Remembering The Fallen Soldiers And Believing In A Better Future

My Dad: a brave soldier who inspires me to imagine a world of peace.

Throughout history men and women have stood strong and fought valiantly against tyranny.  I give thanks for these brave souls who were unwavering, even unto death, in their principles!

I am thankful beyond any words I know to live in a time and place where I can explore and share my ideas about religion, politics, business, and anything else that comes to mind.

I am thankful to live in a land that is blessed with wild prosperity and health.  Yes, even in these times we are wildly prosperous compared to the vast majority of people who have ever lived on earth.

I pray for special blessings on those men and women who have fought for our freedoms.  I pray for every parent who has lost a child to war, for every spouse who has lost their partner, for every sibling who has lost their closest childhood playmate, for every child who has lost a parent.  May God draw them close to Him and shower them with special mercies in their grief.

I pray for the men and women who have gone to do battle as their patriotic duty and come home bearing scars on their bodies and on their hearts.  Some of those heal, but many do not.  May they be surrounded by light and love the rest of their days.

Most of all, though, I pray for an end to war.

Since the dawn of man we have shed our brothers’ blood.  We have killed one another over land, over resources, over power, over religion, over nothing at all outside of sheer hatred.  Our earth is soaked in the blood of war.

When Jesus answered the question, “who is my neighbor?” he used an example of the Samaritan, even though there was no nation more despised by his audience than Samaria.

I pray that my children may see the day the killing ends.

I pray that we learn to defeat violence with love.

I pray that we learn to overcome hatred with respect.

I pray that we learn to give thanks for what we have and share our abundance so that our neighbor has no need to steal from us.

I pray for the day when memorial day is a remembrance only of ancient history because the children of God no longer kill one another but, instead, love as Jesus loved.

May that day come quickly and may we embrace and celebrate the gift of peace.

Jesus Never Had a Christmas Tree

My family lives on a screwy schedule.

Handsome Hippie Hubby works in the kind of fancy-pants restaurant you would love to take your family to for the holidays, presuming you had $1,000 to spend on Thanksgiving Dinner for 5 people.  That means that he has to work most every holiday.

I work for a church.  That means I get every holiday off, but am usually insanely busy the week preceding the event itself.

Over the course of the years we’ve just sort of adapted and started picking our own days to celebrate various occasions.  This year, Thanksgiving is today, Tuesday, November 20.

Oddly, as the aroma of turkey begins to fill the house and the pumpkin pies call to me from the other room, “Eat me!” I find myself with a rare moment of silence.

Handsome Hippie Hubby and Sweet Hippie Daughter are off on an errand for a few minutes and Little Hippie Baby is taking a nap before the festivities begin.

Ah…. I am thankful for moments of silence!

I love my family with all my heart, but sometimes my ears need a rest.

Since I had this time, I thought I would write a short bit, totally uninterrupted.

Ah… I am really thankful for moments of silence!  (Did I mention that already?)

I hear that people are all up in arms about “holiday trees.”

THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO BE CALLED CHRISTMAS TREES!!!

Last year at our house this is one of the symbols we used to celebrate our faith. Isn’t it pretty? You can call it whatever you like. I know exactly what it means to me.

I understand.

Really, I do.

Christmas is a Christian holiday, after all.  I am a Christian and this is the most festive time of year for me because it is the time of year when we remember that the God who created the entire universe, in all its glorious complexity, loved ME enough to come to earth as a man, experience life as my fellow humans and I experience it, face death… and conquer it.

That is a VERY big deal!

It is worth celebrating!

I understand that my brothers and sisters in Christ can find it  irksome that people of all faiths (and no faith at all) have hijacked such a sacred event and turned it into an excuse for gluttony and greed and excess.

But here’s the thing….

There are no Christmas trees in the Bible.

Maybe the Druids should be having a fit that we stole their idea.

There are no Christmas lights in the Bible, either.

Perhaps those who celebrate the Birth of The Invincible Sun God right after the winter solstice should be upset that we stole their idea.

I could go on and on and on.  Yule logs, mistletoe, fruit cake, wreaths…. all of these things can be traced back to traditions far older than Christianity.

Does that make them inherently evil?

Not in my opinion, though some would disagree.

For me, my gorgeous decorations, roaring fire and all of the yummy treats are a reminder of the extraordinary gifts of Life and Love and, above all, Saving Grace from the One True God who loves me.  ME! Can you believe it?!

If someone else just wants a meaningless “holiday tree” in their home, or a yule tree, or a Hanukkah tree, or a “big messy pine tree that smells good,” then so be it.

