Musings

Halloween for Christians?

Okay, it's supposed to be a holiday that celebrates evil or death or spooky stuff, right? Christians should NOT participate, right? Well, I don't know. (If you really want to know what Halloween means, here's a link: Halloween meaning.)

I think we've made a mountain out of a mole hill. I mean, I love Jesus and I shouldn't have to defend my relationship with God just because I allowed my daughter and her friends to be a Zombie and dance to Thriller for Halloween. It's all just costumes and fun. No biggie. So why am I even writing a blog on it? Why am I defending myself? Is it because, deep down, maybe I am feeling a bit worried about what my other Christians friends might think of me? Maybe they won't think I am being a good Christian witness, because, after all, WWJD, right?

In this case, I don't know WJWD. I just know that I love Him, and I love my kids, and I want to create an atmosphere at home of fun and loving acceptance. Yes, I don't want to allow blatant sin to enter my household, or be too permissive, but I don't think doing the Thriller Dance in a Zombie costume is really bad. If I twist that corkscrew of moral purity too tightly, might the bottle explode? I just know that when I was a kid, I dug trick-or-treating and getting just "a little scared." It is kind of like riding a roller coaster - you get scared-'cited. And getting the candy ain't too bad, either.

So, label me as you will - too liberal, too permissive, too wild, etc. All I can say is I have learned that labeling people usually doesn't bring out the best in them. I am not called to judge, but to love people where they are at - not compromising on the big stuff - but not sweating too much on the small stuff. In my opinion, Halloween is small stuff.

