Jud, I don’t know who you are, but when I read your comment on this blog I could not keep myself from saying, “Amen.” Thank you for your willingness to speak truth.

I’d love to give you more credit than just your name, so if you’re reading this, please let me know!

1) I’ve read and heard enough from Mclaren.

2) Most American Pastors now refer to themselves as “followers of Christ”. Mclaren considers himself a “follower of Christ”. Ghandi considered himself a “follower of Christ”. The Dali Lama considers himself a follower of Christ.None of the latter three speak as to the ATONEMENT and the BLOOD of Christ. Myself? I follow the Chicago Cubs.

2) It’s ridiculous for McLaren or anyone else to use “the American Church” as a political pawn the way he does. As much as 80% of American Christians are “people who said a prayer” not in fact Born Again Christians. So it’s pathetic to say that American Christianity represents Jesus in the first place. A LONG time ago evangelism became a NUMBERS game. We are a people who create “experiences ” and manipulate peoples emotions… they say a prayer before they even think about the COSTS… we chalk one more up and they walk away ever battling doubts confident in the prayer they said.

3) The Holy Spirit represents Jesus. MANY in the Church (Pastors included) are Lost as can be… their lives are not led by the Spirit. Look around… our worship services are about the FLESH. The senses MUST be addressed because an emotional experience has replaced solid Bible teaching and discipleship, Godly sorrow and Repentance. WORKS and Social Justice are the fillers for opiating the carnal conscience.

4) Our creativity, our innovations, our “vision casting” our egos and our cleverness have replaced the cornerstone. We’ve become a people of self promotion. We aren’t broken and humble, we are smooth, we are slick, we are successful, we are appealing to the flesh. We are approved by the World. The pale echoes of the martyrs haunt us.

-Jud

This is preliminary, I’ll probably edit it and include it in my overall discussion of the series, but I wanted to go ahead and get this out there. Please understand that I am coming at this from (most likely) a different approach on dating and it’s informed by a Christian worldview. I’m really not interested in arguing my points right now and may be deleting comments that I deem inappropriate.

* * *

Okay, I’m almost done with the first one and here’s what I think so far…

• Yes, it is engaging. If you want a romance that requires little thought, this is it.
• The writing is juvenile, but probably does well to appeal to the target audience (only speaking for the first book here).
• The magnetic pull that Bella feels for Edward is incredibly disturbing to me and I will go into that later.
• Bella calls Edward her “savior” at least once and says that she would rather die than be without him…I don’t like that.

Here’s the deal. By the time all of this stuff is going on they have known each other for a few months, but have had about a dozen kind of probing conversations. And she’s “unconditionally and irrevocably” in love with him. I understand this is fiction, but what really upsets me is that there are teens and tweens out there reading this stuff and setting up some really ridiculous expectations for relationships. Bella does not question Edward (so far) on anything. He tells her time and time again that he is dangerous and that she needs to stay away from him. Bella feels no fear whatsoever in his presence and her chief concern from about 100 pages or so into this thing is him, how he feels, and what he is thinking. It is an all-consuming, obsessive “love” she feels for him (I’m sorry, but at this point there is nothing that makes me feel like there is love between them, at least nothing more than either A. the puppy variety or B. some supernatural hold he has on her that rids her of her senses in his presence).

This is a problem for me. And it’s a problem because it’s young girls reading it who don’t know the difference, who don’t know that this is NOT REAL. I’m not even talking about the vampire aspect. I’m saying that Meyer is selling some cooked up version of “love” to a generation of females who are going to understand how sadly mistaken (and misled) they were when they realize that this isn’t the way things happen and that ultimately your feelings are NOT what you need to be trusting. I feel like I can say this pretty well-informed at this point, since I have a few cousins that have been obsessed with these books since the first one came out (they were all around 12/13 at the time), who have CLEARLY had their views on relationships affected by this. Can’t even go there right now.

I won’t lie, it’s been an enjoyable, easy-to-read (if you can get past all of the CHAGRIN!!!) distraction that conjures up the butterfly feelings of crushes. I just can’t see it being beneficial for younger ladies. This is exactly the sort of thing I would have jumped into when I was in middle/high school and it was NOT what I needed back then.

It’s that time of year. Today I did the Black Friday thing, nothing crazy though. Just a few stops for gifts around Penn Square Mall in OKC. I link to that because it has a PHENOMENAL gift featured there: a Remote Control Tarantula. I have seen one of these things in action and you cannot go wrong. Myself, I’m hoping for an iPod Touch. I should probably tell my mom that since she doesn’t read this very often. There was a Christmas a few years ago where it seemed like Mom and Dad bought a lot of iPods. Now most of us are making enough money to buy our own. That won’t stop me from asking for one so that I don’t have to part with my cash though!

