Dear IRS - Because You Were Wondering . . .

Dear IRS:

 I am always and always will be willing to share with you the "content of my prayers." 

Tonight it is this: 

Dear Lord, have mercy on us sinners, saved and transformed by Jesus Christ.

Grant us grace to pray for those who persecute us and love for all who call us enemies.

May your kingdom come here in this place, this land, this nation - in my heart, first. 

Give those of us who call you Father, loving hearts, wise thoughts, constructive actions, patient endurance, and unusual courage for this hour. 

May we bring you honor, Father God, with the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

For THINE is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever.

This I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen 

(How about you, loved ones?

 Are you willing for the IRS to know the content of your prayers?

I think, since they're so interested, we should all send an email to our local tax office detailing the content of our prayers this week. 

Here's the link to find your local tax office. http://www.irs.gov/uac/Contact-Your-Local-IRS-Office-1

We do still have freedom of speech - don't we?

And, won't that just make their jobs, that much easier? You know, if we assist with data collection.)

Why Women Should NOT Rule the World

The gentleman across from me is highly evolved as a human, or so he explains to me.

He tries to make that apparent to the world by sporting a ponytail and wearing sweater vests rather than suit coats.

When I speak, he is intensely interested in what I have to say and emphasizes this with laser pointer eye contact and frequent thoughtful nods. I am brilliant when I am speaking with this man.

Then he opens his mouth.

“I imagine you’re not accustomed to men of my generation really listening to you and appreciating your opinion as a woman.” He begins.

I start to protest but he’s not listening.

“I have such deep admiration for women that most of my closest friends are women. I truly believe that all of humanity would be better served if we handed over the reins of leadership in all areas of life to women.”

He pauses here so I can express my undying gratitude for his opinion on behalf of my entire gender.

That is not what I do.

“So, tell me more about why you believe women should become the leaders of the world to the exclusion of all men.”

He is taken aback at my question. As though I was asking him to explain why children prefer candy to broccoli or why the ground is wet after a good rain.

“Why, women, by nature, are smarter, wiser and gentler then men. They are nurturers, life-givers and lovers. While men are cutthroat, impulsive, mean-spirited, war-mongering and territorial, women have no such inclinations!”

“Ha!” I exclaimed to his shock. “You, sir, have never been inside a Jr. High girls’ locker room after gym class!”

Our conversation ended pretty quickly after that.

Ponytail sweater-vest man walked away, a bit deflated but nothing I’m sure that couldn’t be corrected by a cup of herbal tea and a chat with his circle of wise, earth-mother, world-dominating women friends.

He will tell them about me and soon they will all be sending positive corrective thoughts my way and having themselves a quiet chuckle that I am not as evolved as they are.

Seriously.

I am going on record here to say that I like men. Some of my best friends are men.

I also like women and have a wide circle of friends who must stand in line for the restroom at big events.

I know it’s popular to espouse the virtues of women over men these days but really, there are heroes and villains on both sides of the toilet seat!

I’ve inhabited the planet for fifty-two years now and I’ve seen trouble-makers wearing dresses and trouble-makers wearing pants. I’ve also seen male trouble-makers.

Once I saw a teacher leading a group of first graders on a field trip. This earth-mother instructor proudly sported a button on her coat that stated “Girls Rule, Boys Drool.” I had to stop her and ask if she didn’t feel that sent the wrong message to the little boys in her charge.

“First off,” She explained with no small amount of arrogance, “most of the boys in the group can’t read yet (like it was their fault) and second off, it’s an important message for them to get early on in life. They’ve been dominating and oppressing for way too long.”

I glanced sadly at the tiny world dominators she was trying to keep in place.

Maybe there was a Stalin among them but if there was, he was about twenty years away from a good mustache, never mind being an oppressor of the confident Amazonian girls in his class.

Here’s my point. This woman as demigod thing has gotten waaaaaayyy out of hand and it may be up to us women to call it to a screeching halt.

I can read history – I’ve lived a great deal of it myself – and there is no place in this world for men to look down on, abuse, oppress or denigrate women. Period.

But because that’s right and fair, not because women are better than they are! It’s not putting my gender down to state women are no better than men – it’s simply stating a Biblical truth.

God is very even-handed in scripture when He labels us ALL sinners.

Eve took the first bite of fruit but unless I missed that part where she wrestled Adam to the ground and force-fed him, he was munching right along with her within moments.

