I'm preparing for an exercise I'm going to be doing with someone this summer. I'm going to be asking her, every time we meet, to share the gospel with me from scripture. (Not that she has to go chapter and verses through the Bible on every point, but that she can verbally reference where she can back up the key points of scripture.) To make it even more exciting, as we progress through the summer, I will start asking questions & raising objections as she shares.
By the way, I don't do this with random people I have lunch with. Don't be afraid of me. She's leaving for overseas mission in the fall and she's agreed to go through this exercise.
So I started making a list of possible/common objections someone might have while hearing the gospel.
One of the biggies is the issue of sin. I mean, what is 'sin'? Is there such a thing as sin?
Many would probably say no, at least initially. You may feel it's sin, but I don't. So for me, its' not. If you want to feel guilty about it and avoid it, y'know, whatever floats your boat.
But then we have the Biggies. Throw murder on the table. Rape. Abuse. Ok, those are sins. We all agree those are sins. It's like we sin by majority vote any more. Is this a sin? Not sure? Post a poll on Facebook. If less than 50% of the people think it's a sin, you're good! Go to, my friend! Wouldn't that just drag us all down into the muck really fast.
Clearly we need to drop the percentage, then it would be fine.
I was reading an article that brought it back to the root question: Is there a God?
If there's a God, then that God gets to decide what sin is. Right? Because God is God. God is all-knowing, all-powerful, completely just, completely holy as well as completely loving. It's God's call.
If you don't believe there is a God, you're home free. Then you believe there's no sin. There are behaviors and acts that are acceptable in society, and ones that aren't. If you get caught you'll be punished. If you don't get caught, whoo-hoo! Really, that's what it comes down to. There's no should or shouldn't, there's only 'we, as a society, have decided we don't want X behavior, so you will be punished' or not. If 51% of society (ok, with the joy of lobbying and political action groups, do you really think we need that high of a percentage?) decides that grinding up children for dog food is acceptable because puppies are cute, well, that's the new rule. Push the boundaries where you will, just get more people to agree with you.
If however, you believe there is a God, then God determines what sin is. And if you don't follow the guidelines set forth, there are consequences, which are also determined by God.
Of course, then you can just go God-shopping: This God fits the best with how I will be most happy living, therefore, this one is God. That one's not. He's strict. Clashes with my preferred life, leave him on the rack. Which really in the end is just self-worship right? You are worshiping the God that fits your thinking and lifestyle. Your thinking and lifestyle just built a God! Go you! You've had a productive day, go get a Starbucks.
This generally isn't exactly how it happens, I don't think. Except maybe by those who go on a big self-search in adolescence or mid-life. But what does happen (it seems to me anyway) winds up in the same place.
A person is raised in a religion, or with a particular concept of "God". But as they get older, or as society changes, they drop off pieces of "God" that don't fit them anymore, and keep the pieces they are still comfortable with. Then they find parts of a life philosophy, or beliefs of a "good" prominent person, and add those pieces in. They wind up with a Swiss-cheese amalgam "God" that they have trouble really pinning down when it comes specifics on right and wrong and what your life should really look like to please Him. Except that it's strikingly similar to what their life looks like, but maybe a little bit better. You know, to keep them humble and give them something to work toward.
There are some parts of my God that are tough. Things that I wish weren't quite the way they are. Sometimes I wish holiness wasn't His standard, because that's really a high standard. But I'm not willing to kid myself on who God is and try to rebuild Him to please me. I'll take Him or leave Him as He is... and I choose to take Him. So He gets to decide what sin is.
We can't start with which rules we like better. We have to start with Is there a God? And if so, who is He?
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Monday, January 26, 2015
Terrifying Changes........................... The Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Well, we've decided to make a leap. We are going on the Anti-Inflammatory Diet as a family. There has not been as much rejoicing about this as you might think.
We're not doing this for the sheer joy of giving up pizza and ice cream, although I can see why you might think that. I mean, what family doesn't look at their pepperoni with extra cheese (or in my case black olives and mushrooms with extra cheese) and think "Well, I guess this will do. But boy what I wouldn't give for a big plate of Kale and Tumeric!" Whoever just raised their hand can leave my page. I'm not speaking to you. You probably really can't wait to run a good 12 miles tomorrow morning, too. I just don't think we can be friends. It's not me. It's you.
