Day 103: Now That Is Gross

We ate dinner at a local restaurant, which also happens to be one that I worked at about 16-17 years ago. Back in the day we only decorated a little bit for holidays, but it was limited to Christmas and maybe Valentines Day. Seems like the thing to do these days is to decorate for Halloween. Not really just to decorate, but to go all out.

As you can see by the pictures, they did go all out. Keep in mind, this is a restaurant, people are eating meals a few feet away from this homage to Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Okay, Texas Chainsaw Massacre may not have been their theme, but blood, body parts and internal organs were. It was a good thing I set with my back to the display, because my stomach is not the strongest when it comes to looking at gnarly stuff while I am trying to enjoy a meal.

You will notice blood splatters, cutting utensils, rats, various skeletal remains some of which are hanging from what looks like a slaughter house wall. Also you might notice two jars sitting on the window seal. In jar #1 it looks to be a liver or kidney or something and in jar #2 a brain, which presumably belongs to the person that decided to decorate a restaurant with bloody human remains. Not that I need to say it, but I will not be dining in at this establishment until after October 31st.

I am not going to condemn anyone for celebrating the pagan holiday of Halloween. I do not agree with it, but it is one of those gray areas, as far as I can tell. If your conscience has not been active as you go through the rituals of Halloween, then I will not push my convictions on you. I will, however, suggest that you study the origins and practices associated with the "holiday".

When God took the scales off of my eyes 4 years ago along with the scales came a shedding of a lot of baggage that I had carried around during my 30 years of being a false convert. My new eyes saw everything in a different way, discernment came natural to me. Gone were the heavy metal CDs and in were the Jeremy Camp CDs. Gone was the 24 year habit of cigarette smoking, in was the desire to not bring dishonor to the title of Christian. God changed me in an instant on a lot of things, but some things He allowed me to keep for while, so that I may see His glory and His grace along my steps of sanctification.

Discernment seems to be one of the gifts God has bestowed on me. Discernment can be a very dangerous thing as well. It can be used in a very judgmental way, which I have done on several occasions. When I see a professing Christian doing something that is obviously not in accordance with God's Word I tend to want to tell that person in some not so nice of ways why they are sinning. I don't do it in a mean spirit, but sometimes it does come across that way. I have a knack at being a little pushy sometimes. God is dealing with me on that matter and it is a major area for me to seek God's discernment for me personally. Not that I need to tone down the discernment, but that I need to crank up the love when showing a brother or sister where they are lacking in discernment.

I have to bite my tongue a lot lately, which shows me I still have a long way to go. Recognizing the issue is the first step, but even having the thoughts that I do are sin and I need God to purge me from even having those thoughts. My desire is to not even think about reaching out in love, but that it comes natural to me. I need God for this to take place and if I try to do it on my own it will be an utter failure. I am still ruled by my flesh as it struggles against my spirit. Sadly my flesh still has a lot of control over my choices, but I do recognize the issues I have. In that recognition I can seek God to change me, to give me grace to overcome those obstacles. I welcome any way that I can seek God to gain a deeper relationship with Him and I thank Him for taking the scales off of my eyes to my own sinful natures still present within me.