Stress Relief Idea #21

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify........


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Hello to my readers from the United States, Scotland, England, South Africa, China, Finland, France, Hong Kong, India, Germany, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Russia, Spain and the Netherlands who have stopped by this blog during the past week. Thank you for the visit and please return soon. 
Also a special hello to email subscribers Sharon Watts and Mike Manning from Texas. Thank you for your support in 2011! Blessings to all of you and your families!
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HAPPY 2012!!!!




copyright 2012 by Kathy Robbins

Love Wins By: Rob Bell

Love Wins has endured perhaps the most negative press from contemporary Christians of any book I know. Two friends recommended that I read it with an open mind. I accepted the challenge.


Author Rob Bell is the creator of the "Nooma Video series". If you have ever seen one of these inspiring and informative videos, you will understand when I say that Rob’s writing voice is similar to, and as compelling as his video voice and dialogue; more so in Love Wins than in his earlier work, Velvet Elvis, which I definitely recommend. 


Love Wins is easy reading, which may be the source of the negative opinions. A reader can breeze through, absorbing some of the main points without really taking time to contemplate the ideas appropriately. I initially read it in a few hours. But when writing this review, I re-read the entire book considering each point, insuring that I would not misrepresent anything. When I re-read more slowly, I reached an understanding and clarity about the message.


Rob has a gift of not being afraid to ask questions, even if the questions tend to challenge long-held beliefs. For if the belief is sound, it can stand even in the face of uncomfortable questions.


He discusses heaven first. Funny, most of the negative press that I have heard is about his view of hell. I don’t remember hearing much about his views of heaven. He believes in a heaven after death. But like Dallas Willard in The Divine Conspiracy, he believes in the possibility of heaven on earth.


After heaven, Bell discusses Hell. This is the subject about which I have heard most of the negativity. I have heard that he preaches and writes that hell is not real. That is not true at all. His view of hell is similar to his view of heaven. He believes in hell after death, but he also believes in hell on earth as well. He provides scripture and life experiences for this belief.


But what he does advocate, and backs it up with stories and scripture, is that God is too merciful to banish anyone to hell for all of eternity. He believes that although God may allow punishment for a time, he will not continue to punish forever. This is directly in contrast to what I have been taught all of my life. Does it mean that he is wrong? Only God can answer. I don’t know.


He opens his discourse about hell by listing what he says is the exhaustive list of scriptures about hell in the bible. I found a difference between his list and the list in my bible’s concordance. The list in my bible’s abbreviated concordance was longer for Old Testament scripture. One reason for this may be translations, but I think that he was mistaken in this portion of the book. Whether or not this affects the subsequent theology is unknown. If he used a longer list of scriptures about hell in his theological consideration, would his view of hell be different? Is his view shortsighted because he did not use a complete list of scriptures?


He then writes about Jesus being the only way to the Father. He uses Paul’s interpretation of the story of Moses striking the rock in the Old Testament to make a point. According to Paul, the water came from the rock was provided by Jesus; the Hebrews were relying on Jesus without knowing it. His point is that just because people follow other religions, doesn’t mean that they don’t follow Jesus without knowing it. He makes that point to stress that as Christians, it is not our place to judge who will or won’t go to hell after death; there may be more to their story than we know. He uses other scriptural references to accentuate this idea. This is almost approaching Christian Gnosticism, but not quite. This is different theology than I have ever been taught, as well. Does that mean that he is wrong and I am right, or vice versa? Only God knows. 


What I do know is that I can consider these ideas without feeling that my faith is threatened. 


One thing that I recommend that he do differently is to note the verse of the scriptural references that he uses. Many times throughout Love Wins, he told a story or cited scripture using only the book of the bible or the book and chapter without the verse. Whenever I read a book like this, I like to look up the scripture to compare what it really says with what the author claims it says. 


