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On my way to work, I pass a church whose marquee has more than once “gotten my goat.”  It is a double-sided marquee, so the congregation seemingly doubles their efforts to affirm the suspicions of the passing pagans.  For the last month I have had to look at the same messages, and each time I see them, I fantasize about pulling a hand grenade out of my purse, pulling the pin with my teeth, and annihilating their sign.

One side reads “Work Towards Heaven in 2007.”  This is an endless desperation:  people can’t earn their way to heaven.  Works are important, but it’s Christ’s blood that saves us, not our high score in the 8th grade Bible Bowl. 

On the other side there is the following proclamation:  “We’re Too Blessed to be Depressed.”  Is this meant to be a boast or a blanket statement?  Are they saying their congregation enjoys a special relationship with God that exempts them from earthly troubles?  Or are they saying that everyone should put on a happy face, even the man who lost his job, the woman who lost her home, and the child who lost his dog.

The doctrine of cheerfulness is a ruse.  Emotional health is not a prerequisite for eternal salvation.  The Bible is full of sad people.  Jesus, for instance.  In fact, there’s no end to the godly people who have suffered from occasional or long-standing depression.  All of them, I’d say.  Depression has little to do with how much or how little you are blessed.  For instance, depression is a medical condition that runs in my family.  We are educated about it, and we try to manage it, but we can’t help our genetic tendencies.

That said, one should not wallow in sadness.  There is a boy I knew in high school that I often see at the local Wal-Mart.  Every time he sees me, he chases me down in his wheelchair and tells me about how terrible his life is.  Does he have problems?  Of course…who doesn’t?  But he is stubbornly, willfully bent on misery.  This is his choice, and no one can change it but him.

I suspect the congregation with the offensive marquee did not mean to be boastful or heartless.  They were probably only thoughtless.  They thought “Well, isn’t that cute!  ‘Blessed’ rhymes with ‘depressed’! People love rhymes almost as much as they love ‘sun/son’ puns!”  Thoughtlessness can be a very harmful thing.  Non-Christians do judge us by marquees, t-shirts and bumper stickers.  We may think our cutesy little messages will minister to them, but in fact, they only see us as silly, backwards, and holier-than-thou.

We have to be careful how we present ourselves.  Not that we hide what we believe, but that we share our beliefs in a caring and compassionate way so people will want to approach us…and not want to blow up our sign.

By the way, during a storm last spring, the original church marquee was blown down and shattered.  Maybe this is God’s message, people.

Perhaps I have kvetched too harshly.  In a previous post, I grumbled about the cruel condition of twiddling away my life in a cubicle.  Since then, I've taken time to reflect on this ungrateful lament. In spite of the inevitable tedium and my penchant for ennui, my desk job has caused me to grow up. 
Never fear...I have a feeling I'll never really experience adulthood as some of my colleagues do!  But I have become more able to function in the world of my peers.

Some background:  I was born for the theatre.  But not for long...I went to college and pursued a degree in theatre performance.  Yes, back in those days I was hot stuff.  Of course, I was also the only performance major in my graduating class.  What follows is the classic "little fish in a big pond" tale, finally culminating in my premature retirement from the stage. I had talent without taste, vivacity without courage, and conviction without experience. I tried to get back on the horse a couple of times, but it wasn't in God's will for my life.  Still, I stubbornly thought that someday I would make a name for myself by doing something wonderful, and people would know me and like me and think I was grand. 

And then one day I realized all of the sudden that I was an ordinary person, and it was likely that I would remain so.  In the age of 15-year-olds writing bestselling novels and actresses older than 22 getting put on the shelf, I'm a little long in the tooth to take the world by storm with my mad skills.  (Also, I still don't have any courage.)  Somehow, it didn't bother me as much to know that I may live and die without a soul in Hollywood knowing my name.  Fame is a fickle thing.  After all, the New Kids on the Block were bigger than Britney in their day, and now all their paraphenalia is moldering in the dump.

