Nearsighted

They look to the sky
Blue
Blue
Blue
The earth is
Green
Yellow
Brown
They worry
They hunger
They go barefoot

And in the city,
A business woman gripes
That grapes
Have gone up
Seventy-five cents.

You Deserve This

 

Really? I do?

Now, why on earth would I deserve that? Did I do a heroic act of service that saved the fate of Wendy’s stores everywhere? Is it because I was born a middle-class individual (which intimates that everyone not born in a first-world country gets less because they deserve less)? Is hot, juicy, and tasty food at 2:00 AM a basic human right?

      I am pretty sure that I don’t deserve 24-hour burger availability. Even though I might pay the two bucks or whatever it costs to purchase this piece of GMO, fat-saturated, processed cow (?) meat in a bun, I still don’t “deserve” it because I don’t “deserve” the money in the first place. I may have scrubbed dishes and mopped floors for fifteen minutes to get the money, but I don’t even “deserve” the precious opportunity to have a job and I certainly don’t “deserve” the laws in place that assure me fair wages. I “deserve” nothing; I didn’t give two cents to get into this world, and it doesn’t owe me a thing. The only thing I deserve is Hell.

     Many of us know the Bible verse that tells us “the wages of sin is death.” In other words, I’ve messed up on some level at some point, and I deserve to suffer eternal death in Hell for it. But here’s the good part! Just like I do have the undeserved opportunity to have a job, live in a good country, and eat a burger for breakfast if I want to, I also have the undeserved opportunity to escape the punishment for sin. The rest of the verse above says, “…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We deserve the punishment, but instead we are extended the ultimate gift…. Grace. The very essence of the word “grace” IS undeserved. We can’t earn it; we can never in a million years deserve it. I don’t “deserve” a juicy, hot burger, and I am a hundred thousand times less deserving of this beautiful gift of eternal life.

     Just as I will probably not choose to take advantage of the midnight burger option, many will turn down the option of undeserved life. Sadly, unlike the burger (which will almost certainly contribute to high blood pressure), the gift of eternal life is the most beautiful, beneficial, wonderful and essential part of human existence. If there is anyone reading this who has not taken advantage of the undeserved gift of grace, I hope that you will stop and do so now. The Bible says to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” This means that all you have to do is take God at his word—believe what He said, which is that Jesus Christ (God Himself) became a man and took our punishment for sins. He died so that we don’t have to suffer eternal death. Then after three days of being dead, God gave him new life and he emerged from the grave! If you want to know more or you are completely confused about what I am talking about, I’d love to explain it better. My email is breezie@becominggodlymaidens.com .

     Don’t buy into the lie of advertisers everywhere—you deserve nothing. And neither do I. The sooner we realize this, the sooner we will be able to appreciate our privileges, the greatest of which is the grace we have been given.

Empty Chairs

Did you know that we're the surviving 78 percent of your generation?

Look around you... your church, your school, your neighborhood. There should be more of us here. But they're gone, and we can't get them back.

They were aborted.

They were killed in the womb.

What separated us from them? We didn't get in the right line while they got in the wrong one. We didn't say or do anything to pick pro-life parents or deserve to live while they deserved to die. Knowing this, can we honestly sit back and do nothing? Can we ignore the fact that we missed out on countless friendships? That the missing chairs in our classrooms should be filled? Can we let it keep happening?

No.

We have voices.

The unborn and the dead don't.

It's our obligation to be voices for the voiceless.

It's our obligation to protect the innocent-- the unborn and the mothers, who also become physical and psychological victims when they believe the lie.

I hope you decide to watch this three minute video; it's worth your time.

Http://www.VoicesForTheVoiceless.org

   

We are the 2 Percent






And Never Again I'll Go Sailing

I just found reason 4,978 why I know that God loves me.

Lately, I have been having this intense desire to move to a foreign country after graduation. I feel like I just don’t fit in the culture, but really I just want to go far away. This desire bothers me, because it’s not about God and His plan; it’s about me and my plan. This is where God put me. This is where I need to be, at least for now. I thought about missionary work and teaching English, so that I could fit my dream with God’s work. But I realized that God will never move me if I’m not content here. I can’t be selfless across the globe if I’m not selfless here. And I’ll never be a missionary there if I can’t be one here. Still, I have a drive to explore and a desire to move.

