A few nights ago I met my (engaged) friend Emily at Starbucks. She was in the middle of writing thank-you notes for all the weding stuff she's received when she remembered that I had called her a few weeks ago. She had called me and we talked for a few minutes. Eventually she invited me to join her, and I did.

Emily is one of the people that was in Master's Commission with me, and we can talk about virtually anything. We discussed her impending wedding, life in general, and our faith. She asked about why I have problems with Christianity and The Church, and I tried to explain some of the problems I see.

Me: "We try and sell Jesus like he's a product. We try to package salvation as though it's got a money back guarantee. 'Try it! You'll like it!' I hate that we approach it like this."

Emily interrupted me. She told me that the problem is that I kept saying the word "we" and identifying myself with that sort of Christianity. It's something I have a problem with, and the reason I'm upset is because I don't fit in that particular box. This is where my frustration comes from; I have a lot of problems with the way that things are done and I want to see them fixed, but I don't see any way to do it.

I was surprised. I hadn't looked at the issue like that. I'm a Christian, so therefore I figured that whether I liked it or not, I am lumped in with the sort of Christianity I have a problem with. But I don't have to be. I really am different.

American Christianity, for the most part, is very inwardly-focused. There's a tendency toward shallowness, selfishness, and pride. How can my spirituality help me to get ahead in life? In the end, American Christians are cut off from the world around them, trapped in their own subculture.

For the record, I'm not attacking anyone. I have no specific individuals in mind, I am speaking in generalities. These are not conscious decisions people are making; it's more a product of the sort of Christianity that has permeated American society.

A guy named Ryan made this design on the stone. He calls it 'Sola de Ice.' obviously he has talent. And too much free time.

A little more than three months after it began, my relationship with Karley has ended. While part of me is sad that I'm single again, overall it is a good thing. Karley and I have parted as friends, which was important to both of us. We knew fairly early in our relationship that we were not going to get married, but there were several aspects to our relationship that we both enjoyed. We decided to stay together until it became obvious that it was time to move on.

That time is now. She came over to my place after she finished work, and while I was trying to get up the courage to say what I needed to say, she basically gave me permission to do what I knew I needed to do. We talked about various things that have happened, gave each other various compliments, and spoke at length about the positive effect this relationship has had on both of us.

For me, this relationship has helped me to be more confident in myself, and the decisions that I make. This has had an effect on the way I interact with my other friends, and it's a positive change.

I think that the past three months I've spent with Karley has been time well spent. While I'm sad that it's over and that my relationship with her is changing to a more platonic one, I am happy for the things I've learned and I'm looking forward to putting these things to use in the future.

So I'm back online.

Hurray!

Details to follow.

How does she do that?

It was worse from the front