We all inherited the same sin nature, an equal capacity for evil, an equal condemnation apart from Jesus Christ, an equal penchant for distortion and dysfunction of what we were designed to be.

Brace yourself. This means that women have the capacity for evil and they know how to use it.

I’ve heard countless women quote this verse from Paul’s letter to the Galatians, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:28) but I’ve NEVER heard one of them use it to defend a man. Never.

I’m very grateful God designed me as a woman and I’ve had more than my share of run-ins with the opposite sex but when I look in the mirrors, I see a sinner saved by grace

– one who wears mascara –

but a sinner still,  fortunate enough to be invited to join the family of God – a family that includes brothers I have grown to love.

I don’t think women should rule the world. I think God should do it using women AND men who know Him and understand His ways.

So, what do you say, sister’s in Christ. Am I way off base? How about you brothers? Any thoughts? Let the truth be spoken in love. . .

Helping Jesus Define His Brand (or a marketing meeting with the Almighty)

So, if Jesus came today

(which wouldn't be at all like today

because His coming when He did affected EVERYTHING

that followed -

yeah, He was THAT powerful)

but, if He came today

(which if you think about it,

would have made more sense since we have mass media, global networks, the worldwide web, and satellite

so building a kingdom is

theoretically MUCH easier now and, you know,

faster, reaching even people in remote places

so it leaves you to wonder why God chose to make His entrance

in the Hicksville of the Mid-East

where the most common language was Latin

and that was going to be dead soon

I mean, really, how serious was He about spreading this word?

at least, that's what a marketer would ask, right?)

But, I digress

Okay, but if He came today,

I'm wondering how we would respond

when He told us He wanted us to spread the word about Him.

Would we call Jesus into a boardroom meeting with

men in suits or

long-haired marketing dudes wearing  jeans and tossing nerfballs into wastebaskets

and ask Him to define His brand?

Pitch your message to us, Lord.

But remember we have short attention spans.

We see you've written a book but

can you explain the meat of it in one sentence?

Have you studied our list of trending searches so you can tailor your message to the felt needs of the world population?

Did you get our memo on sexy words to include in your tagline sure to hook the reading eye?

And, what are your plans for a follow-up act?

It will be best if you have a sequel planned now - you know, for brand longevity.

Look at these images

and fast

tell us which one best describes you.

Now, three words,

don't think,

what are the first three words that come to mind when You think about Yourself?

Finally, we need to see numbers and stats,

wow us with your twitter feed, Facebook followers, and blog hits.

What? You don't have a blog?

This will seriously reduce your rating on Klout - you need exposure, Jesus, and we

simply can't take you on until you've shown us you can bring

a ready-made audience.

But hey, we love your content, Dude.

Really, we are very impressed with this whole Sermon on the Mount thing -

that will draw the college age kids - excellent demographic -

and the parables are a thing of beauty - widespread appeal and easy to film - we're thinking of some shorts for Youtube.

We're going to assign you an editor, though, just to soften some of the rough sections of your message

places where maybe you want to tone things down - you can always come out harder in your second book - once you have an established following

but for now, we want to soften some of the rhetoric - I mean, it's colorful, the whole brood of vipers thing but

remember, Jesus, 

Pharisees buy books, too.

Right, Jesus?

Are you with us, Dude?

Hey, where did Jesus go?

Did anyone notice when He left the room?

Too bad, the Dude had potential.

 

 

Breaking Free from Captivity - Living Free Going Forward

A miracle occurred for three women in Cleveland this week.

They were set free after a decade of horrendous captivity.

But, it hasn't taken long to get a glimpse of how hard it can be to attain complete freedom.

Walking away from their captor is a giant step, but it's only the first step.

In the months ahead, they will need to emerge, to heal, to reinvent themselves, to understand, to heal some more, to reestablish relationships, to find meaning, to relearn community, and to come to grips with what they have lost forever.

That's how it is for those of us who walk with Jesus.

Walking away from our captor is a giant step, a step into eternal life, a step out of darkness into light, a step out of the grave into new life.

But there's more work to do to fully experience the freedom into which we've been reborn.

Where are you wounded? Some healing is instantaneous. Some takes time. Some takes courageous, spiritual work - spelunking in the deep recesses of the soul.