Instead of getting angry about such nonsense, I’d rather direct my energy toward loving God with all my heart and loving others as myself.

After all, isn’t that the single most important thing Christ taught us?

Christianity is all about LOVING… not getting offended at every little thing that doesn’t suit our worldview.

And now that I got that off my chest… I hear the pitter-patter of little feet telling me that the moment of silence is over.

It was nice, but I am thankful for the moments of chatter, too.  My life would be so empty without it!

Enjoy your day.  Eat some pumpkin pie.  It’s OK, because now you know that it’s Thanksgiving Day somewhere!

Theological Thursday – No More Bible Thumping!

Image from http://kllagacy.blogspot.com/

I have a problem with “Bible thumpers.”

You know… those folks who will beat you over the head with the Word of God in order that you might “get saved.”

This is why:

If you are a Christian, living as Christ instructed, you will never need to “thump” anyone to get their attention.

Your life… your every thought and action and reaction in life should radiate like a bright shining light in the world.

In fact, we are told that, as Christians, we are like a bright light on a hill.  Everyone for miles around can’t help but notice it.

I wonder, sometimes, if my life looks any different to the world than the lives of all those around me.  Is it obvious that I’m a Christian?

Consider this bit of a letter written by Paul and Timothy to the church at Phillipi (emphasis, mine):

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7

Or these words, from Jesus:

A new command I give you.  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

John 13:34-35

Do you show that kind of trust?  Do you have that kind of peace? Are you NEVER anxious about ANYTHING?  Do you love your brothers and sisters with the kind of love that Christ showed… the kind of love that was endlessly patient, endlessly forgiving and completely without self-interest?

If you do… if you even come close… then you will never have a need to shove your beliefs in the face of anybody.  People will clamor to know what gives you the “peace that passes all understanding.”

“How can you be so calm in this storm?”

“How can you forgive him after he did THAT?”

“How can you get out of bed in the morning knowing that?”

“How can you give something to that person, not knowing what they will do with it?”

“How…..?”

When these questions are asked, THEN you have the perfect opportunity to share, gently and kindly and with love, The Good News of Jesus.  Share the Bible! Tell its wonderful stories! Explain the extraordinary message of Hope contained in those beautiful, sacred pages!

When they ask, be ready to tell!

If no one has ever asked you a question like that, maybe you should check to see if you are “hiding your light under a basket.”

And, we must never forget that the Bible tells us that it is through the Grace of God that people are given “ears to hear” the message.

Perhaps that person you are bludgeoning with your Good Book hasn’t yet reached the place where they are ready to accept what you know.  That’s OK.  It’s not your place or your business to make them ready.  It’s not my place. It’s not the place of the pastor or the priest or the bishop or the pope.  It’s God’s business to prepare their hearts and bring them close to Him (or Her, if you prefer).

Don’t worry about someone else’s faith.

“Be anxious about NOTHING.” Remember?  That includes being anxious about your neighbor’s beliefs.

Leave it to God to bring those people to you (or to whomever they need to be close to) when the time is right.

Be a shining light.  Always.

In all things, show love.

God is love. (1 John 4:8)

What does that look like?

Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast.  It is not proud. It is not rude. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrong. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Please, stop thumping people with your Bible.

I’m afraid that society, as a whole, is getting a headache from it!

Just love.  Have faith.  Allow the peace that transcends all rationality wash over you.  And know that God is in control.

And guess what?  If you do that, you may find that the Joy of the Kingdom of God isn’t so very far away at all.

Theological Thursday – Being a Submissive Woman

Politics, unorthodox methods of education… I figured I was on a roll this week with the controversial topics.  May as well keep it up.

So the Bible clearly says that women are to be submissive to men.

Right?

Well…

Sort of.

The verse that most often comes up when people (almost always men) are talking about the importance of submission (of women, to them) comes from 1 Peter, chapter 3.

“Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives.”

This verse has, at times, been taken so wildly out of context it’s just crazy.  A week or so ago, I read a blog which referenced a man explaining that books like “50 Shades of Grey” come from a woman’s desire to be put in her proper place, under the total domination of a man.  Women are, according to him, designed to be conquered, invaded, and dominated.

Uh… yeah.  I have to respectfully (or not) disagree.  Strongly!

The verse above is written in the middle of a fascinating and very encouraging letter.  Peter was writing to 1^st century Christians who had not grown up in the Jewish faith, as had Jesus and his disciples.

He speaks of how extraordinary it is to him that these people, who had never seen Jesus, believed with as much, or more, faith as the people who’d walked with him.

