tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21435949737420684782024-02-18T20:52:28.496-05:00I Have Some Words for YouTHIS... Is my Spiel-blog... You have come to the end of sanity that marks the beginning of my mind... Enter at your own risk.Abigail Earlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05382255366495465402noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143594973742068478.post-37247397757419803882013-03-21T21:24:00.001-04:002013-03-22T21:20:21.240-04:00The Nature of Man<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> As a rule, the presence of good and evil in a person's character and where they fit in is a struggle to determine, especially when looking at it from a secular point of view. As a result, there are many different versions of human nature, and they all depend on a person's point of view. There are many hypotheses, but only one truth, and it stands forever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I'll make this short, and hopefully not go off on a tangent. I've been reading <i>To Kill A Mockingbird</i> lately for school, and it paints a very clear message of good versus evil. The version of human nature in <i>To Kill A Mockingbird</i> is that man is both good and evil, and there is a constant struggle between the two. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Now, the constant battle between good and evil within a person is very real. We all have a conscience, and we all have sin. But where do they belong? Which one is innate, and which one is influential? In <i>Mockingbird,</i> goodness is innate, and evil is merely the influence that often rules out goodness (Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, etc. are all innocent figures destroyed by the evil of Maycomb society). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <i>To Kill A Mockingbird</i> is not the only example of this point of view by a long shot. Books such as <i>Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde</i>, <i>Frankenstein</i>,<i> </i>and <i>A Picture of Dorian Gray</i> are also examples of this viewpoint, among many, many others. In fact, the version of human nature that holds that good is innate and evil is influential is the most widely accepted belief in our society. However, it's not necessarily true. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> This belief is very humanistic. It basically states that man is good by nature, and if someone does something evil, it's not their fault -- it's society's fault, or it's this other person's fault, or it's because of the darned potion that I took. I have seen how most humanists think that Christianity's view of human nature diverts the blame onto someone else, but it seems to be the other way around. Christianity holds that sin is innate (we are all born into sin), and all the goodness man is capable of comes from God and God alone. Our sin can only be blamed on us and our nature, and our capacity for goodness is attributed only to our Creator and King. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> So no, we are not pure-hearted people marred by the evil of the world -- more like the world is marred by the evil of man. But because God is the Fountain of holiness, we are able to do good things in spite of our sinful nature. You see, God is the ultimate hipster -- He loved and was good before it was cool, and because of this, we naturally mainstream humans can follow His lead. But don't be confused. We can act after/do things that please God, but we aren't capable of adopting His nature fully. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Yes, we are all innately evil, but that does in no way excuse acting on our wickedness, and denying the abilities we have been blessed with by our almighty Creator. Your do-gooding doesn't matter to God once you are His, but to act on/appeal to your sinful nature is to be a bad example of Christ-likeness to others. We as Christians don't do good to please God, we do righteous things to be true witnesses of the character of God -- this being who can make a foul person righteous. So, make disciples of all the nations, be loving, do righteous acts so that you may honour your Lord and Savior, as is His will. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Godspeed, my friends,</i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Abigail E.</span></i></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Godspeed, my friends!
- Abigail L. Earle</div>Abigail Earlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05382255366495465402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143594973742068478.post-46473639064946713622013-03-15T20:42:00.003-04:002013-03-15T20:42:50.105-04:00URGENT: John McCain and the Civil Air Patrol<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Civil Air Patrol is an Air Force auxiliary, specialising in search and rescue. They go way back, and are one of our country's best-kept secrets, which explains very well why very few people have ever so much as heard of it. My brothers have been with the Civil Air Patrol Cadet program for about a year. The Cadet program not only teaches young people the customs and courtesies of the military including other military things that I don't understand, but it also teaches the cadets such merits as leadership, self-discipline, respect, character, among others. In just a year of being in the CAP Cadet program, my brothers have undergone marked changes -- how they interact with other people, react to stress, and the list goes on and on and on. </div>
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Time for some history. During WWII, the CAP was the only reason Germany did not bombard U.S. soil to nothing. When asked why the mission to strike U.S. soil was aborted, the General in charge of the mission told Hitler, "It was those damn red and blue planes!" </div>
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In 2001, the CAP were the first given permission to fly planes after the terrorist strikes on 9/11. The aerial footage you see of the Twin Towers post-strike were taken by the CAP. </div>
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In 2012 alone, the CAP was responsible for saving the lives of 37 people, which is even below their yearly average. </div>
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Now, on March 14, 2013, Senator McCain (R, AZ) proposed an amendment to cut funding for the CAP roughly in half, even though the funding for it was pitiable in the first place. The cuts he is proposing are dramatic, and potentially devastating for the CAP and thus U.S. homeland security if passed. Now, his reason is that the rest of the military is underfunded. This is a reasonable concern, but why cut another branch that is underfunded as it is, especially one that is so proactive and practical as the Civil Air Patrol? </div>
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This amendment will be put to vote on March 18, 2013. Before then, we need to get the word out and make sure it does not get passed. I should not be shocked that this story is not in the news (considering how few people even know about the CAP), but I am. No one is reporting -- not even FOX, which some may consider very right-wing. I am very shocked, and so very disappointed that McCain is getting away with this. </div>
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This is no small ordeal, so share the living crap out of this essay! There need to be voices for the Civil Air Patrol, and so far, there are precious few. Do something, even if it's just an e-mail to a senator, and newscaster, or sharing this. Even if you don't share this post, I'd like to see the story itself go around. John McCain must be held accountable for undermining such a vital homeland defense program.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Godspeed, my friends!
