One Step at a Time

I'm overdue for a new blog post. No point in making excuses, this blogging thing just has never really been a high priority thing, but more as a way to document milestones.

I always enjoy stumbling across (friend's? acquaintance's? complete strangers?) blogs that give me something to think about and learn more about who I am... and since I just posted over at one, I figured I'd share the link:

A Proposal of Evolution

I realize I left my response a little open-ended, but I'd rather the discussion continue than start to debate faith - which is impossible to do given the basic definition of the word (from m-w.com: faith - a firm belief in something for which there is no proof).

Don't get the wrong impression that I think of the Bible as a just another "story," or as something that is not divinely inspired by God - I do - it's just that I get frustrated when verses are taken out of context and applied to whatever subject suits the speaker's mood. The Scriptures don't work that way. I consider myself to have a very shallow understanding of Jewish culture and ancient history, and even I know that a lot of the "laws" that are quoted from the Old Testament are meant to be there more as a way for me to understand the New Testament and the importance of the New Covenant that God made, rather than just an additional list of rules that I am required to follow, because I am a Christian. Yes, there is definitely something to learn from those laws, because they cover issues that can lead to harm and hurt others (think adultery) or our own self (think of the "unclean" foods). But the consequences of disobeying these laws don't have to be carried out the same way any more - sure, stoning your son-in-law to death because you caught him with another woman might make you feel better, and would definitely keep him from ever doing it again, but did he get a chance to learn anything from it? Would YOU have learned anything from it, for that matter? Or would it be more effective to force him to LIVE with the consequences of his actions and witness the hurt he's caused his children or his wife? I suppose it ultimately shows the true character of that man - in how he chooses to live his life after his action is revealed - as well as the character of his family - in how they choose to accept or not accept him back into their lives, and how they heal or don't heal, from the feelings of distrust and betrayal.

I think "eye for an eye" and "turn the other cheek" may have a deeper meaning than the physical after all.

...

Meanwhile, I've been lucky to come across a group of young adults that meets on Tuesday nights for group discussions on topics like the above and for fellowship, so I have something to look forward to every week. It is definitely helping to fill that need in my life right now - to connect with people my age and seek spiritual guidance together. I find it odd that I'm in the age group that is often the most likely to turn away from churches and the Church, and my home church was doing very little about it. Discussions with Nooma DVD's and Rob Bell aside, there's not much available to draw the college-age/20-somethings to church only on a Sunday morning.

Which is why I am VERY happy that someone finally got "the right people" - not just enough people, or the same people who have been asking for something like this for years - to get excited and start up a Saturday evening service. Once this gets rolling, don't be surprised if I am missing from your weekend party-stravaganza between the hours of 6pm to 9pm. And if this sounds like something you would be excited about too, please let me know and I will make sure that you are there with me!

Hope everyone is taking time to make this "Holy Week," well, holy!

Can I claim I've been a bit busy lately?

Hi again faithful readers.

So... a whole lot of stuff has happened since I last posted a long, thorough note of what is going on in my life. What follows is my attempt at trying to compile everything from the past 10 months into a few major highlights:

1. Position change at work! - A lateral move, but nonetheless, this was a good move for me as it has offered me many more responsibilities and opportunities for growth (where I was, I was somewhat like a glorified intern, though making way more $.) - Read this as "Em likes to be paid for what she's worth" not "Em was trying to see what she could get away with." It also meant a little more safety in my company, as our industry was hitting some rough times (if I had proof that I was handling the work of 2 people, TPTB were less likely to make me leave).

2. Terminus! Wizard Rock! Chicago! - Granted, we didn't see much of Chicago while we were there, but the whole thing was quite an adventure - from flying standby to finding roommates online to navigating the L (where we felt a bit like Arthur Weasley) to meeting some very friendly and strange people to all things Harry Potter.

3. Weddings! SO many friends got married during the Summer of 2008. A few resulted in road trips to see friends, and some I had already planned a trip in the opposite direction. Best wishes to all of you! (and add another year of celebrating the single life... however I may be deluding myself).

