Good Morning!
What should we talk about today?
Quote of the Day
“Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.”
Norman Schwarzkopf
Today, some instrumental music. 🙂
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Who has a QoD for us?
Wandering Views 
It’s 7:20 guys! Get with it.
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Mornin’ Chas.
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Thanks for the lovely music to start our day, AJ. 🙂
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I have a snow day today! I haven’t had one of those in ages. (One day in December I stayed home due to weather, but the college didn’t actually close until 5 PM; I had to take it as a vacation day.) I am very relieved – the state DOT website shows all the roads completely covered.
My son’s school is also closed, which means no parent-teacher conferences or concert this evening.
Schools in the community where the church is are only on 2 hour delay, so my husband still has to go in, unless they change to closed for the day (the church cancels activities if the schools close).
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(I should have said, the state DOT website shows all the roads in our part of the state completely covered.)
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According to reports, we here in NOVA have a Big Snow coming. I have been instructed by Mr. Klasko to shop early for the needed supplies (20 gallons of milk and a truckload of toilet paper) before it’s all gone. Why is it that when it snows, people feel the need to stock up on way more than they need to get through the storm? I’ll be shopping early to get just what we need and no more for a few days. Won’t take long.
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Karen, when you pop in I have two things to say from your post last night.
1. Some people are so open minded that their brains fall out.
2. There are people among us who look for “causes” or reasons to be offended. Some I think were born a smidge too late for the REAL Civil Rights movement and feel this is their best chance to catch up and “make a difference”.
As all of you know, I have gay men falling all over me. Two of my longest and dearest friends are gay men. My stepbrother is gay. A former co-worker is gay. At least one cousin is gay and a nephew is gay. I could hold my own parade!!!!
Except for stepbrother who felt he had to get out of the military NOT ONE of these men have suffered from being gay. Even stepbrother who is an attorney is against gay marriage. He says it causes too many legal ramifications. Go figger.
Now one of my best friend who is gay—I showed him the bathing suit Baby Girl wants the Easter Bunny to bring her (the bunny has always put a swimsuit in the basket). His reply was “Oh my, do they make that in a turtle neck?”
I personally am offended by those that don’t get that their rights end where mine begin. I have the right to life, liberty and the PURSUIT of Happiness. (That reminds me…Be right back.)
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I hope Kim is finding happiness!
😉
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KBells,
I have never been to a Baptist church. I know nothing about Baptists. I declare you the winner of the Baptist joke contest. I would toast your victory, but my doctor just changed my blood pressure prescription and it says don’t take with alcohol. I can only afford to donate a dollar to your favorite charity, church, or other preference (and I will be dilatory about doing that), but please indicate your wish in this regard.
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Below is a brief (very messy) list of Baptist Churches on Whidbey Island. KBells, should I donate a dollar to one of these churches?
Southern Baptist Church Oak Harbor
50 SW 6th Ave, Oak Harbor, WA, USA, 98277
First Baptist Church Of South Whidbey
2277 Newman Rd, Langley, WA, USA, 98260
Bible Baptist Church
1701 Harns Rd, Oak Harbor, WA, USA, 98277
Southern Baptist Church-Oak Harbor
50 SW 6th Ave, Oak Harbor, WA, USA, 98277
Bible Baptist Church
1701 Harns Rd, Oak Harbor, WA, USA, 98277
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Kim, as far as I can tell, neither my daughter nor my daughter in law have “suffered” from being gay. They were mildly “grievanced” at being unable to marry, but that has been remedied. And my daughter now has a worthy and well-paying job. I just got a post card from the mommies and Random Granddaughter from Colorado where they are visiting the Grandpa who is an activist Methodist minister who told me he is an agnostic.
Anybody know any good Methodist jokes?
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KBells, I forgot to get your permission. One of my “unflock” tells me he was raised in a Southern Baptist family. Do I have your permission to “steal” your jokes to share with him? (And the others in my tiny group, of course.)
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Chas, I was goimg to subject all of you to a band from the ’80’s called The Pursuit of Happiness, but when I went to Youtube to grab the song I was thinking of called “I’m an Adult Now” I decided against it.
