Bad Eye Day

This week I have an infected lower eyelid. Last week it was the upper lid of my other eye. I'd love to show some pictures but, let's keep those disturbing images to ourselves  ;)

So what's the cause? Allergies? Fatigue? Malnutrition (!) ?

Sin?

Filipino folklore says a person gets an eyelid cyst or sty from peeping around. So I'm already used to someone cracking that joke when they see me with a "bad eye". Then I'll come up with a witty retort...

But these past few days I do feel God drawing me gently towards Him again. Thank God I still feel Him. Thank God He does not let go but He does not force anyone to love Him either.

I've been busy. But that's not an excuse. One's hands can be busy but still have a heart, mind, and soul connected to God, our One True Love. It's humbling to admit that I have to be "forced" to STOP moving, to experience the lack of joy in going after anything else, before turning back to Him. 

I had to apologize, and I need to claim His forgiveness. 


"Your eye is the lamp of your body. 
When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. 
But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. 
See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 
Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, 
it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you."
--- Jesus  (Luke 11:34-36)


Ultimately, God the Son says we just have to do two things: Love God, and love one another. This season, both my relationship with God and with others needed a major reboot.


"Do not judge, and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven... 
For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
--- Jesus  (Luke 6:37,38)


I've heard the above passages many times and really taken them to heart. I think. Lately I've been seeing more of the depths of my evil nature, which makes my physical condition a very appropriate (ironic? sublime? gentle? funny?) reflection of my spiritual condition.

Continuing from the same passage above:

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye
and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’
when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye,
and then you will see clearly
to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
--- Jesus  (Luke 6:41-42)


These days my eyes burn with tears, and it's not because of the dust around me. I'm filled with shame and sorrow for the filth inside of me.

But tears cleanse and purify.

On my way home tonight, I was surprised at how CRISP and clear my vision was. I still had my cyst, and that offensive nature... but I can see much clearer now.


"For judgement I have come into this world,
so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind...
If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin;
but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains."
 --- Jesus  (John 9:39,41)


For some people, it might seem like a miracle to be finally made aware of their own sins! (*Ouch!*) But it's still not enough. There is no use realizing you're on the wrong way of a one-way road, if you don't do anything about it.
 

"This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you:
God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.
If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness,
we lie and do not live out the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, 
we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned,
we make Him out to be a liar and His word is not in us."
--- John  (1 John 1:5-10)


To have healthy eyes, they must be kept clean. Feed them with the right nutrients. Don't make them suffer in darkness; keep them in the light.

Take care of your eyes and they will keep on showing you the truth about your surroundings, and even about yourself.

And now, to take care of my eyes by going to sleep. Good Night!

Honor God with your body

Let's talk about sex, marriage, and food. Because it's February :)  From Paul's first letter to the Corinthians (3:16-17, 6:9-7:11):

 

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/images/body/body2.jpg

"You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God Himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God's temple, you can be sure of that. God's temple is sacred --- and you, remember, are the temple...

"Don't you realize that this is not the way to live? Unjust people who don't care about God will not be joining in His kingdom. Those who use and abuse each other, use and abuse sex, use and abuse the earth and everything in it, don't qualify as citizens in God's kingdom. A number of you know from experience what I'm talking about, for not so long ago you were on that list. Since then, you've been cleaned up and given a fresh start by Jesus, our Master, our Messiah, and by our God present in us, the Spirit.

"Just because something is technically legal doesn't mean that it's spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I'd be a slave to my whims.

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14092973-catering-buffet-food-in-luxury-restaurant-with-dessert-and-fresh-fruits.jpg 

"You know the old saying, 'First you eat to live, then you live to eat'? Well, it may be true that the body is only a temporary thing, but that's no excuse for stuffing your body with food, or indulging it with sex. Since the Master honors you with a body, honor Him with your body!

"God honored the Master's body by raising it from the grave. He'll treat yours with the same resurrection power. Until that time, remember that your bodies are created with the same dignity as the Master's body. You wouldn't take the Master's body off to a whorehouse, would you? I should hope not.

