Amazeballs.

It really needs little introduction. But I love this. 

It’s easy to poke fun at some of the things churches say on their welcome sign. It’s easy to question some of the things that make it inside a church bulletin.

It’s easy to say “this is bad,” but it’s a lot harder to say “this is good.” Anyone can critique, but creating is a lot more difficult.

So what does a great welcome message look like? What does an awesome welcome message look like?

It looks exactly like what “Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Community” has in their church.

My friend attended there recently, and I got a copy of what they hand out. I posted a photo of it below so you could see what it looks like, but the image got cut off so here’s what it says:

We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt poor, yo no habla Ingles. We extend a special welcome to those who are crying new-borns, skinny as a rail or could afford to lose a few pounds.

We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or like our pastor who can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re “just browsing,” just woke up or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Catholic than the Pope, or haven’t been in church since little Joey’s Baptism.

We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems or you’re down in the dumps or if you don’t like “organized religion,” we’ve been there too.

If you blew all your offering money at the dog track, you’re welcome here. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.

We welcome those who are inked, pierced or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding hearts … and you!

Bravo to Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Community! That should be made into a poster and hung in church offices around the world.

I love the thought that a few members of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Community getting together and saying, “Let’s invite everyone to come meet Jesus!” And then they started writing their list.

And it got long. Why?

Because everyone needs Jesus.

Everyone changes when they meet Jesus.

And they wanted to make sure everyone knew they were invited to meet him.

Credits to:

I wish every church said what this church says in their bulletin …

Political Rant.

I am beyond sick and tired of the political banter going back and forth on my social networking sites. I'm not a "Super-Political Person," but consider this an open letter from a regular 'ol "unaffiliated" joe who is already tired of this election:

Dear Democrats and Republicans,

Bashing your opposing party does absolutely nothing. Seriously. I mean, what, exactly, are you hoping to accomplish by putting down every single quote from the opposing party and taking every quote from your party as true?

Are you hoping to convert Republicans to the Democratic party (or vice versa)? I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's going to be a rare occurrence if that happens. Ever. And even if it did, I bet that posting lame links on Facebook aren't what did it.

Are you hoping to sway an Independent/Unaffiliated vote? Because let me tell you, from personal experience, all you've done is made me even more determined to never affiliate myself with EITHER party.

I'm so sick of it.

The Democrats throw every stinking quote and shortcoming from the Republican party back in their faces, overanalyze it and practically proclaim that their party would never do anything that outrageous.

The Republicans scrutinize everything the Democrats do, call them un-American and athiests, and practically proclaim that they are next to God.

• I'm Christian. I do believe that this country was built on faith and that it was a good thing. But we also built this country for the freedom of religion. I believe that goes for Christianity, Muslims, athiests and everything in between.
• I don't think that because I am Christian, I should be shunned or quieted. If I'm respecting your belief/lack of beliefs, I think you should respect mine.
• I believe in the sanctity of marriage. But I don't think it's my business or my place to tell two men or two women that they can't love each other. Because I'm a Christian, I'm also told not to judge others, but instead, to love them.
• I believe that my money should be my money. If I work hard, I think I should be able to do what I choose with my money. Not the government.
• I think ethics are extremely important in a public position, regardless of the capabilities the person has as a politician. If I don't respect you as a person, I'm not going to take you seriously as a political figure.
• I believe that no one should have a say with what I do with my body, especially the government. Every situation and person is different. There is no "one solution fits all" with pro-life and pro-choice situations.  
• I don't think the government has the right to tell me I may or may not use a gun if I feel the need to protect my home and family (this is a new one for me, but when it stares you in the face, it hops you off the fence in a hurry). If someone comes into my home uninvited , I will do what it takes to protect myself and the ones around me.
• I believe that everyone has the right to religion or not have religion.

In conclusion, what I really want from this country right now is the option for C) None of the above on the ballot in November. Maybe America needs to take a breather for a year or two and go looking a little harder for suitable candidates to run this country.

*off soapbox*

Magic Mike

Here's the thing.

I never really had any desire to see Magic Mike. It wasn't a movie that I considered to be on my "must watch" list (although, to be fair, very rarely does a movie make that list for me). But when I was asked out for a "girls" night by my husband's cousin, her mom and my mother-in-law, I said sure, why not.

Look, I'm a Christian. I've read those blogs and articles about how Christian women shouldn't support these types of movies and they're detrimental to marriages. Sorry, I don't get it.

I didn't go to see the movie to "get my rocks off." I didn't go with a pad and pen to write down all the crazy new moves I could tell my husband to try. I simply went to watch a silly movie with some of the women in my life to giggle at a movie that we couldn't giggle at with our men. I bonded with these women over this stupid/silly movie. Doesn't that count for anything?

I think sometimes we take life too seriously as Christians. Everything is not black and white. Me going to watch Magic Mike will not destroy my marriage any more than any other movie with sexual connotations would. And okay, you can tell me that I shouldn't watch any movie like that. For the most part, I rarely watch movies. But let's be real, movies without sex these days is arguably only certain Disney movies. It's part of this culture now, like it or hate it.

It was a silly movie. If a movie destroys my marriage, then let's be honest - the marriage was standing on shaky ground to begin with.

Judge all you want to. But Magic Mike did not make me any less of a Christian. Magic Mike is not harming my marriage. Magic Mike has not changed my views of what I believe to be right and wrong. Magic Mike was a movie to giggle at and make a bunch of women feel like we're teenagers again.

I'm just saying.