Easter, Volleyball and Religion

Easter Sunday, I drove down to Karen's and had a late dinner (or early supper) with her and the grand kid and their significant others.  I remembered Easter Sundays in the past where we all went to church and then on to grandma's for an outdoor Easter egg hunt and dinner.  Dressed in our finery for the entire day.

I had to kind of smile as the grand kids arrived or came down from their bedrooms, dressed in their blue jeans and T-shirts.  

It was a lovely, warm, sunny day, near 70 degrees.  After eating, we went out to play volleyball.  I love volleyball!  Karen was a star on the high school team.  When I was in high school, we only played it in Phys. Ed class, but years later, I did play on an adult team.

Well, come to find out now--I am not very good.  I am still a terrific server, skimming the ball just over the net and scoring points, but I can no longer run around on the uneven ground.

Thankfully, by the time I realized I needed to get off the "court", so that Karen, Mark and the kids could play without me in the way, it was after six and time for me to start home anyway.

I had a lovely day.  Karen and I did get to sit by ourselves and gossip chat a bit about Jennifer's situation.  It seems that not only has her husband NOT started work as yet, he hasn't even met with his father to discuss it!!  So, Jennifer is still supporting the whole family, by commuting back and forth between New Jersey and her office here in Michigan.

Isn't that just lovely?

Why did they move from their home here in Michigan?  The reason given was so that Jen's husband would work for his father, eventually take over the multi-millionaire business and Jennifer would be home with her children and do some pro bono law work.

The real reason?  I don't know for sure, but have an idea it was because he quit his job, because he was told he had progressed in "level" and salary as high as possible and Jennifer could not support that big house that they had gotten in over their heads.

At least, when she isn't commuting here, she IS home with the kids----and the husband.

Please Lord, keep my mouth sealed as to the advice I so want to give her!!!!!!!!!
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I am kind of sad today.  There was a TV program that I watched every Tuesday and Saturday evening.  It was re-runs of shows back in the 1990's by a nun called Mother Mary Angelica.  She founded a Catholic TV station called EWTN!  I loved watching her shows and always felt renewed.  She had suffered much in her life and often stated, when it became near her end of life, she would not go into hospice and "euthanized".  She wanted to be as awake as possible and wait for God to take her, not some drug.

Appropriately, she passed away, at age 92, on Easter Sunday.  Oh.  I loved her!
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No, I'm not Catholic and even my Catholic children don't watch the show.

I remember, back in the '50's, my Mother watching a TV show with Bishop Fulton Sheen.  My Daddy thought Mother was nuts.  For some reason, even with her background of being brought up completely prejudiced against Catholics, she watched Bishop Sheen's TV show faithfully, every week.  She thought he made sense and came to realize that "Some Catholics are actually Christians.  He preaches from the Bible!"

I think my Mother would have felt the same way about Mother Angelica.  I dearly loved the no nonsense nun!  She'd scold the church leaders, the priests.  I'll bet she would scold the Pope they have now too.  She wanted nothing to do with the liberalization of the Catholic Church.  I feel the same way.

A lot of people are trying to liberalize my Methodist Church, and I don't like it a bit.

There is the Bible.  There is the doctrine, the discipline, the beliefs of each denomination.  Leave them alone!  If you are a leader in these denominations and want to change the Church doctrine to now say, Gay marriage, Gay pastors and abortion are all right, then go to another denomination that feels the same way.  

Quit messing with the discipline.  Join a more liberal church, where you will be much happier than causing upheaval in the church I grew up in.

In my opinion, the Church is trying to gain more members--perhaps younger members, so they are lowering the standards the Church has always had, to meet the society we now live in.  Why?

I don't believe in transubstantiation (where the bread and wine turn into the actual body and blood of Christ).  Therefore, I do not go to Catholic or Lutheran church.  If some of their members feel that same way now, then  they should leave go to a different denomination.

Now, and this is just my opinion, I don't want my religion to come down to my standards.  I want them to "hold my feet to the fire" or something like that.  Just like God does.

People like to say, "Well, Jesus wouldn't judge."  Are you kidding me?  Jesus is God.  God judges and so did Jesus.  Yes, he forgave, but he said, "Go and don't sin again."  He didn't say, "Okay, I forgive you, just go over there and say a prayer and you can go back to your sinful life."

What did God do to Sodom and Gomorrah?  Was that not a judgment?  

We want it to be comfortable.  Like the Mega church up the road from me.  It has a couple thousand membership.  Mostly younger people and young families.  You walk into the "sanctuary" or whatever they call it, dress in your blue jeans or shorts, with your flip flops on, bringing with you your coffee, or Pepsi or whatever you want to bring in with you.  I'm surprised there isn't a smoking room off to the side with the "sermon" piped in.

There isn't a Cross in the entire building!  There is no communion.  The "speaker" gets up in front and gives a talk--be loving and kind to people.  Don't judge anyone.  Be happy and we'll all go to Heaven.  I call it dessert preaching.

Well guess what?  Even the Bible tells us to judge the company we keep.  "Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas."  "Don't cast your pearls before swine."  We need to know the people we keep company with.  Are they edifying or do they drag us down into the pit?
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Sorry--I guess I went off a bit.  What was my point.

Oh. I guess my thought was that Mother Mary Angelica didn't believe in liberalization religion and neither do I.