A Christian's View on Hobby Lobby and the Supreme Court

This will be my only post on this subject of the Supreme Court Ruling this week in favor of Hobby Lobby.  I understand it's a hot button issue and not everyone will agree with my assessment.  I accept that.  I accept it while I stand firmly by my position on the subject.

Faith Journey

Faith journey.  What is that? an expedition; excursion; tour; trip; odyssey... so many synonyms for that word. For every synonym, there are thousands of stories to tell.  Most everyone has one, and the tales, and their outcomes vary greatly, but each is unique and personal to the individual on the road.  This is a portion of  mine:

Chick-fil-A -- You Make Me Sad

I am sad today.  As a Christian, in America, I scroll through articles, Tweets and Facebook posts about the record sales at Chick-fil-A yesterday and I cringe.  It's a sad thought that hatred and bigotry are the Face of Christianity today.  That they are held up as a beacons of family and moral values.

Times, they are changing. Really?

Over the last 20 years I have heard (and probably said) time and time again - What is this world coming to? It seems to us that the depravity, poverty, subjugation and hopelessness in the world is just too overwhelming. Surely things have never been this bad. Surely it is the beginning of the end of the world as we know it - it can't get any worse than this.

Wrestling with the Darkness

I admit, I have dark, brooding parts to my mind; it's just how I am. I have had to learn to embrace this part of my personality as well as the more light-filled parts of myself. When put together, all the parts make me, me. It is my belief, that God made me this way, and he did so for a reason. There are all kinds of people in the world, and differences are a good thing. My dark moods

Shameless Self-Promotion

I have been in therapy for the past seven months.  One of the things that drove me to therapy was my desire to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.  I have had many incarnations of Me in my adult life, from working at jobs I wasn't passionate about just to pay the bills, to being an isolate stay-at-home mom with infants and toddlers demanding all of my attention and then later being an avid-volunteer-for-everything-in-sight mom of elementary school kids.  I have, if not loved, at least found satisfaction in each stage of life and now it is time to move on to the next one.

These are God's Words, Not Mine

I have nothing against fat people.  Really, I do not.  Some of my best friends are fat.  That does not mean I have to condone their lifestyle.  They should know how I feel about it and should avoid overeating in front of me.  Who cares if everyone else is enjoying a good meal in a restaurant?  Those people aren’t fat.  They are like me, so watching them enjoy their food is not repugnant to me.  Fat people should remember that they chose to be this way and they keep living a lifestyle that supports it (overeating, which equals gluttony).  

What's Next

It's almost 1:30. I will have to start picking up kids in about an hour. There are so many things I could be doing. So many things I should be doing, but I find myself sitting here contemplating what to do next. I don't mean what I should be doing right at this moment, Lord knows there is no shortage of things to be dusted, vacuumed, scrubbed or hosed down. I am talking about in my life in general, in the big picture. Where do I go from here and how do I get there?

I love to volunteer. It makes my heart happy to be helpful to other people. Since my kids started school 9+ years ago, I have pretty much devoted all of my 'free' time to volunteering. I enjoy all of it, but here is one thing I have learned. If I say yes to something without praying about it first or if I ignore the doubtful feelings I get about something after I have prayed about it, then God will not bless my efforts. I will find myself stressed and resentful of the duties that should be filling me with joy. That is kind of where I am at right now. I took on something that I wasn't being called to do and now I am feeling the sting of disappointment as I look over the last year and a half and examine my failure. Sure, it could have been worse, but oh, how it could have been better if I had allowed God to guide me. This is why I am carefully contemplating my next move.

I have a few ideas bouncing around my head. There are a multitude of things I want to do with the blocks of time, not to mention the area of my brain, that will be freed up when my current commitments are finished. I want to make sure I get it right this time though.

It would be so much easier if there were just a magic formula that would tell me beforehand whether a decision were right or not. I would not have to go back and forth in my mind. Unfortunately that is not how God works. He doesn't give those clear signs like he did in the Old Testament. Somehow I don't think he is going to speak to me through a burning bush as he did to Moses. Then again, Moses didn't always get the message and obey, so I don't know that clear signs from God are a recipe for human success.

I will do my best to be discerning and listen carefully so that my efforts will be blessed whatever it is that I choose to do next.

Ephesians 5:15-17 (New International Version)

¹⁵Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

James 1:5 (New International Version)

⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Here's The Deal...

