To Our Wonderful Heavenly Father who is also Mother of all Creation!

I would like to come back to writing about finding my Goddess in Christ Jesus and what that means exactly.

During my time of struggling and walking in my own path, I was curious about goddess beliefs and I began to search them. However, I did not find them to be real, maybe because I knew there was only One True God,

however, I did understand, the reason so many women are drawn into the goddess beliefs, world wide, and though I could not embrace them nor worship them, I did believe that there was a huge gap, a huge hole in the hearts of women,

in relating to God, as a female. When I came back to my faith in Christ, I began to question God about misogyny, patriarchy, whether or not the Heavenly Father could ever relate or identify to me and women,

not as a male being but as a female. I should say, to clarify, I am NOT agnostic, nor am I of the Mother Earth religion, I have searched them, yes, studied them, yes,

but for me, I wanted to find my answers in the Word of God, I wanted to know what He thought, His ways, not mine. It wasn't so much that I wanted to,

I needed to. I simply could not wrap my mind around loving a God who I thought might be a misogynist, patriarchal, woman hating God, no matter how much I tried, yet, too, something deep in my Spirit, just didn't witness or confirm, so many of the patriarchal and yes, misogynist interpretations of scripture,

so, I needed to find my own answers. So, I prayed, I sought God's face, I asked for the discernment of the Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth, because I truly wanted to know, the Truth, God's truth,

not man's, not the church [run by men usually], not feminists, not anyone, I wanted to hear from God, for my own well being, for my own Sanity, for my own Peace.

I had to put down or cast down rather, so many conditioning taught to me by churches, preachers, teachers, using scriptures, and get on my knees and seek God, and learn to be still, and hear His voice, not mine, not anyone else. Little did I know Then,

that God would open up not only my eyes and Spirit to so many marvelous and wonderful truths about Him, His character [Him not being male exactly either], but He would, heal me of so much damage, to my soul, from years and years, of being told, conditioned, both socially, secular and religious, and not only from those conditions,

but from the myths and misconceptions of God by none other than those opposed to Christ, including many in feminist circles who are opposed to God in all totality. Because little did I see then, that there are also, misogynist conditioning's there too, but they are subtle, they are hidden, and they are so easily missed. I am going to be really blunt and say, one has to be sincere in Heart, willing to submit to God's Will,

in searching for His truth. There are simply way too many voices out there and opinions and many may Seem right,

but they are counterfeits. Let me just state for the record, IF, IF, a statement or belief does NOT line up with the Total Word of God, in Spirit and in Truth,

I reject it.

Because its a lie.

How can I be convinced of this? Easy, one, faith, two, I've had my fill of living and believing the lies of the enemy and this world, and I've seen and suffered enough of the death that comes from those lies.

So yes, I'm not afraid now, to just come out and say, what I believe, based on the Word of God, the world be damned, seriously,

either go all the way with your faith, or don't bother, I'm done sitting on the fence. Besides, its a miserable life,

and one that God is hindered from truly revealing Himself to us, to you, to me.

So, anyhow, I begin to search and seek and wait on the Lord and pretty much I'm just staying in prayer and reading the Word, listening with my heart, dealing with what God wants me to deal with in My life, My heart, etc., and Trusting Him [trust is Huge, let me just say it again, Trust is huge, without Trust, well, its like trying to find your way blind in the darkness].

What can I say, I was SHOCKED, seriously, SHOCKED, to just how many lies and misconceptions about God and God's love for women and His creating woman in His image, I mean, I really was so bogged down and had internalized So much misogyny, So much self-hate, So much resentment for being female,

and I'm not saying this in the usual traditional neo-conservative or fundamentalist way we often hear it, you know, the 'well women were biologically assigned to give birth and well, that's pretty much that, everything else, they are evil, tempters, needing to be subjugated, you know the usual misogynist teachings, sugar coated though they may be.

And even if, lets say, you aren't Christian or even spiritual, you are Still effected by those teachings because patriarchy is in Every society, community, system, etc. Some yes, far worse than others, but my point is, we are effected by those beliefs, on a very deep level, and women,

God wants to reconcile women to Him, to His plan for women, but He won't force it, its up to us, to ask and seek and not shut our hearts. And His plan, was and is,

not what we so often hear, in our world today, never was, but too, we live in a fallen world, a world under sin, and the problem is,

we have contributed to God, what really, should have been contributed to Satan and Sin.

And in the process, MEN, have become IDOLS, so have women, in some places but all in all, MEN, by patriarchy, have become IDOLS and little 'gods',

with women, forced to subjugate and worship the MALE.

Wrong, that is just so wrong, and I've seen this in the church too. However, I have also been seeing, God is dealing with the church on this issue,

church meaning, Body of Christ, not denomination, not a building, the Body of Christ. God is reconciling and restoring, spiritually, both women, and men, Adam and Eve,

Adam, well, you may think, is it because God is making males more feminine? Not exactly, no, but He is working, among many men,

in reconciling their Adam role, in tending to the animals and the planet.

Ah, Yes! That is what Adam did before the fall, he tended to the garden/planet and the animals. Eve was his helper, companion, carrier of life, of life force, that same force, we see in everything, God has created,

from the organic to the inorganic, all matter, all anti-matter.

But, rather than simply sit here and just write, what I have been seeing in my Spirit, or rather, what the Holy Spirit has been quickening in my Spirit,

I'll simply just share, a few things from His Word, with some videos/photographs,

and well, you can pray, seek and ask, and may the Lord take the veils off our eyes and soften our hearts so that We can see Him, His love, His salvation and His marvelous works, including

creating us, both Male and Female, in His image.

[again, I do not believe God is only Male, I believe, God is more than we can picture or imagine, that God is Holy, Great, Loving, that God has Female side too, not because I want to believe this, but because, there are Too many scriptures, that He says, things that are from Mother character, Nurturing, not only that, but too many things in Nature, His creation, that totally just turn our little 'put God in some little box and human mold' all upside down, His diversity, His amazing detail, His ability to turn things on their head, for example, seahorses, males, carry the young and give birth, Ha! How is that for a twist on patriarchy!]

Why am I writing about this on this union blog --which, obviously there isn't going to be a union, you know, maybe its a Spiritual Union, a Spiritual Solidarity, fine with me, what Ever God wants to do with this, it is My hope though, that this blog, brings Healing, Restoration and Reconciliation to women, who are questioning, who are wounded, who are hurting, who are afraid, who are in doubt, because I've searched all the 'alternatives', I've heard all the Christian faith is this, this, and this, I've heard and read all the slams against God,

and I'm just here to say, these accusations, these misconceptions, false teachings, are just that--lies. It is time,

for the True character of God, His love and concern for All women, be heard.

God--Our Creator, Creator of the Universe, The Earth, The Creator of Life, of Life force, let us begin, to sit in awe, of His/Her works. And may you see, your worth, in His image, in His creating, You, as Woman.

note: in the Genesis, I am going to Highlight, some points, that are often missed, one big one, is that, the sun and stars, were created AFTER the earth, not before. Light, was created first, before the Sun, AND,
there were Waters, water below, water above, separation of waters, could gases also be, waters? Also, one day, to us, can be a thousands of years to God, But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 1 Peter 3:8

What caught my attention was the creation of Light, then Sun, later with Stars/celestial bodies, and then, the Earth, then the sun, like, this order of things, and one created to support the one and the next one to support the one,

its all Connected, and what is really exciting, is how Jesus often said, the least will be first in Heaven, the first last. Wow, really think about that, our order of things, is not God's order,

if That doesn't make you ponder for a bit, well, think on these scriptures, then watch the videos, and then, well,

seek God, what do any of us have to lose? another thing, if you study/watch science, the THEORIES [you know its funny how many think 'theories' are gospel truth yet they get their panties in a twist when you mention creation], btw, I think, yes, there is evolution to a point, that there is yes, organic material that formed and a lot of what is taught in the different theories, I have not a problem with them, what I have a Problem though, is when there is outright rejection of creation theory, simply because people are closed minded, Unless we can travel back into time and actually have been there, if you want to talk simply from secular/logic science view, ain't none of us, know a thing, its all a scientific Guess, so, there! :~



Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm.

¹ The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
² for he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters.

