How Do You Deal With Pharisees?

Luke 18:14
 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

    The above Scripture is the summation of the parable of the Pharisee and the sinner. The Pharisee had been acknowledged as the holy one in the church. Indeed, his deeds were good: he prayed, read Scripture, tithed, gave to the poor. His problem? He made sure no one--not even God--forgot. He probably even corrected those who lacked in their faith in efforts to make them holy or get them saved.
     The other guy? He didn't have a resume. He knew only one thing: he was a sinner and unworthy of all God gave. He admitted where he was weak and asked for help.
     I wish I was holy, but I'm not. I hear people disparage those who do egregious things, and shame burns because I know that I certainly am capable of doing the same things--both as a sinner and a Pharisee. I can envy those who know their faith is flawless and they please God in every detail, that their salvation is irrefutable and that God is lucky to have them on His side. I'm lucky Jesus accepts me--warts and all.
     And I write this in grief because I am a sinner and I am who I am and others must remind me of my lacks. Without Jesus I cannot change.
     And I wonder...how do you deal with the Pharisees in the church?

In Death We Find Life

     After 92 years full of giving and loving and caring, my husband's Uncle Neil passed away. He was a man who knew his own mind right until the end--sometimes to our own chagrin. For example--he had to be hospitalized in Potsdam--not Massena--he refused to have a will, yet took meticulous care that his funeral was taken care of, and will be laid out in a flannel shirt--so he'll be comfortable for eternity. We watched him fail for nearly a year, and watching him become increasingly helpless hurt almost more than his passing.
     Tomorrow the McClain clan will gather at Hammill Funeral Home to say good-bye. Yet, there's a sense of celebration. My Neil has found old pictures of his family in their youth to share--times when they looked gawky or the fashions really needed to rethink themselves. Unc Neil's niece and nephews and great-nephew will travel long distances to say their final farewell--and these are distances they traveled for Unc Neil when he could still appreciate them.
      Over the past year, we've shared tales of Unc Neil's strengths, his character and his foibles. We've been blessed with neighbors who looked at Unc Neil more as their father than a man who lived down the road.
     We'll gather and cry--the family together. Then we'll share a meal and in that time, strengthen the bonds that make the McClain group the family of character (or characters) they are. We will rejoice in our lives and the memory of one that touched us all.
     How significant that Unc Neil died on Maundy Thursday--and will be laid to rest over the Easter weekend. I can't help but think of another man whose death brought life.
     Have you found joy in dying?

God Created the World for Women: The Proof

     God must be crying over the irony of the patriarchally driven world when the very opening of the Bible shows us the world was created for us--the women. I do not expect you to take this thought in blind faith, so I will demonstrate it exegetically. (Go to the source, and see that I don't err).

Image via Wikipedia
•  Day 1--Every woman knows she looks best with a sun-kissed tan, thus day 1, God created the sun.
• Day 2--What better place to get a tan than on the beach? Day 2,  God separated the water from the land and thus gave us beaches.
• Day 3--I covered this in depth yesterday. Coffee, chocolate, wine and golden Oreos all come from plant life.
• Day 4--(Do notice how creation gets more complex as it goes along--this is an important point). We now have moonlight and starlight for a little romance in which to enjoy our chocolate.
• Day 5--What good is a red wine without the red steak? Or an excellent book without a kitty cat purring on our laps?      On Day 5, God created the animals.
• Day 6--the complexity builds--and here I'll separate two components. God creates man who all alone cannot deal with life. But he is necessary to provide for God's crowning achievement--the beach house and fine foods and romance. Once man is finished--along comes woman, His crowning achievement. With the creation of woman, what else can the good Lord do? He's done it all.
• Day 7--He can finally rest.

Therefore, woman was the sole reason the world was created. I am so glad I am a Bible scholar! No one can refute this.

The Third Day Proves God's Love For Us

Gen 1:11-13
Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so.
12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
13 And there was evening, and there was morning — the third day.


How do I know God's love for us? Genesis 1:11-13 prove it. Man didn't come along until day six. But God prepared the way. Vegetation!

• Chocolate comes from the cacao tree.When a rotten mood hits, what makes me feel better? Chocolate. God knew he'd make a woman in three days--He made sure we would have something to delight us.
• Coffee comes from the coffee bush. How could I wake up in the morning and smell the roses without my jolt of caffeine. A strong cup of black java is ambrosia. A latte or cappuccino is divine. and some of you have to adulterate it with sugar? 
• Sugar cane is also vegetation. Because of it, we can eat golden Oreos.
• And of course we have flowers. Any man knows the way to a woman's heart is with sweets and flowers shared over a steaming cup of coffee.

Gen 1:29
Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

Oh the immeasurable love of God!

Bellyaching Gives you a Bellyache

     Sulks come and sulks go--people will always annoy me in some fashion. Yesterday I thought I'd air my pet peeves on a daily basis--but one problem: I can't get specific enough without hurting someone. Hurting others is the last thing I want to do because it's only through family and friends and the God who made them that I can overcome.
      And how am I blessed? Let me count the ways:

Image by Timothy Valentine via Flickr
•  I NEED Oreos. It's cold and late, and my husband leaves the warmth of our torn apart house and dashes to Price Chopper returning with Golden Oreos and milk. Can life get better?
• I sulk on Facebook--and the outpouring from friends makes me cry--my pastor reminds me of all who love me--including the Great Lover of us all. Another friend emails me. My sister calls. How can I grieve?
• My blonde soul mate encourages my writing--we both suffer the pangs of rejection and although I'm not demonstrative, she always lifts me up. How can I fail?