There was a second part to my desire that bothered me more. I really wanted the foreign country to be the home nation of someone who would be totally head-over-heels for me. This was the more aggravating of the two parts of my desire, for a couple of reasons. First, there is the problem of finding said foreign guy. Second, right now I feel that God wants me to focus on Him right now and not on romance. Still, my imaginary foreign guy would not leave me alone no matter how often I asked him to leave.

I went down to my school’s prayer chapel yesterday to pray about it and before long, I found myself perusing through the “pray for the nations” guide and finding about the prayer needs of a conglomerate of little God-forsaken European countries that I never knew existed. I wonder if they need missionaries there? I wonder if they have neat accents? I wonder….? Once I had peeled my brain out the book and set it aside, I managed to have some good prayer time about my desires and God’s will. It wasn’t until tonight that I heard an answer.

~Philippians 3:20~

But our citizenship is in Heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh wow. God hears prayer. God knows my heart. My eyes filled with tears. My desires weren’t wrong, they were misplaced. I’m not meant to be a part of this culture forever. I do get to go far away to somewhere beautiful. I do have a Man who is coming for me, who loves me more than anything. He’s faithful, loving, and strong. I don’t know if He has an accent, but I bet you anything that He could pull off a mean Scottish brogue if He wanted to. He’s coming for me, and He’s going to take me away to His country. But for now, my place and my work is here. For now, I am learning to be content and to be a witness.  For now, I’m dreaming and waiting… for my Jesus.

DO.

Today at chapel, we had a guest speaker who grew up as a missionaries’ kid in Liberia and now runs missions to the people there by providing practical needs, like shoes, and showing the love of Christ. He talked about the importance of doing something and being active to make a difference for the poor, the orphans, and other underprivileged. What he said was just tearing my heart out, and I wanted to scream, because meanwhile I was sitting on my rear in a newly refurbished gym at an expensive private university—I was wearing shoes and clothes with plenty of wear in them, I had a nutritious meal in my lunch bag, and I was going home to a functional family, a roof, several hundred dollars worth of electronics, and WHAT AM I DOING ABOUT POVERTY? A little. I do a little. But it’s not on the forefront of my mind, especially since school started. And I know that every one of us college students got out of our plastic folding chairs and went about our business, and probably most of us will not make any life changes based on that sermon.

I am just getting really sick of doing things for the kingdom, but focusing primarily on myself. I am getting really sick of complaining about eating yams instead of tacos. And I am getting sick of our society as a whole. Opulence disgusts me. There is more to life than this. There is more to life than self.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS?

Your Mutual What?

Before I begin, I want to warn you about the content of this post. I know some of my readers probably would rather not be exposed to very adult topics, and I’d rather not subject you to reading something that you don’t want to or should not read. This is something for high schoolers on up! That being said, you may read on at your own risk.

This week was a milestone for me—I started college! One of my classes is on Biblical Interpretation. For our first assignment, we have to read this article, http://thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/12/05/our-mutual-joy.print.html/ ,  which we certainly don’t agree with, and identify the biblical arguments that the author uses to present her case. After reading this article, I wish the assignment were to write a very long essay to argue against the article. I suppose I’ll have to settle for a blog post. I’d really like to post the entire article here and then attack it and tear it apart, paragraph by paragraph. However, that would become a very long blog post, and it would most likely end up sounding angry. So I’ll simply address the main issues I see with this article, assuming my reader has read it. Right now, I am extremely annoyed, offended, disgusted, and altogether horrified by the way that the author, Lisa Miller, mutilates the Holy word of my God.

    

     In this article, Miller addresses the topic of the Biblical view of homosexuality. I really don’t know why she even bothers. Obviously, she regard the Bible as myth; she denies the virgin birth and refers to the account of Esther as “legend.” In addition, she discards large portions of scripture and reinterprets other parts. She claims that Old Testament sections of law (such as Leviticus 18, which describes gay sex as detestible) as “throwaway lines.” Throwaway lines! Since when is any part of the Bible disposable? Second Timothy 3:16 says that “all scripture is God-breathed.” That includes Leviticus. It includes all of the law, for that matter.

