Random Weekend

This past weekend was about as random as they come. Saturday I ate some bad Jack in the Box and spent most of the day in bed. Later that night I met up with my friend Natalie who was visiting from Canada for a conference. We were joined by her friend Lauren. Natalie's mom, Lauren's husband and Mr. Case were all there, too. We ate at Mi Cocina (the only decent Mexican food in all of Texas, trust!) Here I am with Natalie and Lauren:

On Sunday I worked check-in at the nursery in church. Yikes! I'm skeptical I would cut it as an actual teacher. After church Mr. Case and I headed to the Dallas Convention Center for what we thought was a car show. We were so very, very wrong! It turned out to be a hip hop concert with some cars. And not just any cars, but pretty much the most ghetto vehicles you could imagine. It might as well have been called the "donk show." Ha! (If you don't know what a donk is, click here and see definition #2.) The fashion sported by most of the concert goers was unlike anything I have ever seen! I was not the only pregnant woman there but I was the only one not wearing visible thong underwear or full-body stockings as maternity wear. Some people have no shame!

Possible Mom-Mobile?

Gotta love snakeskin!

The foam oozing out of the seats was icing on the cake

Headlining artists, of course I have no clue who they are!

Nipples on your hood = classeeee (poor Mr. Case didn't want his photo taken!)

Church Overload

Today immediately following church we went to a luncheon for people considering joining the church. Mr. Case has a few issues with the church that he needs to resolve before making a commitment, and I respect that. Joining a new church is a big responsibility and shouldn't be taken lightly.

They served Waldorf salad sandwiches and turkey rolls. We're pretty picky eaters so we mostly left hungry, lol. This is an anti-mayo household!

After church we went to a CVS Minute Clinic. Gosh, I really love being the face of the uninsured in America! <---Sarcasm.

But really, it wasn't that bad. Certainly no worse than if we'd gone to a walk-in clinic and certainly cheaper!

After a quick dinner at Sonic (yuck) we went to "small group." The group wasn't small. The host home was packed and they had to hire three babysitters to accommodate the 11 small kids and babies. When we said we wanted to meet people our age, the pastor didn't disappoint. Most of them seemed to be in the same phase of life.

But now, it is late and I'm tired. 5 hours is a lot for any activity, especially one that requires as much thought was worship.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Yesterday I finally got a haircut. There will be a picture on the family blog when I get Mr. Case to photograph my belly tomorrow (4 days late but I am an admitted Hot Mess.)

A New Home?

Someone on The Bump sent me a private message telling me about a church she loves so much, she drives 30 miles to attend. If you knew the area, you'd know that is saying a lot.

On Sunday we decided to try it out. It's only a few miles from Mr. Case's job so we knew it was possible to attend regularly.

Here is where lightening strikes me down: we pulled up and were like, "Uh, Whiskey-tango-foxtrot?!?" Neighborhoods go from suburban to rural, quick, and we were shocked to be driving amongst cows and horses. Then (then!) we pulled up to...a barn.

Our first comments (jokes?) were not too Christian-like. They weren't awful or mean-spirited, we were simply surprised because the place was so small. The website is really nice and high-tech so we were expecting another one of the area's "super churches." Congregations numbering the thousands are the norm and this was the opposite.

God was quick to remind us of our foolishness. 

The church was awesome, amazing, even. The people were some of the nicest I have met in my entire life. We are going to go back next week. The pastor introduced us to a woman our age who hosts small group and she said she'd email or text me. She hasn't yet so I hope that isn't a sign. I could really use the encouragement of hearing from her.

I really hope this place works out.

Say WHAT???

Remember when I said I was going to email the pastor of the church and tell him I found his remarks about another religion to be inappropriate? Well I was taking my sweet time because I wanted to make sure I said things in an effective and helpful way, not in a lashing out way.

So a few minutes ago I find myself on the monster known as Google when I discover a website that reviews churches. Boy, people had some harsh things to say about this church and specifically the pastor. I was trying not to let that influence my pending letter and I moved onto the church's website.

Sadly, I was not surprised to learn that there is no way to contact the pastor directly. In fact, he seems to have effectively set up a system of handlers, much like a celebrity would. All good is welcome, anything critical (even if constructive) doesn't have a place.

