Reasons I love logic: "It follows that..."

If you've never heard of it, there is/was an Amendment 26 trying to be passed in Mississippi. It says that personhood begins at conception. Sadly, I do not know if it was/has passed or not. Even so, this pro-abortion article makes me smile a little bit.

http://thedmonline.com/article/facts-about-amendment-26

Definition: An abortifacient is a substance that induces abortion. In this post, I will be referring to miscarriages which happen due to something which the mother knows about and has the option to avoid as abortions. 

So, then. This is why I smiled a little when I saw that article:

When you go to the doctor and ask for methods of hormonal birth control that are not an abortifacient, you will* hear that none of them are.
*this is based off my personal experience, and I hope that not all doctors out there are like this.

However, this pro-abortion article tells you the truth - the real one that you will find if you do just a LITTLE bit of research on the topic. I have highlighted the pertinent paragraph.

"Amendment 26 would effectively outlaw birth control, and this is why. In addition to blocking egg fertilization, most brands of the birth control pill [and other hormonal birth control methods] thin the lining of the uterine wall. This thinning means that on the off-chance that an egg is fertilized, it is prevented from attaching to the uterus altogether, and the woman essentially 'miscarries.' "

PLEASE choose birth control methods carefully! Only barrier methods are not abortifacients. Anything that involves hormones usually thins the uterine lining - see my list of resources below, which I harvested from the Planned Parenthood website.

The Bible mentions several times about the Lord opening and closing the womb (see the stories of Sarah, Leah, Rachel, Hannah, Mary (as in Jesus' mother), and Elizabeth, just to name a few). We know that He is sovereign and can act according to His will despite the use of ANY kind of birth control. Notice all forms are at most 99% effective! Even abstinence isn't 100% - After all, if it was, would we be celebrating Christmas?

Do not knowledgeably risk a miscarriage because of a birth control method which intentionally makes the womb inhospitable. Please make an educated decision about this.
_____________________________________________________________

Resource: PlannedParenthood.org (this is not something they try to hide - it's probably illegal for them to do so).

On all of the following pages under the "How does the xxx work?" question, you can find how each method works. Each of the following includes a paragraph about birth control affecting the uterine lining.

From http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control/birth-control-pill-4228.htm

On BC pills: The hormones also thin the lining of the uterus. In theory, this could prevent pregnancy by keeping a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.

From http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control/birth-control-patch-ortho-evra-4240.htm

On BC patches: The hormones also thin the lining of the uterus. In theory, this could prevent pregnancy by keeping a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.

From http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control/birth-control-implant-implanon-4243.htm

On BC implants: The hormones also thin the lining of the uterus. In theory, this could prevent pregnancy by keeping a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.

From http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control/birth-control-vaginal-ring-nuvaring-4241.htm

On BC rings: The hormones also thin the lining of the uterus. In theory, this could prevent pregnancy by keeping a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.

From http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control/birth-control-shot-depo-provera-4242.htm

On BC shots: The hormones also thin the lining of the uterus. In theory, this could prevent pregnancy by keeping a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.

From http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control/iud-4245.htm

On IUDs: Both the ParaGard and the Mirena IUDs affect the way sperm move, preventing them from joining with an egg. If sperm cannot join with an egg, pregnancy cannot happen. Both types also alter the lining of the uterus. Some people say that this keeps a fertilized egg from attaching to the lining of the uterus. But there is no proof that this actually happens.

MY ADDITION: IUDs also obstruct growth of a fetus if it can attach to the uterus, causing it to miscarry.

Reason number seven that I (sometimes) love waiting

Who has patience? It depends. There's the kind of patience that you must have when you're dealing with dogs, children and annoying people. I don't have a whole lot of that with dogs and annoying grown-up people. I'm pretty good with kids - they're still learning how not to be annoying and they really can't help it.

The other kind of patience is when you're WAITING.  WAITING is really hard a lot of the time, but it can be really fun.  I remember deeply, philosophically pondering WAITING when I was in high school and I wanted to go to a dance. I had my dress and I was imagining who I'd dance with, and how I'd fix my hair for nearly two weeks before the actual event.  Some of the things I noticed follow:

• While you're waiting, time moves very slowly.
• When the waiting is over, it feels as though time went very quickly.
• Waiting for something to happen (especially something good, or something exciting) makes one feel purposeful
• The concept of the something which is to happen being over can be very depressing, because you have nothing to look forward to.
• There will always be something more to wait for, after what's coming up is over.

Anyway, I am waiting.  There's a great song by John Waller called "While I'm Waiting". It was used in the movie "Fireproof" and I quite like it.

A very good way to make it through when you have to wait is to just go one day at a time. That came from These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder. "I have only to get through one day at a time." Just like that. There's not much else anyone can do.

Reason number six that I love Netflix

Yep! We're revisiting the wonderful world of NETFLIX! This time one of the things I love is that it assists in discovering new televisional loves.  Yes! I found a new TV show which I really like! It is...

