So this previously nerd only technology is being used by God in amazing ways!

“Sunday in the Life” Mars Hill Blog

Mars Hill on the News!

August 14th, I received this comment in response to my blog “in response to my last blog” from a woman named Andrea:

You seem to have this really sad trend of clinging to your god. You choose to turn a blind eye to the truth itself. There’s gonna be sin, for sure. You’re gonna commit sin every day of your life. If you keep living and dying because others relish in their sins and you do not, you’re just as bad as they are. You think vulgar music and calling a penis by other names is evil. You know what’s evil? Watching Jesus freaks judge the world just because their “god” had some dude write down ten rules and a bunch of guidelines. What we live, the good and bad is our life. This is our heaven and our hell. Praying isn’t going to grant you wishes, and if you feel alone in this universe, perhaps you’re alienating everyone around you.

And here is my response to the response to my response. (i couldn’t resist)

—

Andrea, first, thanks for reading my blog. I’d love to hear how you stumbled across it.

Now, as for the truth, this is what I believe to be Truth.

The Truth, I agree, is that there is going to be sin. Let me define that first: sin is the things that we think, say, and do that are contrary to God, that are disregarding the relationship with Him we were created to be in, and when we don’t do what we know we should. We are all sinners (Romans 3:23), so there is going to be sin, and I also agree with you that we are going to commit sins everyday of our lives.

However, where we first differ is in the fact that I know it’s not good to “relish in [our] sins.”

You say that I’m a “Jesus freak” (thank you, by the way, i take that as a compliment) and that I’m judging “the world just because [my] ‘god’ had some dude write down ten rules and a bunch of guidelines.”

First, I wasn’t judging the world. The people I was writing my blog about and to (including myself) are Christians and I was encouraging them (albeit very bluntly) to seriously consider what it is that they are finding their entertainment in and how they conduct themselves, because the sin you say that we should “relish in” is something that as Christians we should not relish in. It’s not my place to present them with any standard that I don’t expect myself to be judged by too. And Christian’s are encouraged in the Bible to “put off [our] old self, which belongs to [our] former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires…and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24) because we love Him, and because we don’t want our relationship with him to be hindered in any way.

From your comment, I’m assuming you’re not a Christian, and I want you to know that I am by no means holding you to this standard. It is not my place to judge you, or tell you what to do, and that’s not what I intended to do in my blog. Again, it was written to my Christian friends, not to be applied to you or the world.

As for prayer, I don’t think of it as getting my wishes granted. Prayer is an opportunity to talk to God, my Creator and my Savior.

Also, I don’t feel alone in this universe. I have been blessed enough to have a great family who loves me, and great friends who would agree with me in saying that I’m not alienating them. Even my non-Christian friends and family would agree that if anything I’m doing the exact opposite of alienating anyone.

I would love to hear your response to this, and maybe you could explain a little more to me about how you view the world, and what you believe.

–Cait

So I’ve been calling my friends on things like when Ephesians talks about how we need to “hesitate to speak of sin” and this afternoon I’ve been realizing that I am a complete hypocrite.

I call people on listening to the “i kissed a girl and i liked it” song, and I do them one worse.

I call people on coupling off, and again I fantasize about doing one worse.

Abba, save me from my own horrible desire to walk in my sin.
Help me to put on the armor of You and to fight the prince of darkness.

one of the hardest days of my life…

i can’t figure out what face i wear is really mine…

i don’t know what God wants me to do…

i wish, i pray i can move forward…

I’m so far behind, but I love you, and you know it…

I love you Mae, and I’m sorry this blog has fallen a week behind (you heard right, a whole week), but I know you know I love you, and it doesn’t take a blog to prove that love!

For Good

you know that funny feeling when a high energy song on your ipod ends and all you can hear is your footsteps on the wet sidewalk, that is how i feel this morning.

Wonderings…

- silent, secret, things you’ll never know, creep into my life, and are hard to let go

- why is she so comfortable in her own skin? why can’t i love the skin i’m in?

…the proxy kids from shoreline…

just seeing pictures of them at the puyallup fair, it’s really not fair! I wanted to go with them, but I’m at ballard and not even in proxy any more.

it really just makes me want to cry.

…written between homework assignments…

he ran his fingers through his hair and her heart jumped. he walked slowly toward her, slowly with determination and a little bit of fear. so, do you want to dance? She smiled, and took his hand as “In the Mood” began to play.

I don’t think she has one…

and yet, you never do, so I must not be worth talking to…

The tears ran down her cheeks as she pulled the letters from her trunk. Each one written with such a false tenderness that at the time seemed so real. She opened the first one and smoothed out the wrinkles. He always signed off with I love you and now she realized, it was all a lie.