They tell me that every now and then I should blog about my site essentials. Well, in attempt to fulfill my ‘every now and then’ quota, here we go.

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Bill

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http://failblog.org/2008/05/30/parachute-fail-jesus-saves/

That’s Felix Baumgartner who only looks like he’s hanging.  He’s really just jumped off.

Here’s the whole video of his base jump.

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My Psychology professor asked us to answer two questions today:

1. Are you the person you are today because of your genetics or because of the environment that you grew up in/are currently in?
2. What is it about those who bounce back from tragedy that separates them from those who don’t?

My answers:

1. Although I believe that both genetics and environment play a part in the development of a person, I strongly believe that a person’s environment is a greater factor. I believe that you inherit many tendencies from your parents (temperament, patterns, etc), however, I a person will typically become like the people she surrounds herself with, adapting to the environment in which she spends most of her time. Poll “troubled” adults and you’ll find very similar childhoods. Poll promiscuous women. You’ll find similar childhood/parental patterns. Poll people who prefer living in the city. Poll people who like cats. People who don’t eat certain foods. Of course their are exceptions.
2. I believe that any person can recover from any tragedy by surrounding themselves with a solid social group, being honest, open, real and transparent, and by acknowledging their tragedy and having a strong enough desire to move on.

One guy used this example to justify his answer of environment for question 1: if you were to take the infant son of Saddam Hussein and raise him in a decent American household, the boy would grow up as any other American child would, never knowing anything about Iraqi “activities” or “ways.”

Another guy answered “faith” to question 2, which I thought was neat.

How would you answer?

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On a dark rainy night in England many years ago, a young man tries to escape the clutches of those who want him hanged. Deep down he knows that he has committed a terrible crime. He is not yet ready to die. Faster and faster he runs throughout the city, as fast as his legs can carry him. His body shakes of fear and he becomes increasingly weary. Only his mind and his heart pushes him through “just a little further”. In the background he hears, “Stop him!” Even though his legs ache, the young man continues to run. As he looks back to see if he is safe, he trips over a pothole. The mud, water and gravel cover his face and sting his eyes. His leg is cut, blood dripping from the knee. And just as he starts to lose hope, he looks up and see the stained glass windows of a church. The young man picks himself up and heads toward the church. As he stumbles inside, he cries out “Sanctuary!” An elderly priest greets the young man and assures him that he is safe.

Ok this is a bit of a historical exaggeration, but back in the day the church was a place where criminals could be safe from persecution. All they had to do was cry “Sanctuary!” and they were safe until they could decide whether or not to confess.

This is how I envision the church: a place where people can find some rest without condemnation. Guys, we need to get back to the concept of church being a place of safety and willingness to share. With a community that cares for you regardless, one could be set free by sharing their life.

A situation like this happened to me not too long ago. As most of you know, I am in grad school and I’m not the best with time management. Because of this, everything literally snowballed me towards the end of the semester (huge exit exams, projects, papers, etc). On top of that, I struggled with an intense desire to just “chuck the whole Jesus thing” cause I didn’t see anything coming from it. I avoided these feelings by trying to focus on other things, but they did not nothing to ease my fear. I decided then to just share everything with my small group ( a group consisting about 8-15 people from a church for those who do not know). I could barely look up as I shared my heart. What I received in return was empathy, words of encouragement from those who have been there, and a few hugs. The relief I received from sharing my life while not being condemned was amazing. And I’m getting better. Slowly but surely.

Sadly, I think some in the church (and I say some because I know there are many Christians who are) aren’t a sanctuary for people anymore. We do something worse. We ignore. We focus on our jobs, our friends, and not give a second thought about others. Why do we ignore? That’s not what Jesus did. That is not what the church in Acts did. And this is something the church of today should not stand for. Not only should we be a place for safety but we should also be out there where “they” are. The broken. the needy. The “least of these.” To offer comfort, peace and a place for others to share. Not just for 40 days, but for life.

