Afterthoughts on Christmas

As some of you may know from reading previous entries, I am not a huge fan of Christmas.  It isn't that I'm a Scrooge or a Grinch.  It's that I despise how something that was meant to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the ultimate gift" as been so distorted into a holiday that proliferates our nations consumerism (is that a word?) and teaches our children greed and self-entitlement.  Because, let's be honest, even when our kids are horribly behaved all year long, we still lavish them with presents. 

When I was a kid, we got a crapload of presents. We even still received "Santa" presents long after we'd learned that Santa was really mom and dad.  We got crazy expensives stuff, like a go-cart, a water bed, an entertainment center, a curio cabinet, porcelain dolls and figurines, and a number of other things I can't recall.  There was always something huge and expensive in the living room waiting for us on Christmas morning.  There were always presents galore and scads of toys and games and gifts.  Our stockings always overflowed with jewelry and make up and mittens and beanies and candy.  As a kid, I really didn't understand the importance of giving, because we were upper-middle-class, and money wasn't an object.  It wasn't that I was ungrateful, or that I felt I deserved the gifts.  It wasn't about selfishness or self-entitlement.  We simple asked, and usually we received the exact thing we asked for.

Looking back I wonder how Christmas didn't put mom and dad in debt for six months.  

Of course, I grew up, and had to learn to live on a budget.  Had to learn that I really didn't have to wear designer clothes or high-priced shoes.  And I learned that life was not about receiving.  Life isn't about what people give you or what you think you deserve.  But life is about giving.  And I learned that it's just as fun and exciting to carefully choose a gift for friends or family members and watch them open it.  It's just as fun to see the excitement and thrill of getting a gift light up their faces and bring complete and total joy to their eyes.  And I have found through the years that gift-giving is a love language of mine.  I love doing special things for people...giving them things and blessing them.  So, I always go overboard at Christmas for my family.  I can't help it.  It's one of my favorite ways to express love.  However, I am a practical gift-giver.  So, things kind of even themselves out.  I won't go buy something that has limited use or that they'll be tired of in a month.  And I don't believe in giving kids oodles and oodles of toys. I believe in a balance.  Of course, they should get toys and games, but they should also receive practical gifts, such as new clothing and books and the like.  Things that will last.  Things they'll get your money's worth through the use.  Because, to me, the importance doesn't rest in what the gift is, so much as the time and effort and thought and love put into the giving of that gift.

This year, budgets were tight, and I didn't get as much as I have in the past.  I knew going in that I'd be lucky to have two or three tangible presents from my family members.  I could have been upset about that.  I could have been hurt that I'd saved and budgeted so that I could really give this year, and all i got in return was a couple of gift cards, some candy in my stocking that I'd paid for, and a new sleep set.  But I wasn't hurt.  I wasn't hurt because I know that what I received was given out of love.  And even more importantly, I knew that. while it's fun and exciting to "get" it is so much more joyous to give. 

Seeing my mom's gratitude for all the new ribbons and sewing material she got, or my little brothers excitement about their video games and new clothes, or my sister's happiness over the handmade wind chime, or my brother-in-law's thankfulness for the gun-cleaning kit, meant more to me than if I'd gotten a thousand dollars worth of gifts.

I am not usually a fan of churches putting cutesy sayings on their signs.  I find most of them lame and corny, and I feel like we miss the mark by trying to make a fun rhyme to entice people to attend our services...or use it as an attempt to encourage.  Don't get me wrong...if it ministers to someone that's great, but most of the time I shake my head and think, "that's ridiculous.  no one would take that seriously."  But I saw a church sign the other day that said this:  "It's HIS birthday, but WE got the gift."  And I thought to myself: How true.

Because of that sign, I feel challenged to always remember the GIFT that is the true meaning of Christmas.  And more than that, I feel challenged to share that gift, because it isn't some finite thing.  It's not like a shirt that will wear out.  It's not a video game that will become obsolete in three years.  It's not something that can be used up or consumed like chocolates or candy.  It's not something that will perish, like flowers or plants or a pet.  The gift He gave us through His birth, death, and resurrection is LIFE and LOVE.  And this LIFE is never-ending.  And this LOVE is eternal and unconditional.

So, I guess what I'm saying in all this is that if we must celebrate Christmas, then we MUST celebrate the GIFT of Christmas.  And the GIFT of Christmas is not what Santa leaves that night, nor is it the receiving of gifts from friends and family.  Rather, it is the GIFT of Jesus, of His Birth, Life, Ministry, Death, and Resurrection.  Because Jesus is the only GIFT worth having.  Without Him, all the toys and shoes and clothes and money in the world is just junk.

