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  <a class="no-pjax" href="/blog/blog/5997769/discrimination-distorts-the-soul">Discrimination Distorts the Soul</a>&nbsp;
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<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I am, by nature, an eccentric person. I like to form sentences in my brain to reduce theological mole hills that have been made into mountains, I dislike schedules and structured meetings, and I like living alone out in the country. Those that know me know I dress quite differently as well. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And I have these thoughts of what others perceive and how free I really am. To be me. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Being me can be dangerous. Because I am often viewed through the eyes of discrimination. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It has always been this way. From the first day I walked out of my house unto a bus with Anglo children, insults and epithets have been thrown in my face. It colored my view of white people, and if the truth were told, I often am distrustful of those with fair complexions. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">They haven't been kind to me. And when they haven't been hostile outright, oftentimes, they've sent subtle hints that I'm not one of their own. Even in church. Actually, there are many who won't even talk to me, and it's most often the case that I sit alone. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I have  a distorted view of myself, white people, and they have a distorted view of me. Discrimination distorts people on the inside in the way a dry rot corrodes the walls of a home. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And so when they say to be yourself, I think it a luxury only for those who don't have to be on their best behavior. After all, our inspirational stories usually contain an exceptionally talented person of a discriminated class to show us why we shouldn't be so mean. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I am not allowed to fail, be different, difficult to categorize at first glance, or spend time 'experimenting'. I am tightly wound, high strung, and the question, 'what do you do for fun?' is hilarious. I don't even know what fun is. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I have been followed while shopping even though I was employed by my town's 9-1-1 center as the Addressing Project Manager. I have had clerks refuse to cash my checks even though I provided all the identification they had asked me for. In fact, the female teller said, 'signatures don't match, girl' to my face, as I was wearing my business suit on my way to work in Citibank's fraud department. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">My signatures on my driver's license and the check matched perfectly. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I have been called dark skinned even though I am not. I have been told that my Spanish accent is thick even though I don't have a Spanish accent. I've been asked to speak 'Mexico Talk' for people. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Someone told me that many 'Hispanic' people were allowed to live in Baltimore, because the upwardly mobile needed a servant class. I was 9 months pregnant and thought I would blow a gasket. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I am afraid to drive into certain states alone, and I don't feel as if my voice is as welcome in Christianity as are the voices of others. I know full well that others of a variety of races and backgrounds feel the same way, as discrimination can happen to women, older people, younger people, poor people, those of different races, and too many others to mention. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It's funny, because a study done on eccentrics that found they see their doctors 20 times less than the average person and that they tend to be delightedly content, suffering less viruses and living slightly longer than the general population. Psychologists believe it is because they are comfortable with who they are and don't feel the need to hide it. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">How amazing that must be. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">In a letter written from a Birmingham jail, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote of <em>'forever fighting a degenerating sense of nobodiness'</em> and how when a commercial for Funtown came on the screen, he had to tell his daughter, then a small child, that it wasn't for colored folks. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">He observed the 'ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky', as it <em>'began to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people'.</em> Tears welled up in her eyes, as he struggled to formulate a response as to why she couldn't go and enjoy the theme park. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I can only wonder how many opportunities have passed me by for not gaining entrance into the club. I can only wonder how my personality can possibly untwist itself from the restraints and conditions I put upon myself, knowing full well that 'being yourself' is a luxury for the privileged few. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Dr. King wrote these words that could have very well been written today. </span></p>
<p><em><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">'But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not capture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust'. </span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I went downtown to the African Methodist Episcopal Church one day. I went there, because on the telephone I could the hear the singing of a soul in prison when my husband called me from work, and I had to know the source of such worship for the Lord. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The keyboard player did not play songs, he played melodies of notes strung together, bled from hard tests of his faith in an environment harsher than most of us will ever face.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And the singing. Such singing. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">As a gospel singer and musician, I know about much in the music world, and no recording that I have ever heard is as sincere as the joyful noise on the other end of that line. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I shushed my husband, so I could listen, mouth agape. Soul, testimony, truth, and depth dripped off the tongue of that incarcerated man, and the shouts of amen could be heard in the background.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I asked who these musicians were. They were AMEs. I had never heard of them before. Why hadn't I heard of them before? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And so, I went. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I took my toddler, my skinny white husband, and my ethnically-mixed self into a large building that clearly predated any building any other edifice in the area. We were unintentionally interrupting their order of things, being newcomers, as we couldn't even figure out what door to come in. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And I saw that in the midst of generations of black people, there were white people worshiping Jesus, too. But all of them had something obviously wrong with them. A serious limp, a walker, problems seeing. Something. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And why were they there? I can only assume it was because they were looking for acceptance. Because they were different. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Their church was built in 1837 by free black men, and it continued to this day, generation after generation. And honestly, it hurt my heart that there had to be an African Methodist church and not just a Methodist church. Also, why was our town still divided by color, meeting separately, unknown to one another? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And as we approached the main sanctuary, and that gorgeous music filled the room, I saw a choir of singers, black and a few white, and a room full of black and mixed people. And during the message, the pastor said something I will never forget. He addressed his congregation and told them that if when looking around the room, they saw somebody different than them to please be kind. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">He said that if when you see somebody who doesn't have the same ebony skin as you, that you treat them as you would your own people. My skin color, being white, I felt my family, for the first time, was on the other side of the spectrum, and yet, he was telling them to not reject us.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I wondered if the discrimination in their lives had distorted them, too. Might they see me as a potential discriminator toward them as I do other people?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">But also, as acceptance was being preached, perhaps there was an awareness than when white or mixed people come through their doors, we're reeling from the pain and need desperately to be accepted. My husband was the only white man there. All the other whites were women, and all of them were older.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">After all, the limping white parishoners were in such need of help that they were helped, physically, by the able-bodied black men in their midst to get to and from their seats. I saw them step up to the needs of others, knowing full well we look like those who have kept them out. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And in the morning, they cook breakfast for anyone who wants it, because they know people go hungry who don't have enough food to eat. And there is a bus outside that brought a good number of people in, and a barrel of donated food was in the hallway. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">They know something about those who darken their door.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">They invited us to their 180th celebration as a church, and we went later that week and again the following Sunday. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Discrimination distorts the souls of those discriminated against and those doing the discriminating. </span> <span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"></span> <span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"> </span> <span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"></span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Discrimination twists us, it creates caricatures of real life and asks us to fit into tiny little boxes that have nothing to do with reality.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Vollkorn, serif; font-size: large;">It creates vacuums in our heart that say I can never excel, because I am a woman, person of color, Hispanic, Jewish, Middle-Easterner, Asian, or any other qualifier. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It says I am somehow deficient or inferior in the way that God made me, and beneath any bitterness or anger, at its base, is an ocean of hurt. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">A lifetime of slights creates a void, and anger protects us from being victimized again, but it begins to rob from us in a different way, making it hard to feel or let people get close to us.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Especially hurtful is when we are judged for our anger as if it was the cause and not the effect of our troubles. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Sometimes we judge others before they've had the chance to show us who they really are, and the cycle continues. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It isn't God's will to be distorted by the labels we've attached to others and that others have attached to ourselves. It is hard to trust others, but we need to try. We need to forgive lest our hearts stay disfigured. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The Bible says in Galatians 3:28: </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"><em><strong>'There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.'</strong></em><span class="p"><br></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And in John 13:34, Jesus said: </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"><em><strong>"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."</strong></em><br></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And there you have it. We are all one in Jesus, and we are to love one another. The question now remains: are we willing?</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Dear Christians, Stop Mimicking Gang Signs</span></p>
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<h2 class="heading-secondary heading-blog alt-font">
  <a class="no-pjax" href="/blog/blog/5997768/dear-christians-stop-mimimicking-gang-signs">Dear Christians, Stop Mimimicking Gang Signs</a>&nbsp;
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<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Dear Christians,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">As the wife of an 18-year veteran of corrections, I need to implore you to stop throwing pretend gang signs in your photos. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Let me explain.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It has somehow become popular for people, even those who rightly consider themselves Christian, to take pictures of themselves with silly duck faces, software-enhanced doe eyes, and animal ears, and there is no problem with any of that. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I can't also help but notice when, otherwise well-behaved, people also find it necessary to 'throw' down gang signs in their pictures.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">As an adult and as a Christian, I humbly and lovingly ask that you refrain. You cannot imagine how your actions, though innocent, reference a culture I don't think you'd want to be drawing references to.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">My husband works in a prison that houses many maximum security inmates that mostly come from the 4th most violent city in our nation, Baltimore, Maryland. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Many of the criminals that live in the housing facilities where he works have committed more than simple murder. Some are responsibility for atrocities that would haunt your worst imaginings, and many of these are gang members. Serial rape, pimping, and multiple homicides are the norm. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">When rival gangs are at war, the prison becomes a dangerous battleground, and I pray nightly for the safety of all whose lives are caught up in the fray.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It isn't unheard of for someone to smash someone else's head in with a TV or for an inmate to bust somebody over the head with a padlock placed in a sock for leverage.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Stabbings are another way of retaliation, and men have had their necks sliced completely open. A man has had all their skin steamed off while trapped in industrial-sized dishwasher on purpose by a gang member. The soles of his feet fell off when he was let out. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The violence is swift and unpredictable. Men have thrown other men off second-story balconies, and one twisted another one's head completely around. Others have, in the past, used dumbbells to beat others in the head. The injuries gang members cause are gruesome and often fatal. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The gangs are a source of problems both on the streets and off. Gang leaders often operate their outfits from inside prison walls, controlling what happens on the outside. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">They operate drug rings, pulling in truckloads of money and infiltrating the cities with deadly substances for people to abuse. It isn't glamorous, and it isn't cool. Christians have no business mimicking the gang signs that they use. None, whatsoever. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It helps to normalize the proliferation of gang culture and to even establish it as something cool when it most certainly is not. When I hear that the gangs are getting antsy in the prison, it means that somebody I love or am friends with could get killed. It means that a correctional officer might not come home tonight. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It's not a dance I am willing to engage in. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">When my husband conducts cell searches, oftentimes he finds photos of inmates with their friends or families, and everyone will be posing as gang members. Imagine how it looks when Christian kids pose online in the same stance, and yet, I see this on a fairly regular basis. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I am certain that a large amount of this is done in ignorance, and that is why I write this post in love. We are not to be conformed to the pattern of the world in any way. We can make all the duck faces we want and use software to make our eyes larger if we like, but please, I ask you to stop throwing pretend gang signs. </span></p>
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    <p class="post-info"><span data-time="2019-12-09T10:58:58-05:00" title="December 09, 2019 10:58">12/09/2019</span></p>

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  <a class="no-pjax" href="/blog/blog/5997767/why-we-can-t-make-america-great-again">Why We Can&#39;t Make America Great Again</a>&nbsp;
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<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Many Christians went to the polls last November to make America great again but have forgotten that judgment begins at the house of God. We are guilty of two great sins that will prevent us from becoming prosperous as a nation, and no single pull of the lever can fix that. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Our first great sin as a church is that we've completely left out one major way in which we are supposed to spend our tithes. But before we can even get to that, however, it must be mentioned that 33-50% of church members tithe <a href="https://churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-how-to/151049-brian-dodd-generous-church-ten-top-characteristics.html">nothing</a>, and that the church, overall only tithes at 2.5% per capita. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Now, let's move on to what happens with the money that actually does make it in. In the Bible, the tithe would be divided into sections and allocated accordingly. Some went to the Levites, some went to sacrifices, and some went to the poor. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">In researching for this post, I found that we are giving virtually nothing to the less fortunate from church coffers. When reading the following verse, notice the word <em>whole</em>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.'</span></em></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">We've brought SOME of the tithe in and are giving almost nothing to the poor, therefore we won't see the floodgates of heaven opening up. Many of us don't even like that some of our taxes go to the less fortunate. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">How sad.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Deuteronomy 26:12 says of the tithe:</span></p>
