June_13

So I’m out riding my bike today on a long ride, nearly 20 miles, because I got a new Fitbit (highly motivating people!) when I come to a corner with people standing with signs saying Honk if you believe marriage should be between a man and a woman and Pray the rosary and Hail Mary. 

Let me tell you why I wouldn’t honk my horn, besides the fact I don’t have a horn on my bike.

I’m tired of seeing the signs and the billboards that cast judgment and aspersions on people who don’t believe what you believe about your idea of what issues you think are important.

Jesus did not ever charge his disciples to go and put up billboards and signs about marriage or abortion or any other issue of the current culture we live in. He said make disciples. He said love your neighbor as yourself.

I love Jesus. I am for marriage between men and women. I am pro life. But do you really think those signs and billboards are loving in any possible way??? Do they promote peace??? Do they help any individual seeking love and support for the issue he/she might be struggling with??? Are we so hell bent on being a people who would take every issue in our culture and put them into such small small boxes creating an us against them mentality that we completely shut out the very ones Jesus came for???

Please don’t lump me in with that group. They are the religious church people I ran away from a long time ago when I was angry at the Lord. It saddens me to see them still pushing the same old agenda.

I’m so tired of seeing the signs and billboards that push people away from Jesus. Jesus is for people. All people. Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Anyone. He saved me, a lying, cheating, scheming, fornicating, hateful, bitter, baby murdering, adulteress!

Jesus is for people! Stop “helping” him out with your signs that scream judgment! Stop judging people because they sin differently than you do!

Just. Stop. It!

Carry on.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬ ESV)

Joining The Weekend Brew

chasing superlatives

superlative
— adjective

of the highest kind, quality, or order; surpassing all else or others; supreme; extreme: superlative wisdom.
Grammar . of, pertaining to, or noting the highest degree of the comparison of adjectives and adverbs, as smallest, best, and most carefully, the superlative forms of small, good, and carefully. Compare comparative(def 4), positive(def 20).
being more than is proper or normal; exaggerated in language or style.

— noun

a superlative person or thing.
the utmost degree; acme.
Grammar .
the superlative degree.
a form in the superlative.

Ironically, there could not be a more common human behavior. Though India might be embracing a unique path to superlatives, (Guiness Book of World Records) the road to noteworthy is one of the oldest, most well-traveled paths in the world. We are constantly about the work of distinguishing ourselves from whatever crowd we find ourselves standing in. From increased interests in book-writing and extreme sports, to becoming one of reality television’s idols, aspirations to be the fastest or the richest or the greatest are nothing new. Jill Carattini

I don’t know about you, but I have definitely fallen into this trap, always chasing the thing that will make me stand out, be noticed, be seen, be affirmed.

I look for it on this blog. Since I left the ship two weeks ago, the reader traffic to my blog has dropped significantly and I confess, it bothers me more than it should. Why do I care how many people read this blog? Why is it always about popularity for me? What is it inside me that needs affirmation so badly?

Sometimes I wonder if I should just give up the blog altogether, like I gave up alcohol and cigarettes? Is the blog an addiction I replaced those other addictions with? I don’t think it is. But I shouldn’t feel bad when the readership decreases either.

Maybe the folks at WordPress could just take away that dreaded stats button altogether. If I don’t know who’s reading from where or how often, it just wouldn’t matter at all. Blogging shouldn’t be a popularity contest.

What do you think about this? Do you experience similar feelings or I’m I the only person on the planet who is this insecure?

His… Michelle
Philippians 1:20

P.S. today is my bloggiversary. Apparently, I’ve been blogging with WordPress for 6 years. They sent me a happy little anniversary message. 😀

peculiar things

I often tell people I am weird. They always tell me No! You aren’t weird! But I am. I have the tattoo that says I am. Plus, nobody really knows me except for God. He’s probably sitting on His throne saying, It’s so true people! Michelle doesn’t even fully know the depths of her weirdness. What follows are my top ten peculiarities:

10. I hate when people tell me they know me better than I know myself. Really?

9. Touching dust or grime with my bare hands literally makes me want to scream and renders me paralyzed. It is my kryptonite.

8. I’m a relentless picker. It makes healing wounds and tattoos very challenging.

7. I can’t grow my nails longer than 2mm. Makes me crazy.

6. I like to make up phrases to go with the letters on license plates. For example, I had a Florida plate with the letters JSM in it. So I turned it into Jesus Saved Michelle. I’ve also been searching for the perfect phrase to go with my initials, MA. I finally figured it out. If I add an O in front of MA, it makes me Old Michelle Anderson or OMA for short, which is also the German word for grandmother. I happen to be of German descent! Now I know what my grand kids can call me!

5. I am not a people person, which is challenging for someone with so much to say. God has a great sense of humor for sticking me in a people oriented service industry, don’t you think?

4. I think people should approach me as if I were a cat. I am friendly yet aloof.

3. I feel more acutely alone in a room full of people than when I’m in my room alone.

2. I am a living conundrum, doing my best to be invisible yet marking my skin so I will be seen?

1. No matter how hard I try, I cannot hide my emotional state. If I look like that on the surface, it’s usually much worse or better than it appears.

Oh but Christ in me, the hope of glory!

His… Michelle
Philippians 1:20