A Baby?!?!

Well, I hope you read this post and don't jump to conclusions. I thought the title might entice some of my readers. Ha ha. Tony & Jenn are expecting their first baby. Yeah!! Congrats to them. This will be Mom's first grandchild. Now I can call her "Granny." ha ha. She'll love that. Anyway. That's the big news in our family.
I am going paintballing this weekend for a friend's birthday. I have never done it before. I am a smidgen concern about the pain. I will be sure to post pictures and my comments. Saturday night we are getting together with some friends we haven't seen for quite a while. We are going to Olive Garden. :-)

I feel like I am getting sick. I have had a sore throat the last couple of days. Did you know that a sneeze can travel up to 100 ft? It's no wonder I am sick. We had an inservice on communicable diseases. Interesting. I think that I could definitely turn into "Monk" if I thought about it for very long.

Have a great weekend.

Freedom

I visited the NURFC over the weekend. This is the second time I have been there. I find that my mind is overwhelmed with a multitude of thoughts and reactions. Everyone, especially if you live in the tri-state area, should visit at least once. It gives you quite a shocking glimpse into history.

My initial thought is: How could an individual treat others like this? I stand in the Slave Pen, a structure similar to an old log cabin. This sturdily built pen was originally used as a warehouse to store as many as 75 slaves being moved further south for sale. My mouth goes dry. My stomach feels like it is tied in knots as I think about the atrocities commited against African Americans.

The answer to my question is sadly, people didn't know any better. 11 out of the first 15 presidents all had slaves. Ministers and religious organizations supported slavery. It was their way of life. How could so many people be so blind? How would it feel to be a slave? to be in bondage? We cannot even image that here in America. I can't even wrap my mind around the concept. We live in a society where everyone trumps individual rights.

So, what would you have done? If you were a slave, would you have had to courage, determination, and stamina to fight for your freedom? To run. To hide. Cold. Alone. Hungry. Who could you trust?

Or what if you were raise in a family that had slaves? Your church believed in it. Your family encouraged it. Would you have been able to even see the truth? Would you have had the courage to think for yourself? To logically wade through all the opinions and lies to find truth? Those who stood up to society and religious groups were amazingly courageous, as well.

The struggle continues. Racism. It is still here. Even, or may I say especially, among our holiness movement. "Red and yellow, black and white - they are precious in His sight." Do we really believe that? Is it head knowledge? Or do we live and practice it? Would it bother you if your friend married a different race? Or your son or daughter? I do believe that there would be various cultural issues to discuss and understand. But, unequally yoked in the Bible certainly does not refer to "race." We have come along way...but there is still much ground to cover. "Unfreedom" is active in the world today, and continues to appear and spread in new and more virulent forms, often wherever conditions allow. The six forms of unfreedoms are: racism, illiteracy, genocide, hunger, tyranny and slavery (R.I.G.H.T.S.)."

On a positive note:
Wesleyan Methodism finds its roots in the American Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). In the early 19th century slavery began to be an issue in the church. The AME chose to have a neutral position. Abolitionists were refused membership and shunned for their views. It was due to espicopal church polity and the social issue of slavery that Wesleyan Methodists pulled out of the AME. Thankfully those are the "roots" of my church. Years later when there was talk of a Welseyan Methodist merger with the Free Methodists.... out of this came Bible Methodists, NY Pilgrim Holiness.... and four other conservative groups.

Enough is enough. Maybe more on Freedom later. :-)