It has been 5 months with Bell's Palsy. I have thought of coming up with a better name for it. Like "Old Droopy", "Mr. Can't Smile Syndrome", or "I Freaking Hate It".
One person thought I had dental work, most try to be polite and not mention it. I cannot whistle. I cannot blow the paper off a straw. If I need to spit (and I know that it is gross, but when a bug flies in your mouth during mowing, what else can you do), I cannot. Speaking sometime hurts. My eye still leaks constantly, and needs drops during the day.
It is better. But, like today, it is annoying. I looked at the graduation photo, with Mrs. Not the Junior Senator, The boy who is now a college graduate, and me, "Mr. McHangy Face" and I was reminded how much I hate this.
It sucks. Sucks. SUCKS.
But other than that, and the fact that I am worn out from moving Graduate Boy this week, plus other things, everything is going good.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Cemetery Nachos only mean something to a few of us.
I usually do not skirt around issues. I have never been one to shy away from controversy, and, as most of my friends will tell you, I am sometimes the cause of said controversy. Years ago I went after a teacher because she made a comment in her class, asking the students to identify who among their fellow students they thought were the most likely to become a crazed gunman, like at Virginia Tech or Northern Illinois University. I felt that she was stupid, and that she should apologize, especially to the students that were pointed out as having “potential”. The superintendent and principal both thought differently, that I was taking her comments the wrong way.
When friends invite me to a casino, it is always because the casino has a buffet. I am not a gambler, never have been. But they all know I like to eat. So, knowing that I am a Christian, and that I hate second-hand smoke, they forego all that and assume I want a cheap meal and a lot of it. Am I taking their invitation the wrong way? Or, as a large person, do I assume that the invitation is directed at my girth?
So, with those two illustrations aside, let me talk about something that recently happened at church.
We had a woman give her testimony about demon possession. Whether you believe in it or not, really unimportant here. I do, because I believe I have witnessed it twice in my life, once in Chicago and once in Pana. I was not happy about either outcome.
Culturally, we are shown possession as only happening to one religious sect (Catholicism), or we are shown it as a joke, it is shown as terrifying in the movies, with the demon almost always winning over God or Christ. We know that Hispanic cultures believe in more than WASPS. It is whispered about, joked about, and told about in campfire and slumber party settings.
I was working in a Christian bookstore in downtown Chicago when an African-American homeless man came in, asking for scriptures on cassette. I showed him what we had in the store, and at that point at least 5 different voices came out of his mouth. I looked around for a fellow employee, but they had all vanished. I later found out that they hid, waiting for security to arrive and escort the man out of the store. I wanted to do more, and believe that with my fellow believers with me, we could have taken care of the problem. Instead, they hid and the man was escorted back to the streets. The other incident, in Pana, I do not want to write about at this point. It ended in the same way, sadly.
I have to say that I enjoyed listening to the woman’s testimony. It had a good outcome, and is something we need to continue to pray about on a daily basis. Her community is very Hispanic, and so the chances of demon possession are prevalent. She is still under attack, and she, and her family, needs the support of the body of believers, not only in her community, but everywhere.
The end of the service brought a question and answer time, and here is where I had a problem.
Let me say this first...I love my pastor, the church, and am not upset about anything I am going to talk about here, I just feel I need to speak my piece.
Evil is very real, and I am totally aware of it. I have had good Christian throw the scripture I Thessalonians 5:22 at me like it was some kind of defense against me. (Avoid the very appearance of evil). But define evil for me...is it really a Harry Potter movie, or Dracula, or Twilight, or I Dream of Jeannie, or The Exorcist....or is it gossiping, lying, giving God less than 10% if though we could afford 20%, denying food to the poor, ignoring pain, saying “I will pray for you” and then not doing it, or denying the existence of evil altogether?
Is all music, except Christian music, evil? And how do you define Christian music? Is a Christian singing music make that song a “Christian” song? Does a Christian singing a hymn mean that it is a Christian song, even though it is sang in a bar? Does a person who professes no faith yet sings a song with a Christian theme automatically become a “Christian performer”? If I like a song, and I use it as a sermon illustration, does that song become “Christian” because it illustrates a “Christian” message?
