The Existence of Evil

In the news lately there have also been a lot of reports on the actor Mel Gibson. He divorced his wife of over 30 years recently and began dating a Russian singer. They have a baby daughter together. Recordings have come out on a website called radaronline.com that I heard of him cursing his girlfriend out. His language & tone of voice are frightening. This is definitely a man unhinged. When I have read Bible stories of people possessed by demons...that is how Mel sounds in the recording. He is huffing & puffing & screaming and foul words are just spewing like venom from his lips.

Back in the day Mel was an exceedingly good looking man. He seemed so charming, and those blue eyes & smile of his aren't hard on the eyes. However, the revelations about him & his hard drinking ways the past few years cannot be ignored. The years haven't been kind to him and he looks horrible. People want to make excuses for him and say "It's the alcohol". Yes...the alcohol is a factor, but I don't think the alcohol invents these things he says. The alcohol may magnify them, or remove his ability to hide them or show any tact. So when he is drunk he no longer has the ability to censor himself and he says the most vile and racist things. He has been abusive and hit this woman, even when she was holding his little baby in her arms.

It's so sad that his legacy & witness are being destroyed by his behavior. This man has done some wonderful films. Films he's acted in or things he's produced & directed like The Passion of the Christ. Wow, how far he has fallen.

I will NEVER spend another penny on something he is in. I don't know if I will even have the opportunity too. His agency dropped him and I think this latest incident will mean the end of his career. I feel sorry for his children, he has many. I can't imagine going through life being so ashamed of my father.

Pulling Teeth...

Could I get some help? When I ask this of my class of 3rd thru 6th graders at AWANA, every hand raises before I even say what I need help with. But when we stand at the pulpit and ask for help from the congregation…not near so many hands are raised. Sometimes it feels like pulling teeth to get people to help out.

I know we all have other things going on in our life. I don’t expect people to basically live at the church because we are volunteering for every project under the sun. I just wish people would be obedient when they feel that nudge to volunteer when a new project comes along. I truly believe God wants us to accomplish certain things at church and in our community, and if God wants those things accomplished, He is calling people to do it. But too many people think “I do enough, let someone else, I volunteered for something a while back so I’m good now, etc. etc.” And then they don’t step up. Or you have people who step up begrudgingly and have bad attitudes the whole time.

Romans 12:4-8 says “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

We all have been given areas of giftedness by God and we all need to find ways to serve. I recently did all the crafts for VBS, my 18 year old daughter served as the VBS Director and we had teens from 7th thru college age helping serve as leaders and guides. I was able to have the assistance of 2 older women from the church, a married couple currently unemployed, a single Mom and 2 sets of siblings helping me out in crafts. It was wonderful to have a variety of ages and abilities helping me. The kids at VBS all benefited from our range of experience.

I love serving the Lord. I have known exhaustion from it, but I also know the joy in it. This past few weeks were crazy. I was literally at the church EVERY day for 10 straight days decorating for VBS, running crafts for VBS for a week, decorating & building our churches 4th of July Parade float, taking down decorations, worship services, etc. So now I am taking a little well deserved time off. But I will begin preparing new lessons, craft ideas and service projects for AWANA when we begin again in the fall. I know God has given me gifts and I follow 1 Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

No job is too big or too small if you have been called by God to accomplish it. I am not above sweeping & mopping up a dirty floor, unclogging a toilet, cooking food for a crowd and then doing all the dishes, etc. Romans 12:3 says “…do not think of yourself more highly than you ought”. Any job is worth doing when you are serving the Lord. Autograph your work with excellence.

Husband Bashing

Why is it so acceptable & seen as amusing to bash husbands? When I log into Facebook I sometimes read posts from people bashing their husbands. Wow! You really want to put that out into the world? You really want people to read your dirty laundry and destroy any witness you have by constantly criticizing & belittling your spouse and telling anyone who can see it "I hate my husband!"

I sent a private message to a friend letting them know "How would you feel if he were posting this about you?" and the response I got was "He doesn't have a facebook". Oh...so that makes it okay? Hmmm...

But the problem is much deeper. Look at just about any prime time comedy on TV these days and think of the Dad. Just about all of them are portrayed as bumbling idiots. Why is that? Because I can tell you that the majority of married men I know are loving, engaged, capable fathers and loving husbands.

I LOVE my husband and I ADORE my Dad. Both have their silly/goofy side, but that is just a small portion of the men that they are. They are intelligent, insightful, godly, caring, thoughtful, capable, and so much more.

When we get married, two become one. My husband is flesh of my flesh & bone of my bone. Bashing him is bashing myself. God called me to be his partner and to be a loving helpmate. That is what I will continue to do. And while he may occasionally drive me a little nuts, I know he puts up with a lot from me too. I cannot imagine my life without him, I don't want to.