- Abigail L. Earle</div>Abigail Earlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05382255366495465402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143594973742068478.post-16332238657166165812012-12-18T13:09:00.003-05:002012-12-18T13:10:45.055-05:00What Is Christianity Anyway?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There are many "versions" of Christianity out there. Just for the sake of my readers' sanity, however, I'll only focus on the three biggies: Christianity as a Philosophy, Religion, or Relationship. <br />
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Christianity can be either one depending on where you place your values, but when done right, it's all at the same time. I used to argue with vehemence that Christianity is a relationship, and that's all. Others will argue vehemently that it is a religion. And then there are those who will argue that Christianity is a philosophy. Just to muddy the waters, I've come to present another opinion: that Christianity is (d) all of the above. </div>
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A: <u>Christianity as a philosophy.</u> When you grow up with it, but only go so far as to accept the beliefs. You can spend your whole life believing yourself to be a Christian simply because you can argue to Christianity's defense, get a college degree in Christian philosophy, attend a seminary, etc., but your heart can still be devoid of the Holy Spirit. This is the reason we have those progressive Atheists that used to be pastors. They found out that the Christian walk is hard, and the philosophy was the only thing that kept them involved in the Church, but had no faith that gave them endurance, no religion to live, and no relationship to assure them that the struggle was worth it. </div>
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B: <u>Christianity as a religion.</u> When a person blindly follows Christianity, and the only qualification as a Christian is that their parents are Christians, and they grew up in the Church. When a person has Christianity as <i>only</i> a religion, they exclude the crucial relationship with God, the faith that keeps them rooted in Christ, and the philosophy that allows them to share it. In short: they take it for granted. <br />
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Side note/Sweeping generalisation: The religious and philosophical aspects often go hand-in-hand, but one with religion and good reasoning can go their whole life and not even give a thought to their relationship with Christ. Taking <i>only</i> those two can potentially make one very self-righteous, and make one think that they are lacking nothing, or may have had a false conversion at some point and thought that was it. God can come to someone, and the person can respond, but that is not the same as the Holy Spirit entering and dwelling in the person's heart. Be careful with how you balance your religiosity and philosophicality (that's a new word). </div>
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C: <u>Christianity as a relationship.</u> This is the purest facet of Christianity. A person's relationship with God is the only facet that remains forever, regardless of the circumstances. Once you belong to God, you're His forever. This is the foundation on which all other facets should be built. The other facets can't be sustained forever without the fundamental relationship, but a person has that relationship with their Savior even if they lose faith, can't convince an Atheist, and/or fail to be fruitful. The relationship is what gives one the desire to learn the philosophy and live the religion. <br />
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D: <u>All of the above</u>. This is when one finds that steady, middle ground, where they have that fundamental relationship with Christ, are well-reasoned and able to stand against the secular tide, and are fruitful and consistent in the Walk. This is difficult as all get-out, and it's easy to deviate from one facet or another. <br />
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I have a testimonial for y'all. I'm sure many of my Facebook/Twitter friends are aware of a run-in I had with some Atheists on Twitter over Thanksgiving Break. There, they were heavily challenging and criticising my beliefs, and I ended up getting all logical/philosophical with them, and was forced to abandon talking about my relationship and faith because they didn't think they were valid reasons for the stand I took. It certainly made me think of things I hadn't before, but it left me feeling exceedingly drained, spiritually and emotionally, because I overworked that philosophical muscle and neglected all the others.<br />
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No wonder those who only rely on the philosophy alone bail! It's exhausting!! It took a lot of prayer and consolation before I recovered, and I learnt something of infinite value: You can't argue someone into a conversion, but it is a quick and easy way to make someone extremely jaundiced against Christianity. Argument is <i>not</i> evangelism, and it took a kick in the pants for me to realise that. So, be careful with how you present the Gospel. We are called to share the Gospel, but <i>how</i> you do so it is crucial. </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Godspeed, my friends!
- Abigail L. Earle</div>Abigail Earlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05382255366495465402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143594973742068478.post-63649958833635269592012-12-02T12:27:00.001-05:002012-12-02T12:27:14.814-05:00Slavery in the Bible<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In the Bible, there are 7 different kinds of slavery. They go as follows:<br />
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<li>Servant: A hireling, as in Leviticus 19. Servants were wage slaves -- someone else hired them to complete certain tasks, but were not owned by their masters.In modern terms: A servant. </li>
<li>Indenture: Contractor (Deuteronomy 15) -- A servant who is bound for a specific period of time to a particular master in exchange for money. (In modern terms: an apprentice)</li>
<li>Servile: A debtor (Proverbs 22) -- One who contracts to borrow money or goods for a time, but pays repays the debt in a timely. Modern equivalent: the receiver of a land loan.</li>
<li>Bondsman: Restitor (Exodus 32) -- one who has stolen and is required to pay the owner; make restitution. Modern equivalent: community service man.</li>
<li>Vassal: Peasant yeoman (Deuteronomy 20) -- one who lives on a large estate and agrees to work for the landlord in exchange for free housing and garden plot. Modern equivalent: Host houses.</li>
<li>Doulas: Covenantally bound (Exodus 21) -- volunteer who decides to serve a master for life in a covenantal relationship. Example: Samwise Gamgee.</li>
<li>Chattel: Property (Leviticus 25). Prisoners of war and certain criminals; did not loose all freedom. The had the option of redemption during the Year of Jubilee. </li>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Godspeed, my friends!
