Faith and Politics

As you might have noticed, my blog has had a very large absence of politics in it during this American election season. And with good reason, too.

But as much as I want to avoid the issue, it's still an issue; Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, or a third party as president of the United States?

Now, we all know how corrupt Hillary Clinton is. It's all over the news and media, and the majority of everyone I know will not vote for her. She is currently under criminal investigation, and if her past is an indication of her future, having her as president would be a nightmare. 

So, most people say, "Well, since Trump is most popular, and we don't want Hillary to win, we have to vote Trump. We don't like him, but he's better than Hillary." And people are pushing other people to vote for him because, "Any vote not for Trump is a vote for Hillary."

I want to refute that.

I am a Christian. Unabashedly so, unashamedly so. And I look at Trump and I see a lawless man who is almost as bad as Hillary. He is crass, he is quick to fight, he is careless with his words,  he is a known adulterer, and he also has some cases pending against him as well. I cannot, in good conscience, vote for such a wicked man. Why? Because one day I will answer to GOD, and I will have to tell HIM why I voted for a man so lawless as Donald Trump. And I cannot answer for that. It is against my conscience.

And then I look at what I believe. I believe that GOD is in control, and that all things are in HIS hands. No matter what I do, this will play out according to HIS will.

I do not have to violate my conscience, voting for a man I know is lawless, for Hillary not to become president. I do not have to place my faith in a ungodly man to "rescue" our county. Why? Because I have a GOD Who places all rulers and authorities on their thrones, and Who can take them all out with a single word. I don't have to do wrong for GOD to still be in control. I can do what I believe is right, because I have a GOD big enough to take care of everything else. 

The Great Re-Wardrobing; The Insanity

Ok, I'm crazy. Today, I decided to do the shopping to update my wardrobe; ALL OF IT. I kid you not. I NEVER want to do that again.

Two thrift stores later, four plus hours of hunting, feet hurting, and more clothes than I care to remember trying on, I now have a nearly complete wardrobe. The only thing left to get is a two-piece suit for job interviews. That was the one thing I couldn't find, though I think I forgot to look for it at the second store, since they were a bit more expensive.

Now that I HAVE the clothes, though, the fun begins! I get to mix and match, put together outfits; it's gonna be fun! See, I hate shopping, but I DO enjoy putting together outfits. Yes, you may call me weird if you like. It's probably true.

Anyhow, short blog entry. I'm tired, foot sore, and in desperate need of a shower (they do NOT wash those clothes well. PHEW-WIE!) So, here's a kitty picture for your time.

The Great Re-Wardrobing; The Anticipation (Ok...dread)

Well, I finally looked through my entire wardrobe today, which I haven't properly done in a few years. The result is that, between clothes that are so worn that they are not modest and clothes that are too tight  now that I'm up to a healthy weight and size (Long story short; accidentally dropped 20+ pounds after high school and became dreadfully, sickly skinny), I have had to toss almost my entire wardrobe. And I am NOT happy.

  Why am I not happy? Because NOW I have to go clothes shopping, and as anyone who knows me is aware of, I DREAD clothes shopping. Clothes these days are mostly tailored to fit super models; i.e. girls with little to no curves. And now that I am at a proper weight, those clothes don't fit me. So now I have to find clothes that are designed for a woman's body, with a body shape that I am no longer familiar with because it has taken me years to get to a proper weight, in a society that hates women's bodies. Weee. I'm not looking forward to this.

  To top it off, it's an entirely new wardrobe! I could completely redo my own style! I could go more into the East Indian tunics that I like. I could go strictly 1940s vintage. I could wear slacks and formal skirts with blazers all the time. I could go more into soft sweaters and nice soft shapes. I could go with a more tailored look. The possibilities are just staggering! It's quite frightening, really! So many choices!

So...I'm going to be trying to figure out what I want to do with my new wardrobe, and when our favorite thrift store has their "all clothes 99 cent sale" this coming weekend, my Mum and I are going shopping for an entirely new wardrobe for me. Oh Goody.

