stitchy

Spunky that is so sad and beautiful. It's so comforting to know that our Father never leaves us, even in the times of the most sadness.

Thankyou to everyone who responded. You're all angels Much love and blessings.

I love that!! Thanks Karen

Jackie, I don't know you but I feel so proud of you right now. I know the Lord does, too. Bless you xoxox

Would anyone here who is a firm believer in Christ be interested in having a one-on-one chat with me? I have MSN and AIM... I really need to talk with someone right now, because I desperately need help with something, and there's no one else I can talk with. If anyone would be willing to be supportive and share some advice/their opinion with me... I would be eternally grateful. Send me a PM I suppose, if you're willing. Thankyou so much.. edit: I forgot to mention - I'd prefer an older person, someone who has more experience with life than I (I'm 20 years old).

Wow! That is truly amazing. Yes, I agree that it is important to recognise that it's our Holy Father reaching out to us in situations such as this. I remember when I was younger, I had a cat (deceased now) who, whenever I cried, he'd come to me and sit with me and snuggle me. I wonder if this was the Lord also, or if I just had a closer bond with that cat than I do with the one I have now.

Hey sierra. I reckon, don't worry. Put all your faith in the Lord and he will see you through safely. I say just go for it - Tiffany is involved with someone! God bless, and I hope it all goes well.

I know that for God, we are all tools and he can use us (should we allow him to) in a part of His big plan. And I mean tools in a good way... not saying that He thinks we're all just objects. Anyway, can God use animals? He created everything so He should be able to control anything right? The reason I ask this question is because I've been thinking lately about stories I've heard in the past, involving dogs that saved their owners from fires, and stuff like that. What really triggered these thoughts in me was the fact that I was feeling really low last night, and I prayed for God to help me feel better, and when I woke up this morning my cat waltzed straight into my room and stayed with me, snuggling me etc. for most of the morning. It was nice and I stopped feeling so lonely because I had my cat with me keeping me company. What do you think? Is it a coincidence or could God have nudged my kitty my way to comfort me a little? It's not something that happens very often.

Thankyou for posting this. I.. have a situation I've been dealing with for months, and it gets me down a lot, but every now and again someone says something like you've just said and it fills me with new hope. Thankyou

The church I started going to this year hasn't done a communion since I've been there. I'm not there currently, because I've moved home for summer, so I'm going to a church in my hometown. But the church in my hometown does it every couple weeks, I think.

It seems to me this movie had a lot of good points and bad points, then. I guess by retelling the story of Christ in a "pop culture" type of way, one that young people could relate to easily, it fueled their interest in learning about Christ and the gospel. That's quite awesome, as long as people don't come away from the movie thinking that's how it really was, and getting the wrong idea about Jesus. man - I agree with what you said, thankyou! But I don't understand, why is Passion of the Christ a lie? And any others who are against that movie - what is bad about it? I do remember thinking at the time it was coming out that Mel Gibson was just trying to make a lot of money over something he knew would be hugely controversial.

Please forgive my ignorance... I haven't read a lot of the Old Testament yet. But which part of the OT are we talking about in this thread? I haven't read about any mass murder of children or anything, can someone point me in the right direction?

I was just wondering what peoples' thoughts are on this movie/production. I'm curious. I bought myself a copy of the DVD a couple of weeks ago, because I saw it for cheap in a store. I remembered it from my childhood (my older sister often watched it with her friends) so I grabbed it. I absolutely love the music in this movie. However having watched it recently, I'm no longer sure how I feel about the movie as a whole. I feel they portray Jesus in the wrong way. I actually felt kind of guilty watching it - much different from when I was a child. As a child I would watch it and feel more intrigued by the story, and want to learn more about Jesus and what he did. What are your thoughts? Any fans/critics of this movie?

I was raised Catholic, and baptised as a baby. To be honest a lot of their ways confuse me too. I've drifted from that denomination, now I just consider myself a Christian. I don't understand why Catholics worship Mary. Is anyone able to explain this?

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the support and suggestions. You guys are a huge help.

