April Fool's Day not for me

I don't know about you, but April Fool's Day is a day I hate along with teachers who are the target of many practical jokes in the name of fun. I for one, do not have a love relationship with jokes or pranks being played on me. This is the day also known as All Fool's Day for a good reason.

Well before becoming a teenager, I cringed at the possibility of someone saying and doing " A pinch and a punch for the first of the month." I had no clue that as the victim I could respond with, "A flick and a kick for being so quick." But as I have learned while researching this blog post, that person in turn could say and do, "A punch in the eye for being so sly." These April Fool's Day customary responses originated in many English-speaking countries, mainly Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, eventually finding a home in America. YIPPY! (not).

I hope I have given you a taste of why I dread this day which in essence excuse people who pinch and punch you and call it FUN. Yes, it is allowable to have a note secretly taped to your back saying "Kick me," encouraging bullies and bullies in training to kick you in the butt until you discover the note on your back. The slow person, me, usually caught on after about three or four kicks in the derriere. 

Who in their right mind decided let's have a day to make a fool out of a person? The answer - no one knows the origin of this day of no holds barred day of pranks. There is no one from history raising their psychotic hand saying, "Give me credit for this day that may go terribly left with jokes/pranks that are not at all funny."

There is no clear origin of April Fool's Day in history, just speculation. But somehow people have used this day to be a trickster. For the average trickster, there is always the classic April Fool's Day prank of covering the toilet with clear plastic wrap or switching out the sugar for salt ruining a perfectly good meal for a laugh. Can you imagine a hangry person sitting down to a meal, using the saltshaker just to find out it is sugar? Yeah. Good times. April Fool's Day is not a public holiday in America, thank God, but it is in Odessa, Ukraine.

For those who practice playing pranks or hoaxes on people, the April Fool's tradition ends at noon on April 1st, and it is considered inappropriate and not classy to continue to play practical jokes on anyone after that hour. You can cash app me later for giving you this valuable information. 

In Italy, France, Belgium, and French-speaking areas of Switzerland, and Canada, the April 1st tradition is known as "April fish." Possible pranks include attempting to attach a paper fish to the victims back without being noticed. You will thank me for not going into the complicated tale of the French origin of putting a live fish on the back of person's back with a hook unnoticed. But the tradition went from a live fish to a paper fish for April 1st. This is more than likely where the posted note of "Kick me" originated from. Oh, by the way, once the live fish began to stink and the victim discovered it was on them because of the stench, then people would say "April fish," Jokes on you. Ha ha ha. Good stuff huh? It is also a custom for some reason to say, "rabbit rabbit" upon waking on the first of the month of April for good luck.

One of the most famous April Fool's joke was done by the BBC media in 1957. The BBC broadcasted a film in their Panorama current affairs series showing Swiss farmers picking freshly grown spaghetti from trees in what they called the Swiss spaghetti harvest. The television company was flooded with requests to purchase a spaghetti plant forcing them to declare the film was an April Fool's Day hoax.

I presented April Fool's Day as I see it. For me it's a day of wondering if the news headlines are true or false and to look at everyone I encounter that day with suspicion. I face the day with well-founded paranoia. No one can be trusted and as a teen my head was on swivel looking for that infamous kick me sign possibly taped to my back. I got kicked anyway even without a sign on my back. Cheaters! I hate them.

Some of you may remember some public April Fool's Day hoaxes from the past. In 1994 the PC Magazine ran a column about a bill making its way through Congress prohibiting using the internet while intoxicated. The bill was named Lirpa Sloff in the magazine and spelled backwards it read April Fools. Many people feel for the hoax contacting their representatives with protests against such a bill. This prank shined a light on the fact people used the internet in drunken stupors or at least buzzed.

In 1996 Taco Bell said they had purchased the Liberty Bell in an effort to help the national debt, which drew outrage. In 1998 Burger King introduced a left-handed Whooper which caused long lines of left-handed people clamoring to purchase the south-paw burger. Cottonelle got in on the left-handed bandwagon and in 2015 tweeted it was introducing left-handed toilet tissue. 

Google enjoys pulling hoaxes on April Fool's Day. In 2005 Google said it was branching out with a new drink named Google Gulp to help achieve maximum optimization of your soon-to-be grateful cerebral cortex and it was also low carbs. Other fake products launched by Google for April Fool's Day was Google Romance, Google Paper, and Google Voice for Pets.

The question is are we so gullible that media, friends, and family can prank us so easily or are we just trusting by nature? What will April Fool's Day 2022 bring us? April Fool's Day was suspended 2020 and 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but no such luck this year. No one is off limit, and we will see if the virus will remain off limit this year. 

All I can say at this point is "You have been warned." There could be a prankster eyeballing you right now with what they believe to be their best prank yet. Unlike me, I hope you have a good sense of humor. And remember, just as with Cinderella, when the clock strikes twelve it's all over for the pranksters. 

