You know, "Love is, ... like a river, flowing down from, the river of LIFE..." That, and seeing Sunburned's post about her grandparents made me think What is Love?
Love is... being more focused and concerned about another's health than your own. Being there in the smallest, most seemingly insignificant moments.
Then in my idiotic brain...
And then I suddenly thought of the movie "A Night at the Roxbury" with Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan, and have these lyrics running through my head...
"WHAT IS LOVE? Baby, don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. WwoOOoOOaaoohhh."
Sad. Sad. Sad. There are days that I'm just an idiot. (She says while bobbing her head and hips side-to-side.)
Friday, June 29, 2007
Life Verse
Amanda Moore Jones (Yes, Mrs. Beth Moore's daughter) posted a blog about friends and such, but included a Life Verse that I want to share with all my single female friends who are still waiting for their princes to arrive:
BRACE YOURSELVES
"Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me." Psalm 56:1a
Because, they do. I'm going to get some t-shirts made. If you want one, then comment me your size!!!
BRACE YOURSELVES
"Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me." Psalm 56:1a
Because, they do. I'm going to get some t-shirts made. If you want one, then comment me your size!!!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Thursday Thirteen #9
I haven't done one of these in forever, because I usually don't remember them until Friday, and you know that just undermines the title of "Thursday".
Without further ado -- the TT I'm Thankful for:
1) Getting to see my FBC women very soon!!! July 12th cannot come soon enough!
2) All my friends named Holly. They don't get the credit they deserve.
3) Jenn, my urban children's pastor friend who I think is mad cool.
4) Royce and her love for all things Mr. Potato Head-esque
5) Living vicariously through my brother. He ate lunch at the South Street SeaPort today because he's working on Wall Street. He acts like it's no big deal. :)
6) Mountain Dew. I'm going to miss it when I get REALLY serious about running.
7) Being able to wear hoop earrings last week. (It won't be happening again for a while, but it was nice while it lasted!)
8) Bloggers. I have laughed and cried this week reading the works of nameless Internets. I am so blessed!
9) My new, FREE Franklin Cover Day planner. I am so psyched!
10) My family. I love 'em ya'll. I got to spend last Thursday night with my Mom and my brother, and we all sleep good when we're in the same house. It's just special.
11) Job prospects!
12) Reruns of The Biggest Loser on the Style Network. It's motivating me more than I can say!!!
13) Last, but certainly not least, and a mainstay on my list, God's grace and mercy.
I'm tagging Holly B. B., Holly W. B., Royce, Jenn, and Miranda.
Without further ado -- the TT I'm Thankful for:
1) Getting to see my FBC women very soon!!! July 12th cannot come soon enough!
2) All my friends named Holly. They don't get the credit they deserve.
3) Jenn, my urban children's pastor friend who I think is mad cool.
4) Royce and her love for all things Mr. Potato Head-esque
5) Living vicariously through my brother. He ate lunch at the South Street SeaPort today because he's working on Wall Street. He acts like it's no big deal. :)
6) Mountain Dew. I'm going to miss it when I get REALLY serious about running.
7) Being able to wear hoop earrings last week. (It won't be happening again for a while, but it was nice while it lasted!)
8) Bloggers. I have laughed and cried this week reading the works of nameless Internets. I am so blessed!
9) My new, FREE Franklin Cover Day planner. I am so psyched!
10) My family. I love 'em ya'll. I got to spend last Thursday night with my Mom and my brother, and we all sleep good when we're in the same house. It's just special.
11) Job prospects!
12) Reruns of The Biggest Loser on the Style Network. It's motivating me more than I can say!!!
13) Last, but certainly not least, and a mainstay on my list, God's grace and mercy.
I'm tagging Holly B. B., Holly W. B., Royce, Jenn, and Miranda.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Haters.
Uhmm... who would have thought that after my post I would have get hater-emails? Not me! Let me clarify a few points that were brought up in emails:
1) I don't care what denom you are. I'm not trying to proselytze. My Baptist women rocked my world, and if we could all be like them, the world would be a better place.
2) Some of my friends in ministry took this very personal. I'm just asking you not to. I'm not attacking you.
3) If you think I am, THEN CALL ME OUT. I don't want confrontation, but I'm not going to run from it, especially since I posted on the Internet. Again, this was not to attack or provoke anybody.
4) And I think Non-denominational really is it's own denomination. And yes, that's a blog for another day. Makes me think of Pee Wee Herman's phrase "I know you are but what am I?!"
I am so blessed, and have been blessed, by having friends in ministry, literally EVERY type of ministry from babies to senior citizens, addicts, to the homeless, urban to very citi-fied, small time church, to rockin' 25,000 folks. Everyone has such different personalities to bring to their jobs, and God has equipped them all, each of us, with incredible talents and gifts. And yet, we are all called to ultimately do The Same Thing. Fulfill the Great Commission. To just tell people about Jesus. And we do it in everyway, living it, preaching it, singing it, with puppets, with music, with dramas, a few mimes, sign-language on occassion, school buses, waterguns, in the military, and the drainage ditches in Cleveland.
