Showing Support

Maybe I'm just cranky.

There's something that's been bothering me for a while, and I guess I'll just use the blog to try to hash it out for myself. Feel free to move along if you find this disagreeable.

I like Facebook. I enjoy reconnecting with old friends who I might have completely lost touch with altogether if we hadn't 'found' each other on FB. Granted it is not at all the same as actually seeing people and talking for real, but it does give some way to know how old friends (and new ones, too) are doing. I like that part of it.

Part of what I don't like about it is that you (read that "I") can waste too much time diddling around over there. It's so easy to go over to the computer 'just to check' and end up spending more time than I meant to. So, I have to place limits on myself.

One thing I find a bit annoying is some of the "pass it on" status updates. For example, there has been one going around recently about how it's time to show our support for our troops. It's all in caps, so I guess we're supposed to be yelling our support at the top of our lungs or something. Supposedly if you want to support the troops you need to post this status and tell everyone else to do it, too. I get e-mails quite frequently that say to forward the message on to everyone about supporting the troops, and the implication is that if you don't forward it then you must not support the troops. And I'm sure when people post that status or forward that e-mail, they probably feel pretty good about themselves for "showing their support."

Here's the thing. As an Army wife, seems to me the best way to "show support" isn't to hit the forward button or to copy and paste some dorky status. The best way to show support is to tell someone you know who is in the military, "Thank you for serving." Or something like that. When we first moved here, Drew and I were walking the boys in to their first day of school a year ago this month, and since Drew was on his way to work, he had his uniform on. A student who was in the hall came up to him, held out his hand for Drew to shake it, and said, "Thank you for serving our country, sir." That was cool. He didn't know us at all, but he went out of his way to 'show support' in a tangible way. Another way to show support is to show practical love to a military family when their soldier is deployed. Listen to them, offer to bring a meal or help a wife with some chore her deployed husband usually does when he is home (yard work, perhaps?), be available to just be a friend. Having been separated from my husband numerous times for various deployments and trainings and whatnots, I cannot tell you how meaningful those types of kindnesses can be. And, let me tell you, my husband feels supported when his family back home is treated kindly by people who remember he is away, too.

And while I'm thinking it out, there is more. Just because I didn't choose to post the color of my undergarments for all my Facebook friends to see does not mean that I do not understand or care about the serious nature of breast cancer. I get it. It is devastating and we all hope for a cure. I hope for a cure for other cancers, too. There again, seems like there are more practical ways to 'show support.' Donate to a cancer research organization, participate in some of the actual awareness events, do practical kindnesses for someone you know who is going through the horror of cancer treatments.

And one more thing. Just because I don't post a theologically unsound status or send an e-mail, don't assume that I do not love Jesus. I get so tired of the sanctimonious status things and e-mails that go around and say something like, "I'll bet most people won't post/forward this, but I'M not ashamed of Jesus...." or something along those lines. I get stuff forwarded to me that is just horrible theologically, and then there's the little thing at the bottom that implies that if you choose not to forward it and delete it you must not love Jesus. Actually, there are times I delete it BECAUSE I love Jesus and do not want to spread error about Him and how to worship Him. There again, there are more tangible ways to show that we love Jesus and are not ashamed of Him than to post a status or forward an e-mail and feel all good about ourselves that we've taken a stand for doing so.

I told you I was cranky.

Another E-Mail Rant

I got another one of those e-mail forwards yesterday that said I would score 100 or zero. I get a 100 if I love Jesus and pass this thing on to at least 10 people. I score a zero if I don’t pass it on seeing as I must not love Jesus if I don’t want to pass on this picture that was the e-mail. Most of these kinds of e-mails say something like this:

“Jesus Test
This is an easy test, you score 100 or zero. It's your choice. If you aren't ashamed to do this, please follow the directions.

Jesus said, "if you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father."
Not ashamed Pass this on . . only if you mean it.
Yes, I do Love God.
He is my source of existence and Savior.
He keeps me functioning each and everyday.
Without Him, I will be nothing. !
Without Him, I am nothing but with Him I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.
Phil 4:13”

This is wrong in so many ways! First of all, the test of whether I love Jesus doesn’t have anything to do with whether or not I’ll forward any old e-mail that someone slaps this little speech on (and I get bunches of these). Jesus says in the Bible: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) While a definite command of Christ is to tell people about Him, whether or not I pass on a picture that someone thought was neat isn’t a measure of my faithfulness to that command. And if I choose not to flood the inboxes of everyone I know with one more picture that isn’t very good anyway, it doesn’t mean I’m ashamed of my Lord. At least this one didn’t also superstitiously promise me various levels of blessing depending on how many I forwarded it to. Those are even worse.

