My Stance on "Fifty Shades of Grey" and "Magic Mike"

** Let me start out by saying that I did not write this. I found this on another girl's blog a while back. I do not know her name, but she wrote it and initialed it at the bottom. I am posting this because I couldn't agree with her more. She is right on Biblically with why I choose not to read or watch either of these. I may offend some, and that's ok with me if I know the reason I'm standing for this is biblically sound and morally convicting for me personally. 

50 Shades of Magic Mike (In Which I Am VERY UNCOOL)
This is a post that will not make me any friends, and will alienate some of my existing friends, and generally make me look like a complete stick-in-the-mud. Do people still say that? Stick-in-the-mud? How about killjoy/spoilsport/wet-blanket, etc? You get what I mean.

Explanation
The only reason I’m writing this at all is because I feel compelled to do so. I’m not sure if you ever had this feeling, but sometimes there are words that I need to write, only I don’t want to write them. So I push them deep down, underneath all of the other words I actually want to write, and beneath my mental-list of chores and errands, so far down that I think they basically don’t exist anymore. But that’s never the case. Something always causes them to spring back up, and this will continue happening until I sit down and write the words out. Then I can move on with my life. That’s what this is.

“Mommy Porn”
“50 Shades of Grey” is an erotic novel, and “Magic Mike” is a movie about male strippers, and both are very, very popular with women right now. In fact, they’re being called “Mommy Porn.” (I won’t go into more detail, because there is enough about them both on the Internet already.) I can’t check Twitter or Facebook without reading another enthusiastic update about both of them. Seems like every woman I know is into one of those works, or both. I am not surprised that both of these works are being celebrated so openly; there are so many equivalent works that are aimed at men that garner major public attention that I’m actually surprised it took women this long to get their own “thing.” I am surprised, though, at how completely accepting Christian culture is to both of these works. I’ve read a few dozen different updates from Christian women regarding “50 Shades” and “Magic Mike,” and the verdict? They love them. I mean they really looooove them. They can’t stop talking about them.

(Quick, like a bandaid:) This is not okay.

Christian women need to reject both of these works, and instead, use our voices in support of what is good, right and true. It is our responsibility, as daughters of the Heavenly King, to remain set-apart from the poisons of our culture, to rebuke temptation, and to celebrate and honor righteousness.

Some Scriptural Support

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

If your enemy thinks he can snare you with something as “acceptable” as 50 Shades or Magic Mike, you better believe he will take advantage. Don’t let the culture’s acceptance and celebration of these works confuse you, or put you off your guard.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-9

(Emphasis my own.) Do not conform to the patterns of this world. In other words, just because everyone else is reading it/watching it, that doesn’t make it acceptable.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” Matthew 6:22-23

Is what you’re putting in front of your eyes healthy? Is what you’re putting into your imagination healthy?

Put Yourself in His Shoes
To gain another perspective, imagine your husband (or father/brother/church leader) going around bragging about how much he loved reading last month’s Playboy magazine, or rallying all of his guy friends to go see “Magic Meghan” for the third time. If our husbands were drooling over a movie about female strippers, we would be livid. It wouldn’t be tolerated. Church leaders would be publicly denouncing men’s sudden acceptance of pornography and erotic films. (Why aren’t church leaders publicly denouncing 50 Shades or Magic Mike, by the way?)

Make Good Decisions

If you’re a Christian woman, and you’re reading this, know that I am not judging you. (I own 50 Shades myself. I bought it before I knew what it was, on the recommendation of a friend, and after reading some pages and discovering that it’s pornography, I cast it aside.) We all have poor judgement sometimes, and leave ourselves open to temptation. But we can also use our agency to make good decisions. Like throwing 50 Shades away (don’t re-gift it!), and not going to see Magic Mike. (Or if you’ve already seen it, stop encouraging all of your friends to go see it.)
Rather than causing each other to stumble by putting our sisters in the path of temptation, what if we decided to use our voices to celebrate our marriages? Or the marriages of your friends and family? What if we championed healthy relationships?

