This just makes me sad.

So if you haven’t heard by now, actor Heath Ledger from The Patriot, 10 Things I Hate About You, Brokeback Mountain, etc. sadly passed away yesterday. While listening to the details of what happened, it was brought up that a church has said they are going to “picket” and “protest” his funeral. Why are they doing this you might ask? Because he portrayed a gay character in the Brokeback Mountain movie.

Seriously? This just makes me so sad. First of all, this man’s family, friends, and especially his daughter are deeply and tragically affected by it. And you are going to try to take away from this by protesting at a time like this?

Secondly, this is why the majority of people know more about what Christians are against than what they are for. This church is going to spend their time, energy, money, efforts into ruining this guy’s funeral to prove that they are against homosexuality? Even if these people don’t end up following through with their protest, it has still been publicized enough, that many people in the country have heard about it. And what if this is their only exposure to what Christianity is all about? Sad. What I, as a Christian, am worrying about is doing everything I can to make sure that people know the real message of Jesus. And that is not anti-homosexual, rule throwing, hypocritical. It is a message of hope, grace, forgiveness, and compassion.

I am so glad that we are doing a series at Lifepoint starting next week called Shattered. You will just have to come to see what it is all about, but I am excited that we are going to learn about shattering the stereotype many people have of the Christian faith, not adding fuel to it’s fire.

Hobbies

While trying to write my bio for the new staff page, I discovered something. I need more hobbies. Sure, I have a lot going on and I do some exciting things like reading, walking, hanging out with friends, dancing to High School Musical and listening to Hanson. But I have decided that I am going to get out there, meet new people, and try new things.

While I was out to dinner, my roommate and I were discussing the possible options. And here they are: taking a cooking class, pilates, yoga, getting involved in the local theater, letterboxing, canoeing/kayaking when it gets warmer, boxing, volunteering at a local animal shelter, taking a dance class, and rock climbing.  I don’t know where to start.

I tried to take a ballroom dancing class when Dancing with the Stars was big, but the choice of dance studio wasn’t the best and didn’t work for me, so one experience down. But I am excited about doing some of these other things!

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

It is easy to say, “Well, God is in control so I’m not going to worry about it.” But it is extremely difficult, at least for me, to believe this and not worry. To truly not let things creep into my mind and believe that God is going to take care of it with my whole heart. Worrying just comes from the smallest things, and has come up a lot for me over the past couple of weeks. But a few days ago, I came across this:

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6:31-34

I needed to hear this. If I seek God with everything that I am, I know that I already have everything that I need. So the lesson is: Don’t worry, be happy that God has already taken care of it.

Record Breaking

This week has been record breaking for a few reasons…

Record #1: It is my first blog of 2008. Not so much a record, it was just time.

Record #2: I started this lemonade diet cleanser and didn’t eat for four days.  Pretty sure that’s a new record. I felt great until this morning, when my body forced me to quit. Oh well, I think I was still cleansed.

The most exciting record #3: We had around 85 kids in the children’s ministry today! That is so exciting.  The energy was great, and they were having fun as well as the workers! I actually had someone tell me that her kids are asking her to come back every week.  That’s what it’s about!  The children’s ministry workers are awesome, thanks for everything you guys do!

I can already tell this year is going to be amazing.  I just can’t wait to see what is to come!

Merry Christmas!

Hey guys! I apologize to all my loyal readers about not keeping up with this blog thing too well. I’m sure you all know how it is with weddings, parties, banquets, Thanksgiving, shopping, traveling etc. But I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

With all the craziness that has been going on, there has also been some really cool stuff as well. Lifepoint is doing a series called “Shine.” This Christmas we are not worrying about our wants we are going out in our community and shining the light of Jesus in little ways, however they make a huge difference. I am amazed at the stories that I am hearing about. People are doing some awesome things, and I am happy to be a part of it. We may think that a lunch, a cup of coffee, $20, cookies, a note of encouragement is not a lot, but for the people who have received these out of love, it is making their Christmas special. This is what Christmas is all about! I just love this time of year!

We are wrapping up the series this Sunday, and I am excited to see what happens.  On Monday, starting at 5:00 a bunch of people are going to volunteer at Water Street Restaurant in downtown Wilmington to serve dinner to the less fortunate and homeless in the area.  It is going to be a blast!

I hope that you and your family have a great Christmas!  Talk to you in 2008, and I will try to do a little better at the blogging