Should The Church Play It Safe?

I'm glad I go to a church that doesn't, but I'm speaking here of The Church in a Biblical sense as Christ did, as His bride.

My church has been doing a series on sex, the rationale being that everyone else is talking about it; why shouldn't we? Topics were GodSex, MarriedSex, SingleSex, UnfaithfulSex, and SameSex.

That's right, we actually talked about homosexuality in church.

My church has a large homosexual population. We're a seeker church, modeled after Willow Creek (both original pastors came from there), and a lot of people who have been burned by church or who never set foot in church feel very comfortable there. The flip side is that we end up with a lot of messiness. [Tongue in cheek] I'm sure Jesus never had that problem Himself. [/Tongue in cheek]

For years, this has been the elephant in the room. It's a topic that's easy to mess up. You can alienate the gay population, or you can alienate people who see themselves as believing in Biblical truth. I would not have wanted to be in the shoes of my pastor yesterday. He restricted himself to a 15 minute talk, then interviewed three people from our congregation who struggle with same sex attration (two women and a man). Unfortunately, I can't embed the video, but you can click here to see it.

One of the staff members sent out an email asking people to wear a white t-shirt if they would commit to pray for these folks as they courageously agreed to be interviewed. She said she would be on the front row praying through all three services. I joined her on the front row for the last service. Hearing what these folks went through brought tears to my eyes. There was a lot of emotion in the room, even for the normally emotionless last service.

How does your church handle tough topics? Do you talk about them head on or shy away from them?

Excellent Birthaversary Weekend

So, this week has been "interesting"...

My left foot and ankle were swollen and painful the entire time I was in Taiwan, so I headed to the doc as soon as I was back home. She wasn't sure of the cause but put me on anti-inflammatories twice a day. Even though I've taken them on a full stomach every time, they have not been gentle to me, to the point that a very nice dinner out was pretty well ruined last night. So I'll be calling my doctor back to see what can be done tomorrow.

But on a more pleasant note, the reason I was out for such a nice dinner, at one of my favorite places, was to celebrate my birthday and anniversary, which happen to fall on the same day. In years when either is significant, hubby doesn't get away with just a nice dinner, but this year isn't a big deal.

We went with friends who brought me a lovely birthday gift. Or hilarious, at least. He/she/it is handmade. What should I name him?


Today we went to Pei Wei for dinner. My tummy is feeling much better since I got all rebellious and decided to take Aleve rather than the prescribed stuff. After dinner we decided it was high time to check out the alleged best bubble tea in Austin!

I didn't have my camera with me at the time, so this is the best I could do once I got home. Sorry the glass is only half full. *blush*

I'd give this milk tea with bubbles about an 8.5/10 on the scale where a 10 was the bubble tea place by my hotel. Pretty good, but the flavor isn't quite as good, and I prefer the smaller bubbles. I may have to break down and make my own, since I was given my own supply of small bubbles before I left.

What about you? What's your favorite beverage? Where do you buy it?