SelahV Today by hariette petersen

Marriage Begins after the Wedding

Some folks think the "wedding" is marriage. But, marriage is so much more than a beautiful day of childhood dreams.

THE RECESSIONAL: After the bride and groom are pronounced man and wife, they walk down that aisle together and leave behind respective mothers, fathers, family and guests. It is they and they alone who are to walk on into life and take the journey of marriage and commitment. As parents and guests follow, they become the support system behind them. Or at least, they should.  Don't you think?

Cries At the Cross and Thoughts to Ponder

No other could know the agony as well, nor experience the pain of loss as much as Mary, the mother of Jesus, on the day we call Good Friday.  Long before she gave birth to the Holy Child in Bethlehem, Mary pondered the monumental change growing within her womb.  More than the physical changes...more than the cultural challenges, Mary pondered that she, a lowly Hebrew virgin, would conceive the long-awaited Messiah...the Savior of Israel.  Her first child.  An awesome responsibility for any woman to have a child, but Emanuel?  God with us?

I can't imagine all the thoughts Mary carried throughout her lifetime of her first-born son.  I relate only to those I hold inside my heart and mind for my own son.  Though my first I only saw through a plate glass window 15 hours before he died, I was gifted with my second son for 33 years.  The same age as Jesus when He gave his life on the Friday, we call "Good" in remembrance of the crucifixion.

Needful to say, Mary probably did not feel so "good" that day as she followed her son about to be accused, tried, beaten, mocked, spat upon, nailed to a wooden cross with spikes that tore into his flesh.  As horrific as it seems to me the death I am told claimed my son as his head was crushed, beyond recognition when he met boulders on a bank when the driver of an ATV rolled the 4-Wheeler over and instantly killed my son, it is nothing compared to that which the mother of our Savior experienced as she watched in vigil at the foot of the cross as Jesus drew his last breath and said "It is finished".

What went through her mind?  How unfair did it seem to Mary?  How many memories of joy and laughter and hugs did she recall?  How many tears did she shed?  Did she kneel there in fear for herself by being the mother of the Man from Galilee? How did she feel as she watched all the things she may have expected to occur be destroyed that dark and lonely day on Golgatha's hill?  What did she think would happen? Had she been forewarned?  Could she have fathomed the heartache she would have to endure because her son would have to die that she could live forever with him?  I do not know.

But as I contemplate this day, I know I will some day.  I will know why my son lived only 33 years...before God took him to live with Him for eternity.  I will know, as Mary, why we mothers were left behind.  And it will be a good day.  The best day among all.  And I know then and there, I will have no more sorrow, no more pain, and no more emptiness for the void left behind when my son left me to join Mary's son.  selahV

That Perfect Gift

Delight exploded in my grandchildren's expressions when that perfect gift appeared beneath a veil of gaily wrapped Christmas paper.  I could tell it was one they'd been wishing and hoping for.  Belief crushed disbelief when the gift was actually in their possession. They could touch it, hold it, cradle it, inspect it, try it on, use it, or play with it--whatever the case might be.  One thing is certain:  it wasn't ignored or set aside.  Coupled with their delight was the pure pleasure and thrill on the faces of those who gave that perfect gift.  Days later I read a Scripture passage that gave me pause:

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

We may think we have chosen the perfect gift-- the most exciting, most desired, most treasured-- but in reality our gifts pale in comparison to our Father's in Heaven.  His grace and mercy and forgiveness are unequaled.  His forbearance, compassion, and love cannot be duplicated.  The most perfect of gifts to us is life itself through Jesus Christ who sacrificed the glory of heaven to come to earth and pour out His blood to pay for the sin in our impure, unholy lives.  He paid the unreachable price to redeem our souls.  We could never in a million lifetimes work hard enough, earn enough, or save enough to pay what Jesus paid for our eternal home.

