I'm hoping to keep today's recap light, but we'll see how it goes. I've always struggled with brevity--see my regular blog for proof :)
Jon Stewart
Recap
Oprah thinks Jon Stewart is one of the smartest, funniest people in earth. His show has earned 14 Emmy's, and... this is either funny or sad. He was voted the most trusted newscaster in America. Whether or not you agree with his politics, it's interesting that he was voted more trustworthy than, say, Brian Williams, Diane Sawyer, or Katie Couric being that his show is on, you know, Comedy Central.
Ever the joker, he comes out with a suitcase because, "This is Oprah. She can do whatever she wants!" He's waiting for a trip--can you blame him? They spend some time rejoicing over the opening episode and then cut to a clip of Stewart on his show. He's having a Rally to Restore Sanity on October 30th on the Washington Mall to celebrate the "80-85% of normal Americans" who have to cook dinner.
Oprah asks Stewart what he thinks about the plans to build a Muslim mosque so near to ground zero. Stewart's stance: the people who own it should build what they want to build and the emotional attachment to that particular piece of land doesn't give them the right to build what they want. Muslims are being judged, he says, by the tiny, most radical element of their religion. Plus, as he points out, some say they aren't against a mosque being built, just not three blocks away, but is ten blocks really all that different? If they're peaceful they're just as peaceful nearby, and if they're terrorists then ten blocks isn't really going to make a difference.
Next up, Arizona's controversial immigration law.
Stewart's stance: He jokes that it's a fair law because "you can sense it." Then, more seriously, he states that we have real problems that we want worked out, but it tends to be the most extreme end that get all of the attention.
Stewart's big point is that you cannot legislate our country to the craziest two ends of the spectrum. He's looking for normal people who, you know, have guns but also enjoy arugula. He and Oprah then banter about why she's never been on his show; he says she's never come, he says she's never invited her. Now he does. Ta-da, she accepts.
After the break, we see a clip of Rod Blagojevich on The Daily Show. Stewart quips about having a good time on the show after seeing the clip of him poking joking with the former governor. Next we get a plug for Stewart's new book, Earth: A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race. Oprah loves it so much that she's giving it for Christmas present. Stewart jokes about it being one of her favorite things, and I'm not sure I've ever seen her laugh so hard. Good times.
Stewart reads an excerpt from his book regarding marriage. His joke is that it's an institution that society is based on, ergo it must be protected from gay people. His joke about parenthood? It's an amazing opportunity to ruin someone from scratch. Then, more jokes! A page left out is one trying to explain Oprah to the aliens. The page just shows up, and Stewart jokes about wanting a sandwich. She's not a god... but, ok, with all of her power, maybe she is. Ba-dum-chuh.
Next is a fun clip of Stewart surprising a large lecture hall of students at NYU. One girl starts crying in a manner ala blonde braces girl weeping over Sanjaya on American Idol. Another book plug! Ta-da. He gives the entire lecture hall a copy of his book. Happy day. His wife of ten years, Tracy, is in the audience and the thing she says we'd be most surprised to know is that he's nothing like this at home. He never talks about politics or current events and she "forget[s] how smart he is until [she] see[s] him on television." Stewart tells Oprah that his wife is so out of his league that he had to get a TV show just to nab her.
After the break, oh the hilarity, a sandwich shows up for him to snack on. Stewart swears he will never run for public office, because it requires a certain discipline and collaborative spirit that he doesn't possess. He says that those used to running their own thing don't do well in public office. Also, he's a lot better at making jokes than solving problems.
Oprah states that Jon Stewart is one of the sharpest, smartest people she knows, so they put up a picture and Stewart says the first thing that comes to his mind.
Image :: Stewart's Response
Tiger Woods frowning whilst wearing golf gear :: Hole in one...in the cup.
Lindsey Lohan :: Sad girl need hug.
Lady Gaga's meat dress :: [looks at his sandwich, which appears to have roast beef] Oh my god, I'm never going to eat this sandwich now.
Glenn Beck :: That's Glenn Beck--he's my moneymaker. You know what I call him? My kid's college fund.
Stewart in college :: That is the face and that's what I still feel. He thinks of himself as "nice Jew-fro"
Oprah reaffirms that she'll be on his show, plugs his book again, and says to stay tuned for Liza.
Liza Minnelli
Recap
Ah, Liza. We watch a clip of her accolades. Oprah says she's a national treasure and, for any 30 Rock fans, she's got the EGOT! That's an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. We get to see rare imagery of Liza singing onstage with her famous mother, Judy Garland (you know, Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz). Minnelli has been very open about her struggles with addiction and four failed marriages.
Also, in good Liz Lemon 30 Rock fashion, Oprah announces Liza Minnelli with her famous bellowing voice. We get to hear Liza joke about how she's 64 and going strong and doesn't plan to quit. Oprah posts a picture of Liza when she first started out and asks what Liza would tell her younger self. Liza's reply? "Hang on, honey, here we go!"
There's joking about four failed marriages and the lesson learned is "don't do it again." Her last marriage was such a public spectacle and Oprah asks what she was thinking; Liza says she had brain encephalitis when she married him (for those who don't know, it's an inflammation usually due to viral infection). Michael Jackson was at that wedding, and Liza was close to him. She says what people don't know is he had a great sense of humor about himself. Her favorite part of her career? The songs written for her.
We're off to break, and then Liza comes back and performs some of her famous cabaret songs. They're more story telling than sing-alongs, and though she's not my style, Liza's still got it. Yay for her.
And the end!
Gospel Filter Review
I'll pick two things from today. One is related to the mosque but focuses on Islam, the other is about marriage. I will try to keep these very short and sweet, despite how controversial these topics are.
Islam & the ground zero mosque
Jesus is the Son of God. Anyone who rejects him as such rejects the Father, and therefore anyone who doesn't go through Jesus will not spend eternity with the Father (Mark 1:1, Luke 1:35, I John 2:23, John 10:30, John 14:6). Saying Jesus is God isn't enough--it's only through receiving forgiveness of sin from Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection that someone can be claimed by Jesus and thus have access to the Father. Here is a short clip from a recent sermon from the book of Luke (it even references Oprah!) about Jesus' claim that He and the Father are one; the part about Islam is at 1:42. This is a GREAT clip, so take 5 minutes to watch it. It's oozing with Gospel truth.
The consequence is that any religion that denies Jesus' equality with the Father is a false religion and the people who adhere to it do not know the Father God of the Bible; instead, they are deceived by the father of lies, the one who has sway over this world and is warring against God as his enemy. His name is Satan (John 8:44, I John 5:19). Ergo, since Islam denies that Jesus is equal with God and it denies His crucifixion, Islam is a false religion and the Allah of Islam is not the God the Father of the Bible.
That said, it is my personal opinion that Christians should be less worked up about the building of the mosque near ground zero and more concerned with praying for Muslims, that they would no longer be deceived and ushered out of their Satan-ruled ruled religion of lies and darkness and into God's kingdom of truth and light, receiving redemption and forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13&14). Pray that God's will be done, but worry less about a Muslim place of worship and pray that they would be turned from their sin and worship the one true God.
Gay Marriage
I wrote extensively last week about why homosexuality is sin, but that Christians need to start praying for and loving gay people more and throwing around bigotry and hatred less. For the record, to say it is sin is not hate--it's the most brave and loving thing a person can do, I believe, to honor God's opinion and love someone in sin with His love. This is again my opinion as I best understand the Bible, and I have wrestled with this for a long time, prayed about it, sought my husband's counsel, sought any evidence in the Bible, etc.
The Bible makes it clear that God not only created marriage to be between one man and one woman (Genesis 1-3), but that marriage is meant to represent the ultimate marriage in heaven of Jesus Christ the groom to His bride the church (Matthew 9:15, Revelation 19:7-14, I Peter 3:1-7) . Marriage is always referred to, both old testament and new, as being for husbands and wives (see previous verses). Most notably, from the I Peter passage, men are to love and lead their wives as Jesus loves and leads the church and women are to submit to their husbands as the church submits to Jesus . Therefore marriage between two men or two women, or someone who has had a sex-change operation to become a different sex than God created them to be, is not a marriage honored by God.
However, this doesn't mean Christians need to hold marriage rallies and picket gay weddings. When given the opportunity to vote, a Christian can choose to vote according to their conscience regarding gay marriage. But I'm convinced that God is far less concerned with the state institution of marriage and utterly concerned about Christians seeking Christ to be the center of their marriages, then loving others around them and allowing their marriage to be one that both encourages Christians to grow in Christ and non-Christians to be drawn to Christ.
__________________
Yowza. Two very hot topics and probably not the typical evangelical Christian response. However, these are the very sorts of reasons why I am writing this blog. I agree with Jon Stewart, actually, because Christians are judged generally by the crazy ones that frequently are full of opinions that have a lot to do with morals and tradition but very little to do with Jesus. I pray, as always, that what I have said reflects the heart of God and that people are pointed to Him and drawn in by His character.
Up Tomorrow
The Bravest Mom in the World Set Free: Ingrid Betancourt. Oprah interviews a woman kidnapped and held captive in the jungle for six years.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Episosde 6 - Waiting for Superman: the Movement That Could Revolutionize America's Schools
Today's all about America's schools. I am excited for this episode. For two years after college I taught in a rural, highly impoverished, and low-performing school in North Carolina with a program called Teach For America. Our nation's schools are in a crisis, and the simplest way to determine if a school is going to be high-performing or low-performing, while knowing no other statistic, is to look at the percentage of minority (non-Caucasian) students. Many believe that the single most prevalent evidence of racism in our nation to this day is found in our schools.
Additionally, though I'm only 16 weeks pregnant, my husband and I already wrestle with whether to send our children to Seattle Public Schools (which aren't great), to try to somehow afford private school, or whether to homeschool. I've never been a fan of homeschooling, personally, but as we continue to educate ourselves and examine the situation we realize that may be the best option for our children.
So, onto the show.
Waiting for Superman
Recap
Oprah begins by showing the documentary Waiting for Superman to her studio audience. We're warned that they are extremely upset and shocked, and we get to see the trailer. The premise is that millions of kids in our nation are getting "a crappy education". The stats are horrifying: among 30 developed countries, the USA ranked 25th math and 21st in science. Oprah tells us that for the first time in American history this generation will be less literate than the one before it. Davis Guggenheim, acclaimed director of An Inconvenient Truth, follows around five families and their children, all in pursuit of a good education.
It's absolutely disgusting. In what I assume is a larger city, kids fill up a room with their parents. They have their name and a number on a card, and like old-school lottery, balls with the corresponding numbers are picked at random. Children, almost all of whom are minorities, are seen cheering jubilantly when their number is picked. Others, looking as young as second or third grade, are seen sobbing that theirs wasn't.
What are they trying to win? A trip to Disneyland? A laptop computer?
No. They're hoping to get into the "good" school. If their number isn't picked, that's it. They have to go to a low-performing school and accept that their chance at a great education came down to a wooden ball pulled from a metal cage, and was lost forever. Sound overly dramatic? Unless they miraculously are no longer impoverished and can afford private school then that's it. Their parents pay the same taxes as everyone else, and they get the crappy school, the crappy teachers, the crappy education.
It's killing me, but I won't respond. Yet. I'll keep recapping.
Davis Guggenheim & Bill Gates (yep, that Bill Gates)
Recap
Upon being asked why he made this movie, Guggenheim shares an anecdote. As a five-year-old, he took a 45 minute bus ride out of Washington, D.C., every day to attend school in Virginia. Upon asking his mother why he did this, she replied, "Because the schools in our city are broken." Now, 40 years later, each day he loads up his kids in a minivan, drives past three public schools and drops them off at a great (presumably private) school. He explains that thinking about the fact that kids in his neighborhood aren't getting a good education and don't have the opportunity his kids have just wouldn't leave him. He was helping his kids but not other people's, and so he hopes that this movie will make people care about other people's children as much as they care about their own.
Bill Gates explains that children going to the lowest-performing schools have a greater chance of going to jail than going to a four-year college. He believes that our very future as a nation is at stake, and that what must be done is taking the methods of great teachers, training teachers who are willing to learn these methods, and creating a system of high expectations to help fix our schools. Oprah has him explain what a charter school is: basically, a publicly funded (often with private donor help) school allowed to not operate under normal school rules, but the typical common denominator is longer school days and high expectations. As a result, charter schools are typically much higher performing than normal public schools.
Alarming statistic: there are over 2,000 "drop-out factories" in our nation; a drop-out factory is a school with a drop-out rate of at least 40%. This means that 1.2 million students don't graduate from high school, but instead drop-out, in our nation each year.
I love what Oprah says: no child should have to win the lottery to go to school.
Tears moment: a clip from the documentary shows a (I assume) single mother who went to a terrible public school when she was younger, so now she works multiple jobs to keep her young daughter in the private school that is located across the street from their apartment. However, she's unable to stay up on the tuition and her daughter has to watch in tears as her friends go to graduation from their grade (I'm guessing third) but she isn't allowed to attend.
When Oprah comes back live, that girl is in the studio audience with her mother and was crying. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see this little girl suffer simply because she's Black and lives in the city, and wasn't born white and living in the suburbs (where the vast, vast majority of good schools are). This is my commentary here, but that absolutely should not be. Just shouldn't be.
Michelle Rhee
Recap
She is the Public School Chancellor in Washington, D.C. (which has some of the nation's worst schools) and her drastic measures, including firing over 1,000 educators and principals and even shutting down 12 schools, has caused a firestorm. Both Oprah and Rhee reemphasize that they are not here to pick on great teachers. The problem is the bad teachers. Studies have shown that a child with three highly effective teachers in a row versus three ineffective teachers in a row can literally have a changed life trajectory.
