I'm asking the question because it's in the news today. Our President (who's ON NOTICE with me, you might remember) is in Turkey, a Muslim nation, telling them that we are NOT a Christian Nation. " And I've said before that one of the great strengths of the United States is -- although as I mentioned, we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation; we consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/04/obama_and_president_gul_of_tur.html
This quote is from a Newsweek article that came out Saturday
"It was a small detail, a point of comparison buried in the fifth paragraph on the 17th page of a 24-page summary of the 2009 American Religious Identification Survey. But as R. Albert Mohler Jr.—president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, one of the largest on earth—read over the document after its release in March, he was struck by a single sentence. For a believer like Mohler—a starched, unflinchingly conservative Christian, steeped in the theology of his particular province of the faith, devoted to producing ministers who will preach the inerrancy of the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only means to eternal life—the central news of the survey was troubling enough: the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990, rising from 8 to 15 percent. Then came the point he could not get out of his mind: while the unaffiliated have historically been concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, the report said, "this pattern has now changed, and the Northeast emerged in 2008 as the new stronghold of the religiously unidentified." As Mohler saw it, the historic foundation of America's religious culture was cracking." http://www.newsweek.com/id/192583
I believe that we are a country founded on Judeo-Christian principles. I believe we have been in the past and are now a Christian Nation. I believe that we need to do all we can to hold on to that before we are just a country who used to be a Christian nation before we became "enlightened." This does not mean I believe we should be a theocracy. Evangelism, anyone? What do you think?
Monday, April 6, 2009
Inspiration Network "inspires" you to make them rich!
If you are still on the fence about the "Prosperity Gospel," here's a news piece on the "Inspiration Network." It's 6 minutes 45 seconds long and worth a watch.
http://www.wcnc.com/video/?nvid=308987&shu=1 Shouldn't these people be spending their time in False Teachers Anonymous? Somebody is not listening to the Queen of Nonsense!
Also, here's a blog post by Wade Burleson. He's a Southern Baptist Pastor who differs with me on several things, but we agree on many too. Here's his post calling on Southern Baptists to be careful where they broadcast their services and to ask for financial accountability from those with whom they do "business." Well, it sorta says that, I just put the Donna "no bull" spin on how he said it.
http://kerussocharis.blogspot.com/2009/04/seed-faith-giving-makes-some-people.html
As far as I know there is no television station that has truly Christian values. I'd love to hear about one if you know of one. Until then, all "Christian" stations stay blocked in Casa Lawson.
http://www.wcnc.com/video/?nvid=308987&shu=1 Shouldn't these people be spending their time in False Teachers Anonymous? Somebody is not listening to the Queen of Nonsense!
Also, here's a blog post by Wade Burleson. He's a Southern Baptist Pastor who differs with me on several things, but we agree on many too. Here's his post calling on Southern Baptists to be careful where they broadcast their services and to ask for financial accountability from those with whom they do "business." Well, it sorta says that, I just put the Donna "no bull" spin on how he said it.
http://kerussocharis.blogspot.com/2009/04/seed-faith-giving-makes-some-people.html
As far as I know there is no television station that has truly Christian values. I'd love to hear about one if you know of one. Until then, all "Christian" stations stay blocked in Casa Lawson.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Repost: God says leave and cleave!!! Today's Nonsense winner is...
****Back in September, my friend Dalia asked me to write out her story as a warning to everyone. I did and she was able to remedy the situation once she saw it in print. Now, I''m re posting it because she is in need of a reminder and I thought it might be a good reminder for us all. ****
Dalia! So before you get all over me for spreading my friends business all over the entire www, she asked me to tell her story. Let this serve as a warning for all of you parents, soon to be parents, and grandparents. If you have babies or toddlers, I know they are cute now, but start setting those boundaries today. This could be you in a few years. Our Bible passage of the day comes from Genesis 2: 24. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."(NIV) In the King James it says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." In other words, LEAVE AND CLEAVE! You can't learn to cleave if you won't leave. Why would you ever need to learn to weather the storms of life together if there are never any storms?
As you know, I can be just a teeny bit bossy. If I know that you are breaking the law, I will turn you in. Then I will visit you in jail...maybe. As a rule, I don't put up with nonsense, except for my own...even if I am the Queen of Nonsense. People generally don't call me if they are doing something foolish and ask me what I think, because if you ask me...I will tell you. My friend Dalia can't seem to learn this, so occasionally she calls me in the middle of her foolishness. Now you need to understand that God only made a few hearts like Dalia's. She is one of the sweetest, most beautiful people I have ever met. She reminds me a lot of my Mom. She is a loyal friend and I believe she loves Jesus with all her heart. She is also a doormat. A beautiful doormat, but a doormat nonetheless.
Dalia is the Mommy to 3 grown sons. I use the word "Mommy," because she still babies them all. I have seen her leave an adult party to drive home and cook them a meal from scratch because they called and told her to. THEY WERE IN HIGH SCHOOL, AND ALL HAD DRIVER'S LICENSES, JOBS AND CARS! They are now all adults. The youngest two still live at home, but one goes to college and they both have jobs.
The oldest one recently married and inherited an instant family. He lived at home until he got married. He has his own home now, but apparently, even so, they keep temporarily moving into Dalia's house without asking. She would rather be liked than happy, so she is letting them just live in her house. She is cooking for them, watching their kids and not asking one thing in return. She hasn't asked them why they are there because she doesn't want her son mad at her. She also won't tell them to leave. AAAGGGHHHH!!!I remember telling my Daddy I was mad at him one time. He was unconcerned with whether I was angry or not. He didn't stop to worry that I might not like him. He told me that I could "get glad in the same pants I got mad in." That is country speak for, "Watch your mouth. I don't care if you are mad. Get over it."
When Ashley was a baby I developed my parenting "mission statement." I didn't call it that, but I have quoted it enough over the years that both kids know it by heart. Mr. Perfect and I have set this standard, and I think it has worked. It goes like this: "It is not my job to be your friend. It is my God-given job and responsibility to be your parent. You will grow up to be a God-fearing, law-abiding, tax paying citizen of Earth. You may choose only whether you do it the easy way or the hard way. Either way, I'll go with you. I'm up to it. I love you!"
One of the things I first loved about Mr.Perfect is that he treated his mother like a queen. I wanted to be a queen, and I knew that he knew how to treat a woman because I witnessed it in them. They both think the other is perfect. She loves to spoil him and do special nice things for him. He loves to do nice things for her. It makes them both all happy inside. However, it is a treat and not an every day occurrence. He would never, ever take advantage of his mother. To him, she is a gift from God and should be revered as such. He would put her on the throne and meet her every need before she thinks of it, if he had the means. She would do the same for him, but she knows solving all his problems would keep him from being independent. I love their relationship. She is available for him any time he needs her, but she never meddles or butts in. They are an example I think everyone should follow.
Here is the Rant of the Day: It is not loving or kind to your children to set no boundaries and to let them just run all over you. It is not loving to never cut the cord when they are adults. It is not loving to allow adult children to take advantage of your kindness. It is not loving to allow your son to teach your grand babies to run all over you. It is not kind to allow your Grandsons to grow up thinking women are nothing more than their servants. It is not loving to "baby" your adult children and meet their every need before they have a chance to be independent and work things out on their own. It is not loving to let your adult offspring be children! It is abusive and a strong godly woman will not allow herself to be treated in such a manner by anyone, much less her son. She is setting an example and she will not want her daughter in law to be treated this way. Your adult children cannot learn how to have a successful marriage if they have a "mommy" in the middle.
So, obviously I had to put Dalia ON NOTICE! She is a fearfully and wonderfully made woman of God who needs to grow a backbone. She wants you all to comment and give her some ideas as to how to get her son and his family out of the house. (OK, she thought you would all tell her how sorry you felt for her, but I told her this audience would probably not come to the pity party.)
Here is my suggestion: On a large fluorescent pink poster board, write the following in large letters and attach it to your front door. Then there can be no confusion.
HOUSE RULES FOR ADULT CHILD WITH HIS OWN APARTMENT:
1) Love you. Mean it!
2) GO HOME NOW.
3) Call next time before you VISIT.
4) GO Home NOW! You should have left before you got to this line. Now GO!!!