So this is my challenge, Christians: let us be this broken world’s sanctuary.

This comes to mind when I think of this topic.

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Do you guys think that children should be spanked?

If not, do you think spanking should be illegal?

If you have children, do you spank them? Why or why not?

Were you spanked?

Leave your comments here.

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A couple vids that made me laugh. Have a great weekend!!

“Charlie bit me!”
Nothing is funnier than watching Charlie laugh at his hurt brother. I’ve watched this 5 times in the past 15 min. Hov or ash, do you detect an English accent? I’m HORRIBLE at determining accents.

I’d have to record my daughter too if she said this. How do you not laugh?

Gotta love this kid’s honesty!

See ya Monday when we talk about abortion.

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I believe that prayer is a critical part of the Christian life. With that said, it makes me sad to see so many Christians who are terrified to take the next step, whatever that me be for them.

We love to ‘wait on God,’ don’t we? I wonder, though, what are we waiting for? OH! That’s right, we’re waiting for that requested ’sign.’ That one that we can’t miss, right? The one that makes everything so crystal clear. The fireworks in the sky. The words that our Alphabits cereal spell on our spoon. The number of time the rock skips when it hits the water. The phone call from the long, lost friend. I’ve been there. I’ve done it too.

Yet the sign usually doesn’t come, does it? So we wait.

And wait.

And wait.

I’ve heard it said, “I really felt like God was leading me here. Now it feels like he’s abandoned me! I’m reading my bible and praying more than I ever have, I’m going to church, and I’m in a small group. Still, nothing! Maybe I didn’t hear from God after all.

I’ve thought a lot about this.

I believe that often times God is waiting on us. Heck, to say that we’re waiting on God is to imply that we’re ahead of him, isn’t it? I can picture him staring at me: “Uhhh, dude? You ready to do this? Any time now.” *whistling & twiddling thumbs*

I believe that God is like a GPS system: he will redirect us as needed, staying in constant communication with us at all times. With that said, don’t expect to find me waiting around for a mountain to move. I’m not looking in the sky for fireworks and you definitely won’t see this guy flipping to random pages in the bible looking for that one potential word from God.

I pray. I evaluate. I move forward confidently yet cautiously.

It’s also my belief that often times we know exactly what God is calling us to do next. We’re just too scared to take that initial step forward, aren’t we. It’s way out of our comfort zone. We want a neon sign that reads:

GO THIS WAY, STUPID!
-God

It doesn’t work like that, though, does it?

Move forward. Your time on earth is short. You might be missing out on God’s best for you. He loves you enough to redirect you if need be.

I dare you to move.

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CCM star Steven Curtis Chapman’s daughter was killed yesterday when her brother accidentally hit her with his car. As if the tragedy of the accident alone isn’t tough enough, the way she was killed must make the situation nearly unbearable.

The 5-year-old was hit by an SUV driven by her teenage brother, she said. Police did not give the driver’s name.

The teen was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser down the driveway of the rural home at about 5:30 p.m. and several children were playing in the area, McPherson said. He did not see Maria in the driveway before the vehicle struck her, she said.

I don’t know how I’d live with myself. Join me in praying for the Chapman family.

With his latest music tour, which came through Nashville in November, Chapman started a campaign called “Change for Orphans”. He asked audience members at each stop to bring spare change to the concert, where it was counted and given to a local family to aid in their adoption process.

“I don’t know of anybody who loves his children more than he does and is so committed to the adoption concept, and to lose one, no matter what the circumstances, is heartbreaking beyond all comprehension,” said John Styll, president of the Nashville-based Gospel Music Association.

Read the full article here

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Short and sweet.