 

INTERVIEW: Natalie Ritchie, author

 WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY WITH WOMEN

Author Natalie Ritchie shares what drives her as a writer, and it is advocating for women no matter what role they choose in life. She is a strong voice reminding women as well as men women who choose to work at home as a homemaker are not inferior to women who choose a career outside of the home. Ritchie has to juggle many roles at once and writing is just one of those roles. Her work reflects the ongoing quest to define womanhood in the 21st Century by today's woman. Her interview does not shy away from the question, "What is womanhood?"

1     What is the name of your book/genre?

My book is a nonfiction work called Roar Like a Woman: How Feminists Think Women Suck and Men Rock. It calls for a feminism that actually includes the woman. The feminist revolution threw the baby out with the bathwater—it threw out the woman with the bathwater of woman’s oppression.

2.      When did you start your writing career?

I went straight into journalism almost from the get-go and after a long stint in public relations in the tourism industry, I moved into travel writing. I co-authored the Frommer’s Australia travel guide for several years. Later, I became features editor of Australia’s biggest parenting magazine. Today, I work full-time as a general-purpose editor. 

3.      Did you have support from family/friends/community?

Not really. But that’s because I like it that way. Mostly, I write alone. I know what I want to say. Even nonfiction writing, which is what I do, is an intensely personal and creative thing. To be honest, I just want to be left alone when I write. That said, my colleagues, most of whom are also writers of one kind or another, do have a lot of really good advice. I think the trick is to balance when to listen to others and when to stay true to your inner voice.

4.      What is most difficult about an author’s life?

Finding time to write is one of the hardest things writers do, especially mothers! And then when they do make the time, they sacrifice their rest, their hobbies, their home chores, time with their families or friends, time spent helping others, time to exercise—and time to read! Most writers love reading. I know a mother of five who got up every morning at 5 a.m. to have an hour to herself to write. Of course, for many of us, the kids are up at 5 a.m. too, so that’s not the answer for everyone!

I started writing my book in 2012 and finished it in 2018. I was working full-time most of that time and fifty percent co-parenting my two sons. It takes discipline to dedicate yourself to writing every moment you can. And then there is the work of self-publishing: proofing, hiring a cover designer and typesetter and website designer, formatting e-book files, distributing, publicizing, doing interviews, and more. What kept me going was the sure-fire knowledge that women matter.

5.      As a woman do you feel an obligation to write on women’s issues (in some form)?

Absolutely. Women need a voice, a voice that feminism far too often silences, when it should be our champion! Ever since I entered the workforce in the eighties, I have been frustrated at feminism’s refusal to acknowledge women’s role as mothers, as home runners, as the ones caring for elderly relatives or family members with a disability, as driving forces in the wider community, and as a powerhouse of change in their own right—and that’s all before we get to a career! To feminism, you would think a woman had nothing to do but join men at the office. It pours praise on a woman when she does the same paid work men do but ignores, denies, and often derides a woman without a man-identical career.

Here’s the thing—a woman is a fully human being in her own right. Without a career. Yet feminism sends a different message—that a woman is an inferior, passive nobody who only becomes a somebody, and her husband’s equal, when she joins him at the office.

6.      Do you create stereotypical female characters i.e., weak, need to be saved?

While there are no characters in my nonfiction book, it does contain the voices of many real women speaking on the miraculous joys and the grueling lows of motherhood and home-running and what it actually means to be a woman (rather than what our very masculinist version of feminism tells us it means). These are women with rich, exhilarating lives outside the workplace who defy the feminist stereotype of woman as weak and in need of rescue. Women are not weak. They are extraordinarily strong.

7.      Do you try to be politically correct or stay away from politics/controversial current events as plots?

Because I stand up for women as dynamic, valiant beings in their own right, with or without an achievement-packed resume, I am one of the most politically incorrect writers around! To say that a woman is an autonomous, authoritative, intelligent person without a career is not just controversial today—it’s heresy.

8.      What makes a woman a success?

One thing only self-respect. A successful woman sees the world through a woman’s eyes, and respects herself for it. Never mind whether she has a job, or financial riches. A woman is not a “failure” who becomes a “success” through joining men at the office or amassing wealth or accomplishments. Women are so much more than their job, and no woman should need to have a job to be considered a “success.” A woman already works every day of her life. A woman is a resonant, in-command, active, capable person, a force for good in the world, a locus of love and intelligence, all on her own. If she works, it is because she loves working or needs the income. She has her own perceptions and priorities that are not always the same as men’s. She stands up for her right to do all the things men do, but she also stands up for her right to recognition and respect for all that she does as a woman. 

Natalie Ritchie is mom to two teenage boys, a former parenting magazine features editor, and author of Roar Like a Woman: How Feminists Think Women Suck and Men Rock. She lives in Sydney, Australia.

Link: Roar Like a Woman | Natalie Ritchie

Please support Natalie Ritchie by sharing this interview, following her online, and purchasing her book.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE FEAURED ON WEDNESDAY WITH WOMEN e-mail me at rizerfall@yahoo.com

Comments and questions welcomed

Heart Health: Heart Condition

 LONGER POST THAN USUAL WARNING

There are many Bible passages that have been misquoted over and over again and one Bible misquote I have heard often is: "The love of money is evil." We may say we see the damage the love of money has manifested in the lives of celebrities and everyday people we come into contact within our own lives. But I still would like to clear up the misquote and set the record straight. "The love of money is the ROOT of ALL evil" 1 Timothy 6:10. Got your seatbelt on? Good. Let's go for a ride.

