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@linus-smallprint

I don’t remember hearing about your church on the news (I’ve watched news streams that have included some news from Canada) but I remember hearing about Artur Pawlowski and his church. And then in ’22 of course I heard about the Freedom Convoy and that was super exciting to see so many people taking a stand for freedom.

@ellette-giselle

I think I would agree with you that church was meant to be smaller communities of believers. I don’t think it’s wrong to be part of a bigger church, but I think that means you have to be more intentional in creating community somehow, whether through small groups or some other means. I love my church, but it is pretty big (usually around 600 people per service, and we have 2 services) and this is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. I don’t like walking into church and feeling like I don’t really know anyone until I finally find someone I do know. I used to know a lot more people, before it got so big, but now some weeks I feel like I could just walk in and leave again without talking to anyone.

I have been going to a weekly small group that has been providing community for me- we often have a Bible study and sharing what God is teaching us, as well as some music and singing and a time of fellowship, and it has been feeding me spiritually, often more than church on Sunday mornings. The small group has been growing, though, and while it’s so good I want other people to know about it and join in, there’s also a part of me that’s hesitant because the bigger it gets, the less personal connection there will be with other believers. I’ve had to start processing that with God over the past few months. This particular group isn’t correlated directly with my church; it’s a bunch of young adults from various churches in the area who are all hungry for more of God.

My parents also have been involved in a small group at my church, and I think there is also value in that, because they usually take whatever the week’s sermon topic was and dive deeper into that together and make it more applicable. So I think there are ways to have a healthy Biblical community within a larger church, but it is definitely more challenging, and the people attending have to be intentional about joining a small group or starting one themselves.

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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@ellette-giselle

I think it’s because we are a strong nation, and the only way we’ll go down is if we destroy ourselves, so those who hate America want to see us divided and destroyed from the inside.

Agreed

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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@hybridlore

Also… what’s with all the new names? XD

I’ve been wondering the same thing!

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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@savannah_grace2009 @theducktator @stephie

Even if I did want to wear makeup regularly, I don’t really know how to apply most of it anyway lol.

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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@rae

Thanks! That’s helpful to consider!

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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@savannah_grace2009

Same… that’s why I don’t do makeup. (No judgment against any girls who do wear makeup, I know everyone has different reasons) But for me, I just don’t feel like taking the time, and it feels like I’m trying to be someone I’m not. For nice occasions I will put on a little bit of makeup, but for everyday life it’s too much work lol.

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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@elishavet-pidyon

Thanks! That was really helpful to get the wheels turning in my head!

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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@raxforge thanks!

@rae my characters aren’t super well fleshed out yet either but I’ll give it a go with what I have

Ellie (16)- She has a compassionate heart and is deeply moved by the issue of human trafficking. Also has a good sense of discernment. (It’s her older sister who was kidnapped as a young child, but I haven’t decided if I want her to know about it or if her parents for some reason kept it a secret and she finds out sometime throughout the story)

Cole (14)- Ellie’s younger brother- he holds pretty high moral standards for himself/ could bring in some struggles with perfectionism here potentially. Naturally justice-oriented (probably as a result of his parents having a passion for anti-trafficking efforts)

Declan (16)- his dad is the doctor- he has an older brother, Rhett, and the two of them can get competitive especially in video games. After reading what @elishavet-pidyon shared, I think I want him to struggle with fear and feeling like he’s a coward in the face of danger, and learn how to overcome that.

There are a couple other characters that I’ll highlight at other points throughout the story (if it’s enough to be more than one book) but for now these are the ones I want to focus on.

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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@savannah_grace2009

Has anyone noticed how the beauty standard now is like “you have to be tan and have darker skin or else you’re not pretty enough”?

Hmm I hadn’t thought about it, but you’re right. I’ve never really tried to deliberately tan, but now that you say it, yeah it is kind of a stigma.

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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@savannah_grace2009

Every time I leave my house and I’m driving, I pray out loud that I drive safe and Jesus uses me to be a light wherever I’m going! like every time I’m like “Jesus, it would be really nice if I didn’t go off the road today…” lol!!!

