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SHOULD WOMEN PREACH OR BE QUIET?
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Posted:Mar 2, 2008 2:19 pm
Last Updated:Mar 6, 2008 1:43 pm 1767 Views
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CAN WOMEN BE PREACHERS, OR SHOULD THEY ONLY TEACH OTHER WOMEN?
I'm looking for answers with solid reasoning behind them. The Greek words' meanings, the situations going on at the time, things like that. I'm not interested in "it doesn't apply to us today". That's a cop-out.
Is there anyone who can answer my question?
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A SQUIRRELY CHURCH?
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Posted:Feb 29, 2008 1:02 pm
Last Updated:Mar 3, 2008 10:35 pm 1534 Views
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Have you ever watched squirrels?
Living in Oregon, we have them all over the place, so they're kinda hard to miss---literally, sometimes, like when they decide the street would be a great place to rest.
In some ways, people and squirrels are a lot alike.
There are those of us who, like I just mentioned, like to take naps. Anywhere and everywhere. We don't worry; we know other people will go around us.
And there are those of us who love it when the sun comes out. When it rains, just TRY to find us.
But when it's pretty outside, we jump for joy! Flying from tree to tree.
Others take life a little more seriously. We know it is beautiful around us, and we appreciate the beauty, but things need to get done. So we're the ones who make sure nuts are stored, birdseed is tasted and put away---all that good stuff.
Then there are those of us who enjoy teasing. We love sitting on the telephone wires, whooshing our tails up and down, laughing at the cats as they try, with no success, to get to us.
Some of us aren't really sure what we like to do yet, we just know we don't want to sit still. So we run up and down the wires, doing a little of this and a little of that, trying to find our niche in life.
Many of us simply like to talk. To each other, on the phone, in public---we don't care, we just
LOVE to chatter.
What kinds of squirrels does God prefer to have in the church?
ALL of us!
We balance each other out with the different squirrely gifts God has given us.
And boy, am I glad about that!
Say, I'm hungry. Anybody see where I put the pistachios?
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I WANT SOMETHING COOL ! ! !
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Posted:Feb 28, 2008 11:54 pm
Last Updated:Feb 29, 2008 12:35 pm 1446 Views
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I went to the doctor today. Turns out I might have whooping cough.
WHOOPING COUGH??
I was vaccinated against that when I was a .
Well, the vaccinations are wearing off, and adults are catching whooping cough and spreading it around to other adults, and to .
THAT'S something I sure didn't know.
But to be told I might have whooping cough is like being told I have the measles.
I keep thinking: I feel this crummy, and all I have is a 's disease?
Yeah, I know used to die from it, but it's still a 's disease in my mind.
Why couldn't I have something COOL, like, say,
pneumonia?
I'm kidding of course.
Of...course...
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GOD..... A BATHROOM DRAIN??
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Posted:Feb 27, 2008 3:22 pm
Last Updated:Feb 27, 2008 10:24 pm 1490 Views
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I'm reading a book. Don't look so surprised...I do that once in awhile .
It says that if you're doing well, bearing fruit for God, look out, because you're going to get pruned. God is going to cause you pain by cutting things out of your life that you love. He's going to do that so you will bear MORE fruit.
So how is this supposed to encourage me to bear fruit for God???
It makes me want to hide in a cave.
Or slit my wrists.
It also makes me feel like God is pretty selfish.
It makes Him sound like He want more, MOre, MORE!!!! And no matter how much we give, He will torture us until we satisfy His desires.
Is this true? Is God pretty much a bathroom drain? Sucking everything toward Himself? And if He's wants more, He just gets out the shears and starts cutting at us, so He can have more, MOre, MORE??!!
Doesn't sound very glorious...
Not like the glorious God I know.
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WHAT DO LIE DETECTORS AND ROMAN COLISEUMS HAVE IN COMMON?
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Posted:Feb 25, 2008 12:40 am
Last Updated:Feb 25, 2008 2:00 pm 1480 Views
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I thought the "reality" shows had gone pretty far, but now there's one where the people are hooked up to lie detectors and asked questions.
Not questions like "Do you like your job?" or even, "Did you change your underwear?" No, these questions are ones that can change lives---usually for the worse.