For as much as I love seeing bright, cheery clothes on other people, and as much as I love complimenting people on their clothes, I DESPISE clothes shopping. Once the clothes are in my closet, I won't go clothes shopping again for MONTHS.

Birthday Surprise!

Oh my, can I just say that I LOVE the ladies in my small group? They are so good to me!

This past Thursday was my birthday, but my Bible study was Wednesday. I was feeling a bit down on Wednesday, because only one person had remembered it on Sunday (and her card was absolutely LOVELY by the way!) Because of that, I thought no one would else outside of my immediate family would remember it at all. So I was feeling rather forgotten.

Anyhow, that evening, I left for my small group, and to my surprise, one of the girls met me outside the church. That seemed a bit odd. She actually came out to meet me. And then another. And then the third. And then the fourth, and they were all outside talking to me, and talking about how much they enjoyed being outside. Let me tell you, they don't usually do this. They usually go inside and sit down and wait in the room, discussing their week. They don't usually stand outside. It was mighty suspicious, I tell you!

Then, one of the girls asked if they could speak to one of the others in private, and one by one they all went back inside, telling me to stay OUTSIDE! Well, what with it being my birthday the next day and all, it smelled like the makings of a surprise party. But I didn't want to assume anything and be disappointed, so I tried to distract myself by looking at the small plants outside the church.

Finally, they called me in, and what do you think they had done?! They had tied 5 lovely birthday balloons to my seat (one of them was HUGE! O.o MASSIVE!), a card signed by all of them was at my place, and the best cake baker in church had made us 5 little chocolate fudge pudding cakes with ice cream and strawberries, and they had placed them in a row down the middle of the table on a lovely table cloth. It was marvelous! I felt so loved! And then they all prayed for this coming year for me, and it was just so sweet!  It was a lovely surprise!

And then one of the other ladies had also gotten me some lovely perfume and lotion, and other people wished me happy birthday...it was a splendid birthday!


To all you lovelies:

"Blessed Redeemer"

I was looking through one of the hymnals we have today, an older red hymnal, and I stumbled upon this fantastic hymn written by Avis Marguerite Burgeson Christiansen in 1920.

Image pulled from: "Blessed Redeemer (Christiansen)". Cyberhymnal.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 July 2016.

A little more research into the background of this hymn writer;
She was born in 1895, Chicago Illinois, into a home that was very much devoted to serving the LORD, and at a young age she gave her life to the LORD. At the age of 10 she was inspired by her godly grandmother and wrote her first poem, and in her teens she began seriously writing hymns. Throughout her life these poems would be inspired by her wonder of the Gospel and of Salvation, and an overwhelming sense of gratitude to GOD. She studied Scripture at Moody Evening School, and she drew from her training there to create deep theologically sound hymns.

She later met Ernest C. Christiansen, and they were married in 1917. Despite the responsibilities she had as a busy housewife, she never stopped writing her hymns. By the time of her Death in 1985 she had written thousands of hymns, many of which we still sing today.

Here are a few of her hymns;

• Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
• Jesus! Wonderful Name!
• Victory in Jesus
• What Must I Do?
• How Can It Be?

But today, we're looking at "Blessed Redeemer."
~~~

Up Calvary’s mountain, one dreadful morn,

Walked Christ my Savior, weary and worn;

Facing for sinners death on the cross,

That He might save them from endless loss.

Refrain:

Blessèd Redeemer! Precious Redeemer!

Seems now I see Him on Calvary’s tree;

Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading,

Blind and unheeding—dying for me!

“Father forgive them!” thus did He pray,

E’en while His lifeblood flowed fast away;

Praying for sinners while in such woe

No one but Jesus ever loved so.

Refrain

O how I love Him, Savior and Friend,

How can my praises ever find end!

Through years unnumbered on Heaven’s shore,

My tongue shall praise Him forevermore.

Refrain

~~~~~~~~~~

Isn't it wonderful?! I love it! It's a fantastic hymn! Here's the free sheet music for it: Blessed Redeemer Sheet music. It's a different key than the one I play, but I think you can still use it.