<p><em><strong><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">'When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.'</span></strong></em></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">That basically says to care for the immigrants, orphans, and widows, along with those tending to God's flock, and I daresay we're not faring too well on that front.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">According to Christianity Today, the breakdown in church spending looks like this: </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">47% Salaries</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">1% Other</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">1% Travel</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">1% Debt</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">2% Cash Reserves</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">3% Denomination Fees</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">3% Property Insurance</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">4% Administrative Costs</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">4% Domestic Missions</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">5% International Missions</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">5% Maintenance Cleaning</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">7% Utilities</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">7% Buildings</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">9% Ministries and Support</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">There is a great misconception that the tithe is only to go to church buildings, paying ministers' salaries, and to things that are only focused on preaching. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">When people in our communities try to go to the churches for help, it is often a dead end. Assisting the unfortunate is often also loudly decried as a social justice gospel and is seen as not inherent to spreading the gospel, as if the poor will take us seriously when we are closed-fisted. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Put simply, the church is not a hub for the poor to get bread, but Jesus offered the hungry the bread of life, Himself, and He also gave them literal bread and fishes to eat. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Maybe we should do the same. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The second area where we have failed is with regard to our littlest neighbors, the unborn. This past Friday, on the day of the March for Life, Congress had two bills on the table to decide to pass. One was HR 490, otherwise known as the Heartbeat Bill, that would prevent 95% of abortions, as it would stop a child with a beating from being aborted.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It has been shown that this can occur as early as 18 days gestation. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The other bill up for consideration was the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, a bill that would keep a baby who survived an abortion from being killed as so often is the case in botched abortions. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The Heartbeat Bill would have made the other bill unnecessary, and the other bill is also largely a redundancy, as a similar bill was passed by George W. Bush in 2005. Once a child is out of the womb, it is already illegal to inflict further damage on them. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">But still. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The Heartbeat Bill had 169 co-sponsors, and yet, it was decided to pursue the other bill that will not prevent a single abortion. The marchers marched, and this year, close to a million babies will still die. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Vollkorn, serif; font-size: large;">We had a choice between Jesus and Barabas, and we chose wrong, siding with big business instead of with our precious sons and daughters. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Vollkorn, serif; font-size: large;">In Bible times, because the Israelites were guilty of sacrificing their children,  they were sent into Babylonian captivity and were driven from off their land. Those that remained were suffered the sword, pestilence, and famine. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I'm not suggesting that that is going to happen to us here in America, but these are some things listed as signs of judgment in Deuteronomy chapter 28: </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Drought, scorching heat, famine, diseases, losing in battle, confusion, invaders, theft, your money and possessions going to other people, worshiping false gods, going into debt, oppressed by other nations, anxiety, and fear. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Some of these are already happening in our land, such as debt, though I am definitely not saying that those with anxiety and depression are experiencing this because they are being judged. I am saying that we may already be seeing the beginnings of judgment in our land, and that is a fearful thing. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Our lack of care for the poor and our national sin of abortion are serious issues, but there is always hope. I Chronicles 7:14 says, </span></p>
<p><em><strong><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">'If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.'</span></strong></em></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It's up to us. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">We can be humble. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">We can repent. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">We can seek His face. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">We can pray. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The Bible says He will hear us. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The questions is, will we?</span></p>
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<h2 class="heading-secondary heading-blog alt-font">
  <a class="no-pjax" href="/blog/blog/5997766/i-saw-jesus-sleeping-on-a-park-bench">I Saw Jesus Sleeping on a Park Bench</a>&nbsp;
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<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I saw Jesus on the street corner today, He was open air preaching. I find it annoying that He makes me feel guilty if I don't help out in some way. I'm not a fanatic.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I saw Jesus asking for money for a missions trip to a foreign land, and I wonder why He has to get help with His projects if He can't afford to to do them. I'd like to go to church and not be bothered with His trifles.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Jesus asked me whether I would buy bracelets from new believers over in Africa who have been rescued from human trafficking, and I truly balked. It's too much money, I have too much stuff, and I'd rather they hocked their wares to people with more money.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Jesus asked if I'd help Him with the homeless ministry He's running, and that is really too much. I do not want to spend time with the dirty, bedraggled shiftless population who sits around and who will not find jobs. If Jesus wants to go help out, that's fine. He doesn't have to drag me along with Him.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"> Jesus asked for help with His missionary bake sales. Why don't the missionaries help people here in the U.S. instead of asking for money to go overseas? I have enough problems of my own.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The singers who came to church asked for money, and Jesus was in the band. He was playing bass, and though I liked it, I told Him He really should do it for free, you know, as a ministry. I know He practices and needs to put food on the table, but it's just too much. He should provide for Himself.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Jesus is always trying to buy gospel tracts and wants my money. He has sometimes gone hungry because He's so zealous that others get saved, but there is the need for balance. If you want to go out preaching, you should pay for it yourself. That goes for preachers too. I don't need to support those who won't work. After all, Paul had a job.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Jesus asked for my help in taking care of the refugees and I told Him He was out of His mind. What if Jesus brings a disease or helps bring terrorism into the country? I can't believe Jesus would be so irresponsible.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">You know what really bugs me is tithing. Jesus asks me to tithe, and I tell Him that He doesn't understand how the world works these days. Besides, this is so Old Testament. I know there are expenses like electricity and taxes and all, but I'm barely scraping by. That's why only 5% of American even bother tithing.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Jesus told me that a great deal of His missions trips are underfunded and that He spends more time than He would like to raising funds for evangelism. He told me that He works to stretch every dollar and contributes from His own earnings and that He often goes without things you or I would take for granted. </span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">He says that He often does His work alone without help. He feels lonely and sometimes takes verbal abuse from the world that you and I never hear about.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">He said that if every Christian tithed, He would have an additional $165 billion for ministry and that taking $12 billion, He could take care of illiteracy in five years, with $15 billion, He could solve world sanitation and water problems, and could fully fund missionary work overseas in its entirely for $1 billion. </span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">$100-$110 billion would be left for other endeavors. Jesus said that could be used to help fight against abortion and could also really help the homeless.