We Just Talked About This

About a week or so ago Ann, John, and I were talking about Christian bumper stickers. We had fun discussiong them and other things. I shared with them the bumper sticker I had on my car back home. Here is a picture of it:

I was given a hard time about it from my friend's because it looks like Calvin is flipping people off! HA

Anyway, I found a really cool blog entery from an old OOZER. And it so fits what we talked about that day and some discussion that is going around at The OOZE. Anyway, enjoy this from Be.Church.


Oh, btw: check this out! I found a really cool website I think shows there are people out there trying to do better. Cool stuff
Here is a a picture of one of things I found there:

The Newest False Gospel And The Lesson I Learned From It

NOTICE: Because I want to move on, but I want this to be read if there are ever any questions I have put this on my tool bar. I felt it necessary to have it in view in case of any questions, ect. Thanks for your time! :)


I'm going to address something. I know that you maybe reading this. You know who you are. If you are reading this, I want you to read each word carefully. I want you to see my eyes looking you squarley in the face and with the most serious face I have. I hope you can see that. I ask those who normally read my blog to indulge me. You see, I have a "friend" that has been lurking here. Instead of doing this privately, which would save me alot of heart ache, I have decided to pull the curtian on this "act". So, to my normal readers, you don't have to read this. Pass me by tonight or today, it won't hurt my feelings.
Ok, with that, again I know you might be reading this. I know what you might be saying to others about what has been said here and at other blogs. I know that your tongue must be trembling with gossip. I ask that if your tongue cannot be controled, just as it has in the past that you at least take the time and tell those you gossip to, to at least read this statement.

To Whom It May Concern:
My life and my husband's life has been revolving around you and your group for a good part of a year. There have been many reasons for this. I don't intend to get into any of them at this moment, but there is one reason I'm going to address right now. CALVINISM! Yes I said the word. Let me say this, Calvinism isn't a false gospel as you have tried to dress it up as. It is not a cult as you have tried to say. Calvinism is away of understanding the scripture, it is away of interupting the scripture, and away of understanding our God (His character). You are under a false assumption, one I'm sure only came from just hearing it from other's lips and not your own study of it. Calvinism isn't a cult. I'm not going to even begin to address this. Its just immature at best. I ask the next time you accuse anyone of speaking a false gospel or saying they are in a cult you do extensive research and not go by what you have been told. Honestly its tiresome. When are you going to start living your faith? When will the faith you have become your's? I ask this because no one's faith will get you into heaven. You think you know that, but after certian behaviors as of late I have to wonder.
Secondly, I forgive you. I forgive you all. I forgive you of the gossip. I forgive you of your ignorance. I forgive you of the hurt you and other's have indulged upon myself and my husband. I let you go. For so long I have tried to reign in all this stuff and control it. I have learned these past months I'm out of control. I can't control you or anyone. I have to let you go and I do so. I also thank you. I never knew what it felt like to be an unsaved person and being looked down upon by the "saved". I thank you because you have opened my eyes to a world I didn't know or understand. If this whole thing had not happened I would have never known how condescending we are as Christians. I have learned what pedistal I stand on and because of your behavior I learned to step off of mine. I realized I'm just a sheep among many sheep. I just happen to fully believe in the Shepherd and trust Him, but I realized because I may look like a goat or a stray sheep doesn't mean I don't know the Shepherd any less. If it weren't for you I would have never learned the deepness of that lesson. Thank you! Praise God for you! I have been wanting to know what your part in my life was and I think I now know at least a glimpse of what it was. Thank you!
So to end, may God bless you and keep you. I pray that you grow in richness of our Father! I pray that you learn from this as much as I have learned from this. I can honestly say I don't think I would be as free as I feel right now if it weren't for the damage and hurt you have caused. Praise God. Thank you for playing your part in God's plan for me. (oh, yes, you proved Calvinism to me as well)

God bless-
Jewels

You know, this might not mean anything to anyone else, but it is a step for me. Its a huge step for me. For once I don't have the mask on. I'm not hiding. I have hid for so long. For once I don't feel guilt for something that happened. I'm not looking at myself or Blake and thinking, "oh, man, why did we do that. how can we fix it." For once I know deep in my heart its not mine to fix. Its God's to fix and other's to fix as well. Its not my responsiblity. For so long I thought it was. I have been beating myself up and I realized tonight, its not mine, its the Lord's and His hands will do the rest. Praise God.

