Well friends, I'm off to the Xanga-party of one of my favorite Xangans, Saintvi.  This is what I'll be wearing:

And this is my present for you, my friend... I got a good deal on it:

Happy Birthday!!!

Oh, good, my date showed up!  Here she is!

Be nice to her.

I am decidedly pro-life when it comes to the matter of abortion.  I believe that every human being who is conceived has the right to live life if God intends.  That is my position, that is where I stand, and I won't change that.  I realize others have other views and I respect their right to them, even if I think they're wrong.

However, I can't respect what has happened in Kansas on Sunday.  For those of you living under a rock, Dr. George Tiller, the noted late-term abortion doctor who had an office in Wichita, was gunned down at a church service.  The suspect in custody has been noted for his fanatical stance on anti-abortion issues. 

I can not support the work that Dr. Tiller has been doing for the last 20+ years.  He has been responsible for the death of thousands of unborn children.  That is very wrong, and can't be backed up by Scripture.  However, that does not give the suspect the right to take the life of another man.

One of the main problems I have is that the religious groups out there, for the most part, have not taken a hard lind and denounced utterly this despicable act.  I've read, seen, and heard many Christians who I honor and respect basically offering a verbal slap while saying that the suspect got what he deserved.  The question that I have is this for those people:  Have you forgotten who you were before you accepted Jesus as your Savior?  I Corinthians says "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were." I would add to that list things like abortion doctors and other sins, many of which I have committed myself.  The key is in the next passage:  "BUT YOU WERE WASHED, YOU WERE SANCTIFIED, YOU WERE JUSTIFIED IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND BY THE SPIRIT OF OUR GOD." (emphasis mine)  You know what has kept some of us Christians from doing things that people like Dr. Tiller have done?  God's grace in our lives.  That's it.  Who knows what I would have been, had it not been for the grace of God.

The other problem I have is that I have heard some say that the suspect was carrying out God's will against Dr. Tiller.  To those people I say:  Read the Bible again, and get a glimpse of what it says.   All over the Bible it says, "Vengeance is mine.  I will repay."  From Deuteronomy through the Epistles, God commands us to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute you, etc.  If someone was really trying to do God's will with Dr. Tiller, he should have taken him out for coffee.  Things like this are what pervert the world's understanding of Christianity. 

There's no reason for this senseless violence to happen.  Whenever a life is taken, it is a horrible tragedy, whether it is an unborn child or a 50 year old man.  May God help us to realize that all life is precious and sacred in his eyes.

Once in my lifetime, I used to know all the answers.  It was actually surprisingly easy.

I was sitting in a lounge at a table over a game, when the girl I was with blurted out, "What is wrong with me?"  I was not entirely taken aback when that happened, because I knew that she'd just been dumped by her boyfriend, and he'd been pretty quick to move on to the next girl.  Of course, I knew exactly why it happened, so I said, "Well, friend, this other girl is more of his type.  He's shallow and insensitive, and she's probably better-looking than you."  That was honestly the truth, but it shouldn't have come as any surprise that she didn't take that statement too well, and didn't talk to me for several days.

I once was in a room with a friend who was wondering why he had not gotten the job that her friend had gotten.  Both were well-qualified, but the bosses liked one over the other.  It hurt my friend that she had not gotten the job, but the fact that someone so close had taken it out of her hands made her inconsolable.  She wondered aloud why she had not gotten the position, I took the opportunity to gently help her grow, "Keep working.  Soon, you'll be better than her."  Again, it was the truth, as my friend soon became excellent in that field, but my truthful words severed our relationship, and it was never the same again.

A good friend and I were once in a class together.  He and I studied together constantly, and both of us put in the time and effort necessary to succeed in the class.  However, I did very well, and soon was at the top of the class, while my friend, though excellent in many areas, continued to struggle to keep a passing grade.  He once asked why, when we both worked so hard, he struggled so much, while I seemed to have it easy.  I told him, "My brain just picks this kind of stuff up really quickly, and yours doesn't."  I couldn't understand why, after that, he was so distant.

I was young in those days, and my judgment and speech was colored by my own thoughts and emotions.  I tried to be honest, but I was honest in the wrong way.  The rejected girl was someone I adored, but didn't have the courage to tell her.  I so admired and envied the overlooked girl for her skills and abilities in a field I would have died to get in, and I was so jealous of my friend's skills and abilities with people that I lost sight of their interests.

I'm older and wiser now.  When friends are in need, I can put those things away.  Before, when I thought I knew the answers, I was just spitting my opinion.  Now, I know better.  I don't know everything, and in some cases, I don't know hardly anything.  But this much I know:  It's much better to speak with an attitude of grace and love for others.