I somehow come up with Titles all the time. Weird phrases that pop into my head and need to be written down....so here are a few, just for your reading pleasure...
Of Snot and Stellaluna.
An interesting phrase...one that I'm sure I'll have to use as the title to the book I am sure to write about the raising of toddlers. This one came up as I was picking up a nice, wet, gooey tissue off the floor - right next to a copy of Stellaluna that had been left out, as well...
Fear and Funny.
We just drove down to New Orleans. From Michigan. Hmm...Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana. Can you see the fear pattern here, if you are a city boy driving an uppity fru-fru car? But then, the entire trip down we listened to the Blue Collar Comedy channel on Sirius. Phil almost drove off the road a couple of times, we were laughing so hard. His trip back, alone, should be funny and hopefully not fearful. I'll remind him not to listen to any banjo music...
Butts and Boobs.
Yah, this one will probably get a lot of hits. I was conversamailing (having a conversation via e-mail, not chat or text) my cousin and talking to her about what they (all the doctors) are going to do to me today. My pre-op appointments for my new boobs are all today. From what I've heard, they have to draw all over you. I told her that I will look like what John Madden draws on the monitors all the time. But not just one - several plays will be scrawled on my body, I'm sure. Front and back. So my question to her was, "Would all those NFL boys score more if they had to read their plays off of butts and boobs???" What do you think?
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The Sin Meter
How do you deal with sinners? Do you stay as far away from them as possible? Do you think they should be put to death? Do you love them yet still not accept their actions? Just how do you deal with sinners?
Can anyone answer those questions without knowing the sins??? We should be able to. But can we? Can I? I can't. Not yet. I don't know if I'll ever attain that ability to truly give unconditional love to everyone.
I am a sinner. Today I yelled at my kids. I did not practice patience. Oh, and about a thousand other things. Will you stay as far away from me as possible? Should I be put to death?
But what about the "serious" sins. Murder. Molestation. "Real" evil. I become "righteously" indignant whenever I hear about these things on the news - especially if it involves children. I don't think I could love and forgive some of these people I hear about. I know I am supposed to. But that "righteous" indignation keeps flaring up and getting in the way.
I know Christ has no meter when it comes to sin. We are all sinners. Period. I've got that. But what about us - among each other? I know we are not supposed to judge, either. But we are also not supposed to accept sin, right? So is there some list somewhere (besides the Ten Commandments; I do know that list), that shows where a sin falls on the "sin meter"? What's the difference between "sin" and "evil" as we see it every day? I thought a bad thought today - is that a sin or am I evil? Some guy drowned his kids - is that just a sin or is that evil? Can I and should I accept him as he is - a sinner? Or, can I not accept him and publicly decry him, as he is evil? (As, I think, most others in our population feel?)
How can you love yet not accept? Do you love the person, but denounce the actions? It's hard. There are certain things I want to teach my children about this, but how do I do it properly? "Ok, little Johnny, that person is doing something bad, and it's something you should never do, but you should still accept that person and not tell him that he is bad. That is something between him and God." Am I way off base here?
Can anyone answer those questions without knowing the sins??? We should be able to. But can we? Can I? I can't. Not yet. I don't know if I'll ever attain that ability to truly give unconditional love to everyone.
I am a sinner. Today I yelled at my kids. I did not practice patience. Oh, and about a thousand other things. Will you stay as far away from me as possible? Should I be put to death?
But what about the "serious" sins. Murder. Molestation. "Real" evil. I become "righteously" indignant whenever I hear about these things on the news - especially if it involves children. I don't think I could love and forgive some of these people I hear about. I know I am supposed to. But that "righteous" indignation keeps flaring up and getting in the way.
I know Christ has no meter when it comes to sin. We are all sinners. Period. I've got that. But what about us - among each other? I know we are not supposed to judge, either. But we are also not supposed to accept sin, right? So is there some list somewhere (besides the Ten Commandments; I do know that list), that shows where a sin falls on the "sin meter"? What's the difference between "sin" and "evil" as we see it every day? I thought a bad thought today - is that a sin or am I evil? Some guy drowned his kids - is that just a sin or is that evil? Can I and should I accept him as he is - a sinner? Or, can I not accept him and publicly decry him, as he is evil? (As, I think, most others in our population feel?)
