Luke 11:23

I was reading the bible this morning and stumbled (in every possible way) over something Jesus said,


"He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth" 

From my modern, American, toleranceiseverything perspective this sounds mighty exclusive. Harsh. Not easy to swallow. Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of it.

Is Jesus talking about spiritual reality? Like a universal law of physics, but a universal law of the spiritual world? For myself, the first part is OK. I am definitely a Christ believer. But the second clause? Hmmmm. What exactly does "gathereth" mean?

What are the ways that a person can help gather?  I can think of the obvious: missions, prosletyizing...etc. That is so not my cup of tea. I'm not good at it. I'm uncomfortable about it. But are there other ways to gather? I've been thinking a lot about how Jesus calls me to LOVE others. And while I'm still not exactly clear about how to logistically implement that, it's the only concrete guidance I have received on the matter.

Love people. Anywhere. Everywhere. Really love them. Care about them and their lives. Help if I can. Be a good samaritan. Don't look away from pain and suffering.

What a great vision.

But darn challenging to live up to. Sometimes I don't even remember. I get so wrapped up with my daily life, the needs of my family and my personal concerns that I lose focus. I wish I had a little "reset" button inside of my that God would push whenever I need to remember to LOVE people.

Wouldn't that be cool?

More fun, more helping

I've been thinking a lot about trying to enjoy life more lately. A dear friend from church just suffered a stroke and is in the hospital on all kinds of tubes and it is not looking good. And the San Bruno explosion and fire also contributed towards my frame of mind.

I've also been thinking about how I can be a good Samaritan - in the real, biblical sense. I mean really helping people and sharing God's love. Seems like everyone goes to Africa to help AIDS orphans. That is awesome, but I don't think I'm going there soon.

So I guess I want to help more, and I want to have more fun. Are those contradictory desires?

And is there room for anything more in my life? Hmmm.....

And can I afford to do all the things I want to do to have more fun?

OK, enough of all that philosophical stuff. Let's talk about what is really important: my HAIR.

It is time for a change. I grew my hair for over a year for the Anniversary party* and now I ready for a cut. I'm looking a little Pescadero these days with my long locks. The two options I am considering are:

1.) bangs, layered and medium length - lots of movement and easy to wear/wash and go.
2.) all one length, shoulder length or a little longer - no layers.

I'm thinking of going with #2 first, then transitioning to #1 if/when I get sick of it.

The next big question is bangs? or no bangs? I just think bangs make one look younger, and I could seriously use that kind of help about now. Ya know?

Is a new hair cut in any way related to having more fun or helping others?

Not really, huh.

* if you want to see pictures from the anniversary party (it was epic), check on my FB photos.