Dalia! So before you get all over me for spreading my friends business all over the entire www, she asked me to tell her story. Let this serve as a warning for all of you parents, soon to be parents, and grandparents. If you have babies or toddlers, I know they are cute now, but start setting those boundaries today. This could be you in a few years. Our Bible passage of the day comes from Genesis 2: 24. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."(NIV) In the King James it says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." In other words, LEAVE AND CLEAVE! You can't learn to cleave if you won't leave. Why would you ever need to learn to weather the storms of life together if there are never any storms?
As you know, I can be just a teeny bit bossy. If I know that you are breaking the law, I will turn you in. Then I will visit you in jail...maybe. As a rule, I don't put up with nonsense, except for my own...even if I am the Queen of Nonsense. People generally don't call me if they are doing something foolish and ask me what I think, because if you ask me...I will tell you. My friend Dalia can't seem to learn this, so occasionally she calls me in the middle of her foolishness. Now you need to understand that God only made a few hearts like Dalia's. She is one of the sweetest, most beautiful people I have ever met. She reminds me a lot of my Mom. She is a loyal friend and I believe she loves Jesus with all her heart. She is also a doormat. A beautiful doormat, but a doormat nonetheless.
Dalia is the Mommy to 3 grown sons. I use the word "Mommy," because she still babies them all. I have seen her leave an adult party to drive home and cook them a meal from scratch because they called and told her to. THEY WERE IN HIGH SCHOOL, AND ALL HAD DRIVER'S LICENSES, JOBS AND CARS! They are now all adults. The youngest two still live at home, but one goes to college and they both have jobs.
The oldest one recently married and inherited an instant family. He lived at home until he got married. He has his own home now, but apparently, even so, they keep temporarily moving into Dalia's house without asking. She would rather be liked than happy, so she is letting them just live in her house. She is cooking for them, watching their kids and not asking one thing in return. She hasn't asked them why they are there because she doesn't want her son mad at her. She also won't tell them to leave. AAAGGGHHHH!!!I remember telling my Daddy I was mad at him one time. He was unconcerned with whether I was angry or not. He didn't stop to worry that I might not like him. He told me that I could "get glad in the same pants I got mad in." That is country speak for, "Watch your mouth. I don't care if you are mad. Get over it."
When Ashley was a baby I developed my parenting "mission statement." I didn't call it that, but I have quoted it enough over the years that both kids know it by heart. Mr. Perfect and I have set this standard, and I think it has worked. It goes like this: "It is not my job to be your friend. It is my God-given job and responsibility to be your parent. You will grow up to be a God-fearing, law-abiding, tax paying citizen of Earth. You may choose only whether you do it the easy way or the hard way. Either way, I'll go with you. I'm up to it. I love you!"
One of the things I first loved about Mr.Perfect is that he treated his mother like a queen. I wanted to be a queen, and I knew that he knew how to treat a woman because I witnessed it in them. They both think the other is perfect. She loves to spoil him and do special nice things for him. He loves to do nice things for her. It makes them both all happy inside. However, it is a treat and not an every day occurrence. He would never, ever take advantage of his mother. To him, she is a gift from God and should be revered as such. He would put her on the throne and meet her every need before she thinks of it, if he had the means. She would do the same for him, but she knows solving all his problems would keep him from being independent. I love their relationship. She is available for him any time he needs her, but she never meddles or butts in. They are an example I think everyone should follow.
Here is the Rant of the Day: It is not loving or kind to your children to set no boundaries and to let them just run all over you. It is not loving to never cut the cord when they are adults. It is not loving to allow adult children to take advantage of your kindness. It is not loving to allow your son to teach your grand babies to run all over you. It is not kind to allow your Grandsons to grow up thinking women are nothing more than their servants. It is not loving to "baby" your adult children and meet their every need before they have a chance to be independent and work things out on their own. It is not loving to let your adult offspring be children! It is abusive and a strong godly woman will not allow herself to be treated in such a manner by anyone, much less her son. She is setting an example and she will not want her daughter in law to be treated this way. Your adult children cannot learn how to have a successful marriage if they have a "mommy" in the middle.
So, obviously I had to put Dalia ON NOTICE! She is a fearfully and wonderfully made woman of God who needs to grow a backbone. She wants you all to comment and give her some ideas as to how to get her son and his family out of the house. (OK, she thought you would all tell her how sorry you felt for her, but I told her this audience would probably not come to the pity party.)
Here is my suggestion: On a large fluorescent pink poster board, write the following in large letters and attach it to your front door. Then there can be no confusion.
HOUSE RULES FOR ADULT CHILD WITH HIS OWN APARTMENT:
1) Love you. Mean it!
2) GO HOME NOW.
3) Call next time before you VISIT.
4) GO Home NOW! You should have left before you got to this line. Now GO!!!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Dear President Obama,
Dear President Obama,
You are forcing me to spend time considering civil disobedience. I love America, Mr. President, and I love that we have freedom of EVERYTHING! The fact that I can sit down and write this is just one freedom I'm grateful for. I didn't vote for you, Mr. President. I don't expect you to be my biggest fan. However, as a God-fearing, law-abiding, tax-paying, rule-following citizen, I must take you to task. There are MANY places where I have issue with your political decisions, but today I am going to focus on the sanctity of life.
I knew you were the most radically liberal, pro-death candidate that we have ever seen. I tried to warn my friends, Mr. President, but some of them told me I was wrong. I, myself am as radically pro-life as you are pro-death. I believe life begins at conception in EVERY case. I believe we should protect every life. Old life, deformed life, unwanted life and inconvenient life. Every life is precious to the One who created it and He alone has the power over it. I am even pro life in my belief that supporting capital punishment is supporting life. You, Mr. President, know the reasons and I don't need to explain them.
I have refused to be a member of a Baptist General Convention of Texas church because their abortion stance was that they believed abortion is wrong except in cases where there is rape, incest or where the health of the mother is a consideration. In those cases they believe that abortion may be the lesser of two evils. (I guess that would make the baby the other evil .) They have recently gotten bolder in their pro-abortion statements and are getting pretty radical themselves. (They've been "ON NOTICE" for the last 9 years with me.) I know that those are babies!
Now you have made two executive orders that are causing my tax dollars to not only end life in OTHER countries, but to create life with the PURPOSE of ending it. Did you consider the lives of those babies while you were signing those orders? Did you feel their heartbeats with every stroke of your presidential pen? Did you even study the science on adult, placental and cord stem cells? You have turned my country into a country that now values death! Shame on you, Mr. President.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/International/story?id=6716958&page=1
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/us/politics/10stem.html
So, I would like to respectfully request (demand!) that since our taxes for last year are already paid, that you not spend ONE PENNY of my money either creating a baby to be killed or killing babies. We are in a financial "situation" here in this country, in case you haven't heard, Mr. President. Why are we spending money overseas to kill babies? Foolishness. Foolishness.
Unfortunately, I can't ask you to check in at "False Teachers Anonymous," Mr. President, because you are proving to be exactly what you advertised yourself to be. Oh, and yes, this letter is much less "strongly worded" than I really wanted to make it. Mr. Perfect will be cranky if he has to pay to feed and house the Secret Serice Agents that would be moving in if I wrote it in the tone I really feel.
Sincerely,
Donna Lawson,
God-fearing, law-abiding, tax-paying, rule-following citizen
PS. You, President Barak Obama are ON NOTICE!
You are forcing me to spend time considering civil disobedience. I love America, Mr. President, and I love that we have freedom of EVERYTHING! The fact that I can sit down and write this is just one freedom I'm grateful for. I didn't vote for you, Mr. President. I don't expect you to be my biggest fan. However, as a God-fearing, law-abiding, tax-paying, rule-following citizen, I must take you to task. There are MANY places where I have issue with your political decisions, but today I am going to focus on the sanctity of life.
I knew you were the most radically liberal, pro-death candidate that we have ever seen. I tried to warn my friends, Mr. President, but some of them told me I was wrong. I, myself am as radically pro-life as you are pro-death. I believe life begins at conception in EVERY case. I believe we should protect every life. Old life, deformed life, unwanted life and inconvenient life. Every life is precious to the One who created it and He alone has the power over it. I am even pro life in my belief that supporting capital punishment is supporting life. You, Mr. President, know the reasons and I don't need to explain them.