Who is this new self reborn into the same sinful world? What's God's idea of you? What pieces of your old life must be discarded and which will be repurposed as you embrace God's plan?

Suddenly, you need new skills because relating to others from your new position as the child of a King requires a change from your old habits.

You need to relearn community, find meaning, and come to grips with what has been lost through your sinful past decisions but also what God intends to reclaim.

We don't come to Jesus and then just wait to start living some cool eternal life that lies in some future land

we begin our eternal life now

if we will.

But, too many of us will continue to live inside the damage that occurred during the time of our captivity.

We'll hole up away from the world out of fear, woundedness, and pain. 

In a sense, allowing our captor to continue to hold us hostage even when he's been taken captive himself.

Is this post strumming a chord in your spirit?

Are your wrists tingling where there used to shackles but now you know you're free - but you still sit beside the wall of chains?

"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." Galatians 5:1

What has helped you to truly experience and live out the freedom we've received in Jesus Christ?

What holds you back? Where are you wounded and how have you been healed?

How does your life now exhibit evidence that it is eternal?

Let's talk - we were all held hostage in the same house at one time - how can we help one another live free?

When Hallmark Doesn't Make a Card for Your Mom

I have, by God's good grace, an amazing mother.

But, what if you don't?

I work with many families who have

complicated mothers,

addicted mothers,

mom's who can't keep it together,

mom's with untreated mental health issues or

priorities that don't include their kids.

In my personal life, I know critical mothers, mothers who are never satisfied,

mothers who don't love one of their children or who favor one over the rest,

mothers who can't commit to one man

or to one personality.

Mother's Day is a celebration of motherhood

but even the good ones aren't perfect, have made mistakes.

We weren't ever designed to get everything we need from the humans in our lives,

we were designed to be loved by the flawed, clumsy hearts of other humans

who need God just as much as we do.

But some moms are a little more flawed than others.

I saw a book titled, "Biblical Motherhood" and the snarky side of me laughed.

I certainly have aspired to be the best mother God could make me and I've tried to do that by living out Biblical truth

but not all the mothers of the Bible were stellar role models.

Take Rebekah, old Jacob's wife.

She had two sons, but one was her clear favorite.

Esau was a skilled hunter but Jacob was "content to stay at home and wander between the tents."

He was a mama's boy.

And she prodded him and then assisted him in stealing Esau's firstborn blessing and then escaping his brother's wrath.

Esau was no prize but Rebekah was one shrewd, calculating mama.

Jacob's mother's day card? "Happy Mother's Day, Mom. Everything I have, I owe to you!"

Esau's mother's day card? "Thanks for nothing, Mom. Hope you're enjoying dinner with Jacob."

Then, there's Athaliah.

When her son, the king, was killed,

she expressed her grief by killing the rest of the royal family.

One of her daughters hid a young prince but if she hadn't

Athaliah would have succeeded in wiping out her own descendants so she could be queen.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the most narcissistic of all, right?

She was killed in the public square for the good of the kingdom.

Athaliah's mother's day card from her resourceful daughter, Jehosheba? "Too bad, Mom. You missed one."

And Gomer?

She had three children but she couldn't bother to be tied down to their father.

Hosea had to keep running after her, paying off the guy she'd picked up,

and bringing her back.

Gomer's mother's day card from her kids. "Mom, we know where you are. Dad's coming to drag you back. Can't wait to see you. Are your bringing us back something?"

Okay, and then, in the New Testament, we've got the clearly Shakespearan mother, Herodias.

She's having a public affair with the King,

her husband's brother,

and sends her daughter, Salome, out to dance for the king on his birthday (I'm sure it involved veils and a lot of twisted moves).

King Herod is so pleased with his niece's dance,

he offers to give her whatever she asks.

What does her mom prompt her to request?

John the Baptist's head on a platter.

Herodias was no fan of John because he'd declared her adultery a sin.

But seriously.

A king offers you anything you want and your mother insists you request revenge on a platter.

Nice.

Salome's mother's day card to Herodias. "Here's that prophet's head, mom.  That makes us even. Next time, I'm asking for real estate."

Yup, it can be lonely on mother's day for people whose mothers don't fit the cards being written by Hallmark.

Know this, though, loved ones:

"Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me." Psalm 27:10

" “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget, I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;" Isaiah 49:15-16a

Our mothers  may fail us, but God never will. He has the final word on your life, no one else.

