CGC (Christian Girls Chat) discussion
Media
>
Articles and Blog Posts
message 1:
by
[deleted user]
(new)
Dec 05, 2013 04:20PM
This is where you can share some fun/interesting/thought-provoking articles you've come across.
reply
|
flag
Mod
This is one of the best blogs Ive ever come across
And this is the best blog article Ive ever read
In all time
this is the beginning
My friend Clare had a vision she was going to die young. Three weeks ago, she went suddenly to be with Jesus.
It was time to face it.
I was standing on the High Street of my former hometown in England, breath freezing in the afternoon sun. I pushed the door and went in.
They’ve turned my Starbucks into a Paperchase. I do not approve. But I’m finding it hard to be the level of bitter that I’d like to be.
I actually like Paperchase.
I didn’t mean to buy anything. I was really just there to say goodbye to the coffee house I used to call my second office. But the next thing I knew I had a purple felt journal in my hand and I was handing over money.
“So purple’s your favorite color,” the girl at the till said, gesturing to my fingernails. Purple.
Right.
It is.
Since February 4. Before then, I actually wasn’t all that big of a fan.
But sometimes life and almost everything about it can change in a second. A breath. A heartbeat.
Like it did the day my friend Clare passed away suddenly.
And the day a year and a half ago that she told me it was going to happen.
Even now as I write that sentence, my breath catches. Tears well up where I didn’t think I had any more to cry. Pain pulses from the giant knot in my chest all the way to my fingertips.
My friend, Clare. The surfer, lacrosse player, master cupcake baker and sign language aficionado. The friend whose footprints must’ve been permanently etched in my Ikea coffee table. The one I blame for the way I sing “my lamb bhuna” to the tune of “Hallelujah” every time I eat a curry. The one who shifted gears for me and dipped my French fries in ketchup when I tried to drive and eat a “cheeky” McDonald’s at the same time.
She’s gone.
Suddenly.
For now, still unexplainably. By all counts, unexpectedly.
Except that God told her she was going.
****
I think I bought that purple journal because I felt compelled to write down her story. It’s the best one I’ve ever heard. Ever lived. And I want to ensure that I never forget the details.
But even now, the words won’t come. Not the way I want them to.
The grief is profound. Her funeral was Saturday. As I staggered with bloodshot eyes through Heathrow Airport early yesterday morning on my way back to America, I felt like the ocean of pain in my heart just had to be bursting through my skin and punching everyone near me in the face. I almost felt like I should start apologizing to strangers.
How do you even explain what this feels like?
But even bigger than that is the question of how do you adequately pen the story of a God who poured out love in an extravagant way on a beautiful, blond, British 20-something girl, turned her world upside down, told her He was taking her home and then followed through?
You can’t.
The awe is even more profound than the grief.
*****
Clare was the picture of health and a sight for sore eyes the day we met for tea in August 2011.
I’d been on a long work trip in another country. I’d missed her. I’d missed scones, too. I was slathering one with jam and cream and she was telling me some ridiculous story as usual, and then suddenly she whipped out the big guns.
“Grace, I have to tell you something. This is going to sound weird. I don’t even really know how to say it or what to do about it. But I’ve had some visions, and I think I’m going to die really young.”
A chill.
“But I’ve met with Alex and talked about it, and I’ve written down what I’d like for my funeral to be like, and I figure that’s all I can do.”
And that was that.
Forever proactive, she already had a plan and had talked to the vicar. She wasn’t sick. She wasn’t depressed. She wasn’t planning a high-risk trip to Somalia.
She just knew what she had seen.
My scone had stopped in midair. What do you say to that? Laugh it off as ridiculous … and hope it is? Make a career out of keeping her out of the path of buses?
Mod
Here is a great blog post by Alyssa Bethke: Unfulfilled Dreams
http://alyssajoy.me/journal/unfulfill...
"...Perhaps this time of waiting, or this time of crushing pain at a loss of a dream, is a season, or opportunity, for the Lord to shower you with His grace and mercy. This may be a season for you to be so intimate with our Savior, where you truly know that there is nothing sweeter than Jesus Himself. He is your portion. He is your gift. And despite all the incredible dreams we have, there is no gift that is more precious than Him. And from Him flows out blessing.
