[b-you-tiful-blog]

Old vs. New| Wrath vs. Mercy

Something else I’ve been working on is the characteristics of God we see in the Old Testament vs. what we see in the New Testament. Many Christians have struggles with this, myself included. 

It is hard see how God can be so vengeful in the old testament but claim to live by love and mercy in the new testament. Here is what I have determined for myself after a bit of research, prayer, and thought.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 

That sentiment is repeated over and over through out the bible. God never changes.. the God that we know in the old testament is the same God today. So how to we come to terms with the fact that God struck down entire kingdoms and punished his own sons and daughters? 

First, God has always given us a choice. He gave the Israelites plenty of rules to follow (trust me I just finished reading all the fun stuff) and yet they still chose to disobey him. He also always gave warning to the enemy during their journey to Canaan. Many times in the bible the word “wrath” is seen. What we don’t see today is that the words translated from Hebrew to “wrath” actually mean something quite different. In many instances the Hebrew counterparts mean worried, sorrow, or passion. God has always had us in his heart. He has our best interest at hand and always has. Though we may not agree with it, the reason he did those things in the old testament was to protect us from sin. 

Still, as humans we may not fully understand his sense of justice but we cannot. We are sinners. He is the only one that has the power to judge. In Job we learn a lot about God’s justice never being black and white. 

As far as the New Testament goes.. Jesus came down to show us the other side. He says, “if you have seen me, you have seen my father.” John 14:9 

Jesus came down to reveal the full character of God. He reveals the Mercy that the Lord has for us. God sent down his only son so that we may have salvation. He saw that the world will never be perfect, we were born into sin, and that wasn’t good enough for him. He wanted to give us a LIFETIME of chances. So that we can mess up and sin again and again yet he constantly forgives us. He gives us 80+ years to straighten up and give him our heart. That is pretty damn loving if you ask me. 

There you have it. A little insight for today. It’s tough to come to terms with the fact that we have no control over God. He is who He is and just as he loves us for who we are we have to accept it. I post this because for a long time I was ignoring it but I realized that if I want to further my relationship with the Father I need to fully understand the entire journey of His relationship with us. 

Again, thanks for listening. I invite messages/comments to discuss this further! I’d love to hear any opinions/insight. 

Thanks,

Jess

[b-you-tiful-blog]

Sexism in the bible.

I know that a lot of it is in there due to the context of time BUT it still bothers me. I know that I might get backlash for this or get some lecture for a layman but I honestly don’t care. I know my relationship with the Father and don’t need any affirmation from anyone else.

With that being said....

I was reading Numbers chapter 30. It is about vows made under the Lord’s name. For men it is a short paragraph stating that if he says something under God’s name it shall hold against him. Then there is a page long paragraph about women stating that first of all her words are “utter and rash”. Then goes on to say that if her husband or father forbids her from making that vow it does not stand. As if a women cannot make a sound choice for herself. 

Once again, totally understand that this comes from another time, another context, another covenant but I can’t get over the overt sexism in the old testament. Just a rant. Nothing more. Thanks for listening.

[the-beauty-of-words-blog]

[b-you-tiful-blog]

Needed this today. Truth. 

[b-you-tiful-blog]

I don’t get it I guess...

everyone says I am great and that I have a good heart and that I am beautiful. And I try so hard to put myself out there, be outgoing, make friends, extend my social groups, in hopes to find that person to spend my life with. 

and for some darn reason. I can’t even find a relationship, forget a future husband. 

I just don’t understand. I do have confidence and believe I am a good person with a good heart and all I want is someone to love and accept my heart. Why is it that all of my friends that don’t even want something like that or aren’t ready can find it, yet here I am single as a pringle.

Whatever. 

Rant over.

Just don’t understand. 

[b-you-tiful-blog]

139.

[b-you-tiful-blog]

Can you tell how much I'm missing Fall in the mitten? 🍂#Home

[theknowledgecorner]

[b-you-tiful-blog]

needed this tonight

[stunningpicture]

Two happy owlets

[myfriendscallmekazzy]

AHHHHHHHHH

[salithemage]

and they’re covered in snow so they’re moist owlettes

[b-you-tiful-blog]

customer: the usual please

me: i have literally never seen you before in my life

[delta-breezes]

[b-you-tiful-blog]

Another thing..

I will not ever “move on.” 

To say “moving on” is to say I would be forgetting, or letting go, or erasing. 

I will never let go of my mother. She will always be a part of my life.. a part of my adventures, a part of my decisions, and a part of my heart.

Instead, I will do the healthy thing and “move foward.” 

Moving foward means accepting what I cannot change and living with it.  It means deciding to keep going without her no matter how hard it is. It means not giving up or refusing to live. It means taking each breath and each step in memory of her. 

[b-you-tiful-blog]

Something weird happened..

So today, my Dad’s girlfriend came over to drop her son off because he was going to help my dad re-do the basement. When I heard that he was coming over I was so nervous because he is still a kid. His dad had passed away the same time as my mom and I thought if I can’t even deal with the though of combining families he can’t be very comfortable with it.

I was nervous to meet her kids because it means we’re apart of each others lives and that would mean we were one step closer to something new. My dad has been in this relationship for a while but to me it was HIS relationship. I of course had met his girlfriend but I still didn’t feel like it was a part of my life.. until now.

Meeting more and more of her kids has made me feel a part of this new thing. We are far from being a family but for the first time since he started dating I could actually picture a life with a new family and didn’t think it was bad. 

