Chicken Feather Romance

I say,

How can you not see the

Romance

In scrubby bushes

And chicken feathers?

Isn’t all of life

Romance?

You just have to look at it that way.

Who needs moonlit walks

And candle-lit dinners

When you can find

Romance

In chickens and dirt?

There is a

Big-picture romance

That cannot happen

Without both

The seaside bungalows

And

The dust and bird scat-

Those who love and live the latter

Will taste the romance

Sweeter

And find blessing

Beyond compare.

And what if there

Are two little pairs

Of bare feet

Running in the dust,

Running through the

Scrubby bushes and the

Feathers—

Innocent, dirty little feet—

And one pair is white

And one is brown

And both are scrubbed

By me everyday

And put into little shoes

On Sunday

And run through

 My kitchen

Leaving little

Muddy footprints

That I clean up?

What if I scrub

These twenty toes

And a hundred more

And love every one of them

Because each

Is my precious gift

To watch grow out

Of a dozen shoe sizes

And become the

Beautiful feet

That bring good news.

To touch a heart—

To touch a life—

To touch a people;

This is my dream.

Big dreams come

In a thousand little pieces

The ordinary,

The extraordinary,

The miraculous

And the mundane.

If a snapshot of a dream

Is chickens

And children

And dirt

Then

Bird scat

Diapers

Sweeping

Must all be

Very romantic

It’s part

Of the greatest

Romance—

A savior wooing

His bride

Drawing His people

To Him.

And I say,

How can you not see

Romance

In scrubby bushes

And  chicken feathers?

(c) 2012 Breana Franks

REJOICE!

     ~Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice!”~

     So many times in both the Old and New Testaments, God’s people are commanded to rejoice in the Lord. Practically, this seems like a hard command. How on earth, while we are wading through our everyday ups and downs, can we rejoice at all times? But considering who we are and what has been done for us, how can we NOT rejoice? God has forgiven us, given us hope, taken away our guilt and given us purpose! To rejoice always does not mean that we have a happy face all the time and that everything rolls off our backs. It does not mean that we only cry happy tears. It does not mean that we are singing and dancing at all times. It does not mean that we are required to paste happy plastic smiles on our faces when life is not playing along or we are failed Christians. Joy of the Lord is something deeper—it is the song that springs from our hearts when we are happy. It is the strength we find when we have nothing left. It is the peace that gives us hope for a positive future when life just stinks. The emotions we have do not affect our joy; we can be crying our eyes out and feeling like our hearts are breaking, but our joy does not disappear.

     There is, however, a difference between having joy and acting on it. We can’t just let our joy sit, unseen, at the bottom of our hearts’ reservoir. We must REJOICE! We must let our joy show for all the world to see! This is part of our witness. Our joy should be visible for the unsaved to see and thirst for. Nobody wants to be like a sourpuss. If religion turns your personality into a wrinkled-up raisin, than it is just that—religion. Religion, not a living, active relationship with the God of the Universe. People can tell the difference!

     Joy is something that I have been thinking about. I think that sometimes I do not do a very good job of showing my joy. I am not a very effervescent person, and I tend to be extremely serious most of the time. I have been learning to lighten up; however, I have also found that unless I watch myself, my default expression is one of absolute crabbiness! I sometimes listen in amazement to what comes out of my mouth—often, even when I am thinking positively, I say one negative thing after another. Time to be more intentional about reflecting my inward joy? I think so! A wise man I know once said, “I’m not going to walk through life looking like I was baptized in pickle juice… keep the smiling, keep the joy… It gets the joy back when you stop focusing on trivial stuff.”

     It’s time, Christians, to stop focusing on the trivial stuff. It’s time to focus on the eternal stuff. Who cares if I get less than a 95 on my Ethics test? Who cares if I drop a clean fork now and then while I’m working in the cafeteria? Who cares if say something stupid to someone I just met? These things won’t matter in two weeks, so I shouldn’t let them steal my joy now. The important thing—what I should be focusing on—is that God has big plans for me. He has a beautiful life for me, and He has an even more beautiful eternity for me. He has a beautiful eternity for YOU. Rejoice! Are you ready to let your joy shine?

Images copyright Breana Franks 2012

Summer

No Internet access for six weeks.

No Internet access for six weeks!

No, that’s not a cry of horror. That is a cry of delirious joy. This summer, I will be totally off the ‘net and away from all electronics (except my cell phone) and out in the cool pines. This is an occasion to forget about makeup, emails (hooray for snail mail!), Youtube (sorry Jordan-from-MessyMondays), and movies. It is also and occasion to

READ.

    My reading list currently consists of six of John Steinbeck’s novels that I’ve not yet read, the rest of Kisses from Katie, Culture Making, and Tom Sawyer in Spanish (we’ll see how much of it I can actually understand). I will, however, be adding a few new books to my list, since I have decided to take up the

Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge!

Just in case you want to join the challenge :)

     I want to read two that I’ve never read before: Jo's Boys and How They Turned Out and Flower Fables

    

     Another thing that I am going to read a lot of this summer is my Bible. Working 40 hours a week without school or other commitments means that I will have a lot of time on my hands. What a perfect time and place to seek Yahweh.

