Church People

Is it just me, or does everyone have a love/hate relationship with their church? People can be so annoying sometimes. I hear people, good people, say such ridiculous things sometimes, I wonder if they even hear themselves.

"Drums in worship is wrong - straight from the devil."
"We don't do that, we're Baptist."
"We don't want to draw the wrong kind of people."
"I'll stop giving if the pastor doesn't _____________."
"We've always done it this way."

I start to wonder if I make any of those type of ridiculous statements. Would I recognize it? A friend of mine says shes fasting from judgementalism for Lent. And I think, "How can you do that? If you knew you were being judgemental, would you normally still do it?" I guess I'm judging her for that, hmm?

Anyway, I do love my little church. They are frail humans, but they love each other the best they can, and try to let Jesus lead them in all they do. I just have to remind myself of that sometimes. :)

Old

I can't believe how time flies these days. I've been at my current employer for over 3 years; my birthday is just around the corner; my nephew is almost 21 years old; my husband is an old man :). And my parents have been married 49 years!

I guess I am starting to feel old physically (I don't work out, you know). But I don't feel old in my mind. I don't feel young, necessarily, but I don't feel different. It's like I've learned things along the way, but my thought processes have always been the same - which really can't be true, can it?

But I'm starting to look around me and see things pass me by. I used to be cutting edge - latest and greatest technology and all that. Not anymore. Just got our first GPS this Christmas (thanks mom). Last Christmas was the first digital camera. I don't have or even want a Smart phone. Am I the only one who thinks those things are ridiculously expensive? Not the phone itself, but the service plans to actually be able to use them. And it's all just frivolous stuff. My folks have HD tv and DVR all their shows. We don't even have a flat screen. I have 3 songs on my MP3 player.

Oh well, pretty soon I'll just be "cute" and "quaint". The younger people at church already call me "Miss Gena". Oh how I hate that!

I'm left with the occasional blog post, fantasy football and online banking as my high tech achievements. *sigh*

Not Too Bad So Far

Ok, I think I've got that first scripture down. And I don't know how much I'm getting out of it yet, but I do know that it helps me re-focus when I get a little anxious or upset or bitter or frustrated or ... you get the picture.

For example, I start getting a little bit irritated by my husband (obviously this never actually happens, but let's just say if it ever did), I catch myself. And instead of screaming at him out loud or in my head or playing the insult over and over in my head, I think, "But the wisdom from above is first of all pure..." This seems to help.

Granted, one might say that any kind of "mantra" could have the same effect. Well, we'll see. Part of the whole plan is that, no matter the situation, I will have a verse that I've tucked into memory that will focus me back on God; remind me that He is in control; help me find His joy.

Our pastor this week gave a reminder (from the book of James, by the way) that problems can be looked at as opportunities for God to work amazing things in and through our lives. I'll try to remember that.

So I'm on to verse #2! Now comes the hard part - remember a new verse without forgetting the old one. Don't read anything into this, but the verse is:

1 Peter 3:5 - "This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands."

Happy New Year!

So what do you think of scripture memorization? Mike thinks Baptists tend to over-emphasize scripture memorization for the sake of "works". Mainly that it's something people do for points and is therefore, legalistic and overbearing. Easy for him to say - He lives in the Bible and just speaks in verses that he's "memorized" without even trying.

I do see his point though. Memorizing scripture for the purpose of feathering your cap is not fruitful, but worthless. Spouting out memory verses to impress people with your knowledge or shame them with their ignorance - also not cool. But focusing on God's Word, internalizing it, holding it in your heart - what untold blessings can come from that?

I bring this up because I'm starting a year long scripture memory effort. Beth Moore is doing something through her blog (Siesta Scripture Memory Team) to encourage people to memorize scripture and help with accountability. Basically the idea is to memorize two verses a month. She uses her blog to have people sign in and log their new verse every couple of weeks. I did this a couple of years ago and didn't get but about halfway through the year before I bailed. Ack! Anyway, I'm also big on FREEDOM and not getting hung up on the rules, so I cut myself lots of slack over things like this. But this time, maybe I'll make it all the way through.