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">He says that He often sends His disciples out without provisions and that we are to see to their needs. He said that if we give a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple that we will not lose our reward. He said they often come to us hungry and naked and need our help.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Jesus also said that when He sits alone in church that He would love it if someone took the time to sit next to Him. He mentioned that it gets lonely all the time in the nursing home, too. </span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">He said that being a single parent is so difficult and that He rarely gets any phone calls from anyone asking how He is doing. He said sometimes He just needs a break. Jesus is hurting from His divorce and often feels like His life is just falling apart. Jesus never thought He'd be cleaning floors just to make ends meet.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">When Jesus got beaten up for sharing His faith, I was kind of embarrassed for Him. He sometimes needs to just lighten up. His lip was bruised and bleeding, and I really felt bad for Him, but I was too scared to help out. Maybe He should put in some effort to try to fit in better.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I saw Jesus sleeping on a park bench today. He lost His job recently. We briefly made eye contact, but I quickly walked away. I have the room in my house to let Him stay, but it would be so awkward. He was going to our church, and we've talked before, but I wouldn't know what to say to Him now. I hope He understands. </span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">“Then the King will say to those on his right,</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"> And everyday Jesus holds out His hand and gives us opportunities to see what we will do for Him. </span></p>
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  <a class="no-pjax" href="/blog/blog/5997765/purity-culture-is-dangerous">Purity Culture is Dangerous</a>&nbsp;
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<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Purity culture.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It sounds so nice.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It sounds noble.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The goals sound godly.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">So what could be the problem?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Everything. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The rules of purity culture go like this: it is up to a woman to keep a man from stumbling because of her clothing choices, and she is not to meet with a man alone. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I had thought, like any sane human being would, that these rules were espoused to protect the young from sin or wrongdoing and to keep them along the straight and narrow path. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I was wrong. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I have witnessed too many times to count that these supposed safeguards from impurity are used to blame victims when something untoward (read illegal) happens to them, and it goes like this.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">What was she doing alone with him?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Boys only want one thing. She should have known that.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Look at her clothes, she was asking for it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">She participated, she's not a victim. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">She seduced him. She needs to apologize and repent. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Vollkorn, serif; font-size: large;">So, all an abuser has to do is blur the lines slightly, and he or she is golden? Invite a girl to his dorm room or keep her out past her curfew? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Vollkorn, serif; font-size: large;">This means that the system is not only set up to protect rapists, pedophiles, and molesters, but it also provides a ready excuse for them. Blame the women! It's their fault. They're not <em>real</em> victims! It becomes a veritable cry to burn the witch at the stake.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Respectable women in this system feel often it is their job to toe the line, because everything is set up to protect those with the most power. Nevertheless, these women sometimes make the choice to add to the pile-on of guilt directed at victims.  The least of these are at the bottom of the heap, and as such, are left unprotected. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I've watched as purity culture proponents on social media have railed against the stories now brought to light, clearly angry that women would dare speak about what had happened to them. I've read stories of churches that subjected victims to church 'discipline' and who never contacted authorities.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">In purity culture, the focus clearly is not on protecting women and girls and is oddly aligned with protecting rapists. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I'm suspicious of that, and I don't trust them around my daughter or me for that matter. I'll be blunt. I think they protest too much, because they identify in some way with these molesters. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Think that is too harsh?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I think they have some explaining to do. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">When money-launderers are caught on television and sentenced to prison, I don't find an immediate defense for them, because I can't identify with that. When people are caught breaking and entering and get in trouble, I don't identity with that either. I am not vocal about blaming victims of theft and robbery, because I don't identify with robbers. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">So why do some folks defend rapists?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Repeatedly.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Emphatically.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Passionately. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And why do they re-victimize people by putting them through hell after they come forward?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">In the news and on social media lately, we are hearing a lot about the #metoo movement and about the allegations involving men in power and sexual harassment or assault. Because of this, we are also hearing much commentary from the purveyors of all things sexually pure. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And there is cause for concern. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I don't trust that they want things sexually pure. I think some want an easy breeding ground for the types of abuses they're into. And God does not smile on that.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And if I'm wrong and leaders are not perpetrators themselves, perpetrators are surely listening to the rhetoric and see a clear coast for them to do their work. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Either way. I'm not interested and plan to stay far, far away. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">For the rest of us, our theology needs to accurately portray what scripture says: that a man who lusts has already committed adultery with a woman in his heart. There is no mention of her clothing, whether they were alone together, or any other thing that could possibly be construed to mean that it was her fault. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The responsibility for controlling one's eyes belongs to the one doing the gazing. Job recognized this when he said he made a covenant with his eyes not to look upon a maiden. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I even read in a book written by a large organization that Tamar's rape was her own fault for not anticipating that that could happen. Our girls deserve better than this, and purity culture is dangerous. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Imagine for just one minute that you have been raped. Imagine being told it was your fault. Imagine that someone guilty of rape was allowed to operate in a leadership capacity in your midst. Imagine how worthless you would feel. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It is not, therefore, hard to see how 70% of victims spiral into depression. 94% of victims will experience PTSD. 33% will contemplate suicide. 13% will attempt suicide. They are between three and  a half to ten times more likely to use drugs than the general population. 84% experience moderate or severe distress and problem at work or at school.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">But purity culture isn't concerned about that. They've sent that message loud and clear. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">One last note. Many churches are lax at reporting crimes, because they follow the admonition not to sue one another. People sue for civil matters, no? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The Bible also says that we are to obey magistrates and have nothing to fear if we have done nothing wrong. This has to do with criminal matters. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Assault and rape doesn't fall under the first category. These are crimes and must be reported. Enough said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">As it is, purity culture can only continue for so long before its rotten fruit will be obvious to all. Until then, you don't need purity culture to avoid having premarital sex. If that were the case, there wouldn't be so many leaders in the movement involving scandal.</span></p>
