A love-hate relationship

As some of you may know, I have participated in the Day of Silence for the past few years, protesting the hatred towards gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people. When I first did this, I was worried about what my friends from church would say when they discovered that I was standing up for those who, according to our beliefs, were sinners.

In the eyes of God, all sins are created equal with the exception of Mark 3:29 which states:

"But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

Any other sin can be forgiven but this one, and all other sins are at the same level. That means that if I go and steal, it is the same as being a practicing gay. Say though that I go, I have the temptation to steal, yet I resist the temptation and walk away, is that not the same as a person who realizes that they are gay, but chooses to not act upon it.

Why then do we go and treat those who are worse in our eyes differently from those who are the same in God's eyes.

Some people may disagree with me on my view on this subject. The Bible says that marriage is a union between a male and a female, a man and a woman, I do not believe that there is anything wrong with being gay, bisexual, or lesbian. I belive that what is wrong is practing being LGTB. This does not mean that I look down upon those who do practice. This is where I believe that people get confused, we are told to love one another as God loves us. I don't believe that we have the capacity in our hearts to love unconditionaly as Jesus has. I believe though that we should strive to be like Him everyday. I believe that by saying that their sin is so great, that they are worse than we are, that is not going to be what will bring them to God.

I dont know where I am going with this. I am way too emotional right now. More stuff on that in a later blog. I'm jumping all over the place right now and I dont think I make much sense.

A spill of mind

I don't know how to describe the emotions that I have felt today. I wonder if it is anger, sadness, a feeling of envy, joy, heart break, pity, loss as if someone has died. I do not know even to where these emotions are directed. Here are some verses I read today though. I'm not placing any input on them, just placing them here...for you to read. BTW..Just in case you wanted my opinion...the cd "the everglow" by mae is amazing. Thats what I am currently listening to.


24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man,
do not associate with one easily angered,
25 or you may learn his ways
and get yourself ensnared.

Proverbs 22:24-25

1 Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:
I saw the tears of the oppressed—
and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
and they have no comforter.

2 And I declared that the dead,
who had already died,
are happier than the living,
who are still alive.

3 But better than both
is he who has not yet been,
who has not seen the evil
that is done under the sun.

4 And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

5 The fool folds his hands
and ruins himself.

6 Better one handful with tranquillity
than two handfuls with toil
and chasing after the wind.

7 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

8 There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
"For whom am I toiling," he asked,
"and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?"
This too is meaningless—
a miserable business!

9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:1-12

6 "This is what the LORD says—
Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.

7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come—
yes, let him foretell what will come.

8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."

Isaiah 44:6-8

1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.

The World Hates the Disciples

18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.'^[b] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'^[c]

26"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

John 15

I will not fall

Lets go on down the road.
Lord only knows where we may go
The paths I take
Narrow though they may be
I'll be alright if You walk on here with me.

I will not fall
I will not fall
I will not fall if I'm with You
I will not fall
I will not fall
I will not fall if I'm with You

The roads of life are dark and gray.
You walk with me, I will not stray
Walk with me
Light up my day
My steps will follow just Your way.
Jesus walk with me I will not stray.

I will not fall
I will not fall
I will not fall if I'm with You
I will not fall
I will not fall
I will not fall if I'm with You

The grayscale of my life is gone
I sing to You and You alone
When I am with you the world is change
Light of the World, You bring full color to my day.

