10 Questions a Christian Might Ask

1. Why did God create?


2. If adultery is against God's law, was it TRULY acceptable to have plural wives and concubines during old testament times?


3. Is it possible that Judas Iscariot was forgiven for his betrayal, as he was consumed with remorse and declared "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood" to the chief priest and elders?


4. How can Jesus' bloodlines be traced through Joseph's lineage, if Mary and Joseph did not have relations until after Jesus was born?


5. If Jacob only loved Rachel, why did he sleep with and produce so many children with Leah and their servants?


6. Why did the Apostle Paul receive the Holy Spirit BEFORE his baptism, and how can we be sure he was given a water submersion baptism?


7. If God does not want women to teach over men in modern times, why does He give some women (i.e. Beth Moore) the gift of teaching?


8. Why is it taught that Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, contradictory to what Jesus said, "No man has ascended up to heaven," and is anyone (besides Jesus) with God in heaven at present?


9. How does God respond to people's lack of faith, and how should Christians respond?


10. Can a truly saved person's salvation ever be lost or revoked for disobedience to God?

(Any helpful, constructive comments are welcome.)

POST SCRIPT

OK, this is for Kevin. I am going take a stab at it and to try to answer his questions. I don't have all the answers, and I don't consider myself a teacher, but this is good exercise for me to study Scripture when opportunity arises. After all, these are basic questions that a Christian should be able to answer.

He asked:

1. Why does He let bad things happen to good people?

When something bad happens to me, it's for a purpose. I have figured out that through adversity, God is trying to get my attention. I am not the most attentive person generally, and I need occasional redirecting. Before I was a Christian, I was basically a good person. Still, I believe that bad things happened to me in order to bring me to Christ. And it worked; when I came to Christ, I was broken. I was ready to let him "take the wheel," so to speak.

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Genesis 50:20)

2. Are ALL sins truly the same in His eyes?

A small sin weighs, to God, the same as a big sin. According to Scripture, there is only one unforgivable sin, and that is to reject the Holy Spirit.

"As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one...'" (Romans 3:10)
"But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." (Mark 3:29)

3. As his son died on the cross between the two thieves, why didn't God intervene. I mean, he still could have "re-written" history so that we could all be saved, right?

I believe that God wants us to have free-will, which includes making these kind of choices. He wants people to *choose* to be saved. It's kind of like forcing someone to love you. Do you want to force someone to love you? Wouldn't you rather they love you on their own? Without that choice, we'd all be like robots, and I don't believe that what He wants.

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." (John 3:14-15)

Wordless Wednesday

"Left Over" Girl Scout Cookies?

This is the first year that my daughter has been in the Girl Scouts. I have always had a special fondness for the Girl Scouts, and I was one from the time I was about seven years old until about the sixth grade.

I have many happy memories of camping trips, and special projects that we got to work on during my time as a Girl Scout.

But perhaps the very best memory that I have was my mother taking me around the neighborhood to sell Girl Scout cookies. And of course eating the cookies we bought for our household. Mom always made sure that we had plenty of Thin Mints on hand. And she kept them in the freezer, so they were extra crispy.

To this day, I keep my Thin Mints in the freezer. But they don't last long. I am a maniac with those mint-chocolate pieces of heaven. They are like crack. When I open a box, I can't stop eating them until the whole plastic sleeve is empty. I am not to be trusted with those darn cookies - I scarf them down, just like Homer Simpson.

It never occurred to me that one might be able to use these cookies in recipes. I mean, who has so called "left over" Girl Scout cookies hanging around their pantry for weeks on end? Doesn't every one consume every last crack cookie within the first week? I guess not.

