You Have Not Been Sprinkled With Forgiveness. You Have Not Been Splattered With Grace. You Have Not Been

Happy Canada Day :)

Ayo! 

today i met a christian guy who tries to follow the rules of the bible really well and i asked him if he is against gays because of Leviticus 20:13 and he told me no, he doesn’t because of Matthew 7

and he added that he would never judge anybody on their believes or way of living because only god can judge the people

this guy man

Katherine Brown - Fill a Stable - Fill a Stable

Hi friends! This is me SHAMELESSLY promoting my latest fundraising venture! I'm participating in World Vision's "Fill a Stable" event with my university society. It would mean the world to me if you would donate and help us reach our goal of $1200.00.  Thank you in advance :) With love,  -Katherine

Just watched your suicide video and although i understand your premise and the meaning behind posting it, I think you're almost blocking out the fact that sometimes suicide isn't about circumstances or a bad choice along the way, it's about serious depression and just literally having no desire to live so unhappily day to day. For some people being one in 7 billion or being here for a reason isn't enough when living is much harder than it should have to be.

That is an excellent point and I think that you're absolutely right. I apologize for my oversight and I promise that it was not intentional. Depression and suicide is such a complex issue and I wish that I knew exactly what to say to fix everything, but of course, I don't. Also, I cannot possibly understand what someone is going through when they're in that situation. I do know that I have a couple friends who've been there and they're doing much better now than they were. I will address that aspect right here right now. What would I say to those people? Hmmm..

"Open up to people. Don't do this alone, because there are people who want to help you. I have noooo idea what you're going through but I'll listen if you want to talk. I can't possible understand how hard this is but I do firmly believe that fighting this and beating it will be the best thing you ever do. And I'm always here for you." 

Here's some advice from people who actually know what they're talking about:

"It gets better, as much as I know it doesn't seem like it and it feels like it never will, I promise it will. Many people said that to me but when you're in that dark place it's so hard to understand! I never thought I would even make it to grade 11, let alone graduate high school. And look at me now! I'm moving away and feeling unstoppable! It will get better. You have to go through the worst before you can get to the best. You need to try your hardest to become a fighter, even though it seems like there's nothing worth fighting for, I promise there is!!!!" - Lauren

"The first thing I think is for you to be open to your family that you are battling the illness. I went through all of grade 12 without telling a soul and I deeply regret it. After telling my family the fight was much easier I found. The thing with depression is that you essentially feel conpletely alone. I thought no one felt the way I did. So once you've found the right people to trust and you realize you have a support system, your perspective can begin to change. As it turned out, I met someone, who became my best friend, who had a similar story to mine. Finding someone who feels the way you do can work miracles. 

Don't get me wrong I was terrified to tell anyone. It was only when I began to seriously contemplate ending my life that I realized I needed help. I don't want anyone to get to that point. It's scary, and I want people to feel they can be open about their thoughts and feelings much sooner than I had. So in saying that if you have any suicidal thoughts or are hurting yourself, it may be more important to seek professional help ASAP. For me, It's still a fight each and every day but I'm not in danger anymore. 

There are many blogs and chat rooms online for people battling depression. You can anonymously share your story or read those of others and can seek coping help. It helps to see that you aren't alone!

The biggest thing is to lean people do love you and care about you. Each person can find their own reason to get out of bed in the morning, it just takes some time!" - Bethany

These are two amazing young women who have been in school with me since kindergarten and now they're going off to fashion design school and doing science degrees and becoming astronauts and stuff! They're incredible, and I love them both. They both told me that they're open to talking with anyone who needs to talk, and they're more than willing to share their story. 

Again, I apologize for neglecting to address that side of the issue. Bottom line, I want everyone to keep living, and I firmly believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that suicide is most definitely not the answer, and depression IS beatable. 