He goes on to encourage them to live in such a way that others will notice that there is something that sets them apart.  He tells them to “be self-controlled… do not conform to the evil desires… be holy.”  By living in such a way, they will be sharing the Good News of Jesus without ever needing to speak.

That’s a whole blog post in itself!  How many Christians do you know who’s lives are so much different, so purely and honestly lived that, just by watching them, people are led to God?  Sadly, I bet not many.

Anyway…

Peter then tells them that they should “Submit… for the Lord’s sake, to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors… for it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.  Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil…. Show proper respect to everyone.”

Just because you don’t like the ruler of the land, you are not given permission by God to be disrespectful.  Hmmm….  Are all Christians currently showing the proper respect to the current ruler, whether they agree with all of his decisions or not?  Again… a whole other can of worms.

So the context is that we all have our place in life.

Everyone has someone “over” them.

The slave has a master, the worker has his employer, the governor is sent by the king and the king must answer to God.

“In the same way…”

wives are to be submissive to their husbands.

This does NOT say that women are to be submissive to men.

Wives are to be submissive to their husbands.

Just as the employer and his worker have entered into a partnership, so have the wife and her husband.

Someone has to be the head.

Here in the USA, we live in a republic… no taxation without representation and all that, right?

But there are still ranking government officials, police officers, employers, teachers and others that we must submit to.

Why?

Well, because someone has to be in charge.  If no one is in charge, there are times when nothing will get done.  Someone has to make “the final call” sometimes.  And sometimes, there just isn’t agreement.  When that happens, those of us who are in the submissive position have to deal with the decisions made by those in charge.

Example?

What if everyone who didn’t like the tax laws just stopped submitting to them?

We’d have no roads, no schools, no fire fighters, no clean water…. It would be chaos.  Someone “at the top” has to decide what’s truly important and make it happen and the rest of us need to deal with it.  Is it OK to respectfully disagree?  To ask for change?  To voice our opinions?  Absolutely.  But, in the end, we must submit to the final decisions of our leaders.

But wait!  There’s more!

After Peter tells the wives to be submissive he gives the husbands an extraordinary mission.

“Husbands in the same way (there’s that statement again) be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

Husbands are not told to “rule and dominate, conquer and invade” their wives!  Quite the opposite!

Husbands should be considerate.

Husbands should treat their wives with respect.

An interesting note, the word, “weaker” is a pretty literal translation.  And I think that’s valid.  There are exceptions, I know.  But, as a rule, women are physically smaller, slower and weaker than men.

The word, “respect” could also be translated, “with great honor.”  “Value.”  “Nobility.”  “An item of great cost.”

Have you ever seen a professional in a museum handle a piece of art? It is delicate, fragile, and priceless and it is ONLY handled with the greatest of love and care.

THAT is how husbands are told to treat their wives.

FURTHER, husbands and wives are made equals in receiving the gifts of God.

God loves them both.  God has given them BOTH showers of blessings.  Including the blessing of a life together.

What happens if a husband doesn’t do this?

Well, the indication is that if the husband turns a deaf ear to his wife, likewise God will turn a deaf ear to him.

Can you guess what Peter says next?

“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another.  Be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.”

This is not an instruction for women to lie down and act as door mats.  This is a guideline for harmony.

Wives, submit to your husband as the head of your household.

Husbands, be a respectful and considerate head of the house.

God desires only for us to live in peace and love.

Why would any of us NOT want that?

We should, each of us, in our place (husband, wife, mother, child, ruler, employer, servant), be ALWAYS an example of God’s love and peace.

We should shine, in our places, and be content.

In that way, those around us will come to do the same and can you imagine how beautiful the world will be then?

If Thou Indeed Derive Thy Light From Heaven

by William Wordsworth

If thou indeed derive thy light from Heaven,
Then, to the measure of that heaven-born light,
Shine, Poet! in thy place, and be content: –
The stars pre-eminent in magnitude,
And they that from the zenith dart their beams,
(Visible though they be to half the earth,
Though half a sphere be conscious of their brightness)
Are yet of no diviner origin,
No purer essence, than the one that burns,
Like an untended watch-fire on the ridge
Of some dark mountain; or than those which seem
Humbly to hang, like twinkling winter lamps,
Among the branches of the leafless trees.
All are the undying offspring of one Sire:
Then, to the measure of the light vouchsafed,
Shine, Poet! in thy place, and be content.