Because of my boring job, I have been able to live a normal life.  Normalcy and emotional health are not traits actors are known for.  I have a measure of security that has always been important to me. I was able to settle down and marry the man of my dreams, I have pets and houseplants, I know (to some extent) where the money's coming from, and one day (God willing) I'll get to have a baby and bid the business world farewell.  Maybe after all that I'll discover my long-lost courage and launch my own bead/decoupage/turtle online superstore.  Until then, maybe I can bring some badly-needed snap and color to the business world.

This weekend Clay and I went to see the film "The Painted Veil." It caught my eye while I was thumbing through the movie choices. We didn't have any movie in mind...we just needed to go on a date. After reading a plot synopsis of the film, I decided I might like it. The plot deals largely with an extramarital affair, so I read up on it before going to see it because I was concerned with how they would deal with the issue. They dealt with it splendidly...I really don't think this movie could have been any better. I don't even want to read the book...there's no way I could like it as much as the film!

This is not a typical tale. It is deceptively deep. It starts out the same as many novels: charming, beautiful girl has affair with dapper gent because she's oh-so-bored with married life. But then her world gets shaken by her jealous hubby and he whisks her off to a remote village in China to treat a cholera epidemic. She is confronted by her shallowness and selfishness, and she undergoes a remarkable transformation. She learns how good and kind her husband is, and their reconciliation is startlingly tender. It is a heartbreaking, bittersweet story, and so atypical for this day and age. In most stories of this nature, the "liberated" woman is held up as a paragon of courage for refusing to put up with her loathsome husband. It gives you such a satisfying feeling to see a story so refreshing, to see a character so improved.

"The Painted Veil" was lush and lovely to look at, in spite of the fact that it largely deals with a cholera epidemic. The story is set and was filmed in China. It has a distinct Chinese feel to it, and everything about it seems genuine. The heroine, played by Naomi Watts, gets to wear adorable, comfortable-looking 20s-era costumes! It makes one yearn for the 20s look to come back into vogue!

If you like period pieces, I highly recommend this movie. It's the best one I've seen in a long time!

Salutations!  Welcome to the life and times of Robyn McKinney.  I’ve been married for three years to my hero and best friend, Clay.  We live in a nicely crammed little house in the not-so-bustling unmetropolis of Fairview, Tennessee.  There we raise our two delightful guinea pigs Chandelier and Satchmo and our beautiful little turtle Annie. 

Like practically everyone else, I endure the utter desolation of a J-O-B.  (Horrors!)  Mine is that of an administrative assistant for a certain enormous no-nonsense healthcare behemoth.  I preserve my mind for the evil clutches of boredom and insanity by retreating into the world of arts and crafts.  I am the proud owner of the world’s largest collection of homemade bead jewelry.  I just learned the fine art of finger-knitting and am developing a wardrobe of scarves.  Last summer I learned how to decoupage.  I decoupaged our old coffee table last autumn, and I’m eager to start work on a set of tray tables and a bookcase this summer.  (Because of the fumes from the varnishing process, decoupage is an outdoor activity…at least until we get a house with a garage/studio.)  I’m beginning to think that there won’t be a single piece of furniture in the house that will be safe from decoupage! 

I love animals.  At least, most animals.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the giant spider I discovered in our bathroom, and eels give me the creeps…but other than that, I love animals.  Clay and I love going to zoos and aquariums.  Turtles have long since been my favorite animals, and I have an expansive collection of turtle bric-a-brac.  For two years I have been creating turtle “sculptures” composed of various found and purchased objects.  Here is an example.  This one is made from a coffee cup, four spoons, and a loose leaf tea steeper.

I am an admirer of art from nearly every era and style.  My favorite modern-day artist is photographer Annie Leibovitz.  She’s a prolific genius, and I think I would like her.

My musical favorites include Keane, the White Stripes and Dido.  I’m a huge fan of Guster and David Gray.  When I’m having a bad day, the Jayhawks spoon-feed my soul.

Stay tuned for more news and musings from the McKinney family!