#i know that these numbers don’t tell you the reason behind wanting israel out so we can’t point directly

[useless-englandfacts]

of course i don’t want to get ahead of ourselves here but super duper rare british… w?

#eurovision #israel #i know that these numbers don’t tell you the reason behind wanting israel out so we can’t point directly #to palestine being the cause #and i also know that the original nakba wouldn’t have happened without british colonialism #but even so this is surprising #i saw in the notes that apparently british people make up the highest portion in ticket sales which is of course an L but also we are #the third largest country in europe (population wise) after russia and germany so

[xcal1bur25]

Y’know. Speaking as someone who’s said things in defense of some of his and his administration’s choices, it’s not like the culpability of Biden in regards to the Israel/Gaza situation is zero, but it is telling just how many bad actors would benefit from American voters considering the level of that culpablity to be high.

To briefly summarize the core of the arguments I’ve made, for context:

As far as I understand Biden and his administration are trying to stay on Israel’s good side under the belief that doing so gives them more ability to affect the situation than just openly condemning Israel. Also people vastly overestimate the degree to which the US, and especially the president specifically, can actually effect things.

There’s almost certainly more to the logic than just that, but viewing things though this lens does cause a lot of the actions that have been taken to make wayyyyyy more sense. It makes sense why they haven’t laid this out, too. The entire gist of the strategy is that if we’re Israel’s “only friend” during a time when they are a) whipped into a frenzy by an attack on their national security and b) hated by everyone because of their extreme response to point a, then the voice of the only ally standing beside them will carry a lot more weight than just being the largest voice in the big group of people criticizing them that they’ve already chosen to not listen to. That doesn’t work if we openly say “we’re only being nice to you because we actually agree with everyone mad at you and we want you to listen to us”. Overall, I respect the logic of this strategy, it makes sense why they chose it, and I can see the arguments for why openly condemning Israel would probably just make things worse, make them more desperate with no trusted voice telling them to exercise any restraint.

It’s also a strategy with objectively shit optics, even if it does work, and it’s a strategy borne of the outdated belief that supporting Israel is the politically necessary public stance to take, without properly adjusting for changing attitudes. And, while I do respect and understand the logic behind it, that doesn’t mean I’m totally convinced that it was the best call, or that a harsher stance wouldn’t be more effective in terms of both optics and results.

So by no means do I think that the tactics chosen, or their implementation, is above criticism. They are, emphatically, not.

However, at the same time, much has been said about how the Israeli propaganda engine is out in full force, and Netanyahu and his cronies would absolutely fucking LOVE for the the American government to be run by batshit insane evangelicals who would give them unconditional support to quote unquote “make clean the holy land”. They’re well aware of how their actions are perceived. There’s a reason they keep trying to push the whole “criticism of Israel is antisemitism” angle, even though all it does is piss people off and raise the rate of actual antisemitism. It’s because global antisemitism justifies Israel’s existence and creates an external threat that Netanyahu’s facist administration can use to bolster its support. They know what they’re doing is turning the world against them - that’s the entire point. Which means they’re also well aware that they can try and drag Biden and the democrats as a whole down with them, giving them the republican administration they want.

This is all to say, I don’t think we should give our politicians a free pass, or stop criticizing US support of an imperialistic and currently genocidal country, and I am genuinely worried that Biden’s choice to prioritize effectiveness over optics is going to backfire, badly. We need to hold our leaders accountable for their actions, and while I do think Biden gets a lot of undeserved shit in general, he is far from perfect and has made a number of mistakes. But at the same time, I think we should all take arguments trying to paint him as fully culpable for Israel’s actions, especially ones to the effect of “therefore you shouldn’t vote”, with a grain of salt, and to take a moment to think about exactly who benefits from those arguments being made.

#Politics #Obligatory i could be the asshole here #But I can see where the rhetoric going around is likely to lead #And it’s the exact opposite place that anyone making that rhetoric in good faith would want it to lead #“Who benefits from this” remains to be the most important question to ask

[scartale-an-undertale-au]

With everything happening to Israel, I hope you’re ok

thank you :D i’m fortunately mostly safe from what’s happening. i only had a siren once and heard the booms only several times and i don’t live near the areas where the riots and lynches are happening.

here is my rant about the situation

sadly, though, i do have to read a lot of posts from ignorant people who clearly haven’t done any research into the situation (i.e. don’t live in it, didn’t watch the israeli news, or plain just believes whatever pallywood posts). i don’t have much influence sadly but i have to make things clear to people who might be confused - the situation began because of people unbelieving that they live in a society and do, in fact, have to act like it. it started in six houses where the residents were evicted because they weren’t paying rent for decades despite the agreements and somehow they turned it into a international thing. then rioters were throwing rocks from the mosque and running into it when the soldiers came and were like ‘how dare they go into a holy place’ while they cowardly threw rocks from a mosque* on ramadaan like, wow, talk about desecrating a holy place. 

and ofc the whole hamas shooting thousands of rockets into israel, with a third of its rockets landing in gaza killing many gazans. idf attacking high profile hamas operators and warning citizens of the buildings they were going to bomb because what a surprise, hamas hides behind its citizens and then blames it on israel. we literally have a history of giving medical treatment to gazans, i don’t know how else to tell people that we give a crap. because we could have literally erased gaza from the earth. also the reason they dont have electricity? one of the rockets hit the power line. karma is a bitch but sadly it harms the citizens more than the actual bastards in hamas. btw, those rockets? those tunnels that they built to get into israel? all those villas to the leaders? where do you think the money came from? they came from all the money that was given for the citizens. the citizens saw none of it.

also, anyone calling gaza an open air prison is an idiot who never opened an atlas because they think all gaza’s borders are in israel.

well, boo boo, wrong! its southern border is with *drums roll* egypt. which, btw, actually blocks the border from anything. so, like, once again, israel gets the heat for being pushovers, great.

we had sadly jews attacking and lynching on arabs and that something that should never have happened and i’ll never be happy that those things happened. but it didn’t happen in a bubble. it wasn’t also the only kind of attacks that happened. arabs attacking and lynching on cars, on people. they burned down synagogues! they burned down holy places with torah scrolls that were destroyed and the pictures literally look like the  Kristallnacht in 1938. one time, an arab saw it happening and managed to save the torah scrolls and omg, what an amazing guy. but still, so many holy scriptures were burnt and destroyed. the images are horrifying and i’m crying by just remembering. because israel is supposed to be the place jews would feel safe finally. we were supposed to be safe from progroms, from lynching, from our holy places being treated like firewood.

you have the right extremities attacking arabs, and you have jews unable to decide if they should stay at their homes during a siren and risk being hit by a rocket or brave the mamad (bunker) with their arab neighbors that are suddenly hostile to the point of attacking.

israel was never perfect. we have so much to improve and racism is still an issue. but also remember that we are less than 75 years old. it took the usa over 200 years to even begin to deal with its racism. we had to deal with so many wars just to exist and we don’t have the benefit of the sea as a barrier. you can literally drive down south and suddenly find yourself in jordan.

but the fact that the world immediately decided that we’re the bad guys no matter how much we strive to do good and for peace despite everyone wanting us gone (not in a different state, gone. dead. in the goddamn sea.).

the world is treating the palestinians like little babies who can do no harm. i hate to break it to them, but they can and did do a whole lot of harm. a lot of israeli arabs have helped israeli jews in so many cases in the past and present. a lot of medical professionals are arabs. they came to help after the tragedy in meron mountain. a lot of amazing stories of them being kind and true brethren. a lot of stories of co-existing. but they were literally crumbled down to nothing when suddenly the mixed cities began exploding with lynches and attacks and just pure terror. bedouins blocking one of the main roads to be’er sheba. electricity boxes being destroyed, leaving many people (mainly israeli jews) without it and no batteries or internet

i’m ranting now because if i have to read another post crying over palestinians children being harmed and then sneering at israeli people for existing and wishing for their deaths, i will literally go to them to shoot their legs myself (don’t know how, but i will) because children are already showing signs of extreme ptsd, of anxiety. the south (especially the area around the border with gaza) had been dealing with constant rockets for 20 years. children grow up so traumatized they can’t be soldiers because the sound of a gun going off sends them into a panic attack.

like, the usa is asking israel and hamas to have a cease fire, but it keeps basically looking at israel to back down and i’m so in the mood to say ‘no. i say, get the citizens out and just raze the place down’ even if it’s impossible to actively do. i’m done with sjw thinking they’re so woke and amazing for supporting the palestinians while they’re actually supporting the destruction of israel over all and the jews in particular.

because guess what? antisemitism have never been more in fashion.

(i’m sorry for going off on an adorable anon wanting to see me safe, but thank you for letting me go off like that. i needed to rant. also, anyone spreading hate should be ashamed)

p.s. anyone wanting to rant about apartheid or occupied territory, go open a dictionary or a history book on what actual apartheid is and then go check the archeological evidence of jews having occupied the land of israel before islam was a thing and even before christianity was a thing. especially how the dome of the rock was built on the temple mount. on top of what used to be the holy temples for the jews. you also always had jews living in israel in small numbers. we were never truly gone from the land of israel.

p.s.s. a good video i found that summarizes mostly well is ‘geography now-israel’. it’s not perfect but it gets the point across.

[factoffictionwriter]

Tiva Fic Amnesty #14

More from Chaval Extras. Things to know: Ziva has 2 Aunts back in Israel whom she took Tony to meet. The Aunts are friends with Shmeil as well. Oh, and Tony and Ziva are totally a thing. Like a thing thing.

“Wait a second. So I wasn’t imagining it? Ziva really did have a motorcycle?” 

Shmeil nodded enthusiastically, “My Ziva had a motorcycle before she even learned how to drive!” 

Tony chuckled to himself, “That explains a lot, actually.” 

“What explains a lot?” His beautiful Israeli asked as she breezed into the room, delicate looking teacups in either hand. She carefully handed one of them to Shmeil before crossing the room to take a seat next to Tony on the couch. 

“I was just telling Anthony about your, shall we say, preference for dangerous modes of transportation.” 

Her eyebrows came together as she wracked her brain for what he could possibly be talking about. But when she saw Tony’s smug little grin beside her, she put the pieces together. 

“The motorcycle?” She asked. 

“Oh yeah,” Tony chimed.

She eyed him warily, “Remember what I said about stories being exaggerated? Keep that in mind.” 

He just laughed at her. 

“What is so funny, Anthony?” Nettie asked as she too emerged from the kitchen, her two sisters trailing behind, each with their own teacup.

“Ziva was just about to tell me about her motorcycle.”

“Oh, goodness. Why would you want to hear about that horrible thing?” Adina asked as she settled into the couch across the room. 

“Because he is a man,” Shmeil laughed, “And men like two things: hot women and fast vehicles.” 

Tony nodded, “And this story promises to have both.” 

“Very well then,” Nettie sighed as she sipped on her tea.

“We do not know where she managed to get such a horrible contraption, much less how she managed to keep it secret for so long,” Hinda was giving Ziva a disapproving look, “But somehow she managed to drive that thing to school every day for an entire year before we even knew it existed.” 

“She parked it a few spaces down from her father’s car in one of the neighbor boy’s spaces. Lord knows how she convinced him to let her have such a coveted spot,” Nettie shook her head. 

“I can think of a few ways,” Tony whispered to himself, but Shmeil managed to hear it. 

“David women can be quite convincing,” the old man winked at Tony, causing his smile to grow wider. 

“Anyways, we never would have even known about it if she hadn’t gotten in that accident.” 

“Which was not my fault, by the way,” Ziva added. 

“They never are,” Tony remarked, sending her a look of such pure adoration that she couldn’t help but forgive his jab. 

“Okay, but this one really was not. The man should have looked over his shoulder. Even I look over my shoulder when changing lanes.” 

“And how fast were you going, dear?” Nettie asked, the stern look on her face telling him she already knew the answer.

“That is not important. He still should have looked.” 

“I seem to remember the officer telling us you were going 110 mph… in a 45 mph zone,” Adina provided helpfully. 

Tony let out a long whistle before pausing, “Actually, I’m not that surprised. That does sound like something you would do.” 

She rolled her eyes, biting back a tiny smile. 

“She was thrown clear across the highway. A couple more feet and she would have rolled right off the cliff and into the sea below.” 

Ziva just shrugged, “I walked away with a few scratches.” 

“If by scratches you mean 3 broken ribs and road burn up your entire left side,” Hinda corrected, “But yes, you were able to walk away. You were very lucky.” 

Tony leaned into the couch cushion, slowly sliding his hand over to rest it on her side, right where he remembered seeing a long patch of scars, mostly faded until they looked like delicate white flames dancing across her skin. 

She nodded slightly in his direction as if confirming that the marks were, in fact, the remnants of this exact accident. 

“Tali would not go near the thing,” Nettie spoke, breaking up the moment between the couple on the couch. 

“Of course Tali wouldn’t go near it. She was smart. She understood the concept of danger,” Hinda acknowledged. 

Ziva let out a quiet huff as she leaned back against the cushions, and inadvertently his arm. 

“Yes, but I understood the concept of fun.” 

Tony let out a hearty laugh at her comment before smoothly transitioning it into a cough when the aunts shot him disapproving looks. 

“You only truly understood how to piss off your father. Let this be a lesson to you, Anthony. When you have children, do not rule with an iron fist, lest they turn out to be anything like their mother.” 

“Doda!” Ziva cried, sending Adina a truly incredulous look. 

---

“Did you ever get the chance to meet Eli, Anthony?” Nettie asked. 

He felt Ziva stiffen beside him, and took that as a sign to proceed with the utmost caution. 

“Yeah, I did. A couple of times, actually. He… wasn’t a big fan of me.” 

“Nor you of him, I assume,” Hinda offered. 

“I think Eli David was a complicated man… in a complicated situation. It’s really not for me to judge. I will never understand exactly what he was going through.” 

“It is quite alright, Tony. You are surrounded by fellow Eli-haters here. I am sure there is nothing you can say about the man that Ziva has not already heard from one of us,” Shmeil assured him. 

Ziva’s shoulders heaved as she let out a long sigh. 

He watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye as he spoke, “I obviously don’t agree with many of the decisions he made, particularly in regards to his children. But at the end of the day, I think he was doing what he thought was best. He just happened to be wrong.” 

“He just happened to be wrong?” Hinda spat. 

“Doda…” Ziva warned. 

“No, Zivaleh. I am tired of listening to Eli’s excuses. He may have brainwashed you into believing them, but I will not let you bully Anthony into believing them as well.”

Tony sat forward, sliding his arm out from behind Ziva and resting his elbows on his knees, “She hasn’t bullied me into anything. Well - she has - but not with this. I just think that I’m coming at the situation from a bit of a… different angle than the rest of you.” 

“How so?” Shmeil asked. 

“Well, for starters, I didn’t meet Ziva until after Eli did a number on her. I can sit here and listen to you guys tell stories about her tending to a garden or flying off a motorcycle, but I’ll never fully understand what she was like back then.” 

