Why Discuss Jesus in the Loop

Sagrada Família - Barcelona, Spain

Photo Credit: Me, standing at the base of one of the most spectacular

 churches I have ever visited in my life; it remains unfinished to this day. 

In this exact moment I am sitting five feet away from a small group of people sitting at one of the family sized tables at the Loop Panera Bread.  They are - without shame or hesitation - discussing Jesus, relationships, and newness in Christ.  This conversation has been going on for a better part of an hour now, and I've been listening in with fairly creepy curiosity.  Although there have been moments I have wanted to jump in a say, "Oh, I have a video that is insanely relevant to this conversation." I decided it more effective to hold my tongue and simply observe.

This group of people is, more than anything, inspiring me.  Why?  Because I am not the only person in the restaurant and if I can hear so can others.  They aren't shoving Jesus anywhere He shouldn't be; they are openly and with tremendous effort discussing ways to that Jesus has changed them.  They aren't stomping around with hateful signs to get a point across; they are passionately talking about scripture and the life-changing power of the gospel.  "You were saved that day, and YOU are new now."  "Because of who God is, He can use anybody." It is a real conversation about Jesus in a part of the city many people have rejected Him.  UCity is unique in demographics, socioeconomic levels, and religious belief systems.  We have strong holdings of Christianity, Judaism, and Atheism.  And here they are - talking about God as a living God.  How cool.

What is the point of this?  For me, I want to do this.  I want to hold a bible study or a coffee date or even a beer discussing how much God has done for me.  It normalizes God and us as Christians (if you yourself have made that decision).  If you haven't made that decision; if you haven't called upon Jesus' name as your Lord and savior - I encourage you to explore that.  Looking for a light serving or a taste?  Join me on Sept. 13th at a new location for Jubilee Church - Kirkwood, MO at 10:00am. 

God is a good God.  I want to share that with others - and these people are without even really knowing it.

Until next time, friends.
-R :)

  

Why Books Make for Good Metaphors :)

Have you ever picked up a book at the library and brought it home simply because the cover looked good?  I have.  I used to be a constant book cover judger.  What tended to happen was I would find myself several chapters into the book and bored; not always, but it happened often enough that I had to put this habit of mine in the past.  Now, I tend to read the description and a page or two to decide if I like the style of the author's writing. 

Books and people are prime pickings for metaphors, friends. :) 

I have had countless conversations with friends (men and women) concerning outward appearances.  Media and society seems to have a new craze of pressures each week; ever so politely informing us of the next "Best Seller" in book covers for our bodies.  Recent titles include: The Tanner, The Better! or Don't Eat THAT - Actually, Just Don't Eat! or The Flat-Tummy Trials.  I sit there during these conversations encouraging my friends (and myself) that we needn't worry so much, but I often walk away feeling discouraged myself.  This is especially the case when I have this type of conversation with a person I consider to be incredibly good looking, physically fit, or well-put together.  I can never quite understand it.

That's where the pages matter so much. 

Our covers can tell one story and our pages another story entirely.  Imagine a woman who has given so much of herself to be appealing in the world's view.  She's incredibly fit and startling beautiful, but when she looks in the mirror she can't stand the way she looks.  Her cover - perfected and award-winning - isn't actually telling the reader anything worth knowing about the story contained.  Yet, that story is still worth reading; there is so much more going on than just a pretty face.  I just wish we could recognize that.  Each of our stories are so important - far more important than the covers we show off for the world to see (e.g. Facebook...).   

I wish there was a magic button I could press to help us stop judging ourselves and others with such harshness.  It's easy to say, "Don't judge others."  It's not as easy to 1. Do that and 2. Refrain from judging yourself with a fun-house mirror.  Although fitness and health have their place (I firmly believe I operate better when I workout routinely and eat moderately healthy foods...along with ice cream), our covers...our bodies can only have so much meaning to them.  The image on a book cover reveals a sliver of the content within.  Our pages are much more interesting.

Living in the freedom of acceptance is substantially more enjoyable than the chains of judgment media offers to us.
 
Until next time, friends. :)

-R

It's my last week as a nanny for the family I've been with for 3 years, so this post is dedicated to these kids.  For N, I hope she grows to be a woman who believes in herself and remembers that she can change the world.  For C, I hope he continues to spread love through his goofy sense of humor and bring smiles to all those who have the pleasure of meeting him.