With the addition of the word 'root' and 'all' our perception of money should change and we should guard ourselves from the pitfalls that the love of money brings. Anyone who tries to convince you that poverty is fun would probably benefit from some sort of professional counseling. But, when we allow our financial state to determine our amount of joy in life as a whole, then we must look at what defines our happiness.

While thinking about money and the way we depend upon it and use it, I wondered was there a difference in the way women used money and the way men used money. And the answer is a resounding YES! I found there are 5 top ways each sex use their money (after taking care of the basic necessities that are common to both sexes such as rent and food) and found the differences a little eye opening.

MEN: Men don’t spend, they invest (car, home). Men don’t want something, they need it. Theirs is a future-money orientation. Men are trained to fix and provide, so they view money as a means to capture and accumulate things to add more value. Men want to be looked up to, status.

Men will spend their money on investments (car, home), entertainment, women/online dating/love, hobbies and sports, and betting and gambling.

WOMEN: Women are trained to nurture and seek acceptance and so they view money as a means to create a lifestyle. Women spend on things that enhance day-to-day living. Theirs is a now-money orientation. Women are the collectors of stuff and are taught that what they need to get through life is approval. They have to look good, act good, and be good.

An average woman will spend 8.5 years of her life shopping. So you guessed it, shopping tops the list of how and where women spend their money. Next we have beauty, health and fitness, love/online dating, and furnishings.

There you have it. Each of the sexes have distinct spending habits to which the marketing masses can target each of the sexes in specific ways. Our purchases are the fruit that are springing forth from the root of our desires or needs. Remember the LOVE of money is the ROOT evidenced and so I ask does our purchases serve as an indicator of our EVIL? For the man would evil be the deep need to have the best and newest car? For the woman would evil be the purchase of unending beauty enhancement materials?

With more and more money men become more and more powerful actually buying people's opinion and loyalty. The rich man often obtains the perfect trophy wife and later trade her in when she no longer fits the bill for a younger attractive wife. Men even become workaholics to the neglect of wife and children. Notice gambling creeps into the bottom of the list on which men spend money. Gambling is a force of destruction.

With more money women spend countless thousands for the perfect nose, smile, breast, butt, tummy and the list goes on and on what a woman is willing to do to her body surgically to maintain youthful beauty. When a woman will inject a poison into her face in an effort not to have wrinkles; then you know just how important beauty is to her. Not only is she interested in being beautiful, she is interested in being surrounded in/by beauty. 

I know what you may be thinking. If this blog is dedicated to lifting up women, it sure does talk negatively about women and their quest for beauty. I'm not anti-beauty or anti-sexiness. I am anti that's all a woman has to offer. There was a preacher who once said people are mean to beautiful people and beautiful people can't help God blessed them with beauty. We all have been blessed with different things by the Creator and beauty can be one of those things. There are many beautiful women who have beauty and brains, so I am not bashing beautiful women enhanced or not. I do have a problem with a woman with children living paycheck to paycheck investing her money in extensions, wigs, and nails (I know I should stay in my own lane. Not my business). I have a problem with men pouring all of their money into a car and he doesn't have a home of his own or pay child support because of his love for his car.

Well, I have not escaped those statistics with my years of shopping and spending money on material things to enhance my beauty (self and home). I have an overwhelming love of shoes and I have contributed to the millions the make-up industry pulls in yearly. We often want to be equal to men in all things. Do we want the men's top 5 they invest their money on to be our top 5? Do we want to trade an obsession for beauty for an obsession for status?

As a group we, women, are saying a lot without using words with how we look and present ourselves to the world. Our spending habits speak for us and I do not know if we are purposefully driving what our voice through money is saying. As I said, businesses and services follow our spending trends and cater to those statistical needs. Our spending power influences society. Our use of money actually speaks volumes about our heart. 

I can't begin to count how many times in the last twelve months there has been a call on social media to boycott a business for one reason or another. People are very aware money has the power to change how a business operates or support a cause or political candidate. The usage of money can be for good or evil.

I would ask everyone who is reading this post to reflect on what/how you spend your money on after you pay your rent and electric bill. Is buying grocery your next biggest expense? Some people skimp on groceries, so they have extra money for something else. Is your biggest expense after rent/electricity entertainment? Some people are highly social and must have outings to be around friends, family, or just other adults to relax and have some fun. Do you spend a large amount on shopping for clothes/shoes/beauty products? Men's shoes are costly and there is always a new brand on the market. Wigs of quality cost money as well as paying someone to do a woman's ever changing hairstyles. Where your money is so is what is driving your heart, morals, character. Let me explain.