      As far as I can tell, from my viewpoint as a relatively well-studied but and yet young and inexperienced individual, there are two parts to the Law. There are the sections that deal with the forgiveness of sin, sacrifices, ceremonial cleanliness, and all things temple-related.  These sections were fulfilled in Christ Jesus (Matthew 5:17), and we no longer go about cleansing our souls in the same way. This would be an excellent discussion for another blog post.  There are also the sections that deal with public order, disciplinary action, et cetera; the case laws and related items. Modern society rarely, if ever, follows the biblical laws that God gave the Israelites. There are a few reasons for this. First of all, we a Westerners see democracy, republicanism, or some form of both or either as the only proper way to run a country. Secondly, a theocratic government seems preposterous in this modern age. Thirdly, as much as we like to bash leftists, our society is, unfortunately, very heavily influenced by Marxist thought, which is anti-God in nature*. However, a careful study of the Law (through the lens of cultural context in regards to the Israelite definitions of “slavery” and other seemingly horrible ideas) will show that God really is a lot smarter that people when it comes to designing government. Yes, capital punishment is inflicted on adulterers. Yes, slavery is allowed. Yes, high fines are imposed on criminals who cannot afford them. But stop-- instead of looking at it through the eyes of a Romanized, Westernized, faulty and failing modern system, look at it how God mean for you to view it. Immorality would be nearly nonexistent if the penalty were death, families would be whole, single teen mothers wouldn’t struggle to raise children.  Slavery in Israel was nothing like slavery in early America or in ancient Egypt. The high fines on criminals often drove them to be under servitude to the benefit of whomever they had wronged. Is that a bad idea? I don’t think so. The Law never mentioned prisons. In America, a criminal is locked up, the victim, though his taxes, pays for the criminal’s room and board, and the criminal often leaves the prison with a PHD! In ancient Israel, the criminal pays what he can to cover the cost of what he stole, and then covers the rest by working without pay. The criminal’s sin toward the victim is atoned for. He has paid back what he owes. The victim receives compensation. The state doesn’t spend millions. The system works (Ex. 22). In the Law, God says not to beat up your servant. He says not to exact usury. He says not to kill other people, steal their stuff or have sexual relations with someone of your same gender. It’s there in black and white, and it is as relevant today as it was then. Matthew 2:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”

     Another thing that I find very odd about Miller’s arguments is that while she disregards the Law on grounds of cultural context, she clings to Paul’s statements on the value of celibacy without really looking at any context at all. Paul says in 1 Corinthians that it is good to remain single and not marry. Looking at this through the lens of cultural context, I can see two reasons for this: first, the obvious reason, that it is much easier to serve God when you don’t have a family to support and be distracted by. Second, at the time of Paul’s writing, Christianity wasn’t exactly a popular religion with the general public and the government. It’s a lot easier to pick up and flee when you’re flying solo.

     I could go on for pages, but I want to address only one more thing about Miller’s article that really killed me. Allow me to paraphrase her words: “Society has abandoned most of the other traditional aspects of marriage; why not the one-man, one-woman definition? Let’s get with the times.” Ah. So now we are supposed to condone the departure from the “traditions” that held society together for centuries! I’m an extreme conservative—I believe that a woman should submit to her husband. There was a time, not so very long ago, when I would not have been labeled a “weirdo” for believing this way. Most Christians don’t hold this view, despite what the Bible teaches (Eph 5:22, 24; Col 3:18). As a whole, we no longer believe that a woman should submit to and obey her husband. That is an example of backsliding (sorry if that offends you—don’t talk to me about it. I didn’t write the book, I just read it). According to Miller, because we are backslidden, we ought to become more so! The logic of this idea escapes me completely.

Miller says that “we cannot look to the Bible as a marriage manual.” I say, why not? Isn’t the Bible supposed to be at the center of every aspect of our lives? Any married person will tell you that their marriage is a huge part of who they are and what they do. Marriage is a contract that binds two people together, hopefully for life. I don’t want to try to figure out how to make it work on my own! I need help from the One who designed marriage and who created me and whoever I’ll marry. Miller got a lot of things wrong in her article. Her logic is senseless, her argument is full of holes, her quotes are out of context. However, the biggest mistake she made was to claim that the Bible cannot be an authority on marriage. The Bible is the final authority on everything, and God promises that those who obey Him will receive blessings. I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty good to me. I think I’ll stick with my old-fashioned traditions.

*As a side note, Marxism or Marxist-like ideas can probably be blamed for the gay rights movement. It is quite simple to trace the high divorce rate, increase of immorality in the 20^th century, abortion and gay rights to the feminist movement. Feminist thought is essentially Marxist.

Out with the Demon and In with the Spirit

Today in my Bible reading, one verse flashed neon lights at me while I was reading. I’m not really sure why, because it really doesn’t have anything to do with my life at the moment, but I thought that it would make a good blog post.

