LossForWords

Ok so this shall be a two topic in one topic post. Bear with me as the first part is really for the ones who helped me out in chat last night. The fiberglass situation...here is my checklist: #1 Took a shower, washed the infected area. #2 Used tape (now we didn't have any duct tape per say, so I used strong electrical tape. This seemed to help a little. The tape was black so I saw little threads of (what I assume was glass) on the tape. It was still itching and stinging though so I went onto Plan B. #3 Plan B...glue. I rubbed some glue on the spot and let it dry. I pulled the glue off, but I don't really know if it helped. My husband suggested super glue...and even though that may have worked, I wasn't planning on pulling of 7 layers of skin last night. So I skipped that one...on the Plan C. #4 Plan C...some one told me that if you put food coloring on the area, the fiberglass pieces will turn color and they will be easier to see, then you can remove them. So I dyed a spot on my arm. This actually worked somewhat. I was able to see some pieces that I had not seen before and removed those with tweezers. #5 I figured I had gotten as much as I could so I went off to bed. The area is not as bother some as it was yesterday. A relative (who used to work for my papa at his shop-he owned a fiberglass shop in Florida...made van tops and small pools) said that the rest will just have to work its way out. Should I keep the area covered or let it breathe? It's soaking in all the germs right now, but I feel like if I keep it covered it would irritate it more. Any more suggestions? Or am I just doomed to have an itchy, irritated arm for awhile? NOW....on to the UFO bit. Was there a meteor shower this morning or something? I was drivin' to school around 6:45 and in the sky there is this thing. I thought it was an airplane at first because it looked like one of those lights that you see blinking from the side of a plane. But it was going way too fast. It shot across the view of my wind shield and then just wasn't there anymore. Don't get my wrong, I am not a huge believer in aliens or the like (possible? yeah...convinced? not hardly)...but this thing was so odd. Is the airforce base holding some kind of new investigation into anti-terrorist air craft? Was it a falling star? What in the world was going on? I was listening to the Jesus station on the way to work and somebody called in to say they had seen it too...and they wondered as well what was going on. Any suggestions? Or am i just doomed to have an unofficial UFO sighting?!?

6. Sing only old slow songs and do it with no life, feeling, heart or meaning. You know like, "Tis so sweet to rust in Jesus." LOL! Priceless!! I can't stop laughing!!!

Are these out on DVD yet? You could rent it. The episode is called "The First Day of School," I think. You can order the script from The Script House Awesome...that's what I was lookin' for. Thanks a bunch!

Ok...so when I came home from work today, my favorite episode of The Cosby Show was on. The one where Theo has come home with a bad report card and Cliff has a talk with him about his lack of good grades. Theo says he doesn't plan to go to college and that he'll just get a job and be alright. Cliff tries to use monopoly money to explain to him how things will work, which doesn't seem to do a whole lot for young Theo. Cliff has to leave the room to deal with two of the other girls who are fighting. So anyways, Theo calls Cliff back in and gives him this big speech about how they should love him just the way he is...(and everybody in the audience claps and you think "go Theo!)...that is until Cliff makes that memorable comment, "I'm your dad...I brought you into this world and I can take you out." WHERE CAN I FIND THE ENTIRE DIALOGUE FOR THIS SCENE FROM THIS SHOW? DOES ANYBODY KNOW?!?

I don't know if anybody is even reading this anymore... Wednesday they had a grand opening for a new Belk store. I went. They had this person in a bear costume standing at the door greeting people. I left. I'm thinking I'll probably go back on Saturday. No need to take any chances.

Thanks so much Bib. I enjoyed reading your post. I hope you don't mind, I copied it into an email and sent it to the youth pastor that I work with. This is actually an on-going discussion we've been having over coffee (for him)/tea (for me). He is going to school right now, to finish his masters/doctorate. When he has completed school, he wants to begin his own church. Not the whole emergent church movement type thing...but "church" in biblical terms. He'll enjoy your post. Thanks again!! <3 to you!

Excellent Bib! Actually, I was merely quoting the study we have been doing on Following the Biblical Method of Church based on Acts 2:42-47 by my pastor. There's more, including verses if anyone would like me to post it. Post it Bib...PLEASE...I for one am interested!

LOL!! Awesome!! I sincerely wish I could dress as a man for one day (a believable male speciman, mind you) and attend one of these "conferences" to see what is going on!

That would explain your fasination with us huh? LOL! Isn't that the truth!

