Really great article on "The Hidden Threat of the Same Sex Marriage Cases"

Get a t-shirt, give a chicken! For more info and to order one, go to http://mynamedia.net/chicken

My one and only response to the angry anon.

Hopefully you don’t mind, but since you’ve messaged me three times, I’ll respond to you through a single post regarding all three messages. I’ll start by posting the three messages you sent me, then follow up with my reply.

Message 1) Tell me, have you ever actually studied the history and context of all of the supposed “anti-gay” Bible verses? Heck, have you ever even read those verses in the original Greek and Aramaic (before they were translated a million times), and do you know what the words “arsenokoitai” and “malakoi” mean? Or do you just take those verses at face value, even though that just gives you an incredibly shallow interpretation of them?

Message 2) Also, what exactly is so “wrong” about homosexuality? I mean, all homosexuality is, is love, just like all heterosexuality is, is love. And since when is love ever a bad thing? I mean, as long as a loving relationship is consensual, I see no way that it could possibly be wrong. So why not try thinking this issue through for yourself, instead of blindly believing that homosexuality is wrong just because you think the Bible says it’s wrong?

Message 3) So you’d rather just blindly believe what John Piper has to say about homosexuality and the Bible than actually do some research on the issue yourself? Why are you so averse to educating yourself, anyways?

- I have and will continue to study the history and context of the Bible as a whole. I am a member of a church family that encourages me and holds me accountable to read and study the Bible daily on my own. I also go to a liberal arts college where I HAVE to study the history and context of the Bible. I’ve written papers on these verses and chapters that talk about these issues, and within these papers I’ve done word studies where I’ve studied these Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic words. This semester I’m starting a Greek class and will continue to study Biblical Greek for the next two years with the help of a friend who majored in Greek. When I’m done with my Bachelor’s degree, I’ll go on to get my Master’s degree and will continue taking Biblical Greek classes.
The video I previously posted responds to the second message you sent. The statements I made in the previous paragraph respond to the first and third messages you sent.

This will be the end of my responding to your judgmental claims that I am an uneducated, shallow, blind thinker.

For the anon who was angry at me.

I decided not to participate in arguing with you on this issue, so I’ll simply leave it as this.

Pretty good conversation about homosexuality as a sin and how to treat homosexuals.

Our First Year of Marriage, and Some Sharing of Wisdom.

Well, our first year of marriage is over, and I have to say that it was awesome! People kept telling us,”The first year is so hard” or “The first year is the hardest.” But we both agree that it honestly wasn’t so hard and if the first year is the hardest, then the rest of our lives is going to be so great!! I love Cody more than I did the day we got married, and it has been proven to us that we’ll grow in love with each other more every day. Honestly, lately I’ve often found myself looking at him and thinking, “I never knew I could love someone this much.”

The months leading up to the close of our first year of marriage and in to our second year were filled with business and lots of traveling. Cody was gone most of the summer ministering to students by playing at kids camps all over Texas. Thankfully, he was able to be home on the weekends with enough time for us to go on a date and for him to be able to lead worship for our church. Then, the week before our anniversary (the same week we were on a mission trip to Mexico), Justen, my brother-in-law, was diagnosed with Leukemia. Heartbreak. We left Mexico and were dropped of in San Antonio at the hospital where Justen was receiving chemo treatments. We stayed there for about half a week, including the day of our anniversary (which means no, we didn’t get to eat the top tear of our wedding cake). Cody did take me on a pretty great date, though:) We went downtown (San A) to Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, and to Hard Rock Cafe. It was awesome. I wasn’t back in Fort Worth for more than a couple hours before I had to leave for Florida to help with Kortney’s wedding. I was there for a week and a half before Cody came up the day before the wedding. Two days later we finally came home. After three weeks of last minute traveling, we were both so relieved to be home. Since Cody had been gone from work to do worship stuff, they had to technically “let him go” with the ability to rehire him when he was done. We knew that going in to it, but now he hasn’t had a job in more than two weeks (prayers!!). He actually finally got re-hired today and will start again tomorrow. But let me just say that I’m so thankful we learned how to regularly put money in savings early in our marriage, because I don’t know what we would be doing if we didn’t have savings. God also provided for us the opportunities Cody has had working with Myna Media doing web design stuff (which has actually lead to the possibility of a permanent position… we would love… But we will see).

All this to say, we’ve had a rough month or so. But even through the time gone, the heartache, and the traveling, every day I can’t help but think what a great husband I have, and every day I love him even more. This first year of marraige has been one big learning and growing experience. And I hope it never stops. I began learning and practicing what it means to be a good, Godly wife. And through Cody’s leadership I’ve seen what an amazing, Godly husband looks like. I’m so thankful for the knowledge and wisdom that God has given us through this first year of marriage. Even if we don’t get anything else, I hope we continue to receive wisdom in our marriage.

