In the past I've tried to somehow connect these into one coherent blog post but I don't feel like putting that much effort into this one.
Lately I've been trying to be a nicer person. Specifically when it comes to the things that I say. I wouldn't mind if you guys kept me accountable on that, so don't be shy.
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I deleted my Instagram and Snapchat. And I thought it would be the death of me. But my life has gone on normally and I'm not missing anything monumental in people's lives. There is no reason for so many social media sites to exist or for me to be on so many different ones. Also it's helped me keep my thoughts on things which glorify God.
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Isn't it weird how there are certain people that you just don't imagine doing anything wrong? There are always people that you know mess up or that mess up around you but then there's those people that you really respect and look up to, forgetting that they, too, are human and then they do something and you just have to reprocess the fact that no one is perfect.
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So- my friends and I have been talking about this: do you think it's okay for a girl to ask a guy out or not?
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Why are we, as a generation, obsessed with stories that are more depressing than our life now? I don't think any Hunger Games fanatic would actually want to live in that world. It doesn't make sense to me to immerse yourself in something worse than what you are actually experiencing.
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I'm taking public speaking at community college this semester. Which actually slightly freaks me out because I'll be giving speeches in front of people I don't know at all. Which I suppose doesn't make much sense but emotions never make sense.
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I've been really into writing poetry lately. Which is strange because I always hated writing poetry.
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I was listening to the radio station Mix 100. And they were playing "Thrift Shop" but they censored basically all the profanity out of it. Why I noticed it is because they play songs like "Blurred Lines," "Talk Dirty To Me," and "Animal." Why is one type of immorality okay but not the other? More importantly, why am I less bothered by profanity than by songs about sex? I don't know, honestly, why everyone has such inconsistent standards.
This concludes my list of unrelated thoughts. Thanks for reading and feedback and opinions are always appreciated!
Much love,
Amanda
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Sunday, December 21, 2014
What I've Learned from Community College
Hello! It's been a while. But I've been busy and now, as I'm sitting here with no stories, or papers, to write and the inability to do anything active (wisdom teeth surgery,) I've decided to write some of my thoughts about last semester.
I am a senior in high school, but last semester I took two classes, Math for Liberal Arts and Psychology, at Arapahoe Community College. Needless to say, I learned a lot. Not only about the math deemed necessary for a Liberal Arts degree, but also about myself and the world. So I'm putting these thoughts on paper, er... the internet, so that I can sort them out and perhaps share my experiences and new found thoughts with the rest of you.
To give you an idea of my background: I've been homeschooled since third grade and any of the co-ops or other programs I've been in have been Christian. So I've always been surrounded by the Christian worldview. BUT I'm knowledgeable about other worldviews, so don't go around thinking that I'm ignorant and sheltered or that I am forced to be a Christian because of my parents. Because I'm not and I would prefer it if you did not look down on me.
So the fact that God created the world and everything inside of it has been taught to me since birth. All my History and Science lessons have been based in this truth.
This brings me to the first thing I realized at Community College: Your worldview matters more than you might think. Like I said, Science has always been taught to me with an assumed Creationist perspective. It was foreign to hear Psychology taught with a basis of assumed Evolution. I didn't speak up during class because no one would pay attention to the 16 year old who doesn't know anything yet. However, nearly everything started out with "it evolved this way because...." and I wasn't sure what to do. Before this I never realized how big of a role worldview has on things. My professor started saying theories of why humans evolved to see color and I'm sitting there thinking about how amazing God was to create the brain so we can enjoy beauty. Because it's the foundation of your life and belief system, you had better be sure of your worldview's validity before you do anything else. It's how you filter information and arrange your lifestyle.
This other thing I realized may seem pretty obvious to a lot of you, but it was new to me for some reason. Non-Christians can actually be nicer than Christians. Like I said, kind of obvious, I know. But here's the thing. I believe that, without realizing it, Christians have painted a picture where every Christian is loving and holy and every non-Christian who has yet to see the love that Jesus provides is selfish, mean, crude, and promiscuous. This is simply not true. There were plenty of people in my Psych class of whom I am sure were not Christians. But they sat around and talked to everyone and tried their best to assist whomever they could because they were decent people.
Obviously, they are still sinners and are still just as basically evil as the rest of the world. But I have met some nasty Christians in my life and would have rather hung out with these non-Christians in a heartbeat.
These two things seem really obvious after I've laid them out like that, and they're both things that Christians say all the time. So I'm not sure why I didn't understand these before, and quite honestly I feel pretty dumb to have not realized these things before now. So I apologize for my naivety and ask that you do not judge me for this, for it's taken me a lot of courage to admit this....
But I was forced to think about this last semester at ACC. I'd like to know your thoughts on worldview and friendly non-Christians. Merry Christmas!
much love,
Amanda
Monday, November 17, 2014
Christian Catastrophe: The Dangers of Labeling
I wrote this for an essay at school. I know I already kind of touched on the subject but whatever:
“Are they a Christian
band?”
“Is this a Christian book?”
“Is he a Christian author?”
“I’m surprised I heard a Christian band on a secular
radio station.”
These are all things that all Christians have heard at
some point in their lives if they have ever spent time around a church group.
On the surface, these comments and questions seem innocent. But it seems
Christians have decided to fully accept every movie, every song, and every book
that crosses their paths as long as it is classified as Christian. Whether it
is a quality piece of art or not, there seems to be an obligation to support it
because of the morals that it promotes. This has, by default, created the idea
that non-Christian things are, in a sense, evil and should be scrutinized or
rejected with no thought other than that it is not Christian. This is a
dangerous and counter-productive mindset.
Most Christians do not think about what makes art good;
they only think about the morals that it promotes. The theme it communicates is
only a portion of what makes art good. Take the movie God’s Not Dead, for example. Almost every Christian I asked about
the movie, including myself, said something like, “It was a really good movie!
Its message was great!” Some went into further detail saying something like,
“the acting was bad at some parts” and, “the script and story line was
terrible.” But all that seems to be forgiven because of its righteous message.
Christians accept bad art because of its Christian message.
A Christian rapper, Propaganda, said, “the presence of
good art will unconsciously refine a community while poor art will do it
incalculable harm[1].”
Notice he did not say “Christian art;” he said “good art.” Good art, with
quality, thought, and good morals will refine a community, not bad art with
Christian themes.
Christians are pretentious to assume that their media is
the best and most upstanding.
It is as if nothing can be as wholesome as what we put
out. But why does wholesomeness make it worth anyone’s time? And if it is
wholesomeness you look for, why do we stop at Christian media? There are quite
a few bands, books, and movies that are popular with everyone that supports
wholesome morals without claiming to be “Christian.” The band Twenty One
Pilots, is a great example of this. Their music is exclusively played on
non-Christian radio stations, but their lyrics are all positive and wholesome.
Their song “Migraine” is written from the perspective of person fighting his or
her inner demons and telling him or herself that life is worth living. Another
song of theirs, “Ode To Sleep,” discusses guilt and redemption. Many Christians
don’t know about Twenty One Pilots because they only listen to music with the
“Christian” label on it.
When Christians mindlessly support bad art with good
morals, it does no one any favors. If Christians do not demand quality out of
their art, how will the rest of the world take Christianity seriously? If the
goal of media is to win souls and encourage the culture, how can we expect to
do that if the quality is terrible? If “bad art will do incalculable harm” to a
community, why do Christians keep making bad art? Christians need to focus on
making a good piece of art with a good message rather than a mediocre piece of
art with Christian messages.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
A Short Thing about Homosexuality
It's been a while. I've been thinking of some stuff. Here we go.
Something needs to be said about homosexuality. I know so much has already been said, but I feel like someone needs to speak up for the Christians that don't hate the homosexuals. They don't believe homosexuals are going to Hell because of homosexuality. Here's the thing, I, along with the majority of Christians I've talked to about this, believe that everyone, gay or straight, will go to Hell unless they've professed faith in Christ. And that's because of sin. I'm just as nasty of a person as the gay guy down the street. And he's probably a pleasant person to be around. What I'm trying to say is homosexuals aren't worse than anyone else.
I mean yeah, homosexuality is a sin whether they were born that way or not. I don't think there's anyway to look at the Scriptures and decide anything different.( I don't want to talk about that here, though. But I will if you ask me.)
HOWEVER, if you're not a Christian, I am not going to expect you to act like a Christian should. I'm not going to throw my Bible verses at you unless you've expressed to me that you're a Christian. And even then, it'd be rude to just rant about it.
I just feel like someone has to say that some people out there do not support homosexuality but don't despise them nor would they treat them differently.
Love is something that has not been portrayed by the media and that really makes me mad. Now, I don't know how the majority of the homosexuals are because I've only seen what's portrayed by the media. And if it's anything close to the inaccuracy of the portrayal of Christians, then it's pretty bad.
So, if you're gay don't be afraid to tell me. I can't speak for all the Christians out there. But we're not all like you see on the news. :)
Let me know what you think about all this, too.
Much love,
Amanda <3
Something needs to be said about homosexuality. I know so much has already been said, but I feel like someone needs to speak up for the Christians that don't hate the homosexuals. They don't believe homosexuals are going to Hell because of homosexuality. Here's the thing, I, along with the majority of Christians I've talked to about this, believe that everyone, gay or straight, will go to Hell unless they've professed faith in Christ. And that's because of sin. I'm just as nasty of a person as the gay guy down the street. And he's probably a pleasant person to be around. What I'm trying to say is homosexuals aren't worse than anyone else.
I mean yeah, homosexuality is a sin whether they were born that way or not. I don't think there's anyway to look at the Scriptures and decide anything different.( I don't want to talk about that here, though. But I will if you ask me.)
HOWEVER, if you're not a Christian, I am not going to expect you to act like a Christian should. I'm not going to throw my Bible verses at you unless you've expressed to me that you're a Christian. And even then, it'd be rude to just rant about it.
I just feel like someone has to say that some people out there do not support homosexuality but don't despise them nor would they treat them differently.
Love is something that has not been portrayed by the media and that really makes me mad. Now, I don't know how the majority of the homosexuals are because I've only seen what's portrayed by the media. And if it's anything close to the inaccuracy of the portrayal of Christians, then it's pretty bad.
So, if you're gay don't be afraid to tell me. I can't speak for all the Christians out there. But we're not all like you see on the news. :)
Let me know what you think about all this, too.
