Things That Make You Say "Hmm"

I was listening to someone the other day who was expressing some "frustration" with the fact that people in the church and others who claim to be Christians believe we have to act and look a certain way in order to be considered a Christian and to be listened to. So, he wanted to create some t-shirts that had messages on them that would display a sense of "you matter to me and I care about what you say". He wants to tailor them to different sectors that are not usually "accepted" by many churches, such as homosexuals, single moms, skateboarders, tattoo artists, teen mothers, divorcees, etc. This is interesting to me...

What would I think if I saw someone wearing a shirt with this on it? How would I interpret what is meant by a shirt that says: "Jesus loves teen moms and so do I!" The shirts will be modified for all of the sectors that he is trying to reach...so you have to fill in the blank for each of them. When I started thinking about it, I pictured the t-shirt on different people, different situations. Example: The teen mom shirt can be worn by a teen mom, a woman who is not a teen mom, a man who is not a teen father, a man who is a teen father and etc.

Another shirt might say "Jesus loves tattoo artists and so do I!" and so on and so forth. Yes, Jesus does love all of us, but I'm not sure how Biblical it is for us to interpret things in such a way. Example: The Bible says not to harm the temple of God (our body). Although He still loves each of us, does it make it right for someone to be a tattoo artist? Isn't that like "love the sinner, but hate the sin"? How does Jesus interpret this??

Thinking about this just makes me just want to say "hmm..."

Gays in the Pews...really?

Ok, so this struck me as interesting when I saw it on facebook, so I thought, let's see what they have to say about this....I was intrigued. So, I open it and start to read. I'll copy it below so that you too can experience the article and give your opinion.

LGBT in the Pews
You can't review the news today without encountering at least one article, post or letter on the culture war. With issues such as marriage, gay clergy, adoption splitting communities in heated debates, individuals who label themselves as both gay and Christian would be few and far between in many people's estimation.
As one of those supposed few, I was intrigued by Politics Daily recent report of George Barna's surveyof 9,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans that revealed that actually 70 percent of gay adults identify as Christian and 60 percent find their faith very important in their lives. Barna is a well-known religious polling organization. And while these numbers are less than the general population (85 and 70 percent, respectively), Barna himself stated that his findings reveal that "popular stereotypes about the spiritual life of gays and lesbians are simply wrong."
"People who portray gay adults as godless, hedonistic, Christian bashers are not working with the facts. A substantial majority of gays cite their faith as a central facet of their life, consider themselves to be Christian, and claim to have some type of meaningful personal commitment to Jesus Chris active in their life today." -- George Barna
Research, including Barna's, gives varying gives varying results on whether LGBT individuals are more committed and involved than their straight counterpart. However, several theories have been given for why so many gays and lesbians seek Christianity (or other religions and spirituality):
Seeking community
Ability to empathetically minster to others
Stories of forgiveness, redemption and acceptance mirror their own
Religious pilgrimage of self-discovery and acceptance is similar to discovery and acceptance of one's sexual self
The article cites Scott Thumma from Hartford Institute for Religious Research, who noted that gay Christians joining religious congregations for similar reasons (pastor, music, etc.) as their straight brothers, with less weight given to the church's attitude toward gays, be it "live and let live" or "don't ask, don't tell." Conflict and discourse arises when we chose to be out publicly or seek sacraments such as ordination and marriage.
Take a look at the rest of the article, and read on. Two communications issues and opportunities seemed evident to me with this new study. First (though possibly more optimistic), these results should help conservative, evangelicals see that many within the LGBT community have even more in common with them besides the simple qualities of being American and human. At least 70 percent of us have the similar faith and belief system. These similarities should serve as basis for conversation, not the endless barrage of arguments from both sides on our differences, almost always without a thought given to the essential communication element of listening.
Secondly, and more importantly, the issue of conflict arising within churches when gays and lesbians are open about their lives draws a distinct parallel to my last post about tomorrow's kiss-in (which involved the Mormon Church). I'll reiterate that we must communicate our lives and our faith through both word and action -- repeatedly and respectfully.

Ok, to me, this is ludicrious! First let me say that I have plenty of friends who identify with homosexuality. They are still people and I love them for the person they are. Hate the sin, love the sinner! However...it is VERY clear in the Bible that homosexuality is a sin and also very clean that "all who sin fall short of the glory of God". Do you remember in the Bible where Sodom and Gomorrah were distroyed because of homosexual sin? Do your studying people before you post something so ridiculous!! I believe in loving those who aren't saved, but I don't believe in trying to justify worldly sin to make yourself feel better. That's like an alcoholic saying that they are a Christian....where does it say in the Bible that you can love sin and God?

The way I look at it is, everyone has 2 choices: Please God or please yourself.

Until next time...

When it Rains....

Has it been raining everywhere this week? My parents said it has been pouring at their house in central Florida, it's been pouring here in SE Georgia and I think a couple of other people have told me it's been raining there too... Well, I guess we can be thankful for the rain that the Lord has provided so that we can replenish our lakes and waterways...and be thankful that we have healthy grass and plants...and be thankful that we have good enough health to mow the grass that is getting ready to GROW! :) It's good exercise. hehe.

The other kind of rain is not so much fun...the kind that comes down on you like a flood. When too many things are coming at you at one time and you're not sure what to do with it or where to start to think about it. It just piles up and then WOOSH! Now it's in your lap. I know we've all been through these times in our life (and if not, watch out! lol). I know when I get hammered with all of it, I'm just overwhelmed. Lucas and I are both in job situations that we are not happy with. I will speak for both of us when I say this, but we are SSOOO thankful to both have jobs, but is it just us or does anyone else feel like when you are in a job that just makes you miserable, you almost wonder why you even go to work and almost wish you didn't have a job? I know this is the devil just trying to make us doubt our faith that if the Lord will bring us to it, He'll bring us through it....but MAN it's tough! So, I was told today that I'm not a "team player". You wouldn't think that something like this was that big of a deal, but that was hurtful. But to make it seem not has hurtful, let's just add that it's not necessarily a "bad trait". Apparently, if you're a good employee with great leadership skills and motivation to get things done and has a drive for accomplishing goals, not being a team player is ok....??? I'm not sure where this mentality comes from. To top it off...what makes me not a team player is that I don't call the office while I'm on vacation to see if they need me for anything and I don't want to use a joint calendar for my meetings. Hmm...I guess I'll have to reconsider my "if you want it done right, do it yourself" attitude if I want to be considered a team player.

'till next time...