Glad I Am Not Like You

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 18: 10-14

 

Pharisees…we all have it in us at times. The Pharisees were the ultimate religious people among the Jews during Christ’s life on earth. They were determined not to break any of God’s laws. The essential problem lay in their different understanding of the nature of God. For the Pharisees, God is primarily one who makes demands. For them, the Scriptures of the Old Testament were a set of rules that must be kept at all costs. For Jesus, as well as the Old Testament believers, God is primarily “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Ps. 145:8).

This lesson from Scripture reminds me of my need for a Savior. Many times, I forget the cross and worry how holy and better I am than others. In my Mormon days, I use to marvel at my good deeds and would easily question those who were outside the Mormon faith. We need to be careful that we do not add our own man-made rules to the Scriptures. Some convictions that we hold dearly may be derived more from our particular Christian culture than derived from Scripture, and we need to learn to discern the differences. It is okay to have cultural convictions, but we should be careful that we do not elevate them to the same authority as Scripture. The reason for so much judgmentalism among Christians today occurs because we do this. But that is basically what the Pharisees were doing. It is easy to become confined to this, but we must be careful not to become modern-day Pharisees.

For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen. Romans 11:36

New Routine

Today marks day one of John’s crazy schedule. John works 6:30-3ish Monday-Friday and takes evening classes on Monday in Reston, VA and on Thursday in Lanham, Maryland. In addition to this, he is taking one course online to speed up the process of graduating in January. With the times he isn’t in class, he is studying or working out. We had a lame tradition that we eat dinner at Wegman’s (grocery store for all you who don’t live on the east coast) and later goes grocery shopping as a family. This will be my first Monday evening grocery shopping alone with a toddler. I made a pros and cons list to this whole experience of grocery shopping.



CONS:


1) Have to lift the heavy items alone.


2) Remember everything that I seem to forget on my own list.


3) Handle a toddler who only screams when I am at a stop with the cart.


4) Can’t rush through the aisles while John is off to the side waiting patiently with Isaiah.




PROS:


1) Won’t hear “we don’t need that.”
2) Reminding me how bad and fattening some things are.


3) Reminding me I need to be supportive of his diet.


4) Hear a loud extended sigh that only embarrasses me publicly when I am being a scatterbrain in the warzone at Wegman’s.

Cyber Gangsters

Maybe you have gone through the same experience as I have. Have you ever run into a relationship where the person has split personalities between reality and cyber world? For instance, the person can be rather harsh, insensitive, and controversial online but when you hang-out in reality; they are kept to themselves, were respectful, and sort of wimpy. It is always easy for a human to recreate themselves online. I believe they fulfill that emptiness in the world via cyberspace. Why? Well, none other to prove they are funny, intelligent, hardcore, sexy, etc.  I wish to leave this thought on your minds when you encounter one in the near future. Remember, folks to be kind and treat your cyber gangsters with love and attention, because we all know they need fuel.

A question of religious freedom? You decide.

I have posted this video on my facebook. It was quite interesting hearing both sides. As always, those who support Obama 100% of the way approve of him defending it. No surprise. I get it. This story is not for the Muslims to build a mosque. Honestly, they can build anywhere as long as it is done legally. I am puzzled as this story unravels in media. I have a few questions:



1) Since they were renting the building for many years before the 9/11 attacks and now own the lot, where are they getting the suppose $100 million to reconstruct this building? To me, a question of financial assistance is always important. It could get ugly.

2) What is their motive with turning this into an Islamic Center? They state they wish to bring honor to the 9/11 victims from modern Muslims with a “community” center, but if they wish to practice religious harmony, why not an interfaith center or better yet construct elsewhere to avoid the controversy?


3) Is this mosque being used as an architectural statement or a place for prayer? If they state no, then why open on a September 11th date within walking distance from thousands were murdered.


4) Has anyone researched the Imam? The media fails to reveal his radical beliefs. From an article online, he was in support of the Shariah Law being adapted in the U.S. In fact, he was stating it is no different than the Declaration of Independence. What he failed to mention was that secular laws can be changed since their made by man, but they believe the Shariah Law is given by God and cannot change.


Let’s face it; Muslims killed 3,000 Americans on 9/11. The victims’ families couldn’t even bury their loved ones. To them, ground zero is their burial ground. They will visit there and only be reminded of hatred as they pass a large mosque that the Muslims hope to open at a later September 11th date. Would placing a swastika on a Jewish memorial be practicing religious freedom as well? No, that is disrespectful and I wouldn’t be surprised if you were charged with hate crime. This doesn’t bring respect or honor to those still mourning the loss of loved ones murdered on 9/11. Do they need to be refreshed with tapes of the towers falling that September day? It is not a question of law or religious freedom. It is a question of respect and honor for our country.

Far Behind

Narcissism is ugly. I love punk songs. 

Joke Ninja

After my numerous attacks just this week, which is very rare, I decided to share this notable finding that is recent in discovery. My husband and I have this thing called a sense-of-humor that we hold so dear to us. Basically, this was icing on cake along with the two essentials to a happy marriage: looks and theology. Many people find our jokes either lame, which I will agree with them, but then when the great ones come out, we sit back and gaze at our accomplishment. Wow! Did I really tell an awesome joke? It was not until most recent after advancing in our joking skills that we were attacked. After saying something remotely funny, we just leave the joke there and end it fast without laughing at our own joke (so lame). That’s how anyone with brains would encounter a joke. That’s not the case for this group. If someone adds on to the joke or tries to recreate the joke in their less funny way while laughing at themselves, then they succeeded at butchering the joke to death. After much grief with these attacks, my husband and I decided to research these unskilled people. As we continued this journey to find the correct term, we came across the history of violent ninjas. Right then, we knew this was the progressive movement from physical violence in what is called “Joke Ninja.” It was more difficult to trace their history as it seems to be prevailing today as today’s culture becomes more hypersensitive wet sacks. To grasp more of this interesting finding, I only find it essential to share this astonishing history.



Ninja History


In 522 A.D., Nonuse ("the art of stealth") was first introduced to Japan as a religion practiced by priests. These priests were not violent people, they were "mystics" who gathered and shared information for the ruling classes.


It wasn't until 645 A.D. that the priests perfected their fighting skills and made use of their knowledge of nonuse. This was because they found themselves being harassed by the central government and found it necessary to protect themselves.


In 794-1192 A.D. the new civilization flourished and with it, a new class of wealthy, privileged families. These families fought with one another in attempts to make or destroy emperors. The need for spies, informants and now assassins grew as these families dueled for power. They were suspicious and jealous of one another and would resort to any means necessary to eliminate any possible threats. Therefore, the practitioners of nonuse were in great demand. With this, the ninja was born.


These ninjas flourished the world for thousands of years until most recently in the 20th century, the practitioners of nonuse divided. Some grew more violent, while the others decided killing humans was lame and wanted to move onto something new and less bloody. This group noticed this new trait in humans called a sense-of-humor. As they stood back practicing information they gathered from humorous people, they decided to gage in violence once again around the beginning of the 21st century. This time, they will hold back their ninja weapons to only attack the joke itself. With this, the joke ninja was born.

You never know who will butcher a joke. It could be your sibling, spouse, close friend, parents, or even your grandparents. Once the joke ninja appears, then BAM! Out of nowhere, a joke falls to its death and leaves the crowd in complete frustration and awkwardness. There is no way in stopping this group as they are progressive and are here to stay. You have been warned.

"Joke Ninja, out to kill your jokes."--JD Ketterman