I was able to hook up with a friend of mine from work, Krasi Ianeva, and her husband, Boko, who are from Bulgaria, and we went downtown in Lexington to see the fireworks. Needless to say, this adventure started a bit late, since it's best if you wait 'til it's dark before you start shooting off those things. So we got downtown and staked out our standing spot around 10PM. We had with us one of Krasi and Boko's friends, Milen, also from Bulgaria, and it was a good time. I was amazed when I looked at my watch and saw that the show had only lasted about 15-20 minutes, because it seemed longer. There was so much packed into such a short time.

After the fireworks, we went to Milen's apartment, where Krasi had started dinner before we left. She is such a good cook! And, yes, we ate at, like, 11PM. Another of Krasi and Boko's friends, Zdravko (also Bulgarian) came over and we all hung out, eating and drinking Heinekens (OK, singular for me), and I got home at around 1AM. I had to be up by 6AM for work, so I was one tired puppy today. But I had such fun, it was worth it.

OK, now for the soapbox. I just finished reading Ashley's blog for July 1st (link above), and was inspired to look up an old book in my library that has a great quote in it. Ashley talks in his blog about how the church treats "disenfranchised" people, gays in particular. I e-mailed him with this quote from "AIDS: Ministry in the Midst of an Epidemic" by Wendall W. Hoffman & Stanley J. Grenz:

"While most Christians find homosexual practices sinful, we must nevertheless consider the extent that current attitudes toward homosexuality in society and in the church actually serve to compound the problem....To what degree are homosexually oriented persons driven to the gay community....because they are unable to find community within the wider society and more specifically within our churches? To what extent have we as Christians been guilty of sinning against persons with a homosexual orientation because of our failure to show love and to offer them the true fellowship they are seeking? The church is called to be a community in which fallen creatures can find fellowship and reconciliation with God and with one another."

Sharing this with you all is not meant to be a condemnation of anyone; rather, it is meant to be an encouragement to those who are reaching out to this group of people who desperately need to know that God doesn't hate them, but desires relationship with them just as He does with all of us. It is also meant to point out just how important this ministry can be. Lives actually hang in the balance, not just eternal lives but earthly lives. I guess I can get off the soapbox for now. If anybody has any comments, go to the discussion board and let's talk about it.

Debi

| posted by #Debi | 7:35 PM | |