The Beginning

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
³ And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
⁶ And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." ⁷ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸ God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
⁹ And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.
¹¹ Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. ¹² The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
¹⁴ And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. ¹⁶ God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
²⁰ And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." ²¹ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." ²³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
²⁴ And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
²⁶ Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, ^b]">[b] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
²⁹ Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Genesis 2

¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
² By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
[for more on Creation, Genesis, and also the Hebrew terms, see
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201-2;&version=31;








In closing,

this is Just for starters,

I will be writing more on God, what He is revealing to me in His word, and in Nature,

about how He cares about animals, women, how several things in nature, are messages to us, confirmed also in His Word, example, God revealed something to me about the squids whom they call 'man eaters' and the relevance to those squids, what the scientists who study them are finding, and also, the hatred towards women, who are resisting misogyny, who are also called, man eaters, man haters. That is just one, for starters...

how he Hates the shedding of blood, violence, misogyny, abuse of animals, abuse of children, oh yes,

its All in His Word, and though this world will pass away, His Word will never pass away [oh, He is making a new Earth--without Sin, and oh, if You haven't been paying attention to the wonders they are finding in the Universe, things that are challenging All former theories, Oh, it is just mind blowing people,

and the violence, the death and rape of our planet, to women [Congo, Sudan, beliefs of hate and killing the life force of women, children, war, etc], to animals,

Jesus Is Going to Come in His Glory,

and all these things, will be, held accountable,

every deed, done in darkness, will be exposed to the light.

Tree of Life, Book of Life, Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Book of Deeds/Works,

Faith,

or Disbelief,

its your choice.

Choose LIFE,

God is Love, God is Life.

He is and gives the breathe of life,

to all living things.

Amen and Amen!!!

The IMAM'S DAUGHTER PRAYER REQUEST FOR PRAYER GROUP

Intercessory Prayer Request

for her and women like her in the same situation

excerpt: from Women of Islam [also from news article]

Hannah Shah had been raped by her father and faced a forced marriage. She fled, became a Christian and now fears for her life.

---

We are all too familiar with the persecution of Christians in countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. Yet sitting in front of me is a British woman whose life has been threatened in this country solely because she is a Christian. Indeed, so real is the threat that the book she has written about her experiences has had to appear under an assumed name.

The book is called The Imam’s Daughter because "Hannah Shah" is just that: the daughter of an imam in one of the tight-knit Deobandi Muslim Pakistani communities in the north of England. Her father emigrated to this country from rural Pakistan some time in the 1960s and is, apparently, a highly respected local figure.

He is also an incestuous child abuser, repeatedly raping his daughter from the age of five until she was 15, ostensibly as part of her punishment for being "disobedient". At the age of 16 she fled her family to avoid the forced marriage they had planned for her in Pakistan. A much, much greater affront to "honour" in her family’s eyes, however, was the fact that she then became a Christian – an apostate. The Koran is explicit that apostasy is punishable by death; thus it was that her father the imam led a 40-strong gang – in the middle of a British city – to find and kill her.

Hannah Shah says her story is not unique – that there are many other girls in British Muslim families who are oppressed and married off against their will, or who have secretly become Christians but are too afraid to speak out. She wants their voices to be heard and for Britain, the land of her birth, to realise the hidden misery of these women. READ MORE HERE...http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5907458.ece.

PRAY:

For her protection, For God to send His angels to protect her, to blind those seeking her, to put obstacles in their way, to make them forget, to be lured in another direction

For her father's IMMEDIATE handling by God, and that God reveals His power and His glory in Christ Jesus. For her family's hearts, that they may be softened, that the lies and entrenched influence of the enemy, be bound on earth as it is in heaven.

For more to read her story and for more prayer warriors to be raised up on their behalf as well as other women/girls/children. [boys included]

I need to pray on this and will come back to this,

also, I am requesting prayer request for the blogger, of Women Of Islam,

pray for their protection, blessing, discernment, and that God moves through her/them.

ALSO--PRAY TOO FOR THE HUNDREDS OF CHRISTIAN GIRLS WHO ARE RAPED IN THEIR HOMES, BY SO CALLED 'GODLY MEN',

WHO ARE NOTHING BUT,

AND PRAY, THAT CHRISTIANS, TRUE BELIEVERS, DEMAND THE CHURCH TO STOP PANDERING, HIDING, IGNORING, OR JUST CHALKING THESE HORRORS UP TO JUST

THE SUFFERING AND SUBMISSION TO GOD,

WE NEED TO BE ACCOUNTABLE,

WE CANNOT, DEMAND THE END OF ABUSE IN ISLAM, IF WE TOLERATE IT IN THE CHURCH.

AND GOD, IN NO WAY,

TOLERATES THESE ABUSES/SINS IN HIS NAME, NOR WILL HE IGNORE THEM...THEY WILL BE COMING INTO THE LIGHT, TO BE EXPOSED,

GOD IS NOT MOCKED,

WHAT IS SOWED IS REAPED.

THERE IS NO EXCUSE,

FOR THE ABUSE AND MISTREATMENT OF WOMEN, NONE, WHATSOEVER. JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE WOMEN.

We aren't just appendages of men, or some 'other' fixture, hanging on to the side of men and hoping to maybe, get in Heaven,

no, we are DAUGHTERS, of God, in Christ Jesus,

not bitches
not whores
not sluts
not demons
not Jezebels
not temptation
not evil
not weak
not sensual

no

we are Daughters

"And a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years and had spent all her living upon physicians, and could not be healed by anyone, Came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment, and immediately her flow of blood ceased. And Jesus said, Who is it who touched Me? When all were denying it, Peter and those who were with him said, Master, the multitudes surround You and press You on every side! But Jesus said, Someone did touch Me; for I perceived that [healing] power has gone forth from Me. And when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came up trembling, and, falling down before Him, she declared in the presence of all the people for what reason she had touched Him and how she had been instantly cured. And He said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well! Go in peace " Luke 8:43-48

Most who refer to this scripture focus on the healing aspect,

but there is more to this,

than simply, the healing [not that the healing isn't important].

For one, in that day, women who had illnesses, especially anything with menstrual were deemed unclean, evil, in fact, women were deemed evil anyway, in Religion, in that day the pagans weren't any better, women were nothing but bodies to be pimped out in temples, or goddess images, were propped up, not to empower women [as some feminists like to claim--that's one of the counterfeits of Satan to also destroy women] but to make goods, to sell, for male wealth [read Acts, about Ephesus, ACTS in the Bible that is, temple prostitution was huge commerce then as it is today].

they were deemed less than, not even human, simply just baby makers, fields to be tilthed, [as in Islam today still], and for a woman to enter into the presence of ANY in public, without disease was to know a woman would be persecuted simply because she was She,

but to do so, with blood, was to risk death.

These women were rejected, not just by society, but by the religious, and they internalized that,

why she came trembling, in fear.

We internalize those beliefs too, why we may come to Christ, God in prayer but always with this cloud of doubt, IF we have any faith, its usually based on how good of women we are, according to the rules of patriarchy, church conditions, etc. [misconstruing of scripture for MEN'S sexual benefit, usually],

anyway, we see our oppression and subjugation as the Will of God, AND our dejection, rejection, self-hate, as pleasing to God,

nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, they are Satan's lies, how much work in the Body of Christ has been limited or simply non-existent due to the internalization of Satan's lies that women are hated by God, or

if not hated, simply just

tolerated as evil necessities to give birth.

IF you read the Word of God and do not pray before, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to you all things, its very easy, to see misogyny in the Bible, to see God as a misogynist, very much like that Imam,

it takes a lot of prayer and searching, because you see sons, sons, sons, men, male terms, women usually in references to evil symbolism AND if that is all you see [and Satan will be sure to point those out to you],

you will think, like I would safely guess, 95% of women in the Body of Christ [church] do believe, that this is just how it is,

or that, if God accepts us, its only based on our womb's ability to bear children and if we just bear children and keep our mouth shut and take the abuse, we'll be saved.

And even those who do become free from those internalization's or at least, mentally, the social conditioning AND the years, is just like the Jews in Egypt after God set them free, they Still had the mind of the 'enslaved',

women even more so. We are the slaves to slaves,

the wretched of the wretched, all over this planet. Including in the church [thanks to the misogynist and false teachers who turned Christianity, those wolves Paul warned of, into another Pharasectical legalism].

But this one scripture, was the one that God used, to open my eyes and set me free, from the lies that had enslaved my soul for years,

this woman, internalized with all the misogyny of her age and prior to her age, internalized religious misogyny, took it upon herself,

to defy the odds, to take the risk, what else did she have to lose, she had already spent all she had,

and to step out on faith but if you notice, she didn't just like, step out in this full blown I know who I am and I'm o.k. faith, no, she still had that low self worth as a woman,

why she crawled and touched, barely touched, the hem of Jesus garment, thinking, if I just grab the hem, maybe He'll have mercy on me,

not like the men who simply just walk right up to Jesus face, oh no,

she touched the bottom hem of His garment, coming to Him, in the very same low self worth as women, that internalized misogyny--that is reinforced by even current church teachings,

as not one worthy but maybe, just maybe, God will be merciful,

and what did Jesus say?

