Category: Editorial & Opinion

Possessionless on Purpose

Posted by The Team –

by Misty S Bledsoe

Paring down your possessions can allow you to be more mobile. Photo courtesy of markemark/Morguefile.com

Paring down your possessions can allow you to be more mobile. Photo courtesy of markemark/Morguefile.com

There’s a certain amount of freedom in having less to worry about. Less bills. Less possessions. Less responsibilities. They’re kind of all tied together. What would it be like to give away or sell all of your possessions on purpose? What would you do with your life? Where would you live? How would that fit into how you make money?

Having less possessions forces you think about what’s really important in life and let’s you see things that maybe you didn’t see before. Having less possessions means you could be much more mobile much easier. I know what you’re thinking. How do you do that with kids? Well, with kids you still have to have some stuff to grow up with. You could try pairing it down, but you would need to be really creative in working with quality time. It’s not impossible but it can be done.

Where would you travel? See the country? Travel out of the country? It’s just something to think about. Others have done it and many people that pare down their possessions to a bare minimum or nothing at all have had unique experiences.

Becoming Ordained Online: The Debate

Posted by The Team –

by Misty S Bledsoe

Can God really ordain people through the Internet? Photo courtesy of jdurham/Morguefile.com

Can God really ordain people through the Internet? Photo courtesy of jdurham/Morguefile.com

What validates the credentials of being an ordained minister? What does it really take? There are two different ways to become an ordained minister: The traditional way and the non-traditional way.

The traditional way involves a Bachelor’s degree, Seminary schooling and other requirements. Some Christian denominations only accept ordained ministers/pastors if they’ve come up through the ranks of the church and had their hands laid upon them being “set apart” for service. Even then, the minister’s life is thoroughly examined and the minister/pastor is trained for service of the congregation and for God.

The non-traditional way involves signing up online at various online churches or with legal ordination ministries. Anyone meeting the qualifications and willing to submit themselves to a code of ethics can apply and become a recognized pastor/minister (or whichever title they choose), according to various state laws. They are free to pursue setting up a ministry, church, or other types of services as allowed by law. Many traditional denominations do not support this view or avenue of becoming ordained.

Whatever way you choose, be sure you that have a call of God on your life. You answer to God when everything that is said and done. If you feel a strong pull to be an ordained minister (doesn’t go away with time), discuss these feelings with your home pastor. If you are already in a denomination that doesn’t accept the non-traditional way of ordination, bring it up anyway. There are several scripture studies on the internet related to the theology behind both doctrines. Pray about it, repeatedly, and seek actual Godly advice from church leadership before proceeding. They will be able to see things about you and your situation that you cannot. Plus, they’ve traveled the road before you and can shed some light on how pursuing that path will change your life.

“We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.”

Posted by The Team –

I work late at times, but being able to work at home offers that flexibility. Once in awhile I will have the T.V. on for background noise if something interests me. I like to flip through the religious programming. That’s how I stumbled across ministries like Matt Pitt and The Basement. I saw young people shouting at the top of their lungs out to God. You could see raw, unashamed, unabashed worship towards God. God is no respecter of persons, no respecter of title and position, and no respecter of the clothes you choose to wear in worship. God works in many circles, in many ways, using His servants and the Holy Spirit to show people that Jesus is the only way, truth, and the life.

Someone once told me that a lot of Catholics love and revere Jesus just as much as true Orthodox or Evangelical Christians. I’ve talked with those of the Catholic faith that know it is only by the Blood of Jesus they are saved, and not through works. They read their bible for themselves. They do their religious duties out of love to God and not out of fear. This is why I did not mind tuning into a traditional Catholic Mass last night. I didn’t know why I stopped there while channel flipping but I did.

I tuned in just at the time the Priest was beginning to speak, “Brothers and Sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ, I urge you to read this document, to read it, to sign it, and not just to sign it, but to live it.” I stopped typing and gave my attention. What was he purporting? What was he supporting? It almost sounds political and pastors/priests, etc…are not supposed to encourage their congregations on how to vote or to take a stance one-way or another or they could face consequences from our own government as a church.