I have refused to be a member of a Baptist General Convention of Texas church because their abortion stance was that they believed abortion is wrong except in cases where there is rape, incest or where the health of the mother is a consideration. In those cases they believe that abortion may be the lesser of two evils. (I guess that would make the baby the other evil .) They have recently gotten bolder in their pro-abortion statements and are getting pretty radical themselves. (They've been "ON NOTICE" for the last 9 years with me.) I know that those are babies!
Now you have made two executive orders that are causing my tax dollars to not only end life in OTHER countries, but to create life with the PURPOSE of ending it. Did you consider the lives of those babies while you were signing those orders? Did you feel their heartbeats with every stroke of your presidential pen? Did you even study the science on adult, placental and cord stem cells? You have turned my country into a country that now values death! Shame on you, Mr. President.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/International/story?id=6716958&page=1
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/us/politics/10stem.html
So, I would like to respectfully request (demand!) that since our taxes for last year are already paid, that you not spend ONE PENNY of my money either creating a baby to be killed or killing babies. We are in a financial "situation" here in this country, in case you haven't heard, Mr. President. Why are we spending money overseas to kill babies? Foolishness. Foolishness.
Unfortunately, I can't ask you to check in at "False Teachers Anonymous," Mr. President, because you are proving to be exactly what you advertised yourself to be. Oh, and yes, this letter is much less "strongly worded" than I really wanted to make it. Mr. Perfect will be cranky if he has to pay to feed and house the Secret Serice Agents that would be moving in if I wrote it in the tone I really feel.
Sincerely,
Donna Lawson,
God-fearing, law-abiding, tax-paying, rule-following citizen
PS. You, President Barak Obama are ON NOTICE!
Monday, March 9, 2009
If you miss the rant-y Donna, you'll love this!
I haven't had a "Rant of the Day" post in quite some time. I've been trying to be a kinder gentler Donna, but guess what? I hate kinder, gentler Donna. She's not really kinder...in her head, and nobody knows what to do with gentler Donna. So, she's out and rant-y Donna is back. I know a few of you have missed me.
Rant of the Day 1: http://davidwilkersontoday.blogspot.com/2009/03/urgent-message.html From David Wilkerson's post:
"AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE - EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US."
If you think that God has given you inside information on the end of the world, please smack yourself. If you have several times in the past made the same declaration and put a (wrong) date on it, please check in at "False Teachers Anonymous" and be happy we didn't stone you. If you don't have a basic understanding of scripture, please don't speak for God. Matthew 24: 36 says, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." And church, let's stop bowing down in front of every wacko who proclaims himself a modern day prophet. It makes us look like a bunch of ignorant, stupid people. Then we wonder why they don't want our Jesus. Seriously, we should all use some discernment. We live in a wonderful, blessed country. The poorest person in America is prosperous compared to most of the world. However, I wonder what Christians in China, N. Korea or other countries where the church is seriously persecuted think when we declare that if something bad happens in America, it's the end of the world. Come on. If you believe this, you need to go down the hall to "I'm an Ignorant, Stupid Sheep Anonymous."
Rant of the Day 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0CyolAOeWQ
Dr. Hagee speaks regarding his book and says his book, In Defense of Israel, will prove that "Jesus did not come to Earth to be the Messiah," (20 seconds in) and that "...since Jesus refused by word and deed to claim to be the Messiah how can the Jews be blamed for rejecting what was never offered?" (32 seconds in).
Edit: The above video was removed by Hagee so here it is again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m6pPnQjn7w&feature=related
This guy has been making me crazy for years. Mostly because while he is a Word/ Faith teacher and teaches a prosperity doctrine, you have to listen for a while to hear it. He's sneaky. His website seems to say that he holds to the "essentials"of the Christian faith, yet when my father was dying from cancer, someone gave him a tape where Hagee proclaimed that if you were sick it was because of your lack of faith or unrepentant sin. Period. THE ONLY REASON PEOPLE ARE EITHER ILL OR POOR. Now, he is coming out and saying that Jesus didn't come to be the Messiah, that he REFUSED to be Messiah and the Jews will be saved another way. John 14:6 says "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." No man means no man. Shame on you John Hagee. You go on and check in at "False Preachers Anonymous."
Rant of the Day 3: If your name is Benny Hinn, if you use the term "seed-faith offering" or if you offer to send either: a) salt pouch, b) anointed cloth, c) Jerusalem candlesticks, d)"I'm a fool who was parted from his money" toe ring (OK, I made that one up), etc. in exchange for my "partnership," please smack yourself. I've decided that "seed-faith" is a term used only by false teachers. You have a reservation at "False Teachers Anonymous." Check in ASAP.
Rant of the Day 4: If you have a show on either TBN, CBN or almost any network that calls itself "Christian," please sit down and consider that you are a bit of the problem. Not too long ago, TBN and the like only showed "Name-it and Claim-it, Blab-it and Grab-it" preachers. Now, in an effort to give a little diversity, you can catch some old Billy Graham Crusades and some other mainstream teachers. I've even seen Beth Moore on the schedule. I wonder how many people tuned in to catch the (NOT WORD/FAITH PREACHER) Rev. Graham and stayed for all the false teachers to follow. Either way, I need the people behind those two networks (Paul & Jan Crouch and Pat Robertson) devoted to false doctrine masquerading as "evangelistic" doctrine, to both smack themselves and then...you guessed it...slide it on into "False Teachers Anonymous."
Now, on to other serious business. I regretfully have to put my right eyelid ON NOTICE! for aging faster and drooping farther than my better behaving left eyelid. This is beginning to give me the appearance of a stroke victim and is freaking out my mother who is sure I've had an "incident." I'm telling you, either snap back or I will, WILL introduce you to a lovely plastic surgeon who will handle that for the both of us. However, the cost will make Mr. Perfect's head blow off and then I will be lonely and have to get a job. If I have to get a job because my eyelid couldn't snap back into place I will be cranky. SO until I re-achieve symmetry in eyelid-dom, you, right-eyelid are ON NOTICE!
Rant of the Day 1: http://davidwilkersontoday.blogspot.com/2009/03/urgent-message.html From David Wilkerson's post:
"AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE - EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US."
If you think that God has given you inside information on the end of the world, please smack yourself. If you have several times in the past made the same declaration and put a (wrong) date on it, please check in at "False Teachers Anonymous" and be happy we didn't stone you. If you don't have a basic understanding of scripture, please don't speak for God. Matthew 24: 36 says, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." And church, let's stop bowing down in front of every wacko who proclaims himself a modern day prophet. It makes us look like a bunch of ignorant, stupid people. Then we wonder why they don't want our Jesus. Seriously, we should all use some discernment. We live in a wonderful, blessed country. The poorest person in America is prosperous compared to most of the world. However, I wonder what Christians in China, N. Korea or other countries where the church is seriously persecuted think when we declare that if something bad happens in America, it's the end of the world. Come on. If you believe this, you need to go down the hall to "I'm an Ignorant, Stupid Sheep Anonymous."
Rant of the Day 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0CyolAOeWQ
Dr. Hagee speaks regarding his book and says his book, In Defense of Israel, will prove that "Jesus did not come to Earth to be the Messiah," (20 seconds in) and that "...since Jesus refused by word and deed to claim to be the Messiah how can the Jews be blamed for rejecting what was never offered?" (32 seconds in).
Edit: The above video was removed by Hagee so here it is again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m6pPnQjn7w&feature=related
This guy has been making me crazy for years. Mostly because while he is a Word/ Faith teacher and teaches a prosperity doctrine, you have to listen for a while to hear it. He's sneaky. His website seems to say that he holds to the "essentials"of the Christian faith, yet when my father was dying from cancer, someone gave him a tape where Hagee proclaimed that if you were sick it was because of your lack of faith or unrepentant sin. Period. THE ONLY REASON PEOPLE ARE EITHER ILL OR POOR. Now, he is coming out and saying that Jesus didn't come to be the Messiah, that he REFUSED to be Messiah and the Jews will be saved another way. John 14:6 says "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." No man means no man. Shame on you John Hagee. You go on and check in at "False Preachers Anonymous."
