Why Are We Here?

Okay...so, God spent an enormous amount of thought and energy creating the earth and everything around us. His crowning achievement being the creation of man, whom he then put in the garden to "dress it and keep it" (take care of it). Jump down to today...when the prevailing Christian thought is that God went through all that effort just to take man off the planet and go somewhere else with him.


Think about it: Christians spend their entire lives talking about when they can leave earth and "go to heaven and live with Jesus forever".


But that's not why the Bible says man was created. Read it!


Genesis 1:26


26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.


And Genesis 2:15


15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.


God created this beautiful planet, with its marvelous diversity of creatures, put man in charge of it all...because he wants man somewhere else. I'm just saying...


Here's another one... in Malachi, God is remonstrating with the children of Israel, and He actually tells them why He wants not just men and women - but also why He wants them to become one...


Malachi 2:15


15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.


A godly seed, children that will serve Him. God not only wants mankind to take care of the place and its creatures, but He also wants him to produce seed. Seed. Now that's an interesting word. What do you do with seed? You plant it.
After which it must be watered, fed, and protected, at which point it produces fruit and, hopefully, more seed... which is again planted. Each planting bringing yet a bigger harvest. Oh, I almost forgot, God's first commandment:


Genesis 1:28


28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.


Everything I find out about God's will for humanity shows man being a part of the life on this world that God created. Filling it, controlling the creatures, taking care of the environment. I don't find anything about God's will being to get man off the planet as quickly as possible so that man can "live with God".


And yet...


Numbers 14:21


21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.

Not all the heaven...all the earth.


Could it be that God actually loves this earth He created?


I looked it up. I could not find those actual words, but I found many scriptures stating again and again that "the earth is the Lord's". Not, as some people imply, the devil's.


I also found a very interesting verse that I had not seen before:


Isaiah 45:18


18 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.




WOW! God not only created man to take care of the earth, but He created the earth to be inhabited. With people. "Not in vain"... that means He did it for a reason. Somehow I cannot believe it was just to find people good enough to take off of it.


Here's a thought: Instead of treating our tenure on this planet as something we have to "endure", why not go to live with Jesus, forever, just like we planned.


Right here.


Right now.


On earth... in our homes, on our jobs, with our children, our friends, our neighbors, and, of course, our spouses.


How much faster could "all the earth be filled with the glory of the Lord" if we started spreading it - instead of sitting on our hands waiting for it?


Just a thought....


Julie

God, Are You There?

I was strong.
I moved freely and ate well with many others of my kind.

But...

I was restless because I seemed to be in a one-dimensional plane and unable to grow.  I explored every corner of my world, but could find no way to break free.  It was a good world, I tried to be content and pretend that I could not feel the other dimensions around me.

Then... all hell broke loose.  My world was destroyed.  My people split apart.  I was separated from the others.  Layer by layer, I became more and more isolated.  The harder I struggled, the tighter the walls of separation closed around me.

Everything that made me - ME - has been ripped apart.  What people see is a hardened shell.  Inside, all that is left is a broken, worthless, gooey mess of nothing.

"But God," my heart cries, "I was something; I was YOUR CHILD!  You loved me... Even now I KNOW you loved me ... once.  But YOU have destroyed me.  You left me.  I am no longer even recognizable as belonging to you.  I am an isolated, worthless, gooey mess of nothing inside."


This morning, I heard an almost silent whisper of an answer:  "A gooey mess of nothing inside a hard shell - but still alive... hmmm... sounds something like what one would find inside of a cocoon."

Stitch by Stitch - Javier Colon - a song of hope and faith.

Blue and black, heart torn out,
You uncover what's beneath my skin
There and back, there's no doubt, your touch is my medicine

I'll be okay, 'cause you heal me...

And I'll give you all my pieces broken
In your hands, there's nothing that you can't fix
My heart is frayed, my scars are open
So put me back together now, stitch by stitch
Put me back together now, stitch by stitch.

What you say, without words, resuscitates what was numb inside
So repair me, every thread of me, 'cause you're bringing me back to life

I'll be okay, 'cause you heal me...

And I'll give you all my pieces broken
In your hands, there's nothing that you can't fix
My heart is frayed, my scars are open
So put me back together now stitch, by stitch

I'm still afraid of falling, somehow it's takin' over me
Don't ever let me let it go...

There and back, there's no doubt, your touch makes me whole again

And I'll give you all my pieces broken
In your hands there's nothing that you can't fix
My heart is frayed, my scars are open
So put me back together now, stitch by stitch
Put me back together now, stitch by stitch
Put me back together now, stitch by stitch

Should Women be Silent?