Who touched me,

and did she immediately come forth? NO, I would bet she was terrified that He would rebuke her, that they would gather her up and stone her to death,

but what happened, she poured out her heart, still in that internalized misogynist God I am woman and I know I am not worthy NOT just because I am sinner but because I am a WOMAN, that Daughter of Eve, that horrible demon creature, that is the blame for all men's sins,

you know, that mentality we are conditioned to believe and embrace, its so embedded its in our skin, we breathe it,

and What did Jesus say?

DAUGHTER

DAUGHTER

DAUGHTER

Wow, really think on that, really pray on that, and let God reveal to you, just how Powerful and Healing and Loving that one statement is, truly is,

DAUGHTER

your Faith has Made you Whole, Go in Peace.

Wow, Jesus, in revealing the true Character of God, how God really sees women, how God truly Loves women,

is the most beautiful thing...truly will set you free, if you give it to Jesus,

[I'm sharing from an intimate experience I had, this was the scripture Jesus revealed Himself to me, after a long horrid spiritual warfare I had with those very forces that I was convinced, that we as women, were less than...in God's eyes, long story but, well, God is So Good, why yes, I can boldly say, He is all I need, my goddess, [identifying with Him and in Him or finding my identity in Him as a woman/female], my friend, my lover [not physical but intimate/friend], my savior, my heavenly father/mother, everything....if we just seek Him and Trust Him,

but we can't Trust, if we believe, have the enslaved mind, that we are nothing but hated subjects....

and we can't Pray and have any faith for other women if we do not realize this nor can we, share God's love and will to deliver those women, in those regions who are brutally oppressed,

if we are still in that mindset ourselves.

We so forget, that yes, God is Holy, God is Just,

but He is not just a ruler who sits up way in the skies judging us,

who does not relate to our suffering,

oh no,

we forget,

God stepped down from heaven, Jesus stepped off His throne, and came down to us, became like us, with no sin, and suffered, just like us,

man beat him, spit on him, tortured him, sexually humiliated him [casting lots for his clothes], mocked him,

Jesus went through all of this, NOT my will but YOUR will He cried to the Father and the Father said,

my will....

He suffered like us, in skin like ours, with a heart beat like ours,

but He was without sin, totally and completely innocent,

to save us,

but to also, show us,

I am not just a God up in the Heavens who can't understand your pain, or simply have pity from afar, oh no,

I am a God, who took the human form and suffered too,

if you really think about that, just how powerful that is, the ONE TRUE HOLY GOD,

DID THAT, FOR ALL OF US,

BECAUSE HE LOVES US,

SONS

AND

DAUGHTERS

HE LOVES US.

He really, really loves us....

that means, He really, really loves women, He is no respecter of persons.

**note: one more thing, sons, in Bible, actually, means both genders [a word for humans], if its son, its male, if its sons, its both male and female, also refer to the scripture, there is neither greek nor jew, male or female, all are one in Christ Jesus...not that we lose our femaleness, no, but that, God does not discriminate based on gender, and I believe, based on what God has revealed to me, reading in His Word, that the Spirit of God has both, male and female qualities,

He is both Father, and Mother, and its in the Life giving power, God showed this to me, I won't get into detail on this right now because it would take posting a LOT of scripture, basically the entire Bible,

but I see it, like I've never seen before. I wished all women could see it, because its just too awesome for words,

but also too, I read, God also, uses the Bride, symbolic for the church [believers, body of Christ, not the physical building], and males are included in that....

well, here, read here, I love this one blog btw: http://godswordtowomen.wordpress.com/

I can't find/locate the exact post on the sons - meaning plural, I know I have bookmarked it too from another translation sight, a commenter from Spain said it was common usage there too, but I thought I'd mention it,

there are several terms in the Bible, if you read them literally in today's context, the texts can be easily misconstrued,

unless you read the Entire Bible a lot and can see the whole text, but even then, if you are not aware of the Hebrew and Aramaic languages, its easy to misunderstand--or texts be taken and abused,

by those who want to use scripture to abuse or to prop themselves up as little 'gods'.


peace,

jane doe

FAIR TRADE--CHOCOLATE AND FABRICS and Universal Rights for Women

see: http://www.globalexchangestore.org/harvestofhope.html

These chocolates are a bit expensive for my budget, but I am considering not buying any chocolate from the store, and buying from them,

and stocking up. Also, there is Fair Trade Fabrics, I am looking into those as well,

I did a search for Fair Trade suppliers in my area, there was not one, not a one. Not for chocolate and fabrics,

I am wondering, how small businesses [put out thanks to CPSIA] can work in alliance with the Fair Trade Coops, doing exchange, international,

especially among women. So I will be doing some study on this, with the economy as it is, this will not be an easy task,

no jobs, no money, no means to purchase Fair Trade Goods. This is one if not the most important aspect of this stupid law,

in that, it Will have devastating effects on those Fair Trade-Women Coops businesses. They are barely making it as it is in many of these countries, it takes a lot of coop-group effort, competition with mass production is fierce, mass production that Does not only rely on slavery, low status/abuse of women, they actually prefer these conditions. Easier to exploit...

excerpt:
Behind Chocolate’s Bars

March 10, 2008 by globalgirlnetwork

By Idelette McVicker


chocolate.jpgNearly 200 years ago, about 300,000 people in Great Britain refused to eat sugar in protest against the use of slave labour in the production of sugar. Their combined protest had a powerful effect: retailers quickly sourced alternative suppliers and declared their sugar to be slave free. Read the Rest Here:
http://globalgirlnetwork.com/2008/03/10/behind-chocolate%E2%80%99s-bars/

also, I wanted to add this as well:

Universal Rights of Women

http://muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com/2009/03/universal-doctrine-of-womens-rights.html

more on this later

CPSIA Law, the Left, and the Basket of Wickedness

I am taking some time off from posting,

but not time away from advocacy, and there are a couple of things that have come to my attention. Some of them political, some of them spiritual,

both, not separate from each other however.

I wish I could say or believe that the people will make the difference, that the people will rise up,

but I don't think its that simple. I think, no, I believe that what is transpiring with America, and the world is a bit more complex, and that,

America, is not innocent, by no means. However, those who are conspiring the death march, will receive their retribution when time is due, there is nothing they can do about it, it will come to pass and that is that.

As for everyone else, some are seeing what is behind the forces at will, many are not, and there are many counterfeit voices leading counterfeit ways,

these are dark days indeed, darker than what many probably could even imagine and I'm not simply talking about what is happening in our world.

So for now, I'm taking some time away to reflect, but I did want to say,

if you haven't seen Planet Earth, you're missing out. That is one movie I do want to see at the theater, though I don't attend movies except maybe once every two years, I have seen the cable version,

Wow, that's all I can say is Wow, God is just awesome, His marvelous works. The rainbow lizards, jumping up in the air, dancing even, eating the flies that God provides, through His creation,

the water, that comes to the desert once a year,

how Anyone could watch this film in its entirety and NOT believe in God, just boggles my mind,

seriously,

Oh, and the stars they have found [science channel] with the three planets!

When this life is so dark that it becomes hard to hang on, that faith,

it helps to ponder on the diversity and magnificence of God's works, [it helps to do a lot of study in the area of science, geology, space, etc], and then,

read Job.

Anyhow, have you also seen the nasty junkyard in space, thank you rulers of the world? A ring, around our entire planet, of space junk,

makes one wonder, about the 'stars falling from heaven' in Revelations, wonder if some of those stars,

could possibly be, the mess that humanity has made, with no regard whatsoever, of God's Universe,

coming back one day, to be thrown down back at us? Don't think this is mere superstition,

NASA is studying this because it CAN happen.

[and its also, scriptural too]

More later,

peace

Finding My Goddess in God, In Christ Jesus, He is All I Need!

This is part of a journey-series I am writing, called Is God a Misogynist?

Am cross posting it here...

Finding my Goddess in God, in Christ Jesus, He is All I Need! Is God a Misogynist?
I have been wrestling this morning, well for two days actually, with God, His Word, in prayer,

about the role of women, the identity of women, in Christ. [I will explain what I mean about the finding my Goddess in Christ at the near end of this post]

And I do mean, wrestling, having it out, per se...while I won't go into all the details here [it would be really long if I did], I will say,

He is showing me, how So much of the texts have been misconstrued and can be also, read in the way that they are influenced by our Social Conditioning [patriarchy] and that, if we do not continue in prayer and in seeking the Holy Spirit to lead us into All truth, rather than listen to the voices of our culture, our churches, even other people,

those self-hate internalized self-abasement beliefs will speak to us, rather than what God's Word actually means, and this includes those scriptures that are most popular in use to force women into subjugation, e.g., Timothy, etc.

