The Product of My Eavesdropping

Today I overheard a conversation. As I was sitting and reading my book I notice two men talking together. One of them was an old man. He was greyed and weathered. His body was bent and his eyes were wrinkly, though in an endearing way. The other man was very young. He was fit and youth radiated off of him. His hair was dark and full, his eyes bright and awake. 

But I began to notice a difference in the two men. Despite the many years the old man had on the younger man, he had this assurance about him. He spoke with confidence and authority. He spoke with the voice of a man who has been touched by God. The younger man slouched in his seat, his eyes, though bright and aware, held sadness and desperation. He was visibly lost. I began to listen to the conversation of these two men, curious at their unusual differences. 

Through the course of my eavesdropping, I discovered that the younger man had come to the older, seeking counsel. The younger man's wife has been unhappy for some time. The young man was desperate to find some answers and had come to the older man for just that. After hearing the story the older man began to speak. I was amazed at what he revealed to the young man... 

The old man said "your wife has been unhappy. There is something her heart desires that you have not given her. By the grace of god she has been patient with you and loved you through it. But you have a responsibility to her as her husband. God has promised us an eternity. In the course of that eternity, he wishes for us that we join together in friendship, love, and communion. Your wife's heart longs for a way to express the most important love she can show to you: the love of Christ. Because of your own sins and doubts, you have closed off that most important communication between the two of you. You have denied her the ability to serve her purpose and act as a mirror of gods love to you. When you begin to connect with God and open up that part of your life to her, you will be able to make her happy again. And you will be filled with overwhelming joy for you are also fulfilling God's purpose for your life. He made you to love, and if he made you to love her, then this is what you must do" 

I was so amazed at this conversation. It opened my eyes to something I had never been able to see in that way. It gave me a desire to be the kind of woman that would require a man to seek out Christ to be able to fill my heart. It made me appreciate what kind of love could be gained from God's plan and what kind of love could be gained from me seeking out the love of my life in that way as well. To see a God that provides that depth of love for his precious daughters and treasured sons makes my heart flood with joy. God wants us to experience first hand the desperation Jesus has for us in our relationships with the people we fall in love with.  I know now what I hope to find in a marriage.  First and foremost.  When Jesus is the first priority in falling in love, then all the rest will fall into place.  

I do not know what will become of these two men or how they knew each other. But I was inspired to see a young man learning to seek out his wife with all the desperation that Christ seeks for us.   Even more I was overjoyed to see an old man that has learned this valuable lesson through the course of his life and was willing to share it with others.  While I do not encourage eavesdropping, God blessed me today through my curiosity.  

Are You a Light Bulb, a Vacuum, or a Window?

I think metaphors are kind of exciting.  They appeal to so many people because regardless of your level of intelligence, metaphors make it easy to understand almost anything.  Well here's a good metaphor I came up with for our relationships with God.

Are you a light bulb, a vacuum, or a window?  

Light Bulb:

Light bulbs are pretty cool.  They glow.  They give light.  They are a wonderful invention that has changed so many people's lives.  Well light bulbs, in people form, are pretty cool too.  They give stuff to people all the time.  They share their light with the world, they always try to please and make people happy.  And really they live a pretty good life.  A light bulb in a gym could light up a pretty good bit of the giant room.  Maybe not all of it, but one single light bulb can provide a lot for a LOT of people.

That is until they burn out...  That's the problem with being a light bulb.  You run out of your own personal power.  It fades away eventually.  And the danger with light bulbs is, if you really run out, then you're done.  You gotta get new parts to be a functional light bulbs again.  You run out of strength, resources, abilities.

Light Bulbs think they are enough without God.  They think well I can just not think about God that much and eventually I will achieve perfection.  Maybe a light bulb believes in God, but they don't spend any significant amount of time improving that spiritual relationship.  Well that can be really depressing.  The issues with light bulbs is that they believe that if they constantly give to people they might get something back... but unfortunately, in the long run that's not the case.  Light bulbs never get filled up again.  As their energy burns away, they are wasted away.  They spend so much time trying to make everyone realize what a pretty, awesome, fun lightbulb they are and that they can give so much to the world that they don't have any spiritual aspect to their lives.

Vacuum:
Vacuums are incredibly efficient.  They suck things in really really well.  They do a great job at taking things in and holding them close and not letting them go.  Vacuums, like light bulbs, are a one way street.  Vacuums spend SO much time focusing on God and internalizing their spiritual relationship.  They take in all that God has to give them.  They pray, they study, they think, they worship, just all God, all the time.