Much love,
Amanda <3
Sunday, August 3, 2014
The Person I Aim to Be
I spent the last four weeks as a SaLT at Camp Id-Ra-Ha-Je.
As a SaLT I might be working in the kitchens and assisting a counselor, or solely assisting a counselor. It depends on the week. I expected to learn a lot, but I expected it to come through morning devotions and chapel services. Which, in some cases, it did. However, the majority of what I learned about God and myself came through seeing other people work with me. Before I never really had a goal for who I wanted to be. I mean, I wanted to be more godly, and more pleasant to be around. But both of those things are very broad and simple goals. At camp I met so many people that showed me the kind of person I want to be, but I want to focus on two right now. Their names were David and Matt.
I'll start with David.
The first thing I noticed about David was his ice-blue eyes. The second thing I noticed about him was that he remembered my name. I assumed he had many other things to worry about, so the name of one of his SaLTs was not one of his priorities. In fact, I don't believe I ever introduced myself to him. I don't know. But somehow, he remembered my name. And it actually surprised me so much that when he called me by my name for the first time I didn't answer because I didn't expect my name to be remembered.
Because of this, I came home from camp with this goal: To be the kind of person that remembers names.
I've heard it said that the reason we can't remember other people's names is because we're too preoccupied with telling them our names. That really convicted me, and I think about how I'm so used to people not remembering my names. So when David did remember my name, it impacted me.
I want to be the kind of person that remembers names because it means that I care about the person enough to remember who they are.
Another thing about David is that he actually cared about how you were doing. He wouldn't just ask "How ya doing?" as a passing greeting. When he asked you how you were doing he stopped and looked you in the eye and listened to your reply. He wanted to hear about your problems
I dunno. Just, I saw that he genuinely cared about everyone he came across.
I want to be like that.
The second person who made an impact on me was this other SaLT named Matt. I'm not sure if I can actually convey the greatness that is Matt in this blog post, but I'll try.
Matt was supposed to be in Lodge kitchen. However, all three of the other kitchens needed help at some point during the week. So Matt was running all around camp helping out in all four kitchens all week. So he must have been incredibly tired, right?
But he didn't complain. In fact, I didn't even know that he was in the other two kitchens until all the other SaLTs started giving him shout outs for it.
I know for a fact that, if I were in his position, I would make sure that everyone knew that I was also helping everyone else out and I am so tired but look at how great I am for helping.
Matt showed me true humility, and I want to be like that.
There were so many amazing people at camp, and I learned so much from watching their example. David and Matt stuck out to me the most, but I could list so many other amazing people. Because of David and Matt, I learned that I want to be more humble and more intentional in showing that I care about people.
Much love,
Amanda <3
As a SaLT I might be working in the kitchens and assisting a counselor, or solely assisting a counselor. It depends on the week. I expected to learn a lot, but I expected it to come through morning devotions and chapel services. Which, in some cases, it did. However, the majority of what I learned about God and myself came through seeing other people work with me. Before I never really had a goal for who I wanted to be. I mean, I wanted to be more godly, and more pleasant to be around. But both of those things are very broad and simple goals. At camp I met so many people that showed me the kind of person I want to be, but I want to focus on two right now. Their names were David and Matt.
I'll start with David.
The first thing I noticed about David was his ice-blue eyes. The second thing I noticed about him was that he remembered my name. I assumed he had many other things to worry about, so the name of one of his SaLTs was not one of his priorities. In fact, I don't believe I ever introduced myself to him. I don't know. But somehow, he remembered my name. And it actually surprised me so much that when he called me by my name for the first time I didn't answer because I didn't expect my name to be remembered.
Because of this, I came home from camp with this goal: To be the kind of person that remembers names.
I've heard it said that the reason we can't remember other people's names is because we're too preoccupied with telling them our names. That really convicted me, and I think about how I'm so used to people not remembering my names. So when David did remember my name, it impacted me.
I want to be the kind of person that remembers names because it means that I care about the person enough to remember who they are.
Another thing about David is that he actually cared about how you were doing. He wouldn't just ask "How ya doing?" as a passing greeting. When he asked you how you were doing he stopped and looked you in the eye and listened to your reply. He wanted to hear about your problems
I dunno. Just, I saw that he genuinely cared about everyone he came across.
I want to be like that.
The second person who made an impact on me was this other SaLT named Matt. I'm not sure if I can actually convey the greatness that is Matt in this blog post, but I'll try.
Matt was supposed to be in Lodge kitchen. However, all three of the other kitchens needed help at some point during the week. So Matt was running all around camp helping out in all four kitchens all week. So he must have been incredibly tired, right?
But he didn't complain. In fact, I didn't even know that he was in the other two kitchens until all the other SaLTs started giving him shout outs for it.
I know for a fact that, if I were in his position, I would make sure that everyone knew that I was also helping everyone else out and I am so tired but look at how great I am for helping.
Matt showed me true humility, and I want to be like that.
There were so many amazing people at camp, and I learned so much from watching their example. David and Matt stuck out to me the most, but I could list so many other amazing people. Because of David and Matt, I learned that I want to be more humble and more intentional in showing that I care about people.
Much love,
Amanda <3
Friday, June 20, 2014
Stream of Consciousness 11
Lately I've had writer's block. So I 'm writing this in hopes that I can break through it....
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First of all: grace. Look, you aren't perfect. Nobody is perfect. This is a fact of life and everybody should know this. Whether you believe people are basically good or not (spoiler alert: we are not basically good) everyone messes up.
What gives you the right to judge other people then? If somebody messes up, there is absolutely no reason for you to reject them or not love them anymore. And that's that.
Say someone gets pregnant out of wedlock. Why lose respect for her? Why reject her? You've messed up just as much as she has, her consequences are just more obvious than yours.
Really, just don't be a jerk. That's all I'm saying.
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On a happier note, you ever notice how things aren't as bad as they could be when you have something to look forward to? "Well this day sucked, but at least tomorrow I get to...." And then, as Christians we can heaven to look forward to. We have this hope. It's hard to hold onto this hope when life sucks, but you have to because it's the only way you're going to get through it.
-
I really miss Summit but I love thinking about the stuff that I learned and applying it to real life. And there's all these books that I got that I get to read....
And I get to go work at Camp Id-Ra-Ha-Je soon and I'm also super excited about that. But it's also really nerve wracking because of the impact I have the opportunity to make. I want so badly to make a good one but I'm afraid that I'll mess up and leave a bad one. And that's what terrifies me.....
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So apparently there was this Facebook outage that caused worldwide panic. That, my friend, is sad. We are WAY to dependent on social networking now....
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So you know there was that shooting at Seattle Pacific University? I don't know if you've been following that story but Jon Meis, the guy who was able to subdue the shooter, has been getting a lot of attention for what he did. All these people sent him money for his wedding and honeymoon and he said that he wants anymore money they want to be send to be given to the victims. But what I think is really cool is that he said "When I came face to fact with the attacker, God gave me the eyes to see that he was not a faceless monster, but a very sad and troubled young man" (World Magazine, June 28, 2014. Page 16). What an awesome witness for God!
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I suppose that's all I have to say. Hopefully my writer's block is gone....
Much love,
Amanda Page
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First of all: grace. Look, you aren't perfect. Nobody is perfect. This is a fact of life and everybody should know this. Whether you believe people are basically good or not (spoiler alert: we are not basically good) everyone messes up.
What gives you the right to judge other people then? If somebody messes up, there is absolutely no reason for you to reject them or not love them anymore. And that's that.
Say someone gets pregnant out of wedlock. Why lose respect for her? Why reject her? You've messed up just as much as she has, her consequences are just more obvious than yours.
Really, just don't be a jerk. That's all I'm saying.
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On a happier note, you ever notice how things aren't as bad as they could be when you have something to look forward to? "Well this day sucked, but at least tomorrow I get to...." And then, as Christians we can heaven to look forward to. We have this hope. It's hard to hold onto this hope when life sucks, but you have to because it's the only way you're going to get through it.
-
I really miss Summit but I love thinking about the stuff that I learned and applying it to real life. And there's all these books that I got that I get to read....
And I get to go work at Camp Id-Ra-Ha-Je soon and I'm also super excited about that. But it's also really nerve wracking because of the impact I have the opportunity to make. I want so badly to make a good one but I'm afraid that I'll mess up and leave a bad one. And that's what terrifies me.....
-
So apparently there was this Facebook outage that caused worldwide panic. That, my friend, is sad. We are WAY to dependent on social networking now....
-
So you know there was that shooting at Seattle Pacific University? I don't know if you've been following that story but Jon Meis, the guy who was able to subdue the shooter, has been getting a lot of attention for what he did. All these people sent him money for his wedding and honeymoon and he said that he wants anymore money they want to be send to be given to the victims. But what I think is really cool is that he said "When I came face to fact with the attacker, God gave me the eyes to see that he was not a faceless monster, but a very sad and troubled young man" (World Magazine, June 28, 2014. Page 16). What an awesome witness for God!
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I suppose that's all I have to say. Hopefully my writer's block is gone....
Much love,
Amanda Page
Saturday, June 7, 2014
The Double Standards of Girl-Kind
So I was going to think of some witty title but then I got too lazy so you get a nice title that specifically explains the subject of my blog post. How boring is that?
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I went to a worldview camp called Summit up in Manitou Springs. That's a whole different post. But at Summit we talked a lot about masculinity and femininity. Also, the girls in my class bought this men's panel. So some of the guy staff members served us lemonade and cream puffs and answered some of our questions and oh my goodness it was adorable. In this men's panel and the masculinity/femininity discussion a few points came up frequently. One of them, the one I want to talk about in this post, is the way that girls disrespect guys.
Now the thought had crossed my mind a few times the past couple years but I'm ashamed to say I never really considered how I disrespect the guys in my life. When I was forced to think about it I found that guys are very hurt by-wait for it- the same things that girls get hurt by. One thing that constantly came up in the discussion was when girls sit around and talk about how attractive such and such celebrity is. It's like we forget that guy celebs are photoshopped and unrealistic just like girls are. Girls get super bothered when guys sit around and talk about Selena Gomez or something but then we sit around them and swoon over whatever guy in whatever movie we just saw. BUT THEN WE EXPECT GUYS TO RESPECT US. WE DON'T RESPECT THEM. WHY SHOULD THEY RESPECT US? I mean not all girls are bothered by this, so I'm sure not all guys are. But it's still really rude to do and I'm sorry if I've ever done that to you.....
Short post this time but I feel like there's nothing left to be said and anything else would just be excess ramblings.
