New Kitten...New Thoughts?!?

I just got a new kitten, Leia, yesterday and watching her interact with my older cat, Roxy, got me thinking. For those of you who have never experienced having to introduce two animals to each other, let me start by explaining what has taken place in my home so far:

When we first brought Leia home, Roxy hissed and then ran off to hide in the bedroom. Then Roxy tried to attempt to sneak up on Leia, who was still in the carrier. Roxy proceeded to try to show her dominance and her resistance to the situation by hiding in my bedroom and groaning and hissing even at my attempts to pet her, since Leia's scent was on me. It continued on like this for most of the night. My husband and I had to keep them separated while we slept to help protect Roxy and allow her to realize that we still love her despite bringing home a new kitten, which may have appeared to Roxy as if we were trying to replace her. Today, the two cats were very curious about each other, having been separated for the evening. Roxy was still very apprehensive about Leia being in the house this morning and kept to her own for the most part. Leia simply wanted to play but Roxy wouldn't let her come near. Then, my husband and I, had to leave for a few hours to go to our friend's graduation party, so once again we separated the cats.

When we got back we opened the doors and let the cats have another attempt at being around each other. To our surprise, they took to each other fairly well. They took turns smelling each other and romping around the house following each other. They are starting to realize that they have more in common than they thought and that maybe it'd be okay to befriend one another.

Sorry for the lengthy play by play of the cat introduction, but I needed to give you the background for how my thoughts started and now to my thoughts:

So, I was thinking about how animals, cats in particular, go about the acceptance chapter in their lives. It's very similar to how Christians and non-Christians relate. Think about it. Christians, I'm referring to the earnest ones, not the "let's see how many people I can bring to Christ and keep a record book" ones, want to begin relationships with people because that is what Jesus was all about. Non-Christians appear to not want anything to do with Christians as a result of the hypocritical Christians in the world.

For my analogy, I will speak of Christians in comparison to my kitten, Leia and non-Christians in comparison to my cat, Roxy. Just as Roxy was hesitant and very angry about the bringing of Leia into her home, so are many non-Christians when it comes to starting relationships with Christians because the intent is unclear. Over a period of time, curiosity sparks among both types of people. For Christians, the curiosity is in where the other person has come from and why they've chosen the life journey their on and is it possible they might not be as happy as they could be. In this case, they are eager to befriend the non-Christian to show them love and eventually over time, help them to find TRUE happiness as opposed to superficial happiness. Now, in contrast, the non-Christian's curiosities are similar to that of Roxy's: why are you here, are you trying to replace me, am I not good enough, what's wrong with who I am...etc.

Curiosities are good, but you have to nurture the relationship to make sure that the curiosities don't overpower one's intentions. Just as my husband and I have to take careful measures to make sure that we don't leave the two cats alone unattended too early, Christians need to make sure they are trying to have a relationship for the sake of having a relationship with the other person, not to merely witness to them. If this is the case, there will be constant fighting and resistance to any relationship. On the other hand, if the proper care is taken and the relationship is the first priority, with living by example and hoping to help the other find true happiness a second priority, the relationship will grow and develop over time. This is the key: over time. Relationships can't be rushed.

After time has lapsed most likely the non-Christian will begin to take their guard down and begin to seek answers to their curiosity, just as Roxy has done. Eventually, the answers the non-Christian will find won't be as threatening as they had once believed and they will begin placing themselves in more vulnerable situations. This is the beginning of the relationship. The key here is that at the first sign of vulnerability, the Christian still needs to keep their motives pure and get to know the other person before jumping into any type of deep personal issues. Leia is very excited that Roxy is wanting to have anything to do with her, let alone wanting to play with her, but she is being very careful not to break the trust she has built up to this point. Whenever Roxy comes over, Leia flops on her back exposing her belly which, in the animal world, is a total sign of submission. But, another thing that is equally important, over time and as Roxy has become more comfortable with this little sprite in her home, Roxy, too, has begun to roll over and expose her belly showing that the relationship is now two-way and can begin to grow equally on both sides.

Because the proper care and time is being used to develop a relationship between Roxy and Leia, they will most likely grow up to be great buds!!!

Seriously.....

Today as my husband and I were driving home from our friend's graduation party, we saw a very disturbing bumper sticker. It read: "Jesus is coming...but don't worry...we'll nail him again!"

Can you believe that? Not only is that flat out rude...it's sick!!! Flat out wrong!!! Now granted I know Christianity is far from perfect and that many "Christians" have given Christianity a bad reputation and as a result our faith and beliefs get scoffed or mocked on a regular basis. But, that bumper sticker went much further!

It wasn't only trying to aggravate Christians, it was making a much bolder statement in my opinion. What it said to me was that they are trying to rid the world of Christianity all together. And to that all I have to say is that sometimes the TRUTH can be convicting and hard to take in, but it sits inside of you and makes you contemplate. Then you have a choice...accept it and change your life accordingly OR reject it and constantly live a life going against the natural way of life, which thus explains this person's sick line of thinking and reasoning.

If you're going against the flow of natural thought and away from truth, you're then heading in the direction of sin and disturbing thoughts. It's people like these that we need to be making more of an effort to befriend, seriously befriend, and just lead by example and share our story with them as time moves in and through the relationship.

All this being said, I still can't believe that I saw this bumper sticker on someone's car...I mean seriously!