Taking Things Up a Notch
(This next paragraph talks about sex a little bit, so stop reading if you don’t want to read about sex.)
What if we invested our time and energy into spicing things up in our bedrooms? Rather than spending $12 on that movie, or the book, why not save the money, and instead, wear something sexy to bed, just because? And what if all the time that you would have spent reading 50 Shades, you instead spent making love to your husband? (Though probably not all in one day…unless you’re, like, training for a marathon.) We can definitely kick things up a notch without resorting to reading pornography, or lusting after celebrity-strippers.

Non-Christian Perspective
It is not okay to sexually objectify people. Just because evidently this summer we’re all about objectifying men, that doesn’t make it okay. It’s not like there’s a scale, and all these years, it’s been heavy on the objectification-of-women side, and we need to balance it out by objectifying men now. It doesn’t work that way. The only way we “balance the scale” is by quitting objectifying anyone, and leaving the scale empty. Oh, and that saying “you are what you eat?” I’d say the same thing goes for media: you are what you consume. Pornography is unhealthy. There, I said it.

Do I win some kind of prize for being the least popular person on the Internet for this? Like I’ve said: I did not want to write this. Please be nice to me in the comments, because if you know me at all, you know that this is totally out of character for me. I don’t preach at people…well, ever. I’m just glad these words are out so I can finally write the things I want to write.

xoxo, mj

A Reason To Rejoice! Romans 5:9-11

A Reason To Rejoice

Romans 5:9-11 "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For it, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved THROUGH His life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."

This passage reminds us that our reason to rejoice is not that our future salvation is assured, that we've been delivered from eternal punishment, or that Christ died for us while we were still his enemies, Certainly that would be reason enough! BUT, we also rejoice because in the present, right here on earth in the midst of where we are- today, tomorrow, and all the  days we are alive- we can enjoy a wonderful new relationship with our heavenly Father. This is not a distant relationship but a close, intimate one. We are blessed with this intimacy because the finished work of Christ removed every barrier standing between the Lord and us and restored our relationship so that we could be friends of God. We did NOTHING to accomplish this; we receive it because of what Christ did. Think of it- friends of the Almighty!
IF NOTHING ELSE IS GOING WELL TODAY, WE STILL HAVE GREAT REASON TO REJOICE!!!!

Oswald Chambers~ "The whole meaning of prayer is that we may know God."

-taken from One Year Praying Through The Bible by Cheri Fuller

Worthy of Praise

Psalm 18:1-3. "I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies."

Hunted and chased like an animal, David had been in terrible distress and danger, but God had preserved his life and rescued him. Because of God's help, David hadn't just survived; he had emerged victorious. So he sings Psalm 18, a psalm of thanksgiving for all God has done and for who he is to David. It is a great song of worship and praise for the Lord's diving intervention in delivering David against all odds from his enemy Saul and for bringing David through his difficulties to a future and hope. 

In singing God's praises, David uses vivid metaphors: "my rock" (stability and security), "my shield" (the one who guards and keeps me safe), "the strength of my salvation", (my source of strength when I'm weak), and "my stronghold", (the place I go for protection). In David's darkest hour the Lord revealed himself in these ways, and He wants to reveal himself in our lives too- right where we are in our victories. Ask Him to reveal himself in whatever you're facing today, and join David in praising the Lord who is truly "worthy of praise"!

Lord, when I am overwhelmed with difficulties, be my rock- my source of security in an uncertain world. In you along I find protection. You are my stronghold; I need nothing else. Be my strength when I am weak. By my shield of protection.

