She Speaks With Wisdom

Caution: this article may be triggering as it involved both religion and politics.

This is your opportunity to break away or if you're brave, feel free to read on. 😀

A reminder that this is written with good intentions for women and the purpose is to spread truthful information that is being misrepresented elsewhere around the internet.

 

In the Book of Proverbs Verse 31:26 from the Bible, it states, "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." It is not mentioned often, but even the Bible says that we should be listening to women as we are filled with wisdom. And in today's modern world where we are still speaking about equality, this is truly relevant in our time. 

With much of the most controversial topics centering around women, it seems baffling that women's words are not taken too much into account. While scrolling through the news on abortions, I've seen women having to ask tough questions to men trying to preach about what God means for us to do when it comes to babies. The questions these female anchors ask to have to do with trying to find out what are the plans for the women (single or already with family) who are being forced to have children and how will they be supported during those life's challenges.

This image shows Oklahoma's statistics relevant to the position in question on the consequences of not having an abortion.

For accessibility purposes:

State of Economy for Oklahoma Families

21.3% of children live below poverty line.

71% of SNAP participants are in families with kids.

Oklahoma 42nd Overall in Well-Being.

I tweeted about this earlier particular example earlier. Here is the link to view the specific video clip:

https://twitter.com/andrelynwriting/status/1535399546599010304?s=20&t=2bEY9L8gc-7eSeC_98j85g

Yes, this is the realm of politics. No, it is not okay to mention the opposing side when asked the question about what the Governor's plan is in terms of executing additional support for women while holding a State's seat. You can't help, but think: 

What does this have to do with women by mentioning a political party or viewpoints on them?

So, where does it mention that babies help contribute to paying bills? Or make bills less expensive in any way?

Questions like these keep getting avoided by Republican politicians who are trying their darndest to ban abortion legislation in multiple ways or instill additional restrictions on accessing abortion procedures, including Roe v. Wade. God is being used as an example of why abortions should be illegal. But again, the Bible mentions listening to the wisdom of women. At this point, whose words do we follow then? The politician's viewpoint on what he interprets as God's words, or the scripture itself that was written through God's actions and intentions? If religion is the focus of the defense, then it should be represented truthfully, and the answer is obvious.

The takeaway from this is to hear what the women have to say about their own bodies in order to produce a solution to a problem like expanding our healthcare and access to resources in obtaining that healthcare rather than restricting or banning parts of it.

This also raises another question in this matter, how many women are being interviewed on this topic instead of the people trying to shut down our rights? More airtime on media is given priority to those who wish to ban women's rights and focuses on the male perspective of our bodies, household roles, and what they believe is our purpose in life when it comes to reproduction. Try it for yourself and see what pops up on google searches or even scrolling through social media. How many female points of view are you seeing being circulated around the internet on this most critical issue? Feel free to leave a comment below on what you have discovered. I'm genuinely curious if you're seeing the same things that I am because these have been the results that I've come across for the past couple of months since I've heard about Roe v. Wade being threatened. The majority of what I see is "don't kill babies" and "women should have babies from rapists". YIKES!!!!

What world do we live in again? Is this truly the land of the free? Increased questions keep approaching that stay unanswered for the sake of redirecting back to political rally trendy quotes opposing abortion. There has not been any feedback listed on what should be done to help the poverty crisis, which these abortion bans are contributing to. There are no plans for increasing resources for people who are being denied them. And racism is still being ignored by those saying that it still doesn't exist, while black women still have the highest birth mortality rates. Hispanic and Latin women are still being treated as if all have jumped over the border wall and "need to be sent home." In what area are women free?

I'd like to encourage you to exercise a bit of courage today and react to at least 5 social media posts today expressing support for women's rights from everywhere including the U.S. Write a post on any of your social media profiles stating that Women's Rights are Human Rights. It can be a hashtag, added to a graphic, a gif, a quote, only text, whatever you want! As much effort is being focused on restricting women's access to resources or heavily trying to bury women with sexist propaganda, try to put out at least one post, shared or created, on an important woman in your life or your opinion on where we can improve on providing more equality for women.

View my Twitter page for more inspiration:

https://twitter.com/andrelynwriting

Written by Andrelyn Izquierdo.

Don’t forget! No matter what, you can always shine on.

#shespeaks #wisdom #religion #abortion #politics #RoevWade #SunshineHeadquarters #inspirational #blog #AndrelynWriting

Imagination is Everything

This is relative to the quote - "If you can dream it, you can do it."

It's also in conjunction with planning before performing an action. Or for writers, outline before you start a large writing project.

It's confirmation to oneself that things are possible after envisioning them.

It's the reason Alice from Alice in Wonderland mentioned about striving to attempt at least 6 impossible things before breakfast. This one is my favorite.

For every mention, there's a whole group of people to put you down and tell you that you're incapable for whatever reasons. There's skepticism and then there's just plain hatred. Celebrating hate is the norm of our human culture whether we'd like to admit it or not. There's usually more than one person to jump up and say, "No, we can't do that." Most of the time, if you would try this on your own if you haven't done so already, if you ask why, there's no supporting reason for it. Sometimes things get pulled out of the air and the rest of the time, there's talk about something that has nothing to do with the subject you are trying to pursue. This means that they have nada. 

