ClydeStyle

Category: Beauty

  • Parable of purity

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    Once upon a time a father baked a beautiful cake. He decorated it with the finest icing, and he  added extra icing to it because his cake was so sweet.

    He took his cake and placed it in a display case for safe keeping until the right person came to purchase.

    Each evening, unbeknownst to the father, some guy would reach up and take a bite out of his cake. In fact, by the time he noticed, there were more than 11 bites out of his cake.

    The father was sadden and although he still cared deeply about the cake, he wondered if the bites would hinder quality sales of the cake. The father also remembered when he used to sneak bites of cake and it saddened him more. “No one should be trying to taste cake before purchasing it!” He exclaimed.

    The interpretation of this parable is this: The cake is this man’s daughter and every bite out of it represents the daughter’s sexual experiences. The purchasers are men who would be great candidates for marriage.

    Moral of the story: No one wants to purchase a community cake. Or as the Apostle Paul wrote: “Marriage is honorable by all and the bed is undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”

  • Lessons confirmed in 2012

    20130104-234856.jpgIf you are reading this blog, then once again there were foolish folks that believed the world ended a few weeks ago. We should all be thankful we made it out of 2012.

    I have to say that I didn’t learn any “new” lessons, but I definitely confirmed some lessons I thought I knew. It’s always good to recap the previous year so that the next year is better. Each year we’re supposed to get better. Life is supposed to get easier. After all we matured didn’t we?

    Well, I hope that you are enjoying the new year and you are already working your plan of action to make 2013 better than 2012. With that said, here are the top 5 things I confirmed in 2012. I’d love to hear about your list.

    1) Read more non-fiction books and watch less TV! This one is a no-brainer. TV is run by corporate America and it is designed for one thing: To get you to buy the ads you see. There is science that supports the ability for ads to reach your subconscious mind. Your spending habits are linked to this. Now before you go thinking that I’m crazy, there is a company called NeuroFocus and they probe consumers subconscious by using Electroencephalography (I’m not smart enough to make up a word like this). The other problem with TV other than being a big waste of time is how your body handles your emotional reactions to shows. For example, whenever you get angry, your blood pressure rises and your arteries take a hit especially among older groups. So when you get so into a character on a show and their actions make you angry, your body doesn’t say, “Oh, you’re just watching TV.” Since your body can’t tell the difference, it handles that situation as if you were really angry.

    2) Life is too short so to maximize your time you should spend time letting the people close to you know how important they are to you. Your circle of trust should know who they are. Your family should know they are loved because they heard you say it as well as demonstrate it. You should make sure you are living forgiven meaning that no one should die thinking you have a grudge with them or that you thought ill of them. Be known as a giver and allow others to benefit from your generosity — not just your money, but even more important is your time.

    3) Get your house in order and keep it that way. This means that no matter how old you are the people close to you should know your advance directives and your wishes at end of life. We don’t know when our time is up, so it’s always a good thing — no matter how old you are — to have a plan and let those closest to you know what your plan is and the role they play in that plan. If you have done this, every year it’s a good idea to make sure it is current and your wishes are still the same. You want to make sure that the people involved in your plan at the end of life are still willing to carry out your wishes at the end.

    4) Everyone needs a day of rest. God rested from his labors on the seventh day and he created us with the idea that we would need a break from the natural rhythm of life to reset. There is an awesome book written by Dr. Marva Dawn called “Keeping the Sabbath Holy” and she beautifully describes this concept and gives a lot of great information on the topic.

    5) One of the most hurtful things is to have expectations for someone or something and get let down. It would help us all to remember that in America we make money. That’s what we do above all else. There are some secondary things that we do, but due to big business and politics, our system is flawed. Case in point: Sandy relief was recently left for the next session of congress because there was so much other stuff (like a new roof for the Smithsonian Institute) written into the bill. One would think that a bill with the subject Sandy Relief fund would only include things immediately related to people. I’m sure the Smithsonian probably does need a new roof, but at this point it is at the expense of the Sandy survivors. Our wars are about money and greed. There is an excellent documentary series by Oliver Stone on Showtime that talks about the untold history of the United States. It’s a sobering look at how the world sees and has seen our country over the years. This documentary has challenged me to re-evaluate what’s important to me and to help make America truly beautiful. Make the most of 2013 my friend!