The Best Day of My Life

As a little girl I dreamed of being a beautiful bride one day... walking down the aisle in the most stunning white wedding dress. My dream came true on July 10. I hardly know what to say except that day really was the best day of my life. It was beyond beautiful, and it was so worth the wait. Jason and I saw each other during the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner, but not after that until the "Bridal March" on the wedding day. We got married at 6 o'clock Saturday night at Duncan Estate in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The whole day seemed to go by so slow... I never knew I could feel so anxious. I was so calm all day, and I was not stressed in the least bit. All morning and afternoon I was able to spend some good time with my bridesmaids. We didn't have to start getting ready until around 11, and that day was so relaxing and enjoyable. During the time Jason and I dated, I wrote journals starting from the first time we met. Over the past few months I started writing all the journals in one journal to give Jason on our wedding day, and that morning I finished the last journal entry. Maddeline gave Jason the journal and a letter that I wrote him. Jason wrote me a letter and at that time I started realizing how real this really was. I remember people around me taking pictures as I read Jason's note to me. Everything was in slow motion from then on. We finished getting ready, I did my make up with Maddie, and waited for the videographer and photographer to get there. It was right at 3:00. They took pictures as I got dressed, and I remember my mom zipping up my dress and putting my veil on, and Maddie putting on my shoes for me. The pictures went so fast. We went outside to take the pictures with the bridesmaids. Then we went back inside and waited for the girls transportation to get there. They took the girls to Duncan Estate while dad and I waited for the horse and carriage to arrive. He helped me in the carriage, and we were off. At last, it was almost here. I was so anxious about what was still to come. I couldn't believe after 20 years my dream was finally coming true. We made it to the Duncan Estate where we got off and went upstairs to our room to wait. All of us girls were upstairs, we took some pictures, and I remember watching out the window at all the guests as they arrived. And then I remembered... they were all there for us! It still hadn't quite hit me that this was it. I was within 30 minutes of walking down the aisle to my groom. Time passed by so quickly, and we were told to make our way downstairs to line up. I was smiling form ear to ear. As each bridesmaid was escorted out, I was told to wait on the bottom stair until it was my turn. I remember someone calling to me saying "Seth, Jason, Mr. Andy, and Ben are walking down now." My heart dropped. I wanted to see Jason's face and his body language. I can tell so much about him by that, and I will never know what he looked like that day walking down to the alter where we would say our vows. I was shaking and bouncing up and down saying "when is it my turn, when is it my turn!" The wedding planner looked and me and said, "Are you ready?" I about died! I was so ready, but couldn't believe it was time. I answered "Yes!" and made my way to the double doors with dad. We waited, the song came on, and that was our cue. We carefully walked down the stone stairs, and I remember thinking to myself "don't cry, hold it together." I had already made up my mind that I wasn't going to cry. We walked down 3 more stone stairs and for the first time I got to face my groom. From there it was a straight walk down the stone step way, and I watched him the entire time. I couldn't take my eyes off of him- just to think that someone so amazing loved me so much that he was willing to wait for me for almost 4 years, and always encouraged me to be more like Jesus. The feeling was indescribable, a feeling I still don't know how to put in words. It seemed like it took 10 minutes to finally make it to Jason, but it was only about 2 minutes. We stopped, Seth spoke, I peeked at Jason, and dad gave me away as he kissed me on the cheek. I held Jason's left hand and looked in his eyes. I felt like the world around me had stopped, and that it was just me and him. I don't remember much that was said because all I could focus on was Jason. I do remember our friend, Cliff Preston, writing a song for us and singing it as we knelt down and took communion for the first time as husband and wife. Seth prayed for us, and then asked Jason as the leader of our family to lead us in communion. It was incredible. Such a wonderful time with just Jason. Although I don't remember the whole prayer, I do remember blowing on my eyes to quickly dry the tears of joy. It was almost over, and I couldn't wait to kiss my groom for the first time in weeks. Seth did our vows and smiled, looked at us, and said, "You may kiss your bride!" It was the most romantic, special, indescribable moment of my life. It was better than I ever thought it would be. I was so excited when Seth announced us Mr. and Mrs. Jason McLeod. That was it! I was married! I was finally Jason's wife! I threw my hand and flowers up in the air and walked up the aisle together! The rest of the night seemed like a blur. We did family pictures, and went straight inside to cut the cake with the wedding party and family so we could have pictures taken. We toasted with white sparkling grape juice, and I remember laughing at how hard it was to get the right arm and angle as we drank. We went outside to our couple's table so we could greet everyone as they walked out with their food. I think I ate 3 bites of fruit, and I couldn't eat anymore. I was so excited, nervous, and just too busy talking to eat. It was a blast. I hate that I missed seeing so many decorations and people who were already in the backyard, but I did get to see pictures later. We did our first dance to Steven Curtis Chapman's "I WIll Be Here" and dad and I danced to "I Loved Her First." Then Jason danced with his mom. I don't remember how it all got started, but next thing I know I see Jason dancing in the middle of a huge group of people all by himself and everybody laughing and clapping. I couldn't believe it! I knew he would tell me later that he wasn't sure what got into him. We did the garter toss, which was funny later when I saw pictures of Seth's face laughing out loud when Jason put his head under my dress. Seth, Jason, and I had a few moments by ourselves as we signed the marriage license. It was a sweet time, and at that point I looked at Jason and said, "I'm ready to go!" We got the bridal party together and everyone was introduced on the front steps and we were introduced upstair on the balcony. It was so neat to see everyone clapping and supporting us. The carriage was in front of the house waiting for us. We walked downstairs and out into the crowd to the same horse and carriage that dropped dad and me off. I gave mom and dad a big hug and kiss before Jason helped me in the carriage. At this point it was 9:00, and we headed off to the Inn On Main where we stayed our first night.


