Rant! Feminists, Protests and Jesus!

So you are a feminist. Can you tell me what is feminine about you?  I am a woman and proud to be one but I do not have to be loud or vulgar to prove that. I do not have to tear down a man to make myself feel better about myself either. I definitely do not have to wear profane costumes to show that I am a woman. I get respect because I respect others. Being disrespectful to anyone for any reason and then demanding respect gets you nowhere. You think you are better because you protest just about everything and think you are equal with people like Martin Luther King Jr.?  Do you think you are Joan of Arc? How many of you think you can endure what she did? Maybe you think you are Rosa parks and that your protests are in the same level as she did as she peacefully sat in a seat at the bus only saying she did not see why she had to move. For this she was arrested. Did she use vulgarity or flaunt parts of her body or did her quiet actions speak louder than you could ever yell? She is remembered with dignity what will you be remembered with?

Here are a couple of posts that I have read about taking a stand and about these current protests that have been going on in the world today.

https://mitchteemley.com/2017/01/30/take-a-stand/

https://atimetoshare.me/2017/01/30/kathy-rant-2/

Today women say they want equality when they seem to be lowering themselves more and more with each passing day. Women who do not need a man to degrade them because they are doing the job just fine by themselves. Women who are angry because the tax dollars will no longer be paying for your right to kill an unborn child. Then if a woman stays home to raise her children you put her down saying she has no influence or power. I will tell you that it takes a strong woman to leave the work force to raise a child especially in this day and time. Women who struggle to raise her children to be respectable and caring people. These are the children who will grow up to be productive, compassionate and giving adults, even though they live in a selfish world.

The world has become populated with overgrown children throwing destructive temper tantrums.  Women are not alone in this all the other protesters who have rioted and looted based on racial prejudice. Well our new President has members on his staff that are both men and women and have different racial backgrounds, but you dismiss them because they do not fit in the little peg holes that fit you so called violated rights.  Blaming everyone else for the condition of this world and taking no real responsibility for your own actions.  What is heart breaking is these protests say they want peace, love and equality but are spewing out words of hate and division.

Jesus died to pay the price for the sin of every man, woman or child regardless of their race or background. He gave His life even when rejected by those He loves, yet you protesters say that God is vengeful and demanding and you want nothing to do with Him. Yet even while you are doing all of this protesting, using vulgarity and hate, He still loves you. He waits patiently for you and wants so much for you to receive His love. Jesus did not demand His rights as He hung on a cross after being beaten and mocked. Instead He said, ‘Father forgive them, they know not what they do.’

True equality will only be found In Jesus Christ for in God’s eyes we are neither male or female and He does about discriminate because of the color of your skin. He created us all and loves us all equally.

Okay my rant is done for the day.

a link to a biography for Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr and Joan of Arc

http://www.biography.com/people/rosa-parks-9433715#ordered-to-the-back-of-the-bus

http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086

http://www.biography.com/people/joan-of-arc-9354756

Ugly Or Beautiful?

When I made this cross out of clay you could bake in the oven I didn’t think much about it at the time. I have created crosses that looked better than this plane black cracked cross. I am not even sure why I chose the black clay that day.

 Yet the other day when I picked up this cross and looked at it and thought you are kind of ugly. then I heard God speak quietly to me. The cross was never beautiful, the beauty came from the One who hung on it.
Many of us have crosses that decorate our homes. I have a beautiful one with wings that was given to me as a gift that hangs in my living room. I have made them myself as gifts for friends, and even made one as an emergency repair for a plaque on which the original cross was accidentally broken. These crosses are works of art and are beautiful.                       Let us not let the beauty of these crosses make us forget the ugliness of sin and what sin costs. Then remember the One who paid the price. Who let Himself be nailed to a cross. Who bled on that cross and finally died on that cross for you and for me.

That is love and that to me is beautiful.

Art and poetry by Julie Sheppard

Question;

Is this cross ugly or beautiful to you?

Would love to hear your thoughts.

The Wall

Jerusalem had a wall around it. Walls are nothing new. Jericho had a wall around it. Two walls that you will find in the Bible. In the book of Joshua you will read about the wall around Jericho. Yes the wall came down. In the book of Nehemiah you can read how heart broken he was over the condition of the wall of Jerusalem. He was not only given permission to go and repair the wall by the king but the king gave him the materials he would need to make the repairs. He fought opposition. The workers rebuilding the wall had to work in pairs so that one could work while the other rested, and they worked with a tool in one hand and a sword in the other. A talk of a wall to be built on the border between United States and Mexico is nothing new. It has been debated and argued over for just as long as the idea has been around. The time is coming though that it might actually be built. I am not writing this as an argument for or against this wall. I am writing because as I read a post on this wall and funny thing is as I read this article I wasn’t thinking about Trump or the Mexican president I thought of Jerusalem and I thought of Nehemiah. I thought of what shape Jerusalem had fallen into,that it’s walls were in ruins and needed repair, and I thought about all of the obstacles and opposition Nehemiah faced while seeking to do the will of God. This made me think about the obstacles we face today which in all honesty are nothing new.Hate, strife, violence and prejudice. We don’t fight the good fight when we are yelling and screaming insults or even whispering them. We look for ways to keep others from succeeding with their plans instead of working on solutions to fix the things we have destroyed. We care more about popular opinion than truth. We talk about the need for love while spewing hateful words from our mouths. When a wrong is done we compound it by committing another wrong. For instance rioting and destroying property while stealing is supposed to be the right reaction when an unarmed man is shot by the police? How about instead of committing crime in protest, why not help the family and support them as they deal with their loss. Professional athletes protesting our National Anthem teaching our youth that it is okay to disrespect this country, when they could be helping out the communities that are suffering? This list can go on and on but the revelation I got today is if you really want to come together for a purpose and stand for something,stand for love. Build each other up and stop tearing each other down.

