I never thought I'd think of these two things together! But after an interesting conversation at work.... Well, what can I say?
It all came about because one of the guys came in and I had to escort him to his meeting. I noticed he had some very nice body art and I asked if I could get a better look at it. He showed me everything! LOL I was surprised at all that he had.
One of his tattoos was on the inside of his upper arm! When he showed it to me I said, "That had to be the most painful one!" He said I sounded like I had experience with getting a tattoo there and I said, "No, I'm not even that brave!" He told me it wouldn't be so bad if I had a coach who had already gone through it.
That got me to thinking. Lamaze for tattoos? The mental image of someone coaching me to breathe through it as I got my tattoo had me giggling for the rest of the day. The only thing I can say is: I hope it works better than Lamaze for childbirth! What a crock! Breathe through it?! You've got to be kidding me. More like curl up in the fetal position and hope you survive the ordeal. Frankly I was thankful I ended up with a C-section after 23.5 hours of labor. It hurt less!!
I digress...
I've heard people say that getting tattoos is addictive. I've not had that experience, but then again I have only one child too. I've heard a lot of women say they just love being pregnant and giving birth. What?! Really?! They must get some good drugs in the hospital! I can't say I enjoyed being sick every day of my life for nine months or feeling like a beached whale. Neither can I say I relish the feel of a needle poking me a gazillion times and injecting ink into my skin. And I like the buzz of the ink gun about as much as I like the sound of all the monitors I'm hooked up to during childbirth. Addictive? Right. Maybe for the masochistic.
And let's not forget what comes after. Both experiences leave you sore, tired, moody and swearing you'll never do it again. Yet, I know people with so many tattoos they can't possibly get more. I also know people with so many kids they can't possibly afford them. (That's a rant for another day.)
So, to my surprise, tattoos and childbirth do have a lot in common. Much more than I thought, actually...
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
The End of the World....Really?
Well either I'm a really bad person and didn't make the cut, or someone was just a little delusional and didn't read Mark 13:32. I'm *really* hoping it was option #2.
Seriously...
I'd have to say that this whole thing really got me to thinking. We all talk about being "good Christians"; we all say we "believe". But are we really "good Christians"? Do we truly "believe"?
My son and I have talked about these things in the days leading up to this alleged rapture. And he made a good point the other day. It's misleading to say we are "good" Christians. We may be Christians and we may even be "good" by the world's standards, but by God's standards we are far, far from good.
He's right in his observation. The "good" standard was set by Jesus Christ. That's why we are called Christians. We are Christ followers. And we all fall short of the example set by Him. So to call ourselves good is a stretch.
I also pointed out to my son when someone calls us good, they are focusing on our works. Think about it. When you say someone is good you say that because of something they've done. Or a lot of somethings they've done. Our faith is not about our works. Yes, we do good works as an outgrowth of the change that's taken place within our heart, but the works don't make us good.
We've also talked a lot about what it means to truly believe. The Bible says that even the devils believe and tremble. I think it is wise of us to read that and truly understand what it means. Simply put: Do you have a "head belief" or a "heart belief". A "head belief" is what the demons have. They know that Jesus's death on the cross happened and that His shed blood has the power to save. They have that knowledge. But they haven't believed that in their heart. They haven't accepted the gift of salvation. Just as a lot of people believe that there was a Jesus. They believe He died for our sins. But it stops there. They haven't accepted the salvation offered. They haven't repented and given their lives to the One who died for them.
I often wonder how many people will be surprised at His coming. How many people thought they believed, but had only believed with their head and not their heart.
Are you one of them?
Seriously...
I'd have to say that this whole thing really got me to thinking. We all talk about being "good Christians"; we all say we "believe". But are we really "good Christians"? Do we truly "believe"?
My son and I have talked about these things in the days leading up to this alleged rapture. And he made a good point the other day. It's misleading to say we are "good" Christians. We may be Christians and we may even be "good" by the world's standards, but by God's standards we are far, far from good.
He's right in his observation. The "good" standard was set by Jesus Christ. That's why we are called Christians. We are Christ followers. And we all fall short of the example set by Him. So to call ourselves good is a stretch.
I also pointed out to my son when someone calls us good, they are focusing on our works. Think about it. When you say someone is good you say that because of something they've done. Or a lot of somethings they've done. Our faith is not about our works. Yes, we do good works as an outgrowth of the change that's taken place within our heart, but the works don't make us good.
