Tina Take 5

Historically, there have been many evil, hateful, stupid, self-righteous, things done in the name of Christianity.  Just because somebody slaps the label on their actions or intentions, does not make it right or righteous.  The devil is constantly trying to confuse and deceive us with something that is counterfeit to what is truly of and from God. 

True Christianity does not…

Oppress the poor

            Matthew 25: 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ^e‘Depart from me, you ^fcursed, into ^gthe eternal fire prepared for ^hthe devil and his angels. 42 For ⁱI was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, ^jyou did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away ^kinto eternal punishment, but the righteous ^kinto ^leternal life.”

Demonize people of other nationalities and immigration status

Leviticus 19:33-34  When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Matthew 25: 41 

Lie and spread falsehoods

            Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.

Spread fear and hate

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Take away food from hungry children

            Isaiah 58:10

¹⁰ and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry

and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,

then your light will rise in the darkness,

and your night will become like the noonday.

Demand that everyone be Christian or be oppressed otherwise

Entitle Christians to think they are better and superior

Philippians 2 ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Take away a child’s free and equal education

Try to overthrow their own government

Romans 13:1-2

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Idly sit by and say nothing when their neighbors are being threatened

Proverbs 31:8-9  Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy.

Threaten

            Leviticus 19:18

A well-known commandment that states, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD”.

Encourage violence

            Psalm 34:14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Make fun of the disabled

Cheat

            1 Peter 3:10

Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.

Steal

Commit Fraud

            Leviticus 19:13

13 “ ‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. “ ‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.

Cause division

            Proverbs 6:16-19

16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

When we as Christians slap a label of “Christianity” onto something that is clearly counterfeit in order to excuse our despicable hate, racist, self-centered ways, what kind of witness are we being to the lost? Call sin for what it is and stop slapping the label of “Christianity” onto deplorable behavior. 

Christianity is:

Loving the lost.

Feeding hungry. 

Standing up for the oppressed. 

Speaking Truth.

Seeking Justice.

Taking care of immigrants, widows, and orphans.

Living in humility.

Serving. 

Washing feet. 

Offering forgiveness. 

Pursing peace. 

Looking beyond our own wants and needs for the sake of others. 

Giving. 

Caring for the sick.

Helping to carry the burdens of those around us.

Spreading the hope and love that is Jesus Christ.

Pursuing Jesus in every aspect of our lives. 

Imagine you walk into your yearly check up at the doctor’s office.  The doctor runs some tests, does a general checkup, and then to your shock announces that you have cancer.  What a terrible thing.  A sad situation.  The doctor then turns to you and says, “well, thoughts and prayers,” and then sends you off as he moves to his next appointment. 

“Thoughts and Prayers?” you say to doctor on his way out.  “But isn’t there something that could be done? Some treatment that could be tried? Chemo, radiation?”

“Well there are some options, but I’m not really interested in doing any of those.  Thoughts and prayers to you though,” says your doctor as he goes on his way. 

Now let’s take this scenario and apply it to our current gun violence situation in America.  School shootings specifically.  They keep occurring time and time again.  Kids are afraid to go to school .  Teachers are afraid to go to work.  What if a gunman walks into the building and starts firing off an assault rifle or some other type of military grade gun that has the capacity to kill large masses of people in a matter of minutes?

“Thoughts and prayers,” we keep getting offered as the children of our nation are being sent off to the slaughterhouse.  Gun violence is a cancer to our nation and the politicians and leaders that are refusing to do anything about it are the reason it keeps happening. 

Just as there are some practical solutions or at least things to try to beat cancer such as radiation and chemo, there are very practical things we could be doing as a nation to stop these military grade killing machines from getting into the wrong hands.  “Commonsense gun laws” is the term.  Make it harder for people with criminal backgrounds to get guns, do more thorough background checks, prosecute the parents who are handing over weapons to their children who commit these murders, and ban the sale of assault rifles. 

Will chemo and radiation stop every case of cancer? No.  Will commonsense gun laws stop every murder? No.  But it will absolutely reduce the amount of children and other innocent lives that are taken every year. Thoughts and prayers are not enough.  God has given us wonderful brains to use for problem solving and this mass shooting situation in our nation is a no brainer. 

It’s time we start holding these politician accountable.  When they are more concerned about getting money from the NRA than the safety of our nation’s children, it’s time to vote them out. 