There is another thing that bothers me about this, and I hesitate to mention it because it is a matter of conscience and probably much of what I’m about to say is disputable and not to break fellowship over. I know several readers who will disagree with me, and that's okay. I’m really not trying to start an argument or make any statement except that this issue bothers me. Keep that in mind, please. I’m not being judgmental, just sharing something that is an issue for me.

I’m not a real big fan of pictures of Jesus. We don’t know what He looked like while He was on earth, other than that He would have looked like other Jewish men in Palestine in those days. I don’t like to have some artist’s visual rendition in my mind when I pray. This is the same reason I dropped out of the choir at my old church the last couple of years they did Passion Play when we lived there. I was kind of okay with most of the production, and it was a big, well-done, elaborately staged production, and I know that people did come to Christ after hearing the Gospel presentation. But in the last scene we tried to depict Heaven. The actor who played Jesus came down the center aisle in a white robe with the words “King of Kings” and “Lord of Lords” on it and we all turned and raised our hands in his direction while singing a glorious praise song, wearing our white robes as he proceeded to the front of the auditorium and was seated on a throne at the top. After several performances, and several years, this got to be too much for me. For months afterward, I would see that actor in my mind when I prayed, no matter how hard I tried not to. While I’m still not sure what I think about the rest of the Passion Play, this part was definitely too much. I’m not sure, but I probably could have stayed on with it if we had stopped the visual portrayal at the ascension and then simply told the people about how Jesus is truly seated on the throne today, and even sung about it without visuals. We really shouldn’t be trying to portray the risen Lord of Glory, when our feeble effort just cannot come close to showing His glory as it is. When John the apostle saw the glorified Christ in Revelation, he fell at His feet as though dead. Jesus is sitting on the throne, and, for me, it was just too awfully close to idolatry to try to portray the very throne room of Heaven with actors. And, when I sing praise, I want to really be praising my Lord, which was awfully hard to do while raising my hands toward an actor trying to portray the glorified Lord. It just shouldn’t be done. That was my conviction. Of course, if I do mention this to people, I usually get the, “Oh, lighten up, Beck,” speech, so I usually just kept my concerns to myself.

Another little side rant, too. When the movie The Passion of the Christ came out, my husband and I chose not to see it due to some of the same concerns we had over Passion Plays in general and due to the fact that we had heard about the extra-biblical elements that were added in. We were told, repeatedly, that we just couldn't have a complete understanding of what our Lord suffered for us if we didn't go see this movie. Well, if people want to see a movie, that's okay with me, but I was very tired of people saying that I couldn't appreciate the crucifixion without seeing it. I can't read the crucifixion accounts in the Gospels without tearing up, and, really, God gave us His word so we could understand. I don't need a movie to see the depth of my sin and need for a Savior. What I'm getting at here is the subtle implication that we were somehow sinning because we didn't want to see the movie and the idea that somehow I can't appreciate the sacrifice my Lord made without seeing this Hollywood movie. I'm not telling anyone not to see it, just saying that we need to understand that it is a movie. The scripture is the inspired Word of God. There is a difference. People went 2000 years without the Mel Gibson movie and were able to comprehend the crucifixion from scripture alone. D and I are not heathens or less spiritual because we've chosen not to watch a movie.

But, anyway, this e-mail was a picture of two people kneeling in front of a church (I think) and a ghostly image of Jesus standing by the open doors at the front watching them. I know that Christ is present when two or more are gathered in His Name. The Bible tells me that. I don’t need to forward this e-mail to lots of people who also get annoyed with unthinking e-mail forwards (most of the people in my address book fit that category) in order to demonstrate that I believe that. I also don’t need to forward it to “prove” that I love my Savior. I do, however, need to get more serious about actually speaking to people around me about Him and being willing to accept the commission to tell whoever I can about Him. But I don’t need this false “test” of my love for Him. I’m much more concerned about the areas where I really am falling short than to heap on made up, self-righteous, superstitious stuff.

Rant over. Pass an e-mail on if it was meaningful to you and you think the person you're forwarding it to will appreciate it. That's fine. Just take the little self-righteous, unnecesary speech about not being ashamed off first.

Ya'll May Not Appreciate This, But I Do.....

This must be my day to prove myself wrong on the e-mail hatred thing, but one of my old college roommates just sent me this, and I think it's kinda neat, too. To be fair, I don't think it's a forward, I think she just did this herself. She used to work for the Gator Athletic Association, so she's a huge fan.....