Don’t lose hope. Don’t give up. Keep running, crawling, to Jesus. Give Him your deepest hopes, dreams and longings, your heartache, pain and disappointment, and wait and see how He works, in His perfect way, in His beautiful time. See how He showers you with His love, with His wisdom, with His comfort. He is drawing you close. Come before Him with hands open, and place your deepest dreams and longings in His strong hands. There’s no safer place for them to reside."
“ ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’ The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.” || Lamentations 3:24-25
http://alyssajoy.me/journal/unfulfill...
"...Perhaps this time of waiting, or this time of crushing pain at a loss of a dream, is a season, or opportunity, for the Lord to shower you with His grace and mercy. This may be a season for you to be so intimate with our Savior, where you truly know that there is nothing sweeter than Jesus Himself. He is your portion. He is your gift. And despite all the incredible dreams we have, there is no gift that is more precious than Him. And from Him flows out blessing.
Don’t lose hope. Don’t give up. Keep running, crawling, to Jesus. Give Him your deepest hopes, dreams and longings, your heartache, pain and disappointment, and wait and see how He works, in His perfect way, in His beautiful time. See how He showers you with His love, with His wisdom, with His comfort. He is drawing you close. Come before Him with hands open, and place your deepest dreams and longings in His strong hands. There’s no safer place for them to reside."
“ ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’ The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.” || Lamentations 3:24-25
Mod
Rachel wrote: "http://rickthomas.net/being-honest-ab..."
"...the made up disorder ADHD". TOTALLY agree with that.
"...the made up disorder ADHD". TOTALLY agree with that.
Mod
No More Gender: A Look into Sweden’s Social Experiment
No More Gender: A Look into Sweden’s Social Experiment avatar
CH_GENDER_PRESCHOOL_09.JPG
Children at Stockholm’s Nicolaigarden preschool, which avoids gender stereotypes (Casper Hedberg / The New York Times / Redux)
In certain schools in Stockholm, teachers try not to use terms like “boys” or “girls.” In an effort to reach a greater level of gender equality, the country of Sweden is pushing for gender neutrality. Pronouns like “he and she” are replaced with “hen,” and children’s books have protagonists who are not clearly male or female.
Jeff Coulter, a resident of Sweden who assists churches, gave me some fascinating insight into how this plays out in other settings:
We moved here when my wife was seven months pregnant. It was intriguing that there was no real interest from the doctors in what sex the baby would be (we already knew from an ultrasound in the US). When our daughter was born the doctors paid no attention at all what gender was. I asked a few minutes after she was born just to make sure the ultrasound was correct. Also, my wife and I have noticed that baby clothes here are much more gender neutral. You would be hard pressed to dress your baby girl in all pink, something that seems to be very easy in America.
TIME Looks into Sweden’s Social Experiment
TIME reported on this new development in “Boys Won’t Be Boys,” an interesting article that gives an inside look into Sweden’s fight to “eradicate gender discrimination” and create “a society in which gender doesn’t matter.” The writer, Lisa Abend, describes the atmosphere in a Scandinavian school:
The cozy library is carefully calibrated to contain the same number of books with female protagonists as those with male ones. Boys and girls alike twirl silken scarves during dance class, and they have equal access to pirate and princess costumes…
How did educators convince parents to get on board with this kind of experiment?
“Once we made the decision to improve this, it wasn’t hard to convince the parents,” says Rajalin (educator). “I simply did this.” She walks over to the whiteboard and draws a circle, then divides it in half. “On the right side are the things for girls” – she draws several lines inside the semicircle – “and on this are the things for boys. And then I asked, ‘Do you want your child’s life to be a half-circle or a whole one?’”
Is the United States moving in Sweden’s direction? A professor at the University of Washington thinks so:
“For the rest of the West, Sweden is laying the groundwork… They’re sort of postgender now and are focusing more on humanism, on what – as humans – is going to bring us all closer to equal rights. Sweden is our future.”
The TIME article seems conflicted about gender neutrality. The subtitle of the article calls it a “noble experiment” but also claims it is “political correctness gone overboard.” Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the article is the description of feminism as a “state religion.”