Haha didn’t see this until after I made my last post lol.

 

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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@savannah_grace2009

I wish Jesus could just drive for me though… *cries* Sometimes when I get nervous I picture angels watching over me and surrounding my car, and Jesus with me, guiding my hands on the wheel, and it helps me so much!

Yeah it’d be so nice if He could literally just take the wheel sometimes lol. Not saying He couldn’t… I wouldn’t be surprised if He did if He needed to swerve my car out of danger or something…

But anyway, yeah, I’ve had a habit of asking for His protection every time I get in my car and I’ve never been in an accident. I’m also a very careful driver so that’s probably part of it, but there have been a couple close calls that weren’t my fault (once got rear-ended at a stoplight but it didn’t do any damage to my car).

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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@stephie

One last thing: what they’re teaching sounds like critical race theory.

Yup, it is! And it’s in all the schools and curriculums and kids are believing it! Being homeschooled up until my senior year, I had never had to deal with racism, and I never thought I would, being taught that we live in America, in a land where there is equality for everyone. (BTW, equality and equity are two different things but they sound the same at first glance). Then in public school I suddenly found that some kids didn’t like me simply because I was white. I was in the bathroom one day and these girls walked in and the one girl took one look at me and she said, “*expletive* you white as *expletive*.” And I was just taken off guard because I didn’t know her at all, hadn’t ever seen her before to my knowledge, and she just took one look at me and made a derogatory statement based on my race.

Not the most amazing thing to be teaching children. “Oh, you’re white? You must be racist. You’re black? Thing is, everyone hates you and your opportunities are limited.” It’s bananas. Somebody ought to reintroduce Martin Luther King Jr. ‘s I Have a Dream speech again, because this isn’t the dream he was talking about.

Exactly! The problem with lies is that they sound true until your eyes are opened and you can see through it. It wouldn’t be deception if it’s not deceptive. It still shocks me that so many people have just bought into it, because like you said, this isn’t what Martin Luther King would have wanted.

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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@savannah_grace2009

I also understand about it feeling casual…but then again I’m also the person who will talk to Jesus about anything and everything and see Him as my best friend…like if I’m blasting rap music I picture Jesus in the car with me in the passenger’s seat jamming out with me XDXD

Girl literally… that’s so relatable! Sometimes if I’m driving alone I’ll talk to Him aloud and picture Him sitting there. I probably look like I’m crazy but He is always with us, so why would He not be in the car with me?

I also talk to God in a “casual way”, for example I ask him all the time for help finding things, for example, “Dad? Can you help me find the tape??!?!”  (he did help me find the tape, it was under my bed lol!) (and yes, I call Him Dad, which is Biblical because Jesus called God “Abba” which literally means “Daddy” so I don’t believe that’s wrong either)

Yessss I call Him Abba all the time, and sometimes I use Dad or Daddy too, but not as often because I need some way to distinguish Him from my earthly dad. Or if I’m not talking to the Father, I’ll just address Him as Jesus or Holy Spirit… which it sounds really strange to say it as if I’m talking to three separate beings, but I’m not- He’s the same God just different aspects of His character, so depending on how I’m interacting with Him I address Him differently.

One of my friends from my discipleship school this past year was cooking a meal for all of us and she was trying to figure out how to boil the chicken, so she just asked Him, “Jesus, how do I boil this chicken?” And He gave her instructions on how to do it.

I think the reason I talk to God in a more “casual” way is because yes, He is the King of the Universe, but I think He also wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives. We all have different and unique ways of relating to Him and He didn’t create all of us the same. I feel like some people are more comfortable talking to Him the way I do, and some have different ways they talk to Him.

When I say I talk to God in a “casual” way, I don’t take Him for granted, and I definitely don’t forget that He’s God, and I’m not, therefore we’re not equals. But He does want to be involved in my life, so I guess that’s just my unique way of letting Him!