Rant of the Day 3: If your name is Benny Hinn, if you use the term "seed-faith offering" or if you offer to send either: a) salt pouch, b) anointed cloth, c) Jerusalem candlesticks, d)"I'm a fool who was parted from his money" toe ring (OK, I made that one up), etc. in exchange for my "partnership," please smack yourself. I've decided that "seed-faith" is a term used only by false teachers. You have a reservation at "False Teachers Anonymous." Check in ASAP.
Rant of the Day 4: If you have a show on either TBN, CBN or almost any network that calls itself "Christian," please sit down and consider that you are a bit of the problem. Not too long ago, TBN and the like only showed "Name-it and Claim-it, Blab-it and Grab-it" preachers. Now, in an effort to give a little diversity, you can catch some old Billy Graham Crusades and some other mainstream teachers. I've even seen Beth Moore on the schedule. I wonder how many people tuned in to catch the (NOT WORD/FAITH PREACHER) Rev. Graham and stayed for all the false teachers to follow. Either way, I need the people behind those two networks (Paul & Jan Crouch and Pat Robertson) devoted to false doctrine masquerading as "evangelistic" doctrine, to both smack themselves and then...you guessed it...slide it on into "False Teachers Anonymous."
Now, on to other serious business. I regretfully have to put my right eyelid ON NOTICE! for aging faster and drooping farther than my better behaving left eyelid. This is beginning to give me the appearance of a stroke victim and is freaking out my mother who is sure I've had an "incident." I'm telling you, either snap back or I will, WILL introduce you to a lovely plastic surgeon who will handle that for the both of us. However, the cost will make Mr. Perfect's head blow off and then I will be lonely and have to get a job. If I have to get a job because my eyelid couldn't snap back into place I will be cranky. SO until I re-achieve symmetry in eyelid-dom, you, right-eyelid are ON NOTICE!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
To know and follow hard after you
This song has been on my mind this week. I've been singing it in my head constantly. This is where I'm currently residing.
Pure and Holy Passion
Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You
To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your disciple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you, my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you
The part that I love is "to know and follow hard after you." I'm finding the older I get, the less I want to sign up for hard. Someone recently asked me if I was interested in going and ministering to "hard" women. I thought, "I have babies to raise, hard women don't like me, my rims might get stolen, I'm pretty sure I have a hair appointment on "hard women" day, I'm not called to work with those women, I might break a heel, I don't know if my pedi can stand up to this ministry..." You name it, I thought of it. I would never admit it, but sometimes I want to "be acquainted and take the easy way...around you." Do this preach to anyone? It sure preaches to me.
I have somewhere along the line gotten spiritually soft. I'm not sure how it happened. Did a lack of discipline grow out of discontent? Did I let myself get distracted by things that aren't eternal and then just use that as an excuse for spiritual laziness? I've been in a desert of sorts. God and I have had communication problems. Now, I've known and loved Him as long as I can remember. I know He hasn't moved. His promises haven't changed. His Word hasn't changed. He still loves me passionately. His requirements of me haven't changed. He wants me to know and follow HARD after Him.
This might require me to go to a place I'm not comfortable. This might require me to let my children follow hard after Him. This will definitely require me to find the spiritual fire of my youth. I used to be the first in line for hard. So, I thank you for your prayers. I really was in a tough spiritual place, but now I'm ready to run after Him.
***Disclaimer: Due to the "assets" God gave to me and the physical limitations I'm still dealing with from November's fall, I will not literally be marathon running after Him...probably. (What, stop laughing. He could make me run, but only HE.)***
Pure and Holy Passion
Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You
To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your disciple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you, my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you
The part that I love is "to know and follow hard after you." I'm finding the older I get, the less I want to sign up for hard. Someone recently asked me if I was interested in going and ministering to "hard" women. I thought, "I have babies to raise, hard women don't like me, my rims might get stolen, I'm pretty sure I have a hair appointment on "hard women" day, I'm not called to work with those women, I might break a heel, I don't know if my pedi can stand up to this ministry..." You name it, I thought of it. I would never admit it, but sometimes I want to "be acquainted and take the easy way...around you." Do this preach to anyone? It sure preaches to me.
I have somewhere along the line gotten spiritually soft. I'm not sure how it happened. Did a lack of discipline grow out of discontent? Did I let myself get distracted by things that aren't eternal and then just use that as an excuse for spiritual laziness? I've been in a desert of sorts. God and I have had communication problems. Now, I've known and loved Him as long as I can remember. I know He hasn't moved. His promises haven't changed. His Word hasn't changed. He still loves me passionately. His requirements of me haven't changed. He wants me to know and follow HARD after Him.
This might require me to go to a place I'm not comfortable. This might require me to let my children follow hard after Him. This will definitely require me to find the spiritual fire of my youth. I used to be the first in line for hard. So, I thank you for your prayers. I really was in a tough spiritual place, but now I'm ready to run after Him.
***Disclaimer: Due to the "assets" God gave to me and the physical limitations I'm still dealing with from November's fall, I will not literally be marathon running after Him...probably. (What, stop laughing. He could make me run, but only HE.)***
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sometimes I'm not very funny
If you know me, you know that I love to laugh! Seriously...love. But lately I find that my heart is heavy and I'm not laughing as much. I am a person who cares about everything, but sometimes I care too much and things that wouldn't cause other people to so much as pause will keep me from sleep for weeks.
I am at such a place right now. I won't go into specifics because a) you never know who is reading a blog and b) I believe I can ask you to pray for me without mentioning specifics. God knows, trust me He knows.
So that you don't worry, there is no new health issue, no family issue, no child issue, nothing that need cause you worry. Just a "body of Christ" issue that I'm praying through and I'm asking you to pray with me.
Don't worry, I'll be back to funny before long. I hope. Thank you.
I am at such a place right now. I won't go into specifics because a) you never know who is reading a blog and b) I believe I can ask you to pray for me without mentioning specifics. God knows, trust me He knows.
So that you don't worry, there is no new health issue, no family issue, no child issue, nothing that need cause you worry. Just a "body of Christ" issue that I'm praying through and I'm asking you to pray with me.
Don't worry, I'll be back to funny before long. I hope. Thank you.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Flowering the cross
I'm going to start with a confession. I'm not an artist. Beauty often escapes me. I often don't get symbolism. If I see a black canvas, I don't think about the deep and meaningful things it might symbolize. I think somebody should slap some color on that baby! When I see a Jackson Pollock painting, I honestly think, "I could do that." When I was in High School, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Smithsonian Museums twice. When we came across the "Venus de Milo" ( a copy, I'm sure) I actually said, out loud, "I didn't do that!" I then proceeded around the National Museum of Art saying, "I don't get it." (However, I totally got the beauty of Fonzie's leather jacket and Dorothy's ruby red slippers.) True story, with witnesses. Did I mention, I often don't get art? In many churches, there are a lot of beautiful rituals and symbols. In the Baptist church, we don't utilize a lot of symbolism. I do understand much of the symbolism used in the Bible. I "get" the Bible. I don't "get" some of the things churches are teaching these days.
There is a custom among Catholic and many liturgical churches called "flowering the cross."
Children put flowers, usually fresh flowers, on a cross on Easter morning as way to symbolize the new life that emerges from the death on Good Friday. I have never heard of this until tonight. I'm willing to concede that this may be beautiful and packed with meaning and lessons. I'm putting this at the top, so you'll know that I understand that it is a real thing. I'd love to hear about how wonderful it is, feel free to leave your thoughts on it as comments. However, I don't get it. I'm probably about to offend a few folks.
Today I saw a sight that quite frankly offended me. It was a big cross covered in chicken wire and white silk flowers. I assume that even though it isn't Easter, it was supposed to symbolize something like what I mentioned above. I saw it as a symbol of what is wrong with Christianity. I'll explain.
I've been concerned about the state of the church and youth ministry lately. I spent a large portion of the last couple of years as a teacher of High School girls and general youth worker. I loved it. I tried to be a Titus 2 woman and as an older woman teach the younger women. I loved it. "My girls" will always be precious to me. Many of them are about to graduate, including my own sweet Ashley. They have almost without exception grown into mighty warrior women for Jesus. However, statistics say that most of them will graduate from high school and never darken the doorstep of a church again. Many will walk away from their childhood faith. According to Barna, “despite strong levels of spiritual activity during the teen years, most twentysomethings disengage from active participation in the Christian faith during their young adult years - and often beyond that. In total, six out of ten twentysomethings were involved in a church during their teen years, but have failed to translate that into active spirituality during their early adulthood.” This terrifies me! Somewhere, somehow, church, we are failing. When I say church, I don't mean the building, I'm talking about the people. You and me.
