Something I've been mulling over....
Aug. 13th, 2008 07:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fiberaddictI read a few chrischun mommy-blogs (shock! gasp! :giggle:), and something's come up lately that I've been thinking about. (Yes, Virginia, sometimes I *do* actually think about things...:snicker:) The subject: Joy!
One of the bloggers-in-question is...well, she's nuts. Seriously - her idea of chrischun behavior is warped in the extreme, but she has a wide following (no, I won't link her here....I'm sure if you do a little bit of googling you can find her. She's...whacked.). One of her things is the whole submissive wife (which....OK, I can agree with the Biblical principle...but she (and her minions) carry it WAY to far. To the point of being nothing more than a "Yes girl" to her husband to far - no matter WHAT he proclaims), another is being dresses-only (which...takes the message AWAY from G-d, and puts the focus ON the woman.....which is not Biblical AT ALL. :ahem: Sorry....soapbox there. :blush:)....she's nuts.
Anyway, it came up recently that someone accused her of being fake, because she's "joyful all the time!" I'll paraphrase her response: Basically, if you're a chrischun - a REAL chrischun - you'll automatically be *Happy* all the time. If you don't have a smile on your face 24/7, you're not really a chrischun.
I call Bullshit.
Joy does NOT equal Happiness. Joy just...is; happiness can be controlled by external things. I am joyful - always. Happy - not so much. I mean, my boss makes me feel angry, upset, ready to bash my head against the wall - every day. It makes HER feel happy to treat me like dirt. :shrug: Can't do anything about it - but I'm still joyful that a)I have a job (sucky or not, it's still a paycheck); b)I have a house that is perfect for my family; c)I have a wonderful family and great friends; d) - well, the list of joy goes on and on.
I can be joyful, and still be angry. Pissed-off. Sick. None of that touches my joy - and why am I joyful? Because of my Faith and belief in God. :shrug: I can't explain it any other way. When my first husband was killed, I wasn't happy - for MONTHS. But I was joyful - I knew what he believed, and I knew where he was. Yes, my life sucked at that time - but I also knew it would only suck for a relatively short time.
I just....for someone with such a wide following to say that if you're not smiling like a Stepford Wife all the time you're not really "Saved" (that's a whole 'nother ball of wax...I ain't gonna touch that one. Not right now!)...that's WRONG. I can't comment with that on HER site, of course - she refuses to post comments that disagree with her narrow view, and if she DOES post them, she edits them to make herself look better.
Jesus Himself was angry (remember the can of whoop-ass he opened on the money-changers in the Temple?), sad (remember Lazarus?)...he wasn't Happy happy joy joy all the time, so why would *I*, who am trying to emulate Him, be Happy all the time?
:whew: That's off my chest now......I gotta go. Gotta get some stuff done so I can enjoy my lunch date today! :wink: (Yep. I'm Happy today! :snicker:)
One of the bloggers-in-question is...well, she's nuts. Seriously - her idea of chrischun behavior is warped in the extreme, but she has a wide following (no, I won't link her here....I'm sure if you do a little bit of googling you can find her. She's...whacked.). One of her things is the whole submissive wife (which....OK, I can agree with the Biblical principle...but she (and her minions) carry it WAY to far. To the point of being nothing more than a "Yes girl" to her husband to far - no matter WHAT he proclaims), another is being dresses-only (which...takes the message AWAY from G-d, and puts the focus ON the woman.....which is not Biblical AT ALL. :ahem: Sorry....soapbox there. :blush:)....she's nuts.
Anyway, it came up recently that someone accused her of being fake, because she's "joyful all the time!" I'll paraphrase her response: Basically, if you're a chrischun - a REAL chrischun - you'll automatically be *Happy* all the time. If you don't have a smile on your face 24/7, you're not really a chrischun.
I call Bullshit.
Joy does NOT equal Happiness. Joy just...is; happiness can be controlled by external things. I am joyful - always. Happy - not so much. I mean, my boss makes me feel angry, upset, ready to bash my head against the wall - every day. It makes HER feel happy to treat me like dirt. :shrug: Can't do anything about it - but I'm still joyful that a)I have a job (sucky or not, it's still a paycheck); b)I have a house that is perfect for my family; c)I have a wonderful family and great friends; d) - well, the list of joy goes on and on.
I can be joyful, and still be angry. Pissed-off. Sick. None of that touches my joy - and why am I joyful? Because of my Faith and belief in God. :shrug: I can't explain it any other way. When my first husband was killed, I wasn't happy - for MONTHS. But I was joyful - I knew what he believed, and I knew where he was. Yes, my life sucked at that time - but I also knew it would only suck for a relatively short time.
I just....for someone with such a wide following to say that if you're not smiling like a Stepford Wife all the time you're not really "Saved" (that's a whole 'nother ball of wax...I ain't gonna touch that one. Not right now!)...that's WRONG. I can't comment with that on HER site, of course - she refuses to post comments that disagree with her narrow view, and if she DOES post them, she edits them to make herself look better.
Jesus Himself was angry (remember the can of whoop-ass he opened on the money-changers in the Temple?), sad (remember Lazarus?)...he wasn't Happy happy joy joy all the time, so why would *I*, who am trying to emulate Him, be Happy all the time?
:whew: That's off my chest now......I gotta go. Gotta get some stuff done so I can enjoy my lunch date today! :wink: (Yep. I'm Happy today! :snicker:)
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Date: 2008-08-13 01:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-13 02:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-25 12:50 am (UTC)Stephanie in AR
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Date: 2008-08-25 12:56 pm (UTC)The thing is, SOME of her theology is sound...it's the stuff that isn't that bugs me. (And, of course, *that's* the stuff she pushes.) Oh, and the fact that she uses Chick Tracts to "prove" her "Biblical" stance....(I could go on, but I won't. It'll get petty and shrewish too quickly. :grin:)