The Face of "Abomination"

No matter what you believe about same sex attraction, and same sex marriage, listen to this young man's testimony, and see if you can still call homosexual desire an "abomination." We can all have our opinions, but perhaps, as Christians we should temper our words with compassion.

No one has ever been drawn to Christ by angry, hateful words, and attitude. But everyone who came to Christ ultimately came because of His love.

This young man is an SBC pastor's son. His struggle is obvious. His "abomination" is not.

This isn't about gay people parading around in the streets. This isn't about politics, and laws. This isn't about rainbows and unicorns and abominations. And it isn't about you. It's about souls spurning the Gospel because of hate filled Christians. It's about young Christians filled with self hate and loathing and having no where to go for help. It's about our real job: 

SERVE GOD, LOVE OTHERS

Prayers and blessings,

Teapotjan

The Times, They are A-Changing

Today I celebrate the third anniversary of my 49th birthday. While I don't enjoy the physical changes that age brings about, I do embrace the lessons that the years have brought my way. It would be nice to be 25 again, but only if I could take my current brain with me. I look back at the 25 year old me, and think about how clueless I was and shudder at some of the things I thought and did. I firmly believe that God brings circumstances good and bad to change us into His image, and since I've already done so much growing, I don't want to repeat those lessons that were difficult to learn.

Also, this past weekend, my oldest child moved into her own apartment. She's not very far away, but as any parent with older kids knows, it's not the same when a child pays their own electric bill. I'm sad and glad all at the same time. You know, all bittersweet and stuff. In addition, we placed a ridiculously low offer on a nearby duplex, and it was accepted! So, we are on our way to being landlords. This is something we had been trying to do for quite a while but things had not fallen into place. Then, suddenly during this time of change, the Lord provided financing, downpayment, and legal options that made the purchase possible. And today, my youngest child started a new online school, Connections Academy. How's that for a lot to happen in a week?

My last post, "Nice Guys Finish Last?," drew some interesting comments both here and in personal messaging. Please remember that my blog acts as an outlet, and hopefully as a help to those experiencing some of the same things. The people in the incident I mentioned are still dear to me, and I certainly forgive them. But to forget what happened would leave me vulnerable to repeating the mistake. Maybe that's a good subject for another post soon. 

So, that's it for now. As things begin to calm down, I'll post more. I have a lot I have been pondering and want to share, but the timing and the Spirit just have not met up just yet. 

Changing, and learning,
Teapotjan

The Prodigal Teapot-Loving The Unlovable, Part One

We all want our children to fit into our perception of perfect. Some parents long for a sports star offspring, while others pray for a professional cellist, or a doctor, or a computer programmer. Many people I know wanted their children to fit into the mold of a perfect Christian. You know the kind: fit, thin, bright smile, mind of a genius, amazing musical talent in both voice and instrumental areas, kind, community-minded, leader of people, highly spiritual, but humble in spirit, well-spoken and good-looking. I've been there. I've had dreams of my children becoming wealthy and supporting me in my old age in the luxurious fashion to which I've never been accustomed. 

I've met a lot of people. I've watched a lot of people. I have seen parents and kids in harmony and in conflict. What I haven't seen is an actual, perfect Christian parent or child. Ever. Why? Could be because they don't exist anywhere, not in the "F"undamentalist camp, not in the Emerging Church camp, not anywhere, not no how.

Why am I dashing parent's dreams of a perfect child? Because, they aren't going to be perfect, and we still need to love and cherish them anyway. We also need to realize that we aren't going to be perfect parents, and accept it, and do our best and get past any guilt over past mistakes.

I'm pretty sure this will be a multi-post subject. There are so many aspects to cover in the relationship between parents and children that they can't all fit into one neat little blog entry. The Bible has a great deal to say about parents, and children to the point of God being Our Heavenly Father. It's no mistake that He speaks of us as His "children."

I have pondered and reviewed and sought for a story where a hard-nosed, inflexible, parent standing on Biblical principles, and sporting a "by-God-you'll-do-right-or-you're-no-child-of-mine" attitude ever brought a child back to the Savior. So far, I haven't found one. On the other hand, I have heard story after story of wayward children pushed away from their homes and treated with such contempt that even when they turned back to God, the relationship with their parents was irreparably damaged. 

If you have stories of reconciliation or stories of heartbreak that you would like to share, please feel free to email them to me or message me on Facebook. I will use nothing without permission, and I will not mention details here or in my own personal conversations. 

There will be more in the next few days, but in the hope that I will gather more information from some of you, I'll wait a couple of days before I continue with this subject.
Lord, make me more like You. Let me love my children and others and see them as You do. Thank you, Father, for loving me and taking me into your grace. Bless those who are struggling with their children and with their own guilt and failures. Thank you for your perfect mercy given to your imperfect children.

In His Love,
Teapotjan