I am a Christian

I am...

  Content in the places I am...
  that restless, uneasy feeling isn't sitting in the pit of my stomach.
  I can see the road I'm on and I'm not afraid to follow it...
  even the dark patches that might cause me to fall aren't giving me pause.
  Because I know that God is with me. I know that God is right beside me...
  holding my hand, guiding me, keeping me safe and cheering me on.

  I realize now that there are many reasons why things have taken so long to move.
  I realize that God has always been making way for the things I've wanted.
  But because of my lack of vision, my lack of confidence and my lack of faith
  I couldn't understand why I needed to wait.

  I'm enjoying my time in the places he's put me.
  I don't know how long I'm here or what the next move will be...
  if my time here is short or long...but
  I do know that I will be taken care of and in him I am content.

  There will always be a slight tinge of fear...
  There will always be a little bit of hesitation,
  But that's my human nature playing tricks on me.
  It's my inner "scaredy cat" trying to keep me from moving up and on.
  My mind, heart and spirit know that I'm doing exactly what I've always wanted.
  My mind, heart and spirit know that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be...
  And because of all that, I am

  Content.

Comparing Your Holiness

  The other day I discovered (through unashamed google stalking) that someone I'm kinda intimidated by is a Christian. Ever since finding out this information I've been running scenarios in my mind about how much better they probably are at being a Christian than I am....how much more spiritual and responsible they must be...and how I'm not.

   And after a few days of this I had to stop myself and ask..."why, are you doing this to yourself?" You see, as much as I try not to compare ourselves with those around us we sometimes find myself doing it when it comes to the type of Christian I am. I'm not the greatest Christian on earth and I probably never will be. But I strive (most times) to be the greatest Christian I can be. That's all I can ask of myself. My walk with God is unique, because my walk through life is unique, so why would I compare myself to others? Because I'm a big dork and it's in my nature. So, as I sit day after day and wonder about this person and their walk I'm failing to see what I should really be focusing on...my walk.

   Besides, Christians come in all different shapes and sizes. We come from different backgrounds and churches...we have different ways of looking at faith and what it means to be a Christian (think I'm wrong...look at the different TV preachers, see how different they are from each other). I know this and it's one of the things I love and hate about Christianity...so why would I even start to compare myself? Probably cause I'm intimidated...probably because I'm in a transition...probably because I feel slightly lost in all things called life. I mean...does being a good Christian mean you're holy? Does just being a Christian mean you're holy???

   Who defines what holy is anyway (I don't mean in the bible, I mean in our surroundings)?We all have flaws and issues and we all make mistakes so who among us is actually Holy? I know Catholics consider the Pope to be Holy (hey one of his names is Holy See). But I don't consider my pastor to be holy. He's a good man, but he makes mistakes and he has issues. There's no one I can think of in my life currently or in the past who I would consider Holy so why would I think someone was holier than me?
 
    Also, what a thing to put on a person...to judge them on their personal relationship with God and what that means to them by my own standards and for me to think they'd judge me based on theirs. Both situations are unfair and can lead to a very iffy discourse between you and whoever else is involved, especially because for me this whole situation is completely taking place in my own head...and I'll probably never have this conversation with this person.
 
    Basicly, I'm not sure why I would get myself so worked up about this...why I would even bother when I have so much more going on...I guess I'm just curious...

    And you know what they say about curiousity?
    
    Until Next Time!

Opinions...right or wrong

I may get some crazy responses to this...I may not, but I will share my opinion without fear, because even though I think I'm right, everyone has a right to believe whatever it is they want and I am no one to judge. But saying that, everyone has a right to their own opinion...I'm going to give you mine.

I'm black, I'm a woman, I'm a Christ-Follower, I'm a lover of all peoples, and I try my best to be open to everyone. That being said, I do not understand how people can be so hateful of another's opinion or belief. I'm speaking directly about people jumping up and down on Christians who do not believe in Gay Rights/Marriage. Before anyone thinks this is going to turn into hate I'll say this...I have gay friends, THEY KNOW MY BELIEFS. I, as a Christian, have been called not to judge my fellow man, no....I've been called to love them. So any Gay friends I have I love with all my heart the way God told me to.

And just like I cannot and do not judge gay people (who I've actually been around all my life, I had a gay uncle and my mother has always had gay friends), I cannot judge Christians who do not believe that gays should have rights. People always wonder who others can hate...I don't believe most actual loving "Christ-Followers" hate gays. In fact, I'm pretty sure the genuine ones see them as people and look past what it is they do in the bedroom. As a black person in America I've heard negative things about myself and my people all my life. As a woman in this world, I've heard negatives about myself all my life...I don't hate those who say it...I just allow them to have and voice their opinion. I don't jump on them because of it. Do I think they're wrong yes, but I don't hate them because of it.

