Mamby Pamby & Mumbly Jumbly

The other night when we were watching the presidential debate, I asked, "What are we going to do about voting on November 4th?"

Tall Cool One tells me, "We are going to vote for the best candidate based on Biblical Values."

You want to know what scares me? I can't tell if either of them have any. You know what else scares me? The people out there that are going to vote based on how they have always voted in the past. The republicans will vote republican and the democrates will vote democrate. Then you have the naive crowd that will vote based on some whimsical reason because of race or gender.

I found these top five classes that scholars take to learn to become a politician.

• Fabricated Speech Class
• Skirting the Issue
• Learning to Abnegate
• Urbane Correctness
• Equivocation 101

Seriously though, you can find any Cock and Bull story online that you want, about the candidates that are running for president. What is important is NOT what you read about what they believe or what they say they are going to do for our country. What is important is what YOU feel is right in your heart. Ultimately there is only one ruler and as long as He is in your heart, it's really not going to matter which candidate wins the election.

I Get It, I Get IT

Okay, so it took me 52 weeks to figure it out, but I get it. Thanks, James.

The Weight of Sin

A flippant youth once asked a preacher, "You say that people carry a weight of sin. I feel nothing. How heavy is sin? It is ten pounds? Eighty pounds?"

The preacher replied, "If you laid a four hundred pound weight on a corpse, would it feel the load?"

The youth replied, "It would feel nothing, because it is dead."

The preacher concluded, "That spirit, too, is indeed dead which feels no load of sin or is indifferent to its burden and flippant about its presence."

Head-dibber

If It Feels Good, Do It!

~ There is a way that seems right to man. But it's end is the way of death. Proverbs 16:25

Have you ever been on a diet? Ever quit smoking? Ever fast for blood tests? Ever sacrifice something for a holiday because of some silly ritual? It is not easy sometimes is it?

People try to justify their sin but putting the blame on someone or something else. They are caught up in the ways of the world and instead of doing what's right, they defend what they know is wrong by blaming someone else. The rapist says, "She deserved it being dressed in those provocative clothes." The murderer says, "If he just let me take the money instead of fighting me, I wouldn't have killed him." The thief says, "If they didn't leave their keys in the car, I wouldn't have stole it." The liar says, "What's one little white lie about my weight? Everyone lies on line, who's gonna know?" The sexually immoral person says, "I was born that way."

You know, the "Slut or Homo" is right. We were all born "that way". We were all born with a sinful nature; the lusts of the flesh; fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. Human nature is to desire power, fame, riches. The conscience knows what is right and what is wrong. It's like going on a diet or quitting a bad habit. It ain't easy! But if you ask, if you seek, if you knock, He will be there for you. He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are capable of handling and He will always provide you with a way out.

Society will always rationalize certain sins as being "okay". God judges ALL sin.

Hornbook

I recently visited the elementary school that Tall Cool One works at. I was surprised that none of the class rooms have a chalk board.

I asked him, "Where are the chalk boards?"

He looked at me kind of like I had three heads. "Where have you been?" he asked. "They don't teach with chalk boards anymore. Now they teach with a Smart Board."

"A what?" I asked.

"A new technology called "Interactive White Boards".

So I got looking at them and saw these color-coded markers; your basic red, green, blue and yellow. So, me being the hands on kind of person that I am, picked one up and tried to write on the board with it. Nothing happened and I looked at Tall Cool One questionly. "If it's so smart how come I can't write on it?"

He tells me, "It has to be turned on in order for it to work".

"Oh, of course it does", I roll my eyes.

Then he explained that he watched a child grab the letters from the bottom of the screen and move them up on the board and spell out his name.

"Grab the letters and move them up on the screen!" I exclaim. "Huh? That makes no sense to me. How is that child going to learn to write his name?"

Tall Cool One laughs, "Everything is computerized now, no one needs to know how to write."

I know he said it jokingly, but he's so right. What happened to the chalk boards in the world? What happened to the hornbooks? What's next?

The Little Red Hen

One day as the Little Red Hen was scratching in the field, she found a grain of wheat.

"This wheat should be planted," she said. "Who will plant this grain of wheat?"
"Not I," said the Duck.
"Not I," said the Cat.
"Not I," said the Dog.
"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen, and she did.

Soon the wheat grew to be tall and yellow.

"This wheat is ripe," she said. "Who will cut the wheat?"
"Not I," said the Duck.
"Not I," said the Cat.
"Not I," said the Dog.
"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen, and she did.

When the wheat was cut, the Little Red Hen asked,

"Who will thresh this wheat?"
"Not I," said the Duck.
"Not I," said the Cat.
"Not I," said the Dog.
"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen, and she did.

