Thursday, September 24, 2015
Thursday, August 20, 2015
The Unheard Genocide of the Voiceless
KNOW.
We don't want to face it. We don't want to see images of murdered, undeveloped babies on our Facebook scroll. We want to see selfies of that acquaintance we may or may not know, hiking a mountain in some foreign country.
But the truth is, we do know. We can ignore it, we could not take the 10 minutes to hear the heartbreaking story of a former procurement technician who sliced an infant's head open while his heart was still beating. We can ignore it. Even those of us who say we are pro-life... we can still ignore the gross reality of what is happening in this country.
Maybe it's true for some, that people really don't understand what or to the extent of what is going on. Maybe they don't know when they think life begins, and what really counts as a "baby." Or maybe they don't want to know. Maybe they don't want to think about it. If you were to search "aborted child" on Google images, the photos you would see would be enough to make you squirm, if not cry or throw up.
But you know what? I think we do know. I think it is our responsibility to make sure the world understands the atrocity and reality of what is actually going on. That these ARE lives.
But if all we do is know and make known... what does that even accomplish?
DO.
You find this everywhere. I don't care what religion, race, age, or political side you are on. You see something in the world/country that you don't like, and you're going to talk it down. Sometimes it's just to vent, sometimes it's to inform... but regardless, all you're doing is talking. Talking can be informative, but that's usually all it is. If you're really passionate about something, if you see something NEEDS to change, it's time to start DOING.
It's not enough to just say, "Abortion is bad," or "I'm pro-life." Because this is not just an issue of, "Yeah, that probably shouldn't be happening," or "In a perfect world that wouldn't happen."
NO! This are people's lives at steak! This is a genocide that is happening right inside of our country, and thousands of other countries around the world, this is not just a matter of talk!
So if this is really something you deem important (and I pray it is), then it's time to start practically challenging yourself: What can I do? Maybe voting for a pro-life president won't change anything or maybe it will. But dig deeper. What can you do, more than just signing a petition, attending a protest, or sharing a link on Facebook. Seek out a local crisis pregnancy center, and donate or better yet, volunteer there. Help babysit a single mother or struggling family's child or children. Employ someone. Adopt a child, or if it's all you can do, foster. Go to another country, spend a significant amount of time in an orphanage (although this may not have a lasting effect on the orphans, let me tell you from personal experience, it changes your outlook!). Help counsel a family or couple. Find a job that invests in people. Serve lower-income families.
Not all of us can do some of the things mentioned above, and definitely one individual can't do ALL of the things above. But in the words of Edward Everett Hale:
Find something. Have knowledge, then go DO.
But what even are actions?
Love.
My dear family in Christ. Have you ever asked yourself what kind of image people who are pro-life have with those who aren't? Have you ever wondered what they think we really stand for?
I was taken back when I heard the response statement of the director of Planned Parenthood, after those videos of the interview were made public. She is so against people who are pro-life. My first question was:
"Why? ...Does she think that we, who are for pro-life, hate women?" Although I cannot one-hundred percent answer this question... I think this should cause us to take a look on how we appear as pro-life supporters.
I don't hate women. On the contrary, I am one (go, women!). In fact, I am 100% for people!
(Ironically, roughly 50% of these murdered human beings were probably women.) So this is not a matter at all of my being sexist (against my own sex?) or whatever other argument one of pro-choice may have (although I admit I don't quite understand what they think of us.)
However, I am "for people," meaning I am for ALL people. I believe in life. And yes, I realize it is harder to care about someone who is considering killing than to care for the one being killed. But they're all people. And it's true, many of them are coming from hard situations.
So while we love the babies, we have to check ourselves to see if we're loving the parents as well. That's a hard reality in itself. These are people, who have hard decisions to make. The last image we want as someone supporting pro-life is that we hate families/parents. We should love families! That's what we're fighting FOR!
As Paul in 1 Corinthians states:
1If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
LIFE.
I AM PRO-LIFE. 100% Life.