     One verse that has been on my heart recently is Jeremiah 29:13, “you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” This verse is a part of something that God told the elders of the exiled Israelites thousands of years ago through Jeremiah the prophet. It was spoken to a specific audience at a specific time in a specific place, but I believe that it is as true for us as it was for them. God WANTS to have a relationship with me. He WANTS to have one with you. How amazing is that? When I consider the heavens, the work of His hands, what is man that He is mindful of us? Why does the creator of the universe care about humanity as a whole, much less each individual person? I can’t fathom. I want to KNOW that God, not just know about Him. I am thirsty for Him right now! Like a deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for my God. He is good enough to call my heart when it is turned to things on earth and not things in Heaven. He is good enough to comfort me when I am hurting. He is good enough to hear my cry, even if I’ve only halfheartedly answered His call just that morning. He is good enough to answer odd little prayers offered in faith for His pleasure and mine. He is good enough to make it blatantly obvious in a variety of ways that He wants my full heart and my full attention—right now. O taste and see that the Lord is good! I want more of Him.

He wants more of me.

He wants more of you.

I guess the important question at this point is

Are you going to give more of yourself to Him?

“Yes” on its own is not a good enough answer. I think we all do far too much of saying nice things and not acting on them. Singing nice lyrics and not meditating on them. Making nice decisions and not living by them. So HOW are you going to give more of yourself to Him? Maybe you will give more of your time. Maybe you will spend intentional time with Him when you used to do something for you. Maybe you are going to serve others intentionally with a cheerful heart. Maybe you are going to support a mission, financially or with prayer. I hope you join with me in giving more of yourself to God. I hope you and I together will make this summer into a new adventure in our relationship with God. Oh, I am excited about this summer! What a beautiful life this is. God is good.

See you in six weeks!

Inconvenient Christmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuQFFCI1h34

I love this song. It’s funny and a little far fetched, but it’s also a reminder that even when this potentially stressful time of year comes around, we can just relax and remember what’s really important. How often do we really “have it bad?” Honestly, very rarely. I’m not saying that we don’t have our frustrations—in fact, I did write a new verse to this song that reflected our family’s mishaps! However (as this song reminded me on my most frustrating day this season), we can get through and over the road bumps in life and remember the incredible trouble that Jesus and his family went through in order to give us the ultimate Christmas gift—hope of eternal life.  Don’t let the business and stress of the season distract you from the precious core of this holiday.

Among the bills that I received was a postcard marked, "Apology,

the Christmas gifts you ordered aren't in stock."

So I packed up the kids for grandpa's house,

then a blizzard blew in and the car broke down.

So, we shared a quart of eggnog at a truck stop.

And I said, "Now kids, this is unfortunate,

you think it's bad, well it's inconvenient.

But the most inconvenient Christmas ever was,

was the first one, when God came so far to give himself to us.

So when the stress hits each December

how it helps me to remember

God is with us most when things just can't get worse.

Ah, the most inconvenient Christmas ever was, was the first.

By the time we got to Grandpa's house

his Christmas lights had burned it down.

So we had to take him home to live with us.

But he couldn't stand to leave the farm, so now there's cattle in our yard,

sheep on the rug, pigs in the tub, and a rooster at dawn.

I said, "Now honey, this is unfortunate,

you think it's bad, well it's inconvenient.

But the most inconvenient Christmas ever was,

was the first one when God came so far to give himself to us.

So when the stress hits each December

how it helps me to remember

God is with us most when things just can't get worse.

Ah, the most inconvenient Christmas ever was, was the first.

A young girl expects a child she can't explain;

forced to walk a hundred miles just to give birth in the hay.

While the king in that same hour,

fearing challenge to his power,

sent his troops to track him down and wipe him out.

Hands down,

the most inconvenient Christmas ever was,

was the first one when God came so far to give himself to us.

So when the stress hits each December

how it helps me to remember

God is with us most when things just can't get worse.

Ah, the most inconvenient Christmas ever was, was the first.

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.

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

Hello blog friends, I want to tell you about a wonderful new book that a friend of mine has written. It is Postscript: I’ve Changed!, a poetry book filled with the thoughts and prayers of a young woman pouring out her heart to God. This book was incredibly encouraging to me and has prompted me to deepen my walk with the Lord. Not only is it great to have on YOUR bookshelf, it would make a delightful gift! Please check it out at the Becoming Godly Maidens bookstore, http://www.becominggodlymaidens.com/bookstore  or at http://pocketfullofsoul.weebly.com/purchase.html

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.

1-25-09 "it is possible to find joy in a pink sponge and scrubbing bubbles"

     Today, I glorified God by cleaning the bathroom.  I have reformed my attitude towards bathroom cleaning. I no longer look at it as a boring and gross way to waste forty-five minutes of my life. I CAN glorify God through cleaning the bathroom! First of all, it is a blessing to my mother, who has enough house to clean, a blessing to my family, who would like to have a clean and tidy restroom, and a blessing to myself. I can draw from Col. 3:17, "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."  What about cleaning bathrooms can I give thanks for? I'm not talking about pretending to be happy (Oh, yay! Thank you, Lord, that I get to scrub scum off the tub and wipe down the potty!); but truly finding joy in the one of the most monotonous tasks. I can find several things to be thankful about. 1) I am thankful to my mom who is having me learn to keep house now so that I won't have to struggle when I get a home of my own. 2) I am thankful I actually have a bathroom to clean. I have seen what people form third-world countries use- outhouses from cardboard boxes and rain barrels instead of running water. 3) I am thankful that this will be one more thing I can do for my future husband, because I don't know any man who would want to clean the bathroom himself.      This positive outlook can be applied to nearly everything.  You can find joy in the most simple, everyday tasks of life if you look hard enough. Even in cleaning the bathroom!