Rhee hits on what was my mantra as a teacher: all children are capable of learning and excelling. The problem is not the student; the problem is the teacher. Rhee operates from the standpoint that if she wouldn't be willing to put her own child in a teacher's classroom, because they are "not so good", then why would she ever put another mother through that?
After the break, Oprah digs into one of the most pressing problems in our schools: it is nearly impossible to fire a chronically bad teacher. Teachers, thanks mostly to union contracts, basically must break a criminal law in order to be fired.
[Sidenote: I've read accounts of bad teachers who are accused of sexually inappropriate behavior, who can't be in a classroom but who don't have enough evidence for a conviction, so they get paid their full salary, benefits, etc., to sit in a room all day and read the newspaper while someone else gets paid to actually teach. As long as they show up they get paid. This is a chronic problem in New York City's public schools.]
Teachers are tenured after two years, and it's automatic; basically, you show up for two years and you are tenured. The result is a bureaucracy in which bad teachers get to keep their jobs, and the children pay the price.
Rhee describes an idea she came up with: the district would pay the high performing teachers double their salary (up to $140,000 a year in their system) if the teachers would agree, in turn, to give up their tenure (meaning they could be fired much more easily for low-performance). The union refused to put it to a vote. Her theory is that, at the end of the day, the union considered tenure a non-negotiable. Oprah comes off with a zinger: "Have the rules become so overly protective that we've forgotten who were really supposed to be protecting? And that's the children."
After the break, we hear the story of a girl named Emily, who sought to be able to go to a local charter school. Though she's intelligent, she doesn't test well, and her local public school uses test scores to "track" students. A student like Emily would be placed in the lower track and be taught by the less-good teachers. Instead she was able to get into the local charter school where she is excelling.
John Legend
Recap
Thankful for his opportunities to do well in public school, Grammy-winning musical artist John Legend feels that fixing the public schools is the greatest Civil Rights issue of our time. He explains that he went to a drop-out factory in Ohio, but he was in a high-performing track in which he was able to take advanced placement classes and had access to the best teachers in his school. Those without access to the great teachers were the ones who were dropping out. As a result, Legend has made it one of his passions to be part of the solution to fixing the public schools. Not only is the title track off his new album with The Roots a cover of Harold Melvin's Wake Up Everybody (click link for lyrics), but he sings the song Shine, the title track for Waiting for Superman.
Great Schools (aka the Tami is crying like a baby segment...blame pregnancy hormones!)
Recap
This segment shows videos from many schools across the nation that are doing well. All charter schools; the coolest section was a big assembly where the seniors announce in front of the entire school where they are attending college and the whole gym is in an uproar, celebrating with each student. That sure didn't happen in my high school. How very cool is that?
Oprah announces that her Angel Network, funded by donations from viewers, has spread over $80 million to helping educate children around the world. Oprah announces that since this is the last year of her show, she is closing the Angel Network. She brings up charter school leaders featured in the segment above and tells them that they each are receiving A MILLION DOLLARS for their charter school networks. Awesome! What a great ending note (and what a great way to spend the final $6 million of the Angel network's money).
Gospel Filter Review
This is a topic close to my heart. I think it's a topic close to Jesus' heart as well.
First, let's put to death the idea that education is not important. I have heard the sentiment from Christians that people trying to get an education are simply greedy and only trying to get a better financial position in life. For one, God created mankind in His image, and Jesus Himself confirms that the greatest commandment is that we would worship Him not just with all of our heart, soul, and strength, but also with all of our mind (Luke 10:27). This includes treating our education as an act of worshiping God. Secondly, wanting to be financially successful is not inherently greedy. I grew up in poverty and knew that education was my only escape. Wanting to live in a life situation that will provide well for myself and my family is not greed; it's a good desire. God is a Father who wants to take good care of His children; when we ask for bread He delights in providing it. Most often God's provision for the needy comes through the generosity of people sharing the excess of what God has provided for them. Ergo, education as a means to a better financial position is not inherently bad. It's what you do with it that matters--as always, it comes back to the heart.
Secondly, the reason I believe education in our nation should matter to Christians is directly connected to His particular love for widows, orphans, and the poor. A simple Bible search for widow yields 103 results. The same search for the term fatherless yields 42 results. God also loves the poor; a search for this term delivers a whopping 153 results, the vast majority referring to the financially poor. The statistical link between single mothers, who are often raising their children in poverty, and neighborhoods with low-performing schools is undeniable. Study after study has proven it, and I personally proved this in my own classroom, but the problem is not the poverty or the lack of a father; yes, those are hindrances. A single mother likely works multiple jobs and is not as accessible for study help as a child with two parents. An empty stomach greatly distracts children from their mad-minute math problems. However, students rise to high expectations and great teachers can help them go from a life headed toward jail to a life headed toward a Bachelor's degree. If this were your child, I am certain you would care. Even if it's not your child, as a Christian the widow (including single mothers), the fatherless, and the poor should be close to your heart because it's close to your Father God's heart.
In a similar vein, as mentioned early on, the correlation between low-performing schools and racial minorities is clear. The Bible is even more clear about the truth that God loves all races equally. He hates injustice and racism has no place in the life of a Christian because it does not exist in the heart of God. In Acts 10, God reveals to Peter that racism against Gentiles was not acceptable, and so Peter says:
Ultimately, of course, education is not an end in itself. We are meant to worship God in all we do, and our minds are only one piece. Supporting good schools is one way to minister to the poor, single mothers, the fatherless, and orphans. Revolutionizing education to be just as good for an inner-city Black kid as it is for a white kid in the suburbs is only one way to eradicate racism. But this is a way we can minister to all of those I just mentioned, the hurting around us. Always our heart should be to see people know Jesus, live for His glory, and worship Him; letting our schools fall apart and ignoring it because our kids go to a good school doesn't show others His love and I propose that it shows a blind spot in our own sinful hearts.
I'm looking forward to Friday's episode (for why, see below) and am hoping that Oprah's involvement really can help change our nation's schools.
Up Tomorrow
Jon Stewart and Liza Minnelli.
Also, this upcoming Friday the show will be live from Harpo Studios in Chicago and will include a performance from John Legend, reaction to today's show, and an announcement that Oprah says will shake up public education.
Additionally, though I'm only 16 weeks pregnant, my husband and I already wrestle with whether to send our children to Seattle Public Schools (which aren't great), to try to somehow afford private school, or whether to homeschool. I've never been a fan of homeschooling, personally, but as we continue to educate ourselves and examine the situation we realize that may be the best option for our children.
So, onto the show.
Waiting for Superman
Recap
Oprah begins by showing the documentary Waiting for Superman to her studio audience. We're warned that they are extremely upset and shocked, and we get to see the trailer. The premise is that millions of kids in our nation are getting "a crappy education". The stats are horrifying: among 30 developed countries, the USA ranked 25th math and 21st in science. Oprah tells us that for the first time in American history this generation will be less literate than the one before it. Davis Guggenheim, acclaimed director of An Inconvenient Truth, follows around five families and their children, all in pursuit of a good education.
It's absolutely disgusting. In what I assume is a larger city, kids fill up a room with their parents. They have their name and a number on a card, and like old-school lottery, balls with the corresponding numbers are picked at random. Children, almost all of whom are minorities, are seen cheering jubilantly when their number is picked. Others, looking as young as second or third grade, are seen sobbing that theirs wasn't.
What are they trying to win? A trip to Disneyland? A laptop computer?
No. They're hoping to get into the "good" school. If their number isn't picked, that's it. They have to go to a low-performing school and accept that their chance at a great education came down to a wooden ball pulled from a metal cage, and was lost forever. Sound overly dramatic? Unless they miraculously are no longer impoverished and can afford private school then that's it. Their parents pay the same taxes as everyone else, and they get the crappy school, the crappy teachers, the crappy education.
It's killing me, but I won't respond. Yet. I'll keep recapping.
Davis Guggenheim & Bill Gates (yep, that Bill Gates)
Recap
Upon being asked why he made this movie, Guggenheim shares an anecdote. As a five-year-old, he took a 45 minute bus ride out of Washington, D.C., every day to attend school in Virginia. Upon asking his mother why he did this, she replied, "Because the schools in our city are broken." Now, 40 years later, each day he loads up his kids in a minivan, drives past three public schools and drops them off at a great (presumably private) school. He explains that thinking about the fact that kids in his neighborhood aren't getting a good education and don't have the opportunity his kids have just wouldn't leave him. He was helping his kids but not other people's, and so he hopes that this movie will make people care about other people's children as much as they care about their own.
Bill Gates explains that children going to the lowest-performing schools have a greater chance of going to jail than going to a four-year college. He believes that our very future as a nation is at stake, and that what must be done is taking the methods of great teachers, training teachers who are willing to learn these methods, and creating a system of high expectations to help fix our schools. Oprah has him explain what a charter school is: basically, a publicly funded (often with private donor help) school allowed to not operate under normal school rules, but the typical common denominator is longer school days and high expectations. As a result, charter schools are typically much higher performing than normal public schools.
Alarming statistic: there are over 2,000 "drop-out factories" in our nation; a drop-out factory is a school with a drop-out rate of at least 40%. This means that 1.2 million students don't graduate from high school, but instead drop-out, in our nation each year.
I love what Oprah says: no child should have to win the lottery to go to school.
Tears moment: a clip from the documentary shows a (I assume) single mother who went to a terrible public school when she was younger, so now she works multiple jobs to keep her young daughter in the private school that is located across the street from their apartment. However, she's unable to stay up on the tuition and her daughter has to watch in tears as her friends go to graduation from their grade (I'm guessing third) but she isn't allowed to attend.
When Oprah comes back live, that girl is in the studio audience with her mother and was crying. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see this little girl suffer simply because she's Black and lives in the city, and wasn't born white and living in the suburbs (where the vast, vast majority of good schools are). This is my commentary here, but that absolutely should not be. Just shouldn't be.
Michelle Rhee
Recap
She is the Public School Chancellor in Washington, D.C. (which has some of the nation's worst schools) and her drastic measures, including firing over 1,000 educators and principals and even shutting down 12 schools, has caused a firestorm. Both Oprah and Rhee reemphasize that they are not here to pick on great teachers. The problem is the bad teachers. Studies have shown that a child with three highly effective teachers in a row versus three ineffective teachers in a row can literally have a changed life trajectory.
Rhee hits on what was my mantra as a teacher: all children are capable of learning and excelling. The problem is not the student; the problem is the teacher. Rhee operates from the standpoint that if she wouldn't be willing to put her own child in a teacher's classroom, because they are "not so good", then why would she ever put another mother through that?
After the break, Oprah digs into one of the most pressing problems in our schools: it is nearly impossible to fire a chronically bad teacher. Teachers, thanks mostly to union contracts, basically must break a criminal law in order to be fired.
[Sidenote: I've read accounts of bad teachers who are accused of sexually inappropriate behavior, who can't be in a classroom but who don't have enough evidence for a conviction, so they get paid their full salary, benefits, etc., to sit in a room all day and read the newspaper while someone else gets paid to actually teach. As long as they show up they get paid. This is a chronic problem in New York City's public schools.]
Teachers are tenured after two years, and it's automatic; basically, you show up for two years and you are tenured. The result is a bureaucracy in which bad teachers get to keep their jobs, and the children pay the price.
Rhee describes an idea she came up with: the district would pay the high performing teachers double their salary (up to $140,000 a year in their system) if the teachers would agree, in turn, to give up their tenure (meaning they could be fired much more easily for low-performance). The union refused to put it to a vote. Her theory is that, at the end of the day, the union considered tenure a non-negotiable. Oprah comes off with a zinger: "Have the rules become so overly protective that we've forgotten who were really supposed to be protecting? And that's the children."
After the break, we hear the story of a girl named Emily, who sought to be able to go to a local charter school. Though she's intelligent, she doesn't test well, and her local public school uses test scores to "track" students. A student like Emily would be placed in the lower track and be taught by the less-good teachers. Instead she was able to get into the local charter school where she is excelling.
John Legend
Recap
Thankful for his opportunities to do well in public school, Grammy-winning musical artist John Legend feels that fixing the public schools is the greatest Civil Rights issue of our time. He explains that he went to a drop-out factory in Ohio, but he was in a high-performing track in which he was able to take advanced placement classes and had access to the best teachers in his school. Those without access to the great teachers were the ones who were dropping out. As a result, Legend has made it one of his passions to be part of the solution to fixing the public schools. Not only is the title track off his new album with The Roots a cover of Harold Melvin's Wake Up Everybody (click link for lyrics), but he sings the song Shine, the title track for Waiting for Superman.
Great Schools (aka the Tami is crying like a baby segment...blame pregnancy hormones!)
Recap
This segment shows videos from many schools across the nation that are doing well. All charter schools; the coolest section was a big assembly where the seniors announce in front of the entire school where they are attending college and the whole gym is in an uproar, celebrating with each student. That sure didn't happen in my high school. How very cool is that?
Oprah announces that her Angel Network, funded by donations from viewers, has spread over $80 million to helping educate children around the world. Oprah announces that since this is the last year of her show, she is closing the Angel Network. She brings up charter school leaders featured in the segment above and tells them that they each are receiving A MILLION DOLLARS for their charter school networks. Awesome! What a great ending note (and what a great way to spend the final $6 million of the Angel network's money).
Gospel Filter Review
This is a topic close to my heart. I think it's a topic close to Jesus' heart as well.
First, let's put to death the idea that education is not important. I have heard the sentiment from Christians that people trying to get an education are simply greedy and only trying to get a better financial position in life. For one, God created mankind in His image, and Jesus Himself confirms that the greatest commandment is that we would worship Him not just with all of our heart, soul, and strength, but also with all of our mind (Luke 10:27). This includes treating our education as an act of worshiping God. Secondly, wanting to be financially successful is not inherently greedy. I grew up in poverty and knew that education was my only escape. Wanting to live in a life situation that will provide well for myself and my family is not greed; it's a good desire. God is a Father who wants to take good care of His children; when we ask for bread He delights in providing it. Most often God's provision for the needy comes through the generosity of people sharing the excess of what God has provided for them. Ergo, education as a means to a better financial position is not inherently bad. It's what you do with it that matters--as always, it comes back to the heart.
