Love Wins... But Not With This Argument

After reviewing Erasing Hell I decided to read Rob Bell's Love Wins, the book that prompted EH to being with. Yes, I know. Backwards... but having done so in that order I can completely empathize with EH's authors' motivation to write their book: Love Wins is a mess! 

I appreciated Mr. Bell's passion for his subject and his obvious compassionate desire that no one would end up in hell. Unfortunately, that is all I found to appreciate in the book.


There was a lot to take issue with, especially when you consider how relatively short the book was. Here are the most glaring problems that made me (literally) say "yikes!"

* Blatant cherry-picking of verses out of relevant context

* Flagrant bending/ stretching of interpretations and translations

* Shoddy research scholarship (historical, lingual, etc.)

* Mis-representation of sources (Origen may have written some convenient quotes, but he also argued for complete celibacy even within marriage to the point of castrating himself... representing his opinions as sound and a base for modern faith is a bit of a stretch, don't you think?)

* Straw Man arguments

* Unnecessary and inappropriate insults and slams against other believers

* Unrelated and unhelpful tangents that are assumed or implied to support the point of the chapter

* The raising of extensive, poorly structured questions intended to weaken support for those who believe in hell/ judgment that do not align with a Biblical mindset in any way and are completely inappropriate for anyone with a basic knowledge of the gospel

* Select application of theology only where it suits the purpose of the book (Best example - free will. God loves us enough to let us choose what we want, but somehow it will be impossible for people to ultimately choose hell?)

It is clear from his anecdotes that Mr. Bell has dealt with more than his share of wounded Christians - and that he is one himself. I respect his frustrations over the failings of followers of Christ; selfishness, lack of compassion (and apparently basic social graces) can be horribly painful to endure from those we most expect to be loving. They do not, however, provide justification for manipulating or rewriting the Bible to say what you wanted to hear.

As a commenter pointed out after my Erasing Hell review, there is certainly room for debate on this subject. But no honest or substantive debate could possibly be based on the weak, disingenuous and wishful-thinking argument Mr. Bell has chosen to lay out.

Timely Lessons

Over at the Uncataloged Museum blog yesterday a guest poster shared the lessons she was taking away from the process of leaving her job as a historian and curator. Given a month's notice that her job - along with many others at her financially strapped museum - was being eliminated, she dug in to the challenging but surprisingly rewarding task of wrapping up and handing off her responsibilities.

As she evaluated her time in that position and what she was leaving behind, she made notes to herself on what her team had done well or poorly. What made the top of her list?

• To set and stick to priorities, ruthlessly 
• To cultivate better digital housekeeping habits 
• To always prioritize work on critical documents 
• The true potential of the work blitz 
• The hidden costs of feeling overwhelmed
   

These lessons rang very true for me; I feel like I have been having conversations with people on variations of these themes for a while now. (I've gotten myself locked out of an online account about four times in the last six weeks... clearly my digital housekeeping habits need some work!)

As for those critical documents? Whether it's updating work policies to reflect current challenges or something on the home front like revising your will and insurance policy, most of us have something we're putting off that would bite us if push came to shove tomorrow.

My favorite of her suggestions? The work blitz!

1. Pick one thing that really needs attention - whether it's a long unfinished project, a catastrophically messy office or a the research/prep for something new.

2. Clear your schedule and turn off your phone for a day, maybe even two. Kidnap - I mean invite to join you - anyone you need to help you complete the project.

3. Throw all your energy into blitzing that one thing until it's done and can be wiped off your list with a flourish!

Did any of those lessons strike a chord with you?

What You Don't See on HGTV

Note: this is a bit of a rant, based on the recent experiences of myself and several of my friends. You're welcome to skip reading it or to leave you opinion in the comments, but this was your fair warning.  :)

We don't watch much tv around here, but occasionally while I'm cleaning or quilting I'll catch an episode of something on HGTV as background noise. One of the shows I tend to enjoy is Unsellables, where a professional home stager goes in and helps people who have been unable to sell their homes figure out why and make changes for no more than a couple thousand dollars that will bring in buyers and get them sold.

Sometimes, changes are laughably simple: the first three steps are always clean, declutter and fix the stupid little things (oil squeaky doors, tighten loose knobs, or cut back the overgrown plants outside). Painting over insanely bright wall colors, getting rid of huge furniture crowding a space and putting up new house numbers so people can find the place to begin with are often sufficient to bring in crowds and rack up offers.

