Oh boy... I just wrote out a whole post and then something stupid happened and it got erased... So I have to try to remember everything and rewrite it... I hate it when that happens.

I spent all day without internet yesterday AND I'M STILL ALIVE.... That's amazing. I don't open the store on Thursdays and the router for our wireless was messed up and the IP didn't get around to fixing it yesterday so... no internet. I had to watch The OC all by myself :p

Wednesday night was great at church. We had two extra kids in our class and everyone was having a good time and we had some really good discussion about the third commandment. We didn't actually finish our lesson because we were talking so much but here is what I got from it.

We're supposed to love God and honor him and to take his name in vain is not honoring. In short, taking Gods name in vain refers to the abuse, misuse, blasphemy, cursing, or manipulation of the Lords name. Kind of like when my sisters used to call me Suey... Now I don't mind the nickname Suey cause Chris calls me that but when my sisters called me Suey they would make it sound like the pig call... "Suuuuuueeeeeeyyy" That bugged me... I'm sure everyone has an example of someone misusing their name.

Now here is the section I don't really agree with... It's not that I'm twisting scripture to make it fit my needs cause I'm NOT but here I'll just show you and you can decide for yourself. Here is a quote from the lesson we used, "Sometimes people substitute words (euphemisms) for the name of God. For example, "Gee" or "Golly" is sometimes used in exclamations."

I don't really agree with that statement. The reason is that I don't associate "Gosh" "Gee" or "Golly" with God. When I pray I don't say... "Dear Gee or Dear Golly" You get my point? So if I don't use those words to refer to God then how can they be a substitute? I did used to say Oh my God and now say Oh my Gosh and Holy Cow and Oh man so maybe I am just using those words to substitute for the word God. Ok I am but I'm having a hard time seeing how the scripture says we aren't supposed to do that.

Here are some of the scriptures...
II TIMOTHY 2:19: "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
Ok so I get this one. Christians should do their best to depart and separate themselves from bad things or iniquity... Saying Holy Cow isn't bad though.

ROMANS 2:21-24: "You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, 'Do not commit adultery,' do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? For 'the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,' as it is written."
I get this one too because when we are not practicing what we preach then we are trashing the name of God and making him look bad.

LEVITICUS 22:31-32: "Therefore you shall keep My commandments and perform them: I am the Lord. You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel."
Again keep the commandments and don't make God look bad.

Matthew 22:40 Christ asserts the proper attitude we should have towards God: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment."
And once again love God.. I really don't see how this makes saying Golly and Gee a bad thing. I could be wrong and this is all my own personal convictions. When you have kids I think it's really important to explain to them WHY it's not ok to say Oh My God and that it's not the same thing when you say Oh my goodness or holy cow. Emily came home one day saying Dammit... and we don't curse at all at home so we had to have a discussion. Apparently her little friend at school had been saying it and that's where she picked it up. So we explained to her that we don't use that word and why and that if she ever hears another word that she doesn't know she needs to ask us before using it. She's come home with other words but they've all been ok to say but she knows to ask first. I asked Emily the other day if her friend was still saying bad words and she told me that she told her it wasn't a good thing to say so she'd stopped.

So my final answer is that no it's not bad to say oh my gosh, holy cow and oh my goodness. I don't think it's the same thing. But like I said it's my conviction and just like some people think women are supposed to ALWAYS wear dresses because the Bible says for women to dress modestly, I think it's a personal preference. I don't feel guilt for wearing pants and I don't feel guilt for saying Holy Cow... Now if the Bible said for us not to use substitute words then I would have to change my opinion.

Ok now totally off topic I am adding a picture of Brett. :p He has the longest eyelashes...