Secondly, the reason I believe education in our nation should matter to Christians is directly connected to His particular love for widows, orphans, and the poor. A simple Bible search for widow yields 103 results. The same search for the term fatherless yields 42 results. God also loves the poor; a search for this term delivers a whopping 153 results, the vast majority referring to the financially poor. The statistical link between single mothers, who are often raising their children in poverty, and neighborhoods with low-performing schools is undeniable. Study after study has proven it, and I personally proved this in my own classroom, but the problem is not the poverty or the lack of a father; yes, those are hindrances. A single mother likely works multiple jobs and is not as accessible for study help as a child with two parents. An empty stomach greatly distracts children from their mad-minute math problems. However, students rise to high expectations and great teachers can help them go from a life headed toward jail to a life headed toward a Bachelor's degree. If this were your child, I am certain you would care. Even if it's not your child, as a Christian the widow (including single mothers), the fatherless, and the poor should be close to your heart because it's close to your Father God's heart.
In a similar vein, as mentioned early on, the correlation between low-performing schools and racial minorities is clear. The Bible is even more clear about the truth that God loves all races equally. He hates injustice and racism has no place in the life of a Christian because it does not exist in the heart of God. In Acts 10, God reveals to Peter that racism against Gentiles was not acceptable, and so Peter says:
“Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all)... To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Acts 10:34-36, 43God loves all races and Jesus' blood is equally available to all races. Acts 11:18 even says that a group of Jews, who traditionally hated Gentiles, "...glorified God, saying, 'Then to the gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.'” Amen!
Ultimately, of course, education is not an end in itself. We are meant to worship God in all we do, and our minds are only one piece. Supporting good schools is one way to minister to the poor, single mothers, the fatherless, and orphans. Revolutionizing education to be just as good for an inner-city Black kid as it is for a white kid in the suburbs is only one way to eradicate racism. But this is a way we can minister to all of those I just mentioned, the hurting around us. Always our heart should be to see people know Jesus, live for His glory, and worship Him; letting our schools fall apart and ignoring it because our kids go to a good school doesn't show others His love and I propose that it shows a blind spot in our own sinful hearts.
I'm looking forward to Friday's episode (for why, see below) and am hoping that Oprah's involvement really can help change our nation's schools.
Up Tomorrow
Jon Stewart and Liza Minnelli.
Also, this upcoming Friday the show will be live from Harpo Studios in Chicago and will include a performance from John Legend, reaction to today's show, and an announcement that Oprah says will shake up public education.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Episode 5 - Ultimate Wildest Dreams
Welp, can't lie: Oprah hasn't even started and I'm already crying! I don't normally watch Ellen but today I did and Michael Grimm, the winner of America's Got Talent from earlier this week, just proposed to his girlfriend. Hello, waterworks.
I'm one who loves adjusting and readjusting and tweaking and learning. One friend mentioned how nice it was to have the preview of the next day's show, so I added that as a regular feature. Another friend noted to me that she really appreciated how, in episode 3, I recapped the show (with just a little bit of commentary here and there) and then did the review, applying the Gospel filter, at the end.
So, I'm working on being more intentional with structure. If the show is one topic I'll recap then review; if the show has different segments, like today, I'll recap and review that segment and then move on and format the post so that's clear! If I do an end review, with one major theme, then I may do a Pause! at times to interject a gospel truth that would make sense at the moment but not at the end.
And, did you notice? I included the name of the episode in the title, not just the episode number. Happy day!
All right, here we go! For today's episode, the general theme is Oprah making people's dreams come true, so I'll recap each section and do one review at the end with some Pause! moments here and there.
Monica "the Warrior Mom"
Recap
Three years ago, healthy mother Monica gave birth to her second daughter. Soon thereafter, she contracted a flesh eating bacteria and lost both of her hands and the bottom half of both of her legs. She's had a great attitude, and was one of Oprah's favorite guests because she refused to give up. That's true, even now, as her husband has lost his job and things in their house don't work for her. Her three-year-old has to work the child safety lock to open kitchen drawers for her.
While taping, one of Oprah's camera crew accidentally broke a chair, so Oprah brought out Nate Berkus, designer extraordinaire, to replace the chair. He then spoke of how inspired he's been by Monica's story, and you just know she's getting a lot more than a new wooden dining chair. And... they get a house! This is so cool--the family gets to find the perfect house, and then Nate will team up with Lowe's to design the house not just to be beautiful but to be livable for Monica.
Gospel Filter Review
I've touched on this before, but I will hit on it all season long. I love that Oprah does things like this. This will change Monica's entire life, along with her family. I'm happy for the brides, and for Denni. Such blessings. I'm only very sad that people see Oprah as the ultimate gift giver and not Jesus.
As for Oprah, I don't want her to stop being generous. But we can't just receive her generosity, because the Bible teaches that good works that aren't out of a desire for His glory, even the most beautifully moving act of generosity, is as delightful and useful to God as used menstrual rags (Isaiah 64:6; polluted garment literally means the modern day equivalent as used and bloodied tampon. And yes, it's meant to be gross. That's now much God detests people trying to earn favor apart from glorifying His Son!). Instead, we need to redeem Oprah's generosity.
First, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to search us. He knows our motivations. Maybe you serve, serve, serve, serve, but it has nothing to do with Jesus. You want to feel useful, you fear rejection if you say no, you want others to think of you a certain way, etc. Maybe you do good things simply because you get to feel good. Then you have received your reward in full (see Matthew 6:2 and beyond). As I said in my first post, the purpose of doing good and generous things is to honor God and worship Him. He wants you to be so secure in His goodness and love for you that you give, love, and serve others out of love flowing back toward God and to others because God first love you and gave His Son Jesus to die for you. If you aren't doing good works out of love for God, and the Holy Spirit convicts you, you can repent! You can ask for God's forgiveness, available to you through Christ's death on the cross if you have received that free gift of grace, and ask Him to change your motives and change your heart!
Secondly, we need to pray this for Oprah. As I also said in my first post, she will stand before Jesus someday and account for her life. All of us will. It will not matter if she gives away every last penny of her billions upon billions dollar fortune; if she doesn't not receive Jesus' free gift of salvation and forgiveness for her sin then Jesus' words to her, despite the many amazing things she has done, will be, "Depart from me, for I never knew you," and she will spend eternity apart from God in hell. That breaks my heart because I really, really enjoy Oprah. I love many things about her and ache for her to know Jesus. I pray that Jesus would save Oprah, that she would live for His glory, and that many, many would come to know and love Him because of her. Will you join me in praying for her, and that this Gospel truth will reach many of her viewers?
All right. Week one done! Five episodes down, 125 to go! I'm excited to see what Jesus does in me and, I hope, through this blog in the next 8 1/2 months!
Up Monday: "Waiting for Superman: the Movement That Could Revolutionize American Schools". It will have Bill Gates, film director David Guggenheim, and John Legend and center around their work to fix the problem of education in America.
Quick request: Do you like this format, with headlines and such? Could I make things better? Please share your thoughts!
I'm one who loves adjusting and readjusting and tweaking and learning. One friend mentioned how nice it was to have the preview of the next day's show, so I added that as a regular feature. Another friend noted to me that she really appreciated how, in episode 3, I recapped the show (with just a little bit of commentary here and there) and then did the review, applying the Gospel filter, at the end.
So, I'm working on being more intentional with structure. If the show is one topic I'll recap then review; if the show has different segments, like today, I'll recap and review that segment and then move on and format the post so that's clear! If I do an end review, with one major theme, then I may do a Pause! at times to interject a gospel truth that would make sense at the moment but not at the end.
And, did you notice? I included the name of the episode in the title, not just the episode number. Happy day!
All right, here we go! For today's episode, the general theme is Oprah making people's dreams come true, so I'll recap each section and do one review at the end with some Pause! moments here and there.
Monica "the Warrior Mom"
Recap
Three years ago, healthy mother Monica gave birth to her second daughter. Soon thereafter, she contracted a flesh eating bacteria and lost both of her hands and the bottom half of both of her legs. She's had a great attitude, and was one of Oprah's favorite guests because she refused to give up. That's true, even now, as her husband has lost his job and things in their house don't work for her. Her three-year-old has to work the child safety lock to open kitchen drawers for her.
While taping, one of Oprah's camera crew accidentally broke a chair, so Oprah brought out Nate Berkus, designer extraordinaire, to replace the chair. He then spoke of how inspired he's been by Monica's story, and you just know she's getting a lot more than a new wooden dining chair. And... they get a house! This is so cool--the family gets to find the perfect house, and then Nate will team up with Lowe's to design the house not just to be beautiful but to be livable for Monica.
Kristin & Laurie, Owners of the Centerville Pie Company
Recap
Two women in Cape Cod, Massachusetts opened up a pie shop in the spring of 2009. They heard Oprah and her best friend Gayle were in town for Eunice Kennedy Shriver's funeral. They miraculously got past Oprah's security and after one bite of chicken pot pie Oprah had to have more and bought more to take home to her friends. After some newspaper "pie-gate" drama with not being able to prove Oprah--the Oprah Winfrey!--fell in love with some small restaurant's pies, it was confirmed and the restaurant went from 20-ish pies a week to 200!
When the CEO of a local charity, Cape Abilities, came in, the women got an idea. They could team up with Cape Abilities and now they employ 30 adults with special needs to make pies for their company. So, Oprah has the two women on her show, and they think they're just talking about their pies and telling the story of their restaurant and helping others such as people like those at Cape Abilities.
Pause!
Oprah notes that she was in Cape Cod for Eunice Kennedy Shriver's funeral, and she was the founder of the Special Olympics. She discovered Centerville Pie Company while there, and her loving their pie led to them working with special needs adults. She says that she feels that somehow the spirit of Eunice Kennedy Shriver was there making this happen.
Reject! When a person dies, their spirit does not stick around and hang out with humans. They die and then face judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Those who received forgiveness of sin and belong to Jesus stay with Him; those who rejected Him go to hell. I don't know if Eunice Kennedy Shriver is in heaven or hell, but she certainly is not hanging around Cape Cod, MA anymore.
Reject! When a person dies, their spirit does not stick around and hang out with humans. They die and then face judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Those who received forgiveness of sin and belong to Jesus stay with Him; those who rejected Him go to hell. I don't know if Eunice Kennedy Shriver is in heaven or hell, but she certainly is not hanging around Cape Cod, MA anymore.
Ok, so the two women are just excited to be on Oprah. They don't know that today's show is about ultimate wildest dreams coming true. Surprise! Harry and David love Centerville pies and they want to sell their pies both online and in all their stores nationwide. Not only will they appeal to Harry and David's customer base of three million people annually, but Kristin and Laurie get the profits and a percentage of all pies sold will go to Cape Abilities. Their famed chicken pot pie is even going to be Harry and David's November pie of the month. People can go to the website and pre-order today; I have a feeling these ladies are gonna sell a LOT of pies!
Vera Wang, "the Queen of Wedding Couture"
Recap
Vera Wang is quite the bridal dress designing queen, so they discuss how finding the perfect wedding dress is such a emotional, powerful experience. Backstage is Lashea (I'm guessing on the spelling, since it's not shown), who doesn't know Vera Wang is there, but who told Oprah that finding the perfect man was a cinch compared to finding the perfect dress.
Pause!
I am not assuming that all women care more about the wedding than the marriage, but single ladies: put far more work and effort into your character and your relationship with Christ to prepare for a long and godly marriage than worrying about the perfect dress or perfect cake to try and create the perfect day. Far too many women plan their wedding their whole lives but don't work on their character, and then their marriage quickly goes to shambles; let's redeem weddings by letting them be one sweet and wonderful day to start off a lifetime of even sweeter and better days of marriage!
On the show, we cut to tape: Lashea and her fiance, Chris, grew up without much but have worked hard to make a better life for themselves. Chris is in Afghanistan, serving in the military in large part to better their financial lives. Lashea describes how much she loves Vera Wang, but explains that Vera Wang is the Rolls Royce and she's on a Ford budget.
Back to live: Oprah asks Lashea if she thinks it's such an interesting coincidence that she's in the audience, talking about how much she loves Vera Wang but can't afford her on the tape, "but look who just happens to be here!" You know, Vera Wang. Oprah then has a whole slew of brides to be, I'm guessing 30-40, stand up in the audience. Oprah brings out models in Vera Wang dresses and tells the brides-to-be that they can have any one of those gowns. The women cheer and cry, and it's a sweet moment. Vera talks about how she's teaming up with David's Bridal with this more affordable line.
And we're done... but no! Oprah has the fiancee's stand back up and tells them that they are each getting $250 Kohl's gift cards for some clothes. And then Oprah says it's done, chill out, sit down. And then she says stand back up, because where are they going? Each woman gets a $4,000 gift card to use at any Marriott Hotel and Resort location. But how will they get their? United Airlines is giving them travel vouchers to go anywhere in the USA, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and Canada. Oprah tells them, "If you can dream it you can do it... I'm so happy for all of you." And, as a bride myself three years ago, I feel it and am happy for them, too!
Last but not least, Kohl's wants "everyone to feel the love" so the entire studio audience gets $250 gift cards. It's the usual--jumping, crying, cheering, FREE STUFF! I might have to work this season to not get cynical... maybe I'd be that excited, but it's just some free clothes. We have a tight budget that rarely allows for clothes and I would be happy but not jumping up and down over some free clothes. Am I grounded and realistic or too cynical? Hmmm.
