Various Sundries

I've got a lot of thoughts swirling around that I may try to do justice to later, but for now I'll hit some highlights. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topics though, if you have some.

Church yesterday was disappointing. I don't feel that they really covered the message of the Ressurection - yet without Christ's resurrection, His death was meaningless and we (Christians) are fools. How can a church who claims Christ miss any opportunity to drive this home - let alone Easter Sunday when the church is fuller than I've ever seen it, save Christmas? If you get two chances a year at the so-called "CEO Christians" (Christmas and Easter Only), why would you miss the chance to share the very heart of Faith? Christmas is important - absolutely. Because it marks the beginning of God's plan for our redemption. But without the Resurrection, Christmas is just an unfulfilled promise.

Sunday school was even more disappointing than the service. We were finishing up our supposed-to-be-four-week study on the purpose of the church that actually took us 6 weeks to do. And even still I'm not sure that we really found the point of the study. And if we did, well, I'm not sure what that means to me, because I'll either have to gird my loins and wade in to try to stop us becoming yet another Market-Driven church or I'll need to go look elsewhere. I have a feeling that the right thing to do, the thing that I am meant to do, is stay and be a voice against this trend. And that terrifies me. I've seen my parents throughout my life standing firm against the waves of the culture as they infiltrate and influence the church and consequently be ridiculed, tormented, gossiped about and blackballed. I don't want this with more fervor than I have ever not wanted something. But at the same time as I think this, I'm reminded of others who God has used who did not want it and I'm ashamed of myself for wanting to give up the fight before it's begun. So I'm in a "wait-and-see" mode, because I know Tim would tell me not to borrow trouble yet - it's not clear what direction the church is really going to go. But while I'm waiting, I think I'm going to need to be preparing. (On the other hand, I know I embarass Tim as he often feels I'm tilting at windmills, not fighting a fight that needs to be fought. I'm sure this is part of why I don't want this and would rather just go elsewhere; or just sit in the back row and try to keep my mouth shut.)

It seems the trend is on the minds of others as well - Thinklings has some interesting, thought-provoking posts today as well.

Easter supper with the family was fun and relaxing. A definitely needed break from homework. Mom brought a honey baked ham and I served lamb that I had made (turned out better than I expected, actually, and while I typically do not eat lamb, this particular specimen was rather tasty. I guess the key is not to overcook, cook at a low temp for a longer period of time, and the pre-cooking spice rub contents.)

Homework is a tad overwhelming at the moment. I'm hoping to knock out one of the two papers I have due on May 2nd today (I've got 3 of the 4 page minimum written, so that's at least a start - but this networking class is just killing me. It's tough to come up with 4-5 page papers repeatedly on topics that just suck the life out of you, they're so boring.)

Work silliness continues - with another "mandatory fun" event scheduled in the near future.

And general ennui persists, due in large part to something that I still haven't decided if I'm going to include here in more detail than to simply say that there is something. (Yes, I know it's maddening, I apologize.)