Denominations

Sometimes I think people subscribe to a denomination because it makes them feel like they belong to something. A denomination is like a brand; it will sacrifice being too broad in definition so that it can hone in on something in particular – baptism, or evangelism, or charismatics, or Luther.  By saying what they are, they, by default, say a whole lot of what they aren’t.

I’m just a plain old Christian, and I belong to the Body of Christ. I go to church, and no, it doesn’t matter which church I go to (it’s not Mormon, don’t worry). As humans we like to categorize things, create labels for people and put them in a box, to feel like you “get” them and their beliefs. And for many, being the one in the a box feels just dandy – it’s comfortable knowing that you “belong” somewhere.

I don’t begrudge those who take comfort in believing their denomination is the most right… I just don’t want to take part in that. It’s really unattractive to be a part of a little group that, by its very existence, excludes. Of course, in broader terms, there are indeed sheeps and goats…but within the church I just don’t understand how human nature seems so unsatisfied with just Christ. Everyone wants what the world has, you know… titles,  things you recite, traditions, customs, conferences, etc. etc. etc. Christ plus this or that.

I guess it’s like culture. People are proud of it, they like being a part of it, they like belonging.

It’s all very foreign to me. A scattered Canadian identity, a non-denominational church-goer…what do I have? Except Jesus?

“My home is elsewhere, I’m just passing through here.”

Ten Reasons Why I Am Grateful

Today:

1 – Delicious food. I’m not sure why my mind went straight to that. Maybe because I’m tasting orange juice right now. I had indian food for lunch – with lentils and steamed rice!

2 – Mom. I have a lot of issues with her, but I am grateful for her expertise, and her care and concern for me. She tries to do her best.

3 – Laughter. Things are funny. That makes life good.

4 – Nature. I can’t believe it, but I’m actually enjoying Winter so far. There’s snow on the ground, and I keep getting cold (which usually ensures my misery), however, I’m finding myself enjoying the snow, and my winter jacket and bundling up.

5 – My boss is laid back. That helps. A lot.

6 – Reading - I read comics, and Christian ministry blogs, lolcats, and the News, pretty much every day, and it brings me great joy.

7 – Snack foods. Again, this has to do with foods, but this is more specifically referring to the “not going hungry” element of food.

8 – Successful Design. I’m not syaing I’ve achieved that yet, but I feel like I’ve made some positive steps towards that goal in recent days.

9 – Free pre-marital counseling. That’s what you get when you go to church every Sunday and volunteer with the youth group. That, and no fee for using the church. Don’t worry, we will be tipping our “officiant” a.k.a. Pastor Rick.

10 – Prayer cards. These are the things that missionaries give you, so you can have a visual reminder to pray for them. I have a few above my computer at my desk at work. It’s good to be reminded of their work, some of which is why I do what I do. And prayer is good – being reminded to pray – I appreciate that.

Gmail themes

What theme are YOU using on gmail? (ingenius question courtesy of Candice)

I’m using Minimalist.

a eureka moment

Today, on my way to work, nowhere in particular, I realized something…

I’m insecure about what I’m doing for my wedding

because I’m insecure about who I am.

The wedding is an extension of my sensibilities, of my beliefs, of my tastes…

and I get the same “am I doing this right? is this ok?” feeling regarding my wedding

as I do about everything else.

I care about people’s opinions of me, and i so desperately want to be… to be…

To belong? Is that what I want? To feel like a whole slew of people … agree with me?

The Holy Spirit is called our Comforter. Mighty Counselor.

MIGHTY.

I need to learn to be content with all that is contained within “who God created me to be.”

email snippets

I used those tilley’s hats circles [gotten for free from the store] and cut out squares in them to make hand warmers. I filled them with the ceramic pie weights that I bought for $4 (they’re for using on pies to keep the crust from bubbling up and burning… it keeps it in contact with the filling, and so it cooks evenly…anyway) you can microwave them and so I put them in the little square bean-bag looking things I made – I have hand warmers! yay!!!

I’m so eco chic! I used repurposed material I got for free!