We're doing this for actual medical reasons, to see if it will help. The kicker has been our daughter, who has rare conditions called Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) and Geniculate Neuralgia (GN). It sucks. I tried to edit that commentary on TN/GN several times, but nothing is as honest as "sucks." Sorry. It means that her 5th, 7th & 9th cranial nerves on the left side of her head had arteries and veins looped around and compressing them. A large percentage of the population can have those compressions and live a happy, full life, never knowing they are there and never having a problem. But it is believed (there is disturbing little research on this beast) our girl also has a flaw in the myelin of her nerves, so they can't stand up to the compressions. Eventually the myelin wears out, and the cranial nerves are left firing like live wires. We found out when her myelin wore out at 11 years old, and she started getting facial and deep ear pain so intense it felt like someone was stabbing her with the kitchen carving knife. Sometimes it would just be a few Stab-Stab-Stabs, and stop. Sometimes it would do that for hours with no reprieve. Sometimes because she brushed her teeth, sometimes because she brushed her hair out of her eyes, sometimes because she opened the fridge and that bit of cool air touched her face. It is indescribably awful.
Because of that she has had two invasive brain surgeries, at hospitals spanning the country, called Micro Vascular Decompressions. In the aftermath of that her TN/GN pain has pretty much stopped, but the damage to the nerve is not totally reversable. So sometimes, especially during times of sickness or exhaustion - when there can be inflammation - the nerve will fire up and remind her it's not 100%. (She is not cured, there is no cure. It can still come back. But she is doing much better, and we hope to exceed greatly the "success" standard on the surgery, which is 6-10 years.)
Plus, my husband has back issues, and has been on steriods a disturbing amount the past 6 months. The doctors keep saying "inflammation". Hmmm...
And a few years ago I had foot surgery. The first thing the surgeon told me as I came out of the drugged haze, was that I the feet of an 60 year old woman. I was in my mid-30s. Turns out I have arthritis in my feet, which was part of the pain that had brought me to the surgeon. And just as a public service announcement: Do not ever tell a woman something on her body looks 25+ years older than it is. Even if it's the inside of her feet.
OH! Ok, FINE! We'll do it. Crap. For the record, this is under duress.
We decided to do it, but delayed implementation for 2 weeks so I could wrap my head around it and figure out how to feed us. And so we could finish whatever "bad" things were in the freezer/pantry etc. Yes, yes, "You should have pitched that stuff! Not subjected your body to it!" Yeah, well, I can't throw out that much food. I just can't. Even with how we did it, we still pitched more than I am comfortable with, and have a couple bags of pantry items to go to food bank.
The past week I have been prepping, in more ways than I anticipated. First, I have been reading about the diet, which has annoyingly conflicting information depending on which book you are reading. Example:
Are eggs ok?
A. No.
B Yes, if the chickens have been fed a special diet like flax producing Omega-3 rich eggs.
C. Only egg whites.
D. Eggs are a natural healthy food!
E. Eggs are "neutral" eat, but not daily.
You guessed it: all of the above - depending on who you are talking to! Can't all these anti-inflammatory gurus have a big meeting and come up with one set of rules?? In fact, I'll host! All the avocado and tumeric you can eat! Everyone seems to agree on those. Tumeric is a big thing with this. I even found tumeric tea. I've been thus far afraid to try it.
So I created a master document of "Anti-Inflammatory Recipes I think my family may actually choke down." Then made a grocery list, and went to Whole Foods and dropped a truly stunning amount of money. Seriously, does a quart of berries have to cost approximately 87 times the cost of a bag of chips? I mean, there's not even any necessary processing. They literally grow on trees! (Ok, bushes. Go away.)
But then there was the big moment. The biggest prep work of all.
I sat the kids down and had a talk with them.
I had been preparing them. They had seen the Wasteful Freezer Pantry Clean Out of 2015. For the past few days, every time they had some ice cream, or part of a chocolate bar, or that last butter drenched piece of red meat - I told them enjoy it now, this is it! Dad and I had both told them we were embarking on this change and why.
Last night I sat them down and said, "Ok, you know this is going to be a big change. Starting tomorrow we are going to be having a lot more vegetables. We are trying new spices. I am going to serve all of us foods that are not our favorites, or that we've never tried before. This is going to be the way it is, this is going to be our eating. There will still be some things you like. Our bean soup? Still good. Salmon filets with yogurt cumcumber sauce? Still good. Ahi Tuna? Still good. Chili? (Modified but) still good. However, there will be a lot of new things. I want you to try everything, and if you could eat it again without gagging audibly, tell me and it goes on the "ok" list. If you absolutely hate it and will hurl if I put it in front of you again. Tell me that. However, you can't hate everything, because then I'll just ignore your hate list. Ok? Ok, I'm going to do my best to make this an acceptable, and even over time, a good thing that you like. And hopefully it will help with the nerve issues, Daddy's back, and everything. Ok?"
