ATMs in Church?? What's next..

Church has changed, some will argue for the better. I say for the worst!

ATM’s in Church…utterly ridiculous.

Greed and guilt are the rulers and the poor and needy are the prey. It’s not okay to have an ATM machine in the lobby of the church. They don’t only accept debit, but they accept credit too (which is money you DO NOT have). -shaking my head-

ATM machines in church are lures to the people that pay tithes in seek of God’s approval. They are swiping their card hoping for a connection with the false prophets that call themselves preachers, teachers, bishops and pastors. They preach for you to give your money in hopes of getting closer to Him, so the more money you give, the closer they allow you to sit in the pew. It’s like your being used and prostituted through the word of God. PREYED upon and not PRAYED for, but still in need of a PRAYER. -shaking my head-

I already know what people are going to say. Who carries cash or checks anymore? I agree with that statement because I don’t carry cash. But I know how to get cash before going to church IF I want to give money. I see ATM machines in the lobby of a church as a way to make people feel bad if they aren’t giving money or they have no money to give because their lights are off. Saying to them “no excuses, we take cash, debit and credit.” Soon you’re going to be able to use an EBT card.

It goes to saying--enough is enough. Churches and the pastors that run them are trying too hard to keep up with the Joneses and that’s not what church is about. Money, clothes, jewels, technology and cars are now the fabric of today’s church. Church is supposed to be a place of worship and if you want to give tithes to the church, it’s under your own discretion. Which means you don’t need an ATM machine in the lobby to “remind” you of that.

Pastors are banking off of the people that believe they are speaking the word to them. We have pastors living in million dollar homes, using the money that you took out of that ATM machine (that you probably didn’t have, but it lured you in) to buy Bentley coupes.

Church has become a Sunday morning party. “Let me get my money out the ATM before I get this drink of 'holy water.'" Where do we draw the line? If I go to church and I see a ATM machine, I’m walking out in the next breath.

I’m just saying…

Replacing Nigger with Slave

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was originally published in 1885 and the author, Mark Twain, used the word “nigger” more than 200 times in the book. In the latest version, the word “nigger” has been replaced with the word “slave.” The editor thought it would be easier for teachers to teach the book without such profane and offensive language.

Changing the word to slave doesn’t change the context of the book, but I don’t believe the word slave is much better than the word nigger.

This is a classic American novel that tells a story of our past era. And as much as we hate to admit it, the word nigger was accurate at the time. Jim, the character in the book, was not necessarily a slave.

This is a piece of our history whether we like it or not. We give too much power to the N word, how else are going to desensitize the word?

Here's a funny video from The Daily Show that speaks on this controversial topic.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Mark Twain Controversy
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> The Daily Show on Facebook

State of the Union

In case you missed President Obama’s State of the Union speak last night, here it is. I have posted some highlights that he said that I thought were important.

“We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner in the science fair.”

“This isn’t about faster Internet or fewer dropped calls. It’s about connecting to every part of America to the digital age. It’s about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama, where farmers and small-business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It’s about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building into a handheld device, a student who can take classes with a digital textbook, or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor.”

“I’m asking Democrats and Republicans to simplify the system. Get rid of the loopholes. Level the playing field and use the saving to lower corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years, without adding to our deficit. It can be done.”

“Instead of refighting the battles of the last two years, let’s fix what needs fixing and let’s move forward.”

“Our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same.”

He acknowledges “to make further progress, we have to stop pretending that cutting this kind of spending alone will be enough. It won’t.”

“Before we take money away from schools or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break. It’s not a matter of punishing their success; it’s about promoting America’s success.”

Can cheating help a marriage/relationship?

I was listening to the Big Tigger Morning Show and his discussion was very interesting. Can cheating help a marriage/relationship?

One woman said her husband cheating on her was the best thing that happened in their marriage. It made her look at herself and what she was doing wrong instead of being mad at him. Now they are happily married for 25 years. My first thought was – he’s probably still cheating. The woman goes on to say she was more concerned about everything else in life and that made him stray away and have an affair.

