the narrow road - a bit of a rant and rave

This is Katharine Jefferts Schori,
she has recently been appointed the head bishop of the Episcopalian church in the USA.
She was interviewed by Time Magazine. Amongst the various questions she was asked, she was asked this particular question that has me more than a little irked...

She was asked

Is belief in Jesus the only way to get to heaven?

and her response was

"We who practice the Christian tradition understand him as our vehicle to the divine. But for us to assume that God could not act in other ways is, I think, to put God in an awfully small box."

(source - http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1211587-2,00.html)


These are the reasons why I am ranting and raving about her response:

1) She is leading the Episcopalian church away from the truth - Jesus made it very clear in John 14:6 when He said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

2) There isn't any other way to God other than His Son Jesus,
there are no multiple roads,
no multiple paths for Hindus, Muslims, Athiests, Jews, Agnostics and etc. There is only one way.

Are you thinking I'm intolerant? Or not respectful of other peoples views? I am respectful, but I will openly state that I am intolerant to such matters and other things. I respect others, but there's a fine line of toleration vs. respect.

So for you who are followers of Christ, and you decide what I've said is not true, go find out for yourself. While you're at it, develop what you know/believe/think/etc. instead of riding the coattails of someone else's views. Because when it comes down to getting to Heaven, it is not about what your parents have believed, it's what you have believed.

"God has no grandchildren"

For those of you who are relgious or of other religions,
please hear what I say and if you wish to challenge what I say, bring it on in the most respectful of ways.

For those of you who are Episcopalian,
I urge you to challenge what you believe, because this is a part of you, these are your views whether you say anything or nothing at all.

That's all I have to say about this,

***nv***

a bittersweet day

Yesterday was a bittersweet day...

I woke up at 3ish in the morning to my father crying; the night before his pet rabbit Laffy-Taffy died, and because of that he cried. Now here's the thing that gets to me, I don't recall the last time my father cried, it's just something he doesn't do... I find that a bit sad in its own right, but the fact that he lost his pet, saddens me as well.

Still, the day was far from over.
My mother's cat died as well; this time it died by being putdown. It wasn't doing so well and so they had to put it down.

So 2 of our family pets died in the same day,
and we're catless...which is kind of weird.

Even though it was payday, it was a bittersweet day-
I guess that was the only sweet part of the day besides going to church last night.

{N}{V}

work...6 weeks running

One thing I know from work experience is that you always leave with more than you did when you first started; I'm talking about experiences...

For me, I have a tangled web of various jobs I have taken, some good and some bad, but still, I have gained experience.

Here's some of the things I've learned from each of the jobs (including my current one) and perhaps you'll learn something.

Cutting Grass - My first job was cutting job for various people, from that job I learned how to cut grass the right way.

Sci-Tech - This was my first 'real' job outside of cutting grass and babysitting; It had all the appearance of a good job, but alas- It was not so. Not only did I get (pardon my french) screwed at the end of my time there, but I also grew very hateful (I am no longer) to my co-workers and people who put on the facade of it being a legitimate place of work. I learned from this job that things aren't always what they seem to be, and to take what happens and make something out of it - preferably something good over bad.

McDonalds - Yes, I the vegetarian once worked at McDonalds! Here too I learned that things aren't what they seem to be. I also learned that Latinos were the majority (people wise) and yet the minority (for what they did there); I learned to be more respectful and helpful to the Latino workers, because the other people did not always help them as well as they could. It was a fun time when we were working at a good pace, but when the crap hit the fan, watch out!
From this job, I learned to share the gospel openly to my co-workers, in which there were several followers of Christ working the same time I was! That was a blessing. I also learned the importance of advancing in education; No offense to my McDonalds co-workers and McDonalds employees everywhere, but no one can support oneself on 6.00 dollars an hour, I feel bad for those people who support more than themselves - if you want to know about McJobs, click here.

Working with Chip - Chip is my neighbor from across the street from where I live; Chip is a young man who has some disabilities, and as a result of his mother's job changing, she needed someone who would stay with him for a couple hours a week. I have never been really uncomfortable with people who have different disabilities and what not, mainly because my parents worked with such people before my sisters and I were born, they had plenty of students, and so I met a lot of them. I worked with Chip for 2 years, and I am greatly blessed by God for this opportunity, not because I followed in my parents path, but because I experienced working with Chip - He taught me a great deal.
I also enjoyed playing basketball and baseball with him, I even saw him play baseball on the team he's a part of. It's a fun time for both the players and the fans.

The Ben/Library on Campus - My first job away from the Aurora area! The reason why I took this job was to make a little $$$ while at Judson College, in which I may need to do again in the Fall, but not necessarily at the Library. I enjoyed this job because I always wanted to have the experience of being a Librarian, since I totally dig Libraries...I'm a big reader, so it comes naturally.
I enjoyed this job because I learned the various methods of shelving, though only one is used at the campus library, it was a fun and unique experience.

Janitorial Services - This is my current job, and I am learning a lot...maybe too much! *wink* Well, this is what I am learning...
I am learning that it is best to do a good job of whatever you do, I do this in my house, but I am learning about how sometimes co-workers will slack off and (pardon my french again) do a half-assed job, and then someone will have to come back and fix the crappy work that has been done - aka ME. I am also learning that I can easily tune out my co-workers (a good thing here) and just pray, 'cause sometimes I really don't care what my co-workers are talking about, it isn't the best of things to talk about...yeah, no comment here. I also know from experience to not be homophobic, nor racist or sexist, but by way of co-workers, I am learning about people who are; It's rather disturbing to hear my co-workers pick on someone because they're a different race or a different sex, what can I say to them? I really don't know, because they seem rather...once again, no comment.


*whew*
That's a lot of typing,
but...I don't mind sharing a bit about my work history.