I have learned something lately about being a Christian. God is not willing to share; he wants all of me. He desires for me to give him even those parts that I have hidden way over in the corner. Perhaps he even wants these bits more than anything else. It is these slivers that I long to hold on to.

I don't want to think about what Jesus would do all the time. Sometimes I want to react to something like a 'normal' person. I want to reach over into one of my corners and pull out my gossip piece and use it until I feel superior to everyone about whom I have talked. From time to time I want to grab hold of that mean chunk and say what is really on my mind until the other person feels as low as I do.

It is at these times that I must really grab on to the bigger portion of me that is fixed on being obedient to Him, that large area that gave itself over to the will of her savior. Luckily most times I am able to remember that human nature is not always God's nature. He doesn't have those dark recesses like I do. He is all good. That is what he wishes for me too, taken over by good. Even though perfection will never be realized in this lifetime, I am still required to give Him my all.

Hopefully, as I go throughout my life those dark places will get smaller and smaller as I fill them up with His love, His word and His spirit. I long for the day when God really does have all of me. That will be the most glorious day of all.

It all depends on me. God has already given me His free gift; it is up to me how I use it. I am faced with choices every day. It is up to me whether I am going to reach over into the dark place or seize God's promise to me. He has promised never to relinquish me. It is up to me to do my best not to forsake him. I do this by having the character to withstand the temptation of my will, as I yield to His.

It seems like a tough choice; it is hard to give up myself to another. However, I have only abundance to gain by letting God inhabit me as I fade into Him.

Deuteronomy 31:8
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged

Psalm 9:10
Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you

Psalm 119:8
I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

Know it All

From a worldly point of view there is no mistake so great as that of being always right. ~Samuel Butler, Note-Books, 1912

Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Don't you just love those people who always seem to know it all? You know the type I am talking about -- the ones who, during a conversation, often interject the word actually. "Well, actually, the chicken had to come before the egg because..." "Well, actually, I am a pompous ass." Okay they don't actually say that last one, but they might as well.

We all encounter these people in our lives. It makes me wonder -- what drives someone to be a know it all? Why do they feel the need to be right all the time. I think that the answer is fear. So many roadblocks in our lives can be attributed to that (not so) little word -- fear. I think frequently, folks feel afraid that if others see them as they really are, they will not be liked, so theyexalt themselves to expert in all subjects.

The problem is that one can never relax in this constant state of readiness. She ahs to always be ready with the correct information in which to stump her fellow confabulator. It has to be tiring, always trying to win an argument when the person she is talking to never even realizes that the pleasant chat they were having was actually a debate. She walks away with a victory in her pocket -- the fact that she actually knew the facts to a tee. However, her friend is shaking her head and wondering why she even bothers to have a conversation with her; it always feels like she is trying to one up her. It starts to wear on the friendship.

It is indeed impossible to always be right about everything. Furthermore, we weren't put on the earth to know all of the answers all of the time. As a Christian, I believe that God made us with an inquiring mind that seeks to know the answers to all of life's queries. It's true that we have a tremendous capacity for knowledge, but we will never know it all.

It is my belief that only God knows all the answers. That is why scripture cautions us not to lean on our own understanding, but to acknowledge God in all ways. It is only then that who we are to be can come to fruition. If we hold so tightly to our own intelligence that we are living in fear of being wrong, then we are surely not living our best life.

God longs for us to live victorious lives. He wants the best for us, just as we want the best for our children. We must learn to let go of our own pride and relinquish our hold on our own perception of perfect understanding and concede that God alone knows it all. It is a lot less taxing and infinitely more joyful.

How should we live our lives?

When we come to the end of our lives, or just the end of the day, for that matter, it really doesn't matter what chores we accomplished. It also doesn't matter if we are famous or just a regular Jane. What does matter is the relationships that we have and how we nourished those relationships. How we treat others is a testament to our relationship with God. When we accept the free gift of salvation we aren't required to do anything beyond that. The bible tells us that in John 3:16. It is not our works that get us into heaven. But if we are believers, it behoves us to also become followers. That is what leads others to Christ. Our example is what sets us apart from the rest of the world. It's not who you knew. It's not what you did. It's how you lived (and treated others) that matters in the end.

How You Live - Point of Grace (watch the video)

Passage Hebrews 6:10:
10God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

Passage Romans 13:8-10:
8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 10Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Passage Matthew 5:13-16:
13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.