Parents have decided to let the schools and the church raise their kids with disastrous results. Not me, mind you. I am the Queen and I will not abdicate the throne! During my time with the youth, I could not believe how unplugged parents are. I shouldn't know more about your kids' life than you do. We are failing to teach our kids respect for life, respect for other people, respect for their elders, manners, modesty, and how to have some common courtesy. The most tragic thing we are failing to teach our kids is Jesus. We are not passing to them our faith.
Some churches have so watered down the gospel, I wonder if God recognizes it. We tell everyone what they want to hear. If you tithe to your church, you will be rich. If you love your fellow man, isn't that all God asks of us? The only sexual sin we talk about is homosexuality. If you tithe, love everybody and manage to avoid being attracted to the same sex, you're in! What a bunch of poppycock! We don't teach them God's Word. We don't help them understand the Word. We don't challenge them to learn the scripture...or even learn to find passages in the Bible. We don't teach them to live out and breathe in the very Word of The Holy God. We assume they aren't going to read scripture anyway. We teach people to be good parents, employees or dog owners. We teach them that a big church is a good church. We pretty up the Word so it doesn't offend anyone. How are we going to grow in number and be culturally relevant if we are offending people? In many youth ministries they play lots of cool games, have some relevant music and go on some fun trips. They teach the kids those things above and if they are very progressive they add, "don't have sex." Hmm. I wonder why they aren't buying it? Everybody knows you can't fool kids and old people.
When I saw that flowered up cross, I saw an image of today's church. Covered in chicken wire to hold and hide the scars, struggles and splinters. Decoupaged with flowers to show how beautiful your Christian life will be. Silk flowers to show that your faith will never fade or grow weak. Claim Jesus and it will be beautiful and easy and you will never hit an ugly spot in life. This is the lie we are selling and our kids are walking away from this product because they realize it is foolishness when they hit the first bump in the road. The ones that are buying it are no better off.
A more realistic showing of the cross would have big old railroad tie holes, blood, bits of flesh stuck in the wood, splinters and some sweat. Those big old holes symbolize where your Savior and mine was nailed to the cross. They represent the very real price paid for our sin. My sin required more that a staple. They remind me not to go there again. The blood was spilled to redeem me from hell. I don't belong to Satan, I'm a child of the King. The splinters are for the little struggles and setbacks in life that distract us from being fully sold out to Jesus. I can't possibly read my Bible daily and get my kids to soccer practice too. Splinter. The flesh torn from the back of our Savior I think represents our faith. Sometimes it might get torn apart until we feel there's nothing left. Stripping the flesh off our faith and leaving us laid raw is something we don't see coming until it is almost too late. The sweat represents us growing in Christ as we struggle to live out our faith. It is for sharing our faith with someone who doesn't want to hear. It is for pulling out that Bible and studying the Word. It is calling a godly friend or even pastor and laying your doubts on the table.
We need to stop teaching that "flowery cross" gospel. I understand the fact that Jesus is no longer on the cross and that He suffered all of that for me. I don't believe for a minute that He did it so we could be rich or happy or good. He did it to redeem his Bride from the very pit of hell. We need to be concerned that we are losing our young people. We need to be concerned about all of the big fat baby adult Christians. I am not slamming the church. I have a special love for the church, however, I'm not blind. I love youth Ministry and have had the privilege to grow up in a great one and to work with some godly youth ministers who grieve over these statistics. I know many who are doing what they can to help avoid the mass exodus of our kids from the church and subsequently their faith. Don't think I'm blaming only the church. I think parents need to do their Deuteronomy job. But I don't have any room in my life for a "flowery cross," I need to be reminded of the ugly, violent, struggle and the holy price paid for me.
For an intelligent discussion on the merits of children's and youth ministries, see http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/the-liturgical-gangstas-4-what-about-childrens-and-youth-ministries. Something to think about.
There is a custom among Catholic and many liturgical churches called "flowering the cross."
Children put flowers, usually fresh flowers, on a cross on Easter morning as way to symbolize the new life that emerges from the death on Good Friday. I have never heard of this until tonight. I'm willing to concede that this may be beautiful and packed with meaning and lessons. I'm putting this at the top, so you'll know that I understand that it is a real thing. I'd love to hear about how wonderful it is, feel free to leave your thoughts on it as comments. However, I don't get it. I'm probably about to offend a few folks.
Today I saw a sight that quite frankly offended me. It was a big cross covered in chicken wire and white silk flowers. I assume that even though it isn't Easter, it was supposed to symbolize something like what I mentioned above. I saw it as a symbol of what is wrong with Christianity. I'll explain.
I've been concerned about the state of the church and youth ministry lately. I spent a large portion of the last couple of years as a teacher of High School girls and general youth worker. I loved it. I tried to be a Titus 2 woman and as an older woman teach the younger women. I loved it. "My girls" will always be precious to me. Many of them are about to graduate, including my own sweet Ashley. They have almost without exception grown into mighty warrior women for Jesus. However, statistics say that most of them will graduate from high school and never darken the doorstep of a church again. Many will walk away from their childhood faith. According to Barna, “despite strong levels of spiritual activity during the teen years, most twentysomethings disengage from active participation in the Christian faith during their young adult years - and often beyond that. In total, six out of ten twentysomethings were involved in a church during their teen years, but have failed to translate that into active spirituality during their early adulthood.” This terrifies me! Somewhere, somehow, church, we are failing. When I say church, I don't mean the building, I'm talking about the people. You and me.
Parents have decided to let the schools and the church raise their kids with disastrous results. Not me, mind you. I am the Queen and I will not abdicate the throne! During my time with the youth, I could not believe how unplugged parents are. I shouldn't know more about your kids' life than you do. We are failing to teach our kids respect for life, respect for other people, respect for their elders, manners, modesty, and how to have some common courtesy. The most tragic thing we are failing to teach our kids is Jesus. We are not passing to them our faith.
Some churches have so watered down the gospel, I wonder if God recognizes it. We tell everyone what they want to hear. If you tithe to your church, you will be rich. If you love your fellow man, isn't that all God asks of us? The only sexual sin we talk about is homosexuality. If you tithe, love everybody and manage to avoid being attracted to the same sex, you're in! What a bunch of poppycock! We don't teach them God's Word. We don't help them understand the Word. We don't challenge them to learn the scripture...or even learn to find passages in the Bible. We don't teach them to live out and breathe in the very Word of The Holy God. We assume they aren't going to read scripture anyway. We teach people to be good parents, employees or dog owners. We teach them that a big church is a good church. We pretty up the Word so it doesn't offend anyone. How are we going to grow in number and be culturally relevant if we are offending people? In many youth ministries they play lots of cool games, have some relevant music and go on some fun trips. They teach the kids those things above and if they are very progressive they add, "don't have sex." Hmm. I wonder why they aren't buying it? Everybody knows you can't fool kids and old people.
When I saw that flowered up cross, I saw an image of today's church. Covered in chicken wire to hold and hide the scars, struggles and splinters. Decoupaged with flowers to show how beautiful your Christian life will be. Silk flowers to show that your faith will never fade or grow weak. Claim Jesus and it will be beautiful and easy and you will never hit an ugly spot in life. This is the lie we are selling and our kids are walking away from this product because they realize it is foolishness when they hit the first bump in the road. The ones that are buying it are no better off.
A more realistic showing of the cross would have big old railroad tie holes, blood, bits of flesh stuck in the wood, splinters and some sweat. Those big old holes symbolize where your Savior and mine was nailed to the cross. They represent the very real price paid for our sin. My sin required more that a staple. They remind me not to go there again. The blood was spilled to redeem me from hell. I don't belong to Satan, I'm a child of the King. The splinters are for the little struggles and setbacks in life that distract us from being fully sold out to Jesus. I can't possibly read my Bible daily and get my kids to soccer practice too. Splinter. The flesh torn from the back of our Savior I think represents our faith. Sometimes it might get torn apart until we feel there's nothing left. Stripping the flesh off our faith and leaving us laid raw is something we don't see coming until it is almost too late. The sweat represents us growing in Christ as we struggle to live out our faith. It is for sharing our faith with someone who doesn't want to hear. It is for pulling out that Bible and studying the Word. It is calling a godly friend or even pastor and laying your doubts on the table.
