Last week wasn't as easy as I'd hoped it would be. But gotta take the bad with the good, I guess. And there was a decent amount of good.
So Chris' birthday happened. I tried to make it a good day for him, and we went out to eat. Normally he'd've had to cook on that day, but he doesn't like cooking. So the obvious solution was a meal out. We ended up a Chinese place that's nearby. They're a bit more pricey than usual, and their vegetarian offerings leave much to be desired, but it made him happy, and that's what matters.
Other offerings in tribute of his birthday included ignoring chores this month (and that week), doing all the driving to various places, trying not to complain to him about things that day, and a trio of different-flavored fancy cupcakes instead of a birthday cake. He seemed to enjoy the various things, so mission accomplished, I guess. Some of my family also sent their best, and my parents and my grandmother both kindly took us out to eat in celebration of his birthday. That was fun, as I liked the company and the food at both places.
The only trouble is that the present I got him was deemed "permanently lost" by the mail service, so the company that made it is having to resend it. It now won't arrive 'til the middle of the month- about another week. I think I might be more bummed out about it than he is. It bothered me the entire day and still bothers me now. I did the best I could, though, and that's all you can really do.
Speaking of doing the best I could, the LGBT and the Church event went pretty well. The head sound guy made setting up the microphones and such very easy, which was extremely thoughtful and gracious of him. I still managed to stress through the entire event, though... Go go gadget anxiety disorder.
The event was a bit more on a hopeful note than I'd been expecting, which I think is probably a pointed philosophical choice on the organization's part. While there are plenty of people in the CRC that could really use a good browbeating on the subject, most people won't sit through the browbeating happily. Even if it's a badly needed educational browbeating.
Anyway, the stories were all hopeful ones, at least in some ways. Some of them were sad, along with the hope, but each of the kids is making the best of their lives. I was particularly impressed by the last panelist, a remarkably energetic, optimistic girl named Sam. I guess she was on NPR's Morning Edition, which she was really jazzed about.
But I guess more importantly to me, she spoke about how her parents just... utterly rejected her identity ("queer" and bisexual), but rather than dwelling on how much that has to have hurt, she chose to speak about how much she loves them and admires them. Without compromising her acceptance of herself and others like her. She said, and I quote, "My parents are the best. I love them so much." She expressed that sentiment repeatedly, even as she related how both her parents are pastors, and firmly believe that she is doing the wrong thing with her life. Sam regularly attends Bible study and supports other LGBTQ+ Christians in their faith.
Personally? I wonder how long her parents' dry theology will stand against their daughter's vivid, devout Christian life.
This branch of Christianity, the Christian Reformed Church, has a very bad habit of sticking its nose in the Bible and ignoring the people involved, and the world around it. I have repeatedly compared them to the Pharisees in the Bible, and I think it's a very apt comparison. They're so concerned with getting their theology right, that they ignore the very basics of God's charge to his followers: love God, love your neighbor.
Pointing to passages in the Bible and telling people that these things make them second class citizens, or somehow unworthy (or hell-bound, or whatever), is not at all loving your neighbor. It is a most basic version of "us versus them," the shunning of the outsider. It is not love to judge a person's merit on one facet of their personality, or insist they live stunted lives because of how God made them.
But currently the blind lead the blind over there in the ruling body of this branch of the church, and I roll my eyes at all of them. Hopefully the day will come soon when the bright light of truth pierces the darkness of their hostility and alienation, and the church will open its arms fully and honestly to the beautiful image-bearers of Christ who fall under the name "LGBTQ+."
Lastly this week, and very much closer to home, there was a minor power outage in my area on Monday. I returned home after exercise and lunch, and began work on my various things (including starting a book I've literally stared at in dread for the better part of a month...). I had the window open to let in fresh air, and suddenly there was a "POW" outside. Immediately, my lamp flickered and died. Nothing happened after that for about 20 minutes, after which I got annoyed, got my bike from the garage, and went for a ride outside.
It was good exercise, but it also reminded me that I'm hilariously out of shape and that I should have invested in a more sedentary-friendly bike seat. Also, my bike trail got cut short because of construction. Boo. Still, hopefully I'll be able to do this again, more successfully, in the future. Preferably minus the power outage, which thankfully ended a couple hours after it began.
