Goals Schmoals

So everywhere I look, bloggers are setting goals for 2014. Who sets goals? I mean... really? Especially for a blog. I mean... don't other people just suddenly get smacked in the face with something and need to write about it and share it even if it sucks?

Hmm...  just me?

Well, I have decided to follow this nasty evil trend of being organized, and make a few goals as well in regards to my blog(s).

My 2014 Blogging Goals:

Immediate goals (like, maybe, if I'm sober enough, I'll be doing this New Years Eve/Day):

1) Get rid of the rest of my blogs. The Bottom Shelf has already been deleted. Passions Garden and Whispers in the Hall will also be going. I may keep Darkside of the Rose up just because that's my other personality. Well... passions and whispers are as well, but one doesn't serve me, and the other doesn't get any traffic.

2) Redesign Sermons from a Psycho. I had considered also renaming it... but well, I like the name. It fits me. Some may not take what I say seriously simply because of the name - because I don't have it named something respectable and polite and toned down. But c'mon - how many Christians do you know that are reserved and polite and always appear to be that perfect stereotypical church-goer? The point of Sermons from a Psycho is that it doesn't matter who you are, what you are, or what you've done - you are a beloved child of God's. Heck... if He can love someone nuts like me, I'm pretty sure the rest of you are covered as well.

Ongoing goals (you know, the kind that will probably only last the first week, but I'm going to pretend to try to stick to):

The following goals are going to be weekly goals. I haven't yet figured out which day will be designated for which type of post - maybe there won't be a particular schedule. Except for Wednesday. I have reserved Wednesdays- and NOT for the usual Wednesday rewind many people do. Quite honestly, I don't like those rewinds. Mainly, because I've usually read the posts already and I want fresh content. Of course, the occasional re-share is nice - especially if there is a particular reason (i.e. a bunch of bloggers are debating a topic you wrote about 2 years ago... please share your work!). I just don't like the once a week all I get to read is the same ol' stuff I've read before... and probaby commented on.... and probably already wrote my own post spawned from yours.

But anyway... moving along...

1) Wordless Wednesdays. Yes, you read that correctly. Wordless Wednesday. God can be found in everything, and often we tend to try so hard to put Him into words that we forget the beauty of everything He's created and everything He is. So, every Wednesday, I am going to take a photo... and I think I just may try to encourage people to caption it (so... yeah... it wouldn't be entirely wordless I guess....)

2) Blessings (yeah, maybe I'll come up with a catchier name for this weekly bit...). A couple months ago, I purchased a devotional "The One Year God's Great Blessings Devotional." I've peeked at a few of the devotions, but because the book starts on January 1, I decided to wait to really get into it. But, what I really like about this book is that it is broken up in weekly segments, and each segment is a specific blessing. For example... Jan 1 - 7 deals with Listening (Listening to Him; Listening to His Call; Listening for His Spirit; etc); Jan 8 - 14 are about Love. If you follow the link to the book on Amazon, and click on "Look Inside" - then skip to the Index, you'll see all the topics covered. There are 52 total. And hey! 2014 has 52 weeks... So, each week, I will be writing a post regarding the devotionals (or, at least, regarding the topic of the week and/or one or more of the scripture references).

3. Theology (hey! Maybe I should do this one on Thursdays...). I will read something (anything really... not too particular) from a theologian (anyone really... still not too particular) or in some way about some kind of theology... and will give my thoughts on the whole topic.

4. Stay crazy and unpredictable! I do want to stick with writing some specific things, but I still want to give myself the freedom to just write what I feel, when I feel it. If it fits in with the blessing or theology topic of the week, great. If it doesn't - too bad. I'm going to torment my readers anyway. :)

Sermons from a Psycho Specials!

1. Guest blogger series! Yup, I am going to do at least 2 series' on specific topics, and beg for articles from specific people. Topics and people and deadlines to be determined, but we're probably looking at April/May... and again in Sept/Oct. Or so.

2. Lent - 40 days of  Sermons! I started this last year as a way of disciplining myself. Instead of giving something up, I chose to add something - something that would require me to focus on God. I decided to write a blog post every day during the Lent season. I did fairly well - only missing 3 or 4 days... up until March 10th. Then, for some reason, I had a tough time and only put out 6 or 7 posts. I ended the season with only 28 posts. So, this year, my goal is 40. And, I encourage anyone else who wants to join in, please do so. Maybe we can encourage each other to stay on course.

Anyway...

Well, I think I have rambled off enough blogging goals. God bless each of you and I hope the last couple days of 2013 are wonderful for you!

Thankfully, God Isn't Addicted to Abbreviating

Everything is abbreviated now days. We don't make phone calls - they take too long. Instead, we abbreviate our conversations by sending texts of what we need. And why spell out words and phrases? lol thats 2 long 2 do. Make supper? Not enough time. Abbreviate mealtime - McDonald's! Help kids with their homework? Why? Give 'em the answer.