Theological Thursday – Anger Management

Everyone would rather see your happy face than your angry face. Unless your angry face looks like this. Then it will make people laugh and they will feel happy, even though you’re giving them the angry face.

If you’ve been with me for a week or more, you know that I am on a planning committee for the local annual festival and I’m a bit of a nut about it.  I REALLY love the festival!

The carnival came to town earlier this week.  They are all set up now.  Today the vendors come.  Hundreds of them.   And they each have needs and wants that need to be addressed.  The beer tent will open tonight, so the Budweiser guys will be doing their thing and the people who work over there will be preparing money and tickets and security.  The girls in the pageant and the ladies that run it will be practicing for hours and they will have their final dress rehearsal.  Tonight we show a movie in the park and the 24 hour softball tournament gets underway.  Tomorrow morning everything kicks off in earnest.

For many of us on the committee, this will be the day that the REAL work begins.  When I’m done typing this, most of my time until Sunday evening will be spent at the park, regardless of the weather, making sure that everything goes smoothly and everyone has a great time.

The next 4 days will present me with a truly awesome opportunity.

awe·some/ˈôsəm

Adjective:

Extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear. Extremely good; excellent.

 I will have the opportunity to serve thousands of my neighbors.

 Jesus said, “Whatever you do for the least (person) you do for me.”  (Matthew, Chapter 25).

The hardest part is certainly not running to get bandaids for a child that fell and scraped their knee or helping an elderly person find a shady seat and a drink of water.  I am happy to do those things.

The hardest part is controlling my anger.

Sometimes my overwhelming festival joy gets buried.

Vendors throw a fit because they can’t ALL have the same 4 premium spots.

They yell at us because their booth has no electricity, even though they failed to note on their contract that they needed it.

If it rains, the vendors yell at us because there are no people.

If there are too many people we get yelled at for not having better crowd control.

The visitors complain that everything is too expensive, unmindful of the MONTHS we spend getting sponsorship to provide the community with free entrance, free stage entertainment, free fireworks, a free movie, free crafts for the kids and more.

They complain that everything is always the same.

They complain that their favorite vendor from last year has been replaced by someone new.

The rock-and-roll folks will complain that Friday’s music is country.

The country folks will complain that Saturday’s music is rock.

They will complain that we bring in too many vendors and entertainers, not leaving space for parking.

They will complain that there are not enough vendors and entertainers.

Seriously, by Sunday night, everyone on the committee is ready to quit.

To say that it is easy to get angry is a massive understatement.

But the Bible warns us about anger.

“A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.” (Proverbs 14:29)

“A man’s wisdom gives him patience, it is to his glory to overlook an offense.” (Proverbs 19:11)

“A wise man fears the Lord and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless. A quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated… but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.” (Proverbs 14: 16-18)

“Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.” (Ecclesiastes 7:9)

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” (James 1:19)

“You have heard that it was said long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment, but I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgement.” (Matthew 5:21-22)

And there are so so so many more.  Here is a pretty good list, including some verses  that talk about when it is appropriate and good to be angry.

Anger can be hard to control.  It is like a monster that springs up out of our heart at a moment’s notice, bursting  forth and lashing out at the nearest hapless victim.

So this is my plan…

I’m going to revel in the joy that the festival brings me, giving thanks that God gave me THIS day, and He (or She, if you prefer) allowed me to share it with my beautiful family.

He gave me this opportunity to show His Love to the person in front of me & I can’t know what kind of day (week, year, life) they’ve had that made them so angry.  All I can do is try to show them love.

Every time angry thoughts pop into my head I’m going to take a deep breath of the air, fragrant with the aroma of elephant ears and smoked BBQ, and I’m going to look at the people around me.  I’m going to see the children, wide-eyed with wonder.  I will see the teens, holding hands and blushing with first love.  I will see the elderly couples, still holding hands and eating corn-dogs together. I will see that the unhappy person yelling at me about their (most likely) unreasonable demands is the anomaly, not the norm.  I will let them finish and I will speak to them with all the respect and love I can muster up, and then I

will let it go.

If I don’t let it go… if I just turn around and vent MY anger on the next person… then how eventually everyone will just be grouchy and yelling at each other.  But if I do let it go, I can just instantly go back to immersing myself in the glory that is the festival and so can everyone else.

Doesn’t that sound like a good plan?

If you live near me, and you find yourself at the festival this weekend, do me a favor.  Find a person (any person) in a hideous dayglo yellow FESTIVAL COMMITTEE shirt and thank them for their hard work.  Tell them your most favorite thing from this year’s event.

Then come and say hello!