Anywho... Our pastor is not one of your "typical" pastors (if the pastors that are obsessed with wordly posessions and money are "typical") that preaches ALOT about tithing and his opinions on it...because he would no doubt get the same comments that are being passed around on this topic. He would hear the "oh, you just want our money so you can live in a nicer house." or the old "why does the church need a new building when there is a child starving in Africa?" When we give tithes and offerings to the church, our money goes a LOOOOONG way. In the Nazarene church, a church can not provide MORE for it's pastor or more for it's congregation unless other funds have been met. Those funds include World Evangelsim and Ministries (our money goes to other countries to help with the starving children, and the people who need repairs to their homes, and countries that want a cement block building to hold worship services in). Our money also helps pay for the missionaries who are doing God's work in other countries. I do not have a problem with my money being used for these purposes. I would rather give to my church, knowing that my money is going to World Evagelism than keeping it and thinking I'm going to do something with it one day to help an orphan. Of course, we also have our alabaster Sunday's in which we throw our change in a big ol' wooden church bank. This money also goes to help the needy, especially with building churches and providing meals and other necessities from the church building that was built by missionaries with supplies that were provided by alabaster and tithes and offerings. I keep my little cardboard brick bank and drop change in it every now and then, and think, "good, I at least know I am doing something more for people who not only need food, and clothes, and shelter, but mercy from God as well." So, even though people refer to "tithe" as being "old and out dated," I have no problem with it because I know where my money is going and how it is being used. And because "tithe" is a biblical term, I continue to use it with a cheerful heart. (Because when the New Testament came about, we were no longer REQUIRED to give...shuffling our feet all the way to the church door with a check that was written in haste...nope, we are supposed to give joyfully...THANK YOU GOD for giving to me...now with my whole heart I want to give a little piece back to you, because that's all that you ask...AMAZING!) Our church must also be able to pay it's mortgage, it's utilities, etc...if a church is not using it's money wisely and is spending it extravegantly, while the important funds are not being met...the international church has the option of closing the chuch or providing the church with a new staff that will not "waste" money. After all is said and done, we must pay the pastor, youth pastor, children's minster, janitor, etc...for their job. Because whether we like it or not, being a pastor is a job. Yes, he was called to be a pastor, but he also needs to make a living. Our pastor and youth pastor and children's pastor do not make "good" money. They are doing their job by faith and whatever the church provides is what they have to live on. We do take up love offerings for the pastor (usually on pastor appreciation day or Christmas). Sometimes it's a love offering and we just give them a check to use it as they see fit. Sometimes we have a food drive in which we give the youth pastor food to fill the cabinets (and a box of Lucky Charms cereal for the kids, or a box of Fruit Roll Ups...because alot of times there is just not enough money for the frivilous things that kids enjoy...I am a PK so I know how tight money can get...the food drives were awesome because we finally got to have those cool popsicles in the freezer!) Some people watch crazy pastor's on television or read about things in the news...but the majority of pastors are not paid nearly what they are worth. I know I would never want to be a pastor (thank goodness I was never called into a full time ministry position...though I do hold several positions within the church). I would not like the 3am wake up call because some old lady who is somehow related to so and so from the church is in the hospital and wants you to pray with her. Or get a call while you are on your one week vacation to come back home because Brother Henry who was 100 years old has passed away and they want you to do the funeral. Or counseling people who are living TOUGH lives. Pastors are on call 24/7...could you imagine what somebody's salary would be if they worked constantly, long hours, and were on call 24/7...that's doc. material right there, and let me be the first to say, I know pastors are not making as much as the surgeon at the city hospital. Our church has voted to build a new church building. We have seen growth over the past 20 years, and our church body continues to grow. The church that was built 65 years ago just isn't enough space anymore. So we are going to build a church that will hold approx. *gasp* 400 people. Now...we have not hit this mark yet. We run about 250 each Sunday morning. But with the continued growth we want to build with the belief that we will run full capacity one day, because we know we can continue to reach out to the community. We have a building fund because it makes it easier for the church to run smoothly, without any picking and choosing. With a building fund we can make a sizable down payment (if not pay for the whole building)...and when we take out a new mortgage it would not have to be as big (ensuring that members down the road do not have to bear any sort of burden). Keeping a church going takes faith from the congregation. Some people only give offering (but if you are paying everything else...going out to eat, buying new clothes, putting gas in the car, buying groceries, taking the kids to the baby sitter, giving to your local charity...and then giving whatever might be left over to God...that's not going to cut it). I'm not going to argue with somebody over whether or not they believe they should tithe. It's my own personal belief. But I also know it's not only my personal belief but a belief that others hold true as well. And I can guarantee that the people that tithe from the top of their paychecks, giving 10% back with cheerful hearts are the ones who are not going to have anything to complain about. You won't hear them complain about money in any way (not that they don't ever have enough...or that they think the church has too much). I give from the heart, I give 10% (my tithe that I automatically give back to God...seeing as how he blessed me with life, and with a job, and with a home, and with a car, and a husband, and some pets, and the groceries, and the gas that I have to use to keep the car going...) and then I give offerings (to thank God for the blessings that continue to flow and to also put faith into the church that I love). If I could go back and rephrase my question, I would be sure to only address the believers that actually do set aside faithfully what belongs to God...because only they could answer the question that I had. Which...as I look back...a handful did. Thanks so much. I will continue to tithe, and then set aside my offerings to put towards the building fund.

