Look at Me Writing My Novel

I was writing my novel. Until I realized I had no idea what a "drill press operator" at a train station in 1940 would have done and so I had to head online to do a yahoo search. And what catches my eye on the news but this.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101007/ap_on_re/us_rel_southern_baptists_yoga

I had a mixed reaction when I read this article. My first was probably a reverting to my childhood in Christian school where I continually heard about all the sins I was unknowingly offending God over that He was going to remember and hold against me. The second thought was more welcome. A God who would become like me and die for me and conquer death on top of it JUST SO he could be my Savior and friend - does not care if I wear yoga pants and breathe deeply. In fact, in those rare, quiet moments of meditation it's Jesus that comes to mind, so I'm pretty sure He's cool with it.

If you honestly can't do yoga without worshipping idols or chanting Buddha's name - well then maybe you should stay away from it. I've done yoga or yoga-inspired exercise before, and never once was I ever encouraged to renounce Christ and follow Satan.

Okay. I'm going back to writing my story now. Feel free to comment, whether your response is "He's right - we all must repent of our yoga-practicing!" or "Good grief, do you think you're overreacting to this a little bit, Blogger?" or "Amen, sister, preach it!"

I prefer the last one, just so you know.

I think there's going to be quite a few saints in glory looking down over this world after they've made their exit scratching their heads and marveling that Christianity has actually gone on fine without them. If Jesus doesn't return first, that is.

And no discussing what I meant by "looking down over this world" either.

Almost Disqualified

"What is the meaning of human life, or of organic life altogether? To answer this question at all implies a religion. Is there any sense then, you ask, in putting it? I answer, the man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unfortunate but almost disqualified for life." - Albert Einstein

If you're anything like me, you're going to need to give that quote another go. Go ahead. I'll wait.

Isn't my baby cute, by the way? I think so.

No matter who we are, no matter where we come from, all of us at one point or another in our life have to answer for ourselves the question Albert Einstein asked. "What is the meaning of life?"

There are many answers. The hard part is choosing which one is true. Some go so far as to say that there is no meaning to life. We just happened here and we make the best of it and we happen out. Some say that we are put here as a test. If we do everything right, or at least enough right, we go to heaven. If we blow it, we go to hell. Or we get another chance.

This is probably the hardest of my five categories to write about, which is ironic, considering I grew up in a pastor's home and went to 13 years of Christian school and then took off for Bible college. I guess that's WHY it's so hard. In this blog I'm not just trying to relate to all my friends who think the same way I do. I want anyone to come in, pull up a chair and feel comfortable conversing. And I mean ANYONE. I know there's many, many people who have been seriously wounded by religion. I know that even those of us who grew up in the middle of it can come out scarred by some of the ideas that came to us by mostly well-intentioned individuals. I'm one of them. But I am here to tell you that I'm very proud of those scars, because in the end the doubts, the questions, and the search for the truth is what brought me to the place I am now.

I am not saying I've got it all figured out by any stretch. I'm just saying that the most important thing I've discovered about God is that when you honestly look for him, and ask Him to reveal Himself, He does. Little by little, step by step.

I guess it's the same as the whole "healthy living." There are a lot of people close to me who are really skeptical that my health journey means anything. In the end, no amount of preaching on my part will convince anyone. My changed health, body and outlook will. The results will.

So I'm going to let you decide for yourself. My goal this year in the area of my spiritual journey is to stop acting like I have all the answers, that you must believe what I believe and do what I do to find out who God is. I'll let you look at the results of my 33 years of a journey and decide for yourself. If you hear my story, and see why I believe what I believe and don't buy that it makes any difference, I'm not going to come after you screaming and trying to hit you over the head with my overly large Bible. I know a lot of people do that. Trust me, there are quite a few of them who do it because they were always told that it was the way to show people you care about them. But I understand quite clearly that people are really tired of being hit over the head. I get that it's a little hard to see the love in that. It's something that needs to change, and I regret any amount of Bible-thumping I've done in my day.

So watch me. Hear my story. If anything sounds familiar, if you see yourself in my journey, maybe it's time to think about starting your own.