—

… Ok so I just got so excited that I decided to microwave them…and this is the first time I had microwaved the two of them. I had microwaved the first one, and I put it in for a minute and it heated up and was fine… then I put in two, stacked on top of each other, and microwaved them for 2 minutes… I just opened the door and one is smoking :( I closed the door to let the smoke dissipate. The last thing I want right now is the fire alarm going off… my dad just went to bed. BAAAAH

—

So I go back into the kitchen to check on it… and it’s STILL SMOKING…AKA…it’s on fire… ACK

and now it smells like burning wood…which is nice, but disturbing…not gunna lie…I think I might pick them up with my oven mitts and put them under water … :D

—

AND OF COURSE THE STUPID TILLEY’S ENDURABLES MATERIAL IS WATERPROOF>>> GUH

—

anyway, it seems fine now. IT was smoldering in a corner… can’t figure that out… maybe too much fabric bunched up in one place? I do wonder if maybe the microwave heats the fabric and then the ceramic absorbs the heat… because I read on the internet that ceramic is “invisible” to microwaves but that it conducts heat… GUH… why does martha stewart LIE TO ME… she recommended FIVE MINUTES in the microwave… ON HIGH. Buh

—

Well crap… I’ve just come back from investigating the damages, and other than the ceramic balls being COOL ALREADY…(did they even get that hot in the first place?) the material is fried… the one that had already been heated (successfully…the first time) is burned a little in the corner (not sure if it suffered from the same thing as the other one, or if it was just because it was lying on top), and STINKS LIKE you wouldn’t believe.

The other one, well… the whole corner got burned off. Like, when I opened the microwave, it was glowing… like embers. GUH.

And i have no idea if it was the ceramic, or the material… I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the material… but still. That’s wack.

Now to find a wool sweater at value village that I can use for fabric…repurpose it… because clearly, our tilley’s hats are not meant to be microwaved.

Well that’s the adventure I had tonight. I’m still happ I got it done. Now I know :)

- from an email I wrote last night

I’m 22

You’d think by this age, one would be above feelings of jealousy, or feeling left out, or being insecure because you’re not as cool/have as many friends/have as much money or as nice clothes as others…

yet, somehow, sometimes, even now, I find myself wearing the same green-coloured glasses (like that? I made that up just now – it means ENVIOUS, get it? Green!). It’s like I’m back in high school, and a flickr page full of party pictures or a facebook album of someone’s wedding, will just send me over the edge of self-pity (although, to be fair most of my friends weren’t getting married in high school). And I think “why aren’t I that care-free? that happy? why don’t I have that much fun? why aren’t I that talented? why aren’t I that rich?”

and I feel as if somehow, God is up there, dealing out hands, and I’ve been given less…

it’s a very weird feeling, especially when you can say, “Well, at least I’m not x, y and z” and yet still feel bad about yourself.

It’s a pathetic feeling, and I don’t like it one bit.

after some coffee, and some blog-surfing, and some actual work…

Ok I’m over it.

I’m sorry

I know I shouldn’t, but I do:

I love Instant Star.

And Life on Mars, but that’s a legitimate love.

I watch too much TV.

Thought

I wonder if I could make my own bedspread/sheet set. I mean, maybe not sheets, but a bedspread? That thing that everyone sees, that you have to wake up to every morning? I’m having a hard time finding one I like. I wonder what you have to do to pick the right fabric for something like that. I can’t imagine it would be that hard to sew…

The Registry Front

I love registries. I love going to The Bay (it’s a Canadian department store that once actually owned half of Canada) for the purpose of a bridal shower or a wedding. You go in, you print off the registry of a good friend of yours, and you try to find the exact item she  scanned, knowing with full confidence that the happy couple wants/needs this for their upcoming marriage. Usually, a sales associate helps you and finally, tucked away on some shelf that you passed at least three times, you find it – that item that will become, your wedding gift to them. In the end, you feel confident that you have successfully navigated the registry and bought them the perfect gift, and you imagine the grateful smile on your friends’ face, when they open up exactly what they wanted. Every time they use this practical gift, they will be reminded of you and your love for them. You, personally, can take credit for helping make successful this new stage of their life.

At least, that’s how I feel, when I shop from a registry.

Now, a wedding is not about getting gifts, but you cannot deny that giving and receiving is a big part of the celebration.

