shove their mid-range missiles, but knowing full well that the current administration wouldn't dare. Hubby replies, "oh I'm sure he apologized to them." In my fit of laughter, I added, "and bowed to Ahmadinejad while he did it."
We are so silly
Anyway, I saw a video recently about a Muslim festival in Dearborn, Michigan where some "christians" went to protest. Now the signs these wackos were carrying were not anything that would incite a peaceful discussion. No, they were blatantly saying that Muslims were evil and going to hell. Well, the police would not do anything to protect those morons and the Muslims youth started pelting them with rocks and bottles and such. DUH! The police ended up escorting the cretins..er..I mean...christians out of the area saying they didn't have enough manpower to "protect" them. Later however, the same group's van was pulled over by a dozen or so cops.
This has so much stupidity written all over it. First, a Muslim festival??? I'm okay with it if Christians can do the same. But anyone who shows up with stupid, inflammatory remarks on poster board needs to expect to get pelted with rocks and bottles at the very least! It's a wonder they didn't get the h*** beat out of them! However, they do have a right to be stupid in public and it is the job of the police to protect them. Should they have escorted them out? Yes. Should they have at least cited the Muslim kids for assault? YES! Minorities are not above the law! Even though there is a large, maybe even a majority Muslim population in
Dearborn, they do not have a right to bully or harm anyone else.
That being said, I fully believe our country is coming to a day when Christians will be treated like those christians on a regular basis. It will be merely for the fact that we profess Christ, rather than because we said something offensive. To be honest, I think jerks like those "christians" are going to usher in that day for us a lot sooner than later.
Oh, as for my thoughts on Justice Roberts' stance on the healthcare bill: From a purely political standpoint, I think he went against his conscience because he wanted to be remembered. If he voted with the conservatives, he would have easily been dismissed as partisan and quickly forgotten. To turn his vote would give him a place in history and fame...or infamy depending on how you look at it. I think it is a shame that he has such delusions of grandeur. It's like he saw this case as being the one that would help him achieve his aspiration to be another Chief Justice Marshall.
Spiritually, I think there were some of the same influences that turned the people on Jesus just a few days after welcoming Him into Jerusalem with praise and adoration. Eyes and ears blinded and minds clouded, those same people clamored for his death within the week. Roberts has let himself be a pawn and has set into motion something I think he will eventually regret.
If people want European or Canadian style government that takes care of them from the cradle to the grave, then let them go to Europe or Canada! America was founded on a healthy fear of government and should be allowed to remain as fearful as ever. America needs to be different. It needs to be a haven for those who have no desire to fall into the status quo. It is a place where individuals carve out their existence and make his own way without dependence on anyone else, but with compassion for fellow man. That same independence should allow us to expect the same from others while understanding that we all need a little help from time to time. When we can, we help so that someday we may be helped. But never, never do we sit idle while taking from others without giving back.
That's enough for today.
My husband told me over the weekend that Iran was rattling sabers! WHAT?!?! They launch mid range missiles and declared they could attack US outposts in the Middle East? How the heck did I miss such a thing?!?!?! Well, once I realized I missed that news, I never even looked it up to read about it. Guess I am not such a news junkie after all.
Anyway, I'm kinda Machiavellian where that kind of thing is concerned but upon hearing about it, I asked hubby what we are doing about it-hoping we kicked butt and told them where they could shove their mid-range missiles, but knowing full well that the current administration wouldn't dare. Hubby replies, "oh I'm sure he apologized to them." In my fit of laughter, I added, "and bowed to Ahmadinejad while he did it."
We are so silly
Anyway, I saw a video recently about a Muslim festival in Dearborn, Michigan where some "christians" went to protest. Now the signs these wackos were carrying were not anything that would incite a peaceful discussion. No, they were blatantly saying that Muslims were evil and going to hell. Well, the police would not do anything to protect those morons and the Muslims youth started pelting them with rocks and bottles and such. DUH! The police ended up escorting the cretins..er..I mean...christians out of the area saying they didn't have enough manpower to "protect" them. Later however, the same group's van was pulled over by a dozen or so cops.
