The way to Hell is littered with Starbucks cups

I recently read an article in the Pacific Union Recorder written by the Union President, Tom Mostert. I was actually incensed enough to write the following response to the editorial staff. I'd be interested to know what you think. Please join in the discussion!

I grew up in the Adventist Church, and attended Adventist schools from kindergarten through college. I went to church every Sabbath unless I was ill. I didn’t smoke, drink, or wear jewelry. I examined package labels and shunned any snack containing lard (no matter how tasty it looked!). I didn’t wade in the ocean past my knees, read non-religious books, listen to non-religious music, play non-religious games or watch TV on Sabbath. I was a model Pathfinder, I sang in the church choir from the age of 9, and I ate just about every product that Worthington and Loma Linda ever made. I read the Bible all the way through several times, read Ellen White and even fasted and prayed for a day when I was 12. I was a good kid – got good grades, had nice Adventist friends, loved and respected my parents, and got along well with others. Mine was a traditional Adventist upbringing.

Thanks to my early instruction by pastors and teachers like Pastor Mostert, I grew up believing that I had to behave correctly or my sinful behavior would separate me from God. And in spite of being a “good girl” I was terrified at the prospect of the Second Coming, knowing I wouldn’t be good enough to qualify for salvation.

It wasn’t until I became an adult that I came to understand that salvation isn’t earned – and that relationship guides behavior, not the other way around. In time, I realized that if I am faithful in maintaining my relationship with God through time spent in prayer and in the study of His word, my lifestyle is informed – and reformed – by that relationship. When we accept Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, we cannot help but want to express our love and gratitude by living a life that is pleasing to Him.

Pastor Mostert’s article “0+0+0+0=0” was extremely disheartening to read, and is a good example of why so many intelligent believers have left our church. It is downright insulting for him to suggest that Adventists whose beliefs and/or practices differ from his own have modified their faith purely to suit their own convenience, thus insinuating that there are no legitimate reasons for differing from “traditional” Adventist teachings. Can he truly be claiming that it isn’t possible for Adventist believers to come to a new understanding of their faith through a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ?

There are so many confusing statements and blatant errors of understanding in his editorial I can hardly begin to address them: how does one “practice sanctification only in general terms” (we are left to suppose he must be referring to those who do, say or think things with which he doesn’t personally agree)? In what way does drinking coffee – or even wine in moderation – amount to zero incorporation of the Adventist health message (how does one deviation = zero incorporation)? Since when are all Christians called to be evangelists – what happened to the idea of Spiritual Gifts, and the illustration of the church as a body with different parts which complement each other? And how does the investigation of Ellen White’s authority as a prophet eliminate serious consideration of her writings? Pastor Mostert’s statements reflect a clear bias and a troubling lack of discernment.

The importance Adventist Christians place on the study of the Bible is one of the more admirable aspects of our denomination. In Mysteries of the Bible (p. 707) Ellen White reminds us that seeking new understanding of the Scriptures is vital to our spiritual growth: “When no new questions are started by investigation of the Scriptures, when no difference of opinion arises which will set men to searching the Bible for themselves, to make sure that they have the truth, there will be many now, as in ancient times, who will hold to tradition, and worship they know not what."

Mrs. White makes it clear that our understanding of Biblical truth – both as individuals and as a church body – should continue to grow as we draw closer to our Savior: “new light will ever be revealed on the word of God to him who is in living connection with the Sun of Righteousness." (Counsels to Writers and Editors, p. 35.) In Christ’s Object Lessons (pp. 130, 131) she writes "the old truths will be presented, but they will be seen in a new light. There will be a new perception of truth, a clearness and a power that all will discern.”

The faith vs. works debate has been raging within the Adventist Church for well over a century. Undoubtedly the most well-known example in our church history is the 1888 General Conference session in Minneapolis. Staunch traditionalists G.I. Butler and Uriah Smith upheld that obedience to the law was essential to salvation, opposing Jones and Waggoner and Ellen White herself, who had changed her stance and accepted the “new light” that salvation was obtained by grace through faith alone. The Shut Door teaching is another example of an about-face in Adventist theology. If a prophet can be inspired to change her opinion on such vital issues, it stands to reason that we as individuals and the church as a whole should be willing to investigate our faith – and even change our “traditional” stance – as the Holy Spirit leads us to new understanding.