 

http://www.godsownholidays.com/graphics/images/honeymoon1.jpg

"There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, 'The two become one.' Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever --- the kind of sex that can never 'become one.' There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for 'becoming one' with another. Or didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you realize that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body. 

"Now, getting down to the questions you asked in your letter to me. First, is it a good thing to have sexual relations?

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"Certainly --- but only within a certain context. It's good for a man to have a wife, and for a woman to have a husband. Sexual drives are strong, but marriage is strong enough to contain them and provide for a balanced and fulfilling sexual life in a world of sexual disorder. The marriage bed must be a place of mutuality --- the husband seeking to satisfy his wife, the wife seeking to satisfy her husband. Marriage is not a place to 'stand up for your rights.' Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out. Abstaining from sex is permissible for a period of time if you both agree to it, and if it's for the purposes of prayer and fasting --- but only for such times. Then come back together again. Satan has an ingenious way of tempting us when we least expect it. I’m not, understand, commanding these periods of abstinence --- only providing my best counsel if you should choose them.

"Sometimes I wish everyone were single like me --- a simpler life in many ways! But celibacy is not for everyone any more than marriage is. God gives the gift of the single life to some, the gift of the married life to others.

"I do, though, tell the unmarried and widows that singleness might well be the best thing for them, as it has been for me. But if they can’t manage their desires and emotions, they should by all means go ahead and get married. The difficulties of marriage are preferable by far to a sexually tortured life as a single. And if you are married, stay married. This is the Master’s command, not mine. If a wife should leave her husband, she must either remain single or else come back and make things right with him. And a husband has no right to get rid of his wife."

Tempted much? Some reminders

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These days I'm very tempted. And I fall, fall, and fall.

Reminders from His Word: 

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”
 (1 Corinthians 10:13–14) 

"Do not give the devil a foothold."
(Ephesians 4:27)

"When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."(James 1:13-15)



There's also a very good discussion here: "10 Temptation Truths"


God bless you, and God bless me. Gotta claim that. And look to Him, first and foremost, once again.

Empty to Full: Sister Teci

I find it ironic --- but in a funny way, not-cynical-but-more-of-tongue-in-cheek
that I'm more of a nun now that I'm not a Catholic.

Nuns take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.
And my complete name is Maria Teresa = Mother Teresa ;p

Haha.
And yes, in my past life of godlessness, I never planned on becoming what I am now.
Truly it is His plans and purposes that prevail.

"Throw off everything that hinders..."
In my weak state, I cannot handle romance, money, and my own will (yet)
(But I'm learning!)
And God literally knows what I need to let go of
so I can hang on to Him more
Empty-handed, so I can be full(er)

I'm seeing the value once again of some practices
even those of the Catholic faith, which I left
But in the same way,
again I ask my Catholic brothers and sisters
(and everyone else)
to let go of whatever hinders

Empty hands
Full life :)


Postscript:
All good things come from Him,
and He redeems all things
If there is something hindering you from following God,
set it free and cling to Him
But if obeying Him means standing firm or pursuing something,
then go...  and be filled with more of Himself :)

Contradicting Contraception

Thanks to my labmate/colleague JRob for the heads up...A contraception-based lifestyle tends to promote sex over love, marriage, and family. (The best case, of course, is having all of the above. Like other things --- and especially in the Christian lifestyle --- this is an all-or-nothing scenario.)

Disclaimer: Catholic and Evangelical Christians promote sex only within the marriage of one man to one woman, but where the former support only natural means of birth control, the latter support artificial contraception as well. Again, as long as within marriage.


UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF CONTRACEPTION
Family-Life Speaker Links It to Abortion and Divorce
from http://www.zenit.org/article-23338?l=english


(EXCERPTS:)


ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida, JULY 25, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is an excerpt of a talk titled "Why Contraception Matters: How It Keeps Us from Love and Life," given by Steve Patton, director of the Diocesan Center for Family Life in St. Augustine. The talk is being distributed by One
More Soul.