- Abigail L. Earle</div>Abigail Earlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05382255366495465402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143594973742068478.post-46864756007776087192012-11-10T23:06:00.003-05:002012-11-12T22:12:43.489-05:00On Inner-Societal "Warfare" and Cultural Godlessness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> In our day and age, there seems to be an increasing number of inner-societal conflicts -- the war on women, racial wars, religious wars, etc. It seems ridiculous that we are so prone to self-pity as well as self-righteousness that we would declare war -- or imagine a war -- on so many things. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Although many inner-societal wars are real and heated, most of them are ridiculous, because a lot of these inner-societal "wars" are, indeed, make-believe battles designed to further the cause of a given group of desperate people with no other hope of success except to give others something to be angry about. This "War on Women," for instance, is an imaginary war of that Democrats use to antagonise Republicans. If there is a "War on Women" it's being waged by a group of finger-pointing Democrats. The hypocrisy of America is off the charts.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I think politicians, for the most part, are too smart for their own good. They know that giving the rabble something to be angry about is all they need to get what they want; what they fail to do is give us something worthwhile to root for. Our problem as citizens is our tendency to fall for their tricks. We don't need something to fight <i>for ---</i> all we need is something to fight <i>against</i>, because we're all short-tempered, impatient, hot-headed, item-grabbing conflict seekers that will join any fictional fight as long as it's announced from a podium. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I'm definitely not trying to cut down and hate on my countrymen, but I do think we seriously need to get our act together. I love America. I think God has blessed America with longevity. But we are abandoning the Judeo-Christian principles upon which our constitution was founded. When God is ignored in a culture, the culture fails. The reason the Roman Empire got any foothold was because it was originally driven by Judeo-Christian leaders (think about it: the Roman Empire really began to gain momentum soon after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ). Also, the Roman Empire fell because it's leaders had accepted paganism and debauchery with open arms, and abandoned the beliefs of their predecessors. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Okay, let's change gears for a second. First, think about all the pro-gay movements: a new gay senator in Maryland, homosexual marriage legalised in nine states, country-wide support for homosexuality, etc... We have sunken to a new low as a country, and it is being seen as progress. I'm sure Satan sees this as progress.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Now think about the widespread drug use. Marijuana has been legalised for abuse in more states than ever (about 11 states? I'm not sure), and many people support the decriminalisation of it. I wonder how many people realise how convenient this decision is for the government, though. Think of how easy it is for pot to ruin a person's life; cause them to lose their job, all their money... </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Conspiracy theory time! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Besides being extremely unhealthy, pot helps raise unemployment, putting more people on welfare, and in turn giving more power to the government. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">THUS, the legalisation of marijuana gives the people more superficial freedom (the key word here is "superficial"), but it's really a convenient, covert way of taking power from the people and giving it to the government.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I know it's too late to campaign against Obama, but is this what we want? Is the legalisation of gay marriage and pot worth the moral deficit we're up to the ears in? Please, <i>please</i> pray for our country. And be proactive in society. The Church needs to step up to the plate, stop being apologetic for our existence, and simply overcome our fears. I think we've been so bashed by our culture that we've become afraid of it. We're closet-Christians, and we're failing to live out the Great Commission because of our reticence. The reason the government sees the need to put in place welfare systems is that the Church gradually surrendered its duties as a charity to the government, and now we're paying the price. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> So rise up, children of the Lord! The majesty of God is too great to not share! We need to go into the world, not shy from it as I've tried to do. The world needs to hear the gospel, and we've withheld it in our fear. </span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Godspeed, my friends!
- Abigail L. Earle</div>Abigail Earlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05382255366495465402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143594973742068478.post-26434511478427297312012-11-06T22:35:00.001-05:002012-11-10T23:12:03.844-05:002012 Election<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Friends, this election has been the most stressful experience in my life. Those who are following me on Twitter know the anxiety I felt when my horse tore his eyelid on Tuesday, October 30th, or at least a taste of my anxiety. This election is about that, times about (at least) fifteen. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I need my mother to hold my hand, I feel like I'm about to cry, and my stomach is turning in knots. Because I know how it will end, despite Republican confidence on the news.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> It will go to Barack Obama. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> This morning, my precious LCHA family held a Bible study. We prayed that <b>God's will be done, for His will is greater than ours</b>, and holy, and He is infallible, and His good will for His children is unmatched. We also prayed that He will lift the fears from our hearts, and turn our faces toward Him that we may not put our faith in man.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The verse that was read before us was <b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%208:28-30&version=ESV" target="_blank">Romans 8:28-30</a></b>, which said, <i>"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed in the image of His Son, in order that he might be firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified."</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> This is very pertinent to our current situation as a country and as a world. This helps me to understand that, though Obama is not exactly my top choice to lead my country, <b>he was predestined by God to lead us whether we like it or not</b>. We need to accept that fact, and not complain about his poor leadership, because it is just a piece of God's puzzle. I know that God has a greater plan than just that of America, and all I have now is gratefulness that America has stood strong for as long as she has. <b>God has indeed blessed America with longevity</b>. But how long can that last? America is led by sinful men just like any empire in history, and her fall is inevitable, albeit delayed. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> But I am not going to talk about that today. Today is Election day, and <b>I pray for peace in all of your hearts</b>. I know my heart, soul, mind, and body are writhing with anxiety, and <b>I need to be reminded of God's endless good will. </b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Keep in mind that <b>whatever happens tonight, we are in God's hands, and this is all part of His grand plan for His world</b>. Our fate is assured, and <b>nothing is a mystery to God, and He is not blindsided by <u>anything</u></b>. Trust Him. I'm struggling not to worry, and I know I'm not alone. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Pray for peace, and fear not. <b>Better His will than ours</b>, because our plan for the world is not perfect, but <b>He who created the world holds it in the palm of his hand</b>. He knows the Earth's story, <i>from beginning to end</i>. <b><u>All things</u> turn out for <u>good</u></b>, and I am assured that, regardless of the outcome of this election, God will bring His Kingdom, and we will be free. There will be no more Hitlers, Stalins, Bin Ladens, and Obamas, because their master will be no more. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> "<i>Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding</i>." - <b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%203:5" target="_blank">Proverbs 3:5</a></b></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Godspeed, my friends!
- Abigail L. Earle</div>Abigail Earlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05382255366495465402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143594973742068478.post-64250758996379642212012-09-19T23:15:00.005-04:002012-11-10T23:11:48.671-05:00Pride and Shyness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels" </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">~ St. Augustine ~</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> On Tuesday, September 11, I was asked to sing "Too Close" by Alex Clare for my brother and his friends. I thought I had it in the bag, and even felt kinda good about myself, being the only one who knew the song really well, and finally being asked to sing. But when I opened my mouth to sing, I couldn't. I wasn't as confident as I thought I was, and seemed.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I had every reason to be uncomfortable, since we were in a huge room with several other people, and I had never sung in front of other people outside of Church. They were being the awesome guys they are and encouraging me, saying, "C'mon, don't be shy," one sharing his own first singing experience. I was among good, honest, humble friends, and I knew it. But I wouldn't sing. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> So I started thinking, wondering why I wouldn't sing. Once we were called to clean up at the end of the LCHA day, I broke away and went to tackle the kitchen floor with my mighty broom, because sweeping is something I can do and still think deep thoughts. I came to the conclusion that I needed to die in myself. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> "What on earth is she talking about?!"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I needed to humble myself. I couldn't sing not because I was shy, but because I was prideful. I couldn't get over myself so I could sing. Pride has always been my downfall, and it beat me once again. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I don't really think as much as it seems -- I'm actually a first-rate airhead -- but I feel an overwhelming urge to share my thoughts when I do think. So I thought some more on the way home, and came to the further conclusion that shyness is the result of pride.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Killer question #1: "What do you mean by that?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Rhetorical answer/question: What is shyness? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Answer: Shyness is often when one is scared to act normally in front of other people, usually out of fear of either looking like a fool, out of character, or obnoxious. But humility entails a disregard of how others view you, thus setting you free of shyness. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> My solution for shyness: die in yourself. In acceptable words, kill your pride and sing even if you sound horrible -- you're probably the only one who cares. Sing like you're in church, or in the shower, or in the car with the radio turned up all the way. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> In the Bible, it was pride that cause Lucifer to rebel. Pride is a powerful sin, and something that should have no place in any man's heart -- the sad part is that it probably does. It is a sin that comes most naturally to us, but something that can be tempered, though not easily. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> So chew on what I've said; pray about it, and remember that I'm right there with you. Keep in mind Proverbs 15:33... "<span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and </span><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;">humility</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> comes before honour."</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> Food for thought:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"If one would like to acquire humility the first step is to realise one is proud. Nothing can be done before it."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">~ C.S. Lewis ~</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> "Humility is not think less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">~ C.S. Lewis ~</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Godspeed, my friends!