Things would not be invented if it were not for the dreams of the inventors. We would just be using the same tools. This still needs to be convinced to so many people trying to avoid modernization through new technological software at all times. ugh But that's a work in progress as well. Even though the power still goes out so much during harsh weather, we're still grateful for the lightbulb. 

We wouldn't have been introduced to the movie villain, the King of Nightmares, Freddy Kreuger if it weren't for Wes Craven's dreams. And we sure wouldn't be hearing over and over that Martin Luther King had a dream.

So let your head roam around in the clouds and catch some extra z's. Imagination brings about creativity and creativity directs us to a better future.

Don't be afraid to imagine. You never know what you're going to get.

Written by Andrelyn Izquierdo.

Don’t forget! No matter what, you can always shine on.

#imagination #alberteinstein #SunshineHeadquarters #inspirational #blog #AndrelynWriting

Day and Night

 

God divided the day from the night 

for us to have opportunities 

to receive and appreciate 

the beauty of each one.

To see the stars, 

decorate the background of the moon, 

and experience a light so bright 

that is the burning sun.

Written by Andrelyn Izquierdo.

Don’t forget! No matter what, you can always shine on.

#dayandnight #Bible #scripture #religion #poetry #SunshineHeadquarters #inspirational #blog #AndrelynWriting

Wisdom

 

Image by Andrelyn

Church this past weekend was wonderful with their Mother's Day special. While I'm not considered an official mother, I still have two fur babies at home, my two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. They are forever like children no matter how old they are even in dog years. On the stage, they had a panel of two pastor couples (Pastor Josh and his wife, Pastor Stu and his wife) on stage speaking their individual points of view and blending them together beautifully in grounding their words in scripture. 

Some of the things the wives mentioned really sunk in and made me reflect immediately in my life. 

"I'm only as happy as my saddest kid."

This helped me to realize that I have held too high of expectations for my mother and our relationship. Despite our differences, we keep trying to stay bonded. One of those things holding me back is the expectation that I should be able to say everything that is considered to be bad, and it should be accepted without having to guilt me for it. But given our recent talks about climate change, she cannot handle all the sad news. Then we moved onto another topic of politics, there's much more shocking and unwelcome news there. Then we talked about other things, and it was just one dreadful thing after another. I can empathize with her on how overwhelmed she feels with all that bad news. It saddens her and gives her the impression that I'm incredibly sad about it as well. It made me realize that my expectations were too high and that another thing to help us that I can take charge of is helping her focus on the positive for both of our sakes even though for me, it's not an issue to handle personally. So, it's begun this week and is slowly picking up much more positive results. For our relationship, I'll continue to show her how these terrible situations do not sadden me and in fact, made me stronger because I've seen her go through some of them too. To me, that's a win-win that is not only positive but a compliment that makes a lasting impression. Talk about taking church literally and using the lessons to learn from. 

There were so many wonderful things mentioned, but there's the other one I can relate to that is shown in the picture above:

"Take the wisdom around you and use it."

When one of the wives mentioned this, she was advising everyone to use other moms as wisdom as well, or parents in general. Each parent mentioned how insecurity can creep in at times. If you find yourself at a park, don't compare your parenting to another to bring you down and beat yourself up. Instead, turn it around and use it as a lesson for improvement. Your partner chose you to be the best parent for the child the two of you share. Be grateful for that opportunity rather than focusing on a negative that can be meaningless. As Pastor Josh mentioned, "Your child is your report card," not other people when it comes to the children's happiness.

Here's another takeaway from this quote:

I feel like another way that is the best opportunity for me to do this is with books. Lately, I've been trying to surround myself with books as they are inspirational and motivational without having to open them. Then there's the wisdom that pours out of every filled page that provides additional inspiration. What better place to apply this quote! Books go with everything. There's no end to their correspondence and there are so many ways to apply the information.

Wisdom is something that is highly cherished and respected although, throughout history, people's actions have shown otherwise. Scholars of the highest stature in their fields are looked up to for their knowledge because everyone looks to them as a bar to reach or a level to achieve. For some, it takes a small amount of time and for others it takes a lifetime. However long it takes, it's doable for anyone. I believe that people can limit this and make things go in other directions that they're not supposed to. People in history have been quick to turn on scholars as well to accuse them of absurdities and craziness for concepts that they do not understand. Geniuses have gone through such horrible experiences, and some are not recognized for their acquired smarts until after death. Why is it that humans do these kinds of things? It's sad, but overall, there's still respect for those who do get the wisdom and apply it in the correct manner. 

Another quote comes to mind: "Don't hate, appreciate."

Some of the younger folks may not know this one yet as it's considered to be old-school. lol But the point is to celebrate another one's intellect. Use that wisdom for something that may benefit you or someone you know too. We can all learn something new. The good news is that there's no cap on learning. There isn't a maximum or an unbreakable ceiling. Every day is an opportunity to learn something new, gain more wisdom, and use it for good. Here's your challenge: take a step back and you try it too.