And you will never receive the appreciations, pats on the back, accollades, rewards that you deserve, here on this earth.
But, in heaven, you will receive the greatest reward! Eternal life! Time with Jesus! Hopefully a really cool room in the mansions of Heaven besides Moi! (I know you were going for that last one too, huh?) You will receive a crown!
And like Rita Springer says: "It's gonna be worth. It's gonna be worth it. It's gonna be Worth It All."
1) I don't care what denom you are. I'm not trying to proselytze. My Baptist women rocked my world, and if we could all be like them, the world would be a better place.
2) Some of my friends in ministry took this very personal. I'm just asking you not to. I'm not attacking you.
3) If you think I am, THEN CALL ME OUT. I don't want confrontation, but I'm not going to run from it, especially since I posted on the Internet. Again, this was not to attack or provoke anybody.
4) And I think Non-denominational really is it's own denomination. And yes, that's a blog for another day. Makes me think of Pee Wee Herman's phrase "I know you are but what am I?!"
I am so blessed, and have been blessed, by having friends in ministry, literally EVERY type of ministry from babies to senior citizens, addicts, to the homeless, urban to very citi-fied, small time church, to rockin' 25,000 folks. Everyone has such different personalities to bring to their jobs, and God has equipped them all, each of us, with incredible talents and gifts. And yet, we are all called to ultimately do The Same Thing. Fulfill the Great Commission. To just tell people about Jesus. And we do it in everyway, living it, preaching it, singing it, with puppets, with music, with dramas, a few mimes, sign-language on occassion, school buses, waterguns, in the military, and the drainage ditches in Cleveland.
And you will never receive the appreciations, pats on the back, accollades, rewards that you deserve, here on this earth.
But, in heaven, you will receive the greatest reward! Eternal life! Time with Jesus! Hopefully a really cool room in the mansions of Heaven besides Moi! (I know you were going for that last one too, huh?) You will receive a crown!
And like Rita Springer says: "It's gonna be worth. It's gonna be worth it. It's gonna be Worth It All."
^&$%^&$&*%&^%^@!!!!!!!!
The Cartoons are from Naked Pastor. (Some of his cartoons are offensive to me. Proceed at your own risk.)
I have been relatively silent in my little bloggy world. It is not that I am without things to say, thoughts to share, insights to provide, or frustrations to vent. It is that I have been holding it all in. Last night, I talked to a friend of mine on the phone for nearly forty minutes. I see this person regularly. I saw this person yesterday, and yet, I had not shared with them virtually anything going on with me. Almost all conversation as of late has been completely topical. I have been devoid of having emotional conversation. It sucks. But my propensity for reading on the internet has increased. I have been reading lots of blogs. I’ve become voracious in viewing comments, and then reading the blogs or works of the commenters. I have a few blogs I read many times throughout the day. And there’s been a vaguely centralized theme with a few of them, which I’ve chosen not to address.
‘Cause I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or ruffle any feathers, y’all.
But browsing a blog today, I just decided that this particular feeling needs to be repressed long enough for me to write a blog. Thus today’s insightful piece into theology, church dynamics, and the like.
I started to write where I am emotionally, but then decided against that. Instead, let me provide a bullet list of facts about me.
1) I love Jesus.
2) I am a pastor’s kid. Still.
3) My father was a COG pastor, and is now Methodist.
4) I do not even pretend to understand or rationalize that move.
5) I’ve been burned by church folks.
6) A LOT.
7) I refuse to allow it to be my excuse.
8) I like to consider myself an advocate on winning people back into the “fold”.
That’s just the highlights, you know? And that last one, albeit true, was also to provide some humor and temporarily lighten the mood.
Church, religion, Christianity, Faith. None of that is easy. Face it. But when the alternative is allowing bitterness and sin to eat us and let us burn in Hell, I think that the struggle becomes lightened.
Do you want to go to Hell? Is it worth allowing a person/persons/building/denomination to drive you from enjoying eternity? If that’s the case, then the next time you don’t get every French fry you think should come in your size Medium fry box, then please discontinue service with McDonald’s. And on, and on, until you no longer eat French fries, or potatoes. Yes, to me, it’s that simplistic.
I don’t have the answers as to why things seem so much easier for some than they do for others. I have to believe that part of the reason my “plight in life” seems difficult is because (brace yourselves) I MAKE IT DIFFICULT. I’m mouthy, and backtalk, and say what I feel. When I’m frustrated, or really ANY other emotion, it’s clearly displayed on my face like a Trinitron at a basketball game. I’m quick to react, slow to let God handle the problems, and then whiny in the interim.
Most days, I am my own worst enemy.
