“They judge me before they even know me.” -Shrek

I was watching the movie Shrek tonight and I realized in watching it that is entirely based on the characters caring about what the other characters thought of them. I think many people feel this way, myself included. We worry about what other people think, that we made the wrong impression on someone whatever. I try to not care what other people think of me, but I’m not always good at it. I worry about if other people like me, what they think of me, all of that. However, I came across this quote that I’ve really been liking lately.

“Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your own weakness.”

I think that part of my weakness is that I care too much about what other people think about me. I worry that people judge me before they get the chance to really know me. I forget that it doesn’t matter what other people think about me, all that matters is what I think of myself and what God thinks of me. God loves us. All of us. So much. He can do so much good through each of us. Shrek wanted to be by himself because he felt judged, he felt unloveable. He was unable to recognize his own beauty because he was too busy trying to hide himself from the world because he felt so judged that he didn’t want to let anyone in. He didn’t want to be vulnerable. Shrek didn’t want to put himself out there and risk getting hurt. I do that a lot more than I should and I know a lot of other people who do that too. They put up walls so high that no one could ever get in. But God tears down all the walls. With God we can truly be vulnerable, truly be ourselves. We don’t have to worry about what God thinks about us. God loves us unconditionally, no matter what, just the way we are. We don’t have to try to impress him, don’t have to try to be the funniest, the coolest, the smartest. With God we can tear down the walls, be ourselves and be open to the love of God. God’s love is always there, so why not be open to it and accept it with open arms?

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While avoiding doing my homework earlier, I ran across this article in which a young man** wrote thirty things he believed.

I believe life is good.

I believe God is in everything.

I believe we’re all equal.

I believe we can help people.

I believe everyone is weird in their own way.

I believe hate is a cause for love.

I believe that when I meditate I feel peaceful.

I believe we should be generous.

I believe brothers and sisters should be kind to each other.

I believe kids should respect their parents.

I believe I should not whine.

I believe people should wake up early.

I believe people should go outside more.

I believe in nature.

I believe people should use less trees.

I believe we should help the Arctic and rainforest animals.

I believe people shouldn’t throw litter on the ground.

I believe people should not smoke.

I believe God is in good and bad.

I believe in magic.

I believe people should not give up.

I believe love is everywhere.

I believe that God helps us to have a good time.

I believe we live best in a community.

I believe we can protect people in danger.

I believe we should help the poor.

I believe it’s OK to die but not to kill.

I believe war should not have started.

I believe war should stop.

I believe we can make peace.

**This “young man” is seven years old.

Story and Audio

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This past year I found out my former roommate lied to me about a boyfriend that never existed, death threats she was sending to herself, terminal brain cancer that also never existed, and who knows what else. When I tried to meet with her to try and make it all better, start again, forgive her to her face, she said no, she didn’t want to see me because she didn’t think she could explain why she acted the way she did.

What I was to do with the situation now was a tough decision for me to come to. I had been hurt by this girl, not only through these lies that, at the time, made me pour out a lot of emotion and sympathy, but also through the pain she put me through when she made the other girls on my floor hate me and other such things. I had advice coming from everyone I talked to. Punch her in the face, tell her you can’t be friends, try to help her, ignore her, get as far away from her as you can, and many other suggestions. While I felt I had been hurt by this person enough and I didn’t want anything to do with her, I also felt the need to reach out to her. She was obviously in pain of some sort on her own that she would make up these lies and do things to turn people against each other. I kept hearing “Jesus wouldn’t give up on her and neither should you.” I decided that I couldn’t be her friend anymore and told her so; I haven’t heard a thing from her since. While I felt it was the right decision for my emotional and spiritual sanity, I also felt guilty about giving up on her. This song came on yesterday that brought back the memories of the whole situation.

As you push it up through the soil,
I will shake your filthy hand.
You may be dead to me but that don’t mean we can’t be friends.
Now it’s time to get over this,
Long as it’s clear you understand,
That I will never trust a single thing you say again.
Because the judge of you is someone I could never be,
Is why you should thank the Lord that it is Him, and it’s not me.
Don’t give up, it’s not the end,
There’s hope for every fallen man,
To pick themselves up when they think they can,
Because with every passing second comes a second chance.

You stole so much from me and there is nothing left to take,
Save a hard learned lesson on how to not make the same mistake.
And you may be delirious but that is something that will fade,
After you confess that this mess is all something that you made.

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WHAT: Life Night How to Wrestle an Alligator
WHEN: Jan. 18th, 2009
TIME: 1:30pm-5:30pm
WHERE: We will car pool from St.Cletus to Immaculate Heart of Mary in New Melle
PICK-UP: 5:30pm St.Cletus parish hall
WHO: All High School Students
Questions: Call Bob at 314-623-5258 or email hamer@saintcletuschurch.org

permission-slip-how-to-wrestle-an-alligator

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I found this via ThinkChristian.net, where I find a lot of good stuff to think about regarding Christianity.

Penn Fraser Jillette of the world famous comedy/magic act Penn and Teller is as devout an atheist as one could be, and has been for quite some time. However, after one of his recent shows, a gentleman walks up and gives him a copy of Psalms. Penn talks about the incident on his YouTube channel, saying,

I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there is a Heaven and Hell and people could be going to Hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that, well, it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward … how much to do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? I mean, if I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe it, that that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that. …

It got me to think about evangelism in a whole new light. I’ve always been a bit weary about it, for fear of offending people, or insulting them, but this quote, this video, really has me thinking: do I need to tell people a little bit louder that that truck is coming their way? What do you think?

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