Skip to main content

to be or not to be

CYNICAL? -- that's my question recently. i read a friend's blog where she honestly discussed her struggle to give thanks. her sentiments resonated with me because i, too, can write a list of things for which i'm thankful. but how does that list transcend paper to become actual thanksgiving?
i write this because i think there are many Christians in the world that struggle with authenticity, myself included. it's easy to go to church, give a cursory description of my current state of being, smile, and graciously move onto the next shallow (& not in the good sense referenced in my last post) conversation. i find today's postmodern philosophy so persuasive and oppressive that, despite my best efforts, i still sometimes disdain large churches with large fundraising campaigns. similar to my paper list which chronicles all the right things, i tell myself that these churches fulfill God-ordained purposes and are ministering to others in the midst of need. i long to fling off this postmodern cynicism and the sin that so easily entangles and also seems to follow adherence to the postmodern myth. as believers, we don't need to live under the veil of cynicism and doing so is quite dangerous. a large church may not be the place for me just as much as griping about the church is not for me, either! i write these thoughts because they're common to man and because i think they come from a common source that would seek to increase back-biting and disunity among the church so we are just as unappealing as any other organization. and yet, and YET, Christ IS different. Christ IS the difference. i pray that we can all cast aside cynicism and pick up the joy before us and run the race!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rare Disease Day 2024

Today's Rare Disease Day. There's sometimes a particular weightiness to life with a rare disease. All the appointments, emergencies, traumas, doctors, therapists, medicines, opinions, schedules and upset schedules. My touchpoint is being mom to my precious girl with Wiedemann-Steiner Syndrome  (WSS). You'd have to spend a day or week shadowing me to know what it's really like. Doesn't that sound alienating? As though you couldn't possibly imagine if you're not living it? Well, maybe. But think about a time of immense grief you've lived through, or a time when your world seemed to be falling apart around you and it felt like everyone else was completely unaffected. I suppose it's a bit like that. You might have thought that those around you couldn't possibly know how that experience felt to you. A couple weeks ago, I started keeping a list of all the extraordinary things that happened in my life due to my daughter's rare disease. I learned a c

Startup Day 875: piloting in New Haven

Iteration is emblematic of startups. For example: From last year's pilot , we learned that parents and adults with disabilities were looking for recommended resources.  We built the Empowered Together app and tried crowd-sourcing those recommendations.  In our New Haven pilot, we're bringing database building in-house by listing accessible food, arts, and recreational businesses in greater New Haven.  Thankfully, we have thought partners in this endeavor at the City of New Haven and at community disability orgs. We are working with a Quinnipiac student and awaiting word on additional grant funding. We're taking the right next step in changing the social system to be accessible and inclusive of People with Disabilities.

leap for joy

Greetings from the land of Knee Shorts modest clothing, virgin margaritas, & clean flicks. Yes, I really encountered all those at the Great Salt Lake . The drive rivaled the drive to Vegas for number of praises from Mom. In my humble opinion, the drive to SLC wins, hands down. Mountains rise from clover-covered valleys, climaxing in snowy peaks. Cows & horses graze in bucolic pastures. We had a 2+ hour conference call w/ the siblings filled w/ Lisa singing Mariah Carey & Tim claiming he really was listening to everything we said. We arrived to the perfect hotel where we got to run, swim, AND bed jump. Thanks to Christine who introduced me to a bed jumping website (http://www.hotelsbycity.net/blog/bed-jump/), I had to try it. Caution: bed jumping can result in sleeping with one end of your bed on the floor OR with your suitcase holding up the mattress. By the way, Mom has declared a new gift. In addition to Master Map Reader and Spatial Arranger, she hereafter can spe