Confessions of a Christ-Follower

• Most of my favorite worship experiences have taken place nowhere near a church.

• I don't read my Bible every day.

• If I wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble getting back to sleep, my first instinct is not usually to pray. Typically it won't cross my mind til hours later, when I think, "Oh, maybe God woke up me 'cause He wanted to talk to me. Oops."

• Sometimes I'll tell someone that I'll pray for them but then I forget to do it. That's why I don't make that offer as often as I used to.

• I can only listen to so much Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Casting Crowns and Mercy Me before wanting to gag.

• When I'm tired or frustrated or mad I've been known to cuss. And I don't always feel bad about it.

• I'm not sure that I'll ever want to go on a mission trip to Africa. I'm okay with that.

• Sometimes Sundays are my least favorite day of the week.

• There are some worship songs that (to me) are so cheesy that I have to restrain myself from rolling my eyes whenever we start singing them. But I'm still rolling my eyes on the inside.

• I hate the fact that so many Christians have treated George W. Bush as the second coming of Christ and Barack Obama as the anti-Christ.

• I've seen several of the "Harry Potter" movies and don't feel guilty about it.

• I kinda miss using a songbook.

• I love the fact that the majority of the stories of Jesus told in the Gospels take place outside the temple.

• Some of my best conversations with friends have taken place when we've skipped Sunday school.

Change

For the most part, I like change. I get weirdly excited over stupid little changes like a new lip gloss or new laundry detergent scent. Some mornings I'll take a different route to work just to shake up my routine a bit. I tend to get bored with the same-old, same-old, which explains why I've changed my blog template roughly 436 times since I began blogging.

Lately I've been extra-aware of a sense of boredom regarding my life. Not much has changed over the past year. Same house. Same job. Same church. And I'm feeling restless. I'm craving some change--obviously my hope is for good change. I have several friends who have recently embarked on new adventures--new job, starting school, etc.--and I can't help but feel a wee bit jealous and bored with my own life.

Maybe I need to take up a new hobby. Or perhaps it's time for some bigger changes. I've lived in the same city ever since I graduated college, so maybe it's time to move on. Time will tell. At any rate, I don't think a new laundry detergent is going to be enough.

Book Review: Beyond Opinion

My latest book review is of Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend. The book is a compilation of essays on a variety of topics regarding Christian apologetics, written by well known apologist Ravi Zacharias and other members of the Ravi Zacharias International Ministries team.

The essays in the book address many of the challenges that the Bible and Christianity face today, ranging from atheism to science to Islam, Hinduism and other cultural challenges. One of my favorite essays dealt with challenges from today's youth culture. Having attended a Christian college, I did not have to face so many of the challenges to the Christian faith that many students attending secular universities run up against both in and out of the classroom. However, I know many others who have, and I think that this particular essay is a valuable resource for students as well as parents, youth/college ministers, and other leaders.

The book also discusses the roles of evil and suffering, doubt and persecution, and other challenging topics. I'll admit that this was not exactly an easy read; I was drawn to certain essays more than others. Overall, however, I found the book to be quite helpful in giving me a better idea of some of the challenges that the Christian faith faces today and how to better address those challenges.

WFMW: Pandora FREE Customizable Internet Radio

Most mornings as I'm getting ready for work I like to crank up the music, and when I'm not listening to a playlist on itunes I click on Pandora. Pandora is a free internet radio website that allows you to create your own custom stations. Simply type in the name of a particular song or musician, and Pandora will generate a station that only plays songs with similar traits to that song or artist. You can create a station that's based on multiple songs and artists as well.

I love the fact that you can create multiple stations, since I like to listen to different music based on my mood. For instance, I can get my 80s hair-metal band fix on my Bon Jovi station, or if I'm feeling a bit more mellow, i can switch to my Matchbox 20 station. And if the station begins playing a song I don't want to hear, I can skip to the next song. (Note, however, that there are a limited number of skips you can use on one station at a time.)

Best of all, it's free and doesn't require any downloads. One caveat: Pandora can make it hard to get out the door. I can't count how many times I've been about to turn off the computer when Pandora cranks out another great song. So far I haven't been late to work yet as a result, but there have definitely been some close calls. So listen with caution.