“All the more reason you should be upset,” Hinda grumbled. 

Tony shook his head, “How do I explain this…” 

He looked around the small living room for a few seconds, trying to find some sort of inspiration for-

“Star Wars!” He exclaimed. 

Five heads all turned in his direction, their eye brows furrowed in confusion. 

“A movie. Really?” Ziva asked from beside him. 

“Not just a movie. A series. 7 movies. Filmed and premiered out of order. 3 movies, then 3 prequels, only to return back to the original timeline for the new one.”

“I do not follow,” Adina sighed. 

“Okay… it’s like you guys are watching the series in chronological order, and I’m watching them in the order they premiered. And you,” he pointed a long finger at Ziva, “are Darth Vader.” 

She looked confused, “The guy with the mask?” 

“Exactly,” he brought both his hands up to cover his mouth, creating a deep echoing sound as he pulled out his oldest and most adored character impression, “Luke, I am your father.” 

She had to focus hard to keep the corners of her mouth from curling up into a small smile. They both knew that she would never admit it, but she liked his little impressions. She thought they were cute, even if they were annoying. 

But then she remembered the single Star Wars film he had forced her to watch after one of his million references went over her head, and her face fell a little, “He is the bad guy, yes?” 

“No. Well, yes. But no. That’s just what they want you to think. In the original series, he’s portrayed as a total monster who betrayed his friends and killed his father. It’s not until you get to the prequels that you realize, hey, this Darth guy isn’t so bad. In fact, he was just a normal Jedi until his master took advantage of him and made him a monster.”

“And as the series comes to a close, he gets one of the most epic redemption arcs in movie history when he realizes that he had been duped into using his powers for the wrong side and then kills his master to save his son,” he turned back toward the Aunts, “So, if you guys watched the prequels first, then you would have already known that Darth was actually a good guy before he joined the dark side, making his fall all the more dramatic. But when I watch it in the order that the movies were made, I can’t help but think about how different the story would have been without that corrupt Jedi Master.” 

“And this changes your perception of Eli… how?” 

“Well, when I met Ziva, she was already a Mossad super spy. And yeah, the more I learned about the way her Dad treated her, the more I started hating the guy. But I will never be able to see him the way you guys do because without him, I likely would have never even met her.” 

“Because without what happened in the prequels, there would have been no need for the original series,” Adina nodded along as she slowly made sense of his convoluted explanation. 

“Exactly!” he flashed a dazzling DiNozzo grin at the older woman, thankful that at least someone had been able to follow his train of thought. 

#somehow i forgot to post this? #but here it is #one of my favorite little conversations ive ever written simply because it was fun #and i got to explore ziva's roots in a different way #tiva fanfiction #amnesty fic #tiva fanfic #tiva #factoffiction #factoffictionwriter #factoffiction amnesty week

[mrlnsfrt]

Mercy on Your Enemies

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. - Matthew 5:10-12 NKJV

Jesus told His followers that those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake are blessed. It is important to highlight here that the blessings stand only when you are innocent, when you are being persecuted for being righteous, for being faithful to God. If you are persecuted for doing something wrong, for cheating, for being dishonest, for being abusive, then there is no blessing. But this text also points to a reality that God’s faithful followers face in this world. We live in a world where someone can be persecuted without ever doing anything wrong. Jesus goes so far as to say that you can be persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for being good, and honest, and well, righteous. Jesus promised a special blessing, but that does not mean that you feel blessed as you are being persecuted.

David composed two Psalms from a cave while being persecuted by Saul (at least there are two I was able to find). They are Psalm 57, and Psalm 142. In these Psalms we can tell David is not feeling particularly blessed.

Attend to my cry, For I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are stronger than I. - Psalm 142:6 NKJV

But David never forgot about the Source of his life and salvation,

I cried out to You, O Lord: I said, “You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. - Psalm 142:5 NKJV

So it is possible for us to be persecuted, to feel distant from God, and like we will be destroyed by our enemies. Yet we should never forget that reality is not limited by what we can see nor by what we feel. This is where faith comes in, and we can know that even though it might look and feel like we are all alone and about to be destroyed by our enemies, God is with us, and ultimately it is our enemies who need mercy.

Personal Story

I remember when I was young there was a big commotion at the apartment where my grandparents lived. I was young and I do not remember all the details, I do remember my mother and grandmother and other family members being very agitated. My grandfather had been robbed. I do not remember if it was a gunpoint or knifepoint, but he was robbed. I believe he had been on his way to the bank to deposit some money. My mother and others were upset about the whole incident and insisted that he press charges with the police, and there was a lot of talking and crying and I don’t remember all the details. But one thing has stuck with me, my grandfather wanted to pray, and as we prayed he thanked God that his life had been spared, next, he thanked God that he had not been the robber.

That is something that always stuck with me. I expected him to pray more of an imprecatory prayer, calling for God to curse the men who had taken his money. I do not think that my grandfather was against justice and the proper punishment of the men who did wrong, but my grandfather understood that it was better to be an innocent victim than a criminal. My grandfather knew that he was saved, he had a personal relationship with Jesus. But those criminals were living a life of sin and causing terrible suffering to others. Anyone living a life of sin does not have the peace that only God can give (John 14:27) and need salvation. Without God, there is no true joy and no eternal life.

Saul Persecutes David

Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines and was told that David was in the Desert of En Gedi. Saul decides to take three thousand of his best men from all of Israel and went to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. As King Saul searched for David he came by some sheep pens and a cave. This was exactly what Saul was hoping to find. He had been needed to relieve himself and needed some privacy. I imagine Saul telling his men to sit and rest for a bit, and then going away by himself to the cave to take care of his needs.

The King James Version says that “Saul went in to cover his feet” (1 Samuel 24:3), which is a literal translation. "This Hebrew idiom refers to the Israelite practice of disposing of human excrement in a sanitary manner through covering it over with dirt." (Bergen, R. D. (2002). 1, 2 Samuel. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman. p238 (footnote)). Little did he know, David and his men were inside that same cave farther towards the back of the cave.

An Unexpected Opportunity

Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. - 1 Samuel 24:4 NKJV

Saul coming in by himself to the cave where David and all his men were hiding was clearly an act of God. David’s soldiers interpreted it as such, and even mentioned a prophecy that is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. This is a mystery, was it an unrecorded prophecy, or just wishful thinking. I have heard many supposed Bible quotes that are nowhere to be found in the Bible. It is surprising and dangerous how we can believe so strongly that Bible says something that in fact it does not. (Side note: one text that often gets misquoted is that Paul supposedly says that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” but the Bible does not say this anywhere, you can read several translations of 2 Corinthians 5:8 here)

What the soldiers say sounds biblical, but it is not recorded in the Bible, at least I was not able to find a record of this being written anywhere else.

Seizing the Moment

David stealthily approaches Saul and cuts off a corner of Saul’s robe. There are those who assign great significance to this act. Some believe that this symbolically transferred power from Saul to David. Support for this is found when you take into consideration the Torah requirements that include Numbers 15:38-39, and Deuteronomy 22:12 which require the wearing of tassels on the corners of one’s garments. The reasoning goes that without the corner and its tassel Saul’s most obvious symbol of kingship was made unwearable. Personally believe that it is a bit of a stretch to say that with this act David had symbolically invalidated Saul’s claim to kingship, but it is a view that Bergen mentions. (Bergen, R. D. (2002). 1, 2 Samuel. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman. p239)

V. H. Matthews adds a significant historical and cultural insight to the interpretation of this passage saying that

The rather elaborate hems with suspended tassels found on most garments in the ancient Near East symbolized the ranks of kings and their advisers as well as the military. - Manners and Customs in the Bible [Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1988], 119).

The strongest evidence that I see for the symbolic significance of what David did is the remorse David feels for his behavior. David realized he had raised his hand against “the anointed of the LORD.”

Vengeance

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD. - Romans 12:19 NLT

‘Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their disaster is at hand, And their doom hurries to meet them.’ - Deuteronomy 32:35 Amplified Bible

David does not want to be the one who causes Saul to fall, he does not want to cause the fall of someone the LORD had anointed.

And he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way. - 1 Samuel 24:6-7 NKJV

David is not saying that Saul deserves to be king, nor that Saul is guiltless. David simply does not want to be guilty of spilling Saul’s blood. David chooses to leave judgment to God, even if he had the perfect opportunity to take his revenge. Even if it looks like God has delivered his enemy in his hands, David will not be the direct cause of the fall of his enemy. David refuses to spill the blood of his enemy, even if his enemy would not hesitate to spill his blood. David behaves in this way out of respect for God. It is nothing that Saul did, David is not afraid of Saul, but David respects God and God’s anointed.

The Confrontation

The interchange that follows is remarkable. The section of text stretching from verse 8 through 21 contains the longest recorded quotes by both David and Saul found in 1 Samuel. (Bergen, R. D. p239) The amount of space dedicated to this exchange suggests high importance. This seems to be the central part of the text and two key themes surface in this exchange.

David is loyal to King Saul.

David will be Israel’s next king.

As Saul makes his way out of the cave David calls out to him. This was a risky move since in doing so David would give away his position to King Saul. However, it seems that David was closer to Saul than Saul was to his army, so worst-case scenario David could always capture Saul and hold him hostage.

David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down. - 1 Samuel 24:8 NKJV

David addresses Saul as lord and king and bows down. David is signaling his loyalty to the king, and next, we have what can be considered the most passionate and eloquent plea for reconciliation between persons recorded in all ancient literature. (Bergen, R. D. p240)

David carefully structures his arguments in a way to give Saul an easy out.

And David said to Saul: “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’? - 1 Samuel 24:9 NKJV

David does not blame Saul for coming after him, but rather some unknown, misinformed individual who lied to Saul. David proceeds to lay out eyewitness and material evidence to make the case that he is not the king’s enemy.

Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it. Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you. - 1 Samuel 24:10-12 NKJV

David points out how Saul had seen with his own eyes that David could have killed him but refused to raise his hand against the Lord’s anointed. Saul was the key witness, he knew that the Lord had delivered him to David and David has spared his life. Saul’s life was spared to because of anything Saul had done but rather because of what God had done. God has anointed Saul and David’s regard for God kept him from harming His anointed.

If Saul had any doubts about how close he came to dying at David’s hand all he had to do was take a look at his garment and notice the missing corner. David has shown by his actions that he was not an evildoer, since he refrained from evil (Matthew 7:16,20). In other words, if Davids had truly wanted to take the kingdom from Saul he would not have refrained from killing him when he had the chance.

However, if David is innocent, and it was just proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that David was loyal to Saul, then Saul was guilty of trying to kill an innocent and just man. By pointing this out David is trying to keep King Saul from bringing divine wrath and judgment upon himself.

Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. - Exodus 23:7 ESV

David now keeps going and accuses the king of squandering precious national resources.

After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea? - 1 Samuel 24:14 NKJV

David concludes by calling upon God to judge between them. It is obvious that David is innocent and that God is with David. Saul is not only unable to defeat David but to continue to pursue this will only lead to his own destruction.

The Realization

So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. - 1 Samuel 24:16 NKJV

Saul is forced to confront reality. He finally says David’s name, something he has not done in a very long time (1 Samuel 20:27, 30-31; 22:7-9, 13). Not only does Saul say David’s name, but he also calls him his son. The full emotional weight of current events finally hit Saul and he wept out loud.

Then he said to David: “You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me. For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Therefore swear now to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.” - 1 Samuel 24:17-21 NKJV

Saul realizes and admits that David will be the next king and that Israel will flourish under his leadership. Realizing that David is a righteous man Saul asks David to spare his descendants. David swears to Saul and they go each their separate way. Saul goes home, but David goes up to the stronghold.

Conclusion and Application

David is not king, David does not have three thousand soldiers at his disposal, much less three thousand chosen men from all Israel. Humanly speaking, Saul had all the advantages. He had position, title, resources, power, experience, he was tall, what else cold Saul need? Sadly he did not have what matters most, or the only thing that matters, Saul did not have a personal relationship with God.

David on the other hand was a fugitive, an outcast, on the run, living in the wilderness, with a group of disgruntled men who decided to follow him (1Samuel 22:1-2). But God was with him and that made all the difference.

Please notice this, the king without God has no chance against a “nobody” who is on God’s side. David was the one who had to have mercy on the king, not the other way around. David is the powerful one, not because he has any special power, but because Almighty God is with Him.

You may feel persecuted, though you did nothing wrong. You may feel like your faithfulness to God makes you a target, but remember, that having God is ultimately all that matters, the only thing that matters. Whatever may come your way, just make sure to stay with God and everything will be okay.

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” - Deuteronomy 31:6 NKJV

#Old Testament #David #Saul #Persecution

[nightbloomsresorthotel]

Etgar Keret’s Short Story “What, of this Goldfish, Would You Wish” got me crying like a baby. Taken from here. 

Author and filmmaker Etgar Keret was born in Tel Aviv in 1967. Salman Rushdie has called him “the voice of the next generation” and his work has been translated into 29 languages. The following story is from his sixth collection, Suddenly a Knock on the Door, published on 23rd February by Chatto & Windus.

The idea for this story, translated by Nathan Englander, came to Keret after he read his five-year-old son Alexander Pushkin’s “The Fisherman and the Goldfish.” Keret says, “My son asked me what I would do if I had three wishes. He quickly rejected my ‘safe’ wishes for family health or world peace and insisted that I ask for something I really, really wanted. And that’s when my goldfish story began.”

Yonatan had a brilliant idea for a documentary. He’d knock on doors. Just him. No camera crew, no nonsense. Just Yonatan, on his own, a small camera in hand, asking, “If you found a talking goldfish that granted you three wishes, what would you wish for?”

People would give their answers, and Yoni would edit them down and make clips of the more surprising responses. Before every set of answers, you’d see the person standing stock-still in the entrance to his house. Onto this shot he’d superimpose the subject’s name, family situation, monthly income, and maybe even the party he’d voted for in the last election. All that, combined with the three wishes, and maybe he’d end up with a poignant piece of social commentary, a testament to the massive rift between our dreams and the often compromised reality in which we live.

It was genius, Yoni was sure. And, if not, at least it was cheap. All he needed was a door to knock on and a heart beating on the other side. With some decent footage, he was sure he’d be able to sell it to Channel 8 or Discovery in a flash, either as a film or as a collection of vignettes, little cinematic corners, each with that singular soul standing in a doorway, followed by three killer wishes, precious, every one.

Even better, maybe he’d sell out, package it with a slogan and flog it to a bank or mobile phone company. Maybe tag it with something like, “Different dreams, different wishes, one bank.” Or, “The bank that makes dreams come true.”

