Today’s Friday Feature Roundup links come from Keeper of the Home, a blog that I have been enjoying quite a bit lately, and NaturalNews, one of my favorites. The following links complement well this month’s features on a kale salad, easy guacamole, and a pH balanced body:
What Do You Think? Wednesday
As a strong black woman I have had my own notions on what I believe should be: I believed that I would never get an abortion but others should have a right to one in all circumstances and that people should be able to express their sexual love to whomever they want. As I studied the Bible more my convictions changed. Now, as a recovering strong black woman, I no longer believe women should be able to have an abortion in all circumstances or that people should be able to express their sexual love to whomever they want. You can read in detail my views on abortion and homosexual here and here. Though my views are considered conservative, what I like to believe is that they have not been developed 1) based on my emotions or 2) to promote a political agenda by any means necessary. These two reasons—emotions and political agendas—seem to be the impetus behind liberals who seek to change the historical definition of marriage to include homosexual unions and conservatives, specifically Rep. Todd Akin and Republican vice presidential nominee, Rep. Paul Ryan, attempting to redefine rape.
When asked about his views on abortion in an interview Sunday on a local television interview, Akin, the Missouri congressman, said, “First of all, from what I understand from doctors, (pregnancy from rape) is really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” What? He has since said that his remarks were “off the cuff” and that he “misspoke.” His latter statements are hard for me to believe when he and Ryan co-sponsored a bill in Congress to redefine rape as “forcible rape” when it relates to abortion. This was done to limit federal funding for abortions for rape victims. What? Ryan, the congressman from Wisconsin, has since said in an interview on a local CBS affiliate that “(r)ape is rape. Rape is rape, period. End of story.” His new view is hard for me to believe when he still says “I’m proud of my pro-life record, and I stand by my pro-life record in Congress,” which includes his ‘forcible rape’ legislation.
Rape, by definition, is forced and illegitimate. The developed phrases ‘forcible rape’ and ‘legitimate rape’ are by no means misspoken language. You misspeak when you say something “in a way that is inappropriate, inaccurate, or unclear” (Encarta Dictionary, emphasis mine). The term forcible rape suggests brutal rape, which suggests the term rape by itself is not brutal, and the term legitimate rape suggests some rape is appropriate or the violation has the right characteristics to be classified by using the word rape. There is no appropriate, accurate or clear way to express the ideas behind forcible rape and legitimate rape. These redefinitions of rape are intentional, malevolent and shameful. Yes, I am disgusted but certainly should not be surprised.
Humankind as an entity more concerned with its own agenda than God’s agenda will always espouse some view just as horrible as what Akin and Ryan have. Akin and Ryan’s language make clear that we need a nonpartisan, non-human agent, to arbitrate for us so we stay consistent in calling good ‘good’ and evil ‘evil.’ God, the only perfect and all-wise being, defines for us what is good and evil. When we have a relationship with Jesus Christ, one where we seek to please Him and not our strong black woman or any other human notions, we will work to steer clear from redefining what is clearly wrong and leave language up to the Ultimate Linguist.
You’ve read what I think. Please, tell me what you think about what Rep. Todd Akin and Rep. and Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan have said.
This morning was glorious and right now, mid-afternoon, I’m still in its glow. I rose when God told me, got dressed and worked out like He said, and talked to Him on my bike and in the sunshine on my front porch. This is my time with Him, my mornings of vacation, a phrase He gave me when I lamented my life no longer being my own.
When I was a young mother, still trying to find my way, the Lord spoke this concept to me so motherhood wouldn’t overwhelm me. As a career woman making a good wage I was used to being able to vacation whenever I was in the mood. With a husband but no children I still was able to freely get away. My baby changed that and I resented that. But one morning on a family trip for a friend’s wedding, I slipped away to a garden on a local college campus, and among the pond teeming with fish, the potpourri of plants, flowers and grass and the warm breeze that felt like it would forever last, I felt free; I was at peace. I felt like I was on vacation. This morning, away from the baby and daily grind, I was alone with God, Him supplying me rest, helping me be my very best, for that day. Then He told me this vacation wasn’t just for this day, but for all my days. These would be my mornings of vacation.
Busy women, particularly those recovering from strong black womanhood, have to have mornings of vacation. Your time doesn’t have to be in the day and maybe your retreat won’t be in some home corner space, but you must create your mornings of vacation whatever the time of day. Decompress, by yourself, everyday so you can stay in the place where God needs you to be. We have to be good for Kingdom work on our jobs, in our homes, and when we’re alone needing to hear from God what He wants to work out in us.
Schedule what would be your day, everyday, to have your mornings of vacation. We all need a getaway, even if for just a few moments in our own home.
My One Thousand Gifts List
#711-720
The quiet morning
The crisp air
Direction for friendship
Another view of God’s longsuffering with us
Getting a blog post while gardening
Juicing
Completing Joshua’s science prroject
Flynn cooking chicken
Completing an interview for a magazine
Going Beyond receiving Your First Year of Motherhood
We have a host of health problems in the United States and the root of many of our issues may be that our pH balance is off. Our pH, which stands for potential of hydrogen, determines if our body is more acidic or alkaline. For optimum health, our bodies need to be more alkaline. When our bodies are more acidic, we may have common problems, like indigestion, chest pains, and belching. The more extreme issues that can come from having acidic bodies, also known as acidosis, are immune deficiencies, cardiovascular damage (such as blood vessel constriction and reduced oxygen), weak bones, kidney stones, and chronic fatigue. I have even heard that a more acidic body is the ripe environment for cancerous cells to grow. Whatever our health problems, making sure our bodies are more alkaline should be a top priority.
Our pH level is based on a scale from 1-14, with the higher numbers representing a more alkaline body. The recommended pH is between 7.35 and 7.45, with 7.4 being considered ideal. To find out your pH level you can buy pH strips from a pharmacy and test your saliva or urine. Regardless of what your pH level is, you should work to create a more alkaline body by eliminating certain foods from your diet and incorporating other foods.
As you may have guessed, acid-yielding foods include animal products, like meat, eggs and dairy. Other culprits include white flour and sugar, artificial sweeteners, beverages with caffeine, and soft drinks. To help alkalize our bodies, we have to consume alkaline-yielding foods like kale, baby spinach, avocados, cucumbers, apples, collard greens, lemons and limes. Green drinks are also great for alkalizing our bodies.
In general, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and less meat and processed food products. Doing so increases the chance of our bodies being pH balanced and decreases the chance of our bodies being diseased.
If you’re a counselor, then counsel.
If you’re a singer, then sing.
If you’re a writer, then write.
If you’re a dancer, then dance.
If you’re a preacher, then preach.
If you’re a stylist, then style.
If you’re a runner, then run.
“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
This should always be our prayer. This should always be our practice.
This is my constant desire, but busyness and fatigue try to make me forget, turning my mind to the time when I get to stop or just take a little break. I stop and I think about why I was created then commit all that I have created to God. I know I’m not the only one whose fatigue and busyness make you forget who you were created to serve. Maybe you have other issues that prevents you from bowing to Jesus. So tell me, what challenges do you have doing “whatever you do. . .for the glory of God”? Please, tell me what you think.
