Posts Tagged ‘woman’

Yes… It Does Matter Whom You Marry

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Life issues, Parenting & Education, Relationships, tagged behavior, children, danger, emotional health, faithfulness, family, love, marriage, parents, personality, respect, sensitivity, wedding, woman on September 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The following excellent post is from THE CHRISTIAN PUNDIT. It’s worth the time and thought of any young woman who is contemplating marriage.

It Matters Whom You Marry

August 15, 2012 By RVD in Marriage, Women

My husband and I were once with a youth group. There were three kids sitting across from us at a meal: two guys and a girl. The one guy was a computer geek with glasses. The other one was a college student with slightly cooler hair and no glasses. The girl was obviously with him. But while the computer geek was busy serving everyone at the meal, clearing plates and garbage, the college student got angry with the girl for a small accident and poured red juice over her leather jacket and white shirt. She picked the wrong guy, and the juice didn’t seem to change her mind. She is in for some grief if that relationship continues and especially if it leads to marriage.

So to all the young, unmarried Christian girls out there, listen up: who you marry matters. You might think that the way he treats you isn’t so bad. It’s not going to get better after the wedding. You might think that he’ll change. It’s possible, but most don’t. You might think that you’ll be able to minister to him and help him. Possibly, but if you can’t now, you won’t then, and you will be at risk yourself. A husband should lead and cherish you, not need your counsel for basic personality or behavior issues.

Unless someone married is very frank with you, you can’t understand how much a husband will impact your entire life. Next to salvation there is no other long term event that will change so many areas of your life so deeply. Here are just some of the ways that marriage will impact every aspect of living.

1. It will impact you spiritually. If the guy is not a believer, you can stop right there. You have no business yoking a redeemed soul with an unregenerate one, even if he seems open to change. Christ has bought you with a price and it is not an option to give away that blood bought heart to someone who doesn’t know and love your Lord. It will cripple your spiritual development, open up a host of temptations, stifle your prayer life, make regular church going difficult, and cause massive parenting conflict if you have children.

If the guy is a believer, is he a strong one? Will he lead you in prayer, Bible reading, family devotions, and public worship? Or will you be on your own? Is he going to make spiritual growth a priority or do other things come first? Is he going to ask you how it’s going with your soul so he can help you grow in holiness and love for Christ, or will he leave that to your pastor? Is he going to lead the children in this, or will you have to spearhead that? In church, is he going to help the kids sit well, pray, find the hymn, or will you be the one pointing out what is happening next and helping the family keep up? Many women have married spiritually immature men, thinking that it wasn’t a big issue, or that the man would change, and they were wrong. They bear the scars.

The health of your eternity is at stake. Think carefully.

2. It will impact you emotionally. Is the guy you’re thinking of going to encourage you, love you, be kind to you, and seek to understand you, or will he want to go out with the guys when you’re having a hard night? Will he listen when you are struggling with something or will he be preoccupied with a video game? Is he going to be annoyed when you cry or will he get you Kleenex and give you a hug? Is he going to going to understand that you are probably more tender than he is, more sensitive to issues and comments, or is he regularly going to run rough shod over your feelings? One woman was struggling to breastfeed her new baby, believing that that was the best thing for her, but it was very difficult. Instead of giving support and encouragement, the husband would make mooing sounds whenever he saw his wife working at it. We have to get rid of princess complexes, but we do have emotional needs. Any guy who is uncaring about your feelings and self esteem is selfish and should be left alone.

Be careful – a husband can cripple or foster emotional health.

3. It will impact you physically. Is the guy you’re with going to provide for your basic needs? Will he be able to shelter, clothe and feed you? At one point in our marriage, I was worried that there was no employment opportunity. My husband assured me that he would work at McDonalds, dig ditches, clean up roadkill – whatever it took to provide for the family, regardless of his gifts and training. That’s the kind of attitude you want. A man who doesn’t provide for his household is worse than an infidel (I Tim. 5:8). You might have to help ease the financial burden, but unless your husband is disabled or there is another unusual circumstance, you shouldn’t have to carry it yourself.

