A Picture that is Irritating

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=52350

Go look at this picture.  Right now.  You have nothing better to do, just go.  Come back to me once you've taken a good hard look at it.  I'm not going anywhere; I'll be here when you get back.  Go on.

Did you see it?  I mean really see it?  Scary isn't it (and I don't mean the kid in the mask)?

First, let me just say that this picture does call out those luke-warm Christians  who have no cause to champion.  All Christians have been called by God, and while most have not been caused to lead the war on abortion rights, some have, and I appreciate them.  I do not believe that I personally am called to combat abortion rights.

Abortion does not continue because Christians don't care, it continues because humans have this wonderful thing called "free will."  This idea of "free will" is what allows us to love and act in compassion, but it also allows us to do other things, like stealing and indulging in chocolate.  It allows us to do things we want, like enjoying the beauty of an Appalachian sunrise or voting in an upcoming election.  Free will also allows people to get abortions, and carry signs condemning their fellow Christians for not throwing the country into chaos over what some women do with their lives.  Let's take a look into the Bible real quick.  The Bible is filled with prostitutes.  Prostitutes who were redeemed, FORGIVEN! even.  Jesus himself forgave a prostitute who would have been stoned otherwise.

You know, I think our emotions end up misplaced very easily.  We can do nothing after someone has an abortion.  Nothing we can do is going to bring that child back to life.  So what good does it do to condemn our brothers and sisters for something they have no control over?  Instead of holding up signs like these, how about we start holding ones that say: "Christians, Remember to love your neighbors!" or "Nothing can separate us from the love of God."?

This whole idea of people holding signs talking about how much "God hates YOU!" really pisses me off.  I know that there probably is a place for it, but does it seriously work?  Go look at Westboro Baptist Church, the "Christians" who protest soldiers' funerals, saying that they died to protect profanity and corruption.  How can people who have experienced the LOVE of CHRIST, condemn the world outright?  True we are called out of the law of the world, but we stay in the world to be the light.  Who in their right mind will run towards the light if all it does is condemn them.  These people tell the world that there is no loving God, there is no forgiveness, there is no abundant life, only judgment and death and condemnation.  Oh yes, that's what Christianity is ALL ABOUT!  (Please note the sarcasm.)

So, that's why these people piss me off.  Yes, they challenge us to examine our lives and consider our own apathy, which is good, but we are told to reproach our brothers in love, not judgment.

Stuck in Traffic?

The vast majority of people I know hate getting stuck in traffic.  Some of my co-workers will stay at work, off the clock to avoid running into busy school bus routes.  Some of my classmates will leave over a half an hour early to avoid lunch hour congestion to travel through downtown.

While I will often give myself plenty of time to get from point A to point B, it is generally never to avoid.  On the contrary, it is to allow for time "wasted" sitting in traffic.  Whether it's on I65 heading to work, I64 to or from school, or just local roads heading across town, somehow or another, I always end up spending time stuck in traffic.  So, aside from planning on, and jamming to the radio, I have discovered a number of ways to get through those long moments when one can't to anything but stare at the same three license plates.

So here are some of the things I do, to keep patience and not get overly frustrated with time lost in transit:

1) Turn off the radio and look out at the horizon.  Taking in the beauty of the moment often serves to help take my mind off of the fact that I have moved three feet in the past five minutes.  Look at the trees or buildings.  Take a few moments to cloud-watch.  Check out the stars, if you're caught in night road construction. 

2) People watch.  Now, obviously be careful because heavy traffic is often prime-time to run into someone experiencing road-rage, so don't make eye contact with someone visibly irritated.  Instead, look at some of the makes and models of cars around.  Imagine who these people might be and where they are going, or what they are leaving.  The man in the Volkswagen just in front of you may be a frugal middle-class businessman who's fallen on hard times.  Maybe he needs prayer because he was recently laid off and his wife is threatening to leave him because he can't support her and their two children on his unemployment check.  Just people watch and imagine some scenarios.

3) Take some time to pray.  I know it may sound odd, but picture God sitting in the seat next to you.  Tell Him about your day, your relationships, your dreams.  Ask Him questions like "God, what do you think about last night's news?  I know that story about Pakistan was really depressing, but there has to be some good in that part of the world, right?  You know, I think I heard something about missionaries going over to help feed some of those starving children.  Thank You for those people." Speak to Him out loud; it makes it more real, at least for me.  And don't worry about if other people are looking at you funny, they think you're singing along with the radio.