This has so much stupidity written all over it. First, a Muslim festival??? I'm okay with it if Christians can do the same. But anyone who shows up with stupid, inflammatory remarks on poster board needs to expect to get pelted with rocks and bottles at the very least! It's a wonder they didn't get the h*** beat out of them! However, they do have a right to be stupid in public and it is the job of the police to protect them. Should they have escorted them out? Yes. Should they have at least cited the Muslim kids for assault? YES! Minorities are not above the law! Even though there is a large, maybe even a majority Muslim population in
Dearborn, they do not have a right to bully or harm anyone else.
That being said, I fully believe our country is coming to a day when Christians will be treated like those christians on a regular basis. It will be merely for the fact that we profess Christ, rather than because we said something offensive. To be honest, I think jerks like those "christians" are going to usher in that day for us a lot sooner than later.
Oh, as for my thoughts on Justice Roberts' stance on the healthcare bill: From a purely political standpoint, I think he went against his conscience because he wanted to be remembered. If he voted with the conservatives, he would have easily been dismissed as partisan and quickly forgotten. To turn his vote would give him a place in history and fame...or infamy depending on how you look at it. I think it is a shame that he has such delusions of grandeur. It's like he saw this case as being the one that would help him achieve his aspiration to be another Chief Justice Marshall.
Spiritually, I think there were some of the same influences that turned the people on Jesus just a few days after welcoming Him into Jerusalem with praise and adoration. Eyes and ears blinded and minds clouded, those same people clamored for his death within the week. Roberts has let himself be a pawn and has set into motion something I think he will eventually regret.
If people want European or Canadian style government that takes care of them from the cradle to the grave, then let them go to Europe or Canada! America was founded on a healthy fear of government and should be allowed to remain as fearful as ever. America needs to be different. It needs to be a haven for those who have no desire to fall into the status quo. It is a place where individuals carve out their existence and make his own way without dependence on anyone else, but with compassion for fellow man. That same independence should allow us to expect the same from others while understanding that we all need a little help from time to time. When we can, we help so that someday we may be helped. But never, never do we sit idle while taking from others without giving back.
That's enough for today.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
A letter I'd like to send to my father.
It's 3 AM and I can't sleep. I went to see my Dad today and I always come away with a mishmash of emotional hoohah after being with him. Explaining is difficult. Basically, he left my mother and his family and married another family. That family became HIS family and we were...well that's the part that I have never been able to mash about the hah. I have never been able to define what I am to him. He is no help in that dept. Big revelation on that today and now I am in a struggle between the response I WANT to have and feel I have a RIGHT to have, and the one I know God wants me to have. I am not sure I am that big a person. So the following is what I would like to say to my Father:
Dear Father,
My perspective of you has always been a selfish one. I was still a little girl when you left home and where you are concerned, I have remained that little girl. She has always felt abandoned by you and without the knowledge of what the love of a man should look like. She has always been jealous of your "other" family and felt that they had you and she didn't.
Well, after today I see that perception was wrong, but not unfounded. That little girl is gone and while she does have a father, she does not have a Dad. Your "other" family is not your other family, they are your family and you are their Dad. They have had you more years than I and know you as their Dad where as I do not.
They have more of a right to be jealous of you than I do. Even though through the eyes of that little girl who you left at the age of 10, you should be MY Dad and I should have a right to be more jealous. I guess I finally got a glimpse of what they feel.
So for their sake and for mine, I release you. I release you to be their Dad and not mine. I release you from any emotional duty you have felt toward me and me from any I feel toward you. They already have the financial responsibility for you so I release them from any financial obligation they may feel toward me. I want nothing from you or them, in return, I give nothing. From this point forward, I withhold any pity I may have for you. You are now what you have always really been to me...a stranger.
Sincerely,
Me
However, I cannot send this to him. God tells me that the pity I feel for him is placed on my heart so that I will honor my father in spite of the lack of relationship. I am not his responsibility and he is not mine, but the genes are there and I must honor that. I do however feel that while I need to be kind, I don't feel God is going to make me continue to try to have a relationship with the man. I only feel that God wants me to continue to visit him since he is lonely. He can't hear me and he doesn't stop talking long enough for me to get a word in edgewise so all I can really do is sit and listen. It hurts cause he always badmouths my mother and talks incessantly about his stepkids, but I need to be there so he can feel that there is something between us at the end of his life.
