And Other Thoughts

A Cause to Blog

Monday, August 29, 2011

Imposing Imposters

There is one thing, and one thing only, that has been consistent and reliable over the past 2000 years. It was consistent and reliable even before the beginning of time.

I won’t bash science, because I do believe it has a lot to offer, but I’m sorry, when you have to keep changing “rules” and applications, and “the way you look at things,” then something’s not right. It says to me that science—the one thing the world is supposed to rely on—isn’t very reliable.

It’s funny to me that Christians who believe in Divinity and Creation are called the nut jobs. Have you heard some of the things that scientists want us to believe? And you will believe. Why? Because for some reason you believe their “theories” are facts. You’ve forgotten that when man wants to create the rules, they take God out of everything. When they do that, somehow you think it all makes sense.

I’ve been asking for years that if we come from apes, then why aren’t apes still evolving into people? If we came from fish, why aren’t fish still surfacing on land with legs and walking around? If we came from a molecule, riding on the back of a crystal, why aren’t we still forming from the backs of crystals? Yet…the world believes these crazy things. And now scientists are even saying, “Well, we’ve changed our mind about the fish thing.” They are always, always, ALWAYS “changing their minds.” Did you get that? They are always changing their minds. Why? Because they don’t know. Because they have no real answers. Just when they think they have it all figured out and the schools start preaching it as the truth, they change the rules all over again. When will we start telling these people that theories are not facts?

Let me also consider a few other issues on this topic.

Why is it that Creationism has been removed from the schools? They claim it’s religious, right? Well, I’m sorry, just because it mentions God, doesn’t make it fiction, any more than coming from apes makes it fact. (Why doesn’t that sound silly or ridiculous to the world?) While science books change rules and ideas on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis, God’s Word has never once changed. It has always been the same, and it will always, always, ALWAYS be the same. Did you get that? Always!

The bible isn’t just about religion or faith, it tells in-depth historical accounts of the universe, dinosaurs (yes, dinosaurs), the human race, wars, and one of the most well-known historical figures in the world: Jesus Christ. But our kids will be taught about the Trojan War and mythical Greek gods? Why would they be able to teach those types of things—things that aren’t true and taught as fact? Greek gods were part of the Greek faith, so why are we so willing to teach about that faith and not Christianity? A faith of false gods and myths is more acceptable in our world than a real and living God.

So let me ask you this question before we move on: Was the Trojan War fact or fiction? Ask your kids, too. “The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology… Whether there is any historical reality behind the Trojan War is an open question.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_War) But your kids are being taught that it happened. That it’s fact. And you probably did too. I once posted this question on facebook and many claimed it as true! So why then, if the Trojan War is “questionable,” can’t Creation be taught also? If these topics are unproved and questionable, and they feel the same way about Creation, God or Jesus, why can’t they teach it the way they do these other topics? You know why…there’s power in it, and it goes against everything the world wants you and your children to find and believe. There’s hope in it, and that means if they find hope in Christ, they won’t need hope in them anymore. If they depend on God, what would be your purpose to depend on them for your needs? The Trojan War has no authority, no crippling fear to them that would entice your children to worship Zeus, a dead god.

You see, the school systems, atheists, the government…they all want to control what your children learn, what you will believe, and what to tolerate and not tolerate. You should tolerate immoral lifestyles and Muslims, but you shouldn’t tolerate Christianity. You should believe in the voodoo of science with all its mistakes and inconsistencies, but you shouldn’t believe in God who is always reliable.  

In Christian schools, they get the benefit of making up their own mind. They learn about life from every aspect. They will learn about Creationism and will compare it to Evolution, whereas the public schools won’t allow that. They don’t want to teach our children how to make up their own minds, because they know if they do, the children would probably turn to the One thing that is reliable and consistent. And we can’t have that, can we? Because if we taught love and kindness from a Godly viewpoint, that would mean man couldn’t stake a claim on it that it’s their idea anymore. See, the world wants all the credit. They want all the glory. They want to say, “See what we did! See how we changed the world and made it a better place!” But they are doing the exact opposite. They are making the world a terrible place to live in, and none of their rules come from love or peace. It comes from power and greed, and lust for glory.