Recently, I was reminded of something God gave me about three years ago.  It's a subject that people seem to argue over almost as much as they argue over baptism.  The reminder was a friend mourning about losing fellowship with another brother because they disagreed on the subject.  I thought maybe it was time for me to share what God showed me.


The controversy centers around two scriptures in the Bible:
I Corinthians 14:33-35 (Yes, I included 33 on purpose.)


^"33For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

 ³⁴Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.

 ³⁵And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church."

and I Timothy 2:11-12

¹¹Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.

 ¹²But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

The controversy rages between two camps. 

Camp A (No man is going to tell me to shut up!) prefers to toss both scriptures out of the Bible, claiming this was just a reflection of the times and these verses are Paul's opinion, not God's.  My problem with this is that, once you start tossing out/explaining away verses you don't like, where does it stop?  The Word of God becomes just another book and there is no source of truth -- nothing for me to use as a measure between my ideas and God's will.

This being the case, the pendulum swings over to Camp B (Women have been evil since Eve deceived Adam - let's just cut out their voice box entirely.)(Oops! I think they forgot to read 1 Tim. 2:14)  This camp in its extreme form, views women as second-class citizens in the Kingdom of God .  Women, like children, should be "seen but not heard".  The problem with this view is that women prophesy throughout the Bible - with God's evident blessing as well as Paul's. (see Acts 21:8-9)


The thing we should always remember is that God is not random - He does not say anything without a reason.  While He could just be reminding us to let the men speak (face it, ladies, get enough women in a room and the men will never get a word in edgewise!), I think there is a lot more to it than that.  I think these statements have to do with the relationships between men and women and what each was created to do.  We get caught up in our own pride and self-worth and forget that God actually had a plan from the beginning.


Let's start by looking at the context of these verses.  In both cases, Paul is asking for the woman to be in silence in a gathering of people when she is learning.  This is a time of teaching - learning something one did not know before.


There are two aspects to this scenario - learning and teaching.  God has very specific reasons for asking women to be silent in the group setting.  Let us look at the learning aspect.


In the beginning, God ordained that man and woman should become one. (See my post "The Promise".)  While the verse actually reads "one flesh", I believe that it is more than physical.  I believe it includes your mind and soul as well.  When a woman is listening to a man that is not her husband, she needs to remember to whom she is married.  It is not that other man.  Therefore, she is not to try to become "one" with or see eye to eye with that other man. She is supposed to ask her questions of her husband, so that she comes to the same understanding as her husband.  Men and women speak different languages.  Your husband may hear something completely differently than you do.  If you try to line up your beliefs (become one) with the speaker, you may end up with an entirely different conclusion than your husband.  Suddenly, you and your husband are no longer one.  Trying to become one with another man seems dangerously close to committing spiritual adultery.  Better to ask your questions at home.

That answers the learning question.  What about teaching?  "I suffer NOT a woman to teach!"  Gosh, Paul, you're pretty adamant about that.  Don't you know that women were created to teach.  Think about it a minute.  Nearly every human ever born had a woman for his first teacher.  What is a woman supposed to do when her children are grown?  Teach younger women! (Titus 2:3-4) Teaching is not just what we do...it is what we are!  Why, it was a woman who taught you the essentials of life...how to eat...how to walk... how to dress...how to go to the bathroom, for heaven's sake!  How ungrateful of you to suddenly decide we cannot teach!  When you were a child, a woman taught you EVERYTHING.  When you were a child...

Oh.  I see.  When you were a child.  1 Cor. 13:11


¹¹When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.  


Hey!  Your mother is NOT a childish thing.  Ah, but what about Gen. 2:24


 ²⁴Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife...


Once again, a man is supposed to become one with HIS woman - not some other woman.  This is the flip side of asking questions at home.  Also, he is supposed to leave his father and mother... they are no longer his teachers.  Why?  I give you 1 Cor. 11:3


³But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. 



When a woman teaches a man, or tries to change the understanding of a man, she is reducing him to the status of child, and putting herself between that man and Jesus.  This is a shame.


Wait a minute, am I saying a woman cannot get things from the Lord?  Absolutely not!  Women get things from the Lord throughout the Bible.  Women share things from the Lord within the gatherings.  Women were allowed to both pray and prophecy in the gatherings, as long as their head was covered. (Perhaps, as long as they were in agreement with their husband?)  What they were not allowed to do is teach - or persuade others to their point of view.  That is their husband's department.  (Sisters, if you don't have a husband, you have to find your own path, here.)


