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Pollution Solution 

3/2/2017

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Recently I read a post where an individual railed about the pollution of a waterway with waste products. They were obviously passionate about the issue, and they used colorful language as a way to get their enthusiasm across.
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But that language didn’t strengthen their cry for action. I’m passionate about caring for the environment, too, but you know how I am about the heart. Guarding the door of our mouth keeps pollution from our own heart and the hearts of others. Why pollute with our words when we’re passionate about not polluting the material environment? Let’s start with our hearts to build a greater possibility of making a difference, in ourselves AND in the world.

I’ve travelled to a number of places and have often wondered how different communities would be if the people in charge just started a simple garbage cleanup program. In third-world countries, health and community pride would be better and jobs would be provided. Tourism would grow in a cleaner, safer environment. I know the issues may not be that simple, but this seems like common sense to me, no matter where we live. 

The same is true of our hearts and the door of the mouth. Vulgar language doesn’t strengthen an argument—it just pollutes, makes us sound desperate and often proves that we have no real facts to back up our case. If you’re like me, you’re tired of entertainment taking the easy way out and getting laughs and shock value from explicit language. Why don’t writers prove that they are truly clever and write brilliant material that has no need for cheap, seedy language?

Using God’s name inappropriately is a whole ‘nother topic. Jesus’ name is powerful, and our tendency to curse proves it. OMG, or the use of the name “Jesus Christ” as a casual expletive could not be replaced with “Oh my Ghandi” and have the same effect. The name lacks power. So the misuse of the name of the one true God as an expletive is chosen by Christians and atheists alike as the preferred form of expression.

“Oh, my god,” used to be a phrase that wasn’t allowed in any church. Today it’s common in casual language, even in ministers. As we continue to lose reverence for God Himself, we forget the commandment that forbids using the name of God in vain. These most basic ten rules can’t continue to be undermined without devastating effects, especially in the people of God.

Can blessing and cursing flow from the same mouth? They can, but they shouldn’t. The mouth may be a terror to control, but the person who strives to do it gains discipline in everything. Cleaning up words is only the beginning. The goal is to clean up the heart with an ongoing pursuit of God that fosters such a love for Him that we cringe at the sound of any dishonor. Mature innocence can be restored to a conscience numb to society’s contaminating habits.

The point: we can get a cleaner environment if we clean up the heart. If we have Jesus, we can find the passion to pursue an unpolluted heart like His. We can take charge of the five doors of the heart and rethink what we say, look at, listen to, value and touch. And those changes in us change our environment every day, materially and otherwise.

I’m for a clean environment. How about we start by swearing off swear words? When we start with a clean heart, everything else will follow. 


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No Privacy

2/7/2017

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The debut of the new “50 Shades” movie on Valentine’s Day is a debauchery in itself; however, another issue right there along the obvious evil of pornography is the eroding of the value of privacy. Acts that formerly would have made anyone blush are now projected on a giant screen for viewers everywhere.

We’re just not that shocked anymore. We’re numb. And we’re sick because of that loss of innocence.

Loss of privacy has more consequences than seem obvious at first. The introduction of television many years ago made a huge dent in our beliefs about privacy. Everything that we hadn’t seen before led us to watch more, but then what we had seen before didn’t satisfy. Curiouser and curiouser, our appetites increased as we descended into the rabbit hole. We wanted more. We wanted the PRIVATE things that no one else would show us. And film and television delivered the overthrow of healthy taboos.

Marilyn Monroe disrobed on camera, and the ceiling of nudity was broken in general audiences. (Who’s to say that this distinction - and shame - wasn’t what led her to suicide?) “Passionate lovemaking” was redefined from romance to the actual acting out of intercourse, first implied, then shown in full color.

Sex was intended to be a private act between two committed individuals committed to one another in marriage. It is a beautiful secret to be shared between two people who expect to share intercourse for the rest of their lives, with no one else in person or onscreen involved. Now couples with that intention are exposed to all sorts of advertising, dress, lifestyles and political issues that make them doubt their normalcy and performance on any number of levels. 

When sex was private, this didn’t have to be an issue. But now, because we see everything, we doubt. Is living together really a sin? Is divorce so bad? Isn’t sharing spouses a common sexual recreation? Isn’t porn helpful in spicing up marriage?

We are hyper-sexualized because there is no privacy. Sex and its innuendoes are featured in the greater percentage of ads, television shows and films. Reality shows expose the most unattractive and deviant behaviors. It’s a blatant free-for-all, and nothing is sacred. 

Maybe we could reflect, just for a moment, on the privacy in a home with no screens and no phone. We can’t return to that era, and we shouldn’t. But we ought to learn something from our loss of privacy. What have we traded it for? And shouldn’t we fight to have some of it back?

Shouldn’t we have the right to have a conversation without technological interruptions? Shouldn’t we have the right to fill our kids in on the facts of sex at the time we choose? Shouldn’t we have the right to enjoy married sex without comparisons? Shouldn’t we be able to have more choices in entertainment that aren’t sex-saturated?

If so, we may need to get some of that privacy back. Get the whole world out of our homes and heads. Enjoy a little tech-free private time at home. And set up the filters and boundaries that give us back a degree of the privacy that’s been so brazenly stolen.



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“Forever” Means “Every Day”

1/26/2017

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​As a children’s writer, I’m intimately acquainted with “happily ever after.” This “forever” phrase reflects the dream of every girl on her wedding day, the promise of every husband, the assumption of every family, and the last line in many great fairy tales.

Unhappily, the word “forever” is casually overused in love songs, in movies and TV shows where it means … nothing. Like the phrase “I love you,” it is casually voiced and then forgotten as feelings and desires change. Forever takes a lot more work that we count on when we say it.

What can we do to protect a true forever in our lives?

First, it might help to think of our commitment to forever as an ongoing practice over a chain of days. Happy, sad, ordinary, amazing, all our days of consistent love and practice will result in a greater possibility of lifetime relationships. Each day is part of forever.

Forever doesn’t mean “perfect,” either. Some of the days in forever are extremely hard, painfully disappointing, not what we expected at all. That makes them no less part of a “forever.” But we must be faithful to move forward into the next day, maybe for weeks or even years, trusting God to do the rest.

Lastly, forever is an individual commitment. No one can do it for us. It is a vow to forge on no matter the circumstances, no matter what comes, with trust that God can do what we can’t. We let go of the illusion that we are in control. We relax in the knowledge that God holds us safe. We go forward in spite of obstacles and take responsibility for ourselves alone.

Don’t take your forevers for granted; they don’t happen by accident. Forevers happen because God is faithful, and because we ask for his help. So commit again today to your children, your family, your marriage, your faith … and then do it tomorrow, the next day, and the next. 
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Fulfill your forever vows purposefully, day by day, putting your trust in God. After all, he wrote the best story of all, and he knows EXACTLY what forever really means.

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