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MP, Give the dollar to who ever you feel needs it and feel free to share the jokes with whoever you want. We Baptist practically invented religious freedom. 🙂
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The employee who let the elderly woman die because it was against company policy to help beings up a QoD, Have you ever been asked to do something illegal or immoral by an employer? If so what did you do?
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So, Kim decided not to share her happiness?
KBells, I was going to tell Stephen that most Baptists don’t care what he does with our jokes. But, I didn’t want to speak for you.
I would suggest sending the dollar to Planned Parenthood so they will spend $10.00 sending him requests for money for the next two years.
Never, ever, have I been asked to do something illegal or immoral by an employer.
All of my temptations came from cohorts.
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Good Idea, Chas, MP, send the dollar to planned Parenthood.
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AJ — I was just thinking before coming here this morning about how much I appreciate the variety of videos you’ve been putting in your Daily Thread posts. And I’ve got to say, I think today’s is my favorite — wow, I loved that! It’s bookmarked now so I can find it easily when I want to return to it, which I think will be often. Such a peaceful oasis! Thank you. 🙂
KBells (QoD): I’ve never been asked to do anything illegal or immoral by an employer, but at my husband’s workplace, he was either asked or knew of his employer asking another employee to do something illegal. I don’t want to share the details, but it would be obvious to everyone that the activity would be illegal. Hubby is not at all afraid to boldly say he will have no part of doing anything like that.
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6 Arrows, I thought of you this morning as I was doing my reading. I have the same struggle. I try to remember each day to ask the Lord to take every thought captive as I do not seem equal to the task. He has been faithful to wake me every morning at 5:30 but I have not been as faithful at always putting the reading first. “Oh, this needs to done and then I will settle down to read”.
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I was once asked to lie by an employer (the actual situation in which I would have never came up). I said to him, “I have bad news for you and good news for you. The bad news is that I won’t lie FOR you. The good news is that I won’t lie TO you.” I think he got the point.
Funny, I have a boss now who lies to clients all the time in my presence. How much do you think I believe her when she tells me something?
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I was reading from the book of Deuteronomy today, and was struck by what seems to be so few uses of the exclamation point in Scripture. Am I forgetting lots of references using them, or are there not many? This is what I read today (Deuteronomy 1:11):
(The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!)
I also thought of the How beautiful are the feet… passages in Isaiah, Nahum, and Romans, which all end with exclamation marks.
Can anyone think of other examples?
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Thank you, Mumsee. The “taking every thought captive” is a good one for me to contemplate. I too often let my thoughts run away with me.
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We are back from a trip to Waco, TX to see Baylor. It has a beautiful campus. My brother and I and my son shared driving. It was my first time to cross a bridge over the Mississippi River. The weather was perfect for a road trip. PTL
I missed the company of this blog. I was five days without internet access. Now I have piles of e-mail to sift through and delete. I missed the company of my husband, too. My brother has a lot of good qualities but at times can be quite critical. Five days of brother’s criticism in small spaces (car and motel rooms) makes getting home a joyful occasion!
Please pray for a good decision (God’s will) from Baylor. It has an excellent program for my son.
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6 Arrows,
It’s my pleasure. I too enjoy all kinds of music, so it’s fun to pick something everyday. But I’ve also been holding back some of my favs, because I like it loud. Most don’t, so I try to keep that in mind. 🙂
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Welcome back JaniceG!
Taking every thought captive is a good thought to ponder. 😉 All my worries seem to start in my head. Then they all run around up there, causing me all kinds of trouble.
It looks like it could rain today.
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Didn’t get to sleep until around 2am. 😦 Then I was up an hour earlier than I expected due to having to go to the bathroom, & then the dogs wanting to go out, & then barking at who-knows-what. Somewhere in there my mind started whirring.
Still feeling kinda slapped around from yesterday’s exchange with SIL & Niece. On yesterday’s Prayer Requests, I mentioned a question Niece asked me, but I didn’t mention that the first part of the email was kind of reprimanding me for the times I’ve expressed dissent (gentle & polite, just so ya know) & how she’s considered unfriending me several times.
However, I did then get an email from SIL telling me she still loves me & just thinks our relationship would be better if we weren’t Facebook friends. That made me feel a bit better.
