Tried With Fire

I wrote a post awhile ago on growing older but more thoughts sprang to mind as I was waiting for the verdict on my car on Friday.  One of the downsides of having to wait for your vehicle is the TV in the waiting room.  I normally don't watch TV, so enduring Regis and the other perky morning show hosts seemed like a waste of neural energy.  I did my best to not pay attention to the tube,  but I couldn't help but notice the makeover segment being shown. The victim was an attractive grandmother.  Her hair was snow white in a flattering short cut.  She wore stylish glasses. Her clothing reminded me of Land's End.  All in all, she looked fine the way she was.  But when the hip, celebrity makeover artist was done, you wouldn't recognize the woman.  Her hair was dyed reddish brown, tousled and spiked.  They must have given her contacts because the glasses were gone.  She was dressed in a very low-cut, sleeveless wrap dress in an animal pri...

"Most of what happens is not the will of God." Don't worry. I haven't lost my mind. The above statement or at least something very similar was in a "sermon" my daughter heard while she was away. This has led to a very interesting discussion about this worldview versus a worldview based on the sovereignty of God. I would venture to guess that many people who consider themselves Christians would agree with the following: Suffering = Bad Bad = not God's will What I want from life (Is it really what I think I deserve and am entitled to? ) = Good Good = God's will As long as things are going relatively well, you can comfortably believe this worldview because nothing has happened to upset your apple cart. But what happens when suffering comes? When disaster strikes? What happens when you get sick or someone you love gets sick? What happens when a loved one dies? What happens when a marriage ends or a child rebels? What is your explanation ...

As in Martha Stewart. The house goes on the market January 4th, so I am in the process of getting it presentable for showing. Translation: Make your house look like you don't live here. Better yet, make it look like no one lives here. I know that this is necessary, but I also hate the phoniness of it. The decluttering is probably good, but I don't like the stress of trying to maintain normal life without being able to live like a normal person, just to sell the house. If you have a gorgeous Martha Stewart Living-photo-spread home, more power to you. I do not. I think my home is reasonably clean, neat, with a certain amount of charm, but I don't live like I am in a photo shoot nor do I want to. Martha isn't on a tight budget. Martha doesn't homeschool. I can't see Martha putting on rubber gloves to tackle guinea pig bedding or clean up after a territorial house rabbit. I ventured this morning to Walmart and Lowes to get a minimum of things to make the house more...

(Sorry for the following rant, but I had first-hand contact with some postmodern pathogens today.) Most people are probably familiar with the Pharisee version 1.0 stereotype. These people examine everyone around them with a microscope to see if others live up to a standard of behavior. The standard can be, "Don't drink, don't smoke, don't chew, and don't go with women who do" and others rules of the same ilk. But it seems Pharisee version 2.0 is available as well. Today, there is overwhelming pressure to not take a stand on anything for fear of offending anyone. The bywords are, "Don't judge me. God accepts me just the way I am and you should, too". Therefore, no one can say anything negative about anything. Even in our language we dance around the word sin by calling things issues . "So-and-so has an issue with authority." Maybe So-and-so really has the sin of rebellion, but God forbid that we would dare say that. I'm not tal...

There is a very popular book based on an obscure prayer in Chronicles. The premise is to repeat this prayer and God will bless you and give you what you want. Given it's popularity, I wonder why there isn't a best seller on Philippians 3. "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." And what about Acts 5: 41? "Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that the...