Sometimes People Surprise You...

It's true.  You think you've got a person all figured out.  You write that person off as a selfish jerk only concerned about himself/herself.  And then...he/she shows you he/she has a heart.  It's nothing big.  Maybe just a quick glimpse at a moment where he/she is genuinely remorseful for a word or deed...maybe a brief moment of selflessness or thoughtfulness or sweetness.  And in that brief encounter he/she acknowldge that he/she is not completely and totally oblivious to his/her stupidity or selfishness or butthole-ness. 

And it kind of sets your world on its ear for a little while.  And you think, "Hey, maybe he/she isn't beyond help or conviction or whatever.  You think that maybe this is a moment of change because there's some acknowledgement of wrong.  Maybe there's hope.

And then just as suddenly as it came down, the wall goes back up, and the jerk comes back out, and you're left shaking your head in disappointment. 

Because, apparently, he/she don't see any personal benefit in not being a complete and total jackass.  Apparently, being thoughtful and kind and selfless doesn't have enough perks.  And, well, it's all about the perks, isn't it?  And that just makes you want to scream.

And then you take a moment and try to get over the emotions of it all and face the facts.  It's hard for people to change.  It was hard for you to change.  And because you know that, you stop being judgmental, and you do the only thing you can for this person who knows what he/she does is wrong and hurtful, who knows he/she needs to change but just doesn't want to put forth the effort.

You get down on your knees, close your eyes as tight as humanly possible, and pray as if the entire world depended upon it.

Give Me Hanukkah!

What’s the big deal about Hanukkah?  The short answer is this:  around 168 BC, Israel was ruled by the Syrians.  During their rule, the leader, Antiochus Epiphanes, has defiled the temple by killing a pig (which is unclean in Jewish custom) and sprinkling its blood on the altar, destroyed the scrolls and enslaved the Jews.  In 164 BC an entire village led by a guy named Judah Maccabbee decided they weren’t going to put up with Antiochus’ crap, and the armed themselves with pitchforks and swords – just a few hundred folks – and attacked the Syrians nightly until they defeated them and drove them away.  Hanukkah is the celebration of that victory.

But what does that have to do with lighting candles?  After the Maccabee’s defeated the Syrian army, they went to the temple to rededicate it to the Lord.  When they got there, they saw that there wasn’t a whole lot of oil left.  Maybe enough for one night.  But they lit it anyway, and rededicated the temple.  And then…a miracle.  The oil in the candelabra lasted eight days.  Eight days of light, when there was only enough oil for one night.  And so, Hanukkah was to celebrate the defeat of the Syrians and the miracle of the eight days of light.

Okay, Kas, that’s fine.  But why do you choose to celebrate Hanukkah over Christmas?  You’re a Christian, not a Jew…and well, it is CHRISTmas, after all.  Well, I’m glad you asked.  Here’s the deal.  I believe that the Bible teaches that when we become Christians, we become adopted sons and daughters of God.  Now…whether people want to admit this or not…Jesus was a Jew, and so, God’s family is and has always been Jewish.  So, God has adopted this gentile and made her a Jew by accepting her into His family.  But beyond that…it’s simply that Jewish holidays are God’s holidays.  They mean something.  Every single feast and festival has a deeper meaning.  And everything in the Jewish faith, from the feasts and festivals, to the Levitical law, to the stories and traditions written in the Torah point to Jesus.  Hanukkah is no different.  Don’t believe me?  Okay…I’ll prove it.

To Celebrate Hanukkah, there are 9 candles used.  The first and most important candle is the Shamash, which in Hebrew, stands for “servant.”  This Servant candle is taller than all the other candles placed on the Hanukkiah…or Menorah.  This candle is lit first, and is always used to light the other candles.  The remaining candles signify each night that the oil lasted in after the Maccabean dedication of the temple.  

As Christians, we know that Jesus is the Light of the World.  John 1:4-5 says “In Him was the life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” 

We also know that Jesus came as a servant, not as a King.  “And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." Mark 9:35.  And we know he was the ultimate servant to us and to His father because of His obedience to go to the cross.

We also know that numbers are important in the Bible.  Each day of the 8-day feast commemorates a specific purpose.

Day 1: One True God – who is Yahweh, God the Father.

Day 2: Unity – in marriage, two become one.  In Christ we become one with the Father.

Day 3: Tri-Unity – the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Day 4: Judgment – His light shines, but only those who realize they are in darkness can see it.  And He is the ultimate judge of souls.