      Today’s post deals with a topic that many of my readers may be uncomfortable with— exorcism. From what I can gather, a majority of Western Christians prefer not to think about demons. We want to believe that demons do not inhabit people in this part of the world, or at this modern time in history. We want to say that belief in demon activity is antiquated and unscientific. We want to tip-toe around the issue, close our ears and our eyes to anything but the material world, and we want to label Christians who regard demons as a very real threat as “weird,” “ungodly,” “fanatical,” etc. This can be expected in a society like ours. America is extremely materialistic, as is most of the Westernized world. We like to consider ourselves extremely scientific and above such “superstitions.”  We don’t like it when Christians talk too much about supernatural events like miracle healings and the casting out of demons (which, by the way, go hand in hand—physical problems are often really demonic presences; check out Luke 13:11). However, the reality is that demons are very real and very present. If you don’t like what I’m saying, too bad. I’ve never been one to apologize for what I believe or cater to the watered-down worldview of modern Christendom. I don’t plan on doing so now. If you have a problem with this, don’t complain to me, go open your Bible.

     That being said, let us get to the point of this post.

Luke 11:24-26 reads (NASB): “When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, and the state of the man becomes worse than the first.”

     An unclean spirit is, of course a demon. To paraphrase: When a demon leaves a person, it looks for a place to settle. When it doesn’t find one, it returns to the person it left. It finds the person empty and clean. So, it moves back in with some of its fellow demons.

     The point of the parable is that when a demon is cast out of a person, the person should not be left empty. The void left by the demon must be filled. Filled by what? The Holy Spirit. If the demon tried to return, it will find that the person is totally occupied. God is in the house; there’s no room for the evil. So, if you perform an exorcism, don’t just cast out the demon. Save the soul as well. Remove the evil and share the word of Christ. Chances are, if you just cast out a troublesome spirit in Christ’s name, the person will be very likely to embrace Christ. They have seen His power.

     You might be wondering where I am going with this. Chances are, you have never performed and exorcism, and you never will. That is not to say that you can’t, that you won’t have an opportunity, but that it in this part of the world Christians generally do not. I never have. If I were writing to an audience of Christians in India, China, Bengal, or another such country, it would be different. But most of my readers are American, and for us this just doesn’t really apply to us.

Or does it?

Let us replace the words “unclean spirit” with “bad habit.” If you are a recovering Facebook, alcohol, porn, cigarette or drug addict, you can’t just quit the habit and leave the time and energy you spent on your habit empty. You have to fill it with something. You can read, paint, or play golf when you used to get on Facebook. You can chew gum when you used to smoke. You get the idea. A lot of prayer, a lot of effort, and a lot of replacement. It will help the habit from returning.  Or suppose you have a friend who is accustomed to hanging around with a bad crowd. If you help him or her to get away from the bad influences, but do not teach him or her how to live for God, he or she will eventually go back to the bad friends to find acceptance and fulfillment. To sum it up: out with the bad, and in with the good.

     Hopefully, you have gathered a few things from this post. First off, the principle “out with the bad, in with the good.” Secondly, that Westerners do not often experience heavy and obvious spiritual occurrences simply because we are in Western society. Perhaps I will write more about this later.  Thirdly, don’t take for granted what culture, society, and even churches teach or imply. Always search your scriptures with prayer before coming up with conclusions about the truth.

Acts 17:11

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

Wish You Could Go Back and Tell Yourself What You Know Now

I want to cry every time I hear Taylor Swift’s song “Fifteen.” The first time I heard this song, I was babysitting an eleven-year-old and her six-year-old sister who only likes to listen to Taylor Swift songs. I took the opportunity as a teaching tool.

     “Fifteen” really is a very good song, as far as secular songs go. Unfortunately, the only words that my six-year-old friend really picked out and understood were the words to the chorus- “When you’re fifteen and someone tells you he loves you, you’re gonna believe it.” I brought her attention to the other lyrics, and explained them in a child-friendly way. She was surprised. After about a thousand episodes of Disney channel shows about teen love, her idea of the world was that it’s all about dating boys and kissing them, and that such things make life happy and rosy. How sad. How absolutely sad that the world of children’s entertainment pounds the chain-dating lie into young kids’ brains. The truth is, fifteen-year-old couples rarely stay together. It happens, but it’s rare. Relationships built solely on physical attraction are doomed. Giving everything you have will make him like you less, not more.  I wish more wildly popular singers would write songs like “Fifteen.” I wish more people would turn off the TV. It takes a lot to undo the damage done by the media.