Will the man you are with care for your body or abuse it? If he gives you little smacks, kicks, etc. when you’re dating, get away. It’s almost guaranteed that he will abuse you after marriage, and stats show that’s especially true when you are pregnant. Is he going to care for and protect your body or will he hurt it? There are women in churches across America who thought it was no big deal to have little (sort of friendly) punches or slaps from their boyfriends, but who are covering up the bruises from their husbands.

Will the man you are with care for you sexually? Is he going to honour the marriage bed in physical and mental faithfulness to you or will he flirt, feed his porn addiction, or even leave you for another woman? You can’t always predict these issues, but if the seeds or practices are already there, watch out. I recently saw a newly married couple and the husband was flirting openly with another woman. Unless something drastic happens, that marriage is headed for disaster.

Is he going to be tender and gentle to you in bed? An unbelieving co-worker once told my sister that after her first sexual encounter, she had trouble walking for a few days because her boyfriend was so rough. In other words, he wasn’t selfless enough to care for the body of the woman he said he loved.

Watch out. Your body needs care and protection.

4. It will impact you mentally. Is the man that you’re thinking of going to be a source of worry or will he help you deal with your worries? Is he going to encourage your intellectual development, or will he neglect it? Is he going to value your opinions and listen to what you are thinking, or will he disregard your thoughts? Is he going to help you manage stress so that your mind is not burdened that way, or is he going to let you struggle through issues alone? Is he going to care for you and be thoughtful of you if you are experiencing mental strain, or will he ignore it? I know of a woman who could handle pregnancy and child birth very well physically but postpartum depression took a huge toll on her mind. The husband overlooked it, continuing to have more children, until his wife ended up in a mental institution.

You might think that the intellectual or mental side of a marriage is small. It’s bigger than you think. Consider it seriously.

5. It will impact you relationally. How’s your relationship with your mother? Your dad? Do you love them? Does your boyfriend? Fast forward ten years: you tell your husband that your mother is coming for the weekend. Is he excited? Disappointed? Angry? Making snide jokes with his friends? Of course, a husband should come first in your priority of relationships, as you both leave father and mother and cleave to one another. But parents are still a big part of the picture. Whatever negative feelings he has about your parents now will probably be amplified after marriage. Your marriage will either strengthen or damage – even destroy – your relationship with your parents. The people who know you best and love you most right now could be cut out of the picture by a husband who hates them.

It’s the same with sisters and friends. Will they be welcomed, at reasonable times, in your home? Will the guy who you’re with encourage healthy relationships with other women, or will he be jealous of normal, biblical friendships? Will he help you mentor younger women and be thankful when older women mentor you, or will he belittle that?

Don’t sacrifice many good relationships for the sake of one guy who can’t value the people who love you.

So how will your boyfriend do after the vows? Because this is just a sampling of the ways that a husband can bless or curse his wife. The effects are far reaching, long lasting, and either wonderful or difficult. True, there are no perfect men out there. But there are great ones. And it’s better to be single for life than to marry someone who will make your life a burden. Singleness can be great. Marriage to the wrong person is a nightmare. I’ve been in a church parking lot where the pastor had to call the police to protect a wife from a husband who was trying to stop her from worshiping and being with her family. It’s ugly. Don’t be so desperate to get married that your marriage is a grief. If you are in an unhappy marriage, there are ways to get help. But if you’re not married, don’t put yourself in that situation. Don’t marry someone whose leadership you can’t follow. Don’t marry someone who is not seeking to love you as Christ loved the church. Marry someone who knows and demonstrates the love of Christ.

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Baby Jesus Has Two Mommies?

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Parenting & Education, Relationships, tagged abstinence, children, family, Jesus Christ, LGBT, man, marriage, Nativity, two mommies, woman on August 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »

A group of judges took it upon themselves to re-define marriage in Iowa. Within the year, a new definition was given to the Holy Family in my neighboring town of Cedar Falls, IA., when two women posed with Baby Jesus in their congregation’s “living” Nativity.