Day 5:  Grace – God is gracious and forgiving and merciful.  And He imparts that grace to us.

Day 6: Creation – God created the world in 6 days…not 7 as many people mistakenly believe.

Day 7: Rest and Completion: …and on the seventh day god ended His work which He had done, and He rested (Genesis 2:3)

Day 8:  New Beginnings – What is more of a new beginning than a restoration of true worship in the temple of the Lord?

Still don’t believe me?  Well…I have one more thing that might convince you.  What if I told you that Jesus wasn’t born during the winter, when Hanukkah is celebrated, but that he was conceived during that time?  The Bible tells us in Luke 1 that John the Baptist was born 6 months prior to Jesus…and studies have determined that he was born around Passover, which is traditionally during March.  If you add six months to that, you put Christ’s birth in late September, during the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles.  And if you subtract three months from that, well, that’d be December, wouldn’t it?  Interesting, no?

Listen, I don’t expect the world to stop celebrating Christmas.  It ain’t gonna happen.  But, I’d rather celebrate Hanukkah because it was established for a real reason…by God’s people, to celebrate Him.  Not just as some church service to combat the Pagan rituals of the winter solstice.  So, the next time you get down on your knees before a tree and talk about Santa Claus and reindeer, and all that other commercial BUNK, pause to think about the things we really ought to be celebrating.  I’ll give you a hint…it isn’t ourselves, and it isn’t commercialism.

Really? 20 minutes of Nekkid?

Okay...so I was really excited yesterday when I had the day off from work to go watch a couple of movies that I'd heard were good.  I have liked Anne Hathaway's work since The Princess Diaries when it came out ten years ago.  GEEZ - hard to believe it's been that long.  anyway...I've always liked every movie I watched with Anne Hathaway.  And I've enjoyed the movies I've seen Jake Gyllenhaal in...especially last years Brothers with Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman.  (I avoided Brokeback Mountain, and you can't blame me for that.)  So...I saw the trailer for their movie Love & Other Drugs a couple months ago, and was very excited and intrigued.  I had heard that there would be a little nudity...and knew going in that the language was probably not good, and there would be at least one sex scene, because apparently, it is unlawful in Hollywood to make a movie now without the two main characters "sleeping" together.

But I was NOT prepared for over 20 minutes of nakedness.  And it wasn't just nekkid Jake with nekkid Anne.  It was Anne lopping her boob out at a Doctors's appointment on camera, for no good reason other than showing her boob.  It was nekkid Jake with three or four other nekkid girls across the entire course of the movie.  And it was girls nekkid making out with each other.  And it was a shot of an obscenely overweight guy's backside while he was "sleeping" with a girl.

And it didn't just stop with nekkid people going at it like rabbits.  It was bedroom noises heard through a door, and a guy enjoying himself while watching a sex-tape, and it was terrible language, very lewd actions, and more sexual innuendos than should be allowed in a 2-hour movie.  And I kept reminding myself that inside this movie of nekkid people having sex, there was a sweet, interesting story about a boy with deeply ingrained self-esteem issues and a girl with a horrible, degenerative disease, who use sex as a way to cope with their tragedy or their shortcomings.  And, it's true, that when you stripped away all the sex scenes, and the lewd gestures, and horrible language, there really was a heart-felt, poignant story being told.

But, SERIOUSLY? Was it really necessary to sully the sweetness of that story with all the bare boobs and backsides, and barely covered "other" parts? 

I'm a girl, and I like looking at a handsome man with a strong, muscular man chest any old day of the week.  I'm not going to pretend otherwise.  And I know guys like looking at attractive women in various states of undress.  It's only human nature.  But too far is too far.  And as much as I liked the storyline...I can't help feeling that the sex and nskin cheapened it and cheated me out of really enjoying the movie.  I've seen more of Jake Gyllenhaal and Annd Hathaway that I ever cared to see. 

And now, instead of feeling uplifted by the sweetness of the story...I just feel dirty.

Santa, Reindeer, Trees? Thanks, but no.

I know...it's crazy.  But I am - in a general sense - highly anti-Christmas.  Not because I don't believe in celebrating the birth of our Lord, Jesus.  But because it has turned into this commercial holiday about getting stuff and expecting gifts and feeding our greed, and going into debt so we don't disappoint our children, who may or may not have been good this year...but who still get these ridiculous presents regardless of their behavior.