When we confess our love, we say I love you with my all my heart, mind, body, and soul yet when love goes wrong it is our heart we say is broken not our mind, body, or soul. So where does this unwanted LOVE for money with it's ROOT of EVIL reside in us? Because we dream and plan to have money we can assume the love of money resides in our mind. We may go as far to say the love of money resides in our body because it can be used to keep us healthy and functioning if we have money. Maybe the love of money is in the soul because our spirit or soul is free from worry if we have money.

My answer to the question as to where the love of money resides is in our heart where love can bloom and be crushed. How then does or can the love of money become evil? "As a man thinks in his heart so is he" Proverbs 23:7. 

YOUR HEART'S DESIRES MAKE YOU WHO YOU ARE. The above passage says it's not your brains rational thoughts guiding you in directions and deeds but your heart's WANTS. You think about desires and wants. Your brain signals the body everyday of it's NEEDS without you having to think about it. The brain says I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, I'm cold, I'm in danger, I'm sick, etc. But the heart has deep deep desires/wants. We act on both wants and needs. But it is in wants where evil shows up. And if you want to evaluate your character, pay attention to what you spend a good bit of your money on and why.

There are many bitter people roaming around because of money. A person with a forty hour a week job is angry at the grocery the below poverty level government welfare person has in their buggy with no access to healthcare (It's their tax money being used). The person whose ancestors came to America for a better life is upset people are coming to America for a better way of life (taking jobs and money from other American minorities). People have cable, three televisions, cellphone, and expensive shoes on and will rob you for what you have (best and newest). It's all about wanting more and the root is the love of money causing evil actions and attitudes.

The love of money has a root and it takes up residence in your heart and grows. The Bible says it is an EVIL growth. Now in modern religion churches teach PROSPERITY GOSPEL. Prosperity Gospel tells you that you can have material things and blessing and God don't want you to be poor. If you claim it you can manifest it. You can hear sermon after sermon saying your monetary breakthrough is coming if you keep your faith and even tithe regularly. Prosperity gospel tells people they can have their heart's desires/wants and as a child of God they are meant to prosper. God wouldn't bless the rest of the world with monetary blessing and not bless his children the same way. BAD TEACHING. Is it then a sin to pray for wealth? No. The money itself is not evil it is the person's heart that can sin with wealth and desires for wealth or it's appearance.

Jesus taught in the New Testament of the Bible that silver and gold corrodes, it is the condition of the heart, not material things that matter. But you may say the Bible says God gives you the desires of your heart. Yes. It does say that in the Old Testament but there is always a condition when the Lord says I will give or do for you. Read this:

Psalm 37:1-8 "Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong, for like the grass will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he WILL DO THIS: 

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret - it leads to evil."

The Hebrew definition of the word delight (in Hebrew an-nag meaning to be delicate or feminine) carrying the meaning to be pliable or sensitive, or in this context to be dependent on God and to derive one's pleasure from Him. We are clearly told what the desires (In Hebrew it's mishalot to ask or request something) of our hearts should be and it is not money. The promise of giving you the desires of your heart is SANDWHICHED in between DON'T FRET about people around you who are doing evil and are successful. God said he will give us justice and let others see how we live righteously (the quality of being morally right or justifiable). In essence the Lord is saying the good guy is not going to finish last which it seems the Psalmist's heart was troubled by and he was told not to fret twice by God.  

So where your heart is shows up as where your money is and your relationship with money. People are dating now asking the infamous question, "What are you bringing to the table?" People want to be a power couple with money and influence. Online love scams are rampant as well as other scams. As soon as there is a natural disaster my phone blows up with spam calls asking for money for the cause from scammers. Love and commitment are taking a backseat to a business deal type of marriage where money is the main drawing factor. 

I decided to do this post due to the economic stress America is in at the moment. Inflation has many choosing to buy groceries, or gas, or pay the rent each month. People are going to bed hungry. Violence due to poverty is rising. 

I raised my children to live by what the Apostle Paul said in his letter to the Philippians in the New Testament Bible:

"Do not be anxious for anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received, or heard from me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want" Philippians 4:6-12

   

Is Interracial Marriage Sinful?

 

When I began this blog, it was intended to chronicle all my exploits in promoting my very first book Diary of a Wannabe Gardener. I did in person public speaking events about flower meanings, superstitions/folk lore about flowers, and talked about the main character's gardening journey in my book. It was fun for me and those who came to the event.

As time went on, I went to Seminary and my blog began to drift more towards religion and politics as Barack Obama threw his hat in the ring to run for president of the United States. If you read some of my posts during that time, I did vent my frustrations from time to time during that time when racism reared its ugly head with freedom and recklessness. I tried to be mindful/thoughtful how I vented my frustrations during that election cycle that was CRAZY to say the least. Remember I always advocate  the Bible verse "Be angry but do not sin." Shortly after, If I remember correctly my book When Will Eve Be Forgiven? (My love child) and The Politics of Prayer was published and promoted. 

  

Then I used my blog to receive material for my next endeavor that would take twelve years to complete. My eye candy, Don't Dread Dreads the People Speak which has the history and resurgence of a hairstyle African Americans and now in modern times, white people wear. I have interviews, facts, and superstitions about this hairstyle along with a rant or two sprinkled in between.