So here's my concluding question(s) that no one ever answers even though I KNOW that people read this blog and have thoughts:
If you're a guy, is there a way that we as girls disrespect you or something that girls do that belittles you or something like that? Or does this even bother you at all?
If you're a girl, what do you think about this?
Much love,
Amanda <3
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I went to a worldview camp called Summit up in Manitou Springs. That's a whole different post. But at Summit we talked a lot about masculinity and femininity. Also, the girls in my class bought this men's panel. So some of the guy staff members served us lemonade and cream puffs and answered some of our questions and oh my goodness it was adorable. In this men's panel and the masculinity/femininity discussion a few points came up frequently. One of them, the one I want to talk about in this post, is the way that girls disrespect guys.
 |
| Here's a picture of the Men's Panel in case you cared..... |
Short post this time but I feel like there's nothing left to be said and anything else would just be excess ramblings.
So here's my concluding question(s) that no one ever answers even though I KNOW that people read this blog and have thoughts:
If you're a guy, is there a way that we as girls disrespect you or something that girls do that belittles you or something like that? Or does this even bother you at all?
If you're a girl, what do you think about this?
Much love,
Amanda <3
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Stream of Consciousness 10
It's crazy that I've done ten of these.
Blogging is fun. :)
It's Mother's Day today and my mom is pretty great. Tell your mom how much you appreciate her. :)
Today in church my pastor told a story about a college kid who was there during some tornado and he actually held up the foundation of a building while his girlfriend could escape, but then the building crushed him and he died.
Whenever I hear stories like that I worry that, if I were faced with the same situation, I would save myself first and leave my loved ones to die.
But I never want to be faced with a situation like that to find out what I'd do.
Yesterday I avoided yet another opportunity to talk to someone about Jesus. I pray one day I will have the courage to ask a complete stranger if she goes to church or not.
So I was at King Soopers the other day buying a book. There was this shifty-looking kid with his hood up at a self-checkout register, so I avoided the one next to him and went to one across from him. Well as I'm checking out he comes up to me and asks if I have two pennies. I didn't, so I told him that. He sighed and I asked him what he needed to buy. He goes "I just need eighteen cents to buy that." He pointed to the Monster energy drink. I pulled a dollar out of my wallet and gave it to him. He just looked really sad that he couldn't buy the thing. He said thanks and went away and I continued to check out.
But get this- he gave me my $0.98 back.
I was really impressed because I probably wouldn't have given the person their change back if I were him. I mean, they gave me a dollar, I'd use the dollar.
I suppose that makes me selfish.
The end of of the school year is coming up and I have learned quite a bit my junior year of high school. Too much to put in a blog post like this, I'll write one later with my reflections.
One of the things I absolutely hate in when I get judged at church. And I don't mean like "Hey, Amanda. I've noticed such and such sin in your life and I want to help you overcome it."
I mean like "Oh. You saw Noah. I saw God's Not Dead." "You read Harry Potter/The Hunger Games/whatever-"secular"- book-or-movie-you-can-think-of? I choose not to read that kind of stuff." "You don't listen to K-Love?" "YOU DON'T LIKE CHRIS TOMLIN." And then just getting stared at. It happens all the time from so many people but I feel like it would be inappropriate to argue with them at the time it happens. So I am posting this in hopes that they will read it.
First of all, I just don't like Christian contemporary. It doesn't mean I'm a sinner. Nowhere in the Bible does it command I listen to "Christian" music. Now, it says in Phil 4:8 to think of whatever is pure, noble, lovely, etc. etc. But that doesn't limit it to just the Christian genre of entertainment. To me, most of the songs sound the same and the lyrics are generally not creative or meaningful. You can listen to that music all you want, but I won't.
Second, just because something is "secular" doesn't mean I should avoid it. To me, life would be pretty boring if I forwent all things "secular." Also, how can I expect to engage culture if I don't watch/read/educate myself in what the culture engages in. Of course, I must make sure I am being edified by it in some way. Just because it's not "Christian" doesn't mean it's horrible.
And lastly, about Noah. I feel like I need to defend myself. I suppose I probably should have had a bigger issue with it being unbiblical. But I didn't. I went to see it to see if it was at least a decent story. And it wasn't, and I was mad that is was inaccurate AND a crap story.
I didn't want to go see another Christian movie because, quite honestly, I don't care about it that much. And I have no requirement to get excited about one every time one is released.
Well, I got some stuff off my mind in this post...... Sorry for the rant. BUT IT IS TRUE.
I feel like I should put some happy stuff after that angry stuff, so here's some pictures of people smiling. :)
Happy Mother's Day!
-Amanda
PS: A friend of mine wrote a good thing about music choices. Check it out: http://www.daughterofpearlblog.com/music-doesnt-make-you-better-than-me/
Blogging is fun. :)
It's Mother's Day today and my mom is pretty great. Tell your mom how much you appreciate her. :)
Today in church my pastor told a story about a college kid who was there during some tornado and he actually held up the foundation of a building while his girlfriend could escape, but then the building crushed him and he died.
Whenever I hear stories like that I worry that, if I were faced with the same situation, I would save myself first and leave my loved ones to die.
But I never want to be faced with a situation like that to find out what I'd do.
Yesterday I avoided yet another opportunity to talk to someone about Jesus. I pray one day I will have the courage to ask a complete stranger if she goes to church or not.
So I was at King Soopers the other day buying a book. There was this shifty-looking kid with his hood up at a self-checkout register, so I avoided the one next to him and went to one across from him. Well as I'm checking out he comes up to me and asks if I have two pennies. I didn't, so I told him that. He sighed and I asked him what he needed to buy. He goes "I just need eighteen cents to buy that." He pointed to the Monster energy drink. I pulled a dollar out of my wallet and gave it to him. He just looked really sad that he couldn't buy the thing. He said thanks and went away and I continued to check out.
But get this- he gave me my $0.98 back.
I was really impressed because I probably wouldn't have given the person their change back if I were him. I mean, they gave me a dollar, I'd use the dollar.
I suppose that makes me selfish.
The end of of the school year is coming up and I have learned quite a bit my junior year of high school. Too much to put in a blog post like this, I'll write one later with my reflections.
One of the things I absolutely hate in when I get judged at church. And I don't mean like "Hey, Amanda. I've noticed such and such sin in your life and I want to help you overcome it."
I mean like "Oh. You saw Noah. I saw God's Not Dead." "You read Harry Potter/The Hunger Games/whatever-"secular"- book-or-movie-you-can-think-of? I choose not to read that kind of stuff." "You don't listen to K-Love?" "YOU DON'T LIKE CHRIS TOMLIN." And then just getting stared at. It happens all the time from so many people but I feel like it would be inappropriate to argue with them at the time it happens. So I am posting this in hopes that they will read it.
First of all, I just don't like Christian contemporary. It doesn't mean I'm a sinner. Nowhere in the Bible does it command I listen to "Christian" music. Now, it says in Phil 4:8 to think of whatever is pure, noble, lovely, etc. etc. But that doesn't limit it to just the Christian genre of entertainment. To me, most of the songs sound the same and the lyrics are generally not creative or meaningful. You can listen to that music all you want, but I won't.
Second, just because something is "secular" doesn't mean I should avoid it. To me, life would be pretty boring if I forwent all things "secular." Also, how can I expect to engage culture if I don't watch/read/educate myself in what the culture engages in. Of course, I must make sure I am being edified by it in some way. Just because it's not "Christian" doesn't mean it's horrible.
And lastly, about Noah. I feel like I need to defend myself. I suppose I probably should have had a bigger issue with it being unbiblical. But I didn't. I went to see it to see if it was at least a decent story. And it wasn't, and I was mad that is was inaccurate AND a crap story.
I didn't want to go see another Christian movie because, quite honestly, I don't care about it that much. And I have no requirement to get excited about one every time one is released.
Well, I got some stuff off my mind in this post...... Sorry for the rant. BUT IT IS TRUE.
I feel like I should put some happy stuff after that angry stuff, so here's some pictures of people smiling. :)
Happy Mother's Day!
-Amanda
PS: A friend of mine wrote a good thing about music choices. Check it out: http://www.daughterofpearlblog.com/music-doesnt-make-you-better-than-me/
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Stream of Consciousness 9
There have been thoughts swirling around my mind so here they are:
First of all, I'm getting tired of people making a gun with their hands and pretending to shoot themselves whenever they're slightly upset or angry. Suicide is not something to take lightly. I know a lot of people who do this all the time and it has just recently started bothering me, so I will probably be telling you this next time I see you do it.
Second, I think it's sad that so many words have lost their meaning. Or their meaning has become less profound. Words such as "awesome" and "hate."
We use "awesome" to describe anything from God, the creator of the universe, to the taco we had for dinner last night.
"Hate" is used to describe an actual intense and passionate loathing and also a vague disliking of something.
Third, it's the end of the school year (almost) and I am so ready to be on Summer vacation...
Fourth, I hate it when people rag on fiction books as if they can't teach you anything. I swear the best fiction books cause you to think about things. Harry Potter, any John Green book, Divergent, The Hunger Games. Just because the book isn't packed full of facts and ideas doesn't mean that it's useless. I understand you might prefer nonfiction. And I'm okay with that. I really am. I think nonfiction books are very educational. I just find them boring. In the same way that someone who enjoys nonfiction might find the ridiculous adventures of a hobbit to be a snooze-fest.
Just don't go telling me fiction is useless.
Sixth, I am about fed up with the internet. (She says on the internet.) Social networking as turned all of us into narcissistic cowards with a self-esteem problem.
Seventh, I just finished reading "An Abundance of Katherines." Great book. Everyone go and read it right now. Well, it got me thinking about my fourth point up there. I want to write something that actually means something. Something that isn't just some dumb story, you know? And it's really hard for me to come up with an idea that I think is worth sharing and then also coming up with a story to properly communicate is.
Or just coming up with a story that is worthwhile....
So, I have put the editing of my National Novel Writing Month novel on hold until I can come up with a way to make it worth reading. :)
And I guess that's the end. I could go one for forever but no one wants to read that.
Much love,
Amanda <3
First of all, I'm getting tired of people making a gun with their hands and pretending to shoot themselves whenever they're slightly upset or angry. Suicide is not something to take lightly. I know a lot of people who do this all the time and it has just recently started bothering me, so I will probably be telling you this next time I see you do it.
Second, I think it's sad that so many words have lost their meaning. Or their meaning has become less profound. Words such as "awesome" and "hate."