It can be awkward when others are writing tributes to their moms on Facebook but your mom more closely resembles Norma Bates than June Cleaver.

So, if you want to acknowledge a mother

who, well, made life challenging,

perhaps you can just say,

"Here's to my mother who would have found a place with some of the mothers of Biblical times."

and leave it at that.

When Will Christians Start Believing God?

 We believe in God.

That's nice.

But it ain't the whole sha-bang.

The apostle James says, 

"Big deal. You believe in God. So what? So do the demons." (my paraphrase)

James is essentially challenging us not just to believe IN God

but to believe God.

I believe in God but there are times when I really have to stretch to believe Him.

Like, when He says that the meek will inherit the earth, it's like someone telling me they just saw Bigfoot.

Or, when He tells me not to worry about tomorrow, what I'll eat or drink or wear, it's like someone is describing alien bodies at Roswell.

These words of His require me to exercise faith because they make no sense to my mind 

and I'm surrounded by people telling me that meekness is the way of the weak 

and convincing me that worrying about tomorrow is logical, practical, and necessary.

But, recently, God used the world to illustrate for me the proof of another of His truths I find challenging:

the value of perseverance.

I hate perseverance and God's love of it just annoys me.

Perseverance is boring and tastes like dust, gravel, and sweat. Perseverance smells like wet wool. It's the color of fog in the morning. It feels like sandpaper and chalk.

There's no cool way to market perseverance because it's just a tough sell.

If perseverance showed up for a brand marketing meeting, the marketing team members would shake their heads, stare at the table, and suggest he alter himself into something consumers will actually buy like instant gratification and fleeting joy.

But, not God. Nope. God puts His big old arm around perseverance and says, "You are one of my favorite character traits. Human beings should all pursue you, man. You are what it takes."

And God puts these words into His faith in boring, old perseverance:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. " James 1:2-4

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;  and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;  and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love." 2 Peter 1:5-7

Still, I resist

you know, because I'm stupid.

But on May 2nd, Rhode Island became the tenth state to allow gay marriage. On the radio the next day, I heard an announcer who vehemently opposes gay marriage credit one thing with its approval:

the perseverance of gay rights activists.

"They just kept coming," he said. "Most of us believe it's immoral and wrong but the other side just wouldn't give up, they persevered, they never went away, they just wore us down by refusing to give up."

I almost pulled over to the side of the road in awe of the power of perseverance.

And I was humbled that the world schooled me in the truth my Father has been inviting me to embrace.

When, I wonder, will Christians start believing God?

I know when I did.  On May 3rd.

Sometimes I Wish Jeremiah WAS a Bullfrog

Man, I really want you to like me

and I want you to like my blog.

I care about you, those of you who stop here to read

wanting to press deeper into Jesus

I want to lighten the load that squeezes your chest and constricts your joy.

I . . . I . . . I

want to make you laugh for a moment

and believe everything is going to be okay.

And I was determined to do that today.

Short, I said to myself. Write short. Write funny. Cheer them up. Calm them down.

And then, I turned, as I do,

to my daily devotional reading seeking inspiration from God's Word

and this was the verse from Jeremiah 6:14:

"They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace."

And honestly, my first thought was, "Crud. You're not going to let me be funny today, are you, Lord?"

(and that, in a nutshell, is why I need Jesus, my friends.)

The world is a heavy place these days

you know,

sitting in the gun sights of hostile nations that didn't exist when we studied geography in the sixties

and mingling, unwittingly, with explosive young men searching for causes, making victims of us all, turning every public event into a mine field.

We hear about doctors who snap the spinal cords of infants fresh from the womb and try to convince us it isn't murder,

we watch our neighbors flaunt God's law, declaring that the Almighty either doesn't exist or needs to evolve along with the rest of us

or has been misread and misinterpreted and should feel lucky this enlightened generation has come along to set Him straight and clear His name.

And we are crushed beneath this load, these everyday weights, that turn our eyes off of heaven to watch our every step lest we trip and fall ourselves.

And so, I was a little annoyed with God,

petulant that He didn't see the same need I did, to lift you up and to help you rest for a moment,

until I decided to read the verse in context:

“From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.
 They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.  Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all;  they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them,” says the Lord." Jeremiah 6:13-15

And in the next verse, I remembered, that God loves you, dear readers, a million times more than I ever could

and that He sees your burden clearer than I could even stand to see it

and He  desires for you to feel joy and find rest from the intensity of our planet and the times in which we live

but His ways are not my ways,

He doesn't want to make you laugh for a moment, He wants to set you free to rise above and to live forever. 