I don't watch the show. I think it looks detestable. My has watched it a couple times, and of course, we've seen a LOT of previews. The last preview that was on was of a husband and wife. They've been married for fifteen years. The wife's ex came on while she was hooked up to the lie detector and asked her whether, if he wanted to come back to her, she would take him back.
The wife's answer? Yes, she would take the ex back. The last thing a person sees in the preview is the husband putting his head in his hands.
So---is this what we've come to in this nation, that, as the Romans once crowded into the stadiums
and cheered as they watched people kill each other, we crowd around our t.v. sets and drool over pizza as people tear each other's hearts out?
Please, someone, tell me it's rigged. Tell me it's a fake reality show. It will be insulting, but at least it won't be quite so awful.
It will still concern me that people actually enjoy watching something like that, but at least I would be able to take comfort in knowing it wasn't real.
I've been told there was a show like this one in Colombia, and they had to pull it because after one of the "sessions", a woman had a hit put out on her husband.
Oh---is THAT all it takes to get a show like that off the air?
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IT'S NOT THE PADDLE----IT'S THE PRUNING SHEARS
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Posted:Feb 23, 2008 2:23 am
Last Updated:Feb 23, 2008 2:47 am 1411 Views
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Every year, there's a dinner given at church by the men. They fix the food, wait on the women, sing to the women----if you haven't already guessed, it's to show their appreciation for the women. At the last one, I won a couple books in a bingo game. The one I'm reading right now is called Secrets of the Vine. One of the things he points out is that many times, we'll have bad things happen to us, and we're sure we're being punished for something we're doing wrong. We dig and dig, searching our hearts for why God is punishing us. Finding no reason, we become frustrated, angry, sometimes even bitter.
The author of this book points out that a lot of these "bad things" that happen to us aren't punishments at all. They are prunings. When Jesus taught His disciples about the Vine and the branches, they understood what He was talking about, because they grew up around grape orchards. We, on the other hand, don't always know things like if a grapevine looks beautiful, with a lot of leaves on it, and vines going everywhere, that isn't necessarily a good thing.
That vine needs to be pruned back harshly in the winter so that it won't grow so many branches and leaves that it blockes out the sun and prevents fruit from forming.
So a lot of times when we're going through a time that hurts, we are being pruned, having something cut out of our lives so more energy can get to the parts that will bear fruit.
Boy, I sure could've used this book twenty five years ago. I was going to be a lawyer. But because of things that happened, I turned out to be a stay-at-home mom. Looking back, I see how desperately my needed me at home. There are tons of other areas in my life where I recognize the pruning shears at work, shaping me.
Proof once again that God knows what He's doing.
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GET LOST. WE'VE GOT WORK TO DO!
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Posted:Feb 21, 2008 11:03 am
Last Updated:Feb 21, 2008 11:05 pm 1539 Views
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I was told by my band members the other day that when I say I'm ready to sing a solo, I will.
When I was growing up, it was considered horrible to say "I am good at" anything. It was bragging. And to say "I'm ready to sing a solo" is basically saying "I'm good at" something. Except---I wouldn't be "good" at ANYTHING if God hadn't granted me the ability and the opportunity to use the ability.
So---why am I still wrestling with these ridiculous notions? They're driving me crazy, and slowing down my contributions. All I can figure is satan is having a field day, using my background to try to put a stranglehold on my spiritual growth.
Well, satan, guess what?
You lose.
I'm volunteering to sing a solo this week.
I've prayed about it and practiced. What more can I do?
I think in modern terms I'm saying, "satan, kiss off. I've got work to do for God, and we're too busy to put up with your games any more."
Oooh...that felt good!
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INCREDIBLE GOD...INCREDIBLE ECLIPSE
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Posted:Feb 20, 2008 10:32 pm
Last Updated:Feb 22, 2008 12:24 am 1404 Views
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The lunar eclipse was sure beautiful.
It felt like I should be able to just reach up and grab the moon.
Then the news helicopters came fluttering around, and I was reminded how small we are. I felt like a bunch of ants running toward the sweet smell of a birthday cake. People all over the neighborhood where I live were standing outside, greeting each other, laughing and talking as they watched the eclipse.
To think it was OUR shadow causing the moon to "disappear"---it resets my thought processes.
Plus, while the moon was dark, I could see more stars than I usually can, living inside the city limits. I was reminded of God's promise to Abraham.
All in all, it was incredible...but what else would I expect from an incredible God?
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