Ok, Lord, now what! ;)

Prayer Request

I can honestly say I don't want to use my blog as a plat form for "here is my prayer request", but today I abuse my blog for that.
Blake is going through a really rough time right now. He received an e-mail that basically told him that he was not "saved" and was a member of a cult. There were other things said, but what it comes down to is that it hurt Blake.
Now, being the wife to this man I find myself in the "inner circle". The thing is, Blake has this huge heart. He also knows how he can sound and the poor guy works and works on trying to work on his communication with people, but some how or another he still gets labeled things that he is fighting against. Anyway, I can't change people's mind about him, they are going to have to see it for themselves. I'm proud of my husband, he has come SO far. Like any of us, God is still working on him. He is no different in that area than any of us.
So I ask for y'all to pray for Blake. Pray that he doesn't let that e-mail get him to down and that he will still push forward in the quest of finding community. If you feel lead to pray for him I would appreciate it.
I apologize for doing this to y'all. You don't come here to read this type of stuff, but my heart is heavy right now for the one I love.

Life Is Funny

Sometimes life is really funny. Today seems like one of those days. I wonder if God put me in Canada for a sitcom. As if he and the angels gather together for the latest installment of "Jewels: Oh, What A Girl!" (named by my Grandma Knight, who undoubtly helped God come up with the idea) I have found that since moving to Canada I don't understand people like I thought I did. I have found that things I think are so simple and not a big deal that here they are turned into a big deal and not so simple. So here is the funny part or at least to me, I know that I am a drama queen, I don't deny it, I try to suppress but it rears its ugly head here and there, any way I find myself living in the land of "drama queens". See that is what I find funny. You would think being a drama queen that I would have patients to deal with others like me, but put me in a province that is full with them, good Lord, I lose all patients and all understanding. So today I'm craving for "home". I'm wanting what I "know". Its over simplistic,but right now this Southern Drama Queen would love to be around her peeps. ;)

Getting Back To It

My friend Andrew was encouraging me a while back to write some stuff. I realized that I stopped working on it yesterday. Anyway, Andrew, I'm going to go back and work on that piece we were talking about. :) And everyone else, at some point I will have a "short story" to share.

Update: What?!??!!!

My friend Al from
Desperatehouse Flies just sent me this e-mail about my post on Leonard Sweet. It looks like he was there. Very interesting.

Hey Julie!

Thanks!

Yeah, it was the one and the same, Leonard Sweet. He
was up front in being of the Methodist "tribe," and
best I could tell, that went over okay...

His first lecture was awesome (the best of the three).
His second was weird - mainly because he showed a
video of a church baptizing babies in a lake. Kind of
surreal at the Tulsa Workshop. Overall, he was
thought-provoking as you would suspect.

Take care,
Al

I hope this is encouraging for some of y'all out there. :) It was for me.

What?!?!!!

I have been looking into some church of Christ stuff lately. Every year the "mainline" churches of Christ gather together at Tulsa for the Tulsa International Soul Winning Workshop. I haven't been able to go the last several years, which is a bummer. Anyway, I was looking through the speaker list and this popped at me:

This Postmodern WorId: What Are THEY Saying About Jesus?
(Thu 4pm Pavilion)
This Postmodern World: What Are WE Saying about Jesus?
(Fri 9am Upper Expo)
This Postmodern World: What if we Said THIS about Jesus?
(Fri 3pm Pavilion)

I found this so interesting. This was a topic by Rubel Shelley, a well known c of C speaker. Then I scrolled down some more and then my mouth dropped.

Leonard Sweet


Classes by Leonard Sweet:
How To Achieve 20/20 Vision
(Thu 2pm Pavilion)
The 3 S’s of Sailing in the Spirit (Pneumanauts)
(Fri 11am Pavilion)
The 3 Most Difficult Words In The English Language
(Sat 11am Pavilion)

I'm asking a friend about this. I'm waiting to hear what he says about since I know he was there. Anyway, I will update y'all.
You can check this out yourself if you want go here