The next verse says this:

"This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look;  ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.  Jeremiah 6:16a

And it made me laugh to see how the Lord led me to the right answer

even though my motives were mixed at the start.

He truly does know best

and He truly does see us

and He truly understands our burden

and He has the answer.

Find rest for your  souls, today, loved ones.  We are at a crossroads but our God knows the way home.

There's Silence Coming - Are You Listening?

There are quiet people.

Reserved.

Few words.

When they do speak, people listen, assuming it to be of some import

since they rarely choose to make the effort.

And then, there are talkers.

Seldom an unexpressed thought.

With them words are paint and brush, sickle and hoe, sword and shield, bandage and balm, trumpet and lyre, hammer and nail.

It is when they are silent, that others take note.

Idols are mute.

False gods cannot speak to us.

They've no thought, no voice, no mechanism to speak nor meaningful consciousness to communicate.

Idols are wholly silent

but it is from a dumbness

a density

an absence of ability

a deadness that never knew life and never will.

Jesus is the WORD.

He spoke the world into being.

His urge to communicate with His creation bursts forth like spring blossoms, tsunamis, wild doe birthing young, erupting volcanoes, and whispering winds.

He speaks through the written Word, through the voices of prophets, through His Holy Spirit, through asses and angels, kings and shepherd boys

He speaks from on high and He came to us in the flesh and blood He designed to speak with us flesh-to-flesh.

He is a God who speaks.

When He is silent, we should listen.

There's silence coming.

Revelation 8:1 says this: "When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour."

When you worship a chatty God

it's important to study His silences.

He was silent for four hundred years between the Old and the New Testaments.

He was silent when a crowd of hypocrites started gathering stones.

He was silent before His oppressors.

And there's silence coming,

a silence that begins in heaven

will surely be heard on earth.

I'm thinking that God is so patient

and He's been communicating with us for such a long time

that when He takes that pause

it's because He's bracing to stop talking and to unleash on His creation

the fulfillment of all that has been spoken.

What's beautiful about our Lord, is that He's given us the opportunity

to pay attention to that silence now.

He is a God who's talking;

are you listening?

I'm going to try this in the week ahead.

I'm going to shut off the noise in the air around me at every opportunity

and let there be silence

into which Jesus can speak to me.

How about you?

Are you making opportunities to hear Him while He's still talking?

And Thou Shalt Be Like Wile E Coyote

Why do the seasons catch us all off guard?

All through the long winter, we anticipate the spring

we watch for it, longing for the signs

but one morning, we wake up, and it's as if spring suddenly burst forth

and we wonder when the buds appeared and how forsythia exploded spontaneously.

All over New England, the coffee shops are riddled with customers complaining about the high cost of heat over breakfast and then rushing to the big box stores for air conditioner units by dinner. Next morning over coffee, all the talk will be amazement over the sudden, unexpected heat.

We marvel at cold in winter and at high temps in July as though there were no order to it all, as if we weren't subjected to the same progression of seasons year after year.

We're such a strange lot.

For a race created to grow and transform from cradle to grave and set down in the midst of a bubbling earth teeming with plant life and all manner of reproduction, transition, and development,

we resist change like a walk over hot coals.

Which is why I'm always late to evangelistic opportunities with the people around me.

Yesterday, I was having an everyday conversation with a woman in my life

one for whom I've prayed for salvation,

one for whom I've asked others to pray,

one to whom I've intentionally witnessed through words and actions for over a year

but somehow

I almost missed it when she turned an everyday chat into a confession of her awareness of spiritual poverty in her own life.

Still bent on my own conversational agenda, I kept trucking a few miles down the road of our chat before slamming on my mental brakes and thinking,

Wait. Did she just say she's becoming aware of spiritual needs on a whole new level and wondering about her own life?

The buds on that tree appeared overnight.

And I almost missed it because I was focused on my own voice in our conversation, not hers.

Fortunately, the Holy Spirit often appears like the roadrunner in my life and sets off ACME explosives in my tracks to garner my attention and I tuned in before the conversation took an exit off the transformation highway.

whew, nearly missed the signs.

That conversation was a bucket of cold water for me. A reminder to PAY ATTENTION.