We used “the youngest baby in the congregation to play the role of Jesus,” said Rev. Linda Butler, pastor of St. Timothy’s United Methodist Church in Cedar Falls. “The parents just happened to be two women.”

“What we emphasized was that this was two parents,” she said, “and this is our baby and this is our story.” Butler continued, “It does fit so well biblically,” noting that Jesus had a human mother, but Joseph was not the Savior’s actual father. “If He was born of a virgin, then Joseph is not the father. He’s not part of the conception.”

In an interview with WND (WorldNetDaily), Butler explained that her church welcomes all sexual orientations and gender identities. In his article for WND, Joe Kovacs quoted from Butler’s sermon of December 26:

“In the midst of this Christmas joy,” she said from the pulpit, “when God appears to us in human form, the gospel reading reminds us . . . we have to shout at church actions . . . that do not affirm God’s holy work among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. We have to shout [that] the government shifts money away from the prevention of AIDS and HIV to abstinence-only policies . . . We have to increase our efforts to strengthen LGBT youth who come out, and are thrown out of their families so depression and suicide do not become their modus operandi. We have to advocate against local schools . . . that have attempted to eliminate books on multi-dimensional families from curricula and libraries.”

Kittredge Cherry, who calls herself a lesbian Christian author and minister from Los Angeles, promotes her own style of “gay” Nativities on YouTube. “What if the child of God was born to a lesbian couple or a gay couple? Because, after all, love makes a family.” Cherry admitted, “Obviously this is not about historical accuracy, but I believe that [it is] true to the spirit of the Christmas story in the Bible: God’s child conceived in an extraordinary way and born into disreputable circumstances. Love makes a family . . . including the Holy Family.”

God’s Word, the Bible, never once describes or mentions same-sex “marriage.” The opposite is true. The Old Testament, rich with the history of civilization, records warnings against homosexuality, calling it an “abomination” and a “sin.” God’s Word in the New Testament is consistent. Romans 1:26-27 explains that the “unnatural relations” and “shameless acts” of sodomy bring dire consequences.

Ms. Butler doesn’t want depression and suicide to become the modus operandi of young people. Nor do I. But, for that not to happen, two things must take place.

First, we have to expose the modus operandi of those who deceive young people. GLSEN and other LGBT advocates work feverishly to mentor girls and boys because, as Dan Savage (founder of the “It Gets Better” anti-bullying campaign) writes, “. . . Gay activists want educators to teach future generations of children to accept queer sexuality” because “our future depends on it.” (Salon magazine) Daniel Villarreal is just as candid as Savage in his article that appeared in the homosexual blog Queerty in May. He wrote, “I and a lot of other people want to indoctrinate, recruit, teach and expose children to queer sexuality.” So who, Ms. Butler, is putting young people at risk for depression and suicide? And, for what reasons?

Second, God loves all of His creation. Each one is precious in His sight. In a fallen and sinful world, however, we struggle against our own passions. We desire to do the things we shouldn’t and fail to do the things we should. But, once again, God’s love appears for our benefit. In Jesus Christ, we have an advocate before the Father. In Jesus, we find strength to leave dangerous ways behind and, with the help of caring parents and community, move patiently forward on a safer and more hopeful journey. God is not cruel. He does not create people to be homosexual or lesbian and then laugh because they don’t “fit.” Can’t procreate. Are at higher risk for anal cancer and HIV/AIDS. No! God wants all of us — those tempted by homosexual or heterosexual sins — to practice self-control. Turn away from the cliff of despair and toward new beginnings. Leave old ways behind and shed burdens at the foot of the Cross.

Ms. Butler, we prevent HIV/AIDS by helping people abstain from sex apart from real marriage. We show compassion not by tolerating harmful behavior and calling it “good,” but by involving ourselves in the lives of young people and leading them away from deception, predators and profiteers. Young people rarely ask to be restrained. But, responsible adults do it anyway – for the sake of the boy or girl. As a Methodist in your position, Ms. Butler, you serve your people best with God’s Word rather than improvised words of your own.