The issue of abortion is an incredibly important one. One that should be recognized, and fought boldly. We must not just sit back silently while those without voices go unheard.
But in the end, what I and my Christian brother next to me must realize is that the root of the problem is not abortion.
It is life, and it is choice.
The life and the choice offered by JESUS CHRIST, the Son of the holy, living God. We will never have victory in fighting this sinful world if we are merely fighting morality. Murder, adultery, lying, rape, stealing, addiction, sexual immorality, gluttony, pride... these are not the root issues.
The root of the issue is that Christ has offered us LIFE,
and He has offered it to us by CHOICE.
It is not our position to take away someone else's life, but the choice we are faced with is if we are going to accept the life offered to US.
So please. Fight abortion. Fight it with all that you've got. Fight it with knowledge, action, and love. But more than that: fight death. And fight it with Life.
We do not preach and live a gospel of morality.
We preach and live a Gospel of life given by grace.
We don't want to face it. We don't want to see images of murdered, undeveloped babies on our Facebook scroll. We want to see selfies of that acquaintance we may or may not know, hiking a mountain in some foreign country.
But the truth is, we do know. We can ignore it, we could not take the 10 minutes to hear the heartbreaking story of a former procurement technician who sliced an infant's head open while his heart was still beating. We can ignore it. Even those of us who say we are pro-life... we can still ignore the gross reality of what is happening in this country.
Maybe it's true for some, that people really don't understand what or to the extent of what is going on. Maybe they don't know when they think life begins, and what really counts as a "baby." Or maybe they don't want to know. Maybe they don't want to think about it. If you were to search "aborted child" on Google images, the photos you would see would be enough to make you squirm, if not cry or throw up.
But you know what? I think we do know. I think it is our responsibility to make sure the world understands the atrocity and reality of what is actually going on. That these ARE lives.
But if all we do is know and make known... what does that even accomplish?
DO.
You find this everywhere. I don't care what religion, race, age, or political side you are on. You see something in the world/country that you don't like, and you're going to talk it down. Sometimes it's just to vent, sometimes it's to inform... but regardless, all you're doing is talking. Talking can be informative, but that's usually all it is. If you're really passionate about something, if you see something NEEDS to change, it's time to start DOING.
It's not enough to just say, "Abortion is bad," or "I'm pro-life." Because this is not just an issue of, "Yeah, that probably shouldn't be happening," or "In a perfect world that wouldn't happen."
NO! This are people's lives at steak! This is a genocide that is happening right inside of our country, and thousands of other countries around the world, this is not just a matter of talk!
So if this is really something you deem important (and I pray it is), then it's time to start practically challenging yourself: What can I do? Maybe voting for a pro-life president won't change anything or maybe it will. But dig deeper. What can you do, more than just signing a petition, attending a protest, or sharing a link on Facebook. Seek out a local crisis pregnancy center, and donate or better yet, volunteer there. Help babysit a single mother or struggling family's child or children. Employ someone. Adopt a child, or if it's all you can do, foster. Go to another country, spend a significant amount of time in an orphanage (although this may not have a lasting effect on the orphans, let me tell you from personal experience, it changes your outlook!). Help counsel a family or couple. Find a job that invests in people. Serve lower-income families.
Not all of us can do some of the things mentioned above, and definitely one individual can't do ALL of the things above. But in the words of Edward Everett Hale:
But what even are actions?
Love.
My dear family in Christ. Have you ever asked yourself what kind of image people who are pro-life have with those who aren't? Have you ever wondered what they think we really stand for?
I was taken back when I heard the response statement of the director of Planned Parenthood, after those videos of the interview were made public. She is so against people who are pro-life. My first question was:
"Why? ...Does she think that we, who are for pro-life, hate women?" Although I cannot one-hundred percent answer this question... I think this should cause us to take a look on how we appear as pro-life supporters.
I don't hate women. On the contrary, I am one (go, women!). In fact, I am 100% for people!
(Ironically, roughly 50% of these murdered human beings were probably women.) So this is not a matter at all of my being sexist (against my own sex?) or whatever other argument one of pro-choice may have (although I admit I don't quite understand what they think of us.)
