No Internet

A sad thing has happened....my internet (or rather the internet of whom I was mooching off of) isn't working. I don't know why, but because of it I can't get online anymore in my apartment. In other news...

I finally got my tattoo. It is of the word "Dad" in cursive with two blue roses around it. My sister got a matching one! It didn't hurt nearly as bad as I thought it would, and I am sooo ready for another one!

Well, I'm off to work. Just thought I'd leave a little update. Soon I will leave a longer post.

~Lola~

Charismatics vs. sympathizers....together in harmony

As I was introduced to this "ordinary radical" theory, I began to feel a fire. I wanted to be part of the movement...I wanted to be out there doing more. And I wrote about how we shouldn't be fooled into thinking that a check to a charity is enough. I had a friend kinda get upset about that because she believed that her check was okay. At first I thought, 'See! that's what I'm talking about!" I believed that she was somewhat...twisted...in her thinking. I thought,"What's her problem!? Everyone should want to hop on this crazy train!" I looked at her somewhat differently for being reluctant to what I was so enthusiastic about.

But, recently, I read a part in The Irresistable Revolution about charismatics and sympathizers. Here's what it says....

"One of the things that has fascinated me about the days of the early church is how those who abandoned homes and possessions to follow Jesus lived in such union with those who opened their homes to them and the poor. Gerd Theissen called the two groups the "wandering charismatics" and the "local sympathizers". The wanderers were traveling apostles and relied on the support of the sympathizers. Both shaped the early church. They did not look down on each other. The sympathizers did not write off the wanderers as radicals or freaks, and the wanderers did not judge the sympathizers as sell-outs. They loved and supported each other."

Hhmmm...not exactly what I'd been doing, huh? I guess I never really stopped to think that not everyone has to sell all they have. Jesus had his disciples who left their old lives behind to follow him....but, he also had people like Martha who served Him from her home. Not everyone does the same thing...and that's okay. That's how God designed things. Like a puzzle...all the pieces different yet all working together to form His picture!

So, I would first like to appologize to my friend...I believe you know who you are by reading this. I'm sorry for being judgemental.

Second, I would like to encourage you. Whether you're a wanderer or a sypathizer...LOVE! Love each other and work together in harmony. And love your neighbors. Love your co-workers, parents, enemies...even that person in the lunchroom that no one talks to. Love 'em and show them God through that love.

Peace!
~Lola~

To Bring You Back

This is an amazing song! I heard it on shine.fm and I love it! Listen carefully to the words...



~Lola~

Communion

Pastor Brian shared this video during the mercy fund offering today (which they take every communion Sunday). It is an amazingly powerful video...



~Lola~

Ordinary Radicals?

As I have previously posted, I am reading the Irresistable Revolution. There are some more parts that I want to post on, so here goes!

When explaining the Simple Way--
"Poet Henry David Thoreau went to the woods because he wanted to live deliberately, to breathe deeply, and to suck the marrow out of life. We went to the ghetto. We narrowed our visions to this: love God, love people, and follow Jesus. And we began calling our little experiment the Simple Way.----- We hang out with kids and help them with homework in the living room, and jump in open fire hydrants on hot summer day. We share food with folks who need it, and eat beans and rice our neighbor Ms. Sunshine makes for us. Folks drop in all day to say hi, have a safe place to cry, or get some water or a blanket....We reclaim abandoned lots and make gardens amid the concrete wreckage around us. We plant flowers inside old TV screens and computer monitors on our roof....We see police scare people, and on a good day, we find an official who will play wiffleball with his billy club...We try to make ugly things beautiful and to make murals instead of violence."

How cool is that?! I can't imagine how awesome it would feel to be in total community! Later on he says...

"Most of the time, though, I think that if what we are doing seems radical, then that says more about the apathy of Western christianity than about the true nature of our discipleship. And this is why "radical" has to be coupled with "ordinary". Our way of life was so typical in the days of the early Jesus movement....Christendom seems very unprepared for people who take the gospel that seriously."

It is so true...

