They Hate ( by Carley Evans )

 

Anaclasis – A Haunting Gospel of Malice & Hatred (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

This morning I realize why I don’t like church. I don’t like church because of the sometimes invisible, sometimes highly visible people inside the building who spout evil rather than good, who obviously hate rather than love. The pain I feel inside church is unimaginable. I used to try to ignore it, deny it, justify it. No more. I fully embrace this pain, this incredible disappointment in people who claim to know who Jesus is. I pause because I know how hard it is not to hate these hypocrites –right back at ya!

 

But, I recall Jesus dies for them, too. His agony on the cross is proportional to the level of their hatred.

 

Who do they hate? So-called Christians in church hate sinners. They hate “the least of these.” And they hate socialists, communists, homosexuals, abortionists, murderers, the poor, the disenfranchised, the lonely, the mentally ill, the homeless, the lost. Oops. In short, they hate themselves.

 

Illusions – Optical and Otherwise ( by Carley Evans )

Losing Nothing ( by Carley Evans )

(Photo credit: epSos.de)

“Every day, people seek profits for the investments they make in time, in effort, in monies. Every day, some people win — what seems to them — “the whole world.” I’m not sure Jesus equates winning the whole world with loss of one’s soul. Rather, I think Jesus implies one’s focus ought not to be on getting “the whole world”, but on getting a relationship with Him so as to keep one’s soul.” (Carley Evans — hey, that’s me!)

Do you make mistakes? Do even really small mistakes in timing have terrible consequences for you? I imagine your answer is “yes” – or “maybe” – to both questions.

I made a simple mistake this spring that is going to cost me a certain amount of money over the next year. The mistake was simply a momentary distraction that turned out to be extremely unfortunate financially.

Still, tonight I read my own words from GRACE PARTAKERS and realize that compared to sustaining a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, this loss of money is akin to the loss of nothing!

Sharing My Kid ( by Carley Evans )

The lights were out in my room; the dogs were settling down when I heard that little ding from my iPhone [which functions as my alarm clock.] I don’t know why I checked it; I was relatively certain it was a notification from WP and not a text message from my daughter or father or mother [the only people I know who might text me at that hour.]

I reached for my glasses [no! I don’t want to wear contacts; thank you], but couldn’t locate them in the near total darkness. I turned on the standing lamp, put on my now visible glasses and looked at my iPhone. I saw these words [in addition to the content that automatically comes from WP regarding comments]:

“By the way, I got your book this week. I’ll be reading it soon.”

Well, lo and behold, my little heart just lept with joy.

Now, I’ve been steadily selling my novel, METAL MAN WALKING (preview) by hawking it to people I know and to acquaintances and sometimes to total strangers. The online selling, on the other hand, has been slower than a snail’s progress across a hot sidewalk! I knew several someones had recently purchased my book from either Amazon.com or from my e-Store. But who?

Now I know at least one of “the who?”

What is remarkable to me is how much it means to me to sell a copy of METAL MAN WALKING. The feeling is akin to the one you might get while watching your child talk to and play with another child. You’re relieved your child reaches out to another; you’re pleased your child shares himself or herself; you’re glad and proud that’s your kid!

Thanks for reading my kid!

Morning Sun on Atlantic Waterway ( by Carley Evans )