Charles Spurgeon

I would sooner be holy than happy if the two things could be divorced. Were it possible for a man always to sorrow and yet to be pure, I would choose the sorrow if I might win the purity, for to be free from the power of sin, to be made to love holiness, is true happiness. Charles Spurgeon

Purity is a complex topic.  It is an important topic, though, one worth spending some time on because we are exhorted to purity in the Bible.

Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.  2 Corinthians 7:16c  NIV

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Philippians 4:8  NIV

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.  1 Timothy 4:12 NIV

Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers,older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.  1Timothy 5:1,2

I suppose in this day and age, where purity is a reference to “uncontaminated” street drugs, it is useful to ask ourselves the question, “What IS purity?“

The online Merriam Webster dictionary states that purity is 1.  freedom from adulteration or contamination, 2.  freedom from immorality, esp. of a sexual nature.  Synonyms mentioned include chastity, cleanliness, cleanness, innocence, clarity. Wikipedia describes purity as the ”absence of vice in human character”.

Thomas a Kempis, who is believed to be the author of The Imitation of Christ, describes purity as such:
Purity and simplicity are the two wings with which man soars above the earth and all temporary nature. Simplicity is in the intention, purity in the affection; simplicity turns to God; purity unites with and enjoys him.

How does God describe purity?

Psalm 15 (NIV) says:
¹ Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 The one whose walk is blameless,
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from their heart;
³ whose tongue utters no slander,
who does no wrong to a neighbor,
and casts no slur on others;
⁴ who despises a vile person
but honors those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
and does not change their mind;
⁵ who lends money to the poor without interest;
who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
will never be shaken.

And in Micah 6:8 (NKJV) He says,
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

There is more to purity, as you can see, than sexual purity, but as a single Christian sexual purity is particularly important so stay tuned!  The next post in this series will address sexual purity.  Watch the following video as a teaser.

True Woman | True Woman Videos: Why purity is such a big deal.

The other day, I heard on our Christian radio station an audio clip of a preacher that caught my attention with what he said. In this clip Dr. Voddie Baucham said, “A fellow came up to me at a conference and asked, “If you believe in a God that is omnipotent and benevolent then how do you reconcile all the bad stuff that happens in the world?”

Dr. Baucham answered by saying, “I am not going to answer your question until you ask it correctly.”

“What do you mean ask it correctly?”

“You’re not asking the question properly.”

“What do you mean asking the question properly; it’s my question? You can’t tell me how to ask my question, it’s my question.”

“I will answer your question when you ask it properly.”

The man had a thought.

“How do I ask it properly?”

“Here is how you can ask that question properly. You look me in my eyes and you ask me this!

‘How on earth can a holy and righteous God know what I did and thought and said yesterday and not have killed me in my sleep last night?’

You ask it that way and we can talk!

You ask it that way and we can talk but until you ask it that way you don’t understand the issue.

Until you ask the question that way you believe the problem is out there.

Until you ask the question that way you believe there are somehow some individuals who in and of themselves deserve something other than the wrath of Almighty God.

Until you ask me the question that way, until you flip the script and ask the question this way and say why is it that we are here today, why has He not consumed and devoured each and everyone of us.

Why, Why, oh God, does your judgement and wrath tarry?  When you ask the question that way, then you understand the issue.

When you ask it the other way you believe in the supremacy of man.

How dare God not employ his power on behalf of almighty man!

You flip the question around and you now believe in the supremacy of Christ!

How dare I steal his air because the last breath I took I borrowed it from him and I’m never going to give it back and when you never give something you borrowed back you are stealing it.

The problem is me – not God.

The problem is the fact that I don’t acknowledge the supremacy of Christ in Truth.

The problem is I start with me as the measure of all things.

The problem is I judge God based on how He carries out my agenda in the world and I believe in the supremacy of me in truth and as a result I want a God who is omnipotent but not sovereign.

If I have a God who in omnipotent but not sovereign; I can wield His power. But if my God is omnipotent and sovereign, I am at his mercy.”
Pastor Ralph G, quoting Dr. Voddie Baucham

Wow.  What more is there to say?