Take every opportunity to undo.

You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors
It's the morning of your very first day
And you say hi to your friends you ain't seen in a while
Try and stay out of everybody's way

It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here
For the next four years in this town
Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say
"You know, I haven't seen you around before"

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen feeling like there's nothing to figure out
Well, count to ten, take it in
This is life before you know who you're gonna be
Fifteen

You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail
And soon enough you're best friends
Laughing at the other girls who think they're so cool
We'll be outta here as soon as we can

And then you're on your very first date and he's got a car
And you're feeling like flying
And you're momma's waiting up and you're thinking he's the one
And you're dancing 'round your room when the night ends
When the night ends

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
When you're fifteen and your first kiss
Makes your head spin 'round
But in your life you'll do things greater than
Dating the boy on the football team
But I didn't know it at fifteen

When all you wanted was to be wanted
Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now

Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday
But I realized some bigger dreams of mine
And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy
Who changed his mind and we both cried

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen, don't forget to look before you fall
I've found time can heal most anything
And you just might find who you're supposed to be
I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen

Your very first day
Take a deep breath girl
Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors

A Letter to the Girls

A letter

To a girl who will soon enter high school from a girl who has recently exited:

 Dear you,

You have a new chapter ahead of you. It can be the best time of your life, or it can be the worst. It will be whatever you make it. Make it wonderful! The next four years of your life will be the fullest years you have experienced to date. You have so many things to look forward to: learning new things, making new friends, a chance at your driver’s license, new opportunities. Your brain is still young enough to soak up information almost effortlessly, but you are mature enough to be responsible and make a difference.

      The next four years are designed to make you learn. So learn! Learn to teach yourself and to learn from others. Learn to love to learn! Studying can be enjoyable, I promise. You will need to study, and make sure that you do. Learn facts, and learn lots of them. Learn things that appeal to you as often as you can. It makes life more interesting. Learn life lessons, too. Over and over again in Proverbs, Solomon states that those who are wise are able to become more so, because such people are willing to take advice. Become wise, and behave wise. Listen closely when you are given sound teaching.

      Now is the season of life when one’s character becomes more pronounced. You will begin to see those around you for what they are. To your sorrow, you will have to let old some friendships die. But if you ask God for godly friends, He will send you dear friends to grow in faith with. You will discover that you can relate to all ages now; your friends may range from eight years old to ninety. You will have to be discerning, however. It is inevitable that you will meet people who are not interested in being a true friend. Never grow too close to someone. You cannot trust anyone on earth except your parents. They should be your confidants. You can trust them to keep your words to themselves, and you can confidently act on their advice. You cannot trust your friends completely; even the most pure-hearted friend will let you down. You cannot even trust me, much to my sorrow. I am quite certain that although I will try to always build you up and bring you joy, someday I may unintentionally hurt you or disappoint you. I, like anyone else, am only human. No, do not grow too close to anyone. Be on your guard, for there will be girls who pretend to be your friend to their own ends and who may discard your feelings and your reputation like so much trash. There will be boys who pretend to be your friend because they find you attractive, and then forget all about you when someone else catches their eye.

     Ah, yes the boys. Let me tell you about the boys. You may discover that boys find you interesting, but don’t let it flatter you. It is very flattering to receive attention, but you are still too young to think about boys and marriage. Don’t base your security and self-image on boys and their flighty fancies. Make sure that the way you behave and dress reflects a girl who tries to please her God, not the boys. Any boy who likes you only because you are physically attractive should be avoided. This kind of boy will only hurt you in the long run, even if he never means to. He is selfish if he tries to persuade you to have anything more than a friendship with him. The kind of man you want to marry begins with a boy who does not constantly focus on girls. The kind of man you want to marry wants a modest, godly wife who has character. Don’t flirt, and do your best to reign in your crushes. A little prayer goes a long way when it comes to this! I could write all day about this subject, but suffice to say that your high school years are not the time to engage in romantic relationships with boys. Wait until later. Your life will be far more pleasant, this I promise.

     The standards for teenage success are incredibly low. You don’t have to live according to the world’s expectation that you will be silly, flighty, and care only about the short-term. You can make a difference now. You can do big things! Don’t be afraid to try. Remember, with God, all things are possible. If you want to create a new charity, organize a concert, write a book, start a website, manage a campaign, receive your associate’s degree, whatever, you can do it! It will be work and you may have to jump through a few hoops and scale a few walls to get there, but if it is God’s will that you do it, you will succeed. Maturity, success and godliness do not have to begin once you hit the magic age of eighteen. It can, and should, begin before that. Keep your ideas and dreams in sight.

