Fitting In

I have come to the conclusion that I'll really never quite "fit in" anywhere. I'm not crying about it, it's just a simple fact.
I'm way too conservative for the 'world'. I don't cuss or drink, I won't wear shorts and I think swimwear is shameful. I believe that birth/blessing control is horrible in every way;propagating Satan's view that humans are a curse to the planet. I homeschool my kids and don't make my 'career' away from my family. I listen to mostly 'Christian' music and I love Jesus.I bake bread and love gardening and canning. I think we should have a legal right to protect our families, with guns or otherwise, and don't have a problem with the death penalty. I think hunting is good, if done for food and not sport. I avoid doctors and don't allow my children to be injected with unborn baby tissue and poison in a vain attempt to keep them from getting chicken pox or other ills.(Even if I thought vaccines were safe for my own children I'd reject them on moral grounds.) I believe that Jesus is the one and only way to Heaven.
On the flip side, I'm not legalistic enough for most homeschool circles. I'll never wear a head covering and I do wear pants. I like makeup and enjoy watching TV. I like loud music (even Christian metal and rap) as much as I enjoy Vineyard and Ella Fitzgerald, and dancing around the house with my kids. I believe in "charity" and open arms more than closed borders. I love nature and feel very sad every time I see a tree cut down. I don't like to eat wild game because it tastes 'wild'.Even though I'd shoot anyone that tried to attack my children, I hate having guns around and the death they were created to cause. I'm proud of my Native American heritage and do not believe that this country was ever a predominately "godly" place. I take Teylenol for headaches and give the kids decongestant when they need help breathing at night. I do not believe that there is a correlation between church attendance and a godly heart.
So there you have it; I will never fit in anywhere but in my own home, but that's OK because that's where I like to be. :)

Cookin Up Some Love

My song ~

No Longer a "Republican"

I have been very disturbed by facebook posts, posted by Christians, bashing the poor and the immigrants.
There was a time, not so long ago, that I harbored some of those same critical attitudes myself. I have been convicted and led to step back and look at where my opinions are coming from and, more importantly, what God really thinks about them.
Because of my STRONG pro-life beliefs, I have always called myself a Republican. Recently, I have seen how much arrogance and selfishness is spewed by the "conservative" party and realized that a lot of it is as repulsive and sinful as the lies the Liberals are spewing out.
I asked myself if Jesus would want to be called a "Republican" and came up with the following.:

Why God could not be a Liberal/Democrat or a Republican:

Democrats say that killing unwanted children is simply a choice, therefore amoral.
God says that he HATES the killing of innocent life.
Proverbs 6:16-17"There are six things that the LORD hates, even seven that are disgusting to him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,"
Psalms 139:13 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb"
Ecclesiastes 11:5 "As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things."
saiah 44:24 "This is what the LORD says--your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,"
"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."
(Psalms 127:3-5

Republican do not believe in charity. They think that any man who is homeless or in need must be a lazy, and therefore worthless man.
God says that we are to care for the poor, rather than judge them. It is much easier to be selfish when we convince ourselves that those in need deserve to suffer. At no time in scripture did Jesus say to drill the poor man about his foolish choices before helping him with food or clothing. Not everyone had parents that loved them, parents that paid for their education or were even born in a place where they could succeed financially. Americans find it so easy to sit up on their high horses and look down at those who don't measure up to their standards.
Hebrews 13:2 "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it."
"He who despises his neighbor sins, but happy is he who is gracious to the poor."
( Proverbs 14:21)
"Feed the hungry! Help those in trouble! Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you shall be as bright as day. And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy you with all good things, and keep you healthy too; and you will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring." (Isaiah 58:10-11)
"And the crowds asked [John the Baptist], "What then should we do?" In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." (Luke 3:10-11)
"But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" 1 John 3:17

Liberals embrace homosexuality; unlike abortion, the common belief is that people cannot choose their sexual orientation and are therefore victims of those that "judge" them.
God says that man and woman were/are created in the image of God and have a divine purpose as an intertwined couple; two being one. To defile the image and plan of God by living as a homosexual is not acceptable for any reason.
Genesis 5:1-2 "This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created."
Leviticus 18:22
"Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin."
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people-none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God."

Republicans tend to look down on immigrants and desire exclusivity. God sees the human race as one people and does not separate us by man made borders.
. Leviticus 19:33-34 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."
Hebrews 13:2
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Zechariah 7:9-10 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”
Leviticus 25:35 “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you."

In short, people are always making up their own rules, clichés and clubs. As adults we categorize many of them into political groups and attempt to fit in with other people of similar appearance, tastes, status or experience.
As Christians we should not be blindly accepting the standards of an organized group, or labeling ourselves "Republican" or "Democrat". What we should be doing is looking at the Word of God and the example of Christ to decide our actions. We are not of this world; we are supposed to be Christians.
If Jesus was about giving people what they deserve we would all be in hell.

John 13:15 "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you."