I do think that my horizon was broadened. I didn’t take on any new theology, but I did consider the ideas. My faith is strengthened in a way from being able to question the beliefs that I have long held. I don’t particularly recommend this book for reading. But I don’t recommend that someone not read it either. But I do recommend that if someone reads it, they do so critically, taking their time to consider the principles that are outlined from Rob Bell.


We definitely have not heard the last of him.

Book Format           Kindle Edition
copyright 2011 by Kathy Robbins

Because I Can

As I reach a milestone with this, my 100th post, I do what most bloggers do; write about why I blog.


The answer, in short, is because I can. Blogging is a great way to record some of the stories that I have written and told others over the years. It is a chance for me to share these stories with others in the world who may be interested, a chance to share books with the public, and maybe, just maybe make a very tiny mark upon the world that, like my children, will outlive me.


Sometimes, I like to write about people who do wonderful things in the name of the Lord. That is one of the reasons why we are here, isn’t it? To serve God. I write to give publicity to acts of love when our local newspaper won’t write about these acts; or if they do, they contain the story to a simple photograph with a short caption, in favor of the front page stories about child molestation, burglaries and other acts of sin. Those stories are important. But they should never take front page over the good that happens in our own communities.


Blogging was introduced to me by Dan Harrington, who was then the youth pastor at my church. He started writing and shared a link with me one day. I read it, was impressed, but thought, “Maybe I can do this too.” Then I created my own blog account, but didn’t know what to do from there. So, I abandoned the idea.


Some months later, I discussed the possibility of blogging with a friend of mine. We resolved to begin a blog soon, and then neither one of us did.


Months later, a friend, Ellen Carpenter, started a blog and I saw a link on Facebook to one of her posts. I visited, liked it and thought, “Yes, I think that I can do this.” So, starting out ignorant but bold, I began Robbins writes. I had no earthly idea what to write, so I just wrote a quick note about starting the blog on Easter, a time for beginnings and birth.


At first, I didn’t know what I was doing, and had to work hard to generate ideas for posts, but I resolved to learn as I went. Eight months, eleven book reviews, one book giveaway, one author interview,100 posts, and 6500 page views from residents in over 30 different countries later, I have learned a lot, and am happy to report that I am still learning. 


Meeting other writers and bloggers has been a serendipitous experience. I have joined the High Calling Bloggers, added my blog to subscription on Amazon, added ads, and have become an Amazon associate, providing links for the books that I review.


I have enjoyed sponsoring the writings of two others who have written five guest posts for me: Rev. Cheryl Broome and Rev. Kimberly Burke. I have sponsored a fund raiser for the ASPCA to honor my son Rusty at his birthday.


I enjoy blogging on my own website, where I have the editorial control. I can write about any subject I want, and express any viewpoint that I care to, without having to get approval from anyone. That is a nice feeling.


Beginning on Easter, and reaching the 100th post during the Christmas and New Year’s Holidays is an added treat for me. I love the parallelism with the  religious holidays. Thank you for sharing this journey with me.


Amen.

copyright 2011 by Kathy Robbins

Stress Relief Idea #20

Turn  needs into preferences. Our basic physical needs translate into food, water, and keeping warm.  Everything else is a preference. Don't get attached to preferences.
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I want to give a shout-out to my  readers in the United States, France, Russia, Canada, Scotland, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Belarus, England, and Hungary. Thank you for visiting Robbinswrites. And have a Happy New Year!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

copyright 2011 by Kathy Robbins

Advent and the Cross

While my friends have been writing about the beautiful anticipation of the birth of Christ during this advent season, I have been writing about stress, books, theology, domestic violence and an unusual Christmas laced with thankfulness in the midst of painful injury.


But today, I move to Advent. Funny, when it was Easter, I focused on rebirth. In the Christmas season, my mind has centered on the cross. Without the cross, the birth would have a different meaning.