Progress pictures

Before varnish.

After varnish.

Now my friend wanted something traditional so this is made in acrylics on a canvas. Considering the fact that I haven’t really painted with acrylics for a long time and that I am not very good with drawing males this project scared me. But it is done now, and I hope he’ll like it as much as I do.
Now to plan my friends painting, she wants a girl painted Dia-del-muerto style, this is going to be fun :D

/Mary-Q.

The Archie comic above popped up on my Tumblr dashboard this morning.

I have questions.

• Which albums are Betty and Veronica listening to?
• Doesn’t the one on the left look a bit like Meet The Beatles!, with its big white header and arrangement of 4 face/egg/floating orb things?
• …but does any Beatles album cover look like the one on the right?
• Could the fact the covers appear to feature 4 eggs each have inspired the “I am the egg-man” lyrics from “I Am The Walrus“?
• Does the fact that I started thinking about how valuable those records would be if they were real and their covers were horrific misprints mean that I have a record-buying problem?*
• Did the illustrator have a background in entomology?
• How much thought went into which beetle would represent which Beatle?
• By the time this comic was drawn (1965), were John and Paul already perceived in America as the group’s leading/co-equal creative forces?
• Is that why they’re nearly the same color?
• Was it intentional that John and Paul are on a head-butting collision course, or it merely accidental foreshadowing?
• By the time this was drawn, had George developed his reputation for being the quiet, sullen Beatle?
• Is that why he’s blue?
• Is that why he has vicious pinchers?
• …or are his vicious pinchers a vicious comment on his teeth, which seem to have been drawn even more unflatteringly than they needed to be?
• Could Ringo have been drawn any more appropriately — all goofy and off to the side?
• Should we read more into his being green, given that his second-class role in the group could have easily inspired envy?
• Should that same inference be applied to his positioning on the actual Meet The Beatles! cover? 
• Are those blue suede shoes Hiram’s rockin’?
• Might Hiram’s kicks imply that The Beatles were stepping on the older generation’s metaphorical shoes, or was Elvis too young at the time to represent Hiram’s generation?
• Am I reading too much into this comic?*

*Please do me the kindness of not answering this one.

As for the rest, I’d love to hear your thoughts and interpretations in the comment section below, especially if you were alive and kickin’ when this comic came out.

Since this illustration was featured on the comic’s cover, I thought it fitting to close with one of my favorite Beatles covers of all time — Fiona Apple’s interpretation of “Across The Universe.” Enjoy.

Fiona Apple — “Across The Universe” (Beatles cover) [Spotify/iTunes]

Asking For Forgiveness (Photo credit: hang_in_there)

To forgive one who has wronged you is probably one of the hardest things God calls us as His children to do.  It has to do with me letting go of what someone has done against me; an actual wrong that this world would say gives you the right to hold a grudge.

At one point in my life I blamed God for me being single.  Everyone said that I must have decided to be single, but at the time I really didn’t think I had.  I blamed God.  Why have you done this to me?  Why are you punishing me?  What have I done wrong?

It took me a while to realize that God wasn’t punishing me and that this was His best for me right now.  It took me even longer to realize that by following His will for my life that I HAD inadvertantly chosen to be single.  It was only then that I could realize that I needed to let go of my blame and embrace the gift He had given me.  This was a form of forgiveness for me–to let go of a perceived wrong and be able to move on in my relationship with God.

Forgiveness can be life-changing (for more than just you)–please watch this video about the story that inspired Matthew West’s song Forgiveness.

And now, of course you have to listen to the song Forgiveness, which always gives me chills.

Forgiveness is hard, that’s not up for debate.  But look at the incredible changes that it wrought in the lives of Renee and her family and in the life of Ryan.  Can you not see the great hand of God working through this mystery of forgiveness?

I would have to say that I am a Thor girl (oh, oh–what tangent is she chasing this time…).  What warm-blooded Canadian woman wouldn’t be?  Those sculpted muscles, that regal bearing, the chivalrous manner, that perfect diction…

That’s not love.  That’s like.  I like the character’s outer shell. The face he chooses to show to the outside world as a person hired to pretend to be a (fictional) super hero.