My Worldview

     I just got back from the hair salon after spending over $120 on color, highlights, styling, hair products, etc. While I sat under the dryer, waiting for my highlights to set in, I read about consumerism and how, if all of humanity were to live like North Americans, in about 10 to 20 years all of the world’s resources would be depleted.1  All of it gone. I couldn’t help but feel guilty at that moment for what I was doing - what was I doing, anyway? Why am I spending all of this money on my hair, for crying out loud?
     I would like to believe that my worldview is better than the average person’s because I am a Christian who is trying to live a life that pleases God. But if I were to be brutally honest with myself, am I really any better than the other guy who lives to fulfill the “pursuit of happiness,” which ultimately results in pleasing oneself? It’s a very individual-focused culture in which I live, and I’m afraid some it has rubbed off on me.
     I try  to convince myself that I am not all that bad. I am trying to live a life that pleases God because I love him, and because of that love, I want to please Him - I want to love back. Much of what I do on a daily basis comes from this motivation to love God. But a lot of what I do also comes from my own desires to please myself, like spending too much money on a hairdo.
     What I am realizing about my worldview is that it’s evolving as I continue in my faith journey. I would like to say that I’ve got it all figured out - that my worldview is totally and completely Christian, based on Biblical principles only, but I’d be lying.
     Only nine percent of Christian adults have a biblical worldview, according to Pollster George Barna *.  And according to these polls, fewer than one out of every 600 churched believers has a relationship with another believer through which spiritual accountability is provided. I am one of those people. I welcome accountability, but since moving to the Madison area over a dozen years ago, I have not been able to find a friend wanting that kind of relationship in return. I believe my walk with God and my worldview has suffered because of it.
     If you want to grow in your faith and have your worldview radically changed, accountability with another faithful Christian will help tremendously. When I first became a Christian, God had mercy on me, and made a way for me to live in a household full of other Christian women, one of whom was the Singles Pastor of the Santa Barbara Vineyard Church I attended at that time. Linda mentored me as a new Christian believer, and I grew in leaps and bounds! It was then that I began to see my life in the Biblical story - as part of the bigger picture of God’s relationship with mankind that went awry, and needed to be restored. For the first time in my life, I understood so many things - the purpose of life started to make sense to me like never before.
     I started a daily devotional life, reading the Bible hungrily, trying to discover who God was and who I was as a new creation in Christ. I began to see how the enemy worked, too, by lies and destruction. I felt God’s presence during worship times, and began to hear that small, still voice inside my mind, guiding me and giving me insight into His Word. It was an amazing time of my life! I was full of faith and walked in the Spirit, fully believing God’s miracles were for today. I prayed for people, received words of knowledge, prophesied, spoke in tongues, and was even used by God in prayer to help deliver a woman who was demonized. God was using me a lot in my earlier years as a Christian. I became so immersed in walking in the Spirit, that I truly felt like a stranger in this world.
     Then, I believe, our church was attacked spiritually. There were many of us being used of God in miraculous ways, and of course, the enemy didn’t like it. He comes to steal and destroy, and he did just that by causing division within the church, and a change of leadership which ultimately ended up in destroying the church. To this day, there is still not a Santa Barbara Vineyard. It’s terribly sad. Many of us moved away, or went to other churches. Mario and I ended up moving to Wisconsin.
     I began as a Charismatic Christian, fully convinced that God’s miraculous ways were for every believer today, and then became a cautious Evangelical after seeing what damage had been done in our previous church. Since moving to the Midwest, I now would consider myself a Third Wave Evangelical, as my worldview is continuing to be shaped.
     Knowing Jesus makes me want to help the world around me, not just get my needs met. I want to be a tool in God’s hand for the betterment of mankind and the environment in which we live.
     I believe that we can use the things of the earth, i.e. natural sciences, in combination with spiritual knowledge found in the Bible, to do great things in our time. I don’t see a reason to use one over another, but I see that if the Church used both, then we could transform the culture around us to provide an alternative view from the secular humanism that is being taught in our public schools and perpetuated through the media.
     I believe in absolute truth as is defined in the Bible. I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and is the “owner’s manual” for life. Reading the Bible has made me a better person, and is continuing to sanctify me. Yes I still struggle against the consumerism in the American culture, and yes, I do cave to that influence more often than I should,  but I am getting better! I have come a long way since the days of growing up in Southern California where the motto was “the one who dies with the most toys wins.” I know it’s because of God working in me that I can stay out of credit card debt, or not feel the compulsion to buy a new car every couple of years. I view my money as God’s, and tithe on a regular basis. I know that is definitely His work in me!
     I think taking an active part in a local church is also important to maintaining a Christian worldview. It helps because you see that you are part of a bigger community of like-minded believers. I attend Church every Sunday, unless one of my family members is sick or we are out of town. I love going to Church and worshipping God in the big meeting - it is a way of honoring Him.
     Regarding education, I wish the public school system would teach high school courses on various worldviews (i.e. ethical monotheism, postmodernism, and scientific naturalism - the current three-way worldview struggle 2) and let children hear different perspectives. Deep down, children hunger for another point of view. Scientific Naturalism, for example, leaves many children feeling hopeless because there doesn’t appear to be any true meaning to our existence - it was all a cosmic accident caused by a big-bang. Postmoderns don’t believe there is any ultimate meaning that can be known. It would be nice if ethical monotheism, the belief in a God who guides humanity through ethical principles, was at least discussed. Then students could decide for themselves which worldview to pursue.
     A younger generation of students is growing up with no teaching about even the possibility that a God exists, so what leaves them with a moral obligation to do good, especially towards society?
     The business practices in this country are a good example of a lack of ethical value. Capitalism, without a conviction that God is the “buck-stopper,” only seems to care about the bottom line. I believe our economic system has become terribly corrupt (the crash of 2008 is proof) and that the secular humanistic value of  “tolerance” has simply not acknowledged greed as sin. What has happened to providing a good service or product simply because you want to help your neighbor?
     I also think that many Christians have married into the false assumption that the Republican party is “Christian” and the Democrats are not. The word “liberal” has become a dirty word in Christian circles. I wonder why? Wasn’t Jesus a radical liberal? It seems that so many Christians vote Republican for one reason only - abortion. The Republican party claims it is pro-life, but abortion is still legal. I think we all need to stop listening to the political rhetoric and judge politicians by their actions, or as Jesus would say, by their “fruit.” Do they do as they say, or merely tell people what they want to hear to get their votes?
     Christians have let Hollywood take over the arts and entertainment industry, too. The Church for centuries was the leader in creative expressions of life. Why we walked away from areas of artistry is puzzling, but I am beginning to see a rise in Christian films and arts once again. Maybe it’s because we’re finally tired of seeing the junk that is being produced, like slasher movies. At least one could hope.
     Too many Christians have pulled out of any social impacts into our culture. The value of the individual has superseded the value of community, as reflected in the American culture. We’ve become a church of individuals seeking our own “personal relationship with Jesus” at the loss of seeing ourselves as a larger population of Christian believers able to work together for the betterment of our culture. We’re too comfortable staying in our Christian circles.
     However, a new generation of believers is rising up, and are moving away from the traditional Evangelical movement towards the Emergent Church movement. They are getting Christians to be an active and vocal part of reaching our local communities for social justice.
     The only way to accomplish these things is to maintain a tight relationship with God in the midst of reaching out to help the society around us. I’ve got to make time daily to commune with God in prayer by solitude and silent meditation on His word. This is the very first thing we should all do because out of that time, God speaks and we are transformed.
     It is my prayer that God uses my life to help others see that a self-focused life will not bring the happiness one might expect. God created us to belong to something bigger - a community of souls working for the honor of God. Like Augustine’s image of two cities, the City of God and the City of Man. He wasn’t speaking about the divide between Church and State, as some have thought; he was talking about two systems of thought and allegiance. 3 Those who follow God and submit their minds to His truth would live in the City of God, or those who are set against His ways, motivated by self-love would live in the City of Man. One perspective leads to idols, a.k.a false gods like money. The other leads to truth, freedom and a relationship with our Creator. I hope to be a Christian who can identify and critique the idols of modern society to help bring biblically-based alternatives for people to ponder.
     To sum up, I am aspiring to have a complete Biblical worldview, one that lives in the City of God, as I grow and mature in my Christianity. I certainly have not arrived in all areas of my life, as I still struggle with consumerism. With hope in Christ’s transforming power, I will get better.
     I am privileged to work alongside the God of the universe - the creator of it all -  in this time I’ve been born. My part to play may be viewed as small in the world’s eyes, but if God can take faith the size of a mustard seed and use it to move a mountain, He can certainly use my smallness to do great things. I am honored to play whatever role He has called me to, large or small, and I pray I am obedient to that role to help make His dreams come true.





