I've really had the best intentions in writing consistently. I'm working on discipline, my greatest foe, so as us all in our imperfection, I'm still trying with a clean slate in my hopeful reach.
I left some things untied in my last blog entry. One of it was the church advertisement that was printed in Newsweek. (The original blog entry that shows the picture is here). So, last week was my home church's VBS. The theme was pirates and Treasure Island, building upon the scriptural verse that says, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," Matthew 6:21. In light of what we teach children and remind each other, the advertisement has a couple of troubling depictions along with the connotations it evokes. Like for example, the palatial home. Home and the warmth associated with a home is wonderful. It can be a beacon for healing, nourishment, rest and hospitality. But, if the home denotes outside aesthetics associated with success in terms of a sign of wealth, then it's entirely a different matter. So this depiction maybe needs to be rethought out. What about a picture showing a family or groups people breaking bread in candle light as an alternative? Another photo...the family. Family should be treasured,of course, but the depiction shows a family, white, attractive and blond. Is this an indicator of a typical Christian family, or what used to be referred to as a WASP family? This family also looks affluent. What is this depiction truly saying? If you find some of these pictures troubling, how can some of the negatives turn into positives?
Now on to Abby. I admire this young girl and do not hold judgment against her parents. This young girl has character and grit. She is self-possessed and smart. For those who criticize, are they really saying a teen-age young girl could never accomplish something of this magnitude. Would this fervor be the same if a boy Abby's age, which there has been recently, tried to accomplish the same thing? Just a few things to think about.
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