I see people jumping on others for an opinion that doesn't mirror that of Lady Gaga or Perez Hilton (whom I've stopped reading because he does the very things I'm speaking of) and I wonder what people are thinking. In truth, how can anyone take one persons opinion over another. I'm fascinated by the fact that people are so quick to judge those who they disagree with...but disagreeing is something we all do at some point in our lives.

Not only do I not agree with the people who jump on Christians, I also don't agree with the Christians who sprew hate at others. Jesus didn't come down here to teach hate...if he did, he wouldn't have eaten with the tax collector, or gone to the well at noon just to speak to the woman...he wouldn't have healed the sick or poor or sat with the children. No, if Jesus had come here to sprew hate, he wouldn't be the same Jesus described in the bible, he'd be completely different. Christians we can disagree, we can even hate the sin love the sinner, but what exactly is the point of being hateful to the people? Why hold signs saying that God hates them...when clearly that is a lie!

Listen, maybe you think I'm naive, maybe you think I'm ignorant or a fool...that's your opinion and you are supposed to have it. There's no reason to be mean about it. In the end, on the day of judgment God will judge us on what we've done on earth. And yes, that includes how we treated people, what words we used and how we're showed ourselves to the world. I don't think he'll be happy with any of us who hate on someone else...whether it be for their opinion, sex, sexual orientation or the color of their skin.

Until Next Time...

Norway, Christians...love

Christ came to earth to show us what it’s all about. Love! His sacrifices, his stories, his life was a demonstration of love. Anyone who calls them self a Christian in one breathe but says “I hate” in the other, really isn't at Christian at all.
A true follower of Christ knows that God is a God of love, so we, as his people, should have no room in our hearts for hate. And we should not accept or tolerate it in our world.

I wrote the above thought after reading about the attacks in Norway. The man who caused these attacks out thinks of himself as a Christian. I consider myself a Christian, but I don't think he and I are reading the same bible. It's really upsetting to hear people talk about being a Christian then talk about how much they hate other people. Christ created us all, he created us to love one another, to care for one another and to honor him by honoring his creation. We've failed on all accounts, and will continue to do so if we don't pull our heads out of our asses.
People hate others for differences, the things that make us all special. We're all different, made that way by God....saved from ourselves by his son's sacrifice. We are all sinners, no one is better than the other. So to hate someone for their different beliefs or lifestyle or skin-tone is the stupidest thing we can do.
And I'd like to say right now, not all Christians hate Muslims...not all Christians blame all Muslims for what happened 10 years ago. I don't, I know that like there are radical Christians their are radical Muslims...you cannot put us all in the same category because we don't all fit in it.
To hate is wrong, and it does more damage to the innocent than it does to anyone else.

Anne Rice and her Facebook Post

   Yes, I'm a Christian...(I always say I'm a Christian in the true sense, i.e.  a follower of Christ...not a "born again christian" i.e. those crazy bible belt picket sign holding hate-filled christians...that's where I categorize my difference.)

   I'm also a democratic and pro-choice. I often talk to people about my views on my faith in a "different" way because I see myself as a different type of Christian. I try to see the world through God's eyes...try to allow my heart to break at the sight of the things that would break His...but at the same time...there are things other Christians do and say that I'm completely against. For me, my walk with Christ is a personal relationship with the two of us...like a marriage where others are not involved, because it's not their relationship or their place. Most of the time, when I hear about "Christian Leaders" preaching things I cringe, shake my head or just think, are we reading the same bible? My view of my God seems so different from other Christians that at times I feel completely disconnected...
  So when Anne Rice, famous vampire author, took to her facebook page last week to announce her "retirement" from Christianity, I started to read it knowing pretty much what it would say and that I'd whole-heartedly agree with it.

“For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.



As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.”


   You may not agree with what she has to say but I do...and I think it's very fair of her to say all those things, because to her (and me) they are true problems we have with this religious movement. Being a follower of Christ and having a relationship with him is truly lost on many Christians, who feel it's their destiny to point fingers and hate. Christ tells us to love...and to follow Him means to follow His teachings and principles...so why do so many Christians follow men who are just making it up as they go along? I don't know...but I like my relationship with Christ...my personal relationship with Him.
   She never said she'd stop following God or Christ...never did she reject the Holy Spirit...what she's saying is she's done trying to follow this doctrine that we as imperfect people have warped to fit our way of thinking. We've changed it from God Centered to hate centered and she's tired of it...so am I.

   AMEN

God by any other name

   Is God by any other name less than God? I've always wondered about this...and yes a lot of Christians are going to frown upon me for voicing this or even thinking about it. But in my curiosity and in my study of the Bible, God and Jesus Cristo I've come upon a question that I just can't shake.


  Is God by any other name less than God?