I completely agree! In fact, I think interacting with Him in a “casual” way only makes me more in awe of Him and causes me to worship Him even more! The fact that the King of Kings, the Highest One, the Most Holy, would desire to know me and for me to know Him blows my mind! It makes me so much more grateful for the price that Jesus paid for me on the cross when I realize how big of a separation there was between us and that He literally went through all of that so that an imperfect human like me, made in His image, could once again know Him in an intimate way and walk and talk with Him again like Adam and Eve did in the Garden. He gave everything for me, so that I could know the Father- and it amazes me that I can just step into His presence and because of the blood of Jesus, He doesn’t see my sins or mistakes, but He sees me as a beloved daughter, and He desires me. Like what??? What kind of king would go to the lengths He went to just so we could know Him and spend eternity with Him? But He did it, and the more I get to know Him and interact with Him personally, the more grateful I am for Jesus doing that! He’s just so good! I don’t even have words to adequately describe Him!

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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@stephie

No I totally see what you mean. I don’t know if it’s the same way in Canada, but here in the States the same thing is being taught in the schools, only it’s an issue of whites and African Americans. They’re trying to say whites are inherently racist against other nationalities (mainly stemming from the issue of slavery). While I do think there should be forgiveness and unity between African Americans and white Americans, and I definitely believe we have all been created equal, the whole diversity/equity/inclusion agenda is painting white people as the oppressors and blacks as the oppressed/victims. If you tell someone they’re a victim they’re only going to continue living with a victim mentality, and that’s not healthy, either. While it’s important that we don’t forget what happened, I think it is also time to stop holding grudges and move forward with a culture of honor and respect and not shaming and blaming.

But anyway… lest I start a debate, I’m going to get down off my soap box now.

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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@ellette-giselle @linus-smallprint @stephie

Linus, I love that your pastor took a stand and didn’t back down, even if it meant getting arrested. Unfortunately my church didn’t see what was going on right away and complied, but we then realized it wasn’t really as much about health as it was about control. If there was another lockdown implemented today, I highly doubt we’d shut down. We woke up to what was going on, but unfortunately not as early as I wish we would have. I will respect the government unless they’re going against the commands of God- and in this case they were most certainly overstepping by telling churches they can’t meet because of a virus. My God is more powerful than a virus, and He told us through Paul that we should not forsake the gathering of believers. Also, how come bars and nightclubs were still allowed to be open, but churches weren’t? That really tells you all you need to know- it wasn’t really about health concerns at all. I’m not denying there was a virus- I do believe covid is real, but I think they blew it out of proportions in order to control.

The Governor actually talked about splitting up households so that there were ten people each. So having small neighbor families move in together and big family split.

That’s crazy! I didn’t hear about that, but I’ve heard enough crazy stories to believe they’d try it.

Also @ellette-giselle, your brother with the mask thing is hilarious! I literally despise those masking policies. Once I woke up to the fact that they don’t work and it was just a means of control (anyone can disagree with me on this and that’s fine, but I’m gonna state my blunt opinion), I quit wearing one, too. That was hard- walking into places without a mask when everyone else was wearing one and giving us looks. Unfortunately, when God asked me to go to public school instead of homeschooling for my senior year, my school was still requiring masks, so I wore one because I knew getting kicked out of school would defeat the purpose of me being there to bring the light of God into that place. But I despised every minute of it, and partway through the year, I was considering organizing a student walkout to protest- and then I was praying one day and I suddenly saw this image (in my mind) of students in the hallway and a very strong wind started blowing until the masks were blown right off the faces of the students. Idk if that could be classified as a vision, but I don’t doubt it was from God, because the very next day it was super windy- like crazy winds- and less than two weeks later the school board, out of the blue, decided to lift the mandate. I never even had to organize that student protest I was thinking about. The last day we had to wear a mask, I came home and literally burned mine. I was so excited I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning, and I very rarely have that level of excitement for things anymore.

OK this topic could get me going for hours but I’ll let it be at that for now lol.

Anyone can disagree with me on anything I said- I’m aware everyone has different opinions on all of this.

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

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