To borrow the perfectly descriptive words of a dear friend who shares my passion, “I’ll be the one running around with cotton candy in one hand, elephant ear in other, hat with spinny on top and 6 kids trying to keep up with me while I stiff arm my way past all the little defenseless children to the front of the line!”

Now if you will excuse me, I need to go pick up a helium tank.

Fast Friday – The Beauty of Humanity

“I believe the children are the future…..” hahahahaha. I’m slap happy! It’s Friday. Hooray!  This is my baby boy and my dear friend’s gorgeous baby girl. We’ve already started planning the wedding.

Happy Friday!  I saw this link yesterday and had to share it with you.

These very ordinary people, acting in extraordinary ways, left me with tears streaming down my cheeks and a heart bursting with love.  Every now and then I’m just overwhelmingly proud to be a part of this silly species!   I hope you enjoy them as much as I did, and I hope you have a wonderful, beautiful, truly fabulous weekend.

See you Monday!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/pictures-that-will-restore-your-faith-in-humanity

Castles in the Sky and Big Red Barns on Earth

Isn’t my little Microsoft free clip art barn adorable?

I like to believe I’m a castle builder.  I dream pretty big.  I really can’t stand being told, “that’s just not realistic.”

Of course it’s not realistic!  Nothing wonderful ever is, until someone does it.  Then, suddenly, it doesn’t seem so difficult at all.

Example: Picture yourself in 1982, telling someone, “I want to sit in my living room and write down an idea that people all over the world will read the instant I’m done expressing it.”  Certainly that is NOT realistic!  Right?  Well…  it turns out that’s not such an unrealistic thing after all.  I’m doing it right now.

Hippies are BIG dreamers.  What do we want for Christmas?  A new sweater? A car?  NO! We want world peace.  We want all the hungry people in the world to be fed.  We want an end to disease, an end to corporate greed and corruption, good education for everyone.  We want a lot!

“World peace just isn’t realistic.”

I simply don’t accept that.

“There isn’t enough food to feed 7 billion people.  The earth can’t sustain us all.”

Really? My family alone probably throws away enough food to feed a whole other family the same size as ours.

I used to be a part of a business where those “above” me were constantly pushing us to dream big.  Bigger.  BIGGER!!!  One man-made a comment to this effect:  “People ask me when I knew I had ‘arrived.’  I haven’t!  The day you feel like, ‘there! I’ve done it!’ is the day you die because you’ve nothing more to strive for… no more reasons to get out of bed in the morning.”

I agree.  Have goals.  Big, Bigger, BIGGER goals.  Reach for the stars!  Be totally, completely, absurdly unrealistic.  Build your castles among the clouds!  Be successful! Get rich! Become famous! Achieve something beyond the wildest expectations of those around you.

AND

Be content.  Right now.  With what you have and where you are.

Do you live in a crappy little one room apartment with rusty plumbing and an odd, lingering aroma of cabbage?  GREAT!  How wonderful that you have shelter! You have a place of your very own that you can retreat to when the world becomes too much to bear.

Consider the people in the world who are the happiest.  They are, often times, the people who don’t have  much in the way of material things, yet they are wealthy beyond measure in those things that are intangible.  They have friends and family and faith.  I can’t help but picture an Amish family.  To me, they are the  very embodiment of simplicity and contentment and peace.  It makes me want to call all my neighbors together and build a big red barn in my backyard!

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that material things are bad.  I love my stuff.  I take comfort in it.  I heard someone say, once, “It is not bad to be rich.  You can’t get poor enough to help the poor.  You can’t get sick enough to help the sick.”  In the biographical movie, “Gandhi,” one of Gandhi’s closest advisors tells him, “It takes a great deal of money to keep you in this level of poverty.”  Money is a powerful tool and the lack of it is frustrating, but if you spend all of your time chasing after money you will forget the beauty of right now.

What it all boils down to, I think, is this:

Dream big.  Bigger.  BIGGER!  Don’t let anyone hold you back! Fly, little bird!

AND

Take the time to appreciate all that you have right now, in this moment.  In being content now that you will find the strength to do something impossible.

That’s my deep thought for today.  Now, take your shoes off and go walk in the morning dew.

A Hippie Mama Peace Rally

Our beautiful boy has arrived! OK… yes… I know he looks kind of like Rocky Balboa after the fight.  But he was beautiful to us.