So next time you find yourself stuck in traffic, don't get frustrated, practice love.  Practice the presence of God, and remember, at least this traffic jam is not going to last for 9 days like this one in China: 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100823/sc_afp/chinaroadtraffic

Convents and Sisterhoods

Okay, so:

Just as a thought, I have considered devoting my life to God and becoming a nun.  Part of the problem with this is that I have no desire to convert to Catholicism or Buddhism.  There is good news though, there are indeed protestant convents.  Again there are problems, they are all orthodox denominations: Methodism, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, etc.  Being part of a Christian church, and no, not DoC, I don't really want to convert per se.

So, here in lies the problem: should I decide that this is the path for me, and I'm not 100% sold out, I have nowhere to go.  I could make the vows on my own to God, and I believe that they would be binding and honored by God, but not by man.  Oh well though.  Just a thought.

Biblical Sexualities: part 5

The final installment of this series on sexualities is finally here. "What is it?" you may ask, and you are about to find out. We have looked at what the Bible says about Heterosexuality, Homosexuality, Bi-, Pan-, Poly-, and Asexuality; so what's left? Really? The one thing that all of these have in common is that they are a certainty in one's life. Ergo, the last thing to discuss is the most fluid sexuality, the one that is still. . .

Questioning.

Many adolescents go through phases of uncertainty regarding their sexuality, as well as many other things about their life, including their faith and what not. Now, I want to take the approach of likening these things: faith and sexuality. There is a certain point when decisions start being made about whether or not to adopt their parents' beliefs. By questioning one's beliefs in God and religion, we determine where we as free-thinking individuals stand with God. We develop our own unique relationship with God, and in doing we either affirm our parents' beliefs our refuse them.

The same can be said of sexuality. From childhood we are presented with models of sexuality that we can either internalize them or reject them. By taking the time to truly question our sexuality, we can determine our own identity, what is truly in our hearts and not just what the world tells us to believe, who to love. Obviously the Bible does not talk much on the topic questioning one's sexuality, however, I did find something to talk about.

Genesis 1:"21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, 'Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.' 23 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day. 24 And God said, 'Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.' And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good."

So, God tells us to "be fruitful and multiply," which we often take to mean that God also designed the sex drive, which tells us to "get happy." And because Faith and Sexuality are interconnected, questioning one's sexuality should be just as natural as questioning one's faith. There is a preferred way to deal with sexuality should you wish to follow the "multiply" portion of life not realizing the fact that our world has too many mouths to feed on such poor leadership, Heterosexuality is the way to go, buy hey, I can't tell you how to live your life.

So let me close out this series with a passage from Romans 14:

"22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin."

Biblical Sexualities: part 2

"What is 'The Kinsey Scale?'

The Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale, sometimes referred to as the “Kinsey Scale,” was developed by Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues Wardell Pomeroy and Clyde Martin in 1948, in order to account for research findings that showed people did not fit into neat and exclusive heterosexual or homosexual categories." (http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/research/ak-hhscale.html)

Bisexuality and Pan-sexuality

Bisexuality and Pan-sexuality, in Biblical terms are a bit harder to deal with because they are orientations never specifically mentioned. On the other hand, hey may also be the easiest to deal with, because they are rather nonspecific. What I mean to say, is that Bisexuality and Pan-sexuality are much more fluid that strict heterosexuality or strict homosexuality. People who identify as Bisexual claim to be attracted to both males and females; Pan-sexuals are attracted to people regardless of gender (consider it as being attracted to men, women, transsexuals, neutrois, the androgynous, etc.).

First let's deal with Bisexuality only; life is easier this way. Okay, to begin with, the Bible never actually mentions bisexuality. The problem is that the Bible discusses Heterosexuality favorably (arguably, as discussed in the previous edition), and Homosexuality unfavorably (as we will discuss in the next edition). Because Bisexuality spans both Hetero- and Homosexuality, it is a bit unfair to say that the Bible either condones or condemns Bisexual behavior. It would be arguably more accurate to claim that the Bible smiles upon those who engage in heterosexual behavior, yet frowns on those who engage in homosexual behavior. Therefore, could it be said that the Bible does not frown on Bisexuals who date those people of the opposite sex? On the opposite hand, few fundamentalists would disagree if I said that the Bible DOES frown upon Bisexuals who date those of the same sex.

So, as long as Bisexuals deny, discipline, and/or try to overcome half of their sexuality, they pass under the radar, because as far as anyone knows, they are functionally Heterosexual.

Now, Pan-sexuality is a slight bit harder to deal with. In an effort to better illustrate some issues that are exclusive to Pan-sexuality, let me tell two short, real (as in they've actually happened) stories. First, an example from my own life:

I was in a relationship with a man for over four years and most everything was good and pretty much normal. This was, until my boyfriend informed me that he has come to terms with his being transgendered. He was a woman in a man's body. She has now legally changed her name and begun hormone therapy. Hypothetically, had we continued dating, would that have constituted Homosexuality, because she is now technically female?