Denni Foster and Family
Recap
Denni Foster is a single mom of three who has worked incredibly hard to give her children a good life. Her husband left when the children were young and took everything they had. Denni and the children lost their home to foreclosure and had to live with others or even in their van at times. Since then, Denni has never worked less than three jobs at a time. She is a full-time schoolteacher and has done everything from taking in other people's laundry to cleaning homes and working at restaurants on nights and weekends to provide. All three of her children have graduated college and her oldest, a son, is in medical school. Denni has $78,000 in undergraduate student loans for her children.
Her children describe wanting their mother to be happy, to have everything she wants and not just working to give them what they want. Denni, however, says that being a parent has always been a total joy and that it's never been work for her, because she had something so special to come home to. Heart moving stuff; I love families who love one another!
Denni tells Oprah she thinks they're on the show to prove that it can be done, because she was told that it's a show about single moms making it work to take care of their children. But sometimes Oprah's producers fib. We know Denni's greatest dream is to go on a trip to Italy, and so Oprah's "friends" at Marriott and United Airlines are sending Denni and her children on a luxury trip to Italy! Denni tells Oprah that she is the ultimate educator of people and has been Denni's greatest inspiration. Very sweet. But what about those loans?
Sidenote: Commercials include that Joyce Meyer spot again. See early in yesterday's post for thoughts on that.
So, back to Denni... yay! The loans weren't forgotten! She'll be "a young 93" when she pays them off. Instead, Oprah and her team will pay them off now, from $78,000 to zero. And that's not all! Oprah gets teared up when she tells Denni that she wants to do something just for her, because she can't do something for every single mom out there. Oprah is personally paying an entire year's salary for Denni to take a year off. Very cool for her!
Oprah's Latest Book Club Pick
Recap
Oprah talks about one of her greatest dreams coming true, starting her book club 14 years ago today. Oprah says she'll have books all season long and she'll keep it going when she moves over to OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). So, the newest book club pick is Freedom, a novel by Jonathan Franzen. Oprah says it's a masterpiece that spans three generations of what looks like a perfect family in Minnesota and all of the stuff happening behind the scenes.
Oprah guarantees it will be "the best novel you have ever read". So we will see! Since the show will have an episode about the book later, I should read it. I just went and bought it for my Kindle App on my iPhone, and when she does the show about it I'll have it read so I can speak into it's message and what Oprah shares about it.
Gospel Filter Review
I've touched on this before, but I will hit on it all season long. I love that Oprah does things like this. This will change Monica's entire life, along with her family. I'm happy for the brides, and for Denni. Such blessings. I'm only very sad that people see Oprah as the ultimate gift giver and not Jesus.
As for Oprah, I don't want her to stop being generous. But we can't just receive her generosity, because the Bible teaches that good works that aren't out of a desire for His glory, even the most beautifully moving act of generosity, is as delightful and useful to God as used menstrual rags (Isaiah 64:6; polluted garment literally means the modern day equivalent as used and bloodied tampon. And yes, it's meant to be gross. That's now much God detests people trying to earn favor apart from glorifying His Son!). Instead, we need to redeem Oprah's generosity.
First, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to search us. He knows our motivations. Maybe you serve, serve, serve, serve, but it has nothing to do with Jesus. You want to feel useful, you fear rejection if you say no, you want others to think of you a certain way, etc. Maybe you do good things simply because you get to feel good. Then you have received your reward in full (see Matthew 6:2 and beyond). As I said in my first post, the purpose of doing good and generous things is to honor God and worship Him. He wants you to be so secure in His goodness and love for you that you give, love, and serve others out of love flowing back toward God and to others because God first love you and gave His Son Jesus to die for you. If you aren't doing good works out of love for God, and the Holy Spirit convicts you, you can repent! You can ask for God's forgiveness, available to you through Christ's death on the cross if you have received that free gift of grace, and ask Him to change your motives and change your heart!
Secondly, we need to pray this for Oprah. As I also said in my first post, she will stand before Jesus someday and account for her life. All of us will. It will not matter if she gives away every last penny of her billions upon billions dollar fortune; if she doesn't not receive Jesus' free gift of salvation and forgiveness for her sin then Jesus' words to her, despite the many amazing things she has done, will be, "Depart from me, for I never knew you," and she will spend eternity apart from God in hell. That breaks my heart because I really, really enjoy Oprah. I love many things about her and ache for her to know Jesus. I pray that Jesus would save Oprah, that she would live for His glory, and that many, many would come to know and love Him because of her. Will you join me in praying for her, and that this Gospel truth will reach many of her viewers?
All right. Week one done! Five episodes down, 125 to go! I'm excited to see what Jesus does in me and, I hope, through this blog in the next 8 1/2 months!
Up Monday: "Waiting for Superman: the Movement That Could Revolutionize American Schools". It will have Bill Gates, film director David Guggenheim, and John Legend and center around their work to fix the problem of education in America.
Quick request: Do you like this format, with headlines and such? Could I make things better? Please share your thoughts!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Episode 4 - Recent News: The Discovery Rampage Hostages, Missing Oregon Boy Kyle Horman's Parents, & the Family of the SC Woman Accused of Murdering Her Two Toddler Sons
Today's episode is about the hostages from the gunman who rampaged the Discovery building, the mom who killed her toddler two sons recently in South Carolina, and the latest from the parents of missing Oregon boy, Kyron Horman. We'll see what comes out of this one, but an interesting place to start is that I have never, ever seen a Joyce Meyer commercial on network television. However, my TiVo caught the last 10 seconds or so of her promoting her book, Battlefield of the Mind. I think this says a LOT about Oprah's audience, and it's why I'm doing this blog. I think many who are or at least call themselves Christians confuse Oprah's version of god (little g on purpose) with the God of the Bible.
Some of what Joyce Meyer teaches is solid; she seems to have a clear grasp on the truth that Jesus died for our sin and only a personal relationship with Him brings salvation. However, I think she has an unhealthy leaning toward us basically manipulating ourselves into a position for a "good" life that loses sight of Jesus. This is exactly why her buying ad-space just before the Oprah Show is, to me, not a coincidence, because Oprah teaches the exact same thing, only her version is completely devoid of Jesus.
Ok, onto the show. The gunman, James Lee, had issues with Discovery. Oprah doesn't go into this, but mentions that Discovery is behind many TLC shows. Lee was angry with Discovery because he felt they were promoting over-population of the planet. Oprah isn't promoting this, but right away, we have a REJECT. In Genesis 1:28 God tells His beloved and newly created Adam and Eve to go and populate the earth. I won't spend forever here, but I believe that the problem with the earth is not overpopulation--it's distribution of wealth and lack of education and resources available to most nations in the world. My husband and I (at this point! We'll see once they start coming!) plan to biologically parent 3-4 children and adopt 2-3, depending on how things pan out. Some would say that having any children biologically at all is selfish; I would tell them that the Bible clearly contradicts this. We are also to steward the earth well, and my husband and I are conscientious about living as sustainably as possible. However, God wants Christians to have and raise godly children.
I will say this: Discovery is the force behind the show "19 Kids and Counting". I, personally, think having that many children is insane! For one, it would be so difficult to truly pour yourself into each child and point them to Jesus with any real consistency when you have 18 other children needing you, too. Secondly, my husband and I take seriously not just our spiritual legacy (point one), but also to financially provide well for our family is a huge piece of how many children we have. It would be nigh impossible to rightly prioritize God, then family, then church, then work when you have the burden of financially providing for 19 children, and that includes what is left for them each to share when we die. I'm not saying the Duggar's are in sin; only God knows their hearts. I can't even say for sure that He hasn't told them to have all of the children they have. However, I am certain that this is not a calling for the Hagglund family and few, if any, families could do this well!
Ok, to the show itself. Jim McNulty and Chris Wood were the two men that were taken hostage by Lee. Lee was obsessed with his hostages and wanted to know if they had children. He accused Jim, father of two, of having children because he had no one to love him. He then told Jim that he should have his children sterilized, and then railed on religion and hating the Catholic church. Kudos to Jim for refusing to deny his family and for his statement that if Lee had asked about his faith (he is Catholic), he wouldn't have denied it.
The standoff lasted for four hours; after about three, the two men decided to make a run for it, despite Lee having a gun and bombs strapped to his body. Chris was able to reply to an e-mail to his boss on his phone and also called and let his phone stay on for about two minutes so his boss could hear what was going on. Chris didn't know that the SWAT team was outside but decided he didn't want to die and it was time to run. Jim knew there was a SWAT team member but also chose to run; both men made it out safely. The security guard made it out safely, as well, and Lee was shot and killed by a SWAT team member.
I would likely cry even if I weren't pregnant, but being 16 weeks pregnant with our first child made Jim's story of getting home and holding onto his children and refusing to let go just wreck me. I am not afraid of death--I look forward to being with Jesus, free from sin forever. That said, I have a lot to live for and pray that my death comes many, many years from now. I am so in love with my husband and baby, and so this next segment, about a mother killing her babies... we'll see how I can get through this. Lord Jesus, give me strength.
Shaquan Duley was a mother of three young children, including two sons aged two years and 18 months. She lived in a small home with her mother, sister, and two nephews. Her sister says that Shaquan was having a hard time just keeping up with the regular tasks of life, and became extremely angry when she found out that her two sons had been given a bath without her permission. Her sister said, essentially, that since Shaquan wasn't taking proper care of her babies then she and their mother would have to. Shaquan, according to her mother, was "raging like a crazy person." She took the boys, one under each arm, and sped off.
Shaquan didn't return home that night; the next morning she was found walking down a rural road in hysterics. She claimed that her car went into a river by accident, that her two sons were in the car, but she couldn't save them and they died. After her story kept changing and didn't add up, Shaquan confessed that she suffocated her babies at a hotel and then strapped them into their carseats and drove her car into the river. If you watched this episode and were able to listen to the grandmother describing finding out that her grandbabies were dead and didn't cry, you need to check your "Do I have a heart?" card. This is the sort of thing that makes my heart cry out, "Lord Jesus, come quickly! Come quickly!" The results of sin and death on this world are just soul crushing, especially stories like this. Even Oprah was crying, and that woman can keep it together under some extreme duress.
The family says that Shaquan was normally not an angry person, and that her behavior the night before she murdered the boys was abnormal. They also said that she adored and loved her children. They simply don't know or understand what led her to the breaking point.
Side note: After the break, Oprah recaps what's happening and images of Shaquan being shuffled around a courtroom in her orange jail clothes fill the screen. I mean this respectfully, but notice something: Shaquan clearly isn't wearing a bra. Are bras not allowed for female inmates? Perhaps due to the suicide risk, at least only for those considered to be a suicide risk, which I'm sure she is? Interesting. And all the more sad--if you are a woman with any sort of size to your breasts, or are of an age past 25 or have had children, then having to go in public without a bra is probably one of the scariest things someone could ask you to do that isn't inherently dangerous. I know it is for me; you know the naked in front of the whole school nightmare? I've never had that, but I have dreamed that I'm in public in front of people I know without a bra and I'm just humiliated. Being well endowed by genetics and then losing 135 pounds has not been friendly to my chest and bras make me look normal. So, seeing Shaquan, who is quite busty, shuffling around in that horrid uniform and clearly bra-less just makes me sad for her. For whatever reason, this helps humanize Shaquan for me and reminds me that she is not a monster. She's God's image bearer, and she did a horrible, horrible thing, but she can be forgiven and know that what she did will not be held against her for eternity by God. Right now I am praying for her, that in prison she would draw near to Jesus and experience His forgiveness for her sin, particularly against her two baby boys.
Man. This episode is almost too heavy to bear. I can't handle seeing those sweet boys in pictures, and those two tiny white caskets just... ugh. I can hardly even type. Too many tears, and shaking with grief. I'm glad the family lovingly remembers their boys, but I just can't handle it. I wish I could go back and save them; I can't imagine how the family must feel. I'm certain those two boys are in the arms of Jesus; if not for that, I would be in such despair that I would want to just skip this entire part of the show.
I don't think I could do this episode justice without commenting on the lawyer's plan to plea, hoping for leniency because Shaquan was thought to be trying to commit suicide when she drove her car into the river. Interestingly enough, she hasn't expressed any remorse or regret but did say she was so glad her mother is loving and forgiving. The family feels that they have forgiven Shaquan because the Bible says you have to forgive, and they're right. That doesn't mean that they can't be grieved and angry and anguished. Forgiveness means entrusting judgment to God; however, it doesn't mean that we can't still remember what someone did and work through the various emotions and consequences of the pain the perpetrator brought against us. It's hard to tell how the family is dealing with that. Similarly, on the legal side, the Bible makes clear that you do answer to God, and even if you seek His forgiveness, you are still to own up to the legal ramifications of your actions. Shaquan is accountable for what she did, and even if she enters a plea, even if she was legally insane at the time of her actions, she must accept and own up to the legal system's judgment on her actions.
Now, the last segment. Oprah spends a few moments with the parents of missing Oregon boy Kyron Horman. Though she is not even charged with a crime (yet), it is believed that the stepmother, Terry Horman, at very least knows what happened to Kyron. Kyron's mother and father admit to Oprah that they both now believe that Terry doesn't just know what happened, but that she is behind it. Kaine, Kyron's father, says that at first Terry wasn't suspicious but things just kept changing with her story and, added to the failed polygraph tests and increasing refusal to work with the police. It's sad that Terry appeared to have a great relationship with Kyron but his mother, Desiree, says that since he disappeared things have come out that suggest that maybe his stepmother Terry wasn't good to him.
Both parents feel in their heart that Kyron is alive and that he is being held captive somewhere. Upon being asked what we, the millions watching, can do, Kyron's mother said that we can get his picture out there and keep our eyes open for him. I agree that can be done; I also say that we can pray, pray, pray for this young boy's safety and that Jesus will move and that something will break in this case. I pray that Kyron will be found, safe and alive, and delivered back to his parents. I pray for his protection from physical harm during this time, and that Jesus will bring healing and peace when he is safely home.