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  <a class="no-pjax" href="/blog/blog/5997764/the-christian-backlash-against-metoo">The Christian Backlash Against #metoo</a>&nbsp;
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<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">One day I decided to go on a diet and to eat healthier food. I prepared a dinner of nutritious fare and followed it up with an orange. That night, I became horrendously ill, and someone told me it was because I had followed up dinner with the orange. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">By the next morning it was apparent that I had contracted the stomach flu, and the person next to me in bed was also violently ill. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I say this to say that sometimes what we consider to be a cause and effect situation is nothing of the kind but an indication that something else is the matter. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Lately Christians have been backlashing against the #metoo movement. There have been several arguments that I have witnessed floating around my Facebook page, and I wish to mention a few of them here. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Some of those around me have said that the rash of sexual harassment allegations are the rotten fruit of the sexual revolution. I scratched my head when I heard that, but as time has gone on, I have heard this sentiment repeated with more and more frequency. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The idea goes like this: if a woman can be sexual with a man when she wants to, sex, therefore, has no meaning, and thus you cannot expect not to be sexually harassed. Again, I scratched my head. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It is victim shaming at its finest. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">An article that I read even had the audacity to claim that a young Harvey Weinstein would have been attending school during a period when sex was thus meaningless in a classroom with no Bible and no prayer and that this very environment would not have equipped him to know not to sexually harass women. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I, at first, saw one Christian leader post this message, and others have followed suit. This reasoning implies that if you are somebody who eschews the sexual revolution that you won't be harassed. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Statistics show that women who wear modest clothing are not any less likely to be victims of assault and I wrote an entire piece that you can read <a href="http://www.gutsychristianity.com/blog/modest_clothing_is_not_the_answer/">here</a> about how modest clothing is not the answer. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Another problem with this message is that it came after the Matt Lauer allegations, and it it absolutely shocking to me that we would victim blame those who were at their job trying to deliver the news. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It's also implying that if a woman should choose to be in a sexual relationship with a man or to wear what she wants that she can only expect to get raped. It's to say that it's her fault, and it's giving an invitation to any predator out there, because victims will be shamed and blamed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Please note I am not advocating sex outside of marriage. What I am saying is that sex outside of marriage, to some Christians, means that you are fair game to anyone who wants to assault you. That reasoning is very, very wrong and is sick. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Another message I have heard recently is that victims are complicit if they do not quit their jobs when inappropriately propositioned. That is to say that they aren't 'real victims'. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The problem here is that we're saying that sexual harassment should be a protected set of behaviors and that it is the job of victims to stay away from the perpetrators. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">We have laws in this country against sexually harassing people on the job so that women should not have to quit and give up their livelihoods in order to be protected. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">When a boss exhibits these behaviors, it is bullying, because it employs intimidation, a fear of reprisal and a threat of losing her job as a repercussion for not allowing his advances. When we, as Christians, for some reason also feel the need to add to the pile on and question the motives and actions of these women, it is also a type of bullying. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The people listening to the rhetoric and the pushback may be people who have experienced sexual harassment and abuse and may now realize it isn't prudent to stand up, because they may not readily be believed. It does much to silence victims and to keep people from coming forward. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I've heard people questioning the circumstances of some of the public allegations heavily, too, and this makes it harder for people to report things in the future, because victims will also question themselves and feel confusion as to whether they share blame if they perceive the circumstances to be ambiguous. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">But like the stomach virus that was blamed on the orange, the issue is sexual predators not immodest dress, having sexual partners, using alcohol, going out on a date, or any other factor. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">People have also been claiming that rape allegations often ruin the lives of men. An article that you can read <a href="https://qz.com/980766/the-truth-about-false-rape-accusations/">here</a> shows that studies reveal clear patterns regarding false rape claims. They either tend to come from teenagers past their curfew who are afraid of getting in trouble, or they come from troubled people with histories of false accusations, incarceration, and severe mental illness. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It also found that 52 cases of false rape accusations led to jail time in the past 28 years but that 790 such cases existed for murder charges. It is also well-known that only six men will ever go to jail for every 1,000 rapes. Let that sink in for a moment. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The anger that I'm hearing seems to be directed at women, because women shouldn't do be successful or ambitious, or flirty, or sexual, or anything that we deem threatening. And since this anger seems to be directed at women, it appears that the #metoo movement is threatening a system that many people hold dear. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">What is terribly and unbelievably sad is how unaware people are that #metoo affects men, too. Men are also sexually harassed and bullied in this manner, but usually stay silent because there is even more shame associated with it. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Still, the vitriol I am hearing is directed at woman as if this is a gender war. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It might be the patriarchy at play, but it could also be a system that accords certain people power as long as everybody else knows the role that they play. If women no longer know their roles and can be afforded the same rights as everybody else, perhaps it threatens to topple a system that only benefits some. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It seems that girls are not as important in this power structure, and I daresay that people of other ethnic groups are not so either. Why else would people be so strongly against the coming forward of victims in America in every walk of life? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It makes me think long and hard about the people that I choose to fellowship with and those who will I allow to be around my daughter. I wrote <a href="http://www.gutsychristianity.com/blog/i_trust_no_one_around_my_child/">here</a> about how I do not trust anybody around her and why. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It also seems apparent that some women are more than happy to silence and belittle their own kind in order to maintain the measure of power and influence that they have. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">But there is a better way. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Proverbs 31:8 says, 'Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.'<br></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">We can do better than this. We don't need to uphold a system that denigrates others or that looks the other way when other people would dare to do so. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">We are famous for asking ourselves what would Jesus do, and the one thing I think we can be certain of is that He would tell us that those of us who are without sin can be the first to throw a stone at the women being accused. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">His words might imply that she isn't a virgin or free from sin in this life but that we who would accuse her don't really care about her sin. We have another agenda in place, in this case, diverting attention from something we're trying to protect. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">In Jesus' case, the leaders wanted Him dead to protect status, power, influence, and their followings, and in our case, well, perhaps we should stop and think about who and what we're protecting. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It might make us wonder why we, the religious, are so keen on casting rocks in the direction of the victims of rape and sexual harassment and whether this is a cause that Jesus would have died for. </span></p>
