Saturday, January 27, 2007
Cash: The Autobiography
I finished reading Cash last fall and typed out some of the parts I found interesting, especially because I have someone in my life I love to death but is addicted.
I’m thankful that God has inspired me to want to write, and that He might possibly use me to influence somebody for the good, if I can see the opportunities through the smokescreen of my own ego.
Finally, I’m thankful, very thankful, that at this moment I have absolutely no craving for any kind of drug. I’ve been up almost three hours today, and this is the first time I’ve thought about it, and even then it’s in the spirit of gratitude. So my disease isn’t active. Last night I saw a bottle of wine passed around the table, and I never once thought about taking even a sip of it. (So why am I thinking about it now? Watch it, Cash! Gotta never be complacent. Never take anything for granted. Don’t forget, great prices have been paid and will be paid again if you get too smug, too egotistical and self-assured.)
And as I’ve said before, all mod-altering drugs carry a demon called Deception. You think, If this is so bad, why does it feel so good? I used to tell myself, God created this; it’s got to be the greatest thing in the world. But it’s like the old saying about the whino: he starts by drinking out of the bottle, and then the bottle starts drinking out of him. The person starts by taking the drugs, but then the drugs start taking the person. That’s what happened to me.
I’m thankful that God has inspired me to want to write, and that He might possibly use me to influence somebody for the good, if I can see the opportunities through the smokescreen of my own ego.
Finally, I’m thankful, very thankful, that at this moment I have absolutely no craving for any kind of drug. I’ve been up almost three hours today, and this is the first time I’ve thought about it, and even then it’s in the spirit of gratitude. So my disease isn’t active. Last night I saw a bottle of wine passed around the table, and I never once thought about taking even a sip of it. (So why am I thinking about it now? Watch it, Cash! Gotta never be complacent. Never take anything for granted. Don’t forget, great prices have been paid and will be paid again if you get too smug, too egotistical and self-assured.)
And as I’ve said before, all mod-altering drugs carry a demon called Deception. You think, If this is so bad, why does it feel so good? I used to tell myself, God created this; it’s got to be the greatest thing in the world. But it’s like the old saying about the whino: he starts by drinking out of the bottle, and then the bottle starts drinking out of him. The person starts by taking the drugs, but then the drugs start taking the person. That’s what happened to me.
Being Offended Part III-What to do?
More notes I jotted down while watching JM:
- I have been bitter and resentful because of the way I was treated. Jesus said, “my peace I leave with you.” Don’t be upset all the time.
- Proverbs 19:11. 11 A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, And it is his glory to overlook a transgression. Glory to pass over a transgression. It’s a choice. We choose to be angry. There is a glory that covers us when we chooses not to be offended.
- Be the kind of person who has to be pushed really far before they ever get offended.
- I will feel my emotions but I can choose my response.
- Though everything else is going wrong, I will rejoice in the Lord.
- When you see the person who has offended you, say hello, ask how they are and do not speak badly about them to others. Someone hurt you but someone else loves that person. Do not share your view. Bless (speak well of) our enemies, don’t curse (speak evil of) them.
- You can’t let what an unkind, rude person has done to you control you. Slam the door in the devil's face and allow God to reveal what the offender has done to you to the offender.
- When you are hurt by the people closest to you, it hurts your spirit. It goes down deep. What should you do?
1.) Repent—even if it wasn’t your fault. Humble self and review how you are treating people in your own life. As I repent, it will soften my heart.
2.) Forgiving—after repenting, it will stick better
3.) Pray for those that hurt/persecute you (Matt 5).
So, yeah. I have been paying more attention to my emotions by giving my emotions less attention. I've been more emotional than usual! But I know God will work through this with me if it's something He wants me to work on. As for dealing with people who offend, well, I've learned a lot. I listen to others complain about what so and so did and I wish they could know the stuff God has revealed to me. And when people have offended me? Whoa. Even recently, I've shared the offense with at least one other person. Is it right? Is it okay to vent? Even if it is to Joey? What if it is about Joey?
More on that later...
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Being Offended Part II—You’ve Got Me Feeling Emotions
In a continuation of JM’s teaching on being offended
Ummm…I’m emotional. We are all emotional. The difference is that I tend to live by my emotions. Not a good thing. Emotions = good; Living by emotions = bad. God gives us emotions and they help us in many situations. I was stunned when Joyce talked about not worshiping our feelings. Instead of asking myself “What do I feel?” I need to ask “what do I BELIEVE?”
