Yes, we're here...
Maybe you can tell in this pic that my photographer friend took of me near Christmas-time last year that I’m trying to hide the glass of wine that I was drinking, thinking perhaps it was out of the frame.
Alas it wasn’t, and something Bishop TD Jakes said in a new video about Bishop Eddie Long had me thinking about this photo being the perfect one to display an imperfect Christian.
I thought about removing it from my Facebook photos, but I never did. I really love the photo.
Christians pretending to be perfect…
I know it’s only a glass of wine, however, once you let Christ into your life, you start thinking more about the things that you used to do without pause — and much worse stuff.
Not just the example I’m displaying, but also the way drinking sometimes leads my mind to think of things worse than wine.
Drunk blogging, drunk texting…
Okay, I’m not drunk — but as soon as my husband got home today, I knew I was going to offer him some red wine, because it felt like that kind of day.
I was glad when he said yes to the flute of Champagne, and I helped myself to the same — as well as a glass of red wine as we watched a repeat of Modern Family with Phil walking on that tight-rope 7 perfect feet above the ground in the air with his helmet on. God I love you still… and I love that show’s writing.
Anyway…where was I?
It's a vision of living water pouring out of my mouth...
Oh yes — I felt like a ’50s housewife, offering my hubby a nice calm-down drink before I discussed a little troubling matter with him, waiting, like folks advise — and not jumping on him as soon as he got home.
The wind-down time felt fine, and when I had my two glasses of wine — one sparkling — I told myself I wouldn’t blog or write until the next day, so as to avoid any complex video embedding code and “too truthful a mood” so as not to embarrass myself or my faith.
But that’s exactly what Bishop Jakes is talking about in the video: As Christians, we shouldn’t pretend like we’ve arrived to some perfect destination, or that we don’t plunge into passionate moods that don’t necessarily reflect the “perfect” Christian lifestyle that people assume represents Jesus the best.
Instead of putting on our church faces and going home and raising hell, perhaps the better witness to God is honesty.
I feel like the more honest I am as a person, the less Satan has a hold on me — he doesn’t have much he can tell people about me that I haven’t already spilled the beans on myself.
So yes, I still have the occasional glass of wine and yell at my kids and say I’m sorry and give in to a little bit of lustful thoughts now and again — although it does seem like a lot less lately, I must admit.
There you go.
It feels like the more “public Paula and private Paula” become the same person, at least in terms of what I’m supposed to reveal to my readers, the more I’m marching forward to a place that people can relate to.
Okay, now I’m off to find my Droid eventually and text my friends about a nice fellowship party that may involve a bottle of Muscato in the trunk and a whole lot of good games and communion… 
Even when I’m tipsy, God always leads me back to his powerful Word…