No prep, no plotting, natural as can be, Yoni grabbed his camera and went out knocking on doors. In the first neighbourhood he went to, the nice people that took part generally requested the obvious things: health, money, bigger flats, to shave off either a couple of years or a couple of pounds. But there were also powerful moments. One drawn, wizened old lady asked simply for a child. A Holocaust survivor with a number on his arm asked very slowly, in a quiet voice—as if he’d been waiting for Yoni to come, as if it wasn’t an exercise at all—he’d been wondering (if this fish didn’t mind), would it be possible for all the Nazis left living in the world to be held accountable for their crimes? A cocky, broad-shouldered ladykiller put out his cigarette and, as if the camera wasn’t there, wished he were a girl. “Just for a night,” he added, holding a single finger right up to the lens.

And these were wishes from just one short block in one small, sleepy suburb of Tel Aviv. Yonatan could hardly imagine what people were dreaming of in the development towns and the collectives along the northern border, in the West Bank settlements and Arab villages, the immigrant absorption centres full of broken trailers and tired people left to fry out in the desert sun.

Yonatan knew that if the project was going to have any weight, he’d have to get to everyone, to the unemployed, to the ultra-religious, to the Arabs and Ethiopians and American expats. He began to plan a shooting schedule for the coming days: Yaffo, Dimona, Ashdod, Sderot, Taibe, Talpiot. Maybe Hebron even. If he could sneak past the wall, Hebron would be great. Maybe somewhere in that city some beleaguered Arab man would stand in his doorway and, looking through Yonatan and his camera, looking out into nothingness, just pause for a minute, nod his head and wish for peace—that would be something to see.

***

Sergei Goralick doesn’t much like strangers banging on his door. Especially when those strangers are asking him questions. In Russia, when Sergei was young, it happened a lot. The KGB felt right at home knocking on his door. His father had been a Zionist, which was pretty much an invitation for them to pop over any old time.

When Sergei got to Israel and then moved to Yaffo, his family couldn’t get their heads round it. They’d ask him, “What are you hoping to find in a place like that? There’s no one there but addicts and Arabs and pensioners.” But what is most excellent about addicts and Arabs and pensioners is that they don’t come round knocking on Sergei’s door. That way Sergei can get his sleep, and get up when it’s still dark. He can take his little boat out into the sea and fish until he’s finished fishing. By himself. In silence. The way it should be. The way it was.

Until one day some kid with a ring in his ear, looking a little bit homosexual, comes knocking. Hard like that—rapping at his door. Just the way Sergei doesn’t like. And he says, this kid, that he has some questions he wants to put on the TV.

Sergei tells the boy, tells him in what he thinks is a straightforward manner, that he doesn’t want it. Not interested. Sergei gives the camera a shove, to help make it clear. But the earring boy is stubborn. He says all kinds of things, fast things. And it’s hard for Sergei to follow; his Hebrew isn’t great.

The boy slows down, tells Sergei he has a strong face, a nice face, and that he simply has to have him for this film. Sergei can also slow down, he can also make it clear. He tells the boy to fuck off. But the boy is slippery and somehow between saying no and pushing the door closed, Sergei finds that the boy is in his house. He’s already making his film, running his camera without any permission, and from behind the camera he’s still telling Sergei about his face, that it’s full of feeling, that it’s tender. Suddenly the boy spots Sergei’s goldfish flitting around in its big glass jar in his kitchen.

The kid with the earring starts screaming, “Goldfish, goldfish,” he’s so excited. And this, this really pressures Sergei, who tells the boy, it’s nothing, just a normal goldfish, stop filming it. Just a goldfish, Sergei tells him, just something he found flapping around in the net, a deep-sea goldfish. But the boy isn’t listening. He’s still filming and getting closer and saying something about talking and fish and a magic wish.

Sergei doesn’t like this, doesn’t like that the boy is almost at it, already reaching for the jar. In this instant Sergei understands the boy hasn’t come for television, what he’s come for, specifically, is to snatch Sergei’s fish, to steal it away. Before the mind of Sergei Goralick really understands what it is his body has done, he seems to have taken the pan off the stove and hit the boy on the head. The boy falls. The camera falls with him. The camera breaks open on the floor, along with the boy’s skull. There’s a lot of blood coming out of the head, and Sergei really doesn’t know what to do.

That is, he knows exactly what to do, but it really would complicate things. Because if he takes this kid to the hospital, people are going to ask what happened, and it would take things in a direction Sergei doesn’t want to go.

“No reason to take him to the hospital anyway,” says the goldfish, in Russian. “That one’s already dead.”

“He can’t be dead,” Sergei says, with a moan. “I barely touched him. It’s only a pan. Only a little thing.” Sergei holds it up to the fish, taps it against his own skull to prove it. “It’s not even that hard.”

“Maybe not,” says the fish. “But, apparently, it’s harder than that kid’s head.”

“He wanted to take you from me,” Sergei says, almost crying.

“Nonsense,” the fish says. “He was only here to make a little thing for TV.”

“But he said—”

“He said,” says the fish, interrupting, “exactly what he was doing. But you didn’t get it. Honestly, your Hebrew, it’s terrible.”

“And yours is better?” Sergei says. “Yours is so great?”

“Yes. Mine’s super-great,” the goldfish says, sounding impatient. “I’m a magic fish. I’m fluent in everything.” All the while the puddle of blood from the earring boy’s head is getting bigger and bigger and Sergei is on his toes, up against the kitchen wall, desperate not to step in it, not to get blood on his feet.

“You do have one wish left,” the fish reminds Sergei. He says it simply like that, as if Sergei doesn’t know—as if either of them ever loses count.

“No,” Sergei says. He’s shaking his head from side to side. “I can’t,” he says. “I’ve been saving it. Saving it for something.”

“For what?” the fish says.

But Sergei won’t answer.

That first wish, Sergei used up when they discovered a cancer in his sister. A lung cancer, the kind you don’t get better from. The fish undid it in an instant—the words barely out of Sergei’s mouth. The second wish Sergei used up five years ago, on Sveta’s boy. The kid was still small then, barely three, but the doctors already knew. Something in her son’s head wasn’t right. He was going to grow big but not in the brain. Three was about as clever as he’d get. Sveta cried to Sergei in bed all night. Sergei walked home along the beach when the sun came up, and he called to the fish, asked the goldfish to fix it as soon as he’d crossed through the door. He never told Sveta. And a few months later she left him for some policeman, a Moroccan with a shiny Honda. In his heart, Sergei kept telling himself it wasn’t for Sveta that he’d done it, that he’d wished his wish purely for the boy. In his mind, he was less sure, and all kinds of thoughts about other things he could have done with that wish continued to gnaw at him, driving him half mad. The third wish, Sergei hadn’t yet wished for.

“I can restore him,” says the goldfish. “I can bring him back to life.”

“No one’s asking,” Sergei says.

“I can bring him back to the moment before,” the goldfish says. “To before he knocks on your door. I can put him back to right there. I can do it. All you need to do is ask.”

“To wish my wish,” Sergei says. “My last.”

The fish swishes his fish tail back and forth in the water, the way he does, Sergei knows, when he’s truly excited. The goldfish can already taste freedom. Sergei can see it in him.

After the last wish, Sergei won’t have a choice. He’ll have to let the goldfish go. His magic goldfish. His friend.

“Fixable,” Sergei says. “I’ll just mop up the blood. A good sponge and it’ll be like it never happened.”

That tail just goes back and forth, the fish’s head steady.

Sergei takes a deep breath. He steps out into the middle of the kitchen, out into the puddle. “When I’m fishing, while it’s dark and the world’s asleep,” he says, half to himself and half to the fish, “I’ll tie the kid to a rock and dump him in the sea. Not a chance, not in a million years, of anyone ever finding him.”

“You killed him, Sergei,” the goldfish says. “You murdered someone—but you’re not a murderer.” The goldfish stops swishing his tail. “If, on this, you won’t waste a wish, then tell me, Sergei, what is it good for?”

***

It was in Bethlehem, actually, that Yonatan found his Arab, a handsome man who used his first wish to ask for peace. His name was Munir; he was fat with a big white moustache. Really photogenic. It was moving, the way he said it. Perfect, the way in which Munir wished his wish. Yoni just knew even as he was filming that this man would be his promo.

Either him or that Russian. The one with the faded tattoos that Yoni had met in Yaffo. The one that looked straight into the camera and said, if he ever found a talking goldfish he wouldn’t ask of it a single thing. He’d just stick it on a shelf in a big glass jar and talk to him all day, it didn’t matter about what. Maybe sports, maybe politics, whatever a goldfish was interested in chatting about.

Anything, the Russian said, not to be alone.

#ugh #good story #what of this goldfish would you wish #goldfish #short stories #short fiction #literature #wishes #etgar keret

[hkvoyage]

I am a real old lady, living in Israel, and I am a Klaine-MPreg addict. Do you have a list, or know of a list, of these stories. The regular klaine list (Lynne & Zinnia) doesn't have one. Thanks. OLK

A search for completed mpreg fics resulted in 183 fics on AO3 and 125 fics on FF.net. Here are the search results on S&C. Judging by the number of hits or favorites on these stories, there are plenty of readers that like mpreg!Klaine fics.

Under the cut are 11 mpreg!Kurt fics and 17 mpreg!Blaine fics. I placed an asterisk against the authors who have written a few mpreg stories.

Warning: Some of these also contain boypussy. Make sure you read the tags or author comments if this bothers you. Happy reading! HKVoyage

MPREG KURT

Who Says by Karanoaoi *

Wolves mate for life once an Alpha claims their Omega mate, but the ways of choosing your mate are changing from the traditional meets where all non-mated wolves of age are thrown in together and you end up with a mate. Alphas still have to start a mating run, but what if the Omega has their eye on a certain Alpha? Follow the Anderson and Hummel families through these changes. A generational fic starting with Grandma Anderson and going through Kurt and Blaines generation. 

Note: Part 1 of the The Life of a Werewolf series

~~~~~

Not As It Seems by fearlessly

Blaine had been frozen where he stood. The boy in front of him was gorgeous. He had never seen a creature so beautiful in his life and quite frankly, Blaine was awestruck. His eyes, they were like raging ocean storms yet they were gentle, inviting, and so utterly … organic.

~~~~~

The Ultimate Christmas Present by LilLizzie94

Blaine has been in Afghanistan for the past 7 months and Kurt has been home by himself…they recieved some interesting news right before he was deployed…Kurt was pregnant. Blaine has come home early to surprise Kurt for christmas…but he’s not the only surprise in store for the two. MPREG don’t like… Don’t read.

~~~~~

I’ll Be Home for Christmas by DreamingisBelieving

Imagine person A from your OTP is pregnant during Christmas and for some reason of your choice, person B won’t be home for Christmas, leaving person A alone. 

~~~~~

The Anderson Rose by missbeizy *

In the mountains of what was once the Northeastern United States of America, the descendants of a band of refugees who had escaped New York City at the end of a great World War are beginning to thrive after almost a thousand years of struggle. Relying on a combination of bits and pieces of advanced technology salvaged from the remains of great cities, as well as the still-pristine forest that they now call home, the people of Westerville are determined to rebuild a world in which peace, love, and cooperation mean more than victory, greed, and wealth. 

~~~~~

Wont Tell Anyone by karanoaoi *

The Royal family has never had a problem securing their claim to the throne. That was until now. The King and Queen have been unable to bear any children passed their only son, Blaine. Now when their reign is threatened by other Nobel families that declare their family as weak, they turn to the one way they know that will show everyone their family line has not ended. Having their son marry and produce a strong line of heirs.

Sequel: Make a Move

~~~~~

Be Still My Heart by witchcraftandclickery

During a stressful and almost disastrous Black Friday Shopping adventure for Kurt, he meets and is saved by a strange older man. As their friendship progresses, so does their relationship. After falling in love with the perfect man, Kurt finds out he’s pregnant. Age!difference Older!Blaine 

Note: Although this fic is not marked as completed, the reviews of the final chapter indicate that it is. It is easy to overlook marking a fic as completed on FF.net.

~~~~~

I Will by witchcraftandclickery 

Kurt, cheerleader with the jock boyfriend is failing English. Blaine, nerd with a crush is actually really good at English. Kurt is sent to Blaine for tutoring, where one thing leads to another. A few weeks later, Kurt learns he is pregnant. MPREG. GKM fill.

~~~~~

Come Take My Hand Now by controlofwhatido

Post 4x14 AU where Blaine finds out he's pregnant (instead of Rachel).

~~~~~

Men, Babies and Other Disasters by TheWhiteOwl

Kurt, the 30-year-old successful fashion designer is desperate for a child. He visits a fertility clinic but he soon realizes that getting pregnant won’t be as easy as it first seemed. But than he bumps into Blaine, a cute and hot guy and it changes everything.A quick decision. Just one night with a stranger… Blaine doesn’t even have to about it. Too bad Blaine seems to be everywhere Kurt goes and it makes avoiding him a little bit complicated.

~~~~~

Ontás lýkos by Verseau_87

Back from New York and visiting his parent's during summer vacation, Kurt (literally) bumps into Blaine. Another werewolf like him. Their love is quick and easy, but it seems life is never that simple. Trying to enjoy their time together and merge their respective packs, they both must navigate being in love, over coming every obstacle along the way.

Note: Part 1 of Being Wolves

~~~~~

Three Times Blaine Doesn't Have Sex with Kurt, and the One Time He Does by ohmywhy

The one in which mpreg!Kurt and Blaine are just friends and shouldn’t be. BP!Kurt

MPREG BLAINE

Chances Verse by DreamingKate *

Kurt liked his new boyfriend but something was a little different about him.

~~~~~

The Odds by @gleeana *

Canon compliant with the show through the Klaine wedding, with the rather major twist that in this universe, men can become pregnant … and Kurt learns Blaine is pregnant soon after the wedding. A little too soon, given the circumstances.

This is a story about the power of love and family, and about the consequences of secrets.

~~~~~

Baby Mine (Be My Baby) by anythingbutplatonic

Summary: Just weeks after he confessed to cheating when Kurt left for New York, Blaine discovers he’s pregnant. There’s no doubt in his mind that the baby is Kurt’s, but there’s no way anyone can know. Distraught after the break-up and afraid of being judged if anyone finds out, he decides to hide his pregnancy….until he can’t anymore. AU, obviously.

~~~~~

Apple of My Eye by idoltina *

A fill for this GKM prompt. AU after The Break Up. Blaine finds out that he’s pregnant after Kurt breaks up with him (with Kurt’s child, no less). He tries telling Kurt about it, but Kurt refuses to talk to him. Blaine decides to finish his senior year at home and give the baby up for adoption. Only he doesn’t. He ends up keeping the baby – a daughter – and takes her to New York with him when he leaves for college. He raises her partially on his own with some help from his parents, and tries to juggle parenthood, school, and work. And everything works out okay for a little over two years – until he runs into Kurt.

~~~~~

At the End of the Road by slaysvamps

AU from 4x10 Glee, Actually. Weeks after leaving Kurt in New York Blaine finds himself in a situation he never would have expected. With Kurt moving on with his life and ignoring him completely, Blaine must find a way handle things on his own. Until he doesn’t.