We have all been burned by someone in our past. Guess what? We will be burned by someone in the future, too. Sometimes we become jaded and untrusting. Tired of being hurt, we wonder what people’s ulterior motives are. It is important to know that God does not have an ulterior motive. He just loves you and wants the best for your life.
At least once a day, I hear myself say outloud or in my head “I don’t feel…(fill in the blank).” That’s good news! Joyce explained how right feelings come from right decisions. Once you make a right decision, your feelings will follow. Do what’s right when it still feels wrong. Jesus told the disciples to cast their nets on the other side of the lake. Peter explained to Jesus they had been fishing all night and they were exhausted. Also, they had already tried that side of the lake and had no luck. Peter felt tired but he believed Jesus and followed him.
I am striving to be more emotionally balanced. Those closest to me know what a roller coaster ride I can be. Step 1: admit you have a problem (my emotions aren’t me). I have free will. I can go with how I feel or I can go with God’s word. I tried it the other day when for whatever reason, I just felt nasty and hateful. I prayed to God and said, “I believe you can help me by removing these feelings or letting me have control over them.” My brattiness subsided.
Yes, there will be a part 3 and 4 and even a 5 or more of Being Offended. The reason is because I have been offended for over a year and it was these teaching that made it start to subside. I need to record why. Peace out.
Ummm…I’m emotional. We are all emotional. The difference is that I tend to live by my emotions. Not a good thing. Emotions = good; Living by emotions = bad. God gives us emotions and they help us in many situations. I was stunned when Joyce talked about not worshiping our feelings. Instead of asking myself “What do I feel?” I need to ask “what do I BELIEVE?”
We have all been burned by someone in our past. Guess what? We will be burned by someone in the future, too. Sometimes we become jaded and untrusting. Tired of being hurt, we wonder what people’s ulterior motives are. It is important to know that God does not have an ulterior motive. He just loves you and wants the best for your life.
At least once a day, I hear myself say outloud or in my head “I don’t feel…(fill in the blank).” That’s good news! Joyce explained how right feelings come from right decisions. Once you make a right decision, your feelings will follow. Do what’s right when it still feels wrong. Jesus told the disciples to cast their nets on the other side of the lake. Peter explained to Jesus they had been fishing all night and they were exhausted. Also, they had already tried that side of the lake and had no luck. Peter felt tired but he believed Jesus and followed him.
I am striving to be more emotionally balanced. Those closest to me know what a roller coaster ride I can be. Step 1: admit you have a problem (my emotions aren’t me). I have free will. I can go with how I feel or I can go with God’s word. I tried it the other day when for whatever reason, I just felt nasty and hateful. I prayed to God and said, “I believe you can help me by removing these feelings or letting me have control over them.” My brattiness subsided.
Yes, there will be a part 3 and 4 and even a 5 or more of Being Offended. The reason is because I have been offended for over a year and it was these teaching that made it start to subside. I need to record why. Peace out.
The Atheist
I thought more readers would wonder about Jake and if he came to Riverview or not. The answer is…not. His reply was “No, thanks. I’m not interested in Christianity.” Of course, I didn’t leave that alone. My smart ass replied that Christianity was interested in him but hey, no problem. Still, I had to fight that feeling of rejection. I thought about it all day and it burned inside of me. My thoughts would freely float to what looked like rejection. But no. God warned me against this. It took until right before I turned the light off to go to bed. It was almost like I heard God say to me, “Holl, I didn’t ask you to convert him. I asked you to ask him.” Right. Riiiiiight. I need to know that line in the sand. The rejection was toward God and God could handle it. As I tried to sleep, I searched my feelings for that testy rejected one. Nope. Not there. Not there, either. I went to sleep and felt great the next morning. See, giving up the control to God isn’t always as easy as it sounds. In fact, He will continue to work that out of me for the rest of my life.
A Thought by Eric Fields
A co-worker of mine who works in the IT department sends out thoughts to a select few of us. Today’s thought made me think about how I sometimes try to control my friends...but also how much I have stopped trying to do that as an adult.
