Perils of Love

Odds are...

Lonely no more...

The red, green and pale white lights illuminate the snow saturated street, signaling to civilization that another Christmas is close at hand; 'twill soon be here.  We all are aware that the holidays are a time for fun, family and festiveness; however, let us not be given over to the spirit of forgetfulness of those less fortunate.

Born October 3rd, 1959

…

Died November 16th, 2008

 

Not a day has gone by in the past year that has not brought with it thoughts of my father.  I greatly miss him and always will.

I once again urge you, as I did in one phone call, ^{(click to read )} to let those around you know how much you love them and are blessed by them.  Find a moment to make amends to those who have wronged you, and let your heart be broken for those you have hurt.

May you have a propensity towards peace and a passion for sharing the gospel not only with your lips but with your life as well.  Has anyone so hurt you or committed such a sin as to negate you sharing the love of Christ with them? 

Never let your mind entertain such an evil notion, Christ died for all and He desires that none should perish. 

God bless dear friends, and remember to examine your lives each and every day. 

All At Once…

All At Once by Jack Johnson (song)

08:41AM -

I just left Sam’s Club. I had to get a flat tire fixed. The man in the tire center did it for free. Yeah, I know. Let’s start from the beginning shall we? Tis a lovely place to start.

A few months ago I left my job due to an inner moral conflict; I had to promote movies with which I had moral objections. I took another job which didn’t pay as much, but I trusted that by doing the right thing, God would take care of Jamie and me. With my new job, I am able to go back to school and we have been able to pay our bills.

Due to various circumstances over the past month, money has been tight. Since tithing and missions giving are not options to draw from, I had been thinking about picking up a second job. We have only one car currently, so transportation is difficult enough as it stands now, since Jamie works as well.

Yesterday Jamie had to go to the eye doctor due to a scratched cornea (which of course costs money). On her way home from CVS she accidently ran over a screw that caused one of our tires to go flat. She made the comment “Why does everything always have to happen all at once. I feel like God is mad at us.” I retorted with “Maybe he is just testing us”, though in my head I am thinking “Come on, what more do you want from us God?”

A few moments later, one of my neighbors with whom I have had little contact with comes up to me while I am changing the flat tire and offers me a flashlight. Later on he offers me a a spider style lug wrench (as I have the old school single lug wrench that came with the car).

I express my gratitude and begin to chat him up. Soon his wife comes over and starts talking with us as well. He works at Sam’s Club; guess which department? The tire center. He helps me with the spare, and offers to fix my flat tire for free the next morning. “Bring it on in and we will get you taken care of”.

The man didn’t know me, nor had I done anything for him, nor did he ask for anything in return. Here I am one minute complaining and grumbling while God is telling me “I told you if you sought me first I would take care of you”. What a blessing, in the form of a flat tire and a random unsolicited act of kindness.

Marital Respite

Modern Wedding Vow: "Yeah, we'll do this thing...'till it requires work, then I am off this track"

Unlike most of the posts I do, I didn’t plan on writing this one. It struck me, however, how little value marriage truly has these days.

Sure, I read the statisticians statements; they scream at me saying 50% of all marriages end in divorce, but it never hits home until it hits home.

My wife and I recently noticed that at least half of our married friends are either legally separated or divorced.

We attended some of the weddings of the aforementioned couples; moreover, others worked side by side with us in the church.

Still others had been married for many years before deciding to call it quits. It is my belief that some of you are screaming “So what, it is none of your business”; I respectfully disagree.

Firstly, as Christians we are called to both seek and give wise council to our fellow brothers and sisters. Secondly, the act of marriage is intrinsically public.

We marry before witnesses and sign legal documents which are part of the public record; moreover, most couples make public vows to each other and God.

I am not of the belief that a husband and wife’s business is all part of the public record. I am not entitled to know their reasons for ending their marriage.

I am, however, entitled to say that divorce should never be celebrated or cheered, especially by those who profess Christ.

I am growing very weary with seeing the following messages on recently separated couples’ Facebooks, Twitters and MySpaces.

“Girl, you are FREE! YAY!” or
“Finally I am rid of her, I can be myself, pursue my dreams” or
“Girls night out to celebrate my independence”

I publicly pronounce: Shame on you! You have allowed pride, selfishness and utter foolishness to corrupt your mind; furthermore, if you have surrounded yourself with friends who encourage separation over reconciliation, they are fools; rid yourself of such folly filled fiends.

Don’t misunderstand me, I am not condemning those who for whatever reasons have ended their marriage.

I am simply saying that Christians should feel saddened and some sense of contrition for breaking a vow they made to God and their friends and family.

A broken home is never something to cheer.