How can you love yet not accept? Do you love the person, but denounce the actions? It's hard. There are certain things I want to teach my children about this, but how do I do it properly? "Ok, little Johnny, that person is doing something bad, and it's something you should never do, but you should still accept that person and not tell him that he is bad. That is something between him and God." Am I way off base here?
Monday, March 31, 2008
Do you pray for peace in the Middle East?
Among your thoughts and prayers every day, do you pray for peace? Do you pray for peace within? Do you pray for peace among your warring familial tribes (i.e., Aunt Bessie and Cousin Bertha)? Do you pray for peace around the world? Do you pray for peace in the Middle East? I don't.
I pray for peace within all the souls that need it, my own included. I pray for peace "around the world." But I don't specifically pray for peace in the Middle East. I have a hard time with that one. I would love for there to be peace in that part of the world. But I feel that I would be a hypocrite if I prayed for it. I admit, I have read very little of the Bible so far (I'm working on that). But I have read Revelations. And have discussed it with others.
So how can I pray for peace when it is already written that none is coming? Should I still pray for it? Should I preface my prayers with a "I know this isn't going to happen, but..." or a "If there can't be peace in the Middle East, could you at least give peace to the people that live there that don't have anything to do with all this war?" (Sure. What's that? One or two people. All this warring is about religion. Who doesn't have a stake in that?) Or maybe I should pray for the righteous in the Middle East to keep a staunchness of faith in their soul, that they will get through this and be greatly rewarded in the end?
So, should I pray for peace in the Middle East, but with stipulations?
I pray for peace within all the souls that need it, my own included. I pray for peace "around the world." But I don't specifically pray for peace in the Middle East. I have a hard time with that one. I would love for there to be peace in that part of the world. But I feel that I would be a hypocrite if I prayed for it. I admit, I have read very little of the Bible so far (I'm working on that). But I have read Revelations. And have discussed it with others.
So how can I pray for peace when it is already written that none is coming? Should I still pray for it? Should I preface my prayers with a "I know this isn't going to happen, but..." or a "If there can't be peace in the Middle East, could you at least give peace to the people that live there that don't have anything to do with all this war?" (Sure. What's that? One or two people. All this warring is about religion. Who doesn't have a stake in that?) Or maybe I should pray for the righteous in the Middle East to keep a staunchness of faith in their soul, that they will get through this and be greatly rewarded in the end?
So, should I pray for peace in the Middle East, but with stipulations?
Sunday, March 30, 2008
What's Coming Up
I've finally decided to make it a point to write more in my blog. I went through so much with the breast cancer and only posted a portion of it. Kinda left ya hangin', huh? Sorry!
So, this is what's coming up. And, yes, it may take me days, weeks, or even months to catch up. But hopefully I will!
Please do keep in mind that I am being sarcastic. As one of my friends told me long ago - "The world doesn't really revolve around you. You're just dizzy." Alright, already. (But, it really does revolve around me. ME ME ME.)
I look forward to seeing comments!
So, this is what's coming up. And, yes, it may take me days, weeks, or even months to catch up. But hopefully I will!
- The "rest" of the cancer story, up through chemo and such
- The next step - my reconstruction
- Two steps forward, one step back: my "emergency" surgery that pushed my reconstruction back a month
- "Questioning my faith..." A completely different (and positive) topic that will be refreshing after all the cancer yuck.
- My new business venture; my next BIG IDEA!!!
- And, of course, writings on my family and friends and such
Please do keep in mind that I am being sarcastic. As one of my friends told me long ago - "The world doesn't really revolve around you. You're just dizzy." Alright, already. (But, it really does revolve around me. ME ME ME.)
I look forward to seeing comments!
Questioning my faith...
Ok. We have finally got back to church. Good grief. We took off about 6 months. We were either out of town or sick or lazy - "well, we haven't been there in this long", or "we'll go next week." At last we pulled ourselves back out of that slump and are back. What church, did I hear you ask? The Family Bible Church in Marshall, Michigan. I couldn't believe how much I had missed it after we went back a few Sundays ago. (And then, of course, I got sick, so I wound up missing even more...)