Proverbs 29:25 the fear of others lays a snare, but one who trusts in the Lord is secure
Yesterday’s lesson was more of a positive take on not allowing the fear of others to impact your decision making. Today, I will dig a little deeper into one the snares that the “fear of man produces’”... wrong agreements. The first thing we need to understand that we all seek and desire acceptance. I believe God placed that desire in us. In order to maintain acceptance we form alliances (or friendships) with others. Often those alliances grow and become clichés, and those clichés slowly begin to require obligations. In all actuality there’s nothing terribly wrong with that. The problem starts when we examine some of the fruit that clichés can produce.
There’s an age old principle used to control others. It’s in operation in religion, politics, race, age, gender, and nationality, and can be summed up in two words; “Us” & “Them”. It’s always intrigued me because it’s in our nature to not want to be one of “Them”. We all want to be loved and accepted. In order to avoid becoming one of “them” we sometimes find ourselves agreeing with statements or accepting mindsets that our hearts know are wrong. Then we feel convicted by those words (wanna guess who’s doing the convicting?). Little did we know that those words would prove to be a snare!
OK; example time. Let’s say you start to form a friendship outside of your normal circle. Now someone in that circle doesn’t necessarily like it. Then comes one of the three methods we use to control people, manipulation (I saw you with so and so. Everyone is talking about it!), Intimidation (We wanted to invite you, but thought that you’d rather spend time with so and so), or domination (Look; you’re both so and so’s friend or ours!). Poor so and so!
You see example after example of Jesus being criticized for healing sinners & lepers, preaching on the Sabbath, forgiving an adulteress. The list goes on. By the way; He never even ministered in the temple. If you study the bible at all you know that it was the chief priest and scribes that leveled accusation after accusation against him. They tempted, tested, and openly accused Him. What always amazed me about this situation was the reasoning for their accusations. He didn’t play be their rules. He had the audacity to obey God, and they refused to believe that God would operate outside of “their” authority. In their eyes the “King of Glory” was one of “them”.
I think we’ve never truly understood that every relationship in our lives is producing or reproducing something. What comes out of your mouth in the midst of your conversations says a lot about what’s being produced (Amos3:3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?). What’s more; if you chose to follow God, I’ll guarantee you that he’s going to send people your way that those around you will question. But know this. God doesn’t want to break up your circle. He wants to raise you above it, so that when others look up to you, they’ll see him. That’ll never happen though if you fear the disdain of others, if you allow people to use manipulation, intimidation, or domination to influence your decisions, and if you refuse to step out of your comfort zone.
Oh, by the way. God will show you who your real friends are if you ask Him.
~Eric Fields
Proverbs 29:25 the fear of others lays a snare, but one who trusts in the Lord is secure
Yesterday’s lesson was more of a positive take on not allowing the fear of others to impact your decision making. Today, I will dig a little deeper into one the snares that the “fear of man produces’”... wrong agreements. The first thing we need to understand that we all seek and desire acceptance. I believe God placed that desire in us. In order to maintain acceptance we form alliances (or friendships) with others. Often those alliances grow and become clichés, and those clichés slowly begin to require obligations. In all actuality there’s nothing terribly wrong with that. The problem starts when we examine some of the fruit that clichés can produce.
There’s an age old principle used to control others. It’s in operation in religion, politics, race, age, gender, and nationality, and can be summed up in two words; “Us” & “Them”. It’s always intrigued me because it’s in our nature to not want to be one of “Them”. We all want to be loved and accepted. In order to avoid becoming one of “them” we sometimes find ourselves agreeing with statements or accepting mindsets that our hearts know are wrong. Then we feel convicted by those words (wanna guess who’s doing the convicting?). Little did we know that those words would prove to be a snare!
OK; example time. Let’s say you start to form a friendship outside of your normal circle. Now someone in that circle doesn’t necessarily like it. Then comes one of the three methods we use to control people, manipulation (I saw you with so and so. Everyone is talking about it!), Intimidation (We wanted to invite you, but thought that you’d rather spend time with so and so), or domination (Look; you’re both so and so’s friend or ours!). Poor so and so!