4. 180 degrees, or how having high expectations can lead to burnout - Well, maybe it's not burn out yet, but I was very overwhelmed this past Sunday at church with the level of tasks that had to be managed technically for the Sunday service... and I wasn't even scheduled to be the one responsible for handling everything.... Sadly, Sunday service hasn't been a worshipful experience for me for some time now... it's been a part time job I don't get paid for. Previous weeks it's just been loads of frustration, and last week ended in tears... in plain sight of everyone exiting the sanctuary. Yeah. So, I had a talk with our new music minister, with my Mom acting as a mediator/translator on my behalf, and I'm hoping that things are better after my weekend away.

Not wanting this to end on a sad note, I'm excited about the trip to OKC this weekend! Dancing, wrocking, and chillin' with friends should be awesome! I believe we shall have to do things like these more often!

Sermon Notes

I decided to be creative with my sermon notes today...
The youth pastor was speaking today, so I suppose it inspired my inner child.



Edit: I see the scan cut off the scripture reference, so here it is:
Matthew 13:31

Hello World - the tiny blue-green pea in a ray of sunlight

Call it crazy, call it a "God-thing," call it fate, but I'm always in awe of how some things just come together the way they do.

If you are reading this (and therefore procrastinating studying for your finals) note that after viewing the entirety of the video at the following link, 42 minutes and 30 seconds will have passed by. And if you can't spare that amount of time, or need a shorter break, I'll share a shorter clip (8 min 44 sec) further down.

I don't think that this guy is an amazing speaker. I think this is just a guy who knows how to speak to people to show them how amazing God is.

Indescribable - Louie Giglio

As it has been a long time since my last note, obviously a lot has happened since.

1. We now have a new worship team leader - he will be solely working at our church as of this next Sunday (the first Sunday in May). I would say Pastor George is what our church needs to get the "chosen frozen" moving, so to speak. He's certainly stretching everyone in the way we worship God, and I'm loving every minute of it.

2. We (the church technical crew) are now using a software program called EasyWorship during Sunday services. It's awesome; it makes putting everything together beforehand and running all of the media the day of SO much simpler - integrating videos, sermon note PowerPoint slides, song lyrics, moving backgrounds, fade-outs, special songs, etc. a BREEZE! One program up on the laptop instead of 50,000,000, and no annoying media player frame around the video clips and such. (Did I mention I love my (volunteer) job when no one even notices me in the back? That that's what makes this so fun for me - that I can somehow use my talents to make (a majority of) everyone in the room focus on the message of the worship, the message of the speaker, and just let them all give glory to God?)

3. Now that we are digitally recording the Sunday message (well, okay, this started way before the last entry/note), we are s-l-o-w-l-y moving to getting them online on our church website (still in the works, though the template pages are already visible out there at http://southparktulsa.com/Web/Home.html). Right now it feels a little awkward, as it seems we are screaming "we are a cool church, come and be cool with us!" when we are still far from it. I agree that we will need to make steps in that direction if we want to draw in new people who are hurting and seeking, but we still have some major hurdles to get over before we actually look and move like a "modern day" church.

4. I finished paying off all of my school loans. (Whooo!) The loans my dad took out to pay for college are another matter, but again, that's part of the arrangement of me getting to stay at home, and why I am paying "rent" - and more than enough to help supplement the cost of utilities and groceries and insurance (see item #5).

5. I bought and paid for my first car. As in no more car payments. Just insurance payments, and tag/tax. It slightly creeps me out that my dad can't even say that about his CRV. It's a Honda Fit, 2008 Sport model, automatic, Blackberry Pearl. And for those that care, I did my homework, and yes, it's fuel efficient and has low emissions. (Forget the silly hybrids that cost so much more it would take me 8 to 10 years to make up the difference in what I would save on gas money - even at an estimation of $4/gal.)

See photo. Or Google it.

The remainder of the money that went to saving up for the new car is now going toward future house plans. When the time comes, I'll be looking for a female house mate so I'm not a single young female in a big house all by my lonesome - college buddies have first priority. ;)

I say all this because I've been recently reminded how crazy it is that someone as small and insignificant like me could be watched over and taken care of by such an amazing God. It's unimaginable how different things might be if I hadn't given my sophomore Thermodynamics class, that I thought I was heading to fail, over to God, along with my major and all of the reasons I was at TU... if I would even be at the job I'm at today, making the salary I'm able to make, so that I can afford to pay off my school loans, so that I could buy my first car, so that I can give back to my church (and The Church - through missions, etc.), my community, and do so much more than I would have ever been able to imagine... I am too small to have thought it, and God's plans are too big for me to have dreamt it.