And then there's this business with Santa Claus becoming the focus instead of Jesus.  Okay...so maybe Jesus wasn't born this time of year, but that doesn't matter.  Christmas IS NOT about reindeer and Santa Claus and snow men.  It's not about blackmailing your children into behaving well by telling them Santa won't bring them presents.  It's not about that.  It's about Jesus, and dad gummit, it ticks me off that our commercialism and our selfishness has kicked Him to the curb.

And don't even get me started on Christmas trees.  You know there's a passage in Jeremiah 10:1-10 about a pagan ritual where people cut down trees, put them up in their homes like a shrine, about fashioning shrines out of gold and silver, decorating in blues and purples.  And they revered these idols. 

"But, Kasidee," you say, "we don't worship the trees." 

Really?  how do you get the presents out from under them?  You get down on your knees and pull them out.  You might not literally be worshipping them, but you can be sure that the devil is chuckling because you're unintentionally bowing down to it.  And that might be fine.  Your heart may not be bowing down to that tree, but i'm not willing to be made a fool of like that.

And now, you can't tell people "Merry Christmas" without dealing with being politically uncorrect.  PLEASE!  we can say "Happy Hannukah" or "Happy Kwanza" or some other religious holiday, but we can't say "Merry Christmas" even though "Christmas" is the name of the holiday - and only because it has the word "Christ" in it.  what CRAP!  When I see you in public, I'm gonna tell you "Merry Christmas" and you can send your "Happy Holidays" down the river.

No...I don't like celebrating the Christmas that has evolved.  Give me a celebration of Jesus - give me a day of gratefulness for the blessing of Jesus Christ who came as a baby in humbleness - give me a holiday about the birth of our Lord - give me a feast or festival or holiday about the great Light of the world that came to this earth and illuminated the dark.  I'll celebrate that holday. 

Wait...there is a holiday that celebrates all those things.  Yes, that's right.  Forget Christmas.  Give me Hannukah. 

The Meaning of Hannukah to Christians - BLOG TO COME.

Sometimes You Just Have To Cuss

I know...it is so not "Good Christian Girl" for me to say that.  I should say that there is always an alternative word you can use, there is always a nicer, or less offensive way to put things.  And that is true.  But I also believe there are moments in life when you're being honest about something...and the rawness and naked truth of the situation calls for a precise word.  And sometimes that word is a cuss word.

I had one of those conversations with God last night that leaves you emotionally spent...one of those raw, human, frustrated, scared, angry, loving, passionate, heart-broken, gut-wrenching conversations that caused me to blow my nose through half a roll of toilet paper and gave me red-puffy eyes for the majority of the day today.  It was one of those conversations where I was honest with Him, completely and totally and brutally honest.  And in my emotional honesty and nakedness, I cussed.  A LOT.  Not at God, but about situations that had been building and festering and boiling up to that point.  I cussed out of my basic need to be REAL with Him. 

Okay, it's true that I could have edited my thoughts as I spoke them.  I could have substituted "heck" for "hell," and "darn" for "damn," and a myriad other "instead" words for other swear words I used.  But, let's be honest.  I thought them, and since He knows my thoughts, I might as well be honest and say them.  Because when you're at that point when you're broken and searching and hurting because of a situation, pretending that you don't want to scream and cuss and express your true thoughts is not going to bring you to a place where He can heal you.

I'm not saying that it's okay to walk around cussing all the time.  And I'm definitely not saying that it's okay to cuss at God, to use vulgar language associated with His Name, or to call Him those vulgar things.  But having spilled my guts last night...having been honest and real with Him and myself, I can't find that place in my heart where I feel convicted about using that strong language.  Not in those moments when the power of the emotions and the sincerity of my feelings caused me to use those words.  And I can't believe - I refuse to believe - that my God, who knows me intimately, would hold it against me.  I refuse to believe He wouldn't show grace in those moments.  I refuse to believe that He wouldn't see past the words being used, that He wouldn't look into to the heart and mind and feelings causing those words to be said, and that He wouldn't be generous and compassionate and merciful.

And, in fact, I know that He did just that.  He saw past the words, and He saw the genuineness and honesty and truth in my heart, and He showed kindness and mercy and compassion and love.  And He met me there in that moment when I was completely human and vulnerable.  He met me there in that moment when I was raw and a little ugly and emotionally naked.  And He quieted me with His love, and He covered me with His grace, and He rejoiced over me with singing.  And I feel that today.  I feel His love and grace and compassion today.  And something in me has changed because of it.  Something has been purged because of that time I spent with Him last night.