However, I am "for people," meaning I am for ALL people. I believe in life. And yes, I realize it is harder to care about someone who is considering killing than to care for the one being killed. But they're all people. And it's true, many of them are coming from hard situations.
So while we love the babies, we have to check ourselves to see if we're loving the parents as well. That's a hard reality in itself. These are people, who have hard decisions to make. The last image we want as someone supporting pro-life is that we hate families/parents. We should love families! That's what we're fighting FOR!
As Paul in 1 Corinthians states:
1If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8Love never fails.
Everything in love, my friend.
Lastly.
LIFE.
I AM PRO-LIFE. 100% Life.
The issue of abortion is an incredibly important one. One that should be recognized, and fought boldly. We must not just sit back silently while those without voices go unheard.
But in the end, what I and my Christian brother next to me must realize is that the root of the problem is not abortion.
It is life, and it is choice.
The life and the choice offered by JESUS CHRIST, the Son of the holy, living God. We will never have victory in fighting this sinful world if we are merely fighting morality. Murder, adultery, lying, rape, stealing, addiction, sexual immorality, gluttony, pride... these are not the root issues.
The root of the issue is that Christ has offered us LIFE,
and He has offered it to us by CHOICE.
It is not our position to take away someone else's life, but the choice we are faced with is if we are going to accept the life offered to US.
So please. Fight abortion. Fight it with all that you've got. Fight it with knowledge, action, and love. But more than that: fight death. And fight it with Life.
We do not preach and live a gospel of morality.
We preach and live a Gospel of life given by grace.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Hypocrisy
Is the world nothing more than a bunch of hypocrites who walk around blaming everyone around them for being hypocrites?
What a vicious circle.
What a need for grace: to receive and to give.
What a vicious circle.
What a need for grace: to receive and to give.
Friday, October 24, 2014
La Selva, La Sierra, y La Costa
¡¡¡Vamos a Peru!!!
This December, I will be spending that first month of my summer in Peru!
I will be going on a mission trip from December 1st-22nd, and then will spend Christmas and the New Year [December 23-January 3rd] at my roommate's house :)
Because letters are difficult to send here, I am asking for prayer support through this blog post.
Our mission trip will involve primarily working with children and youth; we are still in the process of confirming which churches and places we will be working with. We will be spending a few days in the jungle, the sierra, and will end on the coast [which is where I will be staying with my roommate.]
A few specific prayer requests as we anticipate our trip:
-My Spaaaaanish. I can understand quite a bit, and can speak enough to make light conversation, but I am not nearly where I want to be. Please pray for me as I work diligently to learn as much as I can over this next month, and most importantly as I learn to share the gospel in what will be my third language! I know that finishing the month, I will have learned so much Spanish...but for now it's intimidating not knowing much.
-Transportation for the trip. We have not bought our tickets yet, or even completely decided how we want to get there [by plane, by bus, by both...etc.]. Also for our transportation to be nailed down for while we are there.
-The team. There are still some people that are on the fence about going, whether for personal reasons or logistical/financial. Please pray for the Bible Institute students here that are considering going; and for those that would like to, that the details would work out.
Also for my own logistics; that the details for me would come together.
-The mission. We don't have all our details confirmed yet about the trip. We want to be effective and loving in all that we plan to do while we are there. So please pray for our hearts, as well as open doors. And flexibility, which is always key.
This is all for now; I will hopefully write more as I know more!
Thank you! <3
With love,
Clarissa
This December, I will be spending that first month of my summer in Peru!
I will be going on a mission trip from December 1st-22nd, and then will spend Christmas and the New Year [December 23-January 3rd] at my roommate's house :)
Because letters are difficult to send here, I am asking for prayer support through this blog post.
Our mission trip will involve primarily working with children and youth; we are still in the process of confirming which churches and places we will be working with. We will be spending a few days in the jungle, the sierra, and will end on the coast [which is where I will be staying with my roommate.]
