The Blessing of Abortion

I first heard of this news story from Much More Than Rubies and then read the article here at World Mag.

Katherine Ragsdale, the soon-to-be President of the Episcopal Divinity School, a major seminary near Harvard says that abortion is a blessing.  She even goes so far and says that abortion is holy work!  Here are some more quotes from the article:

"Ragsdale, though, says abortion is a "blessing," and not only in harsh situations but good ones: "When a woman becomes pregnant within a loving, supportive, respectful relationship; has every option open to her; decides she does not wish to bear a child; and has access to a safe, affordable abortion—there is not a tragedy in sight—only blessing. The ability to enjoy God's good gift of sexuality without compromising one's education, life's work, or ability to put to use God's gifts and call is simply blessing."

This is what I've been talking about folks - this PERVERTED (twisted) view of children.  Instead of accepting the BIBLICAL view where God tells us they are a blessing and happy is the man that has a lot of them and in the New Testament that women should marry, BEAR CHILDREN, and guide the house..........its all twisted to fit the flesh.  Forget marriage - just live together.  Forget children - just take pills to mimic barrenness or kill them if they somehow get through your pills because ain't no baby going to ruin your plans and then spend your life thinking a career will fulfill you.  Surely God understands you can't be burdened down with his blessings - when he gives them to you, just kill them and tell God "no thanks".  Don't worry about the house, it can take care of itself and it isn't as fulfilling as filing papers in an office.

Notice how she glorifies 'God's good gift of sexuality', yet wants to leave out the part of what sex was intended for - reproduction.  God designed us that way and that was one of his first commands - be fruitful and multiply.  satan has twisted it so well to make people think that the things of this life (material), careers and education and the almighty dollar are where its at.


We who have been born again by the Spirit of God know that the only thing that fulfills is Christ.  Christ followers don't look for loopholes to fit their lifestyles, they don't live in sin any longer and they don't constantly seek ways to fulfill the lusts of the flesh.  These are the ways of the sinner - one who has never been delivered from sin.  "Loopholes to Hell" as Pastor put it this past week.

Quotes to Ponder

Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress. ~Alfred A. Montapert

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. ~Harry Truman

A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away. ~Thomas Jefferson

The tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach. ~Benjamin Mays

Thought is useful when it motivates for action, and a hindrance when it substitutes for action. ~Bill Raeder

Some people make things happen, some people watch things happen, and some ask what happened. ~Casey Stengel

Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost how it feels about dogs. ~Christopher Hampton

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. ~Cyril Connolly

If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much. ~Donald H. Rumsfeld

Whether you think you can or think you can't -- you are right. ~Henry Ford

Facial Care Introduction; Products I Use

We have yet to start talking about facial care, someone had commented last year that they thought I was 19 or around there because of my skin lol.  Believe me it was the best compliment I have ever gotten! ; )  I'm not 19, but 29 and my skin is not the greatest.  I do believe you can do things to:
  1. Protect your skin from damage (wear sunscreen all the time!)
  2. Slow down skin damage you already caused
My skin regime has changed over the years, so I will start from the beginning.  I used to use Irish Spring to wash my face when I was a teenager and didn't know anything about face care.  Then my oldest Sister got us started on Clinique's 3-step system but it actually only gave me skin problems that I had never had before.  Then she started selling Mary Kay and we used those cleansers.  I did wear makeup back then and you needed a heavy duty cleanser to get all that junk off lol.

One thing I regret that I did from a child on up was sit out in the sun and go to our grandma's pool several days a week with NO SUNSCREEN!  I got so many sunburns growing up it was just normal for me.  I was never told I needed to protect my skin and what all that sun exposure and sunburns would do later on to my skin.  So I got my first wrinkle pretty early, not to mention freckles (but my husband loves my freckles and that is part of what attracted him to me, so I learned to love them when he showed me they are cute! lol)

When I stopped wearing makeup, I simply used Dove soap to wash my face and don't remember using any moisturizer.  I then had problems with my skin and seems like it became sensitive, so I started using Cetaphil cleanser and moisturizer for years.  Then I switched to Neutregena acne soap with Aveeno moisturizer because I had breakouts and then dry skin from the acne soap.

Something I have done for years is exfoliate with baking soda.  I keep a container of it in my shower and a couple times a month, I put some in my hand and mix a bit of water and then gently scrub it on my face and lips and hands and elbows and rinse.  It makes my skin smooth and is a cheap exfoliater and one I recommend!

