The Creativity of God

Here's a thought provoking post on racisim by Stacy McDonald, co-author of Passionate Housewives:


"I used to manage apartments (years ago) and when we would do any type of advertising or brochures, we were required to have X number of black people, X number of white people and an Asian or Hispanic person for good measure. This seemed so silly to me. If the person who owns the property is white and the majority of the people in that area are white, why should they be "afraid" to use white people in the ad? If it would have been a black neighborhood, they would have had no problem at all using all black people in the ad, so what's the difference?

In the world of "political correctness" there seems to be more of a tolerance for every color BUT white. If you are white, sometimes you feel like you have to either apologize for being white or "prove" you are not a racist by meeting your quota or by listing all the multi-racial friends you have. To me, THAT'S a racist attitude. Why pay so much attention to race that you even find it necessary to do such a thing? Why count?…

Let us state for the record, that we are NOT in agreement [with any form of racism] and are in fact vehemently opposed to any teaching that requires “racial purity” or separation based on skin color or any other "outward" characteristic.”

That was what we said then, and that is what we say now. Racism is wrong. And personally, I think the “politically correct” obsession with race is wrong too. If you are a Christian, you are my brother or sister. I should not care beyond that.

It wasn’t too long ago, when we still lived in Houston, that I left some items at a grocery store. I quickly returned to the store and tried to figure out which lane I had used to check out. I remembered the cashier and recalled our entire conversation. I was counting on the fact that she remembered me too, since I couldn’t find my receipt! The funny thing was, when I went to the customer service counter for help, and the employee asked me for a description of the cashier, I couldn’t give her one.

Getting frustrated, she asked me if my cashier had been black or white. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember! I began to tell her about the conversation we had – about the fact that she had a son in the military, she went to a ladies Bible study near the mall by my house, and how she was going to be working until midnight that night. Those things I remembered well. They finally were able to figure out who my cashier was, but the whole experience made me think.

This is how it should be. We shouldn’t be paying so much attention to skin color. We should notice more about the person and what’s important in their lives – who they are and if they are in Christ.

Relax and forget about such things. Enjoy your brothers and sisters in the Lord without concerning yourself with race or color. Remember that whatever package God gives us – it’s for His glory! Praise Him for His creativity!"

Read Stacy McDonald's complete post about racism here.

Financial Shape in 2008 Challenge

As I did some last minute shopping before Christmas I was amazed as I watched other people around me. Looking in their shopping carts or baskets I wondered how long it might take them to pay off those items in 2008. I was reading a post on Money Saving Mom's blog a few days back. Crystal was sharing about her Financial Shape in 2008 Challenge:

"Would you like to live on less, pay off debt, and save more money this year? If so, join in the Financial Shape in 2008 Challenge - a year-long campaign to encourage families worldwide to live on less than they make and take personal responsibility for their finances.

The first area of the Financial Shape in 2008 Challenge is committing to get on a successful, workable budget.

If you've never successfully lived on a budget before, never fear, you can do it! Over the next few weeks, I'll be walking you through how to set up and implement a written game plan for your finances. This is something my husband and I committed to do before we were married and it was about the best decision we've ever made! It has saved us so much money, so much stress, and so much time."

Read Crystal's complete post here.