Purple

My friend Alison has a blog which puts into words how I feel so much more eloquently than I ever could, on why I’m wearing purple today, and how I feel in general about the issues surround bullying, suicide, and homosexuality as of late.

Read her post.

iPhone wallpapers

So, I kinda got an iPhone today. Used, on Craigslist. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind.

But the thing that’s gotten me most excited?

These wallpapers. By artists. You can see I have a thing for bears, flowers, patterns, birds, broccoli, humour, and anchors. The swirls are actually the least like my personal taste, but they are by an artist, Sougwen, who went to my high school. She has a place in my heart and her art kinda blows my mind.

All from POOGLA.COM

I’m currently using the broccoli one as my background for my apps (it makes me smile) and the busy bird tapestry-looking one for my lock screen. Because it’s refined.

Your friends are probably gay

…inspired by a Facebook post.

Since I’m PRETTY SURE most of my 400+ friends on facebook don’t read my blog, I’m gunna sound-off a bit on some of the stupid stuff posted on facebook.

(scene: picture of two guys kinda hugging/leaning in front of a webcam, apparently topless, and the comment by the girl who graduates high school in 2012 is, “yeah, they’re gay. :) but good singers ;)”

I take issue only because I know that a) she and the guys pictured go to my Christian high school and b) I expected more from her and c) I know someone who has gone through my Christian high school and later come out of the closet.

so… are they actually gay? because they look like brothers. I can’t figure out if you’re giving an underhanded compliment, such as, “I am surprised to note that you have vocal talent due to your sexual preferences!” or if you’re just suggesting that this picture makes them look gay, and you’re making fun of that, while telling them they can sing.

If it’s the first one, I would say, “Wow, kudos. Kids in high school – a CHRISTIAN high school – have come out! That’s new. And they’re open about it, and their friends are even making light of it, on Facebook. That’s impressive. Wow, the world sure has progressed… I don’t get the bit about ‘but’ they can sing, but maybe it’s an inside joke that gay people can’t sing, altho that makes no sense according to stereotypes!!!?”

But since the boy’s response is “SCREW YOU” I think it’s probably not that.

It’s likely that they’re not gay, and it’s completely normal to say “gay” as an insult, and this completely nice sweet girl every other moment on facebook is just making a joke that in her world that is innocent, that isn’t meant to offend, just poke fun of, her friends who are in this awkwardly posed photo. Yet, it does offend.

Let me offer some unsolicited advice, because this is my blog, and sometimes I just need to rant about what young people do on facebook every now and then. You, sweet young one, who attends my former high school, and who is a Christian. Your friends (not necessarily these) likely are, in fact, gay. Right now. They know it, but you don’t. They probably struggle immensely with this reality, and will one day come out to you. If you are still friends when they come to that point.

Being gay in high school, especially your/my high school, cannot be easy. The message from Christian community (and any youthful group) is that gay is bad. Straight is GOOD. Gay is bad. And the “hate the sin, love the sinner” thing, unfortunately, doesn’t really work when the thing being called sin is the very identity of said sinner.

It’s going to be hard for youngins to change your language, and you may not see any reason to, except this: it’s the right thing to do, according to God, and God is God so listen to him.

Using the words “gay” and “retard” to mean “stupid” or “lame” or “bad” is normal, and because everyone does it, it’s fine, right? Imagine with me judgment day, just imagine, standing before God and trying to huddle together with everyone else who did your sin – do you really think that maybe He won’t notice you because you’re all clustered together in a big group? Doing what is common, culturally, is rather un-Christian. You are called to more.

Let me remind you of something. Gay people have an identity, an identity that is defined by a word. (identities are complex but at least one aspect of a gay person’s understanding of themselves is this: the word Gay or Homosexual. When you start using the word Gay or Homo to mean stupid, they get the message. They understand what their worth is according to you. Everyone says it, so it’s loud and clear – you are stupid, you are lame, you are everything people don’t want to be.

So please, please, please. Be less funny next time, and don’t say “that’s gay” when you mean you think something is off, or wrong, or stupid, or bad. Because your classmates, people you interact with, your friends, neighbours, maybe even your own family members, are gay.

Show some pre-emptive love. I wish I had.

Pictures in my ffffound file

I have a file folder on my desktop at work called “ffffound” that contains things I want to keep because they bring me joy. I haven’t added anything to it in months and months, but looking at it I realize that its eclectic-ness goes to show just how diverse my tastes and interests are. Heck, I find it interesting to scroll through, maybe you will too.

From many places over the internet, including but not limited to:

deviantart, fingerprintphoto, ffffound, flickr, bizarro comics, icanhascheezburger, designsponge, and threadless

Things you can garner from this collection include but are not limited to:

my delight in humour, faith, beauty, culture, design, and cute, odd things.