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Talk about struggling to take every thought captive! Trying to calm down & fall asleep, I had to keep telling myself “Shut up, Karen!” I tried to focus on thinking about attributes of God through the alphabet – A, He is awesome & amazing; B, He is beautiful, etc. Still kept getting off track.
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Karen, glad you got the email; maybe you can grab a nap today.
One handy tool on FB is the “hide” feature. That way people don’t have to actually “un”friend someone which causes so many hurt feelings — they just hide their comments from their newsfeed if they find them too upsetting.
I did that with a young guy who couldn’t stop using the “f” word in all his posts.
I hid him for something like 3 years, then decided to see if he’d grown up and unhid him. He’s grown up, thankfully. 😉
But hiding is also a great thing during election season, though I’m pretty good at just scrolling on by all the left-wing-y posts (of which I see many, being that this is California and all). I did ‘un’friend one guy, though, who even after the election kept ranting on and on and on (and on) about Fox News, using lots of colorful language to speak his mind. And he was an adult, a father yet; has purported to be a believer.
Anyway, I was especially irked by one of his posts right after the November election and, pretty much on a whim, I unfriended him completely. I don’t know if he’s ever figured out that I’m gone or not. 🙂 Probably not. This wasn’t even a close acquaintance & I’d signed up with him (he asked me) because he sometimes posted news items from the Elks Lodge.
Of course if you hide someone it looks like you’re ignoring them because you’ll never see anything they post (and thus won’t ever comment on anything, even the innocuous stuff).
But there’s a lot of stuff on FB I just never see anyway. Probably just as well.
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Niece’s question, which I have yet to answer, was can I “…witness, support and celebrate the marriage between a lesbian woman and a transman?”
I honestly don’t know how to answer her, but in whatever I eventually reply, I want it to be loving in the way Jesus would want me to be loving.
Lee & I have discussed whether or not we should attend their wedding, scheduled for a year from now, if we’re even invited. Some Christians would say that we’d be condoning grave sin to attend, others would see it as another way of showing God’s love.
So, what do y’all think? How would you answer such a loaded question? Other things she wrote in her email seem to indicate that my answer would not only affect whether or not we are invited, but also whether or not we’ll be included in her life in the future.
(Don’t worry, I’m not going to merely answer by consensus from this blog. But many of you are quite wise, & may have a perspective I haven’t thought of yet.)
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Donna – I have my Facebook friends in friends lists, so although I have 250 “friends”, I only keep up with not even half of them. I used to try to keep up with all the statuses, gradually adding a friend here & there, but eventually it was just too much, too time-consuming.
All my friends from this blog, or from WMB who didn’t follow us here, are on my friends lists. 🙂
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A note about Sunday night TV. It was mentioned that Sunday night is like a graveyard for shows. But I don’t think that’s completely so. For instance, The Good Wife, which precedes The Mentalist, which a couple of you mentioned, is one of CBS’s “crown jewels”, a critical & ratings success.
As for recording, I always program to record for a good while after the show.
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6 arrows,
I don’t have an answer for your question about how many verses use exclamation marks, but the punctuation in Scripture isn’t inspired. It wasn’t in the originals.
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Thanks, Ree. I didn’t know that.
Karen, my opinion as far as going to the wedding if you’re invited would be that there are other ways to show God’s love than to attend the wedding, and you’re already doing that.
Biblical marriage between a man and a woman is intended to be a picture of Christ’s love for His Bride, and weddings should celebrate that bond between man and woman with Christ at the center. Any arrangement other than a man and woman united in holy matrimony is, in my opinion, celebrating a subversion of God’s design for marriage.
Just my two cents.
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Enjoyed the music. We have several of these type of Cds. My husband really likes them. We often put on these when driving in heavy traffic. The calming effect is helpful. 🙂
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Karen, I would attend a wedding if I believed the match wasn’t ideal (he’s so immature, everyone counseled her not to marry him, and I think she’s being foolish). I would not attend if I believed it to be actually sinful (e.g., a person who left a spouse to marry this other person), but in such a case I would definitely see it as “once they’re married, they’re married.” I would not stand up in a marriage I couldn’t support on some level (e.g., an unbeliever and a believer–once they’re married, they’re married, but they ought not to marry and I will not lend my support in being a bridesmaid). In other words, if the person came to me after marriage saying, “I made a horrible mistake, and I shouldn’t have married this person, and I’m thinking of leaving him,” I’d be pro-marriage. If she’s telling me that her spouse is committing open and unrepentant adultery, or is abusing her children, then I’d advise separation, but otherwise no. Even if she left another man to marry him, once she is married, she is married.