I also have wondered why Jesus isn’t taught in our schools. Many, if not most people, including atheists, believe Jesus existed, they just don’t believe his divinity. So what’s the difference? Jesus still made a HUGE impact on our world today! Jesus, whether you believe He’s the Son of God or not, taught us about how to love, how to behave, and how to live moral lives. He taught us to forgive and be kind, thoughtful and generous. And he died on the cross believing everything He said to be true, whether or not the school system does. He’s still worthy to be mentioned in school as a historical figure. But because He’s associated with “Christianity,” He’ll never be brought up. Ghandi. Buddha. Islam. Greek gods. Schools can teach on those religions…just not Christianity! Tolerance? I think not.

If you don't believe in evolution, you're considered stupid, or ignorant. You're intolerant. You're uneducated. Don't believe me? Google images, "creationism." You will see 99% of the images are of illiterate, dufuses. It's the science of "stupidity." Now look up in the images, "evolution," and it's all projected as pie in the sky reality...glory, glory! We are the dumb ones, they are the higher intelligence. They have all the knowledge, we're just stupid bible thumpers who use a book that's "ancient" (because it never changes, thank you!) to back up our evidence.

So when the world says, “Don’t impose your beliefs on me,” why aren’t we asking the same of the world? Why aren’t we insisting the world stop imposing their fairytale, science fiction stories on us and our children? You know why? Because you don’t even know it’s happening. Because you don’t even know the facts yourself. You can’t fight the fight without the fight in you. You can’t defend something you don’t know anything about. You’re not paying attention! 

So what do we do when we teach our children one thing and the schools teach them “theories” and ever-changing ideas? Well, I can’t say it enough, but you need to be involved more. I know we all have busy lives, but isn’t your children’s future worth just a few minutes every day to debunk the junk that’s coming from our schools?

You have to teach them about the real world; about the atheists who have demanded the truth be taken out of the schools so silly stories could be sold instead. They need to know how the world works in an honest manner. They need to be prepared spiritually for the battles they will face at every turn. They need to know what it means to be a Christian from the world’s point of view. They need to know the consequences, and they need to know how to stand strong.

They will not be popular by any means, but trust me, when your child can take the ideas of the fish, the ape, or the crystal and say, “And you think my opinion is wacky?” they will soon look like the hero. Your kids will be little evangelists, opening the minds of other young children.

Many think our children are gullible, which is why the world is making the rules the way they are. So they can manipulate them, confuse then, and eventually get them to “see it their way.” But we know that children are smarter than that; that given substantial evidence, they can figure it out. That’s why science is heralded as the last word. They provide basic forms of evidence, but their evidence is always falling short, always failing, always changing, and is quite honestly, man-made evidence. There’s nothing to back up their theories as “fact,” only their say so. Did you hear that? If they say the world is a billion years old, they have nothing to prove it. Trust me! Nothing! They formed “opinions” and made speculations, but nothing backs up the evidence, because no one was there to verify it as true.

I highly recommend that you educate yourself first, then pass that knowledge onto your children. A great place to start is the bible, of course. When you have questions, ask God to reveal the answers. He’s good on His Word. If you’re still feeling confused, try this website: http://www.answersingenesis.org/, Answers in Genesis. Explore the site. There’s tons of information on there to help you find real answers when the world starts to attack you with their science fiction mumbo jumbo.

The imposters are imposing their beliefs on our children. The world is indoctrinating them to be who they want them to be…not who you want them to be. They don’t like what you want them to be. They can’t stand it. You can't be trusted. You're too stupid. You're blinded by your ancient faith. So they will tear down everything you’ve instilled in them. They will try to make them a product of their agenda. They will turn your children against you and against God. They will make you look like fools to your children. They will make them believe the lies and reject the Truth.

Granted, if your children reject God, there's a good chance they may come back to Him eventually. Once anyone truly knows God, it’s hard to walk away entirely. But what if they don’t, folks? What if they don’t? What if the world has a greater influence on your children then you do? Isn’t that shameful? And how will you answer to God when you stand before Him and He asks you why you let that happen? Don’t believe me?

“But whoever causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea! Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes.” Matthew 18:6-7

You. You will be responsible.



