Haphazard, chance, fortuitous...

..all Synonyms for the word "Random", which I now hate because it's as overused as the words "unpack" and "Excellence" are in church circles oh, and the term "doing life with". SO this is my Monday haphazard, chance, fortuitous post.

Speaking of my hatred for over used words and terms, Why is it that these bother me so? I honestly don't get it but to say it's a pet peeve of mine is kinda an understatement. 

I watched the movie Fire Proof over the weekend. I had never seen it. My Christian friends have raved about it for years, everyone said it was a "must see" movie. They said they cried every time they saw it. The only person who ever said anything honest to me about it was my lovely daughter Evangeline, she said "you will hate the acting, it's really cheesy" my daughter knows me so well. although she did admit to crying while watching it, but even as a 14 yr old, she knew it was not a quality movie.  I appreciate that is was made by a baptist church and all the actors volunteered their time. I also appreciate that Kirk Cameron donated what he would have earned to do it, to his charity that helps abused kids. That is freaky noble and great. I just would have appreciated Christians saying honestly "I think you should go see it so that it will make a lot of money and we can get more Christian movies made but, the acting is horrible, the story neat and predictable and the script is full of cheesy dialogue but it has a good message that we all should support".

I didn't fast over the last 21 days like a lot of people in my church did. I was glad that, for the most part, I didn't hear a whole lot of moaning and groaning from the participants about what they were fasting. But when I did hear it, It was hard for me not to say "there's your reward, me knowing how much your sacrificing by fasting, me knowing how hard it is to do without meat for 21 days, me knowing is your reward. Don't you feel spiritual now?" (see Matthew 6:16-18)

Back to over used terms and words.. Why does every pastor, youth pastor, youth worker use the term, "the next generation" when they are referring to teens and youth? If you look up "generation" in the dictionary, it means;
generation
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: creation, production
Synonyms: bearing, begetting, breeding, bringing forth, engenderment, formation, fructifying, genesis, multiplying, origination, procreation, propagation, reproduction, spawning. 
So our kids, the youth that are alive NOW, are not the NEXT generation they are THIS generation. Semantics? Yea, maybe.

I really struggle with not being a B%^ch. (obviously right?)  Lots of stuff really chaps my hide. But over the last month, every morning, I came upon scripture verses that rebuked, exhorted and encouraged me to not be so B#*chy. For some, being sweet and easy going comes easy, they live each day as if dancing through a field of daisies. I don't ever want to be that way, but I would like to be more balanced.

I'm considering writing a daily devotional titled "A B@#ch free Year". only problem is, I feel sure that would get me kicked out of church.

Comments

agardana said…
Ok, I couldn't pass up the chance to correct your definition. If you look in the dictionary you will find all of these definitions for generation:
–noun
1. the entire body of individuals born and living at about the same time: the postwar generation.
2. the term of years, roughly 30 among human beings, accepted as the average period between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring.
3. a group of individuals, most of whom are the same approximate age, having similar ideas, problems, attitudes, etc. Compare Beat Generation, Lost Generation.
4. a group of individuals belonging to a specific category at the same time: Chaplin belonged to the generation of silent-screen stars.

Therefore, our children are the next generation following our generation. When young people speak of the next generation, they are speaking of the generation to come. It is all in the perspective of the speaker.

I love that you are so open about your thoughts, things you love, things that move you, things that bother you, things that encourage you, etc.
1/31/2011
Carole Turner said…
I did read all that abut I think everything in even the definitions you posted show that if they are alive now, they are not the next generation, they are this generation as far as the way it's often used to refer to our kids. They are not a time span, they are our offspring, our spawn, current generation.

Reading the same thing getting different meanings maybe.

It's over used regardless. :-)
1/31/2011
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