We use "awesome" to describe anything from God, the creator of the universe, to the taco we had for dinner last night.
"Hate" is used to describe an actual intense and passionate loathing and also a vague disliking of something.
Third, it's the end of the school year (almost) and I am so ready to be on Summer vacation...
Just don't go telling me fiction is useless.
Sixth, I am about fed up with the internet. (She says on the internet.) Social networking as turned all of us into narcissistic cowards with a self-esteem problem.
Seventh, I just finished reading "An Abundance of Katherines." Great book. Everyone go and read it right now. Well, it got me thinking about my fourth point up there. I want to write something that actually means something. Something that isn't just some dumb story, you know? And it's really hard for me to come up with an idea that I think is worth sharing and then also coming up with a story to properly communicate is.
Or just coming up with a story that is worthwhile....
So, I have put the editing of my National Novel Writing Month novel on hold until I can come up with a way to make it worth reading. :)
And I guess that's the end. I could go one for forever but no one wants to read that.
Much love,
Amanda <3
Friday, April 18, 2014
The Unappreciated and The Overlooked in Everyday Life
So today IS Good Friday, but I have no original or interesting thoughts on Good Friday. So instead I'm writing about things that a lot of people ignore or don't value as much as they should. And since I'm really into making lists lately, I have formed a list. Here we go.
1) Eyes/Eye Contact
I think eye contact has really gotten forgotten about in today's society. But eyes are really quite beautiful. Also, eye contact shows that you're listening and actually care about the person. So, as scary as it is to actually connect with the people around you, really try and make eye contact. For some reason, I've just been really noticing everyone's eye color lately and it's really interesting.
Seriously. Eyes. Eye contact. Appreciate them.
2) Silence
In a society that's dominated by distraction, silence has gotten pushed aside. Instead it's"thoughtful music" or whatever. Now, music is great and stuff but silence is beautiful. There's literally nothing disturbing you. One of my favorite things about winter is when I'm outside getting the mail or something and I can't hear anything but the sound of my feet and my breath. Lately I've been listening to music almost all the time and I've realized that there's a vast amount of thinking that can be done in the silence.
3) Stars
Stars are things we see all the time. Every night. So I think we don't take time to realize their brilliance. Once I sit and really look at the stars (No matter how little I can see from wherever I am) I really start to think about how amazing God is and how unbelievable it is that he cares about us even though we're this little speck in the universe.
4) Cloudy Days
I, personally, quite like cloudy days. I don't understand why people don't like them. So, if you don't, please tell me why. I love them. Especially when I'm inside and I can just look outside at the clouds... Yeah... That makes me happy.
5) Empty Notebook Paper
There's just so much potential in blank notebook paper.
Yeah that's all I could think of right now. If you have any others I'd love to hear them!
I hope you have a great day!
Much love,
Amanda <3
PS I changed my blog again. What do you think? Baby Mike is so adorable. :)
PS I changed my blog again. What do you think? Baby Mike is so adorable. :)
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Stream of Consciousness 8
So, I haven't blogged in a while so I thought "What the heck? I'll write one now!" So here I am.
Two major things have been on my mind recently. 1) School. 2) Not just hearing God's voice, but actually heeding what he's saying. I don't really feel like talking specifically about either of these things right now... So I'm not sure what else to talk about. But I figure if I just start writing something some idea will come to me and I can just ramble on that for a while....
I've recently been getting into the folk genre of music... It's actually pretty nice. Although the songs can be pretty sad every now and then it's actually not that bad. My brother bought the Inside Llewyn Davis soundtrack and it's amazing. I'd highly recommend it.
Speaking of things I'd recommend, I've been thinking about The Fault in Our Stars a lot recently. And I think I've come around to actually liking it and recommending it to people. Why? I don't know. But it really made me think and there is not too much YA books out there that make you think about things like love, and death, and happiness. Or they do, but the don't leave it up to the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. They tell the reader their opinion and then leave it at that. The Fault in Our Stars really forces you to think about things. John Greens theology is far from the hope that Jesus gives us. Which made me really sad and caused the book to have a hopeless tone to it.
So, if you haven't read it yet, read it. But know that life doesn't have to be like that.
Also, if you haven't yet seen Captain America 2, you should most definitely watch it. (Only, of course, if you have seen the first one and the other Marvel movies.) The Winter Soldier is intense and the first fights between him and Captain are epic. Also there was some really good twists in it. The themes were good too.
Just... Just see it, okay?
Let's see... What else has been happening to me recently?
Oh, I just got an email from the summer camp I'm working at this Summer and it included all this paper work and whatnot. One of the things was this thing stating that I agree with the camp's "zero tolerance" policy for sexual abuse of children. And it made me sad that that wasn't assumed of me, you know? Like I have to sign something ensuring that I won't sexual harass children and I'll report it if I see it happen.
I dunno.... I just think it's sad that sexual abuse has become so common that I have to read and sign all these things....
I'm actually really excited to go to this camp because ever since 3rd grade I've wanted to be a SaLT (It's like a counselor in training) and now I finally can!
Man I wish people would quit quoting CS Lewis all the time. I mean, yeah the guy said some good things but honestly, give it a rest. It's like everything he says is true or something. Like, people read The Screwtape Letters and cite it as truth. What if he's wrong? I read something that practically used a quote of his to support the reliability of the Gospels. What?
CS LEWIS IS NOT GOD AND HIS BOOKS ARE NOT THE BIBLE. CREATE AN ARGUMENT FOR YOUR OPINIONS AND BACK IT UP USING ACTUAL STUFF NOT JUST SOME STORY CS LEWIS DECIDED TO USE, OKAY?
I just found a dubstep version of "Pippin's Song" from The Lord of the Rings. Don't listen to it. It kind of sucks a lot....
So... Profanity. What makes it profane? How long until a profane word becomes commonplace and a different work takes its place? I don't know...
I'm rewriting my NaNoWriMo novel. (Did I tell you that already?) Whatever. It's really hard because I 'm trying to make things make sense this time. But the characters don't really make that much sense to me right now so...
Here's a picture of a pug:
Two major things have been on my mind recently. 1) School. 2) Not just hearing God's voice, but actually heeding what he's saying. I don't really feel like talking specifically about either of these things right now... So I'm not sure what else to talk about. But I figure if I just start writing something some idea will come to me and I can just ramble on that for a while....
I've recently been getting into the folk genre of music... It's actually pretty nice. Although the songs can be pretty sad every now and then it's actually not that bad. My brother bought the Inside Llewyn Davis soundtrack and it's amazing. I'd highly recommend it.
Speaking of things I'd recommend, I've been thinking about The Fault in Our Stars a lot recently. And I think I've come around to actually liking it and recommending it to people. Why? I don't know. But it really made me think and there is not too much YA books out there that make you think about things like love, and death, and happiness. Or they do, but the don't leave it up to the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. They tell the reader their opinion and then leave it at that. The Fault in Our Stars really forces you to think about things. John Greens theology is far from the hope that Jesus gives us. Which made me really sad and caused the book to have a hopeless tone to it.
So, if you haven't read it yet, read it. But know that life doesn't have to be like that.
Also, if you haven't yet seen Captain America 2, you should most definitely watch it. (Only, of course, if you have seen the first one and the other Marvel movies.) The Winter Soldier is intense and the first fights between him and Captain are epic. Also there was some really good twists in it. The themes were good too.
Just... Just see it, okay?
Let's see... What else has been happening to me recently?
Oh, I just got an email from the summer camp I'm working at this Summer and it included all this paper work and whatnot. One of the things was this thing stating that I agree with the camp's "zero tolerance" policy for sexual abuse of children. And it made me sad that that wasn't assumed of me, you know? Like I have to sign something ensuring that I won't sexual harass children and I'll report it if I see it happen.
I dunno.... I just think it's sad that sexual abuse has become so common that I have to read and sign all these things....
I'm actually really excited to go to this camp because ever since 3rd grade I've wanted to be a SaLT (It's like a counselor in training) and now I finally can!
Man I wish people would quit quoting CS Lewis all the time. I mean, yeah the guy said some good things but honestly, give it a rest. It's like everything he says is true or something. Like, people read The Screwtape Letters and cite it as truth. What if he's wrong? I read something that practically used a quote of his to support the reliability of the Gospels. What?
CS LEWIS IS NOT GOD AND HIS BOOKS ARE NOT THE BIBLE. CREATE AN ARGUMENT FOR YOUR OPINIONS AND BACK IT UP USING ACTUAL STUFF NOT JUST SOME STORY CS LEWIS DECIDED TO USE, OKAY?
I just found a dubstep version of "Pippin's Song" from The Lord of the Rings. Don't listen to it. It kind of sucks a lot....
So... Profanity. What makes it profane? How long until a profane word becomes commonplace and a different work takes its place? I don't know...
I'm rewriting my NaNoWriMo novel. (Did I tell you that already?) Whatever. It's really hard because I 'm trying to make things make sense this time. But the characters don't really make that much sense to me right now so...
Here's a picture of a pug:
Have a great day, whoever is reading this!
Much love,
Amanda. <3
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Distractions
So last night I decided I should probably catch up on my Bible reading. (I was like four chapters behind.) So I read Hebrews 12 and 13. It took me a while to get my mind centered on God because I had just finished a really sad book and then also I was thinking about a whole bunch of other stuff. And the first two verses of Hebrews 12 says,
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we much get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping out eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God." (That's NET.)
These verses kind of slapped me in the face, telling me to pay attention. Specifically to my quiet time that night. But it can also be applied to everything.
One of the first things I was told when I started running was to look straight ahead of me. Not at my feet or the ground in front of my feet, but straight ahead of me. Not surprisingly, it helped. And it works here. When I'm just looking at whatever is straight in front of me, I can run. But once I get distracted by stuff, it gets hard. My form gets sloppy tiring my body out. And then I'm screwed, basically.
In the same way, if I really want to serve God wholly and get as close to perfect as I can, I need to look right ahead of me, to God. Not thinking about anything else. Throughout everything, not just when I'm supposed to be in church or something. 100% of the time I should be focused on what God wants me to do.
Which is quite difficult, I might add. Especially since there are things that aren't exactly sinful, but they're distracting me from what's really important.
In life, don't let yourself get distracted or weighed down by stupid things. Just focus on Jesus and run towards him.
Okay... I guess that's kind of a short post. But I was just thinking about this last night and then also decided I hadn't blogged in a while so...