Pastor Mostert seems to be firmly entrenched in the Butler and Smith camp, trumpeting “Tradition!” and condemning those who have investigated their faith and found traditional Adventist views to be in conflict with what they have discovered for themselves through Bible study and a growing relationship with Christ. He would do well to remember that the people Christ rebuked most harshly were the Pharisees who ranked obedience to the law above relationship with God.

As a leader with significant influence within our church, I pray that the Holy Spirit will lead Pastor Mostert to spend less time finding fault with the beliefs and practices of other Adventists, and to focus his energies on developing a deeper relationship with Christ and living a life of love, which are the only things that can truly unite us as a church.

“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12, NIV

Good news!

I just found out that Mr. Krause, the poor man who rear-ended me last week, is still alive - and it looks like he's going to stay that way for a while (provided he wears a seat belt from here on out!). I called LLUMC today on the off-chance that I could get some information about his condition, and lucked out by reaching a nurse who's apparently not intimidated by HIPAA regulations. She told me that Mr. Krause was transferred out of ICU last night and was able to sit up in bed for a little while today - so it sounds as though he's making good progress. Thanks to all of you who've been praying for his recovery.

Disco dancin'

Just had to share this little tidbit - while having lunch at IHOP last week, Emmy began spontaneously dancing to September by Earth, Wind & Fire with suprisingly appropriate 70's moves - but by the time I thought to get a video, the sound system had moved on to Seal's Kiss from a Rose. Emmy kept on dancing, and we kept on giggling. Enjoy! :)

Crash update

Google is a heck of a useful tool. I Googled "accident, Redlands, Barton Road, San Timoteo" and found a Press Enterprise article (scroll down to the second headline, "Man critically hurt in Barton Road accident") with more information about the crash. The man who hit me is named Helmut Krause (I am the mysterious "woman in the Mazda"). I also spoke with the police officer in charge of the investigation today, and was informed that Mr. Krause was in critical but stable condition last she'd heard, so it's possible he'll recover after all. Please continue to keep him and his family in your prayers.

I owe my dad, the urgent care physician and all the rest of you who've said "you're going to feel a lot worse tomorrow" an apology. I assumed that you were exaggerating the after-effects of an accident, and thought I was made of tougher stuff - until I woke up this morning feeling as though a steamroller must have run over me sometime during the night. I literally could not lift my head from the pillow without excruciating pain. The scariest thing is that it's supposed to be even worse tomorrow. Thank God for Vicodin and muscle relaxants! :)

However, my full-body owie (as my husband has so perfectly dubbed my whiplash) seems a small price to pay considering the injury or even death that could easily have resulted. The accident keeps replaying in my mind, and I still can't figure out how I managed not to hit the cars in front of me. While I'd love to chalk it up to divine providence, that doesn't seem very fair to Mr. Krause - why didn't God see fit to protect him, too?

Divine intervention or not, I feel very fortunate, and am grateful to God for my life. I pray that I'll never take a second of it for granted.

Sedan to hatchback in just a few seconds

Some of you have heard that I was involved in a major car accident last night (for those of you who hadn't heard, now you know!). I left work around 7:15 p.m., and was in the left lane heading west on Barton Road approaching the intersection of San Timoteo Canyon Road when I saw a car swerve to my right and looked in my rear view mirror to see a blue Ford pickup truck bearing down on me way too fast. By the time I saw him, there was no time to get out of his way and I knew I was going to be hit hard. I suspect that the driver was not in control of the vehicle, because he didn't make any apparent attempt to slow or stop (there was no sound of brakes being applied at any time).