I’d like to stage a peace rally.  And I want to invite you all to participate.  I’ll tell you all about it.  But first I have to tell you this:

Tomorrow my baby boy will be one year old.  I have very mixed feelings about that.  Unless the universe intervenes in some highly unforeseen way, he’s my last baby.  And, of course I’m happy that he is growing, but I’m sad that his infancy came and went so quickly.  It all just seems like a whirlwind of sleep deprivation and busy-ness.  In the past year, though, I’ve come to understand, in my completely, totally, absolutely unbiased opinion, that he is the smartest, cutest, funniest, most talented, perfectly fabulous baby in the entire world.

Allow me to brag for a moment, if you will…

When I first found out I was pregnant my doctor ordered an immediate ultrasound due to problems I’d had in the past.  That ultrasound, and the 2nd ultrasound, and the 3rd ultrasound showed that there was no baby.  There was just an empty sac.  But the FOURTH ultrasound… almost a full month later… showed my strong healthy little bean with his perfect heart thumping away.  Ha!  My baby had his own way of doing things even when he was just a microscopic ball of goo.

At 34 weeks I started having contractions.  They were sporadic, but strong.  ”Stay in there,” we told him.  ”Hold on tight. You need to grow a little more.”  And he stayed.  All through week 34. And week 35. And weeks 36, 37 and 38. And week 39. And 40. And 41. And 42.  Finally, we sent someone in to get him.  He’s a very good boy.  He did EXACTLY what we told him to do!

He was born weighing 9 pounds, 4 ounces.  A big strong baby boy!  On day one he could lift his own head and bear some weight on his legs, when supported.  I’m sure this had something to do with me being pregnant for 10 1/2 months (do the math… 40 divided by 4 weeks…). But still!  At six months he was crawling all over the place, eating needles off the Christmas tree and generally getting into everything.  At eight months, 3 days he took his first step. Saints preserve us!

And he talks! I’ve been told that boys’ language develops more slowly than girls, but this Hippie baby already has a whole pocket full of words that he chants like a mantra while going about the baby business of exploring the world.  ”Mamamamamamamamamama.”  ”Byebye!Byebye!Byebye!Byebye!”  And, most recently, my personal favorite, “Butt!Butt!Butt!Butt!”

His dance moves are a little…. uhm…. well, let’s just say that, with Handsome Hippie Hubby and I as parents he was never destined to be a dancer.  But what he lacks in skill he makes up for with enthusiasm.

So, you see?  Obviously, he’s a genius.  No doubt about it.  And I know why.

It’s because I breastfed him and used cloth diapers.

What?  You disagree?  WELL! Now we shall go to WAR!

At least, that’s what I understand from recent media.  I’ve been told that mommies are having WARS.

My dearest friend has a baby, a few months older than mine.  He’s never had a drop of breast milk and she wouldn’t dream of putting him in any kind of diaper that couldn’t be thrown away.  And he is bright and smart and healthy and strong.  And, admittedly, a much better dancer than my son.

A woman at church told me that, when her children were babies, she couldn’t bear the thought of them eating bland foods.  So she added salt and sugar to their baby food.  *GASP!*  Guess what?  They are all healthy, productive adults today.

When my sister’s twins were born she had four children, under the age of 3.  Do you honestly think she cloth diapered and breastfed all of them?  Are you nuts?!?!  I was in awe of her that they were all diapered, in any form, and that she did manage to nurse the babies for a while before switching to bottles.

Author Jill Churchill once said, “There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one.”

Amen, sister!  Preach it!

Some mothers feel they can serve their family best by going to work to earn money which they, in turn, spend on the things their family needs and wants.  Some feel it’s best they stay home with their children. Some breastfeed.  Some use bottles. And the media will have us believe that moms are waging war over these differences.  But is that the reality?  I mean… if I see a mother neglecting her children or abusing them in any way… THAT is something worth going to battle for.  But, with rare exception, moms love their children.  A lot. More than anything else in the whole wide world.  More than they ever loved themselves.  More than they ever thought they could love anyone.  And, based on their own life experiences and culture and abilities, they make the best choices they know how for their precious little ones.

Moms love their kids.  It’s what moms do.  And they do it the best way they know how.

And so, I’d like to stage a peace rally.  I would like all the mothers of the world…

the ones who ONLY use silver flatware and the ones who spit chewed up food into their baby’s mouth… the ones who bust out a boob in the middle of the mall and the ones who can’t fathom not using a bottle… the ones who work their bums off in a job outside the house and the ones who work their bums off taking care of the house…..

to unite.  Let us, metaphorically, join hands and sing folk songs and celebrate our love for our children.  Maybe, when the media sees our sweet peaceful non-resistance and our united front in caring about the mental, emotional and spiritual health of the children of the world they will stop their ridiculous reporting on issues like the appropriateness of breastfeeding a toddler and they will turn their attention to helping kids who don’t get fed at all.  Or any other number of issues to which attention needs to be given.