Another story, in which I will change the names to protect the innocent, begins with a friend of mine from school. Meagan began talking to this guy on the internet. She liked him and he liked her, and everything was fine and normal. This was, until Richard told Meagan that he was transgendered. He was born female, but had now been through the whole process of hormone therapy and is male except for the actual sexual reassignment surgery. Because Richard was born female, does his dating a woman constitute Homosexuality?

As food for thought, I would pose these questions. Are these events the same? Do they really constitute events of Homosexuality/ same sex Pan-sexuality? Is dating someone who is transgendered/neutrois defined under the blanket term of sexual immorality?

These people are not unlovable. In fact, they need the love of God just like everyone else, perhaps even more so. Perhaps there is a reason that there are people who are willing to seek love in any format. There is no sin in wanting to be loved.

Inspiration

Okay, so, School. I know, it's been a while since I have had time to get around to an update, but I'm going to try to get back into the habit (and get one of my friends back into the habit as well.) But I digress.

The thing I really want to talk about is Transy Nightly Prayer. So, last year we had a consistent group of four people, give or take a few every night. As of this year, we are down to two persistent contributors, which really is neither good nor bad. It is kind of sad though that we do find ourselves in the sames ruts more often than is healthy, which could be courted by a more diverse group of prayer warriors. However, good still continues to flow out of this ministry.

Personally, it has forced me to slow down and really think about what God has really done in my life, and continues to do every day. It truly is amazing. I find myself awestruck while walking across campus at the most informal times: seeing the clouds over Forrer Hall, watching Dr. Barnes to Tai-chi outside the Mitchell Fine Arts Center, listen to a group of kids my touch football in Gratz Park, anything, anywhere. I am forced to stop, to breathe, to realize that every moment is a gift from someone who loves me more than life itself, more than self-preservation, more than the sun and the stars that He taught how to shine, and He has lead me here for a reason. He has made sure that my eyes have been open to see all of these things and so much more. How amazing is that!

Really now, life is so often taken for granted, and I have done more than my fair share of complaining about how rough it can be, but you do not have to have a near death experience to realize how truly beautiful the world is. No, one of the simplest things to do is just close your eyes for a minute, spin around and forget what color looks like. Then open your eyes and really see, through prisms the size of unformed tears, look at the world, look at people, look at how they interact, and revel if just for a moment in the beauty of it all.

Away Status

So, it's been a week since my last post, but I've been particularly busy with school as well as having some massive computer problems when trying to connect to our campus network. It's not been fun. However, I cannot solely blame my inactivity on dorm life. In reality, while I have been swamped with work and homework, I have often found time to do other things, like play Chinese Checkers with one of my friends on the other side of campus, and watch Disney movies, and attend a kick-ass concert by a group called "Barrage." They are pretty freakin' sweet, go look them up on YouTube.

But anyway, I have various other reasons for being absent, such as yesterday no longer being an anniversary for my (recent) ex and me. Apart from the emotional trauma of him having a girlfriend and not telling me, and then not telling me who, which I have decided to give up on ever finding out, life has consisted of being antisocial and minor problems with a few friends here on campus, all of which have been solved or overlooked by grace (on the part of either party).

Enough of being vague though. Truth be told, the reason I can now get around to a new post is because I am quite lonely and most everyone has left campus for the weekend. Several of my good friends, including the only other regular attender of Transy Nightly Prayer. The solution to all this though, I know, is learning to rely on God for my companionship. Even though it's hard, I feel like this is something that I am being forced to learn the hard way. And if God is going to go through so much trouble to isolate me, this must be an important lesson.

And when you think about it, it really is an important thing. People will always eventually fail us, therefore, if our reliance is solely on God, who will never let us down, no one can steal our Joy.

Lasagna and Company

I moved back onto campus yesterday evening. Last night, I experienced my first home-made smoothie and my first spice cake. The bad news was that I also got next to no sleep because of this obnoxiously bright light just outside the window just next to my bed. Sunlight from the very window also woke me up this morning at about 8:00am. Not fun, but I digress.

My fellow housemates had decided a while back that we were going to be making lasagna and cheesy/garlic bread tonight for dinner for the house and some friends. It was the first time any of us had made lasagna or cheese bread and while we did have a recipe, the plan included some "winging it." Two of my housemates began preparation of the vegetarian lasagna at 5pm, while I laid down to take an hour nap because I had not gotten enough sleep the night prior, because of that stupid field light. Anyway, 3 minutes before my alarm was set to go off, there a loud rapping, rap-rap-rapping, on the front door, which happens to be just outside my room, where I was finally asleep. Startled, I jumped out of my bed and ran to the door, not even bothering to put on my glasses on the way.

