This morning, a popular health food blogger shared an article written by another popular blogger about the fact that she shamelessly takes her kids out for fast food fives times a week. Then, the popular health blogger asks her health food followers, "What do you think about this article?"
Honestly... Why? Because there isn't enough parental judgement already?
My biggest complaint about the article was that writer used the word "snarf"... And, more than once at that. It made me cringe a little. But, I could care less what she feeds her kids, and it's kind of a lame thing to shame other people for. Sharing helpful knowledge is one thing, but unleashing your fellow health food worshippers to condemn the fast food mom is a little, um... unhelpful.
Hey, life happens. Sometimes, it happens five times a week. It's hard on moms, and some of us just don't really have the energy to obsess over nutrition. We simply do the best we can, and trust that God's plans won't be thwarted because of a cheeseburger here and there. I grew up on pizza and hot dogs and Doritos and all things 90's, and I survived and lived to tell the tale. I was eventually introduced to healthier food, and realized my body wasn't healthy. I started making healthier choices in my early twenties, and now I'm passing that knowledge down to my kids. But, you better believe I will take full advantage of my freedom in Christ to eat French fries without feeling an ounce of shame.
Our family loves real, whole foods. Just this morning, my kids were raving about the fruit and kale smoothies we had for breakfast. Last night for dinner, they were inhaling guacamole, spinach, and grass-fed beef tacos. But, there are some days where being the homeschool mom of four kids ends up feeling like a swift kick in the pants, and Chick-Fil-a swoops in and saves the day like an angel sent down from heaven. On those days, it's all I can do not to go "Pentecostal" and break out my tambourine to do a holy victory dance thanking God for allowing fast food to even exist.
I am a firm believer that WHAT you eat is not often a sin issue (assuming you're not eating other humans - eek!), but HOW you eat, and your heart on the matter can be. Food can obviously become an idol, and there are seasons of life where it has held the throne in my own heart more times than I can count. It's a battle, for sure. Idolatry and gluttony are sins that need to be repented of. Occasionally choosing pizza over kale at lunch time is not.
We love whole foods now, and prefer to eat healthy because we've seen the difference in how it makes us feel. But, just four short years ago, we didn't even know what kale was. I would have rather banged my head against a wall than have to drink a green smoothie that tasted like pineapple grass. People are on their own journeys, and you can't condemn others just because they aren't on the same path as you... Especially over something as petty as food. Choose your battles according to scripture, and let go of the preference wars.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Boycott Target, Save the World?
Disclaimer: This blog post is not written in support of transgendered persons rights to use any restroom they choose. I do not support that idea at all, but that is a topic for another day. This post is written through the lens of seeing the inconsistencies of parents who want to protect their kids from pedophiles and predators, and yet are unwilling to do so on all fronts.
************************
When I was four, I was molested in my own back yard. On more than one occasion. And, again when I was five. And, six. And, seven.
When I was five, I was molested by a student at the public school I went to. Again, more than once.
When I was six, I was molested by a different student at the public school I went to.
When I was 13, a man more than ten years older than me who went to my church asked me if I wanted to run to McDonald's with him for a Mcflurry before church started. I naively accepted. Instead, he drove me to a local cemetery and crossed more lines than I care to admit.
When I was 21, I was sexually assaulted by a man I was dating whom I had no intention of being intimate with.
Maybe you're asking how one person can be taken advantage of that many times in their life?
Easy.
Parents look away. They give kids freedom to "be kids", and assume that nothing bad could ever happen in this "Leave It to Beaver" world we live in.
Wrong.
My husband has a similar story to mine.
And, so do millions of people across the world, some who recover by God's grace, and others who carry on the pattern and abuse because they've been abused. Or, just because sin. People, young and old, become predators for a host of reasons.
But, now, all of a sudden, parents, conservatives, and evangelicals everywhere are scared to death and boycotting because transgender people are *officially* allowed to be in public restrooms across the country.
Hmmmm...