I will not fall
I will not fall
I will not fall if I'm with You
I will not fall
I will not fall
I will not fall if I'm with You

Good Morning My Daddy

Good morning My Daddy,
Thanks for watching over me last night.
I was a little scared at first,
But now everything is alright

Hello Daddy
What's up with you?
I loved spending time with you today.
Playing baseball in the park
Racing eachother on rollerskates.
You never left my side all day!
It was so cool to swing on the swings.
Thanks for pushing me so high.
Daddy, I know you are busy,
But thanks for spending time with me today
I was sad at times, but you were always there

Nobody's dad can do as much as You can Daddy!
You watch me grow and know my hurts and pains,
You chaperoned my first slow dance
You check the lips of the boys I kiss
Making sure that I dont kiss only toads
But will sometimes get a prince.
Daddy, everyday you paint the sky just for me
Letting me know that you are watching me
Saying that you love me

I know that you also have others
But everyday you are just with me
I dont know how you do it,
But you are always there

Every Sunday, You and I,
Go out for our Sunday drive
Always saying "be careful"
You let me have the wheel
People watch us while we are passing
They always get to see
Me hugging my Daddy
And my Daddy sending butterfly kisses towards me

Daddy you have also taught me,
About my amazing brother
Your precious perfect Son
To whom I'm the perfect Sister

Daddy I love you a ton,
You make this life right now
An easier occurance
Because of the times when you open your arms
And we flop down on the couch
Me and my Daddy, sharing our feelings,
Letting each other help

I love you My Daddy,
Love your perfect Daughter

I wrote this a few years ago. It is entitled Good Morning My Daddy.

Changes over time

I live around Sugar Land, on the outskirts of Houston. My neighborhood is filled with middle-class people who spend their time running about or on the golf course. I have my own vehicle which I constantly drive into Sugar Land for church. If you live about this area, you know of the constant construction, the many changes, and the knowledge that if you leave the area for even a few months, you will not recognize it when you return. It is the things like this, the new stores, offices, and other buildings that we see the most. To us, they seem to affect our lives. "If they don't build that new DQ on the road to my office, I dont know what I will eat for breakfast." or "Look! They just opened a new Wal-mart right next to us! Lets go shopping!"

In the world we live in today, it seems that we do not care as much for nature as our grandparent's generation did. We only approach the subject when the gas prices get to high, or milk is no longer 2 for $5. I must confess that I am guilty of that.

We have lived in our current house for over ten years now. As a child, the back yard was an exciting place. There was a swing set back there, one that we sold, that my brother and I played on constantly. We have a pool with diving board. We have a dog, and there is a ton of room , we could easily fit two more pools into our yard. It was the perfect yard for a child. As I got older, things began to change. I no longer went into the backyard. My summer was spent training, with any spare time I hung out with my friends.

The other morning, I went out to my backyard and I was shocked. One tree I used to be able to jump up and grab the branch, now, I couldnt reach the branch with a step ladder. Yet in my mind's eye, the tree was still an arm's length away. We havent cut our grass in a while, so our yard has a fluffy bed of weeds and monkey grass, the pool just sits there. The garden where my dad once grew tomatoes, eggplant, corn, strawberries, and beans is overgrown with weeds, no longer fertilized. I couldn't see how all this had happened. Where had the time gone.

This morning in church, my pastor talked about the epidemic of today. How it affects our lives, especially the lives of teenagers. We spend so much time online, facebook, myspace, Wii, movies, and reality tv, that many of us dont even have a hobby. We havent picked up our rollerblades from when we were kids. We play baseball with remote sensors and the only bike we ride, is the exercise bike at the gym. We have forgotten that a few years ago, we didnt have texting or internet. How did we become overcome in such a short time. Is this becoming an idol for us?
There are a group of boys that play almost daily in my cul-du-sac, they are out there for hours, poking at ants, playing football, and racing eachother around. My first response when they began was that if they hit my suburban, they were going to be in a whole lot of trouble. Then I thought, wow! how amazing is it that they have parents who encourage them to be outside, they are not watching tv, or on the computer, or playing video games. They are enjoying the world that God gave them.

I have a challenge for those of you who read this blog. I want you to connect with the past. Dust off your rollerblades and see if you can still stay up. Go into your backyard. Eat dinner with your family around the table with no tv on. Bring out a board game and play it through. Go swimming in the pool and enjoy what God has given you. Take the time to admire the beauty that is all around. It changes every day!