The weekend is over again. How does this keep happening?! Acupuncture? Check. Swimming? Check. Life by Keith Richards? Check. Superbowl fun? Check.
At the end of the typical weekend drive-a-thon, I ended up at my mom's church last night. (Note #1: Kevin, you can stop reading right now. Note #2: Mom, sorry for not calling. Hopefully you went earlier! Came home from Bristol, dropped the snowboard gear in the garage and kept going.) Sometimes I am overtaken with emotion during church services. Yesterday was one of those days. (Glad you weren't with me?) A young soloist, maybe high school aged, sang the Voice of Truth during communion. She looked and sounded like an angel.
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.
Later Jennings, celebrating the Packers' win, cameras everywhere, confetti flying, says to the FOX interviewer, "To God be the glory."
(Yeah, I hear ya hon. God hates the Steelers.) Even though I know that most of us cannot stand when famous people thank God during awards shows or game day wins, it always takes me by surprise. And I love it. As we say, somewhat robotically, in church week after week, "It is right to give Him thanks and praise." I don't gotta problem with that.
Showing posts with label christianity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christianity. Show all posts
Monday, February 7, 2011
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Your Love is Better than Wine
As someone who loves, loves, loves music, it's taken me quite a while to get into Christian music. Since I recognize that what I fill my mind with is critical, over a year ago I started to listen to positive, encouraging K-LOVE. (Yes, they preface their call sign with their tag line. I think all two of my readers know how I feel about that. Hi mom!)
I now love worshiping in my car and even know many of the songs/artists at this point which makes singing along that much easier. But . . .
Whenever I hear a song that I dislike and change the station, I am immediately reminded by non-Christian radio stations how much better mainstream music is. While I really like the Revelation Song, Phillips Craig & Dean simply can't hold a candle to Radiohead. As such, I'm thinking they, and other Christian bands, hold limited appeal to a larger audience.
So here's what I propose: Give select portions of the Bible to well known and/or infinitely cooler bands who have a talent for soulful pop tunes and ask them to write and perform their own songs based on the lyrics. They don't have to be believers; they simply have to enjoy a good challenge. My recommended bands would include, but not be limited to, the following -- not because they're my favorites (not all of them, at least) but because I think they could do a bang-up job.
While not even a remotely Christian song, I wonder if Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy was quoting the Song of Solomon 1:2 when he rose to fame with Kiss Me back in the day?
See, it could happen.
I now love worshiping in my car and even know many of the songs/artists at this point which makes singing along that much easier. But . . .
Whenever I hear a song that I dislike and change the station, I am immediately reminded by non-Christian radio stations how much better mainstream music is. While I really like the Revelation Song, Phillips Craig & Dean simply can't hold a candle to Radiohead. As such, I'm thinking they, and other Christian bands, hold limited appeal to a larger audience.
So here's what I propose: Give select portions of the Bible to well known and/or infinitely cooler bands who have a talent for soulful pop tunes and ask them to write and perform their own songs based on the lyrics. They don't have to be believers; they simply have to enjoy a good challenge. My recommended bands would include, but not be limited to, the following -- not because they're my favorites (not all of them, at least) but because I think they could do a bang-up job.
- Sonic Youth
- Liz Phair
- Matthew Sweet
- Beck
- Counting Crows
- Jakob Dylan/The Wallflowers
- Sheryl Crow
- Radiohead
- Cracker
- Wilco
- David Bowie (of course)
While not even a remotely Christian song, I wonder if Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy was quoting the Song of Solomon 1:2 when he rose to fame with Kiss Me back in the day?
See, it could happen.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Doubt within Doubt
Whenever I'm in the waiting room at the doctor, I pick up O magazine and search for any article written by Kelly Corrigan. Her writing style and interesting family anecdotes always engage me.
In this piece picked up by CNN, she discusses her parents' faith alongside her doubts. Inasmuch as genuine faith cannot really be understood by outsiders, it's really easy for nonbelievers to claim that faith and reason (or logic) are mutually exclusive. At least it was for me. Close book. End of story. It took a perfect storm of personal experiences, coupled with sermons from a hyper-intellectual pastor, for me to grasp that intelligence and faith can co-exist. (Or maybe I'm just telling myself that to make myself feel better!) However difficult it may be at times, I'm glad that my faith journey continues.