- Abigail L. Earle</div>Abigail Earlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05382255366495465402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143594973742068478.post-31394171197321633632012-09-08T00:08:00.003-04:002012-11-10T23:13:12.906-05:00The Church<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The Church is not free of societal corruption, because it is made up of people who will always fall short of the glory of God. There are many things I've picked up on in modern Christian society that just aren't quite biblical. They're not exactly justified means of expressing the Bible and the nature of God.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> An example of these things is the whole "Jesus freak" thing. Jesus is God, not a rock maven, and I expect nothing less than for Him to be respected as Lord. It's disrespectful and demeaning to put Jesus on the same level as a pop-culture celebrity. Now, even if Jesus is Lord in your heart and mind, you should not portray Jesus as a hip-hop mogul as a way to convert people. And quite honestly, if you see Him on the same level as someone like Elvis, then you need to examine your values.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Another one is the "Hakuna Matata" Christianity, which is a belief that being a Christian is a free pass to an easy life. Weeeeeeeeell... If you are seeking to live like Christ, you better expect persecution. If you go into life expecting an easy ride, I guarantee, you will be sorely disappointed and hurt.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> You see, those who reject Truth do so because they do not <i>like</i> the Truth --- it is inconvenient for them, and does not --- cannot --- fit into their humanistic ideals (or vice-versa, if it makes more sense). They reject Truth because it is anything but easy and comforting. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> In fact, Jesus said, "Think not that I am come to send peace to earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34) The Christian way is anything but peaceful. If your Christian life is peaceful and serene, (waxing Blimeycowish) you're doing it wrong.</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Godspeed, my friends!
- Abigail L. Earle</div>Abigail Earlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05382255366495465402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143594973742068478.post-33460101055300791982012-08-24T22:52:00.001-04:002012-11-10T23:13:33.319-05:00What Has Happened to Us?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I was thinking out loud today, while swaying in place with my friend, about how twisted our culture is. The backwardness of our society is the conclusion I came to gradually when researching for an essay/argument I had to write for my Humanities class. The paper I had to write had to include a direct quote from a person or organisation that was linked to a worldly ideology, or "ism," as our <a href="http://anonymouslegacy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">teacher</a> likes to call a philosophy. I got so frustrated even after I understood that she was not asking for a quote that directly correlated with a specific argument of <i>Worldly-Wiseman</i>, a character from "The Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan. What frustrated me was that I couldn't chose just one worldly ideology because there are so many that I could easily write an entire thesis about! I practically did in an earlier <a href="http://ihavesomewordsforyou.blogspot.com/2012/05/idioms-and-symbols-debunked.html" target="_blank">blog</a>, in which I presented popular ideas and attempted to explain the theologies behind them. Of course, being the imperfect human being that I am, there are many that I forgot to include, but I promise not to get on that this time.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> One thing about our culture that baffles me is our tendency to run circular zig-zags in our attempts at explaining our wacky habits. For instance, people seem to think "uncool" is "cool," but if you're "cool" than you're different, which makes you "cool," even though you lost your "uncool badge," which is considered "cool," yet "cool" is "uncool" and "uncool" is "cool." Am I making sense to y'all? 'Cause I'm certainly not making a lick of sense to myself! It's circular nonsense and paradoxical jargon.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> SO... From now on... </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Another one is the concept of individuality. Everyone tries to be different, but that in and of itself is a uniformity. For example, we teenage girls seem to think that we all need to be either wannabe-models, girls-next-door, intellectual beauties, or harlots-in-the-making. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Also, we all have to be either bottle-blondes, wannabe-emoes, or crazy-colours, and we all have to have at least #4 skin type, if we're not already hispanic or mulatto, that is. And we're always preaching about individuality? Can we all say, "hypocrisy" together?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Honestly, I don't care if you love or hate rap, country, pop, metal, or alternative music, because music genres are irrelevant to society. Music is supposed to be something unique to a culture, not the individual, for one. It is meant to be something that brings the people of a culture together, unifying a culture, rather than segregating it into ages, classes, nationalities, <i>preferences</i>, etc. But, unfortunately, we can no longer converse with our grandparents about the technicalities of Elgar's Cello Concerto in E-minor, or Beethoven's Für Elise, or Mozart's Ave Verum, because precious few of those steeped in 21st-Century America give a rat's ear for what Granny listened to, nor Granny what her Grandmother listened to. It's just the sad world we live in. Now, we could go to Ireland and Great-granddad O'Riley and little Murphy Jr. would be singing "Oh Danny Boy" together while tilling the barley field or pulling potatoes. I don't know about y'all, but I'd love to sing "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" with my grandma, mother, and sisters whilst sewing away by a warm fire with a cup of Lady Grey Tea with snow piling up on the window sill. I just waxed idealistic for y'all.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> To be honest, our culture is more segregated than it has ever been. We have no cultural tradition - only small, family traditions, and even those are minimal. We've also lost our one-room-schoolhouse mentality, which used to bring all children together, allowing the older kids to look out for the younger. We see this loss of unity even in our churches. An example of this would be children's church and youth groups. Rather than bringing the people of God together into one central area of worship, we branch off and sever the unity we are supposed to have as a church by taking the children away from the centre of worship.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I'm all for youth ministry, but it's the right thing done in the wrong way. Though not all youth ministry groups are the same, most are really awesome social events where you get told the <i>Nice</i> News, and get to listen to cool music, meet cool people, and pick up a girlfriend/boyfriend. They're the epitome of cool. But the Gospel can be spread in FAR better ways. You see, spreading the Gospel through being cool and dressing it up to appeal to teenagers' senses is fitting God's Word into the box of modern society. The problem with that, is that the Gospel and the world are NOT of the same shape. While God is a sphere, with no beginning and no end, the ideologies of the world are more of a line segment: they have a beginning and they will certainly come to an end. And one fit a sphere into a line segment? No, because a line segment only has length, not width or depth, while a sphere has all. Don't try to worldlinate (that's a new word) God's Word for lost teenagers. Call it what it is. Use examples of God's grace in even pagan or secular cultures to show that no one is out of His reach. But in no way will the Gospel be squeezed into modern culture. It's like trying to fit to ocean in a 2-liter bottle -- you're gonna have a little spillage. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> "So what's your solution, O' Great and Wise Counsellor?"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> My solution to this cultural rut is to<b> stop thinking about yourself and what social category you may fall under</b>. Just don't even try. I tried, and I found myself miserable in the end. I've considered many possible ways by which I could fall under the "girl-next-door" category, but it was so far from who I was and am. Be yourself, as in, who God made you to be, not who the world says you should be. To try to change who you are is to shake your fist in God's face and say He made a mistake in creating you with a personality that <i>you</i> find unattractive. <b>Be a child of God - no more, no less.</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <i>Godspeed my friends!</i></span><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - Abigail Earle</span></i></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Godspeed, my friends!
- Abigail L. Earle</div>Abigail Earlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05382255366495465402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143594973742068478.post-7915447629396121522012-05-12T13:23:00.002-04:002012-11-10T23:14:13.528-05:00Idioms and Symbols Debunked<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Going through 21st-Century America with a type-A, over-analytic mindset is a nightmare. For instance, companies misspelling words to get attention drives... Me... Crazy! It's just one of those things that make me wish I had not taken that grammar class back in 2010-11. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> But that's just the grammar side of it... There is a myriad of proverbs floating around that people blindly accept without fully understanding all of the factors that go into them. THAT is the analytic side of my argument.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> So here are a few idioms and symbols that I shall proceed to explain in a Biblical light...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all"</span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Okay, I have no idea who originated this, but that means no bias in that area... So this is basically saying, "It's better to have given my heart and staked my entire life on one person only to have my heart broken and future shattered than to have avoided that painful societal cliché." </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Really? Are you sure you would rather have a moment of happiness -- Godless happiness, mind you -- and a future of depression than have a chance to prevent a significant other from giving you <i>delusions of adequacy</i> (<-- courtesy of my Freshman year Humanities teacher) by blinding you to your need of retribution? I can't say I'm sorry if that stings a bit, but I just need y'all to bear with me. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><b>“It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><b>than to talk </b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><b>and remove </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><b>all doubt of it.” </b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> This was originated by a guy named Maurice Switzer, but I have no idea who this guy is/was, so no bias regarding the person. So this guy thought that one shouldn't have his or her curiosity appeased? If you didn't know something about Jesus that you think is "common knowledge" in the Protestant Christian community, would you really want to continue to be the "outsider" for the fear of looking like a fool? My father quoted someone, though I can remember neither who it was nor his exact words, but he said: "Say something bold, no matter how foolish you think you will look. The truth is, no one will remember what you said because they will walk out wondering how foolish they looked because of something bold they said."</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>"Follow your heart"</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> Don't do that. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> Just... Don't... </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> I assume this was originated by Disney, whether senior or junior, I don't know. The heart of all mankind is corrupt by nature. We are a fallen people whether that fact is widely accepted or not. This is precisely why you are always led astray when you "follow your heart." </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> You would have a much better time if you listen to your head or your conscience instead of your heart. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> When you are faced with the decision to either "follow your heart" or use not-so-common practical sense, CHOSE NOT-SO-COMMON PRACTICAL SENSE.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> However, there is a fine line between knowing when your heart is deceiving you, and hardening your heart to the point that you cannot repent. I must confess that I managed to get myself into the stinking bog of the latter because I took this very point too far. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>"Don't judge me"</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> This is a tricky one, because the word "judge" could mean one of two things: accountability, or the Biblical definition of judgement. I'll deal with the "accountability" part first... </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> Judgement (as in accountability) is a huge part of a healthy friendship. To be held accountable is to be reminded that your actions will not go ignored, and that they have eternal consequences, even if they are small. When someone holds you accountable, they're really watching your back; not letting you break your promises, or confronting you when you mess up or are on you way to doing so. For instance, I'll not be angry if and when my best friend gets fed up with something I'm doing and gives me a knock upside the head and tells me to straighten up, because I'll know that she's looking out for me, and that I probably deserve it. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> As for the Biblical definition of judgement, it is not our place to judge others -- that right goes to God and God alone. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>"You are perfect the way you are"</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> No, you're not. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> Even my feminine vanity and I resent this fact. This goes back to my argument that mankind is a fallen race. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>"Happy Holidays!"</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> This is just a politically "correct" way of wishing one a Merry <i>Christ</i>mas. They don't want to "offend" anyone (Jews, Muslims, etc.) by making any mention of or reference to the Name of Christ. They don't stop to think that they are tearing down Christian traditions by Paganizing (that wasn't a real word yesterday, but it is now) them. Those who practice political "correctness" have done this to many other holidays, but I'll save that discussion/tangent/soapbox for another blog. You're welcome.