I get so focused on planting seeds, I forget the point of the planting is to produce new life

and I freak out a little at the first sign of green poking it's tentative stem up out of the ground as a waking soul begins to climb out of the grave Satan had planned for its eternal interment.

Maybe that's because I sow seeds on such hard, unyielding soil,

but still,

I need to watch myself that I stop expecting some of them to take root

lest I carelessly trample a tiny plant as it emerges, stretching to receive the light.

How about you?

Do you stop anticipating change in those around you?

Do you plant with expectation or have you just started planting because you know it's what you're supposed to do but you've stopped searching the brown patch of dirt for signs of life?

How do we stay aware, alert, and anticipatory? How do we stay awake with Him in the garden?

What do you think?

"And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.  He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.  The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.  But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” Mark 4:26-29

Tonight I Start Swearing on My Blog

I'm tempted to swear

in my blog posts.

Not because I'm angry or anything

but because that's, apparently, the mark of a cool and relatable Christian these days.

You know, someone who's "down" with Jesus

but hasn't forgotten her roots in Sin-town.

She's not so "far inside of God" that she can't reach out and pull someone else in.

I've noticed that some very popular women who write about faith sprinkle curses liberally throughout their posts -

I like their writing and I often agree with what they have to say (although the cursing stops me for a moment every time - like literary speedbumps).

I want a wide audience and so, there are moments when I think,

maybe I'll start swearing on my blog.

I swear outside the blog - in traffic, when I burn dinner, or when I'm making a point in an argument with my husband.

Those are times when it feels necessary (although in afterthought, it wasn't really)

but normally swearing is something I work to avoid doing

not just because of the whole sin factor but

because I've been raised to believe that cursing is the refuge of the lazy mind.

I love this quote by Ernest Borgnine. "Writers used to make such wonderful pictures without all that swearing, all that cursing. And now it seems that you can't say three words without cursing. And I don't think that's right."

I work daily with people who punctuate every phrase with curse words.

There's one particular word that seems to work as an adjective for everything in some households.

It's funny that when I'm focused on what people are trying to communicate, the cursing doesn't bother me. It's like an accent or a dialect distinctive to their life situations and it doesn't get in my way with them at all.

But when I see intelligent authors choosing to swear in writing,

I know it wasn't an impulse, it was a conscious choice

and that bothers me.

It's like a comic going for a cheap laugh

or a director letting the camera linger on the heroine's tear drop.

It seems like a mechanism intended to elicit a response from me - shock or identification or awe at their cool courage to swear in print.

And I come away feeling a little - used.

So, it's sad (and exemplary of my sin nature) that I feel tempted to resort to the same technique

with you.

So, I won't.

It does get me thinking, though.

I care so much about communicating with people who have yet to enter a relationship with Jesus.

It's important to me to represent Him well

and often that means exposing my imperfection so people can see His work in my life.

But, I don't think I have to swear

to make you feel at home on my blog

or to convince you that I'm just like you

or that Jesus is interested in loving "real" people.

You're smarter than that.

Many of you know me in person so I don't have to waste any effort "proving I'm not perfect." You could write your own blog posts about my obvious imperfections and the work Jesus still has to complete in my life. 

In the big picture, swearing is nothing.

Swearing happens.

Whatever.

Words that fly through the air

are here in one breath, gone in another.

But writing is a thoughtful process,

what is written today, is read tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.

The words I write are a commitment

so, I can't commit to a curse word.

If it slips from my mouth, I can't take it back

but if it slips onto the page, I can backspace, delete, edit, reconsider, reword, write up.

I don't know - what do you think?

I'm a northerner living far from the Bible belt. We northern Christians get away with a lot here in New England.

Sometimes, that has the appearance of being cool and "authentic," and "real."

Often it's just a result of laziness.

I'm real. Big deal.

Believe me that my husband were prefer I be a little less "real" when we're arguing.

Maybe I should write my side of the argument from now on.

There's a thought.

What are the markers that draw you to a writer - the things that make you feel the writer is being authentic and relatable about faith?

Are you sometimes tempted to swear to be relatable? How about you pastors? Do you think if preachers swore from the pulpit, we'd have more bikers in the pews?

I don't know.

Thoughts?

Oh, here's a photo of Ernest Borgnine, the actor. Wasn't he great?

Ok, now, discuss.