~~~~~

What I Call Life by warblerslushie *

Kurt broke off the engagement and left Blaine. Three years later, Kurt’s at a strip club for his bachelor party and sees Blaine working. Blaine’s been working there and enduring uncomfortable glances and touches for a year to make sure that his son was properly cared for. MPREG. Based on a tumblr prompt from blangstpromptoftheday. 

~~~~~

And Baby Makes Three by anythingbutplatonic

Klaine AU: A few weeks after Mr Schuester’s almost-wedding and the events that followed, Blaine starts having symptoms. Symptoms that appear to be a lot like pregnancy. 

~~~~~

We’re In This Together Or Not At All. by zigzag18

Blaine Anderson’s life is about to be turned upside down. After a hook-up with head Cheerio Kurt Hummel, Blaine finds out he’s pregnant. He didn’t tell Kurt that he was a carrier, so how is he suppose to tell Kurt? How is he, a 17 year old high school senior suppose to take care of a baby? 

~~~~~

Apartment 143 by idoltina *

Six years into their marriage, Kurt and Blaine are starting to be established enough in their careers to want to settle down into a more permanent residence. When they happen upon a refurbished apartment in an old building at a price that’s a steal, they immediately snatch it up. They settle into their new home over the summer, and after a fairly intoxicated and intimate Halloween, they find themselves expecting their family to grow by one more. But as the pregnancy progresses, so does the level of paranormal activity in their home. It doesn’t take long for them to bring in paranormal investigators to figure out what inhabits their home, if they can get rid of it, and how to protect themselves and their unborn child from it – if they can. 

~~~~~

Spark Like Empty Lighters by atticrissfinch

It was supposed to just be a hook-up between student and teacher…and it was. But what will happen when Blaine reveals to Kurt that he’s pregnant with Kurt’s child? an mpreg!blaine au.

~~~~~

When We’re Older by warblerslushie *

Kurt and Blaine have been married for several years and Blaine’s been wanting to start a family, especially since they’re getting older. However, with their work schedules and the fact that Kurt’s just not ready for kids right now, things have been slow within the Anderson-Hummel household. But what will happen when the couple receives some unexpected news?

~~~~~

thought i could do this on my own by ShanleenKinnJaskey

Prince Kurt Hummel falls in love with Blaine Anderson, an orphan servant boy, and thankfully he returns Kurt’s affections. But what will happen when one night Blaine disappears, leaving only a letter behind that contains an unbelievable explanation? When, years later, Blaine appears with two sons in tow (one deadly ill), will Kurt finally learn the truth?

Note: Part 1 of the to be loved series

~~~~~

Don’t Stop Believing by Julesmonster

Blaine is trying hard to win Kurt back now that they’re both going to be in New York, but even if he does, life has a few surprises in store for them, and not all of them are good. Warnings: MPreg, Character Death (Not Kurt or Blaine).

~~~~~

Hold My Heart by universalromance

GKM Fill: Blaine is a carrier who is sold by his parents when they are in need of money. He is gifted to Kurt by his buyer in order to gain favour with newly elected Congressman Hummel. He is expecting to be mistreated the way he was always told but soon discovers that there is still good in some people.

Note: Part 1 of Treasure My Heart

~~~~~

Heart Of Glass by framby

At the end of his senior year, Blaine left Kurt and Ohio without explanation. When they are forced to work together Kurt just wants to get it over with as painlessly as possible. Little does he know that Blaine's secret will turn his life upside down.

~~~~~

Nobody Said It Was Easy by Julesmonster

Following “The Breakup” Kurt and Blaine must discover where their relationship is going and if it will survive even as they face new problems. MPreg. Slash of the Klaine variety. Major spoilers for 4.4.

All Over Again by warblerslushie

Kurt and Blaine have been happily married for close to two decades and have three beautiful children. Not long after their oldest goes off to California to start college, they find out some very surprising news; the kind of news that really shakes up the whole family, especially when you're at that age where you've just started to get settled and ready for an empty nest. MPREG.

#klaine fic rec #mpreg!Klaine

[edhaneyyy]

Hope Because Humanity Is Within Us

“Being human is given.But keeping our humanity is a choice.” – Ida Protuger

This quote simply showsor tells us that humanity is a choice.Meaning wenare human ourselves but living here in this world, humanity is hard to keep for some of us.

When we get asked, what is humanity? Answering this question is just as easy as a pie. Humanity is the good qualities a human could have. Humanity is our ability to have compassion, care, empathy and love others. Humanity is helping other wherever and whenever, it is being selfless. If humanity is a person, the best example is Mother Teresa. But, the real question is, is there any hope for humanity when some of the human beings keeps on ruining humanity in our world? Our deepest humanity, however, is rooted within the fragility of all of our lives. Unless we work together we are going to be unable to save lots of the earth. If we cannot see that our vulnerabilities, and not our masks of perfection are what bind us to one another, we are going to be left wondering what's wrong with us.

There is such a common scene in human history when the media community says that men have lost their trust in humanity. That's because most people these days are starting to be cruel to themselves and others. They hurt themselves and the people around them. A common problem was the many facts that made this "virus" bigger and affected the whole world. When we talk about humanity, we should think of it only about human life, not because humanity is about humanity, including all humanity on earth. It is also a terminology of the qualities that make us human. For example, the ability to love, be considerate, be creative, and not be a robot or an alien.

We have to keep humanity within us. Why? Because that is our only key to prevent chaos in our modern world. Without a little bit of humanity do you think we can live, sleep peacefully and have friends around us? No. I listed some acts that show humanity from the website Good Housekeeping . ( https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/inspirational-stories/news/gmp5124/random-acts-of-kindness/)

1. Florence Rescue Force - After Hurricane Florence caused devastating flooding in North Carolina this fall, kindhearted citizens like Amber Hersel jumped into action. The volunteer from the Civilian Crisis Response Team helped rescue 7-year-old Keiyana Cromartie and her family from their flooded home on September 14, 2018 in James City.

2. Donor Network - The decision made by Patricia Almonte (right) to donate the organs of her late 3-year-old daughter Veronica Garcia helped save three lives: Essence Walls (left), an 8-month-old baby, received her heart; a 2-year-old received her liver; and a 68-year-old woman received her kidneys.

3. Canine Heroes - A lucky dog got a ride from some unnamed helpers in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew two years ago. Photographer Sean Rayford caught these two men pushing a makeshift boat through the floodwaters in Lumberton, North Carolina.

4. Earthquake Heroes - Frida the rescue dog and her trainer Israel Arauz Salinas went viral for their life-saving efforts during the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that shook Mexico City in 2017. The 9-year-old Labrador has detected the bodies of 52 people during her career, and the duo recently received their own statue for their service to the Mexican navy.

5. Helping Hand - American Abbey D'Agostino and New Zealander Nikki Hamblin won a special Olympic commendation for their sportsmanship at the 2016 Rio Games. After Hamblin tripped in a 5,000-meter heat, and brought D'Agostino down with her, the American helped her competitor to her feet. Later on in the race, D'Agostino fell again as a result of her twisted leg, but Hamblin stayed by her side until the finish line.

6. Moments after posing for a fun photograph at a local beauty spot, brave teenager Cheng Changjiang was dead. Despite being unable to swim, Cheng, 18, waded into the lake to save the lives of three young children who had got into trouble in the water. But the brave act cost the teenager – branded a ‘hero’ by onlookers – his life. Cheng was enjoying the public holiday at the rural spot in Xinyang, at Henan province in central China, when tragedy struck.

7. ryclectic’ wrote: “My Buddy Witnessed an Act of Utter Kindness Today…While he was standing on the corner waiting for the crosswalk he saw this woman buy two meals at a street vender and go sit down beside this man and give him one of the meals. She proceeded to introduce herself and talk to him about his life and just shot the [breeze] with him. She wasn’t acting superior, she was his equal, she just wanted to talk to and express inclusion to a fellow human being.”

8. This is a picture of a chap called Tully holding a 46 year old, wheelchair bound man with severe mental handicaps. Tully picked him up so he could go on the hay ride with everyone else. 5 minutes into the ride the man got so excited that he peed all over himself and Tully. Tully sat there soaked in pee for the remainder of the 40 minute hay ride. As soon as it was over he changed the mans clothes before his own. If that doesn’t show character we don’t know what does.

9. I will not let you go. This woman spent 3 hours holding the horse’s head above the tide after it got stuck in the mud on a beach in Australia. The horse was later rescued, unharmed.

10. Strangers Leave her Money While She Gently Sleeps. “alexthegreat90″ wrote: “I took this picture this morning. Ever been somewhere and seen something that amazed you? I’m at the east side McDonald’s and this lady was sitting in front of me sleeping. She has everything she owns in a small backpack. Curled up with her blanket she sleeps not knowing what is going on around her. While she is sleeping everyone is getting their money out and putting it on the table so it’s there when she wakes up.”

These are only few of the acts that restored humanity. These acts showed us that no matter how cruel the world is. There are still people out there who shows kindness and selfless love without any hesitation despite any situation. So what are those things that could destroy our humanity? Stephen Hawking who is known for his work on black holes and gravitational singularities thinks that there are three things that ruin our humanity, but I will only cite two. He have this outspoken ideas about human civilization. Hawking suffers from a nerve cell disease just like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, which left him paralyzed and unable to talk without a voice synthesizer. But that hasn't stopped the University of Cambridge professor from making proclamations about the wide selection of dangers humanity faces -- including ourselves. He is part of a small group who voiced out their concerns about artificial intelligence.

First, according to Stephen Hawking, “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race," "The human failing I would most like to correct is aggression. It may have had survival advantage in caveman days, to get more food, territory or partner with whom to reproduce, but now it threatens to destroy us all," The Independent reported. I believe that Hawking here is telling us that AI could destroy us just like in the movie entitled Wall-e, we could see there that the AI are already controlling every move of the humans in the ship. They are dependent to the robot around them and don’t seem to care to anyone. There would be no care, love and empathy left.

Second, if AI won’t kill us, our own self might kill us. For example, a major nuclear war would likely end civilization, and could wipe out the human race, Hawking added. When asked which human quality he would most like to chose, he chose empathy , because "it brings us together in a peaceful, loving state.” Chaos would be everywhere without humanity.

In the current time, we ask ourselves sometimes, where is humanity? There are certain issues in our modern world that made us question ourselves. Despite those, we should look at the brighter side. There are still good people who we have mentioned above.

This year, our humanity is being tested. During this pandemic time we should remember our humanity. On the occasion of taking care of the elderly, and those who are sick and needy. This is what's happening in countless hospitals, clinics and medical aid units round the world, where truth heroes of this ordeal – the doctors, nurses and physicians – are risking their lives to avoid wasting others. This deeper humanity must spread to each street, every neighbourhood, every city and each country if we are to defeat the virus with our science and technology but also showing wisdom, compassion and humanity.

In the event that food and fun are what we were destined to be, there is one thing we should remember. Indeed, even creatures can do such exercises. In the event that God made us human, there must be an explanation behind it. No one but people can comprehend the importance of mankind, and it is humankind because of insight that truly gives the center substance to human presence. You needn't bother with a solid financial balance to add to helpful exercises. Paying your family help reasonably is humankind as well. You're prepared to pay a large number of dollars for your clinical test, yet with regards to paying your collaborator; You need to spare each penny. Compassionate exercises ought to never be embraced to pick up distinction or get a superficial point of interest. You can without much of a stretch accomplish popularity through the work you do. Lifting the weighty sack of an elderly person is humankind, helping an incapacitated individual to go across the road is mankind, helping your mom at work is humankind; truth be told, it is humankind to help whoever needs it. How would we express or show mankind? One approach to show our mankind helping poor people and the individuals who crippled. Additionally utilizing indicating counterfeit mankind to pick up distinction ought to never be one your choice. Did you experience finding a major measure of cash and when you return it, there's the incredible inclination that we can't clarify? Since on the event of indicating our humankind to other people, we have that believing that we can not get.

Humanity is significant in our daily lives. It teaches us to understand the problem and gives us ideas. It helps us understand others. Humanities students specialize in writing and critical reading. Humanity encourages us to think creatively. They teach us to explain why we are human and to ask questions about our world. Humanity produces informed and critical citizens. Democracy cannot flourish without humanity. We all need to assist one another. We humans are like that. We need to live by each other’s bliss – not by each other’s hopelessness. We don’t need to despise and loathe one another. Because that's not what humanity is.

Some may say, we are losing our humanity. No, we are not losing it. We could see it everywhere. It is within us. Humanity is lively and the light is sparkling profoundly within the hearts and souls of numerous individuals from all works of life. They are of all races, societies, social status and religions. It is individuals who see their commitments to the world as their employments and they continuously inquire what can l do to contribute to distant better;a much better; a higher;a stronger; an improved" a stronger world. It’s just that, humanity is covered by our selfishness, our hatred, all negative traits that prevents us from helping and doing good for someone. Never lose hope for we still have humanity stored in us.

https://www.humanitystyle.com/new-page-5

https://kindnessblog.com/2014/11/03/34-examples-of-heart-warming-humanity/

[philmunsey]

Our Sanctuary of Secrets

Shhhhhh. We all have secrets. For some of us, our secrets have us. Secrets are not just private tales we tell. Secrets have consequences, for good or the not so good. Listen to what Christ said about secrets in LUKE 12:2 “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops!”

You might be thinking, I don’t want anyone to hear my secrets. And when we read that verse you might be under the impression that God is a tattletale. You would be mistaken. That’s not the point. What IS the point - is that secrets whispered in our SANCTUARY are not compartmentalized in a separate isolated place. There isn’t a wall between our private secrets and what gets publicly shouted on the rooftop! The connection is real. The secret to our success IS our secrets! Let’s not be intimidated, but rather inspired that the pure and positive thoughts we meditate and give attention to will indeed manifest. So what is a secret? When we say, Our “Sanctuary of Secrets,”what do we mean? Well, a secret is our premeditated thoughts and images, it’s our inner dialogue that we record and listen to over and over again. Secrets are like seeds. Every thought and image is a seed that grows when nurtured and nourished. Like a seed that remains private underground - as the roots go down, the fruit comes up - be it good or bad! Secrets have consequences. This is why I try to pause before I THINK. You read right. By the time I speak - my secrets have already taken root. I must pay attention to my innermost thoughts. To think about what I’m thinking about. These are my secrets! Nothing done in secret remains secret, but will be revealed.