I love John Elephante.  OK, we’re going back a few years, but John sang some of the most compelling Christian songs ever, in my opinion.  Not Just Any Other Day has got to be one of my very favourite Christian songs.  Hold Me in Your Arms, No one’s Ever Died for Me Before, This is What Love Is.  All fabulous (obviously 1990′s) songs.

This isn’t love either.  This is a one heart connecting to another that is speaking the truth.

But listen to his impression of what love is:

This is what love is

“And even when we fall
He loves us through it all.”

I can’t help but think of what a disappointment I would be to me if I were God.  Every moment of every day I fall down in my attempt to be like Christ, to show my love to God.  Think about it–even as a Christian I do, say and think things every day that would be offensive to God.  I’m unkind more than I wish to believe.  I want my own way.  I lose my Christ focus.  I wander around amusing myself and myself only.  It’s a good thing I’m NOT God!!

These things don’t sound too bad BUT Christ died for me.  You’d think that as a believer  I could get it together.

BUT even fully knowing that I would be like this–a less than stellar athlete on God’s racing team–Christ died FOR ME.  He overlooked all the terrible things that I would ever do and offered me forgiveness and grace.

I was struck today by how little I offer forgiveness and grace to those around me.  A friend does something very minor and I’m offended.  A driver cuts me off in traffic and I’m agitated.  I keep track in my head of all of the tiny, inconsequential minutiae that has made me upset or sad or mad over the past years.  How exhausting!

Sounds a little like the parable from Matthew 18:23 – 35.

²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. NIV

Is that what love is?  To take forgiveness from God for a lifetime of sins only to demand retribution from one who owes a very little to us?

The forgiveness, grace, passion, patience, joy, peace and gentleness of our Heavenly Father towards a group of people who do not care as much for Him as He does for them…Now that is powerful.  That is a love that can break any bond.

That is true love.

My friend was very excited about this apparently rare event.

“Single and forty?  What is he like?”

“Well, he’s a decent guy…”

We look at eachother and I say, “There’s got to be something wrong with him if he’s 40 and still single!”  We giggle together until…

…I realize that I’m forty and single!  Wait a minute!  Is there something wrong with me?  Is this what people say after meeting me?  “There’s got to be something wrong with her…”

The problem with this thought process is that it is not only the non-singles that may think it but we singles as well.  I have on occasion wondered if there WAS something wrong with me.  In my less kind moments I have come across someone who was less than appealing to me and in my base, human way wondered how come they were dating/engaged/married and I was not.  I’m prettier, more intelligent, more social, more well-traveled, have better hair, dress better, drive a better car, can run faster, know my way around my community better, have better running shoes, have nicer lips…yeah, it gets kind of sad, doesn’t it?

So, is this the Urban Myth that we singles hold about ourselves in the darkest, most hidden parts of our psyche?  Is there something wrong with me?  Is this why I’m single?

As the Christian Single Myth Buster I will remind you firstly of what we have already addressed in a previous post:

You are single because this is God’s will for you.  No one has looked at you and scoffed and walked away–God has chosen singleness for you as His best for you.

Secondly, I have to remind of what you already should know:

1).  God created you and made you like Him.  Genesis 1:26a–Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…”  If we are made in the image of God how can there be anything “wrong” with us?

2).  God loves you.  “For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; I give Egypt for your ransom[,] since you are precious and honoured in my sight, and because I love you…”  Isaiah 43 parts of verse 3 and 4.  You are precious to God!

3).  God gave His only Begotten for you.  “For God so loved the world [you] that He gave His one and only Son…”  John 3:16

4).  Christ willingly gave himself for you.  “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  Hebrews 12:2,3

5).  Through Christ we are God’s children.  “How great is love the Father has lavished on us, that we might be called the children of God!” 1 John 3:1a.  You know what this makes us?  Princes and Princesses, of course!

