By Chance

"By Chance"
Written by me.

Sand and petals,
of the softest gold.
Stars in the darkness,
such beauty they hold.

Shapes that are perfect,
fragrances that entrance,
and they say this came to be,
by chance?

The flowers that bloom,
and the birds that sing,
I believe that God
made all of these things.

But still they insist,
still they believe,
these came to be,
by chance.

They are shown perfect beauty,
in the life on earth,
but still they are blind,
to the simple fact,
that none of it came to be
by chance.

Thanks for reading my poem. Please feel free to leave your comments below, and have a great day!!

Modesty in Public

Last week at work, out of the blue two of my coworkers thought it would be fun to rib me about the clothes I was wearing that day. It really surprised me, and confused me at the same time. They teased me for dressing too modestly. It was like the twilight zone. I defended myself by mentioning that I am married, not looking for a guy. They told me in a joking way that "were all mostly girls here" and the guys working there have "seen the equipment before."

I tried to brush off the tease and just fun, which it was, but it also got me thinking... what are the arguments for, and against dressing in a modest way when a women is out in public? Is "were all girls here" and the guy have "seen the equipment before" really valid arguments?

But before that question, I have to ask myself one more, will I look at the arguments from a Biblical world view, or a secular world view? My answer is to look at these arguments from a Biblical world view.

First, the argument the men have "seen the equipment before." This argument seems to suggest that men only lust the very first time they see a women, and after that, they have "seen it all" and will never lust again. This, of course does not make any sense. Also, as far as it is has to do with me, I want to keep myself out of other men's minds, other than my husband. Oh and there's still the Biblical reasons. I can think of two Bible passages that directly or indirectly deal with this topic.

1. Exodus 20:14 "You shall not commit adultery."
2. Matthew 5: 27,28 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. "

The first verse is a command from God, the second is an expanding of the fist command by Jesus Christ in the New Testament. To dress immodestly is to help the men/women around you heap sin and condemnation on themselves. I do not want to be apart of causing more guilt on my fellow human being. We each sin enough on our own without extra help!

The second argument mentioned was "were all girls here." That of course, may be true in some offices but it is this really a legitimate argument. I mean, in an office with all women working and visiting, could everyone sit around working in just underwear? No, of course not. Also, personally, an immodestly dressed person of the same gender can just as distracting as one from the opposite gender. It can be uncomfortable in public to be around a person who is dressed immodestly, and make it hard to concentrate on the task at hand. So in order to keep my mind on my tasks, so I can keep my job, and other's can keep theirs, I think it is better to keep a modest appearance at work.

What do you think about my coworkers arguments? Are they valid? Are there other arguments I can use in favor of modest dress at work? Please send me your "thoughts" and let me know what you think. Thanks! -Dawn <><

For more articles on this subject, please feel free to visit past and present Carnivals on Modesty. Thanks for reading!

He Has Risen!

Luke 24

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " Then they remembered his words.

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened."

For more information GO HERE. Have a Happy Easter!!

OLD CAT NEW TRICKS!?!

I used to think that a cat could not learn tricks. I mean, they are usually loaners, and like to keep by themselves. Most of the cat I have met, seem to love doing the opposite of what you want them to do. You want them off the counter, so they jump on it. You want them to scratch the scratching post, so they scratch the couch. Ugh! Can anyone out there relate to what I'm writing? They are stubborn, and not as willing to perform, as say most dogs. They do not seem to get as excited about praise and petting as dogs. Lets face it, if it wasn't for the fact s/he relies on you for food/water and a clean litter box, a cat can seem more like a roommate, than a pet.

However, as I stated above I used to think cats could not learn tricks, but since I adopted my newest cat, Taz, two years ago, I have learned quite a bit about cat training. I found that clicker training, that is often used for dogs, also works well for cats! Clicker training is gaining popularity as a human way to train dogs in tricks and obedience. However, there is also a smaller movement that is starting to use this technique with cats. BTW clicker training has been around for awhile, but was used in other type of animal training, such as the dolphins you see at a zoo, before it was popular with dogs or cats. Anyhow, since I started learning about clicker training, I have taught my cat how to come when called, give me a "kiss" (bump my nose with his) and a couple of other things, such as the command "get down" when he is up on the counter/bookshelf. With others I have talked to on the cat clicker yahoo group, training is also helpful to get a cat to stop unwanted behaviors. Some of the member have trained their cats to balance and walk on a ball, play fetch/retrieve, and jump through a hoop. If you want to learn more, you can visit the yahoo site. One other great resource is the book "Don't Shoot the Dog" by Karen Pryor. It goes into the basics of animal training. Don't let the title fool you, it is not just about dogs! ;-)

What is your experiences with animal training, cats or otherwise? What about training up you kids? Please leave your "thoughts" below, and thanks for reading! -Dawn

Added 3/18/2008:
To see more made from scratch ideas, be sure to visit the Made From Scratch Carnival, starting March 25th at the host website "Applehead".

Good People

Do you think you are a good person? Most people, I think would say "Yes". You may give to charity, provide for the kids... and so on. I found online this good person test. It really makes
you think about your definition of "good."