I take comfort in the fact that he will really KNOW in the next life. He is just a man right now and like I have always seen this from my limited perspective, he can only do the same. My hope for any revelations in this life are gone. Oh I have prayed for them, but God has this funny way of letting me be the one that gets the revelations instead of my father.
Funny that I always feel like a child when I go see him. So excited and hopeful that THIS time will be the time when we reconnect and my Dad sees ME...sees my heart. I come away sad, and reflective, but a little more grown up each time. I feel like rather than creating bonds, God has been severing ties...little, by painful little. I wish He would let me cut the last one so that when the man is gone, I can be released from the pain of it. But I know He won't. There is a lesson yet to be learned. I just don't know what it is.
Dear Father,
My perspective of you has always been a selfish one. I was still a little girl when you left home and where you are concerned, I have remained that little girl. She has always felt abandoned by you and without the knowledge of what the love of a man should look like. She has always been jealous of your "other" family and felt that they had you and she didn't.
Well, after today I see that perception was wrong, but not unfounded. That little girl is gone and while she does have a father, she does not have a Dad. Your "other" family is not your other family, they are your family and you are their Dad. They have had you more years than I and know you as their Dad where as I do not.
They have more of a right to be jealous of you than I do. Even though through the eyes of that little girl who you left at the age of 10, you should be MY Dad and I should have a right to be more jealous. I guess I finally got a glimpse of what they feel.
So for their sake and for mine, I release you. I release you to be their Dad and not mine. I release you from any emotional duty you have felt toward me and me from any I feel toward you. They already have the financial responsibility for you so I release them from any financial obligation they may feel toward me. I want nothing from you or them, in return, I give nothing. From this point forward, I withhold any pity I may have for you. You are now what you have always really been to me...a stranger.
Sincerely,
Me
However, I cannot send this to him. God tells me that the pity I feel for him is placed on my heart so that I will honor my father in spite of the lack of relationship. I am not his responsibility and he is not mine, but the genes are there and I must honor that. I do however feel that while I need to be kind, I don't feel God is going to make me continue to try to have a relationship with the man. I only feel that God wants me to continue to visit him since he is lonely. He can't hear me and he doesn't stop talking long enough for me to get a word in edgewise so all I can really do is sit and listen. It hurts cause he always badmouths my mother and talks incessantly about his stepkids, but I need to be there so he can feel that there is something between us at the end of his life.
I take comfort in the fact that he will really KNOW in the next life. He is just a man right now and like I have always seen this from my limited perspective, he can only do the same. My hope for any revelations in this life are gone. Oh I have prayed for them, but God has this funny way of letting me be the one that gets the revelations instead of my father.
Funny that I always feel like a child when I go see him. So excited and hopeful that THIS time will be the time when we reconnect and my Dad sees ME...sees my heart. I come away sad, and reflective, but a little more grown up each time. I feel like rather than creating bonds, God has been severing ties...little, by painful little. I wish He would let me cut the last one so that when the man is gone, I can be released from the pain of it. But I know He won't. There is a lesson yet to be learned. I just don't know what it is.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
I don't even know what day it is...
Yeah, we recently sent our German foreign exchange student home. Where the heck did last year go? It seems like he just got here last month. God, I miss him! Please be with him!
So after the whirlwind year (funny that is seems to have gone so fast and yet my graduation, which was in December, seems like eons ago!) and getting a taste of a teacher's life through substituting, I am learning that you can truly lose yourself in the summer. I have been sleeping till 8:30ish but laying around the house till noon. I find myself asking what day it is quite often. Time...well, who cares. I should be studying for my tests at the end of July. I should be cleaning out the garage. I should be...but I'm not. And I am fat and happy not to do any of it. Days do not drag by though. They are whirlwinds within the whirlwind. I blink and it is time to fix supper (the only real marker I have to my days right now).