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<h2 class="heading-secondary heading-blog alt-font">
  <a class="no-pjax" href="/blog/blog/5997763/santa-is-a-lie">Santa is a Lie</a>&nbsp;
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<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Merry Christmas Everyone!</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Santa is a lie. Before you chop off my head, let me ask you a few questions.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Who is the giver of all good gifts?<span style="font-size: medium;"> <strong>'<em>Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.' James 1:17</em></strong></span></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Who is the One whose hair is white as snow? <strong><span style="font-size: medium;">'<em>The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.' Rev 1:14</em></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Who is the One who was a carpenter?  <strong><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>'Isn't this the carpenter?' Mark 6:3</em></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Who is He who rides across the sky? <strong><span style="font-size: medium;">'<em>There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides across the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.' Deut 33:26</em></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Who are children to believe in?<em> '<strong><span style="font-size: medium;">And many in that place believed in Jesus' John 10:42 </span></strong></em></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Who says, 'Ho, Ho!'?<strong><span style="font-size: medium;"><em> 'Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.' Zechariah 2:6</em></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Who loves the little children?<strong><span style="font-size: medium;"> '<em>Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.' Luke 18:16</em></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Who do you ask for the things on your heart? <strong><span style="font-size: medium;">'<em>Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.' (Luke 11:9)  'Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.' Psalm 37:4</em></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Who knows if you've been naughty or nice?<em> <strong><span style="font-size: medium;">'You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.'(Psalm 139:3)</span></strong></em></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Who comes out of the north? <strong><span style="font-size: medium;">'<em>Yet out of the north He comes, shrouded in a golden glow; awesome majesty surrounds Him.' Job 37:22</em> </span></strong></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">You'd better not pout, you better not cry is teaching the fear of...Santa?<strong><span style="font-size: medium;"><em> 'Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.' Psalm 34:11 </em></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Who are we to give an account of our choices to? Santa? <strong><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>'So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.' Romans 14:12</em></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Who has a book with the deeds of mankind written therein and who issues judgement accordingly? <strong><span style="font-size: medium;">'<em>And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.' Revelation 20:12</em></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Who sits on a throne? <strong><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>"'When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne' Matthew 25:31</em></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">But we're to have Christmas spirit, right?<strong><span style="font-size: medium;"> <em>'I will pour out my Spirit on all people' Joel 2:28</em></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Whose garments were red? <strong><span style="font-size: medium;">'<em>Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?' Isaiah 63:2</em></span></strong></span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Whose feet are as if in a chimney?</span><strong><em><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"> '</span><span style="font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.'</span></span></em></strong></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I don't wish to quote occult encyclopedias and such, but I can tell you that elves are generally regarded, throughout the world, as demonic creatures. Because they're painted as cute and fun-loving makes no difference.</span></p>
<p class="Textbody"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">There is an imposter who wishes to be like God the most High. We all know who that is. Instead of bringing our kids to Santa this Christmas, why not bring them to Jesus? Share the story of the manger, the wise men, and the story of Mary and Joseph with them. Give them gifts, but most of all give them the gift of Jesus. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Merry Christmas every from Gutsy Christianity! </span><span style="font-size: xx-large; font-family: Kranky, serif; color: #ffff00;"><strong><br><span style="color: #993366; font-family: 'Libre Baskerville', serif;">Think a woman can't take an active role in her own life and pop the question? Think again!</span><br><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/398967/70482caeb698dc7ade75d9b82302280e2f6558fc/original/ruth-didntwaitfor-her-3.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NDAweDQwMCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="400" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></strong></span></p>
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<div class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons"><strong><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">If You're Dreading the Holidays with Relatives</span></strong></div>
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<div class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?</span></strong></div>
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<div class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons"><strong><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I Trust No One Around My Child</span></strong></div>
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  <a class="no-pjax" href="/blog/blog/5997762/if-you-re-dreading-the-holidays-with-relatives">If You&#39;re Dreading the Holidays with Relatives</a>&nbsp;
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<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">There is a relative I do not particularly enjoy spending time with. My life doesn't fit the particular narrative that has been written for me, and there is usually tension. My accomplishments are met with disdain, and he seems to make it a point to disagree with every topic of discussion I try to bring up. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I've tried to avoid hot-button issues, but nothing seems to work. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Since you're reading this post, it is safe to assume that you, also, are dreading spending the holidays with relatives for one reason or another. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">There are a number of reasons you might dread the holidays with relatives. Your relatives might cross boundaries or treat you like a child, they may override rules you've set with your children, or they might nosily pry into your life. Some may make you feel like a failure and others may insist your life decisions are mistakes. Some may revive old sibling rivalries and competitive comparisons, making you feel as if you are twelve years old again. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It's important to evaluate what is causing the dread and if it is too destructive or toxic to subject yourself to. Careful prayer and discussion with those you trust may be in order. You don't owe anyone access to you if doing so will cause harm to yourself or those you love. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">If your situation is not that dire, but you still feel that you'd like some distance this holiday season, identify whether the stress of the event would negatively impact you and if you need a break. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:23</span></p>