We need to stop teaching that "flowery cross" gospel. I understand the fact that Jesus is no longer on the cross and that He suffered all of that for me. I don't believe for a minute that He did it so we could be rich or happy or good. He did it to redeem his Bride from the very pit of hell. We need to be concerned that we are losing our young people. We need to be concerned about all of the big fat baby adult Christians. I am not slamming the church. I have a special love for the church, however, I'm not blind. I love youth Ministry and have had the privilege to grow up in a great one and to work with some godly youth ministers who grieve over these statistics. I know many who are doing what they can to help avoid the mass exodus of our kids from the church and subsequently their faith. Don't think I'm blaming only the church. I think parents need to do their Deuteronomy job. But I don't have any room in my life for a "flowery cross," I need to be reminded of the ugly, violent, struggle and the holy price paid for me.
For an intelligent discussion on the merits of children's and youth ministries, see http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/the-liturgical-gangstas-4-what-about-childrens-and-youth-ministries. Something to think about.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Prayer request
It's late. I'm up. That is not unusual, I'm a night person. I can't sleep. Again, not unusual. However, tonight my heart is heavy. I am asking you to pray for my friend, WC Phillips, his wife Sybil, my friend Audrey and the rest of their family. I know this blog doesn't reach a lot of people, but the ones who read are Prayer Warriors and so I'm asking you to pray. I'll explain in a minute. This feeds onto my Facebook page. If I've tagged you, it's because you are a friend of Aud.
I've been accused of being "too heavenly minded to be any earthly good." There is a reason, a good one. I can't wait to get to heaven. If you hear tomorrow that I was run over by a bus. Don't cry for me. By the time you hear about it, I truly believe I will be with The Father, possibly nagging Him with all of the questions I've stored up...but probably not. I'll probably just be worshipping.
My girlfriends will have come over immediately to clean my house and make it look like we never lived here. My friend Laura will be stationed at the bottom of my stairs to throw her body in front of anyone who even looks like they are headed upstairs into the "kid's zone." Several people will bring over the mandatory "funeral casserole." Several of them have a few frozen in case it is needed for such an occasion.(Feel free to feed my people. They like their food. They aren't trying to starve, no matter if I'm in heaven or not.) Someone will be at the funeral home overseeing my hair and make-up. (Just because I'm not breathing doesn't mean I can't be cute.) Some one will call the preacher and tell him that my funeral is already written and notes for it are on the very front page of my Bible. (True. That's how much of a control freak I am.) Someone will have the responsibility of telling everyone not to dare show up in black to my funeral or you will be turned away at the door...unless you are wearing black for health reasons like it is the only thing that fits or you need to wear black for its slimming properties. We know how to support each other, we have unwritten rules in place. We are Southern Bells who are properly trained. We are like the military. We get the call and we are on "active duty." We know how to care for a family in times of mourning. We know how to comfort anyone who shows up at the funeral home, and we know how to do it without messing up our "do" or make-up. We do it with a cute little accent and a "bless your heart." We have walked this road together many times with each other and we are a well oiled machine. They will mourn later.
Mr. Phillips is one of those wonderful godly people who invested in me, loved me, and influenced me. His wife, Sybil is one of the godliest women I have know and that's saying something. She did all of the above thing plus a few more. She fed me more times than I can remember, she's loved my kids like they were her own grand kids...even babysitting Ashley when she was little. They introduced her to Carmen (CCM singer.) I lived my Jr. High and High school years as much in their house as mine. I am still welcome in their home any time. I don't have to call, I get to be on "drop by" status. In fairness, everyone is on "drop by" status. They love visitors. He was a bi-vocational minister. He was a shepherd as well as a preacher. They consider me family and I consider them surrogate parents.
They are the parents of one of my oldest and dearest friends Audrey. She is beyond description. She is all the things I want to be wrapped up in a beautiful package. She isn't perfect and that is my favorite thing about her. She is the polar opposite of me, but she loves Jesus with all her heart. We share that passion. When I need a "sanity break," I head to her house in Austin. She is a great listener, which is a gift for a talker like me. She was, I believe, a "whoops" baby. She has brothers and a sister close to my parents age. She is also a good daughter. He heart is in missions, but she's in Texas to help care for her ailing parents. Most of you know her, so I don't need to say much more about her. She is my sister who is not related.
Mr. Phillips' health has been on the decline lately. Recently it has accelerated and he has had to be in the nursing home. This has been difficult, but especially heartbreaking for his wife. She has been his caretaker for years and was fully prepared to do it forever. Last night, they received news that his doctors wanted to gather the families to talk about hospice care. This is a tough pill to swallow. So, Audrey has headed to Livingston to be with her family, comfort her Mom and help make difficult decisions. Mr. Phillips has been taken off of his medicine except meds to control pain. He won't be here with us on Earth much longer.
So I ask you to pray for him and his family. He is a man who will see Jesus soon, maybe by the time you read this. Please pray for wisdom for his family. They have hard days ahead. Please pray for Mrs. Phillips as she contemplates life without her love. Pray for their children, including Audrey as they mourn and also support their mother. They don't mourn as one without hope. They know where he will be.
There will soon be a "welcome home" party in heaven and it will be a grand one befitting the status of the saint who will be joining them. He will hear, "well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter your rest." He has loved his Jesus for a very long time. His Jesus has always taken care of him. I have to admit I am not sad for him. I'm excited for him, but I will miss him. In the meantime, please pray for his loved ones.
I end with my favorite quote. It is from Spurgeon's "Morning and Evening."
"The Lord’s people shall also enjoy light in the hour of death. Unbelief laments; the shadows fall, the night is coming, existence is ending. Ah no, crieth faith, the night is far spent, the true day is at hand. Light is come, the light of immortality, the light of a Father’s countenance. Gather up thy feet in the bed, see the waiting bands of spirits! Angels waft thee away. Farewell, beloved one, thou art gone, thou wavest thine hand. Ah, now it is light. The pearly gates are open, the golden streets shine in the jasper light. We cover our eyes, but thou beholdest the unseen; adieu, brother, thou hast light at even-tide, such as we have not yet."
I've been accused of being "too heavenly minded to be any earthly good." There is a reason, a good one. I can't wait to get to heaven. If you hear tomorrow that I was run over by a bus. Don't cry for me. By the time you hear about it, I truly believe I will be with The Father, possibly nagging Him with all of the questions I've stored up...but probably not. I'll probably just be worshipping.
My girlfriends will have come over immediately to clean my house and make it look like we never lived here. My friend Laura will be stationed at the bottom of my stairs to throw her body in front of anyone who even looks like they are headed upstairs into the "kid's zone." Several people will bring over the mandatory "funeral casserole." Several of them have a few frozen in case it is needed for such an occasion.(Feel free to feed my people. They like their food. They aren't trying to starve, no matter if I'm in heaven or not.) Someone will be at the funeral home overseeing my hair and make-up. (Just because I'm not breathing doesn't mean I can't be cute.) Some one will call the preacher and tell him that my funeral is already written and notes for it are on the very front page of my Bible. (True. That's how much of a control freak I am.) Someone will have the responsibility of telling everyone not to dare show up in black to my funeral or you will be turned away at the door...unless you are wearing black for health reasons like it is the only thing that fits or you need to wear black for its slimming properties. We know how to support each other, we have unwritten rules in place. We are Southern Bells who are properly trained. We are like the military. We get the call and we are on "active duty." We know how to care for a family in times of mourning. We know how to comfort anyone who shows up at the funeral home, and we know how to do it without messing up our "do" or make-up. We do it with a cute little accent and a "bless your heart." We have walked this road together many times with each other and we are a well oiled machine. They will mourn later.
