So there's this hymn I grew up singing called "Take my life" and one of the verses says "Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love."
And it's no secret that I love kitties.
It's also obvious that you knit and crochet with your hands.
Which is why the ministry I'm starting is called Take My Paws. I've been knitting like a mad-kitty (<--- haha, see what I did there?) and making stuff to donate instead of sell.
What I'm going to do is make hats, scarves, cowls, baby blankets, mittens, and anything else I can make, and donate them. That's it. just give them away to people who need them.
I'll also be collecting them from other people if you want to contribute. I'm working with another girl from my on-campus ministry who is doing the same thing.
So if you want to make stuff to donate or send yarn (which is obviously appreciated since we wouldn't have to buy yarn to make stuff for people) email me at sadbutsweetemokid@yahoo.com and I'll send you all the info you need.
And if you can't help physically, please pray that God will give me the opportunity to serve Him with my talents and open doors to make things, give things away, and teach other people to do the same.
Today I'm going to write about something very controversial.
"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel."
"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world."
"Make disciples in every nation."
As Christians, our job is very clear. We are to share the gospel with the nations, make disciples, and glorify God by serving others. Every year we send tons of missionaries into other countries. Churches go on missions trips. We send money oversees to AIDS victims and earthquake victims.
But there are still homeless people here. Sick people, hurt people, prostitutes, drug addicts, people needing Christ.
You don't have to go into another country to serve Christ. In fact, you shouldn't, unless you've run out of people in your neighborhood and immediate area to serve.
Now, some people are specifically called to go to certain places. They learn the language, they meet people/marry people in those other countries, and they move out there. But they live there, and those people have become their immediate neighbors!
The point is, before you send your money oversees and dedicate your time to places in other countries—however awesome it is—check out your local soup kitchen, goodwill, homeless shelter, or mid-point house for orphans. They need Christ to.
To my Nerdfighters: I see nothing wrong with decreasing World Suck.
I was watching a vlogbrothers video today and I paused it to take the cupcakes out of the oven (it's Jeff's b-day) and I came back and this was the face I found I'd paused on.
Have YOU pre-ordered The Fault in Our Stars? I did. I hope all you nerdfighters out there will as well. It's only about $12 of your money, which is a little over an hour's worth of minimum-wage work.
C'mon. For a John Green book, it's worth it.
I absolutely loved the first chapter. I can't wait for more!
BTW, Berean is a term from Acts 17, where the church in Berea was congratulated because they tested everything they were being taught against what they knew was true from the old testiment. I consider myself non-denominational, but also a Berean, because I test everything I hear against what I know to be true.
This is a nerdfighter video. I would ask you please watch it before reading the post. There are some weird sexual facts about bed bugs (awkward…) but I'd like you to watch it not only because it's interesting and funny, but it brings up a good point.
you can skip it if you really want, and my post will, hopefully, still make sense.
(note: I'd say this is for ages 16+)
My response:
It's interesting to me to see a non-Christian's perspective on homosexuality. Hank made this video for National Coming Out Day.
Sexual orientation is different than personality. One of the misconceptions poor Hank had was that since his personality mixed well with girls but he didn't have crushes on them, maybe his sexual orientation matched theirs, since his personality matched theirs.
I really like knives and violent movies. I like hanging out with guys. I write crime thrillers about kick-ass guys (and girls) who blow things up. Am I attracted to women because most of the time it's men who like movies like that? absolutely not. My Sis has mostly guy friends… I think she has three girlfriends total, and she's friends with them mostly because I am (Victory, her sister, and a girl in the state we used to live in). Does that mean our sexual orientations are closer on the scale of Male than of Female? I'd beg to differ. Our personalities might be, but sexual orientation is a totally different scale, and it's not really a scale at all. It's a box, and it's determined by your DNA and your anatomy. Again, some people get confused by their personality, but that doesn't determine your sexuality.
A lot of people say they "knew they were gay" or "were born this way," but science has shown us that when we really get to the bottom of homosexuality, it's usually because of a bad experience, or confusion, such as Hank's confusion, or the confusion of my character in my book. my character decides that she hates guys because they're mean, so if she hates guys, she MUST like girls! it made sense to a little kid at the time. when she falls in love with a guy in high school, she get's REALLY confused. sometimes but not always, someone will be confused because of sexual abuse as a child. Nobody is born gay. They are born male or female.
