One Six Thousandth of a Second by Gordon Neave

Following the recent death of a dear friend, I became aware that nothing in this world ceases to exist as quickly as life. Whether due to a long illness or a tragic accident, in the blink of an eye a living, thinking, loving and loved person ceases to exist.

An e-mail address and phone number are removed from a contact list. Clothing is discarded. A car is sold. A garden is left untended. A voice is no longer heard. A hug no longer is felt, and a pillow lays cold on it’s bed.

Condense the 14 billion years of the history of our universe into a single 24-hour day, and a person’s life represents one six thousandth of a second. A veritable instant. Yet, even in the face of all of this, if we hold in our hearts the wonders of God’s creation, we can do nothing but rejoice.

We conduct our lives on a ball hanging in space, the very existence of which depends upon an uncanny combination of conditions the odds against which are immeasurable. The sun warms us. Water abounds. Trees create oxygen, thereby precluding suffocation. Creatures take on thousands of fascinating and beautiful forms.

Although His gift of perception makes us aware of these things, we are also blessed with an intellect that allows us to manipulate them to better our existence. WE THINK. How wondrous is that? We build and drive or fly amazing machines to and fro. We arrange sounds into complex patterns that please our ears. Wow! We can hear! We make contraptions that take us into space or allow us to view objects in the cosmos that are thousands of light years away.

The enemy blinds us with all of the negativities he creates in this world in order to have his way. Yes, life is a challenge. Yes, we will die. But YES, God has also provided us with wonderful blessings that are the very essence of our existence. We need to remain aware of them, love those around us, and praise Him for providing us with the opportunity to do so. What a great six thousandth of a second we can have if we remember to do this.

When it became evident that my friend may be dying, he said to me: “If I live, I walk in this world for Him. If I die, I walk in Heaven with Him. Either way, I win.” Now that is peace.

Praise God.

Gordon Neave
Florida Hospital Church Drummer, and Guest Blogger

The Christmas Story - a New Dad's Perspective by Chad Hess

On October 26, I saw my only son, Ethan, enter this world. This initiation into parenthood has given me a new perspective on how God may have felt when Jesus was born. Susan and I began planning for the birth immediately. We found the right doctor, we checked out the hospital, we read books, we registered for our baby shower, we painted and decorated the baby’s room, and we packed our bags. As the time approached, we made sure we had everything ready, and we waited in anticipation. When we went to the hospital, we made Facebook updates throughout the labor for our anxious family and friends. When Ethan was born, we called and celebrated with all our loved ones, and we posted pictures online to share.

I’m sure God made a lot of plans for Jesus’ birth as well. I’m sure he gave a lot of thought as to who Jesus’ mother and father should be. He considered where Jesus should be born and how everything should happen. And I’m sure when Jesus was born all of heaven was bursting at the seams with excitement. But no one on earth cared. No one noticed. I’m not sure even Joseph or Mary fully grasped what had happened. The angels finally found some shepherds, and they let out their joyful celebration!

My son was born in a great hospital, delivered by a very competent doctor and nursing staff, with more family present than could fit in the delivery room. My Savior was born in a small village, in a barn, with no one but Joseph and Mary to deliver and care for the baby. And no one to celebrate with. We had soft blankets and warm arms to welcome my son. My Savior had prickly hay and a feeding bin. We had a whole community of family and friends glued to Facebook in anticipation. My Savior had a whole world of apathy and disregard.

I don’t understand why God chose for Jesus to be born the way he was. As a Father, I’m sure He wanted so much more for His Son. But I have to wonder, how much has Jesus’ situation changed? Are we still apathetic towards Him, or are we exuberant? Do we excitedly share Him with our family and friends, or do we just sit there and wait. Do we offer Him our best, or are we content to give Him hay?

Chad Hess

It's a Wonderful Life by Tami Cinquemani

It’s a Christmas standard – watching Jimmy Stewart’s portrayal of George Bailey in the 1946 holiday favorite “It’s a Wonderful Life.” There’s not another movie that gives you such a wonderful feeling of warmth, satisfaction, and the sense of what it means to be known and valued.

George thinks his life is worthless and, by a miracle from God (and a little help from Clarence the misfit angel), he is shown what life in his part of the world would have been like if he were given his wish of never being born. It doesn’t take long before he discovers that fame, wealth, and adventure can’t hold a candle to the richness of a life filled with family and friends whose life you’ve touched and who understand their time on this earth is the better for having known you.

To know and be known – what could be better? I think Frank Capra gave us a masterpiece of insight into the heart of God and His great desire to convince us how valuable we are. But God didn’t send a 2^nd class angel to do the job. He sent His Son – the Creator, the Word, the Alpha and the Omega, the Great I Am. Sent to a poor couple to be born in a dirty stable for the sole purpose of affirming our value in His sight.

I’d like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas. May you truly understand the personal interest God has in you and your inestimable value in His sight.

Tami Cinquemani

Defending the Faith by John Monday

I recently read an online Newsweek article by Jerry Adler. The article was an initial reaction to an upcoming book written by Dinesh D’Souza that claims to provide proof that there is an afterlife. I haven’t read the book, only the article. The writer of the article clearly did not hold a traditional Christian view and was fairly dismissive of the book. The article itself was OK, but nothing particularly great.

What interested me was the reaction to the article. It was posted as an MSN.com front page article and, as a result, got hundreds of comments within a few hours. I didn’t read them all, but I did sample a large portion. There were Christians and religious adherents of many varieties making comments, as well as a large number of people that either hold to no particular religion, or hold all religion in disdain. Sounds like a great venue for an interesting conversation, right? Wrong.

The comments were, by-in-large, harsh short attempts to compel someone else to adopt the commenter’s view. There was little logic, little reason, and little sensitivity. There were a number of anecdotal statements, but very little reasonable discourse. It appeared that few people were interested in hearing what someone else thinks, feels or believes but rather wanted to judge, belittle and correct everyone else. Sadly, many of the most judgmental, dogmatic, harsh and – yes - stupid comments came from those professing a Christian orientation.

I may be more critical of the Christians’ comments than others; I do expect a higher standard from my people, but there’s more to it than that. Many of the Christians seem to have little desire to speak kindly or intelligently. Simply saying to someone that I’m right and you’re wrong carries no weight. Saying, “well the bible says…” to someone who doesn’t believe in God will never move a heart or a mind. Telling someone that they’ll find out just how wrong they are sometime after death displays none of the love personified in Christ. More importantly, these methods do not honor the God of the Bible, the God who says, “Come let us reason together,” the God who says love your neighbor, and love your enemy, the God who from the foundations of the world arranged all the order we see in the universe, the God who hung on a cross and said, “Forgive them.”

