Did Your Church Mention Charlie Kirk?

I’ve had a few specific conversations with family and friends about Charlie Kirk. Not about the actual, sick event that happened on September 10th, but what happened the following Sunday. I’m referring to the title of this post… how many churches did or didn’t mention Charlie Kirk during the Sunday service?

He wasn’t mentioned in the sermon at the church I attend and honestly, I didn’t even notice. I may not be a great example, though, because there are other pretty major family things going on so whether or not the preacher touched on the topic of Charlie Kirk’s passing had never really even crossed my mind at all. But it sounds like other people had opinions all across the country. Should pastors include something about Charlie or not? I think a lot of church-goers would be offended if he wasn’t mentioned, and others are fine if he wasn’t.

I think it’s a weird thing to focus on. Yes, Charlie was a Christian and his untimely passing is so, so terrible. I’d be OK if a pastor illustrated some kind of Biblical truth with Charlie as the subject and I’m OK if they choose not to do that. Charlie Kirk was a Christian and spoke a lot about the love of God, the salvation Jesus brings, and he was also a political figure. Maybe some pastors thought it best to avoid talking about such a hot topic, one that some see as more political than religious, skipping it altogether. Others might have used the pulpit to lift Charlie and all those affected up in prayer. I think either choice is fine but also, one is not better than the other.

What do you think? If you go to church, was there a mention of Charlie and how did that make you feel?

-Out of the Wilderness

The Farmer’s Dog Commercial – The Silky Fur Dog, the Song, and More!

If it’s not dog food in your fridge, and it’s not Freshpet, then it must be The Farmer’s Dog! Gosh, that felt so wrong to say. Like wearing Adidas socks with Nike shoes. It’s just a big no-no. But I’m not an ambassador for any brand so I guess mentioning two competing brands in the same post is OK? The latest canine commercial I’ve seen is from The Farmer’s Dog and it features great music and a great dog. Check it out then scroll down for more…

The Dog. The star breed of this ad, showing off such a long and silky coat of fur, is the Afghan Hound. I’ve only been family with short-haired dogs so seeing this pup is both frightening and mesmerizing. So beautiful. So fascinating. So much grooming! Google says that grooming is a daily task because of the long coat. Makes sense.

The Song. Perfectly matched with the visuals is a song called “The Golden Lady” by The Three Degrees. Would you believe the song is 46 years old? OK, I would too. It has that familiar 70s sound which makes sense– it was released in 1979.

Dogs are such a gift. I hope you have the chance to pat one on the head today. Take a second to subscribe to get emails of my daily posts. Thanks!!

-Out of the Wilderness

The Housemaid is a movie now?

I’m sure my teenage niece knew “The Housemaid” was being made into a movie but it was breaking news to me when I watched the trailer recently. Take a look for yourself then scroll down for more…

The movie will be in theaters in December so in the meantime people are letting their opinions fly. From the few that I read, they can be categorized as follows: 1) Excited about the movie, 2) Not watching because of one or more of the actors, 3) Sure that the book will be better than the movie. I’d plop myself in group 3 with shades of group 1. At the time of this post, I have no idea what Amanda Seyfried said about Charlie Kirk but it must’ve been insensitive on the account of some people boycotting the movie because she’s in it. I *do* know why people are hating on Sydney Sweeney… because she has great genes jeans. There was a comment or two about the male actors but I’m very much in the dark about why they’d be controversial.

I really enjoy the entire Housemaid series, and many other books by Freida McFadden. In fact– I feel like a teenage girl saying this– she’s my favorite author. She and Holly Jackson have a monopoly on my reading list at the moment.

Do you think the movie will be as good as the books? Chime in below…

-Out of the Wilderness

Pampers Won Me Over With Their Commercial, So I Wrote About It

Hi there! I’ve been posting every day since January 1, 2020, which I can hardly believe myself. Back then, I had no idea the streak would go on for this long. I had no idea I’d be able to come up with enough things to write about. I write about relationships, movies, politics, current events, but I started gravitating towards TV/streaming commercials for two reasons: 1) The ads are good in one way or another and 2) the music. It turns out that people are as curious as I am about music that plays as the soundtrack for a commercial. For instance, one recent post is about baby diapers. I have very, very little experience with diapers but I watched the entire commercial because of the song. I liked the song enough to post about it that day.

That’s sort of the process for my posts, I guess. If it grabs my attention, I’ll write about it. When I woke up that one diaper-post morning, I had no idea I’d be writing about Pampers. I’ll be totally honest, there are a lot of days like that… where I wake up without any idea for what I’ll post. I like the challenge of posting every day because on those “unknown” days, I’m forced to think about what interests me or what I think might interest you. It’s a great way to keep from getting in a rut or a daily routine of going through the motions of being an adult. Work, groceries, chores, etc.

So I guess I’m thankful for diapers, but not in the same way at all as a parent whose baby just had a blowout.

-Out of the Wilderness

Why does God allow bad things to happen?

Forgive me, but when I hear this question my mind almost always goes to Ross in an episode of “Friends.”

That Ross, he’s so dramatic! But shampoo or moisturizer all over the inside of your suitcase IS annoying. Ross asks the question we’ve all asked at some point in our lives, I think, and it’s this: Why do bad things happen to good people? In other words, why does God allow it?

I’m not going to pretend like I’m wise enough to know the answer to that. But on a radio show the other day I heard an answer that helped put the question in perspective. The guy said that when the question is asked, it could be flipped just as easily: Why does God allow good things to happen?

That’s the first time I heard a response in that way… and all I could do was respond, “Hhhhmmm. Good point.” The ultimate answer is that God can do whatever He wants. He is all good but a lot of times people get in their own way. I can certainly attest to that (remember my goofball error earlier this year?). God has done Himself and us a big favor. He gave us free-will. Without it, we’re just robots. Without it, we can’t really show that we love Him. Think of a pet you love. If they were programmed to love us back, it wouldn’t mean anything. Not even close to how special it feels when a dog wags its tail at the sight of you, or a horse stands still so we can hug it.

Bad things happen and it sucks. This year has had more bad moments than I’d prefer but I’m going to try not blaming God for it. Instead, I want to go to Him as Jehovah Shalom, the Lord Our Peace. Immanuel, God With Us. Jehovah Rapha, the Lord Who Heals.

I’d love to get your thoughts on this topic. Comment below and subscribe if you have a second…

-Out of the Wilderness