Unlike gifts we unwrap for ourselves in celebration of His birth, the Father's gift does not tarnish, fall apart, fade or lose any value as it is used.  In fact, the more we share His gift and give it away, the greater it becomes and the more joy we have.  That perfect gift we give is not the shiny bracelet, or dazzling diamond earrings.  It's not the car set, the crockpot or jacket.  It is the love behind each gift...the sacrifice made by the giver of the gift.  In many cases, it is no sacrifice at all for us.  We give from our abundance.  But all we have is because our Father grants it.  All we are is because our Father allows it.  What an amazing thought God gave me as I stored precious family memories in my cache of happiness this season.  selahV 

FUNERAL SONGS I want when I die

When I die don't cry for me.  In my Father's arms I'll be.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnwQ51Q3pWc

No more night...no more tears...no more sadness....no more fears.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZKXUBomnAg

Praises to the Great I Am, we will live in the Light of the Risen Lamb! 

CELEBRATING DILIGENCE, PERSEVERANCE and FAITH

Diligence and persistance are synonymous with my 19 year-old grandson.  Even as a little boy, he played ball while hurt because his dad had taught him to persist and persevere--even when you don't feel like it.  The team was counting on him.  Through his life, I've marveled at the perseverance he has shown in multiple ways, through many difficulties he's faced head-on.  Again and again he followed through on commitments when more tempting situations and social events were ignored.

A year ago eighteen-year-old Ryan sat on the sofa in my living room and told me he simply was not interested in becoming an engineer, even though he had a scholarship to college.  He knew he had the potential to be anything he wanted to be--he's just that bright.  He didn't want to disappoint his teachers who'd recommended him for scholarships.  But he felt God was leading him to be a fireman.  He had joined the volunteer fire department in a little rural town near his home in the county before he even finished highschool.  He immediately started getting certified and training.  He loved it.  When he got his equipment, he came to our house to show us all of it.  Everything was used and old, but he spread it out and explained it all like it was Christmas in July.  He was so proud.

When he happened to be the first responder to a horrific fatal accident a half-mile from his home, Ryan called in the accident; he didn't panic.  He simply assessed the situation and ordered all the right things--including jaws-of-life for the nineteen-year-old girl trapped inside her vehicle.  He told me he couldn't believe how calm he was in the midst of it all.  He believed God was using him as he sat on the bank--just talking to a little boy who'd been in the accident while other responders attended to the boy's grandfather.

When Ryan went to his first structure fire, they were able to save the trailer.  But Ryan wasn't satisfied with that.  He felt he needed to hook up the family with churches in the area to minister to their needs.  He even organized a few meals for them through his mom, and his youth minister at church.  Ryan felt God could use him in the fire-department.  "It could be a ministry," he told me.  I remember telling him that he could do anything he wanted to do and no matter what he did, God could use him to minister to people.  But if God was calling him to be a fireman, then He would make a way for him to do all he needed to do to become one.

Within a few months, he was in the top three applicants out of 60 who made it through the rigorous testing required for firefighting applicants in a nearby town.  When folks told him he was in--not to worry about it, he hoped, but knew his age might be against him.  When the position was given to another who had more certifications, he didn't give up; he dug in.  He got more certifications.  He went to every single training event he could.  Before long he was training others.

A couple of weeks ago, when he went for his interview with Lawton's Fire Chief, Ryan knew his youth was still against him.  However, he had taken every class and prepared in every way necessary to get hired.  He scored well on all his tests and excelled in every training exercise.  While he awaited the Chief's decision, Ryan attended another school--this one for smoke jumping.  He figured if he didn't get the Lawton position, he'd find one somewhere else.  Fortunately, he didn't have to, he got the call that he'd made it through.  All that was left was his physical.

Last week he took his physical and though he passed it, he had to have an x-ray of his back where he broke his neck a few years ago while riding motocross.  Remember me requesting prayers for him then?  We wondered, would that accident be his undoing?  We prayed as we waited to hear the results of the x-ray and the doctor's recommendations.  Tonite we celebrated.  We've held our breath and prayed for him.  He has been so diligent...so persistent, so faithful and trusting.  He is now cleared and officially part of our town's fire department.