Given all of my initial concerns about a relationship with God, I haven't yet been asked to travel on the short bus singing Kumbaya. Nor has God prompted me to give up everything and serve in a mission in Kenya. Neither seem likely at this time but as Romeo Void once sang, "Never say never." I'm open to anything.
Maybe I'm reading between the lines too much in the aforementioned article but, to me, it sounds like Kelly is embarking on a faith journey of her own. While intellectually she may be where I was years ago on this topic, spiritually she appears to be much more open minded than I ever was.
"Regardless of where I am on the spectrum from atheism to theism, I'd rather my girls be grounded in something, even something that seems too good or crazy to be true. This is why, when the girls ask me about God, I say that people believe all kinds of things and no one really knows, including me, but that I hope."
But that I hope . . .
I hope that she finds what she's looking for.
"From there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 4:29)
In this piece picked up by CNN, she discusses her parents' faith alongside her doubts. Inasmuch as genuine faith cannot really be understood by outsiders, it's really easy for nonbelievers to claim that faith and reason (or logic) are mutually exclusive. At least it was for me. Close book. End of story. It took a perfect storm of personal experiences, coupled with sermons from a hyper-intellectual pastor, for me to grasp that intelligence and faith can co-exist. (Or maybe I'm just telling myself that to make myself feel better!) However difficult it may be at times, I'm glad that my faith journey continues.
Given all of my initial concerns about a relationship with God, I haven't yet been asked to travel on the short bus singing Kumbaya. Nor has God prompted me to give up everything and serve in a mission in Kenya. Neither seem likely at this time but as Romeo Void once sang, "Never say never." I'm open to anything.
Maybe I'm reading between the lines too much in the aforementioned article but, to me, it sounds like Kelly is embarking on a faith journey of her own. While intellectually she may be where I was years ago on this topic, spiritually she appears to be much more open minded than I ever was.
"Regardless of where I am on the spectrum from atheism to theism, I'd rather my girls be grounded in something, even something that seems too good or crazy to be true. This is why, when the girls ask me about God, I say that people believe all kinds of things and no one really knows, including me, but that I hope."
But that I hope . . .
I hope that she finds what she's looking for.
"From there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 4:29)
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Thursday, November 6, 2008
And They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
As a result of this election, I'm being inundated with heaps of upsetting messages from my Christian friends including:
Most importantly, I firmly understand why people don't want to be associated with my belief system. My walk with Christ is just that: my walk. Not yours. Not anyone else's. But if we continue to be unloving toward those who are not on the same path, then I can guarantee that I'll be walking alone. Who on earth would want to join me?
- Emails regarding Obama's potential choice of "fanatically pro-abortion" Kathleen Sebelius for a cabinet position. Yet, according to an April 2008 press release from her office as governor of Kansas, "Over the last several years, we have worked on lowering abortion rates in Kansas by focusing on adoption incentives, extended health services for pregnant women, providing sex education and offering a variety of support services for families. Those efforts are having a positive impact; recently we learned that the abortion rate in Kansas continues to go down." In addition, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, abortions have declined 9% since she took office in 2002. What gives?
- A celebratory email regarding California's Prop 8 decision which my girlfriend Melanie at Left Coast Mom thankfully covered exceptionally well regarding the embedded hypocrisy. So if my hubby dies, I cannot remarry as a Christian because I have no intention of procreating? Yeah, okay.
- Prayers regarding if the enemy is behind Obama's victory. Meanwhile, we're in two wars and the economy is tanking. Are those crises Obama's fault? No. So why is the current regime somehow more acceptable and more Christ-like? I sincerely do not get it.
Most importantly, I firmly understand why people don't want to be associated with my belief system. My walk with Christ is just that: my walk. Not yours. Not anyone else's. But if we continue to be unloving toward those who are not on the same path, then I can guarantee that I'll be walking alone. Who on earth would want to join me?
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Right Wing Morphing?
At some point last year on my drive home from work, I was listening to Pastor's Perspective, a Christian radio show, when a female listener called in and stated that her ex-boyfriend -- with whom she had remained good friends -- was getting married. She not only thought that attending the ceremony was inappropriate but she also felt that she should honor his marriage by cutting all ties. She was asking for feedback.
The pastor not only agreed with her but went on to state that men and women who are married to others should not even lunch together . . .