Bibliography

Living at the Crossroads, by Michael Goheen & Craig Bartholomew, 2008, Baker Publishing.
Kingdom Triangle, by J.P. Moreland, 2007, Zondervan Publishing.
Total Truth, by Nancy Pearcey, 2008, Crossway Publishing.

How the Irish Got Saved - Happy St. Patty's Day 2011

Irish Celts Are Famous for their Storytelling

It’s perhaps the landscape of Ireland that captivates the soul and causes one to dream -- an island, full of lush greenery and hills, surrounded by water with tales of ancient sea monsters (i.e. the Loch Ness Monster), mysticism and miracles. Saint Patrick was one of these miracles brought to the emerald isle - a miracle so big, that his presence there eventually converted the entire island to Christianity.

Patrick the Saint

Patrick was a 5th century British missionary, but he didn’t start out that way. At the age of 16, he was captured by Irish raiders and forced into slavery (c. 430 AD). These celts, or known back then as “Galatians” by the Greeks, were famous for their brutal, militaristic ways. The Romans spent a lot of money and men trying to repel their incessant attacks, and eventually won. So, the Celts retreated to the “end of civilization” as it was referred to back then; areas we now call England, Scotland and Ireland. 

So here was Patrick, taken from his homeland and forced to work for his slave-owner, tending pig herds on the hills of Ireland. He often lived like an animal himself, going months without human contact. His memories of missionaries to Britain who converted him to Christ surfaced and got him through, as he turned to God for comfort during those long, hard years of slavery. For six years, he slaved over those pigs before he finally heard a message from within which told him to “fast and then soon he’d return to his homeland.” [Christian History Magazine] He did so, and then heard he was to go and see a ship waiting for him. Patrick ran the 200 plus miles it took to get to the coastline of Ireland where he found a trader’s boat and convinced him to let him board back to England.

