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Spring Break the Hunger....A Child's Spark
Last time, I asked for your help in raising money for my church’s current initiative: buy 300 Food Packets to send home with kids over spring break. Essentially, the food pack is enough stuff for the kids to make themselves a peanut butter and jelly sandwich everyday. So we’re sitting in church last Sunday, listening to the man explain the initiative and my son (whose 9) leans over to me and says “Mom, that’s all they get? They should Read moreAs a special promotion, Kindle is offering my ebook, 10 Reasons Christians Should Care About What They Eat
Don’t have a Kindle? No worries! You can read the book directly from your computer. And if you like what you read, please take a moment to write a review ont he Amazon site.
Thank you for your support!
I recently ran across an article on the Positively Positive blog by Jennifer Pastiloff entitled “Are You Sooo Busy?”
Pastiloff identifies a list of things that people say that no one else wants to hear. Her list includes:
It’s an entertaining article that I’ll let you read it for yourself.
Constant repetition of these tired mantras give them a power they don’t deserve. This article reminded me of a book I read several years ago called Hung by the Tongue: What You Say Is What You Get
As Martin’s book shares MANY verses in the bible that address the importance of controlling your tongue. The thing I find neat is that even the wimpiest of wimps can have a huge impact on the people around them just by their ability to hold their tongue. Sometimes it’s not what you say, but what you don’t say. Sometimes your silence, willingness to be an ear, or ability to refrain from judgement is all of the “witnessing” that’s required.
Next time, we’ll take a look at what the bible says about controlling your tongue.
Lately I haven’t had many original “insights” to share. I feel like I’m going through a period of more listening and less talking…interesting concept. I guess that is the reason we have 2 eyes, 2 ears, and only 1 mouth; we are supposed to take in more information than we put out.
Here is another interesting article I came across in a facebook post last week. Here Comes Nobody by Maureen Dowd (New York Times Op -Ed column).
I’m not Catholic so I don’t have a lot of commentary to provide about the article. There were, however, 2 quotes that I identified with…..
If the church were my religion, I would have given it up a long time ago…..All the mad and crazy popes we’ve had through history, decapitating the husbands of women they’d taken. All the terrible things the church has done. Christ is my religion, the church is not.
If they make the mistake of saying that a politician has to put the church before the Constitution on abortion or other issues, there will be no senators or presidents or any other Catholics in government.
I finally did it! I wrote a book. Well it’s a short eBook…but it’s mine and it’s published and it’s for sell at the Kindle Store (and I am SOOOO excited, can’t you tell). You don’t need a Kindle to purchase and read the book 10 Reasons Christians Should Care About What They Eat
So, given that I wrote the book, I’m not going to do an actual review (although, I must say it’s pretty awesome!!) It is only because of your support and encouragement that I was able to step out of my comfort zone and try out a book, so I’ll leave you guys with a little preview.
Set Apart
Christians have been given a simple task: “Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering…Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking” (Romans 12: 1 -2, The Message).
The message is clear; Christians have a responsibility to make conscious choices in everything we do. We are supposed to be set apart. People should look at us and realize that there is something different about how we walk, talk, and handle ourselves in everyday situations.
It should not be a difficult task. In a world that is filled with so much selfishness, suffering, evil, and injustice, one should easily be able to find a way to stand apart. We can be generous with our time and money. We can help people in need. We can spend time with troubled children and teens. We can live lives full of integrity in order to be a model for others. We can serve as missionaries in other countries. We can financially support the work of missionaries. The list goes on.
An extremely simple way we can impact the world is by being more conscious and thoughtful with how we spend our money. One place where we all spend money every week – if not every day – is on food.
10 Reasons Christians Should Care About What They Eat
1. Overeating is sin.
2. Your body is a temple.
3. When Your Body is at its Best, You are at Your Best.
4. Get the plank out of your eye.
5. Keep your body clean .
6. Earth was given to humans…to take care of it!
7. Take care of God’s creatures.
8. Be a good neighbor.
9. Feed the hungry.
10. Impact the working conditions of others.
10 Actions to Start Today
1. Go meatless once a week (or twice, or 3 times).
2. Eat more fruits and vegetables
3. Cook more often
4. Avoid prepackaged foods
5. Avoid fast food
6. Shop at local farmers markets
7. Eat less sugar
8. Practice portion control
9. Plan your next social event around activities besides eating
10. Make it a point to support companies that have earth-friendly practices
I ran across an article the other day that sparked my interest. The article was “Christianity in Crisis” by Andrew Sullivan. It is a rather lengthy read, but well worth it. Below are few excerpts you may enjoy.