Know that He is the Creator of all things, and that He is holding you together, and that by Him, all things come together to glorify His Kingdom.

So, I just happen to get sent a video link via e-mail from relatives living miles away on the same weekend our church pastor starts a sermon series on God and our bodies...

How Great is our God - Louie Giglio

Time for a follow up!

For those of you who read my birthday post and were keeping me and our church in your thoughts and prayers, it's time for me to give you an update!

This past month we officially hired a new senior pastor! YAY! So that is a big answer to prayer, since it took 9 months for it to happen (and for those of my family dealing with pregnancies, that's the closest thing I'll experience to that unless until I meet "Mr. Right" and marry him... but that's a different prayer request. *wink*).

Tom Hopkins has been here several Sundays now, and his enthusiasm and ideas for our church's future are contagious. One thing he's mentioned to me as part of the tech crew is that he would like to see us have a little more media during the service (i.e. moving backgrounds, videos, and the like). Another plus is that he does his own slides for his sermon, which, if you know how difficult it is to try to take someone's notes and get into their head in order to have the "right" things shown up on the wall, you know that this is a blessing! (and Chris, I can't say I envy you your job... I really understand the amount of work you must put in every week!) Anyways, having Tom wanting to see us do more things is definitely one of the things I was hoping for - because I can see that we have the potential to do that sort of thing, but it's getting past the mentality of "this is the way it's always been done" that's hard to overcome... and when your senior pastor wants it to change, well, then that's a hurdle that's a little easier to cross!

We have also moved into the 20th century, as we now record the Sunday sermon digitally! Granted, we can't get CDs to folks until Wed, but being able to put them up on CDs or even up on the internet is a great improvement from the cassette tapes we were using. And we're going about it in probably the least expensive (and possibly not the best) way, as it gives the computer guy (me, or whoever is on that week) one extra thing to do before we can sit back and just listen to what's going on and what God has to say. But it gets the job done!

So, although we don't have a worship leader on staff yet, I'm already starting to feel like a burden's been lifted off of me - I've been wanting to see something like this happen for a long time, but "just me" and my lack of tact isn't going to make that sort of change. I'm really excited about where this could go, and am now thinking that prayers need to shift slightly to us getting a few more "tech savvy" folks (or at least those who can learn computers and software programs quickly and can control their ADHD for a few hours) on rotation... we have willing workers right now, but they will need a little training and continued coaching to keep things running smoothly if we are going to start changing things... or maybe a few more people who can work together when we have a Sunday with just a few more visual requirements than in other weeks.

Seriously, I'm excited about the changes that should be coming in our church soon, and I think I can hold off on wanting to do a major Christmas production like we did in years past for another year or two!

The Bible is a Banned Book too!

Wow. I really had no idea that my little postings would lead to such discussion! (and here I thought no one was even reading this!)

And since the comments offer limited space to respond to all of those very thoughtful comments, I have an excuse to write another note! (and now I realize how much time it will take for all of the thoughts I have on the HP series to get old... yeesh, seems it will never end! *in a good way*)

I totally see the satire in the original letter now, and I think I had the right feeling early on about how the logic in the writing seemed too skewed to be an accurate account. And yet, I know some very logical people who have never read THAT article, but because that account (or similar ones) spread through the Internet so rapidly, it has weaved its way into the chain of reasoning behind removing the Harry Potter series from bookshelves. I think they've probably never read that exact chain e-mail, but as Christians we are sometimes quick to avoid books, movies, people, events or ideas that contain elements that represent something against our beliefs. Without knowing the full story, we condemn it before doing all of our homework, and, as we are human and stubborn, we are slow to change our thinking if someone tries to share the views of the other side of the argument.