Writer Lisa Abend quotes from people who believe the push for equality is actually “erasure” of gender distinctiveness altogether. An engineer is quoted, mourning the loss of any public discourse about the issue because of public intimidation and attempts to suppress even the mildest antifeminist expression.
How Should Christians Respond?
If Sweden is our future, then we are in trouble. The idea of humanity as completely neutral in terms of gender is foreign to a Scriptural understanding of who we are. Human beings bear God’s image, and God made us male and female. He didn’t make us merely human. He made us gendered beings.
What’s at stake in this discussion? Human flourishing. We don’t flourish when we suppress or ignore gender distinctives. Such an existence creates a flatter, duller society. Instead, we flourish when we embrace our maleness or femaleness as God’s gift to us – intended for our joy and His glory. The differences between men and women aren’t obstacles to overcome; they’re glorious and beautiful.
We should not seek to be “gender-blind,” just as we shouldn’t seek to be “colorblind.” One does not end racism by painting everyone the same color so that we no longer see any racial or ethnic distinctiveness. Neither does one create gender equality by pretending there is no inherent difference between the sexes. The failure of such a system is already evident in the fact people have resorted to social pressure and legislative attempts to keep others in line with this thinking.
Complementarian and Egalitarian Unity
Complementarian Christians in the West believe there is a difference between gender equality (men and women are of equal worth and value before God) and gender roles (men and women have unique roles). For a feminist, the idea that men and women should perform different functions in the home, the church, or society is tantamount to sex discrimination. Gender roles are something we should seek to avoid or escape, never embrace.
Egalitarian Christians in the West generally affirm uniqueness of male and female and a distinctiveness in their roles. They disagree with complementarians as to how this distinctiveness plays out in church leadership and (sometimes) home life.
Still, in looking at the Swedish experiment, I believe complementarians and egalitarians should be able to lock arms and say, We believe gender is a gift of God. We believe God made us male and female and not gender-neutral “humans,” and that equality does not erase gender distinctives.
Mission in a Post-Gender World
Our Christian calling is not merely to decry the sinfulness of a culture, but to declare the Savior of the world. That’s why I asked two church planters in Sweden to comment on the TIME article and to give some insight into how one ministers in this kind of society. Pastor Phil Whittall had this to say:
Gender equality and indeed neutrality is a huge deal in Sweden, but some nuance is also needed. Yes, there are schools that use ‘hen,’ but it is a very small number right now. It’s certainly not the case for every preschool.
On a personal level, at the pre-school our children attend, gender raises itself in a number of ways. There is a policy of opposite reinforcement – so a boy will receive praise for choosing traditionally female activities – cooking, dolls etc. and girls will receive praise for climbing a tree or playing football. No praise is given for the opposite. So no praise for girls choosing dolls or boys choosing football.
A woman in our church plant is training to work in pre-schools and was marked down in coursework for writing that she believed men and women are different. The general policy is that that the genders are the same and biology is essentially irrelevant.
Parents of pre-school children are encouraged to think about how they talk and act in regards to sons and daughters to break down prejudices.
Feminism as the state religion is probably not all that off the mark although gender activists here still find plenty of things to campaign on.
How does one engage in ministry in this environment? Phil mentioned four things:
1. Our Attitude. We don’t want to decry everything about feminism or gender equality in many areas of society, not all the changes are bad ones. We seek to affirm what can be affirmed and to encourage what can be encouraged. Nuance isn’t easy but otherwise we’re too easy to pigeonhole and label.
2. Ask Questions. Do people really believe there are no differences? What would that mean if they did? What would we lose? What would we gain? Most people aren’t engaging with the issues but are just being swept along by the cultural tide.
3. Think through the theology of the body. This relates not just to gender but to sexuality. Sweden is a very liberal place in its approach. For example, the bishop of Stockholm in the Lutheran church is a lesbian in a partnership with a son.
4. Don’t Be Unnecessarily Gendered. There’s no sense in creating obstacles where they aren’t necessary. Just because we believe elders should be male doesn’t mean the discussion should only be had by males, for example. We can encourage women in other forms of leadership.
Jeff Coulter echoed these thoughts:
We also need to be good listeners. After spending four months in swedish language school, I have learned a lot about the culture, not just the language. Asking good questions is vital, but listening to their answers is key to knowing how to show people their need of a Savior. Ultimately the world is without hope, that’s why we are still here to declare the good news of the Gospel.
