Magnolia Weekend 2011

Began 2 weeks ago:
A week from tonight, I will be enjoying a girlie-girl play date with 7 women I have never met. It will be the 3rd night of my 5-day weekend. I had originally planned to go and meet my online friend for the first time face-to-face this time last year, but my sweet Mom got sick in January and passed away a year ago today.
I want to record my impressions of these friends for them and for you, and tell you a little about what we've "been through" together the last few years.
First acknowledgement goes to Yana Berlin, founder of Fabulously40.com. It's the site where I first got to know most of these friends. My husband had been diagnosed with cancer just about the time I came across the site and jumped in to freely share my days' experiences with them. Yana won't be joining us, but I know that we are all sincerely grateful for what she created.
The fascinating hostess of our upcoming weekend was recognized as a truly kindred spirit...not because I'M so fascinating ;0), but simply because we had so much in common. Laurie is a unique and most gifted woman, a caring and passionate person who puts her heart and soul into everything she does. She is a heart-taught artist, musician, deft writer, instantaneous philanthropist and true believer in Jesus Christ, and is not ashamed to say so! She has transparently shared her gifts and her life with me and hundreds (probably thousands) of others over the last few years through her website, her online radio show and her generosity. She is a wise and loving mother, wife, sister and daughter, and I am proud to call her my friend and sister in Christ.

Then there is Lu(cinda)...former member of the radio industry who graciously agreed to produce and co-host Laurie's online show. Lu has rubbed shoulders with lots of famous people, but what impresses me about her is that she is so in love with her husband and family. She possesses a fierce wit, and is still hard-working and dedicated to what she does...when I first met her, a candle maker, www.lightfandangocandles.com. Her newest venture is www.thespottedteapot.com Travelling Teaparties for Girls.
Ruby is a sometimes deep and always sharp blogger to adults. Her use of metaphor, simile and humour noir is a force to be reckoned with. Living with her disability while raising her sons on her own has made my admiration for her increase with every post I read. If you are sick and tired of PC communication, she's your girl! www.rubycantu.wordpress.com Please visit her and if so inclined, and as she says..."Help a cripple" by clicking donate to her Paypal account.

I'm home now, and I can tell this is gonna need to be posted in more than one post.
I have WAAAAAY too much to say!

What About Jesus?

Matthew 5:33 Again, you have heard that it was said to the men of old, You shall not swear falsely, but you shall perform your oaths to the Lord [as a religious duty].

34But I tell you, Do not bind yourselves by an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is the throne of God;

35Or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.(H)

36And do not swear by your head, for you are not able to make a single hair white or black.

37Let your Yes be simply Yes, and your No be simply No; anything more than that comes from the evil one.(I)

From Biblegateway Commentary:

Oaths Are a Poor Substitute for Integrity
When Jesus quotes his Bible as prohibiting false vows and other oaths (Deut 23:23), he probably also has in view the Ten Commandments, as in Matthew 5:21, 27. In this case he alludes to the third commandment: a false oath "misuses" or takes in vain God's name, since oaths by definition called on a deity to witness them (Ex 20:7). Breaking an oath was dangerous, for in all societies oaths contained curses that deities would avenge if the person who swore by them broke the oath. The Bible's point in prohibiting false oaths, however, was that one should tell the truth and keep one's promises. The Hebrew Bible approved of some oaths and vows (as in Num 5:19-22; 6:2), but Jesus again summons us beyond the law's letter to its intention. His own point is not so much that oaths are evil as that the motivation for engaging in them is; one should simply tell the truth (Mt 5:37).