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>"African-American"</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> Well, which one? Were you born in Africa or were you born in America? Did your mother go into labor in Africa and give birth in America, or vice-versa? Am I racist for calling someone with dark skin and gorgeous teeth "black"? </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> I love black people from the bottom of my appendix to the top of my larynx. That has absolutely no purpose, so don't think too hard on that one; just bear with me and my ADD. I want to go to a black church someday. Some of my favorite people are black. Am I racist, then, if I call my precious old baby-sitter "black" instead of the politically "correct" version: "African-American"? </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> Now, if you blacks out there are still feeling abused or offended by that term I'm sorry, but please, for society's sake, stop feeling victimized. If this sourness goes back to slavery, it shouldn't. Slavery ended a good two centuries ago. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> Also, think about this: blacks owned black slaves in the 1800s, too. And not all white people even owned slaves. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>New Year's Day and Christmas</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> So, those of you who understand the full meaning of the birth of Christ should be irate at the fact that New Year's Day and Christmas are not on the same day. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> When Jesus was born, He reset the clock and time went backwards, literally. His birth was what changed "B.C. (Before Christ)" to "A.D. (Anno Domini - In the Year of Our Lord)". His birth brought the New Year. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> So why is Christmas on December 25 and New Year's Day on January 1? Well, I'm of the strong opinion that that decision was made by a secular organization. Plain and simple, isn't it? I'm smiling.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> "We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!" That carol is lumping the two Christian holidays together, as they should be! </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>"B.C.E" and "C.E"</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> Once again, these are secular terms. They changed "Before Christ" to "Before Common Era" by simply adding a letter and giving it a new name. They don't want to accept the fact the Jesus was more than just a good teacher and a miracle worker, both of which He is, but that isn't the full extent of His identity by a long shot. They don't want the birth of Christ to seem at all special, so they try to ignore it when they can't even tell the people <i>when</i> time did a 180˚ and went from counting down to counting up. </span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> Then there's "C.E.", which isn't even close to "Anno Domini". "C.E." is supposed to stand for "Common Era", which it isn't even close to "A.D." Once again, the secular trendsetters just don't want to acknowledge the birth of Jesus. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>Religion</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> The short and to-the-point definition of "religion" is "ultimate concern". Thus Christianity is not a religion, but rather it is a lifestyle in which Christ is the religion. At least that is what it is meant to be. Though with some people, Christianity can be called their religion because the name and practice of Christianity is their ultimate concern, but they're going to hell unless they shift their religion from Christianity to Christ. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> Consider Atheists. They claim to have no religion whatsoever. But there is always something in someone's life that they value, or even worship, to the highest degree, making it their ultimate concern. So Atheists aren't even Atheists, because their ultimate concern is often themselves and their own needs and abilities, seeing themselves as their own god. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> The term "religion" is taken too lightly. Now, Buddhism is a religion, because they have no god to call their "religion". Buddhists are simply concerned with the here and now and what they may become "in the next life." Their ultimate concern is the practice, because they believe their actions and how they practice Buddhism will effect them in the long run.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>"Have fun!"</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> Yeah, this is something even I say, because it's accepted in even the Christian community. But get this: the etymology of the word "fun" leads back to the Middle English word "<i>fon</i>," which means "to be a fool." So, by saying, "Have fun!" you're really telling the person to do something foolish and inane. Also, search the Bible for the word "fun" and tell me how many times it pops up. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>"Be nice."</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> The etymology of "nice" leads back to the Latin word "nescius," which means "ignorant." Aren't you glad that God is not nice? I sure am!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Now, time for symbols! Yay, that gives me joy!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> ... Not really...</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> A four-leafed clover could either represent luck or Saint Patrick's Day, but I'll only discuss the Saint Patrick's Day part. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Saint Patrick was a Christian Scot (that's right, he wasn't even Irish) during the 5th century, AD. When he was a teenager he was enslaved by men from Ireland, which was outlandishly pagan; taken from his home in Scotland. He escaped after a few years, however, went back home to Scotland, and returned to Ireland of his own free will when he was in his forties and spread the gospel to the pagans of Ireland. Long story short, he used a three-leafed clover to illustrate the Trinity: one God in <u>three</u> Persons. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> "Wait... That's not right... He used a normal clover... But... But we're talking about a four... Gaaah!"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Yep. Four-leafed clovers are blasphemous. Someone dissed Saint Patty and his clovers, so he added a leaf and called it lucky. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Ta-da! Four-leafed clovers debunked for the best audience (albeit small) in the world. I'm smiling right now.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdpCTzrhnoZaU2qEpUIx4kfUu2Y04gNudFM6Hh7v703hbla8o6-gpKtWrh2JXEYt6qSAthhlgtdl8_ymmej0lC8_zZTS-eGSzs3zB3MZ8sBnGhjxKijzMUu4lW9y9crYCw2kiCPrOFPk/s1600/Easter+Bunny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdpCTzrhnoZaU2qEpUIx4kfUu2Y04gNudFM6Hh7v703hbla8o6-gpKtWrh2JXEYt6qSAthhlgtdl8_ymmej0lC8_zZTS-eGSzs3zB3MZ8sBnGhjxKijzMUu4lW9y9crYCw2kiCPrOFPk/s1600/Easter+Bunny.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Okay, the Easter Bunny and his Eggs are not an entirely secular symbol of Easter, since bunnies and eggs represent the new life that was born when Christ died for us all. The problem I have with the Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs is that, they often blind us all to the real meaning of Easter: the sacrifice of Jesus, the only begotten Son of God.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Now that I have finished with this practical thesis, I shall brood on my next tirade. Yes, be afraid.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Gosh, I anticipated this blog to be shorter than the others, but that obviously didn't happen! Kudos to those who battle it out to the end of this soap-box! I smile at thee as thy reward!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Godspeed, my friends!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <i>-Abigail L. Earle</i></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Godspeed, my friends!