I have an odd reaction to scary animal situations...I run...in circles. Three examples: 1. When I was a teenager, I was at home for the weekend and my dog was out on the back deck having a mad bark session with the grill. I thought it was strange, but tried to ignore it...but she kept going. So I finally went out with my mom to investigate. My mom took a broom stick and opened the lid...and out jumped (what I believed to have been a) rabid squirrel. My mom screamed and ran inside to get away from the crazy thing...I, being the clever one, ran around in circles screaming until my brother rescued me by opening the grill and letting insane squirrel out. 2. I was at the beach during the early summer months, and the signs were up saying "careful of sting rays" or some such nonsense. We had been to the beach so many times without seeing sting rays in the water that we really didn't pay attention to it anymore. We did the sting ray shuffle and went swimming. Well...I was floating along on a raft, belly down, paddling along. I got close to shore and suddenly saw all these STING RAYS! I began paddling to get away, but they were all over the place!! Along comes brother again to tell me to stop paddling in circles. I had been paddling around the same little school of SKATES (not stingers) and thought I had been surrounded by killer rays. 3. Just last year my husband and I were out walking with his brother. His brother was looking for raccoons (he hunts with dogs)...I must mention that we were not out hunting, his brother was just looking for new tracks and other clues he looks for (I don't know). I was walking one way, and my husband was walking the other way, and his brother was walking another way. We kept calling out "pig pie" to let each other know where we were. So I walk up on a pair of raccoons. I have never seen a raccoon in the wild, and I think "awwww, how cute, with their little burgler masks on, and their little hands..." Until one HISSED at me. And got all arched back. And of course, I ran...in circles. I think I confused the little rascals and they ran off. But my husband and his brother are still laughing at my reaction to the "cute little things." I can't imagine what would happen if it was a real threat. I'm hoping the circles would confuse the enemy!

OH MY WORD! I couldn't help but laugh out loud at that one. That is crazy!! Birds are so strange and fragile. It's amazing how they almost disinigrate on impact (heart, lungs, liver...and FEET!) I remember watching a sports clip of Randy Johnson delivering a pitch to the mound and hitting a bird mid-flight instead. The bird actually blew up and all you saw were feathers flying. That goose that went though your window was probably HUGE though! What a mess! Another classic story for my "when animal's attack" archive!

What in the world is a sculpin? *types ask.com into the computer to figure it out* Is it an odd/ugly fish? If a bear charged me I would probably freeze...thinking "I should run, I should move, I should do something." And by this time I would have been devoured by the bear. I put my arm into the mouth of a bear skin rug...just to feel the teeth. A black bear...sharp, but not as gruesome as a GRIZZLY bear...those teeth are massive, I could only imagine what that would be like...

Ok...so last night in chat we somehow got on the topic of animals and how they are prone to attack for no reason. It is an inate fear of mine (yes, I think this fear has been present from birth) that I will some day be attacked by a wild animal...or attacked by a person dressed in an animal costume, but that is another story all together. So far I have not been seriously injured by a large animal. Let's see...I have been stung by wasps, bit by snakes, bit by a bat, cut by a cat fish, stung by a sting ray, stepped on a jelly fish, stalked by a panther, and the list goes on...but never anything life threatening. My question for you faithful reader is...have you ever been attacked by a wild animal? Or ever been close to becoming a victim of animals gone wild? (no pets, just animals that are running loose and thirsting after blood). Last night I heard about bears eating ATV seats, bears eating stems out of people's mouths and then wrestling them to the ground, I heard about rhinos charging people, cougars attacking... Do you have an animal attack story?!? Tell me about it!!!