    Listen to advice and accept instruction and in the end, you will be wise. This is Proverbs 19:20, and it should be tattooed on your forehead. Not really, but you know what I’m getting at! You know more than you ever have before, but you know the least that you will ever know from now on. Your parents have been around the block a few times and you have barely made it to the corner. They are smarter than you are, and listening to their advice will save you a lot of trouble. Trust me, I know. I tell my dad that I should buy a t-shirt that says, “MY DAD IS ALWAYS RIGHT!” because every time I ignore his advice, I run into problems. In the same way, I know that I can trust my mom and talk to her about things because at one time, she was my age and she understands the way I think. The book of Proverbs is very clear when it repeatedly states that scoffers and fools ignore advice from wise people, but smart people heed advice, rebukes, and learning. Don’t be a silly foolish scoffer, be smart and learn from people who are wise and knowledgeable. Be respectful. Someday you are going to be thirty or forty or eighty, and I can guarantee you will want to be treated with respect.

     Get ready, high school is just around the corner! It will go faster than you expect, so grab these years as hard as you can and squeeze them for all they are worth. Good luck, and have fun!

Love,

Breana

Lord, What Kind of World is This?

On the shooting in Tucson, Az

What kind of world is this?

Lord, you said it was good,

But sin’s bite stings

 In every street, every neighborhood.

What kind of world is this?

Why would a person

Kill another human being

With a gun?

What kind of world is this?

Why aren’t we

Our brothers’ keepers,

Why can’t anyone see?

What kind of world is this?

In a nation so free,

A man use violence just because

It’s not exactly the way he wanted it to be.

What kind of world is this?

Is it really so important

That he must take a life?

I can’t understand; I can’t.

What kind of world is this?

It was only an innocent crowd

And he fired into it;

Oh, God, it shouldn’t be allowed!

What kind of world is this?

You know they’ll let him free.

He’ll plead insanity—

Well then, locked up he SHOULD be!

What kind of world is this?

A child had to die.

A Child of Hope—

Hope itself seems a lie.

And I cry.

God, where is hope?

When your beloved creature

Kills another of his own,

Hope has disappeared for sure.

God, where is justice?

As loved ones mourn,

Killers go free

When the courts adjourn.

God, where is care?

When someone can shoot

The faceless people in a crowd

No care is afoot.

God, where is sense?

When he can only

See his own way

Sense is abandoned and lonely.

God, where is peace?

When human kind

Comes to this, Peace seems

Only an idea in my mind

God, where is love?

I can only see hate

Everywhere I look,

Love comes too late.

God, where is mercy?

Does anybody even care

About his fellow man?

There is no mercy there.

But Lord, through my tears

I know in my heart

A very great truth

That was here from the start.

God, you are caring

And Sense personified.

You are Prince of Peace and Love,

Mercy that will never hide.

God will fix

The broken heart

He’ll send fresh hope

And a new start.

The answer is God.

So though we cry,

We know that despite death,

With Christ, we’ll never die.

Virgin Mary Through the Ages

Today I did some research on religious art through history for an illustrating job I have. The purpose of this was to study the culture and clothing of the first century as portrayed by various artists. As I scrolled through over one hundred of the most famous paintings, it struck me as funny how each artist’s culture changed his perception of different scenes. There were many that contained historically correct clothing and realistic scenes, but there were many others that did not. I couldn’t help cracking a grin when I saw Caravaggio’s Calling of Saint Matthew. This painting was done in 1600 and the persons in the picture were dressed in styles belonging to that century.

     I think Mary would laugh if she could sit next to me and see all these paintings. Roughly half of them depicted her. She was painted with everything from blonde and red to brown and jet-black hair, dressed in the plainest frocks and the most elaborate garments from the fashions of the first century to the Regency period.

Sometimes, she was a small young girl, other times a full-figured woman. She sat in barns, caves, thrones, clouds, temples, rocks, and even floated above the clear waters at the edge of a tropical island.

Her waist contracted and expanded and her skin darkened and lightened with the fads through the centuries. 

 I wonder what she was thinking while she was laboring in a smelly animal cave in the dark and cold night. I wonder if, as she held her newborn baby close to keep him warm and comforted, she knew that what had passed would be recorded and celebrated for millenniums by people all over the world.

Did she understand the significance of that moment? As she lay down, exhausted and sore, on a pile of straw, could she foresee what lay ahead?