A few specific prayer requests as we anticipate our trip:
-My Spaaaaanish. I can understand quite a bit, and can speak enough to make light conversation, but I am not nearly where I want to be. Please pray for me as I work diligently to learn as much as I can over this next month, and most importantly as I learn to share the gospel in what will be my third language! I know that finishing the month, I will have learned so much Spanish...but for now it's intimidating not knowing much.
-Transportation for the trip. We have not bought our tickets yet, or even completely decided how we want to get there [by plane, by bus, by both...etc.]. Also for our transportation to be nailed down for while we are there.
-The team. There are still some people that are on the fence about going, whether for personal reasons or logistical/financial. Please pray for the Bible Institute students here that are considering going; and for those that would like to, that the details would work out.
Also for my own logistics; that the details for me would come together.
-The mission. We don't have all our details confirmed yet about the trip. We want to be effective and loving in all that we plan to do while we are there. So please pray for our hearts, as well as open doors. And flexibility, which is always key.
This is all for now; I will hopefully write more as I know more!
Thank you! <3
With love,
Clarissa
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Comfort & Running
We all have comfort zones. Some of us are totally cool with striking up a conversation with a stranger in line at Wal-Mart. For others it takes a lot of courage to even make eye contact. And for some, it takes courage to even shop at Wal-Mart. [that was supposed to be funny.]
For me personally, I know when I am being pushed out of my comfort zone. I actually have a specific butterfly/sinking feeling that comes around only when I know I'm supposed to do something that I don't particularly want to do. Maybe it's asking the Arby's employee to smile, and then ringing the "ring if you had excellent service" bell ridiculously loud. Maybe it's asking a hitchhiker we picked up in West Virginia if I can pray for her. Or maybe it's deciding not to come home from Argentina for my winter break, meaning I will be staying in that hemisphere for 10 months straight. Not to be specific.
Maybe this is what the Holy Spirit's leading feels like; I can't honestly say I know for sure. But when I get an idea in my head that something's going to be good for me, and maybe for someone else too, there is no decision that needs to be made after that, except whether or not I'm going to man up and face this growth opportunity.
This leads me to my second point. I run away. In a creative writing course I took this spring, we had to do six word memoir. I wrote for mine, "Wanting to leave, learning to stay." It's true. How often do I think to myself, "If I can just make it through this period of time, then it will all be over and I can move on with my life." How Christ-like of an attitude is that? I have a good guess Jesus was never like, "If I can just make it through this whipping and that nailing/dying, then everyone will be saved. So let's get it over with." I've had this attitude with many things though. A previous job. High school. Sometimes even relationships. Currently I am feeling this way towards going to Argentina.
I have things I need to work out before I go. Things I need to learn. How to be responsible is a huge one that my parents have been drilling into my brain, and this brain doesn't quite seem to grasp it. ["It's this brain of mine...it's got a mind of its own."] So often I find myself thinking "Once I go to Argentina I won't have to worry about whether or not I get my one chore done every day." Obviously there are some serious flaws and imperfections to that way of thinking, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't something I struggled with.
However, the biggest one is relationships. There are relationships that I need to restore, reconsider, and reinforce.
-I need to learn to communicate. "Once I go to Argentina I won't have to worry about communicating clearly with these people." If I have an issue with you, but I'm not around you in person for a while, I'll bottle it up. I'll get offended but never tell you [except through passive-aggressive picture posts on Facebook.], rather than making the effort to phone you up, get together with you, and say, "Hey, this is how this situation made me feel; let's work it out."
-I need to learn to apologize. "I can't wait to go to Argentina so I can avoid all these frustrations I have with myself and these people." This is a big one. What I'm realizing is that sometimes you may have to apologize to someone for offenses you've done against them even when they may have been oblivious to it. Like, "I'm sorry for envying your mad photography skills, and thus disliking you from a distance." or "I'm sorry that I secretly was head-over-heels for you for 3 months, and probably hindered our friendship because of it." These aren't fun things to admit to, because not only does it mean you have to humble yourself to apologize, but you have to bring the problem to their attention in the first place. It's awkward. and unCOMFORTable. But if you can both get passed the awkwardness, the honestly and humility will make the relationship stronger than ever.
