Lillington Photo Correction

Ok, so the picture in People magazine was probably taken at Ft. Bragg, but the girl is from Lillington. That's still cool- and random for a national magazine.

Christmas and a Car

Christmas was really good. We had a small gathering and for the first time my brother wasn't here, since he was with his fiance's family in Tennessee. However, my family and I had a good time. We opened presents in the morning, had dinner in late afternoon, and after the others left, my parents and I watched some Christmas movies on TV. Late that night we sang Happy Birthday and had cake for my mom. Get this: My mom was born on Christmas and her maiden name is Gabriel. Fun, eh?

And of course there was the Christmas Eve service at my church. For a long time the Christmas Eve service has been one of my favorite parts of Christmas.

Gifts this year were light; nobody spend enormous amounts of money on anyone. And you know what? I like it that way. Buying expensive presents seems like a necessity until you just don't do it.

I am maturing in my understanding of Christmas. I have long since known it's about Jesus Christ's birth, but I've almost always tried to also buy the best gifts I could. Not doing that this year did make a difference in how I saw Christmas, and you know what? It's liberating. I feel that God is thinking, "I know that! I've known that forever! I am all about liberation! If you guys would stop being so materialistic, you'd experience more of that freedom!"

I know this may seem somewhat hypocritical since I just got done talking about simplicity, but my last car died and got junked and I had no transportation. I got a really great deal and bought a car. Nothing fancy, a basic 4-door (manual locks and windows even!) that will get me around. So, yea...my car troubles are over- except for those pesky payments! I now own a silver 2008 Chevy Aveo LS. I am so blessed to be able to have this car- trust me, I know this.

Well, I hope you all had a nice Christmas with family. Feel free to let me know how your Christmas was special.

Lillington in People Magazine

So, here's something that surprised me. While perusing through the Best and Worst of 2007 edition of People magazine, I came across a section of photos sent in by readers around the nation. One of the photos was taken in Lillington, NC! It is the picture of a soldier's wife welcoming her husband home. How great!

Goodbye, Sweet Cavalier

On Sunday morning my car died. Now my quaint little 2000 Chevy Cavalier has had a few problems in the past, but my family has found Chevys to be quite reliable. Still, my little four-door did not fair as well as others.

We actually got the car in late 1999 and it was a pretty big deal because the year 2000 was a pretty big deal. So having a 2000 in 1999 was pretty nifty.

But my first car did not live as long as most of our other cars. $100 and free towing is all my family gets for the car.

I am trying to see some positives. For instance, there was hardly any gas in the car when it died. I'm glad I hadn't filled it up that morning. And I will also be able to save on gas money.

True, it is kind of like being 14 again. I had to work at 8:30 but my dad had to work at 8:00 this morning, so I had to leave early. I love to drive and especially love driving back roads, but my trips to Cary must cease for the most part. Maybe, just maybe, I could borrow one of my parents' cars once or twice a month just to get to Barnes and Noble!

But for now I will spend more quality time with my parents as they drive me around and I am at home more evenings. I am determined to make the best of this.

I asked God to make my car fixable. Then I asked him to take care of my traveling needs. Then I asked him to make my car fixable. I even asked him to make my car fixable for under $100! He already knows my desires, so I just prayed them. So, maybe my car won't get fixed, but I'm pretty sure He'll meet my traveling needs.

May my parents and I not go crazy.

This Day in History

Today is my third college graduation anniversary. On December 18, 2004 I walked across the newly renovated D.Rich stage and got a piece of paper telling me where to pick up my diploma. What did I do that night? Why, what any college graduate would do: I went to see the Raleigh Ringers, a professional hand bell choir, with friends. (Might I add that I had a wonderful meal with my family earlier that afternoon.)

Two years ago today a friend and I went to Barnes and Noble to see the juggling Rabbi. He was amazing and told Hanukkah stories and did different juggling tricks.

And so, with such random events two years in a row, I declared December 18 'Random Day.' Except I didn't do anything random last year.....and I don't plan to do anything random today.

But my nickname is Random, so maybe that's enough.

Raindrops Keep Falling On........The Bell Peppers

So, I realize from my last post that I could sound like a fundamentalist. I'm sure if you go a few posts back to my views on the North Carolina Baptist State Convention and their policy regarding homosexuals, you'll see that I'm actually a moderate. Oh yea, then there's the fact that I'm a woman going into ministry. It's just that, we can have different views than someone in regards to theology or other matters and still say something when there's hypocrisy against that person.

Moving on, I went to one of the Ft. Bragg Commissaries with my mom the other day for some good family grocery shopping. I must say, the produce section was the highlight of the trip. As mom looked for appropriate vegetables I heard thunder. "What's that?" I asked mom. She told me it was going to rain...on the produce.

Sure enough, I soon discovered the misting action of the sprayers above the fruits and veggies. Every few minutes the sound of thunder (and I think lightning cracking) sounded from the section to be sprayed, and was audible throughout the entire produce section.

Ah, sweet tax dollars at work. But to be honest, there's far worse things they could spend tax money on than produce alarms.

Pretending to Be Gay?

I've never been a "fan" of Jerry Falwell, but I thought I would give this topic some attention.

Years ago Falwell created quite a stir when he said one of the Teletubbies, a character on a children's television show, was gay. Critics laughed and basically said it's stupid to suggest such a thing, for a fictional character can not be gay.

Fast forward a few years and you get J.K. Rowling, author of the popular "Harry Potter" series, saying her character Dumbledore is gay. People responded with surprise, claiming things such as, "I didn't expect him to be gay!"