“Jesus’ doctrines were the practical commandments, the truly radical ideas that immediately leap out in the simple stories he told and which he exemplified in everything he did. Not simply love one another, but love your enemy and forgive those who harm you; give up all material wealth; love the ineffable Being behind all things, and know that this Being is actually your truest Father, in whose image you were made. Above all: give up power over others, because power, if it is to be effective, ultimately requires the threat of violence, and violence is incompatible with the total acceptance and love of all other human beings that is at the sacred heart of Jesus’ teaching. That’s why, in his final apolitical act, Jesus never defended his innocence at trial, never resisted his crucifixion, and even turned to those nailing his hands to the wood on the cross and forgave them, and loved them.”
“Evangelical Protestantism has stepped into the vacuum, but it has serious defects of its own….many suburban evangelicals embrace a gospel of prosperity, which teaches that living a Christian life will make you successful and rich. Others defend a rigid biblical literalism, adamantly wishing away a century and a half of scholarship that has clearly shown that the canonized Gospels were written decades after Jesus’ ministry, and are copies of copies of stories told by those with fallible memory. Still others insist that the earth is merely 6,000 years old—something we now know by the light of reason and science is simply untrue. And what group of Americans have pollsters found to be most supportive of torturing terror suspects? Evangelical Christians. Something has gone very wrong. These are impulses born of panic in the face of modernity, and fear before an amorphous “other.” This version of Christianity could not contrast more strongly with Jesus’ constant refrain: “Be not afraid.” It would make Jefferson shudder.”
“Jesus never spoke of homosexuality or abortion, and his only remarks on marriage were a condemnation of divorce (now commonplace among American Christians) and forgiveness for adultery.”
“He [Thomas Jefferson] believed that stripped of the doctrines of the Incarnation, Resurrection, and the various miracles, the message of Jesus was the deepest miracle. And that it was radically simple. It was explained in stories, parables, and metaphors—not theological doctrines of immense complexity. It was proven by his willingness to submit himself to an unjustified execution. The cross itself was not the point; nor was the intense physical suffering he endured. The point was how he conducted himself through it all—calm, loving, accepting, radically surrendering”
Last time, I shared with you my review of Adam Hamilton’s book When Christians Get It Wrong
When Christians get it right they love and give, they work for justice and demonstrate kindness. When Christians get it right they, like Jesus, befriend those who are outside the church rather than condemning them. And when Christians get it right, people are drawn to, rather than repelled by, their faith.
To many Christians, evolution is simply a way of describing a process that God established for creating the magnificent forms of life we have today…God created the processes and the plans for progression of life on our planet. God is still the Creator. Whether each species was individually crafted by God, or the result of a process God designed matters little to me. God remains the Creator either way.
While science asks the questions what and how, theology seeks to answer the questions why and for what purpose. Both sets of questions are important…The creation stories in Genesis were not meant to teach us how God created, but that God created.
When Christians get it right, they show respect for people of other faiths. They listen to them, learn from them, and humbly share their faith with them. They look for points of contact and commonality, as Paul did with the philosophers of Athens. They offer reasons for their faith in Jesus Christ with gentleness and respect, as Peter taught.
I do not believe God is a micromanager or that everything happens because God wills it. It fact, one overarching messages of the Bible for me is that much of what happens in the world is not God’s will. From the Bible’s opening story of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit to its closing story of the forces of darkness waging war against God at Armageddon, human beings are repeatedly guilty of doing the opposite of what God commands.
It seems clear in reading the Gospels that between sexual sins and religious hypocrisy Jesus considered religious hypocrisy far more deadly.
There are many things about Jesus that I love. One of them is that he consistently put people before rules.
Lately, I’ve been struggling a lot with Christianity…to the point that I’ve begun searching again. I believe in God. I believe in Jesus Christ, but what I see as “Christianity” around me has left a really bad taste in my mouth. I don’t like what Christians do and how they behave. I can’t stomach the intolerance and the hypocrisy. Fortunately I go to a church where there are many people whose “flavor” of Christianity is similar to mine, but I really had started reaching a point where I wondered if it is even right to call myself a “Christian” when my personal convictions seem so far from mainstream.
Then a friend recommended a book: When Christians Get It Wrong
Adam tackled 5 key issues that young adults cited as their major criticism of Christianity and why they (young adults) were choosing to stay away from church.
All of these issues were addressed with a great deal directness, love, and compassion. There are so many points in this book he said that I related to but have never been able to articulate. He claims the book was written for young people who have a tainted view of Christianity based on bad experiences but it is a great read for ANY Christian who may find him/herself frustrated with the religion and ready to walk away.
In addition to handling these 5 key issues Adam also reminds those of us who are frustrated of 2 very important points
Next time, I’ll share some of my favorite excerpts from the book.
Once again I’ve been duped. I bought The Church of Facebook
While the author uses Facebook as the main website of discussion, he really is focusing on the concept of social media in general. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. The focal point of the book is:
Another interesting topic that he addresses is the younger generation. For them their online world and their real life world are not separate but intertwined. What does that mean? What opportunities or problems does that create?