Wowowowowow. I was not aware it's like that in Sweden.
Mod
Rachel wrote: "http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/liter..."
She makes a very solid point there. How many times have we focused on a certain scripture and condemn one sin while ignoring others...
She makes a very solid point there. How many times have we focused on a certain scripture and condemn one sin while ignoring others...
Mod
No More Gender: A Look into Sweden’s Social Experiment
No More Gender: A Look into Sweden’s Social Experiment avatar
CH_GENDER_PRESCHOOL_09.JPG
Children at Stockholm’s Nico..."
Wow, that's scary!
Mod
How A Wealthy, Clean-Cut ‘Duck Dynasty’ Tricked The World For Publicity
http://politicalblindspot.com/how-a-w...
http://politicalblindspot.com/how-a-w...
Cari wrote: "This is so cool! Frozen bubbles. xD http://distractify.com/culture/arts/f..."
Awesome!! Makes me want to go outside right now and blow bubbles.
Awesome!! Makes me want to go outside right now and blow bubbles.
Cari wrote: "This is so cool! Frozen bubbles. xD http://distractify.com/culture/arts/f..."Awesome :D
Mod
Mod
I have something that I want to share with you all. I was on one of my Facebook pages, and I came across this article and video, about a first grade girl named Brynn, who got humiliated by her class for trying to talk about the meaning of Jesus at Christmas. The teacher's assignment: Each student brings in their favorite Christmas item and explain why it's an important family tradition for them to use that item. She brought in a star, and started to explain that Jesus is the Savior of the world. Her teacher, unfortunately, interrupted her before she could quote John 3:16. She said: "Students are not allowed to talk about The Bible in class."
Feeling let down, Brynn cried on her way home. She was so sure that she was in deep trouble. Her mom was proud of her though, and told her not to worry about it, and that she would talk to the principal.
The Principal sided with the teacher, and then concluded to mother and daughter that if she wanted to express her beliefs in God and The Bible, she could do so in a journal.
I don't know about you, but I find it sad that almost anything and everything that goes against God gets accepted except standing for God. The world is constantly criticizing Christians for not loving enough, yet they can't see the love we have for Jesus. I know Jesus said to expect trials like this, but still.. it's unfair. I know that God will still bless Brynn though. Classrooms accept inappropriate discussions, like transgender or evolution, but they want nothing to with God.
Thoughts?
from narnian525
Mod
Rachel wrote: "Some of these are cool, and others I would hate.
http://justsomething.co/33-amazing-id..."
I LOVE the staircase bookcase!!!
The beach sand under work desk is a no-no. There'll be sand tracked all over the house. :P And the swing set table is kind of pointless.
http://justsomething.co/33-amazing-id..."
I LOVE the staircase bookcase!!!
The beach sand under work desk is a no-no. There'll be sand tracked all over the house. :P And the swing set table is kind of pointless.
♥Caro♥ wrote: "I thought it would be better fitting here Rachel :)"Ok :) That works.
Mod
I have something that I want to share with you all. I was on one of my Facebook pages, and I came across this article and video, about a first grade girl named Brynn, wh..."
and that's really sad..
Mod
http://justsomething.co/33-amazing-id..."
omgoodness some of those are amazingggggg
♥Caro♥ wrote: "♥Caro♥ wrote: "Copied from another threadI have something that I want to share with you all. I was on one of my Facebook pages, and I came across this article and video, about a first grade girl ..."
ikr?
http://imgur.com/gallery/mvgglhttp://bemalleable.wordpress.com/2013...
http://evansmith-thoughtsfromthebench...
Ignore the title; it makes sense once you've read the article. :)http://rickthomas.net/should-people-w...
Mod
Thank you Rachel
Rachel wrote: "Ignore the title; it makes sense once you've read the article. :)
http://rickthomas.net/should-people-w......"
Fantastic article!
http://rickthomas.net/should-people-w......"
Fantastic article!
CGC (Christian Girls Chat)
Books mentioned in this topic
A Mother's Secret (other topics)The Fruitcake Challenge (other topics)
A Texas Legacy Christmas (other topics)
Naomi's Gift (other topics)
Child of Mine (other topics)
More...
