Settling for good enough

We all settle for things in our lives that are a little or a lot less than what we wanted or expected. If you've ever settled, it's something you've accepted as part of your life. You made the decision that it is "good enough". <br /><br />That's what I've done with my weight. I've settled into this 176 range and accepted it as good enough.Yet it's a completely unacceptable weight for me. It's ridiculous that I've gained 20 pounds in the past six months. What's even more ridiculous is that I've tried to fool myself into thinking this it's okay. I use stupid logic with myself, telling myself that I'm a "little" overweight and that's okay. Most people are a little overweight.<br /><br />Well, it is really isn't okay, and I'm ready to do something about it. <br /><br />I complained yesterday about my exercise, that it was lackluster and boring. Last weekend I bought another strength training book. I cracked it open this morning and it's a really good book. I already own about ten strength training books, including NWLR4W (which I hate). This book is great because it's doing different variations of the same exercises I've been doing. <br /><br />This morning<em> </em>I tried a couple new things. Bicep curls using a slanted board (much harder than my concentrated bicep curls). The other doing the lat pulldowns while on my knees. It's suppose to work the glutes in addition to the lats, and mine have been sore all day. Just small changes in old exercises made all the difference in the world. I highly recommend this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Health-Big-Book-Exercises/dp/1605295493/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266476515&sr=1-1" target="blank">book</a> ($14.99 at Costco).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxjJOXbbY-MszWEQcc6dIvSpegUb4ogk7rDggOXujZaap2FaUBmrqHqJ2cUe_KBF0g-tiAdjc5iByVARrMk4-j6zOCkDWDboAnNiV09OKxtOJTNNeU-2-IzPT_hf2QKGWJey5hgYEgkkZ/s1600-h/book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxjJOXbbY-MszWEQcc6dIvSpegUb4ogk7rDggOXujZaap2FaUBmrqHqJ2cUe_KBF0g-tiAdjc5iByVARrMk4-j6zOCkDWDboAnNiV09OKxtOJTNNeU-2-IzPT_hf2QKGWJey5hgYEgkkZ/s320/book.jpg" width="297" /></a></div><br />I bought new workout shoes on Monday, Asics Gels (GT-2150). I've had three pairs in the last three years and love them. These are a new, improved (and more expensive) model. I wore them Tuesday and wanted to amputate my feet after my workout. I tried them again this morning and they were like wearing pillows. I think I had the laces too tight on Tuesday (stupid me!).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pdiL_VgBuOlfUstyJdrmC5TUm1sfFHj-uJbGTkIy5bLzNwEiV1w7t4dOqsP8DsqRaGq1s8M3qNy_5DUuB2eKkgjV8hBza7A53IXp62LkS_tIKzrk3EcGI82EzXF3CEyFNGUi9isDzFu4/s1600-h/Shoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pdiL_VgBuOlfUstyJdrmC5TUm1sfFHj-uJbGTkIy5bLzNwEiV1w7t4dOqsP8DsqRaGq1s8M3qNy_5DUuB2eKkgjV8hBza7A53IXp62LkS_tIKzrk3EcGI82EzXF3CEyFNGUi9isDzFu4/s320/Shoes.jpg" /></a></div>I also made the decision this morning that if I really hate the treadmill (and I do!) I don't have to work it into my cardio routine during the week. I try to mix up my cardio, a couple days of the StairMaster (my favorite!), a day or two of the treadmill, the spinning cycle, crossramp and elliptical. On treadmill days I'm miserable. <br /><br />The reason I hate the treadmill so much is that I can't jog anymore. I've never mentioned this because it makes me feel so old, but since I twisted my knee last year it's never been the same. Running is just out of the question. I can slowly jog (4.5 mph) for ten minutes then it starts to ache and hurt. I really don't like getting old, but this is a sure sign of becoming elderly. Bad knees. That damn treadmill rubs it in my face every time I get on it. The young twenty-somethings are running up a storm next to me. There I am, the old lady, walking (uphill, but it's still not as cool as running).