I know our marriage is so young, as we are also, but I want to share the wisdom and knowledge that I have with others to hopefully bless and allow others to gain this as well.

Involve.
Do things together. Play games, go on walks, cook, laugh, make music, etc. Just because you may not be in to crafts like your wife is, or videogames like your husband is, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy those things with them. Participate in your spouse’s hobbies with them. Involve yourself in your spouse’s hobbies.

Serve. 
When you entered into this marriage covenant, you are no longer responsible for just one person, you’re now responsible for two. You’re a team. A partnership. One. Your spouse should now be your priority. Your spouse should be first on your list. If you’re spouse is down, lift them up. Always say yes. Serve your spouse like you take care of yourself, remembering that they are now part of you.

Communicate.
Talk.to.each.other. I know this may seem like a pretty obvious answer, but its surprising how little some couples actually express their feelings to their spouse. It’s also surprising how horrible some couples talk to one another. Rude attitudes, doubt, bitterness, careless. Another obvious statement: talk to your spouse how you want to be talked to. Listen to what your spouse is saying and respond with love, patience, grace, and selflessness. If you have a problem with something your spouse did or said, tell them. Always be honest. Communicate your thoughts and feelings with your spouse, and make sure you know your spouse’s thoughts and feelings as well.

Pray. 
Praying for one another has got to be the most important. I’ve definitely found that if we’ve been lazy about praying for each other, tension will rise or our communication will tend to be less effective. And personally, I tend to be more selfish when I’ve been lazy about praying for my husband. Not only is praying for your spouse incredibly important, but pray with your spouse as well. Share prayer requests, burdens to pray for, share things that you are thankful for, and praise God for those things together. Joining in each other in prayer really does help to tie your hearts together. Pray for each other, with each other.

Happy Father’s Day:)

I want to take a minute and share how thankful I am for my daddy. God really did bless me with the best dad in the world! He taught me to fear Christ; growing up, he prayed with me before going to bed, teaching me how and to pray. Any time I have been sad or feeling down, he has been a great encouragement to me, never letting me forget how much he loves and cares for me. One of the best moments I have with him, is when one night when I was sad about something (I don’t even remember what it was… I was little), him telling me how much he loves me and the joy that he felt when he saw me for the first time, and how great it was knowing that I was going to be okay even though I was born so early. He always wanted me to know that my worth to him is unmeasurable. He tells me how beautiful I am to him, and has always supported me in everything I felt God calling me to do (even when that meant going to an expensive college, lol). He taught me how to fish, and how to water ski:) I know I can rely on him for anything, and that he’ll be here to help with anything if I need it. He’s very hard working and works to provide for our family. He has been a great father to me, and a wonderful example of what a father should be! He is an awesome husband to my mother and serves her without any negativity. He has been a great example of a great husband. 

All around, my daddy is so wonderful:) And I couldn’t be more thankful or blessed! Thank you, Jesus for giving me such an awesome man in my life!

I am absolutely blessed.

I am so thankful for the summer. I LOVE the heat and not having school is awesome. Working full-time is such a blessing. I’ve been doing a few photo shoots (I always want to put those two words into a compound word… idk why) and completely loving it. If I had a photo shoot every day, or even every weekend, I’d be so ecstatic. And the editing process is something I really enjoy doing too! I just love all of it, from the shoot to the editing, to the people’s responses to their pictures. It’s so fun. Being able to do it all this summer has been so great!

Tomorrow we leave for Austin, and then to Port Aransas (one of my favorite places) :) DKB is leading worship at a church in Austin and then doing a Beach Camp in Port A for a church in Fort Worth. I’m so excited! I get to go on a trip with some of my favorite people, play with my two favorite kids in one of my favorite places, while my husband gets to do his favorite things (playing bass); and we get to do them together! AAAAnd I get to see my family!! I haven’t seen them since Easter and I can’t wait!

Work has been kind of rough lately. I really like the girls that I work with, so it’s fun being able to work with them, but it’s also been so exhausting working all day every day. I’m so thankful for it, though! It’s been a really great thing to be able to work full time. This week will be a wonderful break, though!

Well I think I’ve taken a break from cleaning and packing long enough. See yaaaaaaaa.

An absolutely necessary read for anyone interested in multi site churches! Reformation21 Blog.

I know I haven’t been writing much lately…

I’m sorry!
Life has been incredibly crazy lately. So much going on, so many changes, and so many things on my mind. This week is paper week. Two 10 page papers due by Friday. So needless to say this week is out of the question for writing my own thoughts. I’m planning on spending some time next week or next weekend on writing on my own. So be looking out for that.

In the mean time, what have y’all been reading in the Scriptures lately?