You see example after example of Jesus being criticized for healing sinners & lepers, preaching on the Sabbath, forgiving an adulteress. The list goes on. By the way; He never even ministered in the temple. If you study the bible at all you know that it was the chief priest and scribes that leveled accusation after accusation against him. They tempted, tested, and openly accused Him. What always amazed me about this situation was the reasoning for their accusations. He didn’t play be their rules. He had the audacity to obey God, and they refused to believe that God would operate outside of “their” authority. In their eyes the “King of Glory” was one of “them”.
I think we’ve never truly understood that every relationship in our lives is producing or reproducing something. What comes out of your mouth in the midst of your conversations says a lot about what’s being produced (Amos3:3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?). What’s more; if you chose to follow God, I’ll guarantee you that he’s going to send people your way that those around you will question. But know this. God doesn’t want to break up your circle. He wants to raise you above it, so that when others look up to you, they’ll see him. That’ll never happen though if you fear the disdain of others, if you allow people to use manipulation, intimidation, or domination to influence your decisions, and if you refuse to step out of your comfort zone.
Oh, by the way. God will show you who your real friends are if you ask Him.
~Eric Fields
Band of Brothers
I really shouldn’t watch Band of Brothers before bed. I was watching it yesterday and realized something new. The American soldiers didn’t know about the concentration camps. The episode was impeccable. The title was “Why We’re Here” and dealt with several of the guys who were starting to struggle with their reasons for being at war. They had been fighting for over a year and had seen some bad stuff. They were told to hate Germany and Hitler. Why? Hitler wanted to take over the world. Now, I don’t doubt that our government knew about the camps but the soldiers?
In the scene, a group of them are scouting an area of woods after 300,000 Germany fighters surrendered. They each notice how eerily quiet it is and keep stopping to check secure the location. They come to the edge of the forest and the only thing the viewer sees is smoke drifting into the guys’ faces. Then, one of them is running to get Major Winters. When the viewer returns to the smoky area, we see Winters pulling up and stopping, a look of complete shock on his face.
After entering the camp, Winters has the interpreter ask the prisoners questions. The first question: why are you here? The prisoner uses a word the interpreter doesn’t understand. Confusion. Were they allied troops? Did they break a law? Finally, the answer comes: Jewish. It blew the soldiers away. Later on, Winters is talking to another guy and says, “they are finding these camps all over.” The men were in shock as they showed the devastation and suffering within the camp.
Like I said, I shouldn’t watch Band of Brothers before bed.
In the scene, a group of them are scouting an area of woods after 300,000 Germany fighters surrendered. They each notice how eerily quiet it is and keep stopping to check secure the location. They come to the edge of the forest and the only thing the viewer sees is smoke drifting into the guys’ faces. Then, one of them is running to get Major Winters. When the viewer returns to the smoky area, we see Winters pulling up and stopping, a look of complete shock on his face.
After entering the camp, Winters has the interpreter ask the prisoners questions. The first question: why are you here? The prisoner uses a word the interpreter doesn’t understand. Confusion. Were they allied troops? Did they break a law? Finally, the answer comes: Jewish. It blew the soldiers away. Later on, Winters is talking to another guy and says, “they are finding these camps all over.” The men were in shock as they showed the devastation and suffering within the camp.
Like I said, I shouldn’t watch Band of Brothers before bed.
A Weekend Update on Wednesday
Remember my weekend updates? Seems like I haven’t given one in awhile. I’m about to unload one but please do not be deceived. My life isn’t full of happiness and fun. I’m just choosing to write about those parts today.
Friday night was so much fun. First, Joey made us a $10 dinner (rotisserie chicken, Meijer mashed potatoes, salad and green beans). He also made some chocolate martinis which we drank out of our new martini glasses (yum). After dancing to some 80s music in the living room with Titan and Joey, we made our way to Club 131 to secure a table. The Mega 80s were in town! Man alive…it was cold in this club. I danced to the videos playing to stay warm and ordered up a Jack & coke. What I got was a lot of ice, some Jack and some Coke but that was a safer bet for me. Levi and JT came down from the upstairs bar and then their friends Lindsey and Emily joined us. Carey, the lead singer of the Mega 80s, walked in with the rest of the band. I went over to say hi and the first thing he asked me made my jaw drop.
“Are you going to stick around for the second set?” he asked.
“What do you mean?!” I asked knowing exactly what he meant.
