A New Year and an idea to try

Well from my previous post, I wrote out my frustrations. Michael challenged me to start thinking of things I could do to let the family know that I don't hate them, which I don't. I thought of maybe having a newsletter that I could email every month with some pictures and stuff. Just as a start.

Speaking of pictures, here are some adorable ones of Noah. In this one he had put his leg into the pantleg and then he put his other leg into the same side and then tried to walk. It was so funny! 

 In this one, he was helping Daddy with the laundry!

I have lots more that I need to post, but I probably should go for now as I want to read a little bit before going to bed. Ta-ta for now!

Why Doesn't Anyone Jut Get It?!

Well today is officially the first day of 2011 and already I don't have a good feeling about the year.

I recently found out that my extended family thinks that I hate them which isn't true. Let me give you a bit of background info. Growing up I was very often picked on. I learned to keep myself from being picked on by not letting myself go into a situation which would leave the door wide open for it. I remember in high school I was getting picked on by a kid in my grade. He would often jokingly ask me out and stuff like that. I was very embarrassed being near him because of the things he would say. I got to where I would notice where he was in the halls and go a different way so that people wouldn't laugh at me when he would make his comments. Now tell me. How is that wrong? At home, I would go to my room because it seemed to be the safest place. There was no one there to make fun of me or tell me I wasn't good enough or tell me that I was doing this wrong or that wrong.

I guess its the same way now. I "avoid" the family. Not because I don't like them or don't want to be around them. Its because I don't want to be hurt and if being around them carries a higher risk of being hurt, then home is the safest place for me. Not only that, but I don't like to offend people. I seem to offend the family no matter what I do. If I have a childrearing opinion they don't like, I offend them. If I say I don't like a particular song on the radio that they love, I offend them. I try to take a stand on something the Bible teaches, I offend them. So if I don't want to offend them, then the best place for me is home. Now tell me, how is that wrong?

Remember the old saying "if you cant say something nice then don't say anything at all?" Well I think that goes both ways. I stay away from the family because I don't want to risk getting hurt but say I do go to a get together and something is said/done that hurts or offends me? Why is it that if I say/do something that offends then I hear about it very quickly but if something is said/done that offends me, I have to live with it? If I try to defend myself, I am quickly "put in my place" so to speak. And if I dare defend myself, I have to apologize. Why wont anyone apologize to me? I have been wronged many times and so far no one cares.

This goes for anyone, not just family. My own family included. I even had to put a privacy setting on my Facebook so no one except myself can post on my wall. I didn't do it to pick on anyone. I did it because I was sick and tired of people, friend AND family both, putting comments on my wall that would slam me or make fun of me. It was to the point I couldn't put anything on my wall without someone making a smart alecky comment. So now no one can post on my wall.

For once I wish that people would like me and accept me for me. Many may think my mom didn't raise me right but I think she did a pretty darn good job. She taught me to be respectful of others feelings. Why do you think I try so hard not to offend people. People think I am weak because I "don't stick up for myself" well I guess this is my way of sticking up for myself only its also a way in which others will be less hurt too. So be grateful.

Whats up with that?!?!?!?!

So I went on the library website today to renew some books I have checked out and one of them would not allow me to renew the checkout because its on hold for someone else. Please explain to me how this is fair when I had a previous book on hold and when I checked the library catalog, it said the book was on shelf. I then placed it on hold and went down to the library to get it. I couldn't find it. I asked and they looked it up to discover that someone had checked it out just minutes before. So how is it fair that it wont let me renew because someone else has it on hold but the library can let someone else check out a book from the actual library when I have it on hold? There is no way I will pay a late fine for having the book back "late" when the library totally screwed me over. I don't think so.

I Got a New Bible!!!!

So I was out with a friend the other day and we decided to go to the local Bible bookstore. I like looking around there and I just happened to find myself a nice sized Bible. Its a Life Application Study Bible only its a Student LASB. Its also an NLT. I know, I was raised KJV and before I start getting comments on "KJV is the closest to the originals" I must first ask you this question: Did the apostle Paul use the KJV? I highly doubt it. Not only that but I was doing my own little bit of research and study and found that the same Greek text that was used to translate some other translations was the same Greek text that was used to translate the KJV. Oh and if any of you are insistent on KJV, make sure you use the 1611 version because that was the original and the revisions that we have now are worded "so that we can understand what is being said." Ok I am on my soapbox again. I will try to get off of it.

