Monday

It's Monday, again. Funny how they sneak up on you at the beginning of every week. My alarm went off this morning, and I cringed. I reset it and fell back asleep instantly. This cycle continued itself two more times before I was able to drag my butt out of bed. The darkness now in the morning is conducive to sleeping, not waking. I would like to talk to God when I get to heaven about the policy of making mornings very early. I disagree with it.

Yesterday, we had a speaker from Breakthrough Urban Ministry speaking at our church, and she said something like, "It is such a sad state of the world today when everyone knows what Christians are against, but no one knows what we're for, or where we stand regarding the poor." It was a great sentence, and I found myself agreeing. Several times in this blog I have discussed the fact that Christians have such a negative rep. Last week, we were on our way to rehearsal and our friend was talking about this tract she had been given by these people on the street. She said that she was enjoying the illusions in the tract, until she got to the part saying that she was going to hell because she wasn't a Christian. I mentioned the fact that we were Christians, and she said, "Yeah, but not like that." And I agreed. I'm not like that. I want people to know the God that I know, the God of compassion and love, and mercy. The same God that is judgement and righteousness, but his judgement and righteousness and justice exist alongside and interdependent with His love, and mercy, and kindness. There is not one part of Him that stands alone, he is all good. One of my classmates, a Catholic, said once, "Jesus was like the ultimate social worker, but no one gets that. All they see is the fact that religion has been used as a weapon, misguidedly used to kill and torture, when Jesus was intensely committed to the bettering of lives." I agree. The speaker yesterday quoted Bono of U2, who said, "I have no problem with Jesus Christ. It's Christians I have a problem with." As a Christian, I cringe when I hear that. But I know that it's true. We have not done a good job of communicating love to those around us. And Jesus, not only the top social worker of the world, but more importantly our Savior, is saddened by that. We need to step it up. Whenever I hear those sermons, I remember why I am a social worker. God has given me the gifts of compassion and mercy, and I need to get out there and use them.

In other news, I am doing this show in October called "Ghost Stories". You can see the poster and keep up with updated show information by going to www.myspace.com/strangetreegroup. It's loads of creepy, spooky fun. You should definitely make your way into the alleys of Humboldt Park to come and see it...it will be FABULOUS!