I had to know what it was that led this brother (yes I called him brother as all who profess Jesus absolute Savior and Lord of their lives…our religious traditions may differ but it is Jesus who alone is Lord…in this and the common good we stand united), to put himself into a possibly precarious position. I listened on.

“On November 20, 2009, just a couple of days ago, religious leaders from Orthodox, Evangelical, and Christian faiths came together and released a declaration to our law makers, to the government, and as a call to any true Christian that we have a duty before God to uphold his Word and to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all its fullness and truth…” He went on to say that two days after its release, that 15,000, people and counting had signed this declaration. The Manhattan Declaration. He mentioned the website www.manhattandeclaration.org to take the time to read it and to sign it.

He went on to pick out key phrases of this document that struck deep within me. This Catholic brother was speaking out of love, but he had the power of the Holy Ghost upon his words. They were powerful. As soon as he said the site, I had typed it in, downloaded it and began reading. I was inspired, emboldened, and it seemed I had once again experienced the Fire and Passion of the Holy Ghost. This document is respectful, logic, and united.

Christians rise up and UNITE and be true the callings and edicts that the Lord provided for you when you were saved and washed by His blood. Read this document, sign it, and live it. God is truly no respecter of persons. Jesus is the ONLY way, truth, and the life and He is King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s. Stay true to Him! Read the final paragraph of the Manhattan Declaration here:

 “Because we honor justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryodestructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other antilife act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family. We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.”

For more information visit: www.manhattandeclaration.org

To learn more about The Basement visit: www.thebasementonline.com

Being Christian and Acting like a Survivalist: the Debate

Posted by The Team –

by Misty S. Bledsoe

What if your stockpile doesn't end up helping you? Photo courtesy of earl53/Morguefile.com

What if your stockpile doesn't end up helping you? Photo courtesy of earl53/Morguefile.com

This day and age, it’s wise to have a stockpile of food and other supplies. The Department of Homeland Security recommends having enough food for two weeks for each person in your household. However, how much is too much? Moreover, when does stockpiling food, supplies, and cash conflict with the faith you have in God and all the promises available to His people in the bible? When does stockpiling cross that line?

Some Christians believe survivalists act only out of fear by stockpiling or saving as much as they do. They especially have chided those that build secondary “shelters” or other places of safe haven in their home. Their logic and argument: “God will always take care of us. Why are they so afraid? Besides, other people who don’t know Christ will need His comfort and message of salvation during that time. How can they help others if they are cowering in some underground shelter for three weeks or what have you? Those people [those that stockpile] are selfish and acting cowardly for behaving that way.”

Personally, that shocked me because the bible also states that a wise man sees trouble coming and prepares for it. Noah prepared an ark with lots of food for his family and all of the animals. Others laughed at him during that time, believing he was crazy, etc… until disaster struck. Men and women of the bible took preparations with them prior to traveling in most cases and there are other scenarios too where people were told to save.

God tell us to not be afraid and yes, He will never leave us nor forsake us. However, it is OK to stockpile and save as long as you have the attitude that disaster might strike when you aren’t at home. Then what? Believe God. Act on what you do know to do to survive. If disaster strikes and you’re at home, then hopefully you’ll have access to your supplies. There is no reason to be afraid. Jesus warned us during His time of the things to come to play in this world. We are not to fear it. Know that stock piling is wise, just don’t trust in the stockpile itself to help or save you. Only God does that.

Also, consider the possibility that your stockpile and surplus may not be for you. If you feel led to stock up, then stock up. If not, then don’t. Both are OK as long as you have the proper attitude and trust in God. If disaster strikes and you do not live or cannot make it back to your home, understand that God may use your stockpile to help your neighbors or others that do not know Him. Maybe God will use it to help those people stay alive long enough to hear the message of Jesus Christ they will so desperately need.

Friend, if you are on the side that believes stockpiling is cowardly, don’t judge your brother or sister that does. Instead, remind them of God’s graciousness, mercy, and promises to help keep them in the proper attitude towards God, the supplier rather than the supplies. Let the supply issue go. Friend, if you are on the other side that stockpiles and believes others are unwise for not doing the same, don’t judge your brother or sister that doesn’t. Instead, rejoice with them knowing that no matter what, God will see you through, keeping your arms, hearts, and resources open to those you have an opportunity to help, believer or not.