We've also talked a lot about what it means to truly believe. The Bible says that even the devils believe and tremble. I think it is wise of us to read that and truly understand what it means. Simply put: Do you have a "head belief" or a "heart belief". A "head belief" is what the demons have. They know that Jesus's death on the cross happened and that His shed blood has the power to save. They have that knowledge. But they haven't believed that in their heart. They haven't accepted the gift of salvation. Just as a lot of people believe that there was a Jesus. They believe He died for our sins. But it stops there. They haven't accepted the salvation offered. They haven't repented and given their lives to the One who died for them.
I often wonder how many people will be surprised at His coming. How many people thought they believed, but had only believed with their head and not their heart.
Are you one of them?
Sunday, May 8, 2011
bin Laden
I've spent the past week watching the reaction to bin Laden's death with great interest. I've also given myself this week to process the information and form an intelligent opinion on the whole situation. Of course my knee jerk reaction was, "Good! It's over now." But really, that reaction is wrong on many levels.
One thing that struck me about the initial reaction to the announcment of bin Laden's death was the bloodthirsty tenor in which people responded. Don't get me wrong, I understand that people were relieved, but to literally rejoice in someone's death? It struck me as wrong.
Something that really bothered me about the whole thing was that this man is now in hell. He won't ever leave hell. He will suffer for the rest of ETERNITY. Our minds can't truly comprehend eternity. Nor can we truly comprehend the horror that is hell. It bothers me to think that anyone will have to spend their eternity in hell.
Yet...
It is what he deserves. The Bible tells us that everyone in their lifetime will have the gospel presented to them. They will have a chance to make the decision to either accept salvation or not. Obviously those who don't go to hell.
bin Laden also did horrible things and encouraged others to do terrible things. So, yes, he deserves hell. Just like Hitler and Hitler's cronies.
Regardless, I cannot bring myself to rejoice in bin Laden's death. I am glad that he is gone and no longer able to lead people to do bad things to others, but even that is only temporary.
Hence the reason I earlier stated that my knee jerk reaction to the news of his death was wrong. So bin Laden is gone. There's another to take his place. Al Qaeda will continue with its terrorist activities under a new leader. Those activities will probably be intensified as bin Laden becomes a martyr to these people.
Regardless, I understand and agree with the fact that he had to go. Martyr or not, bin Laden had to be removed. Unfortunately, we're going to have to decide what to do about the next leader now.
I also think that people in some way equate bin Laden's death with the end of our military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. While it would be nice if that were the case, I believe people are forgetting that it's the Taliban, not Al Qaeda, that we are pitted against in Afghanistan. And in Iraq we've decided to take on the role of nation building. Unfortunately that role is not dependant upon a change in leadership of Al Qaeda. Bottom line: We're stuck.
Which makes me wonder: What now? After ten years we've found and removed bin Laden, but what have we truly accomplished? What does this really men for the US both in the immediate future and down the road?
One thing that struck me about the initial reaction to the announcment of bin Laden's death was the bloodthirsty tenor in which people responded. Don't get me wrong, I understand that people were relieved, but to literally rejoice in someone's death? It struck me as wrong.
Something that really bothered me about the whole thing was that this man is now in hell. He won't ever leave hell. He will suffer for the rest of ETERNITY. Our minds can't truly comprehend eternity. Nor can we truly comprehend the horror that is hell. It bothers me to think that anyone will have to spend their eternity in hell.
Yet...
It is what he deserves. The Bible tells us that everyone in their lifetime will have the gospel presented to them. They will have a chance to make the decision to either accept salvation or not. Obviously those who don't go to hell.
bin Laden also did horrible things and encouraged others to do terrible things. So, yes, he deserves hell. Just like Hitler and Hitler's cronies.
Regardless, I cannot bring myself to rejoice in bin Laden's death. I am glad that he is gone and no longer able to lead people to do bad things to others, but even that is only temporary.
Hence the reason I earlier stated that my knee jerk reaction to the news of his death was wrong. So bin Laden is gone. There's another to take his place. Al Qaeda will continue with its terrorist activities under a new leader. Those activities will probably be intensified as bin Laden becomes a martyr to these people.
Regardless, I understand and agree with the fact that he had to go. Martyr or not, bin Laden had to be removed. Unfortunately, we're going to have to decide what to do about the next leader now.
I also think that people in some way equate bin Laden's death with the end of our military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. While it would be nice if that were the case, I believe people are forgetting that it's the Taliban, not Al Qaeda, that we are pitted against in Afghanistan. And in Iraq we've decided to take on the role of nation building. Unfortunately that role is not dependant upon a change in leadership of Al Qaeda. Bottom line: We're stuck.
Which makes me wonder: What now? After ten years we've found and removed bin Laden, but what have we truly accomplished? What does this really men for the US both in the immediate future and down the road?
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