busy busy week

OK -- too much stuff going on this week to take time to write out complete sentances so here you go...

Friday - Made it to the Y again!! Yeah, that made 3 times this week!! Grocery shopping with Anika and Liv - picked up kids at school - had Thor's friend Devin over until supper (burgers and veggies) - went to Vixie's B&B for the Dove Ladies Sleep Over (why do they call it a sleep over when no one sleeps?) - got home at 2 a.m. (why didn't I just "sleep" there?)

Saturday - tried to sleep in, but baby insisted on breakfast at 6 a.m. - tried to go back to sleep but kids instisted on breakfast at 7 a.m. -- tried to go back to sleep but hubby insisted I shower while baby napped - tried to go back to sleep but made waffles for families lunch instead - gave up trying to nap and went to town to do errands - 'window shopping" for a new ATV (I know what I want!!)

Sunday - Set up at Dove for Kids worship - Sunday Worship - Dinner at Dove hosted by the DCC Youth Group (great spaghetti dinner! and ice cream sundae's for dessert!!) - now I REALLY wanted a Nap!! I can't remember if I got one or not - watched Home Makeover 2 hr special (really good!) - planned my week on my calendar, weekly menues and shopping lists - went to bed!!

Monday - needed to make phone calls for MOPS to confirm with groups in ND if they are coming to the Council meeting on Saturday... shopped for the MOPS fundraiser (cooking class I am teaching) at Walmart... tried to get to YMCA, but ran out of time... watched "Carrier" on PBS about the US Navy (very well done!).

Tuesday - taught a MOPS Cooking class (lots of fun, turned out great!) - got lunch for the girls at McD's - went to Sioux Park to enjoy the wonderful (HOT) summer/spring day - took kids to Y and got to work out!! (yeah, burned off 345 calories!) Made Japanese Beef (sukiyaki) for the family and my mom and dad - got the kids to bed (mostly on time) and spent the rest of the evening on the computer with email, MOPS homework and "blogging" (still here....)

I just have to add one more thought before I go to bed tonight...
I am so VERY tired of people reading forwarded emails and believing them as credible sources of information! I cannot tell you how many people have sent me the "Obama" and "Oprah" forwards claiming all sorts of crazy exaggerated half-truthes.... I'm not saying I believe the emails are completely wrong... I'm just very tired of people reading the email, sending it on to everyone they know... and repeating the information like they just saw it happen in person!!

Don't these people understand the whole reason these stories are circulated over the email is becuase there is no way to prove them right... or wrong?? Snopes.com does help... but I've found my first reaction is to go to the source... It reminds me of the time when I was in Jr. High. A very well meaning neighbor and mother in our congregation read from a paper about a "conspiracy" in the Proctor and Gamble company to get rid of anything Christian in thier company. She read it during the usual "call for prayer requests" during our Sunday AM worship service. Goes to show how passionate she was -- and seriously concerned. There were quotes from the Phil Donahue show (shows you how old this was)... and "proof" from the labels of P/G products that had a symbol of a moon and stars "proving" that they were an anti-Christan company. P/G products did indeed have that symbol... so we all started to belive it completely... we were all encouraged to immediately ban all P/G products.

Someone wrote or called the Phil D. show asking for a transcript of the show, so they could have further "proof" of this abomination... The Phil D. show claimed there was never a show where a P/G President was the guest, or even made a comment on a show of a different topic. At the time, many people thought the Phil D show was "in" on the conspiracy to "cover it up."

Not too long ago I got an email telling the exact same story about the P/G company, though they had updated some of the "facts." I think the President was now a CEO, and was supposed to have been quoted on the Good Morning America (or Today or ??). Frankly, I've gotten to the point, that if my incoming emial hasn't been personally written by the person sending it, I delete it without question, without guilt. I have no time for "cutsie little stories"... and I certainly don't believe any of the crazy "Stella Award" stories for stupid lawsuits (also easily researched to be falsified stories).... But here are a couple of crazy stories that are supposedly true... and are backed up at Snopes.com.