I think I know where some of this comes from; it’s a war mentality. In war, every soldier knows that the outcome could be dependent on his actions. Whether it’s his personal heroic efforts or the combined effort of the platoon, company, or division (read denomination), my efforts matter, and if the enemy won’t surrender, then he must be destroyed. We have a deep-seeded sense that, if we fail in this battle, all might be lost. If we don’t defend God, who will?

We forget that the war is already decided, and God wins. We need never lob another grenade or ambush an unsuspecting atheist, Jew, Mormon, Buddhist, Baptist, Catholic, Secular Humanist, Adventist, Congregationalist, Episcopalian, Pagan or Presbyterian again. We have the best deal going, since the war is won and the matter is decided. Then all we need do is love people, listen to them, and tell them the reason for the hope within us. All of our success and failure is absorbed in Christ’s victory. We have total freedom to love without fear of loss, and drop our defenses without fear of defeat. If Christ is true, then we can’t lose; and if Christ isn’t true, then we can’t win.

C’mon guys, we can do better. If the God that we bear witness to actually exists, then He is the most reasonable and intellectual being in the universe. God is the author of reason and knowledge. We can listen to and love anyone with no fear that the truth will be lost. While we must stand ready to share our hope, we need never be defenders of the faith. To be a defender of the faith insinuates that the faith may be in peril if we do not adequately defend it; not so. Christ is our Defender, we are not His. Christ’s purpose will be carried out with or without our help. GOD WINS! He allows us to participate in victory and life with Him; He’s not quivering in his fortress hoping that we will prevail. We are free to listen, discuss, learn, teach, help, be helped, sympathize, empathize, comfort and love a world that desperately needs us. Let’s raise the bar and remember: God Wins.

John Monday

A Barrier to Revival . . . Me? by David Achata

I’ve been out of town this week, and I’ve had a chance to visit a number of church gatherings. This has caused me to think about what makes the difference between a church that is alive with the spirit of God and a church that is merely alive?

So, the day after Thanksgiving, I woke up early and listened to a sermon by Tim Keller called A Blueprint for Revival. I learned that, in the book of Acts, there’s a pattern for what happened when the early church experienced a revival:

1. The Church faced a great crisis
2. There was extraordinary seeking after God in prayer
3. A visitation by God happened
4. A community would be transformed

What I also learned was that there are four kinds of barriers found in scripture that can prevent revival from taking place:

1. Heterodoxy—people do not uphold the basic doctrines of the Bible
2. Orthodoxy—straight doctrine which has led to pride
3. Dead Orthodoxy—people have correct doctrine but have no grasp of how to live the Gospel
4. Defective Orthodoxy—over-concern for programs, too much talk about the gospel, and not enough doing or un-mortified sin

What struck me the most was the fourth barrier that prevents God from showing up among his people and transforming that community—Defective Orthodoxy. Tim Keller made a statement about Defective Orthodoxy that, “One man can sink the whole ship.” That really got me thinking—is it me? Am I the one man?

There’s a place in scripture where that same question was asked. If you’ll study the last supper, Jesus said, “One of you is going to betray me.” Yet, if you’ll notice NONE of the disciples said, “It’s Judas!—he’s always been shady . . . ” or, “It’s Thomas—he’s a doubter.” Rather, they ALL said, “IS IT ME?” Everyone questioned themselves. There was no finger pointing, no advice giving – only deep questioning of one’s own heart.

As I sat there on Black Friday morning watching the sun come up, I really searched my life. I don’t want to be the one man who sinks the ship. Do any of us really want to be that one person? I doubt it. Maybe it would be a good idea for each of us to spend some time praying, “Is it me?”

Imagine what our world would be like if everyone looked inward first before pointing the finger at someone else. How would your marriage, your family, or your church be different?

For more on this subject, download Tim Keller’s sermons A Blueprint for Revival, Parts 1 and 2 (http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/sermonlist/11). Also, study Matthew 26 and Mark 14.

David Achata

Branding Church by Jeff Cinquemani

I wasn’t old enough to appreciate the Hula Hoop craze that broke out in 1958, as I was just being born, but you can bet I was around to see most of the other crazes that hit us Baby Boomers between the 60’s and 70’s. It was an age of hard-hitting advertising and youth marketing that the world had never seen before. We watched Adidas, Calvin Klein and Izod take relatively cheap and inexpensive apparel and turn it into ultra high-priced, pretentious fashion statements. We saw companies like Winnebago, Harley Davidson, Ski Nautique, and Tupperwear not just make products, but form literal communities of loyalty and establish clubs formed solely for the reason of being with others who also loved that same product.

I think it was this kind of marketing exposure that gave me the idea to attempt my own “craze”: The AC Bike Company. It was pure genius. My friend Paul had bike part connections, and I had friends who loved biking. It was the perfect marriage. We would both build the bikes and then, because of our low overhead, sell them to all our friends at a margin that everyone would be happy about. As I shared the idea with my friends, I could tell by the look in their eyes that this idea had potential. Already I could see the anticipation of our new product line growing. By the next day my girlfriend at the time already had orders for five caps, fourteen t-shirts, and one pin, all with our “AC” logo. Could it get any better, I thought?

When I walked into his garage, the site where the proposed bike production would take place, I could tell Paul was less than excited. “What’s the problem?” I asked. “I don’t like it,” he shot back. “I don’t like the fact that we have people wanting to wear hats, and t-shirts and silly little pins but have no intension of ever even sitting on a quality AC bike.” My girlfriend was prepared for my “Purist” Partner. She began to eloquently explain the value of product branding and marketing. She tried to help him see that this strategy would pay off in the end as more and more people became familiar with the AC logo, but with each point Paul became increasingly hardened. Finally in frustration, she blurted, “Do you think that John Deere wants everyone who buys their little toy tractors, or caps, or ties to be a farmer? Of course not! They don’t care; they just want to make money, and they found out that their name makes money.”

That was all it took. Paul stated that he was out, and my dreams of being part owner of a huge bike company were over. Paul was not interested in selling a name or creating an image. He could care less about trinkets and flare. He wanted to build bikes for people who wanted the best, and anyone who would settle for less – in his mind – should not be part of that elite.