Back in Britain, he studied more of the faith and had a vision which called him back to Ireland - the last place he wanted to go! Patrick obeyed the call and is now remembered as the one who converted Ireland to Christianity, even though he wasn’t the first to bring Christianity to the Emerald Isle. Pope Celestine I sent a bishop named Palladius to Irelend in 431 AD. It was assumed he was martyred; the old saying goes that the church was built on the blood of martyrs.

When Patrick arrived back in Ireland, paganism was still dominant. He taught the Irish that these supernatural beings were demons, and transformed their thinking of fearing old deities into hatred of demons. The Celts still performed the unthinkable act of human sacrifice, and Patrick declared that such sacrifices were no longer needed because Christ died once for all. He urged the Celts to put away their knives and abandon their altars. He used their pagans beliefs to show the truth of Christianity. One of their favorite motifs was a tri-faced god, for three was their magical number. This was an easy transition for Patrick to make to the pagans - that the God of three faces has given us His son, that He does not hate us but loves us, and that He wants our lives, not our death. But he needed more than just a good argument. These people were highly superstitious and needed signs to believe it all. 

Patrick’s biggest opposition came from the skilled, educated and powerful Druids who wanted to kill him. The promises of heaven kept Patrick fearless, and he had great confidence in God to protect him. Supposedly, miracles followed Patrick, and legend has it that the druids set up a trap to kill Patrick but as they came near, all they could see was a deer! This, and many other tales, convinced the pagan Irish that Patrick’s God was real.

However, Patrick’s greatest enemy wasn’t the Druids but slavery. Having been one himself, he had a special urgency to end the trade, and was the first Christian to speak out strongly against it. Eventually, he was able to end the entire Irish slave trade! This was a huge impact on the society.

Monasteries were ultimately the biggest impact Patrick left in his mission to Irelend He concentrated on converting tribal kings, logically concluding that if you convert the king, you convert the tribe. It proved to be a very successful strategy. As the kings were converted, an old Irish custom had them give their sons back to Patrick for educating. He turned these children into monks (and/or nuns) and built monasteries. He ordained the new disciple to be deacon/priest and left them in charge of the monastery. 

He died in 493 in his seventies. Saint Patrick was one of the first great missionaries who brought the gospel beyond the boundaries of Rome. He was a great role model for Celtic Christians, remaining a humble man, as he autobiography “Confession” states that he was full of self-doubt, calling himself a “fool” whom God allowed to do His will. 

Monastic Element

Patrick established primitive communities of monks and nuns, and by the end of the 7th century, abbots controlled monasteries. In rural Ireland, these places were like mini-cities and the hub of civilization. They were devoted to nature, poetry, creating fine metalwork and sculpture. Their sites were set-up like ancient ring-forts for protection against raiders. They wanted to remove themselves from the world, and often chose remote islands to build these monasteries to devote their minds and bodies to God. Like Augustine, they believed every Christian was an alien in the carnal world.

The spiritual hot spot was on one of these isles - Iona, a Scottish isle about three miles by 1.5 miles. This is where Saint Columba resided, the most important saint associated with the Celtic churches [Christian History Magazine]. Legends grew around Columba, giving him the same status as a Christian sorcerer’s apprentice, (proving that superstition did not die out with Saint Patrick). Columba wrote hundreds of poems, and had a great reputation for scholarship. He trained priests and bishops, and was believed to converse regularly with angels. 

 The Irish Celts were respectful of women’s spiritual gifts and leadership. Legend has it that Brigit, a kind of female counterpart of Patrick, was the Abbess of Kildare, overseeing a double monastery of men and women. Brigit is surrounded by a “forest of legends” [Christian History Magazine], so it is impossible to really know if she even existed or was a fabrication of a Celtic goddess of the same name. 

It is said that she lived to serve Jesus by feeding the poor and vanquishing misery wherever she found it. She also was fond of beer, and held a merry approach to life. She gave away things generously and everyone said they felt in her the burning presence of God loving all within her reach. She is remembered as the “Festive Abbess.” 