But what about a case where the marriage is not legitimate in God’s eyes and never will be–two men or two women (even if one has had a sex change to “become” the other sex)? No, I would not attend and I would not support the marriage. These people can separate and divorce without sinning–in fact, they ought to–so it is not a marriage and there is nothing to celebrate. I won’t pretend it’s a marriage. Now, such people ought to be treated with respect, and ought to treat each other with respect. If someone in such a situation were to come to me and say, “I think I did wrong in marrying her, and I’m thinking of leaving,” I’d encourage doing so–but I’d encourage doing so in a kind way. (She’s more fond of the cat than you are, so let her keep the cat. Pay your share of this month’s rent anyway. Or whatever.)
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Karen,
I don’t know what I’d do. Off the top of my head, I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t attend the wedding if invited.
As to the question: “…witness, support and celebrate the marriage between a lesbian woman and a transman?” … that’s pretty easy. “No, absolutely not.” I could witness it. I could be quiet (if I chose to go). But, of course, I don’t see how I could in any way answer in the affirmative to “support” and “celebrate.” I couldn’t do that. I could care about the parties involved. I could hope that they’d be well. (I wouldn’t wish them evil). But, I certainly could not “support and celebrate” their marriage.
I might send them a carefully worded card and gift of some sort, but I don’t think I’d go.
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QoD: Back when PC’s were still pretty new, I was the computer operator at a company of about 100 employees and four PC’s (my main responsibility was the midrange HP3000 system). My boss (the company controller) would ask me to install the same copy of software on more than one PC, his rationale being the program was only being used on each PC part of the day, so between two or three PC’s it got the equivalent of one PC being used all the time. I knew it violated the software license – and so did he, but he felt it was fulfilling the spirit of the license if not the letter. I was uncomfortable about it – and he knew that – but I couldn’t bring myself to refuse to do what he said.
Once he left the company, I was relieved to be able to insist on following the terms of software licenses, and to have a new boss who never asked me to violate them. Every company I have worked for since then has been scrupulous in terms of buying all the licenses needed.
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You’re welcome, 6 arrows. But, of course, saying that it isn’t inspired doesn’t mean that it isn’t appropriate. The original languages didn’t use punctuation at all, so it wasn’t as if the human authors or the Holy Spirit deliberately chose to leave it out. It just wasn’t the way these written languages worked.
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I think Cheryl is right. I could not comfortably attend a “marriage” that is not a legitimate marriage. And, honestly, would they even want someone like me there? It would just be uncomfortable for everyone.
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Not only didn’t the original languages not use punctuation, but the Hebrew parts didn’t have written vowels! So, sometimes there is a bit of educated “guessing” on what the word actually is.
Fortunately, the Septuagint was pretty helpful with that, because Greek has vowels, and the highly educated scholars who translated the Old Testament into Greek were pretty capable.
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Cheryl,
I don’t have any disagreement with anything you’ve said about what you would and wouldn’t support in regard to marriage. I do have a question though, because it still unsettles me even after 25 years of marriage, and I’m curious how you would have advised me if you’d known me then.
As a Christian who’d been converted to Christ 3 years prior, I chose to marry my unbelieving husband because I was pregnant. I knew I’d sinned, but I allowed myself to be carried away by it and it was done. My thinking at the time was that the unequal yoking had already occurred by producing a child together. We were irretrievably yoked by that, and that marriage was the correct response, and I believed I had Biblical support for that. I was uneasy about it though, and I had no clarity, but I had to make a decision. Some of my brothers and sisters in Christ agreed with that, and others didn’t. Someone suggested putting the child up for adoption, but that was something that I didn’t feel capable of doing, and I had no conviction that I necessarily ought to. In fact, a former pastor at the time told me that he advised against it if it wasn’t absolutely necessary because of all the horror stories he was familiar with surrounding adopted children.
