todays news

did you know that here (not sure if it's a state-by-state case? forgive me, i'm not interested in government, law and politics at all, so there's so much i don't know) you need a special permit to hold events that focus on a particular "religion"?

i'm volunteering at a friend's church festival and just learned that not only did the church need to purchase a permit to hold the event in the first place (it's open to the public and outdoors) but they'd also need to buy one in order to be able to say "Jesus".

wow.

you can say "God" because most religions acknowledge a "god-figure" - so it's pretty ambiguous. but you have to PAY for special permission if you want to make it known that it's a Christian-based event and mention Jesus Christ, though it's open and ALL are welcome to attend, especially and including non-believers.

wow.

that makes me feel sad - that i have to have permission from the local government in order to mention Christ's name in public.

i know it's like that in public schools (can't say Jesus, can't pray, can't have Bibles), but i guess in my mind that never translated to ALL public settings (again, the law may differ from city to city, state to state).

that makes me feel sad for Jesus. and to know that He STILL loves even those who try to shut Him out of everything. man, i wish my heart were that pure :-)

*****

in other news, i notice that when people see me and the preggy belly, it never fails that their wandering eyes always seem to settle on my left hand.

see pregnant woman ----> look for wedding ring ----> don't see one----> try to still smile and look as if you don't have a million questions running through your mind.

would it be entirely inappropriate for me to custom-make a t-shirt that says, "No, i'm not married so you can stop looking for the ring" ?

just curious.