August 2009
14 posts
I just cried at a science fiction movie.
Justin and I saw District 9 tonight. I didn’t know much about it ahead of time. I knew it featured aliens, and I suspected lots of effects and violence. I did not expect to cry.
But I did. Often I found myself covering my eyes to avoid the horror or pain or heartbreak. Other times I couldn’t look away. In that movie I saw everything that is wrong with humankind and only a little of...
Slay the Wicked! (not literally, but...)
Thinking about last night’s sermon and especially about the angrier parts of David’s Psalm 139, specifically verses 19-22:
If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name.
Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you?
I have nothing but hatred...
On Tip Toe
Read Romans 8 before bed last night. Yum. There’s so much good stuff in that chapter. It begins with that powerful statement, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Then there’s all that stuff about the “Spirit of sonship” and being heirs with Christ, sharing in His suffering so might share in His glory. Awesome.
And that leads into...
Pro Se
Listened to a This American Life podcast last night titled “Pro Se.” It’s the Latin term used to describe the process of defending oneself in court. The stories were about people speaking for themselves when no one else would or could. The first one was about a criminal who pretended to be mentally ill to get a break in sentencing. Now, he can’t convince anyone that...
Being Seen
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about being known, about what it means and how it feels to have someone get me. I wrote a facebook note about it recently and, judging by the comments, realized that it’s largely a female phenomenon, this desire to be truly understood. In fact, some of the guys who read it had never even thought about it before.
The responses from the women, on the...
Still
Reading Psalm 106 last night, basically a grocery list of Israel’s sins against God. At every turn, we see Israel forgetting about the good stuff God’s done for them, sometimes just days after witnessing a miraculous act like the Red Sea crossing or God’s cloudy presence and fear-inducing voice descending on a mountain. The psalmist seems baffled by their contined disobedience...
“We weren’t called to be happy, we were called to be holy”
– I read this on a friend’s blog this week. It wasn’t really taken as a truth. In fact, she was pretty frustrated at hearing it from a preacher’s mouth at a church she was visiting. I understand her frustration. No one needs to see Christianity as Stoicism. It isn’t about being...
Family Day
Long weekend… Travelled to Alabama for a Family Day at the first church Justin and I called home after college. A great church with beautiful people. Looking back on our time there, I think he really was a good preacher for them, and they really were a good home for us. We needed one another.
I remember driving to that church for Justin’s first “try-out” sermon. The...
Papa Rocks the Wii
Tonight I’m playing video games with my grandparents. And they’re good. Crazy. It was so weird to have my papa giving me pointers on how to hold the controller. I’m having a blast listening to them cheer and jeer in the background. I love watching him do things he enjoys. He’s so much like a little boy. Most men are when they’re playing games. They’re excited...
My Band, My Marriage
Tuesday night I went to a super-cool concert featuring The Stellas and Lauren Zettler. The bands were great, but the venue was awesome—out in the middle of nowhere, the groups playing on the front porch of a cabin lit by white Christmas lights. Everywhere I looked all I saw were hills and trees and sky. There might have been forty people there spread out on blankets and camp chairs as if a...
Proud Mom--not in a good way
Facebook has my number. I can tell by the ads they pick for me: beautiful baby contests, post-baby weight loss programs, amateur photography competitions… Lately though I’ve been bombarded by “Obama Wants Moms to Go Back to School” ads.
I went to school, I want to say. I have a stupid master’s degree. Yes, I’m a mom. Why does facebook assume most moms need...
JESUS signs
I LOVE the Jesus signs around town. I think it’s the Baptist churches doing it, but I don’t care who’s doing it. I’m claiming it; I’m enjoying the fruits of someone else’s good idea.
For those of you who aren’t Jackson/Henderson locals (I think this is just a local thing) a bunch of people in the community have posted small green signs outside their...