• A man sued his doctor because he survived his cancer longer than the doctor predicted.

• Two robbers were in the process of their crime when one changed his mind and arrested the other.

• A woman had her husband's ashes made into an egg timer when he died so he could still "help" in the kitchen.

• Only 68 of 200 Anglican priests polled could name all Ten Commandments, but half said they believed in space aliens.

Personally the only one I'm inclinded to believe is the last one... but who knows?

Montana...

This is a slight plagerism (is that spelled right?) from my friends post... from her blog... but I know so many of our family will get a kick out of hearing the story... that I don't mind copying... Plus I'm tired of thinking and hearing about Oprah.

So anyway -- on Friday we were at Safeway getting our groceries for the week. We round the corner into the "natural food" isle to see our good friends right in front of us. C and her two boys attend MOPS with me.. and her oldest son is in Anika's class. We also frequent the Y together, so we see each other a few times a week. I knew her family was getting ready for a long-ish trip to Montana to spend time with family in the next few days... so the topic immediately came up.

C's oldest son runs right up to Anika (by the way, you should probably know she is dressed in a purple satin Chiniese-type formal dress, with tight and dress shoes, holding her doll who has a matching outfit (birthday present....). So she is very excited to tell EVERYONE she meets that it was her birthday THAT day! She is an ACTUAL FIVE today (since at her party the weekend before, we mentioned that she wasn't "actually" 5 yet, but would be in a few days).

OK - back to the point... So C's son comes up to Anika very excited to share that he is leaving soon, and going to Montana. Anika replies "Hannah Montana? I LOVE Hannah Montanta!!" They were mutually happy for each other, so I figured it wasn't worth explaining anything to either of them!!

Have a great trip C and family!

Oprah... is she Christian or Anti-christian?

Today I watched my recording (dvr) of the O show from yesterday -- a mixture of guests who commented on what the New Earth book and class has d0ne to change thier lives. VERY INTERESTING!!

One of the first things Oprah discussed was the fact that the New Earth is being presented as a new religion, or a new doctrine. She claims "no"... rather emphatically. She had an 'expert' on spirituality give the definition and comparison of:


Spirituality: the longing for, and understanding of something beyond our physical bodies and physical earth... a greater purpose to life... the existence of something beyond this life... a god-like figure.

and

Religion: the practice of living out a persons beliefs in a diety and how that affects (or doesn't) particular areas of a person's life.

Oprah and her expert guest both comment that this book - New Earth - was meant to help a person in their exploration of spirituality and living out (their chosen) religion... comparing the book to "sugar" in a cup of tea. The presence of honey or sugar in the tea doesn't change the chemical makeup or reality of the tea... it just makes it easier to enjoy. That it wouldn' matter what kind of tea you chose... the sugar would go with all of them (Christian, Muslim, etc.)

Later in the show another guest who was Catholic (Christian) shared how reading the book helped her to get deeper meaning in the person of Jesus Christ. That previously in her life she thought Jesus' purpose on this earth was to come and die on the cross... but now she realizes that Jesus purpose was to show each of us how to live in a Christ consciousness... how to BE... how to do it... that a Christ Consciousness abides in all of us.

During this woman's comments, Oprah is conversing with her and also adds that she is a Christian... that she believes in Jesus ... that He died on a cross ... Oprah explained that she had previously begun to understand that Jesus purpose was also in living and showing us how.

So -- what do I think? It's certainly not a commentary on the whole book - since I haven't read it yet. But I do understand how this would raise serious issues for Christians ... and cause us to feel like we need to defend our faith.

Here are a few other points from the show that are obviously major points in the book:
- the Ego, in each one of us, is negative and must be diminished for us to be able to live healthy (not selfish) lives... and shows up in many ways we wouldn't expect... conciously and unconsciously

- when we live in the past (worry, regret) or the future (fear of unknown, obsessing over what to do) or let our minds go to anything that isn't "being present in the now" we are missing the most important gift of life.