And, Ms. Cherry, contrary to what you may think, love doesn’t make a family. God makes a family. He uses the love of a man for his wife in the procreational act of sex to bring new life into the world. That is a family. In His Book, it always has been. Always will be.

My appreciation to Joe Kovacs and WND, 8-5-11

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Never Poured Out to Empty

Posted in Faith & Practice, Relationships, Vocation, tagged caregiving, compassion, faithfulness, God's Word, hope, Jesus Christ, life, man, mentor, ministry, service, trust, woman on July 25, 2011| 1 Comment »

My friend and mentor, Joanie, knew she was engaged in daily spiritual battle. Her soul and the souls of those around her were targets for the enemy of our lives. It was for this reason that Joanie tightly grasped the Sword of Truth. “God’s Word is all I need.”

Once, while walking through a deep valley in her life, Joanie asked me to write out the words of Lamentations 3:21-23 (KJV): “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.” I wrote out a second copy for myself.

One of Joanie’s favorite authors was Oswald Chambers. His book, My Utmost for His Highest, is in our home library. At a time when I was feeling insignificant and unappreciated, my husband asked me to read a page he had marked in the book. There, Chambers quoted Philippians 2:17 (NIV): “But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.” Chambers’ commentary reads:

“Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the work of another believer — to pour out your life sacrificially for the ministry and faith of others? Or do you say, ‘I am not willing to be poured out right now, and I don’t want God to tell me how to serve Him. I want to choose the place of my own sacrifice. And I want to have certain people watching me saying, ‘Well done.’ ”

Chambers had my attention. I was compelled to read on.

“It is one thing to follow God’s way of service if you are regarded as a hero, but quite another thing if the road marked out for you by God requires becoming a ‘doormat’ under other people’s feet. God’s purpose may be to teach you to say, ‘I know how to be abased . . .’ (Philippians 4:12). Are you ready to be sacrificed like that? Are you ready to be less than a mere drop in the bucket — to be so totally insignificant that no one remembers you even if they think of those you served? Are you willing to give and be poured out until you are used up and exhausted — not seeking to be ministered to, but to minister?”

I am thankful that my husband was drawn to this particular commentary from Chambers’ book. I reflect on it whenever I’m tempted by my human nature: Does anyone notice my hard work? Does anyone see how “poured out” I am? Will I be credited for my help? Then I think about Joanie. She was always pouring herself out for others. She was my hero, but the life marked out for her required becoming a doormat.

Joanie was willing to be insignificant — to give and minister to others — all the while calling attention to the Savior Jesus Christ. In turn, something amazing happened. Joanie was never poured out to empty. God’s Spirit filled her with enough for each day. His compassions never failed. They were new every morning.

Poured out? Unappreciated? Used up? God sent me Joanie whose life assured me: “Great is Thy faithfulness.” As I pour out to His glory, He is faithful to fill up.

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Whatever You’ve Got Going, Lord!

Posted in Faith & Practice, tagged anticipation, Christian faith, death, earthly life, end of life, family, heaven, Jesus Christ, man, mentor, trust, witness, woman on July 24, 2011| 1 Comment »

Joanie was scheduled for surgery. “I’m getting my affairs in order,” she told me.

Joanie had come into my life as an older, wiser friend not long after my mom died. She became my mentor. A reminder that God’s Word is all that matters. A reminder that Jesus is that Word for my life.

“My surgery is to repair an aneurysm,” Joanie explained. “It’s a routine procedure. But, whatever the Lord’s got going here is fine with me.”

A few days before the surgery, Joanie’s two daughters flew in to be with her. Joanie called to tell me she had a grand idea. “We’re going to have a joyful night on the town.” Later, I learned that night was special indeed. Over a leisurely dinner, Joanie and her daughters shared many memories. They laughed, then cried, then laughed some more as they lingered over a single glass of white Zinfandel. Later, they returned home to curl up in the living room where they continued their story-telling late into the night. Somehow, I had no difficulty hearing Joanie tell her daughters, “I gotta tell you girls. Whatever the Lord’s got going here is fine with me.”