<p><em><strong><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is good for you. You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is beneficial.</span></strong></em></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">If the experience is not beneficial for you, you do not have to put yourself through it. You may feel like attending every party next year, but for the time being, the best thing for everybody might be that you take a break from the festivities. Forcing yourself to do something and ignoring that whisper in your soul is not always the best idea and cause problems later down the road. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">There is absolutely nothing wrong with setting boundaries and making space for rest or for even establishing the holidays with your own family. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">If neither of these are what you plan to do, and you're still wanting to attend the holidays with the relatives, keep something in mind. Families change over time. The photos I took in 2010 have members who are no longer living. People will be born, and people will die, and holidays are a good time to connect with everyone, as our time together is finite. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">But what to do about Cousin Larry or Sister Sue?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Consider this. You likely have a certain amount of confidence about yourself and your choices when you're not in the presence of these certain relatives. You've likely shed the cocoon of your childhood narratives to become a butterfly without having day-to-day contact with certain family members as you've progressed. They only have the old stories and the old expectations of you that no longer fit.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Your old political views, skills, talents, dreams, and desires may be things that you've outgrown, but they're still holding on to labels or ways of being that aren't you. It is also very possible you are dealing with people who don't want to validate you and who don't wish to see you as productive. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">You may be chaffing under labels that are assigned to you and that push your buttons. For example, this person is pushing a narrative that I am uneducated, unsuccessful, and not particularly gifted at anything. That hurts me, and it makes me want to keep my distance, but instead I've opted for friendly indifference. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I realize this person is likely insecure, easily threatened, and is set in his ways. I am not going to change his mind, and I am not going to try. I am not going to try to impress him either or get him to 'validate' me. I don't have to 'fit in' to the story, because my story is being written every day in a different realm from which he lives, and it may be the same for you. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Jesus didn't strive to please people who criticized him; His concern was pleasing the Father. He did not accept praise or criticism from human beings, and He went about His Father's business. Paul writes about his view toward people-pleasing in Gal. 1:10:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"><em><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.</span></strong></em></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">This holiday season, remember that you are valid and that you know the reasons behind why you live the way you do. Even if you have made mistakes, others don't have the right to judge you harshly. Ask God for patience and the ability to extend grace, and see it as an experience to learn from this person how not to treat others. See it is a cautionary tale of what can happen when you project insensitivity. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Ask God for strength and try to be the better person, because even though it is hard, there is a blessing in being a peacemaker. </span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Other Posts You May Like</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: medium; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I Am My Child's Friend</span></p>
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    <p class="post-info"><span data-time="2019-12-09T10:58:51-05:00" title="December 09, 2019 10:58">12/09/2019</span></p>

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<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">A friend of mine was minding her own business when a stranger violently assaulted her, leaving her for dead, unconscious, out in the freezing cold. 9 months later, she was delivered of a beautiful baby boy, but she has suffered the effects of PTSD and seizures, as well as the need for several major operations. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Money problems have followed, and a, recently, difficult surgery with a painful recovery was performed on an almost emergency basis.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Her family, by all accounts, are good people. They love the Lord. They go to church. They do good deeds, and they care about other people. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I doubt there is a person alive who has not felt the agony of terrible things, as if a lightning bolt fell from the sky, wreaking havoc on their otherwise peaceful existences. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">For some, the news is more devastating than others. A cancer diagnosis. A delinquent child. A violent car crash. All sudden, unpredictable, and for seemingly no reason.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">My friend reached out to me before this final surgery and asked me why such bad things are happening to her. I told her this:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">We are, right now, all of us, standing in the middle of a battlefield, and this is a war. Darts are flying, artillery is in motion, and you, my dear friend, are the target.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Whether or not you are a good person does not factor into the equation. You have an enemy, and John 10:10 says that that enemy comes to steal and to kill and to destroy. Plain and simple, someone has it out for you.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Read the book of Job. Good guy, bad life events. Not his fault. All the fault of the enemy. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">In this blog, I always try to tell you the truth, and that is the truth. The one that would destroy everything in your life that he possibly can is the same one who influenced the rulers to destroy all the male children under the age of 2 when Moses was born and when the Messiah had come. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Those babies had done nothing wrong and neither had their mothers, and yet, all those children died. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">We see wars, pestilences, and famines, and these also are the work of the enemy. We live in a fallen world, and it is best to understand where we are and to take cover. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Here is something you always need to remember: God loves you, He is good, and He can be trusted. When bullets are flying, and all is a mess, and you don't understand it, know that God is good, that He loves you, and that He can be trusted. Put on the armor of God, and stand firm.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">He is always working everything for good. Each and every single thing. Psalm 46:1 says:</span></p>
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<div class="s"><span class="st" style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"><strong><em><span class="st">'God</span> is our <span class="st">refuge</span> and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be <span class="st">be moved into the heart of the sea'.</span></em></strong><br></span></div>
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<div class="s"><span class="st" style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">When nothing makes sense, hold tight to His word and take refuge in Him. Draw near and trust. Just trust. You need fear no evil as you walk through the valley of the shadow of death. He is always by your side, preparing a table for you in the midst of your enemies and anointing your head with oil and leading you by the still waters. </span></div>
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<div class="s"><span class="st"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">He is always there even if it doesn't feel like it, and when you're <span style="color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://www.gutsychristianity.com/blog/you_need_salvation/"><span style="color: #0000ff;">saved</span></a></span> He dwells within you. The war, though horrible, will not last forever. The Bible says that after you have suffered a little while that He will</span><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;"> <em><strong>'<span class="st">restore, </span><span class="st">confirm, strengthen, and establish you.' 1 Peter 5:10. </span></strong></em></span></span></div>
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<div class="s"><span class="st" style="font-size: large;"><span class="st" style="font-size: large;"><em><span class="st" style="font-size: large;">My friend who suffered horribly at the hands of a rapist and would-be murderer is now being invited to speak at events to tell of her beautiful child who is a blessing from God despite the tragedy that caused his birth. She was even invited this past week to speak at in Washington D.C. in conjunction with pro-life legislation, the Heartbeat Bill, and she recently returned from Ireland to share her story there. Because of her story, others have decided to choose life for their babies. God had a purpose for her pain, and He has one for you, too, even if you don't see it this side of heaven. You can read my article about my friend's story in the Huffington Post <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/raped-beaten-left-pregnant-and-for-dead-she_us_59f25fdee4b05f0ade1b560b">here</a>. </span></em></span></span></div>
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<div class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Other Posts You May Like: I Am A Cussing Christian</span></div>
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<div class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons"><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I Trust No One Around My Child</span></div>