My blog went silent for several years as my life took a turn and the universe and God taught me a few things I needed to learn. I entered the hard knock life phase of my life. Since the age of 10 I had prayed for wisdom. The Bible says to ask for wisdom, and he will freely give it to you "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given him" James 1:5 in the Bible. You get wisdom through living and surviving life's ups and downs. You can't be wise if you don't experience things. Five decades later I can say I am wiser and understand the process of wisdom.

Here we are today with a revamped blog I use to promote all of my books, two newly published in 2022, Manhood Interrupted An Answer For The Red Pill Man and Don't Dread Dreads The People Speak. I decided to do interviews of women o my blog on topics that I am most interested in and feature those interviews on Wednesday With Women. I write about women issues so it is only natural that I use my blog to lift up women. 

I said all of the above to get to today's post which is something that bothers me to my core. I don't want my blog to be a blog filled with rants. I want my blog to be a place/space for enlightenment, but it is my blog and my personal forum and maybe from time to time a rant is called for. I hate religious people twisting Scripture from the Bible willfully or out of ignorance (lack of knowledge). It does so much damage to people who trust that person to know/understand what they are teaching/saying as biblical truth. 

 A person I follow on Facebook posted the Bible is against different races marrying that God wanted pure races/DNA and people were going to be punished for interracial marriages. She said the Scripture said so. I know this person in a kind of when we meet we greet each other and do the little polite banter and move on. She says she is a prophet and believes in demons and God shows her the sinful spirit of others. She speaks in tongues and prays holy fire down on everything and sometimes everyone.

I wrestled whether to respond to her post or not. She has often said things I did not agree with so this post was no surprise. I pretty much know if I respond with disagreement she may say I have a demon spirit of false doctrine. But something in me (demon or not) made me decide to respond. I will update you all on her response if there is one.

There is not one instance in the Bible where there is an instruction to not have interracial marriage. During slavery the Bible was used by white people saying interracial marriages were forbidden and later in history hate groups like the KKK repeated using the Bible to protest interracial marriages.

The Scriptures used were:

Exodus 34:11-16 New International Version Don't Worship Other Gods

"Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

 “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same."

Deuteronomy 7:1-3 New International Version Driving Out the Nations

"When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,"

2 Corinthians 6:14 New International Version Warning Against Idolatry

"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"

The above instructions on who to or not to marry had to do with RELIGOUS beliefs and practices not ETHNICITY or RACE!

King Solomon lost the favor of God for marrying outside of his religion. Solomon built places where his pagan wives could worship and of course these wives invited him to worship their gods: "On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.1 Kings 11:7=8. 

If there are any others out there continuing to use the Bible to say races can not marry (interracial marriages) JUST STOP! 

If you claim a position of authority as an instrument of God it is your duty to study thoroughly what you say and teach. Running back and forth from the Old and New Testament to prove your agenda is WRONG. Taking one verse of Scripture and not understanding the context in which it was said in the fullness of the chapter is WRONG. Don't declare you are an instrument of God and when someone does not agree with you or question you, you become defensive or even hostile condemning the person seeking understanding or more clarity to what you are saying. 

Once again, I must say "Smart people learn from everything and everyone, an average person learn from their experiences, and stupid people already have all of the answers."

If there is anyone reading this post and know of a Bible verse that says different races or ethnicities should not marry, please comment to educate me on this subject of interracial marriage. The seven nations named: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, were similar in ethnic makeup as the Jews. There is no evidence they were African, Hispanic, Caucasian, Asian, etc. 

I must warn you all. I do post on current events and this may lead to me having future rants. I hope within my rants I lead readers to have dialogue themselves on the topics. I am more than open to opposing views and opportunities to be enlightened/educated. This is a safe space of love for all opinions especially when it comes to religion.

 

  

 

 

CULTS and Trump

 WHY ARE PEOPLE BELIEVING TRUMP IS SENT BY GOD? ARE THEY DEMONSTRATING SIGNS OF FOLLOWING A CULT LEADER?

    My daughters jokingly say they were raised in a "cult" and I was the cult leader. This in one way is flattering because cult leaders are extremely charismatic and make people feel loved, accepted, and as if they belong and matter. But cult leaders have a bad side also. It is said they use brainwashing techniques to attract and keep their followers. The followers identify with the cult leaders on some or many levels and admire them greatly. I in no way, shape, or form wanted my daughters to be followers. The parenting skills I believed I was implementing were intended to shape, form, and mold free thinkers. 

    When looking at the definition of a cult leader I found myself disagreeing with it. Religion and religious groups are only described as able to have a cult following, by one resource's definition. Of course, there are several infamous cults which center around religion such as David Koresh, Charles Manson, and Jim Jones. But not ALL cults are religious. Religious cult leaders claim to have direct contact or revelation from a God/Higher Power/ or from the Universe giving them insight/understanding/information/special knowledge that the members do not/cannot possess. In some cases, the leader tells the followers he CAN help them to come into the same awareness/knowledge/power if they follow his direction. Yes, most cult leaders are men. 