I have no doubts Ryan will be one of the best firefighters our town has ever had.  It will not surprise me to learn he saves another's life or that he boldly faces challenges others shy away from.  He's just that kind of man.  In a day when jobs are harder and harder to come by...when budgets are tight and firefighting positions are scarce, God has blessed my grandson.  In our state 97% of all fires are fought by volunteer firemen.  This is an incredible blessing for Ryan, and for us.  I'm so grateful, I just had to share my joy with you all.  selahV

WHAT THE CHILEAN MINERS REALLY WANT TO SAY

Finally!  Someone reveals what was on the shirts of everyone of the 33 coal miners trapped in the bowels of earth as they rose and walked into the light of an open sky:

 

1,300 YOUTH CELEBRATE JESUS IN BUDAPEST HUNGARY

CHECK OUT THIS RESURRECTION SUNDAY DANCE by 1,300-hundred youth in Hungary.  May America's Youth catch the spirit surging through the souls of these young people. 

Disciples can be young folks, too.

In my weekly newspaper column I chatted a bit about last weekend and touched on some of the highlights of my grandchildren at Disciple Now Weekend at our church.  Thought you might like to read it on my COMMON MATTERS site.  So for an A-Rated Weekend and R-Rated Conversations go HERE.

IT'S STILL HARD

I didn't have to call.  There was no need for a card.  I didn't have to shop for a gift or wrap a present.  I didn't have to change my schedule or routine.  I didn't have to worry about eating calorie-laden cake to celebrate.  He would have been 38 years old today.

It's been nearly 5 years since that fateful Mother's Day that claimed his 33-plus years of life.  And it's still hard.  It's hard to imagine he's not around.  It's still hard to think I'll never hear his voice on the other end of the phone.  He had an unusual way of interrupting my day at the busiest of times--sometimes he had a problem; most times a joy to share.  It's hard to listen to others complain about all the things they must to do ready themselves for a birthday, the expense, the inconvenience.  I guess what I'm trying to say is be grateful for the moment you have today with a loved one.  A child.  Don't take for granted you will always have tomorrow to celebrate.  You just never know.  Cherish the conversations.  Savor the time with one another.  Let those little aggravations slide for awhile.  And just be happy.  selahV

WHAT'S WITH THAT "COMMON MATTERS" ICON?

It's a new blog of sorts for me.  Check it out by clicking on the icon on my site, then celebrate with me.  I'm excited, humbled and so very blessed.  selahV

SUCH IS A CONFIDENT ATTITUDE

So I was babysitting yesterday morning and when noon rolled around, my husband called saying his car wouldn't start and he needed a ride to work.  I packed up 4 year-old HayJae and we headed for my house.  As we were approaching the driveway, HayJae asked where Grampa was.  I told her he was still in the house but would come out as soon as we pulled into the drive.  A note of joyful anticipation came from the backseat: 

"Grampa's gonna be so happy to see me!"

Now, is that not the sweetest spirit of confidence you've ever heard?  Well, maybe not.  But I loved it.  And it made me think.  Isn't that exactly how I should feel when I park myself in front of the Throne of Grace?  God is so happy to have my attention.  He's so happy when I meet Him.  Shame on me for times I withhold my undivided attention because I lack that confidence.  selahV    

WHEN CHANGE IS INEVITABLE, BE THANKFUL

Don't you just love Autumn?  Leaves are changing from green to brilliant yellow, red, maroon, coral and orange.  Our gigantic Mulberry tree rarely changes colors.  A few leaves may turn yellow, but for the most part they hang on till the first freeze of the season and then drop all at once.  Such was the case last Thursday.  A heavily laden tree dropped about half its leaves in one night.  My granddaughters were thrilled.  A time to rake, a time to play.

  They piled them high and jumped into the huge soft piles.  They tossed them in the air and laughed.  A simple thing.

  They made leaf-angels and simply lay in them and giggled.  As some folks grumble about raking their leaves, bagging, burning, or blowing them off their drives, my granddaughters embraced their presence.

Big or small, change is resisted, stubbornly accepted, or welcomed.   Some people hate the change of seasons so much that they leave their homes for warmer climates.  They hate Winter because of the cold, Summer because of heat, Spring because of pollen, Autumn because of the leaves.