Seriously?

I don't care if she created the character. The argument was that a fictional character can't be gay. So why did the world throw stones at Falwell and accept Rowling for doing the same thing?

About That Strike

If you don't watch TV, I'm not impressed.

While some people honestly don' t desire to watch TV, other people will tell you with an air of pride that they don't have time for it. It's as if being too busy to watch TV is a prerequisite for being important.

Almost everybody knows about the recent Writer's Guild strike. Maybe you've even seen a picture of Eva Longoria serving the writers pizza (though I'd rather see a celebrity serving food to the hungry). As a result, many people have come out and said that they are glad for the strike because now people will do better things with their time.

Maybe it's just my broadcasting background, but I feel that just because I carve out an hour and a half a week to watch my two favorite television shows doesn't mean I'm wasting my time. And what about when I watch even more TV a week than that? Maybe I actually learn something from my HGTV real estate shows and specials on The History Channel.

Maybe I make time to watch TV because it's something I honestly enjoy. If I'm found shallow for watching a few programs, then oh well. Sure some people really do waste their time by watching numerous hours of television a day, but that doesn't mean that everyone who watches TV is giving in to laziness and gluttony. And maybe there is a lot of trash on TV, but that doesn't mean everyone who catches a show is watching that stuff. Besides, the strike isn't going to end the television viewing of over-zealous TV addicts. They're still going to catch the latest re-run or reality show.

So if you're looking to tell someone that you don't care about the writer's strike because you don't have time to watch TV, please don't brag to me.

Harnett County Thanksgiving

I never thought it could happen to me, and then it did: Thanksgiving in Erwin. Somewhere along the way of the last few years my relatives chose to leave the suburbs of D.C. for the pastures of Harnett County. Now my parents live in Lillington, my grandma in Angier, and my uncle's family in Erwin.

Life doesn't always make sense.

Last Thursday afternoon we pulled into the driveway of a quaint house on a quiet street. Could it be? Could Erwin actually look picturesque?

After dinner a few of us gathered on the front porch, while the rest watched football inside. We talked about my brother's upcoming wedding, the benefits of a simple life, and the way my Grandma can drive us crazy, even though we still love her.

As I gently swayed in my rocking chair, I thought about celebrities gathering around large banquet tables in extravagant houses. I felt like they were missing something.

Mom was right, I wouldn't be happy living in that neighborhood either. It was nice for a day, but the city beckons me come May. But I started to realize that Harnett County is more than tractors tying up traffic and redneck hunters shooting at fake deer. There are some interesting people here, and if I'm smart, I'll learn from them before my days in Harnett County are limited to the short visits home for more of these country holidays.

Christian Circles

I have always been critical of politics in the church. Maybe that's why I laughed when I saw the book, Roberts Rules of Orders for Dummies. There is a part of me that detests the rigid formality that often results in anger and splits. Yet, as I have been studying the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC) in divinity school, I cannot help but be involved in church politics.

This weekend I took my youth to Fort Caswell, the BSCNC's retreat center at the beach, for a youth weekend. My cynicism came along too.

After all the judgement, crookedness, and political games in Southern Baptist Life, I found it hard to believe that BSCNC leaders were telling our youth to minister to and love those considered the lowest of the low by the world. It seems Convention leaders can't even love fellow Christians like that.

We preach one thing, and practice another when it comes to political strategies. The BSCNC is alientating itself from groups and schools because of its desire to take over. The BSCNC kicks churches out of its fellowship if there are two or more persons that report that a BSCNC-member church has homosexual members.

Focusing on the latter point, I believe homosexuality is a sin. I also believe stealing people's money is a sin, but Jesus welcomed a tax collector into his group of disciples anyway. This group was comprised of the twelve men Jesus was closest to during his three years of ministry leading up to his death and resurrection. The BSCNC can't even let a homosexual be a member of a church, but Jesus called a tax collector to be one of his closest friends. Both are what many have termed, "lifestyle sins."

Ok, I know, Jesus didn't call Matthew to continue in his dishonesty. My point is, he called him to be a disciple, a "member" of his closest group, while Matthew was still a tax collector. As Matthew was a part of this group, he learned how to be more like Jesus.

So why can't we follow the example of Jesus? Why can't homosexual Christians join the church as they are and become more like Jesus, just as the rest of us are striving to do? Some claim that homosexuality isn't a sin, but I believe it is, even if those struggling with that sin don't name it as such. Even so, I believe a homosexual can be a Christian because I believe we still struggle with sin after giving our lives to Christ. So why regulate what sins church members may and may not struggle with? Jesus clearly did not give us that example.

Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (NIV) Christ died for us while we were still sinners, so why can't we accept Christians into our church who are still struggling with sin? Aren't all of us struggling with sin anyway?

But then I discovered my own hypocrisy. In all my finger pointing at the convention, I am failing to heed the second greatest commandment: love others as I love myself. No, I don't agree with all the theology and tactics of the SBC and BSCNC, but to view them as enemies is clearly not biblical either. There are names that come to mind of people whom I get angry with. These very people are still my brothers in Christ. All the theological viewpoints in the world couldn't change that fact.

I think there are still some great members of the Convention and I think there are great leaders at Caswell. If my kids are growing in Christ as a result of the work of the BSCNC, I'd be an idiot to keep them from it.

So my question now is, what are those of us who are moderate Baptists doing to love our fundamentalist brothers and sisters? Because if all we do is point fingers and judge them, we're kicking Christians out of our circles too.