    Donald Trump is imfamous for making outlandish promises to his base. His followers do not seem to care that he is not able to deliver on many of his promises. But the really scary thing about Trump is he never objects or tell people not to put him in a savior category. He doubles down on their assessment and revels in being seen as god-like. Is he a cult leader and are his followers blind sheeps for the slaughter? Cult leaders and their followers has historically met with a bad end.

    I believe a cult leader can show up in any given area where there are people looking to be embraced. Hitler took cult leader to the highest deadliest level. Cult leaders are not just your everyday narcissists. The are what is defined as "traumatic" narcisissts. The actions of a traumatic narcissist has deleterious effects on their followers often persuading the follower into abusive situations or to carry out abuses on others. Can anyone say JANUARY 6th?

    Cult leaders are intuitive, able to read people. They thrive on chaos and create crisis situations tapping into well planted fears they have made the followers believe. Fox news is a vehicle for creating one fear after another for its viewers to grab a hold of. They are power-hungry and authoritarian. 

    One thing I find clever of the cult leader is they issue uniforms and titles. These two actions make the follower feel important and above the ordinary person in status. The uniform and title reinforces the idea the follower has a job and authority in his enlightenment within the group and over those without the revelation given to them by their leader. The MAGA hat and slogan is an example of a uniform which makes people feel part of a group, have a job, have a title, and have a mission to enlighten others. Another MOVE of the cult leader is to make tantalizing promises. His promises keeps the follower amped up in anticipation that any day the promise will come true. Hitler was a leader who used these cult practices.

There are three types of cult leaders: The Delusional Martyr, Preacher Turned Egomaniac, and the Hard and Fast Narcissist.

The Delusional Martyr: Is the most dangerous cult leader. Heaven's Gate leader, Marshall Applewhite instructed 39 members to commit mass suicide in 1997. He was convinced aliens would come to earth and take him and his followers away leaving their bodies for a higher existence. This group oriented delusion is called "Shared psychotic Disorder" according to the National Institutes of Health.

The Preacher Turned Egomaniac: May start out as a teacher, preacher, or an instructor of some sort then realizes people believe or hang onto their every word and become puffed up with such influence or his power to get people to listen to his every word. In 1978, Jim Jones, once a preacher, orchestrated the Jonestown Massacre in 1978, killing 900 people by instructing them to drink poison to commit suicide. 

The Hard and Fast Narcissist: Has been a narcissist the majority of their lives. they feel entitled to completely lie to a person or whatever they have to do to get others to believe whatever it is they are selling, whether it is God, a product, or anything. They are a bottomless pit of ego need. They are malignant narcissists and do not care about the lives they destroy, or the lies they tell, the damage they are doing, they just need to be loved, feared, adored. Many say former President Donald Trump falls into this category. 

WHICH CATEGORY DOES DONALD TRUMP AND HIS FOLLOWERS FIT INTO?

I would love to read your answer in the comments.

    The sad thing is there will always be a group of disenfranchised people, the outcast, or the person who has had enough of the way they have been negatively treated, waiting for someone to understand their plight and formulate a solution to address it. The cult leader will begin at the root of the unhappiness/discontent by saying they understand, validating the person, boosting self-esteem, and feelings of being heard. There is a formula or steps visible the cult leader takes, which those outside of the cult can plainly see. The steps are as follows.

  1.  Next the enlightenment talk begins, the ability to see the TRUTH others are blind to or are blatantly disregarding. A new vocabulary only the group is privy to forms, making the followers feel special and separated from others develops. 

  2.  Articles of clothing are introduced in some shape or form. The group takes pride in wearing the items and can be identified by them and titles are given so some sense of power and authority is bestowed upon the followers (no longer a group anymore. Leader and follower hierarchy has been established by now). 

  3.  The leader makes promises to the followers that are appealing and are told family and friends will turn against them for believing in the promises and the leader. Outsiders, or anyone who disagrees with the leader become a THREAT, ENEMY, INFERIOR. The leader makes the followers protective of him saying those who do not believe will want to destroy him with lies or even physical attacks. This is the point where the follower can become dangerous in an attempt to protect the message, doctrine, and/or leader from outside influences. The leader now has full control and can demand money or violence from the followers. The followers become weaponized by the leader. Just objects to be used as he sees fit.

    I have written a book Manhood Interrupted, But Never Destroyed, An Answer For The Red Pill Man addressing a group of men whose group has been described as a cult, in the RED PILL community. These men believe they are not treated as well as women by society Their rights as men are not recognized in the home and world at large. Women use sex to manipulate men. Women have made laws/polices beneficial to them by giving or withholding sex and thus are responsible for the bad condition of society. Women lie and call the police on men falsely claiming rape. The courts favor women in divorce awarding them the man's money/possessions and children in child custody battles. Women continually reject men in the dating scene.