A few months ago, after being frustrated by acne all the time and dull looking skin, I stepped out and tried something new.  I bought Olay's foaming face wash for sensitive skin and started to use it.  I noticed that my face was not as dry as normal and then I followed it up with my Aveeno moisturizer.  It cleaned my face gently but my moisturizer didn't seem to be doing the job anymore.

I tried Olay's Anti-wrinkle daily SPF moisturizer and at first it made my skin peel/flake but after 2 weeks it was fine and I have used it now for a few months and WOW what a difference it has made in my skin!  I figured it was so good, the night cream must be good also.  I tried it out and the first morning after using it the night before, I was impressed when I looked in the mirror and saw my skin was plump and my forehead wrinkles almost invisible.  I'm going to continue to use it a few nights a week.

I noticed that my acne had lessened dramatically since using the Olay anti-wrinkle moisturizer and I didn't know why but found out that the hydroxy acids in it actually help acne as well!  I finally found something that has really lessened my breakouts to just a few a month and also makes my skin look better.  I want to venture out and try some of the other Olay lines but for now I'm happy with this one. 

Don't be fooled into thinking you need an eye cream - I have always simply used my face moisturizer around my eye area.  Paula Begoun is a woman I trust who researches products (face and hair) and lets us know what ingredients are in them and what is good and what is bad.  She also has some videos on youtube.

Anonymous vs. Face to Face

What we need to realize is that the internet, email and any type of writing without the actual person present with their tone of voice or facial expression - you can skew and interpret wrongly what the author is saying. This happens a lot and even others I have talked to say the same thing. I would be here all day explaining things, because you only read what I write without hearing my tone of voice or the manner in which I'm presenting it. It can come across a different way then I intended.

It is easy to hide behind "anonymous" and say things to someone that you would never say to them face to face. I think the internet for some that use it that way has become a "weight" that so easily besets them. They are murdering each other with their own words, of which you will be judged with before God no matter if you used anonymous or not!

The internet is a blessing in some ways and a curse in others! It is hard to understand that so many want to actually read what I write. That also puts me in a place sometimes I don't want to be in. I don't want to 'blog to please' others or let this thing become something that I blog to make everyone happy - that would be being something I'm not and make me a hypocrite and just doing it for the acclaim of men. My motives are not as such, nor have they ever been - it does rub a lot of people the wrong way because they don't want to accept the differences of opinion and still love each other. Could you be found full of longsuffering for others or do you just give them one chance and when they mess it up in your eyes you throw them to the curb? Thank God he doesn't do that to us!

What I said about birth control and bearing children has got turned so many ways that sometimes I want to delete every post on the subject lol. I'm not a quiverfull believer, in the way that the group uses it as pride (not all are of this mentality but I'm speaking of the specific sect that is). They think how many children you have determines how blessed you are in God and that isn't so. I know GODLY Brothers and Sisters that have NO children who do more for God than some with a 'quiverfull'. Since when did the number of children you have make you somehow better than others? I've been thrown into the same category with this group even though I'm not of that mentality. I can't help what others "think" of me and I tried to explain myself but I guess people want to see only what they want to see.

I always see my faults and shortcomings and am always in amazement that some people think more of me than I do myself. Although, I also on the other hand never lack for those who think less of me and that they are better than me. I don't want to hurt anyone but I also have to be who God made me to be and that is a voice for Him. I think that a lot of people don't give me room to make mistakes or have faults. I wonder if God gives them mercy if they don't even give their Brother or Sister mercy? I'm always growing in the Lord and He (in His time for me) is always weeding out the bad and increasing the good in my life. I'm ever learning in Him and what some meant for bad or to harm me - He has used that to my good and made me stronger!

1 Peter 4:8
"And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins."

Just wanted to try and give a view into this, hopefully explain things about writing, blogs, emails, etc - to hopefully help you realize that just because you perceive something a certain way, you can't be sure because you did not hear the tone of voice or see the author face to face. Also, let's be careful that we aren't saying things we wouldn't say to someone's face in person - I've been called every curse word in the book seems like through this blog but as someone used to say in class "that comes with the territory". As Pastor has said this week, Beware when all men speak well of you! I have to say I don't have to worry about that lol. =0

In Love,

Bev

Guest Post: Simplifying the Home

Dear readers and friends of Christian Home keeping blog,

It is a pleasure for me to be asked by Bev to write a guest post about my home keeping tips and schedule for her blog. Bev is a lady of beauty. I love that its her hearts desire to follow the Lord, and that she has a blog created to encourage us in our roles as home keepers.

