My daughter is blogging her thoughts about this book and movie 50 shades of grey.
Disclaimer: She did not read the book. She did not even see the trailer of the movie. She doesn’t need to read and watch the movie to know what is that all about.
Credit to the fight the new drug blog site for the picture
“SEX IS COMPLETELY FOR PLEASURE.” This is the main idea of the book, which I think it is 50 SHADES OF WRONG. God designed sex for pleasure but NOT COMPLETELY FOR PLEASURE. And God intended and purposed it in the boundaries of marriage.
Secondly, this book degrades women in our society and promotes abuse. Ladies and girls out there like me, LISTEN UP! You are worth it! You are VERY SPECIAL in the eyes of God. You are not just mere sex material that would satisfy their lusty desires. So right now, I’m telling you DO NOT READ THE BOOK OR WATCH THE MOVIE or you’d be feeding your head with trash. You’d probably say reading “a little” won’t hurt (in other words, “a little compromise won’t hurt”). Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against books, IN FACT I LOVE BOOKS! It just depends what kind of book (I’ll be blogging more what books I can recommend for girls aged like me).
To be honest, I read books that I know won’t benefit me. I compromised. In this case, I won’t dare make that same mistake again. Yes, you are just reading it but that reading is causing you to fantasize and picture yourself in that scene. And fantasizing is a sin which doesn’t honor God. So right now, I want to spare you from the regrets. Make that decision that you won’t ever read the book or watch that movie even if your friends tell you it’s a good movie. CHOOSE THE RIGHT THING!
Honor God with your body because you are bought with a price. Not with a cheap price but with an outrageous price. The very life of His son Jesus Christ, who died and saved you. You are valued, accepted and loved by your Heavenly Father.
Love,
Nicole Kryztien
(check out my tumblr site: http://diaryofateenagegirl19.tumblr.com/)
In honor of my father, Eduardo Daguman, February 7 marks his first year death anniversary.
And on that fateful day at 11:25PM, he joined our Father in heaven.
I could hear a voice in heaven saying “well done, good and faithful servant” to the man who had been my earthly father.
Psalm 116:15 (NIV) 15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.
My brothers and I called him Papa as a term of endearment for he was indeed a loving father, and a loving husband to our mother. He was always there for us. Although my parents had many disagreements, I do not recall Papa ever mentioning divorce as an option. He always fought for their marriage.
Papa was a church planter and bi-vocational pastor. He was also a taxi driver for more than 25 years.
To recognize the life of Eduardo Daguman who was a husband to my mother, a father to us three, and as a pastor myself, here are three of the most important lessons I learned from him.
1. Prayer and Worship
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
This was Papa’s favorite and most quoted verse. I witnessed how he lived it growing up and how it made such an impact to me for I saw him praying, singing and worshipping God at 4 am everyday. I was not taught directly how to pray step by step but I caught this from his leadership by example.
Prayer had such an impact in my life for I remember papa praying for me before going to his church in Calatagan, Batangas early Sunday mornings. After my usual Saturday night gimmick, which we now refer to as partying and clubbing, I would go home drunk and wasted. But I clearly remember how papa would lay hands on me so that I would go back to the Lord.
Our family had been through many trials, we struggled, and encountered various problems, nevertheless my father was consistent, prayer was always his first action and never his last option. It is evident that his prayers were answered. By God’s grace, I just didn’t go back to the Lord but I now serve Him as a full time missionary and pastor. Praise be to God!
“Prayer is our first action and not our last option
2. Faith
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
This is another verse my father loved to quote. Whenever another vehicle would cut us in traffic, he would say that God allowed it for a good purpose. When experiencing delays and setbacks, he would tell us not to worry for God has a reason behind it and is already doing something as a preparation. He believed that God’s intention for His children is always good, pleasing and perfect. He lived through that belief, kept preaching it till the end.
3. Humility
Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
I have not seen my father pursue power or fame. Instead, where he would lose control, he would surrender it to God. His response would always be “hayaan mo na anak, ipa sa Diyos na lang natin iyan” (It’s ok my son, let’s turn that over to the Lord).
I admire papa’s heart in caring for others; to have others go ahead of him, and put others’ needs and welfare above his. Truly my father was a humble man. And I to this day continuously learn humility myself from the life my father exemplified when he was still alive.
I miss my papa but knowing he is in a much better place now, that is absolutely alright for me. As what my daughter said that night he was gone
“This is just another see you, this is not goodbye”.
We will see each other again Pa, with the whole family, this time would be with our Lord Jesus Christ. Our greatest reunion ever.
Revelation 21:4 (NLT) He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
We are planning for his celebration tomorrow and one of the food we will be serving is one of his favorites. FRENCH FRIES. We all know that French Fries go well with ketchup. It’s considered incomplete without having it on its side. It’s like spaghetti without any sauce, it’s like crispy pata (pork knuckles) without toyo (soy sauce) and suka (vinegar), and it’s like banana que (caramelized banana) without sugar. And besides, whose kid doesn’t like ketchup?