Is it ANY WONDER, SERIOUSLY, WHY SO MANY WOMEN, HAVE FORSAKEN CHRIST AND HAVE TURNED TO THE WAYS OF COUNTERFEIT?

That is another thing, reading Women's Space the other day, and may I say, once I had a lot of anger towards Heart but God has now placed an understanding and compassion in my heart towards her, though I have not told her this yet nor have I apologized as my words were so harsh to her I doubt seriously if any apology would be received, for that I truly do understand, we can't take back words,

it simply is not that simple, but we can pray, seriously, with all diligence, not in some better than thou paternalist way, NO, not what I am saying, but prayer in humility, acknowledging our sin and wrong, asking God to restore what we have aided in robbing, asking God to heal, what our words have wounded, asking God to teach us, why Jesus says, pray for your enemies,

not because you are Better than them, no, but so, you can see YOUR SIN, YOUR SHORTCOMINGS, and also, truly see Them as Christ sees them, not through YOUR EYES, BUT HIS,

and when you do this,

you change, your heart changes, and so now, I often go to Heart's place, read, and God speaks to me, a lot through many of her posts, and through this intercessory prayer has begun [spiritual warfare] on behalf of all women,

rather than simply just screaming at the world, God is showing me the power of prayer and how He really Loves Women, helping me to See how He does yes, see and has even in His Word, rebuked 'patriarchy' and He is showing me daily that what I have been conditioned by religion, is wrong, that God is not a misogynist nor does He demand that women become sado-masochists and self-hating, self-abusing, and that includes embracing misogynist abuse, just because you are a WOMAN, to glorify Him either. Suffering for doing good, Suffering for Being in Christ, that is one thing, Suffering in this self-debasing self-hate martyrdom type of 'femaleness' is NOT what Christ demanded of us, yet this is what we often hear and have been conditioned to believe, it is one of Satan's most clever of lies IN the church,

and it is, how we see God, our identity in God, and what yes, eventually leads to separation from God, not on HIS part, but on ours. The thing is though,

its not God that we are seeing, when we debase ourselves, simply because we are Female, no, its not the True God, its a counterfeit, and it is here, that we must stay in prayer without ceasing, in God's Word [that means, God's Word, NOT what this preacher says or that preacher or this man or that man, including your husband, it means, just that, IN Christ, IN God's Word, IN OBEDIENCE TO GOD, NOT MAN], so that we might have spiritual discernment through the Holy Spirit.

The problem is however, is that in the flesh, these things are so easily misunderstood, and why they are so easily, abused,

power especially, how they are so easily construed and rationalized to permit and to commit, the worst sins, sins that God was extremely vocal numerous times against, such as the shedding of blood, of playing God, in other words, and the best example I can come up with right now, on the top of my head, was when the church, in its embracing misogyny, killed thousands upon thousands of innocent women and girls, the 'witch hunts',

and in fact, guess what? These witch hunts are Still going on today, just in different ways, but that demon of misogyny is running rampant, posing as an angel of light in today's world, in many churches still.

But before I go on, I must also urgently say, there is also, another demon at work, the demon of counterfeit and that includes counterfeit liberation of women, because its not true liberation,

not even from self-hate, and its so sinister and so cleverly done that its very easy, to not see it. One must pray for discernment,

and this is not something that just happens overnight, because the conditioning and the lies of Satan [the father of lies] we have come to know so well, that and our sinful nature,

so in other words, what I am trying to say here, as I am seeking God, His Word, about my identity in Christ as a woman, about Woman made in God's Image, about the misogyny in our world today and the violence against women, and the indifference we often see in mainstream Christianity towards that violence, even justifications for, the misogyny, and also, tragic it is, even those who profess Christ, committing grave sin, against God's creation, WOMAN, WOMEN.

He is showing me in two ways, one, the conditioning and lies used in religion, and two, the counterfeit that we find in the world or in other beliefs.

Both however, produce the same results for women,

death, self-hate, fear, self-loathing, hate of men, and most of all

A HATE TOWARDS GOD.

That leads to this separation, and that is what I am wrestling with the most, is just how separated from God I became, [after becoming Christian years ago and then turning away] DUE to

the misogyny in the church, due to the abuse of scripture to abuse women, due to so many things and its not just women, its about the treatment of the poor, the treatment of the immigrant, our enemies, our politics, all of it. Though I shall have to add, so not to disrespect or use the Word of God wrongly,

that my own sin and selfishness was also a big part of my turning away from God, it Wasn't just the misogyny, the misogyny however, was one of the tools that the enemy used to rationalize in my mind,

rather than coming to God and staying in His presence and seeking Him, I rationalized my finding my 'own way' apart from Him. Its a good thing, He doesn't leave us, however,

His Grace is Abounding.

I wish I could sit here and say, that this is a one time deal, that I can pray and God reveal something to me and wow, its just like all over,

but conditioning, especially misogyny is not something that goes away with one prayer or one revelation NOR does rebellion, anger, hurt, disbelief, especially disbelief in the goodness of God go away because that is what conditioning and Satan's lies do,

they poison, they destroy faith. And the lower nature loves it, oh it loves it so much, to hang onto, the lies so that we don't want to come to God and repent, to truly allow HIM to work in us, for our own good,

so that others might too, see God's goodness and love and seek Him. No woman wants to seek God if they see God as a misogynist tyrant, not unless they are really into sado-masochism.

Oh, that's the Other thing, I should bring up, the conditioning into Sado-Masochism and in patriarchal teachings-religions this is the fruit that results,

not fragrance, not the fragrance of Christ, not the Resurrection Power of Jesus Christ that comes to give Live Abundantly to all who will receive of Him,

no,

but this counterfeit 'submission' and 'subjugation of women' in Religious Christianity [religion, not the Faith, Faith in Christ and in the Cross] leads to not the fruits that Christ desires, no,

it leads to something more that Satan desires,

sado-masochism, this total surrender to abuse, this surrender to being a sacrifice, not to produce Godly Sorrow or a body in which Christ can minister to others, no,

but this Worldly Sorrow, which brings Death.

2 Corinthians 7:10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. 7:11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.

Sorrow, that leads to self-hate AS a WOMAN, not as a Sinner, read carefully, but sorrow that comes from the knowledge that one is WOMAN, suffering ONLY because She is WOMAN, as if she is inferior, evil, less than, subjugated,

is NOT GODLY SORROW, it produces not fruit, not the fruit of love, peace, understanding, joy, NO,

what it does produce however is despair, despondency, self-loathing, lack of faith, mistrust of God, a false belief in God meaning, not seeing God for who He truly is, and this type of sorrow, is Satanic, it leads to drugs, it leads to rebellion, it leads to self-abuse, including taking abuse from husbands and/or other men, it leads to suicide,

self-destruction.

That type of sorrow, heaped upon women by misogyny, by men, BY RELIGION, is not Godly sorrow,

Godly Sorrow works repentance, it bears fruit, to God, to Christ, In Christ, to Others,

meaning, if we allow God to work and trust in Him, Godly Sorrow, can be used for our good, His glory, and for the Kingdom of God.

So, in laymen's terms so to speak, a woman, being abused, physically, sexually, mentally by some jerk who demands that she 'submit' and she does in thinking that is what God demands of her,

isn't going to produce good fruit, nor is it going to produce Godly Sorrow. And its one of the most used tactics I have seen, to keep women down and oppressed and actually, even hating God,

in my experience, in the church. Its like seeing two women, in one body, one that is saying she loves God, another that is beneath the surface that says, how can you, how can you be so cruel.

And can we really be surprised then when we, ourselves or when we see women, saying, you know,

to hell with this God, to hell with this life of self hate and abuse because I am WOMAN, not because I am suffering for bringing the Gospel of Christ or even living for Christ, just because I have a vagina,

and they turn to other beliefs, counterfeits, altars to other 'gods' or

goddesses.

Because you see they can relate to Goddesses, those beliefs, they can relate because the Goddess relates to them, as women,

you see and that is why we are seeing so many, turn to the Goddess beliefs OR to other religions that are even MORE misogynist,

its not just that women are rebelling and don't love God,

no, its because there is a huge gaping wound in the hearts of so many women and by Whom?

By those, professing Christ, who have abused them and done all they can to destroy their souls for their own SELFISH DESIRES, SEXUALLY, FOR SERVICE, FOR POWER,

in the Name of Christ they have done this.

[other religions to this too and even more so but I'm concentrating here on Christianity]

So what is a woman to do, who loves God, but does not love misogyny or sado-masochism?

