Well, friends, I have to apologize that I haven't been here in a while, and I have let things get backed up that we need to talk about. We haven't had time to talk over the Holidays, and I need to rectify that tonight with a short, or long, little entry that comes from my heart to your ears (well eyes, but who's going to be that
We all know that Christmas happened last month, and being that I am half neurotic and half pessimistic, you know that it wasn't that much fun. We had the usual get togethers here and there. We always start Christmas Eve out at my aunt's house. We wont call her name, because I can't say Louise on the Internet. We pretty much do the same thing there over and over, year after year. It's the same menu... they never spice it up. I keep voting for hot wings or pizza but it never happens. I mean, I know they're family and I love them, but would it hurt them to tap a Christmas keg?
We also always sing the "12 Days of Christmas" song. Fortunately, last year we got reprieve since my dad had passed away a few months before. I got the out (they thought it would make us grieve harder) and we took it to skip the song. My uncle really enjoys it, but the rest of us use it as a point to laugh and make fun of each other. It's one of those traditions you will remember through the years, mainly because you're glad it's gone. After that we do the old gift switch-a-roo and then go home. If you're lucky, you can get out without the ever traditional round of photos... but that usually doesn't happen. This year, and partly to be mean, I carried my big camera with the huge flash and blinded everyone.
Christmas morning we went to Evelyn's family to watch our nieces open what Santa brought. The big guy must have spent half the night there unloading, 'cause there was a pletheter of presents skirting the living room. I believe it took them hours to get through it all, and we had enough scrap paper to fill the bed of the truck. No kidding. I won't say much about them (let her bragg on her own family) but they do make mine look more and more normal.
People keep asking me (and Evelyn) when we are going to have kids. I told someone over Christmas that I didn't know as I had never even seen her naked. She believed me. We've been married for over two years now, and I have to say that some of my fondest memories of my wife thus far involve her being naked, but that's not the point. And I'm sure the person still believes what I told her. I really get frustrated with people asking when we're going to have kids, because I know we will have them, when we're ready and when God is ready for us to have them. Not before. I'm still too big of a kid myself, and still need a little bit of freedom. We're not getting fixed, nixing kids all together or putting the subject off. We're just doing it in our time frame. And for all of the people that think we need one, should have one now, and don't understand why we aren't just pining away at our barren hearts, get a life and butt out.
Finally for tonight, because most people have already stopped reading because they've been insulted, I want to talk about organized religion. I was raised in a Southern Baptist Church. I went to one until about 2 years ago and I frankly got tired of a lot of the games and gimmicks they have going on. I know there are a lot of very good, very Christian SB people, but that's the problem. Most of them only believe half of the Bible. They believe Jesus died for our sins, but think He made non-alcholoic wine. They believe David was a man after God's heart, but don't like to admit he danced. They believe Jesus was great but forget He spent most of his timer ministering to the undesirable crowd.
Think about this if you will. If Jesus were here today, in South Carolina, where would he be at? Most Christians want to think he would be on the front row of their church, or bathed and pristine with blonde hair and blue eyes. They don't want to admit their Jesus was a poor Son of a carpenter, who wore workmans clothes, was not the cleanest person in the world, and beared more resemblance to what we would inacurately call a terrorist than the Fabio verion they have in their mind. Would we stop Jesus in an airport security line because of his dark olive skin, dark hair and eyes, and the clothing he would have on? Yeah, we're that stupid. But here's why. We were all taught some things from birth, that are wrong. Be believe that God spoke in the language of Old England, with thou's and thee's and He didn't. As a matter of a fact, some are so hung up on it, they pray with thou's and thee's. Here's a bulletin, if you don't talk to your mama like that, don't pester God with all that. He can hear you just like you are, and he doesn't like it when you try to put on.
Jesus would be over at Platinum Plus, over off Green Avenue, down by the railroad tracks, at the Downtown Mission, in a bar, walking the streets. He would be with the people that so many think they are too good to be around. How blind they are. We judge by what someone looks like, what they have and what they do. God tells us to love the sinner but not to love their sin. Why don't we listen to that and do it? How many Christians would faint when they saw Jesus over at Platinum? 95% of them I bet.
I think we should quit focusing so much on our denomination and focus more on being a Christian. It's a sad world for the church when people who are out of church see more in line with the true essensces of the Bible than faithful servants. The problem is they have too much self pride and glory in the service and have forgotten the most important part of what Jesus taught us... humility.
Next time you're talking to one of those Holy rollin', do goodin' people, remember what ole Strick said here and whats true and what you know. Maybe you need to pray for them more than they need to pray for you... cause who is really off track with God?