Anyhow, isn't that a wonderful hymn! I love finding hymns that tell the Gospel! So many hymns are about us, but this, this one is about HIM! Fantastic! It's right, too! I was blind! I was unheeding! I was a wretched sinner! But JESUS died for me! What an amazing thought! 

Why didn't we grow up with such hymns as these, that look at the cross in awe? I grew up in the church, but so few hymns that we sang portrayed the Gospel! And even in this hymn, we only see a tiny piece of what HE did. There is always more to learn of the Gospel! It's marvelous!

So, I just thought I'd share this with you! Cheerio! 

Friday Fun!

I love Fridays! Fridays are my Saturday! Friday fun day! Yay! Friday Introvert Day! Friday-I-don't-want-to-see-anybody's-face day (family permitted)!

So, what exactly do I DO on Fridays? Well, I catch up on any Bible readings. I draw and practice piano. I work on any crafty projects that I didn't get done during the week, and I take it easy. It's my day to brush up and practice my creative skills, instead of working on my cleaning, cooking skills. I do still clean a little bit. I don't let anything get into a heap, but it's more of a fun, relaxing day.

Because Saturday? Saturday is Mum's day off, which often means we go to social events, do social things, go shopping (gag!) and follow her plans for her day off. And I also have things that I have to do on Saturdays, myself.

Today I practiced the second movement of the Moonlight Sonata (FIVE FLATS!!), and Beethoven's Sonata in F Minor! YAY! And then my nose started running too much and I had to stop playing. But still! I'm making progress!

Then I practiced drawing, and I did my best drawing so far in graphite. I drew A. W. Tozer.

*Sniff* I'm so proud of myself. I did pretty good. My one complaint is that I hate his nose. *sigh* 

I should take a break and draw hands next. I love hands. They're always interesting to draw. 

I'm thinking after this, I'm gonna work on the Sonata in F Minor again. YAY! And I should do some reading in the Pursuit of GOD, and review the previous lessons of BYH (Behold Your GOD). It's a marvy day! 

 

"No Not Despairingly"

Right now, I am really treasuring an old hymn, and I just wanted to share it with you all. The author of the hymn is Horatius Bonar.

Horatius Bonar was born in Scotland in 1808. He was born into a long line of ministers, who had all together, through their combined life times, served a total of 364 years as ministers. He also became a minister, and is best known for his prolific hymn writing. He wrote over 150 hymns, which include;

• I Heard the Voice of JESUS Say
• HE is Risen
• Let Us Draw Near
• Safe Across the Waters

And many many others. However, the one that is resting most heavily on my mind right now is "No, Not Despairingly." Here are its lyrics:

~~~

No, not despairingly come I to Thee;
No, not distrustingly bend I the knee:
Sin hath gone over me, yet is this still my plea,
Jesus hath died.

Ah! mine iniquity crimson hath been,
Infinite, infinite—sin upon sin:
Sin of not loving Thee, sin of not trusting Thee—
Infinite sin.

Lord, I confess to Thee sadly my sin;
All I am tell I Thee, all I have been:
Purge Thou my sin away, wash Thou my soul this day;
Lord, make me clean.

Faithful and just art Thou, forgiving all;
Loving and kind art Thou when poor ones call:
Lord, let the cleansing blood, blood of the Lamb of God,
Pass o’er my soul.

Then all is peace and light this soul within;
Thus shall I walk with Thee, the loved Unseen;
Leaning on Thee, my God, guided along the road,
Nothing between.

~~~

What a treasure this hymn has been to me. So comforting. Yes, I'm a sinner. Yes, I'm wretched beyond imagination, but this...this one thing, one blessed thing, is my plea before GOD; JESUS has died. And it's enough. HE is enough.