Well the issue with Vacuums is the get filled up and aren't nearly as efficient anymore...  They eventually run out of space to take in.  They get numb to the beauty and power that God is pouring into them.  When they have taken so much in but it just gets packed with everything else, it doesn't mean anything anymore.

Vacuums think that they can suck and take and pull from God constantly.  Even though thats not bad, its not enough.  They are only living half a life.  If by chance a vacuum does release their God stuff they have pulled in, its usually dumped in the trash and wasted.  No good comes out of it once it is gone from the Vacuum's spiritual self.  They spend so much time trying to show God that they love him and want him for themselves that they completely deny that God has other people he wants us to love too.

Window:  
Finally the window.  Windows, so long as they are open, freely share air, smells, sounds, physical stuff, and occasionally people (lol).  Windows can take stuff in, but they never really hold it long enough for it to get boring.  Windows constantly are sharing things that they take in with either the outside or the inside.

There is no "but" to the windows.  They aren't dependent on any self sponsored energy, they don't get filled up too much with stuff that it gets wasted.  Windows experience God, worship, love, and relate to him, and allow God to move through them to the world around.  Windows sometimes take in from the world.  Sometimes they take in from God.  Sometimes windows are a method of communication from God to people.  Sometimes windows see people as evidence of God.  Windows are OPEN.  To everyone, to God.  They are in touch with both their spiritual and relationship aspects of Christianity.  They aren't afraid because so long as they exist, they are able to just be, and God does all the work.  Windows don't require any energy, they are pulled out of and poured into by the force of those giving and taking.  Being a window is the greatest, most peaceful way of living.




I know a lot of windows.  They all are amazing people who are just genuinely happy.  That doesn't mean we all aren't a vacuum occasionally.  Or a light bulb.  We all have to experience different aspects of Christianity.  Being a window is just a happy medium.  I have experienced (In my short 18 years of life) a little bit of all three.  I can honestly say that the times I've experienced being a window were the happiest of my life.  If you've ever read any of the Bible... then you know that God wants us to love others.  Being a window is the greatest way to do that.  There is so much beauty in loving God and doing what he asks us to do.  I'm going to begin to spend my time trying to be a window.  I have a feeling God will give me more than my heart can desire.  

Why its OK to Question God

Yes, you heard me correctly.  I just said It's OK to question God.  Well bear with me because I haven't been struck down by lighting yet.  It won't kill you to consider the idea.

Let's just talk about this theoretically...  A parent has a child that runs into the street.  From the parents perspective running into the street is a terrible idea because the child might, oh I don't know, get hit by a car and become a pancake.  From the kids perspective, who has no legitimate idea what a car hitting him would do, just is trying to catch his ball.  So the parent has to instill into the child's mind that he must NOT go into the street no matter what.  The parent spanks the kid, and tells him, "DO NOT GO INTO THE STREET" and when the child asks why the parent responds with "BECAUSE I SAID SO".  Well the kid learns absolutely nothing but to try to hide from the parent when running into the street.  Now the spanking might have done the trick, and child may still mind.  This isn't a commentary on parenting styles because I'm not a parent, nor do I have any experience to claim to know anything about parenting styles, so don't take that out of this.  What I'm asking you to think about is how that was already an incredibly frustrating thing to hear.  "Because I Said So"

Maybe a situation more relevant to you might help.  Well what happens when your boss tells you to do something that makes no sense to you at the time.  Does it not really make you mad?  Especially when the boss gives no other explanation than, "Because I said so...".  Its infuriating.  We want to constantly know why.

Now God is very different.  First off because he's always right... So it is inherently silly to question him.  But I'm a firm believer in the fact that humans are imperfect... So why don't we allow our imperfections to teach us lessons in this life?  Questioning God, in any sense, is a form of communication.  It's not a slap to God's face or a disobedience.  Yes, God asks us to trust him.  But don't you think the Bible would be a LOT shorter if God intended us to just blindly trust him without any kind of explanation or reasoning?

I think it is healthy to interact with people of other belief systems, other religions, other denominations, other genders, cultures, communities, and races.  God gave us this massive community of life to learn from.  You don't have to change your mind about what you already believe.  You don't have to change their minds either.  Just let it happen.  Just experience it.  Do not be afraid of it.  Learn to understand people, and loving them, the greatest commandment, will be so much easier.