I was shocked and felt the answer was extreme. Not only do I have the occasional meeting with a male client in a public place, I have guy friends from childhood, high school, college, grad school and various jobs who I still see from time-to-time. Not as much as I would like but life is busy. Rarely, however, does the hubby join us mainly because he doesn't want to hear a bunch of reminiscing about a time when he wasn't present.
And my friendships aren't limited to cocktails, dinner or lunch. I have gone skiing in Colorado for a week with some of the guys I went to college with and just last year drove to Maine for a wedding with my friend Kevin who lives in Syracuse. Plain and simple fact: It was fun to spend time together and sad that it took a wedding to get us together given that we live an hour from one another. That's life.
My hubby also has female friends who he visits or goes to the movies with. I have no concerns.
But I do continue to ponder that advice. Initially I thought, "Well that's goofy. If it's completely innocent and all parties are trustworthy, what's the issue?" but as I continue to think long and hard, I'm now beginning to ask myself, "Do I really need to see my guy friends one-on-one?"
The logical answer is "yes" because the hubby doesn't want to come along and would be miserable if forced. And we would have to get a sitter to watch the kids or enlist my mom's help. And the fact is that 99.9999% of the time, I've never been hit on. But every once in a while, I get a random comment that I either choose to ignore or laugh off -- and one recent email from a close friend who I grew up with (who I like immensely) that I had to address head-on. As a result, I started asking myself, "Am I unnecessarily putting myself in compromising situations?"
Certainly there's something we can all do together (e.g., dinner with spouses and kids) that doesn't involve talking about the past. There are plenty of current topics that are much more interesting. But that assumes the guys are married; a few are not. Then what? Get a group together to go out? Sounds reasonable to me.
Egads, maybe I'm just becoming ultraconservative. The bottom line is: How can I honor my marriage without negating the friendships that I value?
As Sonic Youth says, "I just want you to know that we can still be friends."
Just in a group.
The pastor not only agreed with her but went on to state that men and women who are married to others should not even lunch together . . .
I was shocked and felt the answer was extreme. Not only do I have the occasional meeting with a male client in a public place, I have guy friends from childhood, high school, college, grad school and various jobs who I still see from time-to-time. Not as much as I would like but life is busy. Rarely, however, does the hubby join us mainly because he doesn't want to hear a bunch of reminiscing about a time when he wasn't present.
And my friendships aren't limited to cocktails, dinner or lunch. I have gone skiing in Colorado for a week with some of the guys I went to college with and just last year drove to Maine for a wedding with my friend Kevin who lives in Syracuse. Plain and simple fact: It was fun to spend time together and sad that it took a wedding to get us together given that we live an hour from one another. That's life.
My hubby also has female friends who he visits or goes to the movies with. I have no concerns.
But I do continue to ponder that advice. Initially I thought, "Well that's goofy. If it's completely innocent and all parties are trustworthy, what's the issue?" but as I continue to think long and hard, I'm now beginning to ask myself, "Do I really need to see my guy friends one-on-one?"
The logical answer is "yes" because the hubby doesn't want to come along and would be miserable if forced. And we would have to get a sitter to watch the kids or enlist my mom's help. And the fact is that 99.9999% of the time, I've never been hit on. But every once in a while, I get a random comment that I either choose to ignore or laugh off -- and one recent email from a close friend who I grew up with (who I like immensely) that I had to address head-on. As a result, I started asking myself, "Am I unnecessarily putting myself in compromising situations?"
Certainly there's something we can all do together (e.g., dinner with spouses and kids) that doesn't involve talking about the past. There are plenty of current topics that are much more interesting. But that assumes the guys are married; a few are not. Then what? Get a group together to go out? Sounds reasonable to me.
Egads, maybe I'm just becoming ultraconservative. The bottom line is: How can I honor my marriage without negating the friendships that I value?
As Sonic Youth says, "I just want you to know that we can still be friends."
Just in a group.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Holy Roller
Yep, more God stuff that my brother detests . . . D'oh!
My girlfriend and I had a brief conversation when we were leaving church yesterday about becoming "holier than thou." Whereas she knew that reading the Bible and applying it to her life has been making her a better person, she also recognized that others might still see her flaws and not want to subscribe to any religion that would accommodate someone who behaves as poorly as she. (Her perception not mine.)
I felt the same way for years. For a long time, I didn't want to share my faith for a number of reasons including:
1) I always thought that Christians were stupid -- ergo, others probably now think that I am a total idiot (and who could blame them?).