Life is a series of changes.  And it is inevitable.  We age.  In that process we get to choose how we react to the changes of our lives.  As a senior citizen, I am grateful for the many years I've been blessed to live.  I've seen so many changes in history.  I've seen black people go from sitting on the back of the bus to owning the bus companies.  I've seen flying go from airplanes to space shuttles.  I've watched in amazement at the boom of internet access and marvel.  I still remember learning to type on a real old Underwood typewriter.

I've gone from ministering to others in the death of loved ones to being ministered to with the loss of my own loved ones.  I've seen my husband change from a virile man (who worked a 12-13 hour day), to a man coping with congestive heart failure (who works 4 hours).  It's harder for me to watch my husband's changes than experience my own.

Change is a difficult thing at times.  But when we are met with those changes, whether it is relocating, job losses, health losses, financial losses, or the finality of death, it's a time to grow in faith.  "Count it all joy," scripture says.

Embrace it.  And play in the leaves awhile.  Who knows?  We may just find change a good thing after all.  selahV

[© SelahV Today,hariette petersen, 2008]
        

WHEN DISASTER MEETS US...

There is only one place to look for help.  And it is not to our government, nor our leaders, nor our so-called experts.  Our country's leaders are poised to vote on measures to allow Wall Street gurus, bankers, lenders, and speculators to place their economic mistakes, deceitful practices, and manipulations squarely in the laps of American taxpayers.

With disaster comes a dependency upon God superceded only by His grace to survive it.

"Who can put into words and tell the mighty deeds of the Lord?  Or who can show forth all the praise (that is due Him)?  Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are those who observe justice (treating others fairly) and who do right and are in right standing with God at all times.  [Earnestly] remember me, O Lord, when You favor Your people!  O visit me also when you deliver them, and grant me Your salvation!--that I may see and share the welfare of Your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your heritage." Psalm 106: 2-5. Amplified.

My hope is not in the world and its economic successes.  My hope is not in the leaders of the world.  My expectation of truth, righteousness, justice and protection in perilous times is in Christ and Christ alone.

As I watch this debacle of human panic, I am reminded of ants on an anthill.  They build it up around their hole to protect themselves from the rains.  As a child I use to love to kick over that anthill and flatten it.  I loved to watch those ants scurry about trying to build it back up again.  Sometimes I wonder if like the tower of Babel, the Lord says, "Hey, you are trusting in the wrong things, folks.  On all that money you have minted and are tossing about are four words you have forgotten:  'In God We Trust.'"

Maybe this is God's way of kicking the anthill and flattening it so we all take notice of what is truly important in life.  Him.  selahV

[© SelahV Today, hariette petersen, 2008]    

CALL ME TO THE ALTAR, PLEASE, AND....

What the altar invitation says:

Celebrate with me.  I've come to Jesus.  He's met me at this place and time and I want you to know it.  "And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.  I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." Luke 15:6,7

Pray for me.  I have needs in my life dear brothers and sisters.  When you see me at the altar, pray with me as I pray for you. "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, weep with them that weep." Romans 12:15

Repent with me.  I need to walk closer to the Lord.  Do you?  I need to abide.  Do you?  "Be of the same mind one toward another.  Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate.  Be not wise in your own conceits." Romans 12:16.

Today is the day of salvation.  I may not have another chance to make my life right before God and man.  I need to know what is going on inside my heart, mind, spirit and soul at this moment.  Does anyone care?  Can you help me understand? "...I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee:  behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.) 2Cor. 6:2.

What the altar invitation doesn't say: 

I am stupid and I am coming to a man instead of my Lord.

There's cause to ridicule me for my act of faith.

The sanctuary is a place to be feared.

The people of God are people who cannot be trusted with my confusion, doubts or convictions.  Because I do not understand, I do not need to question.

This is the only time I can be saved.  This is the only place I can pray.  This is the only place I can repent.  This is the only place I can celebrate and rejoice in the Lord.  This is the only place I can weep for my brothers and sisters.

So call me to the altar, please:  Because it is one place I can come without feeling the discrimination of man.  It is one place I can confess my sin and know that I am forgiven and being lifted up. It is one place I am safe to walk unashamedly before the world and gain the courage to walk into the world of which I have been set apart.  It is one place I can receive the encouragement from fellow believers who know I am in need of Someone greater than myself to meet the needs of my life.  It is one place where beginnings can be remembered and sins can be left behind as I walk on in the Light of His Word.