If speaking with someone makes you question God, then no, its not a terrible thing.  Its your humanity.  You aren't God.  I'm sorry but theoretically you have something in your head that you believe about God that is probably wrong.  Same for me.  Not a single one of us is capable of understanding God to his full extent at this point int time.  So maybe you will change your mind.  Maybe you won't.  God won't leave you.  Go talk to him about it.  If you talk to a person who isn't a christian in the way you are that makes you question God, then go talk to God about it.  It's what you do when you get confused about a relationship with a person here on earth.  Tell God, tell him you need help understanding.  Allow him to guide you to the truth.  He won't leave you hanging.  If you are hungry for the truth then he will satisfy you.  Do not be afraid... He will accept your questioning with open arms and be thrilled that you want to go deeper with him.

I LOVE to question God.  Because every time I do, my faith grows stronger.  Don't be so closed minded.  Don't be so obsessed with what you think the truth is right now on earth.  If God had taught you everything you needed to know by now, then there would be no point for you to be here anymore. It would be time for you to head on up to Heaven.  So if you are reading this I assume you aren't in heaven yet.  So God is NOT done with you.  He hasn't finished teaching you.  So honor him with your questions.  Respect him by not blindly pretending that you believe everything that he tells you right away without any questions.  Don't pretend with him.  Be REAL.

And question God.  It can become a beautiful thing

The Secret to Being Superman

I heard an incredible definition of “good” and “evil”.  A “good” person makes choices to do the right thing or makes mistakes and feels remorse.  A “bad” person chooses not to repent from wrongdoings and commits them in the first place with only selfish intent. 

Doesn’t that kinda make you feel good?  Have you ever felt guilty for something?? That automatically classifies you as good. 

There is a misconception of Christianity that I totally disagree with.  I do NOT see God as a big scary person who lives up in Heaven and laughs at how he can start magnifying glass fires and play with his creations.  I think God passionately loves each and every person.  Whether they are overcome with evil or overcome with good.  He created us with the intent to love us and have relationships with us.  He wants to communicate, care for, love, appreciate, adore, and shower you with happiness and joy.  Here comes the Eden approach again…

In the beginning Adam and Eve walked with God and loved God and experienced him.  There was no punishment and God asked for Adam and Eve to follow his one rule so that there never had to be any punishment.  Adam and Eve were given tons of food that they didn’t have to work for.  They had power over the whole land.  The animals did not attack them; rather they lived in harmony with them.  They were so comfortable that they did not even feel the need to cloth themselves.  The weather was always perfect; they slept on soft beds of grass, and were happy together with God. 

This is the way God intended humanity to live.  God did not change their situation and punish him just because he felt like it.  I mean he totally could I’m sure… He is all-powerful.  But He gave Adam and Eve the choice.  Once they chose to succumb to temptation then he was forced to punish them.  I would even go as far to say that God didn’t want to punish them.  Think of it like a parent that has planned a day to take their kid to the zoo.  The parent is just as excited about it as the child.  The parent is looking forward to the time with the child, the chance to love and care and give a gift to him.  The child is excited for other reasons maybe… they get to see animals, and eat good food, and maybe get a toy at the end.  But the child misbehaved and the parent is forced to punish the child and not allow him to go to the zoo.  The parent doesn’t want to have to punish the child.  The parent loves him and cares for him and wants him happy.  But the parent also knows that if they don’t teach the lesson then the child will be worse off in the long run. 

Does that metaphor make sense?  God allowed us freedom to choose to love him, and he is teaching us a lesson by punishing us.  So God didn’t want to harm us even.  He LOVES us.  And God will only allow himself to fill up and exist in good things. 

So that means that YOU are good.  You, whoever is reading this, you are as good as superman, as good as Gandhi, as good as whoever your hero is.  What define our heroes are the good ACTIONS they take.  Superman saved the world, Gandhi changed lives, whoever your hero is did something to make them your hero.  But does that mean they aren’t good before they commit these actions? Absolutely not!! They were good people before they did anything to make themselves heroes.  Ok so on that reasoning… that means you could just as easily be a superhero as superman. 

So don’t live your life thinking that you can’t be good.  Because you are superman… just before he fought his first battle.  Now you can choose not to tap into that.  You could just as easily be the villain.  Because the only thing wrong the villain is that he chose not to be superman. 