I like my home to be fresh, clean, simple and pretty. I recently titled my blog "Simply Pretty" because I want to create a simple and pretty home for my family. I believe that the key to keeping our homes organized is by living simpler. To me, that means having less material things in my home. I like the saying "Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful". I find that to be such great advice because the truth is, the more things that we have, the more we have to dust and clean!

Here are some of my tips to help with simplifying our home:
  • Start with going room to room. Keep only what is useful and what you truly love. And then give away the rest. It will make you feel so good to be able to bless others. And God will bless you too!
  • Pray that God will help you to see the beauty in the simple things. There is much beauty in simplicity. Women are creative, we can make our home look exquisite and breath taking by using a simple candle or flower in a pretty thrift shop tea cup! 
  • When your at a store and your standing there wondering if you should buy that specific item but your just not sure...Try this: say to yourself "If in doubt, go without" and leave it there and walk away! Chances are if you really love it, it will be there next time. Or maybe you will be happy that you didn't clutter up your house on something you didn't really love or need, and wont have to clean! 
  • I like to think up ways to be simple in my decorating in order to save money as well as time cleaning. So I look around my home and work with the items that I have. I've been known to do some unusual things like skipping on buying a silverware organizer and instead I throw a pretty lace linen in my silverware drawer and I literally dump the silverware into the drawer from my dishwasher. Simple, useful, and I think its looks cuter than a silverware divider. Not to mention its much easier to throw the linen in the wash instead of scrubbing those silverware dividers! I also like to purchase all the same style and color of hangers for my home. And all the same color towels because it makes things tidier.

Regarding making a home schedule, I have found that I get too overwhelmed if I make my schedule too detailed so that's why a Home Keeping binder doesn't work for me. I love the idea of one, but for me, its like having too much stuff. I need simplicity. This is what I did to make my Home keeping schedule..
  • I made a list of my Daily Tasks (my morning, afternoon and evening routine).
  • I made a list of ALL of my household cleaning and general life tasks, and from this list determined what needs to be done weekly or monthly. 
  • I found that the best way for me to view it would be by creating a blog specifically for this purpose...which you can view here. 

Deliberate Childlessness

I was typing up some old Seminary notes from the last 2 classes and a comment that a teacher had made really took hold of me. She talked about how having a child gave you a deeper view into God, one that those without children could never understand or know. I sat there and thought on that and it is so true. There is a greater view into God and the love he had for His Son and all that entails about the parent/child relationship. It was truly a view that God wanted us to have as he made us to reproduce.

Then I was reading an article from Voddie Bauchman about the child prevention that has seem to become the thing to do lately. One of the links lead me to the following article of which I got my title for this post.

I'm not talking about those who can't have children and are unable - that should cause sadness for those who are unable.

Here is a quote from the article:

"Christians must recognize that this rebellion against parenthood represents nothing less than an absolute revolt against God's design. The Scripture points to barrenness as a great curse and children as a divine gift. The Psalmist declared: "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate." [Psalm 127: 3-5]"

You can read the full article HERE.

Are there modern-day Hannah's who cry out because of their barrenness anymore or is it rather that Hannah being barren is a symbol of rejoicing for some. Barrenness would be glorified in this society today to some, rather than mourned as the scripture so clearly teaches us!

Then on the flip-side, I'm not of those who say never prevent pregnancy. Although I don't use abortifacients to prevent pregnancy, I have prevented it because of my severe health issues. If it would kill a woman to conceive, then I think wisdom comes into the picture and you do prevent pregnancy in those situations.

However, just because "times are bad" right now isn't a good enough reason to prevention. From Voddie's post on this, he shows how even in dark times of the Bible, which were FAR WORSE then what is going on now in America.........what did God tell the people to do? Can you believe he told them to get to making babies!? Yep......

Jeremiah 29:6
"Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished."

But doesn't God understand things are just to wicked right now to bring children into this. On the contrary my dear friend! We need more Godly seed, more children raised up in Godly homes! If anything, there should be an increase in children in Christian circles. Lately, I have noticed quite an influx of babies in my church lol - God has given many families here blessings!! It is such a wonderful thing.

Motive is what it comes down to. Only you and God know your motives for why you prevent your children. Are the motives pure? Do my motives line up with the role that God has given me through scripture? Am I trying to play God in my body? These are some questions I asked myself when seeking to truly learn from God in this child prevention topic. It is a personal one but it can't be denied God's view about children and our role as bearing children.

I know that not everyone shares our views and you are free to decide for yourself. I'm just sharing this for those who have told me they would like to know our views on this. I don't post this for contention or to even say that YOU are wrong if you feel God wants you to remain without children for whatever reason. I'm simply sharing things to support our view.