I have some other stuff to say, but I wanted this to have it's own post.
Much love,
Amanda <3
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Stream of Consciousness 7
Yeah so... I'm slightly bored and have an unquenchable desire to write something. And I thought "Hey! I have a perfectly decent blog for this very reason!" So here I am.
My mom got a new keyboard and it's really frustrating because I have to press down harder than I'm used to. So this post will probably take twice as long because I'll have to keep backspacing to re-type words and whatnot.
I added an About Me page. It's over there somewhere... ----> In case you're curious.
I recently started reading Divergent. Mostly because the movie is coming out and it looked interesting. Even though I have been told multiple times by multiple people that it sucks, I'm reading it. I'm about halfway through since I stayed up until 2 AM (technically 3 AM since it's daylight savings time) reading it. So far I really like it. But, you know, that's subject to change. I think it presents some really interesting concepts. What is bravery? What is selflessness? What is knowledge? In this book the characters must choose only one. Do they want to learn to be brave? honest? peaceful? wise? humble? But then there's this one girl, Tris, who is called "Divergent" because she could belong equally with three of the different groups.
I'm worried that the romance will ruin it, though. And it looks like that's where it's heading. The last few popular teen books I read ended up really sucking. So I'm hoping this one is semi-okay. I might even see the movie.
I'm thinking about joining this writing group at my library. But I hate sharing my writing with people. And this will be people I don't even know. Do you know how terrifying that is? But at the same time, it will help me improve as a writer... So I don't know.
You know what is really hard? Respecting someone even though they've done nothing to earn your respect. You just have to give it to them because they're in a position of authority. Or when someone with less knowledge than you in a certain subjects tell you you're doing it wrong and you have to do what they say because they're in charge of you.
It's honestly one of the hardest things that I struggle with. And then I get reminded that I'm actually not that great, and I should have grace on those people who are just doing the best they can. I need to grit my teeth and bare it and respect authority.
I'm surprised people actually read this. I rarely read blogs.... Thanks for reading!
The other day I tweeted "It's a shame when perfectly decent notebook paper is wasted on something as mundane as History notes." And my History teacher found the tweet. I'm fairly certain he took in personally. Like I was saying his class was a waste of time. But I said "mundane" meaning "dull, not interesting." Not useless. If I wanted to say useless I would have just said useless...
That was one of my more awkward experiences at school.....
A few friends of mine are getting married! I remember when I was young and it was my parent's friends getting married and now it's all of my friends.... And that is strange...
My brother and I went to a Propaganda concert the other night. He's excellent. You should check him out. Right now. One of his songs is on my Songs To Hear page. It's the first one.
I'll wait........
He's pretty awesome, right? If you want to download both of his albums for free, go to humblebeast.com and you shall not regret it.
One of my favorite things was waiting outside with a group of people who were just there to have a good time. Also, while we were waiting to see if there were still tickets left, Propaganda came out and did a song on the concrete for us because there was a chance we wouldn't get it. I think that's cool when an artist isn't so famous or so stuck up that he won't come out and meet the fans or whatever. I just think it's cool.
Well, I suppose I've bored you enough now. However, I could keep rambling for ever and a day. But no one wants to read that.
Much Love,
Amanda <3
My mom got a new keyboard and it's really frustrating because I have to press down harder than I'm used to. So this post will probably take twice as long because I'll have to keep backspacing to re-type words and whatnot.
I added an About Me page. It's over there somewhere... ----> In case you're curious.
 |
| Here's a picture in case you needed to know... |
I recently started reading Divergent. Mostly because the movie is coming out and it looked interesting. Even though I have been told multiple times by multiple people that it sucks, I'm reading it. I'm about halfway through since I stayed up until 2 AM (technically 3 AM since it's daylight savings time) reading it. So far I really like it. But, you know, that's subject to change. I think it presents some really interesting concepts. What is bravery? What is selflessness? What is knowledge? In this book the characters must choose only one. Do they want to learn to be brave? honest? peaceful? wise? humble? But then there's this one girl, Tris, who is called "Divergent" because she could belong equally with three of the different groups.
I'm worried that the romance will ruin it, though. And it looks like that's where it's heading. The last few popular teen books I read ended up really sucking. So I'm hoping this one is semi-okay. I might even see the movie.
I'm thinking about joining this writing group at my library. But I hate sharing my writing with people. And this will be people I don't even know. Do you know how terrifying that is? But at the same time, it will help me improve as a writer... So I don't know.
You know what is really hard? Respecting someone even though they've done nothing to earn your respect. You just have to give it to them because they're in a position of authority. Or when someone with less knowledge than you in a certain subjects tell you you're doing it wrong and you have to do what they say because they're in charge of you.
It's honestly one of the hardest things that I struggle with. And then I get reminded that I'm actually not that great, and I should have grace on those people who are just doing the best they can. I need to grit my teeth and bare it and respect authority.
I'm surprised people actually read this. I rarely read blogs.... Thanks for reading!
The other day I tweeted "It's a shame when perfectly decent notebook paper is wasted on something as mundane as History notes." And my History teacher found the tweet. I'm fairly certain he took in personally. Like I was saying his class was a waste of time. But I said "mundane" meaning "dull, not interesting." Not useless. If I wanted to say useless I would have just said useless...
That was one of my more awkward experiences at school.....
A few friends of mine are getting married! I remember when I was young and it was my parent's friends getting married and now it's all of my friends.... And that is strange...
My brother and I went to a Propaganda concert the other night. He's excellent. You should check him out. Right now. One of his songs is on my Songs To Hear page. It's the first one.
I'll wait........
He's pretty awesome, right? If you want to download both of his albums for free, go to humblebeast.com and you shall not regret it.
One of my favorite things was waiting outside with a group of people who were just there to have a good time. Also, while we were waiting to see if there were still tickets left, Propaganda came out and did a song on the concrete for us because there was a chance we wouldn't get it. I think that's cool when an artist isn't so famous or so stuck up that he won't come out and meet the fans or whatever. I just think it's cool.
Well, I suppose I've bored you enough now. However, I could keep rambling for ever and a day. But no one wants to read that.
Much Love,
Amanda <3
Monday, February 24, 2014
The Things That Make Me Smile
I know a whole lot of people who are suffering right now. And there's a whole lotta stuff wrong in the world. So these are some things that make me smile all the time without fail.
I hope I can help you smile a little bit too.
1) Pugs.
LOOK AT THE LITTLE GUYS:
2) Seeing someone's entire self light up when talking about something they are passionate about.
3)Seeing a dad spend time with his kids.
The other day there was a dad with his two little girls at ballet practice. Probably one of the most adorable things I have ever seen in my life.
4) The smell of the mountains. Especially after it rains
5) The sound of fall leaves blowing across the ground.
6) The sound of a campfire.
7) The satisfying scratch of a pencil on paper.
8) Weddings
9) This:
10) Carl and Ellie in "Up:
11) Baby Mike from "Monster's University"
So adorable. :3
12) Calvin and Hobbes:
Well, that's all I could think of right now.... I have school to do anyway. What are the things that make you smile even if your day sucks?
Much love,
Amanda
<3
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Every Idle Word
Matthew 12:36-37 "But I tell you the truth, every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it on the day of judgement. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
That's one of those verse you read and then pretend like you didn't read it so you don't have to actually do what it says, right?
Recently a friend of mine shared that he'd been convicted of the things he says to other people and the whole time he was saying this (this was a few weeks ago) all I was thinking was Good for him. As if I don't have to be more careful about the things I say. Really I should have been feeling just as guilty as he was. But I wasn't.
Until yesterday.
Long story short, I said some mean things to a few people. The worst part is that I didn't even really realize they were that hurtful until I saw their reactions. The defeat in their eyes and the disbelief that I actually said what I said.
I apologized when I had time to actually make a meaningful apology. They said they forgave me and all the other stuff that goes along with an apology. I know that God forgave me after I confessed to it to him. But I can't help but think that even though I've been forgiven, my words won't still have a negative impact. And I hate thinking that I have now become a person who could haunt the minds of another person just because of something I said.
I think we can all say we've been hurt by sarcasm and jokes made at our expense. No one likes it when it happens to them but there's no hesitation to do it to others. I'm pretty sure that I'd start crying if someone told me what I told them yesterday.
~~~~
So here's my point: If I ever say something to you that hurts you in any way, don't hesitate to let me know. If you hear me saying something hurtful to someone else or about someone else, don't hesitate to let me know.
I think everyone would benefit from just shutting up most of the time.
Words are all we have, so make them meaningful and useful for someone other than yourself.
Words are all we have, so make them meaningful and useful for someone other than yourself.
There are a million songs I could tell you to listen to that are about being careful of what you say. But I really can't think of any that I like enough to recommend. But if you find any interesting ones, let me know?
Much love,
Amanda <3
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Stream of Consciousness 6
So basically I'm just procrastinating.
Also I'm waiting for my history teacher to email us the quiz we are supposed to take. He was supposed to send it yesterday morning or Tuesday evening. That way we had two days to take it and send it back to him before Friday. But no- he still has not sent it out and I still cannot take it.
And as long as I'm talking about school: Throughout all of high school I've been able to push the thoughts of "This is useless" and "You don't even need to know this" out of my head and suppress them to the back of my mind. But a few weeks ago, sitting in Algebra 2 listening to my teacher explain the different ways to solve polynomial expressions, everything crashed down on me. It's like I couldn't get over the thought that I was wasting all of my time.
And now I haven't been able to bounce back to my old mindset that perhaps it will help me some day.
Help me......
So Valentine's day is tomorrow.... I remember in Elementary school when everyone was required to bring little store-bought cards and then you go around to everyone's desk and place it in their little bag. And if you really liked a boy you'd give them an extra piece of chocolate or write a heart next to your name or something. Those were the days.....
Then in middle school I decided I was over passing out valentines. But the rest of my class wasn't so everyone gave out valentines except me and that was awkward.
And now in high school where Valentine's day isn't Rock Solid Approved but some people pass them out anyway and they're the creepy ones you print off from the internet that you probably can't show anyone.
Valentine's day is strange. Maybe once I actually start dating I'll understand it? I don't even know.
Well I really have nothing else to say. But once I stop blogging I'll have to do Chemistry. And Chemistry is one of the most pointless and also difficult things I have ever done. So I think I'll continue to blog....
What do you do when you know for a fact that someone is lying. They don't know you know but you know that their whole image is based off lies. What do you do? When they just start lying and looking everyone in the eye lying.