This blog was inspired by an amazing guest speaker that I saw last night at Kenosha First Assembly of God, Carl Kerby. I had been feeling this way for quite some time, but Carl’s visit solidified what I was feeling in my heart and the calling that we, as parents, are obligated to heed. If you or your church is looking for ways to expand on this topic, contact Carl at Reasons for Hope: http://www.rforh.com/

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

God Haters and Haters for God

I’ve been watching a lot things going on in the world that are so incredibly ridiculous, particularly concerning the atheist groups. They are fighting such enormous, costly fights to tear down Christianity…and no other religious group.



Here’s just a sample of things they are fighting in our court systems, wasting YOUR tax dollars:
  • elimination of white crosses on the side of roads or highways where someone was killed in an accident
  • demanding that the metal “cross” that was left standing from the World Trade Center not be a part of the 9/11 Memorial Museum
  • making it so children can be suspended from school for praying anywhere on school grounds
  • forcing rural neighborhoods to remove pro-life billboards, and in place display pro-choice, anti-Christian billboards
  • trying to prevent city funding for a pre-school being built at an old church

When you see these types of things, it makes you wonder why anyone who doesn’t “believe” in God would go to such lengths to stop Him, doesn’t it?

Let’s break it down in simple truths: an atheist is defined as someone who doesn’t believe there is a God at all; while an agnostic is someone who feels there just isn’t enough evidence to support or not support God.

Now if it were me, as an atheist, why would I feel so offended by crosses, prayer, or billboards? I mean, truly, if I believe God isn’t real, then why am I so obsessed with Him and what His believers are doing? I don’t believe in atheism, but I don’t run around and demand every single thing in the world that DOESN’T pertain to God be taken off the air, taken out of the schools, or taken anywhere out of the site of the rest of the world.

See, the world already abides to an atheist world. Everything on TV, on the radio, in the news, in our schools, along the road…they have nothing to do with God or Jesus. In fact, watch a Joyce Meyer or Joel Osteen broadcast on a local television station. The first thing you will see is an announcement that the channel will not be held responsible for the content of the show, nor do they “agree” with the content. Every time I see it, I can’t help but laugh. These shows encourage people, give people hope, and provide practical life applications to be a better person. They share joy, love and peace. Isn’t that what the “secular” world claims they want? Isn’t that what they scream and yell for all the time? Yet when they see it, or hear it, they want NOTHING to do with it! They run from it. They fight it. They denounce it.

On the other hand, when these TV stations broadcast shows with brutality, sex, homosexual relationships, murder, blood and gore, no one is giving you a warning before hand that the station disagrees with its content. You’ll receive no notice whatsoever that they won’t be held responsible if your children are watching and could pick up on these destructive behaviors. But we should be “warned” about God’s love. Ohhh, scary!

With that being said, I firmly believe that atheists are believers in God, they just hate Him. Their behaviors indicate nothing less than that. They are not anti-Muslim. In fact, the atheists are the first ones outside with  picket signs in FAVOR of a mosque being built near the site of 9/11, yelling, “Freedom of religion! Freedom of religion!” Come on, you gotta laugh at these jokesters.

They will fight for any other religious right but the rights of Christians. Those are the ones they will fight against. Why? Because there is POWER in Christ! They fear the absolute power of Jesus. They don’t need to fear dead gods, they have no power. And they surely don’t fear the extremists, because in their eyes if they kill thousands of people, that’s okay, because at least they’re not spreading the gospel and giving people hope of eternal salvation and happiness.

These are the people who are taking your religious freedoms away. God haters. Lovers of false gods, and haters of anything that offers hope. Anything good, they hate. Anything hopeful, they see as destructive. Anything pure, they see as tainted. And as you can see from my list above, they are not going to back down. And they don’t need to, because the world listens to that. The media buys it. The media coddles it. The media abides by it, too.

Now I’m not saying that there aren’t many Christian nut jobs out there that make atheists look like Candy Stripers, because there are plenty of those, too. They are the ones who denounce Mormons as Christians, or say Baptists are going to hell, or Catholics worship Satan. The bad part about these people is that they are fighting their own brothers and sisters. They are coming against their own people.