<br /><br />My decision this morning was to hell with the treadmill. I hate it, and I'm not doing it anymore. If I want to do the StairMaster seven days a week, then I'll do what makes me happy. <br /><br />Now I'm back on track with the exercise, and I'm actually looking forward to trying some new lower body exercises tomorrow. <br /><br />The next step is to figure out how to get back to tracking my food. I'm not settling for 176, that means I'm going to have to track my food. 176 is <strong>not</strong> good enough.<br /><br />Pictures from my walk at lunch today...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><em>This is so strange, but a lot of the flowering trees and bushes are blooming. It's still February. We've had snow in March in past years. I hope winter is really over, but like I said, it's February in Seattle (and sunny...a total freak of nature)!</em></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrOLLBLnmNo3i_L_KBKFr_6TsXRRVmbgWkj_frNZ9oDGsQOR0rndiR6M59VuqtCQjs15ceRBvcDwzCevx_2H-ZBmveC3BPv1ohsfRtDT_x4dqDqTJOdlDymDDtThbsdOySgOeyS4pCskK/s1600-h/Flowers2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrOLLBLnmNo3i_L_KBKFr_6TsXRRVmbgWkj_frNZ9oDGsQOR0rndiR6M59VuqtCQjs15ceRBvcDwzCevx_2H-ZBmveC3BPv1ohsfRtDT_x4dqDqTJOdlDymDDtThbsdOySgOeyS4pCskK/s400/Flowers2.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJfdSbZNyS_QkYsvfY9LP-MUJmPbV78UDX0jtygM1wyQtxAEPEmkiSxArLpKvZcRJ4_sepOSqRrbgzPZWCdNHFIAa2_LtuNvtIT6un7F0S3puq-HZL0gt6MIRSLXf_oPHDzr1NgGsyxn1/s1600-h/Tree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJfdSbZNyS_QkYsvfY9LP-MUJmPbV78UDX0jtygM1wyQtxAEPEmkiSxArLpKvZcRJ4_sepOSqRrbgzPZWCdNHFIAa2_LtuNvtIT6un7F0S3puq-HZL0gt6MIRSLXf_oPHDzr1NgGsyxn1/s400/Tree.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJwV9x_pEpNDmCzNy9SWSb6DjVo9urezam51U-4y4rjFqUeLQARBVx4YGHs5QBeo0-gEqfeDLv66dRw2GHdjx6QeM2qTk_yi8ncB2x-tGjlW1NN0bSljbwitBbiFPY-ei6rCDU9Xzm0x7/s1600-h/YellowFlowers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJwV9x_pEpNDmCzNy9SWSb6DjVo9urezam51U-4y4rjFqUeLQARBVx4YGHs5QBeo0-gEqfeDLv66dRw2GHdjx6QeM2qTk_yi8ncB2x-tGjlW1NN0bSljbwitBbiFPY-ei6rCDU9Xzm0x7/s400/YellowFlowers.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>View from the parking lot at my office, as I was leaving at 5:30pm. Just beyond the trees is the condemned trailer park, and to the right is the county detention center. It was still a pretty sunset.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYxV0PoouPxxjHoIs5XsIXccWqv4N9vhz9mKl9zEilaXZ89Z1NTN0uKf3wScPO9Kpuvf6KzcCFeMVL6iQXKbMn1VtCRbQSE-PQH3BwfEM-gW6dZEOgdedi5QdgG6MAlKGnDz88hzqQLc-/s1600-h/ParkingLot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYxV0PoouPxxjHoIs5XsIXccWqv4N9vhz9mKl9zEilaXZ89Z1NTN0uKf3wScPO9Kpuvf6KzcCFeMVL6iQXKbMn1VtCRbQSE-PQH3BwfEM-gW6dZEOgdedi5QdgG6MAlKGnDz88hzqQLc-/s400/ParkingLot.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD1ZkMjKi50vnh9rsYS-bTUIFfCuZP5OcLyqfnzKII_hWIDI8wYI_lf8WIsF4Bbr_egPy72zrH3gR4YZmWWSIL54afuyIbIISThmnZADQHldv4kodPdV2OtFm-hq-MkhILAMAqkBcauJKm/s1600-h/ParkingLot2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD1ZkMjKi50vnh9rsYS-bTUIFfCuZP5OcLyqfnzKII_hWIDI8wYI_lf8WIsF4Bbr_egPy72zrH3gR4YZmWWSIL54afuyIbIISThmnZADQHldv4kodPdV2OtFm-hq-MkhILAMAqkBcauJKm/s400/ParkingLot2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>

