Failure

I changed my mind, I am going to fail...boo...

In Protest of Failure

I am not going to fail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Not a Competition

It's not a competition, but if it was, I'd be winning.
-Dawn

Two Truths and a Lie

Two Truths and a Lie

1. You probably have to give up something in order to give something.
2. It is rarely convenient to change the world.
3. Time is on your side.

One Day...with Passion

I'm thinking of going to OneDay03. I loved the Passion tour, so it makes sense I would love OneDay. Plus, I didn't get to go in 2000. Boohoo.

My Christian Siblings

In essentials, unity: in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.

This one is challenging for me.

Here is some more information I found enlightening. It is not all from a Christian perspective, but it deals with the spiritual side of abuse, which many people, even in the church, do not deal with.
FIND IT HERE

Wow, that was quite a well-thought-out soapbox, no? Ya, I thought so. And I thought I would add some words I found that perfectly describe what a victim goes through...
____________________________________________________________________________________
They want answers,
But they know there are none,
They want people present
But they want to be alone
They want people to understand,
But they know no one does.
They want to be loved.
But they react angrily.
They pull,
But they push.
Help me, O Lord
To listen more than to speak
To be more than to do
To share more than to give.
For it is
In listening that they will hear
To being that they will heal
In sharing that they will receive.
____________________________________________________________________________________

(1) "Out of the Depths" by Dr. Richard P. Lord, Rush Creek Christian Church, Arlington, Texas.
from I got it at this site.

A girl came to a trusted friend and asked the friend if and how she should go about forgiving her father, who raped her. She was told that she should ask for his forgiveness. Sometimes, I just want to clobber well-meaning, well-intentioned people who say things that totally twist what the Bible says. People who are robbed, raped, assaulted are not responsible to apologize to those who have harmed them. When someone who has been so traumatized by one of these events feels that they want to offer forgiveness to the one who sinned against them, it is not them getting up on any pedestal above the perpetrator to be prideful. It is simply a sign that they have a heart to find reconciliation, and because of the church, they know that it must come through forgiveness of some kind. What the victim is really asking is "Is this my fault?" and "Was I responsible for part of this?" What they need to be told is that no one is ever reponsible for sin committed against them. And for a trusted person to tell them that it is their fault, or that they need to ask for forgiveness, is grievous sin. Wounds from assault can take a lifetime to heal. A perpetrator and a victim can both find forgiveness in time, but that does not mean the victim needs to forgive the perp right away or ever, if they so choose. For one who has been made powerless, all the power should henceforth be put in their court. I have met no Christian victims who did not al least want to forgive, but a casual and glib announcement of forgiveness is CHEAP GRACE and my God does not dispense cheap grace, so neither should we.

Mr.Rogers has left the neighborhood, but as we all apparently didn't know, (I had to explain to about 4 people) he was a Presbyterian minister, so the chances that he is in heaven are very high. In commemoration, I have incorporated a new Mr. Rogers t-shirt into my wardrobe of choice. It's not such a beautiful day, but --Viva la neighborhood!

Doing library research is supposedly moving into the 21st century. But it took me 2 hours yesterday and 1 today just to find one article on the Eastern Orthodox religion. I guess technological headaches are just as bad as the regular kind.

I am a friend of the Emergent Conversation. You can be a friend too at www.emergentvillage.com. I learned about this group through a book that changed my life called A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren. If you like Emergent, you should check out www.regenerator.com