Indiana - FIX THIS NOW

This is what the Indianapolis Star's front page says. 

What's happening?!  Gov. Mike Pence has been back-peddaling from the time their Religious Freedom Restoration Act was passed.  He blames social media and national news outlets for the misunderstandings of the law and the negative image that is now painted about Indiana. 

He needs to encourage the "good people" of Indiana to look in the mirror. 

The RFRA doesn't specify that any one group should descriminate against any other, rather, it protects them in their choice to do so.  It is no misconception what the intent was of the shop owners who put signs in their window, right under the 'open for business' signs that said ' NO GAYS ALLOWED". 

For shame, Hoosiers, for shame.  The governor calls you "...a loving, kind, generous, decent, and kind people.".... I don't see how, not when you're runnining with this RFRA and using it to exclude so many. 

The only two things Jesus asks us to do, AS CHRISTIANS, is love God above all other, and love our neighbors as ourselves.  Not love every third person who is in a heterosexual relationship and meets our criteria for being good..... And if you are one of the millions of people who suffers from self-loathing and depression, that does not give you the right to hate everyone as you hate yourself.  You are still called to love- it just means that you have to work on loving you too. 

INVASION!!!

God wants to invade your soul - with His love. 

John 17:26 says "I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

Tricky guy....

This has actually been my philosophy on His love for a LOOOOOONG time.  Unfortunately, I don't have a moment in time when I ever said "Oh, I like what John wrote, I'm gonna practice that..." no witness testimonies, nothing special that happened... it's just a part of me.  A fabric of my being.  "If I show someone unconditional love and acceptance, then eventually they'll see that it's not really my love, it's God's Love!"  No spectacular "ah-ha" moment, just me. 

Let God invade your soul.  Let the Holy Spirit guide your path towards others, so that you might show them the love Christ had for us, the love God has for us.  You don't have to preach or pass judgement; actions speak louder than words.

Pointing You in the Right Direction!

I absolutely love reading other people's blogs... and you do to, obviously! *wink*grin*

Please, check out my friend Crystal's blog.  She is a co-author & my favorite writer at Faith, Friends, and Frappuccinos.

Check it out!!! 

Last Words

If you knew the last thing you said to someone was going to be the last thing you said to them, would you still say it?

That is the question I posed on facebook the other day after a suicide, again, touched my life.  Life is so short, so precious, and we never know the impact that our actions/inactions, how our voice/silence may have on someone’s decisions, someone’s life.

Many times we see snippets in the media about this person tweeting something, that person posted about (insert controversial opinion) and is now retracting the statement and apologizing for how their words hurt and/or insulted someone. So why do we even say it?  It's not like "I'm sorry." will take away the pain we've caused.... Sure, it may make it easier for us to sleep better at night knowing we retracted our offensive statement or apologize for our obnoxious behavior, but it doesn't erase the memories or the pain that our words, our actions caused.  Why do we feel justified in putting it out there in voice, in print? What ever happened to the good ol’ cliché phrase “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”

1 Peter 3:8 (NIV) says “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”

To be like-minded: agreeing in opinions, goals; compatible, harmonious, of one mind
Sympathetic: feeling/showing sympathy, understanding (see Sympathy)
Sympathy: the act or power of sharing the feelings of another, compassion
Love: to have a deep tender, ineffable feeling of affection toward a person
Compassion: deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it
Humble: meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, spirit; not arrogant or prideful

So, how does following what Peter tells us have anything to do with speaking out against someone?  How does it justify telling someone that their life-choices will land them in Hell, and how does it make it any better to try to apologize (on FB no less) after they've already died?  We don't have the right to treat anyone with anything less than compassion, sympathy, love... in following Jesus' footsteps, we are called to walk in humility, to love, not to judge. 

Think before you speak.  Take a deep breath, count to ten, and really, really ask yourself if it's worth it.  Think about who else is around you, who else is reading your tweets, fb posts, and blogs...