“I Do... For Now”

These days, the sacred union of marriage just isn’t so sacred anymore. The temptations of the flesh seem to win out over the ups and downs of a typical relationship. When the going gets tough, it seems today people bail… or run to the arms of another. The “I do until something better comes along” attitude is leaving a scar on the union of marriage.

In recent days we have learned about America’s favorite family calling it quits after alleged infidelity. Jon and Kate just can’t do it anymore. They met, fell in love, had eight kids, and now can’t even sit on the same couch to be interviewed by television crews. Rumors of Jon with the third grade teacher and Kate with the bodyguard are enough to make a family go crazy but instead of standing up for their family, their children, their marriage Jon and Kate are throwing in the towel. If they were innocent, would they let the media rip the family apart like that? I think not.

Just two days after the Gosselins’s announcement, Gov. Mark Sanford (SC) is caught today arriving in Atlanta after spending several days with his Argentinean lover. How nice. I can see it now, “hey dad, what do you want to do for Father’s Day?” “Well son, I think I’ll do Argentina.”

My rant: why get married if you have an inkling in your heart, or groin for that matter, that you may one day be led astray? If you are not 100% sure that you can be faithful for the remainder of your life, then why go through the pomp and circumstance just to find out that you couldn’t do it – you failed. Why set yourself up for that? Gov. Mark Sanford said it best, “What I did was wrong. Period.” If you knew that Mr. Governor, then why do it? I think it would be much easier on all parties involved to call a marriage over before beginning to prowl for the next Mrs. Ex.

Being a young adult in the society we have today that sends us these broken messages is disheartening. Is infidelity more prominent these days? Or is the media basking in the wealth of this so-called news? The fact is, instead of staying home with the struggles of life, more and more people are venturing out into the world of temptations. Relationships are work… put in the effort or get out before you stray!

Glorious Friday

Amazing to me, one of my favorite days of the week is Friday. Seemingly strange because I still have to go through the monotony of my week-day routine, but when the alarm goes off on a Friday morning, I have a little more skip in my step as I scurry off to the showers. The promise of a good weekend (and a reprieve from the workplace) always makes a dragging Friday seem bearable.

Each Thursday I start dreaming of what the weekend will bring: family gatherings, a lake trip, vacations, relaxing time around a pool, time spent with friends. This weekend’s promises are abundant as plans fall into place.

The thing I’m most excited about is my trip to the Suwanee Farmers Market. Tomorrow morning, my friends and I plan to visit the Farmers Market located at the Suwanee Town Park. The thought of fresh tomatoes make me want to wish the rest of Friday away! Must make an earmark in the budget for fabulous fresh produce… so fantastic… so exciting! Check back for a “Farmers Market” report.

Living in “Sin”

I don't need no license
To sign on no line
And I don't need no preacher
To tell me you're mine
I don't need no diamonds
I don't need no new bride
I just need you, baby
To look me in the eye

- Bon Jovi

After spending a weekend filled with uncountable questions about our non-engagement, why we are “shacking up” and hearing that it was spoken about in church on Sunday in our absence, I decided it was time to get it in the open; time for me to stop, research, and put everything into perspective.

Let me first say that I, of all people, want to be engaged and planning a wedding with Brandon more than my family and friends want it - now just seems like it is not the time.

After doing a lot of thinking and a lot of reading I still feel like I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. Growing up, I did everything I was told – was a good student, was a responsible teen and young adult – and now, I feel like some of those around me seem to question my responsibility. I’m amazed that something that I originally thought was such a great idea, something that was going to make life so much simpler, has seemingly blown up in my face. Just four days in, not even completely unpacked, I start to wonder if we made the right decision.

According to a report by Fox News, “cohabitation has been mainstreamed, especially with the help of Hollywood stars like Sarandon, Robbins, Hawn and Russell, who have publicly advocated their type of union”. If this is the case, why do I feel like I’m the first and only person to do this?

I never thought that moving in with Brandon would cause such a stir – never thought it would make me be the “bad person” that I now feel like I am. After finding my new church home and giving my life to Christ I learn that I am committing “sexual sin”. In the service yesterday the pastor said, “if you say you follow Christ & you live together and you are sexually free then something is wrong… you are corrupt”. Does this mean that I’m no longer on the path to righteousness? Will I eternally pay for a so-called “wrong” that I made now?

Last night as I cried myself to sleep over this issue that is eating away at my happiness I wondered why everyone seems to bring the issue of cohabitation to me. Why is it that the female in the relationship seem to catch the heat? Does it mean that I am the only one that is sinning? Am I lesser of a person now than I was last week before we moved in together?

Other countries, which are of Christian decent, practice cohabitation as a norm. Does this mean that because I’m from America I am sinning more than those from other countries? From the same Fox News article mentioned earlier, the author writes of her arrival in America and the greeting she received about her personal beliefs. She says that she was told her family was regarded as “heathens” because they did not have a problem with the concept of cohabitation. Does this mean that I am heathen now?

I understand that “old fashioned” beliefs will always run through the threads of our society. What I will never understand is how my own family can make me feel lesser of a person for doing what my heart feels I should do. Maybe I should have kept it to myself, lived a secret life in order to “protect” my family – and maybe not. The secrets kept from the grandparents or family friends will always be found out in the end and the small comments made by loved ones, thought as harmless play, seem to slice holes in my heart.

All I can say is that something that I was praying would be some of the happiest times I’ve had yet in my life have been scarred by the unwelcoming arms of the stigmas carried by me “living in sin”.