We are coming up on almost a year since we sold our business The Preschool Box.  I’ve been meaning to sit down for a while and actually write out what all happened and the actual story behind our little business but life keeps staying busy as ever.  I’ve finally found a few minutes to sit down behind a keyboard so here we go. 

I started The Preschool Box (with the help of my wonderful husband Tim) a little over 8 years ago.  I had previously been a kindergarten teacher but decided to stay home when I had my first baby. It was a difficult transition for me going from being a teacher with work friends, a work schedule, a career, etc… to staying at home with a baby everyday.  I missed teaching dearly and I really needed a hobby of some sort to keep my sanity.  After two babies, and during my 3^rd pregnancy, the idea of The Preschool Box came about. I’d have people asking me to teach their little ones or for advice on how to get their little ones learning at home.  I used my teaching skills on my oldest Owen and had him reading by the age of 3.  I wanted to help other parents acquire the skills they needed to be their child’s first teacher. 

              At the time, Tim had been working at a start up that specialized in the platform that subscription boxes used to run their businesses.  With his knowledge of the subscription box industry, and my knowledge of early childhood education, we were able to launch a 12 month subscription box that gave parents the tools they needed to teach their preschoolers the basics of reading and math at home.  Each box contained fun, educational, and hands on learning activities designed by yours truly. 

              We officially launched The Preschool Box just 2 months after our third child Charlie was born (which was crazy by the way). It was a fun, hobby business that gave me a creative outlet.  It stayed quite small for the first couple of years as we learned the ins and outs of running a subscription box and officially being small business owners.  I did not take home a pay check for the first couple of years of the business, but we were running it debt free without ever taking out any loans.  We were running the business out of our home for several years. 

              The business slowly grew and I eventually found myself needing some extra help packing the boxes.  We hired our first part time employee around 2017. After running the business out of our house for several years, we were running out of space and eventually finished off an attic space in our home to expand as workspace for the business.

              Things took a big turn when Covid hit.  As preschools and daycares were closing their doors, we were seeing a huge influx in orders.  Parents were frantically looking for things to do at home with their preschoolers and our little boxes were the perfect resource for many of these families.  Within just a few months of Covid hitting, our business grew 10x.  We could no longer operate out of our home and had to quickly find an office/warehouse space that would accommodate packing such an increase in boxes being shipped out monthly.  We ended up hiring about 5 more employees within a matter of months.  It was a huge blessing to watch the business grow so fast, but also made for a bunch of challenges as we shifted from running a hobby business to an actual small business with employees and a growing customer base.  We eventually launched a second subscription box that was a reading/craft box for kids and we started going by the name Subscription Box Kids.

              I learned a lot about being a business owner and a boss. I also learned a lot about marketing, internet sales, business relationships, taxes, customer service, being a CEO… the list goes on and on.  I had never seen myself as being a business owner, but somehow that’s what I was doing.  I still had three young kiddos at home and balancing the growing needs of the business along with trying to be a present and good mom during a pandemic was not easy.  There were lots of late nights getting work done after the kids had gone to bed and I was feeling pretty dang exhausted.  Tim was always a great help and there’s so many aspects of the business that I could have never done without him. But the business was taking over all of our lives and I was tired all the time.

              Things with the business eventually started leveling off and then slowing down a bit.  Early 2023, we were approached by a company from another state that was interested in purchasing our business.  After some negotiations, we agreed to sell. It definitely felt like a God send with how all the timing and logistics worked out.  We officially handed over the business August 1^st of last year.  I  stayed around for a few months to help with the transition.  It was a strange feeling.  It was sad to see something we worked so hard to build be put into the hands of people we didn’t really know.  It also felt like such a huge burden of responsibility was lifted.  I have no regrets about selling the business and have really enjoyed a much slower (but still somehow pretty busy) pace of life.  It’s nice to see the business we started still successfully continuing on.  “Fly little birdie, fly!” I sometimes laughingly think to myself. 

All in all, this whole experience has stretched me and made me grow in so many ways. I’ve met and worked with some wonderful people, now many whom I call my friends.  I also have a much bigger appreciation for small business owners and the heart and soul they pour into making their businesses be successful. 

So I’ve been trying to lose weight since I had Charlie… which was almost 8 years ago.  It’s been hard, but I finally managed to do it this past year. 

I’ve gone through various phases where I work out really hard, and I eat a little healthier than normal, but nothing really seemed to stick. 

