I am a Christian

I am a Christian.  That doesn't make me stupid.  It doesn't mean I don't study science, or teach  my children about the Big Bang Theory.  It doesn't make me blind or a bigot. 

It means I have faith in a higher power.  It means I choose to follow a certain set of rules that go with being a Christian.  Even when I think those rules stink sometimes.

I am a Christian.  That doesn't make me perfect or better than anyone.  It doesn't make me a fanatic or crazy. 

I get so tired of hearing people slam Christians as stupid, or bigots, or haters.  It bothers me when I have friends who seem to go out of their way to insult my faith because I don't support gay marriage, or abortion, or wearing immodest clothes.

No.  I don't support gay marriage.  I will not vote and say "Yes" to something because you think it's the right thing to do.  On that same note, I will not go out of my way to  make a gay person feel like a leper. I will not cast stones at their house, nor will I make my children avoid their children.  I just won't tell that person what they are doing is right.  Why is that so wrong?

When did it become wrong to have an opinion?  When did it become really wrong to have an opinion different from yours?  When did it become wrong to believe in God? 

No.  I don't support abortion.  Not at 10 weeks, 20 weeks, or 40 weeks.  It is wrong to kill a child.  Does that mean I will fire bomb abortion clinics?  No!  Does that mean I will hate those who have made the choice to have an abortion?  NO!  Does it mean I will mourn the lose of life when that decision is made?  Yes!

What a selfish society we have become, when we can claim that abortion, all abortion, is a woman's right to her health!  There is life growing inside a woman when she is pregnant, and life is beautiful!  We get so angry at little girls abandoned in China simply because she is a girl.  We get angry when a child is left in a dumpster or on a doorstep.  I see no difference when one is pulled out of a woman's body and put in an orange trash bag.

No.  I don't support women being able to dress like a hooker.  Does that mean I agree that a woman "Asked for it" when she is raped?  Certainly not!  I support modesty for an entirely different reason.  What happened to the idea that our bodies are something special?  What happened to the idea that women should only reveal a little of their bodies, to keep something back for the man who loves her? 

When did it become ok for our boobs to hang out of our shirts and our bums to hang out of our shorts?  Why is the current obsession about letting it all hang out...sending the message that we think our bodies are for "display only"?  Why don't women have more respect for themselves than that?  Why aren't they teaching their daughters to have more respect for themselves than that?! 

Society bothers me these days!  So much emphasis is put on what feels good that we forget there is a consequence for our actions.  We think about more, better, and now, and we forget the value of patience and earning something.  We compete with each other for material goods and we forget the value of simple things...like playing outside with a ball in the rain. 

More than all that, it really bothers me that as an American I'm being told that my choices, my opinions are invalid and unvalued...all because I do not agree with what is popular.  More and more, I feel the need to speak out, to shout out about my faith and my God...maybe because I'm tired of being called stupid and bigot.  Or maybe because God is telling me it's time to crank up my light for the world to see.  I don't know...but I sure am tired of being silent.