FunnyDuddies

Wheetsin that is awful. Truly sad that you have witnessed this. Not only that they are acting in this way, but look at the sour taste it has left in your mouth toward your feeling of organized religon? It feeds a stereotype that is sad and disgusting. The church that Rob and I call our "home church" has folk from all backgrounds, all wealths, all nationalities. The only thing they ask when you come in for the first time is if you would like someone to show you around. LOL No one judges anyone. They are just happy to see you. There is literally no gossip among the church ladies (my father very embarassingly found this out by making a total fool of himself when we were preparing for our wedding). It is your typical, all american, clean living independant baptist church and school. I could never imagine them placing trinkets on people's doors, or passing out flyers and signs. Or actively discourage any particular group of people from coming in.

I too believe that God does not reward. He provides, but he does not reward. And I believe that he provides to meet his needs, not just yours. Through God, a believer will always have the basics. Whether it is a the strength to find a good job, caring friends to help you succeed, and caretakers when you cannot take care of yourself. But I believe that when God provides you with great wealth, He expects you to do with that wealth what His will is. We are all kinda like God's personal money managers if you think about it. But I also think that if God provides you with the strength and will to go out and get a really good education, and a really good job, and you work really hard at it and make a lot of money, that you are blessed, but it was not a reward from God. It is the fruit of your labor. This is a very complicated issue isn't it? Now I beleive that God does not take of those who refuse to take care of themselves. Why should he? If you can't make the effort to love yourself enough to take care of you and yours, how successful are you going to be in taking care of those less fortunate, if there are any. That is why I do not believe in blind charity. As for explaining the sadness in the world, I believe that as tragic as the moment may be, there is always something to be shown through each event in life. My daughter died in birth and was revived, and had a paralyzed arm that will never be like the other. I don't view this as a tragedy. I believe that it happened to teach her father and I how special she was, and her arm will help her learn to be strong and overcome so that she can accomplish something difficult in the future. I had some tragic things happen to me in my life when I was younger, things that most would wish had never happen to them. But as hard as it has been trying to get over these events, I would not trade them for anything because they taught me and helped me grow in my faith and personality. But I do not profess to know the mind of God. He has his reasons for everything. And, as always, why do we blame God for ALL tragedies in life? I do believe that there are evil forces at work in this world that can manipulate and change the course of events to better their situations.

That is an amazing point Alexandra. I really never thought about this, and it fits and makes sense in some of these circumstances. Now one thing I think should be said is that it is not wrong to be wealthy. I hope that this sentiment does not get around here.

PNUT!!! You need to give her the instructions on how to post her badge!!

i also think that when we are growing up we tend to mimic slightly the little things that those we look up to do. facial expressions. sayings. tones of your voice. mannerisms that make you more like the other person in more ways than just your looks. it can deceive someone into thinking you look even more alike.

i wonder when we will see pictures of the famous baby. i know they are getting paid 5 million for the rights to one of the major magazines.

band the tum to shrink the bum thats about as good as it gets lol

well where is it?? I want to see that badge in that thar sig line honey!! You earned it!!

Teresita I am glad you love us. We love you too. I think the "country club" mentality is alive and well in every church. If you attend a service you know the people I am talking about. It could even be just one family, but they went to their church, they did their part, and they can go back to their lives and say that they did it and look like good people for it. But I wouldn't want any less of them. At least they are there, and hopefully something will soak in whilst they sit and rejoice in the fact fact that they look like good people. My parents were like this. It was really hard for me. I made friends in church. I wanted to go to church functions. Join the youth group. Be in the choir. But I wasn't allowed. We were just there to make an appearance. We were just supposed to look like the church going family. As we would drive away my dad would make fun of all the people we saw in church. Mocking them and their faith. It was a confusing thing to grow up with. Rob and I have a few different churches that we go to, but for the most part we Celebrate together as a family with taped sermons from our family church in Georgia. We have yet to find a pastor that we connect with so much. We are still looking for the right church here, but we are having a hard time with it. For various reasons. But every sunday we listen to Pastor Riley's sermon from the previous sunday, and discuss and pray together. When we donate right now hard goods are cent to the community church that is here locally, but the money we still give to our church in georgia because we know and approve of the charities they parse it all out to. And we also know what percentage goes to the church. One church we attended a few times here was reluctant to tell us these financials. We never went back. I mean we give 15% of our income to the church. If we are going to give we need to be sure that it is actually going to people that need it.

And just an aside. Photonut and I were discussing the other day about how we are all tested and tried. Everyday our faith is pushed. For my husband and I it seems like we get pushed more than most. LOL I am sure everyone faces this. My mother in law jokes that at some point one of us prayed for patience, and we have been taught a lesson ever since. We have our trials. Nothing goes right in our life. We have made and lost fortunes many times over. It has tested our faith and our relationship. But even at the lowest points we were always provided for. I think it is one of the reasons that I no longer stress out when something goes wrong. I know it will be taken care of. I just missed a full week's worth of work. DH missed most of that as well. That means we might come up short for my apron surgery. Am I worried? No. I question, but I am praying a lot, and I know that the answer will come to me soon. because we are always taken care of. I just have to be open to what his will is for me.