 Oh, I pray that I can learn to trust HIM, to wholly lean on HIM instead of myself. I'm so prideful, so focused on my ability. So many times I think, "If only I prayed more...." or "If only I read my Bible more..." then GOD would accept me and I would affirm my salvation. But NO! Nothing I can do can add to the salvation GOD has given me. No work of mine can make me any more saved. NO! Such thoughts degrade the perfect work of CHRIST. Such thoughts stem from my pride and thinking I can save myself! NO, I cannot!

All my righteous deeds are like filthy rags! All my good works are like a pig's wallow! There is nothing righteous in me! The WORD of GOD says that we are to love the LORD our GOD with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and that is the greatest commandment. And yet, wretched me, I cannot even perfectly love HIM with even one aspect of my being for a single second! How could I save myself when I cannot keep HIS command to love HIM perfectly for even a second? No!

THIS must be my one, saving plea, "Jesus has died." THAT is what my trust must be in. THAT is what my hope must be in. Why? Because there is nothing in me, no single molecule of my being that can keep the law of GOD perfectly. There is nothing perfect I can do. It all depends on HIM, and on HIS work! Entirely on HIM.

And from my gratitude for HIS great love, HIS great sacrifice, and from the new creation that HE has made me to be comes the change that we call sanctification. And daily, HE is working in me to make me reflect HIS glory to the world, and HE has promised that HE will bring this work to completion. Thus, HE is my sole sustainer, the AUTHOR and PERFECTER of my faith. It is all in HIS hands.

Because my hands are so weak. My flesh is so sinful. My desires so wicked. Yes, I try, but the victory can only come from HIM. And this I continuously forget and need to be reminded of daily.  Thanks be to GOD, HE gives me, the vile wretch that I am, mercy every day. What an amazing GOD we serve. 

I forgot I'm still an introvert

So, apparently, despite the fact that I love hanging out with Deaf, I'm still an introvert. Meaning, I still need to have at least one day a week where I can stay home and be left alone. I've been booked every day for social events for the past two weeks, and today was no different. I was planning on going to an event tonight, and I was just depressed, but I didn't know why. I was half asleep all day, I kept wanting to go back to bed, and I basically ended up in bed curled up in my blankets, looking like a burrito roll of depressed misery. And I could not figure out why. Then I decided I wouldn't go to the event. I'd take a full day to stay home. And at that moment, I cheered up. I got up, loaded the dishwasher, cleared the kitchen counters, swept and mopped the kitchen, swept and mopped the bathroom, and started folding laundry. All of that within half an hour. Yes, I'm still an introvert. I still need a day where I am left alone. Doesn't matter if I am with Deaf or hearing; I still need at least one day a week where I don't have to really talk with anyone. Don't get me wrong, I love people. I love my friends, doesn't matter if they're Deaf or hearing. I I just sometimes need to be alone. If I don't get my free day, I become depressed and EXTREMELY CRANKY.

Craftin' and dollhouses

Is it terrible, that after I've graduated college, I'm still looking for ways to have my own dollhouse? I literally have been trying to think of things for a couple years now. I bought a brown paper mache one from a craft store and it is just way too boring for me. I tried spicing it up...

I started with the chimney...

Then I gave it a bit of a weathered outside job...

Gave it some trim..

Then I went ahead and did a lil' van gogh style on my house....

But I haven't finished it yet, because I'm bored with it. I want levels, and bedrooms...I've looked at lil' wooden houses, I've looked at maybe making a little clay house to imitate adobe, I've looked at DIY cardboard houses... I've gone through TONS of ideas. Still haven't settled on one yet.

However, before I do any more house ideas, need to finish this house. I'm thinking I might put tissue paper in the windows and doorways, and then put some LED lights on the inside. Make it so that it lights up with a nice soft glow. It could make a lovely gift for someone. Don't know who...

I haven't yet done the grass outside, yet. Trying to decide if I should do faux grass that has a texture to it, or if I should just paint it green. After all the work I did on the outside, I really don't want to finish with it looking sloppy. Any suggestions?

