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Friday, September 3, 2010
5-9-10 "The Daily Devo Challenge"
4-31-10 "Forget it, Lizzy Stanton"
I just found a delightful website- Ladies Against Feminism. Come on, sisters, let's fight feminism and show the world that we want to be respected for our feminity and appreciated for the womanliness that God gave us!
Feminism is unbiblical- just check out the epistles. And Feminist attitudes won't go away without FEMALES fighting it. By giving "rights" they took away our dignity. Let's take it back for the glory of God!
When we do this, we not only help ourselves, we help our Christian brothers by allowing them to be masculine. The world laughs at feminine women and masculine men, but that is SO backward! Men can't behave chivelrously if we don't let them. Give the gift of manhood to the boys in your life and the gift of womanhood to the girls and take your place in the role God intended for you!
Nathan has thoughts on this matter, too... please read his post here
4-27-10 "I'm a Native American, too! For Cryin' Out Loud, It's Not My Fault Columbus Didn't Use GPS..."
Most of you would look at me and say that I am “white.” I am a mixture of Czech, Norwegian, German, English, French, etc… yes, you would say that I am white. However, I am not really white. To comprehend my meaning, I suggest you conduct a conclusive experiment: Take a piece of computer paper. Find the nearest white person. Hold paper against skin of white person. Compare. Do the paper and the skin match? Is there more than an infinitesimal difference in pigment? Of course there is. You will discover that while the paper is decidedly white, the flesh will range anywhere from pale ivory to beige, or reddish if it is swimming season. Not white. Therefore, using the term “white” to describe this particular race is derogatory and racist. I take great offence! Therefore, allow me to suggest a few more politically correct terms:
· People of European Descent
· European Americans
· People of No Color
Better yet, how about we all forget about the whole “race” thing. As Carl Kerby of Answers In Genesis says, there is only one race- the HUMAN race. We all came from one couple in the beginning, and they probably had a light, warm brown for skin tone. As people spread out all over the earth, genetic mutations changed the skin tones to darker or lighter colors, and as time went on, those in Africa passed on dark pigments, those in Europe passed down a deficit of pigment, and those on other continents had various different skin tones. Makes sense, right? We’re all related by Adam and Noah, and God loves everyone the same. So what the heck is all this to-do about “races” for? We are all people- can’t we just be color-blind?
4-23-10 "Some Thoughts from Henry"
I am reading Henry David Thoreau’s Walden and Civil Disobedience currently. Walden was interesting enough, to a point; I have never heard of a person leaving civil life and going out to live in the middle of nowhere before. However, I was a bit disillusioned by the fact that Thoreau began a fire in the woods and could not be bothered to clear away the brush around the fire, and thus started a great forest fire, which he barely apologized for. Besides that, some of his ideas are rather odd. I thought to myself, “What decent things can such a person have to say about government?” I was particularly unexcited about reading Civil Disobedience.
However, beginning on the first page of said essay, I found several bits and pieces of Thoreau’s writing that we would do well to think on- here are a few.
“Yet this government never of itself furthered any enterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way. It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West. It does not educate. The character inherent in the American people has done all that it has accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way.”
“Law never made men a whit more just; and by means of their respect for it, even the well-disposed are made daily made agents of injustice.”
“I heartily accept this motto- ‘That government is best which governs least’.”
“This American government, --what is it but a tradition, though a very recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but each instant losing some of its integrity? It has not the vitality and force of a single living man; for a single man can bend it to his will.” (A bit prophetic, don’t you think?)
“A very few, as heroes patriots, martyrs, reformers in the great sense, men, serve the state with their consciences also, and they are commonly treated as enemies by it.”
“But when friction comes to have its machine [that is, its government], and oppression and robbery are organized, I say, let us not have such a machine any longer.”
“There are thousands who are in opinion against slavery and war, who yet in effect do nothing to put an end to them; who, esteeming themselves children of Washington and Franklin, sit down with their hands in their pockets, and say they do not know what to do, and do nothing... they hesitate, they regret, and sometimes, they petition; but they do nothing in earnest and with effect.”
“O for a man who is a man, and, as my neighbor says, has a bone in his back which you cannot pass your hand through!”
“How can a man be satisfied to entertain an opinion merely, and to enjoy it?
“For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once well done is done forever.”
“A minority is powerless while is conforms to the majority; it is not even a minority then; but it is irresistible when it clogs by its whole weight.” (Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world… You are not of the world even as I am not of the world… be a light unto the world…)
“No man with a genius for legislation has appeared in America. They are rare in the history of the world. There are orators, politicians, and eloquent men, by the thousand; but the speaker has not yet opened his mouth to speak, who is capable of settling the much-vexed questions of the day. We love eloquence for its own sake, and not for any truth which it may utter, or heroism it may inspire.”
“If we were left solely to the wordy wit of legislators in Congress for our guidance, uncorrected by the seasonal experience and the effectual complaints of the people, America would not long retain her rank among the nations.” (I think we saw this phenomenon last weekend- that is, of eloquent speakers on the house floor getting other representatives by their “wordy wit” to vote one way, while the enraged people watched on their television sets, their complains ineffectual. So what follows? Presumably, America loses her rank. To whom? China? Russia? Yikes. Scary thought!)
4-21-10 "Dear Mr. President... Signed, We the People"
Psalm 21:1-2 "The Lord is my Light and my Salvation- whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stornghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 2:1-2 and 10-11 " Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together agaisnt the Lord and against His Anointed One. "Let us break their chains, " they say, "Let us throw off their fetters." The One enthroned in Heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them... Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling."
4-9-10 "How are Christian Young People Supposed to View the Opposite Sex?"
