Today I heard that a local pastor was involved in an affair with someone on the staff at the church. Sad on two levels - if true, for the pastor and his family in addition to the church, and sad if not true that people are spreading garbage around. It got me to thinking about all the negative said about various churches in our area... "this one is like a cult" or "that one is so judgmental" or "I don't like that church because the people in leadership lead questionable lifestyles" (which, in my opinion, depends on what the questionable lifestyle is). Let's go a little deeper still. Try and imagine that you are the pastor of a church.  Doesn't matter at all what denomination, but for sake of argument, you are a Baptist preacher.  You are called to the ministry to lead a congregation, spread God's message of love and mercy, support those that have given their life to Christ, and help people in their walk with the Lord.  You have, on occasion, in a "loving" way, voiced your … [Read more...]

The day starts like clockwork... stumble out of bed, start the coffee, let the dogs out.  Once the coffee is done, I settle in to wake up with my morning joe, and at least two cigarettes. I have smoked since I was 16 - more than half my life now. I smoked through both my pregnancies, through multiple illnesses, through highs in my life, and deep lows. I have smoked when family members died of cancer. It is who I am.  But, it isn't who I am going to be. Most people I know are non smokers, and honestly, they just don't get it.  Yes, it stinks, its expensive, and it could kill me.  But, as a smoker, those things don't matter. Much like a cocaine addict, or an alcoholic.  We know.  We know. But, the need, or the illusion, rather, is that it doesn't matter - it doesn't smell that bad, we really can afford it, and it kills everyone else except me. Slowly, over time, I'm realizing, that yes, I am that statistic. My skin is showing signs of being a smoker.  My … [Read more...]