Follow up on Judgement

This past week in our small group Jon and I lead the discussion on James chapter 2. In verse 13 I was stopped in my tracks, only after the third time reading it.

"Mercy triumphs over judgement."

This is in context of showing favoritism. Not really the judgement I was talking about but it's along the same lines. Therefore, I believe it to remain true for my situation.

Two things I know for sure at this point, having mercy is better than being judgmental and God answers when you ask questions.

I still have more questions on how to handle my thoughts in this arena but this is a humbling moment on that journey.

Judgement

This is a difficult subject for me to wrap my head around. I feel like I do it a lot, unfortunately. At the same time I'm not sure of the true definition. I can look at someone and observe their behavior and draw a conclusion about the kind of person they are. Is this judgement? I'd think so. Maybe it's not fair to draw a conclusion about some one's personality based on a brief observation. On the other hand I'd say it's merely an observation.

Perhaps it's what I do with that observation.

Sometimes judgement gets muddled with annoyance, criticism, irritation, and conflicting personalities. All of which are sinful or can cause me to act in a sinful manner.

Lots of scripture comes to mind when I think of Judgement. Two in particular stick out to me.

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked person from among you." 1 Corinthians 5:12-13

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Luke 6:36-38

So are we supposed to judge other Christians? Or not? What does it mean to judge others? What actions are involved? Certainly it should be done with love. I have no question about that. I'm not necessarily wanting to judge others, but I know, or rather think, I am doing it. Is it okay? If someone does something that bothers me am I reacting sinfully or is there something the person may be doing wrong? The previous question sounds arrogant. That's not my intention. It's an honest question. I am not claiming to always be right. I know I have many areas in need of improvement and I wish to surround myself with people who will tell me in a loving manner so I can become a better person. I don't always accept it gracefully, at first, but most friends can rest assured I take the comment to heart and prayerfully think it through.

I also don't feel like I act on a lot of my judgmental feelings or thoughts but to me if the act of being judgmental is sin, then the thoughts and feelings are equally sinful.

I plan to ponder this the next week through prayer and scripture.

Your thoughts?

Mulling things over

I have a lot on my mind right now. For one our house is in a slight state of disrepair as we start the first phase of remodeling our kitchen. And yes, I do know I am hosting a baby shower this weekend. Someone (not you Katie) asked me if I remembered I was hosting a shower this weekend. Typically not something you forget. That was one reason we decided to go ahead with the first phase because it will make having the party a little nicer. Trust me though, for those who have never visited our house, you will hardly be able to tell anything was done. It's a bit of a long story but it should have been done last week, ahhh the joys of remodeling. I am totally excited for the new kitchen though, it's going to be pretty awesome if I do say so myself. Phases 2 & 3 will start after our trip to Costa Rica so probably early to mid February. This will include new flooring and new cabinets/countertops. Hadley and I have essentially been living in the two bedrooms since our living room, dining room and kitchen have all been under plastic for the last week. It's really not that bad until the guys come to work and then we have to stay in the rooms.

My friend Leatrice is out of the hospital and healing. Praise God for that miracle!

My heart and mind are trying to push down the thoughts my spirit wants to dwell on, which is "how are you honoring God with your life?" Ughhh. Since the struggles with the different ministries I've really been questioning where Jon and I are as a family and where we are as individuals. What we are doing to serve Jesus. I'm looking forward to some time to talk this over with Jon, perhaps on the beach in Costa Rica. :) I'm thinking of joining a Thursday morning bible study to spur on these questions and thoughts.

Finally, at least for this post, this weekend's events of the shootings have brought up a lot of discussion. I will be honest up front, I feel somewhat disconnected from the whole thing and haven't felt real sad about it. Let me explain. I understand the seriousness of it and certainly have sympathy for those involved or affected. However, I think I have placed this with all the other mass shootings and events that have happened in recent years. It's tragic, but not having known or met any of the people involved it's hard to associate with it. People have made comments about how they never expected anything like this to happen in Tucson and this irritates me. Yes, it's shocking but sadly, not unbelievable. There are evil people in this world who will do awful things and they are every where. Do you think the residents of Lancaster, PA ever thought someone would open fire on a bunch of people in an Amish school? I'll tell you what is encouraging about this, most people seem to believe that we are all innately good. It's so shocking because it's hard for us to imagine someone would want to cause hurt to others like this. If we are made in the image of God we should be innately good. It's been strange to see some people believed the nation should be grieving in a similar fashion to us in Tucson. Did Tucson grieve the same as those in Lancaster?

I repeat, this is a very tragic event and I have a lot of sympathy for those who were affected by this, especially the 9 year old girl whose life was taken as well as the family of the shooter. The shooter's family must also be grieving as they have experienced a sense of loss themselves. I personally have not connected emotionally with this as so many others have. I simply don't see how this particular situation deserves more sympathy or recognition than any other mass shooting as so many have portrayed (intentionally or not). Especially as disciples of Christ, we should be mourning for all who lose their life for they are each precious to God.

One friend asked the question, "What do we do now?" (in the face of flying accusations towards political parties, protests at funerals, pointing fingers at the public education system, or gun laws). We pray. We can blame, accuse, and point fingers all we want but we are missing the point. Evil will happen despite the laws, despite the education system, despite extra security. We need to be loving those who seem unlovable and we need to be praying for those who need it. To be honest my heart breaks for the shooter. Whether it's genetics that has caused a mental disorder or perhaps a life of anger and hatred could things have been different if he had been loved by someone around him? Had anyone truly, lovingly, and kindly shown him the heart of Christ? I understand people reject Christ and do so violently, this doesn't mean we should stop trying.

Quilting Progress

 I've finished piecing all of the rows together on Hadley's quilt. It really doesn't take that long to do. I probably did one row in about 15 minutes, as long as there weren't any problems. My mom and I had cut most of the green strips ahead of time so that helps to keep things going once you start piecing it.

These are the first 4 rows laid out

This picture includes rows 5 & 6 (sorry for the sun glare)

I pressed all the seams towards the green fabric so it wouldn't show behind the lighter fabrics and got to work on sewing the rows together. Because the fabric was not long enough to use just one strip in between rows I had to sew two together. I used a bias seam (diagonal seam) as it shows less then a straight seam. It took me 3 times to get it right because I wasn't paying attention to the details of it but it is really really simple.

Place one strip face up. Place the second strip at a 90 degree angle face down with edges matching as much as possible. Draw a diagonal line towards the outside edge. Using pins will help keep it in place.

Sew on the diagonal line and cut off excess fabric leaving 1/4" seam.  Flip the upside down  fabric over and press the seam.

Here it is finished. It's very hard to see the seam.

I then started piecing the rows together. There was excess fabric that I haven't cut off yet, in case I need to do a little fixing. The vertical green strips aren't always lining up perfectly but as I go, they seem to be falling in to place. I am soooo excited for the finished product. 

Here is where I stopped. 3 rows done. 3 rows to go. Then I start the outside frame which will be green, then white and a little pink.