The Current of Love

The wind blows from whence it will
Flowing from its source rippling the still
A gentle touching upon the skin
Sharing the soft presence it lends
Tickling the smallest fibers of the face
A deep breath of its freshness embraced
A tear or two from an eye so moved
By the flowing of air lightly cooled
Giving of itself free without cost
Sometimes remains though the feeling is lost

So moves the heart of one to another
Giving love whether received from the other
It does not bestow that it may obtain
But rather desires the others' happiness remain
Offering of itself all that it has to present
Caring for the wellbeing of another it’s content
Always there whether known or secretly held
It remains faithful desiring to be felt
Quietly oft times it tenderly waits
Forever true with or without being embraced

February 23, 2009

Keeping Proposition 8 Alive

Last week, a video circulated by the pro-gay marriage group Courage Campaign was circulated heavily on the Internet. The group asked same-sex "couples" who had been married in California to send in their video pleas to allow this immoral practice to continue in the state. It is in response to the legal brief former prosecutor Ken Starr filed on behalf of the "Yes on 8" Campaign. If you would like to see the video here, you can visit the Courage Campaign web site but there is really no need as it is the same propaganda we have been seeing on this issue for years and offers no new insight into why this should suddenly be legal and acceptable.

In the video the happy "couples" and their adopted or artificially-conceived children hold up signs that read "Don't Divorce Us," which is interesting if we think about the fact that these people were never married in the eyes of God and the state of California's political grandstanding is not being well received by the majority. After all, Proposition 8 would not have passed if the majority of the state's voters had felt the way these few liberals feel. They are demanding understanding for something that is not natural or reasonable and is not accepted by most of the rest of the country. California was not the only state where we saw a ban on gay marriage proposed and the bans passed elsewhere too.

And, it is offensive to any reasonable person that a federal judge declared (in early February) that it was lawful for those against proposition 8 to divulge the names of donors to the cause. Because this is such a hot-button issue, it could be dangerous for these names to be made public. The backlash has already started as one donor experienced picketing and boycotts of the store he owns.

This is going too far. These people keep pushing even after the voters have spoken and voted the ban into law. I can't help but wonder what would be the response if Barack Obama had won the popular vote and not been allowed to take office. It is a similar situation and those who realize gay marriage is against the laws of God must continue to stay true to their beliefs and hold their ground on the issue. If there is not a unified voice, there is a very real danger of this ban being overturned and the gay population will be free to flaunt their sexuality and make a mockery of a sacred institution.

By-line:
This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of a Bible college [http://www.christiancolleges.com/]. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com

Abortion: Thoughts From the Next Generation

Are Quotes as Good When Misquoted

I was recently sent a motivational email - you know the type - that attributed the following quote to Maya Angelou.

'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'

I thought to myself, ‘This is a powerful quote.’ So, I took a moment to look up the lady and read her short biography. Then I did a search to find the association of her and the quote. What I found was that not only is the quote not from Maya Angelou, but the quote has actually change slightly also.

The actual original quote is apparently from Max Lucado:

‘A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.’

In my search, I also came across a poem entitled ‘Christians’ attributed to Maya Angelou, but was actually the original writings of Carol Wimmer entitled ‘WHEN I SAY, "I AM A CHRISTIAN".’

I’m not placing blame on Maya Angelou, for I don’t believe she has tried to acquire fame through the writings and quotes of others. What I would like to say is, for I have been guilty myself, if we as Christians wish to take the time to pass along motivational emails and such, we should at least take the time to check out the original author, original writings, and ensure such are indeed Biblical. Author Unknown is really just the easy way out, and attributing it to someone other than the author is simply deceitful at worst and sloppy at best.

Back to the quote, both the original and the variant are well spoken in my opinion. But whereas the original with author is worthy of note, the variant and invalid association makes it unworthy of repeating.

Simply put, variant misquoted quotes lose meaning, and just aren’t as good.