It felt good all talking and joking for the short ten minutes they were both here. I felt comfortable and happy. I thought maybe it won’t be so bad hanging out with all of them and getting to know them. Having a set of sort-of-step-siblings. It would be fun to have bigger holidays or vacations eventually. 

Being a family is a long ways down the line. I’m not even sure if they would ever actually get married. But I do know they want to be with each other for a long time so eventually we will blend a little better. I can let go of the fear of not fitting in or not liking them because I know I will always be my Dad’s daughter and I know that Marcia has raised a beatiful family. 

So here is to being hopeful for what is to come and to being open-minded. Here is to letting go of my fears. Cheers. 

[b-you-tiful-blog]

What's worse is that I will never stop wishing. It's impossible but I keep hoping it's a dream or that somehow she'll come back. I pray it some nights. But it's impossible. My one truest wish will never come true. I will always be wanting and waiting.

[b-you-tiful-blog]

This lonely feeling won't ever go away. And that's because her love can never be matched by anyone else. Not my friends, Dad, family, boyfriends, no one. The love that I felt from my mom was so unconditional and unbreakable. I will never have that bond or that connection with anyone again and it leaves a void in my heart. Some nights it's so overwhelming and I can't feel anything else except the pain and yearning for her love. I will always feel her absence and won't ever stop wishing she was here even for one more moment.

[thisishowilearnedtolove]

first in friendship; fourth in obesity.

[euclasedeac]

alcoholic beverage breakdown

I had a disturbing exchange with a high school-aged person today that prompted this…

Beer, wine, mead, and cider are fermented beverages.

Mead is made from honey.

Cider is made from apples.

Beer is made from grains.

Beer tastes like beer because they flavor it with hops.

They used to flavor beer with dandelions.

Ain’t that cute?

All beer is either ale or lager.

Ale is fermented at room temperature.

Lager is brewed and store cold.

Barleywine, bitter, porter, and stout are ales.

Pilsner and bock are lagers.

Most of the crap people drink in America is pale lager.

Mosft of the crap people drink in Ireland is dry stout.

Butterbeer isn’t real.

(Except actually I think it is, and I heard it tastes like cream soda)

Miruvor isn’t real, either, but it probably would taste like squash.

Ent-draught isn’t real, either, but shit, it would be awesome if it were.

Wine is made from fermented fruit juice, usually grapes.

Red wine is made from red grapes.

White wine is made from green grapes.

The name of the grape is the name of the wine (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot are all varieties of grape)

Unless you live in France.

In which case, the name of the place supersedes the name of the grape.

(for example: Burgundies are made in Burgundy, France, but Burgundy wine can be Pinot Noir or Chardonnay)

Champagne is any sparkling white wine.

However, Champagne can also be wine that comes from Champagne, France.

Drink red wine with beef. Drink white wine with fish.

Act like it tastes good. 

Keep a Diet Coke in your bag for later.

You’ll be fine.

Brandy is distilled wine.

Cognac is brandy aged in oak barrels.

Don’t fuck around with the French about their cognac.

Fortified wine is wine with added alcohol.

Sherry is fortified white wine made in Spain.

Port is fortified red wine made in Portugal.

Vermouth is fortified white wine plus grape spirits.

Sweet vermouth has added sugar.

Dry vermouth has added spices like nutmeg.

Liquors are distilled spirits that contain ethanol.

Liqueurs are liquors that have sugar and flavors added.

Liquors can be made from grains, fruits, or vegetables.

Grain alcohol is liquor made from grains. Duh.

Gin, Vodka, and Whisky are grain alcohols.

Vodka is grain alcohol and water.

Be careful with vodka. Homemade vodka is poisonous.

Gin is (basically vodka) flavored with juniper berries.

Absinthe is (basically gin) flavored with anise.

Whisky is grain alcohol aged in wood barrels.

Malt whisky is made from barley.

Grain whisky is made from all the other grains.

Scotch is whisky made in Scotland.

Bourbon is Kentucky whisky mostly made from corn.

Don’t fuck around with the Scottish.

Don’t fuck around with people from Kentucky, either.

Tequila is liquor made from the blue agave plant.

Rum is liquor made from sugarcane.

Schnapps is liquor made from fruit “must” (smashed fruit that still contains seeds and skins).

American schnapps is grain alcohol mixed with fruit flavors and sugar syrup.

Drink apple schnapps only while playing Tekken 2.

Sake is rice wine that’s brewed like beer. Or something.

Avoid these cocktails: Grog, Long Island Iced Tea, Manhattan, Dark and Stormy, Jack and Coke, Piña Colada, Scorpion. They contain huge amounts of alcohol and/or a huge number of calories. That Long Island Ice Tea is the worst motherfucker of the bunch. Just avoid them. Have a lemon drop martini instead.

Don’t drink on an empty stomach or you’ll puke.

Don’t drink too fast or you’ll puke.

Avoid Long Island Iced Teas. Like I said.

Don’t drink and drive because you might kill my Mom. You fuckers.

If your friend has had too much to drink and needs to crash, make sure she’s lying on her side so she doesn’t choke on her own vomit. 

Don’t leave a drunk friend alone.

Passing out is a sign of being severely goddamn sick. If someone drinks and passes out? They are dying right now. Call 9-1-1. 

If you are drunk, don’t drink coffee or caffeine to get sober. Sip cold water and nibble some saltine crackers.

Don’t be a fucking idiot. Don’t smash my mailbox.

Really, do you need to drink? 

You probably don’t.

But now you know some stuff. Maybe.

[formerly-dovekie]

Rum is liquor made from the byproducts of cane sugar production, such as molasses.

Cachaça is liquor made from sugarcane juice.

[letters-tothelord]