One, prayer, I am finding that without prayer, and I don't mean, prayer in some ritual way or prayer in some patriarchal way we've been taught/conditioned, I mean, pray to God as intimate as you can, besides He sees all anyway so why hide? And I'm finding EVERY TIME a word spoken, or something I read or hear brings that anger up to the surface, that anger at the dismissal of women, that indifference to women,

especially when I hear it by well meaning Christians,

Immediately, I go to God with it, and I am learning, keeping it in prayer to Him, in the Spirit of Humility at the same time, meaning, being ready to listen to Him and be obedient to Him, His Will,

but being honest, really, being honest,

He answers. He really does answer,

but only when you learn to sit still and listen, He can't speak to us when we are all in a rage, I've learned that too and I'm talking, that inner rage,

this is Why, every time, we sense that misogyny, we Must bring it to Him, He knows, He knows, He is showing that to me as well and He is working,

don't think He isn't. He is also showing me the importance of turning off our ears, our eyes, to advice,

seriously, rather than seeking this person or that person or that teacher, seek God, seek God,

seek Him through His Word, in Prayer, I can't emphasis how much I am learning just how important prayer is, pray without ceasing,

even when there is no feeling....keep praying,

because these things, are hard for me to explain and I am not a teacher, nor do I want to be one,

all I am doing here, is sharing with you, flawed being that I am, what I am seeing, how God is healing me, of so much,

taking fear away and doubt and yes, that self-hate that I didn't even know, was there, from social conditioning, patriarchy, misogyny, on levels I wasn't even aware of,

and just how much, it poisoned my relationship with Him. No wonder I walked away from Christ,

no wonder,

but it wasn't HIM that was doing all those things to me, in mind, spirit, body, it was never Him.

And I am learning NOT to be so quick, to believe every thing spoken by someone is true from God, referring to Christians here. Even if, we are not in a place where we are abused, mistreated because we are simply, women,

just the fact that so many women are mistreated, abused, horrifically slaughtered, raped, mutilated, it touches us, all of us women,

in a deep way, spiritually, even if we may not be aware, because God feels that pain, He feels that pain, no matter how many men want to say that God does not feel the pain that women feel,

that is a lie because God not only feels the pain He GRIEVES,

the HOLY SPIRIT GRIEVES,

every tear a woman sheds, every curse she screams at the heavens at God for making her a woman,

God hears, God sees,

every single one.

And God knows, the hearts of all men, all women, He knows, NOTHING is hidden from His sight, absolutely Nothing.

And Sister, let me tell you what else God shared with me, one of the scriptures that is so often abused, to abuse women,

they often don't read the rest of it [and they read it wrongly as well], but its on submission,

the relationship between husbands and wives, and here is the part, that most, don't even speak, or if they speak it,

they do so in this really fast way, as if, you might not pay attention to it, but Sisters, let me tell you,

it is POWERFUL, very POWERFUL, and it shows in a huge way, how God sees and will Deal, with MEN, who abuse women

1 Peter 3:1-7, WHERE Peter writes here about women in the same way, be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives....[I'm not going to post the whole thing here because most women know it by heart, its been drilled into them, over and over and over...well look it up]

but what I want to focus on is the one part, that so many, like to 'skim over'

1 Peter 3:7 "Husbands, in the SAME WAY, BE CONSIDERATE AS YOU LIVE WITH YOUR WIVES [WOMAN], AND TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT. [what was that, Respect????] As the weaker partner and as HEIRS WITH YOU OF THE GRACIOUS GIFT OF LIFE [what is that, Heirs with you????],

now here is where it gets really good Sisters,

SO THAT NOTHING WILL HINDER YOUR PRAYERS.

Simply put, folks,

God will not honor the prayers or the paths of those men who abuse women, be it their wives, their daughters, any woman,

any man, who thinks, that he can be an abusive asshole, a misogynist, a chauvinist to women, and thinks that God is going to bless him and honor his prayers,

is deluded. There is another scripture about a man of wrath in the Old Testament whose wife sought God [she went to King David], that man was struck down dead,

God doesn't fool around, with misogyny. Nor child abuse,

eventually the man of wrath, the man who abuses, will have to deal with God's retribution.

NOW does that mean that we take that scripture and abuse men with it? NO,

NO and NO,

let me make That clear. [so that no one misconstrues or blasphemes God by what I say, I do not want to be a stumbling block], my point here is only to show women, to share with other women,

what God has been showing me, so that women will see, just as I have seen and am still seeing,

that Yes I can trust God completely, that I can come to God, as a Woman and know He identifies with me AS a Woman, and that I don't need, to seek

counterfeits.

I want to post here, a really good blog, here is an excerpt, this is for you women, who are in marriages, where there is abuse, or where your husband is demanding you submit, and put up, with his abuse, vices, etc., [and this can apply to all women, not just to Christian]

"Husband hooked on vices? Wife REPENT from your vicious self-effacement. Rise up and be help MEET!" http://godswordtowomen.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/husband-hooked-on-vices-wife-repent-from-your-vicious-self-effacement-rise-up-and-be-help-meet/

btw, no they are not blaming women, the blaming the victim for the abuse,

they are simply saying, what I am saying, that no, God does not demand you, to take all sorts of abuse just because you don't have a penis.

Here is another really good blog for women, Christian women [or other faiths] who are dealing with abuse, and are struggling with their image in God because of

http:
//www.godswordtowomen.org/rise_of_abuse_prophesied.htm

In closing,

I want to explain, what I meant, by finding my Goddess in God, in Jesus Christ. I did read through/seek or study, better term, Goddess beliefs, and even identified with some of the beliefs however, I simply could not believe they were more than mere mythology,

not that the messages weren't good, or positive, they were [well, not all of them are, some were very obvious where the source was] but, there simply was no power, I didn't find,

not saying this to offend or to start argument here, just saying, for me, it was like, just reading stories, there was no true life or presence, nothing. But I did learn a lot AND I did begin to question, so much,

and when I came back to my faith in Christ, I brought all those things to Him, not just repenting from looking towards other things but I brought them to Him and I asked Him, ok, then if YOU can identify with me the way they could, at least in reading about them, and if YOU can free me, etc., I won't go into all the prayers here but,

I took it to Him,

and He did and is still showing me, that He is everything, to me that I saw in all those Goddesses I read about,

through Nature, I see Christ, through music, I see Christ, through poetry I see Christ, all of it,

I can't begin to explain it all here and on some things, because they are so intimate I dare not less they lose something really precious,

but let me just encourage, all of you, to seek Him.

I will share one thing though,

there was this painting, I saw on a blog, won't say which, but it was a woman, under a tree, this tree touching her/comforting her, Mother Earth, that kind of image,

and here, the earth is being violated just as women are, the violence against women, is much the same, the violence against the earth,

that violence, that hate, that destruction of the life giving forces.

but then, God showed me the same image, but with one difference,

rather than the tree alone, bending down to caress the woman,

His hand, His Spirit [God is Spirit], the Father/Mother God, this Hand, was reaching all around, through the tree, to this woman, through the birds, to this woman, through the wind, to this woman, and all around her,

was this blanket...of comfort,

the Spirit that created Life,

identified with the woman.

And grieved, with her, at the assaults on her, on the earth, on life. As well, as this image,

also showed me, that while death, may seem powerful now, God, God is in control, Jesus has already defeated death and one day, He will wipe,

away

every single tear.

If we only will come to Him, and Believe.

Jesus came to proclaim the favor of the Lord.

The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD. (Luke 4:18-19)

God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3.16)

peace

Where is Our Heart towards the Immigrant?

First prayer,

today, let us pray for the immigrants, migrants, both here at home and everywhere. Not just the Christian immigrant, but all immigrants/migrants.

But before I post on the status of immigrants [in a series] I will first, ask,

that we pray, this day, for our Hearts.

Where is our Heart towards the Immigrant? I believe this question, poses many questions in regards to a LOT of our heart's status, I know it does mine. I have often shifted back and forth, being double minded,

knowing what Christ says and yes knowing the realities, both politically and socially, and what I mean by that is,

the real problems posed by an influx of immigration and what I mean by that is, when those immigrants one day, become a state within a state. That is strictly politically speaking, of course,

but there is a spiritual aspect to this as well, and the best example I can give of this, is the situation in the UK, where the UK opened their doors to a mass exodus of immigrants, mostly from the Middle East-Islamic nations,

and now, those same immigrants, are demanding Sharia Law, and in part have succeeded. The government continues to give in to their demands, which obviously, is leading up to soon, the UK becoming an Islamic Nation.