These are the teams in the Final Four. Look at the first letter of each School. What does it spell??

Georgetown
Ohio State
UCLA
Florida

GO UF!!!!

Something That Made Me Laugh

Okay, okay. I know I just ranted a few posts ago about how much I don’t like e-mail forwards, but this one really was funny. And I just really needed something light to post at this moment. I’m sharing this that my friend sent to me and adding a few annoying comments of my own. I’m working on some heavier stuff for later, but for now, enjoy a bit of a laugh on me:

The 'Rules of the South' are as follows!!! (Keeping in mind, I’m not really a GRITS, but this is funny, I don’t care where you call home.)

1. Pull your droopy pants up. You look like an idiot.

2. Turn your cap right, your head isn't crooked.

3. Let's get this straight; it's called a "gravel road." I drive a pickup truck because I want to. No matter how slow you drive, you're going to get dust on your Lexus. Drive it or get out of the way. (No, I don’t really have a pickup truck – but most of my friends around here do!)

4. They are cattle. That's why they smell to you. They smell like money to us. Get over it. Don't like it? I-10 goes east and west, I-95 goes north and south. Pick one. (Hee, hee! Living in Florida, we called the snowbirds who complained about everything Southern “Floridiots.” Not nice, I know…..)

5. So you have a $60,000 car. We're impressed. We have $250,000 cotton strippers that are driven only 3 weeks a year.

6. So every person in the south waves. It's called being friendly. Try to understand the concept.

7. If that cell phone rings while a bunch of doves are coming in, we WILL shoot it out of your hand. You better hope you don't have it up to your ear at the time. (Constant cell phone use, one of my biggest pet peeves – no offense meant if you just love your cell phone, but don’t get me started…)

8. Yeah, we eat catfish & crawfish. You really want sushi &caviar? It's available at the corner bait shop.

9. We open doors for women. That is applied to all women, regardless of age.

10. No, there's no "vegetarian special" on the menu. Order steak. Or you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 pounds of ham & turkey. (For some reason, I found this one hysterically funny. Perhaps it was just too late in the evening when I read it.)

11. When we fill out a table, there are 3 main dishes: meats, vegetables, and breads. We use three spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup! (Yep, almost no meal is complete without ketchup at our house.)

Oh, yeah.... We don't care what you folks in Cincinnati call that stuff you eat... IT AIN'T REAL CHILI!! (Okay, I’ll admit I really do like Skyline Chili – it’s just yummy. But, when I’m craving CHILI, I’m wanting the red, spicy, chili powder real stuff.)

12. You bring "coke" into my house, it better be brown, wet and served over ice. You bring "Mary Jane" into my house, she better be cute, know how to shoot, drive a truck, and have long hair.

13. College and High School Football are as important here as the Lakers and the Knicks, and a lot more fun to watch.

14. Yeah, we have golf courses. But don't hit the water hazards -- it spooks the fish.

15. Colleges? We have them all over. We have State Universities, Universities, and Vo-techs. They come outta there with an education plus a love for God and country, and they still wave at everybody when they come home for the holidays. (Go Gators! Sorry, just had to get that little cheer out of my system for a moment.)

16. We have more folks in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. So don't mess with us. If you do, you will get whipped by the best.

18. The south is the greatest!! If you are from the south you are part of the best people in the USA!! (Okay, I’m not part of the whole “the South will rise again,” mentality, but I will agree that people are generally pretty nice around here. It’s not so bad living in the South. I’m learning to bloom here, so to speak, even though the other day I realized my soon-to-be-6-year-old is beginning to pick up the slightest trace of a southern accent. Considering D and I do not have that accent, we find that a little disconcerting, but to be expected. I can only wonder how Boo will escape those broad vowels when she learns to talk! But there are worse things, I think.)

Electronic Junk Mail

I’ve had a little blogging slump the last couple of days. Not much to say, and too much to do in real life. Things like taking care of the kids and cleaning the house trump blog time! :^) Anyway, it took opening my e-mail this morning to get me over the slump with a ready-made topic to write about today. Hope this topic doesn’t offend too many people, but you know what? My blog. I write to get some of this stuff off my chest. No one else has to like it, I guess. At least, that's what my husband keeps saying when I say, "Should I really post this?" He says, "Hey, it's your blog. Write it if you want to." So I am. I’m not feeling grouchy at all today, but the post may sound like it. I’m just going to type this, post it and walk away from my computer.