I know, you may be thinking I should have approached this all positive and "This is is going to be a great adventure, and aren't you excited to have the super yummy, way healthy food!?"
Well let me tell you, my girls are 12 & 14, and they would have totally seen through that. I'm sure I would have gotten the Spock-one-raised-eyebrow-look they have perfected. And they would have looked at their plate the first lunch (breakfast, I think, will be fairly painless), and called me on the carpet on that crap.
So, on we go. Let's see what happens!
We're not doing this for the sheer joy of giving up pizza and ice cream, although I can see why you might think that. I mean, what family doesn't look at their pepperoni with extra cheese (or in my case black olives and mushrooms with extra cheese) and think "Well, I guess this will do. But boy what I wouldn't give for a big plate of Kale and Tumeric!" Whoever just raised their hand can leave my page. I'm not speaking to you. You probably really can't wait to run a good 12 miles tomorrow morning, too. I just don't think we can be friends. It's not me. It's you.
We're doing this for actual medical reasons, to see if it will help. The kicker has been our daughter, who has rare conditions called Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) and Geniculate Neuralgia (GN). It sucks. I tried to edit that commentary on TN/GN several times, but nothing is as honest as "sucks." Sorry. It means that her 5th, 7th & 9th cranial nerves on the left side of her head had arteries and veins looped around and compressing them. A large percentage of the population can have those compressions and live a happy, full life, never knowing they are there and never having a problem. But it is believed (there is disturbing little research on this beast) our girl also has a flaw in the myelin of her nerves, so they can't stand up to the compressions. Eventually the myelin wears out, and the cranial nerves are left firing like live wires. We found out when her myelin wore out at 11 years old, and she started getting facial and deep ear pain so intense it felt like someone was stabbing her with the kitchen carving knife. Sometimes it would just be a few Stab-Stab-Stabs, and stop. Sometimes it would do that for hours with no reprieve. Sometimes because she brushed her teeth, sometimes because she brushed her hair out of her eyes, sometimes because she opened the fridge and that bit of cool air touched her face. It is indescribably awful.
Because of that she has had two invasive brain surgeries, at hospitals spanning the country, called Micro Vascular Decompressions. In the aftermath of that her TN/GN pain has pretty much stopped, but the damage to the nerve is not totally reversable. So sometimes, especially during times of sickness or exhaustion - when there can be inflammation - the nerve will fire up and remind her it's not 100%. (She is not cured, there is no cure. It can still come back. But she is doing much better, and we hope to exceed greatly the "success" standard on the surgery, which is 6-10 years.)
Plus, my husband has back issues, and has been on steriods a disturbing amount the past 6 months. The doctors keep saying "inflammation". Hmmm...
And a few years ago I had foot surgery. The first thing the surgeon told me as I came out of the drugged haze, was that I the feet of an 60 year old woman. I was in my mid-30s. Turns out I have arthritis in my feet, which was part of the pain that had brought me to the surgeon. And just as a public service announcement: Do not ever tell a woman something on her body looks 25+ years older than it is. Even if it's the inside of her feet.
OH! Ok, FINE! We'll do it. Crap. For the record, this is under duress.
We decided to do it, but delayed implementation for 2 weeks so I could wrap my head around it and figure out how to feed us. And so we could finish whatever "bad" things were in the freezer/pantry etc. Yes, yes, "You should have pitched that stuff! Not subjected your body to it!" Yeah, well, I can't throw out that much food. I just can't. Even with how we did it, we still pitched more than I am comfortable with, and have a couple bags of pantry items to go to food bank.
The past week I have been prepping, in more ways than I anticipated. First, I have been reading about the diet, which has annoyingly conflicting information depending on which book you are reading. Example:
Are eggs ok?
A. No.
B Yes, if the chickens have been fed a special diet like flax producing Omega-3 rich eggs.
C. Only egg whites.
D. Eggs are a natural healthy food!
E. Eggs are "neutral" eat, but not daily.
You guessed it: all of the above - depending on who you are talking to! Can't all these anti-inflammatory gurus have a big meeting and come up with one set of rules?? In fact, I'll host! All the avocado and tumeric you can eat! Everyone seems to agree on those. Tumeric is a big thing with this. I even found tumeric tea. I've been thus far afraid to try it.
So I created a master document of "Anti-Inflammatory Recipes I think my family may actually choke down." Then made a grocery list, and went to Whole Foods and dropped a truly stunning amount of money. Seriously, does a quart of berries have to cost approximately 87 times the cost of a bag of chips? I mean, there's not even any necessary processing. They literally grow on trees! (Ok, bushes. Go away.)