If I’d known then what I know now, I probably would not have had the courage to marry my husband, but I was somewhat naive. I don’t regret the decision, but I still feel no clarity about what the “right thing” was to do. What would you have told me, and would you have attended my wedding if we had been friends?
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I on the other hand would attend the wedding. Notice the difference in wording. I have witnessed lots of weddings and very few marriages.
This is your niece. She is a part of you. You have known her since she was a baby. Cutting her off or yourself off from her life serves no good purpose.
Suppose one day she decides on a radical change to her life and needs good Godly direction?
I am not a fan of “gay marriage” but every time my friend G makes a comment about it I ask if I can be the flower girl or give the groom away?
He grew up in the same Christian School I did and sang in the church choir. He knows as much about what he is doing as I do. One day possibly he will change his ways and he and I shall retire to the veranda and grow old together sipping mint juleps and gossipping.
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When we were stationed in Germany, we had ration cards. Coffee, tea, cigarettes and liquor were all rationed. Each adult received a ration card. There were more rations on one ration card than we could ever use for our family. This was the 1980s before the fall of the Wall and even after in the early 90s. We had a neighbor whose wife was Polish and I’m pretty certain that they were running an underground railroad for a bunch of her friends and relatives to defect from Poland. She always had lots of “family” visiting. He and his wife used to ask me if i could buy cigarettes and coffee for them. I always told them no. I never trusted either of them. I always felt like he was working for some East Bloc intelligence agency as a double agent or something. I felt like if I bought them coffee or cigarettes “just once” then that would lead to more and bigger illegal stuff. He always would fish for information about Mr. Klasko and what he did. Since we were neighbors, he knew all of Mr. Klasko’s comings and goings. He was a Military Intelligence officer. He worked in the Counter-intelligence office. The very people to whom you were supposed to report suspicious activity. I finally made a call about them before I left Germany. I laid out all of my suspicions and why. I don’t know whatever came of it, if anything.
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Karen – I was in that situation in our family. Mr. Klasko’s cousin was openly gay and even though at the time he and his partner could not legally marry, they chose to have a “Celebration of their Union”. Mr. Klasko and I did not attend, although we kept in touch with him regularly and I am very sure he was aware that I loved him, but I did not condone the lifestyle he chose to embrace. (Ditto for Mr. Klasko). He was disappointed that we didn’t attend, but he got over it.
His own sister disowned him. I know that he told another family member that he thought of me as a sister. I know also that he would say things just to try to get a rise out of me. I never gave him the satisfaction, and I even called him out on it and told him that his MO was acting like a jerk to drive people away and then using his homosexuality as the reason he was shunned by so many people. I tiold him that no, it was because he was being a jerk and that he’d still be a jerk even if he was straight, so he should knock it off. I was able to give him a gospel message before he died (of AIDS), but I don’t know if he died saved or not. I know that he wanted to believe, but he could not accept that what he was doing was wrong. I spoke to him on the phone just days before he died. He told me that he loved me. I told him I loved him too. I never met him face to face, We just talked over the phone over the course of about 3 years. He died knowing that I loved him, but I did not accept his behavior.
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As for the wedding, I would probably say that a lot can happen in a year and I will know closer to the time whether or not I will be attending…another God willing and the creek (or Creek) don’t rise occasion. It is probably best to leave the ball in their court at this point in time since you would not want to burn bridges and all chances of having influence for Christ. It seems they are trying to force a move from you so they can justify cutting off the relationship and bad-mouthing you and Christians in general. I honestly think I would feel sick in attending such a ceremony and even thinking upon it for very long for that matter so it would not be a lie to say I was too sick to attend (sick over the sin and emotionally sick, etc.). I would probably send a gift of some sort as a peace offering, probably something that could be used by roommates in a nonsexual relationship, nothing that would be about marriage. I would not bow to their expectation that you would condone their relationship and call it a true marriage. They are still people made in the image of God and have potential to be followers of Christ. The prodigal son was still accepted with open arms by the Father. He never stopped loving the son even when he was in sin. So, give them a gift to show love and care, but don’t be engaged with or condoning of the sin.