All right then, we might be prettier, more intelligent, more social, more well-traveled, have better hair, dress better, drive a better car, can run faster, know our way around our community better, have better running shoes, and have nicer lips and still be single.

Does this mean there is something wrong with us?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!  The world around might not understand this, and sometimes we might not believe it ourselves, but there is nothing “wrong” with us.  Actually, there is something RIGHT  with us–we are following God’s plan, even when the going gets tough.

And please, don’t ever forget who you are in Christ!

Who am I?  by Margaret Becker

Who am I, Jesus
That You call me by name…
I am counting the stars
On Your blackened sky
You call them all by name, You know them all by sight
In this sea of lights
I sense Your majesty
And I break at the thought that One so great
Could care for me
Who am I, Jesus
That You could call me by name
What could I ever do
To be loved this way
Who am I, Jesus
In Your eyes, tell me, who am I
I am counting the mountains
That I’ve laid at Your feet
And I’m reduced to tears when I think of how
You’ve moved them for me
In this storm of life
You’ve been my safe retreat
Through the wind and the fire You always were there
To carry me

Who am I, Jesus
That You could call me by name
What could I ever do
To be loved this way
Who am I, Jesus
In Your eyes, tell me, who am I

By Your Side                                                                                                              Tenth Avenue North

Why are you striving these days                                                                                   Why are you trying to earn grace                                                                                       Why are you crying                                                                                                         Let me lift up your face                                                                                                  Just don’t turn away

Why are you looking for love                                                                                        Why are you still searching as if I’m not enough                                                             To where will you go child                                                                                               Tell me where will you run                                                                                               To where will you run

And I’ll be by your side                                                                                         Wherever you fall                                                                                                              In the dead of night,                                                                                            Whenever you call                                                                                                         And please don’t fight,                                                                                                These hands that are holding you                                                                                  My hands are holding you

Look at these hands at my side                                                                                    They swallowed the grave on that night                                                                      When I drank the world’s sin                                                                                           So I could carry you in                                                                                                    And give you life                                                                                                                 I want to give you life

Cause I, I love you I want you to know

That I, I love you I’ll never let you go

The point is that as a single I can choose to be alone if I want to.

Is alone the same as lonely?

Language has created the word “loneliness’ to express the pain of being alone.  And it has created “solitude” to express the glory of being alone.  (Paul Tillich)

Being alone does not necessarily mean that you will be lonely.  One can be lonely in the midst of a crowd.  One can glory in being alone.  I think this is an important distinction.  My non-single friend once said to me that she felt so lonely.  I was shocked–how can she mean she was lonely?  She had a family around her all the time!

OK–so anybody can feel lonely, not just those who are single, and being alone doesn’t mean you have to feel lonely.  Now, as Christians, the question is:  are we ever really truly alone? Moses said to Israel in Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or or terrified … for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”  Jesus tells us in John 10:29 that “no one can snatch them (us) out of my Father’s hand.”  If we are sitting in God’s hand, not only is that not alone but He’s pretty darn close to us!

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be.
Anne Frank

Perhaps when we are feeling lonely the best thing to do is to cry out to God.  He is there and He loves us so much. One of my favorite hymns is In the Garden by C. Austin Miles, which says “I come to the garden alone … And He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own, and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.”  Perhaps the key to being in solitude rather than lonely is to talk to God and keep Him in the conversation.  He wants us to get to know him.  He wants communion with us!

Now, what DO they mean?  I don’t really know.

I imagine that they mean that, despite hundreds of fine eligible Christian men falling at my feet, I have spurned them all and have decided that I will be a “spinster to the rapture”.  As appealing as being a Baptist nun is (?), I can’t say that this is entirely true.  I have really made only one choice in the matter and that to follow God’s plan for my life.  If this means that I am single at 40, then I guess it has been my choice to be so.  But frankly, I have not had hundreds of eligible Christian men falling at my feet…just to be clear on this…

I do know an amazing woman who did make this choice, however.  I went overseas to work with a Godly women in India.  Her story is quite amazing although I will only tell a very small piece of it here.  She had just finished her education and was preparing for her wedding when she felt God calling her to India.  As things went, the choice was between staying at home and getting married or following God’s call to India.  She chose the latter.  And God has blessed her mightily.

