Often people just do not know what they are talking about.
Opinions based on second- and third-hand information from the Internet, TV or other media abound. Sometimes a casual chat overheard between friends is taken as truth and judgments formed based on that.
Case in point.
Rob Bell's newest book Love Wins.
Pilloried in much of the Christian media an unbelieving world thinks, "What's the big deal?" or worse, "If that's how Christians treat each other, then I'll take my hedonistic life surrounded by people who affirm and encourage me." Cautiously some have defended Bell or at least if not his position, which is nebulous at best, at least his right to have an opinion.
Criticism began before the book was published. Piquing my interest I could not wait to get my hands on a copy, before bonfires flamed with Love Wins as the kindling.
It concerns me that many who spoke out about the book, mostly against what they thought was it's premise, had not read the book. Perhaps they had heard or read an interview with Bell and formed their opinion based on that. It further concerns me that like lemmings, we are being told not to question spiritual things and further that questioning may call into question our own doctrinal solidity.
Not question? Not have open, honest dialogue? Accept like children what is presented without asking? One does not have to look too far back into world history to know where that kind of rhetoric led.
Okay, time to step off my soapbox. Love Wins is not great literature; Love Wins does not answer the questions one would expect from the title; Love Wins is quintessential Rob Bell as he ponders on paper the unanswerable question, does love win?
And that's what I think about it.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Mother's Day 2011
Mother's Day 2011.
Church and then family. The men had arranged to pick up a family dinner from a local restaurant: roast beef, chicken Alfredo, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, banana-nut bread, and salad. Dessert was a plethora of cheesecakes, layer cake, pie and ice cream. Delicious.
Sitting around the table the nine of us laughed and fondly remembered family events of the past and caught up on current happenings.
It was a good day.
A friend of mine told me that she had been alone during the day, while her son, who lives close-by text her a Happy Mother's Day. I thought he should have shown up at her house with flowers and reservations made at her favorite restaurant. She put on a brave face and was happy for the phone message.
As I considered and reviewed my own day, with two loving and lovable daughters and four exceptional grand daughters, a great husband and son-in-law, I knew that their presence was sufficient. No gifts needed.
But like tips in a restaurant, appreciated.
And that's what I think about it.
Church and then family. The men had arranged to pick up a family dinner from a local restaurant: roast beef, chicken Alfredo, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, banana-nut bread, and salad. Dessert was a plethora of cheesecakes, layer cake, pie and ice cream. Delicious.
Sitting around the table the nine of us laughed and fondly remembered family events of the past and caught up on current happenings.
It was a good day.
A friend of mine told me that she had been alone during the day, while her son, who lives close-by text her a Happy Mother's Day. I thought he should have shown up at her house with flowers and reservations made at her favorite restaurant. She put on a brave face and was happy for the phone message.
As I considered and reviewed my own day, with two loving and lovable daughters and four exceptional grand daughters, a great husband and son-in-law, I knew that their presence was sufficient. No gifts needed.
But like tips in a restaurant, appreciated.
And that's what I think about it.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Met two friends in Columbus, Ohio for a royal wedding/shopping weekend.
Our first objective was to create hats for the event. Mine had yellow tulle and flowers with a white butterfly. Flowers and birds bedecked the other two friends'.
Gift bags handed out contained British cookies, crackers and cereal, tea, key chain with bejeweled crown hanging and a cup with the picture of the happy couple, William and Kate. Buttons for our coat lapels had a photo of the couple and a copy of the wedding invitation.
After a few hours sleep we rose to don our hats, fix our tea and sample scones, biscotti and truffles while we sat watching the international event. From the time the Abbey opened its doors to the drive out of the palace with the Just Wed license plate we were mesmerized.
Critiquing hats was the order of the day. The elegance of a lady in a hat gave over to a 'what was she thinking' attitude when a particularly unappealing chapeau appeared in the church. There were plenty of both.
What is this fascination with royalty?
Part imagination and part escape the royal wedding provided both in abundance. In the play Camelot the king sings, "I wonder what the king is doing tonight? What merriment is the king pursuing tonight?"
However we were three women in our early-late life dressed in hats that some might call silly wearing pins emblazoned with a couple's photo whom we will never meet or know personally. To allay fears of early-onset senility we did stay in our room. Not so other groups of merry makers. Groups of friends and family, some of them half our age, were seen around the shopping areas in Columbus, some in wedding T-shirts, others in hats or tiaras, some with buttons with a photo of the couple. So it wasn't just us. However they were all women.