Take care and God bless,
Nathanael.

Another event happened in my life the other day...

As of 7/7/06 - I have been a Vegetarian for one year! My younger sister Charity has told me that we should celebrate...by eating chicken, *sigh* sisters and their ironic ways.

For me, it hasn't been too difficult with being a vegetarian; I admit that the first 2 1/2 months were kind of a downer, being that I quit eating meat in the summer/barbeque season.
I never did eat much meat previous to being a vegetarian, I didn't eat out much and I didn't like fast food, I ate mostly homemade dishes of chicken.

Although I will continue being a vegetarian for a longer period of time, if I go back to eating meat, I'm going to try the unusual stuff such as:
*Cow Tongue
*Menudo
*Tripe
*Eyes
and
etc...

This may seem sick, but some people eat these things! I even know where to get some of it, but at this time -

I'm still a vegetarian!

Be nice to animals and don't eat them (entirely joking).
[n][v]

a birthday/picture synopsis...

I had and for dessert. I received and from my sisters and parents...

It was a small, but good birthday party of sorts; I just hope I'm able to do something with some friends this weekend coming up. I don't live for the weekends, but I do enjoy them when I hang out with friends.

Thanks so much for the birthday greetings!
I received some from friends local and friends in Israel - so a lot of territory was covered when it came to wishing me a happy birthday... Thanks once again!

[n][v]

dispensing some advice...

Well, today is my 22nd birthday - and I feel like dispensing some advice - so listen/read up! you may learn something yet...

*If you're the praying type, let people know you're praying for them - As someone who does pray and who is prayed for, I find that it is quite encouraging to let the person know that they're being prayed for.

*Maintain a good relationship with your siblings - I wasn't always as close to my sisters as I am these days, and I thank God that I am close to them these days.

*Take educated chances - Some things are worth risking, but make sure it won't fly back in your face.

*If you're young and in love, don't RUSH it! - Taking time to get to know someone can take a long time, and learning to love that person may take even longer - just don't rush it. Let it be like a plant that needs water; don't give it too much or give it too little, give it what it needs to stay alive. I am not implying that you should give less than 100 percent, btw.

*Do not confuse infatuation for love - As someone who threw away love (yet it was infatuation), I still feel the panges of what once a good friendship and yet... I threw it away on account of it being infatuation. 

*Ask questions - I don't always get things the first time, so I ask questions. I don't know anyone who hates when people ask questions about the said subject - so ask away!

*If you're a CHRISTian, learn to love your enemies as Jesus taught - I have many friends, but I also have some enemies. And while I don't associate with them as much as I do with my friends, I still love them in light of God loving me as I am. It can be a little nerve racking at times, loving those who don't show it. Do it because Jesus taught us to do so.

*Step out of your box, step out of your comfort zone - As someone who wants to see more of the world, I'd tell you to get out of your comfort zone and your box. Although I haven't been to any countries outside of Mexico and Canada, I truely was challenged by Mexico, and I can't wait to be challenged again.

And...
more to come, but it's dinner time for my family and I; remember the vegetarian lasagna I showed a while back? That's my birthday dinner! yum!

Take care and God bless,
Nathanael.

some thoughts...

God - Hanging in there with Him, walking and talking to Him and just praying for friends, for enemies, for peace and for change. I feel like a young baby or a koala; that is, I'm clinging on for my safety and refuge - I cling because He is my life and all that I am.

Sleep - I am having a hard time sleeping at night, it comes from being tense and just dealing with life in my family. I may just be an insomniac who shouldn't be - due to work at 6 in the morn. - but maybe I am... Oh well, at least I have time to pray even more so.

Prayer - I am liking my job for this reason only. I tend to work by myself at work, so I seize the opportunity to pray as much as I can.

My Mouth - I am too verbal to my mother and other people who have annoyed me to some degree, as a result, I suffer from foot-in-mouth disease. One of the things I have been praying for is that I shut up before I say something I shouldn't. It works sometimes...sometimes...

Life - It's stressful to be truthful, and sometimes I feel like grabbing my stuff and just hitting the road; But I am trusting and relying on God to get me through. I know I can do it, but sometimes I just need to get out of this body of mine and just go on a vacation...

Conviction - I have been convicted by God by way of the song God's gonna cut you down by Johnny Cash; while I live a decent life, there's always room for improvement - and so, by God's strength alone, I'm changing...again! Everyone is changing in some way or another.

Writing - As of recent, I haven't written anything, but the poetry bug is biting and I have 6 or so in my head, waiting to be pumped out on paper; Sorry to you the reader, the poems are of a sensitive nature and so I will not be publishing them here or anywhere else...

And...that's all I have to say!

Have a Happy 4th of July and a 5th! Due to it being my BIRTHDAY, I recommend having a good day.

[nathanael]

life...

Life,
as it is- or better put,
what I'll say and what I don't.

Guarding my heart and watching what I say, that's been the hardest thing I've been doing recently; Not even my 40 hour job, my work with CHAOS and Young Life has been as hard.

Other things in my life;
1) Prayer
2) Devotions
and
3) Life apart/a part.

Prayer - The good thing about my work is that at times I can tune out my co-workers and other distractions and just pray. I've been praying for friends, their lives and loved ones, the ones who know God and those who do not. I also pray for my own scenario - which is a rough bit of ground to stand on at times, but God is good! (never a cliche phrase of mine.)

Devotions - I'm not doing them as regularly as I'd like to, but when I get a chunk of time in which to do them, I do! It's good times... I'm also plugged into my church and the Russian church, a great blend of styles.

Life apart/ a part - How I cling to my Father in Heaven, and how I pray for my earthly Father.
It's a long climb uphill...

See ya on the flipside,
Nathanael.