I want to write but no, it's too late for that. I'm getting into the pool. Enough of that, I want to watch a movie. Suppertime. I'll do the dishes tomorrow (and never do). I'll play one game on the computer. After 20, I'm going to bed. That's my typical day. I barely even think about NEEDING to do anything. I am to busy being a lazy bum! I love it. Of course, if I get that job that I need so desperately, I will be spending the rest of my summer making lesson plans.
Yeah, like the studying I am doing for the tests at the end of July!
So after the whirlwind year (funny that is seems to have gone so fast and yet my graduation, which was in December, seems like eons ago!) and getting a taste of a teacher's life through substituting, I am learning that you can truly lose yourself in the summer. I have been sleeping till 8:30ish but laying around the house till noon. I find myself asking what day it is quite often. Time...well, who cares. I should be studying for my tests at the end of July. I should be cleaning out the garage. I should be...but I'm not. And I am fat and happy not to do any of it. Days do not drag by though. They are whirlwinds within the whirlwind. I blink and it is time to fix supper (the only real marker I have to my days right now).
I want to write but no, it's too late for that. I'm getting into the pool. Enough of that, I want to watch a movie. Suppertime. I'll do the dishes tomorrow (and never do). I'll play one game on the computer. After 20, I'm going to bed. That's my typical day. I barely even think about NEEDING to do anything. I am to busy being a lazy bum! I love it. Of course, if I get that job that I need so desperately, I will be spending the rest of my summer making lesson plans.
Yeah, like the studying I am doing for the tests at the end of July!
Monday, June 11, 2012
FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)
Facebook. I love it! I hate it. I get so caught up in it! I am bored with it. I am the type of person who is afraid I am going to miss something. It isn't one of those fears that you KNOW you have until you see a pattern in your life that points it out to you. When I was a kid, I would just about pee in my pants before leaving the neighborhood game of hide and seek, to go to the bathroom. I remember one time having to stand in one place with my legs crossed REAL tight cause if I moved or relaxed, I was going to get wet! All the while my friends are standing there almost chanting for me to hold it. I remember one girl begging me not to go and that if I crossed my legs and held it, the urge would pass. For a person with that kind of FMS (Fear of Missing Something) or FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), Facebook is a time stealer. Oh yes, those are actual acronyms I did not make them up.
Saturday, I was supposed to be working on scrapbook pages for our Foreign Exchange Student. Either that or I was supposed to be helping my husband build a small deck on our pool. Did I do either? No. I pretended to be scrapbooking to get out of helping with the deck, but I was REALLY on Facebook almost the entire day. Granted part of the reason was that I was up so late the night before that I was in too much of a fog to actually put a real thought to anything and there is nothing more mindless than Facebook, but about 2 PM I realized that I had just f***ed a day away. "Oh well," I thought. "Might as well finish it off!" Aaaand I went right back to it.
Now did I spend the entire 18 hours of awake time on Facebook? No, I did sweep the sides of the pool and the patio, cleaned off the outside tables and chairs, and cooked 2 meals. I also DID do at least one page of the scrapbook. I will say that my butt was sore from the much wasted time in the book of faces.
Why the hell...? I have too much to do to let that happen again. Seriously thinking about deleting. Except that it is the only means of contact I have with most of my family and friends during this busy time of life. Hmmm, is there a connection? No really, if I got on the phone with someone, I would have a hard time getting off. I just can't let go, I might miss something!
Saturday, I was supposed to be working on scrapbook pages for our Foreign Exchange Student. Either that or I was supposed to be helping my husband build a small deck on our pool. Did I do either? No. I pretended to be scrapbooking to get out of helping with the deck, but I was REALLY on Facebook almost the entire day. Granted part of the reason was that I was up so late the night before that I was in too much of a fog to actually put a real thought to anything and there is nothing more mindless than Facebook, but about 2 PM I realized that I had just f***ed a day away. "Oh well," I thought. "Might as well finish it off!" Aaaand I went right back to it.
Now did I spend the entire 18 hours of awake time on Facebook? No, I did sweep the sides of the pool and the patio, cleaned off the outside tables and chairs, and cooked 2 meals. I also DID do at least one page of the scrapbook. I will say that my butt was sore from the much wasted time in the book of faces.