My problem is that I’m a snacky kind of person.  Our kitchen is literally in the middle of my house which means I’m constantly walking through it to get from one room to another.  And I love snacks.  And I love delicious things.  And I have no control over myself if you put a basket of chips with salsa and queso in front of me. 

Several years back right before I got pregnant with my first child Owen, I managed to lose 30 pounds.  Instead of my usual afternoon nap after I got home from a long day of teaching, I decided to start walking on the treadmill.  I would even wear ankle weights under my pants while at school so I was secretly getting in a little bit of a workout while chasing around my kindergarten class.  I gained a little weight with Owen’s pregnancy but lost it all almost immediately.  I thought I was just super lucky or whatever.  Turns out my thyroid blew a gasket and there was actually something medically wrong with me.  I had an overactive thyroid which meant rapid weight loss which was great.  But it was also accompanied by a resting heart rate of 120 bpm, dizziness, and other not so fun symptoms.  After a radioactive treatment I now have hypothyroidism which does the opposite and if not medicated correctly can make it difficult to lose weight.  Anyways, I kind of blamed that for a while for why I wasn’t losing weight. 

This past year, I finally decided to get serious about my health and stopped blaming my thyroid for what was really my unhealthy eating habits.  I was introduced to a free app called My Fitness Pal.  I put in my goal weight, and the app gave me a daily calorie goal to stay under.  Ya’ll… it gave me 1200 calories.  1200 calories felt like nothing.  By the first couple of meals, I was already out of calories before dinnertime ever arrived.  It was rough.  I started having to make some tough decisions with what I allowed myself to eat.  I had to start thinking about food as “fuel” and not just delicious things I wanted to shove into my mouth.  Did I want to eat my calories for the day or waste drinking them by having that 150 calorie can of Dr. Pepper?  The first couple of weeks were really hard and I didn’t feel like the scale was reflecting my hard work.

The nice thing about the app though is if you work out, you can earn some more calories for the day.  And since I like my food, working out has become almost a daily habit.  We have a walking trail literally right when you walk out my front door and cross the street.  I was already walking my dogs about a mile every other day if not more frequently because we have a puppy and she needed to burn some of that naughty puppy energy.  I started walking them one mile, and then would go on another mile by myself after dropping them back at the house.  Eventually I figured since I could walk 2 miles, I’d run at least part of that. So, I started running half a mile, then walking the dogs the other mile.  I am not a runner and have never really enjoyed running, but slowly over time I would add on more walking and running to my routine.  Now after almost a year I can run 3 miles without stopping.  The dogs still get their mile walk in of course. 

After several weeks, the scale did start to show some results and the hard food choices and daily exercising became more of a habit than a daunting task.  I lost 28 pounds in 6 months and am fitting into my “someday” clothes that I’ve been holding onto for years.  It has not been easy, but eating healthier and working out more has become easier every day. 

I am not a person who enjoys lifting weights or really going to the gym in general, but some of the workouts that I do enjoy are walking or running.  I do like doing the rowing machine at our house as long as I’m watching a show and forgetting I’m actually working out.  There’s a super fun cardio dance class at the gym that I do genuinely enjoy.  I have also taken over the yard work at our house and the rental property.  I like to save money, but also you can burn a ton of calories mowing and weed eating.  Workouts that result in a task being accomplished like yard work or any other similar type of workout that feels productive are my favorite kind. 

Now I do have my cheat days here and there, because let’s be honest… life would kind of suck without a few sprinkled in here and there.  Dr. Peppers do make their way into my hand once in a while because sometimes unsweet tea just doesn’t cut it.  Overall once I made healthier eating and regular workouts more frequent, they became habits.  If you are struggling to lose weight like I was, I hope that the app can help you like it did me.  You just have to do it. If I can do it, you can too! 

I did it and I survived.  I went back to the gym for the first time in months.  Summer can be hard to make it up there but also a great excuse not to.  The gym has always been a bit of an intimidating place for me, especially when I feel I’m not at my best physically.  I don’t know what most of the machines there do and it often seems like everyone else there is a pro at them or at whatever workout they are doing.  I typically fumble around and try to pretend I know what I’m doing and somehow manage through.  Today after a couple of months of missing my cardio dance class, I ran out of excuses and forced myself to go.  I stood in the back and fumbled through the motions, but I made it.  And I left the gym better for it. 