When I lived down South, I started a lunchtime Christian bible group at my job. I asked anyone who believed in Jesus to join us. We had Baptists, Evangelicals, Presbyterians, and a Lutheran. One day, after our group met, a woman from my church said, “It’s just too bad most of them are so misguided. We really need to get them to come to our church.”

When I first got saved, I thought anyone of any particular “religious” label, specifically Catholic, was going straight to hell and they needed to be warned and saved. My grandfather was a practicing Catholic his whole life. After I got saved, I came to see my grandfather and told Him about Jesus—as if he didn’t already know. I was utterly convinced he was going to hell. And then one night as I was out in the living room, sitting in the chair praying, I was able to see into my grandfather’s bedroom. What I saw changed my life.

My very old, stroke-stricken grandfather was on his (bad, aching, nearly paralyzed) knees praying. He did it first thing in the morning, after lunch, and before bed. I realized that my grandfather was more faithful in prayer than I was—the born again Christian.

He used to tell me all the time how much he prayed for me and my son. I thought with him being a Catholic, those prayers were being sent to deaf ears. That faith, that style of believing and worshipping isn’t my cup of tea. But that surely doesn’t make it Satanic or sinful. They practice things differently. Maybe not even entirely scripturally, but if their foundation is set on Christ, then I have no right to say they are wrong and I’m right. Mormons, too, believe in Christ. Everyone thinks they worship Joseph Smith, but they believe he was a prophet, not Christ Himself. Do they practice rituals and sermons I don’t agree with? Absolutely! But I don’t think they are any less believers in Christ because of it. Some religions are misguided in their practice, or rules and regulations. But ask them who their Savior is, and they will proudly tell you, “Jesus!”

We, as Christians, need to get over ourselves, too. We need to let God deal with people, otherwise, we end up looking just as ignorant as atheists. Instead of being a God Hater, we end up being a Hater for God. You are not right. They are not right. But God is! And my relationship with God is not the same as yours. God calls me to worship with my hands high in the air, but God may ask you to be reverent and solemn. God asks me to speak out loud to Him as if He’s in the room, but He may ask you to quietly tell Him your needs from your heart. God may ask me to give $20 to an organization, but He may ask you to give $100. He knows our individual needs. But He also demands that we love others, even those who don’t do what you do. If you don’t believe the same way as someone, respect them and move on. I don’t believe in Muhammad, but I’m not going to scream and yell at Muslims at how misguided they are. I will pray for them instead.

We shouldn’t rebuke someone based on their faith, but rather their sin, if obviously unscriptural (adultery, abuse, drinking excessively, etc.). The religion or religious rituals they practice aren’t sinful. The way I worship may seem to others as cultish. I know many of my family members thought I got brainwashed into a cult when I got saved, because the world doesn’t understand it. Non-believers will never understand our passion for Jesus and the pure joy we receive from His grace and mercy. They will think we are ridiculous, until the day comes when they, too, receive His forgiveness and salvation. Then it will all make sense. Then they, too, will shout from the rooftops and endlessly rejoice in Him.

We need to find a middle ground where we can all live together. Where I can openly express my faith, and the atheists can openly express theirs. We don’t need to fight each other…unless we do.

When we find ourselves victims of censorship based on Christ, we need to stand up and stand against it. We need to tell the world that we are not going to be silenced just because it doesn’t fit into their agenda of sin and hate. Jesus stood up to the Pharisees. He called them out, and so should we.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

GPS for My Blessing, Please

I need to sit down and calm down. Period.

I was so proud of myself last week when our water heater decided to take a dive. I didn’t do my usual production of “Woe is Me,” or “God Must Hate Me.” Nope. I just calmly said, “Well, we’ll ask my mom to use her credit card and get a new one.”

The reason I suggested that as our solution is because it’s been our only solution for nearly three years. When we moved into her house and took over her mortgage, a lot of work and renovation needed to be done, so we charged about $500 to get the supplies we needed. When we finally got that paid off last summer, I wanted to carry inventory for Passion Parties and bought about $800 worth of product. Then Jared wanted to get his captain’s license, and she offered for us to use her card again for the $1000 course and materials. We were $600 closer to paying her off when the water heater broke, and I knew the only way we could fix it was to charge it again. So we tacked on another $315, bringing us back up to over $900 with a 17% interest rate. But I wasn’t going to fret over it, because there was nothing we could do.

