Posted By Christina M on March 10, 2010

Hyperlad is one of the most inquisitive five-almost-six year olds I’ve ever known. He asks some very interesting questions, so I thought I’d answer a set of them right here.

1. Yes, everyone dies.
2. That’s right, you won’t get hurt in heaven.
3. God makes them, with help from Mommy and Daddy.
4. No, I don’t really want to tell you that part right now.
5. It’s called decomposition.
6. No, your new heavenly body will not be made of metal.
7. Just don’t worry about how babies get there for now, ok?
8. No, I’m not dying yet. It will be a long time from now.
9. Would you please stop asking how babies get there? I”ll tell you later.
10. Yes, that’s right, worms eat it.
11. Yes, that’s right, they do poop it out and make better soil.
12. Yes, you may have oatmeal for breakfast.

All of which leads me to a question of my own: just what do they teach on PBS Kids?

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Posted By Christina M on March 3, 2010

If you feel overwhelmed, if you consider doing something you can’t take back, consider this: you don’t want to die, not really. What you really want is for the pain to go away. Talk to someone you can trust. Give the pain a chance to go away.

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Posted By Christina M on February 23, 2010

I think justice is overrated. If God were completely just, I’d go to hell. I have every reason to be grateful for mercy.

Sunday is the Lord’s day. Do we ever stop and ask ourselves why? It is because every Sunday is a feast day — the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord.

How much does God love you? Every bit of love in the world, even throughout history and the future, comes from one source: God. His love for you is greater than all love that has ever existed on earth and ever will.

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Posted By Christina M on February 18, 2010

Brittany Rotating Corpse found a gem of a Hallmark book-card. It’s from the 70’s, a fact that becomes obvious both by the cheesy mustache and the thoughts expressed. It’s title? Please Don’t Promise Me Forever.

Evidently it stood for all the deepest thoughts of the post-sexual revolution era. Commitment only dampens love, and as long as I say I love you, you should accept if I mistreat you. Love is the panacea word to excuse any and all mistreatment. Not surprising that a decade and a half later came a movie like Sleeping with the Enemy. The sexual revolution had taught women that if they really love in an open-minded way, they should submit to whatever excrement is flung their way. This from the same cultural revolution that told us that “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”

But it’s just wrong. I want to know that the man I gave myself to will be here for me tomorrow. I NEED to know it. I wake up with a smile on my face because I do know it.  I deserve to know it. And he deserves to know the same of me. And I owe him certain things. I owe him a commitment that is deeper than a one-night stand. I owe it to him that I try to be kind, considerate, thoughtful, and helpful, even when I don’t feel like it, because love is a way you treat someone, not just a word used in foreplay. I owe it to him that if I fail in my treatment of him, instead of making excuses, I apologize. He deserves to know that he’s worth it. And so do I.

I am thankful that the era of “isn’t casual mistreatment really a form of romance” is winding down. And I’m here to say it, and say it loudly: Joel, I promise you forever. Or at least till death do us part. And I’m holding you to it!

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Posted By Christina M on January 31, 2010

My friend Mary has cancer. I would be more specific, but it would take a page to describe all the cancer spots. She’s been actively getting treatment, and has already had major surgeries, including having part of a lung removed. (No, she is not a smoker — it was metastasized from elsewhere.) She is asking for prayers, and so am I. I love this dear lady, and do not want to lose her.

Some of you may remember when I was asking for prayers for my 5 year old cousin. God answered those prayers, and this child who was not expected to live not only lived but her tumor mysteriously disappeared before they went to remove it. God can indeed work miracles, as we have seen. I do not know His plan, but I know that He loves, and will welcome our prayers.

Thank you, prayer warriors!

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Posted By Christina M on January 22, 2010

Not all change is progress. The fall of the Roman Empire was a change.

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Posted By Christina M on January 19, 2010

Learn something new every day.

What I learned today was interesting, all right. I learned a few things about credit, credit reporting, and collectors. Maybe I’m naive, but it really took me by surprise.

