Praire Mama

Lame Excuses

 

Yesterday, I was listening, as I often do, to CBC Radio.  The broadcast program was Tapestry, a show about spiritual life.  The episode yesterday was titled 'Losing Religion' and the featured interviewee was William Lobdell - formerly the religion reporter for the LA Times.  In the interview, Lobdell recounted the series of events that eventually led to his conversion from evangelical Christianity to atheism.  I haven't read Lobdell's book, although I have read a number of his blog posts - this one is of particular interest.

In the Tapestry interview, Lobdell recounted numerous instances of unspeakable horrors committed by sexually deviant priests.  (I'm not going to regurgitate these here, but you can - if you need to - find them in the interview, I've linked it, click on the Tapestry link above.)  In Lobdell's article (that I've linked to), he puts forth that Christians give the "lame" old nature excuse for this abhorrent behaviour.  He cites a Barna report, "We rarely find substantial differences between the moral behaviour of Christians and non-Christians.  We would love to be able to report that Christians are living very distinct lives and impacting their community because of that..." (Interestingly, I have recently been thinking about because it was also quoted in a sermon that I watched online not long ago - if you want to read a transcript, you can, freely, click on the link and then scroll to "Sermon on the Mount" and select "Christians and Divorce".) 

Listening to Lobdell, I heard the voice of a disappointed and disillusioned man.  In watching the actions of others and considering his own experiences, it seems that Lobdell found himself at a cross-roads, to believe or not.  Lobdell's choice: atheism.  A cursory look at his blog provides more of the same bitter disappointment.  What has struck me about this is that Lobdell's story is not unique - so many people I talk to say much the same thing.  What shoddy representatives of Christ we are.  So, can I call myself a Christian?  Do I want to associate myself with that lot of hypocrites?  What do I tell my children?  How do I raise them, in a home we describe as 'Christian'?  And what does that mean?

This is something I have spent years - off and on - pondering.  Many times I have found myself reluctant to admit to being a Christian.  Many times I have said to myself, "I will demonstrate my Christianity in the way that I live - people will see that I am different and they will attribute these differences to Christ.  I don't need to ram my religion at people... it might be offensive."  The thing is, I have rarely been asked if I am a Christian.  So, what does that say? 

Who am I associating myself with when I say I am a Christian?  The people who go to church on Sundays?  The television evangelist?  Perhaps, but ultimately, I am associating myself with Christ.  Is this something to be ashamed of - no!  Indeed, not!  So therefore, I will stand up and be counted, I will tell it to my children, I will not be ashamed: I am a Christian.  That is to say, I believe in Jesus Christ.  I believe that He lived and died and rose again and that through Him we are saved.  So what about Lobdell? 

Lobdell has a point.  The church is losing its ability to speak about morality with any credibility whatsoever.  We are making ourselves lame through our own abivalence.  On Tapestry, Lobdell described the way the church hierarchy often protects the offender and leaves the victim out in the cold, so to speak.  He described the way people follow the church leaders like sheep - looking upon them as near deities.  In my opinion, this is the crux of the issue.  We seem to be turning our eyes from God to ourselves.  I am not sure that atheism will ultimately hold the peace that Lobdell is seeking.  I am sure that it is the shortcomings of Christians that have disappointed and disillusioned many, prompting them to turn away from the church and ultimately Christ, but I don't accept that Christ has disappointed any of us. 

When my children ask me about this, I will tell them that Lobdell is right, the old nature thing is a lame excuse, but it's lame in the sense of 'inhibiting our ability to walk' which is a definition of 'lame' - it's true!  The old nature is strong and daily we must die to ourselves to live in Christ.  (This will be the topic of my next entry.)

I have decided to make some changes in my own life.  These changes will be reflected in this blog.  I have tried to make this blog about craft projects, but the truth is - like a fellow blogging mama - I cannot afford to craft for crafting sake and I want to make the best use of my resources.  This blog is one of my resources - and I want to make it count for something.  So, I have decided to blog about what matters to me - my faith and my family.  I will continue to share some of my photos and some of my handiworks, when they are relevant.  However, what I really want to share with you is my daily walk with Christ.  This is deeply personal, and you may not always agree with me.  Your comments are welcome.  My interest is in being open and honest and sincere.  I will fail you, if you come here expecting perfection.  But Christ will not fail us.