Once the wheat was all threshed, the Little Red Hen asked,

"Who will take this wheat to the mill?"
"Not I," said the Duck.
"Not I," said the Cat.
"Not I," said the Dog.
"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen, and she did.

She took the wheat to the mill and had it ground into flour. Then she asked,

"Who will make this flour into bread?"
"Not I," said the Duck.
"Not I," said the Cat.
"Not I," said the Dog.
"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen, and she did.

She made and baked the bread. Then she asked,

"Who will eat this bread?"
"Oh! I will," said the Duck.
"And I will," said the Cat.
"And I will," said the Dog.
"Oh, no you won't," said the Little Red Hen, "I will do that." And she did.

I really liked this story as a child and just wanted to share.

What is Your Duty?

So my dog is whining because he has to go out and do his duty. Do his duty. That strikes me funny, a dog having a duty. What is a duty? My dictionary says: an obligation that must be performed for moral or legal reasons. The dog knows that if he poops on the floor, the law tells him he is going to suffer repercussion so it is his duty to go outside and take care of that and it is my duty to take him out so that he can. Be right back . . . .

For a dog, taking care of his duty is quite simple. Of course there is the running and rolling around on the grass, playing in his water dish until it's empty and then carrying it around proudly in his mouth after he takes care of his duty. But he knows what he is out there for and what the duty is he is supposed to do. He gets it done before I call him back inside.

I noticed on the calendar that tomorrow is Yom Kippur. A duty that some Jewish people are very meticulous about. I looked it up because I didn't know what it was or what it meant. In the Bible it is referred to as The Day of Atonement. It is the holiest of Jewish Holidays. It is a day of intensive prayer, fasting, and sacrifice of frivolous activities.

I am not Jewish and I don't believe I know anyone who is. But I do remember one time when I was a senior in high school, two of my friends came up with this great idea that the three of us would spend our summer in Boston, Massachusetts working as nannies for these Jewish families with young children. Through our guidance office we were put in contact with three different families in the Boston area. During the week of April vacation, we stayed with the families that we had been coordinated with as a test to see if we would be a good fit with their children. I was three days into my stay when I came to the conclusion that I was not a good fit for changing diapers and I was so confused about keeping the dairy foods away from the meat produce. There were two separate cupboards for different sets of dinnerware. The rule was meat and dairy products do not go together at all. The dishes couldn't be put in the sink at the same time, the foodstuffs had to be kept on different shelves in the refrigerator. Needless to say, I hopped on a greyhound back to Bangor, Maine as fast as I could. Looking back on that experience now, I wish I had taken the summer job. It would have been an educational chapter in my life.

I am not Jewish, but I find what The Day of Atonement means for the Jewish people as far as respect for God and what He has given us (His Son) moving and stimulating. Yom Kippur expands my feeling of duty I have for God. "Sacrifice of frivolous activities . . . no eating, no drinking, no marital relations, no washing, etc." It might be good for people to experience sacrifice. What are today's people giving up? Nothing. We should give things up.

Sometimes things happen to me that I find very weird. As I have said, I am not Jewish. Earlier this week, I wrote a letter to an old friend (whom I had a falling out with over eight years ago and we have not spoken since then). Sometimes God puts things in our hearts and we should always do what He says whether we like the idea or not. I had no idea what Yom Kippur was or what it meant, but as I continued to read I came across this: It is customary to seek out the forgiveness of anyone whom you may have sinned against before Yom Kippur begins. Strange that I wrote that letter with no knowledge of Teshuva and like I said, I am not Jewish. He works in our hearts sometimes and we don't even know that He is.

We all have a duty. If you don't know what it is, sometimes you just have to listen to your heart to do the duty He wants you to do. Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: as I have loved you, that you also love one another." John 13:34

A Word Isn't A Bird

So the other day I was mumbling about not getting any positive feedback from anyone after sharing the gospel. I'm such a dork sometimes. You know, a word is not a bird. Once it flies out, you can't put it back in the cage. I think I need to practice up on my "gentle" skills when I share with family and friends. I have a way of getting right into the nitty-gritty, wailing and gnashing of the teeth, tormented with fire and brimstone, no rest day or night, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire in hell for ever and ever and ever. By the time I get to the "Oh, and by the way, God has a wonderful plan for your life", they don't want to have anything to do with me. Oops.

This morning, I was encouraged after doing the further Bible study from our Way Of The Master Evangelism class that we are taking. You know, the more you study, the better you feel? John 15:19-21 Everything is not always hunky-dorrie. In fact, most likely it will get down right nasty. Ray Comfort was spit on and he smiled about it. WOW, some people just have so much more stamina than I can even begin to imagine. Me, I get all teary eyed and depressed and think that everyone hates me. I forget it's not me they hate, it's the message I'm trying to deliver. People love the world and no one (me of all people) is going to tell them that the way they are living is sinful.