The first week of October was Banned Books Week, for those of you who may not have known, and as part of that week, I found it interesting that Harry Potter was brought up in many discussions and articles as one of this decades' most controversial books. For some reason, it was at the same time suddenly becoming as hot of a topic among those who are against the books. And even though I've come across some books that I felt inappropriate to be reading while in school, I've somehow always felt that it was important that those books were out there to be read, that as much as I disliked having to discuss one particular scene from a story - much less read that section - I perhaps did learn something from the story - and surely someone else may learn even more from it than I did. And when I came across the previously mentioned posting where fellow "Christians" were condemning the Harry Potter series, I suddenly felt compelled to share some of my own thoughts - that, as much as we may object to a particular theme or idea, they do have the right to share that idea, and we have the right to either ignore it, or listen to their idea and see if there is anything we can learn from it.

Granted, not everyone is sharing messages that we will find informative and/or uplifting... some of the stuff out there is garbage... but if we only let one person - one human who has flaws just like the rest of us - determine what we will believe without taking the time to do our own research, then we don't learn anything at all (even if all we learn is that it was garbage). As much as I hope I've presented my reasonings to others to encourage them to keep an open mind about other viewpoints, ideas, books, etc., I do think that there will still be many people whose minds will not be changed, no matter how loving and sincere we try to come across to them. But part of me hopes that, at the very least, people will think to do their homework before jumping to condemn a book, person, or idea (though I think it's perfectly fine to have reservations about it, and just avoid the topic if you feel uncomfortable about it).

One thing I've come to appreciate about Harry Potter is how it has brought about so much discussion between family members and old friends and new friends. It seems a little crazy to become so frenzied over a book that we run to the library and movie theatre to hang out with people (mostly strangers) who all share that same energy. Though I'm sure there are worse things that could bring groups of people to gather together. But still I think that it is important that we as Christians don't let ourselves get too swept away in this world that is all in our heads. We can be looking for good in many places outside the Church and what is considered Holy - yet we also have to keep a discerning eye out for those things which may cause us to stumble. We have to remember to separate what is true and what is fake, what is good and what is evil. And in any story, it's important to go over what mistakes the characters made and what they learned from those mistakes (and hopefully, learning to avoid what got them into those tough situations in the first place). Lots of people in the Bible made mistakes (and some phrases and stories in the Bible even seem to touch on risky *or risque* topics...) and yet there are many lessons we can still learn today. It's amazing the sorts of things that a book can do - the marks that they can leave on the world. It's that sort of revolution that I mentioned in that previous post - even the sort that start with a few disciples who wrote about amazing things that happened and caused many to turn away from teachings that were widely accepted as proper and in accordance with being obedient to God to follow the teachings of a carpenter. No wonder it's banned in so many places around the world.

IN and not OF this world (Thank God for Harry Potter)

Shame on me for trying to speak up in an opposing camp on this issue...

I stumbled across a blog the other day where they posted a story of an individual who was involved with witchcraft and sees the Harry Potter series as evil and a means to introduce the occult to young minds. For some strange reason, the chorus of approval in the comments gave me a bit of a sinking feeling. And then I felt a strong urge to respond:

Interesting post…
I think the line that hit me the most was the following: “Children are obsessed with the Harry Potter books that they have left television and video games to read these witchcraft manuals.”
From one who has read the Harry Potter books, I find this statement a bit confusing… I couldn’t help but wonder what’s so wrong about children getting away from TV and video games to read a book… especially considering what they are putting on TV these days!
One problem I see in the logic here is that the person who made this statement came from a background of already being involved with witchcraft - so of course her/his first reaction would be to recognize similar names or see a reflection of what s/he already knows so well…. Most kids are not going to know of these references, many which are actually names from all sorts of literature and myths - and not necessarily having anything to do with witchcraft. I mean, no one thought it was a bad thing to teach my 4th and 5th grade class Greek and Roman mythologies when we were learning about those ancient cultures… and I don’t know a single person from my class that is now going around believing that Zeus is god.
So what’s wrong with Harry Potter? I think it’s going to cause a revolution in reading. And who’s to say that’s a bad thing?

Needless to say, my post was soon followed by comments from a series of individuals who will be praying for my soul until Kingdom come. At least the original blogger had the courtesy to explain a bit of their personal viewpoint - they themselves had dabbled in witchcraft when they were younger and saw the HP series as something that would cause them to stumble as a follower of Christ. Alright, so they didn't say that outright, but that was the impression I got. But just to calm the fears of some of the other posters, I followed up:

Thank you for sharing your own personal story, and I thank God you were guided away from the occult. I suppose it is difficult for me to understand how some people make the jump from make believe to finding aspects of it in the real world, especially when I grew up in a loving Christian home where we would sit down as a family and read stories like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, and JRR Tolkien’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, all of which take place in magical worlds, but tell stories with good morals.

