Don't Be So Shallow...Look DEEPER

Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity? What a thought provoking question....
This question forces me to ask myself another....Have I looked beyond the obvious? This question sparks yet another....Is my first impression accurate and true? And again I must ask myself another....Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?

Our first impressions are often incorrect...dig a little deeper before you come to a conclusion about a person, or even a situation. Get to know people and step into their situation and I guarantee you that you're going to see things in a different light than you did when you just glanced at it from the outside. We tend to look at the outside layer of things and immediately develop an opinion, which is quite shallow...things go so much deeper than our initial perception. 

I have met people and the first thing I thought was how beautiful or attractive they were....then I got to know them and after a deeper look their looks dwindled...has this ever happened to you? I have looked at situations and made harsh judgements but after climbing into their position I quickly got a new outlook as I was able to see things from another point of view. 

We are generally very shallow and because of this flaw we miss out on the profound beauty that is hidden just underneath the surface of our surroundings. STOP, slow down, and take a deeper look...you're missing out on the finer things in life. You are overlooking some phenomenal individuals...and you're disregarding some sensational situations that have the potential to enhance your life beyond anything you can ever imagine.  Life is beautiful...even in the most unusual places. 

I believe that we miss out on so much in our life times due to small mindedness and tunnel vision. We must ALWAYS remember that there is a bigger picture...that people only show us what they want us to see...and that we can find something new and beautiful in EVERY situation if we will just look a little deeper...investigate a little longer...ask a few more questions and GET TO KNOW what you didn't know so that you can see what you didn't see before!

Unfortunately due to my pretentiousness and superficiality I missed out on a lot of wonderful friendships and wonderful occasions...But now I have vowed to stop and find the hidden treasures in life, in people, and in you! Please extend me and my life the same courtesy---it may look insane from the outside, but on the inside is a creative work of art and a happily ever after... 

Just Bb

A Portrait of A Religious Bully. "you're so gay"

Pardon me if this seems harsh...but BULLYING in any form is harsh and I refuse to KEEP SILENT!

October is National Anti-Bullying Awareness Month and I am quite passionate about this subject...always have been. I despise seeing someone being beaten up or picked on because some savage feels as if they are superior to them or knowing that each day there is a kid in the hallway that gets shoved down because they are too thin or too fat.  My heart aches for the teen who gets harassed because he's too smart or wears glasses and the child that is ostracized for being poor. These are cruel acts perpetrated by cruel people.  These are our images of "bullying".  Images that are valid, heartbreaking, "discussion worthy".   What about that young person  though, who is tormented with the cruel words of a classmate, a parent, a PASTOR....calling them  faggot or dyke...QUEER...shaming them because they are gay.... telling them they are doomed!  Maybe this vision of bullying is not so.....clear?  Maybe some are blinded to this vision of bullying because it is a reflection of their very own words or actions?  Maybe so.... and just maybe.. MAYBE.. this is a GROUP of people.. maybe a CONGREGATION of people..

SO........what about that faggot, dyke, QUEER.. who is desperate to find a relationship with Christ?  Yes... that one... only to get the left foot of fellowship by the righteous pharisees at the church on the corner.   Yes THAT one.. the one who put a bullet in his head because he couldn't find hope even in the Church.  Or maybe the OTHER one.. yeah you know her, too... the one that you and your fellow cyber-bullying "fellowship" posted all of those articles and verses condemning her to an eternal hell... did you call them an abomination?  The very definition of that word literally means extremely disgusting; something hated and loathed.  Shame on you.. you BULLY!  ...praise the Lord and pass the potatoes, please.....

ALL you "Religious Bullies" who are "standing up" for what is "right" and BULLYING people in the name of Jesus....Guess what?  You're killing people, (you almost killed me) MY Jesus saves... DO the MATH something is off WAY off! Just because you're hitting someone with a Bible doesn't mean that what you're doing is anything less than BULLYING....period

You know, as I was scrolling on FB today I came across a page that was "Christians Against Bullying" ,which is all well and good, BUT NOT ONCE was the LGBT community included in their fight against bullying...This was not a part of  their "vision"....
If you're going to take on a cause, ESPECIALLY this cause, you MUST take the whole thing and become THE SOLUTION and NOT part of the problem... It breaks my heart that people can be so blind to the damage they cause...their "light" shines so brightly that even they can't see--kinda defeats the purpose...don't ya think

Just Bb

......Bullying is BULLYING doesn't matter how you try to disguise it

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no other commandment greater than these.” 
Mark 12:30-31...enough said

Please THINK before you speak....Are you're words bringing LIFE or DEATH??

Mercy....simple

...‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice...Matt 9:13

Today as I read this I recognized a very clear line between the love of Christ and the hate of religion. In the beginning of this verse the  heart of Christ shines perfectly, as the hate of religion darkens the latter. .... Unfortunately Christians have gotten tangled up in religion and it's rituals in hopes of achieving righteousness, holiness and Christlikeness. Christians, being human and all, have a strange competitive spirit when it comes to the Christian walk (I guess we have forgotten that he who is last is first...)..It is this "I have to be a better Christian than you" mentality that is the very breeding ground for religion and pride.

Somehow, the fact that Jesus washed the feet of Judas gets lost in the race to "perfection" During this tournament of pharisees...mercy get's lost...even crucified. I have heard some starchy, tailored Christians say that they will love people, but they refuse to get down in the ditch and "waller" and the truth is it is impossible to get into a ditch to help a broken person without some wallering and getting dirty. I've heard others say, they refuse to hang out with sinners....WHY? Jesus did...He hangs out with you, doesn't He?

I think that we ALL have this line inside of us, and WE ALL cross it from time to time...THANk GOD for mercy. But, ALWAYS remember that just because you never miss a church service, or you fast once a month, or you pray for one hour a day, or you __________ (fill in the blank) does not mean that you are reflecting the heart of Christ....If you are not LOVING people and extending mercy, all of your sacrifices are worthless...You can speak the language of angels, but if you have not love you have become a clanging noisy cymbal, that NO ONE will listen to or come to.Everywhere He went people came because they heard of His perfect love.... People were drawn to Christ, not because of His sacrifices, but because He loved UNCONDITIONALLY!!

You see LOVE and MERCY go hand in hand....you can't have one without the other

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.
 Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners.  But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”
When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”--Matt 9:9-13

People who think that "hanging out with sinners" will harm their "testimony" are DEAD WRONG... Jesus hung out with sinners...WE are the reason that He came!!! 

When you get too "holy" to get in a ditch you better do a heart check... 

When you get too "righteous" to hang out with a sinner you better look in a mirror...
AND thank GOD for mercy

Just Bb