Do you call them out?
Do you confront them privately?
Do you do nothing?
I never know what to do in this situation. And it's a situation I find myself in quite often.....
My brother's graduating this semester. D: HE CAN'T GROW UP. HE CAN NEVER GROW UP. HE HAS TO STAY SEVENTEEN FOREVER.
Those people who disagree with everyone just for the heck of it. STOP IT.
Oo. I just ordered new glasses. I can't wait until they show up.
Well, I guess that's all....
Much love,
Amanda <3
Also I'm waiting for my history teacher to email us the quiz we are supposed to take. He was supposed to send it yesterday morning or Tuesday evening. That way we had two days to take it and send it back to him before Friday. But no- he still has not sent it out and I still cannot take it.
And as long as I'm talking about school: Throughout all of high school I've been able to push the thoughts of "This is useless" and "You don't even need to know this" out of my head and suppress them to the back of my mind. But a few weeks ago, sitting in Algebra 2 listening to my teacher explain the different ways to solve polynomial expressions, everything crashed down on me. It's like I couldn't get over the thought that I was wasting all of my time.
And now I haven't been able to bounce back to my old mindset that perhaps it will help me some day.
Help me......
So Valentine's day is tomorrow.... I remember in Elementary school when everyone was required to bring little store-bought cards and then you go around to everyone's desk and place it in their little bag. And if you really liked a boy you'd give them an extra piece of chocolate or write a heart next to your name or something. Those were the days.....
Then in middle school I decided I was over passing out valentines. But the rest of my class wasn't so everyone gave out valentines except me and that was awkward.
And now in high school where Valentine's day isn't Rock Solid Approved but some people pass them out anyway and they're the creepy ones you print off from the internet that you probably can't show anyone.
Valentine's day is strange. Maybe once I actually start dating I'll understand it? I don't even know.
Well I really have nothing else to say. But once I stop blogging I'll have to do Chemistry. And Chemistry is one of the most pointless and also difficult things I have ever done. So I think I'll continue to blog....
What do you do when you know for a fact that someone is lying. They don't know you know but you know that their whole image is based off lies. What do you do? When they just start lying and looking everyone in the eye lying.
Do you call them out?
Do you confront them privately?
Do you do nothing?
I never know what to do in this situation. And it's a situation I find myself in quite often.....
My brother's graduating this semester. D: HE CAN'T GROW UP. HE CAN NEVER GROW UP. HE HAS TO STAY SEVENTEEN FOREVER.
Those people who disagree with everyone just for the heck of it. STOP IT.
Oo. I just ordered new glasses. I can't wait until they show up.
Well, I guess that's all....
Much love,
Amanda <3
Monday, February 3, 2014
Stream of Consciousness 5 (I think)
Not sure which number this one is....
Really I just use these to express my thoughts that I don't want to write a whole blog about, yet need to be said.
First of all,
Girls struggle with lust too. Nobody ever tells girls how to fight the temptation to lust, they only tell us how to keep the boys from lusting.
"But, Amanda. Guys are more visually stimulated."
So? I don't understand how that matters.
I mean, sure. Guys are bombarded with those types of images every time they turn on the computer, tv, or just go outside. I get it. I don't think that guys should be taught in any way different than I've heard them being taught.
The problem is, girls don't only lust when they see a guy in a swimsuit. So, yes, a muscular, shirtless dude might cause a girl to lust. But we can be just as attracted to a fully clothed fellow. Ever heard the saying "A well tailored suit is to women as lingerie is to men"? Yeah well... Not far from the truth.
It makes me mad that whenever the topic of lust comes up because no one ever says "Oh yeah. We all struggle with that." It's "Oh yeah. There's not a guy in here that can't say he hasn't lusted." As if no girl has ever lusted ever.
When the girls get the modesty talk at church, the guys get the how not to lust talk and that's not the way it should be.
The temptation is real for everyone and everyone should be taught how to deal with it.
Okay, now that I got that out of the system:
If one more person talks to me about pre-destination, Open Theism, or whether God "knows" the future I'm going to lose it. At school, at church, in my family, then at school again.
We are never going to know. So, in my opinion, we should definitely stop all the pointless debates when no one's going to change their minds and move on to different issues.
On a lighter note, SHERLOCK IS AMAZING. If you don't like it, I severely question your judgement and will probably never trust a recommendation from you ever again.
So.... the Broncos lost the Superbowl. Poop.
I'm really not looking forward to seeing my Seahawk fan friends this week.
It is significantly harder to talk out loud than it is to write something. And I don't understand why.
#thisiswhyIwrite
(Hashtags are fun. hehehehe.)
Okay- so JK Rowling just said that Ron and Hermione shouldn't have ended up together and that makes me so mad. Because.... Harry and Ginny needed to happen. So Hermione couldn't have ended with Harry because he belongs with Ginny. THEY BELONG TOGETHER. IT'S TRUE LOVE.
So, is it strange to talk about fictional characters like they're real? Because I definitely do that and I think most of my friends and family think I'm strange. I can't be the only one.
I'm emotionally invested in the characters of whatever I'm in to. When John was talking to Sherlock at Sherlock's grave..... Or basically anything that has to do with Snape ever.... Really just any book that's well-written. The characters mean something to me. So naturally when something bad happens to them, I'm going to be sad for them. The best writers (script or book) will spark this emotion in the consumer. And, the stories of books and TV are more interesting than my own life. (The fictional story having, of course, a plot, climax, antagonist etc.) This is why I read. This is why anyone watches TV or movies. It's all part of entertainment.
*sigh*
So my family's adopting a dog! I'm really excited. I'm crossing my fingers for a Saint Bernard......
"Frozen" was good.... Excellent, actually. But not as spectacular as everyone is saying it is.... I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
To finish this lovely, rant-filled blog post, I shall add a comic that I thought was hilarious:
Really I just use these to express my thoughts that I don't want to write a whole blog about, yet need to be said.
First of all,
Girls struggle with lust too. Nobody ever tells girls how to fight the temptation to lust, they only tell us how to keep the boys from lusting.
"But, Amanda. Guys are more visually stimulated."
So? I don't understand how that matters.
I mean, sure. Guys are bombarded with those types of images every time they turn on the computer, tv, or just go outside. I get it. I don't think that guys should be taught in any way different than I've heard them being taught.
The problem is, girls don't only lust when they see a guy in a swimsuit. So, yes, a muscular, shirtless dude might cause a girl to lust. But we can be just as attracted to a fully clothed fellow. Ever heard the saying "A well tailored suit is to women as lingerie is to men"? Yeah well... Not far from the truth.
It makes me mad that whenever the topic of lust comes up because no one ever says "Oh yeah. We all struggle with that." It's "Oh yeah. There's not a guy in here that can't say he hasn't lusted." As if no girl has ever lusted ever.
When the girls get the modesty talk at church, the guys get the how not to lust talk and that's not the way it should be.
The temptation is real for everyone and everyone should be taught how to deal with it.
Okay, now that I got that out of the system:
If one more person talks to me about pre-destination, Open Theism, or whether God "knows" the future I'm going to lose it. At school, at church, in my family, then at school again.
We are never going to know. So, in my opinion, we should definitely stop all the pointless debates when no one's going to change their minds and move on to different issues.
On a lighter note, SHERLOCK IS AMAZING. If you don't like it, I severely question your judgement and will probably never trust a recommendation from you ever again.
So.... the Broncos lost the Superbowl. Poop.
I'm really not looking forward to seeing my Seahawk fan friends this week.
It is significantly harder to talk out loud than it is to write something. And I don't understand why.
#thisiswhyIwrite
(Hashtags are fun. hehehehe.)
Okay- so JK Rowling just said that Ron and Hermione shouldn't have ended up together and that makes me so mad. Because.... Harry and Ginny needed to happen. So Hermione couldn't have ended with Harry because he belongs with Ginny. THEY BELONG TOGETHER. IT'S TRUE LOVE.
So, is it strange to talk about fictional characters like they're real? Because I definitely do that and I think most of my friends and family think I'm strange. I can't be the only one.
I'm emotionally invested in the characters of whatever I'm in to. When John was talking to Sherlock at Sherlock's grave..... Or basically anything that has to do with Snape ever.... Really just any book that's well-written. The characters mean something to me. So naturally when something bad happens to them, I'm going to be sad for them. The best writers (script or book) will spark this emotion in the consumer. And, the stories of books and TV are more interesting than my own life. (The fictional story having, of course, a plot, climax, antagonist etc.) This is why I read. This is why anyone watches TV or movies. It's all part of entertainment.
*sigh*
So my family's adopting a dog! I'm really excited. I'm crossing my fingers for a Saint Bernard......
"Frozen" was good.... Excellent, actually. But not as spectacular as everyone is saying it is.... I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
To finish this lovely, rant-filled blog post, I shall add a comic that I thought was hilarious:
Much love,
Amanda. <3
Monday, January 27, 2014
Love Does- Winter Retreat 2014
 |
| This was the theme for the weekend. Also, the anatomically correct heart is legit. |
Usually I come away from these retreats with one single thing that I remember for a few months and then mostly stop thinking about for the rest of the year until the next one comes.
I'm fairly certain that that won't happen with this winter retreat for a few reasons. 1) It was the first retreat with our new youth pastor. 2) It was the most I've ever seen God move in the group before. 3) I've never felt so much joy and contentment than at that retreat. And 4) There were quite a few things that the speaker said that caused me to think.
These things are the things that I want to use this post to work through all that I saw God doing.
Our youth group had been without a youth pastor for, I think, 15 months. In November(?) the church hired Josh. So I think both the students and him were worried that this retreat was going to be kind of awkward at some points. Well, it was quite the opposite. I got to know him better and it was really cool to see him council and encourage the guys in the youth group. If any of us were waiting for confirmation that the elders made the correct decision in hiring this guy, this retreat was it. Josh is fantastic. And it was really cute whenever his wife would text him a picture of his new baby son because his eyes would light up and he'd show everyone. It was adorable.
I've been to four retreats before this one. Each time there had been a whole ton of crying Saturday night and everyone, including me, was convicted about some sort of sin or crying about some difficulty in their life they were having a hard time dealing with. All this was kept until Saturday night and then we'd cry and pray and then it was all good.
This one was different.
Our first session, which was Friday night, was about God's abundant love for us. It was basically the Gospel presentation. It was a session which I, personally, really appreciated since I find that I can take God's love for granted and forget about it most of the time. The major thing was "Before you find out was love DOES, you need to remember was love DID."
