missmarigold's Revelife

Barack Obama: Nehemiah 2.0?

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:56:54 GMT

Last night, after Barack Obama finished making his speech, I watched Anderson Cooper's show on CNN, where one of the political commentators drew an intriguing parallel between Obama's victory speech and Nehemiah's speech after he inspected Jerusalem's walls. The commentator mentioned that like Nehemiah, Obama focused on the "we" during his speech rather than the "I" ("Yes We Can," anybody?) I thought this was kind of interesting considering the variety of responses Obama's received from the Christian community. I hadn't read Nehemiah in awhile, so of course, I busted out my Bible and checked out the reference:

"You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." - Nehemiah 3:17.

Here's are a couple portions of Obama's speech, for comparison:

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term, but America, I Have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you: We as a people will get there.

And above all, I will ask you to join uin the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

The commentator's point was that like Nehemiah's speech, Obama's (and his whole campaign message, basically) downplayed the role of the leader as a powerful individual and, rather, as a vehicle for reform; that is, they give the civilians a more active role in the rebuilding process by emphasizing how much work needs to be done, and how much everyone needs to cooperate.

Did you watch Obama's victory speech? What did you think about it?

Does Plastic Surgery Undermine How God Created Us?

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:55:30 GMT

by miss marigold

I've observed a negative stigma associated with plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures here in America. Still, the public in general seems fascinated with it - how many times have you seen an online article about Ashlee Simpson's nose job, John Kerry's botox procedure, and Star Jones' liposuction? A lot of the articles come off as speculative, but they still have negative overtones. Then there are the TV shows like Dr. 90210 or 10 Years Younger, which follow regular people as they get touched up.

In some countries, like South Korea, plastic surgery's pretty normal. A lot of girls get the double eyelid sugery or nose jobs. I'm not from South Korea, but I grew up near it and people in my area seem to be pretty open about it too.

While I haven't considered plastic surgery/cosmetic procedures for myself, I'm wondering how the Christian community feels about them. Keep in mind that I'm not talking about plastic surgery for people who really need it (burn victims, people with cleft palates or injuries, etc.) Most Christians I know disapprove of plastic surgery because it seems really vain to pay so much money to alter your physical appearance; not only that, but it undermines how God created you to look like.

How do you feel about plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures? Have you ever thought about getting it?

Ridiculous Prayers

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:04:58 GMT

As a pretty immature Christian, I still find myself treating God like Santa Claus, a leprechaun, or a janitor (Swiffer for my sins?) Admittedly, I've prayed for some really ridiculous things, and now I feel bad for treating what should be a holy, personal encounter with such triviality. Unsurprisingly, I don't feel God's presence quite as strongly when I pray things like:

"God, please...."
....make that old granny walk up the stairs faster!" (When I'm rushing to catch the A train on the way to work.)
....make her stop talking." (When my roommate's going on and on about some dream she had the night before. FYI people, your dreams are boring to everyone but you.)
....help me remember Bernoulli's principle!" (When I'm taking a test I could've studied harder for.)
....make him fail out of school!" (When screwed over by a guy.)
....let my mom buy me a pair of Jimmy Choos."
....let that guy be at church/class/the party today so that he can see how good I look."

And worst of all: "God, if you spare me from the emergency room, I promise I'll NEVER DRINK AGAIN."

I mean, God graciously revealed Himself to me and allowed me to communicate to Him without intercessory...only for me to use that to treat him like a genie?

Lately, God's moved me to let down my defense mechanisms and invite him in...not just so that he can clean up the messes I've made for myself, but so that he can fix the mess I've made of myself. There are a lot of things wrong with me, but instead of using prayer to reinforce the connection needed for God to reach deep inside and fix those things, I'm siphoning God off to correct the inconveniences in my life.

Revelations 3:20 says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

God doesn't want to come in just to do the dishes. He wants to share the meal.

Do you ever pray for trivial, ridiculous things? How differently does this feel from when you pray sincerely?

A Wholesome Christian Girl

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:12:27 GMT

Growing up, and during recent weeks, I've heard the term "wholesome Christian girl" thrown around a lot - sometimes by guys who say they want to date one, sometimes by adults who encourage us frisky young females to be one, and sometimes by girls who doubt that they really are one.

This really got me thinking about the definition of a "wholesome Christian girl." Somehow, the phrase rubs me the wrong way - maybe because I don't like molds or conforming to some collective standard without first being grounded in a Biblical understanding of what it means to be a wholesome Christian person - but what really strikes me are the different ways people interpret that ideal.

I hate to admit it, but my picture of a "wholesome Christian girl" is largely based on stereotypes. The first image my mind conjures when someone brings it up is of someone who wears little/no makeup, dresses head-to-toe in Gap clothing, has long hair, is involved in the praise team, does community service, says "golly" instead of "gosh," watches Gilmore Girls, has never had alcohol, has never been to a bar or a club (and has no desire to visit one, either), never been kissed, has never been on a date alone with a guy, only watches movies that are PG-13 and under, listens to Christian music exclusively, votes Republican, is called to be a pastor's wife/missionary/social worker/elementary school teacher, is an optimist, babysits the neighbor's kids.....

Yeah, so maybe the media and A Walk to Remember are largely responsible for that picture, so I'd really like to ask everyone what they imagine a wholesome Christian girl is. Of course, the Bible provides a lot of insight: "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is the be praised," being only one of several references to female character - as are the examples of female Bible characters - but how would you apply those ideals to the culture we live in?

Then of course, I'm sure guys and girls have somewhat different ideas of what a wholesome Christian is like.

Guys and girls, what does a wholesome Christian girl look like? Girls, would you consider yourself one?

NEXT TIME: "A Wholesome Christian Guy"

Monday, June 16, 2008

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:23:59 GMT

Hi everyone! I'm just getting started on Revelife... Drop me a comment if you've got some ideas on what to do first - or just to say, "Hi!" :-)