- the only thing we have control over is the "now" if we let our minds go to any other place than "now" we are going unconscious.... and not using the power we have to make our "now" the best that it can be

-we only have power to change things in ourselves. If we spend anytime playing "roles" and trying to influence or "parent" or cause change in someone else... we are loosing out on OUR "now"... and the chance to change things for ourselves...

-parents have a responsibility to be PRESENT for their children... the influence of a parent changes according to the needs of the child. (didn't comment a lot on this area... I'm curious what else the author says).

This is getting longer than I thought!!

I had a very good friend who is a Christian psychologist. She commented that she believed all truth is God's Truth... that different elements of God's Truthes are recognized by all of creation... therefore they will come out in different ways... some from a Christian source... some from non-Christian sources. It doesn't mean that if something comes from a non-Christian source, it is automatically wrong.

I also have a personal issues with our modern American Christian "clique"... that sometimes we get so concerned with something being EVIL becuase it is not Christian... and we push out all the people who are not in our "club" becuase we flattly declare something "wrong" when we haven't even taken the time to research and find out the facts.



I have two examples that come to mind...
- Left Behind Books: do you know how many Christians do NOT like the "doctrines" that are "taught" in these books of FICTION! Personally, I've enjoyed every book... they are great illustrations for me... what Revelations COULD look like if it were to play out today.... But many people feel like the authors were trying to "teach" too much... and Christians LOVE to disagree about our particular denominational differences. We Christians were so busy fighting with each other we might have missed what good was capable from the books.


-Star Wars: I remember growing up in the first Star Wars era. So many of my parents friends were convinced that Star Wars movies were the "anti-christ." We were to shun all things Star Wars... there could be nothing good that came out of the Star Wars movies or toys becuase the author obviouly did not believe in God... the central diety was "the Force."

Now that Dirk and I have seen (all 6) movies... we kind of wonder what all the fuss was about? To us they were allegorical... not unlike the Lord of the Rings books/movies... CS Lewis, etc. I know there is a lot out there that is more supportive of a Christian World View in the writtings of Lewis and Tolkien.

OK -- so back to my point with Oprah...

I'm certainly not saying I think the book is totally wonderful.... that is it somehow "Chrisitan." I think the book would be very dangerous for people not grounded in their Christian faith... becuase I do sense a lack of strong definition in Christ as our ONLY Salvation. The book is written from the perspective that each person has to decide which "religion" is right for them.... and I cannot go along with that... I do believe that Jesus is the ONLY way to God... through His shed Blood on the cross.

If a person can allow themselves to get beyond that point (and I understand why some people could not... that is OK with me).... Most of the rest of what I have seen I think does agree with many Truthes that God has tried to show us through the Word...

Christs MAIN purpse was to die on the cross.... but if we live every day of our life, only to be certain that we are going to heaven, and don't live in VICTORY with Christ every day?? are we really living as Christ lived? Phillipians tells us that we are to have the mind of Christ... so I can agree with that part of Oprah's point. (as long as she doesn't deny the MAIN purpse was His death and resurrection... that point was never specifically asked).


He tells us to know worry about tomorrow (live in the now??)... He cares for the sparrows and the lilies of the field, will he not more so - care for us?

When we come into NEW life with him, we must leave our old nature behind (I see as a form of the Ego)...

The Bible tells us to take the plank out of our own eye before removing the speck from someone else.... not unlike the point E. Tolle makes with not living to control others around us (husbands, wives, grown kids, etc.)

I guess this just confirms to me that people are hurting... and looking for help anywhere they can get it. If "New Earth" is reaching this many people, where have we Christians been ... we haven't been doing a great job of spreading the news of Christ who gives REAL FREEDOM... Nor have we done a good enough job of discipling people... I truely believe that if a person studied the Bible and immersed themselves in God's Word and through prayer... they would not be seeking... except at the Throne of God.