2) My behavior didn't change overnight; therefore, I could predict overhearing the following in Thirsty's as I did a bar crawl, "I thought she was a believer. Some Christian she is."
But the simple fact is, I haven't actually done a bar crawl in years. And that's not because I'm a holy roller but rather because I'm in my 40s, don't get out much and, when I do, my nights are not typically wild. (Note the use of "typically" -- I still have my moments.) However, the truth is: I never really did many bar crawls. That was (and is) more the province of my rowdier girlfriends. And it's still hysterical to witness.
However, instead of covering up my faith because I am a sinner and might give Christianity a bad name, I now recognize that I would rather change my life to be a better reflection of God. Not easy (I still keep falling) but better than the alternative.
One friend, when talking faith, always quotes John Lennon, "Whatever gets you through the night; it's alright." This view is much more tolerant than any I ever espoused historically but also doesn't quite describe my current leaning. To me, faith hasn't served as a crutch that makes me feel better about myself. Instead, the opposite has happened. It has opened giant areas of my life that desperately needed attention. Things I had previously chosen to ignore or I simply never considered to be issues, are now brought to life with a loud (but understanding) "So, what are you going to do about it?" question.
I grew up with this vision of God as a distant entity who had much bigger fish to fry than to deal with my little problems. People were starving in Africa and this little girl in Junior High wants a boyfriend? How selfish and petty is she? I thought I was bothering him when I would ask for anything through my prayer life and, since I never saw any of my prayers answered anyway, I thought he didn't really give a shit. More importantly, I always thought that I never measured up to his expectations. I was supposed to be perfect and I wasn't. Really, who wants that kind of constant condemnation in life? Not me.
I'm still unbelievably far from perfect (farther than I can fathom) but I now understand that I'm deeply loved in spite of all of this. He knows exactly how I act and think but still somehow loves me. How cool is that? Now that makes me want to be a better person . . . not to avoid disapproval but rather to please him. Who knew?
My girlfriend and I had a brief conversation when we were leaving church yesterday about becoming "holier than thou." Whereas she knew that reading the Bible and applying it to her life has been making her a better person, she also recognized that others might still see her flaws and not want to subscribe to any religion that would accommodate someone who behaves as poorly as she. (Her perception not mine.)
I felt the same way for years. For a long time, I didn't want to share my faith for a number of reasons including:
1) I always thought that Christians were stupid -- ergo, others probably now think that I am a total idiot (and who could blame them?).
2) My behavior didn't change overnight; therefore, I could predict overhearing the following in Thirsty's as I did a bar crawl, "I thought she was a believer. Some Christian she is."
But the simple fact is, I haven't actually done a bar crawl in years. And that's not because I'm a holy roller but rather because I'm in my 40s, don't get out much and, when I do, my nights are not typically wild. (Note the use of "typically" -- I still have my moments.) However, the truth is: I never really did many bar crawls. That was (and is) more the province of my rowdier girlfriends. And it's still hysterical to witness.
However, instead of covering up my faith because I am a sinner and might give Christianity a bad name, I now recognize that I would rather change my life to be a better reflection of God. Not easy (I still keep falling) but better than the alternative.
One friend, when talking faith, always quotes John Lennon, "Whatever gets you through the night; it's alright." This view is much more tolerant than any I ever espoused historically but also doesn't quite describe my current leaning. To me, faith hasn't served as a crutch that makes me feel better about myself. Instead, the opposite has happened. It has opened giant areas of my life that desperately needed attention. Things I had previously chosen to ignore or I simply never considered to be issues, are now brought to life with a loud (but understanding) "So, what are you going to do about it?" question.
I grew up with this vision of God as a distant entity who had much bigger fish to fry than to deal with my little problems. People were starving in Africa and this little girl in Junior High wants a boyfriend? How selfish and petty is she? I thought I was bothering him when I would ask for anything through my prayer life and, since I never saw any of my prayers answered anyway, I thought he didn't really give a shit. More importantly, I always thought that I never measured up to his expectations. I was supposed to be perfect and I wasn't. Really, who wants that kind of constant condemnation in life? Not me.
I'm still unbelievably far from perfect (farther than I can fathom) but I now understand that I'm deeply loved in spite of all of this. He knows exactly how I act and think but still somehow loves me. How cool is that? Now that makes me want to be a better person . . . not to avoid disapproval but rather to please him. Who knew?
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