And We Have Hot Water...

...just not much.



Showering was not as enjoyable as I had hoped it would be.

How to Shower, Part Deux

Last week, Billy encouraged readers to take Navy Showers as part of the Blog Action Day campaign to save the Earth.

This week, we're experimenting with Kentucky Showers, which is the long-lost technique of bathing without actually getting more than 2 parts of your body wet at any given time. It is so named due to the similarity it has with back-wood Kentucky mountain dwellers' bathing patterns.

Something is mysteriously wrong with our hot-water heater, so today I thought I'd brave the cold shower. As I tested the water with my hand, I quickly realized that this was not bravery, but rather foolery that rivals the polar bear club.

So, rather than actually stepping into the stream of water, I simply bent over the tub to wash my hair. Washing my body was similar to that of a Navy Shower, except I learned that you don't actually have to be wet to get a good lather.

Rinsing was probably the only challenge, so after splashing handfuls of water from the faucet onto my body, I did finally turn the shower head on for 5 seconds. It was probably not worth it.

It seems Billy opted out of the process for today.

Celebrity Death Match > Driscoll vs. Osteen

Last night I was watching Billy go through his Google Reader (yes, folks...this is my exciting life), and a couple of posts about Joel Osteen came up.

One of them included this video:



Needless to say, it sparked some discussion around here.

So, let me begin stating my opinion by saying that I'm not a "fan" of either of these guys. I think Driscoll's jerky, and I think Osteen is creepy.

And in the end, I think they are both wrong.

Osteen's side is simply stated: We are victors and that is evidenced in our physical and mental lives. We will be taken care of as children of the King to the extent that our physical ailments will be healed and our mental anxieties will be quenched.

Driscoll's take is also simple: Osteen paints too pretty of a Christian picture. Driscoll's rebuttal focuses on how bad life is in the interest of discrediting Osteen's health and wealth gospel. He uses Jesus as an example of how disheartening earthly circumstances can be.

My Authoritative Verdict:

Osteen, of course, is glossing over the truth of John 16:33, which reminds us that we will have trouble. Not all of our problems will vanish simply because we are children of the King.

However, in all Driscoll's passion against Osteen's "heresy," he ignores the truth that is preached from the pulpit of Lakewood Church.

While I think Osteen's application of truth may extend too far, the fact is that he is basing his teachings on promises of scripture, such as 1 Corinthians 15:57, Romans 8:28-39, Matthew 6:33, and Philippians 4:6-8.

But what does Driscoll say about verses such as the ones above -- with the truth that we are more than conquerers (a.k.a. victors), we will have all our financial needs met, and we shouldn't be anxious? In this video, he neglects that Osteen's ideas come from scripture, and he gives all the reasons why these truths are not true.

See, I am not defending Osteen's implications (and at points, his outright statement) that God will heal all physical ailments. But I think this is simply an over-compensation, swinging far from people who are constantly reminding us that this life is hard.

I think Osteen's message is popular because we aren't called to be defeated, and people know this inherently. We aren't called to always focus on how screwed up the church is. We aren't called to simply accept hardship and remain in a victim mentality.

We are called to live with Christ's victory. We are new creations, and we are in Christ.

When this truth permeates our Christian circles, we won't need to have extremists like Osteen remind us that we are children of the Most High God.

When we trust that our position is truly what the Bible says it is, we do have victory, even though we may still have physical pain.

Don't Know Whatcha Got

So, they say that you don't know what you got till it's gone. It's that whole idea of taking something for granted until you lose it, and then it hits you--that thing that you didn't value meant a whole lot more to you than you ever admitted.

I know that a lot of women have husbands that just don't communicate. I've gotten a little taste of that today.

Now, wait...this is not about our latest fight.

Today, Billy got a wisdom tooth pulled. So, for the rest of the day, he's been unable to talk. This is not as fun for me as one might have thought.

See, usually Billy talks and talks and talks and talks. I mean, really...it's obnoxious. Or at least, I used to think so. But all this quiet is really unnerving, and I miss his handsome voice. So, I'm learning to appreciate him more and more.

We've been using Google Docs to converse. Billy types something, and I respond vocally. It's kinda a slow process, but it's worked so far.

His inability to speak hasn't stopped Billy from interrupting me, though--he simply doesn't wait for me to finish -

Hey wait a sec. This is Billy (I've hacked into Sarah's Blog.) I do not interrupt her. I have no idea what she's talking about.

- talking before he starts to type again.

The Rest of God

I've been taking a look at this old school book called Lord, Make my Life a Miracle, by Ray Ortland. I'm not a big fan so far. I find his tone to be quite condescending, and I typically feel like condescension doesn't go too far to spur on results. (I know that my last post probably fell into the condescension area, so I'm not claiming that I'm past that, yet.)

Anyway, I try to look past his tone to see if he has any valid points, and the truth is that he really does.

One thing that he's been talking about is practicing the presence of God (an idea popularized by Brother Lawerence in his book of the same title). He talks of how he tries to enter God's presence every hour, and how that brings him into a habitual state of focusing on God. So, I've been doing that the last few days.

It's been cool.

In addition, I've been reading Hebrews 4 over and over and over, and thinking about the rest that God offers. This has been bringing a lot of peace to me.

So...I don't know. I guess I don't have any higher purpose for this post to just let you know what I've been doing with God lately. It's been cool. :)

Let's Get a Little Creative, Please

I'm a good, obedient blogger. So, when I heard about blog action day, where bloggers are supposed to come together and blog about a topic all on one day, I thought that'd be fun. And here I am doing it.

But when I found out the topic, the only thing I could think was, "Oh, c'mon...can we please be a little less generic?"

I mean, who doesn't hear about the environment five times a day every day?

Now, you guys know from past posts of mine that I try to do my share to conserve energy and cut down on unnecessary fumes from my car. I've definitely had my kicks of going green, and I tend to think of myself as a concerned steward.

But really... isn't there something better out there we could make people aware of? I mean, you get all these people together to create a huge global voice, and environmentalism is all ya can come up with?

What would you have chosen if you were heading this up?

New Parenting Blog!

I've recently started a new parenting-focused blog so that Evansville Parent would link to me. This one over here is pretty much my own little random spiritual thoughts and struggles, which wasn't what they were looking for.

I'm trying to find a way to syndicate the new blog over here. But for now, you can check it out at http://parentingthroughthegreatunknown.blogspot.com.

Hope you enjoy!

God's Plan

So, today, I had a friend ask for an update on a situation I had told her about a few weeks ago.

My answer was, "Oh... it didn't work out." I was disappointed.

She replied smiling, "It wasn't God's plan!"

My first thought was that this was naive.

So, I began revisiting some old wonderings:

Does God have a specific plan for every situation we ever face?

And when he does have a plan, does it always come to fruition, or could this situation not working be complete against God's plan because someone involved was acting outside of His will?

Does praying over a situation ensure that God's will will be done?

What do you think?

Volunteer or Servant?

I came across this quote recently:

In a day when women pursue balance as rigorously as they work out, God and his work are relegated to a percentage of time. A culture of volunteerism has emerged, but a heart for ministry has been lost.

Any thoughts?

I'm just glad my husband shaves.

Shaun Groves and Grody Brody