Life as a Christian Woman

Perhaps you have heard of the new Ben Stein movie, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. A friend of mine emailed me about it several weeks ago, and Christian radio had been promoting it, so my husband and I decided to check it out last weekend.

The movie, which is actually a pseudo-documentary, follows Stein as he travels the world interviewing educators and scientists who have been denied tenure, or perhaps even been fired, over their views that the universe might not be random, but could have been created by design. In short, these scientists appear to be questioning Darwinism. As you can imagine, this isn’t the most popular idea in the scientific community.According to Walt Ruloff, co-executive producer and co-founder of Premise Media (which is producing the film), “People will be stunned to actually find out what elitist scientists proclaim, which is that a large majority of Americans are simpletons who believe in a fairy tale.”And that is what came across. University spokespersons and department heads who were interviewed seemed to have an air of “let them eat cake,” never quite calling the masses that believe in one god or another foolish followers of a fairy tale, but the interpretation was there. And those who were fired were sympathetic characters, telling their tales of how colleagues told them to just let it go, stick with the party line.I’m not sure what I went to the movie expecting. Maybe I thought it was going to be a “rah rah, our side is right, your side is wrong” kind of victory for those of us that believe that God created the heavens and the earth, as it is written the Bible. Ben Stein is an intelligent man, perhaps I thought that finally those who deny God in the creation of the world would have met their match. And, indeed, Stein did succeed in making many in academia look foolish, close-minded and egotistical. But something just didn’t hit me right.The movie took too much at face value for me. There wasn’t much investigating into why some of the professors were let go. The universities themselves couldn’t comment (privacy issues), and usually in these cases the truth lies somewhere in the middle. It felt like I was only getting half the story. And later, I found out that those who agreed to be interviewed had been told it was for a movie called Crossroads: The Intersection of Science and Religion, and only later found out the movie’s intentions in relation to ID.Towards the end of the movie, a connection is made between Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Darwinism. Indeed, much of Mein Kampf speaks of the strong defeating the weak and of “lower” races of humans. There is much footage of Jews in concentration camps, and Stein himself makes a trip to a camp where Jews were put to death.I think I know where Stein and the producers wanted to go with this movie. I believe that initially their intent was to show that the halls of academia aren’t as open to oppositional thinking as many would have us believe. But I think the movie lost it’s focus at some point, and instead of delving deeply and giving us the meat of the issue, it was more of a touch and go process, spread out to thin. And I think they didn’t give the audience enough credit, stooping to attempts to entertain rather than thoroughly flesh out the topic.The movie made some wonderful, eye-opening points. I think that many would enjoy it, and can learn from it. I just wish that there had been less “infotainment” and more plain old information.

Many churches, of all denominations, are encouraging members to become involved in “small groups.” These groups, which usually consist of anywhere from 8-12 people, can be made up of single men or women, college students, married couples, single mothers, businesswomen, etc. You get the idea.

But what exactly is the value of a small group? Some things are obvious, such as if one member is ill, the other members can take turns preparing meals or running errands.

But these groups are living, growing things that can go deeply to the heart of those involved. If one member is struggling financially, the others may take up a “love” offering, or find a way to help through the stressful time. A family at a local church lost their home in a fire, and it was under-insured. Then the dad had a stress-related heart attack. Their small group went throughout the community arranging for folks to help rebuild the home.

The idea is that these groups grow with each other, hold each other accountable, and learn from each other. The groups may take on various personalities, although most involve some sort of Bible study. But each group charts it’s own path, to remain relevent to the members of that group.

It really isn’t such an unusual idea. We have always had best friends, the girlfriends we get together and have a good laugh with, or a good cry with. Within the church, the small group takes on the added importance of Christ’s purpose for us and for those around us.

In an increasingly secular world, we need to be armed and informed. We need to have a group that will be there to show us the love of Christ in our hour of need… and to celebrate with in our hour of rejoicing.

My small group is special to me. We are four couples strong, from different paths in life, but with a common goal… to love and serve our Lord. We keep each other in check when we need to, and we get together outside of church to grow our bonds even deeper. Recently, one of our members was in a play to raise money for our church’s mission program. The play was in need of help with costuming and some production. So “J” got on the phone and called her small group, which rose to the occasion. One member made costumes, while another helped with staging and choreography… and others babysat the children.

A small group, over time, becomes a family. Not related by earthly blood, but by the blood of the Lamb.

Do you have a small group? If not, why not start your own? It doesn’t have to be formal, it doesn’t have to have members from one particular denomination or church. Just get together with a group of your friends who love God… maybe have lunch or dinner together every couple of weeks. Talk about your day to day lives, how God impacts you, where you feel His presence, or when you NEED to feel his presence. Maybe choose a Bible study, or pick a topic to delve into. Your group will grow closer to each other and to the Lord over time, and you will develop a core group of Christian friends.

Here I am, Lord. Use me.

 With these words, I am beginning my first blog on this site. I am humbled to think that God has chosen me to be an encouragement to other Christian women, or perhaps at times a sounding board. Whatever God’s purpose, wherever he leads me as I type, I know the journey will be blessed.

Throughout my writings, I am sure you will see a thread of joy and praise… I love the Lord, and look for joy in everything. Granted, there are times where the joy is well-hidden, but I try to find it, to find the positive within the negative. And I want to be able to help you see that joy, too. I want us to be able to praise God in the lowest points of our lives and be thankful in the highest points.   May He work His miracles in us and around us.

I am excited to be here. I have been praying for something that would allow me to work from home, so I could continue to be a stay-at-home mom. But I also wanted to use the gifts that God has given me, and writing is something I feel passionate about.

Our topics may run from the mundane to the magnificent, but hopefully we will always learn a little, laugh a little, and grow a lot.

As I type here in bed (I love having a laptop!), my four year old daughter is sleeping next to me, and my husband is on the other side of her, snoring away. I’m reminded of what an older friend of mine once told me. I was complaining about my husband’s snoring, and she got a far-away look in her eyes. “My husband used to snore, too,” she said. “It used to drive me crazy… I would give anything to hear him snore one more time.” You see, her husband had passed away a few years earlier. From that time on, my husband’s snores have taken on a different meaning to me (other than my own lack of sleep). His snores mean that God has chosen me to be the wife of this God-fearing man. God chose us to be husband and wife before we were ever thoughts in the minds of our parents. What’s a little snoring and lack of sleep when you know that the man who is behind it all is a gift that God selected just for you?!

I think I will join the rest of my family and get some sleep. Have a blessed day.