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Does anyone else have a distaste for "gooey" Christians? You know, those who seem to exude saccharin-sweet spiritual platitudes and can't seem to talk about anything pertaining to the "real world" without making a spiritual connection to it, no matter how obtuse? Those are the ones who can't seem to communicate on a common every-day level about ... well...about most *anything*, without injecting a "praise God" for their new linoleum or upon changing a light bulb, telling everyone about their *wonderful* prayer life while getting stung by a bee, or acting as if they are concerned about the well-being of others while tootling around oblivious to the *needs* of others... I've most often seen "gooey Christianity" in women, but some men are into it as well. While some of these folks may well have that type of personality naturally and honestly believe they are acting in a Christian manner, it just comes across as very phony to me. I think the bottom line for me is that before you start jabbering about spiritual matters, you'd best be making sure that someone's lower level of needs are being taken care of. A simple "I'll pray for you" doesn't cut the mustard if someone is hungry or shoeless. You can't eat or wear words. And when someone anywhere asks a question or begins a conversation, it doesn't automatically signal a "time to witness" dialog. Be real. Be human. Be genuine. Just don't be a gooey Christian...

If I hear another phone message end with "Have a blessed day"... My mother-in-law was fond of the quip "That person is so heavenly minded they are no earthly good."

God inspired a thought in my heart one Sabbath afternoon while on a sabbath hike alone, That was he wanted me to be transparent so the light and love he shines on me could be seen and reflect back to others around me. That kind of transparency is such that my wretchedness would not come between others and God's beauty as i witnessed to others of his glory.

JOHN RUDOMETKIN has died. He was a famous basketball player in Los Angeles in the '70s. I believe he was also an Adventist all that time. When my family and I went to church in 2004 near Weimar, California, we saw him. He taught the Sabbath school class we attended. And the L.A.Times obituary today said he died in the town of Newcastle, California (which is a suburb of Auburn), of chronic pulmonary disease. There was a book written about John Rudometkin entitled "RUDY THE RECKLESS RUSSIAN," telling of his basketball accomplishments. My son, an aspiring basketball player, read that book from cover to cover when he was a teenager.

Aubrey is right - many Asian and Italian dishes are vegetatian or vegan. I would add Mexican to the list as long as beans aren't flavored with lard. Beans are an excellent source of protien an fiber for vegans; although some people don't appreciate the auditory and aromatic entertainment they provide afterwards. Nuts are also an important part of a vegan diet. (Not peanuts - their not really nuts; they are a legume) We were completely vegan for about 10 years. I'd say the most important secret to veganism is variety in your diet. Another big thing is dark greens - spinach, kale, beet greens etc. A good rule of thumb is the greener it is the more nutritious it is. Another secret is to do it gradually. It takes time for your taste buds to adjust to liking all fruits and veggies; and losing your taste for meat.

I'm not completely vegan, but I've found Pinterest to be quite helpful my search for gluten-free, low oxalte, vegetarian recipes. They still require a lot of tweaking to avoid the 100 or so allergens my husband can't have, but thebinspiration is there. Our favorite dishes involve squashes--spaghetti, acorn and butternut. I enjoy lentil soup (a dish my husband can't have). When dining out, we love Indian and Chinese fare. If you'd like a recipe for the oat bran muffins I eat everyday, I'd be happy to share.

IMHO, that would be poor utilization of the time we have left and missing the key message Revelation for the saints. Why spend so much time seeking out the imposter of the Lamb? Follow the Lamb... wherever He goes. Seek Him and you will find Him. We really need to spend our time on the Good News of the Lamb and stop wasting time on finding and understanding the never ending parade of beastly imposters and opposers of Christ.

If there are any other people here who don't eat meat (eggs included), dairy, alcoholic beverages or caffeinated stuff (like chocolate, coffee, teas and various soda products), do you think you can please toss me a few ideas on what I can cook and eat? So far I have found tasty stuff like black bean burgers, pickled asparagus, veggie burritos/burrito bowls and even some veggie noodle dishes that I can eat and enjoy. I found a few other things as well, but I could use more help. I have been a vegetarian for about three months and I often find myself just putting together side dishes and hoping it will taste good. Its not nasty, I just feel like my mind is struggling a bit to adjust to getting creative with fruits and veggies and I want to stimulate my imagination with some discussion here on the forums. If you have any recipes, restaurants, menu preferences from certain places or store items you think I should check out, please share it with me here. I'd really love to know so I can expand my mind on this subject. If you could share images of the dish you're talking about, I would really appreciate that. Images make things 10x more delicious to me than just text.

brotherly love, You believe that Jesus already HAS dominion. Right? But He does not receive the dominion until the Court sits, and that will take place at the END of "time, times and a part" of persecution by the Beast and his Little Horn. After He ascended, following His resurrection, He was made "head over all things to the church". This is NOT YET dominion over the entire earth. Hebrews 2:8 "You have put all things in subjection under his feet." For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him." It's a process, which WILL put "all things" under Christ. But the process is NOT YET COMPLETE. It's kinda like that verse which says the believer "has eternal life". We have it, but we have not YET received it. Right now - we just have the promise. How do I know that? Because we die. And how do I know that Christ has NOT YET received "the dominion"? Because He is not yet reigning within this dimension, on this earth. His enemies have NOT YET been destroyed.