What happened to communication? If he was unhappy in the marriage because she wasn’t “paying him enough attention,” why not express your concerns with her before going out and cheating? That excuse of “I went somewhere else to get what I wanted” is so old to me. Sometimes I believe people cheat just to cheat.

Why do women always bash themselves and say, “It was me that made him cheat.” Please! If the shoe were on the other foot and a man’s wife cheated on him, he wouldn’t think twice about letting her go.

As I’m listening to the show, it amazed me at how many women were calling in saying yes it would open up their eyes to what they were doing wrong in the marriage. So your spouse needs to cheat in order for you to know what you’re doing wrong?

Cheating to me is unacceptable. If it's okay to cheat, its okay to be completely dishonest throughout the entire marriage.

What are your thoughts?

Chinese mothers are superior??

Amy Chua wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal “Chinese Mothers are Superior,” which raised a lot of eyebrows. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html

In the article, Ms. Chua argues that “Chinese Mothers” are “superior,” because they demand absolute perfection and won’t refrain from scolding, threatening and even starving their kids until they’re pleased. She addresses that her kids were never allowed to attend a sleepover, be in a school play, have a play date, receive a grade other than an A or play any other instrument besides the piano or violin. Defining success scarcely focusing on achievement and perfection at all costs. Success is getting straight A’s and being a violin or piano prodigy.

While reading her article, I became a little disturbed in some of the things she was saying. She tells a story of her daughter unable to play a song on the piano and “threatened her with no lunch, no dinner, no Christmas or Hanukkah presents, no birthday parties for two, three, four years. When she still kept playing it wrong, I told her she was purposely working herself into a frenzy because she was secretly afraid she couldn't do it. I told her to stop being lazy, cowardly, self-indulgent and pathetic.” Since when is this okay?

I do, however, agree with Ms. Chua when she expresses some parents are too easy on their kids. It is important to discipline your kids and to let them know education and succeeding is very important. Not letting them dictate the way they will live their life at such a young age, but helping them find themselves as they are growing into a man or woman. In the generations behind us, children are being taught from the television instead of books. Children are not learning the real value of education, but that is not because we are American and not Chinese.

But who’s to say being a professional dancer is not as successful to a person as being a doctor? It is important to do what makes YOU happy and everyone’s definition of happy is different. Chua argues that happiness comes from mastery, and mastery is achieved through “tenacious practice, practice, practice.” Forced mastery will not lead to happiness. Loneliness and isolation leads to depression and chronic illnesses.

I’ve only had a few Asian friends in my life, and growing up I have seen the Asians in my class always being at the top academically. But they lacked social skills. Intelligence alone is not enough to advance in life. Your daughter gets all A’s from elementary school through high school, she get accepted in all the Ivy League colleges and becomes great in a math and/or science field, but what happens after that? Is she happy? When it’s time to go on a date, how will she communicate?

In my time growing up, most kids who grew up in such a strict household are scorned. They have no friends and always eat by themselves during lunchtime. They lack common sense, leadership and communication skills and are unable to express themselves emotionally.

Reading this article bought me back to when I was watching the Biggest Loser last season and the Asian woman on the show lacked self-esteem. Her parents always pressured her to do well. When she started gaining weight, they would call her fat and say she was no good. While on the show, her parents never called her or said “good job” because they saw her being on the show as a failure. Needless to say, she had a lot of emotional problems. Telling a child or anyone for that matter that they are worthless is not a sign of showing love.

If everyone raised their kids as Ms. Chua raised hers, the world would be full of robots with no creativity. We would have no art museums and would only listen to classical music. What would we watch on TV? Everyone is different and we should not all raise our children to only be good at the piano or violin. We should not raise our children socially challenged. In order to relate with the “real world” children need to interact with other children by starring in a school play, by having a play date and by playing other sports. Ms. Chua says, “Nothing is fun until you’re good at it” but what if you’re not? Once you’re great at something, is it fun anymore? Where is the challenge?

Ms. Chua has offended a lot of people with this article, but she does raise a good point on how Americans raise their children.

What are your thoughts?