Overall, today's show was pretty straightforward but so, so heavy. I'm exhausted. There's something about not just watching the show but also blogging and internalizing and chewing on it that makes it so much harder to handle when the topics are this sad. Thank goodness that tomorrow's looking to be a happier episode.
Speaking of that, up tomorrow: Oprah surprises two moms with what are looking to be insanely great prizes, Vera Wang reveals her latest wedding dress designs, and Oprah announces her latest book club pick. After these heavy episodes, I'm looking forward to a lighthearted one!
Some of what Joyce Meyer teaches is solid; she seems to have a clear grasp on the truth that Jesus died for our sin and only a personal relationship with Him brings salvation. However, I think she has an unhealthy leaning toward us basically manipulating ourselves into a position for a "good" life that loses sight of Jesus. This is exactly why her buying ad-space just before the Oprah Show is, to me, not a coincidence, because Oprah teaches the exact same thing, only her version is completely devoid of Jesus.
Ok, onto the show. The gunman, James Lee, had issues with Discovery. Oprah doesn't go into this, but mentions that Discovery is behind many TLC shows. Lee was angry with Discovery because he felt they were promoting over-population of the planet. Oprah isn't promoting this, but right away, we have a REJECT. In Genesis 1:28 God tells His beloved and newly created Adam and Eve to go and populate the earth. I won't spend forever here, but I believe that the problem with the earth is not overpopulation--it's distribution of wealth and lack of education and resources available to most nations in the world. My husband and I (at this point! We'll see once they start coming!) plan to biologically parent 3-4 children and adopt 2-3, depending on how things pan out. Some would say that having any children biologically at all is selfish; I would tell them that the Bible clearly contradicts this. We are also to steward the earth well, and my husband and I are conscientious about living as sustainably as possible. However, God wants Christians to have and raise godly children.
I will say this: Discovery is the force behind the show "19 Kids and Counting". I, personally, think having that many children is insane! For one, it would be so difficult to truly pour yourself into each child and point them to Jesus with any real consistency when you have 18 other children needing you, too. Secondly, my husband and I take seriously not just our spiritual legacy (point one), but also to financially provide well for our family is a huge piece of how many children we have. It would be nigh impossible to rightly prioritize God, then family, then church, then work when you have the burden of financially providing for 19 children, and that includes what is left for them each to share when we die. I'm not saying the Duggar's are in sin; only God knows their hearts. I can't even say for sure that He hasn't told them to have all of the children they have. However, I am certain that this is not a calling for the Hagglund family and few, if any, families could do this well!
Ok, to the show itself. Jim McNulty and Chris Wood were the two men that were taken hostage by Lee. Lee was obsessed with his hostages and wanted to know if they had children. He accused Jim, father of two, of having children because he had no one to love him. He then told Jim that he should have his children sterilized, and then railed on religion and hating the Catholic church. Kudos to Jim for refusing to deny his family and for his statement that if Lee had asked about his faith (he is Catholic), he wouldn't have denied it.
The standoff lasted for four hours; after about three, the two men decided to make a run for it, despite Lee having a gun and bombs strapped to his body. Chris was able to reply to an e-mail to his boss on his phone and also called and let his phone stay on for about two minutes so his boss could hear what was going on. Chris didn't know that the SWAT team was outside but decided he didn't want to die and it was time to run. Jim knew there was a SWAT team member but also chose to run; both men made it out safely. The security guard made it out safely, as well, and Lee was shot and killed by a SWAT team member.
I would likely cry even if I weren't pregnant, but being 16 weeks pregnant with our first child made Jim's story of getting home and holding onto his children and refusing to let go just wreck me. I am not afraid of death--I look forward to being with Jesus, free from sin forever. That said, I have a lot to live for and pray that my death comes many, many years from now. I am so in love with my husband and baby, and so this next segment, about a mother killing her babies... we'll see how I can get through this. Lord Jesus, give me strength.
Shaquan Duley was a mother of three young children, including two sons aged two years and 18 months. She lived in a small home with her mother, sister, and two nephews. Her sister says that Shaquan was having a hard time just keeping up with the regular tasks of life, and became extremely angry when she found out that her two sons had been given a bath without her permission. Her sister said, essentially, that since Shaquan wasn't taking proper care of her babies then she and their mother would have to. Shaquan, according to her mother, was "raging like a crazy person." She took the boys, one under each arm, and sped off.
Shaquan didn't return home that night; the next morning she was found walking down a rural road in hysterics. She claimed that her car went into a river by accident, that her two sons were in the car, but she couldn't save them and they died. After her story kept changing and didn't add up, Shaquan confessed that she suffocated her babies at a hotel and then strapped them into their carseats and drove her car into the river. If you watched this episode and were able to listen to the grandmother describing finding out that her grandbabies were dead and didn't cry, you need to check your "Do I have a heart?" card. This is the sort of thing that makes my heart cry out, "Lord Jesus, come quickly! Come quickly!" The results of sin and death on this world are just soul crushing, especially stories like this. Even Oprah was crying, and that woman can keep it together under some extreme duress.
The family says that Shaquan was normally not an angry person, and that her behavior the night before she murdered the boys was abnormal. They also said that she adored and loved her children. They simply don't know or understand what led her to the breaking point.
Side note: After the break, Oprah recaps what's happening and images of Shaquan being shuffled around a courtroom in her orange jail clothes fill the screen. I mean this respectfully, but notice something: Shaquan clearly isn't wearing a bra. Are bras not allowed for female inmates? Perhaps due to the suicide risk, at least only for those considered to be a suicide risk, which I'm sure she is? Interesting. And all the more sad--if you are a woman with any sort of size to your breasts, or are of an age past 25 or have had children, then having to go in public without a bra is probably one of the scariest things someone could ask you to do that isn't inherently dangerous. I know it is for me; you know the naked in front of the whole school nightmare? I've never had that, but I have dreamed that I'm in public in front of people I know without a bra and I'm just humiliated. Being well endowed by genetics and then losing 135 pounds has not been friendly to my chest and bras make me look normal. So, seeing Shaquan, who is quite busty, shuffling around in that horrid uniform and clearly bra-less just makes me sad for her. For whatever reason, this helps humanize Shaquan for me and reminds me that she is not a monster. She's God's image bearer, and she did a horrible, horrible thing, but she can be forgiven and know that what she did will not be held against her for eternity by God. Right now I am praying for her, that in prison she would draw near to Jesus and experience His forgiveness for her sin, particularly against her two baby boys.
Man. This episode is almost too heavy to bear. I can't handle seeing those sweet boys in pictures, and those two tiny white caskets just... ugh. I can hardly even type. Too many tears, and shaking with grief. I'm glad the family lovingly remembers their boys, but I just can't handle it. I wish I could go back and save them; I can't imagine how the family must feel. I'm certain those two boys are in the arms of Jesus; if not for that, I would be in such despair that I would want to just skip this entire part of the show.
I don't think I could do this episode justice without commenting on the lawyer's plan to plea, hoping for leniency because Shaquan was thought to be trying to commit suicide when she drove her car into the river. Interestingly enough, she hasn't expressed any remorse or regret but did say she was so glad her mother is loving and forgiving. The family feels that they have forgiven Shaquan because the Bible says you have to forgive, and they're right. That doesn't mean that they can't be grieved and angry and anguished. Forgiveness means entrusting judgment to God; however, it doesn't mean that we can't still remember what someone did and work through the various emotions and consequences of the pain the perpetrator brought against us. It's hard to tell how the family is dealing with that. Similarly, on the legal side, the Bible makes clear that you do answer to God, and even if you seek His forgiveness, you are still to own up to the legal ramifications of your actions. Shaquan is accountable for what she did, and even if she enters a plea, even if she was legally insane at the time of her actions, she must accept and own up to the legal system's judgment on her actions.
Now, the last segment. Oprah spends a few moments with the parents of missing Oregon boy Kyron Horman. Though she is not even charged with a crime (yet), it is believed that the stepmother, Terry Horman, at very least knows what happened to Kyron. Kyron's mother and father admit to Oprah that they both now believe that Terry doesn't just know what happened, but that she is behind it. Kaine, Kyron's father, says that at first Terry wasn't suspicious but things just kept changing with her story and, added to the failed polygraph tests and increasing refusal to work with the police. It's sad that Terry appeared to have a great relationship with Kyron but his mother, Desiree, says that since he disappeared things have come out that suggest that maybe his stepmother Terry wasn't good to him.
Both parents feel in their heart that Kyron is alive and that he is being held captive somewhere. Upon being asked what we, the millions watching, can do, Kyron's mother said that we can get his picture out there and keep our eyes open for him. I agree that can be done; I also say that we can pray, pray, pray for this young boy's safety and that Jesus will move and that something will break in this case. I pray that Kyron will be found, safe and alive, and delivered back to his parents. I pray for his protection from physical harm during this time, and that Jesus will bring healing and peace when he is safely home.
Overall, today's show was pretty straightforward but so, so heavy. I'm exhausted. There's something about not just watching the show but also blogging and internalizing and chewing on it that makes it so much harder to handle when the topics are this sad. Thank goodness that tomorrow's looking to be a happier episode.
Speaking of that, up tomorrow: Oprah surprises two moms with what are looking to be insanely great prizes, Vera Wang reveals her latest wedding dress designs, and Oprah announces her latest book club pick. After these heavy episodes, I'm looking forward to a lighthearted one!
Episode 3 - Revisiting Williamson, WV: The Place of HIV Outrage 25 Years Later
Right off the bat, this episode hits on highly controversial topics. It's interesting to blog about this as a Christian, and I'm praying for grace and wisdom because I am walking across a minefield. The plan is to primarily recap the show and then apply the Gospel filter at the end. If you're someone who is continually appalled by how people treat homosexuals, claiming to perpetuate hate with God's blessing and in His name, I entreat you to read this entire post, and I pray it points you to who Jesus really is and His heart toward all people, including those who are gay.
The synopsis: in 1987, when very little was known about the AIDS virus, a gay man in Williamson, West Virginia who had AIDS chose to swim in his small community's swimming pool. This set off a firestorm of controversy, and when Oprah visited the small community and opened up the mic for people to air their opinions, a common theme was that AIDS is God's rightful judgment on homosexuals, that people were disgusted by this man's lifestyle, and that the man, Mike Sisco, was less of a human being (made clear by the opinion that he shouldn't have the same rights as heterosexual, HIV-negative people). The crux moment came when a man angrily proclaimed, "I'm repulsed by his disease and I'm repulsed by him," amidst a clapping and cheering crowd.
Before I start to dive into what the Bible says about these topics, I think it's utterly heartbreaking that, upon being asked by Oprah why he thought he'd be welcomed back home if he had AIDS, Mike Sisco said, "Because I felt I was dying and I thought they could overlook the fact that I was a homosexual and see that I needed some compassion and to be in my hometown." That just ripped my heart out, because he was right. He should have received love and compassion from those who say they know Jesus, not hatred and condemnation. More on that later.
So, now, 23 years later, Oprah is revisiting the fieldhouse, the place where she taped the original show. She's playing the tape of that show for the same people who said those horrible and hurtful things.
First, Oprah sat down with Mike's sister Tina who spoke up for him and defended him. We learn that Mike died 7 years later, and that he did find love and acceptance from his immediate family before dying. However, even after he died, a family member called to say that Mike shouldn't be buried by his mother and her family had to have her casket moved to another cemetery in order for him to be buried next to her. That said, Mike's bravery in taking the risk to educate people gave another of his sisters the courage to come out as gay herself.
Jerry Waters is the name of the man who yelled about being repulsed by Mike Sisco, who also insisted that all people with AIDS be quarantined. He's 60 now and seems more subdued. He says he's embarrassed that he was so forceful but also insists that he's simply a passionate person. He sounds a lot more 2010 now, saying he thinks essentially that people should be able to do whatever they want to, including be homosexual, so long as it doesn't affect him. There are some bits with him disagreeing with a doctor who accused him of fear back then, and the doctor (who does seem a little smug, to be honest) insisting that he was right 30 years ago and he's right now. I'm glad Oprah drew attention to the fact, without affirming Mr. Waters' harsh attitude back then, that part of the problem in 1987 is that people were hearing conflicting reports from the CDC about how you could get AIDS. It did seem to keep changing as far as what was safe and what wasn't. Still, this isn't the heart of this show so I won't spend a lot of time here.
Where it gets very interesting is Oprah saying to Mr. Waters that what was missing from him and the entire room full of people, most claiming to be there in God's name as Christians, was compassion. Mr. Waters, upon being asked by Oprah if he owes Mike Sisco's family an apology, basically says he's sorry they lost someone but that Mike brought it on himself to come to a small community where people wouldn't be as understanding as in a big city with a large gay community. I like what Oprah and the sisters said--who are we to decide where a dying man should have to go to find community? Who are we to say he can't come home to his family?
Gotta give Oprah some credit here: once again, she says to Mr. Waters that the bottom line is that he regrets what he said. He affirms this but pulls the whole, "Who hasn't said something they regret?" card, and if I were Oprah I would sure tell him that is a bunch of cockamamie cop-out BS. She's still respectful to him, despite how bad he looks compared to the rest of the people sitting there with him, because he doesn't seem truly repentant, just embarrassed that he acted like an ass in front of the entire nation on the Oprah Show. The woman practices what she believes and I give her credit for that. Christians, including myself, could learn a thing or two from her.
The next two people are an interesting contrast. One is Cynthia, who was a high school senior in the audience in 1987. She was so appalled at the way people from her town acted that she didn't speak up out of fear, and she seems somewhat haunted by the memory of Jerry Waters and his anger in particular. Bob "Bobby" Webb is where it really grabbed my attention.