Remember wives, you aren't in this alone.  God gave you a husband - a man, not a child - who can share and work with and teach other men.  Just as you can work with and share and teach other women.  If the two of you are one, what God has given one of you, He has given to both of you.  He is the head, you are his heart. Luke 6:45:


A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. 

Ladies, work together with your man.  You don't have to do this yourself.  Make sure the treasure he finds in you is good, and he will have double the good things to share with those he meets - as will you.

What is the Sin in the Garden?

Controversy over what the sin in the Garden of Eden was is rampant. I've heard that it was an apple, an attitude, a purely spiritual allegory, a purely natural event, and, of course, the all-time favorite, sex। We could speculate all day over what really happened in that far-off time and place। But while I may not be able to clarify what that horrible sin was, I can tell you what it was not.

The "Sin in the Garden" was not sex.

And I can prove it.

It is not really that hard. All you have to do is read the story. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was put in the midst of the Garden before Eve was ever created. It is first mentioned in the description of the Garden given in Gen. 2:9. The command that Adam was not to eat of it was given in vs. 17. God does not even note that the man needs a help meet until vs. 18. Now, if the sin was something that requires two people, why would the command even be necessary while there was only one? Where does the idea that it was sex even come from?

I don't know exactly where the idea began, but I can tell you who made it popular: It was a Benedictine monk now known as St. Augustine. Augustine was a prime example of why forbidding to marry is called a "seductive doctrine of the devil". (1 Tim. 4:1-3) Put another way, he should have been listening when Paul said, "It is better to marry than to burn." (1 Cor. 7:9). The man had a severe problem with women. Like so many, he blamed the women instead of understanding that he had a God-given drive, one that woman was created to fulfill. He needed a wife, but believing that sex was carnality, he instead fluctuated between secretly visiting the harlots for some relief and pompously declaring himself a celibate monk, too holy to defile himself with a woman. He was a prolific writer, and his angst led him to promote the idea that original sin was Eve seducing Adam - and that every woman since that time is just as bad. When a man can't control himself, it's always the woman's fault.

But before you go blaming poor Augustine, remember that this type of thinking was so common even Jesus had to deal with it. Remember the woman taken in adultery? (John 8:3-10) Where was the man?

The problem with sex being the sin in the Garden is that it blocks us from fulfilling God's first commandment...Gen. 1:28

"²⁸And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."

It's a little hard to multiply without having sex. The argument? "But they were supposed to be fruitful first!" meaning that they were supposed to (in the tradition I was raised in) reach perfection or complete maturity in the Lord before they multiplied.

I have a couple of problems with this. First of all, I'm married. I didn't make it home from my honeymoon without realizing that God created men to have certain physical needs that are extremely powerful. Think about it - Adam, a healthy man, woke up from a deep sleep, with a beautiful, healthy, naked woman laying beside him, created for the sole purpose of meeting his needs. What would your husband do? We know exactly what Adam did -- it tells us in Gen. 2:24-25.

"²⁴Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

²⁵And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed."

Adam became one flesh with the woman beside him... and it did not occur to either of them to be ashamed.

Next argument? Eve wanted to be "as God - creating life." Really? First, every single living thing God created reproduced itself - that was beastlike - not godlike. Secondly, let's read the scripture. Gen 3:5 says, "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as beasts, recreating yourself." You know as well as I do, that is NOT what it says.

"⁵For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
⁶And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."

God had a relationship with Adam and Eve in which He actually spoke to them. Often. It appears that it was not unusual for Him to visit them in the Garden. What do you think they were doing while they walked with God? I could be wrong, but I believe God was teaching them what was good, and what was appropriate for their maturity and their ability to understand. Eve was impatient. Instead of learning as God chose to teach her, she was deceived into believing she could have it all NOW, and be wise enough to divide what she learned into good and evil. However, while that subtle serpent told her they would know both good and evil, he never said that they would know the difference. The fact that man is incapable of properly dividing those two qualities is evident in the world around us everyday. (It generally boils down to: if it makes me happy, it's good; if it does not, it's evil.)

The third argument I've heard in support of sex being a sin, is that Adam and Eve's first response to learning good and evil was to cover their nakedness. Think about this for a minute. Here is Adam. Here is Eve. Here is a Garden with only one rule (which they've already violated). What evil was there for them to commit? Think of the 10 Commandments. They had already put themselves before God and violated the first 3 commandments. The fourth concerns the Sabbath Day. (Not enough information). They had no father or mother to dishonor. It would be foolish, having only each other, to kill each other. There was nothing to steal (hey, you took my fig leaf!), no one to commit adultery with, or bear false witness against, and what, exactly were they supposed to covet?. That covers the 10 commandments. What evil is left? Only the evil of hurting each other. The evils that man has concocted in that department are endless. Something that God gave them as a gift to use in fulfillment of his first command (i.e. the sexual drive to multiply) was tainted by the knowledge of how it could be abused. The fact that they could even think of some of those things was so horrible that they felt the need to cover their nakedness. God agreed with them. However, since what they now felt was beastly, God used a beast to cover them. Thus, the first sacrifice was made. Because of man's sin, an innocent life was taken to cover his nakedness.