So Chris' birthday happened. I tried to make it a good day for him, and we went out to eat. Normally he'd've had to cook on that day, but he doesn't like cooking. So the obvious solution was a meal out. We ended up a Chinese place that's nearby. They're a bit more pricey than usual, and their vegetarian offerings leave much to be desired, but it made him happy, and that's what matters.
Other offerings in tribute of his birthday included ignoring chores this month (and that week), doing all the driving to various places, trying not to complain to him about things that day, and a trio of different-flavored fancy cupcakes instead of a birthday cake. He seemed to enjoy the various things, so mission accomplished, I guess. Some of my family also sent their best, and my parents and my grandmother both kindly took us out to eat in celebration of his birthday. That was fun, as I liked the company and the food at both places.
The only trouble is that the present I got him was deemed "permanently lost" by the mail service, so the company that made it is having to resend it. It now won't arrive 'til the middle of the month- about another week. I think I might be more bummed out about it than he is. It bothered me the entire day and still bothers me now. I did the best I could, though, and that's all you can really do.
Speaking of doing the best I could, the LGBT and the Church event went pretty well. The head sound guy made setting up the microphones and such very easy, which was extremely thoughtful and gracious of him. I still managed to stress through the entire event, though... Go go gadget anxiety disorder.
The event was a bit more on a hopeful note than I'd been expecting, which I think is probably a pointed philosophical choice on the organization's part. While there are plenty of people in the CRC that could really use a good browbeating on the subject, most people won't sit through the browbeating happily. Even if it's a badly needed educational browbeating.
Anyway, the stories were all hopeful ones, at least in some ways. Some of them were sad, along with the hope, but each of the kids is making the best of their lives. I was particularly impressed by the last panelist, a remarkably energetic, optimistic girl named Sam. I guess she was on NPR's Morning Edition, which she was really jazzed about.
But I guess more importantly to me, she spoke about how her parents just... utterly rejected her identity ("queer" and bisexual), but rather than dwelling on how much that has to have hurt, she chose to speak about how much she loves them and admires them. Without compromising her acceptance of herself and others like her. She said, and I quote, "My parents are the best. I love them so much." She expressed that sentiment repeatedly, even as she related how both her parents are pastors, and firmly believe that she is doing the wrong thing with her life. Sam regularly attends Bible study and supports other LGBTQ+ Christians in their faith.
Personally? I wonder how long her parents' dry theology will stand against their daughter's vivid, devout Christian life.
This branch of Christianity, the Christian Reformed Church, has a very bad habit of sticking its nose in the Bible and ignoring the people involved, and the world around it. I have repeatedly compared them to the Pharisees in the Bible, and I think it's a very apt comparison. They're so concerned with getting their theology right, that they ignore the very basics of God's charge to his followers: love God, love your neighbor.
Pointing to passages in the Bible and telling people that these things make them second class citizens, or somehow unworthy (or hell-bound, or whatever), is not at all loving your neighbor. It is a most basic version of "us versus them," the shunning of the outsider. It is not love to judge a person's merit on one facet of their personality, or insist they live stunted lives because of how God made them.
But currently the blind lead the blind over there in the ruling body of this branch of the church, and I roll my eyes at all of them. Hopefully the day will come soon when the bright light of truth pierces the darkness of their hostility and alienation, and the church will open its arms fully and honestly to the beautiful image-bearers of Christ who fall under the name "LGBTQ+."
Lastly this week, and very much closer to home, there was a minor power outage in my area on Monday. I returned home after exercise and lunch, and began work on my various things (including starting a book I've literally stared at in dread for the better part of a month...). I had the window open to let in fresh air, and suddenly there was a "POW" outside. Immediately, my lamp flickered and died. Nothing happened after that for about 20 minutes, after which I got annoyed, got my bike from the garage, and went for a ride outside.
It was good exercise, but it also reminded me that I'm hilariously out of shape and that I should have invested in a more sedentary-friendly bike seat. Also, my bike trail got cut short because of construction. Boo. Still, hopefully I'll be able to do this again, more successfully, in the future. Preferably minus the power outage, which thankfully ended a couple hours after it began.
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