God does NOT simply say, "you can't understand anyway, so just obey". He gives evidence - evidence that we can understand. This ENTIRE painful process began when Lucifer questioned the fairness of God, and His Law. God knew that His created beings would NEED to agree with His "justice" and "fairness" - in order for them to love Him without fear, for all eternity. If it were ONLY ABOUT "God's sense of fairness", meaning that His created beings didn't NEED to agree with His fairness and justice, then there need be no involvement of humans in the judgment process. The whole process has taken soooooo long, because God (for our sakes) needed to demonstrate the outworking of His love, and His Law (or the lack of it) within the experience of created beings. Even unfallen beings needed to see this, because they HAD BEEN contaminated with a "seed of doubt". In order to recover their love, and to keep their love, GOD had to explain Himself to created beings. Jesus was God - sending a message - in terms that created beings could understand. The "judgment" is not about redeemed human beings passing judgment upon other persons. It is ABOUT redeemed humanity, understanding and agreeing with God's final disposition of the "lost". A human being, who has experienced life (with and without) - the Spirit, can look at the record of "works" done by another human being, and judge whether that human being has been treated justly. Having judged thus (for himself), the redeemed one can feel assured of God's justice as well as His mercy.

Great term! I know of one person IRL who does this, and they are a man! There's a lot of gooey Christians on FB though. Many of the gooey ones I noticed were people who seemed "real" when I knew them in their teens, but as adults (especially as parents) they "gooed" with age.

#429 Don't Despair Even if a doctor says there is no chance of recovery, one should not despair. There are an extremely large amount of cases when doctors have given up hope and nevertheless the patient recovered. While it is irresponsible to disregard reliable medical advice when something practical can be done, doctors are only human and are fallible. It is important for doctors themselves to realize this and even when the situation appears bleak, they should realize that while we cannot rely on miracles, medical miracles do occur. Whenever Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin was told that a doctor had given up hope on a patient, Rabbi Diskin would comment, "A doctor has a right to heal, but who gave him the authority to despair?" (Amud Aish, p.158; Gateway to Happiness, p.377)

Oh! Not calling him a hypocrite, just that he would look like one if the same argument was used against him that applies the same conspiracy against others who dont believe the same way they do!! He can overcome!!!

If you want to weild this sword, then you will have to accept the exact same argument used against you. Jewish roots conspiracy theories will accuse you of the same thing, you dont follow the feasts, reject family purity laws..etc.,-you are right out of pagan Babylon and Greece Atheist conspiracy theories will then claim that we all are just paganism repackaged, they claim that almost all the aspects of the old and new Testaments are ripped out from paganism. So if you want to accept this conspiracy, you have no defense against the same conspiracy used against you. You will look like a hypocrite

The following statement will give you some ideas as to where you can obtain information as to free/almost free university courses available to the general public. NOTE: The statement below comes from the August issue of MILITARY OFFICER. The acronym MOCC stands for Massive Open Online Course.

God sees us THROUGH our toughest trials - not around them. The Bible is clear that challenges will come - offenses persecution, grief. The fact that we are here talking about this is indication that He's seen us through the tough times so far - even times we didn't think we could handle. We have survived. Even of we don't survive some future trouble in this realm, maybe God will see us through that trial right through the pearly gates into the heavenly realm.

Thanks for sharing this, Sojourner. It's something that's bothered me for a long time. When I try to explain it to people, they look at my like my head's cut off. Maybe I can share this link and they'll believe it since it's from "Church Leaders" and not just some person in Sabbath School class...

As mentioned several times, "Allah" is simply Arabic for "God". But when considering the Muslim understanding of God with the Christian understanding of God, there are of course differences. However, there are also differences between the SdA understanding of God and the Baptist understanding of God. Does this mean we worship different Gods? Does the SdA who believes that Jesus took on Adam's unfallen nature worship a different God than the SdA who believes that Jesus took on our fallen nature? Does the Western Christian who believes that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and Son (the famous "Filioque" clause) worship a different God than the Eastern Orthodox who believes that the Holy Spirit only proceeds from the Father? Do five-point Calvinists who believe in limited atonement worship a different God than the Wesleyans who believe in universal atonement? At what point does our varying understandings of God depart sufficiently from common ground so that we say one worships a "different God"? This question is of course one of semantics, not substance.

As I noted earlier, it's clear that we mean different things by the term. It makes complete sense to me why you would oppose the things you understand by the term 'socialism'. I oppose those things too. What I'm not seeing is an understanding from you of why I support the things *I* mean by the term 'socialism'.

Historically women and men did not earn equal pay. A huge effort made by *gasp* feminists in the middle of the last century narrowed that gap between the sexes.

Oddly enough...I agree. There is a gap in commitment to work. In my experiences, women tend to be far more committed and work harder than men. Maybe my family and extended families are an exception to the average, but in my experience, women work generally twice as hard as the men.

Actualy, most people would probably have to answer "yes" if they were being honest. Hard as I try not to, I find myself wearing masks. The mask I wear most often is one that changes all by itself - called "political correctness". I wish I would lose that mask.

Many times - and that is how "acquaintances" converse with one another. If a friend asks me in more than passing in the hallway, I will tell them how I am, cuz friends should care; and I should be able to feel "safe" around friends. I'm naive like that. I often pick my friends through the filter of who at least acts like they care about me (even if it's just sometimes); and who I am inclined to care about. If its a match, we're friends.