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The Waking
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I cannot go.
We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.
Light takes the Tree, but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me; so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.
This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.
--Theodore Roethke
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Joy's Updates - Straight from the Horse's Mouth.
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Friday, March 19, 2004
Marriage and Other Controversies
It's bad enough to be from the state that brought us the Scopes Monkey Trial but now this in the same county!
I don't know why anyone cares who someone loves as long as they are consenting adults and aren't hurting anybody. The same things being said about same-sex marriage were said about interracial marriage. Then Loving vs Virginia changed the law. I'm not sure that the government needs to be as involved in marriage as it is anyway.
As for the "sanctity of marriage" phrase that's being bandied about, way too many people have laughed in the face of that one. The short-term "marriage" of Brittany Spears and other spontaneous, drunken Las Vegas weddings, green-card marriages, merging of family business marriages, and all the strange reasons men and women are allowed to marry each other don't exactly seem that holy.
So what we have is a situation that makes people uncomfortable. As a person who made the ultimate sacrifice of giving away my baby because of other people's discomfort at the time, I have no tolerance for this. In reality, there was no other reason for what I had to do in the climate of a small town in 1963 where I'd have been treated differently and my daughter shunned. If I'd kept her and moved, I'd have had to make up lies to explain not having a husband. Things changed after ten years, but the damage would have been done. It was too much for me to fight against, so I understand what it's like to do something that society disapproves of and to pay the price for it. Also the stress of secrets and lies takes its toll.
The typical "reason" opponents give is that the Bible says it's wrong. Must be nice to have a built-in answer for everything and not have to think for themselves. I think there are probably a lot of things the Bible lists as wrong that don't exactly apply now. Admittedly, I don't know much about the Bible since we didn't go into it in depth in the Methodist Church where I grew up attending, but what about this list that was sent to me by a relative?
The Presidential Prayer Team is currently urging us to "Pray for the President as he seeks wisdom on how to legally codify the definition of marriage. Pray that it will be according to Biblical principles. With many forces insisting on variant definitions of marriage, pray that God's Word and His standards will be honored by our government." Any good religious person believes prayer should be balanced by action. So here, in support of the Prayer Team's admirable goals, is a proposed Constitutional Amendment codifying marriage entirely on biblical principles:
A. Marriage in the United States shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women (Genesis 29:17-28; II Samuel 3:2-5).
B. Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines in addition to his wife or wives (II Samuel 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chronicles 11:21).
C. A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed. (Deuteronomy 22:13-21).
D. Marriage of a believer and a non-believer shall be forbidden (Genesis 24:3; Numbers 25:1-9; Ezra 9:12; Nehemiah 10:30).
E. Since marriage is for life, neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any State, nor any state or federal law, shall be construed to permit divorce (Deuteronomy 22:19; Mark 10:9).
F. If a married man dies without children, his brother shall marry the widow. If he refuses to marry his brother's widow or deliberately does not give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe and be otherwise punished in a manner to be determined by law (Genesis 38:6-10; Deuteronomy 25:5-10).
G. In lieu of marriage, if there are no acceptable men in your town, it is required that you get your father drunk and have sex with him (even if he previously offered you up as a sex toy to men young and old), tag-teaming with any sisters you may have. Of course, this rule applies only if you are female (Genesis 19:31-36).
The Presidential Prayer Team has a website where I notice they sell quite a bit of merchandise. I believe in prayer, which is why I think we need to be careful with our words and intentions. So much of what I'm seeing lately isn't my idea of what Christianity is supposed to be.
12:38:00 AM
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