What does God say about the matter? Ask your average church-going teen or pre-teen, and they will probably reply, “Nothing!” Although God never said outright, “thou shall not flirt,” he has indeed addressed the matter in His word.
· 1 Timothy 5:1-2 “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if her were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”
Treat younger men as brothers, and younger women as sisters. Treat members of the opposite sex with absolute purity. Treat them as siblings? Easier said than done! How on earth are we to do that? First of all, stop looking at members of the opposite gender as potential boyfriend/ girlfriends or husbands/wives. Realize that God has your future spouse in mind already and it’s up to Him, not you, to get the ball rolling. Begin to think of them as friends, not “romantic interests.” The easiest way to begin changing the way you think is to a) pray that God will give you a change of heart b) behave as if you already consider them as brothers or sisters. What does that mean? You respect them as a person, love them with agape, or brotherly love, and cease the flirting. Your attitude will eventually follow your actions.
· Colossians 3:1-2 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
I realize that this does not really seem to fit this topic at first glance. However, is perfectly germane! When you find yourself attracted to someone of the opposite gender, you begin to think about them more and more. Then, once they are at the forefront of your mind, you begin to want to be around them more and more. What usually follows is flirtatious behavior, ansd then you begin to think about them still more. The result? God is shoved to the back burner of your mind. If you are not careful, you may find yourself completely removing Him from the stove, sealing Him in a Tupperware container, and putting Him in the fridge to refer to later. And that is when you slip out of His will. The result? Life starts to stink like last week’s leftovers. The preventative? Keep God at the forefront of your mind. When you start to dream about that cute person you like, push away the thought. Don’t let it distract you. Think about something else- focus on God! Start to pray. Prayer usually kicks that thought out of your head faster than anything else. Praying for another person takes the focus off yourself (did you realize that daydreaming about a crush is a self-centered action?) and onto that person and God.
· Titus 2: 11-12 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age.”
What is a “worldly passion”? It is anything That absorbs your thoughts that is defiantly not of God, but instead of the world. An all-consuming crush fits nicely in this category. That’s not to say that you won’t have crushes- you will, and it doesn’t make you heathen! When it becomes ungodly is when you allow it to take over your mind or even your life. Self-control must come into play when you find yourself having a crush. If you look around you, you will find that many people give into their crushes- or leap into them head-first! You may even find that you do this. Use self-control- divert your thoughts from this person, resist the urge to flirt, treat them like your brother or sister. Does it seem like less fun? Sure. But is it more pleasant in the long-run? Absolutely. When you look back a year from now, what do you want to remember – that you focused on school and made good grades, witnessed to people about the Lord, had carefree fun with friends, worked hard at your sport, and wrote uplifting journal entries? Or that you wasted time daydreaming about a crush, told a friend about your crush and were gossiped about, and made a complete fool out of yourself as you did your best to grab that person’s attention?
· 1 Timothy 2:9a “I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety…”
· Job 31:1-2 “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at any girl, for what is man’s lot from God above, his heritage from the Lord Almighty?”
These two verses, one for the girls and one for the guys, are hopelessly intertwined with each other. While everyone has a different idea of just exactly what is modest, girls, there are some obvious guidelines that you need to follow. A good place to find these guidelines is The Modesty Survey at www.threbelution.com. Why be modest? So that the guys you are around will be able to follow Job 31:1-2 without serious struggles. It may seem as though you will get more attention from guys when you wear flirtatious clothing, but trust me- you do not want that kind of attention from that sort of guy! The kind of guy you want to attract (i.e., a godly man who will respect your modesty and your body) will not be attracted by immodest dress. A lot of girls- even Christian girls- could care less about modesty and the consequences of immodesty because they are glad to get male attention. Don’t be one of those girls. Sure, for many of you, it may be a while before you actually want to get a husband, and it doesn’t seem like it really matters WHO you attract at this point. However, let your track record be clean and godly. Your husband will be appreciative, trust me, and you won’t have guilt or regrets.
Guys, I think this verse pretty much says it about as plainly as it possibly can. As a member of the feminine order, it is not my place to write to you on matters such as these. If you would like a commentary on this subject, find one that is written by a guy- a good one is I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris. I encourage you to take the time to read this book.
Why avoid flirting? As the verses above show, flirting is not in God’s will. In addition, as I have discussed, it will damage your reputation as a godly young person, it will repel godly potential-spouses, it will cause you grief and regret. In addition, if you never flirt in the first place, chances are, you will never find yourself going “too far.” Don’t ever begin creating a potentially dangerous guy-girl relationship. I will even go so far as to encourage you to avoid dating or any type of courtship until you are old enough to be married. Why? You will be able to grow closer to the Lord, not to one, three or seven guys/girls whom it will not have benefited you in the least to have known; you will have time get a job, get good grades, or have a hobby; and you will never have a chance to “make mistakes”. As you can see, flirting leads to only heartache and regrets! Do not get caught up in it- live for the Lord, not for yourself.
3-4-10 "Please Peel Your Vocab Words Off the Tub
...Is probably not something that you ever expected to hear your mother tell you. But it may become a regular phrase in your house with this new study technique! This is a perfect study idea, especially for long-haired girls. It sounds completely wacky and kind of strange, but it works very well. Have you ever wished that taking a shower did not seem like a total waste of time? Well, notw, instead of singing off-tune oldies, you can study in the shower. That's right- IN the SHOWER! And all for less than a quarter! All you have to do is slip whatever you are trying to study into a zip-loc bag, close it tightly, hold it under the water, and stick it to the shower wall. Now, for you girls who have 32-inch locks that take at least a half hour to wash (trust me- I know how frusterating this is!), you have another half hour to study. Thanks to my friend who gave me this tip!
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