Waiting On God

"I don't mean just thinking. I mean thinking with a difference — trusting God to make things clear in His own time, thinking in a spirit of adoration, of dependency, of trust. That includes trust that He is, in fact, changing your mind."

"In Romans 12:2, Paul writes 'Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove' — that means 'discern' — 'that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.' Do you see what he's saying? He seems to think that the key to 'proving' or discerning the will of God isn't getting a certain kind of experience in the mind, but getting a certain kind of mind. Paul wants our minds to be 'renewed' through surrender to His will."

Not "God, my mind is all ready, so drop some thoughts into it..." "He made your mind to think, so don't let your mind just lie there — think. But think in His presence."


---From "The Lord Told Me (Part 1 of 2)", by J. Budziszewski, Boundless.org.

Tell it like it is...

"The [Massachusetts] state pharmacy board ordered Wal-Mart on Tuesday to stock emergency contraception pills at its stores in Massachusetts.

"Massachusetts becomes second state to require the world's largest retailer to carry the morning-after pill.

A Wal-Mart spokesman said... "Clearly women's health is a high priority for Wal-Mart," spokesman Dan Fogleman said. "We are actively thinking through the issue."

My Personal Thoughts: Since when has the morning after pill or any of its successors had much to do with women's health? A woman is not diseased if she is pregnant, though many feminists seem to think so. I understand, though I do not agree with, the argument about abortions for women who are raped or who might die during the birth process. However, if a woman has been raped or is facing pregnancy complications, she should be in a hospital getting proper medical attention, not in Wal-Mart buying drugs. Therefore, the only woman likely, I would think, to be the intended consumer of such a product would be the woman who thinks she might have messed up with her birth control and just wants to make sure...

But then again, maybe this is a health issue...a mental health issue. Women need to stop seeing their bodies as objects to use for their own satisfaction. Women who feel entitled to have sex out of wedlock and who feel justified in using various contraception methods and abortion if necessary to maintain some plastic notion of freedom...these women are simply insane.

Set aside the notion that there is some form of freedom in wordly views. Women are not free when they can kill their babies and have sex with men who are neither in love with nor committed to them. Freedom can only be found when you stop following the dictates of a blind society and start following the truth that is written in your heart.

V-day Philosophy

...speak of one who loved not wisely, but too well.

- Othello.

Lesson of The Day

It is better to be a seal than a penguin.

Facing Ghosts: more on courtship

The pain of heartbreak for me has been linear in nature: the more trust involved, the more pain felt. I think it is quite possible to trust someone more than you love them. The worst kind of heartbreak is the kind where love and trust are equal, and in great amounts...that pain can be almost unbearable.

I've been broken up with before...I've also been the one to do the breaking. It sucks, either way. The term "breaking up" is very apt. Whether or not you are physically involved, there is always an emotional "oneness" that is created during the dating process. Knowing what it means to give yourself to a person takes a lot of heart. In her article, "Why Breaking Up is Hard To Do", Sara Hinlicky wrote about a guy named James who was dumped by a girl named Cindy.

He is the one who really understood what was at stake in their romance. It wasn'’t an arrangement designed to be temporary or merely preparatory for something else. He saw, and felt in his heart of hearts, the profound spiritual implications of his intimacy with Cindy. It was a sacrifice of himself to her that required incredible trust. He willingly blended his identity with hers;

James was heartbroken when Cindy broke-up with him. She wasn't. She moved on. He struggled. I can't say how long any one person struggles or not with such a problem, but it is a tough road for the person who really knows what dating and courtship and emotional intimacy bring.

For the givers out there who give their hearts freely, with complete trust...be more discerning. I speak with experience over many years. I've had to face those ghosts too...the questions with no answers. "Why me? What is wrong with me? Why aren't I good enough? How do I lack...how can I fix it? Don't I have value?" The ghosts of the "exs". The ghosts of regret.

Toward the end of her article, Hinlicky says that perhaps we really aren't one until we are married to that person God has intended for us. Maybe she is right, I certainly do not profess any aptitude for maritial theology. What I do know is this: in marriage, we are one before God; as a married couple, we should build each other up, not tear each other down; my husband should complete me in ways that I am incapable of filling, and I should complete him in the say way.