Then when I tried to register my car, I realized it had to pass emissions, which means we need to purchase a new muffler. And then today, getting ready to go to church for the monthly prayer meeting, I sent Tavin in the living room to watch some Nick Jr. in hopes of occupying him while I got his dinner ready. Our three year old, $800 flat screen TV decided it no longer cares to show us what’s on, but instead will merely give us sound. As if that will occupy Tavin. So as I’m trying to figure out what’s going on, Tavin is literally tossing himself too and fro, landing haphazardly on my back, or into my ribs. I say, “Tavin, stop please. The TV is broke.” So he runs up to the TV and continually spouts, “The TT is broke. The TT is broke. The TT is broke…” Well, you get the picture; I don’t, because my TT doesn’t.

Just as I’m texting Jared on my Motorola Blur smartphone, it decides it’s going to freeze so I can’t do anything. I nearly threw it against the wall. All the while, Tavin is banging his head against the glass window on our French door. I wasn’t sure what I was more concerned with: his head crashing through the glass or the thought of having to replace the door at $300.

I should have gone to the prayer meeting, but I’m not sure how to stop being upset and go to church and put on a Praise God face. I never have. So instead I got mad at God and angry with Tavin and texted Jared about how livid I was. I stormed upstairs and put Tavin to bed after another throw down tantrum, and nearly told God, “I quit!!” I wanted to, because that’s what I’m good at: quitting.

But instead I focused on something besides God and besides the TT and besides the increasing debt we are quickly falling into again. I found myself drooling over recipes. My comfort is food, even if it’s reading about it. I find great pleasure in looking at photos of food, analyzing recipes and imagining myself preparing them (because these are three things I very rarely get to do anymore).

As I began to calm down with visions of cherry cakes and cherry pies, I eventually found my center with God again. Sometimes I can’t find my peace in God alone, because He is sometimes the One with whom I’m incredibly angry with. It’s like trying to find peace in Tavin when he’s slamming his head into a glass window and continually telling me the TT is broke. I will not find it there. (Doesn't that look GOOD? http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/)

Tavin is now relaxed and calm and sleeping for the night. I stepped away from it all and indulged in a bit of food porn, if you will, and in the process regained some self-control. I’m still angry, but not nearly as I was an hour ago. I’m still frustrated and confused and incredibly tired.

I’m desperately trying to make sense of it all. We’ve been tithing and giving to Joyce Meyer Ministry, just as God asked us to do. I was even faithful this Sunday when He asked me to put that last $5 I had until payday into the offering bag. But this morning I found Tavin trapped in his crib. He had broken off more springs and the mattress fell in between the frame. His poor knee was stuck in the bars of the crib and his foot was smooshed between the frame and spring. I had to run out and spend my last $10 in our account for bungee cords in hopes of fixing this endless problem we seem to have with this deathtrap of a crib.

I hear it over and over again that when things start to get really bad, the blessing is right around the corner. But things have been really bad financially for me, personally, ten years, and for us as a couple for three years. How many corners does my blessing have to turn before it finds me? Has it been rerouted? Is it on a detour? Is it taking the scenic route, stopping at every landmark, or pulling off the interstate to gawk at a big ball of yarn like my dad used to do (and still does)? Does the road to my blessing have some construction being done on it? Because one blessing has only led us to the newest disaster. Jared gets a raise and everything begins to fall apart so that the raise doesn’t even make a dent in the everyday problems.

Joyce Meyer once said that when King David wrote the psalm, “This is the day the Lord had made, I will be glad and rejoice in it,” that she’s almost positive he probably didn’t have a very good day after that. That’s how I feel sometimes. As if everything I believe in causes more setbacks. For a long time I even quit praying because quite honestly, everything I prayed for, the complete opposite would happen! I began to wonder if my prayers were cursed or if God just hated me.

King David probably really wanted to write something like this: “This has been a day. I am ticked and I’m ready to call it quits.” I know that this is exactly how I feel today. Tomorrow will be another story. Although tomorrow my problems will still be the same, hopefully God will give me some shelter. Hopefully that blessing will find me on Its GPS and get here soon!