Maybe I'm more aware of the facts and vulnerabilities because I've become a statistic on more than one occasion. But, I won't let my children go to sleepovers, public/private school, or public restrooms by themselves because I've seen the reality too many times. I've been accused of being a prude and a helicopter parent on more than one occasion. So be it. Not for fear, but for knowledge. There are wolves among us seeking out their prey. A quick Google search will tell you that statistically speaking, a child is more likely to get molested by a close friend or family member, including minor siblings or someone in their own peer group. The same goes for adults. You are more likely to be raped by someone you know or someone you are dating than by a complete stranger, namely one who cross dresses and thinks he's a female.
If you truly want to protect yourselves and your children, be vigilant all day every day because you know that there is evil in this world. Not because transgenders are now allowed and some creep may sneak in under the guise of being transgender and sneak a peek at you or your children. Transgenders have been going to their respective restrooms long before they were publicly welcomed by Target, and no one was loading their shotguns then. Don't pretend your homophobia is really some plight to protect your kids. If you want to protect your kids, THEN PROTECT THEM. Guard their bodies, and their minds, and their hearts. Guard them from the television and the computer and cell phone where they can get sucked into a pornography addiction that can wreak havoc on their young minds just as much as being sexually assaulted can. Provide supervision even in "safe" environments. But, boycotting Target won't deter a pedophile or an aggressive curious teenager or child from having their way with your son or daughter while you aren't watching. I, personally, don't shop at Target for other reasons. Their advertisements of half dressed women are just not something I want to expose my husband or sons to. Target hasn't been a "family" store for a very long time, but now you're offended because it taunts your temptation to hate, and you're giving in.
Your hatred of them for being transgender is just as foul.
Christians have to wake up and see themselves in others. People are lost, separated from God, far and wide. And, you're complaining about the bathroom policy of a store that has been trying to rip apart gender roles and biblical family values for years.
Unless you are willing to reach out to that transgender person and love them, and build a relationship with them, and boldly share Christ with them, then back off. Stop spotlighting sins that you find offensive. The most loving thing you can do for a lost person is share the gospel with them and pray for their salvation and let the Holy Spirit do his work if he so chooses. But, you're not going to save the world by not going to Target.
************************
When I was four, I was molested in my own back yard. On more than one occasion. And, again when I was five. And, six. And, seven.
When I was five, I was molested by a student at the public school I went to. Again, more than once.
When I was six, I was molested by a different student at the public school I went to.
When I was 13, a man more than ten years older than me who went to my church asked me if I wanted to run to McDonald's with him for a Mcflurry before church started. I naively accepted. Instead, he drove me to a local cemetery and crossed more lines than I care to admit.
When I was 21, I was sexually assaulted by a man I was dating whom I had no intention of being intimate with.
Maybe you're asking how one person can be taken advantage of that many times in their life?
Easy.
Parents look away. They give kids freedom to "be kids", and assume that nothing bad could ever happen in this "Leave It to Beaver" world we live in.
Wrong.
My husband has a similar story to mine.
And, so do millions of people across the world, some who recover by God's grace, and others who carry on the pattern and abuse because they've been abused. Or, just because sin. People, young and old, become predators for a host of reasons.
But, now, all of a sudden, parents, conservatives, and evangelicals everywhere are scared to death and boycotting because transgender people are *officially* allowed to be in public restrooms across the country.
Hmmmm...
Maybe I'm more aware of the facts and vulnerabilities because I've become a statistic on more than one occasion. But, I won't let my children go to sleepovers, public/private school, or public restrooms by themselves because I've seen the reality too many times. I've been accused of being a prude and a helicopter parent on more than one occasion. So be it. Not for fear, but for knowledge. There are wolves among us seeking out their prey. A quick Google search will tell you that statistically speaking, a child is more likely to get molested by a close friend or family member, including minor siblings or someone in their own peer group. The same goes for adults. You are more likely to be raped by someone you know or someone you are dating than by a complete stranger, namely one who cross dresses and thinks he's a female.