First, let me tell you, in case you do not know. There is a place to get free copies of your credit reports, and it is NOT the place that has the annoying pirate restaurant singer. No, it’s a right guaranteed by the government, through the FTC. Go to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre34.shtm for more information, and to http://www.annualcreditreport.com to collect. You are entitled to see your credit report with each of the three reporting agencies for free once per year.

When I was looking at mine, I discovered that one thing didn’t fit. There is a section that is visible to you, but is not distributed with your credit report to inquirers. That part is where companies have checked your credit for the purpose of offering unsolicited credit offers. You know, the letters from banks that tell you how you’re pre-qualified. On that list was a collection agency. It had a notation next to it specifically indicating that their purpose was to offer unsolicited credit. Yes, this was one of the companies that last year claimed to be trying to collect a debt, a debt we did not owe.  Furthermore, my report stated that I did not have any accounts with any collection agencies.

What does all this mean? A collection agency lied about their purpose in looking at my credit report, so that they could get information on me to pretend I owed them money. They had not even purchased an account — they were making it up!

Just because someone says they are from a collection agency and that you owe them money, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is true. They can easily obtain information about some debt you owe and pretend to have bought it. If you pay them, you are out the money, and you still owe the money to the real owner of the debt.

What does this mean to you? Three things. First, check your credit report annually. Know the state of your affairs. Second, NEVER pay by phone, especially to a collection agent.  Third, before making any payment, obtain proof in writing of the debt. They may bully, yell, refuse you information, and even call you names. Do NOT pay them to get them off your back. The more they bully, the more likely it is that they are fraudulent.

If you genuinely owe money, it is right to pay it. You should pay it… but make sure that you are paying it to the person you really owe it to, and do not give them the power to take more than you are giving. Don’t ever let them access your checking account, for instance. (Even genuine credit companies are known sometimes to double dip, collecting more than one payment with one authorization.  I lost hundreds of dollars in fees when my mortgage company took two payments instead of one a few years ago. Lesson learned.)

Please, learn from my mistakes. Never pay by phone, and always get everything in writing. Anyone can start up a collection agency and claim you owe them money. Save your money for those you really owe.

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Posted By Christina M on January 14, 2010

The other day I saw the words “What’s wrong with America” somewhere, and it got me to thinking. It’s easy to blame today’s woes entirely on politics. The left thinks it’s because of the right, the right thinks it’s because of the left, and everyone agrees that we have problems. Maybe politics play a part (in fact, I feel pretty certain they do) but I don’t think it’s right to just blame it on politics and then move on. I think that’s really just passing the buck. At least, it relieves us of having to think about the other causes.

What is wrong with America?

We live in a land of dichotomies.

We offer minority scholarships so that they can go to college, but we don’t improve their elementary school education to prepare them for college.

We preach against child abuse while protecting, even defending the right to abuse babies to death in the womb.

We believe strongly in the value of the individual while using the school system to squeeze all individuality out of children with standardized testing and standardized curriculum. (So much standardized curriculum that there is little room left for individualized learning.)

We believe in government of the people, by the people, and for the people, while electing career politicians who do not have to live with the consequences of the laws they pass. (I did say politics were a part, just not the whole thing.)

We talk about caring for the poor, but we look to entities and institutions to correct the problem for us.

We talk a good talk, but we do not walk a good walk. We are so busy institutionally caring about people we throw persons under the bus to get them out of the way of our agendas.

What’s wrong with America? We are so tied to our philosophies, ideas, and theories that we forgot how to care for those that don’t help our agendas along. We seem to have forgotten that what goes on in our own brains isn’t nearly as important as the human beings that are harmed by being denied education, safety, or food.

We have forgotten to ache when an innocent person is harmed by our ideals. When we care for the poor but don’t feed the hungry (as a person, not as an institution)… when we care for children but support their killing… when we care for the underprivileged but settle for throwing tests at them to “fix” the problem… we aren’t really caring. We are talking a nice, pretty, hypocritical talk. Until we stop being hypocrites, I do not believe our problems in the United States will improve.