So what that means for you…  You choose to act upon your goodness.  Or you choose to corrupt it.  Now let me be honest, the devil encourages us to become the villains.  But it is STILL your responsibility.  So you CHOOSE to become the hero or the villain.  So choose the hero.  It’s hard sometimes.  But it’s a lot easier in the long run.  When you do evil, it may be easier.  But the guilt you feel is worse than any persecution you may get for being good.  When you do good, it may be harder, but the joy you then feel is so amazing and powerful that it makes it worth it.    So free yourself from the guilt.  You will make bad decisions.  But hey so did Superman.  But Superman, we can all agree, was ultimately good.  Why?  Because he knew when he messed up.   He accepted it.  And moved on.  And forgave himself and let the world forgive him.  So lets be superman.  Lets make mistakes but know that we have the abilities to be

S U P E R   H E R O E S

Lets let God forgive us though.  It makes it so much easier.  Know that you are beautiful, capable, amazing, powerful, incredible.  Don’t waste that.  

Boy Parts and Girl Parts

Science would say there isn't much difference between girls and guys other than plumbing and chemicals.  But any living person knows that there are such DRAMATIC differences between men and women expressed in their personalities.  Now while I would love to hash out the differences between men and women, I'm not majorly experienced with that.  I don't believe in speaking on something I don't have much knowledge on.  But there is something that bugged me for a very long time in my progression with God.

Not all churches believe this, but there are many denominations that believe that women have no place in the running of a church or commanding of men.  That sounds crazy to non-believers and it sounds painfully familiar to established Christians.  Well first let me show you where that comes from...

1 Timothy 2:12 - But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

1 Corinthians 14:34 - Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but [they are commanded] to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

When I first read these verses I cringed.  Haven't I been taught my whole life to be a strong independent woman that doesn't have to have a man by her side?  Well part of that is because I was raised by a strong independent single mom who I think did a pretty good job with what she had.  But I also grew up in the southern bible belt around a LOT of people that believed that in a church building women shouldn't speak anywhere but in the kitchen.  

I don't know about you but that does NOT sound very appealing to me... Especially since I'm not a huge cook.  I think a lot of women struggle with appreciating the Bible for its full worth and instruction because of verses like this.  I know I did, until I learned a really fascinating thing.  So lets take the Eden approach again...

In the garden of Eden Adam was originally the only person.  God eventually decided that even though Adam was awesome, he would get incredibly lonely.  Eventually God put Adam to sleep and took from his body a rib to create Eve.  He did not create a separate entity, he split the one into two.  Then Eve and Adam lived happily until Eve screwed it all up and ate the stupid apple that ended life as they knew it.  They were perfect before, they had a unity that was pure and beautiful and complex, but after the fall they had to separate to their own places to suffer their punishment.  Eve had to bear children and suffer through it, Adam had to work the land with very little return.  

So if your like me you didn't draw the right conclusion right at first...  But lets give it a closer look.  Our punishment for sin was to have to suffer, fight, work hard, and have the temptation and constant pressure of the devil.  That bled into our relationships between man and woman.  Man then had a commanding role, a place of leadership and direction over the household.  Women then had a submissive role and a mothering role.

Part of the problem is society's explanation of this.  "Submissive" sounds so negative, whereas the man's role of "commanding" sounds overtly positive.  Well I think that both of them have major issues. If you've ever been a leader or a follower you understand the difficulties and frustrations that both have along with them.  We, man and woman, were BOTH being punished.

So how does that translate to the church?  Well we originally were one.  Male and Female both came from the same creation.  So to me that means that both male attributes and female attributes are JUST as important.  So here's the conclusion I have drawn... both on my own experiences and with the support of the Bible.

There are LOTS of places in the Bible where advice is given, but It is not a requirement or a law.  Such as the verse that suggests that its easier to be poor or the verse that encourages staying out of a marriage.  But these verses are NOT laws.  They suggest easier ways that things can be done.  Well as a loud, commanding, confident but also boastful woman, I've learned that society doesn't appreciate that much. Even though I might have talents in command or leadership, I have almost always found that patience, prayer, gentleness, and love have been my most successful approaches.  When a man stands up to a crowd and speaks passionately and confidently, there is an innate spirit in us that wants to listen.  When a woman does so, it comes across as awkward or out of place.  The same is true for when a man bends down to a child and tries to care for them after they've fallen, the child will be less likely to trust and allow the man to care for him than if a woman were to do the same.