Why the hell...? I have too much to do to let that happen again. Seriously thinking about deleting. Except that it is the only means of contact I have with most of my family and friends during this busy time of life. Hmmm, is there a connection? No really, if I got on the phone with someone, I would have a hard time getting off. I just can't let go, I might miss something!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Why Bullying Will Continue
I was just watching a news story on Good Morning American about bullying. They said that schools need to take more responsibility. I agree that those who have children in their care should be ever watchful, but if schools continue to grow without increasing the number of teachers and staff, the problems with bullying will just get worse and worse. You can't fill a classroom with 20-30 children, require that the teacher actually teach them, and expect that the teacher will be able to stay on top of kids’ relationships. Teachers have become the dumping ground for all the social ills. Not that I don't think we should try to be aware of bullying situations, but everyone seems to expect the teacher to know all about it and have it all solved before it escalates. Let me tell ya, kids know how to keep teachers from seeing it and when there are so many in each class, it is very easy to hide it.
Look, I know it’s expensive, but it is common sense that there is only so much responsibility one person can handle. If you want all the potential bullying situations to be seen and taken note of, then you have to put more people in place to watch for it. The question is: Do we want to protect our kids or not?
I really don’t believe that children want to be bullies. I think that kids just want to make themselves look better and sometimes use belittling others as a means to do so. I think it is rare that the intended aim is to actually do harm to another. Peer pressure to follow the group in singling someone out is another reason kids bully. I think that one key to preventing bullying is to encourage empathy. Presenting what-if scenarios and making children aware of how their words can make another person feel. Most children involved in bullying, I believe would tell you if you asked, that they didn’t know what they were doing would have such profound effects.
It is the fault of teachers’ that kids don’t learn. Teachers are the reason for American children not being up to par with the rest of the world academically. Teachers are at fault for kids not doing their work. Teachers should know every single thing their 20 plus students each period are thinking and saying.
Wow, she turned her back, for whatever reason (maybe to help some students, maybe to get something out of her desk, maybe to grade a paper (oh no, that is something she has to take home and do on her OWN time, whoever says that teachers have such wonderful schedules has NO IDEA what goes into preparation for lessons or grading papers and keeping records!) and one kid walks out of the classroom unnoticed. She is responsible for anything that happens to that kid while he is gone! I don’t know about you, but I am not going to automatically know someone is missing from a group of even 10 without counting every five minutes, but she has 20 or more and has to teach too!
The kids are doing their work, but as soon as the teacher looks away, someone has told little johnny (small j to indicate it is generic) that he is ugly sending him into deep depression that he kills himself over. Granted that is extreme-there are usually many more signs leading to something as horrific as a child suicide, but the point is that it is impossible for teachers to see EVERYTHING. We don’t even ask where the parents of the bully are because we know that parents don’t actually teach bullying, kids just DO it. But if the parents were making little jeff do his schoolwork instead of the teacher having to constantly remind him, that would be one less job for the teacher to have to do.
Common sense! Why don’t we use it?
Cause mama and daddy have to have someone to blame. The justice system isn’t happy without holding someone accountable.
Things happen. Sometimes there isn’t a thing you can do about it and no one is to blame. Just accept that. Instead of pointing fingers, let’s find solutions.
Friday, March 30, 2012
What is the purpose of the church?
I have noticed that when the schools teach religion, presenting them as equals (not offering commentary, just making an observation), it tends to devalue the religious teaching of the parents-whatever religious teaching that may be. The kids tend to look at what they have been taught as being intolerant and ask why their religion should have any claim to truth over the others. I have even found videos and websites that compare the religious upbringing of children to the brainwashing of a dictator or even child abuse. You can go to youtube and search for "religion" and either "brainwashing" or "child abuse" and get page after page on the subject.
