The Value in The Hunger Games

Have you read the Hunger Games yet? I read them around Christmastime and was completely sucked in. I loved them. I didn't love them for the violence and corruption. I loved them because of how well-written they were and how they paint a picture of what society could be like if we continue down our current path.

A lot of Christians bash the series without taking the time to read the books. If you are any sort of thinker, you will most likely appreciate the series on some level (unless you enjoy being contrary). I would like to read the series again and post a more in-depth review. Maybe this summer.

In the meantime, here's an excellent Christian perspective on the series. I enjoy just about everything Wendy Alsup writes. If you haven't read these books because you don't think a Christian should be reading this sort of material, check out this article.

Remember, the Bible is filled with violent stories. God uses these stories to warn us against these actions. Some might even argue (inaccurately) that some of the stories in the Bible are sensationalized. I don't think children under 12 or 13 ought to read the Hunger Games, but I do think the series can be used as a cautionary tale.

Don't take my word for it, though. Read the series yourself!

Maintaining Community

"Community" is currently a buzzword in Christianity. We are constantly encouraged to fellowship with other believers and to build relationships and to share our struggles and to bear one another's burdens and to open our homes and to go out to eat with friends and to send cards and to make phones calls and the list goes on and on.

Just thinking about it makes me squeamish. I'm really not a people person. This quote is so me:

Source: funri.com via Melissa on Pinterest

It's not so much that I'm lazy, I just don't like others dictating my schedule. (That sounds way more selfish typed out than it did in my head.) When I was a little girl, I would beg my mom to send away the neighbors who were asking to play with me. I didn't want to have to play the way someone else wanted to play. (Again, that sounds so much more selfish typed out than in my head.)

Just yesterday I was reading an interview with Jean Craighead George, author of My Side of the Mountain, as I was preparing a lesson for my students. The interviewer of course asked George what tips she had for aspiring writers. My heart soared when I read: "You have to like to be alone. Writing can be lonely, although you do populate your head with all these characters." I want to be a writer one day. I love being alone. Maybe it's okay that I prefer being alone in my apartment than spending time with non-relatives. Maybe my hermit-like tendencies will further my writing career. Maybe I can justify not building relationships.

Right now I can count most of my authentic, living, breathing relationships (outside family) on one hand. It's not that I live in the tundra of Siberia. It's not that I get mad at people easily. It's not that I'm extremely unlikable.

I think what it boils down to is fear. I'm afraid of getting close. I'm afraid of baring my soul to another individual. I'm afraid of getting close to someone only to move far away from them. I'm afraid I will annoy any potential friends. I'm afraid my friends are ashamed of how I dress. I'm afraid others will think I'm presumptuous. I'm afraid to barge into pre-formed friendships. I'm afraid to impose. I'm afraid to say the wrong thing. I'm afraid I'll interrupt them while they're busy. I'm afraid of being rejected.

But God doesn't want me to be all alone. He calls us to build relationships with others. We are to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. There are all sorts of verses about friendship in the Bible. Jesus is the perfect example of the perfect friend.

Here's what I'm going to do about it: I'm going to call up my friends (and even family) within the next two weeks who I've been neglecting while hiding myself away. I have at least two friends that need phone calls. I have one friend who just had a baby and might need an outing with a friend. I have two grandmas who need phone calls. I have countless family members who need Thank-You cards. I have a Starbucks gift card that needs to be used. I have a niece who needs some presents. I have a future sister-in-law who barely knows me. I have a cousin who needs a card in the mail. I have siblings in college who need care packages. I have dear friends who need to eat a meal at my house because they've had me over for hundreds.

I'm going to stop padding myself with my messy house and Netflix obsession and blog reading and ungraded papers and get out there and open myself to community. It's what Jesus would do.

Photo by Jeff Johansen Photography

Using Devotionals

Somewhere along the path of my Christian life I picked up this idea that good Christians don't use devotionals for their devotions. Good Christians pick out all they need to know in the Bible just by reading the Bible and interpreting it for themselves. Good Christians are allowed to read books, but they are to be read only AFTER the Bible has been read first.

I don't think anyone ever taught me this concept directly. I somehow pieced it together from various camp sermons and Bible college classes. It is true that the Bible should be our sole authority. However, using the wisdom of another Christian can be quite helpful.

I think it's time for me to step back and allow another Christian walk me through the Word for a little bit. I heard an advertisement on the radio on Sunday for Laura Story's new devotional: Blessings. So I ordered my own copy as soon as I got home from church that night. It came today! It was only like $6.00 or so.

I can't wait to start it tomorrow morning. I'm hoping it helps me get over my aversion to using devotionals. We'll see!

Photo from freeccm.com

Consider the Lilies

I know I post on this subject all the time. It's probably because it's on my mind all the time. I worry. I worry a lot. I imagine the worst that could possibly happen and let that imagination control my life.

I recently came across a great blog post that really knocked me upside the head. Click here for the whole post. Here's the part that really got me: 

"I don’t know if it’s a me thing, a woman thing, or a people thing in general, but I have to fight a tendency to make every opportunity the be-all-to-end-all: if I don’t get this done, it’s all over. If I don’t succeed at this one thing, I am such a loser. If I can’t navigate this one relationship, I’m not worth anybody’s time. I put my worth, again, and again, in things that I can lose. And I jeopardize the blessings I do have by putting every ounce of my energy into what may or may not happen.

So, here’s what I’ve started to do: before I turn in a paper for school… or call a parents whose kids I’m tutoring… or send in an application… or *cough* go to a job interview, I ask myself, 'What’s the worse that could happen?' 

But my identity isn’t wrapped up in any of those things. Or at least, is shouldn’t be. My identity is wrapped up in the fact that 'nothing can separate me from the love of God.' {Romans 8:38-39} It’s wrapped up in the thing I cannot lose."

This post came at a crucial time for me. I've been worrying my self sick (yes, literally sick) over a situation. I worry that I failed in so many aspects in this particular situation and my punishment is going to be swift and painful. The thing is, God is working this situation out above what I ever expected. And I'm throwing it all right back in his face with my worry. It's like I want to be miserable.

Sometimes I feel like it's my job to over-analyze every little mistake I make. I worry that if I don't think through every possible scenario, I will get blindsided. I feel like I'm dropping the ball if I don't worry. I feel like I'm not taking my imperfections seriously if I don't dwell upon them.

I need to remember Romans 8:38-39: "nothing can separate me from the love of God." I need to remember Luke 12:25-27: "²⁵And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁶ If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin..." 

It's so easy, though, to automatically say God's love isn't strong enough to wipe away consequences. It's so easy to think God wants me to suffer for my mistakes.

His sending his son to the cross, however, offers a completely different message. He sacrificed his one and only son to pay the penalty for my mistakes. Clearly he offers unconditional love despite my worthless state. I need to accept that as enough.

So, I just need to keep preaching this to myself. I must get it through my thick skull. I'm sure I'm not the only one who struggles to push past the sin of worry. Hopefully these truths from God's word help you to overcome these struggles. I think it's something I will battle my whole life, but with God's help I can stay strong and avoid the mental institution. 

Photo from Microsoft Office Collection

The Ugly Side

This is a great post by another blogger that totally captures the purpose of my blog. Sometimes I worry I talk about my failures too much. I probably do, but my hope is I can be real and encouraging to others.

Check it out!

It's so easy to paint a beautiful picture of ourselves for the cyber world to see. I mean, how many pictures of myself have I untagged on Facebook? How many times do I clean my house before I take pictures of something? How many times do I worry that my mother-in-law thinks I'm a terrible housewife after reading my posts?

Embrace your failures, learn from them, and move on.