virtual rule #9

Virtual Rule #9: Hospitality without the house

"It is unforgivable to be rude to anyone under your own roof..." -page 429, Etiquette In Society, In Business, In Politics and At Home, Emily Post

I snatched the above quote from a larger paragraph in which Emily Post is discussing hospitality but I would like to stretch it a bit. Being courteous and hospitable to people who are visiting your abode is a must of course but I  would change the above statement slightly to the following: "It is unforgivable to be rude to anyone who is under any roof with you." This means not just the roof of  your own home but any roof you find yourself under; at the dry cleaners, at the market, while dining under an awning or driving in a car - whatever place you find yourself, make it a place to showcase your hospitable and courteous nature.

If you cannot be at the least cordial with anyone you meet, anywhere you meet them - there's a problem. This is the second part I want to address. Snobbery is something that can sneak up. Don't be afraid to look others in the eye, whether it be the girl taking your order or the cashier rinning you up; whether it be the CEO of Facebook or the eccentric who might possibly be talking to themselves on the sidewalk, all our worthy of your equal respect. Allow yourself to be taken out of your busy and important day to say hello to a stranger or to hold a door open for someone else. (Take time to appreciate that you are not the only person out there. All the fellow cars in your way on the road, they contain people too. All the slowpokes in line ahead of you are waiting people too.)

Do courteous things not just for your stuffy Grandpa but for all people you come in contact with. Making the world a more civil place starts with each one of us as individuals choosing to be civil. Seemingly, civility isn't  always convenient but don't let inconvenience deter you from doing what is right. Don't whip out the manners only when you are trying to impress someone; keep awareness of others always on the behavioral table and then allow this awareness to turn into an appreciation for others and finally allow that appreciation to blossom into respect. Everyone is worthy of your attention and sincerest acknowledgment even if that means it takes you twenty seconds longer get to the next "to do" on your list. In the end it is people that matter most.

the warning Bell

"This is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10

"And now I ask you, dear lady— not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning— that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist." 2 John 1:5-7

I have been thinking about God a lot this week, so much so that I realize how much I haven't been thinking about Him over the last many months. These last days I have been bringing my issues with God out onto the table instead of harboring them in darkness; issues like my deep mistrust of God and His love, my anger that Jesus had to die for me and my confusion about who is right when it comes to understanding God. Let me say that bringing these issues out was scary but ultimately I am finding that only through honesty and contemplation can anything really be dealt with.

The flip side to bringing out my issues with God is that God reminds me of his issues with me (and the rest of humanity). It is built into man to more readily take issue with God than to realize that it is really only he who has just cause to be at issue. The truth is, mankind isn't what he was created to be; the other truth is that it's not Gods fault.


Bell's version of love is ultimately toxic

Rob Bell has a new book coming out called "Love Wins." There was an article in TIME about it and the buzz has been all over the Internet. Evidently in the book, Bell claims that no one goes to hell; there is no hell. It's a pretty controversial things for pastor, teacher, shepherd of God's people, even just a proclaiming Christian to say. I haven't read the book and I really have no desire to expect that I know a lot of people my age are going to read it at face value, love it and believe it: that is what scares me.

Why do so many think that God allowing for a Hell is a bad thing for God to do? Can man (the created thing) call God (the Creator) unjust? I don't think so. The argument I have heard from some goes like this: "It would be unjust of God to punish man infinitely in hell for the things he did and believed in a finite lifetime." To that I say, "Well than I guess let hell stand to show you that mans life is not finite." What we believe here, right now, in this breath and the next one to come - really matters! How what we believe affects what we do, what we say, what we think - really matters! It matters! Instead of pointing us into an approved stupor of existentialism and nihilism shouldn't a brother in Christ be going in the other direction and point is into abounding hope and unspeakable joy that exists in Christ Jesus!?! Instead of plunging us into a fatalistic love affair with ourselves shouldn't a brother in Christ be plunging us into a love affair with "the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus"!?! Instead of encouraging a man-centered gospel with a bent on loving man created art, man-centered labels and titles and pleasures shouldn't a brother in Christ be encouraging a primary love of God and furthering a passion to glorify God utmost in the things we mere men make and do!?! 