This story may seem so normal and ordinary to some, but for me it was the best day of my life. It was a day that I will never forget, and that I pray I will always remember the feelings I had.


I have been wanting to write this for quite sometime now, and this July will be our 2 year anniversary. I knew that if I wrote it, I would always be able to read it and bring me back to those moments on our special day. It was beyond wonderful, and so much better than I had ever dreamed it would be. Everyday I am grateful for that day, for the covenant we made before ourselves and God, and the love that Jason and I share. I sometimes cry and wish we could start that day over and do it again. I know nothing will never compare to that day, and I am thankful for the past 2 years of growing together. I love you Jason and I love falling more in love with you everyday. You are my sunshine, my best friend, my lover, and the best day of my life.

Obeying Anyways

In Luke chapter 22 verses 42-44, Jesus is praying to the Father. This is right before Jesus went to the cross, and he is pouring his heart out saying, "Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine." I love the next part because this part always seems to get left out when we talk about this scripture. It says, "Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him." Isn't it awesome to know that God is always watching out for us, and He will comfort us no matter the situation. He gives us strength when we feel overwhelmed or stressed.

In the book One Year Praying Through The Bible it says that sometimes believers suffer even when they obey, for we share in Jesus' suffering as well as in his joy. Sometimes the work before us is difficult or painful, but there is a greater purpose behind our difficulties, and we have the opportunity to share in God's plan when we do his will in spite of how we feel.

Oswald Chambers once said, " Our Lord never enforces his "Thou Shalts" and "Thou Shalt Nots"; e never takes means to force us to do what he says."

So, no matter what you may be feeling today, give it to the Lord. Let him strengthen and comfort you in the good times and bad.

The Big Picture

As some of you know, I did get engaged to my best friend and the love of my life this past Tuesday, December 22 at 10:08 pm! : ) I have been longing for this time in my life, but obviously God had a different plan than I did... imagine that- I didn't know what was best for me! ha.

I have learned something during this waiting season in my life... God really does have our best interest, and He does see the BIG picture, even when we think our plans and desires are way better. I found that out, and now, 3 years and one month later, I look back at those years and thank God for preparing me for now and for what's to come. Although I've been wanting to be engaged and married to Jason for so long now, I'm thankful that God allowed everything to happen in HIS time... not mine.

Thank God today for always seeing the BIG picture even before we get a piece of it.

Transition In My Life

For those of you how haven't heard, I moved to Georgia at the end of May. I couldn't be happier. I live with two of my best friends, Hayley Catt and Frances Sadler. We live in an awesome 2 story house in a nice neighborhood close to town. I am a full time student at Darton College, and I am currently a teller at Heritage Bank. Once a week I lead a discipleship group of 10th grade girls. On Thursday nights I have bible study with our college and career group. I love being here, and God is providing in some awesome ways- ways I've never expected. I knew for a long time that this is where I'm supposed to be, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am right where I am supposed to be. I am learning to love God more everyday, and from that I am loving Jason more, too. I am so blessed to be here, and am looking forward to seeing what else God has in store for me here!