Romans 13:1-7 says this:

" 1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor."

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According to news sources, Gospel Today Magazine was pulled from LifeWay Christian Bookstores across the United States. Why? The cover, and topic, is "Female Pastors". According to the Southern Baptist Convention, owner of the LifeWay Christian Bookstores, it was pulled because it went against their belief on Women's roles as pastors, that it's only a role reserved for men. Gospel Today's owner, Teresa Hairston, is "shocked by this news." You can read the full story here.

 

But what are your thoughts? Yes, it can be about your stance on Women as Pastors, but what do you think about pulling it on the basis that you don't agree with it? Should readers have equal opportunity to read different views of Scripture since the store is LifeWay Christian book store, not LifeWay Southern Baptist book store? 

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I wish I could meet yourself...but younger. im not talking about the younger that you can get with botox or surgery which daily seems less shocking, but i mean the younger self: who you were before who you are now. i feel like all of us, love that self. 

when i was little i used to cry and cry and cry every night because i was afraid of the dark and i knew that dad and mom would come in and comfort me and they would always take care of me. of course, after a few years (yes, years) this act got old and dad would threaten to put me in the cold shower. i never believed him, but one time, he came storming the room and I could only see the outline of his body as he reached down, picked me up and took me into the bathroom. the cold water knob was turned on to full strength and then the door opened, and i was shoved in, tears and clothes and all. i never cried in my bed again....not only to avoid a shower. but there was something liberating about that night. some freedom which was found in being saved.

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August 2, 2008

the difference between names and faces is completely fascinating.  I can go my whole day and see a hundred faces. Where I get my morning coffee; it's the same barista, the audience is the same as we play out a joke we seem to have played so many times before this moment.  I feel connected to that person, yet i do not know his name.  if i saw him, not in the uniform of black and white and that silly hat, i may not know why i know them, but I would register that somehow i do.  would i recognize him quicker if i knew his name?

all of this is going through my head as I am lazily standing around sipping my coffee.  its about 8:30 and the day has begun.  nothing much has changed, and i woke up with that same feeling of insignificance as i had the morning before, and the one before that, and the one...

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Ever since I can remember, I have gone to church and loved it. I loved the Sunday School games, the hymns, the Christmas programs, the energy, the potlucks...we were a church family. However, I was just a child then. I went to church where my parents went to church, and no questions asked. Now, as I am newly married, a seminary student, and am asked by my community, my family and my self, what type of person I will be, what I will believe, and what I will allow to define me; my husband and I find ourselves very seriously thinking about where we go to church. For someone who has always accepted church as being a part of the non-questionable Sunday routine (and youth night when the activity seemed fun enough to go), we are finding ourselves refreshingly shocked that we are not taking church with such openness. We are being very particular, and dissecting the sermons, the worship and, if I am honest, the leadership.

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The best thing about a good song is the beat. Now a days, people are always making iPod playlists, car soundtracks, and video montages with that perfect song because life is just a bit better when walking to a beat.  This is most likely one of the biggest driving forces behind the sales and the obsession with the iPod.  According to arecent study there are approximately 70 million current iPod users.  [1]  Take a second and think about that number.  An average heart beats103,680 beats in a day. That means that if music was blood, there is enough music being played in to give  67,515 people breath. These white ear-buds give it’s owners the ability to drown out the societal noises of cars honking, baristas screaming and even their own thoughts and get lost in a rhythm that seems tobeat the same thump-thump of the emotions of their heart.  But why, why must there be anelectronic phenomenon to create this rhythm?  Is this world so chaotic that ears must be stuffed full ofbeats in order to truly hear?  Must footsteps really be in tune to the latest and greatest song, or were they meantto hit the pavement to different sort of rhythm? 

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Every time the 9-5 life sets in, I begin to down coffee like it's part of my job. Not only does my checking account begin to go down (because I have fallen for the Starbucks lure) but my addiction sky rockets. In college, I would drink about 6 cups a day. Yes, you heard me: 6. I loved it. Loved the sound of it brewing, loved the taste of it, loved watching the milk swirl like a Monet painting as I poured it in....ok I sound crazy. But so was my addiction. I'd take it anyway that it came: steaming hot with a biscotti, over ice, no frills in a double shot, flavored with vanilla or carmel, or toffee nut, frozen and blended...you name, I would drink it. My addiction came to a halt when I came down with an awful cold and could not eat or drink anything except herbal tea. The bite the tea gave to my coffee-loving tongue was almost unbearable, but it was the results that kept me drinking it. Perhaps my other addiction you should know about it my love for buying books. (Which is why, although I think it's the neatest thing to be able to buy a book at the tip of your fingers, I will never buy a Kindle because just as Video Killed the Radio Star, I fear that Kindle will kill the smell of brand new turning pages....) So as I am sick, and beginning to like tea, I purchased The Ultimate Tea Diet. And in it I found a few daunting facts:

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Like I said in my previous post, this week I find myself out of the normal California sun and into the humidity of the great state of  Texas.  My internal temperature is not used to being this high, nor is my body used to producing this much sweat.  Along with these few adjustments:

fire ants

accents

 cowboy church camps

people being able to distinguish between north and south texas accents

calling Texas "the south"

BBQ everywhere. all the time. the smoke-smell on your clothes and the taste forever in your mouth.

 

I consider myself very healthy.  I exercise four times a week, I run and life weights, I do pilates, and I walk.  I love to read health books (The Ultimate Tea Diet, got me off coffee and into the world of tea..that I LOVE), and I love to cook delicious things with healthy recipes.   In fact, my husband and I recently decided to wean off milk (what are we, toddlers?) and into the world of soy or rice milk.  So far we have consumed one gallon of rice milk for smoothies and cereals, as well as a small pint of chocolate soy milk ice cream.  Today I was happily notified by a hungry husband that he was going to Trader Joes to buy the Rice milk himself.  Pretty darn good I must say.

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I must confess that I have grown up emmersed in Christian culture.  I love getting my LightHouse Christian book store ads in the mail, I love the books that I have been writing about in my former two posts.  Now, as I am older and regretfully a bit jaded, I waver between loving and hating the marketing promotions, sitckers, shirts, books...that Christian Culture produces.  

 

On the one hand, they are helpful.  The provide almost a sanctuary from the world. A curtain that seperates madness from serenity.  Its a nap in the afternoon.  Hot cocoa when it's raining.  A snow cone on a hot summer day.  

 

On the other, it's un-nerving.  They provide an empire from the world that closes us off more than what is good for us.  It's a blanket of security. It's a tightly knitted crochet that is perfect in front and messy in back. A cold Shower in the morning.   Cold coffee in the pot.

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"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

 

I hate to admit that when I hear that verse, I am filled with re-assurance and confidence that everything will be ok.  But, it's not the assurance that I should have, it's not the one that says "Everything will work out, and I trust that."  Nope, it's not that.  It's often more like this, "Sweet. God knows I want this to happen or that I am not ready for that (you get the picture) and He knows that my way must be the right way, so it will work out like that."  Part of that, true, is from me and my own theology, but the other part is because the first place that I heard that verse or that sticks out in my mind, is written on a picture frame in a Christian store.  No context was given to me, and I was too young to really go and look it up and research it and understand it.  Imagine a picture of a family in that frame.  From the outside the family is happy, two married parents, two kids (a boy and a girl) and then of course a dog, with a beautiful house in the background on a hill...with the sunset.  It really does look like God has worked for the good of those people.  Now, replace that picture with a picture of maybe a funeral, or  a a missing child poster.  I know that may seem extreme to some of us, but the truth is, is we would never put those type of pictures in a frame with that verse on it.  

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