I know how to roll . . .

I would like to tell you a story. This is a story about an overweight mama trying to become healthy, lose weight, walk the dog, spend time with her children, find a job, etc. No pressure. Well, it's Monday. This mama had a pretty productive day of job searching and doing laundry, cooking dinner, etc. She decided to call her daughter home from her friends' house and have her walk the dog with mama. So, off they go. They get a few driveways down from home and are stopped by a neighbor to talk a bit. After 5 or so minutes, they are off again. Dog is happy. Mama is happy. Daughter doesn't really want to walk, but she is going along. Then . . . Mama steps on uneven pavement, turns her ankle, and starts to fall. Somehow, her mind remembers her self-defense class last summer and she remembers how to fall . . . and roll. Except she doesn't stop with one roll, she has several because it is downhill afterall. So, she checks for all things broken or bleeding and catches her breath while daughter collects the water bottle and the poop bags for the dog. Oh yea, dog is attached to mama by the leash so mama doesn't really know if she rolled over the dog or if the dog was smart enough to get out of the way. Of course, all this happened in slow motion. No broken bones. Nice road rash, but not horrible. Mama is thanking her self-defense instructor for making her practice falling over and over again. Mama is not sure where the extra roll came in. Mama is just glad she did not hear, "FAT MAMA ROLLING DOWN HALF MILE WAY" or see it on the Half Mile Lake facebook page later. So, bearings collected and pride crushed into the pavement, Mama and Daughter start off again. They come upon people in their driveway talking with other neighbors in a car. They see a little girl with the neighbors in the driveway. Little Girl is running in the yard and jumps up on a rock. Only Little Girl's legs are seen as the rock is under a tree. Mama's 70 pound lab/pit bull mix freaks out, backs out of his harness (YES HARNESS!), turns around, and starts running back up the street. Daughter starts running after #$@%#$%^ dog. Mama cannot run so she starts yelling at @#$$W%^ dog. FINALLY Daughter stops chasing #$%^^^& dog and @#$%^#^&% dog stops running. #$%^%^&**& dog is harnessed again and Mama and Daughter decide to return home. Daughter says, "I think these are signs from God that we are not supposed to walk the dog tonight." Sigh . . . So, Mama, Daughter, and @#$%^^& dog return home where Mama spends the next 30 minutes seething and icing her road rash and bruise. Mama is still thanking the self-defense instructor for teaching her to fall. Mama wonders if the neighbors on Half Mile Way watched all of this happening. In slow motion. Mama is sure these people wet themselves from laughing. Well, Mama has taken a shower and is going to bed. (BTW, Mama did not have a sippa anything before all this happened - see last post.) Monday 20,000. Christy 25 (because I know how to roll baby!)

BSA and Religion

Recently the Boy Scouts of America changed their membership policy to allow the inclusion of Scouts who are gay.  I'm now beginning to see articles about churches and hear of local churches who sponsor  Scout troops breaking their ties with the Scouts.  This makes me very sad.  The reason churches are giving for breaking these ties with Scouts is morality.  This puzzles me.  I have a Scout and am married to an Eagle Scout.  I helped my son, when he was in Cub Scouts, to complete the religion program to earn his "God and Me" pin and blue knot.  In planning for this pin and knot, I was surprised to see that MANY religions were represented in the material.  One did not have to be "Christian" to complete this step.  One could be Muslim, Hindu, etc.  But, I have never heard any protests from the Christian church about this.  Interesting.  The Troop of which my son is a member is chartered by our church.  This Troop has been sponsored by this church for over 100 years.  A former Scoutmaster has made it very clear that he sees this partnership with the church as an outreach or mission of the church.  There are boys in the Troop (and have been for years and will hopefully continue to be) who do not go to church.  Boys who have very difficult home life.  Boys who might not feel they belong anywhere else.  Boys who might not see the love of Jesus anywhere else.  I am quite certain this situation is not unique to the Troop at my church.  Churches, what message are you sending these boys?  The message I see is "we are taking the moral high ground and to hell with you young men who might need this Scout troop."  Is that really the message you want to send?  Are you going to go through all the other community groups you support and break ties with those that serve homosexuals?  No?  Why not?  I applaud the Boy Scouts for changing their policy.  I'm not sure it went far enough, but it is a step in the right direction.  I encourage church leadership to really consider the message you want to send to the Boy Scouts.  NOT the administrative organization, but the young men who are looking for a place to fit in.  

Here is a link to an article about the Southern Baptist response . . .

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/31/southern-baptists-to-urge-churches-and-members-to-cut-boy-scout-ties/?hpt=hp_t2

Facebook Fast

A friend asked yesterday what I had gained from my recent "facebook fast."  I've thought about it a bit and decided I would post my reply here.  For why I chose to do a facebook fast, see Sometimes You Just Need A Break (earlier post).  So, here you go . . .