The final argument I've heard is "Look what the sin produced ... Cain." Gen. 4 shows Adam knowing his wife AFTER the fall; after they were put out of the Garden. So while I'll agree that Cain was a product of their sin, I contend that the sexual act was simply part of being husband and wife.

Why is this subject so important to me? Probably because I have six children. Think about it. If Eve's reason for eating of the fruit was to produce children, what does that say about me, or anyone else who chooses to have children? Is every woman evil because God placed in her heart a longing to produce a child? It was His first commandment. If you believe that sex was the sin, how in the world could you ever enjoy "having relations" with your spouse, knowing that every time you did you were recreating the very thing that destroyed man's relationship with God. (See David's blog, A Total Eclipse of the Heart) God walked with man in the cool of the day before the fall. After the fall, man was not allowed to even look upon His face. (Ex. 33:20 "...there shall no man see me and live.")

"Oh, but sex is only bad before marriage." I contend that marriage is a human and fairly recent construct. In the Old Testament, sex was marriage. Think about Isaac and Rebecca. Gen. 24:63-67

" ⁶³And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.

⁶⁴And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.
⁶⁵For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.
⁶⁶And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.
⁶⁷And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death."

This is important. It is the difference between believing that those who truly love the Lord should not marry (see 1 Tim. 4:1-3), and believing that those who truly love the Lord should marry - and produce children (see Gen. 1:28). The two ideas are diametrically opposed to each other.

It is evident throughout the Bible that God wants his people to reproduce and multiply. Not just replace themselves. "But the earth can only support so many people!" Do you honestly believe that the God who created the heavens and the earth does not know how many people it can support? From Genesis to Hebrews the word "multiply" is used 28 times in the context of either a command to produce children or a blessing. This is important to God. And while the pain and danger of childbirth, and the barrenness of women is part of the curse, the command has not changed. It is extremely difficult to produce children without sex. I believe the physical need for it was given by God as a confirmation and a blessing for those who would do His will.

Why is it so necessary? Malachi 2:15 answers that question.

"¹⁵And did not he make one?" (Gen:2:24)"Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth."

There are plenty of people out there willing to produce ungodly seed. But God wants a godly seed produced - and to do that he needs men and women who are willing to become one - not just in flesh, but also in spirit- and produce a people for His Name who will fill all the earth with His glory (Num. 14:21). We just have to be willing.

Becoming One

We had an interesting conversation the other day, and it gave me fuel for a new post. My husband was skyping and he commented to the brother he was skyping to (a pastor, by the way) that he really appreciated the way we work together as a couple on Bible studies and various things we see in the Word of God. Just out of curiosity (and assuming the brother had the same relationship with his wife), he asked the brother if this was a normal state of affairs. The brother responded with sorrow in his voice that David and I were probably just that way because David had no one else to talk with about the Bible.

Now, anyone who reads my posts knows that I am no feminist. However, I was just a little offended by that remark. I thought, "Oh, so I am just filling in until someone better comes along? I don't think so!"

David was not complaining about our current lack of fellowship; he was commenting on something beautiful that has been growing in our lives. Something we believe God intended from the day he first created a woman. It does not matter how many men David has fellowship with, OUR relationship with God and OUR discussion of the Bible will NOT be sidelined.

From day one of our marriage, we have shared everything we get from the Lord with each other. We listen to each other, refine each other, confirm or reject new ideas using each other's Bible knowledge, and continually grow together. (One definition of being "equally yoked".) Our spiritual life is rich and full when we are working together; sparse and sickly when we try to have a "personal" walk that does not include our spouse. After all, "Can two walk together except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3) We use this scripture as an excuse to cut off our brother from fellowship, when the question is in the context of a rebuke on Israel, a curse, and a punishment for Israel's sins.

Wives, if you are not sharing your spiritual life with your husbands, if you show no interest in the things the Lord is showing to him, then SHAME ON YOU! How can you possibly be his help meet if you are disconnected from the most important part of his life? If the "help" you provide is just meals and laundry etc., well, any hired hand can do that... you're just a free servant. There's a word for that.