Mr. Phillips is one of those wonderful godly people who invested in me, loved me, and influenced me. His wife, Sybil is one of the godliest women I have know and that's saying something. She did all of the above thing plus a few more. She fed me more times than I can remember, she's loved my kids like they were her own grand kids...even babysitting Ashley when she was little. They introduced her to Carmen (CCM singer.) I lived my Jr. High and High school years as much in their house as mine. I am still welcome in their home any time. I don't have to call, I get to be on "drop by" status. In fairness, everyone is on "drop by" status. They love visitors. He was a bi-vocational minister. He was a shepherd as well as a preacher. They consider me family and I consider them surrogate parents.
They are the parents of one of my oldest and dearest friends Audrey. She is beyond description. She is all the things I want to be wrapped up in a beautiful package. She isn't perfect and that is my favorite thing about her. She is the polar opposite of me, but she loves Jesus with all her heart. We share that passion. When I need a "sanity break," I head to her house in Austin. She is a great listener, which is a gift for a talker like me. She was, I believe, a "whoops" baby. She has brothers and a sister close to my parents age. She is also a good daughter. He heart is in missions, but she's in Texas to help care for her ailing parents. Most of you know her, so I don't need to say much more about her. She is my sister who is not related.
Mr. Phillips' health has been on the decline lately. Recently it has accelerated and he has had to be in the nursing home. This has been difficult, but especially heartbreaking for his wife. She has been his caretaker for years and was fully prepared to do it forever. Last night, they received news that his doctors wanted to gather the families to talk about hospice care. This is a tough pill to swallow. So, Audrey has headed to Livingston to be with her family, comfort her Mom and help make difficult decisions. Mr. Phillips has been taken off of his medicine except meds to control pain. He won't be here with us on Earth much longer.
So I ask you to pray for him and his family. He is a man who will see Jesus soon, maybe by the time you read this. Please pray for wisdom for his family. They have hard days ahead. Please pray for Mrs. Phillips as she contemplates life without her love. Pray for their children, including Audrey as they mourn and also support their mother. They don't mourn as one without hope. They know where he will be.
There will soon be a "welcome home" party in heaven and it will be a grand one befitting the status of the saint who will be joining them. He will hear, "well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter your rest." He has loved his Jesus for a very long time. His Jesus has always taken care of him. I have to admit I am not sad for him. I'm excited for him, but I will miss him. In the meantime, please pray for his loved ones.
I end with my favorite quote. It is from Spurgeon's "Morning and Evening."
"The Lord’s people shall also enjoy light in the hour of death. Unbelief laments; the shadows fall, the night is coming, existence is ending. Ah no, crieth faith, the night is far spent, the true day is at hand. Light is come, the light of immortality, the light of a Father’s countenance. Gather up thy feet in the bed, see the waiting bands of spirits! Angels waft thee away. Farewell, beloved one, thou art gone, thou wavest thine hand. Ah, now it is light. The pearly gates are open, the golden streets shine in the jasper light. We cover our eyes, but thou beholdest the unseen; adieu, brother, thou hast light at even-tide, such as we have not yet."
Monday, January 5, 2009
I fell down and saved the lives of a couple of "crackheads"
If you know me, you know I have a hard time staying upright. If I could get paid for falling down, I could pay for Ashley's college. (More about that in another blog.) Sadly, I'm not very good at it so I am often injured. The last time I met the ground caused a convergence of events I could never have imagined. I'm sure there's a moral to the story besides, "sleep late," but so far that's what I'm going with. This is a wide sweeping saga. Please to enjoy and don't feel guilty for laughing at my misfortune. I'm doing it myself.
Background information:
1)For the last several months, my Mom has been going through some scary medical problems. Her doctor retired or moved or something and she had to break in a new doctor. Apparently her old doctor had been overlooking "enlarged spleen and lymph nodes" and "elevated liver enzymes" for a year or so now. Her new doctor sent her to a specialist immediately. My mother is not a good patient. She has "white coat syndrome." This means that if you are a doctor, she will not be able to speak to you... at all. So I have been going back and forth to appointments and biopsies, etc. for several months. I was with her when he diagnosed her with NON-ALCOHOLIC cirrhosis. (She requires that I make sure you understand it is non-alcoholic. She's never had a drop of alcohol in her life. This would be irony. Her brother died from alcoholic cirrhosis) So, the Wednesday night after election day, I was scheduled to go down and take her to a new specialist for treatment options.
2)Last year Celia and Mom gave me a totally cute Coach purse and wallet for my birthday. I then acquired *ebay* a new Coach umbrella. I was styling! I must confess I loved that purse.
3) My Papa spends his leisure (all) time at the Nutrition Center in his town playing 42. Somewhere along the way some genius had the idea to have criminals (that's the judicial system calling them criminals. I'm just repeating it) work off their probation and parole there. Of course criminals prey on old people and my Papa is old, 91 to be exact. Yup, he's still a spark plug. There have been rumors of a mother/daughter , ummm...crack addicted, from now on to be called "crackhead" team that have been "staying" with my Papa to "keep him company." I'm not sure what this means and I don't want to know. They have been spreading stories about him around town, but I wasn't too concerned. I hope to be scandalous if I live to be 91, maybe not this scandalous, but scandalous in a godly sort of way, none the less.
So on the morning of Obama's historic election as POTUS, I went out early to exercise my constitutional privilege and vote. "I fell down" doesn't quite capture the violence of what occurred next. In my slow motion memory, I hit a (thankfully) manicured toe on an uneven crack in the driveway, flew 50 feet into the air and landed with the force of 20 Sumo wrestlers on my left knee, caught myself with both wrists (mistake...should have only used one wrist) and bounced to my left elbow.
***Did I mention I was IN MY VERY DRIVEWAY where God and everyone could see. I asked God to just take me home right then and there. I mean, I was looking semi-cute, I was dressed (I'm not trying to die nekked...or naked,one of my rules) and I was sure to be found. Of course, He said, "NOPE." I guess it wasn't my time, and the ensuing events would provide too much "sweeps week comedy" for Heaven Cam. Yes, I am convinced I am a prime time sitcom on television or the equivalent in Heaven. I'm sure I am appointment TV like "The Cosby Show" was in the 80s, but I digress.***
Somehow I manged to drag myself to the car, drive myself with my arms, don't recommend it, and vote. I'm not sure how I did that, but I am one stubborn broad. I had Ash drive me to the doctor after school. I told them I had a 4 hour drive to make in 2 days and I needed them to fix me. "Pshh yeah," was the response. So I was diagnosed with sprains, strains and contusions. It sounds much cuter than it actually is. The doctor prescribed steroids to help with healing. Did I mention that I am allergic to almost all pain medicine? Bonus! I was a mess. I couldn't hold anything because I had nasty sprains in both wrists and my knee was flat, and causing my whole leg and foot to swell so I couldn't wear a shoe. Pain is too minor a word. A side effect of steroid treatment is that it shoots out your immune system, and I don't have a good one to start with.
So after calling Mom and letting her know I couldn't make her appointment, I had Ashley drive me to church on Wednesday evening. Why? I can't answer that. Stupid is all I can come up with. I was the most pitiful thing! I had one grossly swollen leg, two swollen wrists and couldn't even hold my phone. I sat in church with my leg propped up on a chair. Of course, I was also coming down with a nasty atomic "bug" and had most of my voice. When we got home I couldn't pick up my purse to get it out of the car and forgot to ask one of the kids to get it out. I also forgot to say "lock the door." Mistake.
That night a large, well organized purse theft ring hit North Texas and they hit the mother lode when they got to my car. My purse as well as Ashley's. They immediately went to Wal-Mart and laundered my money into almost $600 worth of Am Ex gift cards and phone cards. They took my life! You never know what all is in your purse until it is stolen. It is a major pain in the derriere. You have to call and cancel everything. This is a pain on a good day, but I couldn't hold a phone, was super-sick and had no voice. Several credit card companies thought I was a dirty caller. (Props here to Chase who refunded our money immediately and then investigated.) The last few months have been a pain dealing with the fallout from the purse theft and I can't even bear the thought of dating a new purse, much less falling in love. Fortunately, I have a totally cute second and third string purse "bench" so I'll be OK. Getting a new driver's license was also a trick because I couldn't stand in line. My knee kept getting worse and worse.
