Category Archives: Just For Fun

November 7, 2011 · 6:00 am

World Religions 101

I am fascinated by world religions. Absolutely fascinated.

You could call it a passion of study. You could call it an obsession. Yes, you could.

I was lucky enough to get to teach a Comparative Religions class at the high school where I worked, so I had an outlet for my madness.

And now I teach a class through my church called World Religions 101: Understanding Theirs So You Can Share Yours.

I think that we, as Christians, have a responsibilty to share the Gospel, and we can’t do that effectively unless we understand what others believe.

Not everyone is open to the idea of being converted, so walking up to someone of another faith and saying, “Hey, you need Jesus,” is not always going to work.

Let me break it down for you–
What separates Christianity from all of the other religions is one word–grace.
All other religions, it can be argued, are works based, while Christianity is faith based and any works performed are a result of the faith and acceptance of God’s gift of grace through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

I’m not trying to start a debate about the various religions in the world or break down the doctrine of Christianity, but I do want to present the basics as much as I can to as many as I can. My goal is to educate so that we can effectively witness.

I believe it’s something God has called me to; a small way in which I help reach those who need the salvation of Jesus Christ.

Of all the religious groups that fascinate me, Mormons top the list. I’m also fascinated by Hinduism, mostly because it’s such an ancient belief system full of brightly colored mythology and detailed traditions that translate into a largely secular population.

Call me a nerd (I’ll gladly answer to that), but history has always fascinated me, and I argue that history has been largely driven by religion.

Some argue that money makes the world go ’round, others argue it’s politics and power, but I think that when you peel back all historical events, past the money, past the war, past the details that seem innocuous, religion (or blatant lack thereof) can be found at the root of all history.

Brilliant. And fascinating.

So if you want to learn how to be an effective witness to the lost world, educate yourself on what others believe.

Share with me: Is there a world religion, group, or cult that you’d like to learn more about or that fascinates you? Why?

5 Comments

Filed under Just For Fun, The Christian Walk

Tagged as religion, world religions

October 21, 2011 · 5:30 am

Bucket Lists

I like the idea of having a Bucket List.

A list of things you want to do before you die. A list of things that are so extraordinary that you make an intentional plan to experience them.

Now, I’m not here to debate the value or philosophy behind the Bucket List (not the movie, the actual list) and I’ve never really considered having one…until the other night.

See, if I could have an alter-ego, I’d be like Sydney Bristow. If you don’t know who she is, she’s Jennifer Garner’s character from Alias–one of the greatest TV shows to ever air, in my humble opinion.

Sydney Bristow appears to be the mild-mannered girl next door, but in reality, she’s a CIA super-spy.

A-kick-you-in-the-face-and-ask-questions-later kind of gal.

And I’m totally like that. Totally. (I hear your giggles.)

The closest I could get to that is the fact that Jennifer Garner and I share the same first name.

However, the other night my hubby and I decided to watch a movie. He chose Fast Five, the most recent in the series of Fast & Furious movies starring Paul Walker and Vin Diesel.

I loved it. Every singe action-packed suped-up speeding cars second of it.

So, I want to add driving a car to my Bucket List.

I don’t want to drive a race car–no NASCAR or Formula 1 for me. Oh, no.

Not just any car.

I want to drive a suped-up street racing car like the ones in the movie–preferably one of the muscle cars like the Charger–and drive it like I stole it. With all the skills of a super-spy like Sydney Bristow.

Yep, I’m adding that to the top of my Bucket List. Right after ‘Learn to Drive a 5-Speed’.

Share with me: Do you have a Bucket List? If so, what’s the most insane item on it??

6 Comments

Filed under Just For Fun

Tagged as Alias, Fast Five, Jennifer Garner, Jennifer K. Hale, Paul Walker, Vin Diesel

September 30, 2011 · 5:00 am

10 Things I’ll Never Live Down- Number Three

It’s football season. And in my family, that means it’s a matter of time before someone brings up a reference to another thing I’ll never live down.

I married into a family of football fans.

I’d never been much of a football fan myself, mostly because I didn’t understand the rules.

I had no idea what a down was, what “3rd and 10” meant, or why on earth sometimes a team scored 6 points and other times it was 2 or 3.

And I really, really didn’t understand why an idiot player would take the ball and run straight into the onslaught of giants in front of him.

None of it made sense to me.

But then I married into a family of super-fans, and my hubby started with Football 101, allowing me to ask questions until I finally gleaned enough of an understanding of the game that I could really become a fan.

My father-in-law holds season tickets to his favorite college team, so when he invited me to tag along with him and my husband to a game, I was really excited. I wanted to see this game up close; to really enjoy the atmosphere of it.

I’d been to one or two college games before, but at the time, I was more of a fan of the band and cheerleaders than I was the actual players.

So this would be the first game when I could really appreciate the game and be part of the atmosphere.

We settled into out seats. I cheered with the rest of the crowd when the boys took the field. I sang the fight song and yelled like crazy at kickoff. I watched with intensity, and asked my husband and father-in-law questions for clarification as the game went on. They were kind enough to oblige my ignorance so that I could better understand the game.

But then came THE question.

The next play was coming up and I didn’t really know how they judged the distance to the next down. So, I leaned over to my husband and asked–

“Where’s the yellow line?”

“Huh?” Hubby responded.

“The yellow line on the field–where is it?”

Taking in my serious face, my hubby held in his chuckles long enough to elbow his dad and have me repeat the question. Then they both burst into uncontrollable laughter and shared my question with the fans around us.

I had no idea why they were laughing.

“Jenny, the yellow line is computer-generated on the screen for the viewers at home.”

My face flamed and my father-in-law (who has always loved to crack jokes about me being blonde) laughed until I thought he was going to faint.

And I gave him plenty of ammunition. Serious, serious blonde moment.

And to this day, I haven’t lived it down. Every football season a male in my husband’s family makes a crack about the yellow line on the field.

I’ve been to plenty of games since and have been able to impress my hubby, his brothers, and my father-in-law with my growing knowledge of the game. I’ll never forget the time I called a player offsides from the stands, shocking the males in the family so much that their eyes bugged out.

So, yeah, I’ve learned a lot about the game. I can now be considered a true fan.

But as for the yellow line, I’ll never live it down.

ROLL TIDE!!