Anyway, I am really excited about my new Bible and I am looking forward to reading out of it. I am also excited over the fact that I can help Trent understand the Bible better. I know that with his difficulty with reading he can't understand the KJ so this will definitely help. Now I am not saying to make a 100% switch. I am just saying to don't be afraid of using other translations so that you yourself can gain a better understanding.

Just today, I have read 5 chapters in Hosea and the first chapter of John. Wow! What an amazing difference. I find I am coming to a better understanding of God's Word than I had before and I am actually looking forward to reading it more! I guess now I understand why I had such trouble reading through my KJ. I often felt like I was sitting through my 12th grade English literature class. The language style is the same and I often found myself trying to interpret.

Well I am off to do some more reading and I hope to get some pictures posted soon!

Yes, I know....

So its been forever since I last posted and I will try to write some more tomorrow. Not much has happened. Got my job back over the summer. I got a new computer and absolutely LOVE it.

Noah turned a year old. I have pics of him that I have to put up. They are too cute!

Its late and I am going to bed and I am going to update tomorrow. I promise!

Issues with Legalism....

I have been burdened by things out there that many Baptist churches, mainly the independent fundamental churches recommend, and some require, their members to take part in. I myself grew up in a church where listening to rock music was wrong, girls couldn't wear pants or shorts, we could only use the KJV Bible, and a few more "odd" rules.
I am not exactly sure why I have been thinking about this in the last few days. I think much of it is because I have been looking at myself and asking, "are you serving God doing this or doing that?" I decided to investigate what legalism is. In a basic sense, legalism is following a law. To get the main definition, click here. There are blogs and articles out there on how "bad" IFB churches are, but the one author in particular that I am speaking of failed to mention that instead of focusing on what these other churches are doing, we need to be focusing on ourselves and follow God's leading. I read his page and I do agree that in some areas he was correct but I do think he went a tad bit to far.
My question is where do IFB churches get their basis for some of their standards? That's what I looked into. Lets start with Bible translation. I grew up in churches that were and still are KJV only or King James Version only. I had always wondered why. What is their reasoning? I was always told "its the closest to the original Greek and Hebrew texts." Ok. I can understand that but what about those who translated it? how knowledgeable were they with Greek and Hebrew? Did King James himself choose these translators because they knew Greek and Hebrew or did he choose them because "they were the best in the business"? While searching, I found a site called www.Bible.org, and I checked out their statement of faith. Green light there. I found some articles that were a series of lectures given at Lancaster Baptist College. There are 4 parts to the series called The History of the English Bible. Although I would love to make my points on here, I urge you to read the series yourself as my explanation here would take a lot of copying and pasting and quoting sources. Inserting hyperlinks is much easier. Now I am not trying to convince you to "switch versions." That is not the case at all! My main concern is that no version is "the closest" to the original due to different cultural as well as language barriers, after all, you can say something in French but if you wanted to translate something in English to French, you are not going to get an exact word for word translation. Not only that but back in Bible times, the language was "primitive" as in one word could have several different meanings and words that we have today (some of which are used in the KJV) there aren't even Greek and Hebrew words for! My advice is to not be afraid to take of the veil and to be open to reading and learning from other translations. I personally like NASB and NKJV. I still use KJV. In fact, its what I use in church and in my own Bible reading. If there is something that I don't understand, I am not opposed to opening up a different translation to read the verse. Maybe I will use two or three more translations. Then I go back to the KJV and re-read. Now I know people may try to use the Bible verse that tells us that God is not the author of confusion but of peace but I personally think that those who try to use that reasoning are doubting God's power. Why? Because my own experience tells me that because I went to the Lord and prayed for His help in understanding, He has helped me to understand. Now when I hear another translation being read from the one I am looking at, I don't get confused. I understand and I know that it is God's power that has helped me to do that. Another thing too, is that because I have "let down the wall" that prevented me from fully being able to enjoy God's Word, I have had a few people from my church tell me how blessed they are to see how God has worked in my life. I ask how they know this. They tell me that by my questions, they see God working in me. Isn't that a comfort and a blessing? Onto the next topic, women's clothing.
All while growing up I was told that I couldn't wear jeans because it was men's clothing and "God says women are not to wear men's clothing." Ok. That made sense. As I got older, and I saw people I knew, even people from my own family and church, wearing jeans or pants, I started to question this. Then there was the fact that I could find jeans in the girls/women's section of the shopping malls and other stores. If it was "men's" clothing, then why was it found among women's clothing. I started looking for answers. First, I want to share an article I found online that looks at what the Bible has to say about this. The article is called That Which Pertaineth and takes a look at Dueteronomy 22:5. What I found was truly interesting. The author takes the word pertaineth from the KJV and states the Hebrew word, keily, means an article or a vessel/utensil. Then they look at the word man and the Hebrew word for man that is used in this verse is 'geber' which means man or strong man/warrior. So if this verse forbids women to wear what pertaineth to a man, this verse is really talking about forbiding women to wear the gear of a warrior. Interesting. Now this article also explains that there is another word in Hebrew that also means man but it means man in the sense of 'male' as in not female. The article points out that Moses was targeting a specific kind of man in verse 5. Not a farmer, or doctor, but a warrior. I would love to explain this more, but the article says it so well you will just have to read it. Now I am not saying that those who do wear skirts and dresses only should wear jeans because the verse here is not stating women can't wear jeans. After all, the New Testament speaks about women dressing modestly and I can agree that many of the clothes made today including jeans really arent that modest. I mean, if a girl wears "skinny jeans" they may as well wear dark blue paint on their legs because this particular style of jeans are so tight. The New Testament (forgive me for not knowing the reference right off hand) also speaks about men lusting after women and in doing so are committing adultery in their hearts. So in defense of women wearing dresses and skirts only, this does decrease the amount of looking that men will do, unless the girl in question wears a very short dress or a skirt that is missing quite a bit of length. Wearing dresses and skirts of appropriate length and size (meaning not too tight as to draw the eye) is modest apparel but keep in mind that pants and jeans as long as they are not too tight and are very casual in appearance are modest too. Especially since the jeans cover more leg than a knee length skirt will. Another thing to consider is that in Bible times, their choices of clothing were very slim. Both men and women pretty much wore clothing that had very little to no distinction as to if it were for men or women so it would make sense that how a person acted had a lot to do with it. For example, a woman wearing jeans and a t-shirt and acting like a man. And the last thing to consider is the ministry that people are in. For example, a pastor's wife may wear pants at home but not out in public because she wants to portray a more ladylike appearance. Of course it goes a bit deeper than that and there are more reasons but I am going to leave it at that for now. Within the next week or so, I am going to talk about rock music or more specifically contemporary 'Christian' music and what the Bible has to say about that.
Please take a moment to read the articles that you find the links to above. Read with an open mind and also pray about what the Lord wants you to learn. Cast all previous opinions and beliefs aside.