[© SelahV Today, Hariette Petersen, 2008]

IT'S CONFIRMED! I'M A PROPHETESS...SORTA

ETHAN'S HERE!  And I predicted the date.  Ha.  In reality, I guessed it.  He weighed in at 7 lbs. 10 oz., 20 1/2 inches and arrived at 3:42 p.m. today.  I'd just written a post about my prediction of his arrival and posted it at 3:34 in SelahV ETC. (another of my yada, yada blogs).  I sent the info to a couple of friends and then I waited to see how close I'd be to the real time.  It's so fun to be right for a change.

Now, let's see.  What was I thinking about those Red Sox this year?  And uh, would you like to know my pick for the SBC President in June?  And the Presidential election in November?  oooooh, I'll never tell.  Except maybe for the Red Sox, they are first place in their division and the Yankees are in third.  selahV 

 

RED SOX RUMBLE AS YANKEES TAKE A TUMBLE

THIS one's for you, selahV!

STOMPED, BUT STILL VICTORIOUS

It's an amazing feeling to be victorious!

I was playing Rummy with my granddaughter to help her pass time as she contracted every four minutes all day long.  Perhaps I should have tried harder to win the game.  But my granddaughter hadn't beaten me at Rummy the entire time I've been here.  And to be honest, I had a really bad back ache and shooting leg pains so my mind wasn't all that interested in remembering cards and considering the odds.  So when she went out, she had sufficiently stomped me and she was thrilled.  And I was thrilled, for her that she'd won, and for me that it was over.

Tonite I was voted out of the Blog Madness at SBC Voices and someone else is thrilled, or not.  But, once again, I am thrilled.  I was tickled pink to be in any division and then to advance to the Sweet Sixteen was sweet indeed.

As I think of the fun this has been thus far, and the emails I've received telling me of a vote, I am lifted up with encouragement for my writing.  As I've said earlier, I really don't get into the "issues" of the SBC very often.  I comment, but my posts in my blogs are usually devotional in topic and inspirational in focus.  And since I promised my writing would continue as always, I am back to plugging my daily devotional at Daily-IMPACT from here.

The best thing about this is that it shows the need for quality bloggers in this internet venue.  It shows the desire and interest of Christians in the SBC.  And this is just the beginning.  We are on the tip of a needle to what could become one of the greatest sources of communicating the Gospel in all the world.  I pray we keep that in mind as we continue our posts in SBC-Blogland.  selahV

Oh, and my vote can be bought in the final four.  Just give me the 50-dollar gift certificate.  Yeah!  Just kidding.

Congratulations to Tom Ascol, Ed Stetzer, Steve McCoy and Peter Lumpkins.  Guess you know Peter will get my vote.  But I would have had a tough time if SBC Impact had made the final four or Bart Barber.  Yep, then it would have been really tough.

BLOWN AWAY AND TICKLED PINK~~ I MADE IT! THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

I am probably the clumsiest person on earth!  To think of a basketball game and me playing any position that would help a team win a position in their division would be nothing short of a miracle!  To think that I could win a position in the division all by my lonesome would be even more incredible.  But to be pitted against multiple teams and individuals such as Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, or the entire Kentucky Wildcats basketball team would be a truly unbelievable fairytale.

And that is exactly how I felt when Tony Kummer from SBC Voices placed me in his BLOG MADNESS TOURNAMENT for Southern Baptist Bloggers.  I was so honored to find my name (albeit, misspelled both ways as SelvahV and  Harriette Peterson) amongst such esteemed company in blogland.  I've never seen myself as much of a writer of influence.  I've just prayed about what I write and hoped it honored God as I felt led to use scripture, theology as a lay-woman understands it, and personal experiences which exemplified God's Sovereign Hand in my life of nearly 60 years.