Settling for good enough

We all settle for things in our lives that are a little or a lot less than what we wanted or expected. If you've ever settled, it's ...

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Fruity-licious!

<p>Happy hump day! As many of you  may know it’s also Ash Wednesday. I know Catholics traditionally observe Lent and give up something. Even though I’m not Catholic I decided to do something that would “better” my life. <strong><u>I gave up the snooze button!</u></strong> Now I was so happy & thought it was so original until I ready <a href="http://tippytoediet.com/">Cammy’s post</a> tonight(she listed what I’m giving up)! ;) I’m sticking with it though!! And I started out right this morning and got up after just one annoying ring of the alarm!</p> <p>Kyle and spent some time together catching up this morning. I made an<strong> executive decision</strong> to skip the gym and enjoy some time with my man! Seems like things have been crazy lately and we were starting to get caught up in the “<strong>busy-ness of life</strong>”. So it was nice to take some <strong>time</strong> for <strong>each other</strong>! </p> <p>I still made it to my office nice & early. I switched up my breakfast this morning and had a <strong>over flowing</strong> bowl of fruit. I peeled and <strong>orange</strong> and sliced up an <strong>apple</strong> for <strong>2 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8YpvDuWyqY15Dz68JPfgtyq6vK4zb3Awm-8govqUNWiOroEOlHMCJZKZPnLHpxe4Lyi_7wwHVfcLkjOYN-Cn1SuoOFpnMD2m3ix5ebIvf7JeGkgxX5kLeGX7JH_zuNGamUygMegQDWXw/s1600-h/DSC06064%5B4%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06064" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XsDjZaSiYmQFSJ_10ogHXoPaINnMiRQrzPDYPzmxXT7LseSW3XPSOcl4TvCsCE7IVZMaUxQVI8ota91w8EbHFms6G5R5BIJ4hgAgwe42SH7lPSvffRXF256huuZ23FSOJiQdgBs9Fpch/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06064" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>An hour or 2 later I had <strong>1 cup</strong> of <strong>grapes</strong> for <strong>1 point</strong>. Can you tell I’m trying to get my <strong>fridge cleaned out</strong> before all this delicious fruit goes bad?!?!?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2m_UWIeDofgJPSR6cuGW1WyQWxqlM17tnuWp2ObOBr2gmFzm8zd3PqsKmbYyRwis8DNc-w-0QTpP80jCdeKTqYUwsJ-9QLghxEIZGlM1Rb3_mV8Gx-ffpEyo7Ow2qPWN26-pPIPCYVDe8/s1600-h/DSC06065%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06065" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXDyUODyVyB95A9a-Mgy9ZE-3LCTHYAwnYzAu8tU9xaEdAvR3zm2joJKNekT379hZsZmhbe8H9gIoPdHdXbPRmJO7bvGxyr9rWdbdyTYWI2TP5yz-80gbdK1Dx8lZkFgi_EEjBZQq5mhd/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06065" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>My Dad called me around noon and said he was in town and wanted to <strong>meet up for lunch</strong>! What a nice surprise! Before I went I had my last fruit of the morning, <strong>1 1/2c strawberries</strong>, <strong>ww vanilla yogurt</strong>, and 1<strong>/4 c <a href="http://weightloss-stories.blogspot.com/2010/02/few-updates.html">homemade granola</a></strong> for <strong>3 