I like Regina Spektor’s song “Laughing at God”. I also like Daniel Powter’s song “Had a Bad Day”, and have used both as sermon illustrations. I have also used Matthew West’s “The Motions” as well as “Africa” by Toto, a Steve Harvey video, Lady Gaga’s senior piano recital, and other things that some people may find offensive. I have used the NFL to make a point, and the Book of Jonah, and this scripture:
“A true friend is a sturdy shelter. A person who has found one has found a treasure.” Where is that in the Bible? Actually, it is in the book The Wisdom of Jesus Ben Sirach, found in the Apocrypha. But it shows up on items at Christian bookstores all the time, and no one notices. Why? Because it is pretty, and makes us all warm inside. It’s so true, that stuff about friends. You’ve got to have friends. Eleanor Rigby did not have any and look what happened to her.
Is Harry Potter evil? Is Goosebumps, or Bewitched, or Twilight? Maybe for the naive or innocent in the faith, it is. Maybe for someone looking for evil, it is. But I am strong in my faith, yet still admit to being weak, and I know this about Harry Potter...it is fiction. I concur that it is about wizards and evil, but it also holds themes of loyalty, friendship, steadfastness, and believing in one’s potential. You want to hear a similar story, read the gospel of Matthew. You can find all those themes in the Bible, yet most of us know the point of the Bible is to tell us the story of God’s Son. But it is also a history book, a romance, and somtimes entertainment.
And music....use discernment like we do everything in our lives. We are careful about what we eat, what we drink, who we worship. If I can use a song by an artist who does not admit to being of a particular faith, I will do it. And if I ever run into the artist, I am going to shake their hand and tell them I admire their music.
I am not saying run out right now and buy Harry Potter books, or go see Twilight, or rent a bunch of slasher movies, but really think about what you put into your mind and body. As a person who buys and likes comic books, likes The Godfather, Good Fellas, and Casino, loves Fireproof and Courageous, plans to see The Avengers, has a statue of a Chinese warrior on his desk, Gettysburg and Abraham Lincoln items on his wall at work, has a cross with Joshua 1:9 on his desk, has a picture of his family, loves rocks, owns cats, does not like peas or peanut butter , loves hot wings and sushi, teaches children’s church, loves Jesus and loves sharing about Him...be careful what you do, what you say, and how you say it. You never know about the person who is listening, and where they are at in their lives.
Feel free to comment, but think about it first. I have weighed this blog all week, and wrote it, rewrote it, and then thought about it even more today.
When friends invite me to a casino, it is always because the casino has a buffet. I am not a gambler, never have been. But they all know I like to eat. So, knowing that I am a Christian, and that I hate second-hand smoke, they forego all that and assume I want a cheap meal and a lot of it. Am I taking their invitation the wrong way? Or, as a large person, do I assume that the invitation is directed at my girth?
So, with those two illustrations aside, let me talk about something that recently happened at church.
We had a woman give her testimony about demon possession. Whether you believe in it or not, really unimportant here. I do, because I believe I have witnessed it twice in my life, once in Chicago and once in Pana. I was not happy about either outcome.
Culturally, we are shown possession as only happening to one religious sect (Catholicism), or we are shown it as a joke, it is shown as terrifying in the movies, with the demon almost always winning over God or Christ. We know that Hispanic cultures believe in more than WASPS. It is whispered about, joked about, and told about in campfire and slumber party settings.
I was working in a Christian bookstore in downtown Chicago when an African-American homeless man came in, asking for scriptures on cassette. I showed him what we had in the store, and at that point at least 5 different voices came out of his mouth. I looked around for a fellow employee, but they had all vanished. I later found out that they hid, waiting for security to arrive and escort the man out of the store. I wanted to do more, and believe that with my fellow believers with me, we could have taken care of the problem. Instead, they hid and the man was escorted back to the streets. The other incident, in Pana, I do not want to write about at this point. It ended in the same way, sadly.
I have to say that I enjoyed listening to the woman’s testimony. It had a good outcome, and is something we need to continue to pray about on a daily basis. Her community is very Hispanic, and so the chances of demon possession are prevalent. She is still under attack, and she, and her family, needs the support of the body of believers, not only in her community, but everywhere.
The end of the service brought a question and answer time, and here is where I had a problem.
Let me say this first...I love my pastor, the church, and am not upset about anything I am going to talk about here, I just feel I need to speak my piece.
Evil is very real, and I am totally aware of it. I have had good Christian throw the scripture I Thessalonians 5:22 at me like it was some kind of defense against me. (Avoid the very appearance of evil). But define evil for me...is it really a Harry Potter movie, or Dracula, or Twilight, or I Dream of Jeannie, or The Exorcist....or is it gossiping, lying, giving God less than 10% if though we could afford 20%, denying food to the poor, ignoring pain, saying “I will pray for you” and then not doing it, or denying the existence of evil altogether?
