‘The nice thing about Carrying your own Silence (see what I did there? I am Silence Carrier so, you know…thats…it’s what I do. Get it?)  Truly Carrying your silence with you allows you to listen, to see, and to really be able to process  the things you see and hear going on all around you, without distraction. Sometimes it is more favorable to listen, that you may fully understand, than to ramble on a point that is ultimately pointless.  I thank Mr. Zom for allowing  me to this avenue to set my silence down for a spell, that I may rest my tongue from being so frequently bitten down upon.

But back to my original point:

Sex. (ahh, I see  I have your attention again)

It’s everywhere . Really. Our society is embedded with it. It is engrained into everything we do.  And why shouldn’t it? Don’t we all owe our very existence to that very act?

We’ve all heard the story, the “tale as old as time” as it were. “When a mommy and a daddy love each other VERY MUCH…” und so weiter…

Human sexuality is a subject of deep fascination at some point or other to every individual who has ever, or will ever exist. If you are thinking to yourself, “Well not to ME!” you are lying to yourself.
Of COURSE sex is fascinating! It’s the most interesting thing in the world!

The problem however (that’s right, you knew I was coming to this didn’t you?) is that it IS important. It is one of the most important aspects of life in fact. Important, necessary, special, SACRED. It is but you wouldn’t get that impression if you  walk amongst our fellow citizens of this planet just now.

Society of late has made great effort to  tear down that title of ‘sacred’. The pornography industry thrives on making voyeuristic sex casual, raunchy, and terrifyingly easy to  access by those who seek it.(and those numbers are great, or the industry wouldn’t be so lucrative) The term “casual hook up” is a commonly heard phrase. Popular magazines, television shows, songs on the radio, they all devalue and cheapen what is arguably one of the most important aspects of life!

Let’s take for example the much hyped, upcoming movie, “Fifty Shades of Grey”. We all know that it is based on the bestselling book of the same title. You should of course know that the basis for this book’s popularity is …you guessed it, SEX!  It contains quite a lot of it, detailed and gratuitously lascivious. The book became popular among the middle aged female demographic. I won’t go into all the reasons I am against it, from how its poorly written, or that it promotes dangerous lies, or really because its just terrible.  Despite all of that, it still has a relatively, respectable sized fan base.  And why? Because society has gone ahead and given the ‘Okay’ to making sex nothing more than a mere, casual element of life!

“But why is it such a big deal?” you might ask me.

Here it is: It isn’t….if you are in a committed, marriage.
‘Ahhhh,  there it is Silence. The JUDGEMENT. You are going to JUDGE me for sex outside of marriage, you JUDGEMENTAL, JUDGE-Y person you!!’

Yes, yes, I know, but hear me out. Lets put it in metaphorical terms.

Sex is like fire.

It is necessary, even essential for human life. It provides warmth, light,  and heat to cook  food. Without it we would not survive.   However, it is also dangerous and destructive. It has the capacity to utterly destroy when not employed in the proper confines. If you prepare and build a proper campfire, it can be wonderful, but if you simply light a match in your living room, it is likely going to burn the place down, or at least cause a good deal of damage.

As I said before, none of us would be here if not for the big ‘S’ word, and therein lies the reason it SHOULD be kept within the bonds of marriage. the primary purpose of sex is procreation. That’s not to say that its the SOLE purpose, but if it is continued to be treated without regard for the potential consequences, then we will have more and more “unwanted” pregnancies, and those who cry out in favor of abortions for the sake of convenience will continue (but that is a whole separate topic of its own, which I will leave alone for the time being)

For now, lets think a little bit about the gravity of the choices we make. Be aware of the prevalence of how we are surrounded by sexuality, even admire the beauty and divine intricacy of it,   but please folks, lets think it through first, don’t allow it to be common and cheap. We can do better than that, we can BE better than that.

-Silence Carrier

We live in a “throw away” world. Planned obsolescence is the rule. Cars are not designed to last more than 150,000 miles. Homes are designed to last about 100 years. Diapers are disposable. Computers become outdated in just a couple of years and need to be replaced.

What about people?

I recently saw a commercial for a service called, “A Place for Mom.” Joan Lunden, former host of Good Morning America laments her concern for her fragile ailing mother. Her solution—A service which finds an institution for her mom. Rewind a hundred or so years ago? What used to happen to aging parents? Were they thrown away in an institution for the aging just waiting for them to die????