Now being a pastor, I see people like my friend Paul all over. I enjoy the conversations we have – some from a perspective of being a church member, and others from looking in from an “outsider’s” viewpoint. I think it’s important to wrestle with these issues, and though the church is not a company, we still must seriously consider the questions. “How far do we go to ‘popularize’ the church?” “Is there a point where our broad acceptance of others compromises our mission as a church?” “Does our brand loyalty to a particular church help or hurt us in the Kingdom of God?”

On one hand, I learned a lesson in image versus substance. On the other hand, Paul built one bike from this whole deal. It was a very good bike, but no one else has one.

Jeff Cinquemani

Being in Control by Tami Cinquemani

I am a control freak. This is not a surprising revelation to those who know me. I develop plans, and I make lists. I have a vision of how things “should” go, and I put great effort into accomplishing my goals. When disappointments and distractions occur, they are handled, and strategies are adjusted.

The holiday season is probably the time of year when my “condition” is the most apparent. The fact is, I love the holidays. I’m one of those crazy people that begin playing Christmas music in October, decorate before Thanksgiving, and if all goes as planned, have their shopping done and wrapped weeks before the actual event. And this year, my holidays got even better. It’s my turn to host Thanksgiving. That means my family from Chicago is flying down to Florida to enjoy a sunny southern Turkey Day! I couldn’t be more excited. I have made shopping lists. I have baked and cooked family recipes that are waiting in frozen anticipation. I send regular group e-mail updates between children, siblings, in-laws, and cousins. I am in my zone!

On the plus side – I’m very productive and reliable. On the other side – I can drive myself (and others) crazy . . . and be very annoying in the process. And then there’s the whole “letting go and letting God” thing. I don’t do that well.

Lately God’s had a lot of fun with me in this area. There are things I have been, and continue to, deal with that are causing me to consider the fact that I can’t control everything. My instinct is to stress out, regroup, and bring things back to the line I have drawn. But there is a part of me – a growing part – that sees the beauty of, and longs for the relief of, not having to be in control of every situation. I realize this means things won’t always turn out the way I have planned. I actually think I'm okay with that. Maybe it’s my advancing age and the realization that I don’t have the same level of energy I used to. I would like to believe it is also due to a maturing faith and a comfort in the trustworthiness of my God.

I believe there is a need and a place for those of us who find comfort in lists and plans. I’m just learning that place is in the arms of God.

Tami Cinquemani

A Church or a Country Club? by Chad Hess

Do you view the Hospital Church as a church or a country club? The question may seem strange – maybe even absurd - but there is an important distinction between the two. A country club is a place where people pay a membership fee in exchange for opportunities such as swimming, golf, tennis, meeting space, etc. Some clubs are exclusive and are often an excellent place to network with likeminded people. Some people treat their church the same way. They view church as a place where they expect to attend a worship service, to socialize with likeminded people, to give their money, and expect certain benefits in exchange. If they need help, the church should help. If they need space for a wedding or shower, the church should provide. These people think the church exists to meet their needs. I’m not saying that the church shouldn’t help its members with their needs, but there is a distinction that must be made in our understanding of church.

In Acts 2, the church was meeting each other’s needs. This is one critical distinction between a church and a country club. In a country club, the people belong to a country club, which is a separate institution. In a church, the people are the church. In Acts 2, it was not a separate entity caring for the needs of the people. It was the people who sold their property and gave it to each other, according to their needs.

Another important distinction between a church and a country club is that tithe and offerings are drastically different than a membership fee. We do not give our tithe and offering, we return our tithe and offering. We recognize that all our money comes from God, and we give it back to Him expecting nothing in return. Tithe also does not directly support the local church, but instead supports the larger organization.

In Andy’s sermons the last few weeks, he has challenged us to become engaged and take ownership in our church. It is the difference between going to church and being the church. He has also challenged us to find a place where we can serve expecting nothing in return. We do this because we recognize that we are the church. We do not serve because we think service is a membership requirement or a tit-for-tat exchange. If we are focused on the short-term reward for our service, we sacrifice the far greater eternal reward (Matthew 6). Our service is not done for ourselves or even for the local church, but rather for Jesus; the One who has given us far more than we can ever possibly repay.

Chad Hess

A Growing Conversation

Historically, the Hospital Church blogs are for general consumption – and we really want to encourage you to check our blog site every week for our newest addition. This week’s blog, however, will be very specific to the Florida Hospital Church Family and very directed in its purpose. Our goal is to provide a forum for thoughts, ideas, and dreams for the services at our church.

As many of you have noticed and brought to the church staff’s attention, our church appears to be approaching a transition point. As more new members have arrived, and as new visitors are coming through our doors, the 11:30 am Exchange service is filling to overflow. At the same time, our 9:00 am Morning Worship has a fairly small attendance which appears to be due to a combination of time and style. Our children’s Sabbath School classes (an important driver of our church’s growth over the years) are near full capacity.

So where do we go from here? This is a question that the church staff has been thinking about for several weeks, and there are several possible directions they have considered:

1. Maintain current services; open overflow seating in a classroom at 11:30 am. (Children & Adult classes remain at 10:15 am – does not relieve crowding)

2. Maintain current services; create Friday evening worship opportunity. (Children’s programming only at same time as new service)

3. Continue 9 am Morning Worship as is; duplicate The Exchange at 10:15 and 11am. (Children & Adult classes remain at 10:15 am – does not relieve crowding)

4. Maintain 11:30 am Exchange; move 9 am service to 10 am, restructuring style somewhere between Morning Worship and The Exchange. (Children’s programming at 10 AND 11:30 am; Adult classes at 10 OR 11:30 am)

5. Maintain 11:30 am Exchange; move 9 am service to 10 am, restructuring style somewhere between Morning Worship and The Exchange. (Children’s programming at 9 AND 10 am; Adult classes at 9 AND 10 am)

6. Offer 2 styles of worship service at the same time – one in Worship Center and one on 3^rd floor. (Children & Adult classes remain at 10:15 am – does not relieve crowding)

7. Maintain current worship services; add additional Exchange service at 12:45 or 1:00pm. (Children’s programming and Adult classes at 10:15 AND 11:30 am)

8. Maintain current worship services and Sabbath Schools; add additional Sabbath service late afternoon or early evening. (Children’s programming only at same time as new service)

You may have another idea, suggestion, or thought about our current situation not presented here. This is your opportunity to make your voice and your ideas known, to be a part of an important decision that will affect the way the Florida Hospital Church continues to do ministry, make a difference in their community, and “Love people into a lifelong friendship with God.” Let the conversation begin!

Note: We would like to know who is joining our conversation, so we ask that your comments be made with your name rather than anonymously. Also, in order to keep our conversation on track and productive, please only submit comments relevant to this topic. If you have anything you would like to address that does not pertain to the point of this blog, please contact the pastors directly. Thank you.