I remember a long time ago my own mother was creating a costume for a picnic fashion show. She tried it on for the family and waltzed out of the bedroom wearing a red and white checked tablecloth for a skirt. Hanging from the skirt were strings of hot dogs. Her hat was adorned with huge ants. There was more but that's what I remember. I also remember wondering if she thought the outfit was funny and creative and was secretly happy not to be attending her 'old' people's event with her.
My kids and grandkids might have felt the same upon seeing me this weekend. Perhaps Gma, for that's what they call me, is losing her sense of style. Perhaps it is time to check into an alternate living situation for her.
And that's why I leave them all behind for the weekend and meet my friends, who also have kids who probably would think the same things my would if they were to see us.
Sadly, thanks to Facebook, they have seen it all. Okay, not all of it, but enough to start them wondering.
And that's what I think about it.
Our first objective was to create hats for the event. Mine had yellow tulle and flowers with a white butterfly. Flowers and birds bedecked the other two friends'.
Gift bags handed out contained British cookies, crackers and cereal, tea, key chain with bejeweled crown hanging and a cup with the picture of the happy couple, William and Kate. Buttons for our coat lapels had a photo of the couple and a copy of the wedding invitation.
After a few hours sleep we rose to don our hats, fix our tea and sample scones, biscotti and truffles while we sat watching the international event. From the time the Abbey opened its doors to the drive out of the palace with the Just Wed license plate we were mesmerized.
Critiquing hats was the order of the day. The elegance of a lady in a hat gave over to a 'what was she thinking' attitude when a particularly unappealing chapeau appeared in the church. There were plenty of both.
What is this fascination with royalty?
Part imagination and part escape the royal wedding provided both in abundance. In the play Camelot the king sings, "I wonder what the king is doing tonight? What merriment is the king pursuing tonight?"
However we were three women in our early-late life dressed in hats that some might call silly wearing pins emblazoned with a couple's photo whom we will never meet or know personally. To allay fears of early-onset senility we did stay in our room. Not so other groups of merry makers. Groups of friends and family, some of them half our age, were seen around the shopping areas in Columbus, some in wedding T-shirts, others in hats or tiaras, some with buttons with a photo of the couple. So it wasn't just us. However they were all women.
I remember a long time ago my own mother was creating a costume for a picnic fashion show. She tried it on for the family and waltzed out of the bedroom wearing a red and white checked tablecloth for a skirt. Hanging from the skirt were strings of hot dogs. Her hat was adorned with huge ants. There was more but that's what I remember. I also remember wondering if she thought the outfit was funny and creative and was secretly happy not to be attending her 'old' people's event with her.
My kids and grandkids might have felt the same upon seeing me this weekend. Perhaps Gma, for that's what they call me, is losing her sense of style. Perhaps it is time to check into an alternate living situation for her.
And that's why I leave them all behind for the weekend and meet my friends, who also have kids who probably would think the same things my would if they were to see us.
Sadly, thanks to Facebook, they have seen it all. Okay, not all of it, but enough to start them wondering.
And that's what I think about it.
Friday, April 22, 2011
He was supposed to be here at 3:30. It is now 4:20. No call and probably no apology when he does finally show up.
What has happened to customer service in this country and perhaps around the world? We did not call him for service. This is some sort of 'needed cable service' that they called us for. When would we be home, they asked, and could he show up at 3:30?
And so we sit.
In the grocery store last week I waited in a line of seven people. No other lanes were open although it was 4 PM and the store was crowded. In front of me the scanner chatted with a friend about her plans for the holiday. All the while my Moose Tracks was grower softer and softer.
The only paid person I have in my life who is on time is my dentist. Ironic.
And that's what I think about it.
What has happened to customer service in this country and perhaps around the world? We did not call him for service. This is some sort of 'needed cable service' that they called us for. When would we be home, they asked, and could he show up at 3:30?
And so we sit.
In the grocery store last week I waited in a line of seven people. No other lanes were open although it was 4 PM and the store was crowded. In front of me the scanner chatted with a friend about her plans for the holiday. All the while my Moose Tracks was grower softer and softer.
The only paid person I have in my life who is on time is my dentist. Ironic.
And that's what I think about it.
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