I've been thinking a lot about this whole ALS Ice Bucket Challenge this weekend as I was nominated by 2 friends. I've seen lots of friends and family posting videos of themselves dumping water on their heads over the last few weeks and I've read several articles other friends have posted saying why they won't participate.
I struggle when I read articles that say that we shouldn't do the challenge because we are wasting water when the majority of the world doesn't have access to clean water. In reality we waste considerably more water every day when brushing our teeth or taking a bath. If you visit your local pool you are swimming in 40,000+ gallons of water. I mean I could make the argument that eating meat is actually contributing to lack of water globally as the heaviest water usage is for animals we raise for meat. Not to mention that that the amount of grain produced globally is enough to feed to the world twice over, but 70% of grain is fed to livestock. Who eats that meat? Let me assure you the same people that are lacking clean water are also lacking food.
I've also struggled reading articles that say that we shouldn't support ALS research as they support abortion yet they fail to acknowledge that the majority of embryonic stem cell research comes from IVF eggs that are being discarded. I suppose solely discussing abortion tugs at the heart strings more than discussing IVF eggs. Truly if we recognize that IVF eggs are also considered life it becomes a much bigger social issue. An issue that many have not thought about before. I'm not sure I've ever heard the church compare IVF eggs to abortion, yet if you believe that life occurs at the moment of conception what is the difference? Truly IVF is just more socially accepted in Christian circles than abortion.
Please don't read this me as not valuing human life because I most certainly do. I believe that every life is sacred and created by God. I believe the Word when it says God knew us before He formed us in the womb. My frustration with all of this isn't to debate the sanctity of life, it is a frustration with an American lifestyle at the expense of others on a daily basis, it is just easier to take a stance when it doesn't cost us a convenience we have grown so much to love.
It means that I am just as guilty if I share these articles from my iPhone or iPad that was created at the expense of someone else's life. Did you know people were committing suicide because their lives were so bad and work conditions so horrific working in factories making these Apple products that death was a better alternative? Some people have even died after being forced to work 30+ hours straight just to get the new product out fast enough because the demand is so great.
I could even go as far as to make the argument that no Christian should watch or participate in sports, as large scale events such as the Super Bowl draw in Sex Trafficking. If we are talking about the sanctity of life if only one person is violated it is a problem and as Christians we should value that life.
Walt Disney? Starbucks? Pepsi? Nestle? Coke? Hobby Lobby? Vaccinations? This list could go on and could include so much more. And I'll be willing to bet you don't know why I listed all of these...and if you don't you are like millions of others who go through life with blinders on because we are a comfortable people. Being comfortable is ok until it takes away dependence on God and comes at the cost the comfort, or in some cases the life of, a brother or sister.
I don't blog this because I have the answers or out of judgement, I'm just as guilty as the next, I blog this because the world we live in is sinful and fallen. Working in social services for the last 2.5 years has opened my eyes to so many social injustices right here in my own community. It is overwhelming for me to navigate it all...but it is assuring for me to know that my Jesus has overcome the world.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Good Girlfriends
Good girlfriends are hard to find. As I sat having coffee with one of my good girlfriends this morning God reminded me that we are not meant to journey this road alone, but we also don't have to journey this road with a group the size of a football team. Proverbs 18:24 says, A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
When I was young I found value in the size of my friend circle, in this season of life I am finding value in a few close good girlfriends. Girlfriends that I can be real with and not worry that what we shared over a cup of coffee will become the latest gossip. Girlfriends who cry with me, laugh me and don't judge me or compare. Girlfriends who genuinely care about my well being and the well being of my family.
In scriptures we read about Job who faced great trial and tribulation. Do you know that Job was comforted by good friends? Job 2:11-13, Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
They sat with him 7 days and 7 nights and spoke nothing. Do you have a friend like that? A friend who is content with just sitting with you and not speaking. Who waits for you to share your hurt and pain? And if you can't speak or don't want to share the details is just there? A friend that you can openly share without fear of judgement or becoming the local gossip?
In the day of Facebook and Twitter we can be connected to many but not truly connected to any. I challenge you to meet regularly with a few good girlfriends, it is better for your soul than you may realize.
When I was young I found value in the size of my friend circle, in this season of life I am finding value in a few close good girlfriends. Girlfriends that I can be real with and not worry that what we shared over a cup of coffee will become the latest gossip. Girlfriends who cry with me, laugh me and don't judge me or compare. Girlfriends who genuinely care about my well being and the well being of my family.