It seems to be the trend as of late in the wedding community for people scoff at the idea of the registry. Some have invented the “art” fund, where friends can contribute cash for the couple to buy art for their home. Some people just want cash, to help cover the cost of the wedding/living costs. And of course, there are those that want money given to their favourite charity.

These are all great ideas, but there are a few things that I feel need defending about registries.

I should also explain that I believe that humans were designed to live in relationship, not to stand alone, and community entails interdependent, rather than independent living. Giving to those who have need, generously, and sacrificially, is of God, and being humble enough to accept help is a sign that you recognize where it all comes from – nothing you have, you got without God giving it to you.

H’Ok. So.

#1 Reason to Use a Registry: Shopping is time consuming. I don’t really know what people do once they’re married. I mean, I have some ideas, but I think for the most part it involves a lot of hard work. I’d rather spend my time working on my marriage than shopping.

# 2 Reason to Use a Registry: Quality. Since I started my registry, I’ve spent hours reading reviews on products and researching all I need to know to make the best decisions for my needs. The engagement period is the perfect time to do this sort of thing, especially since you can wait for sales. Don’t expect to make wise choices on such a wide array of items the day you get back from the honeymoon.

To summarize 1 & 2: One of the worst financial mistakes you can make, in my opinion, is to be cheap for no good reason. I firmly believe that if you can’t afford the expensive one, God will make the cheap one last, but if you’re going for the cheap one because somehow you think you’re outsmarting the system, it will break on you three times, and you will end up paying twice as much as you would’ve if you had just bought the high-quality, more expensive version.

In Conclusion, Using a Registry Will Make Your Marriage Better. Not having something you need, will stress you out. Shopping for something you can’t afford, will stress you out. You’re shooting yourself in the foot if you make things intentionally difficult for yourself by not having the right tools for the job (job = living). When you get home from that honeymoon, you want to hit the ground running, ready to start living life, not playing catch up, unprepared to live nevermind learn how to live with each other.

Of course, having said all that, I intend on using IKEA for a lot of my kitchen stuff (glasses & gadgets), and IKEA has no registry. However, I don’t have to do research or price compare because I have enough experience with IKEA to trust their prices and quality. One stop shopping. It should be fun. I wish I could get other people to pick up 12 juice glasses, 12 water glasses, 12 red wine glasses, 12 white wine glasses, a whisk, a cheese grater, and everything else that falls under the category of “kitchen stuff,” but I love IKEA so much (especially with the ice cream at the end of the shopping extravaganza) that it should involve limited stress.

Gay Marriage

Last night I was riding the subway home and I saw a man turn around after he had just gone through the turnstiles, and lean over to give his man-friend a good-bye kiss. They were both rather good-looking young men, with those scruffy, one-or-two-days-worth of beard-things that are all the rage right now.

I say manfriend because it’s a) funny b) ambiguous, which I felt was appropriate since I didn’t know their status, and could only garner that they were on friendly terms if they’re kissing in public.

Anyway, it made me smile. It was a reaction that just kinda happened, and I didn’t know why that made me smile. Either I thought it was cute and romantic, or I thought it was funny in that “that was unexpected” or “that’s out of the ordinary” way (I don’t see a lot of man-love in my day-to-day life).

Either way, I wasn’t putting too much thought into it, until I read the most recent post from my latest favourite blog, A Practical Wedding.

You see, I can feel this girl’s passion, and I understand why she sees it as ‘injustice.’ I can empathize with that feeling of “this is wrong!” on par with racism, and other injustices. But despite all she said, and despite feeling really quite bad for those that consider gay marriage an issue of rights and justice, I just don’t agree.

Now to attempt to be agreeably disagreeing.

I suppose my understanding of marriage cannot be divorced from my understanding of God. I believe God created the universe, created you, created me. He made birds, and puppies, and he made marriage. I believe that because God made these things, he has a say about them, and that he knows best.

Can the creation tell the creator what is best for them? Can “what feels right” trump the creator of feelings, the source of all goodness? Sure, you think you know right and wrong, but it’s kinda arbitrary, don’t you think? A bit subjective, what with our human inability to see beyond ourselves? We certainly try but if we want to find truth we’ve got to be getting it from a higher source, like a judge, except not a judge that is as fallible as we are. Not a law-giver that has selfish ambitions.