Let me make abundantly clear though, that THIS IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE.  I've met plenty of gentle men and plenty of leading women and they have been incredibly successful.  But the Bible doesn't try to fool us.  God allows us to read it because it covers a lot of major issues that we would otherwise struggle with.  I just believe that God is realistic with us.  He knows that the attributes he left with men would be best and most efficiently put to use in a leadership position and the attributes he pulled from Adam to give to women would best be used in a loving mothering position.  But Christianity could not exist without both.

So if you are a man, I encourage you to tap into your leadership, your strength, your power.  You automatically are given an instinctual ability to command and the rest of the world has an instinctually programmed response to listen to you.  If you are a woman I encourage you to try to be gentle and loving.  Humanity is programmed to respond positively to you.  I know I have personally seen the overwhelming ease there is in just being gentle and thoughtful.  If those "stereotypes" aren't for you then understand that God doesn't condemn those who are unique.  He loves unique people!!  And I personally will always be a little louder than I should be.  But the Bible wasn't written to judge me, but to help me understand the world around me.  So when I get bad responses from people I'm not surprised, I feel prepared to handle it.  The Bible is our weapon, our tool, and our handbook on life.  Its written for each person and a majority all at the same time.  Thats the beauty of it!

Ready for the coolest part?  This is still just a theory of mine... but it is so incredibly powerful.

Jesus was the only perfect human to walk this planet.  Notice next time you read in the Bible, when he is spoken of pay attention to the adjectives used to describe him.  Both traditionally masculine adjectives: "commanding, confident, powerful" and traditionally feminine adjectives:
"gentle, meek, mild" are used to describe him.  I have yet to read another verse where there is a shared role like that.  Its beautiful to me.  It makes it easier for me as a woman to relate to Jesus.  He understands me and he understands the man I will one day marry.

Doesn't God blow you away sometimes??  Please feel free to question, comment, and support or negate my points with scripture and such!!  I would love some feedback!

The D Word... Denominations

Denominations.  Church of Christ, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Catholic, Episcopal, Non-Denominational

All different words used to describe self-proclaimed Christians.  What kills me is the bitterness between them all.  I was raised Church of Christ, My Dad went to a Southern Baptist Church, I attended a Methodist Church for some time, I sang in a choir in a Presbyterian church, and my two best friends were Catholic and Episcopalian.  So I would say I have at least SOME kind of experience with most of them.

The first question I want to ask is how many people actually chose to be in the denomination that they claim for themselves?  Most people were told by their parents to be a part of it, encouraged by friends to join a particular church, many people stayed in the church they fell in love with God in.

What I'm here to say is THAT IS TOTALLY OK

The concept of going to church is a modern one.  I will typically take a Garden of Eden perspective on these things so here's the Eden approach...

In the beginning Adam and Eve walked with God in the Garden, they ate of the fruits, they talked with God, they loved and spent time together and with God.  They were so unashamed to be open with God they did not even feel the need to wear clothes!


Now notice something... I didn't say "Adam and Eve walked with God and went to church that God had built".  I said that Adam and Eve LIVED with God, experienced him through each other and through God's works.  They didn't have to attend church because they were with God.  P.S. I really hope you don't think I'm encouraging you to attend church naked... even in the most radical of churches that might come off as highly inappropriate...  


Then the fall of man happened.  We acted like children.  Humanity messed up.  Big Time.  So God sent us back to school.  He saw that we were too weak to handle the freeform of just existing and loving God.  He saw that we chose not to live the way he intended.  So he gave us a LOT of structure.  If you have ever read Genesis and some of the following books, there are chapters and chapters on the way church is run.  


Now don't hear me knocking church.  Even though God may not have intended that we have the structure of Church in Eden, he has called us to it now.  But knowing this, I believe that there are a few things that will prevent the bitterness between people over denominations.  

1. Think in terms of how it was intended
Love each other, experience God and share with each other.  Fellowship, share meals, make sure to wear clothes!, but just BE together sometimes with the people of your church.  There is beauty in appreciating the way God intended it.

2. Remember that Jesus came to free us from the law...
Galatians 5:1 says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."  Jesus set us FREE from the law.  He made it to where we wouldn't be burdened by our mistakes and by the old way of doing things.  Otherwise we couldn't eat bacon and that would suck.  So that means that if you don't go to church every single sunday and wednesday, Here's some good news.  I'm pretty sure that isn't your ticket to hell.  Don't get so burdened and caught up by worrying that you might miss a church 

3. Its not the  building or the time thats important
Its the people.  its the love.  Its community and fellowship and some of it is the structure.  Its not that Sunday morning is the only time you can reach God.  I encourage you to act like you are in church all the time.  Or make church be more normal and comfortable like you live the rest of your life.  GODS PEOPLE ARE HIS CHURCH so that means that you should exist worshipping, praising, learning, teaching, loving.  Always.