- Abigail L. Earle</div>Abigail Earlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05382255366495465402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143594973742068478.post-82377381121543713692012-04-05T10:46:00.000-04:002012-11-10T23:18:30.658-05:00Death by Dating<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><i> </i></span> I've been soul-searching and heart-scrutinizing and have some advice to my fellow teenage girls (and guys if, during my little tirade here, I say something of import for guys). Those of you who know me know that I have never been in a romantic relationship with a boy, and never will be for the remainder of my adolescent years. But bear with me, it's not hard to stay that way, and I have good reasons for not playing with fire like most young girls, bless their hearts. The reasons are as follows:</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are no logical reasons for girls to trifle with male emotions, and vice-versa. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dating can be immensely dangerous. </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When you do get married, your husband will not be the only man you have given your heart to. Your white wedding dress will be an empty symbol of purity.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We teenagers don't know the difference between intense crushes and legitimate, God-ordained love, and we won't until we encounter the person that God has raised and polished specially for us.</span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> And now, I shall expound... </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Girls often wonder why they keep getting dumped, and their hearts broken, and boy do I have some words for y'all! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Being "in relationships" with boys or "trying out" boys often entails giving your heart to every boy you get weak in the knees for, or simply think is attractive. When you give your heart in full to one whose emotional patterns you simply cannot read, he sees your affections differently than you do, and when he looses interest, what happens to you? He's not breaking up with you simply to hurt you, even if it looks like it when he comes out unscathed. The reason <i>you</i> get hurt and not he is because <i>you</i> have given your heart to this boy, who reads into relationships <i>totally</i> differently than you do. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> There are some girls who claim to be saved by the Blood of Jesus Christ, then go and date every Tom, Dick, and Harry they see walking down the street. This may be due, in part, to their eagerness to grow up and get married and have fifteen babies, but, in truth, the only reason the Bible doesn't come straight out and say, "Thou shalt not engage in marital activities before thou art matured emotionally, spiritually, and morally" is because it was written when dating, courting, et cetera, were not rampant means of getting one's heart broken. It was written a <i>few thousand years</i> ago, girls! Naturally, it wouldn't address something that doesn't darken the picture for another two millennia or so. You girls have so much potential for being moral warriors for Christ, and you're cheating yourself out of an untainted, God-driven marriage by playing with boys' emotions and acting like you are married to a boy before the appropriate time. You loose your purity when you give your heart to any young man whom God Himself has not chosen to be your husband.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I know that "dating" is often considered a way of looking for your soul-mate. This is a valid point, and it took a lot of deep-mind fishing to understand why it goes against what God would want when we're so young. What I came up with is that, you may know the person sitting across the table at the nice restaurant, but when you think there's nothing more you can possibly learn about this young man, you find out you don't know him at all. This is because people change; people are fickle creatures, and it's human nature to be so. Beside it all, are you sure you want to rush into the wrong decision when you're a teenager? You may feel like an adult at 18, and when you turn 21 you may be a legal "adult," but there's really not a magical age at which you become an adult in full. It is one thing to believe the lies of others, but the second most believable deception is self-deception. What is it second to? It is second to the deception of Satan, who is the master of lies, who wove the falsity of adolescent romance. Satan wants you to think, "there is nothing wrong with dating," but if you cannot think of what is <i>wrong</i> with dating, ask yourself what is <i>right</i> with it.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <i> </i>Y'all may be thinking, "She has no right to preach about dating when she has no experience in it." You are right, I have not had <i>direct</i> experience. But I have seen many girls get their hearts broken by a boy who simply didn't want to go any further in the relationship. I have seen young women rise in Christ and then fall on their faces time and time again and not learn from their mistakes because they did not think they were in the wrong. It may have been an issue of insecurity, but insecurity is often self-imposed by separating yourself from your spiritual umbrellas: your mom and your dad. Being 15 with two older sisters (among several other insanely cool and/or insanely unique siblings), I know that teenagers often feel the need to do something wild -- to sneak out with a boy or have a drink and a cigarette or two, but when you distance yourself from your parents, you open doors for all kinds of evil to slip in, take you by the heart, and tear down your reputation, your virtue, your self-image, and your will to walk in Christ. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Just think about what you are <i>really</i> doing when you give your heart to a teenage boy. For one, we girls don't understand guys half as much as we think, and maybe even less than they understand us. The stereotype that guys don't understand girls goes both ways, so keep in mind that they read actions totally differently than we do. Thus, if they treat you like one of the guys, that may not be boy-code for "I kinda like you more than as just a friend." In fact, it just may be, "You're cool, and I want to be your friend." My point is, we girls do not understand boys, and giving your heart to a guy (even if you are good friends with him to begin with) is just playing with fire, and you <i>will</i> get burnt when he decides that you two are not meant to be together.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> If you are good friends with a guy before you give your heart to him and/or start dating, then it is possible that your friendship with that boy will be broken along with your heart. Doesn't that just add insult to injury for you? It's probably no easier for him, but I'm not speaking for the guys since <i>I don't understand them </i>any more than the next teenage girl. *hint hint*</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I have had my share of crushes, and although my heart has not been broken in all my 15 years, I have been through some hilly, jerky, emotional roller coasters and I know the consequences of giving yourself to one boy exclusively, and then the next, and then the next, and so on. For your heart's sake, we girls are more than capable of getting through high school and college without a boy holding our hand. It's a sign of a lack of faith in God's omnipotence(all-powerfulness) to give the appearance of needing a boyfriend to help you, when it's a self-eating-watermelon cycle of having your heart broken, feeling depressed and in need of a boyfriend to cheer you up, another broken heart, post-boyfriend depression, new boyfriend to help you get over the last one, another broken heart, post-boyfriend depression, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> My advice is to guard your heart. What I hope to achieve with this blog is a difference in the way girls see boys, and to distinguish between the way we see dating and the way boys see dating, because they really are totally different, even if we don't realize it at first glance. The first step to learning from your mistakes is realizing them. I am certainly not beating down those of you who have had their hearts broken or have considered adolescent dating as an option, but rather I am trying to offer an alternative method of getting through your high school years. We're young women; we don't need boyfriends to get us through high school and college. When reconciled with God, young women are a force to reckon with. Atheist guys be warned!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Another thing: Don't go into marriage solely for love, because feelings change as a person changes. If you go into a marriage expecting constant love and perfection from the other person, you will be horribly disappointed. Rather, go into marriage with your eyes wide open to your husband's flaws, live to serve him and not to be served by him, and let your actions with him bring glory to God.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span>Keep in mind that we are not alone. You may disagree and/or be convinced otherwise, but your parents may have gone through exactly the same thing as teenagers.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The key to hypothesizing the future is perception and distinguishing of the past. If you perceive your past hurts and distinguish them as something(s) that could be avoided, you then begin realizing ways to avoid making the same mistake(s) again. God allows you to make mistakes so you can learn from them, not brush them off and call it someone else's problem. One of my favorite analogies is the "get back on the horse" one. But sometimes it is best not to get back in the saddle, especially if that horse is a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, which definitely a young, untrained, Arabian stallion, and you <i>will</i> get thrown.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Take theses scripture passages to heart:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"Above all, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">~ Proverbs 4:23 ~</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him."</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">~ Lamentations 3:25 ~</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">~ Psalm 37:4 ~</span></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."</i></span></i></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Godspeed, my friends!