In one day, three things remind me I am not alone. Our Father God cannot allow me to forget love patterned on His so I can see it.

And so I ask--how have others encouraged you?

Can You Help Me?

     I have a question. You're in a group of friends and you are asked a question--asked to respond honestly. You begin, and a member of the group--one who always is the expert, jumps in, interrupts and asks: "How can you say that? I could never..."
     And you can fill in the blanks as to what he/she says. How do you respond?
     I can say honestly, I don't respond well. Unable to finish my sentence, I listed my credentials--credentials my critic didn't have and would never have, forced out my thoughts and shut up.
     What would you do?

Introducing I Called Him Dancer by Eddie Snipes

     Eddie Snipes' debut novel comes out this week. It's a uplifting contemporary novel about a talent dancer who'd been neglected as a child. He allows the tragedy of his life to destroy his dream. Snipes takes us into the world of dance.

     I could write up a generic review--however, Edie's sense of humor and insight speaks more highly of his skills than anything I can write. I'm proud to offer this interview.

1. What started your interest in writing? Has it been a lifelong dream?

I hated writing until I realized I had something to say. Unfortunately, that was much later in life. My ‘real’ writing journey began around 1998. I was doing prison ministry and the inmates were asking for reading material. I thought it would be best to give them Bible studies based on what we were learning in our services. I began writing out my studies and giving them out each week. As my experience with writing grew, my work became more thorough and detailed.

I started an in-depth study at church on a requested topic. I spent weeks writing it out and then presented a 6 month 140 page study. When I handed it out, someone asked, “Wow, are you a writer?”

I responded, “No. I just put Bible studies together.” It would be more than a decade before I came out of denial. In those days, I had to force myself to write, but over time, I began to love writing. I kept asking God to show me what he wanted me to do as a ministry. For years I wrote while I sought direction. Finally, I opened my eyes and said, “You know, I feel led to write.” Brilliant deduction, Sir Watson!

2. I understand a poem called “Dancer” became your inspiration for your latest release I Called Him Dancer. Could you explain how?

Actually, it’s a song. Tralena Walker and Tom Webster spoke at the Atlanta Writers Club. They spoke about writing songs with stories. It was interesting, but not something I thought would be useful to me. Either Tom or Tralena said, “We think this would make a great novel and we’ve been looking for someone to write it.”

One moment I was a passive observer, the next moment my head was exploding. After cleaning up the mess and putting the pieces back together, I realized that I’d had an epiphany. I saw the plot of the story unfolded in my mind. I agreed to write the book and began working with Tom and Tralena. I gained two valued friends and a great story.

3. This book deals with the world of dance and art and New York City. As a Southern gentleman and the unusual aspect of dance, what drew you to these two areas?

The story in the song drew me in. The song leaves the dancer homeless, and I knew I had to finish his story. It took a lot of reading and research to learn about dance, New York, and competing. A lot of the scenes just needed good old fashioned imagination. I had to think about what a coach / teacher would do, and how a pupil would respond. Never having been involved in dance, I was apprehensive when the book was printed, but my concerns were laid to rest when people started asking me how I knew so much about dancing. I just do a pas ballonné and say, “Must have been something that sprang up out of the blue.”

4. I Called Him Dancer concerns itself with God’s never failing, enduring love. What would you want your readers to take away with them after reading this work?

There are two things that I believe inspire people in this story. First, many people I know have loved ones who struggle with self-destructive behavior or addictions. My goal is to inspire them with hope that God’s love can reach the hopeless. Second, those who believe God can’t love them may be inspired to believe. I tried to make Michael brutally honest about his bitterness toward God to show the Lord’s love in spite of our failures. Hypocrisy, misguided advice, suffering, and betrayal are real problems that people deal with. My goal was to address these things through the life of someone struggling, and then to show what true faith is through the humble, but very human Kenyon.

5. This novel is contemporary fiction. Is this your only genre and what is it that draws you to this particular genre?

I have six other books in various states of completion. I wrote a thriller before I wrote this book. I liked I Called Him Dancer so much that I put everything else on hold until I could finish it. I’m also working on a non-fiction book called Simple Faith that should be out sometime this year. Though I plan to write in various genres, one thing I hope to keep in mind is the eternal perspective. Entertainment is fine, but unless people are being inspired to look toward their creator, there is little eternal significance in my work.

6. Is I Called Him Dancer your first published novel?

Yes. I always thought my non-fiction work would be first. I really like the story of my ‘waiting to be revisited’ thriller. But when the song about Dancer showed up, I knew this was the first book to be published.

7. You are president of the Christian Authors Guild. What is the purpose of this group?

Our motto is: Sending out a Christian wave upon a secular sea.

Our goal is to encourage, teach, and cultivate good writing qualities in Christian writers. We have beginning writers up to published authors. Each person has value and significance. Our goal is to provide a safe environment where others can share their dreams and work while learning how to improve their craft. Ultimately, we want to see Christian writers affecting both the Christian and the secular markets for good.

8. Can you tell us something about your ministry Exchanged Life?

Exchanged Life Outreach started as a prison ministry. Then while discipling men, I created a website where others could get the study material we were using. Over time the site grew to over 100,000 hits per month and had a distribution of nearly 1,000 subscribers. My goal is to provide biblical answers in a non-technical way. The Apostle Paul instructed the church not to be led away from the simplicity of the gospel; therefore, true discipleship should make the truth plain and easily understood.