    The Red Pill community have their own language, looks to a leader for instruction and ideology about women, attack outsiders or their enemy- women, verbally and on a few accounts physically. There is Red Pill apparel available for purchase, they actively recruit members usually unhappy young Republican White men, and offer comradery for men in private groups. This group checks many of the cult boxes of a cult. But what else makes a cult? The people who join the group or community. The Red Pill community and MAGA have traits of a cult.

    There are certain characteristics of those who are recruited, belong, join, connect with cults and cult leaders. People who join cults:

SEEK APPROVAL

FOLLOWERS BY NATURE, NOT LEADERS

SEEKING AN IDENTITY

SEEKING MEANING

SCHIZOTYPAL THINKING (not schizophrenic but dances on the edge and have odd beliefs/behaviors with conspiracy-type, alien-type, supernatural-type beliefs)

HIGHLY SUGGESTIBLE

CONSTANTLY BLAME OTHERS

ALWAYS ANGRY

VERY LOW SELF-ESTEEM

    Angry social media communities can easily spin into a cult. No one in America would have believed 2,000-2,500 Americans would attack the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. People watched the news with utter shock and disbelief as rioters forced their way into the Capitol Building in an effort to overturn election results and harm employees of the government including the vice president. I can guarantee none of the people involved in the protest and attack would classify themselves as cult members but I bet their family members would. 

    The rioters, MAGA, follow a charismatic leader and hang on his every word or instruction. They believe they are understood finally by their leader. They subscribe to conspiracy theories. Those who don't believe the leader are deemed inferior, a danger, or an enemy. The leader enlists fear as a tool for action and to ensure his followers remain angry along with wild promises (he delivers many). He plays a martyr saying the media is attacking him. He dictates their source of information. The main part of the uniform is the MAGA hat. Bullying is used as an abuse tactic. The leader often proclaims his brilliance, and he is the only one who can help them and change the country/world. His blatant lies are ignored for the common good of their ideology. The leader separates followers from family who do not believe the same. He uses his power to elevate followers to positions and titles. Money flows, weapons flow, and discontent grows. Crisis after crisis only he can solve is echoed by the leader.

    In the end, a large number of followers of cult leaders end up dying. The leader eventually crosses a line in his big grab for power or relevance resulting in their death. No special enlightenment is needed to know the Cult of Trump is going to end in some form of disaster even bigger than January 6, 2021. History repeats itself.  

    This is what the Bible says about FALSE teachers (leaders) who bring truth into dispute 2 Peter 2:10-14. They are bold and arrogant.

"This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority... With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning, they SEDUCE the UNSTABLE; they are experts in GREED - an accursed brood!"

    Please by my book The Politics of Prayer in which I talk about how politics is supposed to play in the Christians life and about those elected to government positions of power. It is a book that will surely help Christians and non-Christians understand how not to let religion go astray when dealing with corruption in the government and its officials. My book is available on amazon.com

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Selfie Madness Selfie Love

 WILL THE REAL DOROTHY PLEASE STAND UP

Many of you may not be familiar with the above catch phrase from the popular game show To Tell The Truth which aired 1956 - 1968. The show featured a panel of celebrities who were presented with three people who all claimed to be the same person with the same incredible talent, job, or achievement. One  of the contestants is sworn to tell the truth, while the others are not in order to fool the panel of guessing celebrities. 

The celebrity panel would ask a round of questions to each contestant trying to find the REAL PERSON from the imposters. At the end of the game each celebrity would say who they believed was the real person. The host would say: WILL THE REAL ________ (person) PLEASE STAND UP and the celebrities would find out if their guess was correct or not.

Blackish star Anthony Anderson hosts the current game show To Tell The Truth and the show has been renewed for its seventh season. I loved guessing along with the panel of celebrities who was the real person when I was a little girl. I guessed wrong most of the time.

Today on social media we are like the celebrity panel in a way guessing if the person presented in their PROFILES are who they say they are. CATFISHING has become popular on social media. Catfishing is when someone sets up a fake profile, pretending to be someone they are not, trying to find love, trying to scam someone for money, or just being someone, they are not for the fun of it. The number one tool used by catfishers is the SELFIE.

The first ever selfie was taken in 1839 by Robert Cornelius, an amateur chemist and photography enthusiast in Philadelphia even though it was not called a selfie back then. The word selfie was founded in 2002 when an Australian man, Nathan Hope, got drunk at his 21st birthday and posted a picture of his stitched lip with the caption "sorry about the focus, it was a selfie." The selfie began to grow between 2003 -2005 becoming the modern social media trend it is now.

Besides being used to catch the attention of the opposite sex for nefarious reasons, the SELFIE has a down side for those taking them. Selfies can be manipulated with filters to make the person in the selfie look better than they do in person. Filters are like magical fairy dust sprinkled on a person erasing blemishes, wrinkles, and any other imperfection and has a tendency to make the African American person's skin tone lighter and slenderizes the nose and lips. Filters even changes the eye color to lighter shades of brown and enhances colors of green and blue. The selfie has turned into the at home professional photo shoot with airbrushing at your finger tips.

