cult
noun, often attributive \ˈkəlt\
: a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous
: a situation in which people admire and care about something or someone very much or too much
12 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord* has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
"So. There. Honestly, it doesn't matter who you are, or what you are. Common decency is the key here. This ONE verse, should pretty much get you through every single social issue. And, members of cults don't tend to be the nicest most accepting people. If you apply this to pretty much EVERYTHING, no matter what you are, you should be okay. I keep this where I can see it at work, actually. Some days, I need to see this."
I don't know. I don't know if I made a difference. I don't know if I got through to her. I don't know if she will always be Catholic, or, if she'll go off and do her own thing. I don't know, if I did or said the right thing. I don't know if I should even be teaching this class. I just don't know. But, that was the class yesterday.
Anyway, church was about the only thing we had going on all weekend, so, we took this very rare opportunity of a free weekend, and just relaxed at home. We came home, the kids disbanded for their various activities, friends came over to visit, they all raked leaves and played. I took Turbo for a long uphill walk. We are supposed to hike up two mountains in less than 3 weeks. I suppose one must make sure they aren't going to die in the process, before one makes a fool of oneself in public. Turbo and I made it up a 2 mile incline, and lived to tell about it.
With my children unleashed upon the neighborhood, things began to happen.
The girls wandered through the front door with a puppy. It was a sweet, cute, snugly little thing. The girls handed it to me, it breathed on my with it's amazing puppy breath, licked my face, and snuggled right in for a cuddle. It was hard, but, I handed it back, as Bearded Man shouted that there was no way we were getting ANOTHER dog. No. The girls spent quite some time begging, but, we sent it back.
The call then came from the puppy's owner. Would we like fish, instead? Someone had just dropped off 60 guppies...
Before I knew it, Lexi came bursting through the front door with a baggie full of fish. "And guess what?? They said that these kind of fish breed like CRAZY! There is seventeen of them here, but, we should have lots more soon!!!"
George's fish tank was grudgingly filled by Bearded Man, and the fish were let loose in the water. "I give it 3 weeks, before they are all dead." he predicted pessimistically.
"I think some of them look pregnant!!" Lexi announced excitedly.
Flashlight, the cat, was pretty excited, too.
Some time later, while Joe and George were out and about, they carted through the door a jukebox. A. Jukebox.
"IT WAS FREE, MOM! I HAVE A JUKEBOX!" Shouted Joe excitedly. "The owner said it works, too!"
The radio portion did. A very small portion lit up, and the CD portion is broken. Still. The sound quality for both the radio stations we get at our house, was excellent. They also brought home: Knee pads, a bicycle helmet and, dominoes.
This is what staying home gets you: 17 fish and a jukebox.
Quick update on the Family Room turned workout room.
I have used it exactly ONCE. Because, if I get up early, Turbo wants to walk. He will get under, in, over, on, and generally in the way of any working out or workout equipment. Trying to keep him out of the room results in his howling displeasure.
If I use it after work, during waking hours, the kids all want to workout, too. We have, essentially, the same problem as with the dog. Also, the dog is there doing everything he can to assist with workout failure.
After hours is Bearded Man's TV time. Working out is prohibited during TV time. If he decides to watch TV in the living room, he hates it, and, the TV keeps the kids up.
I have an entire gym in my family room. And I cannot use it. However, the kids do tend to use it. George has figured out every single dangerous thing that workout equipment can be utilized for. He loves it.
I am optimistic that it will be better used in the coming winter months, once the snow really hits. We'll see.
: a situation in which people admire and care about something or someone very much or too much
: a small group of very devoted supporters or fans
So. Sunday school started again. We now have 7th and 8th graders in our class. In addition to the same two as last year, we have 3 new students. This Sunday, one of our seasoned 8th graders meandered in - late - with a friend in tow. She plopped into her chair, looked at me challengingly, and announced "Tell me how this isn't a cult. This whole thing seems cultish, and I refuse to be part of a cult." with a smirk directed at her friend, who just held her breath waiting for my response.