My list of family and friends is growing shorter. Pretty soon I will have to start at the top of the list again. Maybe the second time around will go smoother than the first. What do I have to lose? The bird is already out there.

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I see a person standing in the middle of the road that will be hit by a tractor trailer truck that I know is coming. I warn them, but they don't believe me because they can't see it. When it comes to sharing the gospel people don't want to get it. Why is there so much more rejection than acceptation? I know we are to be patient and God will do His work. We plant the seed and He will make it grow. God has way more patience than I can fathom. I want to tell people about Jesus and have them get it and accept Him right then and there. Praise the Lord, Hallelujah! Unfortunately it doesn't work that way.

The world has put a standard on right and wrong, good and bad and it's not even close to God's standard. If a mother is shopping at the store and her little boy sticks his finger up his nose, she will slap his hand and tell him "that's naughty, don't do that". Pick your nose in public, that's disgusting and bad, right? But if the little boy yells and points at cookies, the mother will say "Okay, if you will be a good boy I will let you have this bag of cookies". It's okay for the little boy to covet and the mother is abetting it, but picking his nose is bad. Another example, in the workplace breaking the eighth commandment every day (surfing the web instead of working, taking extra long lunches, coming in a few minutes late, leaving work a few minutes early)is normal practice. "It's okay, everyone is doing it." To most people breaking the first, second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth commandment is second nature and few realize it because they don't understand God's standards.

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Bad Habits?

If you want to change your habits you have to change your playground and your playmates.

Learning on His Terms

I was having myself a little pity-party, hissy-fit, emotional tantrum this morning. I have them pretty regularly, once a month. It's always a different theme but generally family oriented. This one was no exception to the rule. Yesterday I received an email from my loving daughter whining that she hadn't received a letter from me in weeks. The fact that she has not written to me is not the point here.

I just spent the month of September pouring my heart and soul out in hand-written letters to my friends and relatives that I don't have emails for. Unfortunately, I feel pretty confident they intend to keep it that way. My problem is I put too much credence in people. I think they will read my heartfelt letter, read the gospel tract I included with the letter, and then overwhelm me with gratitude for sharing it. Ha! Silly I am, huh? What do you expect? I am a young Christian at heart eager to go out there and save the world.

If there is any wonder why there is backsliding in churches everywhere, I'm willing to bet that's one reason. It's hard enough to try to walk the Christian walk, but then to share it with others. Jesus brought a sword, not peace! Rejection stinks! It appears that it would be easier to go back to the evil ways of the world than to be a vagabond and live the life God wants us to live.

Once a person becomes born-again (2 Corinthians 5:17), relationships and friendships change; some for the worse and some for the better. My personal experience, a number of people think I'm a religious Bible thumping Jesus freak and they ignore me. Others, for some reason, regard born-again as an indication that I think I'm better than everyone else, when that's not the case at all. I still have my short-comings, sure. Everyone does. But I'm still the same person; I've just changed my evil ways.

I have noticed that the people in my life that had a hard time understanding why I changed are usually the ones that don't comprehend God's Word. It is easier for them to disregard me and my faith than to try to be pleased about it. It's a hard road to walk. I pray a lot. I miss some of my old friendships. It has taken me a long time, about 19 months, to realize things are never going to be the same. I have a hard time accepting that; hence the hissy-fits. But I keep on keeping on. Just like Paul told Timothy, "Fight the good fight . . ." — and I will.

Until next time,

© Crackerberries 2008

Not So Rose Colored Glasses

Have you ever put on a pair of prescription glasses? Everything appears distorted at first but then after awhile the images kind of come into focus. Not real clear, but enough to see. Imagine if you forgot that you put the glasses on. After awhile your eyes would conform to the destructive lenses. You would think that your view was unobscured but actually your eyes would be deteriorating with each day you continued to wear the bad lenses. Eventually it would appear that you would need to put more "corrective lenses" on so that you could see clearly.

The world continues to add corrective lenses where they are not needed. Sin has become the acceptable way of life. The world is lost and sin is habitual. Think about it. In 1939 Rhett Butler used the famous last words, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn". Since then, more and more swear words have made their way to daytime television. Even children's animated movies have "adult humor" within them. One little compromise at a time. The world conforms to the cultures of the current time.

What compromises are you making? It happens all of a sudden and sometimes you don't even realize that you've done it. Think about Samson, the strong man of the Bible and how Delilah pestered him daily until he gave in and told her where his strength lay.

Instead of taking the glasses off and seeing how God wants us to see things, the world just keeps adding more corrective lenses in hopes of making things clear, when in reality they are just making things worse. Take the glasses off, look into your hearts and listen to what God is saying.

