Sunday, May 17, 2009

Biltmore Baptist

Well, we've been so undecided about what to do about church. We like the Underground; however, it's just not exactly what we are looking for. Brooklyn has no one her own age there to connect with. Therefore, we keep checking out other churches to see if we can finally find the right church.

This morning we visited Biltmore Baptist. It's huge. I love the Children's Area. We parked on the side of the church and had to stroll through the elementary side of the building. It was exactly what I wanted to do at Covenant. I'm so glad they have the resources to provide that in our area.

The greeters spoke to us, but other than that no one else said hi except when they were told to during worship time. The orchestra did a great job and the worship was nice. The issue was it wasn't interactive. The worship was on stage, but it was as stiff as could be on the floor. That was disappointing. Some people would talk about how orchestrated it seemed (I'm sure they have a producer); however, most larger churches are using that format and to be honest, the people on stage seemed more into worship than the congregation did.

They baptised a guy that had intended on killing himself the weekend before Easter, and had gone to a restaurant to have his last meal. He was invited by someone he knew (his waitress) to attend their Easter program. He decided to wait and attend the service. He got saved and was baptized this morning. I cried. That's life changing. Everyone clapped. All I could think of was that man could have been dead, but instead someone invited him to church and he's alive. Not just alive physically, but also spiritually. God Rocks!

The pastor spoke on Baptism. It's was pretty much textbook. It was funny. It was straight forward.

They sang Blessed Assurance again and we left.

We would go back. I would like for Brooklyn to check out the middle school service at 9:45 and see what she thinks. That's the whole point.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Why Women are drawn to certain things in Culture

I think I know why women are drawn to the television show Grey's Anatomy. It's the men. Not because they are hot, but because they are manly.

A month or so ago, I heard a couple of guys talking on a radio show about how most comedies these days portrait men as weak. They were talking about how they had almost quit watching most situation comedies because of this continual attack on the family. It shows the women as smart, marrying obviously below themselves and enduring a marriage with a man who cannot lead and/or carry on an intelligent conversation.

I've thought about that show that I heard on the radio as I've watched television lately and found it to be quite true. The men on many shows are only after one thing, can't hold on to a job and cannot carry on a conversation. The shows I am drawn to: Bones, Fringe, and Grey's Anatomy have men that are strong, intelligent and care for their families.

I also think this is why the Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer is so popular. The Cullen men are strong, they play ball, they fight for their families and they are extremely in touch with their emotions while also having a great desire to learn. Of course, they also have a desire to drink blood but that isn't the topic here.

As a woman I do want a man that is sensitive, can carry on a conversation and allows me to use my skill set to enhance our marriage.

Ecclesiastes 10 I think the bible is clear about roles. I think our society has tried to twist those roles. I don't really enjoy watching TV where the man is weak. Take "Life According to Jim," Cheryl is beautiful, intelligent and a stay at home PTA mom while Jim is off doing his best to get out of working. Same with King of Queens, Two and a half Men, etc.

Think about what you are allowing your children to watch. Do you want them to have a world viewpoint of men as weaker than women? I prefer a viewpoint where both genders are equal in the relationship with the man at the lead. The way God set it up in the garden.