Good or Bad by CeCe Clark

Recently, I read a quote that struck a chord with me. If I could remember who said it, I truly would give them due credit here, because the truth and wisdom in this statement is blatant. “I believe that there is just as much good in any situation as there is bad. You just need to know where to look.” Wow.

At first, the temptation is strong to qualify this concept – to make it conditional: “That may be true of many situations, but…” or “If you knew the circumstances I’m dealing with…”

At the age of 51, my mom suffered a severe stroke. It was inconceivable that a woman so vibrant, so healthy, and with such a servant’s heart could have been struck down in one fell swoop as she was. For two years, I watched this woman – whose vocabulary was suddenly limited to 8 to10 words – face this attack head on with all the positive determination of a motivational guru. She pushed through physical, occupational, and speech therapy for two years…and made no progress to speak of. By the grace of God, and through sheer determination, she kept on. Today, she has limited weakness on her right side and in her speech, but she still has this amazing positive spirit. It cannot be squelched. She found the good, and the ability to place her focus there. The results have been spectacular!

For years, although I have followed her lead and made an intentional effort to accept this loss in my life, I was not quite able to consider this tragedy a blessing…until about two weeks ago.

I was able to spend some time with my mom and dad and, as usual, we sought out a casual restaurant for some good food. We were in their home town, and a waft of nostalgia was in the air. As we enjoyed our food and caught up, our conversation turned down more serious avenues, and eventually we landed at the topic of Mom’s stroke. My mom looked me square in the eye and said, “I’m glad it happened.” What? WHAT? It amazed me! It astounded me! It freed me. As she shared her thoughts, her reasons, how she felt that her life had ultimately been blessed by this savage attack, I found the years of anger, regret, confusion, and loss melting away. It was awesome! What I saw in my mom’s face was so sincere, so real, I knew that she had found a personal blessing and intimacy with God through the whole thing, and I was finally at peace about it all, too.

“There is just as much good in any situation as there is bad. You just need to know where to look.”

When we look to Christ, when we seek his time, his fellowship, his pleasure, we can find the good. We can find real joy, and we can let go of our losses and our struggles. It is a truly amazing phenomenon. When seeking his face is my number one priority, and when focusing on meeting the needs of others is priority number two, joy will come. Maybe my circumstances won’t change. I might even have to sacrifice my will. But my heart will be light!

And now I wonder: how is my heart today? On what am I focusing? Who have I inspired? Whose burden have I lifted? Who is feeling better today because I was here?

. . . And what about tomorrow?

CeCe Clark

Screamo by John Monday

Screamo is a genre of music that probably needs no description beyond its name. Whether or not you’ve heard of it, your initial impression, based only on the name, is most likely correct. Screamo bands feature loud, driving drums, lots of guitar, and very little melody. While many bands have vocalists, the vocalist is not the front person. The vocalist, like the instruments, is there primarily to back up the Screamer. The Screamer is the focal point of the band and he . . . well, he screams. It’s a very taxing job. In fact, I’m told a screamer that can do the job for more than a few months is a much sought-after commodity. Many begin to suffer bleeding vocal chords or some other physical limitation. I’m not a fan, either of Screamo or its redeemed counter part, “Christian Screamo”, but my nephew is. Not only is he a fan, he’s an artist, a performer, and a young man with a ton of integrity and influence.

One day as I was writing checks (an activity I don’t relish) I decided to turn off the music I usually listen to and turn on some Christian Screamo. The reasons were really pretty simple:

1) I don’t want to be a crotchety old man who complains about young people these days, and

2) I really like my nephew and want to connect with him at the place where he connects with God.

So I listened to Christian Screamo for two hours. Yep, you read right – two hours. When I was finished writing checks, I was aware of two things. One was no surprise – I had a headache. The other caught me completely off guard – I was in a state of worship.

The lyrics were almost completely a mystery to me. I’d occasionally hear a “Jesus” or a “Holy, Holy”, but I didn’t begin to understand 90% of the words. So what happened? Is Screamo going to be the music of heaven? Did the experience blow some sort of blood vessel in my brain that caused a euphoric feeling? Did God actually smile?

I have a hard time explaining worship or even fully understanding it, so I’m not sure exactly what happened. What I know is that, after two hours, I felt closer to my nephew, and connected to and lifted by God. Worship does that.

John Monday

Did Jesus Really Mean What He Said? by David Achata

Amy and I have been reading Francis Chan’s new book together called Crazy Love. No, it’s not a book about marriage; it’s a book about the love Jesus has for us and the love he wants us to passionately give back to Him and our world.

Finishing chapter 6 the other night left me quite disturbed. The chapter was called “When You’re in Love.” I won’t even try to explain—I’ll just quote the end of it and let you sort it out:

“If you merely pretend that you enjoy God or love Him, He knows. You can’t fool Him; don’t even try. Instead tell Him how you feel. Tell Him that He isn’t the most important thing in this life to you, and that you’re sorry for that. Tell Him that you’ve been lukewarm, that you’ve chosen_____________ over Him time and again. Tell him that you want Him to change you, that you long to genuinely enjoy Him. Tell Him how you want to experience true satisfaction and pleasure and joy in your relationship with Him. Tell Him you want to love Him more than anything on this earth. Tell Him you want to treasure the kingdom of heaven so much that you’d willingly sell everything in order to get it . . . ”(p.111)

I had a hard time praying some of the things Francis suggested I pray and an equally hard time finishing the paragraph. I’ve been thinking on the above prayer for four days now. I want so badly to be this honest with God. I want a heart change because that last part really got me: “Tell Him you want to treasure the kingdom of heaven so much that you’d willingly sell everything in order to get it . . . ”

Here's what I think: the person who can’t pray that prayer either doesn’t think Jesus meant what he said or doesn’t understand the nature of the Kingdom. Guess what? I’m that person. Are you? Do you think Jesus really meant it? Ever since I read the above paragraph, I’ve had little peace of mind except in praying this prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola:

Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous,

to serve You as You deserve:

to give without counting the cost,

to fight needless of the wounds,

to work and not seek for rest,

to toil and not seek for reward,

save the reward of knowing I am doing Your will.

Amen.

David Achata

In Search of a Spiritual High by Andy McDonald

The one consistency I have found in myself and fellow humans is that we are inconsistent with great consistency. Nowhere is that more evident than in the life of devotion to God. Each year, or post each excursion into sin, we make a new pledge to spend time with God and his word. For those who follow through, there is an initial “high”. To be in the presence of the God who forgives, loves and restores—the God of grace, is exhilarating.