When Joanie’s son called to say he would drive down to be with her, she assured him there was no need. “You stay with your family right now. I’ll see you soon.” Then she penned him a loving letter with words that can only flow from a mother’s heart. The note ended, “Whatever the Lord’s got going here is fine with me.”

On the morning of the surgery, Joanie woke early. She slipped out the back door to say good-bye to her two dogs, the faithful companions who greeted her this morning as they did every morning. Coming back inside, she slowly walked through the rooms of the house, touching her lips and planting a “kiss” on the photo faces of her husband, children, and grandchildren. She sighed, then picked up the bag she had carefully packed the night before. With one quick glance over her shoulder back at the house, she walked to the car. No one but her Father heard her say, “Whatever you’ve got going here, Lord, is fine with me.”

The surgery did not go as expected. There were too many complications. My friend’s body grew weak and could no longer fight the battle of life over death. In the distance, she could hear the great choir of heavenly angels praising God. “Whatever you’ve got going here, Lord, is fine with me.” Then, a brief hesitation. Did Joanie hear one of her daughters say, “We must let her go.” Did she hear the other cry, “No!” Joanie waited as if she were giving her daughter time to adjust her thinking and receive the same peace that was now flowing through the mother. It was not easy, but both daughters agreed, “Mom is ready.” And they entrusted her to God.

Days later, Joanie’s daughters opened the bag which their mom had packed for her hospital stay. In it were all the things that a woman would take for recovery from surgery — a few toiletries, nightgown, photo or two of her family, books for passing the time, and well-worn Bible. Looking through the items in the bag, they paused to remember the behavior of their mom the morning she left home for the hospital. They heard her sigh and saw her lingering glance at the house. They knew she had written a “good-bye” letter of encouragement to her son. But, at the same time, here was a bag filled with the items one would need for life.

Joanie truly believed, “Whatever you’ve got going, Lord, is fine with me.” She lived each day ready to do those things God had already prepared for her to do, yet she kept her eyes focused on the Savior who would one day carry her home. In the time that I had know her, Joanie spoke with excitement about her eternal home with Jesus. Yet, never had I met anyone more content to be in the present — loving souls and sharing the Word of life.

Joanie departed my life much too soon. Plans had been made for her to spend a week in my home. I anticipated that visit. I needed more time learning at the feet of my mentor. Learning how to adjust my attitude. Learning to focus less on self and more on Christ. That visit did not happen, but others will. With all confidence, I anticipate daily visits with Joanie in our Father’s house.

With eagerness, Joanie expected Jesus to come for her. She only hoped she would not stand before Him ashamed. Therefore, whether she lived or died, it would be to the glory of her Heavenly Father (Philippians 1:20-21).

“Whatever You’ve got going here Lord is fine with me.”

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Sexual Menu?

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Commentaries of others, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Life issues, Parenting & Education, Relationships, tagged children, faithfulness, future of marriage, generations, harm, infidelity, Iowa, man, Mercatornet, monogamy, New York, parenting, same-sex marriage, sexual menu, social trends, suffering, woman on July 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Seems that New York has followed the lead of my fellow sophisticated Iowans. Same-sex “marriage” has just become law there, too. People like me who don’t believe we have the right to define an institution created by God justifiably oppose tampering with marriage and parenthood. But, we are told, not to worry! Legalizing same-sex “marriage” won’t hurt a thing.

I disagree. So does Michael Cook, the editor of Mercatornet. In his article of July 11, he asks: “Anything else on the menu?”

He offers three reasons why the legalization of same-sex “marriage” will, indeed, affect our culture. All come from authors featured in the New York Times. First, Michael Cook notes the commentary of Katherine M. Franke, a Columbia University law professor. She confessed that she really didn’t want to marry her long-time lesbian partner anyway. Why lose the flexibility and benefits of living as domestic partners? Cook quotes professor Franke, saying as far as she was concerned, “we think marriage ought to be one choice in a menu of options by which relationships can be recognized and gain security.”

“One choice in a menu of legally supported relationships?” Cook asks. “How long is the menu?”