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Posted By Christina M on January 12, 2010

Ladies, if you think men are a mystery, read on.

1. Men are human. Do not expect them to behave otherwise.

2. You can’t change them. A man who is good isn’t going to change for you. A man who is bad isn’t going to change for you. Do not go into a relationship thinking if you make things permanent his faults will disappear. If he has faults you cannot tolerate (or even non-fault personality traits) you aren’t going to sift them out once you have “rights.”

3. You can’t buy a man. You can’t make him feel obligated to be with you, stay with you, or commit to you by giving sex. Even if it works, it isn’t fair. And it usually doesn’t work. All it does is turn both of you into manipulators. That is a very poor foundation for a relationship.

4. Living together isn’t a step toward marriage. You may think it is, and maybe he even thinks it is. But He may not. In so many relationships, one person moves in because they think it will force the relationship closer to marriage, while the other person thinks of it as a way to avoid real commitment. When it breaks up (as most of them do) there is just more baggage because you’ve combined households, and the hurt is deeper.

5. Same with having a baby, only more so. Don’t have a baby to strengthen a relationship. Only have one if you are already in a strong and permanent relationship (marriage).

What it all boils down to is this: men are not objects to be manipulated, and if you try you will only hurt both of you.  If you feel the need to manipulate, you need to do some serious reflection before trying to take things to a new level.

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Posted By Christina M on November 29, 2009

I like to be gentle most of the time. I don’t enjoy criticizing people, and I don’t base my love for people on whether they live perfectly. I am a sinner myself, so I’m in no position to withhold my love for others because of sin. But there are times when the truth needs to be said, and the truth isn’t always easy to hear. I don’t speak the truth because I hate you, but because I love you.

There is a truth. You know inside of you that there is. And you know with your depths that truth doesn’t change to suit what you believe. God doesn’t cease to be, or cease to care, just because you try to stop caring or believing. Like a parent, He misses you when you are gone. He loves you, and He is ready to welcome you back at any time. The only thing stopping you is your own reluctance.

There are many reasons for reluctance. For some, it is fear that God cannot love you because of your sins. That’s just a mistake. If God could only love the sin-free, He wouldn’t have allowed us freedom of choice. He loves you, no matter what. Just like I love Hyperlad when he breaks a window or steals a piece of candy… no, more so. He loves you so much more than a human mother loves her child.

For others, it is willfulness. You want to hang on to your sins, or your perspectives, or your lifestyle, and you think God gets in the way. No problem, just write Him out of the picture. The only problem is that by turning your back on Him, you can’t make Him go away. He still exists. He still cares. He still hurts over your stubbornness and rejection, and He still loves you unconditionally. You don’t like knowing that, because it makes you feel guilty to know that someone you chose to hurt loves you anyway. It would be easier if He would just turn His back on you; but He won’t. You can’t make Him stop caring about your well being just by not caring about Him. You can’t make Him approve of sin just by choosing an easier belief set.

For others it is a false worship of their own intelligence or choices. “I’ve made my choices, and it would be hypocritical to change my ways now.” But it’s false logic, really. We are not gods, and we will not be. You are not greater than the One who loves you and made you. And you are not greater than His love and forgiveness. Do you really think that you are so big that your decisions and thoughts can outweigh the Maker of the universe? Your sins are not bigger than His ability to forgive. He loves you, and will forgive you this very moment if you are ready to accept it.

You are, however, important and so very special. You are so important, so special, that you should receive and welcome every bit of love offered to you.

It is not too late. If you think it is, that is your enemy whispering in your ear. God loves you, and that is all there is too it. He does not love you conditionally, until you make a mistake. If that were the case, there would be no heaven, no believers, no love in the world. Do not turn away any longer!

If I’ve touched even a small part of your doubt, please whisper just this one tiny prayer under your breath. “Lord, show me Your love. Show me what You want me to see.”

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