-I need to learn contentment. "Once I get to Argentina there won't be any people with skills or characteristics that I'm jealous of. And I DEFINITELY won't be jealous of a good friend hanging out with other people. Nothing like that ever happens in South America." ...yeah. okay. So maybe those aren't my exact thoughts, but it ends up being like it. I seriously have so many jealousy issues. I get so down when I see how amazing other people are at ______ [photography, caring, singing, wit, humility, etc.]. My response to this either ends up being: putting them down in my head, or putting me down in my head. Neither of which are good options. "Humility isn't thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less." But how do you start thinking of yourself less, because when you try to think of yourself less than you're still ending up thinking about yourself? This one's a toughy.
The second is jealousy of friendships. If I seem really clingy to you: 1) I'm sorry 2) It's because I think you're awesome. I have those friends where I'm like, "Oh my goodness you're just so cool," but then it gets to be this really stalker-clingy "OHMYGOODNESS someone else just posted on their Facebook wall! They must not like me as much!" yeah. I have issues.
And of course, going to Argentina will fix them all.
Running away is easy. The trouble is, we just run into more problems. I believe God gives us uncomfortable situations now to prepare us for harder situations later. If I avoid the 2+2=4 problem now, how am I going to handle −3(4x + 3) + 4(6x + 1) = 43 down the road?
Comfort is easy. If a seed wanted to stay a seed, it would never brave pushing out of the ground. But if you push yourself to blossom, the affects it has on you and the world around you will be life changing.
If you made it through this post, I commend you. Either you really care about me, or you're really bored. But I hope any of the shortcomings and flaws that I have shared have pushed you to think and desire to grow.
For me personally, I know when I am being pushed out of my comfort zone. I actually have a specific butterfly/sinking feeling that comes around only when I know I'm supposed to do something that I don't particularly want to do. Maybe it's asking the Arby's employee to smile, and then ringing the "ring if you had excellent service" bell ridiculously loud. Maybe it's asking a hitchhiker we picked up in West Virginia if I can pray for her. Or maybe it's deciding not to come home from Argentina for my winter break, meaning I will be staying in that hemisphere for 10 months straight. Not to be specific.
Maybe this is what the Holy Spirit's leading feels like; I can't honestly say I know for sure. But when I get an idea in my head that something's going to be good for me, and maybe for someone else too, there is no decision that needs to be made after that, except whether or not I'm going to man up and face this growth opportunity.
This leads me to my second point. I run away. In a creative writing course I took this spring, we had to do six word memoir. I wrote for mine, "Wanting to leave, learning to stay." It's true. How often do I think to myself, "If I can just make it through this period of time, then it will all be over and I can move on with my life." How Christ-like of an attitude is that? I have a good guess Jesus was never like, "If I can just make it through this whipping and that nailing/dying, then everyone will be saved. So let's get it over with." I've had this attitude with many things though. A previous job. High school. Sometimes even relationships. Currently I am feeling this way towards going to Argentina.
I have things I need to work out before I go. Things I need to learn. How to be responsible is a huge one that my parents have been drilling into my brain, and this brain doesn't quite seem to grasp it. ["It's this brain of mine...it's got a mind of its own."] So often I find myself thinking "Once I go to Argentina I won't have to worry about whether or not I get my one chore done every day." Obviously there are some serious flaws and imperfections to that way of thinking, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't something I struggled with.
However, the biggest one is relationships. There are relationships that I need to restore, reconsider, and reinforce.
-I need to learn to communicate. "Once I go to Argentina I won't have to worry about communicating clearly with these people." If I have an issue with you, but I'm not around you in person for a while, I'll bottle it up. I'll get offended but never tell you [except through passive-aggressive picture posts on Facebook.], rather than making the effort to phone you up, get together with you, and say, "Hey, this is how this situation made me feel; let's work it out."