When we got to our private youth group discussion a few of my friends were crying. They said that they couldn't figure out how God could love them if they couldn't even love themselves. They didn't understand why they didn't feel anything when everyone else did. One of my friends said that they struggle with depression and often thought that no one would care if they were dead. This broke my heart and I just about cried for them because I remembered back in middle school when I hated myself. So Friday night we prayed that God would show them his love, that they would see it plainly and hold onto it throughout the hard times of life.
Saturday morning was probably my favorite session. The speaker taught about the scripture in Matthew that says "The kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure found in the middle of a field. When a man finds it, he buries it again and goes and sells all he owns to buy the field" or something like that.
The main point I got out of it was that the joy and fulfillment that comes with faith in Christ is so much more valuable than anything else.
The speaker used a story to illustrate this principle further. He told a story of a guy who, no surprise, finds treasure in the middle of the field. So then he goes to the guy who owns the field and asks to buy the portion of the land. Long story short, the owner of the field takes everything from him. His car, all of his money, his college account, his Xbox, his iPad, EVERYTHING. And the guy who wanted to buy the field keeps reminding himself of the value of the treasure every time he wants to walk away from the deal. After the guy takes everything from him, he gives it back to the buyer and tells him, "I'm giving it back to you, but it belongs to me. So whenever someone asks you for you time, give it to them. Because it's not your time, it's mine now. If someone asks for some money, give it to them. It's not your money anymore, it's mine."
That really impacted me because... I have nothing that God didn't give me so why am I selfish with it?
Also, why am I satisfied with the things I have on Earth when God's abundance is so much greater. He quoted Jim Elliot saying "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
Why am I so easily satisfied with stupid things??
Saturday night session came, and this is usually the cry-fest, emotional one. They did something different this year. So rather it being a lesson/sermon thing it was a "Worship Experience". Basically it was a personal prayer session with different things to do and reflect over. I like it so much more than a single lesson because each person was able to think about separate, personal things rather than what the teacher was saying.
I wasn't feeling very convicted of anything for most of it, and I started to wonder if there was something wrong with me or if I wasn't committed enough to hearing God's voice. But after the "Worship Experience" we sang a few praise songs and I saw a glimpse of God's glory and perfection. I've never been so joyful and worshipful except maybe in Costa Rica.
Then the small group discussion was even better because it wasn't just conviction and sorrow. Yes, there was a good amount of that, but it wasn't the only thing that happened that night.
Remember those students I talked about earlier? Well, they said that the moment they woke up Saturday morning they knew and felt that God loved them. How cool is that? That pretty much instantly God answered our prayers and showed them his love.
It was a great reminder of the different ways that God can work. He brought different sins to people's attention, he was able to encourage those who were going through a hard time, and he visible and quickly answered all of our prayers in just those few days.
Just thinking about it now makes me happy and I'm smiling just typing this.
Sunday morning, which is usually the session that I end up forgetting, will probably be the lesson that I remember the most.
Growing up in the church I've heard the story of the Good Samaritan so many times and I basically tune out anything that's said about it anymore because it's always the same thing. That's what I started doing during this session because he started talking about loving your neighbor and blah blah blah. But then he said something that totally changed the way I view the story.
If you don't know the story of the Good Samaritan, here's a link to the passage on BibleGateway.com
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010:25-37&version=NIV
It's really short and sweet, won't take you long.
The teacher said that the Levite and the Priest passed by the poor fellow because of religious obligation. They thought they were loving God by not helping the guy. Because if he had been dead, they would have been "unclean" and therefore unable to serve at the temple and therefore unable to provide for their families. The guy's message was basically to not let your religion get in the way of showing mercy.
Don't let your religion get in the way of showing mercy. As in, don't avoid and condemn certain situations that would provide you with an opportunity to share Jesus just because of your religious obligations. He said this with a warning of making sure that everything you do is because you love God wholeheartedly and want to be a light for him.
That just blew my mind and provided me with a new outlook on this story.
Just writing this blog post I'm noticing that God started with telling me that he is enough and that the hope in heaven should be enough to satisfy me Saturday morning and then Saturday night showed me just a glimpse of what Heaven will be like.
This retreat was amazing. I got closer to everyone and learned a whole lot of stuff about God's love. I pray that God will continue to show the youth group his glory and encourage us. I pray we will remember everything that God showed us this weekend when our lives get hard and we can't hear God's voice through all the confusion.
Much love,
Amanda <3
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Stream of Consciousness 4
Goodness I'm tired, but I am thinking of a lot of stuff. So here it goes...
First off, at youth group today, my youth pastor was talking about this passage in 1 Corinthians 1 that says "God will frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent." And in the group, everyone was talking about it as if God was frustrating the intelliGENT. Like he was just making them angry and aggravated for the heck of it. But the verse says that he frustrates the intelliGENCE. Well, I tried to say something but my brain to mouth coordination wasn't working too properly. So it I'm not sure what was communicated. But intelliGENCE is not capable of feeling emotion. So, therefore, the only proper and logical definition of the word "frustrate" would be "To prevent (a plan or attempted action) from progressing, succeeding, or being fulfilled." (I got that from Google.) God will confuse or mess up the intelliGENCE of the intelliGENT. Which, yes, may cause the intelliGENT to get frustrated. But he is not frustrating the intelligent, he's frustrating the intelligence.
I'm not sure why it bugged me so much. But it did and now I blogged about it.
So there.
The other night I went to this Civil War Ball with my friends and with my dad. It was really fun! I couldn't imagine living in those dresses, though. And corsets? My goodness. Some of those dances were pretty complicated. But I really enjoyed how everyone just talking to each other and was nice to each other. Not sure about public schoolers, but it seems as if whenever there's a group of homeschoolers who don't know each other, everyone talks to each other anyway. And people say we're unsocial.
At church today I thought up a brilliant line for my book during the lesson but I didn't want to write it down in the middle of it because then it would look like I was taking notes. I didn't want people thinking that because I wasn't taking notes at all... hehe. Thankfully I remembered it, though.
After church I went out to lunch with a friend that I haven't seen in a while. It was really awesome! I really like those friends that you can just talk to, even if you haven't seen them in months.
I was driving home tonight. It was dark outside (duh) and I had my glasses on and the road was super curvy. I was so stressed, oh my goodness. Because my glasses glared the lights so when I was turning I could see that cars were coming, but I couldn't see the lane I was supposed to turn in to. I eventually just let my dad drive.
I START SCHOOL ON TUESDAY. I can't decided if I'm excited or if I'm dreading the upcoming assignments and frustrations that come with school. Thankfully, neither I nor my brother have a first period class. (Even though EVERYONE'S telling me to take Apologetics (the first period class.).)
How do you do parentheses inside of another pair of parentheses? That really threw me off for a second...
SHERLOCK ENDED IN ENGLAND TODAY BUT IT'S NOT ON THE INTERNET YET AND I'M ABOUT TO DIE.
Kay, bye.
-Amanda <3
First off, at youth group today, my youth pastor was talking about this passage in 1 Corinthians 1 that says "God will frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent." And in the group, everyone was talking about it as if God was frustrating the intelliGENT. Like he was just making them angry and aggravated for the heck of it. But the verse says that he frustrates the intelliGENCE. Well, I tried to say something but my brain to mouth coordination wasn't working too properly. So it I'm not sure what was communicated. But intelliGENCE is not capable of feeling emotion. So, therefore, the only proper and logical definition of the word "frustrate" would be "To prevent (a plan or attempted action) from progressing, succeeding, or being fulfilled." (I got that from Google.) God will confuse or mess up the intelliGENCE of the intelliGENT. Which, yes, may cause the intelliGENT to get frustrated. But he is not frustrating the intelligent, he's frustrating the intelligence.
I'm not sure why it bugged me so much. But it did and now I blogged about it.
So there.
The other night I went to this Civil War Ball with my friends and with my dad. It was really fun! I couldn't imagine living in those dresses, though. And corsets? My goodness. Some of those dances were pretty complicated. But I really enjoyed how everyone just talking to each other and was nice to each other. Not sure about public schoolers, but it seems as if whenever there's a group of homeschoolers who don't know each other, everyone talks to each other anyway. And people say we're unsocial.
At church today I thought up a brilliant line for my book during the lesson but I didn't want to write it down in the middle of it because then it would look like I was taking notes. I didn't want people thinking that because I wasn't taking notes at all... hehe. Thankfully I remembered it, though.
After church I went out to lunch with a friend that I haven't seen in a while. It was really awesome! I really like those friends that you can just talk to, even if you haven't seen them in months.
I was driving home tonight. It was dark outside (duh) and I had my glasses on and the road was super curvy. I was so stressed, oh my goodness. Because my glasses glared the lights so when I was turning I could see that cars were coming, but I couldn't see the lane I was supposed to turn in to. I eventually just let my dad drive.
I START SCHOOL ON TUESDAY. I can't decided if I'm excited or if I'm dreading the upcoming assignments and frustrations that come with school. Thankfully, neither I nor my brother have a first period class. (Even though EVERYONE'S telling me to take Apologetics (the first period class.).)
How do you do parentheses inside of another pair of parentheses? That really threw me off for a second...
SHERLOCK ENDED IN ENGLAND TODAY BUT IT'S NOT ON THE INTERNET YET AND I'M ABOUT TO DIE.
Kay, bye.
-Amanda <3
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Feminist Frustrations
Honestly, I feel bad for guys these days. It's like nothing they do is ever right, you know? I see it all the time. They try to be nice and gentlemanly and, say, hold a door open for a girl. But the girl just gets offended because it's like the guy is treating her inferior or something.
Sure, the girl could have opened the door for herself. But the guy was being nice! He's not doubting her ability to open doors, or in anyway saying that the girl is somehow dependent on the guy to open the door. He was being nice.
I blame this phenomenon on feminism.
Feminism is seriously one of the most obnoxious things out there right now. But, since I didn't really know anything about it other than the general idea which may or may not be correct, I did some research and went to good ol' trusty Google.
This is what I found:
However, the concept of feminism as a whole. This "equality" of sexes. This "radical notion that women are people" does not make sense. Especially if one looks at the Bible for the role that each gender should play in society and in the family.
I read this article last night: http://msmagazine.com/blog/2013/05/24/what-do-dress-codes-say-about-girls-bodies/
This article discusses the effect that a dress code apparently has on a girl's thought process. Apparently, telling girls to cover up is misogyny? I don't even know.