Now, more gift ideas!

• Yankee Candles, especially their festive scents. I love having a home that smells of fir trees, cider, and firewood. Feels like life in the country.
• Twilight – You know for the tweens you cannot go wrong with this book…as much as I hate to say it. But it’s likely you’re too late and they like, already have all of them and have seen the movie, have the posters and soundtrack, yada yada.
• Neti Pot – Is it inappropriate to get someone a neti pot? Because I’m thinking I’d like one.
• A one-year subscription to Real Simple.

If this strikes a chord with you, I recommend For Women Only (or, if you are a guy, For Men Only — I’ve read both).

This feels like a Pretty in Pink kind of day. Maybe it’s because I’m crampy and I associate cramps with being a teenager and angst and being interested in one guy while having two or three more interested in you while the first one couldn’t really care less.

And maybe it’s because the only other thing I considered watching was Atonement and right now I just don’t feel like it. It’s too soon. I watched it yesterday for the first time and it devastated me. Seriously, there was nothing happy about that at all. And I know that stories aren’t always happy. But the end got me. Once you get to that point (if you haven’t read the novel already) you can begin to put things together and the typing sounds in the score really make it all make sense, but an unreliable narrator really riles me up. Especially one that I have next to no compassion for and one who thinks that writing a story and “giving” two people a happy ending is really even close to “atoning” for her “sins.” I found it quite presumptuous of Briony to state that she gave the couple their happiness and that comment alone made me seriously question her state of mind. Is she losing it by this point?

I’d like to add that I didn’t feel any sort of compassion for Cecelia either, as I don’t think she gave Young Briony half a chance. She was a little girl who saw something she didn’t understand and ended up making something much larger out of it. Honestly, an adult can tell from the first second when he appears who the real culprit is, but what is a little girl to think? Certainly that the fellow with the most evidence against him is the guilty party.

I will say that it was terribly beautiful cinematography though. The racy content at the beginning makes it something I really can’t recommend in good conscience, but it’s very, very pretty. Not the racy content — the film overall. Sigh.

The way it’s stuck with me reminds me of the feeling I had after watching A Walk to Remember for the first time. I know what you’re thinking. She’s comparing a film based on a Nicholas Sparks novel to one based on a novel by Ian McEwan? I understand. But I must tell you that at the time that film came out, it was something very close. I had never identified with a character so much as Jamie Sullivan (in the book) and the film made it all the more real (though less appealing in some ways). To see her situation and the change that she helped to spark in that boy by expressing her faith really touched me. To watch her dreams come true and then have her pass from this life to the next, well, it made me examine my life, priorities, and where I stood on a lot of things. I began to seriously consider the impact my words and the way I lived had (or could have) on people. If you can get past the cheese factor (which doesn’t bother me so much because I am a certified Cheeseball) there are some great lessons to be gleaned from A Walk to Remember. I would suggest the novel over the film though.

If you enjoyed Atonement, I recommend: Jeux d’enfants (Eng. Title: Love Me If You Dare)

I have no need for this, but I think it is one of the cutest pregnancy shirts I’ve seen. So I thought I’d share it with those of you who might have some use for it! Most pregnancy shirts that I see on celebrities annoy me (e.g. Britney Spears), but this one…this one is just perfect. By disco belly™.

I love etsy. Here are a few reasons why:

From Chet and Dot:

From Nut and Bee…GUINEA PIGS!

From Red Mush:

I am. Terrible. From time to time I get like this. No posts for days. And what kind of blog is that? Not the kind I like to read, but I do appreciate those of you who stick around and check everyday just the same.

At least I’m not a terrible monster. (Wonderful book!)

Right now I am staying pretty busy (by my standards) with planning parties, throwing showers for a soon-to-be-old-and-married friend, going on road trips, and turning twenty-three (next Wednesday). I’m hosting a “personal shower” this Friday and let me tell you–that’s going to be fun! Pictures (the ones that wouldn’t put a funny knot in my stomach if my Granny were to see them) next week sometime.

Until then, I leave you with ME, very excited to see the Haygoods in Branson.

A few months ago a new little place opened up on Route 66 where it passes through the northern edge of the Oklahoma City metro area. Pops. One of the neatest little places I’ve been to. Where else can you go and find nearly any carbonated beverage your sweet little heart could desire? Beats me. And while they still don’t have my boyfriend’s favorite root beer (Henry Weinhard’s) it is a great place. Drive to Oklahoma. Stop. Go in. Eat their food (it’s good). Drink their pop.

When you see this you are getting close.

When you see this, you need to flip on your turn signal.

Now go inside and have yourself some pop. My favorite is Empire Bottling Works’ Spruce Beer. Their food is good, too.

Spank you.