Some excerpts from the book…
Students who tested with the highest levels of happiness and fewest signs of depression all had one foundational thing in common: significant social ties to friends and family. In other words, connection is the key to happiness…At the root of human existence is our great need for connections: connection with one another, with our own hearts and minds, and with a loving God who intended intimate connection with us from the beginning.
[Our need for connection] emerges from the beginning of the Bible in the second chapter of Genesis: “It is not good for the man to be alone.”…God was clarifying that the fullness of our humanity could only be truly expressed through relationship with a suitable other.”
Jesus often got in big trouble with the religious leaders of Hid day for eating with “tax collectors and sinners”…because sharing a meal was a sacramental symbol that implied total acceptance…In essence He was saying “I love you and choose you just as you are.”
…the [key] question is whether those who keep ties to hundreds of people do so to the detriment of their closest relationships…as the number of our relationships grows, the less time we have for each one. As a result, our communications events must become more superficial.
Does online community really satisfy our relational needs? Can there be an experience of authentic community without face-to-face interaction? What are the consequences of spending more and more time relating online and less frequent time relating in person? “When we spend more time staring at a glowing monitor than we do into the eyes of those we love, or need to love, it might be time to shut off the computer.”
Virtual community is like playing the guitar with one string. You can make music; it’s just not as interesting or as good as music on a guitar with six strings.
It’s not a book I would recommend as a “must read.” However, once I started, I couldn’t put it down. And if you are an avid Facebook user, it will give you some insight into what drives you to spend so much time staring at a screen talking to people you rarely see. Personally this book has made me rethink my relationships, especially the importance of investing more time and energy in the real world and less online. Enjoy!
Lately I’ve been reading a book called The Third Basic Instinct: How Religion Doesn’t Get You
1. belief in the existence of a God on the evidence of reason and nature only, with rejection of supernatural revelation
2. belief in a God who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it.
I am fascinated by the concept of using reason and nature to prove God exists yet not believing that God gets involved with our lives. There are some basic tenets of Christianity that I wonder about. So I’ve been doing some studying and reading to help bring clarity to myself. I’ll share those one day….but back to Key’s book.
As I said, I thought it was a book about Deism, but really it is a discussion about how God does not exist. What we as humans called “God” are basically things that we don’t understand or can’t define…..yet. But as we learn more through scientific study, we understand things more and they no longer get assigned to some mysterious God but are facts. A perfect example is weather. People use to think everything about the weather was an act of God, but through the study of meteorology we now understand how weather patterns work and storms, hurricanes, and tornadoes, are no longer God events but phenomenon that have scientific explanations. There is some truth in that logic; I don’t reject that argument.
The author continues with another argument about the creation of life, specifically evolution. There are many Christians who believe in evolution, I personally am one of them. I think the debate about creationism versus evolution is silly because the two need not be mutually exclusive. Scientifically, evolution makes since, but there is still the question of how it started. Some of us say God kicked it off. The author makes the argument that out of nothingness there existed a single cell organism or that in nothingness there existed some omniscient, omnipotent God who was bored. He thinks the single cell organism is more likely. I disagree with this one.
Then he makes an argument that I can’t disagree with. The reward of heaven.
He says this:
“In a sense, religion is often about ‘me.’ My trip to heaven; my feelings; my sins being forgiven. Me, me, me, me….When people fear hell, it is for their afterlife. When people avoid a god’s wrath it is for their protection….Priest have been preaching self-interest since religion began. They tell you, ‘Avoid the danger of judgment day!’ They tell you, ‘You can be forgiven.’”
He goes on to cite examples of people who have done horrible things in the name of religion. Paul Hill, who was given the death penalty for murdering an abortion doctor, before his execution said “I expect a great reward in heaven.” Or suicide bombers who expect to be rewarded by Allah. Religious people acting out of self-interest. He’s right when he talks about all of the division, hurt, pain, and death that has been caused by religion.
And then he says this
“Perhaps the truly ‘unselfish’ thing to do is risk going to hell by bringing humans together in peace by spreading a non-religious morality – even while being religious.”
Wow.
I’m only about half way through the book, but that is one argument Keys has made that I can’t dispute. How many of us “religious” folks would trade our shot at heaven for the sake of someone else? If you knew you could do something that would save lives….maybe even save souls….at the cost of your own afterlife, would you do it?
We’ve been chatting about Mark Bittman’s Kindle Single Cooking Solves Everything
Since reading this book, I’ve made a serious commitment to cook more. Everyone in my household (including my dog and 8-year-old son) could stand to shed a few pounds. Eating out every week several times a week was wreaking havoc on our budget. And frankly, I was getting tired of eating out so much. As of this writing, it has been 10 days since I’ve eaten out. Everything I’ve consumed, I have made. It hasn’t been easy. As usual I’ve picked up some nuggets that I’ve been able to relate back to this “Christian journey”