Years ago my wife Jeannie and I were on a diet. Each day we would account to one another what we had eaten. Both of us were losing a little weight everyday. But I was preaching a three night series of services in Los Angeles. As I would drive home each night I had to pass an “In and Out burger” restaurant. The first night I passed with but a pause. A selah moment. The second night I slowed down just enough to perhaps but smell the fresh double-patty, double-cheese,”secret-sauce” cheeseburger from the famous number #1 combo, which includes fresh cut fries from a whole potato straight into the fryer...Hmmmm. I knew if I stopped and gave in to the temptation I would have to be accountable and pay the consequences. It was weighty decision. The third night I decided it wouldn’t hurt to get off the exit and watch others enjoy what I knew I shouldn’t. I would just ease on down the road observing. Well, as I slowly drove by, I must have blacked out! The next thing I knew I was in line and being asked, “how can I help you?” “Uh!” I changed my voice and responded, “I’ll take a number one combo with a Diet Coke” I so enjoyed it! Guilt could not spoil my delight. Or at least until I finished! Then it hit me. How would I account for this secret-sin? Could I hide the evidence and pretend it never happened? As I pulled into the garage late that night, I decided to hide my sin. I took the evidence and not only did I throw it away, I stuffed the evidence deep into the garbage container. I brushed my teeth and crawled into bed. If Jeannie did not see me eat that cheeseburger did it mean it didn’t happen? If it’s a secret it’s not real right? What was I thinking? I wasn’t! The next morning when my wife and I got on the scale, of course, she was down in her weight, and me, well, I was up! I mumbled something and rationalLIED my way through that awkward moment. Later that day Jeannie was paying the bills when she discovered she had inadvertently threw away the wrong portion of the bill. She proceeded to go into the garage and dig through the garbage container to find it. Not only did she find the bill, she found my “In and Out” bag of evidence! Busted! Here’s my point. Just because what we think upon is in SECRET does not mean it has no consequences. Remember what Christ said, Our private secrets ultimately get shouted publicly.

But there’s yet another reason to soul-search our secrets. Secrets are not just our thoughts. The word SECRET in Hebrew, Greek and Latin can mean; “a place; “a dwelling,” “closet,” a “chamber” or “sanctuary.” Or that which is “set apart.” Listen to how Christ describes it in Matthew 6:6 “...But when you pray, go into your ROOM and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in SECRET. And your Father who sees in SECRET will reward you..”

Secrets are not just WHAT we think and meditate upon, but our secrets are also WHERE we think and meditate. Secrets reside and abide in our inner-chamber. Our Sanctuary of Secrets is a place. Not only do I want to keep my secrets pure and positive, but I also want to keep my sanctuary pure and positive. My inner sanctuary not only is a host to my secrets, but it is where I host the presence of God. A profound yet confounding scripture is found in the continuation of Christ’s words in Matthew 6: 22,23. It states, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is GOOD, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is BAD, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” This is speaking of our inner-eye. The eye of our heart, the conscience. If the light of our conscience is darkened then everything is darkened. Our inner eye determines how we receive and perceive everything and everybody. I love the story of the wise old man who was a gatekeeper of the city. Often he would be asked by visitors, “What kind of people live in this city?” He would answer with a question, “What kind of people are the people in the city you came from?” Some would say, “the people we’ve left behind are not good people. We are looking for better people to do life with.” “Oh” the wise man would answer, “Don’t come here. the people are the same!” Others would answer differently, “The people we left are wonderful! We hated to go, but we’re seeking better opportunities for our family” “Oh then,” he’d answer, “Come here, the people are the same!” You see, We don’t see people and circumstances the way they are, but the way we are. We don’t attract in life what we want, but we attract who we are! We are our secrets. This is why guarding our secrets is vital. I would dare say, managing Our Sanctuary of Secrets is the most important task we have in life. Especially our dark secrets. Just as we have our secret place where we have access to the Father, we can also unknowingly make a “secret place” for the enemy in our sanctuary. The scriptures teach that Satan has been “cast into utter darkness...” That means what is in darkness is within Satan’s territory of influence. Let’s Imagine a mean junkyard dog bound to a twenty foot chain. Though bound by that chain, if someone gets within twenty feet or even closer to that mean dog the dog will be able to attack. So it is with the devil. Though bound, and we know Christ has bound the devil, if by design or default we drift into darkness the enemy will be attracted and attack those areas we let abide in the dark.

My prayer is, Oh God, help me control my secrets. And especially help me not be trolled by dark secrets. From time to time it does me good to examine my sanctuary of secrets. Ezekiel warned in chapter 8, verse 12; Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures - [chamber; shrine] of his own idol [carved image]? They say, ‘The Lord doesn’t see us. The Lord has left [abandoned; forsaken] the land.”

What was happening to these elders?They were outwardly carrying out their religious duties, but inwardly, in their sanctuary of secrets, in darkness they worshipped idols. That sounds strange and pagan like. So what is an idol? An idol is something or someone that we allow to have power over our lives. Anything or anyone that rules over our thoughts, will, or emotion can become an idol. We can make “carved images” out of our past hurts and memories. Places of pain, angst and anger, judgement, prejudice and other dark images that we hide, and in doing so we set them apart for sacred secret worship! Do I have idols hidden in my sanctuary? The only way to erase the dark secrets is to face them. When we confront our dark secrets we shed light. Light then eradicates the darkness. Don’t be afraid to face your darkness. You might be pleasantly surprised that God does not condemn you, He wants to bring light and love to your darkness. King David wrote. “If I descend to HELL, God YOU are there!”

Don’t be intimated by dark shadows. You can’t go so low that God is not there to help you. Your darkest secret seeds and deeds cannot eclipse God’s mercy and Grace! Even your doubts cannot intimidate God! When we doubt God. When in those dark moments we secretly deny our beliefs or second guess our experiences. When we fear God is not real. Don’t be afraid to go there. There, God is near. The scriptures teach, “...if we confess our sins...if we walk in the light, as He is the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1;6,7)

As we confess our sins, and here’s what I believe it means; If I agree, if I say the same thing Christ says about my sins, specifically that I AM FORGIVEN, I AM THE RIGHTEOUSNESS of Christ, and that all my sins are forgiven; past, present and future, THEN in the light of that revelation I remain cleansed and in fellowship! God calls us to live in the light, and fellowship in His love. When God sees you, he sees everything good and wonderful about you. You can say confidently these words, “Jesus KNOWS me, this I LOVE.” The one who knows me best, loves me most!

I want to share something personal. It’s about a transformation that happened in my life with my wife. We are in our 42nd year of marriage. Someone once asked what’s it like being married to the same woman for 42 years? I responded, “I don’t know. I’ve been married to at least 7-8 different women. They all have the same name, Jeannie Munsey, and right now she’s the best version of herself! Our journey hasn’t always been easy. For instance, for years I harbored a self righteous anger in my sanctuary of secrets against her. Often Jeannie would talk to me about things I would say or do that bothered her. Usually a conversation would start like this, “Phil we need to talk!” “Oh boy, here we go!” I’d secretly mumble. Then she would proceed to share her heart and hurt. I would typically act like I was paying attention. Note; Silent and listen have the same exact letters, but mean something entirely different. Being silent means I shut my mouth and my heart. To listen means I open my heart before opening my mouth. I would often carry on an inner dialogue with myself in my sanctuary of secrets that would go something like this; “I NEVER confront you about what bothers me! You seem to always have a word or two about what I need to correct, but me, I never speak a word of complaint to you...” It was like I was writing these self-righteous checks of being the good guy and depositing them into our relationship account. I felt I was saving up equity to leverage against her at the opportune time. Then the day came when my secret got shouted out. Just as she was about to talk to me about something that needed to be addressed, I no longer was able to contain myself, I bursted out, “Have you ever paid attention to the fact that it’s always YOU commenting on your concerns about what I’m doing wrong? I rarely if EVER bring up my concerns and complaints!” (There. I told her!) But my check deposits were about to bounce big time! “Oh!” she said, “You don’t have to say anything, your actions and attitude speaks louder than your words!” Busted, again. Please know, your spouse will never deliberately say or do anything to hurt you. If you can’t believe that, their greatest gift to you is negated. Trust and respond truthfully.

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (Luke 6:45)

This scripture challenges me to examine my heart and what I’ve been storing up in my Sanctuary of Secrets!

One last illustration. Years ago, Joel Osteen was invited to be on a very popular prime time television talk show. Joel has always seen himself as a guest when he’s on “secular” television. He carries himself just like he’s an invited guest at someone’s home, even if it in millions of homes. His response to the questions are always humble and kind. But his kindness has not always been taken kindly. Some in the Christian community felt that on this particular night his answers were evasive. The attacks on him were unmerited and unmerciful. A month or so later he was asked to return. This time he took a little more time to articulate his response to a tough theological issue. He nailed it! Afterwards as we got in the car, he looked at me and said, “I think I did pretty good!” I said, “You most certainly did, it was powerful and anointed!” Later that night as I laid in bed, in my sanctuary of secrets, I began to reflect on Joel’s comment. I had never heard someone say something so positive and pure about themselves. Oh! In my 47 years of being in the ministry I had certainly heard bragging and arrogance, but what Joel said to me that night was neither. It came from a pure sincere place from his heart. It moved me and caused me to search my heart. I’ve always tried to be an encourager. It has come easy to give positive comments to others. But I would not, I could not compliment myself. To the contrary. I would cut myself down. I’d be so critical and demeaning to myself in my sanctuary of secrets. That night the Lord revealed to me that I was allowing the dark side, the light of my heart’s eye, to go dark. My sanctuary of secrets had formed a tainted and tilted skewed view of myself. I could not continue to attempt to have negative views about myself and yet still claim to have positive views about others. It was a lie. I was lying either to myself or to others. I thought I could use one set of lenses to view myself and another set of lenses to view others. James declares otherwise. “You can’t draw bitter and sweet water from the same well.” It was time to reconcile my secrets. To put light in my dark places and make peace with my secrets. I wanted to start believing the best in everything and in everyone - starting with me!

Today, let’s examine our secrets. I’ve taken the liberty to slightly adapt Philippians 4:8, “Finally, whatever SECRETS is true, whatever secrets is honorable, whatever secrets is just, whatever secrets is pure, whatever secrets is lovely, whatever secrets is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these SECRETS!”

I want to be pure in my heart. I want my sanctuary of secrets to be whole and holy. God, give me a pure and positive heart! May this be your prayer too!

Phil Munsey

[dailyaudiobible]

03/17/2020 DAB Transcript

Numbers 26:1-51, Luke 2:36-52, Psalms 60:1-12, Proverbs 11:15

Today is the 17th day of March, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian and what a joy it is to be here with you today as we come in and out of whatever is going on and just situate ourselves around the Global Campfire. And I…I just love that image, our…our faces in the firelight and we’re just intently listening to God's words speak into our lives in this little oasis that we have before reentering our day in the world outside that…that it can be crushing but we come here and we become strong and we center ourselves in God's word and we know that we’re not alone and that changes the atmosphere of the day. And, so, what a joy…what a joy to be here to take the next step forward in the Scriptures. And, so, let's do that. We’ll pick up where we left off yesterday. Numbers chapter 26 verses 1 through 51.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the gospel of Luke today there is a pretty huge contextual piece for us to understand as we continue our journey through the Gospels and walk alongside Jesus for the first months of this year. And, so, today we have this…well we are given the awareness that Jesus family is a devout family and that He is grown in body and Spirit, but they have an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover. And we’ve mentioned it before, that's a 90 mile walk one way. So, 180 miles on foot or cart. That's a pretty good-sized journey and the terrain of the journey isn’t the best either. So, we get these little clues, like this is part of the rhythm of Jesus life. He's accustomed to going to Jerusalem. It’s not a foreign place to him. So, it's not going to be a foreign place to Him later in His ministry. He knows what's up there. But the back story that's apparent in this story gives us a lot of clues about how Jesus was perceived. So, for starters when He was born and He was brought to the temple for the sacrifice according to the law of Moses, there were prophetic voices there, respected ones. An older woman who’d spent over 80 years worshipping God in the temple, she would've been known, she would've been respected. So, her words would've been heard by the common people coming in and out that that would've mattered. And the old man, Simeon, same thing. So, there's like this buzz around this child from the get-go. But now in today's story Jesus is grown to be 12 years old and they’re making their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover and He stays behind when his family leaves. And they would've traveled is…traveled as kind of caravans for safety and just community. It's a long ways. So, Mary and Joseph don't figure out Jesus missing until they've already gone one of the days that journey. Now they can’t find Jesus and they gotta take another day to get back and search for Him. And, so, they’re gonna be traveling back to Nazareth on their own. And they frantically search the holy city. And this is not like a little village. This is big city. You can only imagine…you can only imagine what that would feel like as a parent, but in the end they do find Jesus and Jesus is in the temple and Jesus is with the religious leaders. He’s with the scribes and the Pharisees. He’s with the priests and they are amazed at Him. That’s very fascinating because two decades later, they're all going to turn on Him and have Him killed. But let's not just think that Jesus appeared in a vacuum of the Galilee and did ministry and that part of the region among the common people, a place known for its zealotry. Today we see Jesus at 12 years old before the religious leaders and their amazed by Him. He's already on the radar. So, when He does get older and does begin His ministry, we see often the Scriptures telling us that religious leaders from Jerusalem take that 90-mile trip up to the Galilee to find out what's going on with this guy. And some of them would remember that this is that little kid that stayed back here to talk to us. So, it's…it's…it's interesting to kind of look into these stories and understand that there’s this back story to the way that Jesus came onto the scene and did His ministry.

Prayer:

Jesus, we thank You for that. We thank…because knowing You and having the benefit of the Scriptures to allow us to observe You and look at You as You did Your ministry on this earth giving us an example for what our lives cam and must look like, we are grateful. And anything that helps us to understand story better is helpful. So, we thank You for that and we invite Your Holy Spirit to plant the words that we’ve read today from the Scriptures into our hearts, minds and lives, that they may yield fruit for Your kingdom. And we ask this in the name of Jesus, our precious Savior. Amen.