Sunday school week two. Twenty one weeks to go. We talked about cults. We talked about Wacco, Texas, we talked about the West Borough Baptist Church . We talked about the qualities of good leaders "These "good leadership" qualities would also be pretty much what you would find in the leader of a cult..." piped in my 8th grade student. *Bangs head on white board*
I looked at this kid and went blank. WHAT do I tell this child, who is clearly challenging me - "give me a reason to believe any one thing you have to say" was the message I was getting. - I agreed. If Jesus tried any of the things he did way back when, today, he would end up in the loony bin, and would be mocked far and wide. How do I talk about leadership and acceptance and religion? All these kids were looking at me expectantly, the 8th grader was looking at me smugly, arms crossed, eyebrow raised. In my head, I recalled the 14 years we have waited, to be able to ship all 4 kids off to Sunday School, so we could have NINETY MINUTES of peace and quiet once a week, and go to breakfast. But, NO. I am dealing with this kid, who is going to be the reason I do shots before church until next May. Last week, she was so disruptive, we couldn't stay on track. This week: we are a cult.
This went on through the entire class. We did some deep deep talking. I felt maybe I was getting through to her. And then, I found my favorite bible verse. (Not going to lie. It's one of the few that I know, actually. But, I like it.) So, I whipped out my bible, and read it.
Colossians 3.12-15
12 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord* has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
"So. There. Honestly, it doesn't matter who you are, or what you are. Common decency is the key here. This ONE verse, should pretty much get you through every single social issue. And, members of cults don't tend to be the nicest most accepting people. If you apply this to pretty much EVERYTHING, no matter what you are, you should be okay. I keep this where I can see it at work, actually. Some days, I need to see this."
I don't know. I don't know if I made a difference. I don't know if I got through to her. I don't know if she will always be Catholic, or, if she'll go off and do her own thing. I don't know, if I did or said the right thing. I don't know if I should even be teaching this class. I just don't know. But, that was the class yesterday.
Anyway, church was about the only thing we had going on all weekend, so, we took this very rare opportunity of a free weekend, and just relaxed at home. We came home, the kids disbanded for their various activities, friends came over to visit, they all raked leaves and played. I took Turbo for a long uphill walk. We are supposed to hike up two mountains in less than 3 weeks. I suppose one must make sure they aren't going to die in the process, before one makes a fool of oneself in public. Turbo and I made it up a 2 mile incline, and lived to tell about it.
With my children unleashed upon the neighborhood, things began to happen.
The girls wandered through the front door with a puppy. It was a sweet, cute, snugly little thing. The girls handed it to me, it breathed on my with it's amazing puppy breath, licked my face, and snuggled right in for a cuddle. It was hard, but, I handed it back, as Bearded Man shouted that there was no way we were getting ANOTHER dog. No. The girls spent quite some time begging, but, we sent it back.
The call then came from the puppy's owner. Would we like fish, instead? Someone had just dropped off 60 guppies...
Before I knew it, Lexi came bursting through the front door with a baggie full of fish. "And guess what?? They said that these kind of fish breed like CRAZY! There is seventeen of them here, but, we should have lots more soon!!!"
George's fish tank was grudgingly filled by Bearded Man, and the fish were let loose in the water. "I give it 3 weeks, before they are all dead." he predicted pessimistically.
"I think some of them look pregnant!!" Lexi announced excitedly.
Flashlight, the cat, was pretty excited, too.
Some time later, while Joe and George were out and about, they carted through the door a jukebox. A. Jukebox.
"IT WAS FREE, MOM! I HAVE A JUKEBOX!" Shouted Joe excitedly. "The owner said it works, too!"
The radio portion did. A very small portion lit up, and the CD portion is broken. Still. The sound quality for both the radio stations we get at our house, was excellent. They also brought home: Knee pads, a bicycle helmet and, dominoes.
This is what staying home gets you: 17 fish and a jukebox.
Quick update on the Family Room turned workout room.
I have used it exactly ONCE. Because, if I get up early, Turbo wants to walk. He will get under, in, over, on, and generally in the way of any working out or workout equipment. Trying to keep him out of the room results in his howling displeasure.
If I use it after work, during waking hours, the kids all want to workout, too. We have, essentially, the same problem as with the dog. Also, the dog is there doing everything he can to assist with workout failure.
After hours is Bearded Man's TV time. Working out is prohibited during TV time. If he decides to watch TV in the living room, he hates it, and, the TV keeps the kids up.
I have an entire gym in my family room. And I cannot use it. However, the kids do tend to use it. George has figured out every single dangerous thing that workout equipment can be utilized for. He loves it.
I am optimistic that it will be better used in the coming winter months, once the snow really hits. We'll see.
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