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It’s not necessary to view absence from a wedding as “cutting off” a loved one for his or her sin. Homosexuality (and other sins that violate the marriage commandments) were capital crimes in OT Israel. The penalties for those sins may have been altered, but the sins themselves are no less heinous. Murder was also a capital crime. What would Jesus do? Would he attend a ritual human sacrifice?
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Yes, I too do not see how “not attending” and “cutting them off” are comparable. I think it would be fine not to attend, but still maintain otherwise friendly relations. As I said, I would probably send a carefully worded card of best wishes (not a wedding card) and a generic gift (as someone said … something I’d give a new set of roommates) and still be kind and loving.
Asking you to attend something AND *support* and *celebrate* it is basically asking for full capitulation. And, yes, they are likely looking for an excuse to cut you off from their lives, because asking you to not only be present, but — again — to support and celebrate it is totally intolerant of your position and completely insensitive to it.
However, YOU cannot control THEIR behavior. You can only control your own. “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18
So, be friendly. Be courteous. Do not cut off relationship on your side. Politely decline the invitation, but acknowledge it somehow (e.g. card, gift, etc.) And, let THEM choose how THEY will respond. You cannot “give in” on your beliefs in the hopes that they will someday convert. You can simply be open on your side, and let them choose how they will be. Even if they do cut you off, as long as you have made it clear that your arms are still open, the potential path for conversion support is still there.
There is no requirement that you attend anyone’s wedding (I have missed those of acquaintances and those that fell on days inconvenient to my family), but to attend with stipulations on your beliefs? That is just ridiculous.
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And, Kim, I think it is perfectly acceptable for you to make an alternate choice with your gay friend(s). However, in your post, I did not notice them requiring you to “support” and “celebrate” their potential future “wedding.”
In other words, I think there is some leeway on how a Believer might respond to this type of decision depending on the type of person they were dealing with.
Karen’s family seem intent on forcing her to “buckle” in order to maintain relationship. There doesn’t seem to be a great deal of “give and take” or open-mindedness on their part.
However, I truly do know some people on the “Progressive” side (few and far between, unfortunately) who can really “live and let live.” In other words, I could see someone inviting me to their “wedding,” but being fully sensitive to the fact that I would not be fully supportive of their choice. Of course, I would probably still decline the invitation, but — for these few — they would likely understand and be grateful for the card and gift I would send.
This is a relationship of respect.
Karen’s family members, sadly, don’t seem to respect Karen at all. 😦
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Tammy’s made some good points. I personally also wouldn’t attend (especially with the push to “celebrate” and accept — a more sensitive invite would have acknowledged that while you do not agree on this matter we are still family and we want you there … but even then, I’d probably have to politely decline with as much gentleness and sensitivity as I could).
I do like the idea of a note, expressing your love for her, and a housewarming style gift.
As Tammy said also, would they even feel that comfortable with you there? Not attending the “wedding” isn’t the same thing as cutting them off, especially with a kind note. You don’t even have to address the core issue, you can simply say you won’t be able to attend.
And, hey, you have a whole year to compose and edit it!
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Attending a wedding is celebrating it, whether or not you wish to celebrate it. Technically, you’re supposed to be witnessing the vows and agreeing to hold them accountable (to a greater or lesser degree)–if you would celebrate if they break up, then your presence is inappropriate. That is my take.
Ree, if you and I had been friends, I would have had a conversation with you and prayed with you, and agreed it was a hard case with no easy answers. I don’t think that pregnancy should always mean marriage, but I think it should “if possible.” If after counsel and prayer, you saw marriage as the best choice, I would probably attend. I know of a case (friend of family, not someone I know personally) that recently had a teenage daughter engaged to marry an unbeliever. I don’t know all the details, except the wedding was “on” and then “off” a couple of times, and ultimately the couple married quietly and in rebellion to parental counsel. In such a situation, even if I was a close friend of the young woman, I would not attend. But I would offer my full support after the wedding, because “the deed is done” and they’re married, and they will need all the help they can get.
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Outside in our yard, the chickens are pecking and scratching, pucking and clucking, as happy as chickens can be. Of course, once in a while they spot, chase, catch, shred up, and devour a mouse. That’s even happier, if you are a hen.
