Nasty Deception

Image from pixabay.com

If you didn't hear Ashley Judd's rendition of Nina Donovan's "poem" at the women's march last week, I do not recommend you do it now!  I was inspired to write a poem; however, in Donovan's non-rhyming fashion, because we really must address and readdress deception and bring light into the darkness of deception and loss of identity for so many of America's women.

Nasty Deception

Nasty words and actions have contaminated our land;

It is where the hatred lies.

Words that serve to distract from

Real purpose,

Real women,

And the real reason we’re here on this earth.

Deception enshrouds you, making you think

That respect is earned by vulgarity

And given upon demand,

By being proud,

By being crude.

But rude, loud women gain no respect.

Deception, when allowed to stand, grows and thrives and destroys.

With it, divisions become boundless chasms;

Dishonesty is named honesty.

Evil is called good,

Good is called evil,

And loud words are mistaken for the truth that is buried in the rubble.

False allegations do not turn to truth,

Dishonest claims gives strength to the  deception, 
Not the person who chose lies over fact.

Stop accusing!

Stop blaming!

Be the change in the pile you seek; be who God made you to be!

No confederate flag can limit you!

The South owns no shackles to chain you!

The grave holds those who are dead

Not those who live,

Those with purpose!

Melanin does not define, God has a plan for every person!

Look up!  Open your eyes, unzip your smile!

Meet all challenges face to face, cease praying to your feet,

Look adversity in the face!  Give others the respect you expect!

Demand Truth,

Stop the nasty!

Step into your true calling and fulfill your destiny!

There is a path to truth, God’s truth, His plan;

His express and written purpose for you,

But you do not know Him!

His love,

His forgiveness,

His willingness to cleanse you from your nastiness.

Shake off the deception, and see who you are!

Release the bitterness and the feminist myths;

Let the past lie in the grave, look to the future

Grow and learn,

And finally realize…

God created women differently, He did not create us unequal! 

A note for my blogger friends:

I'm doing a Daily Prompt blog for the month of February:

http://christiandailyprompt.blogspot.com/

Debuting February 1!

Confession Time...

In yesterday’s blog, I said “Please don't listen to others bash our president, and please, please don't get involved in the arguments...if they have no one to spar with, those conversations will die out.”

But then last night I forgot everything I’d written and tossed my two cents worth into a conversation about left vs right, they said/we said, they did/we did.   It serves no purpose, and I don’t need to do that.  

I need to remember my job isn’t to fan the flames…which is exactly what I admitted to doing…it’s to show the light of Jesus in me in everything I say and do.  I represent Him on this earth, and I didn’t represent Him last night.  

No, I jumped in with both feet and left an epic comment.   The conversation was, in part, about Barron Trump being bullied, and about liberals vs conservatives and blanket statements.   Someone said it was his parent’s fault for putting him in the limelight, and that if you don’t want to be bullied, don’t bully, which are the comments to which I was responding.  Even though I believe everything I said, I didn’t have to say it, and I don’t have to be rude if I choose to say anything.

My comment in full: 

In the case of the little boy, it's everyone's responsibility to leave a child alone, no matter how much one disagrees with his parents. It seems odd that the Trumps are "subjecting" their family (namely an 11 year old boy) to ridicule and criticism that didn't start until his father entered the political ring. No one castigated the Obama girls, and rightfully so, and their dad did the same thing...ran for President. But instead of blaming liberal media and liberal hollywood-wanna-be-somebodies, you blame the parents. And you wonder why people make blanket statement about liberals? That's why. It's because of the double standards. Your reasoning that "if you don't want this to happen, then don't do that" is flawed. If that were so, no bad things would ever happen to good people.

At the risk of fanning flames...indeed it does have something to do with left vs right. Conservatives don't need teddy bears and coloring books when we don't get our way, we don't take to the streets with bats and matches when our candidate doesn't win as evidenced in the previous two Obama won elections. And finally, we don't get our drawers in a wad just because we see someone saying something about "Conservatives are so ***" because the Good Lord knows we hear it every day from liberals. Every. Day. my friend. If you want to know why we think the greater majority of liberals are evil, it's because of the evil way we are treated.