Another female leader in monastic medieval Ireland was a woman called the “Jewel of Whitby”, or Hilda (c. 614-680). She spent her earthly life devoted to the work of heaven, working toward the unity of the church and had a keen appreciation of other’s unique talents, which led her to recognize and empower Caedmon, England’s first poet. [Christian History Magazine]

The End of the Monasteries

In 793, the Vikings raided Ireland, destroying the glory of the Celtic monasticism. Ireland’s economy was still that of a pastoral society with all the riches held in monasteries. This is why the warriors targeted the peaceful communes. Over a 25-year period, 26 attacks were recorded. In time, the warriors began to settle there and created an international trade at Dublin and Limerick, nurtured by Viking merchants. This lifted Ireland out of a pastoral economy. 

Writers of today look back at the medieval Celtic period as a kind of “golden age.” [Christian History Magazine] Unlike the more harsh interpretations that the Roman Catholics took in handling church life, the church in Ireland taught many things differently, with more grace and acceptance. They taught that God was near rather than far off; that God loves us more than judges us; that there is peace in simplicity; to tolerate secular culture; to respect women; and to live in harmony with the natural world around them. This is popular today because it reflects a lot of modern thought, and the region is often viewed as a place where life could be lived more ideally, as God and nature intended.

- this is a a brief synopsis of the issue aptly named by Christian History magazine, issue 60

 

The Politics of Being a Christian

The recent chaos in the City of Madison has pulled my family into the mess of it all, not only because it will directly impact us, as my husband is in the Teacher's Union, but because we're Christians. Why should that matter? It shouldn't, really, but it has. I have been shocked at how some of my Christians friends have responded to my postings on Facebook about how I feel regarding the bargaining rights of teachers, public workers, etc. Many of my Christian friends vote Republican, and I assume it's because this party is pro-life and anti-gay, which are strong Biblical principles. Some of them may also believe it's not the government's responsibility to help out the poor with taxpayer's dollars - that should be the responsibility of the Church. At least that is what one person explained to me in reasoning why they vote down the Republican/Conservative line.

I think it is the responsibility of all mankind to care for its' less fortunate, and to assume someone would seek help from a Christian Church when they are not of that faith, is presumptuous. If the government does not have provisions in place to help the poor, elderly, or the common worker, knowing the selfish nature of mankind, do you really think we'd always care for these folks? I would like to think so, but I highly doubt it. The government has had statures in place to protect the middle-class and the poor, and dissolving those protections could end up being one of the worst things we could do to our communities.

What has really caught me by surprise, however, is the flat out hate-filled speech that has come out of this whole budget process towards the teachers and public workers. I even had a friend of mine write me a big, long e-mail explaining to me why she thought teacher's were paid too much, and received way too much money in their retirement pensions. I would ask of this person what about hedge-fund managers who make billions of dollars - is that too much money for one person? The argument would be something like "well, it's not taxpayer dollars - that person earned it on their own." Really? Then why did the taxpayers have to bail-out Wall Street? The whole reason why there is a budget deficit is due to the taxpayer bail-out, not because union workers make too much money. No one ever got rich being a teacher. Can you say that about Wall Street? And yet now the teachers and other public workers are taking big salary cuts to bail out the deficit problems trickled down to us by these rich brokers, who, by the way, are back making profits - some record-breaking profits (i.e. oil companies).

I also had a friend, whom I've known now for more than six years, "unfriend" me on Facebook due to my stance on the whole collecting bargaining thing. Once I had considered her a very close friend, who knows my husband and I do not live on the "high-hog" on his teacher's salary. She should know how crippling this decision to have teacher's pay out of their salaries for benefits that once were part of their contracts. For us, it amounts to about $500 per month less of take home pay.

We bought a lot a couple of years ago, and planned to build a new home. The real estate market tanked, and we have not sold our home yet in order to build the new one. Our builder has been anxious to build us the home, as his business has been severely hit during this recession. However, with this reduction in our salary, we will no longer be able to afford the mortgage on a newly-constructed home, and are making plans to stay put and most likely, sell the lot.

Not a huge sacrifice - at least my husband still has a job, and we still have a roof over our heads (albeit an 111-year old home!). But multiply our situation by all the thousands of teachers in the state of Wisconsin, not to mention the other public workers affected by this "budget repair bill." With less money to spend, these workers will not be buying, building or some even staying in the State because frankly, they won't be able to afford it.