Road Rage

Wow!!! I was driving home from the grocery store the other day and this man, probably in his seventies, freaks out at me. I saw him turn his flashers on, so I figured that I might as well move around him. The moment I did this he begins yelling at me. He proceeded to drive up along side me and call me every name in the book. I simply ignored him and didn't give him the time of day, which I think upset him even more because he then pulled ahead and moved in front of me into my lane. Well, I didn't know what this guy was going to do, so naturally I switched lanes. He then proceeded to slow down and roll his window down and give me the finger. Now in my head, I was thinking wow, was all this really necessary? Then I stopped and began to think about Christ and how calm he would have been in the situation. While, I did ignore the man, I didn't go out of my way to love on him or to show him Christ through my actions. While, I think every road rage situation is different, I truly believe that we might be faced with situations as the one I just described, merely to see how we respond to them and to help us reflect on our own character and attitude.

Politics...Will They Ever Stop?

Is there a profession in this world that doesn't involve politics? Please let me know if you can think of one. I have only been teaching two years and I am so disheartened by all of the politics that take place behind the scenes. Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm not one who's big on politics. I am saddened by how much politics are effecting, not only my job, but the joy I have while doing my job. I simply want to teach children and to help them to grow and learn, but all of the behind the scenes stuff makes it so very difficult.
Today, for my own good, it was suggested that I terminate my classroom blog. This saddened me, but I complied. I love the communication that was able to take place between my class and my parents. I guess the education world isn't ready for blogs. I am saddened because this simply shows yet again, how politics can take away the joy that comes from teaching.

Until next time....

The Difference...

Lately, I've been wrestling with the idea of holding brothers and sisters in Christ accountable. I feel like as of late, people who are in need of being held accountable accuse their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ of being judgmental. Is it because they already feel guilt for what they are doing? Is it because they are so in denial that what they are doing is wrong? Is it because they've strayed from God, so keeping them accountable doesn't really matter to them? Is it that they are screaming for help, but are having trouble accepting it?

I just don't know how to handle this situation. God calls us as brothers and sisters in Christ to hold each other accountable. Is the reason this is so hard because sin is so offensive? If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please feel free to comment. I am seriously wrestling with how to do the right thing, when it is causing others to feel judged. I know that in holding others accountable my heart needs to be in the right place, but how do you convince those that need to reevaluate something in their life that you are talking to them because you love them, not simply because you're trying to be an all mighty finger pointing Christian?

Standing for Something or Falling for Everything

Well, today I was moved to take a stand for what I believe and for my integrity, which has been called into question as a result of being Christian. I have been deeply disturbed by the accusation of having poor integrity. I consulted some wise women and received some great advice about how to write my rebuttal and when to turn it in. I am pleased to say that I did do what I felt was right, which was very hard to do. I have never been in a situation where I had to write a letter to dispute an evaluation given to me by a boss. It is scary because I needed to do this for me, not to make my boss look bad. That is the last thing I would want to happen. I just hope that my intentions behind it all are understood.

I simply looked at the whole situation and figured that if I let it go, than that says a lot about my integrity...that I didn't care what people thought of my moral conduct. Saying something about the unjust comment shows that I do care and that I do have high integrity.

Well, I've done what I felt God was calling me to do and now I am left waiting.


More later...

Finally!!!

Sorry for the lack of postings lately. I had a run in at school. Someone on my staff found my blog and reported it to my boss and I was lectured about the inappropriateness of it and how I am a public figure now and I should be more considerate when posting things on the internet that are for public access. I guess teachers aren't allowed to use their First Ammendment Right. Somehow this blog got linked to my classroom blog and the world as I knew it came crashing down. It caused major turmoil!!! I have now fixed the problem and can write free and clear on my blog once again.

Thank you for your patience and I will be posting soon!!!!

My Thoughts...for what they're worth

Lately I've been thinking about how to truly make an impact on the world. I am part of a team at my church that is in the process of trying to start a new ministry or rather pick up a ministry that has been temporarily postponed. I really feel like being apart of this team will help us, the church,to come up with ideas that will helps us to reach more people through a different kind of ministry. Then, on another note, at my community group Mike DeVries, has been talking to us a lot about Home Churches and I love the possibilities I'm hearing through this kind of ministry. There are so many emmense possibilities for missions and for reaching people outside of the Christian bubble.

Could it be that maybe this ministry team I am involved in would be most effective as a home church? Then as it begins to grow we would continue to break off into more home churches and maybe meet once a month for collective worship and communion. These are just some thoughts that have been rolling around in my head as I have been seeking out His plan for this ministry that is desprately needed at our church. We are losing our young adults and many other people who are looking for and desiring a more authentic and real place to meet God.

I believe that God really works wonders through big, mega churches, but I believe He also works through small tight knit groups that grow and love on each other. By small groups, I don't simply mean a mid-week bible study or a community group, I am talking about a group that is "bigger" than that. Most bible study groups simply go to a house, meet, talk, pray, and then leave. And I am not saying that type of small group is worng, but what I'm talking about is a group that comes together at some point during the week and eats together, prays together, fellowships together, takes communion together, discusses topics in depth together, sends people out on mission trips together, desires to impact the world together, loves on each other together, etc... Get the point? There is a lot to be said for both of these settings. Why does it seem that it has to be one or the other? Most churches today, or so it seems, shy away from the later of what I just mentioned. This may be going out on a limb, but it seems that maybe the reason is because if we truly had groups like these our money may used with that group and the good works the group is participating in, instead of being fed into the vicious mega church cycle of paying for more ministries that build up current Christians inside of the church instead of seaking and using the church's money to further advance the kingdom of God outside of the church.

I'd love to hear your thoughts about all of this? Am I alone in my thinking?