Father's Day

Today is father's day-surprise, surprise. If you are in fact surprised, it is too late. You might as well throw in the towel and make an apology phone call to the man who helped raise you. There are a plethora of excuses you could use so, use a good one. However, don't worry, he will still love you, hopefully.

This is the first fathers day I get to spend with my family in two years and man does it feel good. I just returned home from a lovely lunch with my parents at Giuseppe's, a wonderful little Italian restaurant, sheltered in an antique house. If you have never been, it is worth the trip. The head chef and owner, Giuseppe is ACTUALLY from Italy. (Imagine that, an Italian restaurant where the owner is actually Italian-what a novelty).

I love father's day, I always end up crying on father's day. Though as I am getting older, I am starting to cry more often (I guess that is my aunt Gena coming out in me-she is known as the family cryer).  As I am writing this, I cannot help but be overcome with a feeling of awe. It is amazing to me and yet not too unusual to hear about the amount of people who lack a strong and supportive male role model in their lives. Yet here I am with more than I can count on both my hands. I don't think I ever appreciated that as much as I do now. Why? Because I never knew any different. From the moment I marched out of my mother's womb (and oh did I march) I was always surrounded by fatherly love and care, whether is was from my grandfather, uncles, cousins, or my own father, I never had to reach far to receive the unique and usually frustratingly true advice that only a true father can give. I say true father because there is a difference between a father-someone who supports you, laughs with you, listens to you, and truly loves you- and a father who only supplies the other chromosome needed to create you and nothing more.

I find that as the date for my departure to South Korea is looming closer, I am becoming more nostalgic and a bit somber. Although I will only be gone for 4 months, one of my biggest fears is not only losing my own, dear father but also losing any father figure in my life.  Especially while I am not somewhere where I can't quickly hop in the car and arrive within 2 hours. We have had a few close calls when I was younger with my dad but, I think as I am now older the most prevalent close call was when my uncle, Dennis, had a heart attack. I can't imagine losing anyone in my family. I could be accused of loving too hard. But that is OK, I will gladly commit that crime.

The Great Divide: Christ and the Christians.

Third post in one day. I know, I know, it is a bit much. But who cares.

I like to keep this blog light hearted and fun. However, today I want to talk about something that has been on my mind for a while that is a bit heavy. It is not a new concept but it is very bothersome for me and I think for other people as well. 

As most of you know my family has been going through a bit of a dark spot lately. If you don't know (if you live under a rock...just kidding) my mom was diagnosed with a very rare cancer a few short weeks ago. We all saw this diagnosis as a blessing in disguise as it was found at stage two when normally this specific, rare, cancer is so hard to find, it is usually discovered only after it is too late to do anything but wait until the inevitable. Well this situation has forced me to re-examine my faith.  

I have always prescribed to the Christian faith, and still do, however, I am struggling. Before you write me off, please continue reading. I hope what I am trying to convey comes across the way I mean for it to. 

One of my favorite quotes is,

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ" ~Mahatma Gandhi

What I have been struggling with is how can Christ and Christianity in general be such a loving religion when many followers are seem so unloving? 

There are enormous example of Christians publicly announcing hateful views and harmful threats towards different parts of society such as Homosexuals, Muslims, even Democrats. 

I don't understand how certain Christians can be so full of hate.* 

Let me give an example of what I am talking about.  Within the past few weeks there have been two more pastors, in two different states, who are advocating for the killing of homosexuals. Don't believe me? Here is a link to the story about it. 

How can they spread the word of God when they are advocating mass murder of human beings? 

When I was in church school I was taught Jesus was about love. 

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. - 1 John 4:16 

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:12-13 

'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. - Leviticus 19:18

Also, didn't Jesus hang with the sinners? 

¹⁵ While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹⁷ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:15-17

Now I never went to divinity school and I, admittedly, don't read the bible as much as I should, but I am pretty sure Jesus never said hate those who don't repent, hate those who you don't agree with, and most importantly, kill those who you think are wrong. 

Also, since when did being a Democrat automatically signify you as a heathen, a non-believer, "evil"? Remind me, which party had congressional power when Jesus was alive?

I'm NOT saying you have to agree with homosexuality or abortion or Islam or Buddhism or any other religion or act that you, personally, believe to be seen as "sinful", that is for you to decide, but why do you have to hate? Why hold that in your heart? How come you have the power to choose who gets to be a Christian and who doesn't?  I have always thought if you want to spread the word of God, doesn't a message of love work better?

Further, if we are all sinners from birth, as the bible says we are, then where do we get the right to judge which sin is more "sinnier" than the other or which sinner goes to straight to hell and who doesn't? Isn't judging a sin? Isn't claiming one sin as worse than another a bit "holier-than-thou" and isn't acting like that a sin? So what is the point? 

Thus, my struggle with Christianity isn't whether or not to believe, but is how can I worship with people who can hate so strongly in the name of God?

 *I know it isn't just Christians who hate but, because I am more exposed to the christian faith, this is my frame of reference.

 

Guilty.

I am guilty of the one thing women are accused of. I change my mind constantly. As of this morning I decided to keep this blog. I just love it so much. Honestly I am just such a brilliant writer, I wouldn't want to let my past entries drown in the vast, dark waters of the preverbial blogosphere. Just so everyone knows the blogosphere is located under the hydrosphere. (I took earth science a few semesters ago thus I am an expert.)

So I am keeping this blog, yet I am going to start another blog just for South Korea. Why, you ask? Why would I keep two blogs when I can't even seem to keep up with this damned blog? Because I need an "appropriate" blog to send into the Gilman Association who gave me my scholarship so I could go to South Korea in the first place. That is why. So If you want to follow my education and other stuff like that follow that blog. If you want to hear about all the juicy gossip and conundrums that will (surly) arise then follow this blog. Or follow both. Whatever.

So yay blogging.

AAAAND off she goes

Well hello strangers.
It's been awhile. A long while.
Alot has happened over the course of the past year, however thanks to social media outlets, I am sure all of the five people that will end up reading this blog, already know everything there is to know about my life thus far. So this is where I announce I am making, yet again, a new blog. On Tumbler. I know, I know. But this time I HAVE to blog (and vlog) because of this little scholarship I won to go far far away to a land called South Korea (where ever the hell that is). It is part of the conditions of the keeping the scholarship. So deal with it. Actually I am really excited about that blog. I will talk about life in South Korea, travel, eating, studying, not clubbing, studying, eating, not clubbing. You get the idea. So I hope you enjoy that blog because I (hope) I will. For now it will consist of me talking about various travel and getting ready things for South Korea. sooo yeah. GOOOD NIGHT.