Although Jesus' position on oaths is not wholly unique, it was rare enough to be distinctive. Although some Jewish teachers warned against customary oath-taking, nearly all accepted oath-taking as valid; in daily life, it was surely common in the marketplace. Some groups of Essenes may have avoided oaths altogether (Jos. War 2.135), except for their initiatory oath for joining the sect (Jos. War 2.139-42; see also 1QS 5.8). Josephus declares that one could trust an Essene's word more than an oath, however (War 2.135); Philo indicates that their abstention from oaths declared their commitment to truth (Every Good Man Free 84; also Vermes 1993:35). Jesus and the Essenes probably intended the same as Pythagoras: let your word carry such conviction that you need not call deities to witness (Diog. Laert. 8.1.22; compare Philo Spec. Leg. 2.2; Isoc. Nic. 22, Or. 2).

The point of this passage is integrity. Jesus observes that since God witnesses every word we say anyway, we should be able to tell the truth without having to call God to witness by a formal oath. Jesus is addressing a popular abuse of oaths in his day. To protect the sanctity of the divine name against inadvertent oath-breaking, common Jewish practice introduced surrogate objects by which to swear (Vermes 1993:34-35). Some people apparently thought it harmless to deceive if they swore oaths by something like their right hand (t. Nedarim 1:1; cf. Jos. War 2.451). The further removed the oath was from the actual name of God, the less danger they faced for violating it (Schiffman 1983:137-38; E. Sanders 1990:53-54). Jewish teachers had to arbitrate which oaths were actually binding as allusions to God's name (m. Sebi`it 4.13; see also CD 15.1-5). Jesus teaches that all oaths invoke God's witness equally. Just as heaven, earth (Is 66:1-2) and Jerusalem (Ps 48:2; Mt 4:5; 27:53) belong to God (Mt 5:34-35), so do the hairs on our heads (5:36); although we can dye our hair, we have no genuine control over its aging (compare 6:27). All oaths implicitly call God to witness, because everything that exists was made by him. For Jesus, no aspect of life except sin is purely secular.

Avoiding oaths is thus inadequate; the issue is telling the truth, because God witnesses every word we speak. Although many passages in the Bible allow some degree of deception to preserve life (Keener 1991a:22), such exceptions are rare in our daily lives. When we lie to cover our own wrong motives from those we think would disdain us, we forget that one day God will expose all the secrets of our hearts anyway (Mt 10:26). When we lightly commit ourselves to meet people at particular times and then unnecessarily delay them (as if their time were a commodity less precious than our own), we treat them unjustly and deceitfully, even if in a relatively minor way. How much more when we make promises in business deals or make still more lasting vows (such as the marriage covenant-5:31-32).


Making vows (promises) to God lightly is a severe offense (compare Acts 5:1-11). Although Jesus' first followers continued to call on God to witness the truth of some of their statements, apparently taking Jesus' words as rhetorical overstatement (examples appear in Rom 1:9; 9:1; Gal 1:20), they seem to have refrained from more overt oaths (2 Cor 1:17; Jas 5:12). Oaths that invite penalties on oneself for violating them ("cross my heart and hope to die") are unnecessary for people of truth.

What about Jesus

Oh boy! Maybe I'll get some comments on this one!

Amplified version: "31It has also been said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.

32But I tell you, Whoever dismisses and repudiates and divorces his wife, except on the grounds of unfaithfulness (sexual immorality), causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a woman who has been divorced commits adultery.(G)"

My thoughts are the same as I've had for a while now...marriage and divorce aren't just about a piece of paper. That saying cuts both ways. The NIV calls the poor, discarded woman (I think Jesus would say spouse now, since women have become more like men than ever!) a "victim" of adultery. The faithful divorced one has been ruined, spoiled, physically and emotionally, by the selfish one, making it difficult to impossible to ever have a healthy loving relationship again. Any faithful spouse knows that, like Jesus said, to even entertain the thought of committing adultery produces some guilt even in a non-believer. A true believer and lover may be tempted with a thought, but will experience Holy Spirit conviction, making it feel like a saddening shock. Most married people have experienced sadness and loneliness of unmet expectations in our spouses eventhough we have that marriage license. Emotional divorce is real divorce according to Jesus; and He's saying that the faithful heart makes a true marriage. A divorce decree comes much too little and too late.

What About Jesus?