Walker said "Wisconsin is Open for Business," but I am assuming we all thought this meant more jobs and more money being spent to stimulate the economy. I don't think any of us thought he'd cut salaries so much to cause many teachers to quit, or that there would even be lay-offs of public workers. He said he was going to create jobs - well, what if his so-called "creating jobs" is just re-hiring those public workers he laid-off back as contract workers with no benefits? How is this going to help you?

Personally, I would have preferred to paid a little more in taxes, had cuts in spending on capital purchases or public maintenance, and leave the workers alone so they could continue to spend money in the system, building new homes or buying new cars, etc. How about creating more jobs in Wisconsin by developing new, greener technologies allowing a once environmentally-friendly State to lead the way in new energies, and keeping a state, which had prided itself in it's natural beauty, an area that does not pollute and protects its' land from over-development? Walker is even going to take away our recycling services, and that is going to force our state to dig more land-fills, which in the end, will end up costing us more money and could permanently harm our environment.

We cannot go back to the way things were, making money hand-over-foot, building at a rapid pace and living "lifestyles of the rich and famous". It's simply not sustainable. There are not enough resources available on this planet for each man and woman to live like that. We should be content to live more simpler lives, trying to live by the old-fashioned golden rule of treating others like you want to be treated.

We should ask ourselves the important questions, like how can I learn to love better? How can I contribute something good to society? What lasting impression will my life leave? Instead of how much money can I make? Lots of money doesn't satisfy anyway. Why can't the billionaires be satisfied with all their riches? Because even when they get up to that level of making money, they find it truly doesn't satisfy the soul. So they think more money is the answer, or they may turn to power to fill that need in their hearts. But I say, at the end of your life, what really matters is how well you loved.

How can we develop this love if we allow politicians to make us turn against each other? A house divided cannot stand, so let's stand together, common-folk with common-folks, and not allow this politically maneuvering to divide us. We are not the enemy.

 

 

 

The Church Should "Go Green"

Going green - it's definitely the catch phrase of the 2010 decade. However, I find it quite odd that most of this green movement is dominated by those who would not call themselves Christians. Yet, if I study my bible correctly, it's the responsibility of the believers to take "dominion over the Earth." Of course, if you think that means we can continue to stay on a path of taking whatever we want from our planet without considering the toll we make to the environment in the process, then don't read any further. If, however, you think that maybe the Church has misunderstood what God meant by taking "dominion over" the Earth, then please continue.

The recent economic melt-down was primarily due to people spending beyond their means, banks banking on it, and the CEO profiting from our compulsion to have more, more, and more! All I can say to these folks is "When's enough enough?" How much money do you really need? How big of a house do you really need? How many cars do you really need? Do you really need that 50th pair of shoes? Come on, now - really? To keep us satisfied, the producers of such products need to make more, more, and more. So, they take more, more, and more from the Earth's resources. The planet is not an inexhaustible resource, is it? We need to stop taking, and learn to use resources we can sustain or replace or reuse, not deplete. Anyway, shouldn't "dominion" imply that we actually care for the Earth, not destroy it for financial gain?

For the believer, ponder this for a moment... When God made a promise in Genesis 9:13, His promise was to the Earth. What? God made a promise to the Earth?! Check it out: " I will place a rainbow in the clouds and it will the sign of the covenant between me and the Earth." This was in reference to the great flooding of that time, and He said he'd never do it again. God's promises are true, so a "Water World" we will not become (despite Kevin Costner's movie). But, why would God make a promise to our planet and not us? What does that mean? 

Here's another intriguing point: Romans 8:19 says "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed." The creation waits? What is it "eager for?" Creation is groaning under our care right now! Daily, entire species are becoming extinct because we're polluting our environment or taking away the species' habitats. We're spewing carbon monoxide into the protective ozone layer in our atmosphere, causing a gradual warming which, in turn, is accelerating a more extreme climate change, from floods to hurricanes to massive snow storms. We're sucking up all the oil we can from the Earth's core, and spilling it like a cut artery bleeding into our oceans. And we think this is okay - that there is not a problem? Maybe what Creation is waiting anxiously for is for the "sons of God" to step up and take proper care of the Earth God gave them, not destroy it! And what are we doing to ourselves in the process? Are you thinking we're going to just be "raptured" and not have to face the consequences of our actions? Really - do you think God won't judge us for how we treated His Earth? 