But I’m not really sure that either of us CHOSE to be single necessarily, which is really the more important issue.  The important part about our stories is not the results of the decisions themselves, but the reasons for the decisions.  I’ve never met anyone who has specifically chosen to be single, but rather that they have chosen to follow God’s leading in every aspect of their lives.  (Hey, if anyone out there has another experience, please let us know).

And this, I think, should be how we look at our situation, regardless of where we are:  as obedience to God’s leading, leaving the outcome to the One who holds the universe in His hands.

No, I’m not being negative.

Just real.

It all started on Friday when Shelley gave me a fluffy white bunny with floppy ears. I bonded with Bunny 2, giving her a shake and playing with her, then getting in close for a cuddle.

And then Bunny, Lenny, Doggie, Big Dog and Ducky all disappeared.

At bedtime, I grabbed Bunny 2 and settled in for biting her neck and moving my feet back and forth. It’s something I do to relax, slightly different from when I was feeding from my mother. A comfort, yes, that repetitive movement.

I scratched on the bed indicating I wanted my clan back. Shelley went to the box thing she calls a washing machine and returned with the bears, but Bunny was missing, a gray, short-eared rabbit from PetSmart. Maybe Bunny needed another bath.

The next day, Lenny disappeared. (They smell, that’s why, according to Shelley.) As if!

I guess that means Bunny 2 is Bunny. But it doesn’t mean I’m happy about it. I wonder what happened to Lenny and Bunny, my first big teddy bears.

Nope, I will not be positive about my missing bears. Never!

She set up my dog bed and toys, but it didn’t feel like home to me. There were boxes and boxes and no backyard. That meant I had to make a request to go outside and wear a silly harness and be on a leash, just so I could go potty.

Shelley left me all day while she went to this place she calls “work,” and I certainly didn’t like that. She came home for lunch, but for me, that’s not good enough.

And to make it worse, she came home from work and started moving those boxes around and taking things out of them. She put the things she took out into all these different compartments, and sometimes, she took things she had put away back out to put away somewhere else. That’s illogical. I figure once you bury your bone, you keep it there until you’re ready for it.

Shelley works for a newspaper, while I like to sit on them. Notice the word "toy"?

Why is Mommy going on and on about my needing to be babysat? Do you think our wolf ancestors needed babysitters? I just need a pack, and I don’t care if there’s a duck or a kitten thrown in to the mix. I just want friends, and how can I make friends if my requests out the front window are not heard by my fellow kind on leashes? They hear me, I know, because their ears perk up, but they fail to look my way, likely because they are trained. And they probably have dog sitters.

Mommy should stay home with me, forget all that leaving me. For what purpose does she go? What the heck is she doing in the outdoors? What reason is there for her to leave five days in a row, then not for two days?

I have so many questions and no way to ask them. I understand what Mommy says, but she doesn’t understand and is unable to translate my barking.

Why would you leave cute me at home for eight hours? Okay, gotta run!

I’m not just talking about black sitcoms, but sitcoms in general. I remember the days of TGIF on ABC where shows like these came on every Friday: Step By Step , Family Matters, Me And The Boys, Boy Meets World, and the list goes on. Or UPN where all of the black shows lived, Moesha, All Of Us, Half and Half, and The Parkers…oh! Wasn’ts Sparks on there also? 

Now we have shows like The Game…oh wait, they got canceled. Well we have Everybody hates Chris, no they got canceled too, but we have Ugly Betty…yeah no. What do we have? Absolutely nothing. Although The Game has found a new home and is coming back, you have to wonder, how long will they be around?Not only is the lifespan for sitcoms (black or not) terrible, the show will be on BET, which is now a place where bullshit lives. That reminds me, I need to write a post on BET. Like I was saying, things just aren’t the same with TV anymore, there is no REAL TV anymore, there is nothing to watch on certain days. Where did all of the sitcoms go, or maybe a better question is, where in the hell did the writers go? *sigh*