Now: do I have a problem with gay people? am I condemning them to hell? do I hate them? let me answer each one.
Do I have a problem with them? Define problem. I have a lot of homosexual friends. They are great friends to me. Some of my ballet students are gay. Some of my writing friends are lesbians. I write a novel about a girl who thinks she is a lesbian (email me if you're curious, because I'm not going to write about the book on this blog). Now: I have a problem with homosexuality itself. not the people, but the sin. It's disgusting. it makes me sad. it's against God's commands and it's against nature.
(if you disagree with me about it being against nature and tell me "almost every other species has homosexuality," my only argument is "every other species can still reproduce from homosexuality. they don't do it because they're confused, they do it because it's part of their survival. if two males can't have sex and have a baby, or two females can't have sex and have a baby, it's against nature.)
Also: It doesn't matter if I have a problem with it or not, because I'm not God (more on that below). God is the one who created us, God is the one who rules this universe and all of creation. If God is the one who has a problem with it, I would be smart if I were you and do what He says.
Second question: Am I condemning them to hell? no, I'm not. I'm not God. I'm a Christian, but I'm not God. Again, I hate the sin, not the people. My job on earth is to glorify God, enjoy Him forever, and go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples. My job is to love my neighbor as myself. My job is to trust and obey. You've heard it all before, but that's really what it boils down to. Take my life and let it be, ever only all for thee. My job is not telling people who is going to hell because of what they're doing. THAT IS GOD'S JOB. seriously. God is the one who says "You're disobeying me, you're in sin, you need my help, you need to come to me." God is the one who says "Take up your cross and follow me." God is the one who may say "Depart from me, I never knew you." (scariest words in the Bible, btw.) Condemning is not my job.
Third: Do I hate them? No. Based on everything you just read, do you think I hate them? Of course not. Again, I have homosexual friends. I don't hate them. I pray for them and I love them and I try to show them that true followers of Christ don't hate/condemn them, but that really we're no different than them.
That's right, I said it. Christians are no different than homosexuals. When it all boils down to it, we're all humans, we're all sinners, we're all separated from Christ. The only difference is Christians are redeemed, and homosexuals are not. But neither are serial killers. neither are drug addicts. neither are rapists. let's get a little dirtier: neither is your second grade math teacher who didn't believe in Jesus, but didn't tell you not to believe in Him either. neither is a Muslim or Buddhist. neither is a Catholic who believes they're going to heaven because they say Hail Mary's. (I'll write about my beliefs on Catholics another day, but in a nutshell: I believe some Catholics are saved, and some are not.) we're all dead, but Christ makes us alive.
Sin is sin. There are no degrees of sin. If my mom tells me I can have two and only two cookies, and I take three, that's sin. If I sleep with another woman, that's sin. It's the same word, it's the same meaning. I know it's a huge difference to us, but it's still sin to God, and He's the one who makes the rules, and I have no right to say any different. THAT right there is why I can't hate homosexuals: because they sin just like I do, their sin is no worse than mine, they are no different than me.
And I am commanded to love everyone as I love myself. Hopefully I love others more than I love myself.
Also: that amazing video that will BLOW YOUR MIND really is amazing. I kinda want to know the answer to the mystery!!! and I want to watch more videos by him.
Question for you:
Would you like more video response posts? And, was this absurdly long and did you skip it because I'm pathetic and long winded (or you were busy)?
:D Yay. idk if I mentioned it or not, but Sis and I came up to visit John and Victory for Fall break this week. He picked us up at a gas station (because we got a ride most of the way) and took us to Victory's house.
When we were settled, he stole me for about a half hour. we went on a short walk and just held hands and hugged and it was lovely. He even sang to me while we slow-danced in the street. But we went inside because it was starting to rain. and because he had to get up at 8 the next morning, and it was already past midnight.
it was just so good to see him. it's been a long six weeks. A six weeks where I had three periods.
WHICH DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
gah.
now I'm sitting in Starbucks knitting his scarf for Christmas. And I'll see him this afternoon. Victory and he both get out of school at 4. Sis went home with dad (who I got to see today and I gave him a BIG hug) so I get Victory and her sister, Lizzy, all to myself.
ever heard of John and Hank Green? John Green publishes YA books—very controversial books but good with great messages for contemporary teens who are not easily offended—and he and his crazy brother hank do Brotherhood 2.0 and Vlogbrothers.