Here at WV, everyone is in fine fettle, explaining what is “proper” marriage as God intended it to be. But even more fun, is talking about how God wants us humans to have babies. Lots and lots of babies. (After all, they all will be souls to save. What could be more wonderful than saving a young soul?)
Unfortunately, just as a hawk occasionally rips and devours one of our hens, a pre-born baby murderer rips and shreds a pre-born baby. I am sure everyone here agrees that is wrong when the baby is well-formed and physically and mentally healthy, but what if something is amiss?
Consider this wrenching tale just posted on cnn. About a surrogate mother. And a pregnancy that went . ..
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/04/health/surrogacy-kelley-legal-battle/?hpt=hp_c1
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I’m on the same page with Tammy, but would like to point out I once attended the wedding of a “straight” couple and totally misbehaved in the back pew. My attitude was completely wrong–among other things, I kept whispering to the Navy wife sitting next to me.
Even though everything I imagined would happen to that couple (now long divorced, of course, I thought that lavish affair a poor idea for lots of reasons), I still wish I and my bad attitude had stayed home. And I’m glad I sat as far away from the bridal couple as possible.
But still.
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Random,
I watched it earlier. While I support the surrogates decision, and think it’s the right one, I’m not really comfortable with the whole idea. Stuff like this is the reason why. And offering money to abort it tells me they aren’t ready for any child, let alone a special needs one. They seem too willing to discard the little girl because she wasn’t perfect. That says alot about them, little of it good.
I also think that the bio parents are selfish and I question their desire to be good parents. I understand how heatr wrenching it can be to be unable to concieve, but that makes this even worse on their part. A good parent loves unconditionally, despite a child’s flaws. They didn’t. And offering her money to abort it is selfish and cruel.
And I must say, I was quite pleased that CNN took such a nuetral tone with the story. That’s unusual in the liberal media.
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Random,
Abortion is wrong when a baby is well-formed and healthy and his parents want him. Murder of a ten-year-old is also wrong under those conditions. But just as “wrong” doesn’t become “acceptable” if the ten-year-old is missing a limb, or develops cancer, or his parents decide they don’t want him any more, abortion is also wrong under those conditions.
Surrogacy is a bad idea for a lot of reasons. But a surrogate mother caring enough for a baby to fight for her, even at hardship to herself, is not one of those reasons.
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Here are a couple of other sad stories.
Years ago I worked (but not closely) with a couple who had been unable to bear a child, and they were moving up in years. The wife may have been in her late thirties, I’m not sure exactly, but I’m pretty sure they had wanted a child for years. One day to their great joy they discovered she was pregnant.
Joy turned to sorrow later. An e-mail went out company-wide that the baby would be born soon. Shortly after birth, she would die. She had only part of a brain, and part of what she did have had developed outside her skull.
It was bittersweet news when the e-mail came through that this child had been born. My sister had been praying for the couple, so I called to give her the update. She laughed and she cried. Several hours later another e-mail came through. Against anyone’s expectations, this little girl was still alive. A photo was attached.
In the weeks and months ahead, many of us prayed for this much-wanted and well-loved little girl. The day came when her parents brought her to work and she was taken to the front of the room during employee assembly. I looked around the room and saw tears everywhere. We loved this little girl, alive in spite of the odds.
Last I knew she was still alive. (She was about four when I last saw her a decade ago.) “Normal,” no. But she had two parents who loved her, and they nurtured and cared for her. And a whole community who loved her, as well.
Another child I knew–I once knew her mother very well, though we are now out of touch–only lived to age two or three. She was blind, she had to have mucus sucked out of her throat several times a day, and she was fed through a tube. Her life was short. But in her short life, she showed her parents what was really important in life. Though they were on the verge of divorce when she was born, against all odds this little girl grew them together. (It is extremely common for parents to divorce with the birth of a severely handicapped child.)
I could tell another story too, this time about a baby girl who only lived a few weeks but had a precious funeral, in which the pastor spoke of this child’s patience in suffering. He didn’t speak about her parents’ loss (as one might have expected); just as if she had been an adult, he spoke of her own life. Because as short as her life was, it had a purpose. She too was made in the image of God.