Bobby, "...went to the show because [he's] a Christian and the Bible says that [the gay] lifestyle is wrong. And if the Bible says it, [he] believes it." His opinion in 1987 was that he was uncomfortable to even be in the same room as Mike Sisco. He says now that he has had a complete change and that he is a Christian and what he said wasn't right. Bob apologizes to Mike's sisters for the statement he made, and says that God's number one rule is to love everybody. He emphasizes that he doesn't approve of the lifestyle because the Bible says it's an abomination (such a loaded word our culture! I know the Bible says it, as I quote that verse later, but it even makes me shudder a bit) but gay people are human and should be loved like every other human. As Oprah goes to break he turns around and apologizes to the sisters, and really seems sincere. As a Christian, that sure is a relief!
Next is Eugene Thorn, who knew at age six that he was gay. He knew Mike Sisco and was 10-years-old when the Oprah show happened. He was there but specifically remembers thinking that there was no way he would come out openly gay, despite being called a Tiffany and treated poorly. He's now openly gay and HIV-positive. He feels that Mike Sisco was a hero in that he paved the way for people like Eugene to live "undetectable" as gay and HIV-positive. He now lives in Cincinatti, but says that small towns like Williamson persist in struggling to accept people like him.
Nina Blackburn was a stay-at-home-mom who attended the show to find out what was being said. She now feels that her ignorance led to her saying things (essentially that Mike Sisco put children's lives at risk by getting in the swimming pool) that she wishes she hadn't said. Oprah talks about the lack of compassion from "god-fearing" people in the room. Bobby thinks there was compassion, because he didn't wish the disease on Mike Sisco, but Oprah quips that there is no way you can watch that tape and say that people had compassion.
Next, the post-show press conference shows Oprah insisting that the ignorance and hatred toward Mike Sisco was an American problem and not a small town problem. Nina, back to the present day, says that fear overrode people's compassion. Asking the room to raise their hand if they believed AIDS carriers should be quarantined resulted in the vast majority of hands being raised. Oprah tells us that 23 years later the show still gets letters about Mike Sisco. Steven from California shares how Mike Sisco changed his life, because he was one of the first people Steven had ever seen on television who admitted that he was gay. Steven was inspired that if Mike Sisco could go on the Oprah show then Steven could come out with more courage to his family and was inspired to become a nurse with the hope of helping AIDS patients. This led to many tears from all three of Mike's sisters, and Oprah ends by saying that Mike impacted many people's lives, and "Mike Sisco, this one's for you" with the last image being his picture, name, and life span.
Whew.
Ok. Just the recap was a lot! But this is a topic I think about a lot and have never blogged on. I'm praying for wisdom, clarity, and that my words would accurately reflect God's heart as He makes it known to us in the Bible.
I think that, even less than the AIDS issue, this show was really about someone being a homosexual and people's reaction to that. Sadly, the least loving and least Christ-like treatment of homosexuals in our nation come from those who call themselves conservative, evangelical Christians. I am among those who believe that to act out homosexuality, be it in the mind or physically, is sin, yet I'm very careful to ever bring this up because I know how quickly and easily I, and those like me, are lumped in with those who hold up signs that say, "God Hates Fags". My hope is to carefully walk through what the Bible has to say about homosexuality, and the accusation on the show that AIDS is God punishing gay people, while speaking the truth in love.
First, if I'm stating that homosexuality is sin, I need to back it up with scripture. Here are a few verses that I believe are most clear and straightforward, leaving no doubt that God does not accept homosexual acts as righteous and acceptable in His sight.
To be clear, sin is sin is sin. The Bible never says "God Hates Fags". It does say that God hates pride, though, and it's tragically easy for Christians to pick on homosexuality as a worse sin than the sin they commit. First of all, any Christian that has too much to drink just sinned just as much as a gay person. Oh, but so many Christians just never drink! Well, any Christian that idolizes their spouse or their children, or overeats, or gets anger in their heart toward another person just sinned as egregiously as a gay person.
Secondly, I would venture to say that many Christians who are repulsed by homosexuality will not be able to stand before God and be found pure of ever having dabbled in it. Homosexuality isn't just two men having sex. How many heterosexual Christian men get turned on by the thought of two sexy women getting sexually physical? How many men have taken it a step farther and watched pornography showing just that? Or, how many single women have thought that fantasizing about men would dishonor their future husband and so they fantasized about women instead? Or, again, even watched porn showcasing women and not men for that same reason?
And, thirdly, it is rare to find a Christian, even one who truly and authentically loves and adores Jesus and seeks to live for Him, who has never struggled with lust. Maybe it was never toward the same sex, but heterosexual sin, whether it's in the mind, watching porn, or getting physical with another person who isn't their spouse, is SIN.
God hates sin. God wants people to live for Him, love Him, know Him, enjoy Him, and glorify Him. That was His intention in the garden. But then sin entered the world, and God loved mankind--that's you, reader, and me, and Oprah, and Mike Sisco, and Jerry Waters--so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to come to earth, be born of a virgin, live sinlessly, and eventually be murdered on a cross, shedding His innocent blood on behalf of us all so that those who accept this free gift of grace could be presented by Christ as acceptable to God because Jesus is acceptable to God and we belong to Him. Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross allows for anyone who receives Him to be forgiven for their sin, ALL of it, and have a restored relationship with God the Father. That is the gospel.
Jesus did not die for me more than He died for a practicing homosexual. My sin is just as egregious, ugly, and deserving of death as his/hers. This is true for all Christians and so I will definitely say that this American Christian cultural obsession with homosexuality is just absolutely detestable and people with hate and pride in their hearts will face judgment for it.
One area to be careful is that some Christians go to another extreme and try to say that a practicing homosexual is made that way (well, not the practicing part, but you get it) by God and that it's not sin. This simply isn't true. However, a Christian can belong to Jesus and love Him and struggle with homosexual temptation and still be a Christian, bought by Jesus' blood and bound for eternal life in heaven. What matters is the heart--is someone actively seeking Jesus and trying to repent of that lifestyle or is the person essentially blaming God for being that way and not seeking Him for the power of the Holy Spirit to obey God and put their sin of homosexual desires and lusts to death? God knows and tests the heart and Jesus will testify to God who belongs to Him and who doesn't; this goes for homosexuals and heterosexuals alike, as it's not about sexual preference. Again, it's about the heart and God judges the heart.
The next piece is AIDS--many claimed 23 years ago in that fieldhouse that God was basically reaching down from heaven and punishing gay people by giving them AIDS. That's simply not truth. Pain and death breaks God's heart; just this morning I read John 11, where Jesus wept as He saw Martha, Mary, and others weeping over the death of their brother and friend, Lazarus. We weren't meant to know death! Death entered the world through sin, and Jesus conquered it in that Christians will live eternally with God in heaven and no longer be separated from God, to death, by sin. Until Jesus returns and creates the new heaven and new earth, sin and death will continue to ravage the earth.
Part of sin and death are various diseases. Some diseases are random, inexplicably afflicting people and it just doesn't seem fair. Google Kate McRae--a beautiful, sweet little 6-year-old girl fighting for her life against brain cancer. On the other hand, certain behaviors make us more susceptible to some diseases than others. Lung cancer afflicts some who never touched a cigarette in their life, yet smoking cigarettes highly increases the likelihood that someone will get lung cancer (and a host of other diseases; my great grandmother died from emphysema yet smoked until her last hospital visit, the one from which she left headed for the morgue). Heart disease isn't only among the obese, yet those who eat poorly and don't exercise skyrocket the likelihood that their death will be related to a failing heart, diabetes, high blood pressure, and the like.
So, finally, it is not only homosexual men or promiscuous men and women who contract the HIV virus and eventually die from AIDS related causes. However, yet again, choosing to engage in those behaviors does make it much more likely that this will be the case. Is this God reaching down and smiting the cigarette addict, the fat person, or the gay person? No. It's the result of sin and its effects of bringing pain, disease, and death into the world. God's will is that none would perish, but He's patient, wanting people to know Him and He gives chance after chance for people to meet Him (2 Peter 3:9). I don't think it's a stretch to say that God is not sitting in heaven hoping, even enacting, pain and suffering on people. One spiritual being utterly thrives on pain and death, and that is the enemy, Satan.
Here is a great clip that I think well describes the heart of God and why He is not the perpetrator of evil. The whole thing is amazing, telling the testimony of a sweet woman who was hit on her bike last year here in Seattle and nearly died, for whom the result of living brought many painful surgeries and lifelong effects. But if you skip to 7:26, that is where Pastor Mark (the preaching pastor at my church) describes his response to her asking if God did this to her. In sum, yes God is in charge, but no He did not do this to her. God is good, He is love, and Jesus' suffering for us so that we will not experience hell is the greatest expression of God's love for us.
So, no, God is not sitting in heaven angrily striking gay people with AIDS because He's so full of wrath over their disobedience. Yes, there is a link between a gay person who chose to enact their sinful desires with the consequence of contracting AIDS, but even in that it's the result of sin and death, not God punishing sinners. He already punished Jesus on the cross, and plenty of punishment awaits in hell those who do not receive Jesus' forgiveness of their sin.
Final thoughts: we can receive the truth that God loves people and that means we're quick to love and slow to judge. We can reject the idea that God accepts homosexuality and that it's not sin and thus we should say it's ok.
We can redeem the message that we should have compassion for people. This is not a compassion that says it's ok to keep practicing homosexuality; we should love and have compassion for a gay person suffering from AIDS while also having the courage to tell them that Jesus loves them and He forgives them for ALL of their sin. If they receive Jesus and repent, we should lovingly keep pointing them to Jesus and pray for them and be humble about the fact that we, too, are sinners, while never telling them that it's "ok to be gay". It's not, but as I said before, but neither is it ok to be proud nor hateful nor in denial that our sin is just as ugly and just as effectively nailed Jesus to the cross.
This compassion means that we actually live like Jesus, who sought to know and understand people before He named their sin, and even after naming their sin exhorted them to know and love Him as opposed to condemning them (see: the woman at the well). The fact that Jesus is the person people are sinning against, and not us, and that He is so gracious and compassionate should humble us. It's about Jesus and His glory, not us and ours. Let's start living like it!
I pray that this accurately reflects God's heart, is in line with the truth of His Word, and that if you have never heard these things before that the Holy Spirit would minister to you to trust what He says and not write God off because you have seen people claim to represent God yet act with hatred toward others.
I'm very grateful Oprah did this episode. As I said early on, I've thought about these issues for a long time but, clearly, my heart and beliefs about the issue aren't exactly Facebook-post friendly, so I've kept quiet and never articulated them. It's also nearly 1 a.m., I'm exhausted, and just praying this post isn't chock full of typos!
My dear friend Bekah noted that she appreciated me saying what tomorrow's episode is about, and I think that's a great trend to keep going! Up tomorrow: the hostages from the recent tragedy of the gunman rampaging the Discovery building describe their experiences.
The synopsis: in 1987, when very little was known about the AIDS virus, a gay man in Williamson, West Virginia who had AIDS chose to swim in his small community's swimming pool. This set off a firestorm of controversy, and when Oprah visited the small community and opened up the mic for people to air their opinions, a common theme was that AIDS is God's rightful judgment on homosexuals, that people were disgusted by this man's lifestyle, and that the man, Mike Sisco, was less of a human being (made clear by the opinion that he shouldn't have the same rights as heterosexual, HIV-negative people). The crux moment came when a man angrily proclaimed, "I'm repulsed by his disease and I'm repulsed by him," amidst a clapping and cheering crowd.
Before I start to dive into what the Bible says about these topics, I think it's utterly heartbreaking that, upon being asked by Oprah why he thought he'd be welcomed back home if he had AIDS, Mike Sisco said, "Because I felt I was dying and I thought they could overlook the fact that I was a homosexual and see that I needed some compassion and to be in my hometown." That just ripped my heart out, because he was right. He should have received love and compassion from those who say they know Jesus, not hatred and condemnation. More on that later.
So, now, 23 years later, Oprah is revisiting the fieldhouse, the place where she taped the original show. She's playing the tape of that show for the same people who said those horrible and hurtful things.
First, Oprah sat down with Mike's sister Tina who spoke up for him and defended him. We learn that Mike died 7 years later, and that he did find love and acceptance from his immediate family before dying. However, even after he died, a family member called to say that Mike shouldn't be buried by his mother and her family had to have her casket moved to another cemetery in order for him to be buried next to her. That said, Mike's bravery in taking the risk to educate people gave another of his sisters the courage to come out as gay herself.
Jerry Waters is the name of the man who yelled about being repulsed by Mike Sisco, who also insisted that all people with AIDS be quarantined. He's 60 now and seems more subdued. He says he's embarrassed that he was so forceful but also insists that he's simply a passionate person. He sounds a lot more 2010 now, saying he thinks essentially that people should be able to do whatever they want to, including be homosexual, so long as it doesn't affect him. There are some bits with him disagreeing with a doctor who accused him of fear back then, and the doctor (who does seem a little smug, to be honest) insisting that he was right 30 years ago and he's right now. I'm glad Oprah drew attention to the fact, without affirming Mr. Waters' harsh attitude back then, that part of the problem in 1987 is that people were hearing conflicting reports from the CDC about how you could get AIDS. It did seem to keep changing as far as what was safe and what wasn't. Still, this isn't the heart of this show so I won't spend a lot of time here.
Where it gets very interesting is Oprah saying to Mr. Waters that what was missing from him and the entire room full of people, most claiming to be there in God's name as Christians, was compassion. Mr. Waters, upon being asked by Oprah if he owes Mike Sisco's family an apology, basically says he's sorry they lost someone but that Mike brought it on himself to come to a small community where people wouldn't be as understanding as in a big city with a large gay community. I like what Oprah and the sisters said--who are we to decide where a dying man should have to go to find community? Who are we to say he can't come home to his family?