So, that poses a problem doesn't it? What do we do? Do we react, do we peg all immigrants as hostile?

And do we shut the doors of compassion to protect our interests, our safety? Do we begin to 'profile' and if so, how do we justify that,

how can we be sure, that we do not allow one in that is hostile and forbidding another who isn't, in other words, it puts us in a position to play God, to play judge.

But it doesn't simply stop at the nation state, we need to ask ourselves, how do we react in our hearts towards immigrants in our own neighborhoods, do we love them as Christ demanded,

or do we, immediately, distrust?

There seems to be two extremes of opinion on this issue, politically speaking that is, one is that we shut all borders [and most nations do this and even worse] and close our hearts and compassion

or

we have those who want completely open borders with no restraints, not only allowing wide access but also, giving into cultural demands, including those that are hostile to human rights.

And what IS so invisible from many eyes in both these options, is in that in both, immigrants are hurt. The first choice is that if we have a world where we allow no immigration or asylum, we have shut the access to the cities of refuge, we have closed the door to hope, to reconciliation, to a chance, of something better. Not just for the immigrant, but for us,

we close our own lives and hearts to the blessings they could and often do, give us.

The second choice also hurts immigrants in that if we allow total open borders, we also bring in, the conflicts they may be fleeing from, we allow the same systems that they have fled from, e.g., families, women who fled to UK to escape the horrid treatment under Sharia Law only to now find themselves, in a supposedly Free country, to be right back in the snare of misogynist tyranny. OR, those immigrants who flee to America escaping not only poverty but corruption, sexual violence, only to find, those same corrupted forces, have followed them in,

many who are human right violators and the cities of refuge are no longer refuge,

they are then turned into their hell away from hell.

Both extreme options, hurt immigrants. They work however, to aid those who are hostile,

so, is the true source of justice here even the issue of immigrants or how we handle immigration?

Does the Bible give any answers? Yes, it does, numerous times,

while God laid down strict rules in His covenant in regards to not allowing idols, not allowing the turning towards the practices of those who for their other gods, practiced violence, child sacrifices, excessive sexual and other indulgences that lead to disregard for Consent and lead to rape, etc., while God did lay down strict laws on these,

He also, laid strict laws on how to treat the immigrant, concubines [in those days there was concubinage**], the slave [from wars **], foreigners, etc.

They were not to be oppressed, exploited, raped, etc.

I will come back to this and give scripture because there are numerous ones, but my point is,

even under the Old Covenant, Old Testament that was extremely strict, there were still provisions and mercies for the immigrants. Now, for those of you who may not know the Bible or Biblical history, I want to quickly add,

in our day and age, we look back on those times and immediately think, how cruel, how barbaric, etc etc etc.,

it really is necessary to understand however, how the world operated back then because slavery, wars, concubines, etc., were common among the entire world, and even under societies that were followers of female goddesses with male gods [there is no such thing as matriarchal states, small tribes yes and they didn't last long, but states, no], anyway, even though they may have had reverence for the earth or fertility,

they all, sacrificed children, usually children of slaves to their gods, they all had slaves, they were usually far more brutal, rape was not an exception it was common, concubines were the norm, etc etc etc....so, when looking at the Old Testament,

its really important I think, to look at other nations in that day, to get a better understanding of how life was lived back then, as harsh as it seems to us, and it was, it was extremely harsh and Especially for women and slaves and immigrants,

but one thing we need to remember, it wasn't like, today. For example **, lets take concubines for example, and I hate the idea of concubines and yes its misogynist and NO it was NOT God's original plan even after the Fall,

but I was thinking on this the other day, in my prayer-seeking if God is a Misogynist, this journey I am on, seeking God for answers, anyway, if you look at even the first five books of the Old Testament,

these people of the world then were constantly in wars, kingdom against kingdom and the Isrealites didn't always win, so, you have lets say, 100,000 men who are slaughtered on the battlefield, that leaves,

lets say, 90,000 widows. OK, wasn't like back then, a woman could go bury her husband, move back home because in those days usually the woman left her tribe and joined her husbands, so what was she to do? Go apply at JC Pennies?

You get the picture, you see we have a tendency to Judge the days of old, the standards and laws then, with the modernization of today, and its no wonder we think, God sure is cruel and patriarchal, etc. Well yes, if you look at Then with Today's standards of living,

then yes,

but IF you look at Then with the standards of Then, you get a better understanding.

So, even while the laws and the ways of life were much harder then, God still had provisions, He demanded mercy,

towards the alien [that's the term in Old Testament], we'll use immigrant.

However, just as today, the problem then too was that, in mix marrying [outside of tribes] and in compromising the laws of the tribes which then would be God's covenant, today it would be democracy and our forms of government, the problem then is no different than today,

they would eventually allow the idol worship [which required child sacrifice, violent rituals, etc] and they would eventually change, into what they were not,

and it wasn't change for the better.

So God laid out two provisions, first one was complete obedience to His Laws in the Covenant and within those laws, Mercy, towards the foreigner, immigrant, etc., yet always staying FIRM and not compromising, on God's laws.

Justice With Mercy

Not simply Justice

Not simply Mercy

but Both.

I will leave us to think on this, to pray for our hearts where we stand and while praying,

I want to leave you with this story from a woman because she brings in another aspect to this,

us, being foreigners to God, and let us not forget, its ONLY by His Grace,

that we are allowed into His Kingdom.

Let us NOT forget this, Let us NOT forget, that even while we may be Christians, our right standing with God is not on our forcing our way in,

through the law, or our so called self-rightness because none of us are right, none of us,

we are All foreigners, we are All immigrants, spiritually speaking,

we sinners seek refuge, did Jesus say,

first do this, this, this, assimilate, become perfect THEN I'll forgive you, let you in, etc., OR did He say,

come to me, all who are weary, repent, be humble, confess your sins, just come to me as you are?

Not only did He say come to me as you are, HE paid the price, for us, all of us, HE paid the price,

He paid our ransom.

Then if He did this for us, then how can we, treat the immigrant, with any less love than Jesus treated us? How can we, and then say, we know Christ?

We can't,

but does that mean, we are simply to be tolerant of sin, of customs and mores that are wrong in the eyes of God, even wrong in the eyes of our laws, human rights, etc?

Did Jesus say, after He accepted us, that hey, its alright for you to go on and just continue to live as a slave to sin? AS one who belongs to Satan?

No, of course NOT!

But His conditions are not cruel nor are they harsh, His yoke is easy and light, all He asks,

is that we are merciful, just as He is merciful, that we Love, just as He loves us, that we are just in our actions, just as He is just.

The world's systems can never get it right because they always try to render justice according to man's ideas, thoughts, and while they may be good, they are flawed,

the blind leading the blind.

As we pray, for our hearts, let us pray according to this:

Luke 14:15-24 The Parable of the Great Banquet

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed are those who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."

16 Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'

18 "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'

19 "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'

20 "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'

21 "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'

22 " 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'