Sounds great and looks great if I am to be honest. People become beautiful in one click of the cell phone camera button. I myself, love the way I look in my slightly filtered pictures. I'm not a go all the way type of girl but some people post extremely filtered pictures erasing all evidence (features) of the actual person.

Dates have been made using filtered pictures and once the two individuals meet in person, reality hits home and people are disappointed when the REAL unfiltered person shows up. But there is another negative side I keep alluding to for the person who falls in love with their own filtered picture. They too become disappointed when they look into an unfiltered mirror at their own actual face and features. 

The SELFIE is causing low self-esteem, especially in women. For years psychologists have sounded the alarm about television and magazines presenting beautiful, edited pictures of women which were not a look the actual woman sitting at home could achieve. The images of beauty presented were an illusion leading the every day woman to feel flawed and inferior compared to those air brushed images of beauty. Now psychologists are sounding that same alarm about the selfie. 

Teen girls are using filters to enhance their beauty and entertaining ideas of plastic surgery to alter themselves to obtain those looks in reality. Women of color use or take skin lightening creams and drugs wanting a lighter shade of brown for their skin. Makeup techniques are used to slim noses and increase or decrease lip size. Extensions have found their way to every head including elementary school age GIRLS. I have even seen hair pieces on toddlers in baby photos. We are no longer satisfied with what we SEE in the mirror, which is a dangerous trend. 

The everyday person on social media has become the panel of celebrities asking the questions in an attempt to find out if you are an imposter or not. Potential love interests have to hold their breath when they meet and in essence this is when the question "Will the REAL _______ (person) please stand up!" It has become a guessing game as to who are we on social media. Are we all passing off a fake PERSON we wished we were? Have we become not enough for our own selves? Is the man in the mirror as Michael Jackson sung about the real person we want the world to see and know or is it the selfie person of social media we really want the world to know and adore?

At times I even have to say to myself: WILL THE REAL DOROTHY PLEASE STAND UP. It does not seem like the selfie is going to go away any time soon. We will continue catching the right light and angle and oh, yeah, the right filter and post our beautiful picture and wait to receive a thousand likes for the day. We will exhale in relief knowing they liked me/my picture of the day. Our self-esteem is boosted by the thumbs up button people we don't know clicked on. Is who we present to the world an imposter or our true selves and does it really MATTER? Yes. The authentic you does matter and even unfiltered you are still amazing in your own way and you are enough just as you are.

INTERVIEW: Miah Sims, womanhood

 WELCOME to WEDNESDAY WITH WOMEN

 

Miah Sims is a content creator and is the first, I hope in a long list of many women, to tackle Womanhood in the 21st Century. At present, America is undergoing the first Supreme Court confirmation process of the first African American woman, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. On March 22, 2022, Mrs. Jackson was asked by Senator Marsha Blackburn to define what is a WOMAN and she declined to do so, in the context presented in that particular question. The question asked if biological males should be allowed to participate in Olympic sports events if they identified as a woman? Miah Sims has chosen to address the question of womanhood for my blog. I hope you as a reader can understand how important this defining is to women.

1.      At what age do you believe you became a woman?

I honestly believe I became a woman when I had children, so at 17. I say this because I learned that womanhood comes with sacrifice. There is no greater sacrifice than being a mom in my opinion.

2.      Did you have a role model of womanhood?

At one point I did, my godmother, Denise. She came into my life when I was 11 years old and was the best example I could have of a mom.

3.      Have family, friends, romantic interest want you to meet a traditional/Biblical/stereotypical role or definition of a woman?

My family especially wants me to be the epitome of the “stereotypical woman.” That’s just not me unfortunately. I still uphold moral values, but I feel like the stereotypical woman settles and that has never been my personality. Being married young, I have learned you have to do what works best for you, not what everyone else tells you.

4.      Can you describe what womanhood means generally or personally to you?

Womanhood to me means a consistent journey of self-evaluation, sacrifice, and evolution. Womanhood isn’t defined by one thing; it’s defined by your journey.

5.      Do you believe men want a traditionally feminine wife/girlfriend without a career?

I personally feel like men sometimes want that traditional wife/girlfriend, but it’s a subconscious decision. They are taught, they have to provide, and be out in the world by themselves. The generation we live in today is not like that. There are so many opportunities women have and it takes pressure off the spouse. My husband and I have adapted, we help one another. God didn’t give me gifts for me just to be a homemaker.

6.      Is womanhood best demonstrated through motherhood?

I feel like it depends on the situation. I believe womanhood should be demonstrated through motherhood. Not everyone has a picture-perfect situation, because every female is not born a mother.

7.      Do you consider yourself a Feminist (believe men and women should have equal rights and opportunities)?

I wouldn't necessarily say I am a feminist. I just stand up for what I believe is right/wrong beyond gender.

 

A big thanks to Miah for sharing her thoughts and opinions on Womanhood in the 21st Century. Please support her by visiting her at:

 

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/everythingmiahsims

YouTube:  https://m.youtube.com/c/EverythingMiahSims 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE FEATURED IN AN INTERVIEW FOR THIS BLOG CONTACT ME AT: rizerfall@yahoo.com