Unfortunately, the hardest part about watching is knowing what they aren't showing: all the houses rejected because they needed far more than a weekend and some elbow grease. It's become appallingly clear that there is a tragic disconnect between people's ideas about their houses and their actions towards them. 

To hear people talk, home is the precious command center from which we run our lives and the nest in which we nurture families and friendships.

Financial gurus call houses investments. They appreciate in value and can be strategically chosen and improved to bring a great return on investment when you're ready to move on to the next one.

Taking care of a house should, therefore, be a win-win.

The current reality is a far, sad cry from that ideal. Home sellers blithely check "no water damage" on paper when a simple glance at the poor paint-over job proves the lie. They boast of their new roof, unconcerned about the mis-installed insulation causing the base of the roof to rot out underneath. Sellers install shiny synthetic floors expecting a top dollar return, despite structural or functional issues that will take time, energy and big funding to repair.

Is this part of why the housing market continues to slump? Because buying a house right now is a Catch-22?

Buyers are expected to somehow pay good price for a house and either continue ignoring the core issues themselves until they reach a crisis point, or to find the money to fix it on top of the sale price and hefty taxes, closing fees and moving costs.

I completely empathize with people who don't want to dump tons of money into a home they don't intend to stay in or who counted on the money from their house to pay off the mortgage and fund their next place. But with budgets stretched all around, where is the give here?

Do we assume that every person/ family who has been working hard and saving for years to earn the right to own a home will further cut their standard of living, buy a derelict house and slowly restore?

Do we expect sellers to suck it up and lose money in the sale as payment for their ignorance or carelessness?

I don't know how to fix the current mess, but I would like to offer a simple suggestion to everyone intending to buy, sell or build a home in the future: educate yourself about what really matters and make good choices. 

- Make sure all work is up to code and done right every time. Have the dignity to do things right the first time around, even if it means delaying projects or sacrificing luxury extras somewhere.

- Don't assume contractors will do a good job (or that they have done one just because it looks nice). They cut corners like everyone else. We've had real estate agents flat out tell us they see new construction fail code inspections! Be smart, hold your ground and follow up.

- Learn what to look for and bring someone you trust to help assess if you're not sure. A house's suitability for you doesn't really lie in whether or not it has granite counter tops and two sinks in the master bathroom (my pet peeves from other HGTV shows... lol): what matters is whether or not it is safe and structurally sound for the long haul!

- Don't buy someone else's problem. Make people responsible for what they are trying to sell and their headaches will give other sellers serious motivation to make sure their house isn't a problem to sell.

- If at all possible, start planning to sell your house early (like from the day you buy it) so you have time to invest wisely. You're much better off doing the hard, boring stuff while you're still in the house and can benefit from it than doing a spit and polish routine you'll end up paying for later.

- Finally, take advantage of outside funding! There are many local and state grant programs that help homeowners make upgrades/ do repairs that qualify as environmental or safety improvements. Insurance companies may also offer funds for improving your land or property, especially if it not recently built and therefore not up to current code.


If we each pitch in, wherever we are in the cycle, we can slowly fix this mess our national carelessness had made. What do you think?

Menu Idea Monday

Today's recipe is perfect for a Monday - quick, cheap, easy and so good! Check it out: Crock Pot Honey Sauced Chicken!

Opinion: 

This is a great, fast and flexible recipe. It can be made in the crockpot (it only needs three hours!) or thrown together fast with an easy oven variation. You're likely to have all the ingredients in your kitchen already, which is always a bonus. The house smelled great while it cooked, the food was delicious, and with a little rice and some green beans on the side it was a full, satisfying meal in no time at all.

My Modifications:

I made this one to spec, except that I used (home) canned chicken since that's what I had on hand.

Dietary Mod Friendly?

There's nothing in here that should be a problem for anyone, with the possible exception of soy sauce so this is everybody-friendly!

Cookbook Round-up

I tend to order cookbooks from the library in threes, because experience has proven that so many of them are useless, redundant or full of ridiculously expensive rare ingredients that I usually end up flipping through and immediately sending back 2 out of every 3. 

Sometimes, I'll get a whole string of terrible ones, rant about them on amazon.com and be grateful for the good recipes I have already collected to hold me over. On occasion, however, I get a lucky streak and find several in a row that are great! Having just hit such a streak, I wanted to share my findings with you.