For those who have been there before, even in the ecstasy of the moment with God, there is a far off rumble – the sense that this will not last. A fear that the excitement and thrill of grace will wane, our commitment to time with God and his word will waffle, and at some point we will withdraw from our exercise of devotion.

It isn’t unlike any other human promise. Whether dieting or exercise, study or hobby development, at some point the joy – the vision of what might be – fades. We move on to new challenges or enter a mood of depression from our failures.

An illustration of this could be intimacy with one’s spouse. There is a clear sense of oneness and bonding when a husband and wife share the pleasures of sexual intimacy culminating in the “high” of oneness. In too many relationships, this sexual intimacy high becomes the focus and the primary, if not sole, moment of intimacy.

In contrast, the healthy couple realizes that this special intimate moment is just that – a moment in the larger picture. To expect any relationship to feel that way 24/7 is not realistic. Yet that is what too many new and old Christians alike expect from their relationship with God—that it must nearly consume them in the joy of oneness from spending time together in devotion.

Such expectations are absurd and unrealistic. These expectations set us up for discouragement and failure. It moves us toward a dissatisfaction of anything relationally less than a spiritual high. Our relationship with God varies. During Jesus’ time on this earth his relationship with God varied. It was never disconnected, but different. When Jesus is alone with his Father on the mountain, the intensity of their relationship was different from at the cross, or garden, or even the transfiguration. Certainly every prayer prayed by Jesus was not the same as the one in John 17. Never out of contact or out of the will of the Father, but the intensity of relationship would change. Life has rhythm with high and low points even in the life consistently connected to God.

To operate with unrealistic expectations of our relationship with God will sabotage the development of true intimacy. Intimacy is created from the ebb and flow, the closeness and distance, the in-your-face awareness and the sense of aloneness, the reuniting, and both the casual and deep conversations. It is not created from just the wonderful, overwhelming, brief and fleeting as they are, moments of spiritual ecstasy.

The Christian life—a growing relationship with Christ—is more like watching an oak tree grow rather than corn. Change is happening – there are dryer years and wetter ones. Storms, fires, and floods come and go. Measured against last year, the growth may seem insignificant but we are still growing.

Knowing dry times will come helps us not presume we are in the desert, but only that there is no special rain today. It will return as we continue to build a depth of everyday friendship that does not rely just on moments of ecstasy for its validation. We are God’s children. On rainy days, feeling refreshed by the Spirit, we are God’s children. In those times when it feels as if our prayers don’t reach the ceiling and we are living in a dust bowl of spiritual dryness, still we are God’s children. The good news is that, once we offer Jesus our lives, we are his regardless of the spiritual climate.

Andy McDonald

Made to Worship by Tami Cinquemani

I love balancing a checkbook. Yes, I know many people would rather go to the dentist and get their teeth drilled, but for me, the task of going through my banking receipts and making sure the total on my bank statement matches that of my home record is fun! I will hunt down a discrepancy as tiny as a penny until I discover where the error has taken place. And then, when my totals fall in line, I am a happy woman.

My husband has things he enjoys doing that I detest: spicy hot food, playing geography games, and cross-country skiing (ANYTHING having to do with temperatures below 70 degrees for that matter) to name just a few. We decided early in our marriage that there were some things we were just not going to do together.

We are all wired differently. Different likes and dislikes, goals and dreams, pleasures and pains. There is one thing that each one of us was created to do, however. Worship. In each one of us is a desire to be in communion with our Creator. It just makes sense. Our God created us to be in relationship with Him, and souls taken so far from the adoration of the Creator/creature bond can only long for the most intimacy our humanness allows. Our life circumstances may heighten or mute that desire, but it is there.

Being physically present at a place where worship is taking place – whether individually or corporately - does not guarantee that you will receive the fullest experience. There were many guests at the wedding where Jesus performed his first miracle. However, being seated at the wedding and sipping a beverage – even a good, quality beverage –did not change the guests. It was the realization of the One whose presence created the miracle. Worship is not an event. It is not something we go to that merely requires us to occupy a seat. Worship is an active pursuit. It is realizing and responding to the presence of the One who created each one of us – those who enjoy balancing their checkbooks as well as those who thrive in frigid temperatures. Each one unique, but all created with a need to worship.

Tami Cinquemani

It's Already Done by CeCe Clark

The tendency to value our accomplishments is so great. We put titles after our names, hang certificates on our walls, and blush when people acknowledge our successes. We are driven by our culture, our pride, our sense of self-worth to be sure that we will have accomplished something at the end of our lives.

We like to feel needed. We like to know that our efforts count for something and that our work has affected the status quo. When we are asked to volunteer, don’t we feel a sense of satisfaction that we are needed? That we can bring something of value to the table? That we are, at least in some small way, validated? Even if we choose not to do it, we like to know what we can DO, because then we know that we matter.

We are worn out from all our efforts. We strive to balance a ridiculous number of tasks and images. We want to be sure that we keep up, meet deadlines, and avoid failure. It’s no wonder that the concept of Christ’s sacrifice for us is so difficult to grasp! Here we are, struggling to DO.

But we serve a God who is striving to tell us that it’s all been DONE!

Think about it. Take a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. You are, in God’s eyes, already cherished. Even before we accept Jesus, God deems us worthy - worthy enough to have sacrificed HIS SON for us. And once we claim Jesus as our Savior, our work is DONE. We have done enough. The rest is total freedom! Complete surrender. Complete acceptance.

Do we really believe this? Do we live like we believe it? Are we OK with it? Are we willing to allow this same experience for others?

Take some time today to sit in the presence of the God who created you. Rest…Read…Dream…Pray. Contemplate WHO you are in CHRIST, and that there’s nothing you can do to lose God’s love - or earn it. Just be. Get to know HIM, and let Him INSPIRE you!

CeCe Clark

Motivating by Fear by Chad Hess

"Fear is the mother of violence. If we weren’t afraid, then people that are different might annoy us, but they certainly would not enrage us." I found this statement from a sociologist in a clip for a new documentary entitled Anatomy of Hate, a Dialogue for Hope. It really made me think. Fear is one of the most powerful motivators, and it is very easy to breed. Even within the church, fear is frequently used. Consider the evangelist’s warning against the unpardonable sin.