Turns out that a former house resident was stopping by to check out the rooms and visit two of the girls that moved in that morning. Needless to say, I was quite irritated because I was finally asleep, but we move on with life. Since God had said that it was not my day to sleep, I decided too pitch in with the cooking effort. All went amazingly well, even with it taking like an hour to cook the noodles, and one of the girls brought home a cheesecake for dessert as well. It was amazing!

Anyway, point of the story, there was like a ton of people in the house, and at first I was very annoyed by this because I'm not used to it. I lived a very solitary summer. As the night wore on though, I got more comfortable with it; it helped that everyone seemed to be genuinely having fun. I honestly can't wait for the rest of the people to arrive on campus tomorrow.

I think this is really going to be a good year. I foresee some rough spots, but I believe that God will give us the grace to smooth everything over.

The Loving Embrace

Reading through the four gospels and the book of Acts, I have become amazed. Amazed at the life of Christ and His disciples. For the first time ever, I actually listened to the words of the Lord, and now I understand, at least more than I ever have before, the enormity of God's love for His Creation. And, I have also concluded, as I read in Crazy Love, by Francis Chan (see www.crazylovebook.com) that if one is a follower of Christ, a true Christian, then there in no such option as being "lukewarm." Being a Christian, having a relationship with the living God, falling in love with the lover of our souls, means having a raging fire in our hearts. It's looking at stories of what the world calls "radicals," the men who died for their faith, and seeing a nation truly committed to living out their love for a God who gave up His throne, and lived out a mortal life for us, His beautiful Creation gone awry.

Love is powerful, that's the way it was designed. There is a saying that goes something like: you always to crazy things when you're in love. I mean, when you love someone, truly love them, you can't stop thinking about them. All you want to do is spend time with them; you go out of your way to lavish your feelings on them. Why do we treat our relationship any differently? It is neither right nor fair. Think about all God has done for us. He created the whole Earth, and everything in it: all creatures, all life, every cell in our bodies. He has done more for us that any person could ever do. He has lavished a love beyond our very comprehension, a love we cannot possibly repay. Why are we so hesitant to attempt to spend our love on Him? Really?

Crazy Love

I am currently finishing reading the book Crazy Love, by Francis Chan. Throughout this reading, I feel as though I have been personally challenged to change the way I live. Mostly (and this is personal) in the area of generosity. I think that God has convicted my heart because I am not a generous person, and thus I want to change. I know that God has allowed me to experience life in a unique way, a set of experiences that no one else has exactly. God has placed in my hands specific tools to do a specific work with. No one else can do the job that I was made for; no one else can connect with the people like I can in the encounters that He has planned in my life.

And every individual has a unique, God-given set of life-tools that only they can wield. Imagine what life would be like if every individual actually lived out their life, not to their fullest, but to God’s fullest. News flash: God can do more with your life than you ever could on your own. Imagine actually being able to see through God’s eyes, naturally loving every person with all your heart, without a second thought. How amazing would that be?

So, from here on out, I have decided to take a step of faith. Along with my regular tithe, I am going to give more freely on a daily basis. Whether it is a dollar to a stranger at the gas pump, or the person behind me in the restaurant, it does not even matter. God blesses what we give, not only to whom we give it, but the givers as well. I don’t know about you, but I need more God in my life. I need more crazy love, more awesome power, more Jesus in my daily life.

So, what are you going to do?

Faith, by Jesus

I was told this story once. It begins with the common knowledge that sermons are often borrowed and reused, rather than a preacher always writing their own "new" material. One preacher in particular decided that he was just going to get a copy of a particular sermon and read it verbatim to his congregation. Now, during his sermon, one particular church member thought that this message sounded awfully familiar, but he could not place where he had heard it before. After the preacher finished and the service was concluded, the man asked the preacher where he got his material from that morning. The preacher opened his Bible and pointed to Jesus' sermon on the mount.

I think it is amazing how little "Christians" actually know about what Jesus taught while he was here on Earth. We all know about his miracles. I would be willing to bet that any regular church goer could list off at least three of Jesus' miracles without much thought. How many though, could tell you what Jesus thought about politics, history, people in general? What did Jesus say about the Law of Moses? Etc. Etc. Etc. . .

All this makes me wonder why when people claim to have a relationship with the living God, the God of the Universe, who walked through the pages of the Bible, they will not even take time out of their day to read what He actually said. In a way, it sickens me. I think that it is detestable to claim that you love God and have a relationship with Jesus Christ and have never once read for yourself what He, himself came all this way to teach us. I mean, really!