“You always leave after the first set. Stick it out tonight.” I promised I would. The Cole’s showed up and at first I thought they were not going to have fun. Peter claims not to like the music but he had made a pseudo promise to me back in 2005 he would go to a Mega 80s concert with me. So there we were…along with Aaron and his bro. The band started playing and almost all of us were out on the floor dancing. Truly, I had so much fun that I hurt myself dancing. And we did stick around for the second set. They did a tribute to all of the cheesy metal songs from the 80s. Amazing job. In the middle of “Pour Some Sugar On Me” I realized I was almost 31 and had to be in bed. I even received an e-mail from an anonymous fan:
“I forgot to tell you about this band I saw on Friday night. I was afraid they were going to be "square" but in fact they were pretty "def." Jenny wasn't sure about them either, but I told her to "take a chill pill" and reminded her that this band came highly recommended by our good friend. Would she let us down? "As if!" Anyways, the next time this band is in town I will let you know so we can all have a "kickin'" good time.”
Maybe that wasn’t so anonymous. Mark your calendars 80s fans: Mega 80s come back 3.23.2007—the last show until the fall of ’07.
Saturday, I ran 2 miles with Shelley and Ellen, got my oil changed and my hair cut. After a much needed nap, Joey picked me up for our dinner reservations at the State Room. Darn good food. We even got dessert but the wine was missing from the meal. We stopped to see my step-mom’s new baby (her laptop) and then went to the musical “All Shook Up.” Now, here is where I have to make apologies. I don’t enjoy musicals. My apologies are to my step-mom who purchased the tickets and to Meg, who I kept thinking about through the whole thing. Now, that being said, I didn’t hate the play. It did hold my interest and had me laughing at times. I can also appreciate the beauty in the singing. But a lot of the time while watching, I resemble that guy from Napoleon Dynamite, Don. You know…the blonde dude who is always rolling his eyes and making little noises which match his annoyance level? Yes. I admit this is me.
Sunday at church blew me away. I’m not going to recap, though. RivKids was a good time, too. Afterwards, Joey and I went to the Flap Jack for Blueberry pancakes and then off too look at houses in the snowy weather. And here, my friends, is the quote of the weekend:
Joey: Are you cold?
Me: Yes.
Joey: If you open up that far right vent some warmies will come out.
Me: Okay.
Joey: Did I just say warmies?
Thus concludes the weekend update.
Friday night was so much fun. First, Joey made us a $10 dinner (rotisserie chicken, Meijer mashed potatoes, salad and green beans). He also made some chocolate martinis which we drank out of our new martini glasses (yum). After dancing to some 80s music in the living room with Titan and Joey, we made our way to Club 131 to secure a table. The Mega 80s were in town! Man alive…it was cold in this club. I danced to the videos playing to stay warm and ordered up a Jack & coke. What I got was a lot of ice, some Jack and some Coke but that was a safer bet for me. Levi and JT came down from the upstairs bar and then their friends Lindsey and Emily joined us. Carey, the lead singer of the Mega 80s, walked in with the rest of the band. I went over to say hi and the first thing he asked me made my jaw drop.
“Are you going to stick around for the second set?” he asked.
“What do you mean?!” I asked knowing exactly what he meant.
“You always leave after the first set. Stick it out tonight.” I promised I would. The Cole’s showed up and at first I thought they were not going to have fun. Peter claims not to like the music but he had made a pseudo promise to me back in 2005 he would go to a Mega 80s concert with me. So there we were…along with Aaron and his bro. The band started playing and almost all of us were out on the floor dancing. Truly, I had so much fun that I hurt myself dancing. And we did stick around for the second set. They did a tribute to all of the cheesy metal songs from the 80s. Amazing job. In the middle of “Pour Some Sugar On Me” I realized I was almost 31 and had to be in bed. I even received an e-mail from an anonymous fan:
“I forgot to tell you about this band I saw on Friday night. I was afraid they were going to be "square" but in fact they were pretty "def." Jenny wasn't sure about them either, but I told her to "take a chill pill" and reminded her that this band came highly recommended by our good friend. Would she let us down? "As if!" Anyways, the next time this band is in town I will let you know so we can all have a "kickin'" good time.”
Maybe that wasn’t so anonymous. Mark your calendars 80s fans: Mega 80s come back 3.23.2007—the last show until the fall of ’07.