  • What being a dad means to me

    I’m in love with being a dad,

    I give my kids what I wished I had.

    They live their little lives and have no clue

    of the sacrifices made and the things I do.

    I watch them grow up and I’m surprised at what I see,

    a son and two daughters who remind me of me.

    I get to provide for them, I’d die for them; I love to make a fuss,

    I teach them to be responsible and try not to cuss.

    With eyes so big and full of joy,

    he’s full of potential, I’m talking about my boy!

    Two heads full of hair and smiles that light up the night,

    My daughters are gorgeous and they’re being raised right.

    To be their protector and teacher is an honor for me

    I learn more from teaching them who they really ought to be.

    I thank God each day for the three I got,

    You put your hands on my babies you will probably get shot!

    I love you son, daughter and baby girl too,

    I hope you appreciate your dad as much as he appreciates you!

  • Do you believe?

    To believe.

    One of the most powerful things on the planet is man’s ability to believe.

    The bible tells us that whatever a man thinks in his heart defines who he is. If I truly believed I was royalty, then my state of mind would be just that. If I thought I was handsome, then to me I would be handsome.

    Unfortunately it works just as well going the other way — if I thought I was a failure, then I would be. If I thought that I was  worthless, then I would be.

    This also means that our minds can be manipulated into believing anything. In the story “The Emperors New Clothes” the ruler was duped into thinking that his servants had made him fine robes to wear when they had not. Because the emperor was convinced that they did, he went out in public very proud of his new garments.

    You may say that’s just a kids story, but let’s take a look at real life. There are people walking among us who believe that they are losers simply because no one challenges the contrary. Children who grew up in non-supporting homes, feel insecure and unsure of themselves.

    If knowing is really half the battle, then just imagine if people were given the proper support? What if instead of believing what we’ve been told, we examined everything we were told? What if instead of trusting our negative feels, we challenged them with empirical data?

    The point here is simple: Remember where you came from; accept the present; and work hard to impact your future in a positive way.

    Stability is coming!

  • Enjoy the beauty!

    Many of us get caught up in the rat race of life and forget to literally stop and smell the roses.

    It’s seems that we are too busy paying bills, managing problems and raising a family to look at the beauties of life, what they have to offer and enjoy them. I’m reminded every year at this time because spring is approaching and if you look, you can see new beauty all around.

    When is the last time you smelled beauty? It could have been a flower garden, the morning dew, or your favorite cologne on your favorite person – the smell of beauty is all around us!

    My youngest daughter, Kimberly, turned 10 recently and we just got her school pictures back. Obviously I’m a little biased, but she looked gorgeous! I can’t take much credit for that. Her mom and namesake should get all the credit.

    Nevertheless, a decade ago I witnessed her birth – yet another form of beauty – and now I see a little girl, full of promise, growing up totally sure of who she is and what her potential can be. And that, my friends, is another beautiful thing!

    My favorite flowers – tulips – are coming along with a host of beautiful friends: daffodils, scillas, pussy willows, primrose, muscari and dogwood trees will all bring fresh smells and beauty to our lives.

    The only sad part about this whole concept of beauty is that there are some of us who have been wounded, shut out, omitted and excluded and because of that, it’s hard for them to experience beauty. Their lives have been too riddled with mistakes and disappointments to enjoy things like beauty. Even when they are surrounded by beauty, they can’t experience it.

    There’s a valuable lesson here. Depression and its symptoms leave us alienated from the very reminders that God gave us to prove He exists. I didn’t always take time to see beauty either, but then I realized the true benefits. All of the beauty that surrounds us serves as a constant reminder that our Creator is near. And that we can take great pride in the fact that the controller of the universe could take the time to make provisions for us.

    Remember what Jesus said in Matt. 6:25-30:

    25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

    26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,

    29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (ESV)

    We need to spend less time worrying and more time enjoying the beauty around us. Try it this week. Take time in the morning and in the evening to examine beauty. Your soul will thank you!