Although I have a few commenters on my little blogs, and though the amount of page views is considered by some to be substantial, I really have no earthly idea who is reading me other than the few folks who take a minute to leave a comment and engage me with their validation and kindnesses by email.  I parcel out my writing between my personal blogs listed here in my sidebar and by contributing to SBC Impact and their DailyIMPACT devotional site.  My daily devotional writing is my favorite place to use the gifts God has bestowed upon me because they not only give me an opportunity to encourage, comfort and console others, but the study I get when I read God's Word is so grips and edifies me.  Most of my writing expresses how God is dealing with me personally or with friends of mine who I never name unless in a Call To Prayer.

I am truly tickled pink and blown away to have made it to the Sweet Sixteen of Tony's little game.  The feeling is somewhat akin to how a little high-school freshman from the wrong side of the tracks felt when she won a place on the varsity cheer-leading squad.  I got to go to all the football games after that for free and even got to ride to the away games and listen to Emmylou Harris sing her songs on the pep bus rides to neighboring counties.  Emmylou Harris was also a cheerleader and I've always joked that she was my only claim to fame.  She even signed my yearbook.  And as exciting as that may have been to someone like me, I find this little Blog Madness game as an equal.  Yeah, silly, huh?

I know I have absolutely no chance of surpassing Wade Burleson or Ed Stetzer in the Division I've been privileged to find myself.  But to have made it to the top sixteen is rather neat.  I thank all of you who found in my writing something that you considered worthy enough to vote for.  I know my husband voted for me and of course he thinks I'm rather special.  As the tournament rolls forward and folks cast votes, I will count it an extreme honor just to have had the support I have had thus far.  I have no illusions about a final four.  OTHER than possibly finding myself with the SBC IMPACT blog team that allows me the privilege of contributing two or three times a month to their site.  They are in the top of their division standings.  So I can crow a bit about them and ride on their coattails I suppose. 

They and I are in separate divisions, so that is exciting too.  And some of my fellow contributors found their way into the Sweet Sixteen also.  I'm so glad to know we are bringing you a measure of writing you find helpful and which stirs you on toward love and good works.  That is our goal and definitely mine.  Grace be upon you as you seek the Truth in all you read and all you receive in your walk as a Southern Baptist or another denominational Christian.  Should you want to vote (you don't have to be SBC) or simply watch the game, just pop on over to Tony Kummer's SBCVoices and see the nearly 300 Southern Baptist bloggers he has created a handy directory for perusing.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

A TIME OF CELEBRATION

Today is celebrated throughout the world as Easter.  A day to remember the resurrection of Jesus.  New life.

Today my father celebrates his 88th birthday.  And I am with him.  Today I am grateful that because of my father's prayers I was given new life in Jesus in 1976.  Dad never gave up on me.  In the worst of my life, he continued to pray.  In my complete disregard and disrespect for him, he continued to pray and to witness to me.  In my rejection, he unconditionally loved and accepted me.  For this I can celebrate anew.  selahV 

THE HARRY IN HARIETTE

Throughout my life of nearly six decades, I've observed many men dominate women.  They've abused them emotionally and physically.  I've seen women cower like cornered mice.

I have known men who have taken verbal and physical abuse from women and live in a virtually powerless state in their marriages. I've watched many women rule their households and dominate their husbands with a forcefulness akin to that of my grandson's python when it grabs live mice for its meal.

God never intended male and female relationships to progress to such an aberration of creation. To me, this distorted nature is like the mutation in the pine tree pictured here.  The tree burst forth in perfect seed and grew.  Over time it developed a fungal invasion that caused a deformity to grow upon it.  The tree is still a pine tree, but it's deformity stands out as cause for rejection.  This is feminism at its best.   

Women have been exploited by men and women, alike.  Women have enjoyed the exploitation; women have abhorred it.  Women have used their femininity to entice and control. While some of the uses of female persuasion has served a greater end than the means employed, it does not negate the fact that it was used and is ofttimes simply deceitful.  Some Christian women have used their knowledge and talents to further a feminist agenda with concentrated effort which undermines, in my opinion, the very core of their Creator's intentions.

I doubt seriously when God removed Adam's rib to create Eve to be his helpmate, He intended for Adam to order his wife about, treat her in a subservient manner or think less of her because of her gender.  I also doubt that when Eve was given to Adam that God intended for her to use her feminity to control him, to bait him and deceive him.