Saturday, I ran 2 miles with Shelley and Ellen, got my oil changed and my hair cut. After a much needed nap, Joey picked me up for our dinner reservations at the State Room. Darn good food. We even got dessert but the wine was missing from the meal. We stopped to see my step-mom’s new baby (her laptop) and then went to the musical “All Shook Up.” Now, here is where I have to make apologies. I don’t enjoy musicals. My apologies are to my step-mom who purchased the tickets and to Meg, who I kept thinking about through the whole thing. Now, that being said, I didn’t hate the play. It did hold my interest and had me laughing at times. I can also appreciate the beauty in the singing. But a lot of the time while watching, I resemble that guy from Napoleon Dynamite, Don. You know…the blonde dude who is always rolling his eyes and making little noises which match his annoyance level? Yes. I admit this is me.
Sunday at church blew me away. I’m not going to recap, though. RivKids was a good time, too. Afterwards, Joey and I went to the Flap Jack for Blueberry pancakes and then off too look at houses in the snowy weather. And here, my friends, is the quote of the weekend:
Joey: Are you cold?
Me: Yes.
Joey: If you open up that far right vent some warmies will come out.
Me: Okay.
Joey: Did I just say warmies?
Thus concludes the weekend update.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Adopt a Nun
Adopt A Nun
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/27/story_2741_1.html
I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for free…
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/27/story_2741_1.html
I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for free…
Dr. Laura
Yes, I know most of you probably dislike her but I have learned a lot from Dr. Laura Schlessinger. I believe God used her to stop me from “shacking up” with my ex-boyfriend and wanting to be a stay-at-home mom. She is extreme, that’s for sure. Nevertheless, I saw this on Wikipedia today and thought I would post it.
Laura Schlessinger
Born in 1947 in Brooklyn, New York, to Monroe (Monty) Schlessinger and Yolanda Ceccovini Schlessinger, Schlessinger grew up first in Brooklyn, then in Long Island, New York. She has described her childhood in a dysfunctional family as unpleasant, due to extended family rejection of her mixed-marriage parents (her father was a non-practicing Jew, while her mother was an Italian non-practicing Roman Catholic) and due to what she has described as an unloving environment. Schlessinger converted to Judaism in 1996, and she and her son Deryk joined the Conservative branch. Then in 1998 the entire family converted to Orthodox Judaism under Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka of Ottawa, Ontario. Schlessinger sometimes discussed religion on the show, giving examples from Judaism in order to illustrate resolutions of moral dilemmas facing her callers, the vast majority of whom were not Jewish. She occasionally clarified ethical and moral issues with her local Orthodox Rabbi, Moshe D. Bryski, before mentioning them on the air. She was embraced by many in the politically conservative segment of Orthodox Judaism for bringing more awareness of Orthodoxy to her radio show. Schlessinger received a National Heritage award from the National Council of Young Israel in early 2001. Some of her expressed views were explicitly religious and found their way into her 1999 book The Ten Commandments: The Significance of God's Laws in Everyday Life, while many of her other views were purely secular in nature. In July 2003, Schlessinger announced on her show that she was no longer an Orthodox Jew. In a series of monologues over the next month, she explained that she did not feel a connection with God and felt frustrated by the effort she had put into following the religion. She also mentioned envying the relationship with God described by her Christian fans.
Did you catch that?
Laura Schlessinger
Born in 1947 in Brooklyn, New York, to Monroe (Monty) Schlessinger and Yolanda Ceccovini Schlessinger, Schlessinger grew up first in Brooklyn, then in Long Island, New York. She has described her childhood in a dysfunctional family as unpleasant, due to extended family rejection of her mixed-marriage parents (her father was a non-practicing Jew, while her mother was an Italian non-practicing Roman Catholic) and due to what she has described as an unloving environment. Schlessinger converted to Judaism in 1996, and she and her son Deryk joined the Conservative branch. Then in 1998 the entire family converted to Orthodox Judaism under Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka of Ottawa, Ontario. Schlessinger sometimes discussed religion on the show, giving examples from Judaism in order to illustrate resolutions of moral dilemmas facing her callers, the vast majority of whom were not Jewish. She occasionally clarified ethical and moral issues with her local Orthodox Rabbi, Moshe D. Bryski, before mentioning them on the air. She was embraced by many in the politically conservative segment of Orthodox Judaism for bringing more awareness of Orthodoxy to her radio show. Schlessinger received a National Heritage award from the National Council of Young Israel in early 2001. Some of her expressed views were explicitly religious and found their way into her 1999 book The Ten Commandments: The Significance of God's Laws in Everyday Life, while many of her other views were purely secular in nature. In July 2003, Schlessinger announced on her show that she was no longer an Orthodox Jew. In a series of monologues over the next month, she explained that she did not feel a connection with God and felt frustrated by the effort she had put into following the religion. She also mentioned envying the relationship with God described by her Christian fans.
