SO, I've been visiting a dear friend of mine for a couple days. Last night he brought me to meet some of his gay friends, they get together one day a week and just hang out and talk and sometimes go out to the gar bar afterwards. It was, a very interesting experience. It was me and 8 gay guys. 5 of the 8 had been married - the shortest was 2 years and the longest was like 15 years, now they are all divorced, of those 5 I think that 4 of them had children. 1 of them was a retired southern baptist minister, 1 was a resigned deacon, 1 was/is a priest, and I think there was one more "religious" person in there. 6 of them were raised in the church. 3 of them still go to bible studies.
For having just met these men, they were all very nice and made me feel welcome (even though i was a girl joining in on a guy's gay group.) They talked about coming out to their parents, family and friends. About the difficulties and the strain that it caused. They talked about how even though they dated girls it was more because that's what they were supposed to do. THere was even some conversation about being condemned from family/friends and the church. ANd how a few of them had lost their jobs because of sexual orientation. Then the conversation turned to complaining about ex-wives lol!
But, as I was sitting there listening to everything they were saying, and soaking it all in - I was just in shock. One of them made the joke, about getting in to heaven, he said "ya, ya know there'll be a sign at the front gate that says homos use rear entrance" And we all laughed but then my brain just started to go.
Why is it wrong? For some reason the "because God said so" isn't really enough right now. I know that God created Adam and Even but not Adam and Steve - and that when two men (or women) get together they can't reproduce offspring in a natural way. But was has made the homosexual population get pushed even further away - more than a prostitute, or an alcoholic, or anything like that?
It just doesn't make sense to me - and there will be a block until it does. Especially because they gay friend that i have has been one of th ebest friends I could ever have - and he displays more attributes of Christ naturally, more than many Christians i have met. It's kind of frustrating and it really twists my brain around.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Captivating - 1
I’ve begun to read thru a book called Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul that was written by John & Stasi Eldredge. So if you’ve known me more than like 2 weeks, you prolly just laughed that I would be reading such a book. I started to read it in Cali and then put it down, and have picked it back up again to read thru it with someone. As I read books like this I find myself flooded with questions. My brain goes a million miles a minute and I realize that I haven’t studied long enough to search out answers. So, as I read thru each chapter, I will summarize and pose questions about the unveiling of the mystery of a Woman’s soul. I hope, that those of you who will read this blog will join in my racing thoughts and provide input and knowledge as you can
Chapter 1: The Heart of a Woman
The focus of the entire books centers around this “God created you as a women ‘God created man in his own image…male and female he created them’ (gen 1:27) Whatever it means to bear God’s image, you do so as a woman. Female. That’s how and where you bear his image. Your feminine heart has been created with the greatest of all possible dignities – as a reflection of God’s own heart. You are a women to your soul, to the very core of your being And so the journey to discover what God meant when he created women in his image – when he created you as his woman – that journey begins with your heart. Another way of saying this is that the journey begins with desire…..We think you’ll find that every women in her heart longs for three things: to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure and to unveil beauty. That is what makes women come alive”
I think I agree – women want to be romanced, be irreplaceable and to unveil beauty (not necessarily an societal outward beauty but a Godly beautiful). Stasi goes on to say that a women is a uniquely feminine warrior. That we will not fight the same way that men fight, and I get that but something about being a feminine warrior still sounds week to me; even though it is not intended to. Stasi mentions women like Esther, Mary & Ruth. As Stasi talks about beauty I cringe a little. I know she does not purposefully focus on the external beauty but it appears to be that way. Yes, it’s nice to look nice, to get dressed up and go somewhere BUT each women’s definition of nice is different. Not every women likes flowing dresses with sparkles, sometimes just a nice pair of dress pants or hell, a good pair of jeans can make ya feel like a million bucks. Maybe it’s a culture/generation difference but the thought of putting on make up and lip stick to look nice makes me want to vomit a lil on the inside. Then again, maybe it’s just a me thing.
The first chapter closes by presenting an overview of the desire of a man’s heart (which is was their other book is about –Wild At heart). The three core desires of a man’s heart are: to have a battle to fight, a desire for adventure, and to have a beauty to rescue.
Do you agree or does that all seem too simplistic?
Chapter 1: The Heart of a Woman
The focus of the entire books centers around this “God created you as a women ‘God created man in his own image…male and female he created them’ (gen 1:27) Whatever it means to bear God’s image, you do so as a woman. Female. That’s how and where you bear his image. Your feminine heart has been created with the greatest of all possible dignities – as a reflection of God’s own heart. You are a women to your soul, to the very core of your being And so the journey to discover what God meant when he created women in his image – when he created you as his woman – that journey begins with your heart. Another way of saying this is that the journey begins with desire…..We think you’ll find that every women in her heart longs for three things: to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure and to unveil beauty. That is what makes women come alive”
I think I agree – women want to be romanced, be irreplaceable and to unveil beauty (not necessarily an societal outward beauty but a Godly beautiful). Stasi goes on to say that a women is a uniquely feminine warrior. That we will not fight the same way that men fight, and I get that but something about being a feminine warrior still sounds week to me; even though it is not intended to. Stasi mentions women like Esther, Mary & Ruth. As Stasi talks about beauty I cringe a little. I know she does not purposefully focus on the external beauty but it appears to be that way. Yes, it’s nice to look nice, to get dressed up and go somewhere BUT each women’s definition of nice is different. Not every women likes flowing dresses with sparkles, sometimes just a nice pair of dress pants or hell, a good pair of jeans can make ya feel like a million bucks. Maybe it’s a culture/generation difference but the thought of putting on make up and lip stick to look nice makes me want to vomit a lil on the inside. Then again, maybe it’s just a me thing.
The first chapter closes by presenting an overview of the desire of a man’s heart (which is was their other book is about –Wild At heart). The three core desires of a man’s heart are: to have a battle to fight, a desire for adventure, and to have a beauty to rescue.
Do you agree or does that all seem too simplistic?
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