When Jesus Christ was on the cross, just before he gave his life for all mankind, He gave the solution! In John 19:26-27 we read, “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”

Jesus had the PERFECT solution (As HE always does!) How should we care for aging parents? We, their children take care of them!!! We aren’t to put them in holding places for them to wait to die. We are to take them into our homes (or to go to their homes) and take care of them!!!!

Just as our parents sacrificed to care for us as children, we are to, in turn, care for THEM! A mother sacrifices her body, her health, her well-being for 40 weeks to incubate and nurture our growing and developing bodies. And then, they descend into the “valley of the shadow of death” to give us life! But that is not all. Then, mother with father (hopefully!) sacrifice their time, their means, their very freedom to nurture, teach and train us to become independent, productive, thinking individuals. Do we not then have a divine responsibility to care for our parents as they age and come to the conclusion of their mortal life?

Jesus, clearly, had been caring for His mother, and when He knew that He would no longer be able to care for His sweet, loving, Holy mother, He “found” another son to care for her. He didn’t call a nursing home. He didn’t allow the “state” to take over responsibility. He showed us the way we are to care for our aging parents. His beloved disciple took her to his home, and cared for her.

Have you ever been in an “old folks home,” nursing home, assisted living center? Have you seen the sad, longing, empty eyes of the residents? Have you ever talked to them? All they want is their family! They are lonely. They are sad. And it’s a crying shame!!!

Can we not learn from the teachings and example of our Savior, Jesus Christ? Please, please, PLEASE take responsibility for your parents!!! They have so much to offer! They have sacrificed SO much to make your life possible! Siblings can help each other bear the wonderful burden of caring for aging parents! The responsibility should not fall on just one child, but, even if it does, what a wonderful burden! What an opportunity to give a little back to our parents!!!

First I’d like to thank TomZom for inviting me to contribute to this page.  I appreciate this outlet to let my voice be heard.

“So…who are you?” I can hear you saying.  Before I tell you who I am, let me take a minute and let you know how I think.

When it comes down to the very basics, everyone can be categorized in three different ways.

The most common, especially in America, is the sheep.  Yes, I’m saying it, most of you are sheep.  Sheep are those that “just want to live their lives peacefully and not rock the boat.”  Sure, I want that too, but as a wise man once said, “You need to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.”

I find that so very true, because of the current state of our country.   The lack of indictments of certain people in power.  Why aren’t more people absolutely furious?!?   What has happened to the America I grew up in?  What have we denigrated into?

The second kind of person are the wolves.  These are the predators of the world.  They could be after any number of things.  Power. Money.  Sex.  Your life.  These are the bad people.  But you don’t always know who they are because they come in so many forms.  They can be manipulative, forceful, coercive, or any combination of these things.

The final category is the sheepdog.  These are those who are aware.  Aware of their surroundings, the political climate, the economy, and life in general.  They stand up for what they believe in, and are passionate about it when they do so.  It may sometimes come across as mean, or insensitive, but if you listen to their words, you understand and realize that they are protecting something.  It could be a person, an animal, or the very thing that is most precious in this life: Freedom!

I am a sheepdog.

Sheepdogs come in many forms as well.  They may be bold.  They may be loud.  They may be quiet.  They could be a veteran, or someone who never served, but wanted to desperately…or even had no desire to serve in the military at all.  Though we are few in number, we recognize each other when we meet.  Maybe not right away, but once we start talking, it’s not hard to pick up on.   We find each other and know immediately that we’ve got each others backs.

The interesting thing about being a sheep, a wolf, or a sheepdog is that it’s not genetic.  It is a choice.  Many may say, “but I’m a victim of circumstance, therefore I’m …”  Poor, a thug, a hero, pick one.  But that’s just it, WE CHOOSE OUR PATH, regardless of the hand that we’ve been dealt.  If you think otherwise, then you’re lying to yourself.

So that’s me, you friendly, neighborhood sheepdog.  I have my convictions, which I am VERY passionate about.  And because common courtesy dictates that publicly I usually hold my tongue in most situations, I do.   But here, I don’t have that restriction.

-Joseph Forefathers