Did you catch that?
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
My Faith Is Sore…but Strengthening
A co-worker and myself started a Bible Study/Prayer Group/Time with God group three years ago. We have been meeting on Wednesdays for lunch and have helped each other through a lot of valleys. Truly, she teaches me. A struggle in her life is that her son, Jake, is an atheist. I know a lot about him through his mother and recently he started going to MSU. Hmmmm….. The brain started cranking out ideas of how to bump into him on campus or perhaps a friend or two in our college group could “by chance” meet him. For the past few months, Jake had seemed to becoming more interested in Christianity, asking his mother for his Bible and opening dialogue. I thought I would just go for it and invite him to Riv.
Last week, after praying about it, I wrote an e-mail and then…no e-mail address. I couldn’t find! I called his mom to get it. She was out of the office until Monday. Was this a sign that I wasn’t supposed to invite him? What if I was acting on my own timing? Was God really driving?
Yesterday at lunch, I was driving down 5 mile and the thought popped into my head to send my co-worker an e-mail asking for Jake’s e-mail address. I quickly dismissed the thought and started flipping through channels on my radio. The Bob Dutko (http://www.wmuz.com/) show was on the Christian station and he was talking about Compassion ministries. I turned the channel but accidentally pushed the button for the Christian station again…just as Bob was talking about a little boy named…Jake…who needed a sponsor. The lights turned back on in my head. “Okay, God. I’ll invite him.” After all, I’m the girl who doesn’t believe in coincidence.
I got the e-mail address. With a quick prayer, I hit send. His mother warned me Jake may not be receptive but my thoughts traveled to something Noel taught a couple months ago. If you care about people, you will share the gospel. If they reject it, they aren’t rejecting you. They are rejecting God and God can handle it. After the rejection, brush it off and go on. Not move on. Stay in that person’s life and just love them.
Sometimes it’s all about planting seeds.
Most of the time, for me, people are receptive to what I share. I do not have a lot of experience with atheism. I was talking to my co-worker yesterday and said this may be about God toughing me up, not asking questions and just doing His will.
I got the response this morning from Jake. :o)
Last week, after praying about it, I wrote an e-mail and then…no e-mail address. I couldn’t find! I called his mom to get it. She was out of the office until Monday. Was this a sign that I wasn’t supposed to invite him? What if I was acting on my own timing? Was God really driving?
Yesterday at lunch, I was driving down 5 mile and the thought popped into my head to send my co-worker an e-mail asking for Jake’s e-mail address. I quickly dismissed the thought and started flipping through channels on my radio. The Bob Dutko (http://www.wmuz.com/) show was on the Christian station and he was talking about Compassion ministries. I turned the channel but accidentally pushed the button for the Christian station again…just as Bob was talking about a little boy named…Jake…who needed a sponsor. The lights turned back on in my head. “Okay, God. I’ll invite him.” After all, I’m the girl who doesn’t believe in coincidence.
I got the e-mail address. With a quick prayer, I hit send. His mother warned me Jake may not be receptive but my thoughts traveled to something Noel taught a couple months ago. If you care about people, you will share the gospel. If they reject it, they aren’t rejecting you. They are rejecting God and God can handle it. After the rejection, brush it off and go on. Not move on. Stay in that person’s life and just love them.
Sometimes it’s all about planting seeds.
Most of the time, for me, people are receptive to what I share. I do not have a lot of experience with atheism. I was talking to my co-worker yesterday and said this may be about God toughing me up, not asking questions and just doing His will.
I got the response this morning from Jake. :o)
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Chessie the Predator
Okay....I'm warning you...this is gross. Chessie, our dear, sweet kitty cat, has been hunting and killing things in the house. She stalks, sizes up her prey and goes for the kill. It's been ugly, stumbling on the remains which end up all over the carpet. Quite a mess. But I can't help but being a little proud. So, I thought I would post a picture of her conquests. Again...this is gross so I apologize ahead of time....
