Mixed feelings about the weekend

This weekend is hard to write about, but I still need to post this. As I've stated before in previous posts, my husband is not saved. Neither of us were before we were married.

We went away this weekend to visit family down island and to attend a "show". I'm very ashamed to confess this, but we went to a "Trailer Park Boys" live show. My husband has been a huge fan of this show for several years and they are on tour right now for the first time. For those that do not know who they are...there's Google. I think most Canadians will know who they are. He had this opportunity to attend this show and bought US tickets. I really felt like I should avoid this show, but if I hadn't have gone, he wouldn't have and he doesn't have any friends to go with. He would have held this against me...so I felt like I "HAD" to go, so I did so I wouldn't ruin his weekend. I told him that I would go on one condition...that I fully intended to try to get a MDB into one of the TPB's hands at some point in the evening and did not want him to interfere with that. He didn't have to be WITH me at the time if he felt uncomfortable about that. He agreed, so we had a deal.

We went to the show and it was full of vulgarity and blasphemy, which I had completely expected, but I did not put the show down or express dissatisfaction to him. At the end of the show, two of the characters came back out on stage for a couple of autographs and I made my way to the stage to try to make a hand off. There was one guy in front of me and then me and it looked like I might have the opportunity to pass "Ricky" the Canadian, eh MDB but at the last second, he said to the guy in front of me "Sorry, I gotta go" and he walked off the stage. Drat! So I threw the MDB on the stage and it flew quite a ways and landed in the middle. They didn't come back on while we were there, so likely a stage hand will get the tract as the stage was quite bare and it was sitting there quite obvious. I re-joined my husband and we left.

On the way home, we talked about the show. We had been talking earlier in the day about blasphemy. He regularly takes the Lord's name in vain and I've started pointing it out. Not in a nasty way or anything but just in a quiet, gentle tone. I've even suggested using the name of Buddha or Hitler instead if he feels the need...but please not the name of our Creator! I think he is softening about this and I can tell he's been thinking about it. So I said "You know...I think the show could be just as funny without all the blasphemy" and he nodded. I went on to say "I think a lot of people just say stuff like this out of habit because no one ever corrects them on it, but to a Christian, it is hugely offensive and to God it must be 100 times more offensive". Then I went on to use the analogy of using his mother's name as a curse word and he said he hadn't really thought of that. So...I was able to use this opportunity to witness to him. Plus, I tracted the bathroom at the theatre *snicker*

And, on another note we also went to the new Clint Eastwood movie "Gran Torino". It was rated 18A in Canada for violence and language. Again, I had huge hesitation but gave in as he LOVES Clint Eastwood and we don't have a theatre near us so this would be his only chance to see it on the big screen. It was full of blasphemy as well. *sighs* So...I visited the washrooms three times and tracted them. There was an interesting scene in the movie where Clint's character goes to confession at a Roman-Catholic church. Clint confesses his few "sins" and then the priest said "I absolve you of all your sins. Now go do 10 Hail Mary's and 5 Our Fathers." I gasped. Today at supper, Nels (my husband) asked "Why did you seem shocked when in the movie that priest was talking to Clint after his confessions?" (Wow...cool, he noticed!!!) I explained that in the movie, he said that he absolved Clint of all his sins and that is wrong. Nels asked "Well, isn't he representing God?". I told him that 1) The only person who can absolve anyone of their sin is Jesus Christ...a mere man cannot do that and it is sad that people believe that they are forgiven because a priest says they are. and 2) Saying some prayers does not save you from judgement. Anyone can read or recite prayers and that "works" cannot save someone either. This resulted in a very calm and enjoyable discussion between us over dinner and it was quite relaxing. I really believe that God is working on him.

Also, after 12 years of marriage, we finally met with a lawyer today to start the process of getting our wills made up. It's something I've been wanting to do for YEARS and finally it's happening. Recently, my eternal matters have been taken care of and now I can finally get my earthly legal matters taken care of. The lawyer interviewed us today and the question of once we die, what are our wishes as far as our remains go? I hadn't expected that question, but I had just listened to a John Piper mini sermon about burial vs. cremation and he leaned toward burial. He said it wasn't really biblical, but that the burning of bodies (especially children) was more of a Pagan tradition so he suggested burial. So I said "Well, I just listened to a sermon about that and Julianna (our 11 y.o. daughter) and I would like to be buried, rather than cremated. He said he needed to think about his remains but would probably do the same thing as us. So then he said "I don't know why it matters...it's not like you're going to live forever anyways"...which I didn't understand how that fit with the conversation...but I said "Actually, we will live forever...it's just a matter of WHERE we'll live forever". The look on his face spoke volumes.

We stopped at Costco for a bit and I tracted the book department. It was great fun. I put the MDB in the tax tips books, Mind Game in THE SECRET, Celebrity Intell tests in the Rolling Stone music books, MDB's in the Jesus books by Deepak Chopra (I'm almost afraid to see what he's written...I DID NOT BUY IT!), and Science Proves the Bible in the Ripley's Believe it or Not books.

And lastly...on our way home today we stopped in the city to get groceries. He dropped me off to run another errand and then caught up with us at the grocery store a bit later. He had this funny grin on his face and I said "What's up?" He says..."I see you've been in the bathroom here." LMBO!!! I had tracted the bathroom when I arrived at the store. BUSTED! It is interesting that he no longer scolds me for tracting, but is seeing it in more of a humorous way.

My husband is definitely seeing a different me since the academy. The "new improved" me I think. God is working on both of us...daily and I praise Him for HIS faithfulness to me. He has taken a very difficult and uncomfortable weekend for me, and turned it into an opportunity for witnessing. :O)