That's why Pandora works for me. For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, visit We Are That Family.

The Lost Horse

Note: I originally posted the following story in September 2008 after reading it on the 48 Days blog. The story is a good reminder that not everything is as bad (or as good) as it sometimes seems, and I thought that it's a message that bears repeating.

Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, because he owned a beautiful white horse. People offered fabulous prices for the horse, but the old man always refused. “This horse is a friend, not a possession,” he would respond.

One morning the horse was not in the stable. All the villagers said, “You old fool. We told you someone would steal that beautiful horse. You could at least have gotten the money. Now the horse is gone, and you’ve been cursed with misfortune.”

The old man responded, “Perhaps. All I know is that my horse is gone; the rest I do not know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can’t say.”

After fifteen days the horse returned. He hadn’t been stolen; he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses back with him. Once again the village people gathered around the old man and said, “You were right - what we thought was a curse was a blessing. Please forgive us.” The old man responded, “Perhaps. Once again you’ve gone too far. How do you know if this is a blessing or a curse? Unless you can see the whole story, how can you judge?” But the people could only see the obvious. The old man now had twelve additional horses that could be broken and sold for a great deal of money.

The old man had a son, an only son. He began to break the wild horses. Unfortunately, after just a few days, he fell from a horse and broke both his legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and said, “You were right. The wild horses were not a blessing; they were a curse. Your only son has broken his legs and now in your old age you have no one to help you. You are poorer than ever.” But the old man said, “Perhaps. Don’t go so far. Say only that my son broke his legs. We have only a fragment of the whole story.”

It so happened that a few weeks later the country went to war with a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he had two broken legs. Once again the people gathered around, crying because there was little chance their sons would return. “You were right, old man. Your son’s accident was a blessing. Our sons are gone forever.”The old man spoke again. “You people are always quick to jump to conclusions. Only God knows the final story.”

And so it is with our lives. What we see as a blessing or a curse may simply be part of God’s preparation for what lies ahead. Be careful in seeing “disaster” in any change. Just recognize it as change - which opens the door for good as well as bad - for gain as well as possible loss.

Works for Me Wednesday: Powdered Milk

The older (ahem) I get, the greater the desire to simplify my life; I suppose that's a fairly common desire. Although there are many days when my life feels like it's getting more rather than less complicated, I am at least trying. To that end, I'm trying more and more to anticipate needs and be proactive rather than reactive.

Case in point: grocery shopping. The fewer trips to the grocery store I can make the better, so it bugs me when I get home from the store and *think* I've got all the ingredients for a particular recipe only to discover that I don't. Not too long ago I was in the middle of a recipe and realized that it called for milk, which I didn't have in the fridge, since I'm not a big milk drinker. I was about to either have to make another store run or ditch the recipe altogether; neither option was all that appealing.

Then it hit me--I remembered that I had powdered milk left over from when I made homemade hot chocolate mix as Christmas gifts. I just mixed the milk powder with water (measurements are on the box) and voila! Problem solved!


Keeping powdered milk on hand is a great option for those who, like me, don't buy milk very often. Plus, it's relatively inexpensive and keeps for a long time. No more wasted milk! That works for me.

Want more time- and money-saving tips? Click here for more Works for Me Wednesday ideas.

My Finds

The thought of getting out of bed before the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning usually makes me want to cry. Last Saturday I made the sacrifice for the sake of hitting the area yard sales with a good friend of mine. (I have yet to discover why yard sales universally have to start at some insane hour of, say, 6 in the morning, rather than the civilized 9 or 10. But I digress.)

Thankfully, the lack of sleep was well worth it, as I snagged some great yard sale finds! Here's a peek:



I bought two seashell-shaped ceramic serving pieces for 50 cents each, a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (retail on Amazon: $26.39) for 25 cents, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Vol. 1) for $1, and a carved wood box that is a larger version of a box that my mom has for $1. My favorite find, however, was the Pampered Chef mini loaf pan that had never been used. It retails for $34, and I got it for $3!

If you're keeping track, I spent a grand total of $6.25 on my purchases. Not a bad way to spend an early Saturday morning!