Do you see it? She has bullied these poor, innocent souls and mutilated their battered bodies. Truly sick.
A close up of the one who didn't get away. Now, we haven't actually seen her committing the crimes so I asked Joey how he knows it's her. "Partly because there is cotten in the litter box...and because I've seen her bolt out from under the Christmas tree when I walk in the room."
Chessie...so sweet and innocent...
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Crack
"Hi, this is Dr. Pulver."
"Hello, Dr. Pulver. This is Holly."
"Was up, Holly?"
"Oh...nothing..."
"Don't you have my cell phone #?"
"Well, yeah, but the reason I called you at work is because...well...I hurt myself."
"How did you hurt yourself?"
"I was lifting a car off a small child and in the process I hurt my back."
"Oh...I think I saw that on the news."
"Or...I was bending down to get a shirt out of the dryer...and something broke."
"Your back?"
"Levi, my back hurts soooo bad. I thought I could walk it off, stretch it out, sleep it off...it hurts bad."
"Come on in and I'll take a look."
So, now I'm on my way to a follow up appointment. My back is feeling better, just a little sore. I'm telling you, though....I don't know if I've experienced worse pain. Dude...I'm 31! Grrrrr....
"Hello, Dr. Pulver. This is Holly."
"Was up, Holly?"
"Oh...nothing..."
"Don't you have my cell phone #?"
"Well, yeah, but the reason I called you at work is because...well...I hurt myself."
"How did you hurt yourself?"
"I was lifting a car off a small child and in the process I hurt my back."
"Oh...I think I saw that on the news."
"Or...I was bending down to get a shirt out of the dryer...and something broke."
"Your back?"
"Levi, my back hurts soooo bad. I thought I could walk it off, stretch it out, sleep it off...it hurts bad."
"Come on in and I'll take a look."
So, now I'm on my way to a follow up appointment. My back is feeling better, just a little sore. I'm telling you, though....I don't know if I've experienced worse pain. Dude...I'm 31! Grrrrr....
Monday, January 01, 2007
New Year!!!
Noel and his New Year wine.
Pete and Jennwy
Suzanne and Dan--the hosts
The tarp that wouldn't stay up.
Welcome, 2007!
Yeah, I know.
Jaden
Emma and I and our confetti hair.
The annual Joey & Jenny New Years dance.
The party got so crazy, people started taking off their diapers.... 
...and their hair. 
Suz and I (yes, she's wearing clothes. The party didn't get THAT crazy).Cousins
Joey and I went to visit my cousin Justin (mom's side of the family) while he is staying with his parents. He goes back to Walter Reed Hospital in mid-January for more surgery to remove a knuckle. We watched a TV interview done on him when he was first injured in Iraq. It made everything way more real for me. I think it's hard for Justin to be back home but he is making plans for the future which really makes me happy.We also visited my newest cousin, Brenna (dad's side of the family). She is my cousin Cory's daughter. She and Joey watched some football together.
Lyndsay's 10!
I took Lyndsay to the Libby Lu in Grandville. Fawn and her step-daughter, Allie, accompanied us. I can't believe my little niece is 10...
Lyndsay at 1
Lyndsay at 10 @ Libby Lu
Christmas
Here are some of my favorite pictures from Christmas of 2006
Christmas Eve after church at the Corr's: me, my mom, step-sis Fawn, step-dad Dean and Reta (Joey's Mom). 
Titan
Joey and the animals Christmas morning at the Corr's.
My mom and her toilet lid cover.
Dean, my step-dad.
My sister opening her Jesus is My Homeboy sweatshirt from Joey.
Joey thought we all forgot about the special Tigers hat he put on hold at Hat World. Not so.
Brad and his sweater vest
Lyndsay, Brad and Max
Kids vs. Grownups
My pops
1st Annual Pig Out
The Saturday before Christmas, we had a progressive Pig Out. Dinner at Joey's, desserts at the Coles and drinks/games at the Camberns. Fun times...
Chocolate martini...yum :o)
Even the guys like them...
Chocolate martini...yum :o)
Even the guys like them...
Saturday, December 30, 2006
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