I got baptized today

Today I was baptized, and it only seems right that I share my testimony here.

~~~

1. Why I Chose to be Baptized

I decided to be baptized to declare to the world that I believe that JESUS CHRIST is the SON of GOD, the only name in heaven and on earth by which we must be saved, and that HE is the only one Who deserves all glory, honor, adoration and praise. This is my testimony,

2. Who I was and why I wasn’t saved

1. I grew up in what we considered to be a Christian home. I didn't do drugs, I dressed fairly modestly, and went to church every week. I'd said the "prayer," I knew my Bible fairly well, and had all the good Christian answers. But I wasn't saved. And here's why:

2. Bad theology

1. I believed that I could be unsaved at any point in time. The concept of progressive sanctification was unknown to me.
2. I knew I was sinful, but the utter magnitude of how far I was from saving myself was something I hadn't even begun to grasp.
3. I was constantly searching for what I was missing. I knew something was missing from my salvation. I think I was driving my parents nuts, because they insisted I was saved.
4. I never understood how Jews and Romans killing JESUS saved me. It didn't make sense to me.
5. I only trusted the Old Testament, but the New Testament was something I did not trust. Therefore, the salvation represented in it was something I could not grasp.
6. And I thought the gospel, as it had been presented to me was merely the gateway into Christianity, which I then graduated from, upon salvation, to better and higher theological topic. The gospel was never central to me, and, in fact, it wasn't important to me. It was just a backup, "get out of jail free pass" in case I couldn't just make myself look good enough to GOD, and with the hope that JESUS would clean up my messes, while GOD would only look at my good stuff.

3. What changed?
1. I started coming here and sat under good theological teaching, and I had a mentor. Pastor's sermons gave me constant exposure to the full truth of the Gospel, and slowly, the HOLY SPIRIT began working in my heart.

2. Correct theology was one of the most important things for me. It really changed my life. Here's what changed.

1. I am now convinced of the divine inspiration of Scripture as being wholly and completely GOD breathed. Men wrote as they were led by the HOLY SPIRIT, and thus all of the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of GOD. This trust has led me to these following convictions, which I pray will continue to change my life throughout my life.
2. I am sinful, both in my human nature, and positionally, since Adam was my representative before GOD. Not only that, My heart is deceptively wicked, and it is a idol factory. There is nothing good in me, in and of myself. I am capable of any and every sin, and I am not better than any other sinner (though pride sometimes makes me feel like it).
3. The reason why CHRIST's death pays for my salvation is that, on the cross, GOD's justice against me was appeased because HE poured out on JESUS the fullness of HIS wrath against me. And now, I am covered in the righteousness of CHRIST, and am now positionally perfect in the sight of GOD, though the reality of my life has not yet been made perfect.
4. Salvation is not like a driver's license, which can be lost at any time for bad behavior. CHRIST died once and for all for all of my sin. I do not need to be judicially made right to GOD, but I am still accountable to HIM as HE is my LORD and MASTER. I will never have to stand before HIM, utterly condemned and accursed. My sin is removed from me as far as the East is from the West.
5. And the GOSPEL isn't just the moment of salvation, to be cast aside after I'm saved. It is the heart of all life.

3. This process was long. I prayed and wrestled with it for a long time. However, on August 9th, Sunday morning in church, I don't know how, but by the power of GOD, I realized that I was saved for all time. I was not condemned, not guilty, but instead, right before GOD. I don't know how it happened, but now I believe.

4. How does this salvation play out in my life?
1. I am assured of my salvation. I'm not searching for a way to be saved any more. While I still don't fully understand the full implications of the Gospel, I understand enough to be saved, and I hope to grow more in the knowledge of it every day.
2. I am seeking to grow in obedience and discipline. Sometimes I fall, sometimes I stand. But I keep growing. There's no turning back.
3. I now trust the Scriptures. That is something I haven't done since I was a child.
4. Apparently, according to my parents, I have a consistently better attitude at home now, too.
5. Now that I'm saved, I'm taking this step of obedience, and am openly asking for your prayers. I know I'm utterly sinful in my flesh, and every day is battle against my sin, but I'm taking this stand in obedience to CHRIST.
6.