So if fear is effective at getting people into the church, what is the problem? The problem is that fear is not the way God operates. "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness” (Jeremiah 31:3). Let’s face it; if God wanted to use fear to motivate us, he could easily do so. Fire coming down from heaven, the earth opening up beneath your feet, deadly animals appearing from nowhere and surrounding you, each of these would be quite effective. But you cannot have a lasting relationship (which is what God ultimately wants) based on fear. That’s why God uses love. Love is a more powerful motivator, but it is much more of a challenge. It takes time, patience, and provides no guarantee that the person will respond in the way we desire.

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love” (1 John 4:18). How many times do we see God telling his people to “fear not”? That is still his plan for us today. It is so easy to spread fear. I see it all the time among political leaders and Christian leaders. But we cannot love people and fear them at the same time. “Perfect love casts out fear.”

Are you willing to invest the time and energy required to live like Jesus, and “love people into a life-long relationship with God”?

Chad Hes

Sabbath Blog Gone Off Track by Jeff Cinquemani

Whenever I am scheduled to preach, my thoughts during the week preceding the sermon are heightened, to say the least, towards anything that might pertain to the topic being covered. This last weekend, I gave the last sermon in our Sabbath series with a talk entitled “How Fun Can Holy Be?” I think that is why I got caught up in an internet blog focused on the Sabbath. I’m really not sure why, but while I was “Googling” I hit one of the links, and it put me smack-dab in the middle of this Sabbath blog string. So I just began reading the entries. Some were just comments, some were responses to the comments, and some were accusations criticizing others for their opinions either way.

As I kept reading down, page after page, seeing how the conversations almost took on a life of their own, I started to wonder: What question or comment started all of this? Being the “gaming” guy that I am (my wife says I can make a game out of anything), I decided to try and guess what the original post was by looking at the evidence before me. I read them all, from the first entry all the way to the most recent blog. I came up with what I thought were the top three possibilities: 1. What activities do you think God condones on the Sabbath, and what is true reverence? 2. Is there scriptural evidence that the Sabbath was God’s day for us to enjoy and have fun? 3. How “far” can couples “go” on the Sabbath?

As confident as I was about my guesses, I couldn’t have been more wrong. After all the reading, I finally couldn’t wait any longer. I had to see the “results” to my little game. The original blog entry was apparently from a new believer that wrote into a Sabbath Keepers Blog. It read as follows: “I am so very excited about my new found love affair with Christ and the day he’s set aside for me and him to be enjoy our “date”.

I couldn’t help myself. I had to read many of them all over again. How could it have gone so far off track so quickly? I had to respond. I wanted someone to say, “I’m so glad for you!” But unfortunately, I was not a member of the blogsite so it never got posted.

I decided to go ahead and write my sermon, but this week I may join that blogsite!

Jeff Cinquemani

Lunch Prayer by John Monday

I was standing in line at the counter of Everybody’s Mom, my favorite greasy spoon within walking distance of the church, contemplating whether to have French fries or onion rings with my sandwich. It was lunch time with the normal bustle of people coming from the hospital making their way into and out of the café. I was alone in the line, and only vaguely aware of the people standing around me, when I noticed the couple in front of me move in an unusual way.

The man gently touched the elbow of the woman standing beside him, obviously steadying her, but as soon as he touched her she recoiled in pain. The motion was unusual enough that it pulled my mind away from the great onion ring debate and fully focused me on them. The young man, maybe nineteen or twenty, tenderly said, “Sorry Mom,” and they moved a step closer to the counter. Those were the only words I heard them say, but the pair held my complete attention for the next twenty minutes. The ashen color of the woman’s skin, the ill-fitting hat covering a head with thin splotchy hair, and the close proximity of Florida Hospital’s Cancer Institute were all the clues necessary to understand, at least partially, their situation.

After I ordered I sat at a table across the room from the mother and son, out of hearing but in plain view. I have no idea of their story, but I saw life in the interaction between the two that words could not have communicated with any greater clarity.

Was he a young man seriously contemplating death, perhaps for the first time? Was he considering harsh adolescent words that he wished he had never uttered? Was he thinking of a future without the mother that he thought would never leave?

Was she considering all the things that she wanted to teach him but hadn’t found the time? Was she thinking of his future wife, a women she might never meet? Was she thinking of the grand children she might never know?

I don’t know the specifics of their situation, but the love between them was palpable as were the broken hearts on their sleeves. So I sat there, thankful to be alone, reminded that we are in a world full of beauty and broken hearts, and I prayed.

I prayed for them, and I prayed for me. A prayer that I now extend to you: If you are comfortable and comforted in the heart of Christ, may your heart be broken for those that His heart is broken for, and if your heart is broken and full of fear, may you find comfort and rest in Christ. Amen.

John Monday

How Robots Will Take Over the World Unless We Stop Them by David Achata

I love science fiction, and robots fascinate me. My wife thinks it’s silly—but I think she’s wrong. In the new movie Terminator Salvation, Robots rule the world while the humans are the insurgents, trying to take back their planet. I can relate with this movie because I feel like I’m trying to take back a world run by robots

I was talking with my friend Zach today, and he was telling me about a book he’s working on. The idea is about how to prevent people from becoming religious robots. That got me thinking about how the idea behind robots is that they are supposed to make our lives easier. However, the truth is that the things we create often end up owning us.

I think Religion is like that. Religion isn’t bad, but it can get bad really fast. Religion is like the framework of a house. It gives me boundaries to live my life in, but it’s not my life. My life requires me to think, move and adapt, not to polish framework. Yet, I find people all around me who are religious robots. The framework that was supposed to empower them to work out how to live life has ended up owning them.

Perhaps unconsciously, we sometimes preserve a culture that’s long gone when the call of Christ is to create a new culture for a new time and a new people. His culture is a culture of love, compassion and life transformation, not robotics. Let’s win the world back from the religious robots.

David Achata

Growing Up by Jeff Cinquemani

The last few months for me have been painful to say the least. However, though the physical pain is centered in my back with a herniated disc, the real pain is in my "psyche". To now have to "sit on the sidelines," so to speak, while others are actively involved in sports or recreations is just not me. And, though my wife may not entirely believe me, it truly does pain me to have her lifting the water jugs while I stand and watch.

It’s well over a year now since I've turned 50, and during that time I had one of my physician friends tell me that I now will have to exercise twice as hard just to maintain my current stamina and strength. He said that everyday cells are deteriorating faster than they are building, and if that wasn't bad enough, I also found out that – with 50 – there comes a slower recovery time after exhaustion, a quicker fatigue time during exertion, and of course, a longer time to heal after any kind of set-back.

