Christian by Association

A good friend shared this with me a few months ago, and I wanted to pass it along. This is probably old news to the rest of the world, but until recently I had dial-up internet and couldn't pull up YouTube videos. So, if you've already seen it, humor me and watch it again. It never hurts to listen to a good message twice. If you haven't seen it, take a few minutes to do so, and then take a few more minutes to praise God for how awesome He is.

prop·a·gan·da  [prop-uh-gan-duh]



No, I didn't create this just to better my point. (I'm not that talented) It is, unfortunately, for real.

 It's beginning to echo in here. If my personal blogging goal were to generate numbers and rise to blogosphere super-stardom, my last few posts would be doing more harm than good. But, alas, that is not my goal. I feel a strong urging from the Holy Spirit to talk to Christians in America, and challenge the comfortable culture that we've been lazing in for the past thousand years or so. It's getting worse, and I fear what each generation will bring. But fear is futile. Prayer is much more productive, and it is the primary thing that I hope to encourage my reader(s) to pursue. Pray. Pray. Pray.


I want to pick up where my last post left off. One of the primary reasons I hate politics, is because of the affect that it has on otherwise normal, sane, respectful, & rational people. My goal for these political-based posts is to encourage Christ-like behavior without attacking specific examples of Christ-less behavior. So, let's work through this together.

We are rapily approaching my least favorite season in America, and that is the Presidential campaign season. Oh, how I hate politics. I hate it, primarily because it sucks me in against my will. And it truly brings out the worst in people. I narrowly escaped the last one without being publicly exiled for the remainder of my natural life. Since I began this blog I've been praying about this post. I knew it was inevitable, but I wasn't sure how to get my point across in a manner that would be beneficial. I don't want to incite a debate, and I don't want to offend anyone. But I'm fully aware that both may indeed happen. I'm fairly certain I will gain no "followers" with this one, but I have to say my peace before the trash talking really gets underway. I can't possibly wrap this topic up in one post, so let's call this Part 1.

There are several more parts to this series on YouTube, and I'm having mixed feelings about them. I agree that the term "Christian" has lost much of its meaning in our society, but I'm not sure this is the right way to convey that message. Don't get me wrong, it's funny and there is A LOT of truth in it. However, I'm afraid this will cause people that fall more into the "Christian" category to become defensive, and miss the message. What is the point of a good message if the intended recipient is so put off by its presentation that they don't bother to hear it?

One of my guilty pleasures is "America's Next Top Model". It's cheesy, and Tyra Banks is almost unbearably obnoxious, but I love it. There was a model on one of the seasons several years ago who had Lupus. That's the only time I can remember hearing of it, but like everything else it wasn't something that would ever affect me. I'm young, healthy, and have no family history of anything like this. Nevertheless, I have Lupus.


In case you don't know, Lupus is an auto-immune disease that causes your immune system to become a little schizophrenic. When you have an infection, a normal immune system creates anti-bodies to fight off the infection. My immune system is confused, and a little paranoid, so it creates auto-antibodies that attack the healthy tissues. It will still fight infection, but because so much effort is being focused elsewhere, my ability to fight off infection is much less. Lupus can attack any organ system in the body, which is why it presented with such random & diverse symptoms. This is good and bad news. There are about 100 different auto-immune diseases, and, in my opinion, Lupus is one of the better ones to have. It's still a bummer, don't get me wrong, but it's far less likely than some to be a killer bummer.

After a traumatic labor/delivery/recovery with my first two babies, I opted for a C-Section the third time around. Although it is a major surgery, I felt like it would be better long-term. So, we scheduled it for November 10 and made arrangements for friends and family to babysit me during the first few postpartum weeks. Initially, everything was great. Surgery was a breeze & I didn't have any of the complications I had experienced with the first two. Our first week home my husband was off work and we had a wonderful week together with our new little family. Then it began.


A week and a half after Lucy was born I got sick. What began as a bladder infection turned into 5 days of high fever which culminated in a breast infection. To those of you who have never had a breast infection, or who don't have breasts, it's sucks. Thanks to a tag team of wonderful ladies who came to my rescue; took care of my kids; took me to the doctor; cleaned my house; etc.; we survived Round 1. Unfortunately, where's there's a Round 1, there is always a Round 2.

The tone of this post might be a little different than my others, but the overall message is the same: Christ is all-sufficient. Many of the thoughts and ideas that I'm expressing through this blog have been brought on by the events of the past year of my life. Before I go any further, I wanted to share some of those events with you, whoever you are, to give you a better idea of where I'm coming from.


It has been a year, almost exactly, since my husband and I found out we were expecting our third baby. With a 20 month old and an 8 month old already in house, the prospect of #3 was a bit overwhelming. Nevertheless, we were ready for it. I had always wanted to be a young mom, and we both loved the idea of our kids growing up together, so close in age. As the months rolled on I began to feel God moving in and around me in a way I had never experienced. Since I first became involved in church the greatest challenge has been getting up an hour earlier and getting to Sunday School. I love to sleep. It's probably my favorite thing to do. I wanted so much, for so long to be a part of the women's class at my church, but I just couldn't get my butt out of bed early enough to get there. Until one day.

 My Father-in-law passed away this past Monday. I got the call early Monday afternoon that he had coded, and shortly thereafter he was gone. When I received the message from my husband, saying that we had lost him, two memories popped into my head almost instantly, and haven't left since. I have dwelt on them all week; through the visitation; through the funeral; and through each night. Of all the memories I have of him over the past 6 years, these are the two that are clinging to me.


I don't remember exactly when it was, but sometime shortly after my daughter was born. Don, my father-in-law, was over at our house. He had said several months before that our 2 boys were at that age that they would start looking in Paw Paw's pockets for candy, so he started stocking them with Reese's peanut butter cups. This particular day he pulled a handful out to give to the boys. After he gave them each 2, I told him they didn't need anymore. He looked disappointed, and I immediately regretted it. But, I thought, it was almost dinnertime. That was one of the last times he was at our house.