I’ve opened a new blog: Just Bill. The url is http://www.justbill.org. I’m actually really excited about this blog.
“Just Bill” will be simple and fun. It won’t be focused on Christianity (although I’m certain it will show through) and will perhaps provide some new insight on my life. For example:

Did you guys know that I’m a sports fanatic? Did you know that my favorite alcoholic drink is a dirty martini with Grey Goose vodka? Hey, did you know that I could eat steak for every meal of the day? Now ya do know!

I opened the blog about 15 mins ago and submitted one post, so don’t get too excited just yet.
Subscribe to JustBill via RSS
Subscribe to JustBill via email

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It was 3am when I woke up gasping for air. My heart was pounding and I couldn’t catch my breath. I knew the routine. This wasn’t my first panic attack and it certainly wouldn’t be my last.

This time something was different. My normal relaxation techniques weren’t helping. I was unable to calm down. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

As a fully-dedicated, semi-professional party animal, God was just about the last thing on my mind. Imagine the hesitation I felt when I couldn’t resist the “voice in my head” telling me to go get my bible. It was literally years since I had even opened this leather-bound paperweight. I didn’t even know where my bible was!

Unfamiliar with the bible and its contents, I used a technique that I’m sure many of you have used before: grab the thick book and thumb-flip through the pages while praying in your head, “God, if you want to speak to me, speak to me………..NOW!” at which point you open up to the page that your thumb has stopped on. Side note: Pastor Josh Surratt did a parody of this method at one of the first services I ever attended at Seacoast.

I landed on page 1225, or Ezekiel 2 for the few of you that don’t have the same bible as me
“Ezekiel? Uhhhh, ok.” I began to read God’s commissioning of Ezekiel.

“Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you…”

Eyebrow now raised, I kept reading this obscure passage.

“Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ And whether they listen or fail to listen - for they are a rebellious house - they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them. though they are a rebellious house. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, do not rebel like that rebellious house.”

“Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them…But now the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate.”

“But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.”

Guys, I believe that God spoke to me 4 years ago. I believe that he woke me up and told me about some plans that he has for me. It wasn’t until just a few months ago that I realized, “I’m partially living this!” That, as I’m sure you can imagine, is a HUGE realization.

I’ve been very hesitant to post this blog. I will struggle to press the ‘publish’ button when I’m done typing. I want this post to be perfect. I know that no matter how much I try, I won’t be able to communicate the magnitude of what I’m writing. And that makes me want to delete this draft and go to bed.

My knowledge of the Christian faith is weak. I’m sure that many of you atheists could quote more scripture than I could. I do NOT have all of the answers. As I told writerdd the other day, I’m just figuring this stuff out as I go. I don’t know what the five points of Calvinism are. I just learned what a Fundamentalist is. I don’t know the difference between the EmergING and the EmergENT churches.

Can’t I just be a freakin’ follower of Christ without getting lost in the weeds? Do I REALLY have to have a PhD in theology to grasp the concept(s) of Christianity? Mind you, I’m making no excuse for laziness. This is my passion.

Something has happened inside of me, that’s about all I can tell you. Tell me that it’s all just a bunch of coincidences. Tell me that it is my own personal will from deep within that has sparked the desire for a radical change in my life. Tell me that I’m a sheep who can’t think for himself.

I’ll tell you it’s God. I believe that with all my heart too.

Christians and Christianity piss me off more than anything else on this earth, literally. I’m hooked, though, and I feel like God wants to use me. Maybe I won’t start a movement. Maybe I won’t be on a stage. Maybe I won’t author a book. And maybe FriendlyChristian.com will never be any more than a blip on the WWW radar. Something is gonna happen, though. I know it. And I have a feeling that God’s commission to Ezekiel might be a pattern that I continue to see in my life.

Atheists, agnostics, and non-believers, I am Ezekiel and you are my rebellious nation of Israel. I will not back down. I say this lovingly yet unapologetically (also included are all you ‘I couldn’t care less about Christianity, but I sure to love to blog about this guy and offer my two cents‘ visitors).

I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words. Psalm 71:15

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