Cook offers a second reason why legalizing same-sex “marriage” will impact society by highlighting another article in the Times by Ralph Richard Banks. Banks is a professor at Stanford Law School. What comes after gay “marriage”? Banks “puts his money on polygamy and incest” because legal prohibitions on either practice are losing strength. Society forbade them in the past because they were seen as “morally reprehensible;” therefore, society felt “justified in discriminating against them.” I follow Banks’ reasoning. Just as homosexual advocates are working hard to shift our thinking and normalize the behavior God calls a sin, so will advocates of polygamy and incest.

Two more behaviors, Cook notes, are added to the “menu of [sexual] options.”

The third reason why legalized same-sex “marriage” will have a domino affect on the culture is voiced by Dan Savage. The Times describes Savage as “America’s leading sex-advice columnist.” He is syndicated in at least 50 newspapers. Here’s what Cook writes about Savage. “Savage, who claims to be both ‘culturally Catholic’ and gay, thinks that gay couples have a lot to teach heterosexual couples, especially about monogamy. Idealising monogamy destroys families, he contends. Men are simply not made to be monogamous. Until feminism came along, men had mistresses and visited prostitutes. But instead of extending the benefits of the sexual revolution to women, feminism imposed a chastity belt on men. ‘And it’s been a disaster for marriage,’ he says. What we need, in his opinion, is relationships which are open to the occasional fling — as long as partners are open about it.”

Cook continues, “Traditional marriage — well, actually real marriage — is and has always been monogamous and permanent. There have been and always will be failures. But that is the ideal to which couples aspire. They marry ‘for better or worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part’. The expectation is exclusivity in a life-long commitment.”

Cook believes that legalization of same-sex “marriage” will most assuredly “affect the attitudes of young couples who are thinking of marriage a decade from now . . . it will be one of a number of options . . . they will have different expectations . . . marriage will include acceptance of infidelity, will not necessarily involve children, and will probably only last a few years.”

Advocates of same-sex “marriage” in New York say it’s good for marriage. Cook concludes:

“In a way, they’re right. Just as World War II was good for Germany because out of the ashes, corpses and rubble arose a heightened sense of human dignity and a democratic and peaceful government, same-sex marriage will heighten our esteem for real marriage. But in the meantime, the suffering will be great.”

Amen.

Mercatornet: Navigating modern complexities
Check it out!

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Sexual Trail Blazing

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, Parenting & Education, Relationships, tagged California teacher's association, children, classroom, consequences, family, Gov. Brown, health care, health risks, history, honesty, LGBT, man, parents, public schools, S.B. 48, sexual diversity, sexual indoctrination, textbooks, woman on July 15, 2011| 1 Comment »

Yesterday, California’s Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law legislation that requires the state’s schools to teach the contributions of people who are lesbian, bisexual, “gay,” and transgender.

S.B. 48 makes California the first state in the union to pass such a law. It was authored by Senator Mark Leno of San Francisco, a homosexual. The law requires textbooks be re-written to include information about LBGT Americans and “present them in a positive light.”

Students as young as six will be affected. Parental notification is not required. Parents cannot opt their children out.

The governor says the bill prohibits “discrimination in education.” He stated that “history should be honest.”

For the sake of honesty:

What is the driving force behind this law? What is the desired outcome? Who does it benefit?
To whom are children entrusted: their parents or the school?
If parents teach God’s Word to their children because it protects them from harm, why would the governor, teacher’s association, or school want to contradict parents?
Why does the bill prohibit teachers and textbooks from telling students that homosexuality is a risky lifestyle? The practice of homosexuality carries with it the highest rate of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, high cancer rates, and earlier deaths.

It has always been a good thing to teach young people about the contributions of earlier Americans. But, honestly, where is the textbook describing the contributions of George Washington the heterosexual? Clara Barton the heterosexual? Martin Luther King, Jr. the heterosexual?

Apparently S.B. 48 is California’s eighth school sexual indoctrination law forcing itself on parents and children. What will this trend in sexual trail blazing leave behind?

