Friday, April 29, 2011

The Absence of Hell

My heart aches today. I love nothing more than having nice cute blogs, but the fact of the matter is that we all go through things sometimes, and I have been going through something for a while now. It's easy to cover up, and make-believe that the world is lovely, and nothing goes wrong, but the fact is that nothing is perfect, except God himself.

It's hard to fathom eternity. A place where time doesn't exist. I sometimes forget that this life I'm living right now isn't eternal. I am young, so I know that many years are ahead of me. I can't imagine what it will be like 30 years from now, when I am almost 60, and will probably have grandchildren of my own. If I can't picture 30 years from now, how will I picture 100 million years from now, or longer? Eternity is something that is hard to imagine, but it is very real.

The Bible teaches us that there is Heaven, and that there is Hell. Hell on earth is nothing like the eternal Hell. I feel like we go through hell on earth, for a couple reasons. One is so that we can have emotions, and compassion for other's situations. I also believe that we go through hell on earth, so that we have hope for the after life. Heaven will be so glorious, and magnificent, that we have no idea what is in store.

There has been a lot of talk and debate lately over hell not being real. People are now saying that it (hell) is a scare tactic to con people into getting saved, and going to church. It scares me to think that people who are not yet saved, are being swayed into this way of thinking. The truth is that Hell is talked about all over the Bible. The Bible being the Word of God. To say that there is no hell, is basically like spitting in the face of God and calling Him a liar. And if God is a liar, then he is a sinner, which would make him imperfect, which in turn, would make Him not God.

The argument is, how can a God, who loves us so much, send us to a place as evil as hell? I can understand where people are coming from with that. I don't even pretend to fully understand why this is. But the truth is that God gave each of us the power of free will, and the ability to make decisions. He tests us to see how we handle situations. But wthout hell, than what would be the reward? What would be the point of Heaven? Will He say "Come now my good and faithful servant" to everybody? Al Capone? Charles Manson? All of the cold-blooded killers, and heartless child molestors? All of the crooks who stole everything that someone was worth? The man that violently attacked his own wife and children day after day? The other man that laid "lovingly" next to his wife, just hours after he laid with another woman? The absense of hell would make things so much easier. I could go on with my life, and do whatever I wanted. No repercussions. Nothing to answer for. I could just treat everyone how I wanted, and it would be ok.

I would just like to know what this world is coming to. Eye for an eye, instead of turn the other cheek. We are already headed towards a war within ourselves. We are in an age that women care more about their own rights than the innocent rights and freedom of the unborn. Where prime time tv is getting more and more lax on their standards. Where it's ok to throw someone else under the bus, in order to save yourself. The standards as a whole, of everyone in the word is just going down-hill. I see in the future of this "free country" that Christian's will be persecuted like they are in third world countries. That it won't be ok to worship God. We are already not allowed to pray as a whole, in fear that someone, somewhere may be offended. Around this country, you are free to be a Muslim, you are free to be a Buddist, you are free to be an Athiest, but you are not free to be a Christian.

Like I say, I'm not the judge. I don't have the Book of Life sitting on my bookshelf. What you do and believe is between you and God. Jesus sat with sinners, and hung out with sinners, but that didn't mean that he loved their sin. And God calls us to love our neighbors, but he never said you had to agree with what they do. There are people in my life whom I love dearly, but do thingsI don't agree with. They have a place in my heart, and I don't think we should end our friendship based on choices that they make, that don't ultimately affect me.

I serve a loving God. He loves me, in spite of who I am, or where I came from. He loves me in spite of how I look, or who my friend are, or how good I am with money. And through his love there is hope, and strength, and purpose. I am saved from hell, because I chose to be. I asked Jesus to live within me, ad I repented of my sins. I gave up my old lfe, and He made me new. I now worship Him, and have a relationship with Him. Jesus is the only way to Heaven. I will follow him all of my days.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Who Need's Toys?

This is Alyssa... she's adorable, right? Well, this little cutie sure has some quirky behavior. Every once in a while, my living rooms looks like the pit of despair, and I find that no matter how much I clean it, there just isn't enough room for all of her toys. How could this be? There used to be enough room, and I haven't bought anything, so why is there now not enough room? Because my kid is like this lady from The Labyrinth. If you have never seen this movie, shame on you. It is a must. But anyways this ugly woman finds things to be valuable, and keeps them in her pile. I'm going to avoid the 'H' word, because I don't want to speak things into my daughter. But she finds random things around the house, and snatches them when I'm not paying attention. This blog doesn't need many words. I will show you pictures of some of the random things that I find. Enjoy.

Unopened pack of balloons. Used to be in a bag in the back room A wireless keyboard. Ok, I have to admit, I knew about this, but she always wants to type on my computer while I'm working. This was a clear solution. This is one of 5 or 6 hangers that I pulled out of her pile. Lots and lots of clothes, socks and shoes. Random dishes and containers and don't forget the many spoons. And here she is when I laid them out. Who could forget about the water bottles. She goes into our room and takes them off our nightstands. I could not even begin to count how many I find on a regular basis. Under the dressers, under the bed, under and in the couch. You name it. A VHS tape. We don't even own a VCR...so I will just let you use your imagination, as I have had to do the same. I feel as though I have saved the best for last. You may agree, maybe not. But what kid plays with this? Ok, so I have said it before, and will probably say it again. She makes me laugh, all the time, and that is probably one of my favorite things about her. She's a little nutty, but she comes by it very honestly. :)