*drumroll* The Secret Life of the American Teenager!

I turned on the first episode, ready to turn it right back off when all the teenagers wanted to do was kiss, etc. like a normal worldly television show. But one of the first characters introduced starts spouting stuff about purity and Jesus Christ. Interested, I watched the show all the way through the episode and at the end, noted that the producer is BRENDA HAMPTON, the same lady who did 7th Heaven!

It's about this girl who gets pregnant and has to deal with all the implications, school, telling her parents, other relationships, and all the physical changes as well. It's pretty good to watch, although definitely not for little kids.

And the thing that makes me so cranky is that Netflix doesn't have things like "Full House" on it, and "7th Heaven", etc. I wish they did, but this show kind of makes up for it. Also they have recently posted the Cosby show, so I'm still holding out hope for the others too, eventually.

I also am super excited that this is a three-day weekend! Woo hoo! Chillaxing, here I come!

Reason number five that I love medicine

So. My husband got sick this week (for the second time this winter).  It's crazy because in all the four years that we were dating, I think he got sick enough to skip school ONCE - he missed one day in high school. And this winter he's already missed at least four days! Anyway, I am growing to appreciate the value of medical junk.

The official value of medicine:

• Acetaminophen - makes a fever go WAAY down.
• Ibuprofen - makes aches and pains go away
• Mucinex - cleans out sinuses and drains snot/loogies

 In addition to medicine, I've also learned the value of blankets, soup, a good thermometer, and sleep, sleep, sleep.

One of the other strange things is that both times, it seems like the illnesses that my husband had would be extremely contagious. I figured I'd have to live through being sick too, since, you know, I live with my husband and everything, but the first time, I got through clean and un-sick and this time, it looks like I'm homefree too! It's so weird...

My week has been one crazy-fest... On to my next post to see what else is new and big with me!

Reason number four that I love... love

Hello, again! I had a small weekend hiatus, but I'm back and it's Valentine's Day.  This is going to be a short one because I'm pretty busy now, but I just wanted to point out a few good things about love. Not the teenage kind of love that's based on how you're feeling. That one is great and it's part of what makes days like today lots of fun.  However, the love I'm talking about is a little different.

Now that I'm a married woman, I have a bit of experience in this. "Ho, ho, do you now?" say all those who have been married for at least a year. ;) Well, I don't know everything, but I do know that there are two types of love. There's the love you feel and the love you do. The love you do is what I'm going to mention today. It's how I can go to my husband and hug him after a disagreement (we're both kind of extremely stubborn, so our fights can get .... tough). A lot of the time, it's what keeps my house clean. It's a sacrifice and it's hard to get used to, but the secret is to just tell yourself, "Look at all I've been given. What of this do I deserve?" All it takes is a little perspective.

That's when love is just plain cool.

Reason number three that I love music

Note: I'll surprise you with the music links. Click and hear/see examples of what I'm talking about! I didn't make any of these videos - I'm just sharing! So if they're not the official music video or a clip, I don't claim to know what's going on in them!

I'll just start off by saying that I'm no musician. I played flute for about two years in middle school, and I can play the little practice songs they used to teach us, but I couldn't play in an orchestra or anything. But I adore music.

One of the big reasons I love music is because it can turn just about anything you do into a dance. It can turn driving into a dance. Without music, washing dishes is my least favorite chore, but when I start thinking about listening to music while I wash dishes, I can't wait to get started! When I listen to music at work, I dance in my chair. I'm sure I look so very foolish, but I really can't help it. Music turns my life into a dance. Especially this song - I just really can't help it!

One of my favorite things is when music gets personal. When you hear something in a song that just made that song FOR YOU. Taylor Swift's song "Back to December" strikes a chord (ba-dum-CHING) within me because I've experienced that before. It makes me so sad and it's like she looked at my life and wrote that song. Almost to the months, with the flowers, and motivations and everything.

Another reason I love music is because the idea describes so many things in life. There's a point in every song that I can't help but call "the great part" and I don't mean "great" as in "That's great!" like most people use it today. I mean when it puts this extremely tangible feeling of tallness and honor and greatness inside your chest cavity, like you're heart is actually expanding and you lose your breath. You feel like you can do and be anything at that moment.  Usually when music hits the great part of a song, I get this feeling like I'm flying - as if I'm copying the music's actions when it just goes up and up and there's no limit to how high it will take you and I as listeners. This song has a wonderful "great part" - I hope you can hear it!

Anyway, that feeling comes with other things too. It's the delicious smell wafting 'round your nose (cookies baking, flowers growing, a stream, a fire, a particular person maybe, something that reminds you of your childhood or being home, for example). The one that when it's gone you walk around like a bloodhound trying to find it again for just one more sweet whiff. It's your nose experiencing music.

