Sometimes I Write

Hi! Camp is going great. I was suprised to have access to a computer. These things aren’t ususally allowed. It helps to have connections! 🙂

As usual, I’m in my element here. Little sleep, so-so cafeteria food, 500 teenagers, my youth ministry family, my own key to the golf cart, new friends, opportunities to share God’s amazing love, and talking about Dry Bones. What can I say? I love it!

Before the grandparents picked up the kids for the week, Zoe and I were cuddling on the couch. She took my face in her little hands, gazed into my eyes and said, “I won’t forget you mommy”. I laughed, so she kept saying it and we just hugged and giggled. I love my kids and I know they’re having a great time this week too. I have to admit it’s nice having a bit of a break. When I can step away from the daily routine for this week every year, I’m a much better parent when I return home.

*My favorite blogging buddy is here too…an extra bonus! 🙂
Have a great week!

P.S. Angi LOVED the quilt. Many tears…I was so happy!

My college roommate, Michelle Wynne, has been here since Monday night so things have been busy. We’ve been playing tourist, and we took her to pool hall night for Dry Bones tonight. It was good to give her a glimpse of what God has called us into. She’s leaving in the morning for the next stretch of her 5 week road trip. It has been fun having her here. We even looked up a few college friends that live in the area and got reacquainted. It was good to see them too.

We leave in the morning for Zenith, so I ask for prayers during our travel and for our kids who will be with Benny’s parents for the week.

Happy Father’s Day to all of you Dad’s out there! I hope you are honored in the most loving ways possible.

A special Father’s Day greeting to the greatest Popa in the world…My husband! I love you Benny!

Adios mi amigos!

If you’ve been reading here for awhile, you may remember my posts about our good friends Kyle and Angi from Indiana. Last October they were on their way to Kyle’s sister’s house and were involved in a horrible accident that killed Kyle and left Angi with multiple injuries. I flew out to Indy to be with her for the funeral and a few extra days. When I returned home, I brought back several of Kyle’s favorite t-shirts to make Angi a memory quilt.

Angi had really liked the quilt I had made (with much help from my mom when she visited) for our king size bed. We had been lugging around t-shirts for 10 years and I decided it was time to make the quilt or get rid of the shirts. When we had finished it, I had said I would never make another one again because it was too hard. But while I was at Angi’s house the idea came to me that my making the quilt for her would be a great way to honor Kyle’s memory and a lovely, personal expression of my love for her. So I asked her to help me go through his shirts and pick out their favorites. I was feeling pretty sure of myself and told her I’d try to have it finished by Christmas. HA! That’s when God started stirring all of this Dry Bones stuff around, and life took on a new meaning of fast and furious.

Well…it is finally finished and I love it. I hope Angi does too. It is really a special quilt to me. I can’t give the details away just yet because Angi reads this and I want the final results to be a surprise. She is coming to Zenith next week, something she and Kyle had done together a couple of years ago. (That shirt is in the quilt.) I’m going to give it to her before camp starts so we can get the tearfest out of the way before everyone else arrives. I promise to post a picture of it when I get back from camp. I can say that it is special because it was the very first thing sewn on my new sewing machine that I got for my birthday last year from my MIL. (I told you I’m a procrastinator) It is special because I designed and created it just for Angi. It is special because I made it with my own two hands and my heart. It is special because it bears many of my tears, and no, I’m not washing it first…because I think it still carries a bit of his smell, at least the smell of their laundry soap, and that is all part of the memories.

Please keep Angi in your prayers next week. The last day of camp would have been their fourth anniversary and it’s going to be a hard day for her. I’m glad that I’ll be there to hug her and cry with her, just like I was the day we buried him. I miss Kyle a lot. I think he’d be thrilled with the quilt. I can only imagine…

O.K. Betty. You asked for it…
My dictionary defines “Saint” in the following terms:

1. A person officially recognized esp. by canonization, as being entitled to public veneration and capable of interceding for people on earth.
2. A person who has died and gone to heaven.
3. A member of any various religious groups, esp. a Latter-Day Saint.
4. An extremely virtuous person.