What Makes a Writer’s Work Valid?

Posted by The Team –

by Misty S Bledsoe

I often get discouraged at being able to fit my content into just the right SEO formulas found scattered throughout the internet. The higher your work website ranks in the search engines, the more traffic you are likely to get. If a web crawler can’t find your content, it’s as if it doesn’t exist when it comes to the Internet world. I’ve heard the advice, “Find a niche, specialize, and create focused content for your site.” However, if a web crawler doesn’t find my content readily and it’s not widely read, does the work count?

Both sides of the issue can be seen and found throughout humanity and history. I think a writer should write if that is what they are truly meant to do and they should publish what they feel they should be publishing at the time they should be publishing. Writers will always have a stash of content that may never be seen by anyone but the author even after the death of the author.

So what is the purpose then? A flower that is never seen by anyone that sprouts up on a mountainside was included in God’s creation for His pleasure and His purposes. This means then, our work as artists, no matter what our medium, be it the written word, paint, charcoal, music, video, etc…matters. We should live for the purposes we were intended, published or not. Just my thoughts on the matter.

Spanking Lowers the IQ of your Child?

Posted by The Team –

by Misty S Bledsoe

A recent study done in New Hampshire was recently reported by King 5 news that spanking your child leads to a 3-5 point drop in IQ in the test cases that were studied. My question for King 5 news is where we can find the conditions of the study? The story was very biased in explaining this as factual with one of the researchers saying, “If parents are spanking their children, they aren’t talking [as a form of alternative discipline] to them.”

  • What were the conditions of the study?
  • Were the parents in the test cases using ONLY spanking as a form of discipline?
  • Was spanking their FIRST choice of discipline in these cases?

If so, then yes, their study would be valid as that would cause psychological distress on any child under those conditions.

I know plenty of parents that spank their children and it’s done as a last resort. That means there is plenty of talking, time outs, noses in the corners and privileges taken away from the child before spanking occurs. The researcher when interviewed also was saying that “If I’m hitting or spanking a child…..”

She actually said spanking was hitting the child. It was done in the same fashion as some current scientific text books used in today’s universities that actually use the term “law” and “theory” interchangeably when they are clearly not the same. (I had to re-review the text several times to see where they had inserted this to purport their views on a certain scientific matter and my jaw dropped that educators would actually allow this slight-of-hand type of manipulation to actually be taught to their children—but that is a whole other matter…) The way this researcher was speaking about spanking and hitting was no different.

Let’s set a couple of things straight right now. First, spanking your child is NOT hitting them. There is a very clear difference. Second, parents that use spanking as a form of discipline that use it as a last resort to correct their child’s behaviors are very much known for talking to them, reasoning with them, explaining to them, using time outs, etc…are not monsters as this story painted them out to be.

As a parent, I would whole heartedly agree that spanking your child as the only form of discipline or the first choice of discipline on a regular basis would cause significant amounts of stress in the child’s life and thus would have an impact on not just their learning but in other areas of their life as well. However, I do NOT agree that spanking your child lowers their IQ if it’s only done when necessary.

Some parents believe that spanking their children is NEVER OK. That is their right and privilege. However, when other parents choose to utilize this because they will not let their child win at exercising the incorrect behavior over the parents advice, will, or orders, that do resort to spanking should not be painted out to be uneducated, hitting- happy adults who look forward to spanking their children because they are too lazy to try anything else. Furthermore, more information for both sides of the story should have been properly represented in order to have a fully educated view of the matter.

Journalism used to do that.

About

Posted by The Team –

Misty Bledsoe lives in the Puget Sound and holds a Bachelors degree in Information Technology with a concentration in Computer Programming from American Intercontinental University. She has been writing for more than 15 years for both offline and online publications both under her own name and psuedonyms.  Her primary blog is found on this site and chocked full of useful information on a variety of topics.

(c)2008-2010 Misty S. Bledsoe. All Rights Reserved including code manipulation. No part of this blog may be reproduced without the author’s expressed written permission.