Commentary:

Okay, so I don't know if you noticed or not but there's this nasty virus going around. And I started paying maybe closer attention to it as we were preparing to depart for the pilgrimage to Israel a few weeks ago. So, I remember landing on the big plane in London and boarding another big plane for Rome. And Italy had seven cases of this virus at the time. And then we moved through there to Tel Aviv and began our journey in like a week later. Italy was beginning to go into lockdown. And then we moved through our pilgrimage and just kind of counted the days and we were all feeling fine. We’re like, “we’re in the clear. This is fine” and we moved through our Israel pilgrimage and then got back home safely and lots of places, including Israel started to lockdown. And then things started to escalate some in the United States and now there's all kinds of measures to kind of keep us sequestered from each other, so we don't pass this around. This is working out pretty well for like people like my son Ezekiel who’s been back…we’ve been back from Israel for a couple weeks, he's been to school for two days because schools been closed and he can't practically turn television without hearing that the latest update. And I'm not one to usually comment on world or political or the…whether related or these kinds of events and there’s a couple reasons for that. The first reason would be who cares what I have to say about world events? Who am I? Why does it matter what I think? There are so many people who are so smart and have so much to say and there is no shortage of…of ways to find out what people are saying about things. And, so, I just, you know, why add to the noise? I mean, it’s not my…it’s not my role to comment on everything that's going on and add a Bible verse to it. Secondly, back when the Daily Audio Bible was just getting going and had kinda become this podcasting phenomenon I got a piece of advice that always, always, always has stuck with me and that is fly above it all with what you do. Let the Bible speak for itself. And I’ve tried really, really hard over all of the years to do that, to create this space that we are in right now. Like we are around this Global Campfire. This is a place that we go to every day and it…it's a space that we have created collectively but individually in our hearts, and it is beyond the reach of all the things that are going on around us. It's a place where we just come and exhale and allow God's word to wash into our lives and we leave this place refreshed and able. At least that is the intention. And, so, you know, I thought this morning about 15 years, this, seven days a week, when hasn't there been some sort of crisis somewhere? When hasn't there been some sort of election? When hasn't there been some sort of political maneuvering? When hasn't there been things to fight about, or debate about? When have there not been things to be afraid of? I mean everything from a previous scares about infectious diseases to the rise of ISIS, we’ve moved through all these things together day by day by day. So, I wouldn't normally have any words about coronavirus. It’s just that at this point it's affecting the world and this is an opportune time for us to practice what we've been exploring all year long, eyes to see, ears to hear, because at this point this virus is causing all of our governments to in one way or another invite us to isolate ourselves so that this can go away, which is causing a ripple effect of disruption in small or large ways, and it begins…like you can feel the tension of it, the unknown of it. Like for most of us we’re like…we don't understand. There’s this is very very big reaction. All this news is a very very big thing that…and I feel fine, but we also see a little fraying things in society like, you don't…a run on the grocery store to get cases of toilet paper. And if we have eyes to see and ears to hear we can see the sobering reality of how fragile all of our societies, and even we ourselves really are and how much we actually are in this together whether we like it or not. And what I’d like to say is, as we move through the Bible and many of us here have moved through it several times, what we see is that the Bible is full of stories of disruption, whether created by man or whether it was just a thing that happened. It's full of the stories of disruption and what people do with it? And what the Bible tells us is that at every crossroads, wisdom is there at every turning point. Wisdom is there. So, I don't have any advice on whether or not you should have several cases of paper towel. I don't have any advice on how to kill the virus, or how long we should stay away from each other or what practices we can use to avoid these things. There is plenty of really good advice out there for these things. But what I would like to point out, at least spiritually is this is disruptive, whether it's in a small way or whether it's in a big way. This is disruptive. Normally, our course of action in times of disruption is to try to bulldoze it away. Make it go away as quick as possible so that we can return to the status quo. And what I want to suggest here is that we don't do that. That we embrace the disruption and invite wisdom, invite the Holy Spirit to come into this disruption because it's a time, it’s an opportunity all over the world to read think some the things. And man, we are in this season called Lent. What…what…I was gonna asay what better time…there is no good time for infectious disease to be racing around the world…and yet, because this is happening, because it is disrupting things and we’re all shaken in some way, this is an opportune time to invite God into it. What needs to change? Not just to make this go away. What needs to change within us that we have this opportunity to see now because we've got a glimpse of our fragility? What needs to change so that we might live healthy in body, in mind, in spirit. I hate disruption in life in general always. It's…I never welcome it. Who does? But I've learned over these years, God is there in those disruptions. He is there when we get shaken loose of something and He uses these times to right our course. So, like I said a number of times this isn’t normally what I would talk about but I see the disruption and I see it happening globally and if we would awaken, if we would revive, if we would have eyes to see then we will see the kingdom and we will see that God is inviting us forward through this and that this disruption is an opportunity for some things to get shifted, to get rearranged, to be re-prioritized before it all goes away because when it does go all away we’ll forget that it even happened. And yet, this is an opportunity to invite God.

Prayer:

Father, even though we just prayed, we’re coming to You again about this and we do intercede. We do intercede. Lord have mercy on the earth, have mercy on the people of the earth, have mercy on Your children. And yet, we acknowledge that we have a preconceived notion about what that's supposed to look like. And what we’re doing here is embracing the disruption that is happening, inviting Your Holy Spirit into our lives. What are You saying through this? Now that things, the status quo has been disrupted, what are You saying? How do You want to move us around? How You want to shape us in this? Infection…infectious disease can certainly spread from one person to another, but so can Your kingdom. Show us how to infect the world with light and life and good news and healing and hope and courage. And in this time of disruption may it spread like wildfire to all the ends of the earth, to all the lives that are affected either directly or indirectly. Show us how to be light in the darkness, even as You continue to transform us from within. This is our prayer God. Make us aware of Your Holy Spirit's movements in the world and in our lives and families. Come Jesus we pray. Nothing is off limits to You. We are open. Change us through this we pray in Your mighty name. Amen.

Song:

Life is Beautiful - The Afters

Through the window I see you waiting You are smiling 'Cause I'm coming Your eyes are a story An ocean of memories Pictures of faces and places

And all of the things That make us feel like we have it all All of the times That make us realize We have it all We have it all

Life is beautiful Life is beautiful

Living and dying Laughing or crying If we have the whole world or have nothing I know there are long nights

But we'll make it With every sunrise comes a new light And all of the things That make us feel like we have it all

All of the times That make us realize We have it all We have it all

Life is beautiful Life is beautiful Life is beautiful

A father's love A wedding dance New Year's dreams A toast with friends A soldier coming home from war The faith, the hope of so much more

A brand new life, a mother's prayer Shooting stars, ocean air A lover's kiss, and hard goodbyes Fireworks, Christmas lights

These are things that make us feel alive These are the times that make us realize Life is beautiful Life is beautiful

These are things that make us feel alive

Life is beautiful

These are the times that make us realize

[haikumomentsandinspiration]

#healthcarevacation, Part III

My last update was on August 25, 2018. So much has happened since then, so there will be at least two more parts to this documentation. If you missed earlier updates, you can read Part I here and Part II here. 

First of all, I did come up with a tattoo idea (see my last update) and got one last summer. I had had a challenging spring term in the 2018-2019 school year, and needed to remind myself who I am and what I’m about. So I went to my tattoo artist and asked her to design ”a badass mermaid” for me. A siren that’s feminine and strong (not a skinny blonde mermaid, please!), a siren who looks like she is ready to kick some ass if need be—soft, with hard edges.

And I got just that, along with a tattoo on the side of my belly of a fertility symbol from traditional Turkish kilim patterns.

But let me back up.

After August 2018, after a ton of research, we decided to go with donor egg IVF in Spain. Our patient coordinator at the clinic we chose was lovely and super communicative. She was available via WhatsApp anytime I had a question or anxiety or both, and made sure I knew what the next steps would be and when. I felt well cared for.

During my winter break, I flew to Spain soon before our donor’s egg retrieval to start the treatment. I flew into Barcelona to give myself some time in my favorite city before flying to Valencia. I had a cold right before my trip, and in Barcelona, I started feeling like my cold may in fact be a sinus infection. I was miserable. I managed to go outside, get some fresh ginger, some lemon ginger tea, cough drops, and congestion meds. I needed to get better...STAT.

Two days later, on the day I was to fly to Valencia in the evening and meet Gene at the airport there, I woke up to the news Gene couldn’t fly out to join me that day because his passport wasn’t good for at least 6 months. (Being Turkish, I wondered if someone had “cast the evil eye” on us.) Eventually, Gene was able to miraculously take care of all the paperwork, get an emergency passport renewal, and catch the same exact flight to VLC 24 hours later.

The day after G’s arrival, we took a bus to Gandía for our first appointment at Irema clinic. My uterine lining was still a bit too thin, so they upped my meds, but told me not to worry since I still had a week before the scheduled transfer day. That evening, Gene and I flew to Barcelona to boost morale before the transfer. I was feeling slightly better, but Gene ended up catching my cold. Sigh. Things were just not going as smoothly as I had hoped.

A week later, we headed back to Valencia and then to Irema clinic for my second scan. My lining was still too thin, but other than its thickness, it was looking exactly as it should. They doubled my estrogen dose and postponed my transfer date. I went to the market the next day and shopped for food with a focus on thickening my lining: nuts, avocados, olives, apricots, sardines, chicken broth…My third scan, on December 31, showed my lining was almost there (7.7 mm, with the goal being at least 8 mm thick, so we set the transfer date for January 7. Things were looking up, except I got sick with another cold while still not 100% over the first one, and spent New Year’s Day sick in bed.

Gene left for SF two days later. That he had to go back before transfer day was hard for me. I sent him updates via WhatsApp along the way and tried to stay connected as much as possible (this was a major challenge for me and really got me down). I found an acupuncturist of zero reputation (someone working from home and with no reviews anywhere, which was not unusual in Valencia), but who was very sweet and kind and seemed to know what he was doing, and started seeing him to get my body as ready as possible for the transfer. We had three good quality embryos from our donor, and after much discussion and research, we decided to transfer just one this time, and save two for later for a second attempt or for a sibling later on.

The day before my transfer day, I walked about an hour to the beach, prayed, meditated, and communed with the sea, wishing for a positive outcome the next day. The next day, I found out the embryo we were going to transfer was classified as an A-quality embryo, and my lining was just fine. Transfer was quick and painless, with an all-women team. I went to get fertility acupuncture next to seal the deal, and the next morning, I flew back to San Francisco hopeful, ready for this to finally work.

It didn’t.

But it wasn’t even that simple. The first blood test, my levels came back really low: technically pregnant, but disconcerting if I were indeed pregnant. I was to go back 48 hours later to see if my levels doubled as they were supposed to; we held onto the sliver of hope. But no. Negative. I couldn’t feel the sadness at first — Gene had just started a new job that day after a long stretch of unemployment, so we were celebrating and grateful. Then, a couple of days later, the emotions hit. I felt distant, quiet, impatient...and in need of a new tattoo.

And that’s how the badass mermaid/fertility design tattoos were born.

Fast forward to the summer. After a brief visit to Israel for my grandmother’s 90th birthday, and a week in Istanbul next, I flew back to visit Irema clinic in Spain for the transfer of remaining embryos.

In the meantime, our awesome patient coordinator Lauren had quit her job (some internal drama, which made it sound like she made the absolute right choice). I only found out when I contacted her in preparation for the summer’s transfer to find out what our next steps should be, and had someone named Sergio respond to my text instead of Lauren. He was terrible at communication and not half as knowledgeable as Lauren. It was a very frustrating period, but we had no choice since we still had embryos at the clinic.

July 3, 2019: transfer day! We had decided to transfer both of the remaining embryos this time. We really wanted twins, and if only one took, that was fine, too. We’d figure out what to do about a sibling later. I wasn’t sick this time. I had been upgraded to business class last minute for no apparent reason on my flight over. My lining was where it was supposed to be from the start, and we had two embryos this time. Everything was going smoothly. My sister Rina joined me at the end of my stay in Valencia to help me with my bags, and we went to Barcelona together for my two week wait. All was well; we were joyful and filled with hope.

Because the transfer day happened earlier than I expected compared to our last experience, I had more days in Spain post-transfer than I had anticipated. This meant that I would still be in Spain when I got my blood work results back. I decided I would not delay the wait. I had my blood test done, then went to the beach with Rina. I didn’t swim, just in case I was positive and had to avoid getting an infection. I told G to let me know when he got home from work so I could look at the test result with him on the phone and we could get the news together.

Finally, close to 2 am in Barcelona, with G on the phone, I finally took a look.

Negative.

It was an awful Whatsapp chat. This, we had been convinced, would be the successful one, and it wasn’t. We just sat there, each in our feelings, not sharing them. I felt devastated and alone. Hurt. Mad. Heartbroken. Isolated.

Hours later, when Rina woke up on the morning of her flight back to Istanbul, I told her the news through tears. She said she didn’t want to leave me behind like this; I said I would be fine, and that there wasn’t anything she or anyone could do. I just needed to grieve, and her being there with me or not wouldn’t change anything. Besides, why pay extra money to hang out longer with a depressed sister who doesn’t feel like doing anything except staying in bed crying? Rina went back to her room, made a phone call, and came back to tell me she was staying three more days and that was that. She left to give me some space and to get herself some coffee, and returned a little while later with a bubble wand for me (I am about to cry just thinking about it now.) I got up, blew some bubbles from the balcony of my room towards passersby below. Bubbles have always made me smile. And to my surprise, even under these circumstances they still did.

I got my period a few days later—a few days after Rina had returned to Istanbul and a few days before my own trip back home. That week after the test results and before my flight back to SF, back to Gene was the longest week ever. I tried to make the most of it by finally enjoying all the foods (including ice cream) and alcohol I had been denying myself in Barcelona due to my fertility-friendly diet.

And then, back home, it felt like the longest time ever until I stopped grieving. What finally helped me find a sense of inner calm was to start researching next steps. I started researching clinics in Spain all over again, making phone calls, having Skype chats at all hours of the night (due to the 9-hour time difference), exchanging numerous emails with a number of clinics and their former patients…

Eventually, after I did all that research and laid out everything on a spread sheet, we settled on a clinic in Barcelona and decided to gamble on their birth guarantee/shared risk program. What that means: instead of paying for one cycle (about $9K), you pay a flat fee (about $20K), which gets you three cycles with three different donors and a healthy baby at the end of those, OR all your money back. So the clinic is taking a risk in that they could lose $20K if you don’t have a successful birth by the end. And you take a risk by paying $20K instead of $9K because if the first cycle works, that’s $11K down the drain. We decided it was worth it since I’d had so many failed cycles, including two donor egg transfers thus far. And we figured the clinic would be taking especially good care of us because it would be in their best interest for us to have a successful cycle as soon as possible. Next challenge: figure out how to finance all this. After more research, more emails and more chats with people in various Facebook groups, we settled on a plan and decided to go for it.

December cycles hadn’t been kind to me. I’d had a December cycle with my own eggs in Turkey a few years back, which we had to cancel when my body just didn’t respond to the fertility meds. Our first donor egg transfer in Spain had also failed and was the one cycle when my lining took its time getting to the minimal acceptable thickness for the embryo transfer. Knowing cold weather is not my body’s friend, I was hesitant to start the new cycle with a new clinic in December, but I was also not getting any younger, so there was no time to waste. It was back to Barcelona in December 2019, and this time, Barcelona was the location of the clinic and our only destination, not a short trip between clinic visits in another visit. Everything would be much simpler.

Clarity sure felt good, and knowing what our plan was for up to three cycles (which could span the period of the next two years) was a huge relief to me. I felt so much lighter. I felt hopeful and confident again.

December 2019-January 2020.

Barcelona.

Let’s do this.

To be continued.

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

Carly: Demi Lovato fucking hates me. I’m fucking done and so do my other mutuals. Fuck this. Fuck everything. Fuck life. I’m done with this shit.

Claudia: What’s wrong

Carly: I started this fucking hashtag. The thing is I was supporting her. The Lovatics I asked to join were supporting and defending her. I’m just fucking done with every goddamn thing in my shitty life. I guess this is what I get for trying to support her and send her love. Whatever.

Screenshot: I’m extremely frustrated, I accepted a free trip to Israel in exchange for a few posts. No one told me there would be anything wrong with going or that I could possible be offending anyone. With that being said, I’m sorry if I’ve hurt or offended anyone, that was not my intention. Sometimes people present you with opportunities and no one tells you the potential backlash you could face in return. This was meant to be a spiritual experience for me, NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT and now I realize it hurt people and for that I’m sorry. Sorry I’m not more educated, and sorry for thinking this trip was just a spiritual experience. Going against all advice right now and apologizing because it feels right to me and I’d rather get in trouble for being authentic to myself, that staying quiet to please other people. I love my fans, all of them, from all over.