Thank you for bringing this to my attention :)Peace and love! (so much love)-Katherine 

I WAS LITERALLY ABOUT TO REBLOG THIS WHEN I SAW THAT YOU TAGGED ME THIS IS SO TRUE AND I GET SO MAD ABOUT IT

dudes in their 20s who try to talk to high school girls are losers

if you're feeling powerless right now—and god knows I am—here's a reminder you can donate to the National Network of Abortion Funds, the Trans Law Center, Gaza Soup Kitchen, the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, and hundreds of other charities that will work to mitigate the damage that has been and will continue to be inflicted

life continues. we still have the capacity to do good, important work. that matters

reblogging from myself because this is how strongly I feel about it 

ALRIGHT EVERYBODY LISTEN UP

I AM A CHRISTIAN.

I BELIEVE IN HEAVEN AND HELL.

KNOW WHAT I DON’T BELIEVE?

THAT PEOPLE GO TO HELL FOR BEING GAY.

KNOW WHY?

CAUSE THAT’S NOT WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS.

KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS?

THAT EVERYBODY WOULD GO TO HELL IF NOT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST WHO DIED ON THE CROSS.

THE BIBLE ALSO SAYS THAT IF YOU CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH THAT JESUS IS LORD AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU’LL BE SAVED (ROMANS 10 FREAKING 9 MOTHER-TRUCKER)

THEREFORE!!!

PEOPLE GO TO HELL IF THEY DON’T KNOW THE LOVE OF JESUS.

YOU KNOW WHO’S NEVER GONNA KNOW THE LOVE OF JESUS IF THE CHURCH KEEPS BEING RIGID JUDGEMENTAL CONDESCENDING NOT-NICE PEOPLE!?!?!

YOU GUESSED IT!

GAY PEOPLE 

CHURCH, BY OSTRACIZING GAY PEOPLE YOU ARE LITERALLY LIVING THE ANTITHESIS OF YOUR MANDATE.

Your answer about suffering was beautifully written! I'm actually curious, you said that suffering is unnatural, that it isn't a part of this world since God loves us. Could you elaborate a bit on that?

thank you!! suffering is unnatural: God did not make the world with suffering in mind. he also did not make the world with death in mind. last year i took a course on death and this was the consistent theme in it: death is not natural, because God did not create the world with death in mind, he did not create death, but rather death is imported into creation after the fact, by creation, by our choice. it is the same with suffering. when the world is created, God declares it טוב, tov, what scripture calls "good." God makes the world with this in his mouth. among other things, tov means agreeable and sensorially pleasant, ethically good, well knowing, valuable, better (than another thing), capable of pleasure, morally good, ethical goodness. the creative word exits the mouth of God and brings creation into being and it is good, so good is incapable of suffering because suffering does not exist. suffering is a human creation. if we believe that the real is God, then suffering is not part of the real: the real is goodness, which is God, and it is incapable of being inhabited by suffering. suffering enters the real through our own experience, as suffering enters the world through human choice. this is the profundity of the crucifixion: that God, the real, chooses to endure suffering, when he is so far from the concept of suffering that he is incapable of creating it. he is capable of loneliness, though. which is suffering in its own way. and isn't that the root of all suffering? loneliness? but that's not the point of suffering being unnatural. God was also not lonely until he created a creation to miss.

Thinkin' 'bout International Women's Day

I think it's super cool that we have a day to celebrate women, because any time there is time set aside and designated for a topic, it brings the topic to the forefront of people's minds. And I love celebrating International Women's Day by listening to Nicki and Bey and talking about feminism. A lot of the content I see is rather american-centric, i.e. It deals with feminism in the context of a western society. On *International* Women's Day, I think it's suuuuuuper important to also discuss a broader spectrum of feminism. There are still parts of the world where Female Genital Mutilation is a thing. There are parts of the world where girls are married off to middle aged men in their preteen and early teen years. There are parts of the world where women have chemical burns from acid thrown on them by abusive husbands. There are parts of the world where women cannot go to school. To me, that's what feminism is about. That's what International Women's Day is about. Check out The Girl Effect for more info. They're a cool crowd.