A New Look for Easter

My blog has a new look in anticipation of Easter. I'll post a new recipe in the next day or two. In the meanwhile, happy reading and Happy Easter.
He has risen indeed!

The Business of Church

Isn’t it sad when the business world is a safer place than the church world?

[DISCLAIMER: The contents of this post have been edited, I hope in a manner that will still allow it to be meaningful to readers. If you find yourself at a loss to understand the context, either ignore it or email and ask me for more information…]

Sometimes it feels right to be very, very angry when it seems you’ve been placed by God right in the path of destruction – especially destruction created by a person who has set himself up as someone to be trusted, or as a spiritual leader. It can be just as bad to have to stand by and watch people you love suffer – seemingly for no reason at all! And all people can say is "let go and let God" and all of that trite baloney?!? Or how about this whopper: "wish we could do something to help... but we don't know what to do that would not harm the good work and the reputation of our church or our pastor." Or the simple: "we are praying for you and wish you the best of everything in this life" unaccompanied by any genuine assistance.

I’m reminded of scripture: "Oh you foolish Galatians! Who has deceived you?!" "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10 "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" Galatians 6:2. It is amazing how God's word is ignored by "His people!"

God’s true people are being persecuted by the church, and what for? For their honesty. Where are the church staff members, the church deacons, elders, members who will stand up for truth? They have been told not to seek the truth; they’ve been hushed by “you don’t want to know.” And maybe it’s become true – they don’t want to know. Their comfort has become more important than sacrifice. They have shown where their allegiance truly lies.

I blogged awhile back about triumphal Christianity. We are told to accept that "it's not about you," and then (if we accept that it isn't about us), God will reward us with all the lovely things this world has to offer. Wouldn’t that just make it all about us? Our acceptance that “it's not about us” is considered our sacrifice?! WOW!

What kind of Christianity is this? "We don't want to know [the truth];" gosh I just keep thinking, "oh you foolish Galatians! Who has deceived you???" God's mission for his church will not/cannot go on unhindered without the Truth.

More on this to follow...

More Observations from Dallas Willard

{Material from a long-ago chat with mom re: Dallas Willard's Hearing God}

Willard says (in Hearing God) that scripture can be divided one way into incidentals and principals. Take the parable of the rich young ruler, for example. Is this incidental or principal? Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all he had and follow Him. Was Jesus’ statement intended for the entirety of the human race to use as a dictate? Should we all go and sell all that we have and follow Him? This, Willard says (and I agree) is an incidental story. The rich young ruler was told to sell all by Jesus, because Jesus saw that this specific man needed to deal with this specific area of his life. That doesn't mean that all people are supposed to sell all they have, but it may mean that there are other rich young rulers out there who will be convicted to sell all and follow Him. It’s not a principal, it’s an incident; an instructive anecdote, not an anecdotal instruction.

But plenty of Christ’s words are principals. "Love the Lord your God with all your mind, soul and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. Do unto others…" There is a fairly big difference between the commands of Christ (the principals) and the incidental stories in scripture. Both are intended to instruct us in how to live, but only some are meant to be taken as true dictums that are one-size-fits all of Christendom.

It seems that a lot of what you read in popular (instructive) Christian writings are incidentals being written as principals. In the human quest to figure out the “perfect (easy) method to find the perfect walk with God" some “theologian” finds an obscure verse that can “de-code” the rest of scripture and allow you to prosper in the Christian walk like never before. The Prayer of Jabez. An incident, not a principal. That prayer was meant for Jabez to pray. Should others pray similarly? Some people, some of the time. But when Jesus tells us, “this is how you should pray…” it is a principal, meant to apply to all people all the time.

What happens through this “Christian” writing is that people entirely MISS the principals because they are wrapped up in the incidentals. As responsible, intellectual Christians, we debate whether or not to attack these “Christian” works, because there is no doubt that they have some merit; they espouse some truth. The problem becomes that people MISS the big truths because they are focusing on these lesser things. People would rather read The Purpose Driven Life for thirty days, than read the bible every day for the rest of their life on earth. It’s easier. So they miss God, but gain religion...

Comments welcome.

Just Dreaming... The If/When Game

Here are the names we're set on for if/when we finally get pregnant. Since we're using fertility methods (thereby increasing odds of twins) we've chosen two boy and two girl names. An interesting note, we've decided the signature family thing for our kids will be that everyone goes by their middle name, like their dad does.
So here they are:
William Everett Peel - boy name 1 "Everett"
Linwood James Peel - boy name 2 "James"
Charlotte Edith Peel - girl name 1 "Edie"
Martha Kathleen Peel - girl name 2 "Katy"
All family names, and fairly old fashioned. We've had Everett and Edie set for so long, and their definitely the favorites. I would love to have boy/girl twins just to use those two names together. Too cute, you know?
William was Geoff's mother's father, Everett was my mother's father. Linwood was Geoff's father's father, James was my mother's mother's second husband and her brother (my great-uncle). Charlotte is Geoff's mother's best friend and like an aunt to Geoff, Edith comes from my name and Edith Schaeffer. Martha was Geoff's mother's aunt (a missionary all her life to South America and a remarkable woman I met a few years ago at her 100th birthday celebration) and my Aunt's name, and Kathleen is Geoff's sister's middle name and also a derivative of the many Katie's/Kathy's etc in my mother's family. I love names with meaning.

Subject Matter

So I've seriously been trying to come up with something to blog about, and I keep coming up short. I've found it fascinating that all my life I've been called a writer and told I have talent in that arena, but I get online and discover that I'm nothing of the sort - at least not in this medium of the blog. Cricker's blog is full of such funny anecdotal clips and great quotable material that I never tire of reading and re-reading her posts. And my sister has turned out to be such an enjoyable writer. I love to read Shelby's blog, I get inspiration from Summer and Aunt Kathy.
But on my blog, I feel like a real dud.
Sure, every now and again I get some topic about which I'm passionate and I write something that I think is decent. Maybe this blog thing is a bit like the digital camera. You can take as many snapshots as you want because the storage space is limitless, but only some of them will be good. And I've worked all my life to be less verbose, so that I'm disinclined to write just for the sake of writing, and wait instead to say something that needs to be said, and try to say it with a certain amount of style.
I guess this is just not a natural medium for me. Everyone else seems to journal with ease, showing themselves as transparently on the web as they do in real life. Am I still playing games? Am I still trying to always put my best foot forward, and always be the best, the most polished at everything? Is this post just more of the same? Who am I even writing this for, and WHY?
I think too much...

Auld Lang Syne

Or however you spell that. :)
Just feeling grateful today for old friends. I have recently gotten back in touch with some old friends. I was talking with my mom the other day about how hard it is to have friends and make friends as a late 20s, nearly 30s person. I felt that part of the reason for this is because we are spending our time building our homes, and we allow very little time for anything aside from family obligations. Not to mention childbirth and rearing and the alienation that brings. So during a time of isolation, it's nice to reach out and be reminded of childhood memories shared with childhood friends.
I'm feeling young at heart today and enjoying remembering auld lang syne...