1001

1001... Before You Die.

Have you noticed this theme? It's everywhere. Just Google "1001 before you die" and you'll see what I mean." There's probably even a list of 1001 things to Google before you die. Question: If I see 1001 buildings, travel to 1001 places, visit another 1001 places in America, eat 1001 foods, watch 1001 movies, read 1001 books, see 1001 natural wonders, and hear 1001 albums... when am I going to take 1001 breaths in order to, I don't know, not die?

Well, if you get done with all those lists, I will come up with some more off the top of my head for your consideration. Then I will get them published as a book and become rich. So that I can travel to 1001 places...

1001 Men to Date Before You Die
1001 Political Parties to Belong to Before You Die
1001 English Grammar Rules to Break Before You Die
1001 Celebrities to Waste Your Time Following Before You Die
1001 Starbucks to Drink Cappuccinos In Before You Die
1001 Blade of Grass to Watch Grow Before You Die
1001 Cable TV Stations to Flip Through Before You Die
1001 Facebook Applications to Add Before You Die
1001 Songs With the Same Three Chords to Play On Your Guitar Before You Die
1001 Strange "Metaphysics" Books to Roll Your Eyes At Before You Die
1001 Ways to Avoid Going to the Gym Before You Die Prematurely

And don't miss the all-in-one volume:

1001 Lists of 1001 Things to Do Before You Die



I think I'd rather make up my own things to do before I die.
#1 Sleep well.

okay, I'll go work on that.

Grace

Grace is possibly the most complicated simple concept. Or it is very, very simple and we have to make it complicated because we are fallen. More likely the latter. It is very easy to rely heavily on grace, to know that you're not doing well by yourself and by God but that God's grace can fully cover that. This is important. But so are works. People are afraid of works-- it sounds like it nulls grace. But it doesn't. Faith without works (is like a screen door on a submarine...). Works show our faith. Faith is dead without fruit. It is tempting to say the Old Testament is judgement, the New Testament grace. But there is much grace is the Old Testament. When Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac-- he showed is faith and there was grace. Throughout the Psalms, though there is overwhelming talk of judgement by deeds, there is constant recognition of God's goodness and love which lead him to rescue his people, even when they have sinned greatly. Conversely, there is a lot of judgement in the NT. Guess what? We still get to be judged. By God, thankfully, and not our fellow man. It's nice to know, too, that God is consistent. There is talk of the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament-- like what, he changed? God is unchanging! (Hoorah for that! A little consistency in my life, please!) No, God is not changing, it is just a complicated story of redemption. God is the constant in this experiment.


Part II

A woman returned a book to the store the other day. The book is a hot-seller by an author whose style and content I don't particularly care for. Title: Grace Eventually. I haven't read this particular book-- it happens to be the latest out in paperback. I have read one of her other books (Operating Instructions) and I tried to read either Plan B or Traveling Mercies-- I don't remember. I just know that she has a bitter undertone. And really, it's not a very subtle undertone. The woman returning Grace Eventually had bought it because everyone seems to love it. But she found that this woman writing about grace was writing with a lot of hate (her word, not mine). If I could not give a refund, the woman was going to throw the book away because she did not want to support the book or the author. I understood and gave the refund.
However, it occured to me later-- where was the grace in all of this? What grace do we have for the author? Grace and love are intimately related, it seems to me.
Then, do I want other people reading these books? What is it telling them about the true nature of grace? Remember, I don't know for sure because I haven't read this book. Where is the line between my grace for the author and my desire for truth?

Okay, well, that was just some thinking out loud. But it's midnight.

Silly Bunny

Did the Easter Bunny visit you this year? Probably not. I've only heard about the E-bunny and the Silly Bunny. Question: When did the Easter Bunny become sacred enough to ban? How is the Easter Bunny religious? And not even religious, but Christian? Because, you may have noticed, only Christian holiday references are censored-- if it is any other religious observance we must be inclusive, even embracing thereof. As it is, it looks like the word easter comes from the name of a germanic pagan goddess. They thought they were taking the last bit of sacredness from The Most Important Holy Day of the year, but instead they are persecuting those germanic pagans. The Silly Bunny will leave them coal in their eggs... No wait... I'm so confused.

And I don't look good in leggings, and I've never been to Boston in the fall...

So, this high school girl I work with told me the other day that she couldn't have any pizza because she was on a diet. A diet. This is one of those girls who wears tapered jeans. (Don't even get me started on that style.) Today she dressed up for a funeral. She is wearing leggings. Black leggings. Sorry, but anyone who feels remotely comfortable in leggings should not be on a diet. That's just dangerous. I didn't even know that people who wore leggings could talk to people like me. Maybe if I didn't ever eat any pizza I could wear leggings. I could, but would I?

Didn't I have a post on stirrup pants a few months back? Huh.