My perspective of Christmas changes in tandem with each rotation around the sun. As a child, my perspective centered on the birth of a baby surrounded by animals. I loved animals as a child; still do. But as an adult, I am keenly aware of the responsibility of ownership.


Now my thoughts are of Mary, the mother of God. As a mother, I empathize with her pregnant condition and the joy of childbirth. But I do have one question. How could she eventually stand at the foot of that cross? How could she stand at all, as her firstborn son suffered a torturous death? What did she know? Did she know about the resurrection to come? Well, this is a story for another day.


And for now, we wait. It won’t be long now. No, not long at all…..


A baby kicks inside his mother’s womb,
Inside of her fullness.
Breasts fill with nourishment for the world.
This body breaths shorter, staggered breaths now,
As her lungs are restricted by space.
A cervix is pinched by the fullness,
Fullness that is everywhere.
It won’t be long now,
Our wait will soon be over.



copyright 2011 by Kathy Robbins

'Tis the Season for Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence, unfortunately does not stop during the holidays. Why should I care, you might ask? It doesn’t affect me. Actually, it probably affects you more than you know. You most likely do know people it touches. The statistics are quoted as 1 in 4 people all year around. Do you know 4 people? I thought that you did. Then there is a 100% certainty that someone you know is touched by this problem.


Contradictory information is provided by different studies concerning holiday domestic violence: the domestic violence occurring between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Some studies indicate an increase in violence during this period and some indicate a decrease, depending on the source. More information can be found here.


I spent a Christmas at the home of a Mental Health Professional one year, when he received an emergency call concerning a man who had shot and killed his wife on Christmas day.


I know of a family that had a family-wide fist fight resulting in a stabbing and one of them having to spend Christmas in jail. The children were not shielded from the melee. But luckily, none of them were hurt.


One man that I know had to shoot his son in self-defense on Thanksgiving eve.


Education and socioeconomic status does not grant immunity to this situation. Domestic violence affects people in all cultures, classes and educational levels. Wherever there are people, there is the potential.


Here are some safety tips for people who may be caught in a potential abusive situation:

1. Have a “code word” established with family and friends in advance so you can communicate without the abuser knowing what is being said.

2. If a dangerous situation presents, do not go further into the house or building where you are being put into a corner. If you can get outside, do so. This usually takes steam away from an abuser because abusive people usually don’t like witnesses.

3. You can surreptitiously call 9-1-1 without having to say anything. Call, allow time for the phone to ring and the call to get recorded at the 9-1-1 center, and hang up if need be. The call will be registered, and an officer will be sent to your residence for follow-up.

4. For more information about adoption of a safety plan, go here.

If you know someone who lives in an abusive situation, please try to be understanding and offer assistance when it is wanted and or needed. Volunteer your time with a local shelter, donate food or money to a local shelter. These are things that we can all do.

And if you are one of the 3 out of 4 who is not experiencing domestic violence, please take time out of your holiday to thank God for your safety.

Amen.

copyright 2011 by Kathy Robbins

Stress Relief Idea #19

Unplug your phone. Want to take a long bath, meditate, sleep, or read without interruption? Drum up the courage to temporarily disconnect. (The possibility of there being a terrible emergency in the next hour or so is almost nil). Or use an answering machine.


I have unplugged from all electronics on sabbath. Sometimes it is good to let those closest to us know beforehand so that they can physically come and get us in the event of a true emergency.
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I want to give a shout-out to my newest followers on facebook and google: Fellow writers Felicity Lennie and Deborah Winegarten. Thank you for following! And a special hello to readers in the United States, Scotland, England, Russia, Netherlands, Brazil, Nigeria, Germany, France, Indonesia, Chile, Malaysia, Ireland,Singapore and Bangladesh who have all visited this blog in the last week. Thank you for the visit and please return soon.


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Merry Christmas to all from robbinswrites! May your day be joyful! For those of you who do not celebrate Christmas, may your day be joyful still. Amen.

copyright 2011 by Kathy Robbins