Then...then! A particular section under the "FAQ" caught my eye. Here it is:

"Why can't I sit on the front row?"
We reserve the front row for our staff and ushers, we also do so for security reasons.

Homey say WHAT??? Just, yuck on so many levels.

So are the ushers and staff more important or revered than the other parishioners? Exactly what must one do to become worthy? And furthermore, what security threats are present, exactly? Clergy are not celebrities. I don't really understand how a church in the middle of basically nowhere has "security threats." And if they do, what is it that is so salacious about the pastor that he is eliciting such threats?

When your pastor is unapproachable, when you can't talk to him, email him or speak to him without going through a screening process, there is a problem. This is the land of the BIG CHURCH. It is not uncommon to see more than a thousand people at each service. But that's just not for me. I don't want to be a number or a face in a crowd. I want to be a part of an organization that knows me, knows my family and most importantly, knows me because they want to. Initially I was drawn to big churches because I thought there would be a lot of opportunity but I am seriously re-thinking that. I'm really glad we won't be attending there anymore-it is looking more and more like some bizarre cult. OK, maybe that is extreme and I'm watching too many documentaries. Whatever the case, we will not be going back and I will not be seeking out a path to communicate with the pastor and his wife.

A Follow-Up

As you may recall, we found a new church that we really liked. That said, we were on the fence about returning because the lead pastor had made a comment that we felt was derogatory towards another religion.

Since we were supposed to meet some new friends for dinner after the next service, we decided to go through with one more visit.

Lo and behold, during the opening commentary, the pastor's wife made the same, stoopid joke.

Mr. Case elbowed me and whispered, "Enough is enough. We're done here."

Truth be told, we did attend a third time. On Christmas Eve we went and brought my family simply because we really wanted to go to church and it was the only place we knew of and were certain of the special service times.

Needless to say, we won't be returning. If our friends ask, we will likely explain why we don't feel comfortable attending. And in the meantime, I am definitely going to email the pastor and let him know that the joke shared between him and his wife is tasteless at best.

I know it is not my place to judge the pastor and his wife, certainly as a Christian I should know better. But at the end of the day I feel the joke itself is un-Christian-like and I can't buy into someone's sermon if I disagree with them on an issue such as this.

The good news is, you can throw a pebble and hit ten churches so it shouldn't be too hard to find someplace new. Frankly, we're excited to start looking!

Rubbed the Wrong Way

Mr. Case and I were adamant that we would find a new church. Readers of my prior blog know how important it is for us to have a church home.

A new business acquaintance of Mr. Case's invited us to church with him. He was undecided if he'd be attending because of a prior arrangement so we decided to go one time beforehand since we had the service times and it was conveniently located to our house.

The service was great! We liked the message, the music was tolerable and they even had a cute Christmas skit performed by some of the members. I could definitely see myself attending here in the future, until....

At the very end of the service, the lead pastor was inviting everyone who was new to fill out a little card so they could get to know you. The church is growing in size and so they were offering a "VIP" parking ticket and a cookie from a local bakery. (The VIP thing seems arrogant but I was all in favor of the cookie!) Here I am rambling so let me get to the point: in his closing remark he made a rude reference to another religion.

The religion he mocked is one that gets a lot of heat. It just so happens I have quite a few friends congregants of this faith. They don't need me to take up their cause but I bristled at the remark.

Most people probably wouldn't have even noticed, or maybe even understood the slight, but let's call a spade a spade: he was getting a dig in! The insult was mild/tame but it didn't sit well with Mr. Case and I.

I equate it to politicians who try to get votes based on blasting the shortcomings of their opponents rather than their own strengths. I have no respect for people bashing other people's faiths. If you want me to believe what you believe, than convince me by teaching me your faith.

So here is the thing: we are supposed to attend tomorrow night with Mr. Case's friend and his wife. I'm feeling really, really torn about this because on the one hand, we loved the church. On the other, if the pastor does something inappropriate should I, as a Christian, forgive him and give him a second chance, or is something like a rude comment a sign of something bigger that can't be overlooked? I'm tempted to email him to let him know that as a first-time visitor, I took offense to his comment because it was ignorant.

You can throw a pebble and hit five churches here so it is not like we're desperate. But it would be nice to meet people and this is our only invitation thus far.

What would YOU do?