Did she dare to imagine that millions would veneer and even worship her? Her hair was matted and messy. She was weary and sore from riding on a donkey all day and giving birth. Her clothes were dirty and old. She and her husband were almost penniless.

There was no floating above the ground in a gold throne while she rocked her baby. He was red, wrinkled, and floppy—and oh, so tiny! He did not sit up gracefully and observe the world with wise eyes.

When the shepherds, stinky and unpolished, came trooping through the entrance, what did she think? When she heard the hosts of Heaven break out into song, did she tremble? These weren’t little fair-haired children with stubby wings, after all. These were mighty spiritual beings like nothing  she had ever seen!

     What was it like? I always wonder what life is or was like in places and times I’ll never be in. What was it like? The paintings aren’t any help whatsoever. Even the scriptures skim the details. What was it like for Mary? I wonder.

My Own Little World

Here's a great video to the amazing song, "My Own Little World." Please watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP5mYOzOvCs

Meet the CEDAW

    I just read the scariest thing I have read in a very long time. No, it’s not another Frank Peretti novel. I’ve learned my lesson in regards to those. Actually, I just finished reading the text of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The purpose of this treaty is to end discrimination and degredation of women. The problem is that it is being dealt with in a very humanistic manner and that legal force will be used to ensure the equality of both sexes in all spheres. Translation: governments will force man and women to abandon traditional roles. This is stated very clearly in the Preamble: “A change in the traditional role of men as well as the role of women in society and in the family is needed to achieve full equality between men and women (CEDAW, Preamble, par 16).”  What does this mean? I will allow the CEDAW to explain:

States Parties shall take all appropriate measures:

(a) To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women;

(b) To ensure that family education includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social function and the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children, it being understood that the interest of the children is the primordial consideration in all cases (CEDAW, Article 5).
     In other words, the goal of the CEDAW is to abolish traditional roles. How will this affect you and me? I plan to eventually marry, have children, and stay at home to raise and educate them while my husband acts as the head of household and primary breadwinner. According to CEDAW, my husband would be treating me as an inferior being, taking advantage, of me, and discriminating against me. I would be a victim of a tyrannical spouse, and my children would be labeled as “abused,” and probably removed from our home (most certainly, if the Convention on the Rights of the Child passes). I don’t know about you, but the freedom to embrace my femininity is more important to me than this so-called equality. I feel more degraded at the thought of being forced to follow a humanistic pattern for my life than I do at the thought of staying at home.
     What makes me seriously offended by the CEDAW is the concept that I will be forced to follow what the United Nations thinks is a good plan for my life. I don’t even have any say! It will be illegal for me to say that I am submissive to my husband. Yet it will be permissible and even condoned for a woman to badmouth her husband at every opportunity. I really don’t care if some other woman wants to pursue a career, run the household, and give her husband no say in family planning. Really! It’s no skin off my nose. So why on earth does that woman care whether or not I stay home and raise my kids? It’s none of her business, it’s none of Hilary Clinton’s, and it’s none of the United Nation’s business what I do in my personal life.
     Indoctrination of children is written into this treaty. You are probably already aware that the feminist movement is highly lauded and thoroughly covered in public school text books. The CEDAW wants to go one step further:
“The elimination of any stereotyped concept of the roles of men and women at all levels and in all forms of education by encouraging coeducation and other types of education which will help to achieve this aim and, in particular, by the revision of textbooks and school programmes and the adaptation of teaching methods (Article 10, section c. Emphasis added).”
     Yet another reason to homeschool. However, I have reason to suspect that homeschooling will not be sanctioned under the CEDAW, as a woman’s place will no longer be in the home, but in the office.
     What does the Bible have to say about this? We know that to God, men and women are already equal. We are different, but we are equal, as stated in Galatians 3:28 – “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” God has different plans for men and women. The head of the woman is the man (1 Cor. 11:3), or as the New Living Translation puts it, “A woman is responsible to her husband.” This does not mean that a man is better, more important, superior to a woman (as anti-Christian disputers proclaim), it is simple the God-appointed way to keep order in the home, the church, and in the world. Pastor, Bible commentator, and writer Chuck Smith writes,

“I do not believe that the Bible has ever taught that God favors the man over the woman. The Bible does teach that God made man first, and then from man formed the woman. When God looked at man and said, ‘It is not good that man should live alone,’ and so He made the woman from man that she might be a helpmeet for him.

