Hard Decisions
Well, I had to do a very difficult thing this weekend. Not many know (not out of shame, but simply due to the fact that the topic rarely comes up in the course of normal conversation) that I have two stepbrothers who are gay. Normally this hasn't been a cause for dissension within the family, even though many of us are Christian and believe that homosexuality is a sin.
I as well as my sister have done my best to continue to love our stepbrothers while being clear that we don't condone their choices. We rarely discuss the issue with them because we both believe that the Holy Spirit is more than capable of making the truth known, and that nagging rarely won a soul to God's kingdom. Our views are well-known by our stepbrothers, and on the rare occasions they want to discuss the issue we've done it kindly but directly. Otherwise we leave the issue alone. As St. Francis of Assisi once said, "Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words." We try to let our lives show the gospel, and to love the sinner while hating the sin.
This has been a successful stance for us, especially in the lives of our stepsister and her partner. Our stepsister was active in the gay lifestyle for many years, and she and her partner were living that life quite openly and were militant in some ways. Eventually my stepsister, who was a backslidden Christian, made the choice to leave that lifestyle, and her partner became a Christian and made the same choice. One of the factors that led to their decision was the fact that my sister and I continued to love them no matter their choices, and we never showed any condemnation or judgment. They knew we believed their lifestyle was sinful, but they also knew we didn't think we were better than them or were condemning them, and that they always knew they were loved and accepted by us. One of our two stepbrothers also knows that about us, and has often said as much to us.
This is where our other stepbrother comes in. Recently our entire family received an invitation to a 'commitment ceremony' for him and his partner, which he's planning for the 4th of July. My heart dropped when I received the invitation, because I knew this meant it was time to draw a line and risk the potential of division within the family.
My sister and I prayed about this and on Monday, May 17th, I finally RSVP'd that I'd be unable to attend. Last week I received an email from him asking why I'd be unable to attend, and I knew I'd have to explain exactly why. I was prepared to do so, but also knew that I might not like his response.
In my reply to him I stated that by attending the ceremony I felt I'd be condoning his decision to go against the word of God which clearly states that a committed sexual relationship is only between a man and a woman in marriage, and that I wouldn't be able to attend because I believe that I ultimately have to answer to God for my actions.
As you might guess, Tim wasn't receptive to that answer and emailed me again to 'challenge' my views. I ended up replying to him and letting him know that I wasn't interested in further discussion, that we'd have to agree to disagree, and that if he attempted to discuss this again that I would quietly walk away.
Standing up for what's right isn't always easy, and quite often carries the risk of being branded a hypocrite, judgmental, or in this case, a homophobe. The charge of a potential hypocritical attitude has already come up, but hopefully the charge of homophobe won't arise.
The person who's really the victim in all of this is my stepfather. He's a lifelong Catholic and believes homosexuality is a sin. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it is to have 2 of his 4 children active (and 1 formerly active) in the gay lifestyle. And now he faces one planning the closest thing to a marriage ceremony that's legal in the state of California, and the knowledge that if he chooses to not attend that choice will cause a rift between him and his second eldest son.
As July 4th comes closer, this is likely to become a dividing issue in my family. With gay marriages becoming legal in Massachusetts and the attempted distribution of licenses in San Francisco, I see this issue becoming more prevalent in our society today.
I pray that when fellow believers are faced with this dilemma that they can make the right decision and share that decision in love.
We need to stand firm against things contrary to God's Word, but we can do it in a spirit of love, which is the hallmark of His children.
And now for a serious post...
Earlier today I ran across this article from April 7th:
The Pulitzer Prize: No Conservatives Need ApplyThe Pulitzer Prizes announced this week demonstrate again the stranglehold that liberals and leftists enjoy when it comes to garnering recognition from those who bestow honors for outstanding journalism and writing.
Surprise, surprise!
George Shadroui, the author, goes on to say
Having spent more than 20 years working as a journalist or with journalists, I can attest to what even internal surveys by academics and journalists have shown: most journalists are either liberal/Left or so cynical that they resist easy characterization. In fact, in nearly a decade of working as a local reporter, I do not recall stumbling across another conservative. So do liberals dominate the reporting awards? The answer is obvious. And it's not because the few conservative journalists don't write worthy stories. Heather MacDonald, Michael Fumento, William Tucker, Bill Gertz and the late Mike Kelly have produced prize-worthy work by any standard, but none of them have been rewarded by the Pulitzer Board.
Bias in the media???
Say it isn't so!!!
Happy Sunday!
I get to have a 3 day weekend!
Back when I thought we weren't getting Monday off I asked for Friday the 4th off and got it, so I get two 3 day weekends in a row
Yesterday I did some shopping for a care package to mail to my marine
(assigned to me by
soldiersangels.org) and I need to take it to the post office on Tuesday to mail it off.
On my way home I stopped by a Salvation Army thrift store and found
this desk (
another photo) for only $12.50! It's in my backyard right now waiting to be sanded and refinished
I spent $100 on books over at the
Christian Book Distributers website Thursday night, and paid the little extra for 2-3 day shipping, so they'll be here on Wednesday at the latest. About 3 of the books are backordered, but they're going to be released on either the 1st or the 11th, so I'll be getting them soon.
Right now a repairman from Dish is fixing my satellite (again!) so hopefully I'll be able to watch TV later today I've been without for nearly a month!
Yesterday I finally received the extended edition of The Two Towers in the mail, and I might watch it later today.
I have the soundtracks for all 3 LOTR movies and was listening to the RotK soundtrack earlier. Love that music!
I also have two movies from
Netflix.com - The Last Samurai and Monte Walsh, and need to get around to watching those.
Work has been going well, and has been busy. I've had to do some things that I wasn't eager to do, but it was necessary. My staff has been talking a LOT. I mean excessive talking. To the point that for 3 days last week it sounded like a party was going on in our suite. I finally had a talk with everyone on Thursday morning and told them that there would be no more warnings about the talking, and that it had to stop. I think I got through to them because it was QUIET all day. It was nice!
Unfortunately, I also had to let go of one of the temps because of excessive talking. My supervisor told me that we had to do it to make an example so that everyone knew we were serious. He was a really good worker, but did talk way too much while doing his job.
I also set new guidelines and procedures in place for the transmitting group, and I immediately noticed a change in the turnaround time of the work. Up until I made this change, the bins for outgoing work were always stacked high and reports were taking 1-2 (and sometimes more!
) hours to get transmitted electronically back to the lenders. Now the bins stay nearly - and sometimes even completely - empty, and the work is getting back to the lenders within 30 minutes of it getting put into the transmitting bins.
I'm feeling really good about how things are going at the office now
Although there's a part of me that's worried that something is going to happen to ruin that feeling
I stress too much, I know. I hate it when I get superstitious like this!