POST: Demi doesn’t deserve this kind of backlash. #weloveyoudemi

ddlovato: Or how about y’all stop having to make hashtags saying you love me every time you realize your words affect me?

Carly: I’m the one who started the hashtag because I fucking love you. I’m not the one who hurt your feelings and the Lovatics who I fucking asked to join were defending you. So I’m fucking sorry and won’t do it again.

Carly: Forgive me for standing up for you then and trying to show you support. I guess I’m done then.

~.O.~

If you have to ask me why I hate this woman, here’s another example. Let’s ignore the invalidating of other queer people simply because she never experienced homophobia from a certain person. Let’s ignore her siding with a genocide-supporting asshole. Let’s ignore her body-shaming of other women because of her own insecurities. Let’s ignore the myriad of other issues and just use this example.

Carly is a Twitter mutual of mine. She loves Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato equally. However every time Demi does something rude af or wrong, she’s at the forefront defending her no matter what the infraction is. To every fandom on stan twitter. To an annoying degree because I hate Demi as a person and don’t want to hear about her. But Carly is a nice person so I just shut up and say nothing whenever I see her Demi posts.

Recently Demi has been kissing Israel’s ass about how perfect they are essentially and how cleansing and calm the country seems during her trip there. A good portion of her fans were very quick to call out how not perfect they are and explain what’s going on with Palestine. They basically just asked for her to be more considerate of other people and what countries that aren’t America, are going through. Now the rest of stan Twitter has not been as kind with her on this matter. Most calling her very terrible names that shouldn’t be repeated even by me who hates her.

But her own fans have been very calm and defensive of her. And so comes that Insta Story and then the rude ass remark on that Insta post.

And now Carly is heartbroken on Twitter and saying some very concerning things that should be monitored closely.

Demi’s own fans are calling her out for her overreaction to a simple post telling her that her fans love her even if she makes mistakes. I don’t care if she’s feeling defensive, she could have simply ignored the post if she didn’t like it. She didn’t need to attack the people behind the hashtag. The person running that account and Carly are now feeling horrible as a result. Add on the fact that she’s been replying to other fans in equally terrible ways and blaming them for the fact that she’s going offline for a time.

dmetriaspickle: bb, we all feel sorry you’re feeling so bad, we just meant to make you see whatever was going on there, it was not our intention to make you feel bad about this, we all love you and just want you to be happy.

ddlovato: Oh don’t worry, you guys made me feel terrible about it, and prob qwill continue to do so. I’ll be hibernating

So I have another reason to hate her. Not just how rude she was to her own fans but because of how she loves her double standards. I can think of so many times where she criticized other celebrities for not being ‘educated enough’ on various topics and where she publicly dragged them for it, but when she’s in that same boat it’s a Poor Me, I Didn’t Know, Stop Being Mean To Me.

No. Her fans have been going to bat for her ungrateful ass all over stan Twitter. They tried educating her while tearing down anyone insulting her. I’ve seen nothing but them being supportive left, right, & center and this is how she treats them?

1.) Being a fan of someone doesn’t meant you can’t criticize questionable actions of theirs.

2.) Being a fan of someone doesn’t mean you can’t be offended by questionable actions of theirs.

3.) Anyone trying to tell you otherwise is a problem.

The fact that she did the ‘you caused this and will probably continue doing it so it’s you’re fault what happens from now on’ is wrong af. That’s the most concerning thing imo. That kind of manipulation tactic is a red flag. And now all these fans who were honestly concerned/offended by the things she was saying and doing unawares, are made to feel like if she has another breakdown, it’s gonna be their fault. Because when Demi gets in too big for her britches on social media, she ‘takes a break’. Everyone knows it.

It’s all about how their words affect her, but she won’t take account of how her words affect them. Because whether people want to admit it or not, Demi has the most power in this situation. She is the famous, wealthy, pop singer. She’s got some decent numbers in various ways on her side. And fact is, the fans who sided with her and thought the Palestinian fans were overreacting, are now attacking other Lovatics on her behalf because of her comments.

And her fans weren’t dragging her! Stan Twitter was collectively at the helm of this bs and the Lovatics were on the defense. Demi is taking her anger out on the wrong people and I hate it.

#i fucking hate this woman #you don't get to hide behind mental illness over and over again when you keep doing the same shit #mental illness isn't an excuse to be shitty to people

[jewish-privilege]

...[John] Cusack defended his tweet, arguing that “a bot got me” and that he thought he “was endorsing a pro-Palestinian justice retweet.” But in screenshots compiled by Yashar Ali, the actor had defended the tweet initially while noting, “shouldn’t have retweeted.” He had subsequently tweeted defenses of the tweet, arguing that “you think Israel isn’t committing atrocities.”

Later he sought to mollify the criticism by claiming it was a “careless dumb thing to retweet”... Cusack claims that he’s been “digging in deeply to the complexities of the history of antisemitism and fascism for years” and that he has been antifascist for 35 years.” He appeared to argue that the use of the Star of David "even if it depicts the state of Israel committing human rights violations” is antisemitic and antisemitism has no place. He said he was sorry to Palestinian friends. “I know the star itself is deeply meaningful to Jews.” ...Cusack’s tweet is similar to a long list of similar racist antisemitic incidents, from the New York Times posting a cartoon of a dog with a Star of David, to Congressional candidate Valerie Plame who once retweeted an article claiming “American Jews are driving America’s Wars.” Or there is the incident of Oberlin professor who pasted numerous anti-semitic comments on her Facebook page, one claiming the Rothschilds were behind AIDs. In each instance the excuse is someone made a mistake, was just being “dumb” or quickly tweeting, they didn’t “notice” the anti-semitism. Which is a more reasonable explanation; that large numbers of people hold put up racist posts and say racist things and it’s all a mistake, or that large numbers of people in the US and the West in general are routinely anti-Jewish because it is considered a norm in their milieu? You think that a member of the DC city council claims the Rothschilds control the weather and an academic at a prestigious college like Oberlin think the Rothschilds caused AIDs, and it’s just a coincidence? These are not coincidences. We know they are not because no other group in America or the West is subjected to such systematic, daily abuse from well-known sources on social media, as Jews. No one thinks the Jackson family controls the weather, or that wealthy Buddhists created AIDs, no one retweets memes constantly using Buddhist or Hindu symbols with quotes about “who you’re not allowed to criticize.” It’s not about the Star of David also being on the Israeli flag and that is why people “make mistakes” because they can’t tell the difference. If that were true then we’d be more likely to see the Islamic crescent in numerous racist memes being put up by these same “anti-fascists” as we see the Star of David. But we don’t. The Cusacks of the world, the Plames, and others, they don’t ever tweet other religious symbols or claim that “Muslims run America’s wars.” The West’s shame is that just decades after the Holocaust, racism against Jews, which everyone should be educated about and know about, is used “by mistake.” No one is racist by mistake. They are racist either because they are subconsciously racist or because they are overtly racist. People don’t tweet blackface images “by mistake.” They do it because they either are racist or don’t care about racism. There is no other reason. No one draws a cartoon with a Star of David “by mistake.” You have to consciously insert the symbol, just like you’d put a cross on the dog’s neck instead of it, if one wanted the dog to represent Christians and not Jews. But how many dogs with crosses appeared in New York Times cartoons? Someone has to add the “follow the money” to the tweet, and that is when the racism is clear.

The thing about antisemitism in America is that ostensibly we have a scandal like this every month almost. In February US member of Congress Ilhan Omar was criticized for adding “it’s all about the Benjamins.” In April the NYT ran the anti-semitic cartoon. How can people still not recognize and be educated about racist antisemism? It’s like if we had a new black face scandal every month. The fact is that people consciously choose to ignore the importance of being anti-racist when it comes to Jews. Jews are the only group singled out again and again and again by politicians, actors, the largest newspapers. No other minority group receives such constant hatred with such a low level of expectation that the offender will learn and stop doing it. Hiding behind words like “mistakes” is a way to excuse it. Hiding behind “it was stupid” or “I messed up,” reminds us of kids who make “mistakes.” Racism isn’t a mistake. Racism is a worldview. Racism is how people think, it’s a poison in the mind. Kenan Malik at The Guardian complained that the NYT stopped running cartoons after the incident, claiming it would “lead to a world where we say nothing at all.” He claimed that “we all make mistakes.” He also writes that the cartoon was “widely condemned as antisemitic.” This is way not to acknowledge that it was antisemitic. These are the Orwellian words used to sidestep the need to stop racism. Imagine saying of the KKK burning a cross that it was “widely condemned as racist.” Sorry, say that again. The KKK lynching was “widely condemned as racist.” Ummm, was it racist or not? By saying “widely condemned” is a way to not have to take ownership of the incident and make a decision. Using the term “mistake” implies that the racism is, well, a mistake. ...For years antisemitism was considered normal. When people say they don’t “see” racism it is because they have ignored it for too long. Western societies have been better at seeing racism against black people for instance. It’s a long learning curve. But how did a civilization that put people into gas chambers for being Jewish and forced them to wear Stars of David before mass murdering them, suddenly not notice the Star of David after? One million Jewish children were murdered in the Shoah. You’re telling me that 1 million Jewish children could be systematically murdered by the German Nazis in a crime that has become the most common cultural reference in most western countries, and that somehow the Star of David they were sent to their deaths in doesn’t automatically leap out when you see it and make you think twice about putting it on cartoon dogs or on memes? This is a lie, not a mistake. No one ever tweets or draws a Star of David in any western country without knowing exactly what they are doing. They would be as likely to do so as to draw a swastika and then pretend it was just a mistake. When you tweet a Star of David you know you’re symbolizing Jews. So if you tweet it in a positive way then you are being positive about Jews, if you have a Star of David hand crushing people, you know exactly what you are doing. When people claim they don’t “see” antisemitism, or that it’s a “mistake” it is because their society has conditioned them in whatever milieu they live in to not care about Jews. Many of these self-styled “antifascists” or “progressives” care deeply about other minority groups. There is one group they don’t include in their united front against racism. Jews. Here’s how people can stop themselves from being racist anti-Semites. Stop tweeting anything with a Star of David that is a negative tweet. Just stop. Just like you don’t post photos of blackface, you can stop using the Star of David to frame things you dislike. So, you don’t like Israel. You should ask yourself first why, out of 200 countries, you obsessively hate only one that happens to be Jewish? But ok, let’s say you honestly just oppose Israel. Here’s a thought: Write the word “Israel” instead of a Star of David. Educated, wealthy people who are professors, city councilmen, congresswomen, actors, can figure this out. There is no excuse.

#long post

[melrondssafespace-blog]

How do I start this?

Fark me!

What a world we live in. Inspired by Jordo to get back into my writing, I have created this blog... or at least re-purposed it from it’s prior job of being a blog for my teaching. What larks!

13 years since I wrote my first online blog, and with speech being stifled, I feel it’s time to let it all out again.

I live in Vietnam. My first blog was from the Middle East - my adventures in Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Many years later, and many countries later, I find myself in balmy Saigon, packing up my (shared) apartment to relocate back up to misty (a kinder word than ‘polluted’) Hanoi. Hanoi is not without its charms - mature trees, lakes dotted around the city like potholes,  cafes housed in old colonial houses, people on their way to work stopping for a quick cup o’joe perched on squat plastic chairs on the sidewalk, women in conical hats selling freshly-baked baguettes, oh.... and motorcyclists whose apparent ambition is to obliterate as many pedestrians as possible in a single day.

Anyway, I digress.

It’s 2019. Donald Trump is the President of the United States. This appears to be somewhat distressing for some people, who bring it up at intervals without prior warning at the most unrelated times. Your coffee is too bitter? Better scream about Trump! You stubbed your toe? Again, Trump! Trump is Hitler! Missed out on a better flight price? Did you know Trump wants to steal the babies of all ‘undocumented citizens’ (that’s “illegals” to you and I) and roast them over an open flame? You think that sounds unlikely? I READ IT IN THE NEW YORK TIMES!!!! 

I would say ‘of course, that’s an exaggeration,’ but really... is it?

I would go off on a deep philosophical rant about the current globalized world, the ills of social media, and the lack of personal responsibility... However, I think it can all be summed up by the term - ‘HATE SPEECH’

I used capitals because generally this is the tone that is adopted when anyone utters this odious terminology.

And, dear future Mel, what is hate speech, pray tell?

Ahhh... now let me tell you...

Hate speech is generally anything said that an overly sensitive man-child (or woman-child, I don’t discriminate, bigot!) deems to be against what they believe. This generally includes any criticisms of lefty-causes:

Islam - this is 100% immune from criticism. You want to bring up FGM (female genital mutilation) - did you know the Christians killed some people during the Crusades! SO much worse than anything a follower of Islam has ever done. Women wearing the burka actually do so because they are so elevated in their status within Islam! (indeed donning a hijab has become a favoured way to virtue-signal among the chattering classes, and a way to wear your compassion and tolerance on your sleeve). Don’t think about associating a terror attack (generally when a mohammedan shouts “alluha akbar” and stabs or bombs a sh*t-tonne of infidels) with Islam, you islamophobe! The man was a ‘lone wolf’ or had ‘mental health issues’ (that’s a pretty roundabout way to criticise islam, if you ask me). Don’t think about raising concerns over how poorly Islamic communities generally assimilate into Judeo-Christian culture. The onus is not on them to assimilate, it’s on you, the person who follows the native culture!

So, while the places of which ‘cause’ holds the most power changes with quite frequency, generally Islam is near the top - something to do with associating the religion with brown people, and thus having lower expectations of brown people, so not holding them or their religion accountable whenever something abhorrent takes place...

Fighting it’s place to the top of the victim pile last year was the transgenders! Remember ‘trannies’ from yesteryear? Can’t say that now! Someone who is born male, is now just ‘assigned’ male at birth, and can become female at any point, and is just as female as someone born with all the female body parts.

Confused?

You don’t know the half of it. What would have been mocked as utter lunacy just a few short years ago is now influencing a number of anti-hate speech laws. In Canada, a MAN (F*ck you with your censorship) called Jessica Yaniv has made a habit of visiting various spas, requesting a bikini wax (yes, he does indeed have a penis), and then suing the spa when the female (mainly immigrant) staff refuse to do so (disgust aside, it is a completely different procedure than waxing a female’s genitals, so they would lack the training). Never fear, however, because Taylor Swift is pushing for an Equality Act in the US, which would see similar scenarios no doubt take place.

I don’t know if I need a disclaimer to note that contrary to pro-tranny activists beliefs, I do care about the welfare of trannies - I just don’t think encouraging their fantasy to be helpful, and perhaps psychiatric help would be of greater benefit. Perhaps there’s a reason (other than the supposed lack of acceptance) behind the post-op high suicide rates.

