Why Are Chocolate Chips "Semi-Sweet"?

I don't know, but this entry might be semi-serious. What can I say? Perhaps I should semi-apologize. Perhaps not! Whatever.

But here's something that I think may be semi-profound that I've learned/had come together for me in the relatively recent past -- we're whole people. I know that doesn't sound profound, but let me explain what I mean.

A couple of years ago, I read a book called "The Emotionally Healthy Church." The premise of the book was that people (who are, of course, the church) can never grow spiritually until they become healthy(er) emotionally. At the time, I thought it was flat-0ut backwards and completely wrong. I thought that people had to grow spiritually and then they would be able to grow healthy(er) emotionally. My mini-epiphany is this -- I think we were both wrong. It seems clear to me now that the whole enterprise of separating the spiritual and emotional is artificial and bogus -- they work together. I don't know exactly how this works, of course, but I'm thinking that it must be true. How can someone accept the love of Jesus (not like "just" to "become a Christian", but to REALLY "accept") when they don't feel/believe they are lovable? And trying to decide which comes first is like the chicken or the egg deal -- they need to move forward together.

Let's even throw one more kink in the garden hose, shall we? Sexuality is worked in there, too. It's tougher to understand and buy into for us fellas who tend to naturally compartmentalize things, but the ladies should have no problem here. With allowances made for the exceptions and apologies for the over-generalizations -- "we" want to get our rocks off, watch Sportscenter, pound some Cheetos, and go to bed. The ladies want to make love and then do the "c" word (I can't say it and don't even want to type it out -- the word just bothers me, I'm not sure why). It's not necessarily that our wives don't like sports or are trying to cut back on their MSG intake, it's that "their" emotions and spirit (read: "soul") are either more integrated into their sexuality or they're just more naturally aware of it. . . or something. I don't know exactly, or why the difference, but I think it must be a difference of degree rather essence, or quantitative rather than qualitative, if you will, as evidenced by exceptions to the rule and the fact that we're all, at our essence, human beings. Sex affects our soul -- that's probably why the Bible talks so much about it and treats it differently from other physical activities like swimming or eating or sleeping, huh?

At any rate, my point is this -- emotional, spiritual, sexual -- they all work together. They're all parts of the same deal, and how we deal with one affects the others, too. I can't back it up scientifically or even scripturally to a terribly weighty degree, but I think it's true, and I think understanding this truth can be helpful and open the doors to a great deal of healing and freedom. Further, "the church" needs to do a better job at addressing emotional needs and other things that aren't overtly spiritual, and the spiritual will be helped along greatly. And no wonder why so many churches that DO address issues that aren't overtly spiritual are flocked to by people who have heard the "Christian" message 1,000 times over but just never had it mean anything to them. Let's make sure that we don't drown in pop psychology to the detriment of Jesus -- but "Jesus loves you" doesn't mean much to a person with a shattered conception of what love really is.

Now . . . how do I integrate things like that into a blog that's about sports, metal, comedy, and Buzz Goertzen? Oh, who cares, where are the Cheetos?