Talk about depressing! Well, I thought I would do a little investigating on my own, and sure enough, it really is depressing. Statistics show that, the closer you get to the "50 mark", the higher the rate of depression among both men and women. Now it was obvious that I was not the only one who researched this statistic. Everywhere I looked on the Internet were companies all targeting their ads at me with products, procedures, and programs all promising me a better, newer, healthier "me".

Wow! How engrossing this could get. I mean with enough money and a little help from my friends, I could actually turn back time – well at least make it look like it for a while.

And that is where I stopped. I thought, Wait a minute. If 50 is the proverbial mark that someone has finally grown up, then maybe I should. Maybe there's a really good thing about turning 50. Maybe that is where I stop worrying about me "growing up" and start focusing on something else for a change. What if I turned my attention from my adventure to someone else's? What if I thought first about someone else's prosperity and preservation instead of my own? And what if I looked first at how my experience could help others instead of making it my excuse for entitlement.

I told my wife a while ago, “Look, if all I talk about when I get old is my "regularity", my medications, and my ailments, then just shoot me.” Well, she hasn't bought a gun yet, but you can bet I'm still gonna get this back taken care of before she signs up for target practice.

Jeff Cinquemani

Could Sabbath Become an Idol? by Andy McDonald

As those who observe "Sabbath" on Saturday, what is meant when we say, "We are Sabbath worshipers?" Does that mean we worship God on Sabbath or that we actually worship Sabbath? When those who assemble for worship on Sunday are called "Sunday worshipers", is this an accusation of worshiping a day over God's seventh-day designation?

How possible is it that people might "Remember the Sabbath" while forgetting the God who said, "remember?" Is there a sense that Sabbath-keeping merits some favor from or merit with God? How far apart is resting as obedience performance vs. resting as a reminder of our "rest" in Jesus Christ for our salvation? If we are loyal to the Sabbath over love to God and our neighbors, has it become an idol? Will our worship focus on God/Father, Son & Holy Spirit, or will we elevate Sabbath higher than God ever intended?

In the last days, is loyalty to Sabbath more important than loyalty to the Lord of the Sabbath? Might it be a good exercise to check if we're making Sabbath an idol?

Andy McDonald

The Principles of God and the Scientific Method by Chad Hess

I have read several books that have talked about our relationship with God and the Christian preoccupation with principles. John Eldredge talks about how we seek to derive principles so we can control God's wildness. This is not to say there is no virtue in trying to understand the principles in a passage. I do think there is some legitimacy in it, but it can be taken to an extreme and be made an end in itself. But our search for principles can be quite closely entwined with the modern emphasis on the scientific method. One of the hallmarks of the scientific method is that a finding must be repeatable. If it is a true scientific fact, the results can be repeated if the same circumstances happen.

Do we try to apply this scientific method to God? If something is true about the way God works, then the result can be repeated in similar scenarios. If God never changes and God never makes a mistake, shouldn't we expect Him to respond in the same way? If the same result isn't repeated, then maybe that original result was imagined, or misunderstood or whatever. It certainly wasn't theological fact, because if it was, it would happen again. And I'm not just talking about miracles; I'm talking about the everyday workings of God. But isn't this approach an attempt to control God? If we can figure out "the way things work", then we can control things ourselves. Because when we're really honest with ourselves, there have been times when we wished God had done things differently. So if we can figure out all the principles by which God operates, we can manipulate situations to turn out the way we want them.

The problem with all this is that God is a person. He is a living being who is just as capable of free will as we are. And He doesn't like being controlled any more than you and I do. Besides this, we can never fully understand God and the way He works. If I could completely understand God, especially at my limited knowledge of 28 years, He wouldn't be a very great God. Again, I'm not saying there are not principles at work in the way God relates to us. I'm just saying there is a danger in putting our trust in those principles. Instead we should get to know this God as a person (not a fact), and trust in that.

Chad Hess

Pulling Away the Veneer by John Monday

One morning as I walked into the church I saw Chris standing in the lobby. Chris is often in the lobby as I walk in, but this time he wasn’t alone. As he approached he introduced me to Neal, and it became clear that this was going to take more of my time than I was willing to spend.

Despite my frustration, I took a few minutes to listen to Neal. As it turns out, Neal had been released from the hospital ED the day before where he had been treated for an infection in his leg, a sight I had no desire to see but was shown anyway. A few days before that, he had been released from the Orange County jail where he spent 39 days for a minor offence. Prior to going to jail, Neal spent a couple weeks at the Orlando Union Rescue Mission. All of his clothes were left at the mission when he was arrested, and had since been given away. He was at the Rescue Mission because his employer went out of business and was unable to pay his employees. But that is far from the beginning of Neal’s story.

Neal was a high school football star in Alabama. As a senior, he was a team leader, an object of the local paper’s sports writer, and heavily recruited by colleges across the South. He had an offer of a full scholarship at the University of Alabama and was poised to live out his dream when he suffered a broken neck during a game. While the injury didn’t leave him incapacitated for life, it did leave him in the hospital for several months and unable to play football. When he got out of the hospital, his senior year had passed him by, there was no high school diploma, there were no scholarship offers, and he had developed a drug dependency. His drug dependency would dominate the next ten years of his life, sending him into a spiral that led to alcohol, cocaine, crack, and eventually to Orlando.

To be fair, he didn’t come straight to Orlando from his drug dependency. He had been clean for the better part of a year in Alabama. As sobriety replaced drug dependency, Neal began to realize what he had lost and just how little he had. He had no money, no skills, no education, no prospects, and he had burned the bridge of every relationship in his life. So after a stint in rehab, he came to Orlando. His goal was to prove his sincerity and his ability to pull himself up then return to Alabama with a bit of dignity and begin rebuilding relationships - a goal that clearly had not come to fruition.

As he was speaking to me, his goals had been reduced to just one: He wanted to go home. He had been in touch with a pastor from his youth who had put him in touch with a local junk yard manager that was willing to give him a part time, minimum wage job back home. His only possession was a Home Depot store credit card worth $74.00, a possession he would happily sell. He had tried for days to sell the card but was unable to get anyone to talk to him in the Home Depot parking lot. It was, in fact, this effort to sell his store credit card that landed him in jail. You see, people don’t like to be approached in the Home Depot parking lot by big, homeless men, and Home Depot doesn’t like it either.