Gotta give Oprah some credit here: once again, she says to Mr. Waters that the bottom line is that he regrets what he said. He affirms this but pulls the whole, "Who hasn't said something they regret?" card, and if I were Oprah I would sure tell him that is a bunch of cockamamie cop-out BS. She's still respectful to him, despite how bad he looks compared to the rest of the people sitting there with him, because he doesn't seem truly repentant, just embarrassed that he acted like an ass in front of the entire nation on the Oprah Show. The woman practices what she believes and I give her credit for that. Christians, including myself, could learn a thing or two from her.
The next two people are an interesting contrast. One is Cynthia, who was a high school senior in the audience in 1987. She was so appalled at the way people from her town acted that she didn't speak up out of fear, and she seems somewhat haunted by the memory of Jerry Waters and his anger in particular. Bob "Bobby" Webb is where it really grabbed my attention.
Bobby, "...went to the show because [he's] a Christian and the Bible says that [the gay] lifestyle is wrong. And if the Bible says it, [he] believes it." His opinion in 1987 was that he was uncomfortable to even be in the same room as Mike Sisco. He says now that he has had a complete change and that he is a Christian and what he said wasn't right. Bob apologizes to Mike's sisters for the statement he made, and says that God's number one rule is to love everybody. He emphasizes that he doesn't approve of the lifestyle because the Bible says it's an abomination (such a loaded word our culture! I know the Bible says it, as I quote that verse later, but it even makes me shudder a bit) but gay people are human and should be loved like every other human. As Oprah goes to break he turns around and apologizes to the sisters, and really seems sincere. As a Christian, that sure is a relief!
Next is Eugene Thorn, who knew at age six that he was gay. He knew Mike Sisco and was 10-years-old when the Oprah show happened. He was there but specifically remembers thinking that there was no way he would come out openly gay, despite being called a Tiffany and treated poorly. He's now openly gay and HIV-positive. He feels that Mike Sisco was a hero in that he paved the way for people like Eugene to live "undetectable" as gay and HIV-positive. He now lives in Cincinatti, but says that small towns like Williamson persist in struggling to accept people like him.
Nina Blackburn was a stay-at-home-mom who attended the show to find out what was being said. She now feels that her ignorance led to her saying things (essentially that Mike Sisco put children's lives at risk by getting in the swimming pool) that she wishes she hadn't said. Oprah talks about the lack of compassion from "god-fearing" people in the room. Bobby thinks there was compassion, because he didn't wish the disease on Mike Sisco, but Oprah quips that there is no way you can watch that tape and say that people had compassion.
Next, the post-show press conference shows Oprah insisting that the ignorance and hatred toward Mike Sisco was an American problem and not a small town problem. Nina, back to the present day, says that fear overrode people's compassion. Asking the room to raise their hand if they believed AIDS carriers should be quarantined resulted in the vast majority of hands being raised. Oprah tells us that 23 years later the show still gets letters about Mike Sisco. Steven from California shares how Mike Sisco changed his life, because he was one of the first people Steven had ever seen on television who admitted that he was gay. Steven was inspired that if Mike Sisco could go on the Oprah show then Steven could come out with more courage to his family and was inspired to become a nurse with the hope of helping AIDS patients. This led to many tears from all three of Mike's sisters, and Oprah ends by saying that Mike impacted many people's lives, and "Mike Sisco, this one's for you" with the last image being his picture, name, and life span.
Whew.
Ok. Just the recap was a lot! But this is a topic I think about a lot and have never blogged on. I'm praying for wisdom, clarity, and that my words would accurately reflect God's heart as He makes it known to us in the Bible.
I think that, even less than the AIDS issue, this show was really about someone being a homosexual and people's reaction to that. Sadly, the least loving and least Christ-like treatment of homosexuals in our nation come from those who call themselves conservative, evangelical Christians. I am among those who believe that to act out homosexuality, be it in the mind or physically, is sin, yet I'm very careful to ever bring this up because I know how quickly and easily I, and those like me, are lumped in with those who hold up signs that say, "God Hates Fags". My hope is to carefully walk through what the Bible has to say about homosexuality, and the accusation on the show that AIDS is God punishing gay people, while speaking the truth in love.
First, if I'm stating that homosexuality is sin, I need to back it up with scripture. Here are a few verses that I believe are most clear and straightforward, leaving no doubt that God does not accept homosexual acts as righteous and acceptable in His sight.
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.
Leviticus 18:22
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
I Corinthians 6:9-10
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
Romans 1:26-28The point in each of these verses is that God did not intend that men have sexual or emotional relationships with other men, nor women with other women; it's a sinful twist on God's intent that one man marry one woman and that their marriage relationship reflect the great marriage in heaven between Jesus Christ and His bride, the church. However, sinners decided that they wanted what they wanted; the sin ranged from homosexuality to all sorts of other idolatry, putting other earthly and fleshly things as their priority over obedience to God.
To be clear, sin is sin is sin. The Bible never says "God Hates Fags". It does say that God hates pride, though, and it's tragically easy for Christians to pick on homosexuality as a worse sin than the sin they commit. First of all, any Christian that has too much to drink just sinned just as much as a gay person. Oh, but so many Christians just never drink! Well, any Christian that idolizes their spouse or their children, or overeats, or gets anger in their heart toward another person just sinned as egregiously as a gay person.
Secondly, I would venture to say that many Christians who are repulsed by homosexuality will not be able to stand before God and be found pure of ever having dabbled in it. Homosexuality isn't just two men having sex. How many heterosexual Christian men get turned on by the thought of two sexy women getting sexually physical? How many men have taken it a step farther and watched pornography showing just that? Or, how many single women have thought that fantasizing about men would dishonor their future husband and so they fantasized about women instead? Or, again, even watched porn showcasing women and not men for that same reason?
And, thirdly, it is rare to find a Christian, even one who truly and authentically loves and adores Jesus and seeks to live for Him, who has never struggled with lust. Maybe it was never toward the same sex, but heterosexual sin, whether it's in the mind, watching porn, or getting physical with another person who isn't their spouse, is SIN.
God hates sin. God wants people to live for Him, love Him, know Him, enjoy Him, and glorify Him. That was His intention in the garden. But then sin entered the world, and God loved mankind--that's you, reader, and me, and Oprah, and Mike Sisco, and Jerry Waters--so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to come to earth, be born of a virgin, live sinlessly, and eventually be murdered on a cross, shedding His innocent blood on behalf of us all so that those who accept this free gift of grace could be presented by Christ as acceptable to God because Jesus is acceptable to God and we belong to Him. Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross allows for anyone who receives Him to be forgiven for their sin, ALL of it, and have a restored relationship with God the Father. That is the gospel.
Jesus did not die for me more than He died for a practicing homosexual. My sin is just as egregious, ugly, and deserving of death as his/hers. This is true for all Christians and so I will definitely say that this American Christian cultural obsession with homosexuality is just absolutely detestable and people with hate and pride in their hearts will face judgment for it.
One area to be careful is that some Christians go to another extreme and try to say that a practicing homosexual is made that way (well, not the practicing part, but you get it) by God and that it's not sin. This simply isn't true. However, a Christian can belong to Jesus and love Him and struggle with homosexual temptation and still be a Christian, bought by Jesus' blood and bound for eternal life in heaven. What matters is the heart--is someone actively seeking Jesus and trying to repent of that lifestyle or is the person essentially blaming God for being that way and not seeking Him for the power of the Holy Spirit to obey God and put their sin of homosexual desires and lusts to death? God knows and tests the heart and Jesus will testify to God who belongs to Him and who doesn't; this goes for homosexuals and heterosexuals alike, as it's not about sexual preference. Again, it's about the heart and God judges the heart.
The next piece is AIDS--many claimed 23 years ago in that fieldhouse that God was basically reaching down from heaven and punishing gay people by giving them AIDS. That's simply not truth. Pain and death breaks God's heart; just this morning I read John 11, where Jesus wept as He saw Martha, Mary, and others weeping over the death of their brother and friend, Lazarus. We weren't meant to know death! Death entered the world through sin, and Jesus conquered it in that Christians will live eternally with God in heaven and no longer be separated from God, to death, by sin. Until Jesus returns and creates the new heaven and new earth, sin and death will continue to ravage the earth.
Part of sin and death are various diseases. Some diseases are random, inexplicably afflicting people and it just doesn't seem fair. Google Kate McRae--a beautiful, sweet little 6-year-old girl fighting for her life against brain cancer. On the other hand, certain behaviors make us more susceptible to some diseases than others. Lung cancer afflicts some who never touched a cigarette in their life, yet smoking cigarettes highly increases the likelihood that someone will get lung cancer (and a host of other diseases; my great grandmother died from emphysema yet smoked until her last hospital visit, the one from which she left headed for the morgue). Heart disease isn't only among the obese, yet those who eat poorly and don't exercise skyrocket the likelihood that their death will be related to a failing heart, diabetes, high blood pressure, and the like.
So, finally, it is not only homosexual men or promiscuous men and women who contract the HIV virus and eventually die from AIDS related causes. However, yet again, choosing to engage in those behaviors does make it much more likely that this will be the case. Is this God reaching down and smiting the cigarette addict, the fat person, or the gay person? No. It's the result of sin and its effects of bringing pain, disease, and death into the world. God's will is that none would perish, but He's patient, wanting people to know Him and He gives chance after chance for people to meet Him (2 Peter 3:9). I don't think it's a stretch to say that God is not sitting in heaven hoping, even enacting, pain and suffering on people. One spiritual being utterly thrives on pain and death, and that is the enemy, Satan.
Here is a great clip that I think well describes the heart of God and why He is not the perpetrator of evil. The whole thing is amazing, telling the testimony of a sweet woman who was hit on her bike last year here in Seattle and nearly died, for whom the result of living brought many painful surgeries and lifelong effects. But if you skip to 7:26, that is where Pastor Mark (the preaching pastor at my church) describes his response to her asking if God did this to her. In sum, yes God is in charge, but no He did not do this to her. God is good, He is love, and Jesus' suffering for us so that we will not experience hell is the greatest expression of God's love for us.
So, no, God is not sitting in heaven angrily striking gay people with AIDS because He's so full of wrath over their disobedience. Yes, there is a link between a gay person who chose to enact their sinful desires with the consequence of contracting AIDS, but even in that it's the result of sin and death, not God punishing sinners. He already punished Jesus on the cross, and plenty of punishment awaits in hell those who do not receive Jesus' forgiveness of their sin.
Final thoughts: we can receive the truth that God loves people and that means we're quick to love and slow to judge. We can reject the idea that God accepts homosexuality and that it's not sin and thus we should say it's ok.
We can redeem the message that we should have compassion for people. This is not a compassion that says it's ok to keep practicing homosexuality; we should love and have compassion for a gay person suffering from AIDS while also having the courage to tell them that Jesus loves them and He forgives them for ALL of their sin. If they receive Jesus and repent, we should lovingly keep pointing them to Jesus and pray for them and be humble about the fact that we, too, are sinners, while never telling them that it's "ok to be gay". It's not, but as I said before, but neither is it ok to be proud nor hateful nor in denial that our sin is just as ugly and just as effectively nailed Jesus to the cross.
This compassion means that we actually live like Jesus, who sought to know and understand people before He named their sin, and even after naming their sin exhorted them to know and love Him as opposed to condemning them (see: the woman at the well). The fact that Jesus is the person people are sinning against, and not us, and that He is so gracious and compassionate should humble us. It's about Jesus and His glory, not us and ours. Let's start living like it!
I pray that this accurately reflects God's heart, is in line with the truth of His Word, and that if you have never heard these things before that the Holy Spirit would minister to you to trust what He says and not write God off because you have seen people claim to represent God yet act with hatred toward others.
I'm very grateful Oprah did this episode. As I said early on, I've thought about these issues for a long time but, clearly, my heart and beliefs about the issue aren't exactly Facebook-post friendly, so I've kept quiet and never articulated them. It's also nearly 1 a.m., I'm exhausted, and just praying this post isn't chock full of typos!
My dear friend Bekah noted that she appreciated me saying what tomorrow's episode is about, and I think that's a great trend to keep going! Up tomorrow: the hostages from the recent tragedy of the gunman rampaging the Discovery building describe their experiences.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Episode 2 - Wynonna Judd
Today's episode was about Wynonna Judd. I wasn't sure what to expect, since the teaser about the Judd's appearing on the show in the past seemed to include all sorts of drama and public airing of private family secrets.
Right off the bat the focus was on Wynonna's weight. That's great for her that she lost weight, but it reminds me of a trend I've noticed with Oprah: she consistently talks about how our inner selves are where we need to find peace, but she's so focused on the outer self. She's always obsessing over her own body, and this is something she's very vocal about towards others. On the repeat shown last Friday, she was consistently commenting on how good Jada Pinkett looked; today she was quick to jump on Wynonna about having lost weight.
Here's the rub: I have written a lot on my personal blog about the subject of weight. I myself have always struggled with obesity, weight, and body image. I'm ok with rejoicing with someone who has lost weight because I totally get it. That said, we can still love and celebrate and be excited about Wynonna even if she hadn't lost almost 60 pounds. It's hard to explain, but I feel like the very excitement Oprah has when someone's been "good" and lost weight and the tough love "how are we going to stop being bad"--most notably with herself, but also with others--perpetuates this idea that our worth is wrapped up in our body and if we're marching down the scale or up it. She was so hard on herself when she went back over 200 pounds recently, and think about it--if she's so awful for weighing over 200, what about the person who weighs 250? 300? 350? More? Does our worth diminish in a direct ratio to how much we weigh? How Oprah handles people's weight often just makes me feel sad and kind of icky.
Caveat: I loved Wynonna's crack about getting back to her original weight of 8 lbs 15 oz. Hilarity!