The Bible says that God's ways are not man's ways and that they seem foolish to man. I would be willing to bet that the Q'uran and the Vedas has similar sayings. I must also add that the Bible says that the fool says there is no God. So I guess it is an understatement to say that the world will never understand faith. I mean the very nature of faith is to choose to believe something that makes NO sense to the natural mind. It is the yearning of our souls for meaning; a purpose that causes us to reach out into that unknown and grasp at something we cannot see. Life nowadays is so busy and stressful that it is quite understandable that an awareness of a soul, much less a yearning of that soul can go completely undetected. I for one, though I admit to having questions of my own faith, do find a peace in faith that would not be there if I did not choose to believe. My most simplistic response to someone who would challenge my faith is that I would choose it no matter what for the basic reason that it comforts me and gives me a hope. Though that hope and comfort be misguided or even completely null, I would still choose to have it as opposed to not having it. If I died tonight and there were no God, I am no worse off for having it. But should I die without that faith and found that there is indeed a God, then I would be sorry for the lack of it. Does the "better safe than sorry" argument count? You bet it does! For the very assurance that I have in the event of a hereafter...YES it does.
But there is another thing that has come to my mind lately over this course of musing: What is the church doing in this day and age to build faith? There are many that think the church is meant to reach out to the lost and entertain them with stories and music in order to make a case for the Christian life. There have always been (and I believe to the detriment to the Kingdom of Christ) those that felt the need to preach at people and condemn sinners to hell.
One of these approaches is "grace" to the point of "anything goes". You can't offend anyone by saying that there is sin (it's called healthy or unhealthy living) or a need for a Savior. So the message they preach is so watered down that, though there may be "converts", there is no real repentance.
The other is so condemning that it pushes people away or binds them to a life they cannot be faithful too. If I were sinning (which I do, but in this case, I am referring to living "in sin" like the traditional churches say when a person is doing something they think is wrong) and you told me I was going to hell for doing what I do, I would be pissed and hate you. Add to that that many of the same people that say such things, are gossiping and arrogant, or worse, getting caught with their pants down, and you have a real reason to hate them. That type of church has lost all credibility with the world.
After reading Romans and the Timothy's and some of the Christian Church parts of the Bible, I have come to believe that CHURCH has a few different meanings:
I believe that if we are to follow the example Jesus gave us, we will dine with and hang out with and just simply show our lives to anyone and everyone. No label of sinner or unbeliever here, just people...whom God loves. No segregation or keeping the "right" or "wrong" company, just hanging out with friends and friends of friends. Jesus taught, he did not condemn. He is the one person who could have judged, but he did not. If I am not mistaken, the times he taught, were times when the people CAME TO HIM. He lived by example, loved all he met, spoke wisdom, and let the Holy Spirit work His wonders on their hearts and minds. Then they came to Him seeking more.
For what it is worth, this is my theory of how a modern church should be:
One thing that drives people nuts is when Christians DEMAND things. I personally do not think we should eat out, shop, go to movies, or anything on Sundays that causes other people to have to work. We all need a day off. Am I there yet? NO. So until I get to that point, I want to be mindful of how I treat those who serve me. HELLO FOLKS! We should be the BIGGEST tippers, but no, we have a reputation among people in the service industry of being the most demanding, and the biggest cheap skates and guess what...we are WORSE on Sundays! Restaurant people groan when our Sunday School group rolls in after church cause they know what to expect. That is just wrong!
These are just my own musings based on some things I have seen about the direction of the church. Right now, Christianity is in decline. Something drastic will have to occur, if for nothing else than to bolster the faith in those who will face persecution. It may be something as simple as a co-worker telling us we are stupid or as brazen as losing the freedom to worship.
I know this post is a bit disjointed. The words just came tumbling out and I am afraid to go back and edit it. If I do, I will overdo it and lose the meaning. Please read this with an open mind. I would love to hear other thoughts on it, but understand that this is MY blog and if you can't discuss opposing views in a civil manner, your comment will be deleted. But that is another topic all together.