Our Creator gave us this planet, with everything we need to live, and we're like a small child, tearing into a new toy, playing with it hard, and breaking it before there is time to fully realize it's value. Yeah, Jesus is coming back - AND He's coming back to THIS Earth! I'm guessing we're probably going to spend the millennium reign of Christ cleaning up the mess we made when Jesus returns. Did you ever think about that?

He created the heavens and the Earth, and if we love Him, we should care for it because of that love, not because we're "tree huggers" - (although hugging a tree can be great fun!) Caring for creation is an expression of our loving Him, and treating it as Holy ground because He is Holy.

The Church should be the leaders in Green Technologies, sustainable economies and care for creation. It's all God's and He gave it to us. When He comes back to reclaim it, what is He going to find? 

Oil Disaster Should Only Fuel Your Voice

The current oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico has me greatly concerned, and you should be, too. We all sit back waiting for the government, or BP or some scientific engineer to try and fix the problem. Hopefully, the leak will be capped soon. Will that be the end of our problems? Unfortunately no, because we are still too dependent on oil. There will be other disasters like this one until we are given alternate energy sources. We've had the technology for years to convert automobiles to electric or part-solar batteries, but the big oil companies have managed to cripple the efforts of those trying to develop these alternate energies. These big boys ultimately know that their money source will dry up when oil is no longer in high demand. They care more about money than they do their own children's future - how sad is that? If you look just a few years ahead and recognize what our children will be inheriting when they are the ones in charge, it's frightening. These big oil tycoons are blinded by greed. I've heard the Bible so terribly misquoted time and time again about money. Most people think the Bible says that money is evil, but that is not what it says. 1 Tim 6:10 states this, "For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows." It's the LOVE of money - a.k.a. GREED - that is the root of all evil. Money, used properly, is perfectly fine. It's only when we allow money to rule in our hearts, to consume our thoughts and feed our insatiable desires, that it becomes bad. It's one of the reasons that money is so often used by Jesus in parables to illustrate a point - He knows that we are very tempted by money, and He wants us to keep our finances in perspective to see the bigger picture of what life is really about - love God and love others. It's really pretty simple. We're the ones who've complicated it. So, these "big boys" of oil have succumbed to the love of money, and probably the pull of power. One might wonder how "little ole' me" can make a difference, going up against these big boys. I used to wonder that same thing, until I experienced it myself. Where I live, there's been too much over-development. (Of course now, with the current economy, that's pretty much taken care of itself.) But during those years when the real estate market was hot-n-heavy, we had a mayor governing who had the real estate developers in his back pocket. Matter-of-fact, he was also a realtor! Give me a break. Fueled with passion that this was a complete travesty of justice, I gathered up some local citizens and we went to the city council meetings to protest this over-development. We were not well received. Even the local paper was backed by the building association, and didn't cover us as "newsworthy" despite the fact that over a dozen people showed up, and made statements to slow down the growth. This civil way to express our opinions seemed to make no difference, but we didn't give up. Instead, we focused our energies on the upcoming election. There was a new man running against the realtor/mayor, and he had no previous political experience. He did, however, listen to us, and agreed that there was too much growth in our city. We then endorsed his campaign, and began canvassing the city with flyers and sending out e-mails to folks about him. He was the underdog. The other guy had developers backing him, and loads of money. We were not terribly confident that our guy would win, but we gave it our best efforts. The night of the election, I watched with nervousness as the votes came in. By 10 p.m., the final precincts were counted. I saw the TV scroll the winner, and it was our man! I was so excited and ran down to the place where his campaign was celebrating to cheer him on. It was such a victory! The next day, despite the local paper's leaning, there I was on the front page shaking the new mayor's hand in congratulations! We did it. We made a difference. It can be done! Today, we still have the same mayor in our city, and he's done a good job at curbing over-development. He's been re-elected three times. It is a wonderful feeling to know that I helped to make this difference. One person CAN make a difference, especially if that one person gets together with another and another and so on. Elections are coming up, and your biggest chance to make a difference would be to elect those who truly will represent your voice, and not the "big boys" from the oil companies. Our power is in our voting process, and our voices. We need to let our government know that this oil disaster is enough - we need to get off our dependency from oil, and move to a greener, cleaner future. If not for us, for those who are growing up now who did not create this mess. Please make your voices heard, civilly and prayerfully.