I guess I wrote all of that to say that we shouldn't be afraid to be honest - completely and totally honest with Him about how we feel and what we're struggling with.  He already knows...whether we're honest with Him or not.  But what I've learned through all of this is that being honest and raw and saying exactly what's on your mind and heart...it's not for His benefit.  It's for our benefit.  I could have gone on holding all of that in last night.  I could have pushed it to the side, buried it in distractions, like I've been doing for the past few weeks.  But last night, when I was real, and I confronted those things, when I brought them before the throne and had a genuine conversation with the Lord, He was finally able to work in me.  He was finally able to help me because I stopped clinging to it, stopped ignoring it, stopped hiding from it.  And He was finally able to move, to work, to change me, to heal me and give me peace about it.

So, this is an encouragement to all you guys who take the time to read this novel of a post.  Sometimes you just have to cuss.  Sometimes you have to get to that place where you strip everything off and say, "Here I am. This is me, this is what I feel, and, damnit, I'm tired of feeling this way."  And that's okay, because in those moments, when you're real with yourself, and you're real with God, He'll hear past the crying and the screaming and the cussing, and He'll heal that part in you that's broken and hurting and He'll give you peace and hope, and He'll restore your joy. 

And that, my friends, is beautiful.

Harry Potter 7



i have a lot of friends who love the harry potter books and movies.  i have a lot of friends who avoid them like the plague because they deal with witchcraft and sorcery.  i was one of those people who avoided them for a while because of the darkness and witchcraft in them. 

and then i watched the first movie...and the second...and the third, all the way through to HP 7, which i watched yesterday with a friend.

some friends have been excited since I've now read all the books and seen all the movies.  some friends have been disappointed because i "gave in."

but this is my perspective:

i have the God-given ability and maturity to enjoy what I read or watch, and to enjoy them as entertainment...and then be able to walk away from them and not let any negative parts influence who i am or what i do.  I've read Twilight and seen the movies, but i don't believe in Vampires and Werewolves.  I've read Harry Potter and seen the movies, but i don't walk around with a twig in my hand spouting out enchantments or spells.  some people don't have that ability to separate fact from fiction, entertainment from influence, and that's fine.  if it offends you or makes you stumble, or if you believe it is a sin, by all means, skip the movies and don't read the books.  But when it comes to what movies i watch, or books i read, i live by this credo...and these two verses:

"All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."  1 Corinthians 6:12

and

"Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh."  Colossians 2:20-23

I'm not saying that everyone ought to go out and watch and listen to and read whatever tickles their fancies, and I'm not saying that I don't have a responsibility to myself and those around me to stay above reproach and to be a good example.  I'm also not saying that witchcraft isn't real and that there's nothing to be concerned about.  witchcraft is very real - voodoo and all that sort of stuff is out there.

What i am saying, though, is that each person has his or her own level of ability to discern and deal with these influences.  and what a person does, watches, reads, listens to...that's all between him/her and God.  and it's no one else's business.  so if you're mature enough to handle it, and you don't think it's a sin, go out and enjoy the new Harry Potter movie.  I found it highly entertaining.  but if you are in a place where the dark aspects of it will negatively affect you, or if you find it sinful, by all means abstain. 

but whatever you do...don't judge another person for an opposite choice or opinion.  Because that's where we really go wrong.

captaining a ship in the maelstrom

to me, there is nothing more frustrating that being in limbo about something...being caught in no man's land, unsure of the next step, unsure when the next step is going to happen when you know what the next step is.

or being caught in the middle of something between two parties...and actually knowing that Party A is in the right and Party B is in the wrong...and wanting to help Party A out, but not wanting to get completely caught in the whirlpool of crap between A and B.

I'm good if i'm not invested in one side or the other.  or, even if i'm invested, but the situation is minute and people just want my advice.  where i lose my bearings is when i am passionately against one side and for another.  i want to roll up my sleeves, sail my boat right into the middle of the maelstrom and rescue the perishing.  i've tried it before, too...and i'm not inclined to do it again.  because i ended up stressed out over stuff that wasn't really my business.  and once you cross over into the maelstrom it just sucks you in like a super massive black hole...then you're the one perishing, and you're no good to anyone else.

but staying neutral is hard when your heart and your spirit are screaming out against something or someone...against an injustice or a mistreatment of people...against selfishness and pridefulness and deceit.  especially when little hearts are involved.  and especially if those little hearts mean more to you than anything else in the whole world.

so, i've decided that even though i want run up my sails and turn this ship starboard and sail right into the thick of things to rescue that floundering, broken boat...i can't do it.  all i can do is pray God to rebuke the wind and speak peace to the sea, so that busted vessel with those little hearts in cargo can take a deep breath and begin to repair the breaches in its hull, chart a new course, and hopefully sail on in more peaceful waters.