23 "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' " http://www.ibsstl.org/bible/verse

~~~~~

I will come back to this with more scripture [I need to get back to work, I apologize for starting late this morning]

but I wanted to leave this scripture because also,

we LIVE in a free country, well, for the most part [same with Europe] and we often take our blessings for granted. We have forgotten God in this nation and in Europe,

which is one of the reasons we do NOT hold firm to standards because we as a nation, WE DON'T EVEN FOLLOW THOSE STANDARDS,

there are other issues too we must look at, how our policies contribute to the violence and poverty that do cause so much unrest and misery, forcing thousands with no choice but to flee,

in other words, the issue of immigration, is much more than just the issue of borders.

So much more,

and it starts, first, in our hearts.

So that is why I am lifting this up for prayer First, before I begin prayer for the immigrants, here and worldwide, for refugees, for justice and the end to the reasons for why people flee, etc.

But too, I am also going to be lifting up prayer, for a change in US, us as in US in the USA and US in the entire world,

especially Christians, because we are supposed to be the Salt of the world. IF WE lose our saltiness,

where with will we be salted and what happens then?

here is the article, I will continue on this later this week. Peace


The Great Divide

November 24, 2007 by globalgirlnetwork

by Stefanie C.


A large part of my identity is in the fact that I am an immigrant. I immigrated to Canada from the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) over six years ago and only recently have I been able to sort out some of the pieces of the puzzle that is my life. READ THE REST HERE: http://globalgirlnetwork.com/2007/11/24/the-great-divide/

Sisters in Jesus Christ for Women of the World Intercessory Prayer

SISTERS IN JESUS CHRIST STANDING FOR ALL WOMEN OF THE WORLD

INTERCESSORY PRAYER GROUP

See also: http://globalgirlnetwork.com/

I have added the prayer group, a prayer group started by a Feminist, a Christian Feminist, who wants, if any feel compelled, to begin a prayer group, intercessory prayer, for women in the world, our sisters,

who are hurting.

It isn't 'exclusive' to only Christians, but I just have been very compelled to do this, for several reasons, one being that there is a real need for a repentance in THIS country, among, yes,

Christians.

I will stop there, because I don't want to say anything that I probably would not be wise to, but that is one of the reasons and the second is,

there is just So much pain in our world today, so much that is on the spiritual level contributing/the cause of that pain and so much is connected,

I am not here to evangelize or to lead into any churches or Any of that. This blog is still the same blog,

however, there are issues that just, well there isn't a lot we can do except pray so I thought, why not include it.

I posted to the side bar there, the prayer group AND, the web link to GlobalSisters,

I like this web site-group a lot, because these are women, who in Christ, work in service, to other women, worldwide. They are very aware of the issues Plus what lies behind these issues, and its just a good reference point. However I will be adding a LOT more, issues that are all connected,

including connected to why I formed this blog/union to begin with, in opposing the CPSIA law, that I am firmly convinced is a very subtle yet clever means in propping up totalitarianism [its one of the laws being utilized] and a totalitarianism that is extremely global and misogynist, no matter HOW much they spew they care for women's rights.

I know better because for years I was part of that whole matrix, I've seen the hypocrisy on a first hand basis, and I know, personally, there was a reason God allowed me to go through those years and see what I did,

and today its all tying together, a tapestry, and its NOT something that is really THAT unusual,

many radical feminist sites that promote Goddess religions are saying the very similar, the Difference here though is,

I am coming from a Christian perspective, Christian, not religious and surely not fundamentalist OR patriarchal, or even capitalist, because I concur with none of those. In fact I am die hard opposed to many of the ideologies and justifications behind those. I do support TRUE free market, and I support TRUE voluntary communal living, meaning,

I support with the idea of work, everyone contributing Something, that includes mothers who raise their young because THAT is contributing, children are our future, however, I also support strongly, as how the Bible asserted, caring for one another and carrying each other's burdens,

including economically. Jesus said, if you have two coats give one away [para, mine, well, here, let me just quote the scripture] Better yet, how about a couple [there are btw, over 400, in the Bible, I counted them once in a concordance, 400, no kidding]

1 John 3:17 But if someone who is supposed to be a Christian has money enough to live well, and sees a brother in need, and won't help him--how can God's love be within him ? 1 John 3:18 Little children, let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions. 1 John 3:19 Then we will know for sure, by our actions, that we are on God's side, and our consciences will be clear, even when we stand before the Lord.

Prov. 14:31 Anyone who oppresses the poor is insulting God who made them. To help the poor is to honor God.

Psa. 82:3 Give fair judgment to the poor man, the afflicted, the fatherless, the destitute. Psa 82:4 Rescue the poor and helpless from the grasp of evil men.

Mat. 25:34 "Then I, the King, shall say to those at my right, 'Come, blessed of my Father, into the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. Mat. 25:35 For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes; Mat. 25:36 naked and you clothed me; sick and in prison, and you visited me.' Mat. 25:37 "Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Sir, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you anything to drink? Mat. 25:38 Or a stranger, and help you? Or naked, and clothe you? Mat. 25:39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' Mat. 25:40 "And I, the King, will tell them, 'When you did it to these my brothers you were doing it to me!' Mat. 25:41 Then I will turn to those on my left and say, 'Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. Mat. 25:42 For I was hungry and you wouldn't feed me; thirsty, and you wouldn't give me anything to drink; Mat 25:43 a stranger, and you refused me hospitality; naked, and you wouldn't clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn't visit me.' Mat. 25:44 "Then they will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?' Mat 25:45 "And I will answer, 'When you refused to help the least of these my brothers, you were refusing help to me.' Mat. 25:46 "And they shall go away into eternal punishment; but the righteous into everlasting life."

I have given this blog over to God, if He sends readers to pray, fine, if not, that is fine too because its actually good for me too, in fact, this blog has really helped me in more ways than I can even begin to describe here.

But based on the teachings of Christ, I know, we can't always go to prisons or go to other countries, nor can we always give money. But you know its not just what we do, its also,

what we do in life, that may be contributing to those very forces of oppression, and the first one on top of my head is our consumerism in this nation, our prosperity. IF you have knowledge, of how the polemic works, of how militarization works, how NATIONALISM works, how the SUPER MALE SUPREMACY VIA PATRIARCHY works,

you know, just how the banality of evil, is used, even under the guise of Morals, to oppress and who is oppressed the most?

Women and children, the poor, the alien [immigrant/migrant], the destitute, the sick, etc.

See many don't know this, among women because they are sheltered, and not that being sheltered is a bad thing, but when its done on a deliberate scale, to keep women OUT of the political, done in a way to keep MEN in control, its a stratification,

and what is so dire about this, especially in countries where women have no political standing or representation [true representation, not the 'painted birds', Daly, of the patriarchal establishment],these women, are then, persecuted and violated, in so many ways,

in other words, the women in nations with the lowest status, including in Christian nations [patriarchal] are subject to horrible violence, exploitation, and its not just that the 'enemy' has come in to do this, they groundwork laid the foundation, know what I am saying,

and then, OTHER influences, often promising women liberation come in, and these women are RIPE for manipulation due to their JUST anger and hurt because of the harms done, they then find themselves, once more, betrayed, exploited, violated, killed, etc.

And I am going to just come out and say this, these women, including women in this country, its not just political parties or guerrilla groups or religions that come in and take advantage of misery,

there are also some feminist groups working under or in partnership with these other groups, that are JUST as exploitative, harmful, etc. See THAT is where it gets a tad messy,

and that includes, yes, some Christian groups too.

And you see the thing is, a LOT of this, is in fact, that remnant of colonization, that is still in effect as well as nationalism, including from developing countries who practice their own form of patriarchy, but a LOT of the exploitation of misery, is in fact, coming from the West.

Its coming from the East too, especially political Islam, but I'm not focusing on Islam here, I am focusing here, from a Christian perspective,

what would Jesus say, to these women?

I know what He has said to me and in fact, it was through my relationship with Him, that I became,

feminist,

anti-capitalist [corporatist, etc]

The more I got to know Him the more I saw my worth In Him, as well as the worth of all humanity, but too,

I also have seen, just how much, harm has been done by those who profane the Name of God and who have used the Gospel, to exploit, for monetary gain, for imperialism, for nationalism, for a lot of 'isms' in fact.

And there is little voice of objection in the world Except from those who are enemies of the Cross.

I've worked through a lot of anger, at so much injustice and hypocrisy INCLUDING in myself, ok I'm in no way saying or going to sit here and say, I'm immune, I've been Just as guilty of all the contributors, selfishness, indifference, at one time or another, as any other Westerner,

that's another thing the more I am in prayer in in the Word of God the more I am seeing it. [for those who may not know, I turned away from the Christian religion, not my belief in Christ but against the whole American religion and got heavy involved in Marxism and Radical Feminism, Anarchism, and I do mean I was radical, still am, but in a very different way.]

And what changed me and why I came back to the Cross, was what I saw in all those movements, including other religions [Islam being one of them] that it was always, do I compromise, do I compromise human rights, women's human rights, etc., and I never could,

so, here I am.

And its not that I reject all the tenants of Marxism, Anarchism or Feminism because many of those tenants are true AND not only that, many of them, are even scriptural and Why is that?

because I'll tell you, the Church, meaning worldwide, has been apostate for a very, very long time, and God, speaks, He speaks many times through those who are opposed to us, IF we open our hearts and listen. NOT that we should be on the fence or that we should compromise the Gospel, not saying that at all,

