Have we no shame?

I was driving home the other night from a fantabulous dinner with some awesome people and I was listening to Brad Paisley. (P.S. that new Montana Chop House in Hermitage is great! Pricey, but yummy) I've decided I really like Brad Paisley's music. He sings about a lot of stuff from sad songs, to sappy songs, to fun songs. I briefly questioned my judgement when I heard a song about cigars. Literally. Just cigars. Anyway, this is all beside the point. One of my earliest favorites of his is the song called "Little Moments." It talks about all those times his girl did something that was so small, but significant in his eyes.

It starts out with "Well,  I'll never forget the first time that I heard, that pretty mouth say that dirty word. And I can't even remember now what she backed my truck into, but she covered her mouth and her face got red and she just looked so darn cute..." So this got me thinking, when would this ever happen? I honestly don't think people get embarrassed anymore. If you don't like it, don't look type of mentality. We aren't ashamed. We don't get embarrassed when we swear. That is considered a minor occurrence. We are considered odd if we don't swear often. Have we lost our ability to feel shame in any situation? Maybe not, but we don't like the feeling. The fact that we are vulnerable and can screw up. We try to use excuses but guess what? We are human. We aren't perfect. So revel in the fact that we can be ashamed. Use it to learn from our mistakes and to open up and be vulnerable, not push them off and try to power through it. I know I can try to do this more often.

Long Time Coming

Sorry, everybody, I know it's been awhile. Some of you have been asking me about the lag time. Well, I'm lazy. (See previous blogs, haha). So hopefully, I forget about why I wrote down these ideas!

Ever feel like you need to get out of your own way. I feel like that's how God feels about us sometimes. He's just like, OK, Krystle, just let it happen. Stop trying. Just go. When we relax and let everything happen, it won't slip through our fingers.

So, I'm pretty sure that we've all heard the verse, "Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship" Well, I've always heard of that in respect to sexual purity. Recently, I've been thinking about it in a whole new manner. If my body is God's temple because the Holy Spirit is living in me, shouldn't I be taking care of it in a very strict manner? I mean this is a TEMPLE. The ancient Pharaoh's, who considered themselves gods, had droves of slaves to keep their bodies pretty looking. I want to apply this concept. Shouldn't I be eating healthy and exercising? I want to keep my "temple" 100% fit for what God needs. I've also been looking at the self control aspect of it. I don't have a problem with self control in some aspects, but in others... I definitely do. I've decided to consciously try and work on anger. I get pretty frustrated at work with some of the guests, and I'm trying to change that. I haven't had a good track record yet of denying that extra cookie though :)

Along with the anger issue, how about that "we are supposed to turn the cheek" idea. I have SUCH an issue with that. If you are going to hate on me, I really don't want to be nice to you. For example, the people who scream at you at work. Well sorry, buddy, if I was gonna bend the rules for you, I am DEFINITELY NOT going to now. I know work is kind of a bad example because of the various rules, but you see my point. As Americans, all in control, and masters of our own destiny, we have problems taking things lying down. I suppose actively accepting a circumstance and not fighting back actually shows a better self discipline, than anger.

Now, speaking of discipline, let's picture something for a minute. You are a toddler. You did something wrong. Mom or Dad comes and disciplines you. Now, did they explain your circumstances in a detailed manner? No. They disciplined you to your measure. I think that God kind of does the same thing. He disciplines you to what you can handle. Same thing with temptation. He only allows you to be tempted to what you can handle. How awesome would it be to be on a full disclosure discipline level with God? Pretty cool, but I"m not there yet.

A couple last parting shots. Let's try to look for our blessings here on earth. We are trying to store up treasure in heaven, but let's look for our treasures here on earth. They may be "hiding" in plain sight; we might not even recognize them!

Last but not least: Don't ever sexually objectify anyone. Let's just leave it at that.

Jolly Holiday

So, I was listening to Jolly Holiday from the Mary Poppins soundtrack today. (Judge me if you will, but Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke are amazing) I was singing along (of course) and Julie and I got to this part (Mary singing to Bert): "....You'd never think of pressing your advantage, for bearance is the hallmark of your creed. A lady needn't fear when you are near, your sweet gentility is crystal clear!..."

How opposite is that in today's society. Men are not respected by other men and women alike if they aren't "manly", aggressive, or overly suggestive. Now, of course, this isn't everyone, but speaking broadly it applies. If a guy doesn't "press his advantage" the gal is left thinking that he isn't interested. Possibly not in women at all.

As far as bearance, everyone doesn't think too much of that when they are out drunk at the club. All actions can be crazy and blamed on alcohol. As far as "ladies fearing" that would be going a little far. Unless, of course, they are breaking into your house. But, some guys are VERY pushy. I've been in situations, both personal and professional, when people just keep pushing and pressing. Just let it go. She's not interested and is waiting for you to leave. Of course, initiating situations isn't a bad thing. We're talking about extreme situations.

I fear that gentlemen are a dying breed. Being sensitive isn't a bad thing. To all the gentlemen out there, I salute you for maintaining your bearing. Trust me, the ladies, do love you.