This is an official warning bell against Rob Bell with a call to get your face to the ground in prayer that God transforms his heart, mind and soul. And till that happens keeps his false doctrines from harming other people, believing and not.

Below is a link to a God-centered review of Rob Bell's book, "Love Wins":
God Is Still Holy and What You Learned in Sunday School Is Still True: A Review of “Love Wins”

unfathered bothered

I said to a fellow fatherless friend,

"It bothers me that she had baby.

(1) She's a Christian she has said.

(2) She's not married.

(3) She has had a baby.

It's like the puzzle worksheets from school:

Which one of these things doesn't belong?

I am not convicting her but I feel so convicted for her?

Does that make any sense?

Am I crazy to be bothered?"

"Everyone has faults, everyone has weaknesses."

"Its not an uncommon thing anymore."

"There is nothing that can be done."

"People have to do whats right for them."

"It's not our place to judge only love."

Now I am more bothered.

On behalf of fellow unfathered,

Especially the new and young, 

Too small to know how far they'll have yet to come.

Will doughnuts with dad be a thing of wonder?

Will last name differences be a weight to be under?

Forget what the unbelieving do, it is not a blunder;

They have no faith that is shown to be going asunder.

Pursuing passion in unholy ways;

Whatever reason for dark days.

A new life comes!!

May they be considered more than just another sum!

May the women not remain ho-hum!

May the world not remain numb!

Let all life come!

Ignoring the problem is just dumb!

Listen for the timing of God's drum!

Don't easily succumb! 

Thank God! that he takes the foolish things of the world and with them shames the wise. Thank God! that he uses all things in the end for the good of those who love him BUT do not make that an excuse to use other people as scratching posts for your physical pleasure. Make God's sovereignty not an excuse to be selfish. God's goodness is not a game for he will not fail to be good and do good BUT God has shown that creating life is no joking matter. As he is responsible for what he has made, so are we. Consider this well before diving down the rabbit hole of promiscuity, fornication and sexual immorality. I use harsh words for true realities.

Think of the child that could be created by your actions. Would the situation this new life is being created in be God honoring? Care for your unmade potential child more than you care for gratifying your lusts.

Examine your heart.
With creation comes responsibility.
There is a bond between intimacy and commitment.
Don't allow for just another statistic.

. (period - end of sentence]

Post started back in February 2011
Post finished on April 5, 2011

I make things too hard, too difficult. Take God for example. Sometimes I really think I am seeing clearly what He wants and then there are times when I haven't the slightest clue. I don't even know if it is possible to know what God wants and even if it is possible I have no idea how to communicate it without sounding like a George W Bush, Glen Beck looney. (Seriously, people who use the phrase "God told me..." are 99% of the time scary, whack jobs; I don't want to be a scary whack job.) This isn't so much because I fear what people think as I don't want to attribute to God something that in end had nothing to do with God; Manifest Destiny, the slaughter of the Native Americans, the instituting of a Pope, the deification of Mary, the creation of saints to pray to, the rise of antisemitism, the false rapture doctrine, the earthquake in Haiti, the breaking of the levees in New Orleans... these are just a few tragedies that certain "Christians" have attributed as to having "Gods blessing". God forbid I attribute my momentary thoughts, my fleeting words as Gods! What arrogance! What presumption!

