Thoughts and Amusings

I had an interesting weekend away with a group of youth leaders from my church at a farm. Interesting, is the word I use when I can't be bothered explaining the mix of emotions, experiences and all that it encompassed. A brief summary:

• Marshmallow toasting
• Fantastic food
• Interpretive dance
• Settlers of Catan
• Charades (I had to act out Albertine by Brooke Fraser - can I just say that is a flippin' hard one to do)
• Me doing masses of study for BCNZ paper
• A nasty spiritual attack that left me in masses of pain for most of sunday morning
• Listening to Life Fm - we were very excited about this! (don't get that in wellington)
• A lot of discussion.
• Finding out the true lyrics to a 'Fray' song ..... turns out I have been singing something that wasn't there....... in my defence I wasn't the only one!
• Oooh and yes ...I got the leaders to Bongo themselves :P (highly entertaining)

Anyway one of the things we discussed was community. In fact the debate got quite heated at times. There was argument that Christian's rely far to much on online community and use it too much (which I disagree on) and there was argument that we needed to become more like the Acts 2 church.

So my questions for you are (you can pick one or both)

1. What would you define community as?
2. Do christians rely on online community too much?

The prize for most interesting blog post I have read this week goes to Solo Feminity (link down the side of the page) and this link described by the blog author Carolyn McCulley as an
'interview with Kelly McMillen, the bride of Rob McMillen and new mother of Dorothy Rose...The goal of these interviews is to help us think both biblically and realistically about marriage and what life is like when the honeymoon is over and the real living begins'

Yes the article even includes submission .... (I didn't cringe when I read it this time) this is either a sign that I am growing up in my Christianity or have become immune to conservative christian christianize, although I hope it is the former.

Interestingly titled: Killing An Attitude of Entitlement

It's long but very very interesting article - a couple of quotes to get you going.

. What was the biggest surprise to you after marriage? I think I may have believed that submission, as biblically defined, would be easier than it actually is. I had such a desire to be married, to serve a godly husband, and to learn how to be a godly, submissive wife. So I guess perhaps I thought this strong desire would make me better at it. (Ha ha!) I never anticipated how many times we would disagree on small things, mostly matters of preference, and how I was not at all entitled to have my own way on these things just because they were small, or just because they fell under the category of home management, or for any other reason

4. How do you think single woman should pursue/prepare for marriage?

....
(6) Look for ways to encourage the men in your circle to lead. Don’t try to be the ‘leader’ in group situations where there are men present, even if those men might not be the strongest leaders you know. If you really feel like you have unique gifting appropriate for the situation, perhaps ask them what you can do to help, rather than just ‘taking charge’. It will help you to practice a peaceful and gentle spirit in preparation for what it looks like to submit in marriage, and it will encourage growth in their leadership.

What is one thing about men you learned after marriage? I think I have learned, and am learning, that biblical leadership is just as hard for them as biblical submission is for us. (Just look at Genesis 3 - it’s because of the fall, in both cases!) I think I was tempted in the beginning to think that men have it easier than women because as leaders, they have the final say on decisions. But they bear a lot of responsibility in this regard. They are one day going to be held accountable before God for how they led their wife and family. Not to mention the fact that their leadership should be primarily characterized by sacrificial love. So, it isn’t enough for them to just be good decision-makers. God knows their hearts and sees when they are leading sacrificially versus when they are leading from self-interest....

Edited for clarity ( and after I had a nap tee hee) @ 6pm

Sometimes things are so blindly obvious that you have to ask yourself why is everyone else oblivious to the thing in question..... but then again sometimes the things are oblivious to you too. So some helpful things to know :

1) Merely liking someone will not mean they will like you back. *sigh* (note: this one is for me)

2) Mean what you say and say what you mean - especially in relationship stuff.

3) Deleted (after Lisa's nap - really nap's are very good all 21 year olds should have them ) - I agree with number 2.

4) Lisa can not play guitar but does very much like teaching guitar classes - go figure : P

5) Graduation ceremonies are long but made much more fun when you have a whole bunch of your friends around you.

6) Prayer works.

7) My hair is red - which according to one Galleryite 'will turn heads' (clockwise or anticlockwise I am still deciding)

Amongst all those conversations that young adults have, in recent times in our circles we have been discussing relationships.

Most specfically we have had comments such as 'boys are stupid' 'girls are stupid' and stuff that is generally about as deep as an episode of the plot of Treasure Island. Seriously though one good conversation Brad , Peter and I did have tonight was on boys being the chasers and girls being pursued. This was in light of the whole Captivating, Wild at Heart series ( which I generally despise).

The thing though that I am strongly in favour of is that Christian guys should get off their behinds and chase girls and christians girls should learn to be chased.
Sometimes though a girl has to ' Pull a Ruth' which I am considering doing ........

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001352.cfm

However we have also been discussing the great DTR - define the relationship. In Christian circles this is ever so well .... I'll let the video explain.