A second or two later there was a deafening crash and my car seemed to explode - the back windshield shattered, glass and coins from the ashtray (which had opened on impact) flew everywhere, and my seat back was thrown all the way backward, slamming into the car seat behind me (thank God Emmy wasn't in the car!). Knowing there was a car ahead of me in each lane, I braced for a second impact. All I remember thinking was "I may not survive this." Miraculously, my car shot like an arrow straight between the two cars without so much as grazing either one. When I regained control of the vehicle a few seconds later, I was already nearly a quarter of a mile from the scene of the impact. I sat up and saw that I was in the middle of the road with no cars near me, still moving at a good clip. I applied the brakes, pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. Here's a pic of my car taken today at the tow lot to satisfy your morbid curiosity. ;-)

The good news is that aside from whiplash and some nasty bruises on my calves, I'm just fine. The bad news is that the guy who hit me didn't fare nearly as well. After rear-ending me, his car careened off the road (also miraculously hitting no one else) and hit a concrete block wall that borders a construction site. He was not wearing a seatbelt, and his head hit the windshield hard enough to make a rather large hole in it (the windshield - though the guy had a good-sized hole in his head as well). He was in critical condition when the ambulance arrived, and the police said they were told that he wasn't expected to survive. We learned from the Redlands Daily Facts that he was taken to LLUMC where a coma was induced, and from the City of Redlands that the driver was 67 and from Mentone. Here's a pic of his truck.

The wreck was treated as a fatal injury accident - the police closed down the intersection for hours to take photos and measurements. It took them two hours just to get around to photographing my car and interviewing me about what had happened. At that time, they did breathalizer and blood tests on me (and indicated their intent to do the same on him if he was still alive by the time they got to the hospital).

The fact that my car was totaled seems a minor inconvenience when I consider how much worse it could have been. I thank God that I'm still alive, and that no one else was hurt. Please keep this poor man (I'm going to try to find out how he's doing and will post the info as soon as I know) and his family in your prayers.

Beatboxing flutist

I'm obviously not very creative, 'cause it never occurred to me that it is possible to beatbox while playing the flute . . . if you haven't already seen this video, you should take a few minutes to see and hear something new. Check it out at: http://dailymotion.alice.it/visited/search/beatbox/video/x16hdk_flute-beatbox.

No news isn't always good news

We're still waiting to hear from the company Peter interviewed with several weeks ago, but since they've failed to return his calls, we fear the worst. Please continue to keep us (Peter in particular) in your prayers!

Aside from having no money, we've been having a wonderful summer - a few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of keeping our nieces Emily and Elyssa while their parents moved into their new rental home. Emmy had a ball playing with them in her little inflatable pool, and Peter and I got creative and made little doll houses and furniture out of cardboard boxes, wood and fabric bits, etc. We may have had more fun than the kids did!

A couple weeks ago we joined our dear friends Tom & Debbie Saknit for a Sabbath afternoon jaunt to San Diego. We spent the afternoon admiring the ocean view at Shelter Island and paid an evening visit to the zoo, which was loads of fun. Emmy especially loved playing in the park at Shelter Island and seeing the elephants, bears and hippo at the zoo. Since we arrived at dusk, a lot of the animals were already asleep by the time we got around to their exhibits - but it was fun to feel like we had the place to ourselves!

Last weekend Emmy and Peter went attended Jamie Wallace's birthday party at Brookside Park in Redlands. Emmy enjoyed swinging on the swings, eating cake, wearing her birthday hat and admiring the balloon ladybug given to her by the balloon artist at the party.

Emmy has been growing insanely fast - she's getting longer and leaner and looks less and less like a baby and more like a little girl. She's very imaginative, interacting animatedly with her stuffed animals and dolls, and reenacting scenes from her favorite television shows, Go Baby and Little Einsteins. She is quite the little mimic these days, and has mastered the phrase "Oh my, YES!" uttered by the Go Baby narrator with the same high-pitched tone and ecstatic inflection. A new favorite activity is getting on the couch and burying herself in cushions until only her head is sticking out of the top of the pile.

She's saying TONS of new words every day now - we can't keep up. She imitates nearly everything she hears, with no prompting necessary. Singing and doing motions is a blast for her and for us - her giggles are truly infectious. It's an exciting time, and we're more smitten than ever.