Re-focusing!

This is a post I've been thinking about all day...
Why is it that education has shifted so much in the last few decades? Why is it that our advice to the younger generations is generally more negative than it ever has been in the past, yet we cover that up by calling it realistic? I've known what it means to seek knowledge, the "truth" as the world puts it, and I've come to the conclusion that we are getting ourselves into a heap of trouble although we think that we are doing ourselves a favor.
Let me rewind. I sat and watched yet another version of the Snow White story today after sharing breakfast and coffee with two generations of wise women in my family (altogether making us three generations strong!). Back to the film: this time it was "The Huntsmen." I loved it. It was incredible. Not only did I feel like a five year old again, sitting on the edge of my seat, thoroughly entranced by the effects, the plot-line, the characters, but I was moved by the personal connection I made with the added fierceness that had been infused into the purity of Snow White's character. In this movie, her purity and connection to the light is profound and it makes all the difference in defeating the Queen (ie Wicked Step-Mom).
As a side-story, I was encouraged to be strong, to have people see the inner-beauty that God has placed inside of each one of us, but I was also thinking. Which is always a welcome bonus to anything that I see in the theater. I caught myself being delighted by the train of thought, too!
So, let's see if I can get onto paper what it is that rattled my brain and caused me to go, "A-ha!"

I'll use sex-ed as my first example.
We tell kids nowadays to use protection, so they will not contract HIV or any number of sexually transmitted diseases. We tell them that children are a by-product of unprotected sex, so they won't be able to fulfill their own personal goals if they get pregnant before they are "ready." Finally, we tell students that if they do not wait until marriage to have sex with their partner, they will never know how compatible the two are before being tied together for life and, especially, that testing the waters will ensure the bond the two have upon going into eternal matrimony. The only problem with these "facts" is that they are fundamentally wrong. Not to say they could be disproved. I am arguing that we are approaching "problems" in our society in an ENTIRELY irrelevant manner.
When I was learning about sex, I didn't stop to consider who I might be hurting along the way or what I was giving up. The way it was explained to me was all about the risks I might go through and I think this happened because our society has become so inherently selfish. That wasn't going to reach me though. If you were a kid like me who so completely felt that no one cared one-hundred percent about your well-being, then you too probably thought more about the well-being of others, over that of yourself.
This is what I'm suggesting would work better. Let me know if you agree or disagree!

Re-focus on the positives: If you wait until you are married to have sex, you will NEVER have to spend a sleepless night wondering if you are pregnant. Does that not seem simple?
How about, if you wait until you are married to have sex, you will know without a doubt that the person you are with loves you more than anything else in the world. Not because of the action, but because he or she has already made the commitment at the alter, in front of your family and friends, and they have undoubtedly taken at least a few months proving it to you through dating in a pre-marital relationship.
Not to mention, abstinence before marriage would severely limit the amount of STD's that get passed around unknowingly or otherwise. If you are only sleeping with your spouse, you two either know of any pre-existing conditions or you never have to worry about it.
Let's take sex off the throne it has been elevated to. Honestly, we could probably go on for thirty minutes about all the discomforts that go along with the event, the preparation, the irrational decisions, the unfortunate choices in partners, etc. All we can ever really say to Sex's credit is that it is "Good." Really, people? Can't we hold out for great!?!
I know we all make decisions and they aren't always one's we are proud of, but I also saw hope today and was encouraged. Changes can occur and righting-wrongs is my job as long as I'm on this Earth. So, if you, like me, see an area in your world you want changed, let's seek the solutions together. Let's spread the good news like a fire that they can't get rid of, a light that won't be extinguished, a simplicity that cannot be denied.
This is completely from a position that God's grace is sufficient and His love is more than enough.
Good luck everybody with whatever it is that you are struggling to overcome and accomplish!
love, Jenn :)

Muscular Legs and Tree Trunks.

There's something about her that isn't the usual. That means she is rather unusual. To her this is the upmost of compliments. She sees herself as no one else does and yet she feels their glances all too well. Her normal behavior is out of the ordinary, but to her she is nothing extraordinary. Doesn't everyone need their quiet time, to sit back and unwind? Isn't anyone else their best self in front of everyone else, but dwelling in their own mind they are the creature from the Dark Lagoon? Not that she knew what that creature even was, but it sounded foreboding, it sounded almost as awful as she convinced herself that she shouldn't be feeling.
To tell you the truth, she was okay with being different because to her, everyone was. Not everyone was the typical beauty and thank God for that. Some were shorter or rounder or balder or louder. Some were stout while others were thin while others still seemed to be all twisted about. Their insides were out and their frowns looked like smiles. She often wondered why people like that didn't disturb her, in fact, they intrigued her.
She was in love now, so of course this made her dwell on who she really was. Was she pretty or thin, was she ugly but nice, was she truly good enough for anyone or would she be better off trying to get everything right? She hated not being perfect. Yet every time she worked at it, it surely wasn't worth the effort. She inevitably failed, spent time wallowing in self-hate with a mixture of pity and all the while knowing it was wrong for her to be doing anything except for simply living. Which she wanted to do, of course, if only she could figure this one little detail out. What do you do with the pieces of you that don't fit the puzzle your whole life seems to say you are making? There's a bit that doesn't go here, yet you are quite sure it belongs to whatever it is that you are doing. Instead of throwing it out, since that is rather improbable, you must make do, even setting the anomaly aside until the secret comes out from wherever it is that secrets like that do hide.
She was proud of herself for not giving up, for believing that there was a solution even when she was stuck. What she couldn't make sense of was that it would all be alright, that somehow her distractions would have happy conclusions and the picture would ultimately be completed. But, for who? For who did all of that work get done and for whose admiration had her work begun? If He knows the completed project, in fact has drawn up the immaculate design, isn't it her job to not note on the details, but rather enjoy the process and not comment on the length of time?
It felt frustrating. She was frustrated because she wasn't doing yet another thing right. Appreciate God's gift, was what her head kept telling her. He made you, He loves you, He thinks you're beautiful. Well, that's great. But in the mean time I've yelled at my dog, I look ugly in jeans and just yesterday I told a prideful lie. I feel sick to my stomach to think that who I am is, plainly and simply, me. Yet, I remember that God is full of grace. My mistakes are colorful designs on His beautiful page. I am nothing more than human. I am one beautiful mistake and He has indeed created me this way.http://www.facebook.com/lookup4change