If you truly want to protect yourselves and your children, be vigilant all day every day because you know that there is evil in this world. Not because transgenders are now allowed and some creep may sneak in under the guise of being transgender and sneak a peek at you or your children. Transgenders have been going to their respective restrooms long before they were publicly welcomed by Target, and no one was loading their shotguns then. Don't pretend your homophobia is really some plight to protect your kids. If you want to protect your kids, THEN PROTECT THEM. Guard their bodies, and their minds, and their hearts. Guard them from the television and the computer and cell phone where they can get sucked into a pornography addiction that can wreak havoc on their young minds just as much as being sexually assaulted can. Provide supervision even in "safe" environments. But, boycotting Target won't deter a pedophile or an aggressive curious teenager or child from having their way with your son or daughter while you aren't watching. I, personally, don't shop at Target for other reasons. Their advertisements of half dressed women are just not something I want to expose my husband or sons to. Target hasn't been a "family" store for a very long time, but now you're offended because it taunts your temptation to hate, and you're giving in.
Your hatred of them for being transgender is just as foul.
Christians have to wake up and see themselves in others. People are lost, separated from God, far and wide. And, you're complaining about the bathroom policy of a store that has been trying to rip apart gender roles and biblical family values for years.
Unless you are willing to reach out to that transgender person and love them, and build a relationship with them, and boldly share Christ with them, then back off. Stop spotlighting sins that you find offensive. The most loving thing you can do for a lost person is share the gospel with them and pray for their salvation and let the Holy Spirit do his work if he so chooses. But, you're not going to save the world by not going to Target.
Thursday, April 7, 2016
I'm a Spiritual Five Year Old
I'm so thankful God called me to repentance around this time five years ago. For most of my life, I was a cultural Christian at best... You know, the ones that check the "Christian" box on surveys that ask your religious affiliation - the one with a lot of talk and not a lot of walk. But, when He called me, I was barely even that. I was a broken fragment of a person, drowning in the muck I had willfully chosen for myself. That putrid stench of sin is not one easily forgotten, but today I can say that My God saves. He can take the ugliest, nastiest, most Jezebel-est of us all and make us clean. He can redeem the poor choices, the broken hearts, the out-of-wedlock pregnancies, the divorces, the willful rebellion and rejection of God in an effort to "find myself" and "express myself"... My God can take it all. And, He has. And, through the blood of a Lamb once slain, he has chosen to remember it no more, and I have been made clean. Glory to God in Heaven, the one Who gives new life to dry bones. The One who says "Rise up and walk"... The one who says, "Follow Me".
I was speaking to a woman recently who was trying to make a case for how our salvation depends on our actions:
The simple truth is this:
That's it.
Try as we might, no amount of obedience will save us apart from the the Holy Spirit opening our eyes to our the height, the depth, the breadth of our sinfulness and our need for a Savior. The reality is that even one sin, no matter how mild - even one white lie - is obscene enough in the sight of God to have us banished eternally to hell.
Do you recognize the debt that you have before God? Do you understand that you cannot pay it? Do you comprehend the fact that Jesus did not die FOR our sins, but rather He died COVERED in them, paying the price that we could not pay?
This isn't about having a Savior that can relate to us - though He can - but it is so much more than that. He took the burden of sin that we carry, the debt that we've incurred, the very thing that separates us from our Creator, and He wore it all and endured being separated from the Father so that we can stand blameless and holy before a righteous judge and once again enter into unadulterated communion with the One who gave us life. We may not be promised an easy life, and we will be painstakingly molded into the image of Christ until our dying breath, but on that great day of judgement, we will be welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven as sons and daughters of a righteous King, heirs of the Great Almighty.
If you aren't following Christ, come to Him. The sin that you love so much is the same sin that will devour you whole. We love our sin, because it gives us what we want. But, only temporarily as its appetite grows to demand even our souls. Just like a child who doesn't understand why he can't always have his way, so are we thrashing about in fits of anger if anyone dare touch what we hold so dear. But, so long as you cling to the comforts of this world, you need to understand that you are hanging on to a sinking ship - one where the orchestra is playing so loudly that its passengers don't even know they're dying. See the beauty of sin for the facade that it is. Confess, repent, follow Christ and be done with it.