The Bible, God’s word, the Law, this love letter, is a story about how God wants to bring us to himself, so that we can be his people, and He can be our God. But that requires sacrifice – Jesus took the first step. A big step. He did what was necessary to bring us to him. But now, in the face of that offering, of that invitation, we have the choice whether or not we accept it, whether or not we sacrifice our own lives, for the sake of relationship with God.

Frig. It’s big! It’s a big choice. It’s giving up your life, for God. For unity with your creator. Choosing to trust God, even when you don’t see him, or feel him. Choosing to give up your right to go your own way, in return for doing things his way. Choosing obedience, rather than rebellion. We can do things our way, we can do that Adam and Eve thing, where we don’t trust God anymore and decide we know best – but you know, it just doesn’t work out that great. You see, God is love, what is the opposite of love? God is peace, kindness, goodness, selflessness, He keeps no record of wrongs, he rejoices in truth, he doesn’t lie, he offers hope. Literally, when we choose our own way, we are choosing lies, war, evil, selfishness, basically… we are our own harbingers of death.

Seems a little severe, but when I think abstractly like this, and think of my own life and some of the choices I’ve made, and the choices I’ve seen those close to me make, to me, it makes sense.

So I believe that God created marriage, and like anything else he created, we mess it up. But he can help us, if we look to his way of doing things, and obey. How do we obey? Not on our own strength (you’d have to be holier than a pharisee to earn your way to heaven…) but by Christ’s sacrifice. His life living in us through the Holy Spirit. So that’s how you do any good, but it’s also how you live in a state of forgiveness – forgiveness is necessary for all those who don’t manage to become perfect in this lifetime.

Now finally, talking about gay marriage. I’d prefer not to talk about it. Seems debates get nowhere, and people get defensive, and take things very personally, like gay marriage threatens them, or no marriage for gays threatens them (depends who the ‘them’ is).

Here’s the point I want to bring to the table: Marriage is part mystery, and that mysterious part, is God making man and woman one flesh. It’s not just a social agreement, it’s not just a legal contract. There is something Holy (set apart, special, serving a specific purpose), and there is something spiritual there. I think gay marriage is in the same boat as anything apart from God. It’s not what God wants.

God our Savior wants all people to be saved, it pleases him that we should pray for all people. Second, he wants all people to come to a knowledge of the truth, the truth that “there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men” (1 Timothy 2:5-6). (from here)

So what do we do? Pray.

…to pray for all these people is not a futile effort to influence God’s will, but a hospitable gesture by which we invite our neighbors into the center of our hearts.

Compassionate prayer does not encourage the self-serving individualism that leads us to flee from people or to fight them. On the contrary, by deepening our awareness of our common suffering, prayer draws us closer together in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

quote excerpted from Henry Nouwen’s book, Compassion

I don’t think legalizing something, or making something illegal (cough cough, the other side of the one-issue voter coin), brings people closer to God. Christ didn’t walk this earth, picketing stuff, and pushing for law reform. Hey, if you’re into politics and that’s your gift, be in politics! Make laws and stuff that help people, fight for justice and whatnot. But I think what will transform America, and the world, is going to be the personal (as well as corporate) decisions we make in our day-to-day lives.

Here’s another quote I’ve stumbled on today about establishing worldly “Empire” rather than the Kingdom of God:

As Paul says, ‘We don’t fight with those weapons.’ A church’s authority
comes from somewhere else – it comes from how we’ve been broken open and poured out, not from how well we’ve pursued power and lobbied and organized ourselves to triumph. This is why when Christians organize politically and start flexing that muscle, making threats about how they are going to impose their way on others, so many people turn away from Jesus.

Jesus’ followers at that point are claiming to be the voice of God, but they are speaking the language of Caesar and using the methods of Rome, and for millions of us it has the stench of Solomon.”

- Rob Bell, Jesus Wants to Save Christianspg. 161

(I think the reference to Solomon is that he was a hypocrite? He started out a man of God but then had 1000 wives?)

I’m not threatened by legislation on marriage. I believe the issue to be so much bigger than what our government allows or disallows. The reality is people are far from God and legislation won’t bring them any closer.

_____________ brings people closer to Jesus.

(fill in the blank)