* * *

It used to be, before the contraceptive revolution, that there was a pretty clear and firm connection between sex and marriage. Married people had sex, unmarried people didn't, or if they did, they more or less knew that they weren't supposed to. Most everybody knew this.

But over the course of the 20th century, as contraception became more socially accepted, more available, and more effective, all that began to change. By the time the sixties rolled around it was becoming clear, to married and unmarried people alike, that you didn't have to be married to have sex. Contraceptive practice had made sex into a recreational activity that everyone has a right to.

...Widespread use of contraception by married couples also led to an increase of adultery. Once you take away one of the greatest fears of extra-marital sex -- which is pregnancy -- you're going to see an increase of that activity. And when there is an increase in adultery
there's also going to be an increase in divorce.

...What Dr. Morse touches upon is our culture's prevailing disconnection between sex and babies. Before contraception was king, the prevailing assumption was that a baby was a natural consequence of sex. If you chose to engage in sex, you knew it could result in a baby. You might not have wanted that to happen, but you assumed that it could happen. If a baby did result, it was because of your freely chosen action, and so you were likely, not necessarily, but likely, to feel a certain kind of responsibility toward that child.

Now couples who think this way do know that keeping a baby out of the picture doesn't just happen by itself; you have to do your part. You have to do something to the sexual act to make sure that a baby won't be conceived. That's what, quote unquote, taking responsibility for your actions now means with respects to sexual activity.

But if a couple has this kind of attitude, then when the contraception fails, as it often does, and there's a pregnancy, they're not going to tend to think the baby's there because of their actions. They're going to tend to think the baby's there in spite of their actions. In other words, their mindset is not so much that this is their child that they conceived. Rather, they're going to tend to think it's an invader that they failed to repel. This kind of thinking is likely to foster quite a different sense of what's the responsible thing to do next.

worth the wait (and thank God, NEVER too late :) )

DADS HELP DAUGHTERS PLEDGE 'SEXUAL PURITY'
Dance this week will help drive home message about abstinence
by Stephanie Innes
Arizona Daily Star
Published: 10.07.2007

At the event, daughters sign this pledge to remain faithful to
"a lifestyle of purity that will honor God, myself, my family and my future husband."
PHOTOS BY Mamta Popat / arizona daily star

When they were 10 years old, twins Jessica and Jennifer Worcester received a gift from their dad — silver rings that they slipped on their fingers with a promise: They would remain sexually pure until marriage.

The Worcester twins, now 13, have made their abstinence vows an annual celebration. Along with their dad and other fathers and daughters, they will attend the annual Purity Ball in Tucson Friday night.

Proponents view Purity Balls as fostering healthy bonding between fathers and daughters and teaching girls and young women that they are valuable and worth waiting for.

They've heard what critics say, that the Purity Ball concept puts a girl's virginity in a metaphorical lockbox to which Daddy holds the key. But they say that's a misinterpretation of the event's purpose.

"It's not about a bunch of rules, about bolting a chastity belt on them," said the twins' father, Tom Worcester, 47, a Raytheon engineer. "That would really not be a successful approach. It's about a choice a young lady can make and stick with."

Jennifer Worcester, 13, shows the price tag on a dress to her father, Tom,
during a shopping trip to find something to wear to the Fifth Annual Purity Ball.
"It's not about a bunch of rules, about bolting a chastity belt on them.
That would really not be a successful approach," Tom Worcester says of the ball concept.

The Tucson Purity Ball, a Baptist-based event, began in 2003 and has inspired similar balls in Phoenix and Yuma. The Tucson event typically attracts 200 girls and their fathers, who wear their best dress-up clothes and sign "integrity and purity" covenants with one another.

They will each receive a white rose to place under a Christian cross, and the girls will receive silver-and-pink necklaces that say, "Worth Waiting For."

Daughters attending the Purity Ball receive a "Worth Waiting For" necklace.

