4 months is less than 10

Hello all

 its been almost 4 months since the last time I blogged here. At least I didn't go 10 months like last time lol.  A lot has happened. I've said it before I will say it again. My life rarely stands still. This year has been no different.
Earlier this year we found out about an awesome opportunity for my husband. I did not mention it here because it was one of those things that you just dont talk about unless you get it. And he got it.
Clint got an internship with the youth director a wonderful church - Trinity United Methodist Church in Elkhart IN. It involved yet another move but was an opportunity we could not pass up.
The past few years have been hard on Clint and I church-wise. With our frequent moves and crazy schedule we had a hard time getting settled into any church. And as much as we had a heart for Remedy we were both eager for some face-to-face ministry. So we were hoping and praying that this opportunity would pan out.
 We shadowed the church (yes Kiley and Olivia we did a little stalking of our own ;) ) a couple of sundays before the decision was made. We enjoyed it from the first time and prayed as the decision and application process proceeded.
As we went through the process I also worked on finding a job in the area as well so that the transition would be smooth for us. I applied lots of places including the church's preschool
In late July after some shadowing and meetings with church leaders we found out Clint had been selected for the position. Around the same time I got the call back from the preschool and was offered a teaching position.
So August we made the move to Elkhart IN. It was about our 5th move in a little over 4 yrs. I'm getting to be quite the packing pro, which is both amazing and frustrating.
We have been here for almost 2 months now. A LOT has happened. Some tough stuff. But also lots of amazing stuff. We have met a lot of amazing people and had some amazing times.

Life isnt easy but it is good.

Thoughts on Modesty, Self Image and Temptation Part 1

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about the three topics mentioned in the title of this post. Not so much separately but how they relate to each other. And they are a lot more intertwined than you might think.

The correlation between Modesty and Temptation is probably pretty clear with out much explanation. But the  relation of all three might not be as obvious.

Modesty is a topic that has been discussed in detail within the church and there are a handful of opinions on the matter. But they all stem from 2 extremes.

The first extreme is that the responsibility belongs solely to women.  

In a stark contrast the other extreme is that the responsibility belongs solely to men.

There are 2 main faults with each of these extremes.

Saying the responsibility belongs solely to women would imply that rape is the woman's fault (this is so wildly inaccurate I even hate typing this sentence in this context). It also takes away the concept of free will and implies that men are completely incapable of self control and resisting temptation.

On the other hand, saying that the responsibility belongs solely to men implies a lack of the the loving and caring spirit that God wants us to have for each other as his children. It also (as with the former extreme) takes away the responsibility of the woman, which is not only unfair but unrealistic.

So with whom does the responsibility lie?

In my opinion it lies with both the men and the women.

To the lovely ladies out there:
We as women should keep modesty in mind when we are dressing ourselves and shopping for clothes. Yes, this might mean passing up on some of the latest trends (let's leave the short shorts and plunging necklines on the rack). This should not be seen as burden to us but rather as a way to show respect and the love of Christ  for and to the men in our lives. It is an acknowledgement of the temptation and that God made men as very visual beings which is something that can be difficult for us to relate to at times, especially sexually.

To the same respect Guys:
In being modest we acknowledge you and the differences in our genders. But you do have a responsibility to  resist lustful thoughts because like it or not there is only so much we can do. It is impractical, unrealistic and unfair you to not accept a part of the responsibility. God gave you free will and the ability to control yourself. You are not an animal. You can control your self. Those thoughts can only control you if you let them.


If the church could agree that the responsibility of modesty and sexual temptation is shared, things would be better for every one involved.

Youth pastors and leaders don't just confront the girl. Confront the boy as well. I have heard too many stories of girls who are hurt because they are approached in church because of something they are wearing. Albeit sometimes these confrontations are with good reason.

But still- why is only the girl confronted? Why not the boy who is ogling her like a sexual plaything? Why the double standard? Why do we act like the pharisees who stoned the woman caught in adultery but did not hold the man accountable?



In a nutshell - the responsibility is shared. The confrontation and accountability need to follow suit.


This post ended up being longer than I thought so I will post part  next week. I would love your thoughts in the mean time.


Thanks for reading :)

LDJE

The Chick-Fil-A Debate

I swore I wouldn't but I recently sat in on an interesting discussion of this topic. So here is my short and sweet (albeit pointed) view on the recent debate broken down in five points.


1) Freedom of speech - Cathy had the right to say what he did and has the right to run his business how he pleases. Just as each individual person has the right to respond (both verbally and otherwise) with their opinions. Would the public really have accepted and moved on from a "No comment"?

2) The Church’s reaction -  There are two parts about the church’s reaction that bugged me.

First of all, it just reinforced the stereotypes that push unbelievers away from the church. This is something I can and will write an entire blog post about. But in short- populations can either prove or disprove the stereotypes and misconceptions about themselves.

Secondly, it seemed to me that it was a knee-jerk reaction. In His time on earth Jesus was a mediator and a peace-maker. He was humble and lived simply. He was not loud or called attention to himself. He spoke up when it was needed but it was always in a spirit of humbleness not in defensive or harsh manner. As christian’s we need to reflect Him. The reaction to me was not humble or a reflection of him.

3) The other side- It is a normal reaction to stand up for one’s self. While I do not believe Cathy meant it in an offensive manner, it is understandable that it was taken as such due to how christian’s do normally act towards homosexuals.

4) The politics - I hate saying this but I question the politician's reactions (both liberal and conservative) in light of the upcoming elections. It seemed to me they reacted as boldly as they did solely for political support.

5) Conclusion - I think both sides have made mistakes in the past week. Christians need to be more humble and realize that reactions like the ones this week do NOT show the love of Christ. Also in debates such as this there are two things I feel people often forget. The first is that BOTH sides have the right not only to their opinion but to vocalize it. The second is that arguments, heated debates and drama rarely get people anywhere, so even though being prepared (and willing) to agree to disagree may be difficult, it is for the best.






I welcome feedback and opinions on this post but drama will not be responded to. I am not trying to start any arguments nor will I respond to anything that is argumentative.