Why Christians aren't "cool"

Christianity sure is unfashionable these days.

The media makes fun of Christians, hardly ever portraying them in a good light. Instead, they're shown to be hypocritical, judgemental, boring, and/or stupid. There are only a handful of kind, intelligent, three-dimensional Christian characters in the media who have been developed beyond these negative stereotypes.

Most people's thoughts and opinions directly arise from the mass media. That's why "religious" is considered a negative adjective these days....In the past, being called religious would have been a compliment, implying that someone is a good, honest person.

Once people find out I am "religious," they don't perceive me the same way anymore, because they judge me based upon the stereotypes. After I tell them I am a Christian, all of a sudden they think I'm crazy instead of cool. Following Christ makes me the odd one out in many situations.

Dreaming in color

I dreamed I was teaching a class...writing math problems on the whiteboard, but they kept erasing themselves and I couldn't solve them. Though I felt a bit shy about facing the class, I was doing all right. The dream was very detailed and colorful; I recall red markers and the muted tones of the classroom. Do some people really dream in black and white, as I've heard? Why, if real life is colorful?

Reflections on grace

Life is in a constant state of transition, and I am a wanderer passing through. This place isn't my real home....

First and foremost I am a child of God, eternally loved by Him. That is the foundation of who I am, and all else is secondary. Day by day, God is shaping me to become the person He created me to be.

Human strength is weakness; we must allow God to work through us. How can we learn to be patient without long periods of waiting? How can we grow strong without lifting heavy burdens? How can we grow wise without these experiences?

That's why God is teaching me to trust Him and be content in all circumstances.

Genuine grace contains a bit of awkwardness. The egret, one of nature's most graceful creatures, has an appearance that is somewhat off, with jagged angles and strange movements. We tend to think of grace as flawlessly executed, like a ballet dance or presidential speech. The person with perfect manners, whose tongue never slips, who has flawless fashion sense -- that is who we consider graceful. But the egret is untrained, and unparalleled grace surrounds it.

Maybe God's grace works the same way within us -- naturally, without our own self-conscious efforts to obtain righteousness.

The need for discernment

Hobbies...the activities we do in our leisure time...are of great importance.

Reading has always been a passion of mine, and I will read anything -- fiction, nonfiction, the back of a shampoo bottle if nothing else is available -- and I'm open to reading any genre, any book that captures my interest.

Yet I am more discerning in my choices than I used to be. In the past when I would read literally anything, Stephen King and J.K. Rowling were my favorite authors. Now that I know God, I'm more cautious about what I choose to read, watch, and listen to.

What we allow into our minds is just as important...or even more so...as what we eat for the body's nourishment.

Reading can expand the mind, but many books aren't worth the time. Many of them are dark, disturbing, depressing, and unholy, containing morally degenerate themes and images that taint the mind. The same is true of movies and music. That's why I now only read books that are spiritually nourishing. If the Holy Spirit convicts me not to read a book, I won't.