This church is awesome. The people in it are REAL. I went to Lutheran churches for years and never got the spiritual uplift from it that I do here. Not to knock Lutherans, but this church - my church - is so open. It's not ritualistic like other churches I've attended. (I'm not talking about sacrifices, mind you.) Everything is not rote. It is new and fresh every Sunday. And, as I mentioned, the people are great. No Sunday-Morning-Christians. Everybody accepted us immediately. No questions. No hesitation. No one looks like they think they are better than you because they have a fur coat that they show off every Sunday...have the front pew every week...etc., etc. My very first impression was that these people were all like me and my family - your every-day-hard-working-learning-about-the-Lord-and-leaning-on-faith kind of people. They all seem to know you - and, most importantly, accept you. It was amazing to find a whole church family that truly "walked the talk."
Anyway...I can go on and on about FBC. And I really do need to, as I never properly thanked Paster Gerten and all the countless others that prayed for me and made food for me and came to see me when I was going through my breast cancer. But that's another post - that whole topic deserves more than one paragraph!
On to the main point of this post: Does the title of this post make you wonder? I praise the church that I attend, but I question my faith??? It's not how it looks. Think positive. I have no questions in my belief that my Lord is my Saviour. But I do have questions about faith. I didn't grow up "in the church." I am still new to so very much in the Bible. I have not read it seven times, like my husband. I have not even completely read it once!
So I want to learn more about faith. FBC is quite a ways away from us, so it makes it harder to get together with others in the Small Group sessions. Getting three kids and a husband out the door in time for any kind of Bible Study just isn't feasible that early on Sunday morning. (Yes - excuses, all.) But I still wanted to learn more. Phil teaches me a ton, but I want to hear from others, too. So I came up with the idea of putting my questions on my blog. (Surely I'm not the only one in the world with these questions...maybe the information I post will help others?!?) I've talked with FBC's Associate Pastor, Kris Tarkiewicz, and he said he would look in on my befuddled writings now and again to help me make sense of things. Well, Kris, the adventure has begun!
The next time you see my posts, check for a "Questioning my faith..." label if you are interested in keeping track. It could be quite interesting. I come up with such varied questions and thoughts that I even surprise myself, sometimes...
This church is awesome. The people in it are REAL. I went to Lutheran churches for years and never got the spiritual uplift from it that I do here. Not to knock Lutherans, but this church - my church - is so open. It's not ritualistic like other churches I've attended. (I'm not talking about sacrifices, mind you.) Everything is not rote. It is new and fresh every Sunday. And, as I mentioned, the people are great. No Sunday-Morning-Christians. Everybody accepted us immediately. No questions. No hesitation. No one looks like they think they are better than you because they have a fur coat that they show off every Sunday...have the front pew every week...etc., etc. My very first impression was that these people were all like me and my family - your every-day-hard-working-learning-about-the-Lord-and-leaning-on-faith kind of people. They all seem to know you - and, most importantly, accept you. It was amazing to find a whole church family that truly "walked the talk."
Anyway...I can go on and on about FBC. And I really do need to, as I never properly thanked Paster Gerten and all the countless others that prayed for me and made food for me and came to see me when I was going through my breast cancer. But that's another post - that whole topic deserves more than one paragraph!
On to the main point of this post: Does the title of this post make you wonder? I praise the church that I attend, but I question my faith??? It's not how it looks. Think positive. I have no questions in my belief that my Lord is my Saviour. But I do have questions about faith. I didn't grow up "in the church." I am still new to so very much in the Bible. I have not read it seven times, like my husband. I have not even completely read it once!
So I want to learn more about faith. FBC is quite a ways away from us, so it makes it harder to get together with others in the Small Group sessions. Getting three kids and a husband out the door in time for any kind of Bible Study just isn't feasible that early on Sunday morning. (Yes - excuses, all.) But I still wanted to learn more. Phil teaches me a ton, but I want to hear from others, too. So I came up with the idea of putting my questions on my blog. (Surely I'm not the only one in the world with these questions...maybe the information I post will help others?!?) I've talked with FBC's Associate Pastor, Kris Tarkiewicz, and he said he would look in on my befuddled writings now and again to help me make sense of things. Well, Kris, the adventure has begun!
The next time you see my posts, check for a "Questioning my faith..." label if you are interested in keeping track. It could be quite interesting. I come up with such varied questions and thoughts that I even surprise myself, sometimes...
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