27You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.(F)

28But I say to you that everyone who so much as looks at a woman with evil desire for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

29If your right eye serves as a trap to ensnare you or is an occasion for you to stumble and sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be cast into hell (Gehenna).

30And if your right hand serves as a trap to ensnare you or is an occasion for you to stumble and sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better that you lose one of your members than that your entire body should be cast into hell (Gehenna).

Ya think the Lord felt pretty strongly about "evil desire"? Consider the culture He was born into...Roman hedonism surrounded, infiltrated and lured. This was not new in history. Maybe He was trying to tell them that, as blatant as the Romans and others were in their sin, it all began in the heart. His ways of the heart are higher than our ways eventhough they may be simpler and more innocent. How could they (and we) shine as the light of the world unless they demonstrated the ability He gave them to remain set apart?

What about Jesus?

Matthew 5:21-25 (Amplified Bible)
21You have heard that it was said to the men of old, You shall not kill, and whoever kills shall be [a]liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the court.(A)

22But I say to you that everyone who continues to be [b]angry with his brother or harbors malice (enmity of heart) against him shall be [c]liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the court; and whoever speaks contemptuously and insultingly to his brother shall be [d]liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, You [e]cursed fool! [You empty-headed idiot!] shall be [f]liable to and unable to escape the hell (Gehenna) of fire.

23So if when you are offering your gift at the altar you there remember that your brother has any [grievance] against you,

24Leave your gift at the altar and go. First make peace with your brother, and then come back and present your gift.

25Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way traveling with him, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.

So...Jesus has already said that He came to fulfill the law. There is controversy about whether the word He uses here is "kill" as in the military sense or "murder" as in the personal or individual sense or motivation. When we continue on with what Jesus says after stating the commandment, I think it becomes pretty clear that He's not even addressing physical death, but drawing a comparison that more people are all too familiar with. Some of us may know someone who has murdered or been murdered; but I would guess that the majority of us Americans don't personally know a whole lot. And why would He mention punishment imposed by a court if the word was "kill" in the military sense? The fact is that it's a soldier's job to kill. The content of His teaching relates to something else altogether. Does anyone else realize the importance Jesus is placing on the verbal treatment of others; and is anyone up for a little friendly discussion?

Here's something to think about...it's been said that it takes 5 positive comments to a person to wipe out the harmful effects of 1 negative one.

What about Jesus?

17"Do not think that I came to abolish the (V)Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

18"For truly I say to you, (W)until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

19"Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least (X)in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20"For I say to you that unless your (Y)righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Does this concern anyone? Please weigh in on your understanding of it or any questions it raises.

What About Jesus?

Last week, there was yet another violent attack here in the "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave". It makes even someone with the spiritual gift of faith just want to pack it all in, head for the hills, or at least the relative safety of home, and hunker down. That wouldn't be freedom, nor would it be courage.

Skipping ahead to something outside today's wisdom from Jesus, He said that He came to give us life - abundant life. His comparison of us here in Matthew 5 to salt, concerns a couple of things. Salt is a preservative and a flavor enhancer. For my majority carnivorous friends, try to imagine life without any fresh meat. I can only guess that even the most Spartan vegetarian likes a little extra flavor on their celery. If you are not a follower of Jesus and His teachings, I'd like to challenge you to imagine your world without anyone you know who honestly tries to. Would it possibly be rotten, tasteless, depressing, boring? Maybe you don't know anyone all that intimately; but could it maybe add some abundance to your life to spend some time getting to know them better?

This latest violent tragedy and the blabbering, blaming and bull surrounding it gives me a visual of a bunch of people stuck in a room with no light, trying to find the way out. At the same time, I can picture several beacons - flashing neons, an "exit" sign, a candle flame - and the doors each one illuminates; but which one really leads to freedom and fearlessness? With the last few years' terrors, some personal, some global, have you tried the same door or doors to get out of the dark? Have you avoided the "seasoning" offered by some Jesus follower for the staleness or sadness in your life?

Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.