I can only ask for forgiveness… Dear Lord. Forgive me for living in sin. If, in your eyes, I am not wrong for my living situation and happiness, please forgive those who are judging me for doing so.

June 14 - Daily Bible Study

I Kings 12:20 – 13:34
Do not turn from God. He is there for you… you must be there for Him and do His bidding.

Acts 9:26 – 43
God will give you everlasting life.

Psalm 132:1 – 18
Question… why would Solomon be so ignorant to disobey the Lord? After all the Lord had given him and his father, David? It makes no sense to me…

June 13 - Daily Bible Study

I Kings 11:1 – 12:19
Heed the Lord’s warnings.

Acts 9:1 – 25
Even the sinful, non-believers, and unrighteous, deserve a chance to follow and be with God. They deserve to have the gift of spreading his word. They deserve a chance to change.

June 12 - Daily Bible Study

I Kings 9:1 – 10:29
Never abandon the Lord. Follow him. Keep your promises to him and become wealthy with faith, love, and abundance.

Acts 8:14 – 40
Share God’s good news with EVERYONE!

Defining Metaphysical

The below is my write up on metaphysics and metaphysical art which will be in the book Nunziante that I am designing at work.

Defining Metaphysical
“a division of philosophy that is concerned with the fundamental nature of reality and being… a study of what is outside objective experience.” - Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Primarily concerned with explaining the ultimate nature of being and the world, metaphysics studies principles of reality that exceed those of any one science. The subject of metaphysics was an essential part of education and academic studies from before the time of Aristotle who also studied its theories. The notions behind metaphysics were considered equal to that of other formal studies such as music and poetry, medicine, math, and physical science. Metaphysicians are challenged to explain the conventional thinking by which people comprehend their being in areas such as space, time, and existence.

"…there is much more mystery in the shadow of a man walking on a sunny day, than in all religions of the world". – Giorgio de Chirico

Metaphysical art is an Italian art movement created by Giorgio de Chirico and Carlo Carrà in which paintings with dream-like qualities explore the imagined inner life of familiar objects when represented out of their explanatory contents. Carrà and de Chirico’s use of typical subjects and objects, such as classical statues and buildings, were made unordinary by their strategic juxtaposition with one another; irrationalism became ordinary.

This movement was a significant stepping-stone for the later Dada and Surrealism movements.

“Every time an artist decides to have a relationship with the world (not to faithfully reproduce what they see, but to interpret and reinvent it exaggeration rationality until they reach its exact opposite) he or she always take on a metaphysical attitude.” – Sgarbi Vittorio

June 11 - Daily Bible Study

I Kings 8:1 - 66
The Lord is always with you… are you with him? He will answer your prayers (your NEEDS) on His time, not yours. You will have your needs when He is ready, and truly when you are ready in your heart.

Acts 7:51 – 8:13
The way you live your life impacts others – good or bad. Live with faith and in ways of the Lord to inspire those around you to do the same.

June 10 - Daily Bible Study

I Kings 7:1-51
Continue to always do the work of the Lord, no matter how long the work takes. Years in this life equal eternity in the next.

Acts 7:30 – 50
You will run into opposition in your faith journey - fight for the Lord as he would fight for you.

Psalm 128:1 – 2
How joyful are those who fear the Lord –
all who follow his ways!
You will enjoy the fruit of your labor.
How joyful and prosperous you will be!

June 9 - Daily Bible Study

I Kings 5:1 – 6:38
If you build it, He will come. Build your faith and follow in the ways of the Lord in order to prepare for His return. Be patient as the journey of faith takes time.

June 8 - Daily Bible Study

I Kings 3:12 – 14
Ask God for only what you need, not for what you want. He will reward your service and honesty.

Acts 6:1 - 15
There will be tests in life, but God will shine victorious through His true followers.

You Go Nowhere By Accident

Everything happens for a reason… seriously. I honestly cannot say that I believe in coincidences. I’ve always been this way.

Growing up Presbyterian (and with the mom that God blessed me with) the reasoning of coincidence was non-existent. Every Sunday that we were in church we were sent out into the world with the same benediction; the benediction that embodies the core of Presbyterian beliefs; the benediction that the Wallace/Edmondson family was and is all about; the benediction that has stuck with me for years:

“You go nowhere by accident. Everywhere you go God has put you there. He has a purpose in your being there and he has given his grace to be with you.”

The most significant, non-coincidence in my life has to be Brandon Hunt. Brandon and I have been together for nearly two years now. Both of us grew up in little Lawrenceville, Georgia, attending Cedar Hill Elementary School, Richards Middle School, and Central Gwinnett High School… at the same time. After meeting we realized that we had similar friends, were at the same places at the same times, and could’ve met at anytime in our lives, but didn’t. (For goodness sakes! His dad was my little brother’s football and baseball coach!) Don’t tell me that the person who I love with every inch of my being and who I want to spend the rest of my life with growing up less than a mile from me is coincidence. It is a gift. Me walking into Frontera and running into his parents was all part of the plan. Remember “you go nowhere by accident…”

Not everything has to be as HUGE as the story of Brandon and I. Simple things like the fact that our new apartment is giving us the month of June for free so we can get in there and begin our new lives, or the fact that my hairdresser cancelled today’s appointment because she didn’t feel well at the same time that I wanted to save some cash because of my drive to get debt free, are the core of fate. The little things that make you stop and wonder. Just know, there is always a bigger picture.