I lived through Honeymooners and I Love Lucy.  I survived the Happy Days of Ozzie and Harriet, The Cleaver's and Donna Reed.    I watched Archie Bunker's chauvinism and Roseanne's feminism.  I've witnessed women burn undergarments, and Women's Liberation so invade society that the order which the Lord intended for marriage and home is considered archaic.  At one time, before Christ became Lord of my life, I must unfortunately and sadly confess, I bought into the lies of those women.

The very same women are the women who fought for Roe vs. Wade.  They continue to uphold it as their choice through Supreme Court Justices such as Ruth Bader Gingsberg.  Their mantra is all-about-me.

Feminism has mutated into a pseudo-gender of its own.  Many Christian women find their solace, rest, and validation in varying degrees of feminism today.  Some embrace it because of equal-work, equal-pay.  Others believe it frees them to be what they seek to become in all areas of life.  Others see a strange commonality between male and female genders which leaves little room for a man to be a man or a woman to be a woman.  The cultural conflict redefines roles and characteristics of each.

I freely admit that there is a bit of Harry in Hariette.  But even my "Harry" submits to the authority of my husband and what I consider God's direct authority in my life as a woman.  I do not like the mutation of feminism today.  It validates to me who I believe is the first feminist recorded in the Bible:  Eve.

Eve, who having been created from Adam's side by Almighty God, was wiled by the serpent of evil.  She was gullible to the point of allowing him to twist God's words.  She gave in to the desires of her heart and mind, then allowed temptation to grow into full-blown sin.  She disobeyed her Creator who had blessed her saying, "Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man];..."  Gen. 1:28

What a mess Eve made of the perfection of God's earth.  She was a catalyst in multiplying her disobedience and rebellion against our Sovereign.  Where there is a will, there is another way.  Having been given a free will, Eve chose to ignore God.  We continue to do the same.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

COULD WE REMEMBER A BLESSED CHRISTIAN WOMAN TODAY?  Read her story HERE.

    

ALL CREATION WAITS

"For even the whole creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God's sons to be known." Romans 8:19

 

Does this not conjure up an invitation to solitude?

Time alone.  Peace.  Contentment.  Gentle breezes.  The waft of lavendar scented air.  The diligent robin in search of daily bread.  The butterfly spreading pollen from blossom to blossom.  The honeybee replenishing the earth and making its bounty of sweetness for freshly brewed tea.

"For the creation was subjected to fraility (to futility, condemned to frustration), not because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of Him Who so subjected it--(yet) with the hope that nature itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption [and gain entrance] into the glorious freedom of God's children." Romans 8:20-21.

All of nature waits for the revealing, the disclosing of God's redeemed.  Such celebration of resurrection morning cries out each Spring and begs us join in praise.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]   

HIP, HIP, HOORAY!

We did it!

Thanks to a very computer savvy blogging bud, Byron---better known in the sphere of cyberoptic web as Byroniac---I uploaded my entire computer's data without a hitch into AOL's free storage space.  I'm ever grateful for AOL's little deposit site.  I'm even more grateful for Byron who graciously took time to email me and answer my ignorant technological questions.  I need to send him some of my famous Preacher Cookies.

By the way, I would never have thought to reboot my computer and clear it of all the sites and gatherings I'd collected at those sites, if it hadn't been for my friend Ramblin' Rose.  When I told her what Byron had told me, she advised that I reboot before I started the procedure, given the history of my computer to shut down in the midst of emails, etc.   I should send her some cookies too, but she bakes better cookies than I do, so I'll have to think of something more fitting for her.

Okay.  Today, after an appointment with my grief-counselor (who God placed in my life to save me from myself), I am going to unplug the old PC and plug-in the new.  I'm so excited, I'm about to pop like a 4th of July fire cracker!  Then my most challenging moments will be unlearning all I've learned in navigating this Windows system and learning how to navigate VISTA.  Such challenges await me!  Such fun!

Hey!  DON'T FORGET to visit dailyIMPACT for my devotional thought today which was inspired by Colin McGahey's comment on yesterday's post.  He's a wise young man.    selahV