For those of you who have some moderate self-restraint around these cookies, here are some desert recipes that use your left over Girl Scout Cookies:

Cold, Creamy & Crunchy Layered Dessert

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

* One 7 – 10 ounce box cookies, crushed and divided
* 3 tablespoons butter, melted
* 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
* 4 cups whipped topping, divided
* 2 – 8 ounce packages instant pudding mix
* 3 cups milk

Preparation:
Lightly grease 9x13 pan. Set aside 1/4 cup cookie crumbs. Combine the rest of the crumbs with butter. Press into prepared pan. Put into refrigerator. With a hand mixer, whip cream cheese until light and fluffy. Stir in 1 cup whipped topping. Spread over chilled cookie crust. Chill while next layer is being made. Combine pudding mix with milk. Pour over cream cheese layer. Chill 1 hour. Top with remaining whipped topping and remaining cookie crumbs.

Girl Scout Cookie Ice Cream Pie Recipe

There are a lot of flavor choices when making this Girl Scout Cookie Ice Cream Pie. You can combine your favorite Girl Scout Cookies with a coordinating ice cream and candy.
Prep Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

* 1-1/3 cups cookie* crumbs
* 5 tablespoons butter, melted
* 1 quart ice cream*, softened
* 3/4 cup crushed candy*, divided

Preparation:
Early in the day or the day before:

Combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press into 8 or 9-inch pie pan. Chill.

Combine ice cream and 1/2 cup candy. Spoon into crust. Freeze completely (for about 4 hours) in airtight container.

Garnish with the rest of the crushed candy.

*Flavor Suggestions:
Do-Si-Dos™ - Peanut Butter Sandwiches with chocolate ice cream and chocolate-covered peanut butter candy.

Thin Mints with peppermint ice cream or vanilla mixed with crushed peppermints.

Samoas® - Caramel deLites™ with coconut ice cream and chocolate-covered coconut candy bars.

Facebook Bad for Your Health?

Could Facebook impair mental performance? Is it possible that Facebook can cause cancer, strokes, heart disease and dementia? Are social networking sites overall bad for your health?

Maybe it's a good thing this dad is giving up Facebook for Lent. (Another dad gave it up all together.)

In any event, does social media make us better people? Or does it contribute to the decay of tact, politeness and common decency? Let's face it - It's a lot easier to be a wienie over the net, than it is to be one in person.

Is Facebook bad for us?

What do you think?

Because I Had Absolutely Nothing Better to do

Is this one of those "filler" posts? Probably.

Could I have been doing something a lot more productive with my afternoon? Definitely.

Does the laundry need washing, the weeds need pulling, the carpet need vacuuming, the car need washing, etc...? Yep.

Do I have a weird sense of humor? You betcha.

Could this be construed as some kind of cry for help? Hmmm. Well, I could use a little help mowing the lawn, now and then.




























I never can resist finding new ways to waste time.

Always put off today what you can do tomorrow.

Wordless Wednesday

10 Things for Unattached, Single People to do on Valentine's Day

Here's a dandy list of 10 things an unattached, single person can do for Valentine's Day:

1. Buy a large piece of furniture from Ikea, and spend the evening putting it together. Throw the instructions away right off the bat.
   
2. Write a screenplay for your pets, dress them up in doll clothes, and video tape the entire production. Afterward, post to Youtube.
3. Go out and buy a few of boxes of kid's valentines. Sign them, "xxx ooo (your name)" and slip them under your neighbor's doors. Do this for the entire block.
4. Make a casserole or lasagna for your ex. Show up unannounced on their door step and say, "I forgot the wine. We can drink whatever you have on hand, I suppose." If they already have company say, "Great! I don't mind. The more the merrier!"
   
5. Go outside and pull all the weeds in the yard. Then, build a catapult, and see just how far you can launch each weed into your neighbor's backyard. Extra points if they land in their swimming pool.
6. Go to the drive-in movie theater. Pick a romantic comedy, and about two-thirds into the movie, get out and go around to all the neighboring cars, and knock on their windows. Say, "Hi friends! I just came by to introduce myself. What do you think of the movie so far? Can I have some of your popcorn?"
7. Call as many restaurants as you can, making dinner reservations for two, making the reservations under your boss' name. Give them his/her phone number. Tell them you want the best table in the house.
8. Go Christmas caroling through your entire neighborhood.
9. Send the link to "Are You Lonesome Tonight" (the laughing version) via email to all of your exes.
10. Decorate your car with window paint, streamers, balloons - the whole nine yards. Tie a bunch of noisy cans to your back bumper, and write "Just Married!" on the windows. Drive all around town, honking and waving at everyone who passes you. Drive past your ex's house, and should they be outside and see you, give them a wink and thumbs up.