One point he makes earlier in the book is...what would our world be like if people stopped and said, "What if we lived like we believed Jesus really meant what he said?"

Why is it that we look at what they do and think...wow! That's sooo cool! But it should be ordinary...that should be how life is. Not just some group of radicals...ordianry people and everyday life.

How would this world be if we took what Jesus said seriously? What if we really did love our enemies? Or if we sell everything we have? How would things be changed?
Some things to think about...
~Lola~

The Man in The Hole

Quirky things about my job

Last night at work, I sat back and admired some very strange "quirks".

1.) We have two cats there...Memory and Al (short for Alzheimer's). They are usually cats...occasionally dogs...and last night---chickens!!! Yep! Chickens! They are whatever the residents want them to be.

2.) One lady there carries a doll around. And this doll is very special because it can change gender! That's right! Some nights she calls it Roger...other nights she calls it Emily!

3.) The residents don't tend to grasp the concept of hot/cold weather. So last night, one lady was wearing her winter coat, gloves, hat, and scarf! She apparently thought it was cold...

I do enjoy my job there! It is way better compared to other places I've worked. When I became a cna, I had hoped that I would be able to care for peoples' wholistic needs...not just physical but emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and mental. But up until now, it was been a whole lot of manual labor and not much interaction.

At this place, they are mostly independent so you are able to interact with them more. I'm able to sit down and fold laundry with someone...or play a game of cards with a few devout ladies...or pet the cats/dogs/chickens with them...or watch TV with them...or read with them...or care for Mama's baby with her.

I now have dance partners, too! There are two guys there who dance with me all the time. One of them has a guitar in his room, so I grabbed it and started playing a little...and while I did, he danced around the room. The other guy actually did a little swing dancing with me! It was great fun!

There is still the usual things I hate....drama between employees, stupid rules made up by higher-ups who are never on the floor to see how things work, unbearable heat (the residents think it's cold so we have to adjust the heat for them), and those people who have worked there forever and are really intimidating (though not so much here).

I've been trying to find a job that I could see myself at for awhile. I can definately see that here! Unfortunately, I think that I may be one of those people whose attention span is low and cann never stay at a job for long...my work history is crazy (I've worked at 5 different places within the last almost 3 years). But I pray all the time that God would change that in me and that I could be satisfied with this job.

Well, that's all for now. Later!
~Lola~

A verse I read today...

I read these verses today because there have been parts of it rolling around in my head for days.

"After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need."

-Acts 4:31-35

Some things I picked out of this...

1.) They prayed. And not only did they pray but they prayed it was powerful! The place was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit! How truely awesome would that be?!

2.) All the believers were one in heart and mind. All too often there's a lot of arguing and fighting within the body of believers. But that's not how it is supposed to be. 1Peter 3:8 says, "Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another..." The people of the church of Acts got along and, more than that, were one with each other!

3.) One thing that was said a lot in my house growing up was, "That's mine!" or "Mom! She has my ______!" We always claimed things for our own. Mine! Mine! Mine! But one thing that we can take from the church of Acts is how they SHARED what they had! No one claimed a possession for themselves! And later on, you see that no one among them was in need. If only things worked like that these days! Can you imagine how the world would be if those among us who are blessed with much would share it? How many less people would be in poverty? Wow! What a great example!

Well, I just wanted to share this. I hope that this would make you think...
~Lola~

The Irresistable Revolution

Today, someone gave me a book by Shane Claiborne called The Irresistable Revolution. Within the first few pages, I have already read some great things. Here is a part that really stood out to me...

"But we live in a world that has lost its appreciation for small things. We live in a world that wants things bigger and bigger. We want to supersize our fries, sodas, and church buildings. But amid all the supersizing, many of us feel God doing something new, something small and subtle. This thing Jesus called the kingdom of God is emerging across the globe in the most unexpected places, a gentle whisper amid the chaos. Little people with big dreams are reimagining the world. Little movements of communities or ordinary radicals are committed to doing small things with great love."
The Irresistable Revolution by Shane Claiborne. Bold added

~Lola~