Happy birthday, sweet boy. You are loved.

Theological Thursday – Take 2 – Christians Are Stupid?

Auguste Rodin’s “The Thinker.”
I’m thinking… I’m thinking…. I’m thinking…..

Did you know that if you Google, “Christianity is Stupid” you get more than 23 MILLION results?  There is even a song about it, complete with full length music video.

Well, dang!  That’s a lot of stupidity!  And, frankly, I’m rather insulted.  I mean, I’m a Christian.  I may not be on Parr with Carl Sagan or even Ben Stein but give me a little credit.  I can read and write and do arithmetic!  Well… Simple arithmetic.  I am sort-of awful at Calculus.

So, I have to wonder. Am I putting my faith in something that stupid people are drawn to?  Are NON-believers stupid?  Why all the hate and name-calling?  Does the Bible have anything to say about this?

After a little bit of pondering, and a little bit of research, here is the deep and profound fundamental truth I came up with:

God gave you a brain!

The very first chapter of the Bible tells us, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

What does that mean, “in the image of God?”

Well… what does the Bible tell us about God?  It tells us that God is not a physical being, but something infinite.  So, obviously, this verse isn’t talking about our bodies but rather, that which makes us… us.  You know, that indelible something that every movie ever made about distopias and alien invasions refers to.  The human spirit.  Our collective spunk.   We, as a race, are thinking, questioning, probing beings.  We have been asking, “Why?” for as long as we’ve had the ability to speak.  And, if you read your history, “Why?” is almost always quickly followed by, “But, what if?”  We strive to figure out a better way. To create. To improve.  To understand.

I believe that this is what it means to be in the image of God.  No other species on Earth strives to create and understand as humans do. (I don’t know about species off the earth.  Perhaps that’s a post for another day.)

But there are a few Christians (Alright. I relent. Maybe more than a few.) who are very scared.  I don’t know why.  I’m not sure exactly what they are scared of.  Change? The unknown?  The fires of Hell? (Hell is another whole other post.  Maybe someday I’ll work up to that, but it’s going to be a while). Who can say?  But they are terrified.  They are the ones who burned “witches” at the stake for using herbs to ease the pain of laboring women.  They are the ones who empowered the inquisitionists and murdered Socrates.  They insisted that the Earth was the center of the universe because of a single Bible verse, taken out of context.  They have hindered the expansion of scientific thought again and again throughout history.

But the club of the fearful is not exclusive to Christianity!  The Romans slaughtered the Christians because they were afraid of them. The Egyptians killed the Hebrews for the same reason.  Fascists eliminate dissidents out of fear and so do Communists.

But we are not created to be blind creatures of faith, living in fear of every challenge to our beliefs.  We are created in the image of God!

In an effort to make me a well-rounded person, the college I attended made me take a chemistry class.  This class was taught by a tiny little mad scientist of a woman who had worked on a team that had attempted to bring forth life from non-living material.  “How could you?” I asked. “Don’t you think that’s wrong? It seems like you are playing God.”  She gave me an answer that, quite literally, changed my life.  “I am created in the image of God, designed to be like Him,” was her quiet answer. “Should I not create life, as God did?”

Whoa.

I have been pondering that statement for nearly 15 years now and it still makes my brain throb.

Go ahead.  Read it again.  I’ll wait.

………..

It’s a HUGE statement, don’t you think?

Thomas Aquinas (if you don’t know anything about T.A. I highly recommend learning.  He was an amazing thinker, far ahead of his time.) said that “all truth is God’s truth.”

That is yet another huge statement.

It means that, if the sun is the center of our solar system it is that way because that is the way God made it to be.  And there is nothing to fear in that.  If God did not want it that way it wouldn’t be that way.

If there are medicines that ease the pain of childbirth it is because God created herbs to have healing powers.  If God didn’t want herbs to work that way they wouldn’t.

And we can extrapolate that into modern day arguments.

Some Christians are die-hard literal 6-day creationists.  They argue that they Bible says God created the heavens and earth and all contained therein, with a spoken word, in the course of six 24-hour time periods.  Others take varying views on the creation story, saying that it is metaphorical or poetic or that the word “day” is mis-translated or…. Well… you get the idea.  And then there are folks who have thrown themselves lock, stock & barrel behind evolution and dug their heels in against any other ideas.