Dating? Use an abbreviated method - speed dating! Or, eHarmony. Getting lucky and meeting someone great at the grocery store or laundromat just takes too long. And, well, we don't even need to do those things anymore. Groceries can be ordered online and delivered. Laundry can be done in your home... .or just go online and purchase new clothes.

Some of this isn't the best way to do things. Some of it is more convenient. But the one thing we seem to abbreviate the most - and the one thing we shouldn't be abbreviating... God.

Nearly a year ago, I went to our church's women's Bible Study group. The women complained before the pastor showed up, and after he left, that the study always went too long. He sometimes let these Bible studies go for almost one and a half hours! They knew he would be leaving town before the next Bible study took place, and so they started talking about how after he was gone, the studies would only be 30 to 45 minutes.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How can you adequately get any kind of Bible study done in 30 minutes... and only meeting once a month? I never went back. I knew that 30 minutes once a month truly would be a waste of time for me because it was too abbreviated for me to get anything from it. Instead, I spend those evenings reading scripture, writing blog posts, researching theologies and doctrine. And I spend a lot more time than 30 minutes on it... and I do it much more often than once a month.

I also hear a lot of people complaining about the sermon and/or service taking too long. If the sermon goes over 15 minutes, complaints abound. If the service reaches an hour, complaints come flying. Now, I will admit to complaining once - we had a gentleman step in while we were between pastors, and his sermon one week was getting close to an hour long. But, at least it was a good one, with a lot of sustenance.

That's what I want. I don't get anything from a 10 minute feel-good sermon. I don't like abbreviated services just so we can all get home to our abbreviated lives. I want the lengthy, meaningful sermon. I want the personal and long prayer. I want moments of silence that last more than 2.3 seconds. I want communion. If the service lasts two hours - so long as those are two hours of honest worship of Christ - than I'll take the two hours.

Seriously people... what if God treated us with the same lack of importance we place on Him? What if He abbreviated the time spent with us, comforting us, helping us, listening to our prayers? What if He abbreviated how much Grace and Love He gives and feels for us? What if he abbreviated how much He forgives us?

It's time we all take true time with God - with worshiping Him, praising Him, praying to Him, loving Him, honoring Him. It's time we stop abbreviating our time with Him.

Questions, Unquiet Mind

Again, this isn't a sermon. It's simply a rambling because my mind is anything but quiet at the moment, and I need to attempt to calm it... 

I spent a good part of today catching up on reading from the “Christ in our Home” booklet. I’m not good at reading from this daily, but do like to eventually take it all in. It used to be that I would just read these devotions and move on. I’m finding recently, however, that the more I read, the more questions I have. And these questions aren’t necessarily related to the reading, although they are brought on by the reading – or by another question from the reading. Perhaps it’s because I read seven days worth today, but I found myself having a lot more questions than I usually do.

Two main questions seem to be sticking with me; and as much as I am trying to find the answers, there seems to be very differing answers on the one question. And the second question, there doesn’t seem to be any real answer.

First: in 1 John 5:16, depending on which version of the Bible you read, it mentions fatal sin, or sin that brings death. Basically, it appears to be talking about a sin that is so bad, it will bring death of some sort to the transgressor. But what sin is considered a fatal sin?

Second, in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, spiritual gifts are discussed. In my opinion, these gifts sound as if some of them could be considered “psychic” abilities… unnatural abilities which I have been taught do not truly exist. This opened up a myriad of questions and theories I have held for quite some time now. Perhaps I will write on this later.

Then, tonight, after exhausting my search for answers to these questions, I went back to an email I had received recently which referred me to the Sermon on the Mount. So, as I hadn’t yet read these chapters in Matthew (well, I have read them – just not in quite some time, and never truly paid attention to what I was reading), I jumped online to the Bible (yes, I read my Bible online… every version at the tips of my fingers) and read Matthew 5-7.

And I found my mind going every which way on possible topics to write about and what to say and what to believe. How should these chapters be read and interpreted? Am I applying these lessons to my life? How can I better apply them?

My mind is so busy, I am finding it difficult to relax my thoughts and meditate on what I’ve read – or even not think at all. And thus I have turned to this blog for now. Perhaps in getting these questions and thoughts and pent up intellectual and spiritual energy onto this screen, my mind will quiet for at least a few moments.

This is important to all of us – a chance to quiet our minds from all the daily tasks and thoughts which spin around constantly. We need to find time each day to meditate on the events of the day – to reflect on lessons learned, and events which have happened. We need to find time to pray – to thank the Lord for all the beauty of the day; to reflect on what we’ve done against God and pray for forgiveness; to consider those in need and pray for them. We need to make time to read scripture, and reflect on it. We need to make time to simply reflect on life – on the beauty and joy within this life. Even during difficult times, or perhaps especially during difficult times, we need to allow ourselves to see this beauty and be grateful for it.