Oh to be wise...

I can't tell you how many times I've heard or thought "I wish I had known" or "if only I was a little wiser."  People talk of wisdom as though it is something learned...something taught by experience and lots of failures.  This may be true, but I believe attaining wisdom is something simple...something not nearly as difficult as we make it out to be.  Don't get me wrong.  My 77-year old grandfather is so much wiser than I am, and I would do him a disservice to say that wisdom doesn't come with age.  but i believe that people can be wise, regardless of their age.  Because while wisdom is something taught by time and experience, it is also a gift given.  And receiving wisdom is easy. 


"To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding
to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity;
to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion --
A wise man will hear and increase learning,
and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
to understand a proverb and an enigma,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Proverbs 1:2-7

PS.  that word fear doesn't mean mortal, irrational fear of something.  It means reverence and honor and respect...like subjects before a King.  So...if you want to be wise, it's simple.  Honor and Respect the Lord.  That's the beginning, and from there, He'll teach you wisdom.  because, after all, if we believe in Jesus, "...we have the mind of Christ."  1 Cor 2:16

what's that smell?

I don't think there's anything worse that fakers.  people who pretend to give a crap about you or your life.  people who smile and nod and lay it on thick.  people who have never been truly interested in you, and suddenly act like they care. 

please.  you don't care what i'm dealing with.  you don't care what i'm doing with my life.  you don't care how i feel.  so why pretend?

i'd rather not deal with the pretension.  i'd rather just go on knowing that you could live an entire lifetime without ever seeing me again.  i'd rather have you completely ignore my existence than sweet talk and platitudes. 

i've had enough toxic friendships, enough fake friends in my life to be able to smell the BS from a mile away.  and i don't like the stench, so just go be fake to someone else.

but i think what's worse than a peer pretending friendship is a supervisor pretending concern for employees.  as a supervisor you are held accountable for your staff and their production.  you are responsible for creating a work environment that maximizes your employees' output so that your customers are satisfied.  there are many ways to do that.  but, some people decide to be hard and lay down the law. 

so, if you're going to be hard, if you won't pay attention to concerns or your employee's experiences, don't encourage them to give suggestions or tell them that they can come speak to you about anything.  because obviously it would be an absolute waste of their time, since you're not giong to give any credence to their thoughts or opinions.  and even more, that confuses them, then it frustates them, then it irritates them, and then you end up with a bunch of employees who hate your guts because you're so two-faced.  and that's not a good place to be...so just don't even give them the option.  be hard, or be compassionate, but don't be one and pretend one.

especially don't pretend compassion.  be hard and cold and hand down mandates.  i'd rather work for someone who constantly lays down mandates and doesn't give a crap about me than someone who pretends to want to hear what i have to say, and then gives no credence to it, anyway. 

the stench of a two-faced boss is just as bad as the stench of a fake friend.

so...just be honest.  quit being a fake in your friendships or your workplace.  people don't like fakes...unless they're fakes, too.  and then, if that's the case...jeez...do you really have any genuine relationships?

now the question is: when people get a whiff of you, what do they smell?

Taming of the Shrew

Shakespeare is lovely.  There is nothing else to say about Shakespeare.  I have never been disappointed by a play or sonnet.  The man was a genius at telling stories and conveying emotion.  but...everyone knows this.  Even if you don't like the old English, and can't stand reading at all, you have to give the man props.

I have read several of his plays in my day, requisites for classes in school, standards like Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, Julius Caesar...and others like Othello, Merchant of Venice, and A Midsummer's Night Dream.  And I've seen my share of modernizations of his plays.  Did you know that the 2001 movie Get Over It was a modernization of A Midsummer night's Dream?  Did you know that She's the Man starring Amanda Bynes is an adaptation of Twelfth Night?  well, it is.  And did you know that 10 Things I Hate About You with Heath Ledger and Julia Styles is an adaptation of...can you guess?  Taming of the Shrew.

Now, I knew it was, but I had never read the play...until this week.  And I must say that, though it is a good movie, it doesn't stay very close to the original.  They took a lot of liberty with that adaptation, and I guess they'd have to since it was set in high school and not in Medieval England.  Anyway, I enjoyed the movie and the play independently of one another.  and if you like Shakespearean work, or literature pre-1700, you'll enjoy it.