The Bible says that God's ways are not man's ways and that they seem foolish to man. I would be willing to bet that the Q'uran and the Vedas has similar sayings. I must also add that the Bible says that the fool says there is no God. So I guess it is an understatement to say that the world will never understand faith. I mean the very nature of faith is to choose to believe something that makes NO sense to the natural mind. It is the yearning of our souls for meaning; a purpose that causes us to reach out into that unknown and grasp at something we cannot see. Life nowadays is so busy and stressful that it is quite understandable that an awareness of a soul, much less a yearning of that soul can go completely undetected. I for one, though I admit to having questions of my own faith, do find a peace in faith that would not be there if I did not choose to believe. My most simplistic response to someone who would challenge my faith is that I would choose it no matter what for the basic reason that it comforts me and gives me a hope. Though that hope and comfort be misguided or even completely null, I would still choose to have it as opposed to not having it. If I died tonight and there were no God, I am no worse off for having it. But should I die without that faith and found that there is indeed a God, then I would be sorry for the lack of it. Does the "better safe than sorry" argument count? You bet it does! For the very assurance that I have in the event of a hereafter...YES it does.
But there is another thing that has come to my mind lately over this course of musing: What is the church doing in this day and age to build faith? There are many that think the church is meant to reach out to the lost and entertain them with stories and music in order to make a case for the Christian life. There have always been (and I believe to the detriment to the Kingdom of Christ) those that felt the need to preach at people and condemn sinners to hell.
One of these approaches is "grace" to the point of "anything goes". You can't offend anyone by saying that there is sin (it's called healthy or unhealthy living) or a need for a Savior. So the message they preach is so watered down that, though there may be "converts", there is no real repentance.
The other is so condemning that it pushes people away or binds them to a life they cannot be faithful too. If I were sinning (which I do, but in this case, I am referring to living "in sin" like the traditional churches say when a person is doing something they think is wrong) and you told me I was going to hell for doing what I do, I would be pissed and hate you. Add to that that many of the same people that say such things, are gossiping and arrogant, or worse, getting caught with their pants down, and you have a real reason to hate them. That type of church has lost all credibility with the world.
After reading Romans and the Timothy's and some of the Christian Church parts of the Bible, I have come to believe that CHURCH has a few different meanings:
- the group of people that claim to be Christian-the believers themselves (We are the Church)
- the building itself-which is actually was not an issue in the Bible Church (We go to church)
- the actual meeting of the believers (Church is on Sunday mornings)
I believe that if we are to follow the example Jesus gave us, we will dine with and hang out with and just simply show our lives to anyone and everyone. No label of sinner or unbeliever here, just people...whom God loves. No segregation or keeping the "right" or "wrong" company, just hanging out with friends and friends of friends. Jesus taught, he did not condemn. He is the one person who could have judged, but he did not. If I am not mistaken, the times he taught, were times when the people CAME TO HIM. He lived by example, loved all he met, spoke wisdom, and let the Holy Spirit work His wonders on their hearts and minds. Then they came to Him seeking more.
For what it is worth, this is my theory of how a modern church should be:
- Modest buildings if not homes where Believers meet, worship, and learn.
- No one hour service. We should allow ourselves a day to totally engross ourselves in our Love. We should lose track of time in our worship and fellowship and just go all day. (It makes sense that the Jews cook before the Sabbath-they can then observe it uninterrupted.)
- Service-sacrificial service-to the community and those in need or hurting. We have to live of course, but a day of service before a day of rest and worship is feasible.
One thing that drives people nuts is when Christians DEMAND things. I personally do not think we should eat out, shop, go to movies, or anything on Sundays that causes other people to have to work. We all need a day off. Am I there yet? NO. So until I get to that point, I want to be mindful of how I treat those who serve me. HELLO FOLKS! We should be the BIGGEST tippers, but no, we have a reputation among people in the service industry of being the most demanding, and the biggest cheap skates and guess what...we are WORSE on Sundays! Restaurant people groan when our Sunday School group rolls in after church cause they know what to expect. That is just wrong!
These are just my own musings based on some things I have seen about the direction of the church. Right now, Christianity is in decline. Something drastic will have to occur, if for nothing else than to bolster the faith in those who will face persecution. It may be something as simple as a co-worker telling us we are stupid or as brazen as losing the freedom to worship.
I know this post is a bit disjointed. The words just came tumbling out and I am afraid to go back and edit it. If I do, I will overdo it and lose the meaning. Please read this with an open mind. I would love to hear other thoughts on it, but understand that this is MY blog and if you can't discuss opposing views in a civil manner, your comment will be deleted. But that is another topic all together.
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