I second guess that what I think is what I am supposed to think, that what I do is what I am supposed to do. I volley between feeling comfortable and confident to feeling unsure and afraid; I volley between trusting everything and doubting it all. I read something one day and feel like it is ultimate truth and then the next day it means so little to me. A great big truth shrinks down to a translucent vapor and Poof! it's gone. It's supposed to be all about faith, belief in Jesus Christ (John 6:29) but then the Bible also says in the book of James that , "faith without works is dead" so I jerk between legalism and conceited entitlement. Can one ever take God's love for granted? One can never earn God's love but is really good behavior required in order to keep His love? I feel like I am always going back to square one in the faith department. How much of what I believe is really true and how much does what I believe even matter in the grand scheme of things? At times I feel really lonely and insignificant; planet earth seems boundless and huge and I am so small, what does it matter ultimately what I think, feel or experience? All these question are probably giving you a headache, I know they give me one.

I sometimes think Paul would be disappointed in me, you know, Paul, the apostle. I wonder if he would have liked me. Would I have been someone he spoke well of or would it be the other way around, would I be someone he was disappointed in? Listen to what he says in 2 Timothy 4:10, "For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica." Ouch. Colossians 4:14 has Demas greeting others in the faith he evidently shares with them, so what happened? It really makes you wonder. Maybe Paul is writing about two different guys both named Demas but I don't think that's the case. It seems like Christians put Paul on a pedestal. "Oooo Paul!" Don't misunderstand, I like Paul too, I just don't want to deify him. Paul  was human was he not? He couldn't have always, always, always been right.

I guess what is eating at me lately is things like 1 Corinthians 14:34 for example. "Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says." When did Jesus ever tell a woman to be silent because she was a woman? Yeah...never. Jesus treated women in such a counter-cultural way, it's beautiful. I know, I know some will say I have to take the verse in its greater context and Paul didn't mean it the way it sounds and yada yada yada. Paul just really irks me sometimes, there I've said it. I want to follow Jesus not Paul and just because Paul wrote something doesn't mean one shouldn't test it in the Spirit just like one should test ALL teaching that comes their way. I write all this and then I go read Romans and I am silent to speak any kind of criticism of Paul. Darn it. I guess we mortals are all mixed bags of right and wrong when left to ourselves; we need God's Spirit guiding us always in truth, to truth. Further reading regarding Paul required.

With this post I am pausing to appreciate the finality of the grammatical period (.) A period represents the end of a sentence, the end of a statement. In life I want an ending that I can be sure of. I want to know that I know something and that what I know about it is never going to change and never become wrong. I want to know that I know I have faith and that I will go on having faith.

Everything changes; I need one thing that wont. Period.

"God is not man, that he should lie,
   or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
   Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?"
- Numbers 23:19

lion or lamb: marching on

March is done. I wanted to do a post before March ended, hence the post title but sometimes things get away from us. Like the song says, "You can't always get what you want." I remember a saying about the month of March, something like if it comes in like a lion it will go out like a lamb and vice versa. I can't remember what the weather was like when March started nor when it ended (dementia being what it is), all I can say is that I am really glad March is done.

Spring is the time of renewal and birth and I feel that those things are happening for me. I feel parts of myself coming back to life; like a seed having laid dormant all winter starting to sprout or a bear waking from hibernation, I feel hope flowing in my veins again. I feel like the distance I have put between myself and life is lessening. I feel a returning to the better parts of who I used to be and a greater understanding and realization of the bad parts.

"By yourself you're unprotected.
   With a friend you can face the worst..." Ecclesiastes 4:12 (The Message)

I am counting blessings and I can feel the heavy weight of grievances falling away. I'm looking for the good because there is good. The above verse is true and I will never forget it again. I thank God for the real friendships I have; standing the test of distance and time and life. I will not dwell one more second on people I don't understand, on people who have hurt me. I am taking the advice of Paul, Romans 12:18, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." I can do nothing about the actions and behavior of others but as much as it depends on me I will be kind, be patient, be loving and I will do it for my King who I love and who loves me. I will rejoice through my tears for great is The One who saves me though I don't deserve it.