Chew on This: Jude 1:24-25

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

WOW

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

So, I had heard rave reviews about this book for a few years.  three good friends had read it and said that it was fantastic and that I would love it, but for some reason, I put it off for a while.  I think it was one of those books where I was just like..."well, i'll get around to it eventually..."  but probably wouldn't have gotten around to it if I hadn't come across it in a used book store with my very good friend Wendy.  Anywho...I bought it for four or five bucks and brought it home among a stack of twelve other books.  I tried starting it a month or so ago, but couldn't get into it.  I guess I just wasn't in the mood, so I put it down, read a couple other books and the complete 6-book Dune series by Frank Herbert.  Then, when I finished that I decided to pick up Life of Pi again.  And I'm glad I did.

It was an enjoyable book.  I cared about the main character, empathized and sympathized with him.  I wanted to find out what would happen over the crest of the next wave.  (You'll understand that last sentence when you read it.)  It was engaging and thought-provoking and thrilling all at once.  It kept me on the edge of my metaphorical seat.

I would be remiss, however, if I didn't state the one aspect of the book that was difficult for me, and that was the fact that Pi actively practiced three very different religions: Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity.  Now, being a Christian, this set very wrong with me, simply because any good Bible-toting Christian knows John 14:6 in which Jesus says: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.  No man comes to the Father except through me."  (Or something similar, depending on your translation.)  So, I struggled with that aspect of the book, which is basically the entire first third.  How any person in their right mind could practice three drastically different religions simultaneously really stretched me almost to the point where I simply couldn't suspend my disbelief.  And it was this aspect of the book that made me put it down the first time I tried to read it.

Anyway, if you can get past Part One in Pondicherry, India, and Board the TsimTsum in Part Two the book will sweep you out into its tide, and you will sail eagerly along until it runs aground on the very last page.  It is worth muscling through the absurdity of a man who will in one breath praise Vishnu, Allah, and Jesus.

What the book does right, though, is state truly and honestly, that we as people have to have some form of belief.  Yann Martel, through Pi Patel, urges his readers to beleive something...anything.  Just have faith. 

Of course, I would say: Have faith in Christ, because it's the only faith worth having.  But I do agree with Yann's central point.  It is not the most spiritual or the atheist who is in the greatest peril.  Rather, it is the agnostic...the one who really doesn't have an opinion and isn't seeking, because he/she doesn't care.  Apathy is a most frightful ground in which to plant ones feet.

So...you want a good, philosophical, outrageous sort of tale, pick up Life of Pi.  You'll enjoy it.

Cringing and flinching through Nahum

For those of you who don't know, Nahum is a book in the Old Testament in the Bible. You can find it sandwiched between Micah and Habakkuk. If you're still lost...go to the beginning of the New Testament and flip backwards through Malachi, Zechariah, Haggai, Zephaniah, and Habakkuk. The next book his Nahum. In my Bible it starts on page 1007 (which might help some of you guys who still have the Precious Moment's Bible your parents got you in the late 80's or early 90's.

Anyway, Nahum is one of those books that you really only want to read when you feel like having your toes stepped on. Or if you feel like having someone riverdance on your toes for 47 verses. Nahum is not for the faint of heart or the weak-minded. It is filled with the power, might, and mind-blowing wrath of God. This passage alone is daunting: "He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts. The mountains quake before Him, the hills melt, and the earth heaves at His presence, yes, the world and all who dwell in it." 1:4-5 I mean...the POWER of that. The MIGHT of our God...that His presence would cause the whole earth to heave and melt the hills. And I read through forty more verses filled with with the same crazy-awesome-powerful-amazing things, and I cringe and I flinch, and think to myself, "God, please don't ever let me be on the receiving end of Your wrath."

I read 3:5-6, "'Behold, I am against you,' says the Lord of hosts; "I will lift your skirts over your face; I will show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame. I will cast abominable filth upon you, make you vile, and make you a spectacle." And I feel as though I've been punched in the gut and I fear the punishment of the Lord...of a God who could do that to His enemies.

I read the last two verses of the book 3:18-19, "Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; your nobles rest in the dust, your people are scattered on the mountains, and no one gathers them. Your injury has no healing, your wound is severe, all who hear news of you will clap their hands over you, for upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually." And I see how God's enemy receives his mortal wound, and how the whole world will erupt in applause and the complete desolation of the wicked, and I realize...

I am not God's enemy. He is on my side. He may have stored up his wrath for His enemies. That is well and good because I AM NOT an enemy of God. I have nothing to fear because I am His and He is mine. And I rejoice because I know in my heart of hearts - in the deepest part of my soul that I will never have to face His wrath. I will never have to worry about His anger and His wrath and His vengeance because I have been saved and adopted into His family. And He has covered me with His love.

