Lesson(s) Learned

Fish Bowl Christianity Unlike many people, I never had a "family pet" as I was growing up. Never, ever. My mom was (and very-much-so still is) allergic to everything under the sun. Aaaand I had more siblings than your average American family, but without quite reaching Dugger-family-status. (or coming anywhere even close, whew!… side note: could you even imagine?!) These factors, added in with the fact that my parents spent every extra dime they had on private education for all five of us kids, really just weren't all-that-conducive to including a family pet of any sort. But don't feel sorry for me. I don't feel like I was jipped or anything. I love my family, and the memories I can still recall from my childhood are nothing short of classic. Pet or no pet. When I "grew up" and moved to Lynchburg about four years ago, I tossed around the idea of getting a pet. You know, just to see what it would be like. Nothing huge or fancy or gross or high-mainte...

Why are people so afraid of the truth? We live in a day and age where people are plain-out scared of the truth.  Scared to speak it (for fear the of other people's response).  Scared to hear it (for fear of how our lives must change as a result of it).  Scared even to watch it being spoken on behalf of the lives of others. (Really, what's up with that?!) I think Satan loves nothing better than lackadaisical Christians who lay around in lounge chairs of lies. While we church-goers may not be prone to wear an infamous blue-and-white visitor's sticker that reads "Hello, my name is …. pathological liar," our lives (in a very subtle way) sometimes suggest this much is true.  Before you get your feathers ruffled, listen to me when I say this: A liar isn't just someone who tells lies. A liar could be a person who simply neglects to speak the truth.  Why no, I'm not prone to lie about people, make up stories about them, or add faulty details...

Free Up Some Space So  I just bought a Mac computer a couple months ago and finally (with the help of my brother) figured out how to transfer all my iTunes from my PC to my Mac. Then came my next feat. Syncing all that music to my Iphone, so my ringtone would stop being that embarrassing marimba sound. What is a marimba, by the way? By the sound of it, I'm thinking some kind of xylophone. Anyway, all of that to say, as I was syncing up my iTunes with my iPhone, I realized something. I've got way too much music on my computer. So much in fact that I may have to free up some space for other things if some more is added. Speaking of freeing up some space…. If you took inventory of your life right now, what is it that you'd need to free your life from so you'd have space for the things that matter more? For the things that matter most. Think about it, free up that space, add things more important than the marimba ringtone, and sync yourself up with what matters the mo...

What ever happened to Orpah? No, I'm not talking about Oprah. The television talk show goddess. That so many women (ahem, people) adore and talk their socks off about. I'm sure if someone really wanted to know about her, they could Google her, or Facebook her, or follow her on Twitter, or buy her magazine, or join her book club, or something… But the woman I'm referring to Orpah. The girl mentioned in the Bible in the book of Ruth. And it's  100% doubtful that if the Bible doesn't tell us where exactly she went and what exactly happened to her, then we won't be able to find out the hard-and-fast truth of her whereabouts. At least not one with a Holy Spirit backing,stamp, seal, and inspiration packaged around it. At first glance, you may be like I was. You think Orpah's just a supporting character. She's in the shadow of the spotlight. She's on the sidelines, riding the bench during the most exciting parts of the game. She's the back-up singer ...