Every time I look to the UK and shake my head as yet another person is arrested over something they wrote on twitter, I look back at the sheer derangement of the United States, and I genuinely don’t know which is worse. Perhaps the Brits are just more meek and less vocal.

On top of the transgender debate, are gay activists finding new ways to claim they’re not treated equally (damn you biology!), and further race-relation break-down. While there is a passionate group of conservative blacks making an impact in the US, sadly the majority have become even more bitter towards whites. This wasn’t helped by eight years of a black (technically he’s mixed race) president stoking the flames of division.

Alright, I feel like I got some of that off of my chest. Actually, I’m supposed to be studying. 

Will rant more again soon. Toodles!

[twdmusicboxmystery]

9x13: TTD Clues

Okay, so I said yesterday that TTD yielded some good stuff, and it did. This won’t be terribly long, but it’s very exciting.

We often get interesting details from the quiz questions because tptb often put questions in that emphasize details they want us to know, that we don’t necessarily pick up simply from watching the episode. That was definitely true of this past week.

One quiz question asked what was NOT in Connie’s emergency stash of supplies in the building they went into. The answer was flashlights. Of course lights and flashlights = Beth. We even had her majorly associated with a flashlight in Still. While there are a lot of parallels between her and Connie, there are also a few anti-parallels, so I’m kinda thinking no flashlights = no Beth.

The second question was better, though. It was merely some dialogue the Highwaymen used when they came to rescue Tara’s group, so that wasn’t anything huge. But after that, there was a quote from tptb saying that when they cast the leader of the Highwaymen, they were looking for a “pirate Santa Clause whose eyes are dangerous.”

That’s REALLY jumping out at us for a few reasons. First, because it’s kind of an odd description for this actor. Yeah, he’s got a beard, but I don’t think many people look at him and think Santa Clause. They might if his beard was white, but it’s not. Plenty of men on TWD have had full beards (Rick anyone?) and with the exception of Hershel, who specifically did have a white beard, none of them were really thought of as Santa Clause types.

But there’s another reason that’s leaping out at us. Do you now what it is yet? Remember Daryl’s “I Nevers” in Still. Most of them have since come true in some way on the show (Details HERE). And one of them was “I ain’t never got nothing from Santa Clause.” Because of the St. Nicholas/Pickle stories, where St. Nicholas resurrects 3 dead people, we’ve always assumed that the thing Daryl would get from Santa Clause would be Beth coming back to him.

Now tptb are calling this dude Santa Clause. 

We already know from spoilers that we’ll probably see some snow at the end of the season, so there already might be a Christmas-type theme going on. And then there’s the fact that I mentioned yesterday that this dude wears a sheriff-type hat. So this is already promising. If “Santa” gives Daryl Beth for Christmas, I’m thinking this guy will be the one to tell him where she is.

And for the record, it doesn’t negate anything else we’ve thought about her coming through Negan or the Whisperers in some way. I still think her arc will be very entwined with both, but something about this guy and his Santa-ness will play into it too.

We can also read into the pirate theme (because “pirate Santa Clause”). Pirates suggest water and ship themes, and we’ve obviously seen a lot of those types of symbols around Beth as well.

Finally, did you notice in the same note above, his name is Ozzie? As in...the Wizard of Oz(zie)? If he actually represents the character of Oz, then he’s the one who knows how to get Beth--I mean Dorothy--home to her family. Just saying. 

Oh, but that is not all concerning the Highwaymen. That is not all.

One of the behind-the-scenes notes, they said the note the Highwaymen sent to Carol and Ezekiel really did have a list of demands on it. It wasn’t just a blank sheet of paper or anything. (Again, they had to tell us this because we didn’t actually see what was written on the note in the episode.) Some of the things they said they wanted were “40 paperback books – fiction – no romance novels.” Um…ROMANCE NOVELS!!!

So yet another tie to Beth. And, if we’re being honest, also more evidence that Carzekiel has a similar arc coming soon. We’re not sure what the 40 represents. Someone in my group suggested it points back to S4, where the original “damn romance novel” line was heard, courtesy of Daryl. I also think it could be a biblical number. In the bible, 40 is a number showing a period of intense trials. The Children of Israel wandered in the wildness for 40 years. Christ was temped in the wilderness for 40 days, etc. So yeah. Pretty cool.

The final, major thing that happened on TTD is that they did ask Lauren Ridloff (who plays Connie) about all the talk of Daryl and Connie. She started out by joking about a shower scene between the two. I’m sure that encouraged some of the shippers, but you have to understand the context.

1. She said it with a huge grin on her face, but then said, “No, but seriously…” and then continued with the next part of what she said. Which means by definition, she wasn’t being serious about the shower scene.

2. This is at least the third time I can remember someone mentioning a shower scene when it comes to Daryl or Daryl’s love life. I can’t remember exactly which seasons or episodes it happened on, but it was always on TD. I want to say maybe the season finale of S7, but I’m not positive. And another time, maybe in conjunction with the idea of Daryl and Jesus. Every time, it was just a joke. It obviously didn’t happen those other times, and it won’t happen now with Connie either. It’s almost because their go-to line when talking about a possible love interest for Daryl.

But more importantly is what came after the “No, but seriously…” Lauren pretty much shut down the idea of Connie and Daryl, at least for the time being. She said the relationship is more like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Feel free to look up the reference for more details if you aren’t familiar. It’s an American western about two outlaws who are best friends and partners in crime. 

(Btw, the outlaw theme is huge right now on the show; we’ve been discussing it a lot in my group lately. Obviously the highwaymen are part of the outlaw theme. This reference by Lauren is too.) 

Now, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid were both straight men, so obviously there was no romance there, which is part of what Lauren was trying to convey, I think. But more than that, the relationship is very much a sympatico, kumbaya type. Like they’re always of like minds and can practically read each other’s thoughts and will always have one another’s backs. That’s how Lauren is describing Daryl and Connie’s relationship, which I think is pretty accurate to what we’ve seen.

Could it change in the future? Technically, sure, but we know TWD plans WAY far ahead so they can foreshadow things, and we haven’t seen anything at all that foreshadows romance between these two.

I do want to mention that they did a poll asking who shipped Daryl and Connie and it ended up being 80% of those who took the poll. On the one hand, you could argue that those who took the poll aren’t representative of the entire fandom, but I don’t actually think it’s a problem for TD even if it do. Because I don’t think 80% are hardcore shippers specifically of Daryl with Connie. I think it shows that most people just genuinely want Daryl to have a love interest and to find happiness (which is sweet).

And I honestly think that number would rise higher, to 90% or 95%, if it’s Beth, because there’s ALREADY a history established there that people ALREADY shipped several seasons past.

Okay, I think that’s it for TTD. Exciting stuff! ;D

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

[neurotribe]

“I was Israel Folau.” or “What hill are you prepared to die on?”

I think it was the first time Bishop Tom Wright visited Australia. I was at his public lecture at St Hilary’s Anglican Church in Kew. Wright began with the following statement:

“About a third of what I am going to tell you is wrong, however I do not know which third, because I believe I am completely correct.”

Honestly, it is the only part of his presentation I remember clearly. Upon reflection I recall the looks of shock and confusion upon the faces of audience members, including many a PhD candidate, as one of the most prolific New Testament scholars going round begins his public lecture on Beauty and the problem of Evil. I laughed and recall the way in which this opening invited (and continues to invite me), definitely not a PhD candidate at the time, to participate in what was a dense theological reflection.

I have told that story many times since and I have used this opening myself on countless occasions, especially as I regularly play the role of, and am considered by some to be a theological teacher and lecturer.

It is a great leveller, an egalitarian mechanic that brings the “teacher” and the “student” together in humility. “We learn together” is implied, as it should be.

In light of this encouragement, I have lost count of the things I used to fervently believe were true when I first came to faith as a fiery, passionate 17 year old. Some of those things I believed as a freshly minted convert, I still do. Some of those things are ones I shamefully and embarrassingly regret. Some of them were just downright funny. I think that if I were to discover time travel, I would go back to the 13th of December, 1988, the day after I made a commitment to live conscientiously as a Christian. I would tell my 17 year old self the story of Bishop NT Wright. Of course, the problem would be, would the passionate recent convert put any stock in anything the older and hopefully wiser me had to say? There are a couple of things that separate me from Israel Folau. I don’t nearly have his level of athleticism. I also don’t have anything near his level of wealth, and of course my public profile is virtually non existent compared to his.

There is however one other significant difference between myself and Folau, and that is the difference between the times in which we live. When I was a young, recent convert filled with fiery zeal, everything I said and did was not recorded and instantaneously uploaded to reside permanently “in the cloud” inviting global public scrutiny forever and ever amen. I often joke with my 40 something friends that there would be no way that any of us would be able to get jobs if the stuff we said and did left the kind of digital footprint it does in the present day.

I suspect that if Folau and I were to sit down and have a conversation, there would be allot of things that he believes now, that I did when I was his age.

Not a month goes by when I do not think about the illegal bootleg recording I made of New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle Tour” at their Festival Hall performance in 1987, prior to my conversion. I still recall the slight pang of regret as I tossed that beloved cassette tape onto the bonfire containing most of my vinyl records, a sizeable amount of books, comics, graphic novels and magazines as well. I can’t recall if I was encouraged to toss my Tolkien books onto the pile as the church I was part of at the time was split on whether he was ok or not.

I often think about that bonfire. I have replaced most of the music, sci fi and fantasy fiction material. The role playing material is a little more difficult to replace as some of those books don’t exist in physical or digital form anymore, except as rare editions worth thousands of dollars now. <Sigh> I destroyed things that I was led to believe were evil influences on my life and would hinder my development as a young Christian person. That quirky little church taught me many things. That these material possessions were “evil” and needed to be excised from my life were one of those beliefs. There were quite a few more quirky “beliefs” that I took on board and just the thought of confessing them publicly fills me embarrassment (don’t hold your breath, I am not about to do so!).

That quirky little pentecostal church also encouraged some beliefs that I still cling to. I remember being asked the question “who are you when no one is looking?” It was couched in a longer series of conversations about integrity, my lack of it, and how to cultivate it in my life. There are other beliefs that they instilled in those early, formative years. Oh how I would have appreciated Wright’s wisdom back then! Think of my awesome relics from the 80′s I could be sharing with my Stranger Things obsessed son!?

There is a saying popular in military circles, “is this the hill you are willing to die on?”. It begs the question, is this thing you are obsessing over, this thing you are fighting for right now, are you prepared to give it all? Is this the hill that you are prepared to fight for, and if need be, die on?

Folau believes that he is in the fight of his life, so much so that he is prepared to solicit the public in order to raise $3,000,000 Australian dollars. This is where it gets complicated.

Firstly what is he in fact fighting for? The popular phrase thrown around is that he is fighting a legal free speech test case. However it is not that straight forward. There are dimensions of unlawful dismissal (if it is indeed decided in a court of law that he was unlawfully dismissed), as well as the specific commercial dimensions of which ever agreements he reached with his employer regarding the nature of his contract, and of course whatever discussions were made behind closed doors regarding infractions of his contract prior to the last one that resulted in his dismissal.

These aspects are of no small consequence. It is important that the actions of both Folau and Rugby Australia be heard and decided upon, however, as I have already stated, this seems to be primarily about un/lawful dismissal, and not primarily about freedom of speech.

On the subject of freedom of speech, this is where it gets even more complicated, and if I am honest, frustrating for me as a person who identifies as a Christian, observing many others who also identify as Christian claiming that freedom of speech is at stake. The simple reason I find it difficult taking seriously all those who identify as Christian who are now banging on about freedom of speech is, why were they absolutely silent when Yassmin Abdel-Magied was brutalised by parts of the Australian media, exercising her right of free speech? Where were they when people bayed for her blood, called for her employers to sack her because of her public statements? Where was the spontaneous GoFundMe campaign to support here during this horrific example of racially based national bullying?

And that is just one of a few instances in recent times.

The pattern I see emerging is not a concern for “freedom of speech” rather “freedom for me/us to say what I/we want whilst a different set of rules apply when others who don’t share our values speak out”. To put it plainly, the stance smacks of hypocrisy, which unfortunately is perhaps one of the most common criticisms of Christianity not just in Australia, but around the world. In this instance we can once again see why.

If we (and yes, I am deliberately standing with my brothers and sisters who identify as Christian here and are feeling they need to protect Folau and consequently themselves as frustrating as it is for me to do so at the moment, you can pick your friends but you can’t pick your faith family) then it needs to be the defence of freedom of speech for all, and not just for us and ours. Again, I am reminded of Desmond Tutu’s passionate instruction for Christians not to hold power, but to hold power to account. When people of faith fight for the rights and protections of others there is something transcendent and noble about it. Conversely when Christian people feel they need to protect themselves, it tends to look a little ugly. And before you respond with statements including the word “persecution”, that is another conversation that needs to be had honestly. Persecution is one thing, the loss of privilege is another matter entirely.

If you are a person of faith and you claim, encouraged by the words of Desmond Tutu that you are indeed attempting to hold power to account, let me ask once again:

Is it really freedom of speech for all, or is it freedom of speech for one group in society and a different set of expectations for other groups who disagree?

Is it actually about freedom of speech, or is it more complicated than that? See my previous comments regarding unfair dismissal.

Now it gets really messy. You may be aware that a few days ago, Folau launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $3,000,000 Australian. I deliberately said “raise $3,000,000″ and not “raise $3,000,000 to cover the costs of his legal fees” for a number of reasons.

It is estimated that Folou is already worth about AU $10,000,000. If he is in the fight of his life, and if he has estimated that it will cost him this much, why does he believe that, rather than using his own funds, he needs to elicit those funds from others? According to all of the public data available, he could easily cover those costs without needing public support.

There is a caveat, in small print on his GoFundMe profile page that states that he reserves the right to use those funds as he deems fit, and that those funds may not necessarily be used as part of his legal defence. If nothing else, this caveat is highly suspect and problematic.

A number of legal commentators have noted that a legal defence of this kind would cost in the vicinity of AU $300,000. If that is the case, why is he soliciting ten times that amount?

Finally, and more importantly, what will Folou think about his theological positions twenty or thirty years down the track? Will his position regarding interpreting the biblical material as it relates to sexuality change in any way? If not, will his position on how to engage others with biblical material whether it be via social media or in person shift significantly? Those are at least two ways in which Wright’s advice about 30% of our theology shifting and changing over the course of our lives can effect this issue as it unfolds in the public square.

Regardless, as I have been bashing away at the keys this morning, really simply trying to order my own thoughts and feelings on the matter, I received this message stating that his GoFundMe page has been taken down because it has breached the platforms guidelines. I have not read the detail, however, I wonder if this might not in fact be an invitation to pause, take a moment and ask individually and collectively, particularly in light of Jesus’ succinct summary of the gospel (love God, love neighbour as self and to love enemies), a summary that continues to challenge his followers then and now, is this really the hill that we want to die on?

#Theology #Discipleship #Folau