death

Morbid subject i know but my relatives just seem to be dropping like flies..and the question I’m left with is, “Where have they gone?”

Seems like a strange question since I’m a Christian right? but it still fascinates me how everyone seems to have their different ideas on the matter. It’s like the rapture. Again, being an young Christian the only idea I’ve been told is that Jesus is coming back and is gonna take us all to heaven (the rapture) and then for 7years the anti-Christ is going to be in complete control of the world and then Jesus is gonna come back and kill everyone..until i read a book and it said that there are actually quite a few different opinions on whats going to happen at the end of the world. Some people don’t even think there is going to be an end of the world. I was watching 20/20 one night (something NEVER do), and it was talking about a “Dooms Day Vault” that they made to store seeds in so when all the crops etc are destroyed in either a natural disaster or human-made disaster. I found it fascinating and thought it was really cool that people were planning to help keep this world alive and not just destroying it. A friend thought otherwise, she came in near the end of the story so i filled her in on what they were doing. She laughed and said it didn’t matter because we would be raptured long before then…and then she shook her head and said that scientists have no idea what they are doing and should read their Bibles more.

I found these comments hard to swallow. I’m a Christian, I’ve read the Bible (well most of it, hehe) and I haven’t come across a verse that says you should use up all of the earths resources because the world is going to hell and Jesus will take you “home” long before shit really starts to hit the fan. I have, however, read verses telling us that we should look after this world. Stories implying that we should plan for the worse (such as famines and droughts) so that we don’t starve to death. Stories of people who have cared deeply for this planet and the people on it. Chapters telling us that we should look after the poor and poverty stricken people. Chapters telling us to look after what God has created (and that’s not just humans). I agree that some scientist make up really stupid theories but not all. It’s amazing how many scientist have actually read the Bible.

I’m reading a book called “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” and it’s amazing. Well, I’m really enjoying it. The way I explained the book to one friend was “it’s a scientific book about evolution.” She couldn’t understand why I was reading a book about evolution. Why can’t we push the bar out further, I say?

One of my favourite movies is called Saved. I remember watching it 2 years ago about 6 times.
“Mary is a good Christian girl who goes to a good Christian high school where she has good Christian friends, mainly Hilary Faye, and a perfect Christian boyfriend, Dean. Her life seems perfect, until the day that she finds out that Dean may be gay. After “seeing” a vision of Jesus in a pool, she does everything in her power to help him turn straight, including offering up her virginity. But none of it helps because Dean’s caught and sent to a “degayification” center and Mary ends up pregnant. It’s during her time of need that she becomes real friends with the school’s set of “misfits,” including Cassandra, the school’s only Jewish girl; Roland, Hilary Faye’s wheelchair-bound brother, and Patrick, the skateboarder son of the school’s principal, Pastor Skip; whilst Hilary Faye turns her into a social outcast.”

So back to my first questions…Do we go to heaven/hell? or do we just die? Is hell something made up by people to scare them into being Christians? And is the next “earth” that the Bible speaks of actually meant to be here…on this earth?? I dunno…but I wanna find out.

I’m not scared of dying. Everyone does it at some point and I know that I’m not gonna go anytime soon.

So my Uncle died during the night…he’s been having health problems for awhile. Last year (in 2007) my aunty died of cancer. In 2005 my nana died of cancer and my great-nana (dads nana) died of cancer (but she lived a long and strong life). Some would say that there’s a generational curse in my family…I put the deaths down to smoking and binge drinking…except my great-nana, she died in her old age and live a strong life even though it was riddled with sickness. Does this mean I think I’m gonna die of cancer? I dunno..That’s up to God to decide. If I look after myself properly my body should last the distance..at least till Jesus comes back anyway..hehe =)

new start…

I’ve been blogging for a long time now…i have about 3 different blogs and they are all about different things…but they all see to crash and burn at some point…I have a blogspot blog for cricket info which i haven’t written in for awhile (I love Cricket and all things Black Caps)…

I recently had a different wordpress blog but decided that i needed a change for whatever reasons.

I use to be really open minded and it wasn’t till a month ago that i realised that since i because a Christian i became really close-minded. i was told what to think and what to do. I no longer want to be spoon-fed. The ideas that i have come to just except are starting to be challenged and it’s exciting. I want to read and learn more. I want to be challenged to think for myself. My younger sister told me that she noticed that i’d become very close-minded when i became a Christian.

I go on about this quite a bit but i’m gonna keep going on because it pisses me off so much…I’m sick of people who think the music i listen to is angry and depressing. people should actually listen to the lyrics and then decide from there or at least listen to what i am saying. It reminds me of this friend i have who has “different” ideas about the Bible and God…if i’m honest he actually has some really good points…but will people listen to him…well actually i don’t know if they do but i’m guessing most don’t.

Another thing that annoys me is people who are so “spiritual” that they over look professionals such as doctors. To be honest I do believe in the healing power (magic) of God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit but i also realise that people who can heal others with drugs and other magical doctor stuff were given their gift from God. I don’t believe that Doctors are the devil. Yeah, some people still die after they see a doctor but people still die after we pray for them, heck people still die even after they’ve been healed. Everyone dies. Even the people Jesus resurrected from the dead died eventually. Do we forget all this and live in isolated worlds where Jesus heals everyone everytime and no one dies? That’s just stupid!

Then there’s missions…just coming back from one I’ve obviously been thinking heaps about it.
Coming back I was faced with many questions but the question that stumped me was “how many people did you see get saved?”…sounds like a strange question to get stumped on but our trip wasn’t about going over seas and preaching the Gospel and then leaving, it never was but I’m guessing it must’ve seemed that way. The main reason I wanted to go on this missions trip (other than the fact that i kinda had to since I’m an intern) was to see what the world was like, to have my eyes opened to the “real world”. My desire now is to take a group of Youth over to Indonesia to have their worlds rocked. I want to inspire them to want to make a difference too, not just overseas but in our own country and community. Whether this is a good thing or the way missions are meant to be, I don’t know. We saw amazing things happen and made new friends and connections that have changed our lives (and those we met) forever, but we can only do so much. If we were only to go over once, preach the gospel and leave, how are they gonna benefit from that? they aren’t. What can we do tho? we can resource them.

One of my ultimate (and usually hidden) dreams is to work in an orphanage overseas =) that would be awesome!

So new start, new blog, new thinking, new reading and new outlook on life =)

The music thing may come up often…its one of those things that really bugs me…It’s like those people who tell you you don’t have enough faith when they pray for you and you aren’t healed…i feel like smacking them in the head…obviously in a loving Christian way…do they not realise that it could have to do with the fact that you’re just working too hard and need to slow down and rest, and look after yourself better. When i get sick its usually because my body is telling me i am working too hard and need to sleep more and eat properly…I don’t personally thing it’s because of the devil.

And even tho there are some mornings that i wake up dreading that i still have the rest of the year to finish the internship I’m doing, I will hold tightly to God (obviously not literally).

People are stupid but God isn’t.