 

At this point I am wondering if I should leave it alone, or if I should apologize.   What do you think? 

The Women’s March on Washington

Bear with me as I get brutally blunt about the women who marched in protest of Donald Trump's inauguration.

About a million people (mostly women) marched in protest the day after President Trump's inauguration.  That number includes people attempting to make American politics their business from other places around the world including Sydney, Berlin, London, Paris, and Nairobi.

At first, I was mad at those women, and I made the meme above…I called them mentally ill, I said they weren’t women, I thought to myself how trashy they looked, and how “nasty” fit them.  I was looking at them through my eyes…not through God’s eyes…a loving God who longs to save them.

Those who call themselves "nasty women" are deceived and confused about who they are.  They object to President Trump’s election because they claim he is misogynistic and refuse to believe evidence to the contrary.  They protested in a very misogynistic-like way by stripping down nearly naked, writing on their bodies labels like “slut” and other vulgar words I will not post.  It is twisted thinking, and it is centered in sin.  Yes, sin.  They need Jesus.  We all do.

They protested in part because they feel that with Donald Trump as president, their option for abortion may not be available or as easily accessible.  They call it “Women’s Rights,” as they applaud daughters being ripped from the wombs of their mothers…believing that if abortion is no longer on demand, it is a war on women and takes away their healthcare.  Abortion is not healthcare!  They have bought into the lie that human life is not sacred and that a baby is not baby while in the womb; therefore, it is permissible to shed the blood of the unborn infant.  It is disturbing and sad to watch these women degrade themselves as they march, thinking they are protesting what’s wrong in the world, not seeing their own great part in the very thing that’s wrong.

These women have forgotten their identities…

or did they ever know their true identity? 

We are the bearers of life (it is certainly not our only function, but we are the only ones who can).  We, like men, are made in God’s own image; we are set apart for special honor, (1 Peter 3:7) and a virtuous woman has a priceless value (Proverbs 12:4, 31:10, 1 Cor 11:7)   But God has a plan for each and every one of us, male and female alike, and He wrote our identities and destinies in His book!  (Psalm 139:16)  Find out who you are in Him, and don't label yourself as anything but what God says you are!

Our God-given identities must not be forgotten, and we must also remember that our words are important.  We should never brand ourselves, even jokingly, as deplorable.  There is enough negativity in the world without us bringing our own negative words down on ourselves.  God-fearing (in reverential awe) women have no place in a "basket of deplorables."  I can't help but wonder if some of the women protesting have an issue with self-loathing.  

While we are praying for ourselves and each other, let’s say a prayer for the self-called “Nasty Women,” according to Isaiah 6:10…

Open their eyes, so they see

Open their ears, so they hear

Open their hearts, so they understand

Then let's go about doing our part to speak positive words to others…not forgetting to be positive toward ourselves.  If we keep on speaking positively, perhaps we'll drown out much of the negativity as God blesses America once again while we work to bring Him back into our great country!  Please don't listen to others bash our president, and please, please don't get involved in the arguments...if they have no one to spar with, those conversations will die out.

Never forget:  You are loved, you are forgiven, you are God’s special creation.  I am, too. 

The New Year - Five Days In

2017 - Effort...Fight For It!

Below are my “Words of the Year” for the last four years: Action, Expectancy & Grace, More, and Believe.   They are wonderful words that came with much hope…but normally little effort.   So, this year’s Word for the year is Effort.

Do I want my desires fulfilled enough to put forth the effort to see that I get what I want?

I want a closer relationship with God.  Am I willing to put forth the effort to read the Bible through this year?   I don’t mean a race to the end, I mean studying until I have learned something?  Am I willing to spend more time in prayer?  Yes, yes! I am willing.

I want to be a better person:  More giving, more helpful, more positive, nicer!  I want to be the best version of me, to be a light in this world.   Am I willing to be nicer, less negative, more helpful, and oh my word…to quit murmuring and complaining?!  Yeah, but it ain’t gonna be easy.