And now, I shall take my own advice and attempt to meditate – or, given the late hour, fall asleep….

A Time to Weep, and a Time to Laugh

I haven't much been in the mood to write recently. Well, this isn't exactly true. I've been in the mood to write... I've had much in my head I've wanted to toss out onto this blank canvas of a screen... but every time I sit to write, the words fail me.

However, one of my resolutions was to write a sermon at least once a week. And so, I reread the readings from church today. I thought about the sermon that was given. I read the reading from "Christ in our Home" for today (which of course was the same as the church reading)... and read ahead for the next three days. All this managed to do was get the song "Turn, Turn, Turn" stuck in my head (ergo the title and picture for this post). So, as I cannot come up with a good sermon, or sermon topic, all I can do for this week's sermon is to write from the heart (in other words, this isn't so much a sermon as just a bit of rambling).

A week ago, the pastor of our church had his last service with us, and a few days later left our little town. For about 6 weeks we'd known this would happen... had time to prepare for it. But when it actually happened, it was obvious that no one was truly prepared. Today's church service, there was a sense of something missing... a sense of loss and confusion and disjointedness. No one sang. No one seemed too 'with it'. If I had to make assumptions, I'd say that most everyone was very uncertain... uncertain if we could make it as a little church, uncertain if they wanted to be there, uncertain what our purpose was, uncertain what the next steps should be.

The sermon was ok. It was well written (even though slightly long...[he put me to shame with lengthy ramblings]), and it was delivered acceptably. But as will most likely be the case for some time, it was almost audible the fact that this sermon and its delivery were being compared to those heard the past 2 years. I even caught myself doing this, although I've only been attending this church for a few months.

He did ask one good question... "If Jesus were in this congregation, and asked what you needed, how would you answer?" (slightly paraphrased as I can't fully remember how it went). That got me thinking. But unfortunately, I spent most of the sermon evaluating that question, and therefore remember very little of the rest of the sermon (the last 25 minutes of it).

Ecclesiastes 3 seems to be rather fitting though for what our church is going through, and what it has gone through. There is a time for everything. Sadly for our congregation, it was time for our pastor to move on...it was a time to lose. At the moment, we are in a time of weeping and mourning still because of that loss. Because this person we have lost is one who helped us build up, helped us embrace each other and this church, helped bring us to a time of love and peace and understanding amongst each other. And now, it's a sad time, a time of uncertainty, a time of worry.

But, this is how it is in all our lives.We hold on to loved ones, only to eventually have to face the need to let go of these relationships. We lose people to death; we watch loved ones bring home babies. We see times of war and peace (including little 'wars' with our loved ones). We have emotional breakdowns, only to later be built back up, hopefully stronger than before.

But, there is a purpose to everything that happens. We may not see it now, or understand what that purpose is. But there is one. And just as there is a time to weep and a time to mourn, there will eventually also be a time to laugh, and a time to dance.

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There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 from The Message) 

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Dear Lord,

Thank you for being with me in times of joy and times of sorrow; for the birth of loved ones, and for the time to know and love those who now reside with you. Thank you for standing beside me though I doubted your presence, and for sending someone to help my spirit heal. Thank you for the tears I've cried, tears which helped heal my heart and soul; and for the laughter and joy I have been able to experience. Thank you for giving me the courage to trust and allow love in; and thank you for standing beside me when hate and anger have entered my heart and mind, and for helping me to dispel those demons. Thank you for continually giving me the strength to face all the good and bad times I've encountered. Please continue to be with me through these times.

In your name, I pray
Amen.

The World is Coming to an End...

It must be. That can be the only explanation as to why on earth I am writing sermons. This is what most might think. However, the truth is, there is another explanation...

Earlier today, I jokingly told a pastor that I would write his sermon for him. Of course, he (and I) seemed to find some humor in me actually writing a sermon. He made the comment that he would love to read what I could come up with.

This evening, I decided to take him up on this offer. But, as is often the case, too many ideas started coming to mind. If I write all of these ideas, they really wouldn't fit with my blog that contains my novels (The Bottom Shelf). And they definitely wouldn't fit in with my short "romance" stories (Passion's Garden). I could place them on the normal rambling blog (Darkside of the Rose), but, this could just get confusing. Therefore, I have created a whole new blog - Sermons from a Psycho.

While the title of the blog may appear that this blog will be sarcastic and stupid blogs condemning Christianity (or religion in general), that it will make fun of such a topic - this is not the case. These will be real "sermons" from a slightly twisted person whom isn't quite certain of her own beliefs. Please feel free to comment, and enjoy, and try not to be too offended.