But then there was the big moment. The biggest prep work of all.
I sat the kids down and had a talk with them.
I had been preparing them. They had seen the Wasteful Freezer Pantry Clean Out of 2015. For the past few days, every time they had some ice cream, or part of a chocolate bar, or that last butter drenched piece of red meat - I told them enjoy it now, this is it! Dad and I had both told them we were embarking on this change and why.
Last night I sat them down and said, "Ok, you know this is going to be a big change. Starting tomorrow we are going to be having a lot more vegetables. We are trying new spices. I am going to serve all of us foods that are not our favorites, or that we've never tried before. This is going to be the way it is, this is going to be our eating. There will still be some things you like. Our bean soup? Still good. Salmon filets with yogurt cumcumber sauce? Still good. Ahi Tuna? Still good. Chili? (Modified but) still good. However, there will be a lot of new things. I want you to try everything, and if you could eat it again without gagging audibly, tell me and it goes on the "ok" list. If you absolutely hate it and will hurl if I put it in front of you again. Tell me that. However, you can't hate everything, because then I'll just ignore your hate list. Ok? Ok, I'm going to do my best to make this an acceptable, and even over time, a good thing that you like. And hopefully it will help with the nerve issues, Daddy's back, and everything. Ok?"
I know, you may be thinking I should have approached this all positive and "This is is going to be a great adventure, and aren't you excited to have the super yummy, way healthy food!?"
Well let me tell you, my girls are 12 & 14, and they would have totally seen through that. I'm sure I would have gotten the Spock-one-raised-eyebrow-look they have perfected. And they would have looked at their plate the first lunch (breakfast, I think, will be fairly painless), and called me on the carpet on that crap.
So, on we go. Let's see what happens!
Thursday, January 15, 2015
To die in process...
In discussion last night with a young Christian woman, we were discussing the whole concept of discipleship. That discipleship is an orientation, by which I mean it is a direction of our spiritual life. From the moment the concept of God and Christ cross our awareness, we are either moving toward Him or away. And moving toward Him, following after Him, is being a Disciple.
So even a non-believer, if they are investigating and honestly trying to figure out what they think of this whole God/Jesus thing, should be considered a disciple. If they decide this is a bunch of bunk and write it off, they no longer are. (John 6:60-66)
If during a period of time, long or short, a Christian is consumed with themselves, their world, and not following after God but their own desires, they have stopped being a disciple for that time. When they wake up and turn back, they are again.
In this context, what we are called to do in passages like Titus 2, is simply to walk beside someone as they move further down the road toward Christ. Start at whatever point you meet them, wherever they are, and share your life with them, ask big questions with them, challenge them to grow as they are moved further down the road with Christ. For whatever time God gives you to walk beside that person.
With that in mind we landed on the desire to one day be called home "in-process". Not that we had sat back and decided we were done with the work, propped our feet up and said, Ok, God. I'm good to go... and wait for Him to take us. But that we are mid-service, enthusiastically walking that path-- and suddenly find ourselves in the presence of God.
(I know in 2 Timothy 4:7-8 Paul basically gave a benediction to his life "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing." But notice that the last 14 verses of the letter that follow that are littered with administrative details that imply he was still working away.)
I want to be working away at whatever is in front of me, look around realizing I'm now in the presence of my Lord, and exclaim, "Whoa! What happened??" And then realize, it just doesn't matter.
So even a non-believer, if they are investigating and honestly trying to figure out what they think of this whole God/Jesus thing, should be considered a disciple. If they decide this is a bunch of bunk and write it off, they no longer are. (John 6:60-66)
If during a period of time, long or short, a Christian is consumed with themselves, their world, and not following after God but their own desires, they have stopped being a disciple for that time. When they wake up and turn back, they are again.
In this context, what we are called to do in passages like Titus 2, is simply to walk beside someone as they move further down the road toward Christ. Start at whatever point you meet them, wherever they are, and share your life with them, ask big questions with them, challenge them to grow as they are moved further down the road with Christ. For whatever time God gives you to walk beside that person.
With that in mind we landed on the desire to one day be called home "in-process". Not that we had sat back and decided we were done with the work, propped our feet up and said, Ok, God. I'm good to go... and wait for Him to take us. But that we are mid-service, enthusiastically walking that path-- and suddenly find ourselves in the presence of God.
(I know in 2 Timothy 4:7-8 Paul basically gave a benediction to his life "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing." But notice that the last 14 verses of the letter that follow that are littered with administrative details that imply he was still working away.)
