So I've been banned to the apartment...my doctor threatened me...well more like strongly lectured me, that I'm highly contagious and no interaction with other people today for 24 hours after the IV...I think he knows me too well...I would rather be out ministering and worshiping out in God's Creation, but apparently I'm supposed to rest today.
With all this time, I thought it might be a good idea to think and write about some thoughts that have been going on in my head this week.
I've been doing a lot of thinking about the church, and our "image". I do this for a living, but it can be painful sometimes because I know how ugly the church can be. There are many quotes, song lyrics, books, etc on the church being sinful, being a mess, even as far as calling her a "whore."
I hate the word, "whore" and while there are many forms of this word in the Bible, the one in the New Testament, isn't a whole lot better than the ones in the Old Testament. We now have God's Spirit in us, so we aren't necessarily giving away our bodies as we had previously. However, we always seem to be turning aside from God's plan - everyday we sin. We are sinners just like everyone else in this world.
Sadly, we have this image that everything is perfect; some wear masks in public, while everything at home or behind the mask is a wreck. Sometimes, I think this is because we want to be like Jesus so much; not a bad thing, but we do need to be authentic. Our pride gets in the way, and we want to be perfect, and not cause hurt or pain or feel it by being vulnerable with our hearts.
My desire is for people outside the church to see her as God sees her - messed up, but filled with His Spirit and love, striving to be more like Christ no matter how many times we fail. He loves us unfailingly, and we need to love others the same. If the church can't show love, how can we expect to change the world for Him?
Speaking of which, one of the many reasons that I love my church is their desire to love and serve others. Check out our next big event!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Life is messy
Life is messy. Truly profound I know, but it is. That's all I can think to begin to describe it.
This past week one of my best friends from high school found out her husband has been called back to active duty in the army. Not what they were expecting at all. More than likely he will be deployed overseas...and that's scary. It messes up everything that they have been planning and striving towards in the past year.
Life is just messy....I don't understand why God does what He does sometimes, but I know and believe with all my heart that He is sovereign. As Steve Brown said this morning, "It's from Jesus; it's okay." Sometimes, it's hard to believe that, but I have to believe that God does have a plan; it's a perfect one too.
Please pray for my friend's husband, that he would feel enough pain at the doctor that he would be deferred from this call and that God might have other plans for him.
This past week one of my best friends from high school found out her husband has been called back to active duty in the army. Not what they were expecting at all. More than likely he will be deployed overseas...and that's scary. It messes up everything that they have been planning and striving towards in the past year.
Life is just messy....I don't understand why God does what He does sometimes, but I know and believe with all my heart that He is sovereign. As Steve Brown said this morning, "It's from Jesus; it's okay." Sometimes, it's hard to believe that, but I have to believe that God does have a plan; it's a perfect one too.
Please pray for my friend's husband, that he would feel enough pain at the doctor that he would be deferred from this call and that God might have other plans for him.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Being Admired is Exhausting
Recently I have had many admirers...don't get jealous yet :) They all happen to have four legs, and a tail!
While everyone else is vacationing on the beach, I am vacationing at their houses....well sadly it's not much of a vacation. Don't get me wrong, I love hanging out with the dogs and cats, but if this is what mothering is like, I am going to be worn out!
So my charges...first there's the Warners' dogs and fish...and oh yeah Shawn's disgusting scorpion. Bailey is a Shih Tzu; he is the sweetest thing, but wow I don't think there's much besides air between his ears. Then there's Magic - I don't quite know what kind of dog he is, but he looks like a blonde Alaskan Husky. He's an old man now, scared of lots of things including his food bowl. I have to hold the bowl as he eats so that he doesn't get scared. I don't get it either :) My third dog is Ellie, who is a Shepard of some type. She is hyper and leaps almost as tall as me every time I walk in the door. She's had kennel cough, so the poor thing sounded like an old lady until today. She growls, and it sounds like a motorcycle is reving up somewhere near by.
At my parents' house, we have the two cats, Josie and Mary. Mary is the old lady, who has an attitude and is not afraid to tell anyone about it. Josie is into mischief 24/7 though she knows that she can't talk me into opening and closing all the doors for her (She has my parents trained)
Last but definitely not least is Stella. Stella and I have bonded in the last couple of years. She's a very good listener, and makes me laugh constantly. She's not a morning dog, and like her eggs cooked scrambled, not runny. She loves the heater; in fact today I had it on, and she was oscillating with it. Quite a sight to see a dog leaning with the heat :)
I am physically exhausted, but it's nice to have admirers. I work at home now, and I don't get much interaction during the day unless it's via e-mail. It's been nice to have someone to share my happy moments (though Stella just opened one eye during her nap when I told her how excited I was that an AJC reporter called...). I miss the constant interaction that I had when I was working full-time, but I feel very blessed to be where I am now. God is good, even when I have whorish tendencies towards him....but more on that later I have a dog scared of a hat that I need to attend to :)
While everyone else is vacationing on the beach, I am vacationing at their houses....well sadly it's not much of a vacation. Don't get me wrong, I love hanging out with the dogs and cats, but if this is what mothering is like, I am going to be worn out!
So my charges...first there's the Warners' dogs and fish...and oh yeah Shawn's disgusting scorpion. Bailey is a Shih Tzu; he is the sweetest thing, but wow I don't think there's much besides air between his ears. Then there's Magic - I don't quite know what kind of dog he is, but he looks like a blonde Alaskan Husky. He's an old man now, scared of lots of things including his food bowl. I have to hold the bowl as he eats so that he doesn't get scared. I don't get it either :) My third dog is Ellie, who is a Shepard of some type. She is hyper and leaps almost as tall as me every time I walk in the door. She's had kennel cough, so the poor thing sounded like an old lady until today. She growls, and it sounds like a motorcycle is reving up somewhere near by.
At my parents' house, we have the two cats, Josie and Mary. Mary is the old lady, who has an attitude and is not afraid to tell anyone about it. Josie is into mischief 24/7 though she knows that she can't talk me into opening and closing all the doors for her (She has my parents trained)
Last but definitely not least is Stella. Stella and I have bonded in the last couple of years. She's a very good listener, and makes me laugh constantly. She's not a morning dog, and like her eggs cooked scrambled, not runny. She loves the heater; in fact today I had it on, and she was oscillating with it. Quite a sight to see a dog leaning with the heat :)
I am physically exhausted, but it's nice to have admirers. I work at home now, and I don't get much interaction during the day unless it's via e-mail. It's been nice to have someone to share my happy moments (though Stella just opened one eye during her nap when I told her how excited I was that an AJC reporter called...). I miss the constant interaction that I had when I was working full-time, but I feel very blessed to be where I am now. God is good, even when I have whorish tendencies towards him....but more on that later I have a dog scared of a hat that I need to attend to :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)