I couldn’t help but think that my same feelings about the gym can be so true for people regarding church.  I kept telling myself that I’ll work out at home.  I’ll hold myself accountable, and once I’ve gotten my act together a little more and have lost a little more weight, then I’ll feel ready to show up at the gym.  I don’t want to look like I’m struggling. I want to put my best foot forward. I like to feel and look like I have my act together, but that is usually not the case.

There are people who also share my same gym struggle but in regards to going to church.  The truth is that you don’t have to have your act together to go.  You don’t have to fix those things you’ve been trying to hide before you can go.  Just do it.  Show up.  There’s a good chance that someone sitting a few rows over just cursed at their kids on the drive over.  There’s also a good chance that someone sitting near you is struggling with a porn addiction.  Someone in there is hiding an affair from their spouse.  Someone in there is a gossiper.  Someone else in there has an alcohol addiction.  The church is full of broken, messed up people.  It’s the perfect place for me and it’s the perfect place for you because the truth is that we are all a little broken, and all a little messed up.  That’s the great thing about God though.  He already knows our brokenness.  He already knows how bad we are and despite all of that, he still loves us anyway and he wants to meet you right where you are at.  The good, the bad, the ugly, the messy. 

So if you’ve been waiting.  If you’ve been debating. If you’ve been too intimidated. If you’ve been making excuses. Just go.  Just show up.  And leave a little bit better because of it.

You could feel the heaviness in the air at drop off.  Parents hugging their kids a bit tighter, holding on to them for just a moment longer before sending them off into the school building.  The day after the massacre at Robb Elementary, parents everywhere were putting on brave faces as they sent off their most prized possessions into what used to feel like a safe place, but has now turned into a potential war zone. 

I could never come close to imagining the heartache, brokenness and grief the families are experiencing as they are laying their precious children to rest.  I grieve for them as they left the school empty handed to homes with empty beds, an empty chair at the kitchen table, a pair of shoes left on the floor to never be worn again.  I grieve for the parents who rushed their babies out the door that morning because they were late and didn’t get that last goodbye hug.  I grieve for the parent that snapped at their kid on the drive to school and never got to say they were sorry.  I grieve for the parent who instead of making summer plans, is now making funeral arrangements.  It’s hard to watch all the stories and interviews about what took place.  I find it hard to look at the pictures of the precious lives taken.  But I do.  And I must.  We must remember each innocent face.  We must feel a sliver of the grief these families are experiencing to realize we must do something. 

But what can we do? Pray.  Yes.  Absolutely.  Pray for the families.  Pray for the community.  But also pray for change.  America has become a breeding ground for monsters and we can no longer be complacent with how things are.  I live in Texas.  Sometimes I wonder if I was born in the wrong state, or country or whatever because I often feel like a fish out of water.  Our state is so progun it’s getting ridiculous.  You can open carry just for fun.  What I’ve seen a lot of growing up in Texas is this whole macho manly thing about gun ownership.  It goes beyond just the have a gun to protect your family.  It’s become a whole identity for people.  People who feel the need to parade around open carrying their weapons need some mental help in my opinion because it’s typically to feel cool, intimidate others, or perhaps overcompensate for a lack of something in their pants. Moving on. 

I do not think that we should ban all guns.  I absolutely 100% think we need to ban assault rifles.  At the very least, stop making them. Stop selling them.  When has a civilian even needed an assault rifle to protect themselves or stop a bad guy with a gun?  You’ll have those who will say well I could have stopped it if I were there with my gun.  Well guess what?  You.  Weren’t.  There.  And you won’t be for the next school shooting or the one after that.  Even the cops have a hard time taking down these shooters because they have military grade equipment.  We as average citizens should not be able to out-gun our own law enforcement.  The security guard at the grocery store shooting in Buffalo shot the gunman, but it did NOTHING and the security officer is dead. The gun problem is not solved by more guns.  Unhinged, evil, people are purchasing these mass killing machines so easily.  We have to make a choice on what we value more.  The lives of our precious children or our “rights” to own any type of mass killing machine we choose because our 2^nd amendment says so.  Your freedoms should never trump the safety and well being of others. 

