Things I didn't expect a Pastor to say...

Today at church we were really blessed to hear a guest Pastor, Bill Wilson speak about his life, his testimony and his ministries... it really was harrowing but he told it with humour and I hope to get the chance to meet him again. I left inspired to act and do something(!) - the perfect outcome from going to church in my books. Here are some of the highlights:


"On your seats you should have a calendar, it's not for you to know the date - you have your cell-phone for that, it's so you know what you can do to support the ministries and when! Ladies, put it in your purse. Fellas, if you got a purse with you today, I don't even know what to say!" ahahaah! No further comment necessary!

"You young ones think you know everything, what because you got an ''iPhone...?!'" - just hilarious!

"...and the guy stood up to me, and I thought 'you made a big mistake there Mr, 'cos I'm gonna bust you up - in the NAME of Jesus!'...it wasn't a very 'Christian' thought, so I had to bring Jesus into it!!!" In the context of his testimony, I'm pretty sure I would react the same way. If ever I have similar thoughts (and I'm talking only twice in my life so far), I'm left feeling like a 'bad' Christian... but actually, I loved that he made this comment because it shows that just because you call yourself a 'Christian' it doesn't stop you from experiencing human emotions and you're still as 'real' as you were before you got saved or became a believer.. loved it!

"I've been through a lot, no-one survives THREE plane crashes, I've had a bullet in my head, I live in the ghetto in New York city, I've witnessed several homicides and was just a metre away - don't question why I'm tough! Quite possibly I loved this even more, and it totally explains why some people don't bother sugar-coating the truth - sometimes it just is.

"Your brain is not even capable of thinking until you're at least 26, 28; so if you're 14 and you think you're in love, you're a moron!" Did he just call our young people morons! LOL!

"If you loved me, you wouldn't be able to hurt me that way...grown folks, do you understand what I'm trying to say without saying what it is that I'm trying to say...?!" As wordy as it reads, I understood perfectly.

I loved how real he is. He gave me a good reminder of just how much we have:
- the opportunities (we all get educated till age 16 - regardless of our parents income, the security for our health
- if you're sick, within 7 minutes (give or take a few) an ambulance will be there to get you(!)
- dammit, we were free to leave our homes and go to a comfortable building and hear the word of God - so many people in our world have to pray in secret!  Needless to say I'm feeling really blessed this evening... and loving it.

If you haven't come across Pastor Bill Wilson before - check him out today! I think he's pretty darn fab - now I'm off to add him on Facebook!

Mrs O
x

Things I like to share...

I love stumbling across random blogs and finding a musing that inspires me for the day - sometimes longer. So I feel I owe it to cyberspace to give as well as take ('that's what she said' - any office fans out there?!)...

In thinking about whether or not I'd like to keep blogging, I've decided just to blog when I want to and publish when I feel it's something worth sharing, if I want to reach out, get random, dare I say, 'advice' from strangers who have followed this here blog, or sometimes just because I feel like it.

So, today, I feel like sharing something - it's not about weddings or babies, but it is about L.O.V.E...

This week I lunched with someone I l.o.v.e like a sister and this is how the conversation went:

She: What does it feel like to be in love?

Me: I'm not really sure what to say to you. I imagine it's different for everyone?!

She: My friend says its when you can't stop thinking about someone...

Me: No, that's just obsession lol...or maybe infatuation lol....thinking about someone all the time is probably a prerequisite for being 'in love' but experiencing those things doesn't always mean you're 'in love'...why are you asking...

She: [looking at me blank and desperate for an answer]

Me: I personally think being 'in love' is when you are so obsessed with someone that you want to share things with them and want them to share things with you, then you end up knowing them and sharing so much with them that you discover things about them that you don't like, yet you love them anyway, possibly even more than before you knew all the bad stuff... 

[eloquent I know!]

...and so the conversation continued.

I still don't know if that was the 'right' thing to say to her... but then today, I was clearing out my inbox (after about 2 years!) and I came across an email about kid's opinions on love...I had to share. 

These were my personal favourites:

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.

Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

Billy - age 4

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.' 

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'

Noelle - age 7

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'

Cindy - age 8

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image!)
Karen - age 7

Apparently, the winning response from these kids was a four year old child 

whose next door neighbour was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbour, the little boy said,

'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

Next time I'm asked, I hope I can come up with something as profound as these kids have done...

Still me, Still Mrs O

x

Do I need to blog?

Why do I blog?

Why did I start blogging?

Do I need to continue blogging?

Who benefits?

What else could I be doing with my time?

There are so many things that I want to do, and although blogging doesn't take up much of my time, it is still time that I could be using for other things... I like the blogging world and when I feel I have something interesting to share - I do. But mostly, its just me ranting/keeping an online non-private diary.

Maybe I should just start keeping a diary again - at least I wouldn't need to sensor it. : )

Perhaps its time for me to stop blogging...now?!