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw43GC4-Prb8yuEN2DYZwRSuRCBZZOmflchktwgQoJNbHM8zDMkO9GvnMXLU3jbaZl-NmoK7J-x4_z-bMn-8t7upO4F5LDEkV9QUgKQ7Zjqzf8JUrzCb5Quyk2avmcMTuIHrdk_wGb-7xM/s1600-h/DSC06066%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06066" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZY-0wyBI80kwtaGlv0yAOFTUyMzqspa52ufI9uK9ORlyZ-yZc24laaR30s9OtFpuG9kICa8g5-J0TWlm5_wAp3hoNR5O_WSTZBcfZiWGSS6_M5TA7BG7McsPsr1vO7Z41YXum94sWzzz/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06066" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>I met up with my Dad for lunch at Applebees. I love going there knowing they have ww friendly items and I don’t have guess on the calories & fat! Kyle even got to join us. It was a nice, unexpected lunch out with 2 of my favorite guys! Oh and I ordered the <strong>Garlic Herb Chicken</strong> for<strong> 8 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5cnf0h9kkojegLoNp2uYNyt4WAB5ScmvlhIS_cxIGPNJHS6VIvXch0RF9hyphenhyphenx6hJhxwcyROl4efJPnmNJlYPQQ_B2NHvqQKyAAIawDgSVjVJ89PIDqlropHMO0OxQYzo2MNhNrhqbZ61E/s1600-h/DSC06067%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06067" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8uWD1kBXueSlyXolz6GaydBua-OHG_HvTkbcBtYDI_Q6brVLyGrVdxXET061JxPcQcGVau3_tJLcOc7ol0REKiSYgd3cA9ayd4vt26uhv5nwZZM67hJHlPkKbtD2mYvzQ-yqQz-IHO-dR/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06067" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>After lunch I productive afternoon at work. Knowing I’m going to be gone on Friday (Chicago!!!)I was trying to get things caught up!</p> <p>After work a friend stopped by and chatted for a while with me & Kyle. Another <strong>unexpected visit</strong>! How fun!?!? I wasn’t sure what to do for supper and went <strong>easy</strong>! I whipped up a<strong> few pancakes</strong> and kept them simple and just had <strong>sf syrup</strong> on the side for<strong> 4 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdObAoGUl1c2hnokv1OcxH0N8ZzBNPYc_sflW0tsosZVzFqynlfdxPnZKm7z9yFhL73gyRZkoCALzFFhIrSKjbOZjHpbtckM4-ITcoyPu4werw8BtVSEiCqa-QtcRsLJo-HmyN7SxEad6v/s1600-h/DSC06068%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06068" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPb4qSfpw5qwwbiwCn59ze8eKsrqfxxj42NiumGWwh5KAa_OCL3-IL98qDqqhoWMxmQNuLu3Pm97UpsseazBTjpIwoZ0RnrPYCLNw2YGnzRpj2XPvZZOHMjOkFISUJ0zi6zhTEF6xVI0-J/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06068" width="404" /></a></p> <p>I am working a short day tomorrow and Kyle & I are gonna <strong>hit the road</strong> to Chi-town!! Speaking of that, <strong>thanks</strong> for the ideas. I am definitely going to check out the <strong>bathrooms</strong> in the <strong>John Hancock</strong> building!! ;)</p> <p>I better get going to get a few last minute things done & hit the hay early so I <strong>don’t hit</strong> the <strong>snooze</strong> button! </p> <p><strong>WEDNESDAY’S STATS</strong> <br />POINTS = 18/23   <br />WATER =  86 oz <br />EXERCISE = none</p> <p><strong><em>Do you participate in Lent? If so, what are you giving up? Or maybe it’s something you’re going to do “extra”!</em></strong></p>