Is all music, except Christian music, evil? And how do you define Christian music? Is a Christian singing music make that song a “Christian” song? Does a Christian singing a hymn mean that it is a Christian song, even though it is sang in a bar? Does a person who professes no faith yet sings a song with a Christian theme automatically become a “Christian performer”? If I like a song, and I use it as a sermon illustration, does that song become “Christian” because it illustrates a “Christian” message?
I like Regina Spektor’s song “Laughing at God”. I also like Daniel Powter’s song “Had a Bad Day”, and have used both as sermon illustrations. I have also used Matthew West’s “The Motions” as well as “Africa” by Toto, a Steve Harvey video, Lady Gaga’s senior piano recital, and other things that some people may find offensive. I have used the NFL to make a point, and the Book of Jonah, and this scripture:
“A true friend is a sturdy shelter. A person who has found one has found a treasure.” Where is that in the Bible? Actually, it is in the book The Wisdom of Jesus Ben Sirach, found in the Apocrypha. But it shows up on items at Christian bookstores all the time, and no one notices. Why? Because it is pretty, and makes us all warm inside. It’s so true, that stuff about friends. You’ve got to have friends. Eleanor Rigby did not have any and look what happened to her.
Is Harry Potter evil? Is Goosebumps, or Bewitched, or Twilight? Maybe for the naive or innocent in the faith, it is. Maybe for someone looking for evil, it is. But I am strong in my faith, yet still admit to being weak, and I know this about Harry Potter...it is fiction. I concur that it is about wizards and evil, but it also holds themes of loyalty, friendship, steadfastness, and believing in one’s potential. You want to hear a similar story, read the gospel of Matthew. You can find all those themes in the Bible, yet most of us know the point of the Bible is to tell us the story of God’s Son. But it is also a history book, a romance, and somtimes entertainment.
And music....use discernment like we do everything in our lives. We are careful about what we eat, what we drink, who we worship. If I can use a song by an artist who does not admit to being of a particular faith, I will do it. And if I ever run into the artist, I am going to shake their hand and tell them I admire their music.
I am not saying run out right now and buy Harry Potter books, or go see Twilight, or rent a bunch of slasher movies, but really think about what you put into your mind and body. As a person who buys and likes comic books, likes The Godfather, Good Fellas, and Casino, loves Fireproof and Courageous, plans to see The Avengers, has a statue of a Chinese warrior on his desk, Gettysburg and Abraham Lincoln items on his wall at work, has a cross with Joshua 1:9 on his desk, has a picture of his family, loves rocks, owns cats, does not like peas or peanut butter , loves hot wings and sushi, teaches children’s church, loves Jesus and loves sharing about Him...be careful what you do, what you say, and how you say it. You never know about the person who is listening, and where they are at in their lives.
Feel free to comment, but think about it first. I have weighed this blog all week, and wrote it, rewrote it, and then thought about it even more today.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Changes....turn the page
A lot has happened since I last posted. I returned to Facebook, and am still not sure that was a good idea. Me and the family moved to Springfield.
I got Bell's Palsy on January 19, 2012 (it sounds like it showed up in the mail..."Hey Honey, I got that Bell's Palsy I ordered...Free Shipping.") It is much better then it was, but I still wish it would go away completely.
I am going to add this to my Facebook posts so people can read it and comment. I am following the lead of my good friend, Gherkin, who always seem to publish something insightful.
We now attend another Nazarene church in another town. We have made some good friends, live in a good neighborhood, have good neighbors, and love being in a big city.
The boy is getting ready to graduate and head to another part of Africa for the summer.
And then, a job in retail for a while...until I make him go on to graduate school.
I plan on posting more in the next few days. I have recommendations and some thoughts that I am still praying about before I post.
I got Bell's Palsy on January 19, 2012 (it sounds like it showed up in the mail..."Hey Honey, I got that Bell's Palsy I ordered...Free Shipping.") It is much better then it was, but I still wish it would go away completely.
I am going to add this to my Facebook posts so people can read it and comment. I am following the lead of my good friend, Gherkin, who always seem to publish something insightful.
We now attend another Nazarene church in another town. We have made some good friends, live in a good neighborhood, have good neighbors, and love being in a big city.
The boy is getting ready to graduate and head to another part of Africa for the summer.
And then, a job in retail for a while...until I make him go on to graduate school.
I plan on posting more in the next few days. I have recommendations and some thoughts that I am still praying about before I post.
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