I want to be working away at whatever is in front of me, look around realizing I'm now in the presence of my Lord, and exclaim, "Whoa! What happened??" And then realize, it just doesn't matter.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Wasn't My Plan... It Was Better.
Last night I spent a wonderful evening with 3 women who have been an important influence on my life (oh yeah, and their husbands :-) ). I've thinking all morning how thankful I am for so many things surrounding the time in my life where we all connected.
I had been uprooted from my beloved friends, and with 3 weeks notice we suddenly found ourselves in Northern Va. I had a 5 month old, and had gone from full-time, hiring, firing, manager-training authority at a training development company with an husband who happily worked at home with the cat... to full-time Mom in a town I didn't know, no church community, no friends nearby, introvert-husband working in an office (for the first time ever and being *totally* drained) for 16 hour days (no joke). Scotty and I both look back at this time as one of the toughest in our marriage.
As I've said to many before, the Bible study offered child care. At this point in my life they could have probably been holding cockroach races, and if they offered childcare and other women there - I would have GONE! (Please Lord, let there be women there to talk to. And if they could not be too psycho, that would be great.)
So, I signed up. And just to make things more interesting, two days before the study met for the first time terrorists flew an airplane into the Pentagon, which was exactly one mile up the road I viewed from my baby's window. So now we had intimidating gun-mounted humvees along the roads and no idea what would happen next.
So we all showed up to the first study - I believe it was 2 Peter - babies in tow. And I met some of the most wonderful women. We delved deep into the Bible and always were determined to understand what the FULL counsel of scripture said. We asked hard questions, and didn't accept the pat answers. We disagreed. Strongly at times. But we kept coming back, laughing (sometimes to the point of tears), crying and always sharing life and a passionate pursuit.
And for the last 12 years, through babies, moves, globe trotting, spiritual highs and lows, a few of us from that group have encouraged, pushed, questioned, and sharpened each other. I only wish we could do it in person more often.
My encouragement to anyone out there who has actually made it this far reading this rambling... Dive into the Word of God. And do it with people who will question your assumptions, who push you to explain your reasoning, and ask 'so what are you doing about it in your life?' If they can love you, laugh with you and cry with you at the same time - don't let them go. Don't accept "But they moved to Africa!" as an excuse to lose touch, though I grant that it makes it a bit tougher.
I would NOT have chosen the events that let up to me walking into the class the first time. Personally, or for our country. But I wouldn't change meeting all of you, and what it has done for my life, for anything.
I had been uprooted from my beloved friends, and with 3 weeks notice we suddenly found ourselves in Northern Va. I had a 5 month old, and had gone from full-time, hiring, firing, manager-training authority at a training development company with an husband who happily worked at home with the cat... to full-time Mom in a town I didn't know, no church community, no friends nearby, introvert-husband working in an office (for the first time ever and being *totally* drained) for 16 hour days (no joke). Scotty and I both look back at this time as one of the toughest in our marriage.
As I've said to many before, the Bible study offered child care. At this point in my life they could have probably been holding cockroach races, and if they offered childcare and other women there - I would have GONE! (Please Lord, let there be women there to talk to. And if they could not be too psycho, that would be great.)
So, I signed up. And just to make things more interesting, two days before the study met for the first time terrorists flew an airplane into the Pentagon, which was exactly one mile up the road I viewed from my baby's window. So now we had intimidating gun-mounted humvees along the roads and no idea what would happen next.
So we all showed up to the first study - I believe it was 2 Peter - babies in tow. And I met some of the most wonderful women. We delved deep into the Bible and always were determined to understand what the FULL counsel of scripture said. We asked hard questions, and didn't accept the pat answers. We disagreed. Strongly at times. But we kept coming back, laughing (sometimes to the point of tears), crying and always sharing life and a passionate pursuit.
And for the last 12 years, through babies, moves, globe trotting, spiritual highs and lows, a few of us from that group have encouraged, pushed, questioned, and sharpened each other. I only wish we could do it in person more often.
My encouragement to anyone out there who has actually made it this far reading this rambling... Dive into the Word of God. And do it with people who will question your assumptions, who push you to explain your reasoning, and ask 'so what are you doing about it in your life?' If they can love you, laugh with you and cry with you at the same time - don't let them go. Don't accept "But they moved to Africa!" as an excuse to lose touch, though I grant that it makes it a bit tougher.
I would NOT have chosen the events that let up to me walking into the class the first time. Personally, or for our country. But I wouldn't change meeting all of you, and what it has done for my life, for anything.
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