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Moments Before an Abortion

Posted in Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Life issues, tagged abortion, children, father, human family, man, mother, right to life, sanctity of human life, woman on July 7, 2011| 2 Comments »

Do you know why the sanctity of human life remains the most important issue of our time? Because how we care for the most vulnerable member of the human family is how we will care for all members of the family.

Can you imagine the smallest of voices? Perhaps this is what a child might say in the moments before he or she is aborted. CLICK HERE

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MERCY Please

Posted in Citizenship, Faith & Practice, Life issues, tagged abortion, abortion clinics, animal cruelty, animal rights, children, compassion, ethics, family, human care, human rights, man, Mercy for animals, morality, PETA, Planned Parenthood, protest, woman on July 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The animal rights group Mercy For Animals hired a hog confinement site employee to go undercover. Photos were taken of some unethical behavior.

Mercy… please! Animals will never be able to thank you. But, if you would put your passion into protesting the cruelty that happens daily inside abortion clinics, I’m sure some children and their children will thank you.

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Bible Provides Narrative for Life

Posted in Citizenship, Commentaries of others, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Life issues, Vocation, tagged Bible, choices, Colson Center for Christian Worldview, culture, dialogue, entertainment, family, God's Word, hope, Judeo-Christian, lifestyle, man, media, metanarrative, news industry, Prison Fellowship Ministries, reflection, religion, understanding, woman on June 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

John Sommerville is the author of how the News Makes Us Dumb. Before news became an industry, Sommerville writes, society was held together not by news but by its cultures. People shared “fairly settled assumptions about what was reasonable, natural, expected or good.” Scholars call this a culture’s metanarrative — a narrative that “binds our thinking.”

The Bible provided this metanarrative for Western civilization. Even nonbelievers were familiar with its stories and ways of structuring moral and social reality. But the media — the news industry — changed that. People in this industry generally disregard or blatantly defy the Judeo-Christian narrative. They believe it’s their job to shape our thinking. They are constantly raising questions that cause people to doubt Christianity or any cultural traditions grown out of Biblical thinking. Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries, writes, “The result is that many people accept the idea that we should be constantly reevaluating what we believe and understand about the world — including our religious beliefs — but news stories cannot replace a culture’s metanarrative, because, by its very nature, the news gives priority to the shocking and the new. It is a cycle of endless deconstruction.”

“The good news,” writes Colson, “is that Americans are recognizing that the ‘news’ is becoming a little more than vulgar entertainment, largely irrelevant to our lives.”

A good practice is to use the news for appropriate and limited purposes. Sommerville offers this suggestion: “We should balance our bloated appetite for news with a cultural diet rich in books, reflection, and discussion. And we should put the news through a mental metanarrative grid — asking ourselves if the ‘news’ being offered up reinforces our cultural story — and our views of Christianity — or tears it apart.” Colson agrees. “The news may make us dumb — but reading and discussing great books, especially the Bible, leads to the kinds of wisdom that brings real understanding.”

Appreciation to How Now Shall We Live Devotional
by Charles Colson, Tyndale House Publishers

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Happy Birthday USA

Posted in Citizenship, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, tagged 4th of July, Benjamin Rush, Bible, citizens, country, Democrats, founding fathers, God's Word, Independence Day, Independents, man, morality, political parties, politics, republic, Republicans, USA, voters, woman on June 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Benjamin Rush signed the Declaration of Independence. He also served in the Presidential administrations of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. Each came from a different political party. How could Benjamin Rush serve Presidents from three different parties, and what was his own party affiliation? He once proclaimed:

I have been alternately called an aristocrat and a democrat. I am now neither. I am a Christocrat. I believe all power . . . will always fail of producing order and happiness in the hands of man. He alone who created and redeemed man is qualified to govern him.”

Rush made his choice of candidates based on which one better stood for Godly principles, no matter what party affiliation. As Proverbs 29:2 states:

When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.”

What legacy will we leave the next generation?

President James A. Garfield, a Christian minister, reminded Americans: ” . . . [T]he people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature . . . [I]f the next centennial does not find us a great nation . . . it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.”

Source: Original Intent by David Barton

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