Okay my venting is done for now.

God bless you because I already know He loves you even if you don’t love Him

God may we as a nation come together in the love of Jesus Christ. Though He is Your Son did not demand the rights He had as Your Son, but laid down His life for His enemies as well as those who had received Him. He didn’t die for just one person, race, or religion. He gave His life to pay the price so that we may all receive Your mercy and forgiveness. Showing us that you are a God of love. Father grow this love in me so that I may live my life to give Your love to all who I will ever know in this world,even if it is just a stranger I pass on the street. I want Your love to be known. In Jesus name. Amen.

Seeing What You Want To See

If you want to see the beauty that is around you, you will see beauty. If you want to see the ugliness of this world you will see ugly. Yet if you really want to see the truth, then you will see both. This world around you has both love and hate, beauty and ugliness. Yet this world is temporary, and for those of us who have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are pilgrims only traveling through it.

1 Corinthians 13:12 (ESV) ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Psalm 146:8 The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises up those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous;

Acts 26:18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’

Ephesians 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

Art by Julie Sheppard

2 Corinthians 3:16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Art by Julie Sheppard

I have always been drawn to eyes, both in people and in art. I have learned two people even when looking at the same thing see differently. We see what we are looking for, even when we are not sure what it is that we want. Broken, hurt, and angry people will more likely see darkness and devastation. The ones who only see roses and rainbows can be the ones who cannot handle the pain of this world and they choose to deny the ugliness but only fool themselves. Then there are those whose eyes have been open. They have suffered, and been hurt and abused. They have had great loss in their life but through the brokenness of their life they found the Truth in Jesus. He gives us the ability to see the truth and to beauty even in a broken world.

In The Light

Photography by Julie Sheppard

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

Job 24:13 “Others have been with those who rebel against the light; They do not want to know its ways Nor abide in its paths.

Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

Choose to walk in His light, and follow the path He has laid before you. Jesus is the Light.

What I noticed in this photo is not just the light that surrounded me but in the lower left hand corner is a small rainbow. It reminded me of the promises of God. It was not a special effect, the photo has not been photo-shopped.

Water Color / Parrot

Art by Julie Sheppard

Patiently

Photography by Julie Sheppard / Japanese Botanical Garden FT Worth

Patiently you stand  

Beside the water

Your dinner comes to you

 

GRAY

Today the sky is gray. The clouds are dark and a feeling of gloom hangs in the air. I feel lethargic. Not much motivates me today.It would be easy to lay down and sleep. Light is diminished. Hidden behind the clouds. The day feels sad. No black of night or light of day just gray.

.Photography by Julie Sheppard

Who Am I?

 

 

     Who am I that I think that I must defend God? God has given to each of us the gift of free will. Those who choose to deny Jesus may do so. When Judas chose to betray Jesus God did not stop him. Instead as Jesus was eating His last meal with His disciples, Jesus told Judas to go and do what he was going to do. (John 13:27 ESV Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”)It is man that tries to force his will upon others. Do it my way or else! God gives us commands and He wants us to obey Him. We try to force others to obey our ways but each day in one way or another we fail to keep all of God’s commands. (Romans 3:10 ESV ¹⁰ as it is written:“None is righteous, no, not one;) Yet when we see someone else break His commands we get angry, we argue and fight and justify our behavior. He is our Defender, our shield and strong tower. He does not need our righteous anger, especially since none are righteous. Jesus tells us if we love Him we will follow God’s commands. He also tells us hate is equal to murder. Then He tells us to love those who hate us and bless those who curse us. Jesus chose to go to the Cross and He loved those who crucified Him. I am not to argue in fight. I am to love.

     Whatever we choose to do we will face the consequences of our own choices and actions. No matter what we choose to do we will all face God and be judged for our own actions and how we lived our lives on judgment day. (2 Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad.)

    I do not need to get mad or upset when someone does not agree with me or even speaks against my faith. Arguing is pointless and calling a person names only harms my witness. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.) I am to be self controlled and not try to control or dominate others. (Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Titus 1:8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, ) I am not perfect and I have argued many times in my life, and I still fall prey to this behavior on occasion, but my goal is to live as Jesus instructs me to, and to live in peace and love that is only found in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

What Kind Of Witness Was I today?

What kind of a witness was I today?

The thought just popped into my head as I was dusting off a shelf. During the time I spent outside of my home today, ‘Was I a witness for Christ?’ I am not talking about only about any conversations I may have had. Did my actions speak louder than my words, and what did they say? This is a self check. Did I smile at the person as they walked past me, or was I too busy in my own little world? Did I get angry and honk my horn when a car pulled out in front of me? Did I hold the door open when someone was coming out of where I was entering? Did I ask the cashier at the grocery store how was their day? Did I compliment anyone? Have I given any words of encouragement? Did I smile when a patient came into the office and great them by name? Have I shown any kindness at all to anyone I came in contact with today?

I hope that throughout the day I have shared love and kindness and ask for forgiveness for any time that I did not.

I pray that each day of my life on this planet, I live my life to please the One who truly loves us and has given us everything, and to give Him my best every day. Thank You Jesus, without You I would never have known what it truly means to be loved. Now I live to share the love you so freely gave to me.