We are raising our children in a scary time.  We sat down with our 9 year old and 7 year old the night of the shooting.  We didn’t want to tell them about what happened. We didn’t want to scare them, but we worried the things they may hear when they went back to school the next day so we very much glossed over any specifics and just told them there was a shooting at a school far away from here.  The gunman is dead and we don’t have to worry about him.  The truth is we don’t have to worry about him.  But there are hundreds even thousands of potential other “hims” walking amongst us with deadly weapons easily accessible at any given moment.  My five year old who still puts his shorts on backwards half the time is being taught at school how to hide and what to do in case of an active shooter.  “What if I’m in the hallway?” “What if I’m in the potty and can’t get to my classroom?” Explaining to my children how to stand on a toilet and hide in a stall from a shooter is something I never dreamed of having to tell my kids.  “If you hear sounds that sound like a bunch of popping balloons, run the other direction and hide.”  What are we doing America? Why are we allowing our children to grow up in a society that values their gun freedoms over the lives and protection of our children. 

It’s time our lawmakers start taking these issues seriously. I pray that the conviction of the Holy Spirit take a hold of these politicians and law makers that are more concerned with lining their pockets with money from the NRA and other pro-gun lobbyists and start taking the gun epidemic more seriously.  We need stricter gun laws.  We need more rigorous background checks.  We need to stop selling military grade weapons and protective gear to civilians.  We need to stop pretending that Jesus was some machismo, gun toting dude that would care more about his right to bear arms than to stop the plague of violence against our children.  Jesus doesn’t care about your dang guns and your dang rights. 

From a Texan who wants to see her children survive elementary school. 

Dear Governor Abbott,

I am a mother of 3 and working mom. This past year we made the tough decision to keep all 3 of our kids home and do virtual learning through our school district. With so much unknown about the Corona virus, we found it in the best interest and safety of our children to keep them home. That was not a decision that we took lightly. This past year has been extremely difficult for all of us trying to balance the countless zoom calls and assignments while trying to manage my husband and I’s work schedules.

I have to say that I am very impressed with how well our school’s managed to safely allow students to return to the classroom this past year with their many safety protocols such as social distancing, temperature checks and most importantly masks. These protocols have helped keep the kids at school as safe as possible and have stopped I’m sure what would have been countless outbreaks of the virus.
Being comfortable and reassured with how well the school has done keeping the spread of the virus under control, we made the decision to send our kids back to in person school this fall. BUT, then YOU decided to recklessly and negligently not allow schools to mandate masks. There is proof that masks help control the spread of this virus. All the dang hand sanitizer in the world isn’t going to stop a virus that is AIRBORN.

I’m just trying to wrap my head around such a reckless decision. Adults can get vaccinated, yes. But children under the age of 12 CANNOT. You are leaving our unvaccinated children open to a known deadly virus when you can implement a simple safety protocol that would help protect them. WHY would you not do everything in your power to protect our kids? I’m so sick and tired of people like yourself being more concerned with politics than people. Our children deserve better than this. They deserve to go to school in a safe environment. Parents deserve to send their children to school without worrying each day while they are there if they are being exposed to a virus that could potentially kill them or disable them for the rest of their lives. You claim to be pro-life, so start acting like it.

I am begging you to take a stand for our kids. Mandate masks for at least the grade levels that are not eligible for the vaccine yet. It is the most responsible thing you can do to protect our children.

Signed,
An Exhausted Mother Who Wants to Protect her Children

Dear 2020,

Don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.  But seriously, I think most of us agree you can go ahead and leave now.  We are ready to turn the page in this weird chapter that has been the last year. 

-Sincerely,

A very tired working, virtual teaching, mom

2020 has definitely felt lonely at times.  Being as socially distanced as we have been has been difficult and often isolating.  It’s hard to not feel like an outsider when it seems so many around us have continued on with semi normal lives.  There’s been a lot of heartache and grief for so many. I’ve seen loved ones lose beloved friends and family members. I’ve witnessed marriages ending in divorce, families being ripped apart, loved ones losing their jobs, and homes.  It’s hard at times to remember that this is just a season.  Seasons come and seasons go.  I think we are all ready for this season to go.  It’s my hope and prayer that 2021 is a new season.  A season in which we love a little harder, give more grace, have more patience, and show more compassion to the world around us.  You never know what heartache and pain someone may be hiding behind their mask.  The waitress you were just rude to may be struggling to pay past due rent.  The person you just cut off in traffic may be driving to a loved one’s funeral.  The customer service associate you just screamed at on the phone may be in the middle of an ugly divorce.  Imagine if we assumed that everyone we interact with on a daily basis is dealing with some invisible battle and we may be the one positive interaction in their day that gives them a little glimpse of who Jesus is.  What a year 2021 would be if we all made the decision to display undeserved grace and compassion to each other.