The LORD your God is with you,
       he is mighty to save.
       He will take great delight in you,
       he will quiet you with his love,
       he will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17 (New International Version)

hello again

It's feeling autumny out today!  Hurrah!  My favourite season... the bouquets of sharpened pencils, the reams of paper waiting to be filled with new ideas, the anticipation of good things to come! 

Ahhh... and it feels like a good time to return to this space.  I haven't used this blog as much as my last one - and I started a new one with no ties to my last one because I wanted to start over, fresh and with a new idea of what I wanted to use this space for... and then along came summer and days filled with being outside and enjoying the warmth of the sun... so, I haven't actually gotten round to the business of writing about what we've been up to... for those of you who have been asking, thank you, I am touched that you care enough to ask... and at last here we are...

 

These couple of photos were taken earlier in the summer... I'll find some more recent photos next time, but these are two of my favourites... two that I have pinned to the bulletin board above my desk... two that have been inspiring me lately... and I wanted to share them with you... Oh how I love these precious babes of mine! 

For now, I've got to get back to finishing Sascha's woolens and his little warmy coat - I am repurposing an old fleece blanket that my mum gave me when I first went to univeristy - red and cosy... just the thing for crisp fall afternoons of playing in crunchy leaves!

 

Flowers for Mama

My dearest little Sascha has recently turned two and I'm not sure about how 'terrible' two is.  Frankly, I find it a very lovely age indeed!  He is so sweet and darling and sensitive.  Naturally, he has his moments, as do we all, and it must be very frustrating not to be able to do so many things.  Sometimes he looks at me and says, "Mama, I can't do it?"  And it sounds like a question, but I know it's really not.  Poor little dear heart. 

On the other hand, there are so many, many things that he can do, now that he is two!  He loves flowers - and not long ago he picked me my very first bouquet (from him) and let me tell you, I can't think when I have had such a beautiful bouquet in all my life!

Welcome Friends

Hello All,

I am so pleased with this little cardy!  It really turned out well, didn't it? 

I love wooden buttons and the texture of the wool (Manos del Uruguay) is splendid!  The pattern is available here.  I cast on in late October - just when the leaves were nice and crisp and we were enjoying our fireplace most evenings.  Isn't this such an autumny sort of cardigan?  However, despite her late arrival, poor Ned (who made her appearance on 19 November 2009, but I'll tell you more about that some other time) had to wait an awfully long while for mummy to get the left sleeve finished and sew on the buttons.

Luckily for me, my babes have such fine bones!  Because I finally finished it a few days ago.  In May?  Yes.  In May.  We had snow at the beginning of the month!  So, this cosy little cardy has actually been on a few outings!  And ok - it's a bit of a pinch to get the buttons done up... but she doesn't need them done up!

Not to mention, it does mama's heart good to watch Ned so comfy in her newly knitted cardigan.  I could have taken a million photos of her! 

I've been thinking a lot about clothing lately - with infinite time, I would make every article of clothing my little ones wear, alas... my time is finite.  There is something deeply satisfying about dressing them in something handmade.  I like the way it seems to slow things down.  It takes time and effort to knit up a jumper or a pair of longies.  It's good to be reminded that we don't need as much as we want - even if we do buy at the second-hand shop!  I find myself so easily lured by a sale, but it isn't such a great deal if it spends more time in the wash-pile than being worn.  But, someone somewhere had to make that cheap t-shirt; someone had to come up with a way of creating the knit cotton fabric in industrial quantities, someone had to grow the cotton... That cheap t-shirt involves so much if you stop and think about it.  That's what I mean, when I say 'thinking about clothing' - it's part of something much bigger that I've been thinking about, that many of us have... sustainability, our footprint on the planet, consumerism, waste, honour, respect... Taking the time to plan out and make clothing myself has given me a creative outlet as well!  And actually, I love to make things that I know lots of others have made - it's neat to see the way the garment turns out differently for each one of us, even though we have been working off the same pattern.  This one has been done a few times.  I will try to find links to it for you. At the moment, I'm planning out a set of pj's for each of them, made out of their daddy's worn out dress shirts - it would break my heart to see those beautifully dyed cottons abandoned and unloved in the back of the closet.  I also stopped by our local yarn shop and bought some gorgeous new wool for a vest for Sascha.  He'd live outside if I let him.  As it is, he's certainly out more than in!  But prairie weather is unpredictable.  Sometimes we wake to glorious sunshine and warmth, only to find the noon sky darkening and the winds picking up.  Other mornings are misty and chilly until the sun has a chance to climb a bit higher in the sky.  A vest is just the thing that's needed!