I’ll admit that I was moved by Neal. After I went with him to the Orlando Union Rescue Mission where I verified that he had, in fact, been a exemplary tenant and his possessions had been given away days before; and I talked to the pastor in Alabama that helped him find a job; and I verified that the Home Depot store credit card was worth $74.37, then I agreed to buy him a bus ticket to Dothan Alabama for $79.00. He, of course, gave me the Home Depot card resulting in a net loss of $4.63

So what? So what is the point of this rambling? What was my take-away from the time I spent with Neal?

As I considered Neal, the single thought that kept coming to my mind was that for days he couldn’t sell that card in the Home Depot parking lot. But the problem is not only the people in the Home Depot parking lot, it’s me too. Why was I so reticent to spend any of my precious time with Neal? Why do I avoid spending time that way with people like him? My time isn’t actually that valuable. Allow me to propose a possible answer.

When I considered Neal long enough, I was struck less by our differences than by our similarities. I began to wonder, what would have to happen in my life to place me in his position? The answer is surprisingly little. But for one missed tackle in one game 12 years ago and Neal might be every kids Hero. How many of my opportunities would have to be taken away before I fail? How much of my ability? What if I had less diligent parents who were less committed to equipping me for life? What if I had a sudden accident resulting in a loss of mental or physical acuity? What if my employer, my friends, and my family lost all confidence in me?

What if there is a something more sinister? What if I capitulated to my base impulses? What if the social boundaries that guide my behavior were no longer able to contain me? What if the Relationships that compel me to behave and provide no longer held sway in my life? How much of my life is a veneer that, if ripped away, would reveal a man very much in need, a man very much like Neal.

You see, Neal is just like us without the veneer. Neal, and those like him, are walking reminders that we’re not OK. We have little tolerance for Neal because to look at him is to see ourselves. So much of our lives are houses of cards that crumble under the slightest weight. To engage with Neal fully is to be confronted with the depravity that lurks beneath the surface of our lives.

The reality of our condition is so offensive that many of us refuse to acknowledge it. Whether we consciously avoid it or subconsciously ignore it, it is there, waiting to overwhelm us. But this is precisely where authentic Christianity begins. Not in serving people like Neal, but in realizing that we are just like Neal. This is the point where Christ meets us and the only point at which Christ can change us . . . can save us.

Neal knows, and is absolutely clear, that he cannot accomplish anything. He has no self-inflated ego; in fact he has no ego at all. This is the first work of God in the life of a Christian. We must have the veneer ripped away and see ourselves for who and what we are: utterly and totally degenerate creatures capable of no good thing. Upon realizing our depravity, we must acknowledge it and surrender it to Christ. If we view it as something that we work on by ourselves or even together with Christ, then we have inflated ourselves, denigrated Christ, and rejected his work of redemption in our souls. Our salvation is wholly and completely a work of Christ. The new creation that we become is wholly and completely a work of Christ, and to turn myself wholly over to another, even if the other is God, cuts against every thing in my nature, my sinful nature, the nature just under the veneer.

Maybe that’s the reason Neal couldn’t sell that store card.

Racism in the Church? by Tami Cinquemani

I fell in love with Jesus in a church of 24 members – all brand new Christians who had recently made a decision that turned their worlds upside down. Our church was filled to capacity every Saturday – mostly with members of other churches who had heard about this church of brand new Christians on fire with a first-love experience. We were a unique bunch. A sampling of ages, backgrounds, cultures and ethnicity. This was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life and my first view of what I thought heaven would be like.

I grew up on the South Side of Chicago (me and “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” for all you Jim Croce fans!). I was a child of the Sixties, and I had a front row seat in displays of racial tension. I hated every second of it. This fact only made me love my new church and my new faith even more. I was a member of a church that didn’t distinguish on the basis of race. We were all God’s children, and we were one big family . . . or so I thought.

You can only imagine my disbelief when I found out months after my conversion that my church had a separate conference and church structure based solely on race. I was outraged, I was embarrassed, and I was heartbroken. The years that have passed since I became aware of this travesty have done nothing to alleviate any of these feelings. In fact, they have only increased.

I understand the reason for this structure’s initial purpose, and I believe organizing a “Black” conference during a time when, sadly, even the Seventh-day Adventist church treated African Americans with bigotry and prejudice was necessary. However, this is no longer the case. Current conference structure embraces racial diversity, and leaders of all nationalities strongly desire working together. I also understand it won’t be easy restructuring with the intention of integrating conferences, but it needs to be done.

How can we, as Christians who believe that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28) allow this to continue? Our relevance to the young people in our church as well as our community at large depends on our church making some drastic changes in order for us to truly become ONE in Christ Jesus. There is no room for this kind of division along racial lines. It is unbiblical, unchristian, and just plain wrong.

Tami Cinquemani

To Botox or Not to Botox - That is the Question! by Tami Cinquemani

Just recently a very good friend of mine asked me if I would ever consider getting Botox treatments. My first thought (after asking myself if, perhaps, I hadn’t applied enough foundation that morning) was ABSOLUTELY NOT! Of course, this response was triggered by terrifying visions of tiny little needles invading my sensitive facial area. I related to my friend the experience I had with the technician who gave me the one and only facial I ever experienced. This strong and determined woman with the physique, temperament, and accent of a Gestapo agent declared forcefully while pointing to various areas of my face, “Botox! Botox! Vaxing! Vaxing! Botox! Peeeeel! Botox! Zen you vill be beeeauutiful!” This facial was not turning out to be the relaxing experience I had anticipated.

My friend and I continued our conversation, discussing the pros and cons of advanced efforts to maintain a youthful appearance as we grew older. We marveled at the paralyzed faces of current actresses whose overdone Botox injections allow for limited facial expression. We chuckled about the artificial fullness of collagen-injected smiles. We discussed everything from augmentation, to liposuction, to face lifts. And we decided we’ll probably just do our best to grow old gracefully . . . and naturally.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all about putting time and effort into looking my best. I spend more hours than I like in the gym. I keep a fairly updated wardrobe (albeit strategically selected from clearance racks). I generally don’t walk out my front door without “putting my face on,” and my mantra is, “The greyer I get, the blonder I’ll be.” I’m happy to stop there.

I have friends and acquaintances, however, who have gone the route of Botox and the like. My response to them? You go girl! I know there are those who would think all these efforts are based in vanity and not something a real Christian woman would do. Though some would argue, the Bible’s only caution on this topic is toward modesty in appearance. I think that leaves the whole issue between God and the person making the decisions.

H.M.S. Richards, a pioneer of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was once asked his opinion of women wearing make-up. I love his response: “If the barn needs paint, paint it!” My thought is, if the barn needs a spackling job or a new door, that should be up to the barn-owner as well.

Tami Cinquemani