The truth is, Jesus wants us to steward our bodies well.
Back to the show: I thought it was interesting to hear Wynonna talk about how she had to spend time with God and put herself back on the list in order to lose weight. Now, I don't know exactly what that means, but it did convict me a little. I hate the message on The Biggest Loser about how if you just love yourself enough you'll take care of yourself, and people get fat because they're so selflessly helping everyone else that they lose track of themselves and treat themselves poorly by eating poorly.
I'm not sure if that's what Wynonna meant, but I have to boldly just state that you don't eat the kinds of things that make you morbidly obese out of a selfless and good heart. You don't! Yes, there can be a time component, that you spent so much time taking care of your family that you didn't get in a workout or make a healthy dinner, but even that isn't just not loving yourself. If you feed your family junk you weren't loving them all that well, either, and none of us begrudgingly eat horrible foods! We eat them because they taste good, and it's just as simple and quick to grab an orange or some carrot sticks and hummus as it is to grab a cookie or some chips and dip. There is inherent selfishness involved and it's just as selfish to say that now you only will focus on yourself until you have a hot body and then you'll fit your family back in. REJECT this.
Ok, end rant. So much for brevity!
Here's my point: I started to roll my eyes (figuratively) and write Wynonna and Oprah off at this point. But then I realized that there is an element of truth here. Maybe Wynonna meant tit for tat the exact Biggest Loser message, but maybe she didn't. I will argue that it's still selfish, typically motivated by trying to please others and / or living out of a need to define your own worth by what you do, but there's something to be said for not taking care of yourself because you get wrapped up in everyone else. I think it's still a willful decision, and it's coming from just as sinful of a heart as the person who downright refuses to do anything for anyone else, but there's an element of truth in needing to prioritize yourself if you have let your life get so caught up in everyone else that you are just lost in the mess.
However, the thing to redeem here is it's not about getting you on the list--it's about getting with God and seeking how to honor Him in setting your priorities because, again, we are Biblically commanded to steward our bodies well. For example, yes, I honor God by keeping our home inviting and clean for our community group to meet here every week, and by planning / shopping for / cooking good meals for my husband, keeping our finances up to date and within the budget my husband and I set, earning extra cash by doing transcription, serving others through the various ways I volunteer for my church, loving people in relationships, and serving God by utilizing my love and gift for writing on this blog, my personal blog, and for my church.
Yes, I am called to do all of those things. However, I can't get so caught up in them that I never exercise and make my husband good healthy food while shoving unhealthy foods down my gullet. Everything--everything--I do must be for the glory of God and worshiping God in all I do means that I do prioritize my personal time with God, my exercise, and time to prepare healthy foods for myself in the midst of everything else that I do.
It seemed like this is what Wynonna meant, and she did refer to Jesus later on, so I hope that she does know Jesus and His truth and that God is not a vague spiritual force. Finding our worth in who the God of the Bible says we are--His, bought with Jesus' precious blood--is the only way to find peace and joy, and to live to honor God out of that is how we can then prioritize life so that we love Him and honor Him by how we steward everything from our bodies to our money to our time to how we love and treat others.
Phew! That was a lot, so I'll try to only hit on highlights from here.
Sidenote: Interesting little catchphrase, that alone should be seen as "all one" with God. Interesting.
It sounds absolutely awful that Wynonna has had to live through not just a husband committing adultery, but that he molested a child that the family knew and loved. I cannot imagine that, and pray that she is finding her peace in Jesus Christ. I pray for her ex-husband's soul, because the wrath of God against someone who harms a child is not something I would wish on anyone. As a survivor of sexual abuse, my heart aches for that child and I pray that they are finding healing in Christ as well.
Now that Naomi, mama Judd, is coming out, Oprah is once again quick to jump on how good she looks. My original argument about Oprah still being too caught up in body image stands. I am committing to pray for her on this specific point. Ultimately, I pray she would know Jesus, but the anguish that must be in her soul as she grasps at the air for worth yet is so lied to about how her struggle with weight demeans that worth is just haunting to me!
Something I love about Oprah is that I absolutely believe her when she says that she wants to be totally present and maximize every moment of her 130 shows in this final season. She cares that she does her very best, doesn't waste a show by just "getting through", or focus on what comes next when this is all over, but being here and present in the moment. A recent sermon at church was called Redeeming Greatness, and it was all about how we should be inspired by greatness and aspire to be great. It's for Jesus' glory, yes, but it's good and ok to want to be the very best you can be. Jesus was great and wants us to be great and use the gifts and talents He has given us! Oprah is someone we can respect in this regard. She works hard, intentionally does the very best she can at everything she does, and has excelled and experienced great success and she seems to really love what she does. This should inspire us to be great at what God has called us to do!
I don't have a ton to say about it, other than oh my wow! The Judd's farm is so incredibly gorgeous and, though I'm a city girl, I sure wouldn't whine if they offered to build me a house on their property!
What Ashley is doing is amazing, though it was interesting to see Wynonna's sense of sibling rivalry. Pointing out that she'll go to the Congo someday, that Ashley can save the world because she doesn't have kids, that she "cleaned out her closet" after Naomi talked about Ashley meeting with the president of Rwanda for 3 1/2 hours trying to end female genital mutliation... it was comical but seemed to belie ongoing issues in her heart. I hope she realizes that "standing behind the cross", as she said, means that her duty is merely to focus on what Jesus has put before her and doing it well for His glory. If she doesn't revolutionize Africa that's ok.
I loved the song at the end. It's so moving to see the images of the so many ways Oprah and her show has changed lives, from helping dying children to bringing fathers home from war to their families to building houses for people. I love all of the ways she seeks to use her wealth and influence to help people. I just pray that she'll know Jesus and do it for Him so that when she stands before Him she'll hear "Well done, my good and faithful servant" and not, in spite of the multitude of good things she did on earth for humanity, "Depart from Me, for I never knew you."
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's show, about AIDS, and so far really enjoying this Oprah journey!
Right off the bat the focus was on Wynonna's weight. That's great for her that she lost weight, but it reminds me of a trend I've noticed with Oprah: she consistently talks about how our inner selves are where we need to find peace, but she's so focused on the outer self. She's always obsessing over her own body, and this is something she's very vocal about towards others. On the repeat shown last Friday, she was consistently commenting on how good Jada Pinkett looked; today she was quick to jump on Wynonna about having lost weight.
Here's the rub: I have written a lot on my personal blog about the subject of weight. I myself have always struggled with obesity, weight, and body image. I'm ok with rejoicing with someone who has lost weight because I totally get it. That said, we can still love and celebrate and be excited about Wynonna even if she hadn't lost almost 60 pounds. It's hard to explain, but I feel like the very excitement Oprah has when someone's been "good" and lost weight and the tough love "how are we going to stop being bad"--most notably with herself, but also with others--perpetuates this idea that our worth is wrapped up in our body and if we're marching down the scale or up it. She was so hard on herself when she went back over 200 pounds recently, and think about it--if she's so awful for weighing over 200, what about the person who weighs 250? 300? 350? More? Does our worth diminish in a direct ratio to how much we weigh? How Oprah handles people's weight often just makes me feel sad and kind of icky.
Caveat: I loved Wynonna's crack about getting back to her original weight of 8 lbs 15 oz. Hilarity!
The truth is, Jesus wants us to steward our bodies well.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
I Corinthians 10:31You can read my personal blog for many more thoughts on this subject, and I'll aim for brevity here, but Jesus doesn't care if we're being "good" or "bad" and trying to get skinny or lazily getting fatter two-thirds of a pack of Oreos at at time. Jesus looks at our heart, and we can diet and exercise, manipulate and control ourselves into a smaller dress size and our heart can be just as sinful as if we were laying on the couch eating three Hot Pockets washed down with a 20 oz Pepsi every afternoon. God cares that if we're eating well, it's to glorify Him and not because we're chasing after the lie that our worth is directly proportional to our thigh circumference. God cares that if we're exercising it's because we see our body as a gift from Him, on loan and meant to be well taken care of while we are living in it, and not so that we can make men lust after us and women jealous.
Back to the show: I thought it was interesting to hear Wynonna talk about how she had to spend time with God and put herself back on the list in order to lose weight. Now, I don't know exactly what that means, but it did convict me a little. I hate the message on The Biggest Loser about how if you just love yourself enough you'll take care of yourself, and people get fat because they're so selflessly helping everyone else that they lose track of themselves and treat themselves poorly by eating poorly.
I'm not sure if that's what Wynonna meant, but I have to boldly just state that you don't eat the kinds of things that make you morbidly obese out of a selfless and good heart. You don't! Yes, there can be a time component, that you spent so much time taking care of your family that you didn't get in a workout or make a healthy dinner, but even that isn't just not loving yourself. If you feed your family junk you weren't loving them all that well, either, and none of us begrudgingly eat horrible foods! We eat them because they taste good, and it's just as simple and quick to grab an orange or some carrot sticks and hummus as it is to grab a cookie or some chips and dip. There is inherent selfishness involved and it's just as selfish to say that now you only will focus on yourself until you have a hot body and then you'll fit your family back in. REJECT this.
Ok, end rant. So much for brevity!
Here's my point: I started to roll my eyes (figuratively) and write Wynonna and Oprah off at this point. But then I realized that there is an element of truth here. Maybe Wynonna meant tit for tat the exact Biggest Loser message, but maybe she didn't. I will argue that it's still selfish, typically motivated by trying to please others and / or living out of a need to define your own worth by what you do, but there's something to be said for not taking care of yourself because you get wrapped up in everyone else. I think it's still a willful decision, and it's coming from just as sinful of a heart as the person who downright refuses to do anything for anyone else, but there's an element of truth in needing to prioritize yourself if you have let your life get so caught up in everyone else that you are just lost in the mess.
However, the thing to redeem here is it's not about getting you on the list--it's about getting with God and seeking how to honor Him in setting your priorities because, again, we are Biblically commanded to steward our bodies well. For example, yes, I honor God by keeping our home inviting and clean for our community group to meet here every week, and by planning / shopping for / cooking good meals for my husband, keeping our finances up to date and within the budget my husband and I set, earning extra cash by doing transcription, serving others through the various ways I volunteer for my church, loving people in relationships, and serving God by utilizing my love and gift for writing on this blog, my personal blog, and for my church.
Yes, I am called to do all of those things. However, I can't get so caught up in them that I never exercise and make my husband good healthy food while shoving unhealthy foods down my gullet. Everything--everything--I do must be for the glory of God and worshiping God in all I do means that I do prioritize my personal time with God, my exercise, and time to prepare healthy foods for myself in the midst of everything else that I do.
It seemed like this is what Wynonna meant, and she did refer to Jesus later on, so I hope that she does know Jesus and His truth and that God is not a vague spiritual force. Finding our worth in who the God of the Bible says we are--His, bought with Jesus' precious blood--is the only way to find peace and joy, and to live to honor God out of that is how we can then prioritize life so that we love Him and honor Him by how we steward everything from our bodies to our money to our time to how we love and treat others.
Phew! That was a lot, so I'll try to only hit on highlights from here.
Sidenote: Interesting little catchphrase, that alone should be seen as "all one" with God. Interesting.
It sounds absolutely awful that Wynonna has had to live through not just a husband committing adultery, but that he molested a child that the family knew and loved. I cannot imagine that, and pray that she is finding her peace in Jesus Christ. I pray for her ex-husband's soul, because the wrath of God against someone who harms a child is not something I would wish on anyone. As a survivor of sexual abuse, my heart aches for that child and I pray that they are finding healing in Christ as well.
Now that Naomi, mama Judd, is coming out, Oprah is once again quick to jump on how good she looks. My original argument about Oprah still being too caught up in body image stands. I am committing to pray for her on this specific point. Ultimately, I pray she would know Jesus, but the anguish that must be in her soul as she grasps at the air for worth yet is so lied to about how her struggle with weight demeans that worth is just haunting to me!
Something I love about Oprah is that I absolutely believe her when she says that she wants to be totally present and maximize every moment of her 130 shows in this final season. She cares that she does her very best, doesn't waste a show by just "getting through", or focus on what comes next when this is all over, but being here and present in the moment. A recent sermon at church was called Redeeming Greatness, and it was all about how we should be inspired by greatness and aspire to be great. It's for Jesus' glory, yes, but it's good and ok to want to be the very best you can be. Jesus was great and wants us to be great and use the gifts and talents He has given us! Oprah is someone we can respect in this regard. She works hard, intentionally does the very best she can at everything she does, and has excelled and experienced great success and she seems to really love what she does. This should inspire us to be great at what God has called us to do!
I don't have a ton to say about it, other than oh my wow! The Judd's farm is so incredibly gorgeous and, though I'm a city girl, I sure wouldn't whine if they offered to build me a house on their property!
What Ashley is doing is amazing, though it was interesting to see Wynonna's sense of sibling rivalry. Pointing out that she'll go to the Congo someday, that Ashley can save the world because she doesn't have kids, that she "cleaned out her closet" after Naomi talked about Ashley meeting with the president of Rwanda for 3 1/2 hours trying to end female genital mutliation... it was comical but seemed to belie ongoing issues in her heart. I hope she realizes that "standing behind the cross", as she said, means that her duty is merely to focus on what Jesus has put before her and doing it well for His glory. If she doesn't revolutionize Africa that's ok.
I loved the song at the end. It's so moving to see the images of the so many ways Oprah and her show has changed lives, from helping dying children to bringing fathers home from war to their families to building houses for people. I love all of the ways she seeks to use her wealth and influence to help people. I just pray that she'll know Jesus and do it for Him so that when she stands before Him she'll hear "Well done, my good and faithful servant" and not, in spite of the multitude of good things she did on earth for humanity, "Depart from Me, for I never knew you."
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's show, about AIDS, and so far really enjoying this Oprah journey!
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