  I know there's a commandment in the Bible that says we are to put no gods before God. I know it, I understand it and it's easy to find the simplest things we can set up as idols around us. I'm not talking about idols, I'm talking about God.
  In Jr. High my teacher, Mrs. Go, told us that God meets everyone where they are. Most people hear that and think "spiritually", I like to think about it psychically. We know that man has been scattered across the world for ages. We also know that since the tower of Babel those men have spoken different languages and for a time couldn't communicate with each other. In all those languages, though there's always been God. We've always known who/what God is. So would it be so hard to believe that God revealed himself to people in a different part of the world, in their language...that He conveyed the story of Jesus' virgin birth and anguished death for the good of us all? And that these stories would/could be given to people in languages other than Greek and Hebrew?
   Here is where historians (and knowledgeable unbelievers would say that the story of Jesus was stolen from the "pagan" religions), but what if? What if the tales of Krishna, Mohammad, Horus...where just different versions of our Father, Son and Holy Spirit tales? What if these stories sprung out of God's attempt to meet people where they were?
   Now, I 'm not a Bible scholar nor am I a theologian and really I'm not the most knowledgeable Christian around, but I do feel like I have some of the same questions a non-Christian would have. Some of these question are dismissed because the theologians don't want to answer or simply don't know how to. Living in this world where the 3 major religions are a t war is the perfect (some would say worse) time to ask those questions...but it's ridiculously hard to get the answers.
   I'm sure someone is reading this thinking of all the differences between the religions...thinking I'm crazy for posing these questions...saying there's no way that these very different groups of ideals could have sprung from the very same fabric. Well, why not? People can take conjure and confuse the simplest thing into something that will fit everyone easily. So why couldn't it be the same with religion. The interpretation of the message will always be screwed up but who's to say the entity delivering the message wasn't the same?
   When we get down deep to the answers for these questions. When we put aside all prejudice, bigotry and superiority. When we exercise the powerful brains we have, then and only then we will find an answer, but until then my question remains...


    Is a God by any other name less than God?

NeedHim.org

  I guess you can say this is a non promotional promotion.

  Last night I saw a commercial for a ministry called Need Him. What got me were two things...(1) the commercial looked a lot like the Apostle's Creed video shown at my church and  (2) the wording used....specifically the line "this is not about religion, this is about a relationship". As you know (if you've been reading this blog for a while) I don't believe in the trappings of religion. I consider myself a Christian, but I don't trap myself in the box the "church" tells me I should be in, through tradition and here say, instead I believe in a relationship between God and myself.
   So it was weird and thrilling to hear the statement in this video, and though I haven't had much time to read up on this group. I can say that if they really are trying to help people build a true relationship with God then I can side beside them in that...though if they aren't, if they are just trying to build up another mega church full of people who really don't know what to believe, then I'm out!
   The fact that this commercial hit me in my gut makes me think that it's legit...but I've been wrong before. So, if you chose to go to the site and read up on this ministry, remember that I haven't condoned or condemned it. I'm just interested and thought someone else would be too.

Westboro Baptist Church

 I started to write this really heart felt ranting post about this church..but to back myself up I decided to read up on them and you know what...instead of writing about them and their wholly unintelligent and hateful actions and words. I decided to leave it alone...because anyone with any ounce of real intelligence we see right through them!

Until Next Time

Harry Potter Analysis

 As you know (maybe not), I am a big fan of the Harry Potter series. I enjoy those books tremendously and I've read and re-read them countless times. Some friends of mine have a daughter who just read through the entire series this past summer (literally all 7 books). She has finally convinced her father to read the series because, well they're good reads. He is reading them, not only that, he is also analysing their Christian message.
  Most Christians will not allow their children anywhere near these books because they deal with subject matter that Christians demean detrimental to their children. Witchcraft. What people fail to realize is this, the witchcraft aspect of the novel is just another setting in the world. To me it would be like Harry was a teenage boy in Iraq who was Muslim (Christians probably wouldn't let their kids read that either), but it's that simple, just another setting a different world from ours.
  My friend has decided to find the lines that link Harry's world to what Christians consider their spiritual world (walk). So far he's only done two Chapters of the first book, but he has done a good job and though I haven't spent LOTS of time thinking about it I have thought (somewhat) about the parallels...he's gone deeper than I ever cared to.
  To me these books are JK Rowling's equivalent to The Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narina. Both those series were written by devout Catholics and she as a Christian, wanted to write these novels. Now, I'm not sure if she wrote them with the intentional Christian slant, but when you actively walk with God everything you do takes on that slant. I do know that some aspects of the book she did use intentionally (i.e. certain, bible verse and references).
   Why am I writing about this you may ask? Well its simple...I think that he's doing a good job with them. So I'm trying to decide whether or not I should put them up on the blog...I'm thinking about encouraging him to re-activate his blog and put them up there. But since he's doing Chapter by Chapter it'll be a long road...so I have time to decide. I think it'll be interesting.
   Okay, and for all those you fear the Christianizing of yet another book...if you have read or listened to any JK Rowling interviews you would know where she stands. I see it like this...another person is setting off on the adventure with Harry...and although I know where that adventure leads, I am happy that someone else will enjoy it...as I soon will (again) too.