If I understand your question you feel that you may be robbing Peter to pay Paul (had to say that ) but you're not. You're giving it to God either way and the Church has the responsibility to see that it is spent for His glory. Exactly...I didn't want it to seem like I was taking away from one important thing to give to another in case it was a no-no. You have made the most sense. Thank you!

I guess asking this question in this section would work...not really sure where it should go. So...my husband and I tithe, and then some. We tithe from our paychecks before taxes. We also add extra $$ to our check each Sunday. We give joyfully. Here is my question. If we were to write our check for our tithe and place that in the offering plate each Sunday, and then took the extra money that we usually put in with our tithe, and put it in a separate check to give towards our new building fund...would this be moral, ethical, whatever... I guess what I am asking is, because we give over our tithe, would it be ok to use the extra money to put towards the building fund...or should we try to find money somewhere and write our regular tithe check with extra offering and then write a separate check for the building fund? Does that make sense?

Ya know...I've visited your blog before, when doing research for church type things. It was only recently that I discovered you were a member of Worthy as well. I enjoyed reading this post. My dad is a pastor (making me a pk...yeah, I know!) We moved several times while I was growing up. I know God calls pastors into the ministry, and through prayer God leads pastors in different directions (or to different churches through out their career). Unfortunately, as a congregation we aren't always as encouraging as we should be. I'm currently on the church board at our church, and I can see that our pastor is getting frustrated with his flock. He wants to see us grow, but the church as a whole won't put their faith in God to let things happen. I wouldn't be surprised if soon God closed the door on his pastorship (is that word?) at our church. Sad to say, but your blog sums up what happens alot in churches. Here's another one: Act like the parsonage belongs to you...because you are a member of the church, and pay tithe, so it's just obvious that your money is paying for the house. Drop by anytime. Invite yourself in. Complain to the board about the big historic tree beside the house, complain enough so the board decides to just chop the tree down.

Ahhh...reminicing about the days when E.T. was my favorite movie. Don't sell the frog! Let it be free!

A church around here had a sign that said: Read the Bible, it will scare the Hell out of you. In GA (where my dad used to pastor) a church sat on top of a hill while their cemetary sat at the bottom of the hill. The church's sign happened to be at the bottom of the hill next to the driveway (next to the cemetary). The topic of that week's sermon... How did we all get here?

I saw that tiny baby on one of the national news channels. Amazing!!

Ok...this is gonna be my last post on this topic. I may come back from time to time to read what other people might have to say on the issue, but other than that, I'm outta here... Some of you may not think you are being judgemental, but I feel that you are, and if it makes another person feel like you are standing in judement of their actions, even when their actions seem to be based on Christian standards, then you are being a judgemental Christian (if those words can even go together!)...and you may or may not also be seen as judging others in God's eyes as well. Now when I stand before Christ and he says, "well done good and faithful servant"...because only God truly knows what I have done with my life, then I will say, "Thanks God, I knew I was following a righteous path, the only words I needed were from you, and the only support I needed was from you." But for people who I feel are being extremely prejudice and judgemental... "you, as well as everyone else, who I feel are being prejudice and judgemental are free to reject what I say, but when you stand before God at His final judgement, you won't be able to point a finger at me and say that I didn't warn you about choosing your words carefully so you do not sound, in the least, that you are judging somebody for something they know is righteous, or even worse, that I encouraged you to be judgemental towards me. I honestly don't know how Jesus will view you on that day. He may tell you there was nothing wrong with it. He may rebuke you for not listening to the warnings of your fellow Christians who feel that you are not teaching, or preaching, but using your opinions to judge others concerning their walk with Christ, and it may cost you positon or rewards. He may tell you to depart from him. Ultimately, he has the final say on all such matters, not me, so I would never presume to condemn you to hell. I cannot think of many people, even the worst kind of sinners, that I would actually want to see wind up in hell. I hope God is very merciful towards his creation, because we all fall short of his standard of holiness." I'm the NYI President at our church (which means I represent the youth of our church by supporting the work of the youth pastor, participating, mentoring, and counseling the lost souls that enter our church, being involved in local outreach minsitry and witnessing, because alot of these kids are coming off of the street, and attending District meetings, and National meetings-such as District and General Assembly). As I said before, I work in a different division of ministry than some of you. You might preach to a congregation, and I mentor kids from the street. We roll in different circles (lol!) In my circle, tattoos are seen all the time. In South Carolina, tattoos have not been legal long, so we have kids who come through our doors with tattoos that were done out of somebody's garage (ya know, the kind that are supposed to be a dragon breathing fire, but instead look like a sea horse blowing bubbles?) We have seen tattoos that represent a gang they belong (or belonged to)...and then we see absolute works of art that are amazing (our youth pastor has the head of Christ on his arm, Christ looks down on the world with a crown of thorns on his head, the tattoo itself has won awards at shows, and the "mark" is powerful to look at). In our ministry, a kid does not look at his arm, and think, "Wow, our pastor is such a sinner, I think he might have to go to hell if God ever saw that..." What they think, and what they say are, "Hey, I see your marks, and I understand who and what you are devoted to, and I respect that, and I know that you will respect me, because we are cut from the same cloth." I will leave you to debate on this post with a piece of scripture, as a youth council who works with teens who are wallowing in sin, we look to this scripture often, to remind us that we need to pick and choose our battles with these kids. In the beginning, we can only push so far before they head to the door, probably to either end up in prison, or lying dead in the woods after a dog fight. We learn not to be so picky about what we refer to as "sin" or "disputable matters." We use The Message translation in our youth group, The Message takes everyday words that these kids tend to hear and say and places them into scripture. It makes it easier to read, easier to understand, and easier to remember when times get tough. If we introduced them to the Bible through the KJV, I can assure you we would lose more of these kids to the street because they wouldn't truly focus on the word, just because of the "old" language it uses. And with all that said, feel free to read through Romans 14: 1 Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things the way you do. And don't jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with