Fruity-licious!

Happy hump day! As many of you  may know it’s also Ash Wednesday. I know Catholics traditionally observe Lent and give up something. Even th...

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All True Christians

“All True Christians Are Pro-Life,” thus said a bumper sticker in Carson City.<br /><br />I am indebted to this bumper sticker for keeping me entertained for days, spinning out lines of inquiry and wonder at such a curiously arrogant assertion of dogma. These are a few of the things I wonder about.<br /><br />Who decides what opinions you have to hold in order to be a “true Christian?” For centuries, we worked out our definitions of orthodoxy in ecumenical councils. Bishops from all over the Christian world met in prayerful deliberation, guided by theologians, mystics, and people of noted sanctity. They came to a consensus definition of the faith. In those days, the statements of the ecumenical councils set the limits on Christian belief. There was a lot going on in the Protestant Reformation, but the theological heart of it was the claim that the definitions articulated by the councils had become too precise. Each person, the reformers insisted, should be given a copy of the sacred text, written in his or her own language, and allowed to find their own understanding of the truth guided by the indwelling Holy Spirit -- not an ecclesiastical hierarchy. That opened up the possibilities of “true Christianity” to a radically wider array of opinions. What may be new in our time is the extension of this individuality to the right of each individual not only to discern his or her own interpretation but to declare that interpretation to be orthodoxy itself and pronounce anathema on anyone who has reached a different interpretation.<br /><br />So who defines a “true Christian” today? Ralph Reed’s Christian Coalition took most of the pending legislation of the 1990’s, prescribed a right position on that legislation, and claimed that any legislator who voted wrong on any issue was not a “true Christian.” But how did Ralph get that authority? He couldn’t even get himself elected Lieutenant Governor of Georgia. Yet he claimed a greater authority than the Council of Nicaea.<br /><br />It used to be so simple. For Paul, if you could say “Jesus is Lord,” you were a true Christian even if you had some harebrained ideas. Eventually that 3-word affirmation grew into the Apostle’s Creed, and finally the Nicene Creed. In the 4th Century, being baptized and saying the Nicene Creed were enough to call yourself a true Christian even if you could not have passed Ralph Reed’s gauntlet of legislative issues test. Who decides whether someone is a “true Christian?” Maybe we could go back to objective standards like the Bible and the Ancient Creeds. Otherwise, we are in the hands of the manufacturers of bumper stickers.<br /><br />But what about the substance of the claim itself? Are all true Christians “pro-life?” The threshold issue is: what do we mean by “pro-life?” If it means a basic orientation toward life and engagement with the world as opposed to life-denying asceticism, then I have to agree that a true Christian is pro-life. We are an Easter people, a people of the Resurrection. So we are for life – no doubt about it. I would think being pro-life compels one to be an ardent advocate of the Millenium Development Goals, to eradicate death-dealing malaria, tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS, and malnutrition. A pro-life person sends Nets For Life to Kenya. Since life depends on health, surely one who is pro-life must oppose toxic waste dumping, nuclear proliferation, global warming, and smoking. Are all of these positions essential to being a true Christian? Is that what the bumper sticker means?<br /><br />Of course, that is not at all what “pro-life” means in American politics. It means support for government regulation of a women’s choice to carry a pregnancy to term as opposed to abort. I have no doubt whatsoever that a true Christian can be “pro-life” in that sense. I know many of them. But is that moral stance so indisputable as to be the core of Christian faith? It is probably not in Scripture (one Old Testament verse is possibly related– but it’s a stretch). It is definitely not in the Creeds. It is not an ancient dogma of the Church. It was never addressed by an ecumenical council. The Episcopal Church’s Resolution on abortion is “pro-life” in that it regards all life as sacred, it holds any abortion to be a “tragic choice,” and says abortion should never be done for trivial reasons – but it finally affirms that this is an intimate moral decision to be made by a woman with pastoral guidance and moral counseling – not something to be regulated by the government. So, if being “pro-life” means I have to support legislation, I would have to defy the teachings of my church in order to be a “true Christian.” Yet, so many of the Epistles and the writings of Church Fathers like Ignatius of Antioch and Clement of Rome say that a true Christian respects the teachings of the Church. The bumper sticker does put many of us on the horns of dilemma.<br /><br />How do we define a “true Christian?” What are the standards? My son-in-law, an ordained presbyter of the Methodist Church, recently “became a fan” of a Face Book page supporting gay marriage. A friend wrote him a lengthy exposition explaining that homosexuality is a sin, so she could not understand how a Christian could support such a thing. She was making a host of major assumptions which many of us who think of ourselves as Christians do not share – for example the basic function of the Bible as a rule book, the interpretation of ritual purity violations as “sins” even though both Testaments clearly treat them differently, the idea that forbidding one specific sexual practice implies the prohibition of others, the idea that rules explicitly directed against men can be extended to women, the notion that most ritual purity rules were superseded by the gospel but a select few were not, that the whole of moral revelation was complete in the Scripture, etc.<br /><br />Again, there are clearly thousands of people on both sides of this issue –thousands who have been baptized, who receive the sacraments regularly, who recite the Ancient Creeds, and revere the Holy Scriptures, all saying “Jesus is Lord” and meaning it – yet who disagree about the morality of homosexuality. Is it possible for these people to disagree and yet recognize each other as “true Christians?” Yes, if . . . .<br /><br />And here I gulp at what I feel compelled to say. In this post-modern age of devout subjectivism, I know this sounds hopelessly conservative. We can do what our forebears did. We can disagree and have high-charged energetic provocative conversations about the implications of the faith, but only if we embrace a strong orthodoxy and a vigorous orthopraxy.<br /><br />The orthodoxy consists of a commitment to the sacred text, our holy Scriptures, as the starting point of discussion; a commitment to the ancient creeds as the framework, the language structure for our image of God; and a willingness to listen respectfully to the teachers, saints, poets, and sages of our tradition more than the pundits of today. The orthopraxy consists of a commitment to the Summary of the Law. To love God with all our hearts is to love a mystery, to revere a mystery, and so to be humble in the presence of that mystery. To love my neighbor as myself is to give him what is his due and what I expect in return, a decent respect for my integrity and my conscience. It occurs to me that adherence to the Summary of the Law might imply a certain reticence in what I paste to my bumper.

All True Christians

“All True Christians Are Pro-Life,” thus said a bumper sticker in Carson City. I am indebted to this bumper sticker for keeping me entertain...

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