Slideshow which takes a while to load, or you can scroll through the images and see big versions of individual files by clicking in the gallery below.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Delicious cupcakes

I know the lass that bakes these. she’s got talent.

Click the cupcakes to visit Tiffany’s blog.

Can you imagine if you had these for wedding cupcakes?

http://twicebaked-tiffany.blogspot.com/

Psalm 8

¹ LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.

² Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

³ When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

⁴ what are mere mortals that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?

⁵ You have made them  a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned them with glory and honor.

⁶ You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their  feet:

⁷ all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,

⁸ the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

⁹ LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

We are beings of great worth. Only a little lower than God. Most definitely lower, but as the word says, only “a little lower.” That to me suggests that we have such tremendous potential. It also makes sense that we are designed to love one another. God has given us himself, but he also gave us each other – these are the beings worthy of companionship, worthy of spending this one wild and precious life with. These are whom we are to experience and share great love with. All to give the more glory to God, the one who made us, and taught us to love.

Crowned with glory and honour despite being mere mortals. What a gracious God! Who do I perceive as crowed with glory… honoured by God himself? It’s nice to imagine myself in that seat, but it doesn’t really “stick” in my understanding. I don’t feel the aura of glory or feel particularly honoured… although, when I contemplate what Christ did for me, I do shut up (God has done so much for me, why me?).

Ah, my beloved, you and I were created a little lower than God. Yet sometimes I fear talking to you with complete honesty. Sometimes I do not entrust myself to you fully, I hold back, there are walls I do not even know the extent of. Sometimes I find it hard to hope for things to be glorious, knowing there are already so many things we’re dealing with, and there are more we haven’t even scratched the surface of. I want to be honoured, feel glorious with you. I want to be completely transparent, knowing where you are, having nothing to hide.

What Women Want

A great TIME article about the state of women now compared to forty years ago.

College campuses used to be almost 60-40 male; now the ratio has reversed, and close to half of law and medical degrees go to women, up from fewer than 10% in 1970. Half the Ivy League presidents are women, and two of the three network anchors soon will be; three of the four most recent Secretaries of State have been women. There are more than 145 foundations designed to empower women around the world, in the belief that this is the greatest possible weapon against poverty and disease; there was only one major foundation (the Ms. Foundation) for women in 1972. For the first time, five women have won Nobel Prizes in the same year (for Medicine, Chemistry, Economics and Literature). We just came through an election year in which Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Tina Fey and Katie Couric were lead players, not the supporting cast. And the President of the United States was raised by a single mother and married a lawyer who outranked and outearned him.

A good ol’ quote or two

“The ultimate purpose of marriage is the greater glory of God — and God is most greatly glorified when His gifts are rightly celebrated and received, and His covenants are rightly honored and pledged.”

- from this dreamy eyed fellow, Albert Mohler, via the marriage blog

“Marriage is the source of great and unspeakable happiness. Yet because of sin it is not unmixed happiness. But marriage is not first and foremost about making us happy. It is for making us holy. And through the covenant of marriage two Christians pledge to live together so as to make each other holy before God, as a testimony to Christ.”

- not sure who this is from, but I think it’s the same guy

Matt Tapley’s Blog

You may or may not know of Matt Tapley.

He is a pastor and worship leader, and one of those guys that I would love to be able to preach like one day. His daughter is currently going through what I can only presume to be treatment for cancer. He started a blog October 4th when she was diagnosed, and as of today it contains six posts. It’s mind-blowing and shutting me up and making me think.

You should read it.

MattTapley’s Blog

This is how you apologize

Full article here.

…a lack of awareness, dismissive or denying behaviours suggest a lack of empathy. An apology lacking in awareness sounds like this: “I’m sorry that you feel that way?” Or an explanation for one’s behaviour is substituted for an apology, or no apology is forthcoming.

The hallmark of a genuine apology is the sincere effort to recognize another’s pain and the resulting effort to alleviate it.

I just finished reading that book I was telling you about… It Came from Within…

and it’s gold. GOLD.

I think it gave me the best advice I’ve ever heard on forgiveness. I’ll try and quote it more precisely later but basically, your feelings don’t have to match up with your forgiveness. When remembering (because we can’t forget) brings up emotions, don’t try to shut ‘em up, but do remind yourself that the issue is forgiven.

Another gold wisdom nugget: Anger has to do with feeling like someone OWES us. It’s not just about what someone DID but about what you feel they TOOK from you (you owe me kindness, you owe me friendship, you owe me respect, etc.). Once you figure out what you wanted (and recognize that most of the time, you can never be repaid), you can cancel the debt.

“You don’t owe me, you don’t owe me, you don’t owe me anymore: From one forgiven soul to another, you don’t owe me.”

I’m still hurt, sometimes, when I remember the things I need to offer forgiveness for. But forgiveness is a decision, not a feeling. :)