"It's making a commitment, and they make it like a prom," said Jennifer, a student at Mountain Vista School.

"You are saving yourself until marriage — waiting for the right man to give yourself to," added Jessica, who attends Pusch Ridge Christian Academy.

Girls pledge sexual purity to themselves, God, their families and their future husbands. Dads vow to be men of accountability and God as they "lead, guide, protect and pray" over their daughters.

Though she can recall abstinence-only dances going back to the '80s, Abstinence Clearinghouse president Leslee Unruh traces the beginnings of the current Purity Ball movement to Colorado Springs, Colo., where parents Lisa and Randy Wilson first held a ball in 1999.

Unruh estimates 1,300 Purity Ball events have been held in the United States during the past year, and she says enthusiasm is growing. While Wilson's event, like the Tucson Purity Ball, is faith-based, most around the country are secular and funded with federal abstinence-only dollars, she said.

Some boys are getting their own events. Unruh says more and more "Knight to Remember" purity events for moms and sons are taking place.

"Where in our culture is the father exalted? The father is a buffoon. He's ridiculed, mocked, made the fool in the media," said Randy Wilson, a former pastor now with the Family Research Council.

"(But) girls whose fathers are in their lives are less likely to be promiscuous, get depressed, have thoughts of suicide. We believe a girl's identity and self-worth comes from the father.

"If the father is not there," Wilson added, "she will wander outside the home and look for the answer to whether she is beautiful and worthy of being pursued. She will be devoured."

Girls must be at least 10 to attend Tucson's Purity Ball. Most attendees are in their teens, but some young women in their 20s also take part.

Tucson native Jennifer Robison, a 24-year-old graphic designer in Phoenix, will drive to Tucson Friday to attend the ball with her father, Rod, who is a vice president of Family Life Radio in Tucson.

"Being 24 and an unmarried virgin is obviously rare," said Jennifer. "I'm guarding my heart and my body, and I want to be a role model for the younger girls."

From that standpoint, said Rod Robison, "she's pretty countercultural. But we've never put pressure on her in that way."
He and Jennifer, who is the eldest of five, have always had a close relationship, one that has been strengthened by "date nights" when the two of them go to dinner or a movie together.

When Jennifer was younger, the pair talked about subjects like how to be friends with boys.

"I have no qualms about my daughter understanding all options when it comes to sexual education, as long as it's within the context of knowing that the best option for not having her heart torn apart is abstinence," Rod Robison said.

Jennifer said her Christian faith has fueled her commitment, and she's not shy about her chastity. She sometimes wears a T-shirt that says "Virgins are Hot."

As she's grown older her decision has been reinforced by what she's learned from friends and acquaintances. Young women who didn't feel loved by their fathers will often seek attention from other men in their lives, and that can lead to problems, she said.

"Dads have a kind of practical wisdom. They can provide us with that sense of male protectiveness and leadership we need, versus trying to find it somewhere else," she said.

The first time Christie Raaum's dad invited her to the local Purity Ball she was 12 years old and still into Barbies and princesses. She loved the idea of a ball and bought a floor-length dress. Now a 14-year-old eighth-grader at Tucson Country Day School, Christie is about to attend her third event.

"I want her to pick the kind of man who treats her the way I did," said her father, Randy Raaum, 40, who is pastor of Pima Street Baptist Church.

Christie and her dad also go on date nights. Often they will go to dinner and a movie. Other times they just go to the grocery store or the hardware store.

Staying pure until marriage doesn't seem like it will be difficult, says Christie, though she's not even sure she'll get married at all.

"I have too many things I want to do — NASCAR driver, author, oceanographer, Egyptologist — I'm pretty independent," she said.

She added one more thought: "Without my dad, I don't know where I'd be."

Jennifer Worcester, 13, left, holds up a gown that might be just the one for the Purity Ball
she plans to attend this week with her twin sister, Jessica, at right.
Kim Worcester, the girls' mom, helps with dress selection at Macy's in the Tucson Mall.

