possible epiphany

Twice today I was in conversation about my faith. The first time was in an office with 3 female university students who were all cracking jokes about christianity and the conversation was in fun, but the context made me a little sad. It started off talking about how something was "of the devil", then evolved into "I was raised Southern Baptist AND Catholic!", which eventually morphed into hysterical laughter and 2 of them stating that they no longer go to church because of the craziness they were subjected to as children and a third just laughing along. Eventually, I piped up. OF COURSE. I mean, I did silently sit through the first 10 minutes, so give me SOME credit for not being pushy! But eventually, in the midst of the "which denomination are/were you?" subject, I remarked that I am a christian. That's all. No denomination, no religion, no segregated perspective... just a plain ole' christian. They all fell silent. Great.

I said that I feel like the only thing denominations do is divide and that I choose to have a relationship with Jesus on my own - and that He and I get along pretty well.

And all three of the girls completely agreed. At one point shortly after, the conversation had turned to communion - wafers vs bread, grape juice vs wine, one cup vs shot glasses - and one girl said, "you know, I understand all of this christian stuff...I just don't believe in it." A second one agreed. And the third turned to me and said, "Stephanie, have you found a church here in Columbia yet?" I replied no and she proceeded to tell me - and told the whole room - that she and her boyfriend had recently been to a church that I may like, about the service she went to and how that group was organized.

Needless to say, I was impressed.

*****

Conversation two went like this:

Class let out really early today and a small group of us decided to go to supper at a Korean/Mexican* place near the Uni. 5 people, 4 of whom are comp lit majors, and 2 of whom are male. There's one male who is... special... I won't say much more because apparently when I vent on here about people in my life, I end up forgetting and giving them my blog address**. And this story is not about this guy in particular - but I think I should say that he is really smart and I don't know how to interact with him without some social awkwardness***.

So I have no clue what the topic of conversation was at all (which is sad), but this guy turns to me and says: "you don't strike me as the christian-type".

WHAT?

So I was like, "really? why is that?" And he says, "I don't know... I mean... I guess I just never saw you as a christian".

So I am like (to myself), "uh oh"... what kind of christian am I if people don't ASSUME I'm a christian after knowing me for an entire semester??? And I was a little sad, I must admit. Thoughts like, "why aren't you witnessing more?" "how could I have shown my faith more clearly?" and "you are a sorry excuse for a seed-planter" all occurred simultaneously.

And so this guy asks, "well... ARE you a religious person?" and I was like, "ummm... NO."

"But I am a spiritual person who follows Jesus Christ. My life is faith-filled, and most definitely not religious... but I am certainly a christian." He says, "oh, me too - I'm episcopalian(anglican for the canadians) - what are you?" And I was like... dude (in my head)... (and then aloud, I responded with) "I am just a christian - no denominational affiliation, just me and Jesus."

Eventually, he remarked that he thinks that (culturally), christian and 'right wing' are synonymous... and that he did not get the impression that I was 'right wing'... with which I wholeheartedly agreed!

So. I guess if being a socialist, liberal, bleeding heart, eco-loving, green living, utopian scholar in the field of humanities gives people the impression that I am "not a christian", then I will have to suffer those consequences. For now. Of course, now my challenge is to change those assumptions. And to fight the categorization that implies that in order for me to represent christ, I have to represent christianity... I mean, if Jesus wanted his people to imitate other people, He wouldn't have died on the cross to have a personal relationship with me. So I will walk my walk and get to know people -- and let them get to know me... and pray that the Jesus in me - not the religion - will shine through and change hearts.

Just sayin'.

Love and hugs to everyone!

*yes, it was a place that served both Korean & Mexican food... "world famous", with a tower of spam cans stacked on display... the other guy was like, "I'm not sure I really want to eat a Korean burrito!"

** Lydia please remind me to never share my blog with said person, okay?? He may not be as understanding as... say... you... :)

*** those of you who can relate: think Enoch times 2, and about a thousand times smarter than me - not joking. possibly hyperbolizing on the last part, but not by much.

Just Like Mary

So a couple weeks ago I found a recipe in Jazon Mraz' blog that I thought would be worth trying - all the ingredients separately kind of grossed me out, but I was still curious to see what it was like. So... I collected the ingredients this week and tonight got around to attempting this new kitchen adventure.

My post title is dedicated to my friend, QOWP, who is so great at sharing her cooking initiatives with blogland - and her photographs are so mouthwatering. I am not claiming to offer 'mouthwatering' - I mean, I am using my Mac photobooth to take the pic - but I thought I would follow in her footsteps and share with you my final product:

Gross, right? But so very tasty! It's the first time I've actually enjoyed the flavour of dates, haha!

So there you go... this is how I spend my Friday nights, yay! I haven't tried the finished product because I have to refrigerate them for a day or so, but so far I am satisfied with the taste. If you are interested in trying something new, raw, organic, healthy, creative, and quick (minus the chilling), I would encourage you to give this one a shot. :)

Love to everyone ~

xoxo