First up: The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever. This is pretty simply put together but it has a bunch of frugal, delicious recipes I haven't seen before - including many dips and spreads that would be perfect for parties any time of year. A lot of these are easily adaptable for a crockpot and most use simple, inexpensive ingredients - something I give high points to! 

Next up: Bubby's Brunch Cookbook. The format on this book makes it easy to read and user-friendly. The author focused on everybody-friendly comfort foods, but avoided being a repeat of other brunch cookbooks. Possibly the best thing about this book is the perfect balance between breakfast, lunch and beverages in here. You'll have no trouble putting together a scrumptious brunch for any occasion with this in hand. 

Surprise Contender: 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know. I've never been a reader of Glamour magazine, but the editors there did a great job putting together this book! With many recipes simple enough for even the most inexperienced cooks, this book is everybody friendly.

Engaging and cheerful, this book acknowledges the realities and needs of modern women and shows you how to make real, healthy and satisfying food that fits your life. Although it's a little more geared towards working girls living in a city, it avoids the mistake of calling for expensive or hard-to-get ingredients. By centering recipes around events or situations in life (Engagement Chicken, He Stayed Over Omelet) the authors make it easy to find what you're looking for and take the guess work out of deciding what's appropriate for a new situation. (Note: This would make a great graduation or wedding gift.)

 Finally: Too Many Tomatoes, Squash, Beans and Other Good Things. Let's cut to the chase: this modest book has made my must-have list! There are no pictures in this book and the page format is not ideal.

But the recipes are simple, direct, and delicious. There are a ton of them, and they don't call for crazy ingredients, complicated cooking methods or a refined palate. Whether you have a bursting garden, got a deal too good to be passed up at the farmer's market or are trying to make the best of what you've been given this book will be your best resource for cooking veggies of any kind.

What's your favorite cookbook?


 

One Down... Three to Go

My husband is very patient, but he's also willing to tell me things I don't necessarily want to hear... like the reality that I need to finish backing and binding the quilt tops I have stacked in the corner of my sewing space before I start any new ones.

I'm not talented enough (or properly equipped with my current sewing machine) to do any fancy quilting designs, so the finishing process is pretty boring and a reminder of all I have yet to learn. Not surprisingly, I tend to avoid it.

He's right of course, however; it must be done. Finishing a quilt so it can go into circulation or be gifted makes me feel accomplished and diminishes the guilt of letting it sit in the corner, so I've started to tackle my stack of UFQ's (un-finished quilts).

The first one is now done and crossed off the list! The Ruby, Pearl and Opal quilt from Moda Bakeshop made using all my pink scrap fabric. It turned out much cuter than I anticipated! (Please ignore the poor photography and the wrinkles. I just washed it and it's hung up to dry at the moment.)

My favorite part of this quilt is the backing fabric. It's a really fun pink plaid remnant someone gave me, and I had just enough to squeak out a backing for this quilt from it! (Not enough for binding though, hence the variegated edging.)

I have three more UFQ's to wrestle into completion before I pick a new project from my Quilts Patterns in Waiting list (currently tacked into a fabulous Pinterest Board here, if you're interested)!

Erasing Hell

Fire. Brimstone. Sinners in the hands of an angry God.

Such used to be the standard fodder for the passionate sermons that blazed from pulpits across America every week.

But anyone who's been to a church in the last couple decades knows that kind of thinking has all but disappeared in waves of effusive praise for God's love, forgiveness, mercy and *gag* tolerance. (Tolerance, by the way, is not in the Bible at all.)

Confronted by what they felt was shaky theology in Rob Bell's Love Wins, Pastor Francis Chan and Professor Preston Sprinkle decided to investigate everything the Bible actually says about hell and what common assumptions on the subject are the result of myth, legend and the natural human compulsion to overlay our mores. beliefs and preferences on any given subject.

The result? Erasing Hell, a compact and powerful book about what we really know, what is speculation and why it matters. Written with complete honesty and compassion by authors who started out searching for the truth and were willing to write what they found - even when it wasn't what they wanted to find - this will be an eye opener and thought provoker for everyone.

Whether you agree with their findings or not, I encourage you to read it, if only for the perspective and excellent literary professionalism they packed into every page.