- Abigail L. Earle</div>Abigail Earlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05382255366495465402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2143594973742068478.post-7815439725780037302012-02-25T14:49:00.003-05:002012-11-10T23:19:45.545-05:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Wow... First blog!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> And, naturally, I choose to blog exactly when I should be doing anything other than computer-ish stuff.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Welcome to my world: a world of doing/saying exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong moments, and realizing it is time to help only when my help isn't needed. And now, I'd like to introduce... A random Lipizzaner! ^_^</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF6xNgtQ6Hney7mhK7ZqGtGB6nZCRe5m_6dxiNRi8LLWHQyEG7NxL3gLD3GrhhaKxny5Gm23seUbn3BOaSXp5K6oTlM4xiW5xuqZnB2qbd3Wal06xvJeH6DkCEcNrcWWZA-WSSxuhixZE/s1600/Lipizzaner+piaffe.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF6xNgtQ6Hney7mhK7ZqGtGB6nZCRe5m_6dxiNRi8LLWHQyEG7NxL3gLD3GrhhaKxny5Gm23seUbn3BOaSXp5K6oTlM4xiW5xuqZnB2qbd3Wal06xvJeH6DkCEcNrcWWZA-WSSxuhixZE/s1600/Lipizzaner+piaffe.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I don't have much to say, save what I say to my writer Father constantly: character development in my story/series, "Fables of the Kirmakor". Originally it was "Tales of Ivey," Ivey being the continent on which my story takes place, but the title didn't seem special to me -- it didn't fit. So, after much thinking, Thesaurus-scruitany, and story development and deepening, I decided on "Fables of... Something" and discovered/made up the word "Kirmakor," which means "triumvirate," and is used to refer to a group of three people, each of whom excel in either magic, swordsmanship/archery, or rhetoric/philosophy. The magician is always a sorceress called the Daval. The swordsman -- swordscentaur? -- is called the Byrdol, and the sage is the Orondíl. The Daval is the only Magic-user on Ivey whose powers are inherited by the children -- all others given to the person by the White Stags, or Gwyngar -- and her powers greater than any before or since. In addition, the Daval may only be female, the Magical powers flowing from the mother into the unborn daughter. The Daval was created during the rise of a powerful Alteran (Elder) elf named Karjond, later renamed Avären. When the first Daval, a centauress named Dara, succeeded in subduing Avären, she disappeared while pregnant with her daughter, breaking the Kirmakor. "The Fables of the Kirmakor" takes place roughly 100 years after the Daval disappeared.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Daurian,</span></i> a thirteen-year-old, flaxen-haired, palomino centaur boy is the Orondíl. Daurian's personal story begins with his mother, father, and an elf with whom he shares a birthday, living in a glade at the edge of Greenwood Forest. His father, Mahz, is a bay-coloured, dark-eyed centaur with a stern, unmovable countenance and heavy-set build; his mother a dainty, palomino darling named Nanalii. I was originally going to make Daurian the Byrdol, but since (a) his slim build -- like Nanalii's -- would not make for a very powerful warrior; (b), he could never stand having to kill anything; and (c), he's a squeamish hemophobe (blood-phobe). His elf-friend is a Terrian (Earth) elf, red-headed with a temper that's even shorter than she is. Her name is Nonnah, and she follows Daurian throughout the story, and somehow, she can't leave him without one or both of them getting into trouble.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i> Daurian's call-to-adventure</i></span> is when Nonnah is captured by a Sylvan (Wood) elf maid, who turns out to be Drismatir, and Daurian experiences this whole fiasco of ransoms, tests of honesty, a time lapse, revelations, history, unexpected attacks, and abandonment of the Glade, Daurian's childhood home.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the next chapter, Drismatir finishes a story she began in the previous chapter, and reveals that Daurian is the Orondíl, thus setting him on his quest.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What's special about Daurian is that he's neither the head of the Kirmakor like the Daval nor a fierce warrior like the Byrdol. He even doubts whether or not he is capable of stopping Avären with words alone. While the Byrdol is the physical warrior, Daurian is the moral warrior of the story, and a spiritual knight for the Great Eagle, Gryn, who is kind of the God-figure of the story. And even though Daurian is supposed to be this wise parson, he does and says things that completely make everyone go, "Really, Daurian? Really?" For example, at the end when he goes and bargains with a satyr for his aid. Yup... He pays for it...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i> The Daval</i></span> never reemerged until when "The Fables of the Kirmakor" takes place, when a bay-coated, black-hair, blue-eyed, seventeen-year-old centauress named Mira is found by a group of elves dedicated to the revival of the Kirmakor before Avären regains his powers completely. Drismatir said at some point that the Kirmakor's goal is to "silence the storm before it breaks." There are questions within the story as to how the Daval was lost, and the Kirmakor broken, but it is later confirmed how, by Mira of course, who knew many more secrets than anyone had previously assumed. Many of her secrets are hinted at but not revealed <i>in this series</i>.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i> The Byrdol </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">is a centaur of a midnight coat and thick build named Narri, who falls in love with Mira and the two end of pairing and having children. At first glance, the Byrdol seems like he'd be a simple brute, which any other Byrdol may be, but Narri isn't. Though his moral views are slightly skewed, his beliefs are turned around when </span></span>he gets into an argument with Daurian about whether or not Gryn is the same Great Eagle that took from the Sylvan and Terrian elves their immortality roughly 5,000 years ago. Of course, Daurian being the Orondíl, Narri lost the argument.</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Godspeed, my friends!
- Abigail L. Earle</div>Abigail Earlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05382255366495465402noreply@blogger.com0