But my heart breaks for those who will never come to this realization, who will never accept the love and salvation of the Lord. Because it is those who shall surely suffer his wrath and anger and vengeance. And, oh, what a terrible day that is.

I thought you were a Christian...but you don't sound like one

So, I have been thinking a lot in the last two or three days about how Christians get a bad name.  I know the Bible says that the world will hate us because it hated Him first, but does that really mean we ought to give them fuel for the fire?  I mean...there are some crazies out there who pour gasoline by the barrel on the already roaring bonfire. 

What with all of the hate-spitting abortion protesters who line up at clinics, or the whack jobs saying that God hates the gays and the reason our troops are being killed is because of homosexuality, calling people faggots and other derogatory names.  Let's not even begin talking about the bigotry and self-righteousness that daily divides the body of Christ...because a guy's hair is long, or because a girl wears makeup or pants, or because a person does or doesn't speak in tongues, or because they drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes.

All I can say is: Seriously?  Do we really think that God cares about makeup or skirts or alcohol consumption as much as he cares about the heart of a person?  Do we really think that our God is that concerned with habits or personal preferences?  You might as well say that a person who cracks his or her knuckles can't get into Heaven.  It's ludicrous.  LUDICROUS!

No, SERIOUSLY.  What our God cares about is the heart and soul of a man/woman.  And He also cares about how we represent Him to the world.  We won't change the world by wagging our fingers and spewing our hatred of other religions or walks of life.  When Christ dealt with all those sinners in the Bible, the whores and liars and murderers, he was kind and loving toward them.  The only time he got pissed off was when people were trying to SELL salvation in the temple.  It is His LOVE, His KINDNESS, that leads to repentance.  It is not hellfire and brimstone, or fear, or judgment, and we have no right proclaiming what God thinks.  We are not God, and we do not know the depths of his thoughts.  His ways and thoughts are higher than ours.

And, guess what, people, when Christ died He set us free from the LAW, and now we have the GIFT of His Spirit.  Our God is a loving God, but the Church does a pitiful job of showing and sharing and being that love.  We spew judgment about homosexuality, about abortion, about alcohol consumption or drug use, or cigarette smoking.  Anger flashes from our eyes and hatred erupts from our hearts.  Do we look like Christ when we do this?  Do we sound like Christ when we say this?  And what's more, why are we so worried about what the unchurched do, when we have gossip and back-biting and anger and unforgiveness and pettiness running rampant in our churches?  Do you not know that above all other sins, our God considers sowing discord among the bretheren an abomination?  Read Proverbs 6:16-19.  And we would have the audacity to say we're better than the person walking in for an abortion?  We would have the audacity to say we're better than someone in an alternative lifestyle?  We would say we're better than a drunkard or a drug addict or a murderer?  PLEASE!  That is selfish and hypocritical!  We are not better!  We have only accepted the reality that we are wretched sinners in need of a Savior.  That is our only difference.

I am not saying that I agree with abortion or homosexuality or substance abuse.  I believe the Bible very clearly states that all three are wrong.  But it won't do me any good to fly out to DC, stand on a steps at in the Mall, and scream and shout those things to all the passersby.  I'd probably get arrested for disturbing the peace.  It is fine and acceptable to have our own personal beliefs, our own set of codes by which to live, but it is not fine and acceptable to rage and scream and judge others when their beliefs or set of codes differ from yours.  And it is certainly not okay to claim that you speak for God when the words coming from your mouth are tainted with hatred.  And that is why Christians have such a bad reputation, such a bad name.  We're supposed to be about love and forgiveness.  Instead we judge and we hate.  If I didn't already know Jesus, and all I had to go on was that example of a person screaming against abortions and calling homosexuals faggots and saying God hated them, you can be DARN SURE that I wouldn't want to meet Jesus or join His family.

So, the next time you feel like judging someone for their look or their lifestyle choice, consider this:

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  Matthew 7:3-5

something about parents...

you know what really irritates me?  i'll tell you.

Parents who think that everything in life is still about them. 

PLEASE!!!  It is not about you anymore.  It's about your kid(s).  If you wanted to be the center of attention and focal point of everyone in your life, you shouldn't have a had a kid.  But you had a kid. 

And, guess what...your needs and wants became secondary the moment you decided to have that baby.

So, stop being a selfish jerk.  Get out of the sandbox, put all your toys away, and pull on your big boy (or girl) pants and be a grown up, already!