But Caleb is different; indeed he is one of a kind (I love every part of my son, hey! And so as your Father in heaven, who loves you more than that. He loves you for who you are).
Caleb doesn’t like ketchup. In fact, he hates it. You cannot put a bottle of ketchup right beside our water containers. Once he found out that it was put near it, he wouldn’t drink it anymore. For him it’s contaminated and no longer good for consumption. Even the smell of ketchup makes him sick. Say “ketchup” to his face and you would see disgust rather than a cutie.
Last Sunday, I preached about Honoring God with our bodies in 2 of Victory Novaliches’ Adult services. ( we don’t have a podcast yet but you can check other location’s podcasts at this link http://victory.org.ph/series/honor-god/ ). While preparing for my message that weekend, I saw Caleb running towards our living room from his room and screaming “KETCHUUUUUUUPPPPP”. Well my initial response was actually to reprimand him because it was disturbing and men don’t scream like a girl but the Holy Spirit stopped me and I was reminded of our text for that weekend that I was currently meditating upon.
This is what the verse says;
1 Corinthians 6:18a Flee from sexual immorality…
Found this Meme through Google. Credit to the owner of this pic.
When faced with temptations, sin and sexual immorality, what do we do?
Do we engage it? Or do we flee and run away from it?
Do we test our limits and boundaries thinking it’s ok because you are not yet sinning? (at least for your own definition of sexual sins…)
Or do we feel strong enough that we can fight it and it’s ok to compromise a bit?
When it comes to sexuality, no one is strong enough to fight it!
The command is to flee and not engage.
Stay away from it as far as possible. Don’t let spiritual pride lead you to do the opposite. Thinking that you can do it.
Just like Caleb with his struggle with Ketchup, he ran away from it, he is firm, no compromise, and no 2nd thoughts to try and taste it. He has decided that he didn’t want anything to do with ketchup. He doesn’t want it and he hates it.
How can you flee? You can start from these:
Flee from Porn. It’s time to hit that Delete button. Permanently please. Shift + Delete for windows users). Delete all those movies, clips, scandals you stored in your secret folder. I know you know the password, type it and press that magic “delete” button. It will save you, your future wife and if you are a woman-your future husband (yes, women are into pornography as well). You will save the life of your future kids. Hey I know what you are thinking. Don’t justify, just delete those pictures, e-books and even those what you call soft porn. Get rid of it! Delete it! FLEE!
Flee from green jokes and unwholesome talk Men, we don’t usually tell stories. But if the topic is about sex and women, then it’s a different ball game. Flee! Run away! What you hear, goes into your minds. What you meditate, they are stored in your hearts. What’s in your heart comes out of your mouth and manifest in your actions. This would not help you. For Caleb my son, who hates ketchup, it’s like going into a seminar that tackles about tomato and its benefits (well at least for that matter nothing is bad with tomatoes, but sadly, you are not Caleb).
Flee from immoral situations What are these situations? Well, let me start with this. Are you in a relationship? If you are, I suggest for you to avoid private situations (well, please read carefully, I used “suggest” not “asked”, it’s a suggestion and not a command, so please don’t accuse me of being legalistic J ).
Ended in a Motel? Ended in premarital sex and dishonored God with your bodies that first and foremost belongs to Him? Why? Don’t tell me you don’t know what went wrong. Don’t tell me you did not foresee where things would end up.
When you called your Girlfriend or Boyfriend or your Special friend to come over because you are sick and no one is home or you will just watch a movie while everyone in the house is gone, don’t you even have a hint where this is going?
When that room in that motel or apartelle was reserved, who did it? Did your wallet do it in your behalf without you knowing it?
That’s why you have to RUN! FLEE! VANISH! Before you find yourself in those situations that sooner or later you will regret.
I choose to write regarding this subject with this intensity because I was in bondage before of sexual sins and immorality. My wife and I made a lot of mistakes, tons of it. I’m an equal sinner just like everybody. Our future was almost robbed due to sexual immorality. But I thank God for His grace, His promise of restoration, through Jesus the old has gone and the new has come. If he has saved me from it, will I come back to it? If you made the same mistake I did before, it’s not yet too late. In Christ there is always second, third and even infinite virginity.
Jeremiah 31:3-4 (NIV1984) 3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. 4 I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful.
Israelites were always referred in the bible as prostitutes as they offer themselves to other gods. I strongly believe that this promise applies to us even until today. In the new covenant, Christ has restored us in Him, through His finished work at the cross, His perfect life and obedience to the Father, and His holiness and righteousness that was imputed on us exchanged with our sinfulness then we can say that in Jesus 2nd virginity is a reality. Before, if we have worshiped the idol of sex and pleasure, now it’s about time to offer our bodies to our groom and that is JESUS CHRIST.
My prayer is that even though our flesh would urge us to give in to the pleasure of sexual sins, through the Holy Spirit, we will have the power to say no to any ungodliness. We will be able to do it because of His grace and what He has promised.
Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
Ian Daguman 