So everyone picks their own verses because they have to mean something to you and your particular situation at the moment or they don't matter. I may use my blog to explore my verse of the day (or week or part month or whatever). Or I may not - who knows what I will do?

However, here's my first verse of the year:

"But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere." - James 3:17 (NLT)

It's kind of long but sets the tone I'm wanting to maintain for the year - seeking God's wisdom and not getting hung up on other people's business. At least that's what I get from this verse. Maybe as I meditate on these words for the next couple of weeks, I'll get more.

Happy New Year!

Sing Off Fan

I never watch reality t.v. It's annoying. And "talent" shows are the worst. Especially with the "America decides" voting crap-o-la. And YET, I still gave Sing Off a try because I really like a capella groups even if I can't spell it (and it replaced Chuck). And even with Nick Leshay hosting, I loved it! Tonight's the big, cheesy finale with the finalists getting to perform with famous people (and the judges), but it hasn't been too bad. I can't wait to see who wins! (Mike just changed back to the football game because now Nick is singing, and that's ok. We can go back when that nonsense is over. Wow! Brett Favre is playing and they're winning!)

Anyway, America didn't get to vote until it was narrowed down to the final 4. I really think the judges did well narrowing it down. I missed the show when the Wiffenpoofs got axed because I didn't know they were doing Mondays AND Wednesdays, but still I'm not upset with who's left. I really like "Committed" - they are TIGHT! But the final song last week that "Street Corner Sympony" did was my favorite! So if either one of those win, I'm happy. (I don't like the "Backbeats" at all - I'm rooting against them.)

So, is this totally silly? No redeemable value?


****UPDATE
Committed Won!!!!

Retreat Resolutions

I love this time of year because I'm a huge fan of the cheesy holiday movies on the Hallmark channel. I could watch "a twist on Dickens' Christmas Carol" a thousand different ways. I cry and cry and cry. But that's not why I'm here...

Last weekend was our women's retreat, and it was great! The theme was "Chaos" or really, Jesus' peace in the midst of chaos. What a perfect theme going into the holiday season!

There were some great testimonies. Personal histories always surprise me. It's like somehow I don't consider people having much of an existence prior to my meeting them. (Look how arrogant that is all written down like that!) But I honestly don't typically give people much credit for where they've been - I judge on the teeny tiny slices of life I happen to see in passing. I've rarely taken the time to get to know people enough to hear their stories - I'm so caught up in my own! But when I do - when I happen to be at the right place at the right time - and am privileged to hear a small part of a person's real story - it's so humbling!

I think quite highly of myself (in case you hadn't noticed). So it's such a shock to find out other people are interesting, too! And complicated! And amazing! So the humbling part is to find out that other people are MORE interesting and complicated and amazing than me. And I am so grateful for my own story - simple, safe, and relatively uneventful as it is. God has been so good.

I've heard it said that if we all could throw our problems in a pile and pick up someone else's, we would all take our own problems back. I think that's true. When I see what other people have gone through or are going through, I gladly embrace my own little plights and trials.

So as Thanksgiving races closer, I am hoping I can follow through on a few "Retreat Resolutions" (I got that phrase from one of the testimonies):

1 - Don't create my own chaos
2 - Cut people some slack - I have no idea where they've been and what they're going through
3 - Maybe take the time to find out where they've been and what they're going through (that one's hard, so it's a "maybe")
4 - Remember I hold the secret to peace - but it shouldn't be a secret, it's Jesus!


The End

Incompetence or Indifference?

OK, first of all I don't hate men. I'm just calling it as I sees it. But male leaders (generally speaking) tend to ignore details, take no responsibility for the process of accomplishing a vision, and are then angry and down-right surprised if things don't get done. They are great at casting vision and all that inspirational stuff, but if a woman doesn't step in and actually see to getting it done, it don't happen. What drives me crazy is the assumption that things will just happen with no responsibility taken if and when it doesn't.

Maybe it's not just men, but that has been my experience. Although I have met some men who are the detail guys, they are never the leaders. Maybe the details take too much time and energy so there's no time left for leading. But leaders should at the very least hire or clearly designate a detail person to see that things get done. Or don't get sputtery and all flustered when things fall apart!

I'm just sayin'...