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  <div class="message"><p><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/398967/76e4cd7cad85111f86a22de9c420f84ea7120161/original/i-trust-2.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NzM1eDExMDIiXQ%3D%3D.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="1102" width="735" /><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Sometimes I give off the hippy, laid-back vibe pretty well, but when it comes to one aspect of my life, I am always paying 100% complete attention even if it seems like I am not. When it comes to my child, I do not care if others' feelings are hurt or if others think I am odd, because it is my job to keep her safe. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And the truth is, I don't trust anyone around my child. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Let me explain. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">When I was pregnant, I began to notice headlines in the newspaper where I live of disgusting things done to infants. Call me naive, but I had never heard of such a thing. As I paid attention to stories, I picked up on a key element: these were not strangers.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And so I did some research.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I found that only seven percent of those who would harm a youngster are the stranger popping out of the bush. The other 93% of the time, it's somebody we know.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It's that friend from school, the guy at church, or the relative who offers to babysit. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Before you think I've gone too far, all I can tell you is that the numbers do not lie and that the person responsible always seemed like somebody so 'trustworthy'. There is further evidence to suggest that family friends and such will often groom their victims so that it is more likely that it will not be believed if their actions are ever found out. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And so, I have some rules.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">My child can only be involved in activities where there are many people present and where no one will be taken to any separate quarters. I do not leave her alone with a single relative; there has to be a group present with at least one or two people I implicitly trust. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">The only exception is my husband's female cousin who practically lived with me the first year of this child's life and loves this child as if she were her own: it's likely I would appoint her my child's guardian in my will if Joe and I were to die together in an accident.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I don't let my guard down. If something seems fishy or weird, we simply do not have to participate. My baby's safety is more important than other people's feelings. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I visited a church where the children all have a retreat across the highway from the main building, and I told my husband we would not be sending our child there, because it is too isolated and away from the parents. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I am also vigilant to make sure my child still seems happy and exhibits no strange marks or behaviors after attending events, and in her life, she has really only been left with people a handful of times not including nursery.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Even then, I won't attend church where the nursery is in the basement or far away from the sanctuary, and I have been known to make surprise visits. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">We go plenty of places and are around plenty of people and go to the birthday parties and all the like. </span></p>
<p><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/398967/6fc70f8b058d428bdd0daaa7f42188fa69e3cd93/original/dscn6062.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NDAweDMwMCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="300" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">As gospel singers, my child frequents concerts and can be seen dancing and laughing and having fun with church goers and with residents of nursing homes. </span></p>
<p><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/398967/4e37a50e8e7b7674637f6dda2cef0a2990204ec5/original/dscn5579.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NDAweDMwMCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="300" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I take her to the local bounce house playland where she can cavort with others kids and play to her heart's content, and she has attended political meetings with me and is very social. </span></p>
<p><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/398967/7479e62f8fbd64b373dbdadc7ab5d7284ca1389e/original/dscn5509.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NDAweDMwMCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="300" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I even took her to our state capitol when I went to lobby for pro-life legislation, and she said hi to every senator that she happened to meet.</span></p>
<p><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/398967/97157b4e196bb3bc6fdaa79f20ce5499a937feb1/original/dscn4232.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NDAweDMwMCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="300" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">This isn't about hiding my kid under a rock. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">My point in all of this is that I don't feel the need to leave my child alone with other people and to needlessly expose her to risks. I rarely did sleepovers as a child, and it was pretty much for the same reason, and other people thought it was nuts then. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I don't claim to have understood it at the time, but I understand it now, and I don't want anything bad to happen to my daughter. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">She can see her friends. She just doesn't need to spend the night. She also doesn't need to spend time alone with adults, unsupervised. If the boogeymen in the forest were the most likely to harm my child, there would be no need to safeguard against those that I know in my neighborhood, but the stats just don't bear that out. The boogeymen are those we know the best, and they can truly be anyone.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">And if they looked like boogeymen, we could easily pick them out, but because we can't, I can trust no one.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I can't trust you just because you are a church.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I can't trust you just because you are a relative.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I can't trust you just because you're a friend. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">I can't trust you just because you're an organization.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It should not be an issue to have safeguards to keep our children safe, right? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Yesterday, a church in Texas was the target of a shooter who killed 27 people, and last night, our church discussed creating a security detail for our own building. Why? Because these are the times in which we live. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">Nobody said being a parent was easy or that it would score you points with the popular crowd. I just think it would be irresponsible of me to ignore the dangers just because it may not be socially acceptable to do so. I am not paranoid, but I definitely am vigilant, and I am not accusatory, but I absolutely am watchful. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large; font-family: Vollkorn, serif;">It's my job to keep my little one safe. I am her mother, after all. And if you're a mom, it's your job to keep your young ones safe, too.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ffff00;"><strong><span style="font-size: xx-large; font-family: Kranky, serif;">Stay Gutsy,</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ffff00;"><strong><span style="font-size: xx-large; font-family: Kranky, serif;">Rosa</span></strong></span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #ffff00;"><strong><span style="color: #ffff00;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Vollkorn, serif; font-size: medium;">I Am My Child's Friend </span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ffff00;"><strong><span style="color: #ffff00;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Vollkorn, serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.gutsychristianity.com/blog/i_am_my_childs_friend/"><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/398967/fb8dfe1f95e148d3aeeebbd15a42d67216bdf19e/original/child-children-parenting-parents-parent-bible-god-jesus-devotionals-for-women-scriptures-bible-study-for-women-biblical-womanhoo.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MTAweDEwMCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="100" width="100" /></a></span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ffff00;"><strong><span style="color: #ffff00;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Vollkorn, serif; font-size: medium;">I Am A Cussing Christian</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ffff00;"><strong><span style="color: #ffff00;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Vollkorn, serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.gutsychristianity.com/blog/i_am_a_cussing_christian/"><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/398967/baf76962ed9181fa5ce366f2637b6ae1fd20d6ae/original/i-am-1.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MTAweDg0Il0%3D.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="84" width="100" /></a></span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ffff00;"><strong><span style="color: #ffff00;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Vollkorn, serif; font-size: medium;">You're Not A Christian If You Celebrate Halloween</span></span></strong></span></p>
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