I clicked on the article because I have a dress code at my school. Also, my parents are strict, you could say, about the clothes that I wear. Now, I think both the dress code at my school and parents' standards are completely reasonable. I was curious as to what they'd say about it.
There is a point in the article where it says:
Second of all, if your clothes are distracting the boys in your class and causing them to objectify you, I don't see why covering it up would be oppressive. Would it not be helpful to you?
I understand that part of the responsibility lies on the guys to resist looking at you in that way. However, would you like it of someone dangled something you really want, I don't know, a really delicious looking morsel of food, in your face and then hated you for wanting it- even though it looks like you could just go up and eat it. You're going to want the food, it's natural. In the same way, guys naturally look at girls dressed provocatively and objectify them. You can't blame them for looking at you that way if you dress like you want them to.
I am obviously not a guy. But that is basically what I've been told it's like for guys by other guys. So if you want confirmation, as a guy.
Another example of this is bikinis. Now, I know a lot of people who wear a bikini. But I am going to tell you that I don't wear one because they are immodest and they don't help my brothers in Christ keep their mind on Christ.
I don't know why my friends wear bikinis. However, I have heard many arguments claiming that telling girls they can't wear bikinis is somehow oppressive and you're allowing yourself to be degraded if you don't wear one.
I can say confidently that bikinis do more harm than good. I have an older brother and he often tells me how difficult it is to keep his thoughts clear when we go to Elitch's or Water World because of all the girls running around in less-than-underwear. I don't see how wearing bikinis or short shorts or whatever other piece of trashy clothing you decide to wear someone promotes gender equality. Wouldn't you rather guys look at you in a non-lustful way? How does allowing yourself to be objectified keep you from being oppressed?
Going back to the previous quote: I don't understand what's so bad about covering up your body because it's distracting? How would that harm the way that you look at yourself? Would it not help men to respect you more when you look more respectable? I wear modest clothing because I want my guy friends to think of me as a friend. Not like another guy, per-say, but as a girl who is a friend, as a person. And if they do like me, I want them to like me for other reasons other than my body.
If feminism is the movement for the equality of all genders, keeping one gender from objectifying the other one seems like a great place to start.
This goes for guys, too, though. I think the church spends a long time lecturing girls on dressing modestly and lecturing guys on not lusting over the girls.
But girls struggle with lust, too. And if you're going to lecture the girls in not wearing bikinis, you should probably let the guys know that perhaps they should leave their shirt on more often and maybe pull up their swimsuit a little bit.
But back to feminism.
There's this whole thing that I see now looking down on stay-at-home moms and dads that work. As if the mom is only staying at home because her husband is making her, or she doesn't feel "strong" enough to go out and work.
Here's a thought: maybe she just really loves her kids.
Perhaps she's fulfilling the command that women are supposed to stay home and take care if her family while the man works to provide.
There's nothing wrong with a working mom. Especially if they're single. But just because one mom doesn't work doesn't mean that she is allowing the man in her life to keep her down.
Colossians 3:18-19 says
"Treat them with respect as the weaker partner."
Hey, feminists, sorry about this. But women and men are different. Our biology is different. Our thought processes are different. I don't think anyone will argue against me saying that, generally, women are way more emotional than men. I don't think anyone will argue against me saying that, generally, men are stronger than woman.
And especially within a family, the man is supposed to be the leader. I know that once I get married this will be difficult for me, being a natural leader and all that, but it is the way things were meant to be.
I feel bad for the guys in my life because they cannot do anything right anymore. Ask a girl to be modest and he's a perv. Look at a girl when she's immodest and he's also a perv. Try to provide for his family and he's oppressing his wife. Let his wife work and he's lazy.
This is why most aspects of feminism just don't make sense to me. All these issues with women's rights and abortion, with women in combat, with this whole dress-code ordeal.
It's probably just because of my world-view or something like that. But feminism makes absolutely no sense. And it's probably one of the most obnoxious things out there in the political world and it really just needs to stop.
This has been the end of my partially thought-out rant. Thank you for reading.
Much love,
Amanda :)
EDIT: So I just read tonight this lovely article on Comcast. It's about Candace Cameron and being a "submissive" wife: http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/entertainment-eonline/20140107/b496430/
Sure, the girl could have opened the door for herself. But the guy was being nice! He's not doubting her ability to open doors, or in anyway saying that the girl is somehow dependent on the guy to open the door. He was being nice.
I blame this phenomenon on feminism.
Feminism is seriously one of the most obnoxious things out there right now. But, since I didn't really know anything about it other than the general idea which may or may not be correct, I did some research and went to good ol' trusty Google.
This is what I found:
"British suffragist and journalist Rebecca West famously said, "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people." In other words, feminism is a commitment to achieving the equality of the sexes. This radical notion is not exclusive to women: men, while benefiting from being the dominant sex, also have a stake in overcoming the restrictive roles that deprive them of full humanity." http://www.redletterpress.org/feminism101.html
"In the most basic sense, feminism is exactly what the dictionary says it is: the movement for social, political, and economic equality of men and women....Let me first say that I think women should be able to vote and, if they choose to work, get paid the same amount as men. All that stuff is great. *thumbs up*
Breaking down that one very basic definition, feminism has three components. It is a movement, meaning a group working to accomplish specific goals. Those goals are social and political change -implying that one must be engaged with the government and law, as well as social practices and beliefs. And implicit to these goals is access to sufficient information to enable women to make responsible choices."
http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/genwom/whatisfem.htm
However, the concept of feminism as a whole. This "equality" of sexes. This "radical notion that women are people" does not make sense. Especially if one looks at the Bible for the role that each gender should play in society and in the family.
I read this article last night: http://msmagazine.com/blog/2013/05/24/what-do-dress-codes-say-about-girls-bodies/
This article discusses the effect that a dress code apparently has on a girl's thought process. Apparently, telling girls to cover up is misogyny? I don't even know.
I clicked on the article because I have a dress code at my school. Also, my parents are strict, you could say, about the clothes that I wear. Now, I think both the dress code at my school and parents' standards are completely reasonable. I was curious as to what they'd say about it.
There is a point in the article where it says:
When you deem a girl’s dress “inappropriate,” you’re also telling her, “Because your body may distract boys, your body is inappropriate. Cover it up.” You recontextualize her body; she now exists through the male gaze.First of all, if your clothes are so bad that the boys in your class can't focus on school, perhaps it is a good thing that you are being told what to wear.
Second of all, if your clothes are distracting the boys in your class and causing them to objectify you, I don't see why covering it up would be oppressive. Would it not be helpful to you?
I understand that part of the responsibility lies on the guys to resist looking at you in that way. However, would you like it of someone dangled something you really want, I don't know, a really delicious looking morsel of food, in your face and then hated you for wanting it- even though it looks like you could just go up and eat it. You're going to want the food, it's natural. In the same way, guys naturally look at girls dressed provocatively and objectify them. You can't blame them for looking at you that way if you dress like you want them to.
I am obviously not a guy. But that is basically what I've been told it's like for guys by other guys. So if you want confirmation, as a guy.
Another example of this is bikinis. Now, I know a lot of people who wear a bikini. But I am going to tell you that I don't wear one because they are immodest and they don't help my brothers in Christ keep their mind on Christ.
I don't know why my friends wear bikinis. However, I have heard many arguments claiming that telling girls they can't wear bikinis is somehow oppressive and you're allowing yourself to be degraded if you don't wear one.
I can say confidently that bikinis do more harm than good. I have an older brother and he often tells me how difficult it is to keep his thoughts clear when we go to Elitch's or Water World because of all the girls running around in less-than-underwear. I don't see how wearing bikinis or short shorts or whatever other piece of trashy clothing you decide to wear someone promotes gender equality. Wouldn't you rather guys look at you in a non-lustful way? How does allowing yourself to be objectified keep you from being oppressed?
Going back to the previous quote: I don't understand what's so bad about covering up your body because it's distracting? How would that harm the way that you look at yourself? Would it not help men to respect you more when you look more respectable? I wear modest clothing because I want my guy friends to think of me as a friend. Not like another guy, per-say, but as a girl who is a friend, as a person. And if they do like me, I want them to like me for other reasons other than my body.
If feminism is the movement for the equality of all genders, keeping one gender from objectifying the other one seems like a great place to start.
This goes for guys, too, though. I think the church spends a long time lecturing girls on dressing modestly and lecturing guys on not lusting over the girls.
But girls struggle with lust, too. And if you're going to lecture the girls in not wearing bikinis, you should probably let the guys know that perhaps they should leave their shirt on more often and maybe pull up their swimsuit a little bit.
But back to feminism.
There's this whole thing that I see now looking down on stay-at-home moms and dads that work. As if the mom is only staying at home because her husband is making her, or she doesn't feel "strong" enough to go out and work.
Here's a thought: maybe she just really loves her kids.
Perhaps she's fulfilling the command that women are supposed to stay home and take care if her family while the man works to provide.
There's nothing wrong with a working mom. Especially if they're single. But just because one mom doesn't work doesn't mean that she is allowing the man in her life to keep her down.
Colossians 3:18-19 says
"Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them."1 Peter 3:1-7 says:
"Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers."
"Treat them with respect as the weaker partner."
Hey, feminists, sorry about this. But women and men are different. Our biology is different. Our thought processes are different. I don't think anyone will argue against me saying that, generally, women are way more emotional than men. I don't think anyone will argue against me saying that, generally, men are stronger than woman.
And especially within a family, the man is supposed to be the leader. I know that once I get married this will be difficult for me, being a natural leader and all that, but it is the way things were meant to be.
I feel bad for the guys in my life because they cannot do anything right anymore. Ask a girl to be modest and he's a perv. Look at a girl when she's immodest and he's also a perv. Try to provide for his family and he's oppressing his wife. Let his wife work and he's lazy.
This is why most aspects of feminism just don't make sense to me. All these issues with women's rights and abortion, with women in combat, with this whole dress-code ordeal.
It's probably just because of my world-view or something like that. But feminism makes absolutely no sense. And it's probably one of the most obnoxious things out there in the political world and it really just needs to stop.
This has been the end of my partially thought-out rant. Thank you for reading.
Much love,
Amanda :)
EDIT: So I just read tonight this lovely article on Comcast. It's about Candace Cameron and being a "submissive" wife: http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/entertainment-eonline/20140107/b496430/
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