Updates

Meeting people, I sure am. :) Probably very few I will remain in contact with, but I'm still meeting people. Working out, check. :) Memorizing verses, bad. :(

I also finally finished reading Captivating. The last 50 pages or so were TORTUROUS. The book started out well, but I got tired of the endless examples from movies and books that had nothing to do with the Bible. The 218 pages that were written could have easily been shortened to 100 or 150 pages without those.

Christa Blakey has a review of the book that there is no way I will be able to compete with ( www.blakeyblog.com/2006/04/14/review-captivating/ ) and I will not even "try" to. I do however, want to point some other things out that she missed. :) I shall do that hopefully this weekend. However, I thought I would share a thought right now something I attempted to convey in my post about depression. On pages 190-192 Stasi Eldridge talks about "emotional attacks" that can and do affect women. She talks about her father and how he was diagnosed as bi-polar (ie., depression, the noun).

"Anti-depressants are stigmatized in the church. Some call them "happy pills". Others say that if you are filled withe the Holy Spirit and walking with God in faith, you will not need them. They shame those who are responsibly taking them. But we don't shame diabetics who need to take insulin. Why do we shame people with a chemical imbalance who need to take something to help them? Once my father began taking lithium, he no longer had the dramatic mood swings that were the bane of our lives, and he became a much better man, more of the man he truly was. There is no shame in needing to take medicine whether to help in a short, difficult period or for the bulk of your life. We human beings are made up of three interwoven parts. As Paul says, "May God himself... sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess 5:23). We are body, soul and spirit. Each part affects the others in a mysterious interplay of life. By seeking healing through counseling, God was addressing my soul. God's provision of the help of the anti-depressants was a tremendous help to my body. I made real progress. But it was not enough. God wanted me to engage my spirit."

Hebrews 10:24-25

I was thinking about this a lot this weekend. "24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

I was talking to a girl yesterday at church... well, in the offices... and she said "If I wasn't being held accountable for being here, I wouldn't be here." I thought about how awesome that was for her accountability partner to do... I really need that, I have to be honest and say I've not gone to church more than I have in the past month for various reasons. I do have a good reason this week, but otherwise I don't. From that comment and my own personal lack of discipline for going to church, I realized as I was being a rebel this weekend relaxing at home, if I had the fellowship as exhorted in these verses, the sour mood I'm experiencing might not be as bad as it is.

So, count on seeing me IN church this weekend. :)