©Crackerberries 2008

Steel Walls & Skinny Dogs

When ever I’d go to the bank or the post office or the grocery store, I’d always be sure to use the pen they had for irresponsible people. If I liked the pen or it wrote well, I’d absentmindedly drop the pen in my purse after writing out the check. If someone were to speak to me about it, I’d defend myself by saying, “Oh, I’m sorry, I must have thought it was mine.” If I got away with it, I’d justify it in my mind by telling myself, “don’t worry about it, people do it all the time, they have plenty more pens to put out there”. But I knew it was wrong.

When I was a little girl in the first or second grade, Cricket was hit by a car. Cricket was this great, big fluffy cat that I could barely lift. She died in my arms and I was devastated. I cried and cried and I was hugging my kitty and wouldn’t let her go. My father wanted to bury her and I didn’t want him to. Either my mother or my father told me that I had to let him bury her so the angels could come and carry her away to heaven. At some point after my beloved kitty died, I was looking out into the back yard and I remember seeing two white angels floating above the ground where Cricket was buried. I don’t know whether I dreamt that or it was my vivid imagination kicking into overtime mode or what it was. Maybe it was my mind building up a wall of justification so that I could deal with the death of Cricket.

Every year when I was young I remember Santa Claus would come to our house on Christmas Eve and inundate the tree with so many gifts that if you were to ask me what my favorite childhood Christmas gift from Santa was I can’t think of one that sticks out in my mind. We were so spoiled. One year Christmas Eve came but Santa did not. I believe it was the year that my parents were divorced. Although my sister and I found out the truth about Santa that year, I wanted to believe it was because we were naughty and we didn’t deserve gifts that year.

Even after remembering what it was like to find out the truth about Santa, when I became a parent, I did the same thing to my kids; played Santa on Christmas Eve until they were old enough to realize that Santa Claus doesn't really exist. Why would we do that? Why would we let our kids or anyone for that matter believe something that we know is not true? We justify it because it’s easier to hide behind a figment and go along with what everyone else is doing or saying rather than face the truth.

Once I understood the gospel and accepted Jesus I began to wonder about the people out there that have never heard the gospel, never read a Bible, and don’t know who Jesus is. “What happens to them when they die? If they don’t know, will they still go to hell?” Romans 1:18-19

Although sinful people mentally recognize the truth about God, they choose to suppress it but they are without excuse. It is so important for us to share everything we can. We need to tear down those steel walls and feed those skinny dogs the truth. Take the unbeaten path, take the road less travelled.

©Crackerberries 2008

Human Sorrows

Recently I came across this quote I wrote in an old notebook:

"One of the greatest sorrows of human existence is that some people aren't happy merely to be alive, but find their happiness in the misery of others"

~Stefan in "Lightening" by Dean R. Koontz

I'm forever writing things down and finding them later wondering why I wrote it down or what it meant to me at the time I wrote it. We have lists of things to do, notes to remind us where the lists of things to do are. I never know when I'm going to come across a quote, note, or list of something. When I found this one, I thought how terribly sad at how much truth there really is to it.

When do people pray? When something bad is happening, right? When do we hear from long lost relatives or old friends? When something bad is happening, right? When do the news people get all pumped up and out there everywhere? When something bad is happening, right? When do fire trucks, police cars and ambulances turn their sirens on? When something bad is happening, right?

I remember staying at my grandparents house as a little girl. My grandmother forever listened to a scanner. She was so obsessed with it that she even took it to bed with her. Whenever that thing would squelch, she would yell, "Hark! Wilson! You hear that?" And off we'd go. She packs my sister and me up in the car and my grandfather would obediently drive us to the scene, "just to see".

Last night we watched We are Marshall (okay, so it is taking us a little while to get caught up to new releases). This true story is about a community that looses most of the members of the football team in a plane crash in 1970. A tragedy. But Jack Lengyel takes the opportunity to turn the town's grief into something good. Great movie, if you haven't seen it, do.

One of the boys came over the other night with his girlfriend. They told us a story about being someplace they probably had no business hanging out at. They laughed about people that were pushing shopping carts around (that they stole from a local Wally World or grocery store) filled with empty soda pop and beer cans. They shared a story about one "bum" that came up to them and asked if he could have a cigarette. Their response was, "No, get the (explicit) away from here!" They said they wondered why he didn't just find a job. I said, "Did you ask him that?" Although they found humor in the failure of these "bums", once I put the question on them, they didn't find it funny anymore.

When something bad is happening to someone else we feel better about ourselves because it's not happening to us. But what makes us any better? Who is to say that we aren't going to end up like them or worse? When there is tragedy or misery in some one's life (no matter who it is) we should be doing all we can to be an effective witness and example to them. Life change is done by God, but we are here to ". . . go and make disciples of all nations . . . "! If we do our job, you can rest assured knowing God will do His.