No Buts

There is been a bit of discussion lately on social media about how Christians should respond to homosexuality and same-sex marriage after Vicky Beeching recently "came out" as gay. Now I do not know who she is, nor have I previously heard of her. But it has been a topic on social media. The phrase I hear all the time from people who call themselves Christians is "Love the sinner BUT hate the sin"
 Someone even posed the question "should the Christian not simply just love the gay person, isn't that what Jesus would do?" Yet several people responded with "yes we love them but............."

 There are Christians who will not invite homosexuals into their home, claiming they "do not support their lifestyle" They even distance themselves from family members. If you want to play that game then at least be consistent and refuse to associate with the uncle who has a wife and two girlfriends, refuse to associate with the gluttonous cousin who shovels food in his mouth all day long, refuse to associate with that teenage nephew who does not honor his mother or father, refuse to associate with your stubborn and prideful grandfather...
 I have read all the red words in the Bible, (Those are the words of Jesus) and He never once said "love them but..." Mark 12:31 reads "And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other greater commandment than these."                                                              I have read this passage in 7 or 8 different translations and still do not find the word BUT there. Jesus said "Love your neighbor as yourself", there are no exceptions, no caveats, no buts...

Honduras

   Honduras has been on my heart lately. After reading about the many unaccompanied children crossing our southern boarder I did some research that goes beyond what the news media reports. What I discovered was that this is not a sudden spike. The numbers of children coming here have been increasing over the last several years.

   Many of these children are fleeing violence and extreme poverty. These children are coming from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. With most coming from Honduras. In many areas of Honduras gangs have crippled the communities. Simply walking on the wrong street can get one killed. These gangs are attempting to force children into joining them and selling drugs. If they refuse they will be killed. Honduras has the highest murder rate of any country on the planet. The conditions are bleak.

    God is leading me to do something for the children in Honduras. I am not sure yet what all that will entail, but I am considering a mission trip. Pray with me as I pray about the direction I need to take. I am consulting my Pastor and several other friends and will keep you posted.

Starting today I am sponsoring a child in Honduras through Compassion International. Here is a picture of that young man. His name is Otoniel. His is 6 years old and likes soccer and cars.

   I encourage you to consider sponsoring a child in need. It only cost $38 per month and will change their life. In case you wonder if this really does make a difference watch the video below.

 

What the hell!

 I am a little drunk right now. It's a very long long story, but I am missing my wife and youngest daughter. Life is rather confusing now. Which is kind of funny, since I thought by now I would have figured it out and settled into a fullfilling life. My life was supposed to be in order at this point, but instead I am more confused than ever before 

It is freakin COOOOOOLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDDDD!

 I awoke this morning to a temperature of 26 outside. I live in the Houston area, and it doesn't get that cold very often. I moved south because I hate the cold. I don't mind the heat, but cry like a baby when the temp gets below about 50. Yeah, I know some who live north of me are rolling their eyes, but that is the way I am. That being said, I am still consider myself a rather reasonable person. 
 It began yesterday. We were having rain and sleet combined with below freezing temps. The "dire warnings" coming from city and county officials started flowing from the news reports. Schools announced closings ahead of the "ice" because of road conditions that may or may not happen. It was, as always, completely exaggerated. It had been raining since early yesterday evening. Like I said it was 26 when I woke up this morning. Yes, my car was covered in a thin sheet of ice, but letting it warm up melted the ice off the windows. I live way out in the country north of Houston. Nobody ever does anything to combat ice on my road. SO, when there was no ice on the roads around my home, I knew that it would be a safe, albeit cold drive in.
 Yes there was some ice on bridges and overpasses, but most ground roads were simply wet. In spite of this fact, most schools and many businesses closed for the day. I just know there is a guy somewhere in Wisconsin laughing at us down here as he tees off for a round of golf in the snow....

Unplugged Over The Weekend

 I made it through the weekend without any social media. Several friends have asked what happened, and as I explained a few were baffled saying they could not do that. I find that kind of telling of today's society. People cannot fathom not accessing the internet or social media for even a few days. It was not all that long ago that we were not connected to anything. Parents did not have instant access to their children when they were at the movies or the mall. Ironically it is those who were children and teenagers before internet and cellphones who seem the most confused at my decision. My children and their friends seem to understand, but their parents are baffled. 
 I have found a reasonably priced flip phone on ebay that I have ordered and should be here in a few days. The more I think about it the more I am enjoying the idea of not being constantly teathered to all things digital

Day One

This is the first day I have not checked my facebook first thing after my eyes are open. This is the first morning since I deactivated all my social media and my first day of my "digital vacation", such as it is..So far, so good. The question is, can one really take a complete leave of absence from our digital world? Or has it become so ingrained that living "off the grid" is more troublesome than it is worth. 
 It feels a bit hypocritical to keep a blog while on my break from the internet. I have been looking at getting a new cell phone that is free from some of the things that are keeping most tied to them 24/7. It is an old school flip phone with no camera, cannot download any apps and has very limited internet access. I am seriously getting this simple phone and giving up my Iphone...we shall see, there is a financial aspect that may keep me from doing so..

Unplugging

This is going to sound a little weird, but I think I am going to unplug for a while. Meaning that I have shuttered my social media pages and will stay off from the internet unless work or Church takes me there. This blog will be the sole exception. I will use this to chronicle my journey. I will not make any public announcements about this blog. I do it for myself. I take that back, I have a daughter living in Mexico that I will use Skype to connect with a few times a week.
 I am, for all intents and purposes, going off the grid. I am looking to trade my Iphone in for a basic old school flip-phone. No camera, no internet. I want a phone that will.....wait for it...make phone calls. I do not need a micro-super computer in my pocket. My life is a little confusing and I need to step back and do some soul searching. |
 I have absolutely no clue as to the content of this blog in the future. Not sure where this will end up. I am tired of seeing everyone with their faces in their phones all the time and realized that I am the same. So I decided to make a change and pull away from being so "connected" all the damn time. I also noted that I am a little clueless as to what is happening in the lives of my daughters. On one hand what father of teenagers isn't a little lost. On the other hand, we spend most of our time at home on our phones, Ipad, computers, and the television. We need to connect more as a family, and I am the one that needs to set that example. So here I am. I deactivated my twitter and facebook accounts. Will I reopen them? I do not know.
 Ok, let me back up. I am assuming that whomever is reading this already knows who I am. My name is Wayne. I am 45 years old. I am married to a wonderful, beautiful woman named Lilly and we have 5 daughters. There is one daughter from my first wife, my wife has three daughters with her first husband, then we have one together. They are 22, 19, 19, 18, and 10 years old. Yup, you read that right..4 girls in their late teens and early twenties.
 In summary, I am attempting to unplug from the digital world. Ironically I will be blogging about it as I go forward. I find it rather difficult to completely unplug, as my job and resposiblities at Church require me to use the internet. But I am unplugging on a personal level. To be honest, if I had thefinancial resources, I would love to go to some isolated place for about a month or so with nothing. No phone, no computer, just relax and unwind without the worlds distractions..that is what I need....