I want to lose weight.   Am I willing to make the effort to make better choices, slow down, and enjoy the food instead of using it as a means to insulate myself?  Am I willing to learn to discipline myself and “die to self” daily in this area?   Yes, I am. 

I plan to make another detailed post about losing weight…and I’ll probably write about it more this year than last year.   Since it’s been a month since I’ve posted, I should, perhaps, make an effort to write more?  I won’t promise that one.

I hope 2017 is a happy one for you…full of peace and joy. 

2016 - Action...The Year of the Verb

2015 - Expectancy and Grace

2014 - More

2013 - The Year to Believe

Past, Present, and Future

There’s not a day in my life that I didn’t know her…this preacher’s kid from my childhood.   She’s a year and a few months younger than me, so there is a brief period of time when she wasn’t in my life, I just don’t remember it.

Growing up, I was a bad influence on her, she was a steadying influence on me.   She and her family moved away when she was 16.   We had been the best of friends for as long as we could remember.  I’m sure we had fights, but I really can’t remember any.   As young teenagers, maybe we had a few disagreements, but for the life of me, I don’t remember what they were.  

She didn’t always have it easy, but I didn’t realize it at the time.   I thought she had it all.  She was…she is…gorgeous, funny, girly, and sings beautifully.  She was the oldest child; I was the youngest.   Looking back, we didn’t have a thing in common!  She did let me sing with her a time or two…she probably shouldn’t have!

Through the years, she has been so good to keep in touch with me.   Before the days of Facebook, we would have long phone conversations full of giggles and full-blown laughter.  When I was on the phone laughing more than talking, Ole Boy always knew who was on the other end.  Every once in a while, we got to see each other, but there were long stretches of time when we didn’t.  But whether it was 5 weeks or 5 months since we’d spoken, or 5 years since we’d gotten to visit, there was never a moment of having to get to know her again.   She is my sister…I remember the day she and I, two little girls standing on the front porch of the little church on East Tuscaloosa Street where we grew up, became blood sisters.  (The germaphobe in me cringes now…but I wouldn’t trade the experience.)

She’s such a strong person, and she has been through a lot.  Her name is Tammera, but to me, she is Tammy.  I love her, and I’m so proud of the warm-hearted woman she is, and I'm honored to call her my friend.    

Recently, she moved back to Alabama.   She lives over an hour away…southerners measure distance in time, not miles…so seeing each other is so much easier than when she lived in Oklahoma.   Yesterday we met for a long lunch, but it wasn't long enough.  

Sitting across from her catching up, I realized, once again, that time has wings and it soars.  If you close your eyes for a moment, when you open them again, you are in the place of your mother, and your children are in the place of your youth.  

The last thirty years feel like only ten, and time continues uncompromisingly marching on, reminding me to be diligent to say the things in my heart, to spend more time with those I love, to live my life carefully and deliberately, with purpose.   Life is indeed short, and it is precious; a day of it shouldn’t be wasted, yet I have wasted so many.   But spending time regretting wasted days would be throwing a day away, so I will look ahead to the future and leave the past where it is, at the untouchable portal to my life that can’t be changed, but can be used to learn, to teach, to grow, to forgive, forget…and yes, to remember.  

Thursday's Commited Thoughts: Abortion

Ohio Republicans have passed what appears to be America’s strictest abortion bill.  It’s not a “ban” because abortions will be legal until the baby’s heartbeat can be heard.   It is called "The Heartbeat Bill."

It is now on the governor’s desk for his signature.  You may remember him, John Kasich, former presidential candidate who refused to back the Republican Presidential Nominee.  Kasich may not sign the bill, and if he doesn’t, I would venture to guess it would be because the bill will prohibit abortion in cases of rape or incest, again, after the heartbeat. 

If Governor Kasich does sign the bill, the ACLU (the anti-Christian liberties union) is already prepared to challenge it in court.  

The rest of this post is all my opinion, and if you are pro-abortion, you may be enraged by the time I’m through, so you are forewarned.   

For the record, I am withholding my thoughts on cases of rape or incest because those sensitive cases deserve more than a few passing sentences in a pro-life blog post.