And I am saying that being over weight doesn't make you a glutton. Look the word up in a dictionary. You are just wrong. As a matter of fact, I am going to do that for you from scripture in a moment, but before I do, let me give you this example. You have a woman who weights 200 pounds who is supposed to weigh 140 according to a doctor's chart. By your judgment, she has to be a glutton because she is overweight. Now let's suppose she was to read your post and repent, and she follows your own definition and no longer takes in more calories than her body expends. She will still be 60 pounds over weight, but won't gain anymore weight, so though she is overweight, she is not a glutton. Even being consistent, I have never claimed anyone has to remove all tattoos they already have. I have only said they sinned in getting them, and should repent, and not do it again. Now, as I stated, I don't believe gluttony is what you claim it to be. As such, I am going to give you the words translated to gluttony from the Bible as well as their definitions. The word glutton is only used twice in the Old Testament, and in both instances, comes from the same Hebrew word. First, let's look at the scriptures. Deuteronomy 21:20 "And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard." Proverbs 23:21 "For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags." That is it. The only two times in the entire Old Testament where the word is even used. Now let's look at the word glutton itself. It is from the word zalal which means to shake,, to quake, to be loose morally, worthless or prodicgal: blow down, glutton, riotous (eater), vile. According to the American Heritage Dictionary the word riotous means to move or act with wild abandon. It should be obvious that this is not speaking of simply taking in more calories than one expends. Now, let's look at the New Testament. The word glutton never comes up, but gluttonous does twice. It doesn't come up in a list of sins, but in the form of an accusation. Jesus is accused of being gluttonous and a winebibber. The word translated gluttonous is phagos, from the word phago which means to eat (lit or fig) eat, meat. Jesus was accused of being a glutton and winebibber simply because he came eating and drinking, but we know the charges were false because the Bible also says Jesus never committed any sins. Notice that there is not a single place in the New Testament that ever refers to gluttony as a sin. As for the Old Testament, we have one reference to a rebellious son who is charged with being a glutton and a drunkard, and a warning that being a drunkard, a glutton, and lazy will lead to poverty. I know the Catholic Church claims gluttony is one of the great sins, but it is hardly mentioned in scripture, and where it is, it doesn't mean that one takes in more calories than they expend. As far as that goes, who is to say what is a proper weight in the eyes of God? Your whole argument lacks Biblical credibility. Now couldn't the exact same thing be applied the tattoos as well?!? Anything that could be considered close to referencing any form of tattooing would be in Leviticus...and then it is not mentioned again. I totally understand that you have your own convictions on what you feel would be right or wrong for you to do. However, I am not convicted of this. I work in a different part of ministry obviously...but this does not make me immoral or sinful. And once again, it is offensive that you would judge me or any other Christian based on this.

Right on!

"Sometimes are questions need to be directed more to ourselves than others." I like that.

What a smart person this HopeInGod is... Love to you!