On Rocks...

They are pretty. Some of them. But something that happened to me a few years ago made me want to put trust in them. Yes. I had officially lost it. Thank the Lord, He pulled me out before I could go under and as I reflected back on that, I am totally amazed at how much I was ready to put my trust in the "healing power" of something that had no power. It was created. It was a decoration. It was a paperweight. It was a rock! A pretty colored rock more commonly known as a crystal or a mineral rock.
I had been having pain in my knee and I was told that a green crystal/mineral called malachite had the "power" to heal my knee. I got a ring from a craft show that had some malachite in it as the stone and I started wearing it and oddly enough my knee stopped hurting and swelling. I was having bad dreams so I got a piece of amethyst and put it under my pillow. The dreams went away. I started looking for information on the internet on meditation and relaxation and stuff like that. Once I did, I started feeling very weird. Almost like I was being watched. Long story and a few really good sermons later, I realized that God, the Creator of all things, was the only one who could heal. I stopped wearing the ring and I took the amethyst from under my pillow. My bad dreams went away and my knee didn't hurt or swell. I have learned from this experience that to want something like a rock to put faith in to heal was a reflection on just how little faith I really had. How can someone, anyone, not have faith in God to heal but can have faith in a rock that just sits there doing nothing but looking pretty? I guess that is how Satan works. He does not want people to believe in God so he used God's own creation to draw a person's faith in God away.
I am so thankful that I am a child of God. If I had not been a child of God, He would not have spoken to me and protected me from what could have amounted to be a very dangerous situation. As He says in His word, "My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me."