Exercise & Vegetables?

So I recently turned 47 years old, and it suddenly dawned on me - I'm only three years away from the Big Five-Oh. Wow.... how did that happen? I remember, as a young woman, feeling eager about life, full of expectations about what my future held. I also remember feeling good physically. I slept good, and my body never ached. Now, it's rare that I sleep a full eight hours uninterrupted, and I have more aches and pains than I care to admit. And am I as eager for the future as I was back in my 20s? Well, in certain ways yes, and some ways definitely no. 

I am eager to see how my children do as adults someday, and what their lives hold in promise yet to be seen. But I am not eager to see my body age and feel even more aches and pains than I do now. I keep thinking to myself, if I don't do something to make myself feel better soon, I am not going to grow old very gracefully. Can one grow old gracefully? 

I think I need to exercise much more than I do currently. Right now, I walk a little. But I've got foot problems, so walking is becoming painful. So, biking is a good second choice. However, it's a seasonal exercise since where I live the roads are often icy or snowy for a good four or five months out of the year. So, I have a health club membership for the winter months. I hate going there, though, because now that I am older, I don't want a bunch of young people watching me struggle during my exercise routine. So, I got a Wii fit thingy, and use that occasionally. I have got to face the facts, however, that me and exercise just don't like each other too much. It's like eating your vegetables. You know they are good for you, so you do it, but you much rather dip a strawberry into some chocolate! 

Okay, that is the answer! I need to find an exercise that is like dipping strawberries into chocolate! Hmmmm...... well,...... ummmmm....... I'm thinking.......... I'm waiting for inspiration........ ah, heck, I've got to be honest - exercise is like eating brussel sprouts! 

These days I am feeling so much more happier. I really do think it's because it's Springtime, the days are longer, and I am getting more sunshine. Winters in Wisconsin have been harder on me than I thought they'd be when we moved out here 12 years ago now! Wow - can't really believe it's been that long. Anyways, all I can say is that warmer, sunshine-filled days really do brighten my mood. HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!

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It's bedtime, but I don't want to!

It's late and I should be going to bed. I hear a car rush up our street, but then the silence returns. The only sound I hear is the ticking off an annoying clock, reminding me that time is indeed ticking by, and the hum of my laptop computer. It's warm as I sit my Mac on my lap, and rest, snuggled under a soft, plush blanket. There is something comforting about all of this - me, typing away about this very moment in time, and the peaceful, still of the night. My family is asleep, safe for the night. The cat sleeps on the couch next to me, curled up on her blanket. The lamps is dimly lighting the keyboard, as I try to type without making any mistakes. (I never did learn to type well enough to get an office-type job. I always make mistakes and hit the delete button to correct myself.) Why I am writing this to you, the reader, who I may know or may not? Why are we all doing this new thing of internet communication? I think the answer is simple. To be known - make a mark. To say "Hey, I was here!" As if somehow that makes us significant - that we matter. To connect with another human being in order to feel a sense of belonging. Or maybe we're just simply bored and got nothing better to do. Go to bed - you need sleep! My kids are always saying, "ahhhh, I don't want to go to bed!" But since I am the parent now, I can say, "Sorry - you've got to go to bed now. It's your bedtime." They grumble, and eventually comply.Me? Heck, I can stay up late if I want to because I am the adult now! Ha ha ha! But if I stay up late, the alarm still rings at 6 a.m., and I still have to get up no matter what. I've go to make sure the kids are up, dressed, and have breakfast in their tummys before heading off to school. Oh yeah, and I've got to make their sack lunches, with all healthy food, mind you, because we certainly do not want to feed them crap. Oh crap! I've got to go to bed! The clock is still ticking. My quiet moment will fade and sleep will overtake me. Good night.