4. So that means don't judge. Don't.  Don't do it.  

If someone is in a different denomination than you let me enlighten you... hating them for it will NOT change their perspective, perception, or opinion.  Please talk to them, encourage them, question them about their beliefs and opinions, but don't hate them.  Especially if you didn't choose your denomination after seeing and experiencing all the others.  Think critically about your faith.  Study the teachings of your church.  I can almost guarantee that at least 50% of church going people will disagree with at least some of the teachings of the church they regularly attend.  Because we are human!!  There are too many differences and variables.  We can't all believe the same thing exactly word for word because honestly when has that ever happened??  Be aware of what you are agreeing to by being a part of a church, but once you find what you believe most with, don't hate other people for believing differently. If you believe someone is risking their salvation then by all means, approach them.  But do it out of love.  I've never seen judgement used as a good thing.  Ever.



So Let Me Get Radical...
Here's my radical perspective.  I believe that some people need to be in certain denominations.  My Dad couldn't be anywhere but Southern Baptist because he NEEDS the concept of salvation that they have. He would not be able to love God the way he does without it.  Is that right?  Maybe not.  But it means that he is loving God in some way and so I am happy for it.  My Grandmother NEEDS the structure and laws of the Church of Christ.  She is about as structured as it gets and she sees beauty in order.  She wouldn't love God the same way if not for it.  Its about peoples experiences, understanding, and perception.  And people may even end up changing denominations.  I think thats ok too.  So think of church as a lifestyle.  Don't get bogged down by the requirements.  I do not believe God will hate you for missing church one morning.  I even think that if you really trust God, that if you one morning are dreading going to church, then don't go.  Take some time by yourself or with your family to pray at home.  Don't carry out the motions without the love and intent behind it.  LOVE God with all your heart and soul and mind.  That is the first command.  So do it.  Then LOVE your neighbor as yourself.
There is beauty in the differences of humanity and i love it!!  So share with one another.  Your church is not just the building you attend, rather it is the entire community of believers and non-believers all over the world.

So treat other people like they are your church family.  Allow yourself to lean on others, experience their love and affection, support them in their time of need.  Don't let denomination be such a dirty word anymore.

Give Me a Blank Slate...

This is a new thing for me.  Let me start off by introducing myself.  I'm 18 years old, from the South, in college, and a Radical Christian.  I like music and art and the various odd hobbies I pick up but Christianity is my number 1.  Or maybe thats my first mistake...

GOD is my number 1.  Jesus is my number 1.

You are already assuming something about me because I said I was a Christian.  Some people are assuming I'm a bible beater since I'm from the South.  Some people are assuming I'm an idiot because I believe in a creation.  Some people might actually think that because I'm a christian that might mean a good thing, but I'm guessing those people are not in the majority.  Well I'm here to tell you that I'm a lot of things.  I've been a Bible beater before.  I still am frequently an idiot.  And I see my christianity as a good thing.  But I understand that a vast number of people don't so my goal here is to communicate to people what I REALLY believe.  As a christian.  But a R A D I C A L one.  See I am under the impression that I have a unique set of beliefs that when heard, will make a whole lot more sense to people.  So I'm not trying to preach here.

I want you to listen or well... read... at will.  Take me for what I am, not what assumptions you may have.  Look at this blog as if you have never seen or heard anything about Christianity before.  Feel free to tell me when you disagree with me.  I like conversation and if arguments stem from curiosity and communication then there is nothing wrong with them.  Don't feel like you have to agree with me.  AT ALL.  Let me repeat that because you won't hear many bloggers say that haha...

you do NOT have to agree with me in any way

But I feel like bouncing my ideas off some random strangers or maybe even close friends from across the world would give me some clarity as much as it might open someone's eyes to something different.  So please DISAGREE with me and let me learn from you.

Sometimes I will quote the Bible.  Sometimes I won't.  Sometimes I will take about politics or social issues or whatever.  I may even talk about something totally irrelevant to anything.  But I'll try to make my posts relatively interesting.  So follow and let me know what you think.  I'm very curious...