Not all relationships are equal- STOLEN!

Haha. Not stolen, exactly... but, you should read this post from my friend because it's pretty much exactly what I've been wanting to blog about sometime. Now I don't have to. I did post a reasonable length comment at the bottom though, so I've added my own little input into the subject, and you can read that too.
Justine, you're fabulous, and I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who struggles with this stuff.
Here's the link...
Not all relationships are equal

Jesus is victorious.

If I didn't live my life within the reality that Jesus is victorious, then I really don't know where I'd be right now.
If I derived my worth and value purely through other people, what they thought of me and how they treated me, then I would be in deep distress.
If I had to rely on my own strength in times of struggle then I would certainly fail.
I struggle with self-pity, with feeling let down and disappointed by the human race, and I am attacked by negative or evil forces and powers, and I've been thinking lately that if I didn't live in the hope and victory I have through the actions of Jesus Christ, then I actually don't know how I'd cope. Makes me wonder how those who don't know God do cope??!
No matter what I go through, I know that God loves me and has got my back, Jesus died and rose again to declare victory over evil and death, and the Holy Spirit dwells within me in power, while comforting and guiding me.
Remind me of this next time I'm struggling and feeling as if life is too hard.

Rewriting The Sinners Prayer, Amen, & The Church Camp Curse

You should probably read this blog post, and the comments that come after it are rather interesting too. I think it relates quite well to my post on altar calls recently...

http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/2010/09/rewriting-the-sinners-prayer-amen-the-church-camp-curse/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RagamuffinSoul+%28Ragamuffin+Soul%29

Reading reading reading.

That's what I've been doing for the last few hours. You see, my Religious Studies classes have tests every week based on the assigned readings, so you have to do them! Fortunately, the readings are usually quite interesting. I just wish they weren't so long. As I take a little break from this activity, I thought I'd share a few snippets...

This piece is from a chapter of Christopher D. Marshall's book, Beyond Retribution:
"Having been set free from slavery to sin, Christians have become slaves to God's liberating righteousness and are to offer themselves to God as 'instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13), vehicles of restorative justice in God's afflicted world. Applied to the realm of criminal justice, this means taking evil seriously, holding wrongdoers to account and summoning their repentance, as God does with Israel (Rom. 1-2). It also means refusing to deny our relationship with wrongdoers, refusing to abandon them or exclude them entirely from the human community, just as God remains steadfastly loyal to his sinful people (Rom. 3). It means, further, seeing criminals not solely as perpetrators of evil, though indeed they are that, but also as victims of the crushing power of sin, from which they are in need of liberation and renewal. And it means not regarding their punishment per se as the satisfaction of justice. Punishment may be necessary... but it is not the pain of punishment itself that achieves justice, as though justice resides in creating an equity of suffering, the pain of the offenders' punishments compensating for the pain inflicted on victims. True justice resides in the restoring of relationships and the recreation of shalom (Rom. 5). It is only when the cycle of evil is broken and, as far is possible, the consequences of criminal action remedied, consequences which blight the lives of both crime victims and their abusers -- only then is true justice, the justice modeled by God, attained in measure."

Something to think about!

And then, this one is from Virginia Wiles' book, Making Sense of Paul:
"God's goal for the cosmos is shalom -- peace. Peace can be described as the absence of enmity: The lion and the lamb lie down together (Isa 11:6); warring humans 'beat their swords into ploughshares" (Isa 2:4). Stated positively, shalom is that existence in which everything fits together -- a good place for everything, and everything in its place. Shalom is order; it is right-relatedness; it is wholeness. Shalom is the integrity of the whole -- of the whole created cosmos, of everything that is."

Silver Ferns!

There really is not a lot that compares to being at a match where the Silver Ferns beat Australia. And that's what I just experienced. We beat those Aussies by 19 goals and it was a spectacle to behold. I loved that the Aussies had been making statements in the press about our lack of depth in the shooting circle, and yet we got all four of our shooters throughout the game and walked all over their defenders. Not even a Furry-man or a Bulley made any difference. Oh man, there were so many things I loved about that game. Anna Scarlett made the starting 7, and her, Casey and Leana were on fire on defence. So cool for Grace Rasmussen to get on the court, and for all the shooters to get their first shots at goal in. Loved that Sharelle had a few tantrums and was absent the rest of the game. There's nothing like the atmosphere either. Not often are you free to shout, both in support and in critique of what you see. So fun. The young girl beside me gave me a few funny looks at some of the stuff I was yelling though. Haha.
I love that netball is starting to get the recognition and support it deserves. On Wednesday the 6 o'clock News was delayed an hour because the netball was being played in Australia and was broadcast on the same channel. First time they've done that, apparently.
OK, I'll stop raving, but I'm very happy.

Church cartoon.