If the quotes from the sermon interest you, feel free to stop by and join us.

Bethany Baptist Church in Puyallup, WA

All are welcome on Saturday evenings at 6:00pm or Sunday mornings starting at 9am or 10:30am.

We're also online too!

https://www.bethanysite.com/

Hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day!

Written by Andrelyn Izquierdo.

Don’t forget! No matter what, you can always shine on.

#wisdom #MothersDay #BethanyPuyallup #church #spiritual #personal #experience #SunshineHeadquarters #inspirational #blog #AndrelynWriting

Easter at Bethany

 

It was a full house at Bethany today for Easter. Going to church always feels good so it was especially exciting to get in there today. Besides the holiday and celebrating Christ, it also happens to be my third year anniversary attending there. There's something special about these sermons here. In a serious and religious atmosphere, Pastor George always has a way to insert humor with his honest approach from his own personal experiences. They're very relatable and show how even pastors can experience struggles demonstrating how no one is perfect. 

Haiku Poem:

Deepened feeling of

reverence Pastor George

while at Bethany.

Today, the theme was reconciliation. The focus was a bridge they built to represent Jesus bridging the gap between us and God. 

There was a special ceremony for inviting new Christians, those who want to resolidify their relationship with God, and those who want to improve their existing relationships in our lives. They played special music for people to walk across the bridge to God. They gave a round of applause for each person walking. It was genuinely nice.

More rows of chairs were added while there were still more people just outside of this room in the lobby. It was a beautiful sight to look around and notice so much more diversity in our space. Not one corner looked the same at any angle, which is fantastic. A true reflection of our community that seems to be safe enough for all types of people to walk on in. This sends such a positive message.

Bethany has repeatedly called me back and not by phone, if you catch my drift. But the people have been kind as well. Pastors George, Josh, and Stu mix themselves in the crowd having casual conversations with the entire congregation after each service. They have prayer circles available for those who want a little extra spiritual reassurance. Occasionally, we do baptisms and communions during services. And their children's school area is always hoppin' during service and their afternoon/evening school sessions all the way to high school.

The area I love the most is their library. There are so many shelves of books by many authors. Surprisingly, I even found some political books and some by nonprofits highlighting their experiences abroad. This is not your stereotypical, you can't do this or that kind of church. They keep evolving over time to be an everyone kind of church. You hear real-life opinions spanning so many subjects. Sometimes you may even forget that you're inside of the church. You're encouraged to laugh, let loose, and be comfortable. And even though Bethany is a good environment to be in, Pastor George still reminds us that we come to church for ourselves and God and not the people. It is a personal spiritual choice. So, if there's ever an unpleasant experience due to a particular person, it can be different during the next go-around. And we'll always feel spiritually recharged and fulfilled because it is a collection of our strengthened relationships with "The Big Man". The music played by the band is wonderful too.

All are welcome on Saturday evenings at 6:00pm or Sunday mornings starting at 9am.

We're also online too!

https://www.bethanysite.com/

Happy Easter everyone!

Written and images by Andrelyn Izquierdo.

Don’t forget! No matter what, you can always shine on.

#Easter #BethanyPuyallup #church #reconciliation #brigethegap #spiritual #personal #experience #SunshineHeadquarters #inspirational #blog #AndrelynWriting

What's the Difference Between Thinking You're in Love and Actually Being in Love?

Image by Stux from Pixabay.

Thinking that you're in love doesn't mean there's a relationship but is also the before that can be confused with having a crush on someone. It can turn anyone to shy with a smile when next to a particular person of interest, that is in a good way. 

It's the stage that can be confusing that will only be cleared up with courageous acts of expression that are small or very meaningful. It's the phase of discovery and exploration that when ignored, gives the signal that it's not love and to keep looking.

Now for the other, actually being in love with someone is when you cannot sleep at night without thinking about your loved one. Whenever you come across a mentioned favorite thing, it makes you smile more often with or without the person being around or reveals an intense emotion that doesn't leave. You may also find yourself giddy throughout the day periodically for no reason.

It can keep you in a daydream that doesn't want to leave and butterflies fluttering in your tummy that can even make you a tiny bit nervous when daring to get closer. When you close your eyes and think of the moment you two shared, love, will skyrocket you to the moon while sleeping.

An acceleration of the heartbeat and the quietest calm simultaneously. The rhythm can quicken to sporadic jumps or can be as still as the lake on a windless day. Love can transform a person into a teddy bear to spread more of it. The arms envelope your body that will automatically pass onto you. It equips your back with wings to provide strength and help you fly through any obstacle.

Love is the feeling that will assure you that everything will be alright no matter what. It's a security that comforts you on the worst days and the invisible line that keeps you balanced on the tight rope. It's the most wonderful feeling in the world to come home to. There's nothing else like the experience of feeling true love. 

Written by Andrelyn Izquierdo.

Don’t forget! No matter what, you can always shine on.

#Love #difference #wonderful #emotion #fly #skyrocket #teddybear #dream #SunshineHeadquarters #inspirational #blog #AndrelynWriting