I am definitely pro-choice, but the choice is not whether or not to take a baby’s life.  Choices begin when one makes a decision to have unprotected sex…however, since no birth control is 100% effective, the choice actually begins when you decide to have sex. 

Already deceived and narrow-minded activists in Ohio are chanting:

“O-H! I-O! Abortion bans have got to go!” carrying signs that read, “Stop Playing Politics with Women’s Health.”

Since when did ripping a baby from the womb cease to be about a baby being ripped from the womb and about a woman’s healthcare?   Abortion is not healthcare.  It is not healthy!!  Least of all is it healthy for the baby...who actually dies...

You can call it a fetus, or you can call it a “clump of cells” but God calls it life.  The Bible tells us in Psalm 139 that He sees our substance being yet unformed (in the womb) and in His book are written all the days He fashioned for each of us before we were formed.  That makes us all pretty important.

Perhaps you don’t believe the Bible is God’s word?  

I hope you get revelation before it’s too late. 

But I digress.

I’ve heard people say that Conservatives are not pro-life, they are pro-birth, meaning that they don’t care about how babies are cared for once they are born.  And for the most part, I agree with that supposition.  Let me say it again, the choice begins BEFORE the pregnancy.

Pro-abortion activists point out that abortions were always available.  Before it was legal, they were performed in dirty basements and back alleys, where women died.  And that is true.  But that doesn’t make neutralizing unborn babies any more acceptable. 

In a world where people are lovers of self, lovers of money, boasters, proud, abusive, disobedient, ungrateful and unholy (2 Timothy 3)…deceived into thinking that they can live by their “anything goes” rules instead of God’s rules, where do you start to combat this war on the unborn.

I mean, how do you fight deception?

Not by flesh and blood. 

So we start by praying.

And follow up with education…show them what really happens in abortions.   Show them other options, such as adoption.  There are so many couples waiting for babies!   Remind young women that they are worth so much more than casual sex!   And we give…find a local charity or pro-life clinic (such as our local Shoals Sav-a-Life) and help support them.   

People who are pro-abortion are just as convinced as I am that they are right…

only they don’t have God’s word to back them up.  

For those who have had an abortion, I wrote THIS.  (link)

Psalm 139:13-16

For You formed my inward parts;

You covered me in my mother’s womb.

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

And in Your book they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them.

The Great Smoky Mountains

The Sinks

If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you know my love for the Great Smoky Mountains.  On Monday, I sent a message to Ole Boy that we should make a weekend run to Dollywood for the Christmas shows.  Later that evening, I starting seeing the first of many posts of the fires…

…then the reports of people missing.  Shortly thereafter, injuries were reported and deaths were being confirmed.   Like the rest of the Southeast (and across the nation), I watched news stories in horror as the fires devoured an estimated 700 homes and businesses, and some 20,000 acres of wooded forestland.

The first fires were likely to be started by human hands, according to park officials.  Add in strong winds, downed power lines, and drought conditions, and it quickly spelled devastation, for both lives and land. 

Did you know that the Great Smoky Mountains are the most visited national park in America?  

Old Homestead - Cades Cove

Michael Reed, whose story was covered by WATE TV as he searched for his wife and two daughters, put a face on the tragedy for me.  I had hoped and prayed for his wife and daughters to be found alive.   With each passing day, I knew the possibility was growing slimmer.  Today, when it was confirmed that the body of his wife, Constance, had been found, along with nine-year-old Lily and twelve-year-old Chloe, I cried. 

I’m crying now.  People are missing, families are searching and hanging on to hope that their loved ones are alive.  Still others have lost everything they own, homes and business.  Loss of jobs.   Loss of an innocence...bad things really do happen to “good” people.

I know this post is jumbled, please forgive me.  I am heartbroken for these people, and for a place I love with all my heart.  Please pray for East Tennessee.  And if you can, please join me in giving:  Dolly Parton’s My People Fund

Cades Cove

Roaring Forks (I believe)

The are called "Smoky..."

Cades Cove

Gatlinburg Overpass

Foggy Cades Cove

Roaring Forks