A few weeks ago I posted about a problem I have to do with me being in love with a friend who doesn't return the feelings (or rather, refuses to at this point). Well, I am pleased to say I am managing to cope with it a bit better now that I don't see him anymore (I've moved back home for summer, and I won't see him again until I go back for university in January). However, the loneliness that comes from realising my feelings are mine and mine alone still continues to plague me a bit. I feel guilty because I know that with Jesus I am never alone, and I tell myself that, but I still feel sad when I think about this guy and how we can't be together. I was just wondering, how do you all deal with loneliness?

That's so horrible it makes me want to cry. I can't even begin to imagine the pain he must have gone through, and all for us. I remember being horrified when I watched The Passion of the Christ, and saw the whipping scene. I had had no idea it was so brutal in reality; as a child I was taught the 'sugar-coated' version of Jesus' death. I love you, Jesus.

I didn't once state that it's okay to be depressed, or to kill anyone. I also didn't say that the man shouldn't be held accountable for killing his children. I just think if there was more understanding and peace in the world, these kinds of horrible events would be prevented, and the devil would have no chance at getting any of us. I'm going to step out of this discussion now because what I am saying is being misunderstood. I don't see any point in trying to put across a point that isn't being understood, and I also don't want to cause anger and fights to erupt. God bless.

Yeah, I understand what you're getting at, sierra. Maybe I live in a fantasy world. In my head, everyone gets along. I just find the whole situation very saddening. Though, if he lives out the rest of his life in jail, at least that gives more of a chance for him to repent and accept God into his life... that would be a wonderful thing.

That is a very good point. Though, when you get depressed enough you often lose the ability to think rationally. That's the type of thing that makes people want to commit suicide and then actually go through with it.. you know? Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that it was perfectly fine for him to kill his children. It's terrible. But I just think with more peace and understanding from people, this kind of thing can be prevented (or in this man's case, prevented from happening again). The devil got him... I think he desperately needs some sort of help right now, so he can't be influenced by satan again. I'm not trying to anger anyone here. I think I've been misunderstood because I'm the kind of person that believes that above all, God wants peace and harmony on earth. I don't think that starts with us saying "this man should be killed for what he's done".

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to justify what he did. But I still don't think we have the right to judge anyone else. God will do that at the end of all things. There is no possible way for any of us to know the full extent of what he has gone through in his life, and with his depression. No, there is no justifying it, but I still think it's better to offer help and understanding rather than just killing him off or leaving him to rot in prison.

From what I could understand- she found it despicable. I'm pretty sure she thought that he should be in jail for what he did...although of course she did not portray this on stage. She did mention that she thought David made a "choice" in not telling anyone about his thoughts of killing his family. This kind of thing makes me so sad. It's very easy to judge a situation when you're standing on the outside looking in. Everybody makes mistakes, we should all know that no human is perfect. I'm sure if Oprah started having crazy thoughts of killing people, she wouldn't tell anyone.

I think it's true that the punishment isn't really the way to fix the problem. This is a man who needs serious therapy and help with his depression. I find it a shame that these things aren't recognised until after something terrible happens. I don't know about in the US, but here in New Zealand, our mental health system is failing us because "at risk" people aren't recognised to be at risk until it's too late and some serious damage has been done. He did murder his children, and that is a severe enough punishment. He has to live with that on his shoulders for the rest of his life. It is a terrible thing to have happened, and it makes it very hard for other people to try and understand - but I think understanding is really what people suffering with depression really need. They need people to support them and be patient with them, rather than "punish" them and turn their backs on them. Saying "you did this and it's wrong" and then leaving him to sit in jail and think about it is only going to make his mental condition worse. I too suffer from depression (though I am happy to say that through the prayers of people on this site, and my own prayers, God is curing me of it every day ) so I can relate to having destructive feelings. When a person is depressed - well, at least in my own case, when I am depressed - they're not themselves. I know for a fact that I become a completely different person when I'm down. A friend of mine told me that it was really scary when I was like that. Understanding and support from the people I love was always what got me through. I'm not saying the man should be let off scott-free because of his mental condition. But I think that during his prison sentence he should definitely be getting some serious psychological help, otherwise he'll just continue to be depressed for the rest of his life and end up killing someone else, or himself. I think we should pray for this man's salvation.

In the Bible Jesus preached a bit about fasting. But being sort of new to christianity and the Bible, I don't quite understand this. When and why do we need to fast?

I can't believe that. I don't think I've ever heard of a case like that here. That's terrible...