swellen's comments

Should Christians Get Tattoos or Piercing? - Blog Entry

22 Apr 2007 09:47 PM

Heh - this reminds me of a friend who, when pregnant, asked her husband whether they would get the baby circumcised if it were a boy (he's a Christian from a Jewish heritage, so circumcision would be important to the baby's grandparents). The husband replied, "Sure... so long as we can get his appendix out and give him a tattoo at the same time!" :-) But interestingly, the thing which caused the most dissension between them was about piercing the baby's ears if it were a girl. The mother is from an Italian heritage and she sees it very much as part of her cultural identity and heritage, while the father was dead against it. They have just had a girl after three (uncircumcised) boys and her ears are NOT pierced, but I suspect there was much discussion about it.

As for me, I had my ears pierced when I was 11, and had a second hole done at 16, although I've since let that close up. I think the only thing that's stopped me from other piercings or tattoos is that I don't like the look of them... I still have decided whether they're biblical or not. I'm leaning towards believing it's a debatable matter and therefore up to the individual conscience, but I admit I haven't looked into it yet. You always give me something to think about in these blogs!

For Love or For God? - Blog Entry

20 Apr 2007 11:14 PM

I think it's important to note, though, that this is NOT the norm. It's awesome that her boyfriend was converted, but most times this doesn't happen, and even to go out with him is a problem, I believe, because of what it models. Far better to say, "I can't go out with you at all, because you're not a Christian" than to say, "I could go out with you while I was treating it casually, but now that it's getting serious I have to break up with you. Sorry that I never mentioned it before." It gives the impression that Christians think it's okay to mess with people's heads, and it causes SO much unnecessary heartbreak and bad feeling that could have been avoided. Sorry for the rant, but I see this happen so often. (Good blog, though...!)

The Sunday Bulletin - Blog Entry

17 Apr 2007 01:36 AM

Maybe you should point your church to this blog... they might go back to weekly bulletins! Last Sunday I made a comment to our senior pastor about something that I could only have known by readng the bulletin. He looked at me oddly, causing me to think I'd said something wrong, then said, "Wow... you read the bulletin last week!" lol - apparently you're not the only one who doesn't read it!

God is Big Enough to Carry You - Blog Entry

12 Mar 2007 02:38 AM

Bah - begone, troll! (for Mikeokokok's 'comment')

As for your post, MJ, another great reminder of God's awesomeness. Another thing I find I have trouble with is remembering God when things are going WELL - that's when I'm most tempted to try to be self-sufficient and start thinking that I'm so successful or whatever that I don't need God. Often it's not a conscious thought, but the attitude is still there.

Skeptics and Critics: The Challenge - Blog Entry

29 Jan 2007 03:20 PM

I've found this to be a handy link to help answer some questions for myself before I attempt to answer them for other people: http://www.christianity.net.au/questions/

Faith is... - Blog Entry

16 Jan 2007 11:48 PM

Excellent blog. A good illustration of the difference between faith and 'intellectual' belief is a chair - you may believe that a chair will hold you when you sit on it, and you may state this belief to all and sundry, but the only way you'll demonstrate you have faith that it will hold you is by sitting on it. Faith, as those references from Hebrews show, is about acting on a belief, not just stating it.

Becoming a Healthier Mom - Blog Entry

16 Jan 2007 11:12 PM

I'm sure your positive attitude is making a big difference to this - it will be great to have more energy to play with the boys, but it's also great that they have a mum who doesn't hide shamefully at home until she's lost weight, but is proud to be out with her loving family. Maybe you feel self-conscious and I know for sure it's hard (I haven't been seen in a swimming costume for about ten years - and I've already lost the weight I needed to lose!) but the important thing is you are out there anyway. They're too little to appreciate it now, but one day they'll understand and be thankful you gave them a great upbringing and didn't ruin their childhood by obsessing about this stuff.

Jesus, Our Promised Messiah - Blog Entry

08 Jan 2007 11:54 PM

I think C.S. Lewis summed it up perfectly when he said, "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

Coming Out and Being Honest - Blog Entry

08 Jan 2007 04:31 AM

"Instead I've tried to overcompensate, hoping to shine what's inside me, that it might radiate and people wouldn't notice my weight."

My dear friend... yes, you have a problem and you're courageous to recognise it and be ready to deal with it... but let me assure you, you DO shine. Don't ever believe otherwise.

Believing in What We Can Not See - Blog Entry

06 Jan 2007 08:24 PM

I believe that God is certainly the one who does the convincing, and that people can't believe unless God opens their eyes... I'm curious where you see evangelism fitting in with that?