These various “camps” fight like second graders on the playground.  They call names and stomp their feet in anger.

But why?  If all truth is God’s truth what in the world do we have to fear?  Do we not grow and discover by challenging one another?  If God made the earth in 6 days then, eventually, our science will catch up to reality and back that fact up.  If all science points to creation taking place over a long period of time then that’s the method that God used to create the earth.

“As the Americans say, truth will out!”  (One of my very most favorite lines from the Harry Potter movies.)

I think that the people behind the 23 million websites discussing stupid Christians are, themselves, in fear.  But why?  If Christians are so hare-brained, won’t natural selection eventually thin us from the herd?

And what about other people of faith?  Are the millions (billions?) who follow Mohammed or Buddha or pray to their ancestors or the forest spirits stupid?  I’d be willing to bet that there are millions (billions?) of brilliant, thinking people who have given serious consideration to the reason behind their faith.  Does faith sometimes push us to act on something we don’t understand?  Yes. Often.  But that does not mean that we, the people of faith, lack understanding of our faith.

Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”  It is a good thing to question one another.  In love.  Always, in all things, love.  Above all: Love.  Be a good hippie! Peace and love, man.  Peace and love.

As in all things, it is a mistake to paint an entire group of people with a single brush.  And, in this hippie’s opinion, it is a mistake to argue by name calling.  If that is what you have resorted to, you have already lost the debate.  Let us ALL use the big, beautiful brains God gave us and figure out the answers to ALL the questions.  Together.

As always, I am curious (because I’m a thinking person!) about your ideas on the subject of faith and intelligence.  I am always thrilled to see your comments.  Please share!

“Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.” -Albert Einstein

Your Inner Hippie

I had a lovely night’s sleep.  The kids were asleep by 8:30 and, since Handsome Hippie Hubby was working late, I wasn’t far behind them.  That meant I had the rare morning when I woke up before my alarm went off.

The house is blessedly quiet.  The windows are open.  I can hear the hum of the fan in the other room and the early birds chirping outside as the sun is just starting to peek up over the horizon.  What a wonderful way to start the day!

As I sipped my daily drug morning coffee, I thought about what I would like to share with you today.  I’ve had lots of ideas swirling in my tie-dyed brain.  But, one in particular kept coming back to me.  I’ve been trying hard to pay better attention to those little whispers I hear in my heart, so here’s what I’d like to say, in my very best hippie voice:

Relax, man!

Stop worrying so much.

Be at peace.

Do you know that Jesus gave this very advice?

He said, “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For Gentiles run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Most people, even if they don’t call themselves “Christian” think Jesus was a smart guy.  But maybe you just need to hear it from someone else?  How about Buddha?

“The secret of health, for both mind and body, is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”

Not feeling it for Buddha either?

A wise man of Hindu faith you may have heard of, Mahatma Gandhi, said, “There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.”

Are you an atheist? No belief in God at all? Or maybe an agnostic who’s just not sure?  Then let us turn to those men (and women!) of science at WebMD.com.  They say:

“Are you an excessive worrier? Perhaps you subconsciously think that if you “worry enough,” you can prevent bad things from happening. But the fact is worrying can affect the body in ways that may surprise you. When worrying becomes excessive, it can lead to feelings of high anxiety and even cause you to be physically ill.  …chronic anxiety and outpouring of stress hormones can have serious physical consequences, including:

• suppression of the immune system
• digestive disorders
• muscle tension
• short-term memory loss
• premature coronary artery disease
• heart attack

The point is, there is no point in worrying.  It is good to be aware. To plan. To prepare, But worrying about things that may (or may NOT) happen in the future, or things outside of your control is fruitless.  There is nothing to be gained.  Be aware that right now, at this very moment, you have everything you need.  Can’t let go? Make a conscious effort to think of 10 things you’re thankful for right now.  Still can’t let go? List 10 more.  Or find a way to take action.  Even unrelated action.  Can’t figure out how you’re going to pay a bill?  Clean the kitchen.  At least your hands will be busy and you’ll feel better for having done something.  Or be silly.  Go to the drug store and try on goofy sunglasses.  Take a walk around your neighborhood. Backwards. While whistling Dixie.  Wearing your new silly sunglasses.  Be fully in THIS moment.  It will give your neighbors some good entertainment.  And why not?  Sitting there worrying isn’t accomplishing anything.  You will be a happier, healthier, more productive person if you can tap into your inner hippie and…

Relax, man.

Chill.

Find your groove.

Go with the flow.

Embrace peace.

Here’s wishing you a day full of peace and beauty and joy and love.