but there has been this falling away [not this going to be a falling away, its already happened and ESPECIALLY in America and in Europe even more so and that INCLUDES in the religious of the most religious, what I will term, Christian Pharisees],

you know I am even finding, that God, can even use Islam, to get our attention. [read about Ishmael, Hagar, you know that is something that is going to be included in the prayer, pray for Hagar's daughters....to those who understand let them understand, God never abandoned Hagar, so why should the church? Something to think about]

I think we forget, that Jesus, died for the ENTIRE WORLD, not just for Americans, not just for Europeans, not just for Whites, know what I am saying,

the picture of Christianity today is a very sad one. NOT that there isn't true Christians, that isn't what I am saying, not at all,

but, the mainstream, what we see the most, its no surprise that so many are seeking and falling for the lies of the enemy, not surprising at all and which, was prophesied in scripture, more than once.

It has been a journey, for me in how to reconcile my coming back to my faith and NOT compromising my values, in reconciling all these years, accepting too those areas where I have contributed to the work of the enemy, though I didn't realize it then, just how connected it all was,

I did so however, in anger, in hurt, so much hurt and not just hurt for myself but hurt, that I saw, through several experiences in my life, one of them including being homeless for a period With children,

living on the streets. So I know, what it is, to look up, from the gutter so to speak, know the lies of the poverty industry, the cold heartlessness and exploitation of so called 'ministries' who are just as corrupt as the world is,

I've seen it, seen and know the exploitation of the sex industry and how that works, its not like something I read in some book somewhere. So, it wasn't like, I could just come back to the faith, hop back into mainstream church, and pretend like all those years,

just never happened. And to top it off, all the political activism I worked in and having met, women who have worked in sweatshops, women who have been trafficked and enslaved to the sex industry, having met mother's whose daughters have been brutally gang raped and tortured [Juarez] and having wept with them,

there is just no way, I can go back to this Protestant or Catholic mainstream, this so called Godly Woman ideology that is extremely patriarchal, nor can I go back or go to the right wing either, though I concur with them on many things,

I also know, the evil of banality there, especially our foreign policy in South America, which has been HORRID and I do mean, HORRID. It still is,

so when I came back to Christ I came with a lot of baggage, a lot of anger, a lot of questions. And I haven't gone back to church, Any church, mind you and I don't know if I will, if I find one, maybe,

but I have gone back to daily reading the Word and in prayer, daily and quite often, NOT because no, I'm some goodie two shoes puritanical women, HARDLY,

not Even, no,

but because I'm seeking, I'm asking, I'm interested ONLY in a relationship with Christ, I could care less, about RELIGION.

I'm seeking answers from Him, and only Him, where so much is concerned. I've sought them everywhere else...to my fortune I must say, what I found out, was that it comes back full circle,

I believe that God is the answer, the ONLY answer, Salvation. However, Salvation includes more than just us as individuals, and it is more than just 'religion'.

What I am being shown too is Love, Love on a level I truly have not ever really grasped, and its not the false love, this sensual love that I did find, sensual not necessarily meaning sexual btw, but this sensual love that I did find in a lot of feminist ideologies and even leftist, because there is this love, this compassion,

to a point....then it turns, and it turns, quite ugly I might add and I have no qualms in being very upfront and truthful about it. And ironically, in many ways, it has more in common with religion, including patriarchy,

its always about the LAW, forcing goodness, forcing a way of life, that is totally contrary, to Grace. NOT that Grace should be a license, NO, [and I do mean firm NO on that], but Grace that sees through God's eyes, that LOVES, a Love that lays down their life,

and that doesn't necessarily mean, becoming a pauper and going off to the jungles somewhere and even being a martyr. Paul said, you can do all those things and still, if you don't have love, you have nothing...

that is something else too, that I will share, its easy, to love those in other countries, to feel compassion, because for one, they are distant from us,

in other words, its easy to love from a place of 'comfort'. But the LOVE of God, goes beyond even that...the Love of God, loves that neighbor right next door that is the most crabbiest hateful spiteful person there is,

and IF you can't love that person, doesn't matter how much you sacrifice for children in Africa,

you see, God's LOVE, Loves Both.

There is, too, something that we must be on careful watch for and that is this type of paternalism, which is, intertwined with patriarchy, in our work, be it prayer or service or missions. So one thing I want to be very mindful of and careful in prayer, is while offering up prayer,

for women worldwide, in specific areas, to do so, with respecting their dignity. NOT with this attitude of white American Christianized Patriarchal Perpetuating Imperialism,

and it doesn't necessarily have to be 'white' either. Thought I'd throw that in, assimilation has and still happens,

its not about being 'white', its about assimilation into the mentality and spirit of conquest, of power obsession, of selfishness, of self-righteousness, of nationalism, of tribalism, of feudalism, etc etc etc--

bottom line, its about wanting Power, wanting to be

God, or gods or Goddesses, yes, I am including Goddesses in this and in fact, I won't get into it on this post, but I did, see something, reading in the Bible, that just blew me away because while it referred to the pagan worship of goddesses, if you don't like skim over it, it reveals, how goddesses, were actually, also, patriarchal, but its really sinister, and its evolved around making money, temple prostitution/trafficking and money, money made from making of items too, idols, I must have read over it like a hundred times, and then, boom, it popped out and I about fell out of my chair, because it confirmed So many suspicions I had when delving into that whole goddess beliefs, long story, I never like worshipped them or believed in them but I did study them and the ideologies, etc., but its Still, about POWER, and it would and is, just as corrupt AND violent, towards WOMEN, because it relies on sacrifice--blood sacrifice of girls. More on this another time]

I think its so much about power, not empowerment, but power, which leads to the abuse of power. For reasons I won't like get into depth here, but my point is,

women, worldwide, are DYING,

because of this power, from all fronts. Whole communities are being wiped out,

with the rise of HIV-AIDS, from trafficking, low status of women, from patriarchal systems, with the increase of violence, sexual violence, including sacrifices that are being done in certain 'pagan religions' that do, yes, worship fertility goddesses,

from the days of old and let me just give you one really good example,

no, evidence,

the rapes and murders of young women/girls in Mexico, mark my words, they are sacrifices, bringing back old gods,

and they are not the only ones.

But its not just religious rites but its politics wrapped up in those, all for POWER.

AND where do we Christians fit in to all of this?

Well, first thing that comes up, is Consumerism--because its all connected,

let me confirm this, with one scripture that comes to mind: Ecclesiastes 5:10-11

10 Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.

11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owner
except to feast his eyes on them?

Anyway,

what I will do, well not sure exactly how this is going to go,

but like, I think what I will do is I'll just put up the topic for prayer, like, lets say, starting with the Congo,

then I'll just list the prayer needs, for protection of relief, for workers, for aid, etc., but also,

I will include, some of the history and reasons for conflict--so that there can be prayer in those areas including spiritual warfare-breaking ties, historical, etc., repentance where its needed on behalf of nations, and yes, on behalf of missions in the past who were in coalition with colonization and slavery,

patriarchy that has also been a part of that, breaking those in prayer, our consumerism, including specific goods, minerals and resources, praying for change of hearts, in consumers here, prayer for advocacy and Change in the churches towards these matters based on GOD'S WORD, and I will refer to scripture on these points,

and so forth.

Oh, and for healing, not just salvation, not just for missionaries, AND I really want to point this out,

now on this I don't know if This is from like God's leading or just what I know from my knowledge in the political, dialectics, etc.,

but I think, its really, really important, that when we pray for missions/relief, that we pray, for workers to rise up, or for God to raise up workers, IN THOSE COUNTRIES, AREAS,

not just for Western workers, its more important I think, in those areas specifically where there has been horrible betrayal and profaning of God's Word and God's Nature, by so called Christians, who brought over colonization and worked in cohoots with slave trade/and who currently are in co hoots with economic imperialist and slave traders [including cultural relativists, apologetics, those interested only in their GREED, economics, those who have allied with idolatry and/or beliefs that are opposed to God, opposed to human rights, opposed to women's rights, etc]

and again, I will refer to God's Word as references.

As for prayer, in reference to religions, I am focusing on Christians, I may point out some things that are happening in regards to Islam, but as far as praying for certain matters, the focus is NOT to point fingers,

in other words, in this way where one is portrayed as being good while the 'other' is portrayed as the evil ones,

and its on this, that after prayer, and yes, some repentance on my part, God has revealed to me, about the need to pray for Hagar's children. Her children, especially daughters,

so many, are in the desert, crying, wounded, afraid, hurt, abused, no where to turn, and the need for advocacy and the protection of those who do advocate, including among their own,

is so great right now. So great, the need is just so great,

and hate, is not the answer. We hate what they do, we don't hate Them. And that, is the most important lesson that God has been really working in me,

hate what they do, but don't hate them.

Because God, has in His perfect Plan, desires for all to be saved, for all to turn to Him, to know Him, He does not will that Anyone, perish. I think, we really, need to remember that....in our view of the world.

OK well that's it in a nutshell...

well, no, for those of you who are not Christian and who may be really opposed to Christianity, I'm not here to force, or to push, shove religion,

I won't hide it either, nor will I apologize, ever...[I've done that, been there, it helps no one],

but, even if you are not of this faith, and though this is a Christian prayer group, that doesn't mean, you can't pray in agreement or that you can't learn, especially about the history of these conflicts, contributing factors, where we aid in the oppression even if we are not aware,

and that there can't be changes.

And advocacy for those changes, so,

I'll close for that.

Peace,

janedoe