John Wesley as Pastor

Good way to question stuff that is against scripture:

"But, in the mean time, what must we do with our Bibles? -- for they will never agree with this."
--John Wesley

Speaking out on Sexual Abuse

It has been more than a month now since the sex scandal at Penn State stunned the Happy Valley and changed the lives of so many forever.

Former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky has said he's innocent of the charges he faces for sexually abusing so many young kids, but he stood silently by while the Penn State president, the athletic director and the legendary coach Joe Paterno lost their jobs in disgrace.

Is that really the action of an innocent man?

But then, they stood silently by while being told that Sandusky was abusing the children he says he was trying to help.

Nobody's innocent here, and those kids have lost their innocence forever because nobody talks about the abuse of a child.

The victim of a sexual crime is the only victim we don't talk about, and maybe it's time we do.

The Congresswoman from Arizona, Gabby Giffords, the victim of a gunman's bullet to the head, became a TV show.

She was reduced to a shell of her former self. She couldn't walk and she couldn't talk. And when she eventually could, she thought her chair was a spoon.

And we saw it all because she was a victim and now a survivor, and we shine a light for all to see.

But the victims of sexual abuse? They stay hidden in the darkness, a reminder of the shame so many of them feel... and nobody should.

Sexual abuse of our children is the cancer that lives and walks among us, but a cancer survivor wears their ribbon proudly and we all stand to cheer as they walk by in their annual parade.

But who stands to cheer for the victim of a sexual assault? And much like cancer, we all know a victim.

It might be a child in your family... a cousin or a brother... the kid on the corner... a kid in your class.

We all know somebody. You might not think you do, but I know you do.

Because you all know me.

I was 10 years old in my little Iowa town. It really was the Mayberry of the Midwest. Everybody knew everybody (at least we thought we did).

A 16-year-old boy said, 'Let's ride our bikes to the ball field at the edge of town,' but there was nobody there. He then started what Sandusky would describe as "horsing around" until he threw me to the ground and pulled at my pants.

I can still take you to the spot on the ball field where it happened. I know exactly where it was.

But then it was only 53 years ago.

He had my pants below my knees before he decided to let me go, and I don't know why. My screams couldn't have been heard. There was nobody there.

Maybe he was afraid of my dad, because in my hometown, everybody was.

But I never told my dad.

I never told anybody.

And too many times in the last month, I've had to ask myself how many little boys didn't get away? How many lives did that monster ruin because I didn't tell.

If he had stolen my bike... the glove on the handlebar... the dollar in my pocket... or simply punched me in the face and blackened an eye.. I would have told everybody.

Instead, I told nobody.

Because even then I knew no one talks about the sexual abuse of a child.

And maybe it's time we do.

No one knows who actually said it, but we need to remember it now: The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing.

The good men at Penn State University didn't, and the innocence of a child was lost forever.

Talk to your children, and — more importantly — make sure that your children aren't afraid to talk to you.

The innocence of a child is worth fighting for. The innocence of a child is worth the job of a coach. The innocence of a child is worth talking about.

That's why I choose to talk about it tonight.

And it's why at this time of year, every year, I want the Oak Ridge Boys to remind us all: "Thank God for Kids."

Video:  http://www.wfaa.com/sports/dale-hansen/Dale-Hansen-Thank-God-for-Kids-135840468.html

When God...

When God is going to do something wonderful, He or She always starts with a hardship; when God is going to do something amazing, He or She starts with an impossibility.

plugging in

...I think it must be true--that when you pray, you are not starting the conversation from scratch, just remembering to plug back into a conversation that's always in progress.

--Anne Lamott, Plan B,  p 20

Motleyest People

You've got to love this in a God--consistently assembling the motleyest people to bring, in the lonely and frightening world, a commitment to caring and community.  It's a centuries-long reality show--Moses the stutterer, Rahab the hooker, David the adulterer, Mary the homeless teenager.  Not to mention all the mealy-mouthed disciples.  Not to mention a raging insecure narcissist like me.

--Anne Lamott, Plan B,  p 22

Desperation

In my experience, there is a lot to be said for desperation--not exactly a bright side, but something expressed in words for which "God could be stonkered an acronym: gifts of desperation.  The main gift is a willingness to give up the conviction that you are right, and that God this so, too, and hates the people who are driving you crazy.

--Anne Lamott, Plan B,  p 20

Too Many Hard Words

"Too many hard words"

Estee, Jude and I drove to an indoor gym the other day when the ice was a couple inches thick on the road. As we buckled in to drive home we jokingly said, "whelp, lets pray we don't crash."

I then asked Jude if he wanted to pray.

"Sure." He says so happily that it makes even a stranger smile.

I then fed him the lines of the Lords Prayer and he repeated them to me.

Our Father in heaven,
Great is your name.
Your Kingdom come,
Your will be done
On Earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us today,
Our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who
Trespass against us.
And lead us not into
Temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the Kingdom
The power
The glory forever.
Amen.

Estee then asked Jude if he could pray that prayer by himself.

Jude replied, "No, too many hard words."

Indeed there are hard words for a 3 year old to say...

But come to think of it these words are hard adults.

 

From:  http://www.jasonvalendy.net/2011/02/too-many-hard-words.html