Catching Up on Sleep

Thanks to Barbara for this humourous story:

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home, and was well taken care of. He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.

An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.

The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks.

Curious, I pinned a note to his collar:

'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.'

The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar:

'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 - he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?'

Too Sad for Words

This is real, and it will break your heart.

(What are you going to do with it?)

Wordless Wednesday

Governor Hastily Signs Budget Cuts $350 Million to Education

On the night of January 30, 2009, the Arizona House and Senate passed a budget that included cuts of over $350 million to public education for 2008-09. This budget was sent to Governor Jan Brewer the next morning for her signature, before the media and education supporters had a chance to examine their impact or alert the public. She issued a statement blaming the state's budget deficit on overspending, in spite of the facts that:

• Arizona ranks 50th in per pupil funding
• Our teachers’ average salaries are $6,000 below the national average.
• Our pupil to teacher ratio is the second-highest in the nation

Tom Horne, the Arizona Department of Education Superintendent, points out that budget cuts will impact the Arizona's K-12 schools, anywhere from $119 million - $133 million. Each school district in the state must cut about two percent of its budget.

However, enrollment in many districts is up, and compared to this year, the state faces a budget deficit twice as large next year, topping $3 billion in the latest estimates.

“It’s going to be disastrous,” said Andrew Morrill, vice president of the Arizona Education Association. “It’s just an indication of the underinvestment we are making to education and in our students and in the future of the economy in Arizona.”

Mesa Unified School District, the largest in the state, estimates it will lose $8.5 million. Chandler Unified School District estimates it will lose about $3.3 million. Gilbert Unified will lose about $3.5 million.

More cuts may be in the works for next year. The state shortfall for 2010 is predicted to be twice as much as this year’s, nearly $3.3 billion.

“Arizona’s leaders are willing to shoulder the burden of their own financial mismanagement over the years on the backs of our students," says John Wright, president of Arizona Education Association. "This kind of false solution is worse than shortsightedness; it borders on malice. The decision to keep Arizona at the bottom of education funding continues to be a deliberate one.”

See a detailed list of budget options.

If you live in Arizona, please let Governor Brewer know your feelings on this.

As a state that consistently finds itself at the bottom of every national school funding list, Arizona CANNOT afford to cut education funding. A good investment in public schools is a good investment in our state’s future economy.

Wordless Wednesday

Exes and Facebook

What would Emily Post say to this - What kind of Facebook etiquette does one follow regarding exes who want to "friend" you on Facebook? Do you simply ignore their friend requests? Do you decide based on your level of comfort, and how amicably your relationship ended? Do you "friend" ALL of them, regardless of how they trashed-talked you after the relationship imploded (albeit 20+ years ago)? What about the ones who are now married? (Is it even appropriate to have married "friends" of the opposite gender on Facebook?)

Recently, one of my girlfriends mentioned to me that her ex-boyfriends have been coming out of the woodwork on Facebook. Some are recent, some from high school and college. It seems that just about everyone has joined Facebook within the last year. The tricky part is, how do you handle the people who once held your hand and your heart, but are no longer your other half? Keep in mind that once you "friend" them, they will have access to your photos, videos, will be able to see what other people write on your wall, and anything else that you post on your Facebook. In other words, that now stalker-ish Romeo-reject will have the 411 on your current life stats. This is the opposite of out-of-sight-out-of-mind. This is ALWAYS in sight = now ALWAYS on mind.

I'd like to get your input on this social media conundrum. Any comments?