• I learned that I waste a lot of time trolling Facebook.
• I am more calm when I don't read everyone's opinion all the time.  Really, if I want to know, I'll ask.
• Sometimes it is good to "step away" and center yourself.
• Religion is completely in bed with politics, but Jesus is still Jesus.  Most people don't get this and become very angry and a bit indignant that I would even suggest it.  I don't care for politics, but I do like Jesus.  
• I knew this about Jesus, but needed to be reminded.  I am reminded still of this through some FB posts and links to blogs now.  I did miss that part when away from FB.  One of the reasons I returned.  
• I'm also learning more about Jesus and how people relate to him.  I might not understand, agree, see things in that way, but I can learn from others.  Jesus is big enough to use other people (of different races, religions, sexual orientations, etc) to show himself to me.  Kind of comforting to imagine him waving to me from some post and saying, "Hey!  I'm here.  See?  Thought you might like this." 
• The main reason I returned to FB, I missed my friends.  Even just checking in on them periodically.  Seeing a post occasionally makes me think, "Oh, good!  She is doing well today!" That is a comfort to me.  I wish I could connect in person regularly with these friends, but we are too far apart geographically to do that.  We could e-mail, write letters, call, etc. I like the checking in on FB option.  
• I gained a little confidence.  I hid several people and "unfriended" several others.  I decided what I will allow in my news feed, on my posts, etc. and what I will not.  I am not going to live in fear of "what will so-and-so think if I post this, respond this way, etc."  I will post what I think is appropriate, respond in a manner that I think is truth and be done with it.  I will be honest about me.  
• FB is also a way for me to learn and grow.  Stretch the limits of my understanding, comfort zone, whatever.  I have many thoughtful friends who post insights of their own and links to the insights of others.  I love to read those and turn them over in my mind.  
• I have found a great deal of encouragement from good friends, acquaintances, and people I hardly know.  That is pretty amazing to me.  

So, if you asked me if it was worth it to take a FB fast, I would have to answer yes.  Gave me time to center and realize there are many things I appreciate about this tool.  Would I step away again if necessary?  Absolutely.  Sometimes you need a break to realize you can give yourself permission to disagree, be yourself, learn something new, and appreciate what you are missing when away.

I'm OK with that.

So, I'm thinking today.  What else is new?  I think a lot.  Maybe too much.  I can take an idea, value, situation and pick it apart until there is nothing left.  THEN, I will think about why there is nothing left! So, I'm thinking today . . . What if all this thinking is how I grow?  What if this is partly how I work out my faith?  My values?  My beliefs?  What if it isn't just something I do to pass time?  What if it is really important?  What if this is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak?  Would I grow without this?  Would it be as difficult and frustrating?  Would I love it as much?  What if I accept my questioning, my thinking, my picking apart as a part of who I am?  How I interact with life?  I'm OK with that.  Finally, I'm OK with that.  Finally I don't have to wonder if I'm somehow broken or faulty.  This is me.  I'm introspective.  I'm willing to ask the difficult questions.  I'm willing to wrestle with them until I have no energy left.  THEN, I'm willing to rest and start again.  Answers to my questions are not always forthcoming.  I don't always work out these thoughts.  BUT, I'm discovering more about myself in the process.  I'm growing.  I'm OK with that.

Lessons

I read a blog post from another blogger this weekend.  It was a very good post.  http://therumpus.net/2011/02/dear-sugar-the-rumpus-advice-column-64/  (Note: If difficult life situations and colorful language bother you, you might want to skip it.)  I have not experienced the same situations as this person, but there are lessons for me in this post anyway.  That acknowledgement started my thinking processes which usually means I started asking questions too.  How am I different from this blogger?  How have my own experiences shaped how I look at my life and my choices?  My questions often lead me to more questions and only occasionally answers.  What can I learn from this blogger?  How do her experiences speak to me in my own experiences?  Where are we alike?  And then the strangest of clear answers . . . Her life experiences, her choices may be very different from my own, but she still has lessons to teach me.  The details of our struggles may be different, but the underlying struggle is the same.  Do I show myself compassion in my mistakes?  Do I set and honor the boundaries I know are necessary to be true to myself, my beliefs, etc? Why do I insist on judging others when I NEVER have all the information?  Am I comfortable enough in my own skin that I can show compassion, kindness, gratitude to MYSELF and to others?  We are more alike than different, we humans on this planet.  Our differences make us unique, our likenesses make human.  Thanks, Cheryl Strayed, for schooling me today.  May I remember this lesson every day.