I think a majority of us would agree that God provides what we need, but does not overly reward the more devout. But where do we see this mentality coming from? We know it is out there. I dare anyone to say that they haven't seen it at least once. Who is perpetrating this culture, this philosophy?

even if it is a small group, investigating a time card issue is not unusual, so it might not come from inside the group. cheating on your timecard is considered stealing by company standards. HR will take you very seriously, and prolly just watch her for a while on their own. in watching her they may see the appearance issues you have as well. i think that an anonymous note to them, talking about the time card and how uncomfortable a work place she makes it with the way she talks and takes care of herself, will make hr really focus on her and the problem will resolve itself. you have been there for 3 years...i would do what you could to make it a nice place to work.

i pushed myslef too hard this morning lol i am not laying on the chaise absolutely spent and feel like i am about to fall asleep. lol

what do you mean all hell would break loose? is it that she would give you crap for announcing? could you type up an annonymous note and send it to hr so that no one knows? or could you ask that they investigate on their own and leave you out of it? I used to work in an HR dept for a short time, and while I hated it, I do admit that one of the things HR is always big on is investigating claims without upsetting the work balance. If you complain about the cleanliness and work place appearance, as well as the time card violations, they will prolly investigate without point you out.

oh sweety that sounds awful!! I hope you are ok, and can take it easy without slowing down. put some ice on it, and later tonight take bath in that nice jacuzzi tub.

heather i am with you on this!! I am gonna have a perfect month. I want to lose a lot like MyChevyGirl, and have a perfect month. Congratz on the skinny jeans heather!!! I can't wait to wear jeans and not look li ke i have a butt in the front LOL

:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: CONGRATZ MYCHEVYGIRL!!!!! :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :wow2: Wear that badge with pride!!! You did it!! And the rest of the GFG Group... We are all beautiful and perfect! And we all win with this challenge! Even one pound gone is a huge achievment! :dance: :whoo: :love: :rockon: :cheer2:

Preface: This thread is not one for fighting. I am starting it, I can request that it be locked if it gets out of hand. This thread is to discuss modern versus traditional Christian and additional religious ideas regarding social structure and economics. This is NOT a thread for bashing religion. If you cannot contain yourself and feel you must bash someone's religion, go to another site to do so. There are plenty on the net. Earlier today I was reading through a thread, and came across something DevilMayKare stated. Instead of hijacking the original thread I asked DevilMayKare if I could quote her here and discuss this topic. It is an interesting one, and one that has fascinated me for a few years now. Here is what she had to say: While I partially agree with Devil (kinda funny name in this case there Kare ) here is more what I feel the situation is. In the christian teachings that I was brought up with (I am baptist) faith does not breed prosperity. In fact, properity befalls people whom God believes will put it to good use, or who need to learn a lesson or two. I was also taught that through faith and God's will, what you need in life is provided for you. That word there is "need". I am not talking about an olympic sized swimming pool. A fancy red convertible. A 7 bedroom house with a sauna. But I, too, have seen some families and some groups with the thoughts that "the better the follower, the richer the rewards". And families in church with a lot of money and toys are upheld as "very faithful and dedicated" because God has "blessed" them with so much. I never understood why the truely faithful would fall into this sentiment, unless it is being taught somewhere. This mentality of "the more you have, the more you love and are loved" has to come from somewhere. Rob and I have been accused of this. It has really surprised us as well. We are faithful. We attend a church, teach to our children, pray together as a family, and attend many church social functions. We also do a lot of stuff that is not always looked at as "clean living" like drink, and go dancing at clubs, and swear at times. Yet we have been introduced at our church on three seperate occasions as being devout followers who have been rewarded richly for our service to God. Well yes, we have been rewarded with a wonderful life together, two beautiful intelligent and healthy children, and his will for us made clear. But then our introducers go on to speak about our home, and our jobs, and the school we want the kids to attend. Since when did this turn into a financial game? It has even seeped into our church!! I guess I would just like to open this up for discussion because I am curious as to who else has had this happen, or who has witnessed it. Why do you think religion has decided to judge a person's faith based on his wealth? Or do you not see this at all and Devil and I are just crazy? LOL That could very well be it!!

Oh bless you all! I didn't even realize that Susan had posted a prayer request for me here. I am in tears now and feel so warm and hugged by reading her post and knowing that I was prayed for. Thank you all. I am doing much better. The antibiotics finally kicked in and I my pain level has gone down considerably. God bless you all for the prayers, and thank you so much. You have no idea how much this warms me.

yeah it is not an active chat room. there are no scheduled chats or anything like that. but occasionally a group gathers there and we have a good time. usually at night. usually close to the weekends. and usually when things are really hoppin on the board or something if goin on.

its not just a face with disgust. he just throws a total fit. lol and tries to rip them off of her. lol

people think rob and i are brother and sister all the time, and then still think the kids are ours. how messed up is that?!?! the key is too look like you are related, but not actually be related. cause that is just not right. not right at all.

a week worth of foreplay can be fun. but dangerous as well. Lets be careful out there! LOL

LOL jenna I would not have been able to do that LOL but the more I think about it the more I am glad I go everywhere with DH. He has scared many a young nasty boy who has decided to snicker or jeer at my weight. He can be an intimidating looking guy, so usually a looked and a low growl from him makes them come over and apologize to me. What state did this happen in? The reason I ask is that we used to have a lot of this happen when we lived in Washington. But since we moved to Florida we are seeing less of it. I don't know if maybe its just that there are more fat chicks around here and we just aren't fun to make fun of any more, or if the kids are just brought up better here.

Omg test 4 and 5 had me laughing so hard i could barely read it outloud!! That is freakin hilarious! The octopus in a string bag still has be giggling. and you do not even want to know what is on the floor of our car. LOL