My prayer today is one of thanksgiving for a loving Savior that was willing to stoop low. When I was out of reach of all those around me, when cutesy religion had lost all flavor, and every hand I held betrayed me, when I lived in fear every day as the consequences of my sin played out around me... God met me there. But, it wasn't free. It cost His Son's very life to repay the eternal debt that I had acquired. And, He is willing to apply that payment for you, too, if you only repent and put your faith in Christ Jesus. There is no other way. Hold fast to a false security of your own inconsistent obedience, or put your hope in a muddled up and watered down gospel, and I fear for you on that day of judgement. Do not be deceived into thinking you know Him simply because you go to church and are familiar with scripture. Even the demons know Him and tremble. God will not be mocked. Nothing short of a total surrender to Him will do.
I praise God for the continual work He is doing in my life, and the lives of my brothers and sisters in Christ. And, I pray today, nearing the fifth anniversary of my salvation, that when God calls out to you who are unsaved, and you're standing there in darkness, neck deep in the consequences of your sin, that you surrender and allow Him to begin a good work in you that will be completed on the day of Christ Jesus.
I was speaking to a woman recently who was trying to make a case for how our salvation depends on our actions:
"Why in the world would God have created the Ten Commandments if He didn't expect us to obey them?"My answer to her was simple. It was the same answer that somehow escaped me for most of my life as I wandered in a hopeless back and forth effort of trying to please God enough to save me and then getting tired of it all and going my own way.
The simple truth is this:
The sole purpose of the Ten Commandments was to make us aware of God's Holy standard, and to make us even more aware of the fact that we cannot fulfill it.
That's it.
Try as we might, no amount of obedience will save us apart from the the Holy Spirit opening our eyes to our the height, the depth, the breadth of our sinfulness and our need for a Savior. The reality is that even one sin, no matter how mild - even one white lie - is obscene enough in the sight of God to have us banished eternally to hell.
Do you recognize the debt that you have before God? Do you understand that you cannot pay it? Do you comprehend the fact that Jesus did not die FOR our sins, but rather He died COVERED in them, paying the price that we could not pay?
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. - 1 Peter 2:24
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:21
This isn't about having a Savior that can relate to us - though He can - but it is so much more than that. He took the burden of sin that we carry, the debt that we've incurred, the very thing that separates us from our Creator, and He wore it all and endured being separated from the Father so that we can stand blameless and holy before a righteous judge and once again enter into unadulterated communion with the One who gave us life. We may not be promised an easy life, and we will be painstakingly molded into the image of Christ until our dying breath, but on that great day of judgement, we will be welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven as sons and daughters of a righteous King, heirs of the Great Almighty.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. - Romans 8:14-17
If you aren't following Christ, come to Him. The sin that you love so much is the same sin that will devour you whole. We love our sin, because it gives us what we want. But, only temporarily as its appetite grows to demand even our souls. Just like a child who doesn't understand why he can't always have his way, so are we thrashing about in fits of anger if anyone dare touch what we hold so dear. But, so long as you cling to the comforts of this world, you need to understand that you are hanging on to a sinking ship - one where the orchestra is playing so loudly that its passengers don't even know they're dying. See the beauty of sin for the facade that it is. Confess, repent, follow Christ and be done with it.
My prayer today is one of thanksgiving for a loving Savior that was willing to stoop low. When I was out of reach of all those around me, when cutesy religion had lost all flavor, and every hand I held betrayed me, when I lived in fear every day as the consequences of my sin played out around me... God met me there. But, it wasn't free. It cost His Son's very life to repay the eternal debt that I had acquired. And, He is willing to apply that payment for you, too, if you only repent and put your faith in Christ Jesus. There is no other way. Hold fast to a false security of your own inconsistent obedience, or put your hope in a muddled up and watered down gospel, and I fear for you on that day of judgement. Do not be deceived into thinking you know Him simply because you go to church and are familiar with scripture. Even the demons know Him and tremble. God will not be mocked. Nothing short of a total surrender to Him will do.
On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' - Matthew 7:22-23
I praise God for the continual work He is doing in my life, and the lives of my brothers and sisters in Christ. And, I pray today, nearing the fifth anniversary of my salvation, that when God calls out to you who are unsaved, and you're standing there in darkness, neck deep in the consequences of your sin, that you surrender and allow Him to begin a good work in you that will be completed on the day of Christ Jesus.
To God be the glory.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die - but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:6-8
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