-I need to learn to apologize. "I can't wait to go to Argentina so I can avoid all these frustrations I have with myself and these people." This is a big one. What I'm realizing is that sometimes you may have to apologize to someone for offenses you've done against them even when they may have been oblivious to it. Like, "I'm sorry for envying your mad photography skills, and thus disliking you from a distance." or "I'm sorry that I secretly was head-over-heels for you for 3 months, and probably hindered our friendship because of it." These aren't fun things to admit to, because not only does it mean you have to humble yourself to apologize, but you have to bring the problem to their attention in the first place. It's awkward. and unCOMFORTable. But if you can both get passed the awkwardness, the honestly and humility will make the relationship stronger than ever.
-I need to learn contentment. "Once I get to Argentina there won't be any people with skills or characteristics that I'm jealous of. And I DEFINITELY won't be jealous of a good friend hanging out with other people. Nothing like that ever happens in South America." ...yeah. okay. So maybe those aren't my exact thoughts, but it ends up being like it. I seriously have so many jealousy issues. I get so down when I see how amazing other people are at ______ [photography, caring, singing, wit, humility, etc.]. My response to this either ends up being: putting them down in my head, or putting me down in my head. Neither of which are good options. "Humility isn't thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less." But how do you start thinking of yourself less, because when you try to think of yourself less than you're still ending up thinking about yourself? This one's a toughy.
The second is jealousy of friendships. If I seem really clingy to you: 1) I'm sorry 2) It's because I think you're awesome. I have those friends where I'm like, "Oh my goodness you're just so cool," but then it gets to be this really stalker-clingy "OHMYGOODNESS someone else just posted on their Facebook wall! They must not like me as much!" yeah. I have issues.
And of course, going to Argentina will fix them all.
Running away is easy. The trouble is, we just run into more problems. I believe God gives us uncomfortable situations now to prepare us for harder situations later. If I avoid the 2+2=4 problem now, how am I going to handle −3(4x + 3) + 4(6x + 1) = 43 down the road?
Comfort is easy. If a seed wanted to stay a seed, it would never brave pushing out of the ground. But if you push yourself to blossom, the affects it has on you and the world around you will be life changing.
If you made it through this post, I commend you. Either you really care about me, or you're really bored. But I hope any of the shortcomings and flaws that I have shared have pushed you to think and desire to grow.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Are Third World Countries Really That Poor?
Orphanages are filled with children so poor they do not even own a pair of shoes for their feet. Garbage and waste accumulate on the sides of the streets. Wild dogs, pigs, and other beasts run wild. This country is in a tragic state, and they need my help.
My help.
My western-cultured way of thinking. My American influence. My middle class money. My technology. My advanced education.
Is that really what Haiti, or other countries like it, need? Or does richness lie in something deeper than wealth and possessions?
Which qualities are more associated with Haiti: the dirt on their faces and the debris from natural disaster, or their profound sense of community and the deep joy found in their churches? Plainly seen in our attitudes and news reports, many of us as Americans feed off making third world countries look pathetic and poor. Are we doing this out of the kindness in our hearts? Or is to feed our own pride, or salve our own guilt for having more? What if the tables were turned: how would we feel if people from other countries came into our country and took pictures of and reports of the poorest and worst off people in our country, and made this the definition of our country? And what exactly is the definition of poor?
Before visiting Haiti in July of 2013, I was challenged with this question: "Does Haiti need you, or do you need Haiti?" Upon arriving, my expectations to teach and help the people there quickly reversed to quite the opposite outcome. I realized that what Haiti may have lacked compared to my country in physical beauty and cleanliness was richly made up for in a deeper beauty and purity that I rarely see here.
It is true that money and material possessions may make living easier in a sense, and more comfortable. However, they also cause a much larger distraction from things much more important. This is where America's ugliness and poverty lies. Haiti may not have grand skyscrapers, world class education, or heck, even dependable electricity. But what they do have is a priority for relationships, an understanding for the word "community," and a radiant joy.
So then... Which really is the poorer country?
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