In scriptures we read about Job who faced great trial and tribulation. Do you know that Job was comforted by good friends? Job 2:11-13, Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
They sat with him 7 days and 7 nights and spoke nothing. Do you have a friend like that? A friend who is content with just sitting with you and not speaking. Who waits for you to share your hurt and pain? And if you can't speak or don't want to share the details is just there? A friend that you can openly share without fear of judgement or becoming the local gossip?
In the day of Facebook and Twitter we can be connected to many but not truly connected to any. I challenge you to meet regularly with a few good girlfriends, it is better for your soul than you may realize. Wednesday, July 23, 2014
I quit cleaning
If you know me today you would say that there is no way I will ever quit cleaning. I clean compulsively....to the point it's not healthy. Ironically had you known me 15 years ago you would've laughed if someone said that I would someday clean compulsively.
I think it started when my 3rd son, Tannin, was born. He came into this world on a cold day in December, 5 weeks early. He weighed 5lbs 5oz and barely made a sound. Within hours of being born it was obvious that he was struggling to breathe so he was Life Flighted to the NICU in Peoria. His lungs weren't quite ready to breathe on their own so with the help of surfactant and a CPAP he lived in an incubator for the first 2 weeks of his life.
If you've never been in a NICU then you've never experienced sterility. It was cold and flu season so they were extra vigilant about making sure that we scrubbed before entering and wearing masks at the sign of anything unusual. Our Dr's, while very kind, made me germ paranoid.
When he was finally able to come home I had scrubbed our house from top to bottom. I was unrealistically trying to maintain the sterile environment he had lived in. Our friends dubbed me the snot police. If you had any hint of a cold you weren't allowed in and we didn't take him out. We lived in a bubble.
It was during this season of life that cleaning became an obsession. My oldest son drew a picture of me cleaning for his 1st grade Mother's Day program, while other kids drew pictures of their mom's playing baseball or baking cookies with them. That broke my heart but I didn't know how to change this aspect of my life.
When you live in a house with 4 kids and 3 dogs it is almost impossible to keep a house clean to the satisfaction of someone with an obsession. We clean daily; vacuum, dust, dishes, windows. I fine tooth the kids room before we can go do anything, which sadly means we don't do stuff many days.
Since I've been back from Mississippi I've decided to make some changes in my life and this is one of them. While we won't live in filth you don't need to be able to eat off my floors. So if you stop in to see me and it looks like somebody licked my patio door please don't comment on it, just smile and know that I'm choosing to spend more time with my family and patio door can wait.
As a saying that hangs in my dear friends kitchen says...
I think it started when my 3rd son, Tannin, was born. He came into this world on a cold day in December, 5 weeks early. He weighed 5lbs 5oz and barely made a sound. Within hours of being born it was obvious that he was struggling to breathe so he was Life Flighted to the NICU in Peoria. His lungs weren't quite ready to breathe on their own so with the help of surfactant and a CPAP he lived in an incubator for the first 2 weeks of his life.
If you've never been in a NICU then you've never experienced sterility. It was cold and flu season so they were extra vigilant about making sure that we scrubbed before entering and wearing masks at the sign of anything unusual. Our Dr's, while very kind, made me germ paranoid.
When he was finally able to come home I had scrubbed our house from top to bottom. I was unrealistically trying to maintain the sterile environment he had lived in. Our friends dubbed me the snot police. If you had any hint of a cold you weren't allowed in and we didn't take him out. We lived in a bubble.
It was during this season of life that cleaning became an obsession. My oldest son drew a picture of me cleaning for his 1st grade Mother's Day program, while other kids drew pictures of their mom's playing baseball or baking cookies with them. That broke my heart but I didn't know how to change this aspect of my life.
When you live in a house with 4 kids and 3 dogs it is almost impossible to keep a house clean to the satisfaction of someone with an obsession. We clean daily; vacuum, dust, dishes, windows. I fine tooth the kids room before we can go do anything, which sadly means we don't do stuff many days.
Since I've been back from Mississippi I've decided to make some changes in my life and this is one of them. While we won't live in filth you don't need to be able to eat off my floors. So if you stop in to see me and it looks like somebody licked my patio door please don't comment on it, just smile and know that I'm choosing to spend more time with my family and patio door can wait.
As a saying that hangs in my dear friends kitchen says...
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