I am getting a little tired of endless e-mail forwards. 99.9% of these things are either hoaxes or downright wastes of time to read. At the risk of coming across as a real snot (in some people’s eyes), I’ve started checking the hoax type and sending back to the person who sent it to me with a link showing that it’s a hoax. I’m not doing it to be arrogant or bratty, I’m just tired, tired, tired of the junk that fills my inbox every day, and, dare I mention it, the laziness that leads to just forwarding rather than finding out if it is true before forwarding. Ouch. I have one friend who must forward every single junk thing she gets to everyone in her address book. She’s a Christian friend, but there is just outright blasphemy, heresy, nonsense and superstition in the garbage she forwards. Sometimes I think, “Come on (friend's name), you KNOW better than this!!!” Especially with the ones that have the little good luck prayers attached – if you have e-mail, you probably have seen them. I got one yesterday that basically equated the American soldier with Jesus. Ugh. Now, my husband is in the Army Reserve, been to Iraq – and some other places, so I understand and appreciate (more than some people) the kinds of sacrifices that the military and their families make every day. But they are not anywhere near what Jesus did for us, so no comments/e-mails/criticism that says you think I’m under-appreciating the military, please. But that’s another post, perhaps. This same friend, however, if I send a real e-mail like a “Hi, how are you?” kind of note, almost never responds. But she’ll flood the inbox with junk.

Anyway, the thing below hit my inbox this morning, thanks to another friend. All it took was a simple search of the Focus on the Family website to find that this is a hoax that’s been going around in some form or another for a while. I sent a friendly little note back with the link. I also mentioned (as nicely as I could) that some of those teachers listed are propagating heresy. I have a feeling I won’t be too popular at church because I said that. Had I been feeling really feisty and throwing all politeness to the wind I might have said (but didn’t), “And taking certain of those teachers off the air is bad, how, exactly?” But, that’s another post, as well. Just know that if you see the following in your inbox today or in the future, it’s a hoax:

“SUBJECT: No more James Dobson, Greg Laurie, TD Jakes, Eddie Long, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Joel Olsteen????

Please, if you don't wish to participate, return this to the person who sent it to you so they can at least keep this going or forward it to some one you think will wish to participate.Dr. Dobson is going on CNBC to urge every Christian to get involved. I hope you will think about signing this and forwarding to all your family and friends. Dr. James Dobson, with Focus on the Family, pleads for our action.An organization has been granted a Federal Hearing on the same subject by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington , DC . Their petition, Number 2493, would ultimately pave the way to stop the reading of the gospel of our Lord and Savior, on the airwaves of America . They got 287,000 signatures to back their stand! If this attempt is successful, all Sunday worship services being broadcast on the radio or by television will be stopped.This group is also campaigning to remove all Christmas programs and Christmas carols from public schools!You as a Christian can help! We are praying for at least 1 million signatures. This would defeat their effort and show that there are many Christians alive, well and concerned about our country.As Christians, we must unite on this. Please don't take this lightly. We ignored one lady once and lost prayer in our schools and in offices across the nation.Please stand up for your religious freedom and let your voice be heard. Together we can make a difference in our country while creating an opportunity for the lost to know the Lord.Please press "forward,"CLEAN UP THE MESSAGE, and forward this to everyone you think should read this.Now, please sign your name at the bottom (you can only add your name after you have pressed "Forward" or (cut and paste the text).Don't delete any other names, just go to the next number and type your name. Please do not sign jointly, such as Mr. & Mrs., each person should sign his/her own name.Please defeat this organization and keep the right of our freedom of religion. When you get to 1000 please e-mail back to: ............”

Please, feel free NOT to forward anything to my e-mail. It will probably be deleted unread until I get annoyed enough to respond with the appropriate links. I think the thing that bothers me most is that so many of us will knee-jerk and get all mad when we see this kind of thing, and we’ll get all fired up and sign all these fake petitions, patting ourselves on the back self-righteously as we hit the send button, but we don’t get concerned at all about bad teaching. Several of those people listed up there are proponents of Word Faith and/or wrong teachings about the Trinity along with other things that are just erroneous and heretical teachings. We don’t get at all concerned that heresy is just flooding the “Christian” airwaves. Nope. That’s fine and dandy. But don’t you dare fictionally threaten to take it off the TV! Priorities, priorities. If this post seems cranky, well, so be it. I just think we get too concerned about all the wrong things, and not nearly concerned enough about the things that really matter. This is something I pray about often.

**Update*** Click here to see Focus on the Family's statements about the hoax e-mail.