Hearing your story only confirms an idea that I’ve had on children’s literature in general: that it is important for parents to read to their children and get involved in discussions with their children when they read stories that might bring up tough questions. If parents can guide their children to understand the difference between what follows God’s plan and what may not be God’s will for them, then they will not stray from that knowledge when they are older. (Proverbs 22:6) As you spend time with your children, you may discover that they DO know the difference, and then you can decide if they are prepared to handle more difficult topics or stories to prepare them for the things that the secular world will show them. They can be the ones who are lights in dark places by sharing Christ’s love to their non-Christian friends, all because they may have read the same stories growing up.

I hope that you continue to fight the good fight and keep our changing world in your thoughts and prayers.

I probably won't post again, as I've noticed a continuation of the worrying about what I might be risking by sharing this with my [future] children. And I think what I read explains my gut sinking feeling - "we will only read, view and talk about the Lord…for that is all they need to know." - as much as I hope for my family to know the Lord and know the Word well enough to stand up for what is right and defend themselves from evil, I know from my own experiences that solely a knowledge of the Bible is not enough when faced with people who believe just as strongly that it is completely fiction. If you are going to be "in" the world and trying to reach to them and share Jesus to them, you've got to be able to speak the language. This does not mean that you become a part "of" the world as in worshiping the gods they serve. If you completely isolate yourself from the world and don't find a way to stay connected to the "unreached" part of the world, then you risk becoming a cult. (There, I said it.)

In other words, it is completely alright to dislike elements of today's secular world and culture and not participate in them - I have no problem with people who choose not to read Harry Potter because they're worried about the themes of magic and fantasy and how they may respond to that. I myself don't like to read romance novels, and am hesitant to watch most movies with sexual themes, because I know that I can start down a path that is not healthy for me in my walk with God and causes me to dwell too much on what I want in my future rather than wait for His plan to unfold. I have several friends who won't touch alcohol (even though they are of age) because they have a family history of alcoholics and don't want to take that risk.

But what it all comes down to is not so much a matter of what you are risking by stepping outside your door and mingling with the secular world, but what you are gaining by developing relationships with those who may never see the inside of a church building - but they have met you, who, although human, is doing their absolute best to show Christ's love to them.

Paul says what I want to say even better: (1 Corinthians 10, The Message Bible)
23-24Looking at it one way, you could say, "Anything goes. Because of God's immense generosity and grace, we don't have to dissect and scrutinize every action to see if it will pass muster." But the point is not to just get by. We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well.
25-28With that as a base to work from, common sense can take you the rest of the way. Eat anything sold at the butcher shop, for instance; you don't have to run an "idolatry test" on every item. "The earth," after all, "is God's, and everything in it." That "everything" certainly includes the leg of lamb in the butcher shop. If a nonbeliever invites you to dinner and you feel like going, go ahead and enjoy yourself; eat everything placed before you. It would be both bad manners and bad spirituality to cross-examine your host on the ethical purity of each course as it is served. On the other hand, if he goes out of his way to tell you that this or that was sacrificed to god or goddess so-and-so, you should pass. Even though you may be indifferent as to where it came from, he isn't, and you don't want to send mixed messages to him about who you are worshiping.
29-30But, except for these special cases, I'm not going to walk around on eggshells worrying about what small-minded people might say; I'm going to stride free and easy, knowing what our large-minded Master has already said. If I eat what is served to me, grateful to God for what is on the table, how can I worry about what someone will say? I thanked God for it and he blessed it!
31-33So eat your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you—you're eating to God's glory, after all, not to please them. As a matter of fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God's glory. At the same time, don't be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren't as free as you are. I try my best to be considerate of everyone's feelings in all these matters; I hope you will be, too.

Eating with sinners and tax collectors? Being invited over to a non-believer's house for dinner? Developing a friendship with a stranger all because you both read Harry Potter? Why shouldn't God bless these things?