After all, "And did He not make one?..." (Malachi 2:15 referring to Gen. 2:24)"...and wherefore one? That He may seek a godly seed." Wow! Why is it so important to God that husbands and wives become one? So that the children they raise up will be godly. If the husband is in his study getting one thing from his Bible reading and the wife is at her desk getting something else, and they never put it together, there is a good possibility they will end up on different paths. Sometimes to the destruction of the marriage entirely. Parents are not growing together, the children are not getting a unified message or picture of the Lord, and therefore are more easily led astray because "everybody has to do it their own way, so I'm going to go mine".

The "norm" today is an "every man for himself" philosophy in which no one really agrees with each other and truth is sacrificed for a moment of false harmony. (i.e. "Let's all just get along.") How much stronger could your children be in the Lord if, as they grow, they could hear and later join in the discussions between parents and therefore learn that the Word of God is a growing, living part of their life... that beliefs can change and be refined as we study God's word... and that we can therefore agree with our brother even if we don't see eye to eye because we don't yet know what God may reveal tomorrow as we study and continue to discuss His Word.

My sisters in the Lord, study of the Word of God is not for men only. Women see things differently than men. God made us that way for a reason. Your husband cannot get a full view of the Scriptures without you any more than you can without him. It takes both. We are not just the humble slaves, quietly taking care of physical things so that our husband can get "important" work done. We are, and were created by the God of Heaven to be his "help meet". Let us rise to the challenge.

Who's Judging Who?

I had an interesting conversation the other day, and it made me think I'd like to blather a bit. It's been awhile.

We were at the coast for Stephen's birthday, and I had a lovely conversation with a mother of a single 6-year old. I really don't know how it started, only that she started it. It went something like this, "First people say 'You're too young to have kids.' Then you get married and it's, 'When are you going to have kids?' Then you have a child and it's 'When are you going to have another one?'" At which point, I had to smile and say, "Try having more than 3. Then it's 'You have too many kids - when are you going to stop?'"

We had a good laugh, but it started me thinking: No matter what you do in your life, somebody always wants you to do something different. The world has this specific timeline for every aspect of family life, and if you don't conform, they'll let you know. I've come to believe that people are more judgemental of those who follow the Biblical plan of a large family than they are of those who have children out of wedlock. After all, those poor single parents need all the help they can get... it MUST have been an accident... the married woman is just being stupid. (If you don't believe me, just try having more than 3 children and see what kind of comments YOU get!)

That judgementalism is a funny thing. "Judge not" is raised as a shield, not a standard of life. i.e. "You'd better not judge me, but I can judge you all I want."

"Judge not." What does that mean, anyway? I think the sappiest line I've ever heard was, "Everyone has to live their own life." The words are true, but the attitude I've heard behind them translates better as, "I think you're wrong, but I'll say the words so that I sound like I'm good and we won't have to discuss this."

The truth is, unless one is a brainless moron, EVERYONE has an opinion -- on just about everything. It's what we do with that opinion that's important. Do we use it to condemn our brother/sister? Do we use it to help our brother/sister? Or do we keep it to ourselves, see what fruit a thing bears, and use it as a warning or enhancement of our own life?

We saw a great example of this the other day. We were driving down the road and we passed a red truck in the ditch. My first thought (shame on me!) was, "That person must have been drunk." My second thought (possibly not mine) was, "Maybe they just swerved to avoid hitting a child." In the first scenario, I condemned the driver as a dangerous idiot. In the second, I exalted him as a hero. Either way, I just judged someone I didn't even know. The truth was that a red truck was in a ditch. I do not want to be in that ditch. I will try to avoid going in that ditch, and I will attempt to keep my children out of that ditch. If the driver is still in the ditch and wants out, I will do whatever I can to help them out. (For all I know, he drove into the ditch to pick blackberries and can get out by himself.)

God does not ask His people to be mindless robots. He gave us minds that are endlessly capable of learning and growing. We do need to be able to judge what is right and wrong in our lives. But our focus needs to be on our own lives... not on somebody else's.

Another example: I homeschool. I believe God has called me to homeschool. I believe, with few exceptions, most children are better off homeschooled. If you complain to me about how your child is failing in school and the teachers are being unfair and the other children are leading your angel astray, don't expect much sympathy. If, on the other hand, your child is doing well in school, he/she is excited about learning, and they have even gathered a group of believers around them (this example based on a true story), you have my sincere congratulations. On the third hand, the reality is: If I am not having a conversation with you on the subject, I am probably not thinking about it one way or the other. Please do not take my strong convictions for a judgement on your life.

And the next time you see me in the ditch, please remember that I have 6 kids. Most likely I just fell asleep at the wheel.

Love in Christ,

Jules