Whatever lioness roaring storm or conflict,
Whatever innocent, peaceable lamb like moment,
I will march on, held in the hand of God,
While holding the hands of fellow friends.

abandoned make it not me

Quick post here. I remember reading an article that a really large percentage of blogs that are started are ultimately abandoned. I don't remember the exact percent but it was a lot. I just want to write this out because writing helps one to focus and reinforce a goal:  

I will not abandon blogging. I will post often and with meaningful, sincere content. Whether I have two readers or two hundred - I will not be number focused or obsessed with readership (though I do want readers!). I will post consistently, writing as well as I can and for as long as electricity is around.  
I will and I will do it not for glory for myself but to glorify God, the honor of which no words can capture.

no bearings, no compass

"Dear Reader...

I’m sorry I haven’t written to you in so long. 

I feel I've been lost...no bearings, no compass. 

I kept crashing into things, a little crazy I guess..."

Sorry it's been so long since I have posted. I have missed writing and feel worse off when I don't blog. It's like something shuts down; a month goes by and have no record of what I was feeling and what was happening. Work has been chaotic, we had our major inventory two weeks ago and that takes a lot of prep on the front and on the back end. Things are getting back to normal though, slowly but surely. Normal - what does that even mean?? Sometimes I don't even know anymore...

My mom is moving this weekend, up north past the state border. Not an insurmountable distance but still it will be a big change from right across the hallway.

Then there is my new unexpected path upcoming; I have picked the classes I want to take in the Fall. Going back to school fills me with trepidation lately. I don't know how working part time and going to school will be. I don't know who I can count on or fall back on if I come up short financially, emotionally. I just don't know. Is any weakness, fragility, vulnerability going to be allowed? So much of life requires a hardness, a resilience. How is that not supposed to change a person?

Nationally and globally there is chaos, despair, deceit everywhere. Tragedy of unthinkable understanding in Japan, in cancer hospitals, on the streets of every city everywhere. People just living their lives, trying to get through the day, giving no thought to the day. Overwhelming. Political disappointment is legion. Such hope I had with this President; I feel so betrayed. Governors behaving like fascist dictators. It's truly revolting.

And then there's God. Where is God? What do I believe anymore? What can be known about Him? There is distance between me and Him; I know it and I feel hopeless in how to fix it. I've tried so much; churches, "community", fellowship - all that jazz I've tried and still I have no tune, no harmony, no steady beat to live to. I don't know. I don't want to settle. I don't want to settle, not when it comes to Christ and the community that lives in and through His beautiful, invaluable name. I can't. I won't. People aren't perfect. I AM NOT PERFECT! How well I know this! and I am not seeking a perfect Christian utopia; I am just seeking authentic devotion to Christ above all, consistent and constant from the leadership to the "audience" attendee. Do I ask too much?! I am sick of posers pretending, acting, faking love to Jesus and brotherly love towards each other. In my greatest times of need very few of my brothers, mothers (Matthew 12:49) in Christ have held me in their arms and in their hearts. Abandoned I feel, forsaken even to a degree. There is one relationship that stings and come to mind so often I wish I had machine with which to suck the memory from my temporal lobe. We were baptized together. Baptized together! and now nothing. No communication in any form. Completely cut me off, cut me out and this when my mother was going through breast cancer. What kind of human being, what kind of Christian is this person?!?! That question haunts me. What am I supposed to feel and for how long?

If You, O Mighty One, hold me in Your arms, than their are none that can snatch me from Your hand. These words are my acknowledging hold of You for I know You are always there...

Psalm 43 (The Message)

 1-2 Clear my name, God; stick up for me against these loveless, immoral people.
   Get me out of here, away
      from these lying degenerates.
   I counted on you, God.
      Why did you walk out on me?
   Why am I pacing the floor, wringing my hands
      over these outrageous people?

 3-4 Give me your lantern and compass,
      give me a map,
   So I can find my way to the sacred mountain,
      to the place of your presence,
   To enter the place of worship,
      meet my exuberant God,
   Sing my thanks with a harp,
      magnificent God, my God.