And with that said, and having been burned by more church people that express, I still refuse to let that be the thing that separates me from enjoying the full life that God promised. Also, I made a very conscious choice to not let that be what distinguishes a life of my choices verses a life of integrity. I do not always embody integrity. Hello, I’m MOUTHY. But I’m trying, and I’ll be the first person to tell you I’m flawed. (I can’t wait for the day when I no longer say that, and it’s coming soon, so documents these moments now while they occur!)
Let me clarify and say that I do not believe that one particular denomination is superior. But I know that you have to believe and stand for something. I get BEYOND aggravated at people who seem so gung-ho about ministry and when things get the slightest bit rough, or when others don’t agree and follow their lead, they bow out. And not gracefully either. Sulking. Pouting. Angry at a denomination. Angry at a pastor. ‘Cause suddenly they realized he’s HUMAN? Come on!
I’ve had three men in ministry burn me bad. 1) My Dad. 2) The first man I ever loved. And 3) the second man I ever loved.
Turns out that I picked 2 and 3 because they reminded me of Number 1.
But that’s not God’s fault, you know? I have several friends who walk in an out of ministry, and the common denominator, much to their shagrin, is THEM. Not the church, or denom, or city, or hair color. It’s THEM. (Kinda like I have seven crappy roommates… but I was the common factor! It makes ME the crappy roommate!)
I’ve had church people talk trash about me, and my family. I’ve had more than one person attempt to destroy my family. We even had a physical confrontation with a pastor. But it doesn’t matter.
God is not the least bit phased by my drama. It doesn’t change Who God is. Or What God stands for. It doesn’t change one single scripture.
It’s time for us to change.
‘Cause I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or ruffle any feathers, y’all.
But browsing a blog today, I just decided that this particular feeling needs to be repressed long enough for me to write a blog. Thus today’s insightful piece into theology, church dynamics, and the like.
I started to write where I am emotionally, but then decided against that. Instead, let me provide a bullet list of facts about me.
1) I love Jesus.
2) I am a pastor’s kid. Still.
3) My father was a COG pastor, and is now Methodist.
4) I do not even pretend to understand or rationalize that move.
5) I’ve been burned by church folks.
6) A LOT.
7) I refuse to allow it to be my excuse.
8) I like to consider myself an advocate on winning people back into the “fold”.
That’s just the highlights, you know? And that last one, albeit true, was also to provide some humor and temporarily lighten the mood.
Church, religion, Christianity, Faith. None of that is easy. Face it. But when the alternative is allowing bitterness and sin to eat us and let us burn in Hell, I think that the struggle becomes lightened.
Do you want to go to Hell? Is it worth allowing a person/persons/building/denomination to drive you from enjoying eternity? If that’s the case, then the next time you don’t get every French fry you think should come in your size Medium fry box, then please discontinue service with McDonald’s. And on, and on, until you no longer eat French fries, or potatoes. Yes, to me, it’s that simplistic.
I don’t have the answers as to why things seem so much easier for some than they do for others. I have to believe that part of the reason my “plight in life” seems difficult is because (brace yourselves) I MAKE IT DIFFICULT. I’m mouthy, and backtalk, and say what I feel. When I’m frustrated, or really ANY other emotion, it’s clearly displayed on my face like a Trinitron at a basketball game. I’m quick to react, slow to let God handle the problems, and then whiny in the interim.
Most days, I am my own worst enemy.
And with that said, and having been burned by more church people that express, I still refuse to let that be the thing that separates me from enjoying the full life that God promised. Also, I made a very conscious choice to not let that be what distinguishes a life of my choices verses a life of integrity. I do not always embody integrity. Hello, I’m MOUTHY. But I’m trying, and I’ll be the first person to tell you I’m flawed. (I can’t wait for the day when I no longer say that, and it’s coming soon, so documents these moments now while they occur!)
Let me clarify and say that I do not believe that one particular denomination is superior. But I know that you have to believe and stand for something. I get BEYOND aggravated at people who seem so gung-ho about ministry and when things get the slightest bit rough, or when others don’t agree and follow their lead, they bow out. And not gracefully either. Sulking. Pouting. Angry at a denomination. Angry at a pastor. ‘Cause suddenly they realized he’s HUMAN? Come on!
I’ve had three men in ministry burn me bad. 1) My Dad. 2) The first man I ever loved. And 3) the second man I ever loved.
Turns out that I picked 2 and 3 because they reminded me of Number 1.
But that’s not God’s fault, you know? I have several friends who walk in an out of ministry, and the common denominator, much to their shagrin, is THEM. Not the church, or denom, or city, or hair color. It’s THEM. (Kinda like I have seven crappy roommates… but I was the common factor! It makes ME the crappy roommate!)
I’ve had church people talk trash about me, and my family. I’ve had more than one person attempt to destroy my family. We even had a physical confrontation with a pastor. But it doesn’t matter.
God is not the least bit phased by my drama. It doesn’t change Who God is. Or What God stands for. It doesn’t change one single scripture.
It’s time for us to change.
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