Beautiful music has a look too. It's a graceful curve. The people in this video have music following them around - I'm so jealous! Anyway, that's why you so often see music portrayed like this:

This graphic above clearly portrays fun and bouncy music. Probably little kids' music.

This one, now, is probably some girly love song (yes there are three videos there) because of the butterflies.

 

But when I hear music, I think of things like this: that reach out and brush past your face or arm, inviting, enticing you to jump in and just become part of the grace and delicacy. of course, other things can look like music. When you can see your breath on a cold day, or snow falling, or and even things like dresses and shoes (yes, men's shoes too!). The human silhouette is a perfect example.

Also hair:

I've never been one to subscribe to "I need to change my looks to be prettier", but I've always wanted wavy or curly hair so I'd feel like I had music around my face all day. (I don't know who this woman is, but she was not a celebrity dressed fairly modestly. And she's pretty).

It also encompasses the feeling on your skin when the wind blows - a cool breeze on a sunny day, or a light breeze in spring or fall. It's when something is so perfect all by itself and you are providentially there to experience it. Music is like that as well. As if it's bigger than you and is picking you up and cradling you in its arms and rocking you to sleep... and you're just swaying because it's what the music is doing to you.

And the best part is that the "great feeling" that comes with the great part of music comes with so many other experiences, like a first kiss (or any kiss), or getting something achieved, or being in awe. Romance is full of the grace that embodies music. Sometimes I wish I had a personal minstrel - someone who would just follow me around all day singing to me. I like to imagine that's the real purpose of American Idol - tryouts to see who is good enough to sing for me. : D

In a bevy of quotes about music, it is called

the language of the soul or spirit, 

how God talks to us, 

the language of emotion, 

a gift from God, 

the art of Heaven, 

poetry of the air, 

wine, 

medicine, 

universal language, 

love, 

moonlight, 

friend. 

J. R. R. Tolkien in the Silmarillion uses music to create the entire Middle-Earth. The angels of Tolkien's world, the Ainur, sing the history of Middle-Earth before it exists, in a melody that was supplied by a God-figure, Eru (yes, it sounds strange if all you're used to is the Lord of the Rings, but it's a beautiful story). [Note: All of these links are to Lord of the Rings soundtrack songs that have nothing to do with the Music of the Ainur. It was the MOST appropriate place for these links]

In the Bible, one sees the Israelites lifting up praises to God in song all the time. Sometimes the Bible records their songs and sometimes not. The book of Psalms is a book of songs sung to the Lord. Music, while it may not be the language, or the sole language, of God, definitely has something to do with holiness, divinity, purity and sacred.

"But," you may say, "Not all music is pretty and soft and graceful sounding. There's music out there that can sound like rocks scratching blackboards!" I would tell you that though something may not be pretty to your ears, you still called it music. Of all the people quoted in the entire world, apparently Confucius said it best:

"Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without." 

And where a melody fails to bring feeling to a song, the words will pick it right up.  My husband likes Pink Floyd (compared to me, he LOVES them). I don't care for their music, but he has a talent for hooking me on a new type of music with just one song. Basically, not everyone likes country or classical or rock or screaming music. People pick and choose what they enjoy. Some people are narrow-minded and some people really don't have a preference. But there's a lot more to music than just the sounds.

Now, I'm going to go dance my way through the dishes! *Zip-a-dee-doo-dah! Zip-a-dee-ay!*

Reason number two that I love Netflix

I adore Netflix streaming! I work in an office, and so my job can get tedious really quickly. Having Netflix to play in the background fixes this issue! I've watched all the posted seasons of "Bones",

 "The Office",

 

"Lie to me",

aaaaand... 

"Hannah Montana".

 Recently I've discovered that "The Last Song" is now on Netflix streaming. 

"Who speaks French, sails the seven seas, and makes bedroom furniture?"

"Uh...what?"

"Arrrr...moi! 

Did you like how I changed the

subject to carpenter-pirates?"

 

Also I'm on an "Alice in Wonderland" kick. I really really like this movie, even though Johnny Depp is in it. I will exercise restraint and not allow myself to type out the lines of the movie as I watch it. One of my favorite things about "The Last Song" and "Alice in Wonderland" is the music. "The Last Song" has that lovely piano melody and "Alice" really makes me wish I was actually IN Wonderland. But I don't suppose they can hear the background music as it plays, then, do they?

I don't usually watch movies I haven't seen at work. I only watch movies which I can quote by heart (or almost, anyway). That way I can WATCH the movie in my head while I listen to the dialogue. It's a really great system.  I tried to watch "Heroes" at work, and it seems like a pretty good show, but one really has to pay attention to that show. If you don't, you can lose track of who is a good guy and who is not VERY quickly. All that time-traveling and mind-changing and such.

In any case, I have a bright Netflix future ahead of me, with more Disney movies to watch like Camp Rock and High School Musical (no, I haven't seen them yet). Netflix is adding new movies all the time, also! If it's on streaming, I'll probably watch it someday soon!