Then I pulled out my Thesaurus. It had these words listed: angelic, godly, holy, righteous, upright, upstanding, virtuous, worthy, devout, God-fearing, pious, sainted, etc…

O.K. So Christians are some of these things. I am not Catholic, so I don’t really understand the whole sainthood thing although I am familiar with a few like St. Nicholas, St. Patrick, St. Valentine, and St. Francis. I know that some call Mary and the apostles saints. There are many men and women honored with that title, but I’ve never met one of them.

Enter the denomination I grew up in. As I mentioned in my last post, we have a big thick book that lists all of our “sister” churches, or as we like to put it, the churches in the brotherhood. It is titled, “Where The Saints Meet”. I have always thought that title smacked of indignation for any other “brotherhood” of believers. This title unnerves me. Since when do we have the right to think we are the remnant of true believers, and everyone else is just a bit left of center, or even way off the path. I have been a recovering legalist for several years now, and though I still get twinges of “but I know I’m right and the scripture REALLY says this”, I am disappointed that I was taught to think that way. I was actually chastised as a teen for visiting youth group with friends from school. Our church didn’t even have one! Instead of some of the adults in my life being grateful for me being friends with other Christian teens, it seemed they were worried that I was socializing with kids that were being led astray and would end up in hell. Do other denominations feel that way? Some of the above mentioned people would be upset by my even saying we are a denomination. (rolling my eyes)

I have really struggled with my feelings about my denomination and at times I’ve wanted to flee, and have. Then I was made aware of some “unusual” churches in our brotherhood. Churches that changed their name on their sign so they would attract those that are turned off by the reputation we have gained as know-it-alls and exclusionists. Churches that welcome unwed pregnant women. Churches that gave vast amounts of money to support not only their own ministries within the body, but ministries in their communities started by other churches and organizations. A church that placed ashtray cans outside of their doors so the street kids who attended would get the message that they are welcome and wanted. Churches that had ministers and elders that had experienced the horrors of divorce firsthand. A church that had a minister come forward to admit an affair, and instead of showing him the door, they are surrounding him and loving him and his wife. (The outcome is not yet decided.)I even attended a church that instead of splitting like I hear about all the time, they merged with another church because they knew they had a lot to gain by building those relationships and becoming one. I attended one of these unusual churches last Sunday…you can read about it in a few days in my next post.

Where the saints meet? I believe that’s heaven. No matter how holy, righteous, God-fearing, and virtuous we become, we are still sinners. Everyone of us. I don’t want to be a part of a group that calls themselves saints when I know I won’t be able to live up to the title. I guess I’ll continue to worship at the places where the sinners meet. It’s where I belong and where I’ll stay until God has perfected me or He comes to take me home.

What is the point? Are they there to communicate to the public or the church members?

I have seen so many stupid church signs over the past few years, that I’ve started a list. I’ve even seen a few that almost prompted me to stop and go in so I could slap, I mean talk to the minister that allowed that crap to be posted on the front lawn. My number one pick is still this one,

“Try Jesus…if you don’t like him I’m sure Satan will take you back!

Boy, I’m sure that convicted everyone that was unfortunate enough to drive by that church. (insert sarcastic cough here) It stayed posted for a whole month! Do people just not get it???

There are signs that are informational, signs that are loving, and signs that are neither of those. I remember rolling my eyes at some of the clever little phrases on our own church signs in the different places we’ve lived. If I’m rolling my eyes at it, what is the average non-church going Joe thinking about it?

So my question is…Who is the church sign for? The world, or the church?
I think the answer is the world since most signs have the hours of worship and Sunday school printed on, or flashing across them. The church members already know that information. There is also (sometimes) the words, “Come worship with us”, or some other friendly invitation. So why then does the community have to read phrases like, “God likes knee mail” or “Keep it up and I’ll make rush hour longer – God”? Who are those messages for? Should we be trying to win souls with our wit and humor on a billboard? Are they posted to convict the backsliding Christians?

If you’re going to communicate a message using a huge sign that thousands of people are going to see each day, why not say something loving, encouraging, welcoming, and forgiving? Those signs are out there too. How about, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest – Jesus” (an actual sign) No sarcasm, nothing cutsie, just loving on whoever reads it, Christian or not. What a concept!

Another thing that cracks me up is our denomination’s big fat guide to all of our sister churches across the nation. It’s entitled “Where the Saints Meet” Funny, I’ve never met one that I know of. Cocky aren’t we? But that’s a blog for another day.