Now, some people misinterpret that. The helpmeet, the word meet is an old English word fit, a help that is fit for him, created for him. No way does it signify a subservient position. God saw that man by himself could never make it, and thus, the woman created, as God said, ‘for the man.’”

     We don’t need any new laws to make men and women equal. Do you want to feel worth and purpose? Follow God’s plan for your life. Not the United Nations’.

Find out more from Michael Farris

My Dog Stalks Ceramic Bunnies

...But don’t we all do the same thing? At one time or another, haven’t we all chased after an illusion? The world presents so many things that are unattainable. It shows us the “American Dream,” flawless skin, perfect friendships, happily-ever-afters. These things are plastered all over television, the internet, books, magazines… you name it. We sing about true teenage love in songs. We read all of Demi Lovato’s skin-care tips. We watch Mr. Rich Marries Miss Gorgeous. And yet we know we will never attain this perfection. We know that high-school dating normally ends in heartbreak after a few weeks. We know Demi’s pretty photo is electronically airbrushed. We know that every marriage has ups and downs and that the guy who dies with the most toys… still dies. Even with this knowledge of the facts, we still spend way too much time and brainpower trying to catch the eye of that cute guy or girl. We still stand in Wal-Mart trying to decide if we’re ivory or light peach, or if Miracle Cream will really get rid of that dad-gum red bump.  We still overspend on the latest electronic device and shoes and covet all the cool stuff we can’t afford.

      I was puzzling over this. I wonder why I often trust advertisements over common sense? Why I stress out in front of the mirror? Why I get bummed whenever I see the Joneses drive by with their speedboat? I’m reminded of a quote that’s on the wall where I get my hair trimmed: “A beautiful thing is never perfect.” It’s true. A beautiful life is never perfect. A beautiful painting is never perfect. A beautiful person is never perfect. If we could achieve perfection… well, somebody in advertising would come up with the “new perfection” so we’d still have to buy the Overpricedandoverrated Brand of whatever to feel adequate. Maybe it’s time to be content with what we have and focus on God’s bigger picture instead.  

Beautiful YOU

I just felt like I ought to post this video. Hope it makes someone's day. It sure makes mine!
For some reason, the video does not want to play on this website. It's too good a video to pass up, though, so go ahead and watch it on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXSkd8apbWM

A Monkey Ain't My Uncle: Chinks in the "Theory" of evolution part 4

     Why should Creationism be taught beside Evolution in public schools? I have done some research on this and quite frankly, I have to say that any evidence for Evolution is either dubious or completely faked. In fact, if you look at one of the major illustrations used in science textbooks today, you will find that it is completely inaccurate. This illustration is the well-known picture of the ape-to-man timeline which begins with a picture of an unassuming ape and continues with more human-like primates until we finally see a hairy cave-man. The artist’s perception is probably very unlike the actual organism looked. Why? Because the skeletons are hopelessly incomplete. Look at Lucy (Australopithecus)- she has very few bones about her and only six shards make up her skull! Another one of the “link” skeletons is but a broken skull, which could be placed together in a plethora of ways to make it appear either more human-like or more ape-like. The rest follow this pattern. And yet we are teaching our children that these are without a doubt our ancestors. Very sad.

     It is not just this way with homo sapiens. It is this way with every genus. Why are all the missing links still missing? How come the fossil record isn’t showing any evidence for evolution? And why don’t we teach Evolution as a hypothesis, which is what it is?

     Much to the chagrin of Evolutionists, the geological record follows the Creation theory much more closely. In addition, a worldwide flood is the only explanation for many inexplicable findings. The Cambrian Explosion shows many fossils together which shouldn’t belong together, according to Evolution. So why don’t we teach Creationism? Why don’t we encourage school kids to think for themselves and choose what makes the most sense to them?  Cramming only one idea down their throats (not just in science, but also in History classes) makes for TV watchers and passive bystanders, not critical thinkers, avid readers and enthusiastic, active citizens.

Sources:

Mike Snavely (http://www.natureofcreation.org/)

http://www.answersingenesis.org/

http://www.natureofcreation.org/articles/aunt_lucy_revisited.htm

I recently had the privilege to hear Mike Snavely speak at a seminar for three or four sessions. One of his sessions was called “Aunt Lucy?” and part of what he spoke about is featured in this article.  If you ever have the chance to hear Mike Snavely speak, I encourage you to do so. His sessions and the Aunt Lucy one in particular are extremely infomative, well-researched, and interesting.