So, after Mom's appointment that I missed, I called her to see what her treatment would be. She said they were just going to watch her. WHAT? Are you kidding me? You don't watch cirrhosis. This is what happens when I'm not there to "advocate" on her behalf. Then she tells me that she is glad I'm not there because she is worried I might over-react to her next news and do something "stupid." It seems these "ladies, um, crackheads" that had befriended my Papa had moved into his house, stolen (pawned) almost all of his things and he had signed a bunch of blank checks allowing them to steal all of his money. When he ran out of money, they threatened him with harm. He was now at my uncle's house, terrified and the "crackheads" were IN MY PAPA"S HOUSE! She was right. I would have gone to jail that day had I been there. I would have called the jail and told them I would be checking in. I would even tell them what time to expect me. I just needed to give the 'crackheads" a few minutes to meet Jesus and get right with him before I sent them to Him and then I would check in. Does this seem an over-reaction? I don't think so. So instead, in a classic moment, I put the whole thing on the prayer list at church. Maybe those "crackheads" will get Jesus and try to make restitution. It cracks me up to think about my Pastor praying for "Donna's Papa's Crackheads."
Needless to say, it has been stressful around here. It has now been 2 months. My knee is healing on track, but I still can't wear a shoe. It still swells up every day. My wrists are still painful, but getting better every day and I am still dealing with respiratory issues from the nasty "bug" I caught. (I had an asthma attack during the church Christmas Program and I was on stage singing. Classic Donna.) It will still be a while before I am all the way healed, but there is good news. My Uncle Don was able to get financial power-of-attorney for my Papa and he was also able to convince my Papa that the "crackheads" were not his friends. They are now both in jail, for the time being at least. They won't have to stay long. I bet they have no idea how close they came to meeting Jesus. See, the moral of the story really is "sleep late." If I would have slept in, none of this would have happened...or maybe it would have happened later. Who knows?
Background information:
1)For the last several months, my Mom has been going through some scary medical problems. Her doctor retired or moved or something and she had to break in a new doctor. Apparently her old doctor had been overlooking "enlarged spleen and lymph nodes" and "elevated liver enzymes" for a year or so now. Her new doctor sent her to a specialist immediately. My mother is not a good patient. She has "white coat syndrome." This means that if you are a doctor, she will not be able to speak to you... at all. So I have been going back and forth to appointments and biopsies, etc. for several months. I was with her when he diagnosed her with NON-ALCOHOLIC cirrhosis. (She requires that I make sure you understand it is non-alcoholic. She's never had a drop of alcohol in her life. This would be irony. Her brother died from alcoholic cirrhosis) So, the Wednesday night after election day, I was scheduled to go down and take her to a new specialist for treatment options.
2)Last year Celia and Mom gave me a totally cute Coach purse and wallet for my birthday. I then acquired *ebay* a new Coach umbrella. I was styling! I must confess I loved that purse.
3) My Papa spends his leisure (all) time at the Nutrition Center in his town playing 42. Somewhere along the way some genius had the idea to have criminals (that's the judicial system calling them criminals. I'm just repeating it) work off their probation and parole there. Of course criminals prey on old people and my Papa is old, 91 to be exact. Yup, he's still a spark plug. There have been rumors of a mother/daughter , ummm...crack addicted, from now on to be called "crackhead" team that have been "staying" with my Papa to "keep him company." I'm not sure what this means and I don't want to know. They have been spreading stories about him around town, but I wasn't too concerned. I hope to be scandalous if I live to be 91, maybe not this scandalous, but scandalous in a godly sort of way, none the less.
So on the morning of Obama's historic election as POTUS, I went out early to exercise my constitutional privilege and vote. "I fell down" doesn't quite capture the violence of what occurred next. In my slow motion memory, I hit a (thankfully) manicured toe on an uneven crack in the driveway, flew 50 feet into the air and landed with the force of 20 Sumo wrestlers on my left knee, caught myself with both wrists (mistake...should have only used one wrist) and bounced to my left elbow.
***Did I mention I was IN MY VERY DRIVEWAY where God and everyone could see. I asked God to just take me home right then and there. I mean, I was looking semi-cute, I was dressed (I'm not trying to die nekked...or naked,one of my rules) and I was sure to be found. Of course, He said, "NOPE." I guess it wasn't my time, and the ensuing events would provide too much "sweeps week comedy" for Heaven Cam. Yes, I am convinced I am a prime time sitcom on television or the equivalent in Heaven. I'm sure I am appointment TV like "The Cosby Show" was in the 80s, but I digress.***
Somehow I manged to drag myself to the car, drive myself with my arms, don't recommend it, and vote. I'm not sure how I did that, but I am one stubborn broad. I had Ash drive me to the doctor after school. I told them I had a 4 hour drive to make in 2 days and I needed them to fix me. "Pshh yeah," was the response. So I was diagnosed with sprains, strains and contusions. It sounds much cuter than it actually is. The doctor prescribed steroids to help with healing. Did I mention that I am allergic to almost all pain medicine? Bonus! I was a mess. I couldn't hold anything because I had nasty sprains in both wrists and my knee was flat, and causing my whole leg and foot to swell so I couldn't wear a shoe. Pain is too minor a word. A side effect of steroid treatment is that it shoots out your immune system, and I don't have a good one to start with.
So after calling Mom and letting her know I couldn't make her appointment, I had Ashley drive me to church on Wednesday evening. Why? I can't answer that. Stupid is all I can come up with. I was the most pitiful thing! I had one grossly swollen leg, two swollen wrists and couldn't even hold my phone. I sat in church with my leg propped up on a chair. Of course, I was also coming down with a nasty atomic "bug" and had most of my voice. When we got home I couldn't pick up my purse to get it out of the car and forgot to ask one of the kids to get it out. I also forgot to say "lock the door." Mistake.
That night a large, well organized purse theft ring hit North Texas and they hit the mother lode when they got to my car. My purse as well as Ashley's. They immediately went to Wal-Mart and laundered my money into almost $600 worth of Am Ex gift cards and phone cards. They took my life! You never know what all is in your purse until it is stolen. It is a major pain in the derriere. You have to call and cancel everything. This is a pain on a good day, but I couldn't hold a phone, was super-sick and had no voice. Several credit card companies thought I was a dirty caller. (Props here to Chase who refunded our money immediately and then investigated.) The last few months have been a pain dealing with the fallout from the purse theft and I can't even bear the thought of dating a new purse, much less falling in love. Fortunately, I have a totally cute second and third string purse "bench" so I'll be OK. Getting a new driver's license was also a trick because I couldn't stand in line. My knee kept getting worse and worse.
So, after Mom's appointment that I missed, I called her to see what her treatment would be. She said they were just going to watch her. WHAT? Are you kidding me? You don't watch cirrhosis. This is what happens when I'm not there to "advocate" on her behalf. Then she tells me that she is glad I'm not there because she is worried I might over-react to her next news and do something "stupid." It seems these "ladies, um, crackheads" that had befriended my Papa had moved into his house, stolen (pawned) almost all of his things and he had signed a bunch of blank checks allowing them to steal all of his money. When he ran out of money, they threatened him with harm. He was now at my uncle's house, terrified and the "crackheads" were IN MY PAPA"S HOUSE! She was right. I would have gone to jail that day had I been there. I would have called the jail and told them I would be checking in. I would even tell them what time to expect me. I just needed to give the 'crackheads" a few minutes to meet Jesus and get right with him before I sent them to Him and then I would check in. Does this seem an over-reaction? I don't think so. So instead, in a classic moment, I put the whole thing on the prayer list at church. Maybe those "crackheads" will get Jesus and try to make restitution. It cracks me up to think about my Pastor praying for "Donna's Papa's Crackheads."
Needless to say, it has been stressful around here. It has now been 2 months. My knee is healing on track, but I still can't wear a shoe. It still swells up every day. My wrists are still painful, but getting better every day and I am still dealing with respiratory issues from the nasty "bug" I caught. (I had an asthma attack during the church Christmas Program and I was on stage singing. Classic Donna.) It will still be a while before I am all the way healed, but there is good news. My Uncle Don was able to get financial power-of-attorney for my Papa and he was also able to convince my Papa that the "crackheads" were not his friends. They are now both in jail, for the time being at least. They won't have to stay long. I bet they have no idea how close they came to meeting Jesus. See, the moral of the story really is "sleep late." If I would have slept in, none of this would have happened...or maybe it would have happened later. Who knows?
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