Gospel Supplies in Tucson, where the Worcester girls found their purity rings, has several items related to purity, one of the most popular being a book titled "The Princess and the Kiss: A Story of God's Gift of Purity." In the book, God gives a young girl the gift of a kiss, which her parents keep in a safe. The girl learns that the kiss is a valuable gift, and she must decide whether to keep it or give it away.

The Worcester twins don't watch much mainstream television, though they enjoy reruns of "Gilmore Girls" and "Seventh Heaven." They like contemporary Christian singer Rebecca St. James, who is passionate about sexual purity. Recently the twins have become involved in "Secret Keeper Girl," a Bible-based program that teaches girls not only about purity, but the power of modest dressing and inner beauty.

The Worcester twins' eldest sister, Ashley Ellingson, is organizing this year's Purity Ball, part of her job as development coordinator for Arizona Baptist Children's Services, which is hosting the event.

Ellingson, who is 22, says she remained pure until her wedding three years ago.

During the past year she's had media calls about the ball from all over the world.

"It's obviously not something our society is used to," she said. "It's so abnormal that I get calls about it all the time. I think people are curious. But what does that say about our culture?"

New Life Pregnancy Center, a ministry of Arizona Baptist Children's Services that advocates adoption over abortion, sees girls as young as 12 and 13 for pregnancy testing, and sometimes the tests are positive, she said, explaining why 10 is not too young to understand the Purity Ball.

Ellingson said she believes premarital sex leads to a whole host of problems for young women, among them poor self-esteem, a risk of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy.

But she added that girls who have had sex can always start anew and make purity pledges.

"To me, it's not about how many girls kept the commitment. This is important no matter what. It's still worth it to try," she said. "We are encouraging people to make healthy choices. STDs, teen pregnancies, those things are not good."

Tom Worcester jokes that any guy responsible for his daughters' breaking their purity promise will be buried in his backyard. Speaking more seriously, he said people make mistakes, and nothing would change his love or commitment to his children.

Randy Raaum, who has five daughters, puts it this way: "Even if they do break the promise, how could there possibly be a downside to having a close relationship with family members?"

On StarNet: Watch a slide show about the dance at http://www.azstarnet.com/slideshows.

● Contact reporter Stephanie Innes at 573-4134 or at sinnes@azstarnet.com.

the rise of raunch :(

THE RISE OF RAUNCH

What's a Christian woman to do in today's hypersexed culture?
by T. Suzanne Eller
from Today's Christian Woman

Excerpt:

Prayer can change our attitude so we'll see our culture as a mission field. And we should never underestimate our influence upon it. As we build relationships as a Sunday school teacher, coworker, Bible study leader, neighbor, or mom, we can show the next generation a woman can be beautiful and modest. We can be honest about the fact we too are influenced by media messages. And we can begin a dialogue about what enriches real-life love, which lasts longer than one hour on primetime. It's important the next generation sees healthy relationships.

Recently I spoke to college-age students at a Saturday night church service, and afterwards, as I walked to our car, my husband, Richard, opened my door. "You rock!" two college girls called out.

Later they confided they thought it was cool I had such a great relationship with my husband. Moments such as these give me an opportunity to serve as a gentle example. I talk with my 20-something friends about loyalty and committed love, and have lengthy discussions on how sex is an amazing gift within a lifelong relationship between husband and wife. We chat about how real value and self-worth are found in Christ.

not an angel yet -- on PURITY

At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.
Matthew 22:30

last time i checked, i was still a human being.

and FAR from being a heavenly creature.

what a comfort His Word is =) check these out (i googled "Bible purity" and was totally encouraged by God's Word as applied to my situation :) in the following sites) :

• Purity
• Bible Study - The Importance of Purity
• PURITY

as a friend once exhorted me, that's EXACTLY why we need God -- we can't do it (be pure and stay pure) from our own efforts.

God is good. =)

Away from me, satan. i'm practicing purity through His strength, not mine. victory is assured.

i'm not an angel, and far from perfect. But I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

yay =)