Only God knows the day of our death, or the full purpose of our life. Life and death are in His hands, not in ours. He did not give us the authority to kill, except in specific cases. To kill because someone isn’t healthy or isn’t beautiful or isn’t wanted–whether the murder victim is eighty or eighteen weeks gestation–such killing is wanton murder.
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This came in an email today:
Well-known Democrat strategist and former Co-chair of the Democrat National Committee Donna Brazile demonstrated, in just 140 characters, an enormous American problem:
On March 23 of last year, Ms. Brazile tweeted a celebratory shout-out for the 2nd Anniversary of Obamacare.
This year, on February 27th, she tweeted:
“Just got off the phone with my healthcare provider asking them to explain why my premium jumped up. No good answer!”
The answer, Ms. Brazile, is that our government has a problem with telling the truth.
Such blindness on the part of the Left to the end result of their actions. To quote another Lefty- “We have to pass it to find out what’s in it.” Well, they passed it and now we re finding out what’s in it. Is it too late? Only time will tell.
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Oh, 57!
I’ve been getting that a lot lately.
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Note to Klasko- I just saw your post on Sunday about The Mentalist.
Red John must be someone from the cult .
And I have watched a couple of episodes at CBS.com. But this year they seem to only have them up for two weeks instead of longer like in the past.
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Tonight I am eating, hot from the oven, strawberry rhubarb crisp on Huckleberry vanilla ice cream.
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Cheryl,
Thanks for the response. That’s how I saw it at the time, and still do. But it’s still good to hear it confirmed, even after all these years.
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Oh, how I wish I could wait a year to answer! I thought we’d have time, but Niece is wanting an answer now. If there is any cutting off to do, it will be them doing the cutting, not me. Of course, I already feel that we’ve been somewhat cut off already.
I’m wondering if they are really still going to be together in a year, after living together for that time.
Niece loves to flaunt what a “gay woman” she is, even though she’s definitely a “femme” – long blonde hair, make-up done nicely on her beautiful face, dressing very girly or sexy.
Fiance is a “trans man”.
Now, I’m thinking, if I were a woman who believed I was really a man, & took surgical steps to make that come as true as possible, what would it do to my “manhood” to have my girl always flaunting her lesbianism? Wouldn’t that eventually tell me that even though my fiancee gives lip service to me being a “real man”, she really sees me as just a very butch lesbian?
Niece once confided to me, when the two were temporarily broken up, that she preferred the lesbian relationship she had with Fiance (before deciding to change genders) to the current relationship. I think that is going to come to the surface somehow, sometime. I hope sooner rather than later.
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Karen: “Why do you need an answer today? I don’t make any plans a year in advance, and surely you aren’t finalizing your guest list just yet.”
Or: “Do you want to know whether we can come, or whether we approve? I love you, honey, and I would love to see you make wise choices. I’m not sure this one is, but I still love you and am glad you’re my niece.”
Prayers for wisdom. . . .
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Cheryl – That second one is really good. Thanks, especially for the prayers.
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That has got to be one of the most clear cut questions of the cursed if you do and cursed if you don’t type I have ever seen! Just depends on who you would rather feel cursed by. You are being asked to deny God and His word in favor of a person’s momentary feelings. God and His word are constant and never failing. If the word “marriage” can so easily be changed by the current feelings of people then how can you condone it since it is ever evolving into something different? It has no real meaning to celebrate and condone a “gay marriage.” Are we to celebrate an imitation of marriage? Karen, most people are given several days to make commitments so it just seems for whatever reason these relatives are pushing their issue on you. It just seems rude to me for them to put the deciding of who they will invite or not invite upon the invitee instead of not making the decision for themselves. Maybe you need to just say you are hurt that they would let this issue be more important than inviting people to their special occasion. If this were a real marriage they would not feel the need to ask these questions.
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You know I must say I enjoy the way you ladies help each other out with encouragement and advice. We have a pretty wise bunch here. 🙂
And I say that because I’m a guy. My response would be way more direct, as would my explanation if pressed. To the point, but probably not very nice, or thinking of what the long term effects to the relationship would be. So not very bright huh?
But you ladies actually think before speaking. What a concept! If I’m not careful, I might learn some tact yet. Thank you Ma’ams! 🙂
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Oh, and 66!
A very good year. 🙂
G’night.
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