Love, Life, Bitter Tears

Love, Life, Bitter Tears.

Simple joys of gardening.

Today I decided to attempt drying flowers for herbal tea. I have a small chamomile plant and a small lavender plant by my front porch that I planted last year. As I took my time plucking the tops of the chamomile flowers I enjoyed the Divine all around me. I could hear the Great Earth Mother in the animals and life around me. The cardinals chirped their merry tunes. Blue Jays protested my now nonexistent bird feeders. Even the hummingbird that is always the first here in spring, was barking at me to get out of the way of his feeder. 


I could feel the Goddess caress my cheek and stroke my hair with each gentle breeze. I could feel the warmth from the Sun and knew that God's love was also shining upon me. I even took a moment to close my eyes, smell the fresh lavender and honeysuckle, breath in a few soul cleansing breaths, and just say a little "thank you" from within my heart and soul. 


Thank you... for all the blessings in my life... big and small....   Thank you... for the beginning of summer after what felt like such a long and cold winter.   Thank you... for just having the ability to step outside, work with nature, and enjoy it.  Thank you... for somehow always making sure I have what I need. (Even when I didn't know I needed it.)  Thank you... for letting me get to know not only the Father, but the Mother as well. Thank you... Thank you... Thank you!

Mary Jo's blog, comments she deleted, and the debate continues....

This is my first blog and I'm sorry to say, it's a little on the long side. The reason for this is because today I came across a blog by a Christian woman named Mary Jo. It was an article where she was not pleased with the Circle of Moms contest on the top 25 woman of Faith bloggers. She is very unhappy that Pagan women are in the contest and not only that, but doing very well. She went on to criticize my faith, condemn Pagans as evil and working in league with Satan, and ended by saying that she appreciated comments as long as they were not attacking her, or hateful. She lied. (What? A Christian lie? WWJD?)

Here is the entire blog by Mary Jo, and every comment that she deleted. (At least that were up long enough for me to see and share.) She eventually blocked me so I was unable to leave any further comments. My response was to create a blog of my own. I look forward to posting many more.

Mary Jo's blog "A Convicted Heart...I ask for your forgiveness"

On May 19th I joined in on a blogging contest that was looking for the Top 25 Faith Blogs written by Moms.  It is being hosted by an organization called "Circle of Moms".  Before I agreed to do it, I noticed that several excellent, Christian Bloggers had entered as well.  I wasn't planning on reaching the top 25 part of the list...I am still a very new blogger compared to the wonderful Christian women bloggers who had already entered.  I just wanted to have some fun, meet some new readers, and encourage some of my favorite ladies as they reached the top 25.

I was so blessed and encouraged by all of your votes and encouragement over the last week as I watched my votes climb to 138, which is so many more than I ever expected to see by my name.

I have to admit, that I got caught up in the excitment and fun of all of it.  Promoting my friends who were so close to the Top 25 and in it as well as enjoying meeting other Christian bloggers.

But as the days went by this past week...something happened...

What started out as a fun way to meet new bloggers and readers became a place filled with darkness...

I hadn't been on much over the last 2 days...I've been enjoying some wonderful time with my family.

Last night, I stopped to check on the Top 25 and vote for my favorites and was shocked to see that more than half of the top 25 Faith Blogs were now Pagan and Witch blogs. 

My stomach felt sick as I realized that this "friendly competition" may not be the best place for me to be.  But I struggled with the idea that it was important to stay in the race so that when people went looking for "faith blogs" on Circle of Moms they would have the opportunity to hear the Truth...the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not think that Paganism was the place to go.

I have been encouraging people to vote for the top Christian bloggers all week...thinking we were there to share the Gospel and that this makes it OK.

But after talking with my, very wise, husband last night...doing a lot of praying...and reading God's Word...the Lord has convicted my heart as several Scripture passages came to my mind...

 "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."  Philippians 4:8 NLT

I realized that through participating in this contest my eyes were looking upon true darkness and evil...and not the things that God desires me to be focusing on...

 "Don't suppress the Spirit, and don't stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don't be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what's good. Throw out anything tainted with evil."  1 Thesalonians 5:22

I realized that my humble blog where I share my journey to holiness through Jesus Christ was being surrounded in this contest by bloggers who proclaim that Satan is the way and witchcraft and evil are just another "faith option".  I took a second look at the definition of "faith blogs that the Circle of Moms was hosting and it said:

"Faith is all around us, and it comes in many different forms. This group of exceptional moms nurtures both their families and their faiths to create homes filled with love."

"Oh no!"  My heart cried out!  'Faith is all around us, and it comes in many different forms.'  This should have been a red flag to me...but I didn't stop and really think about what it was saying before I trusted and jumped in.

 "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."  1 Peter 5: 8 NLT

Wow!  This one made me shudder as I looked at what was happening...The devil was waiting to devour me as I allowed myself to be in the company of his followers instead of staying far away and enjoying the company of Jesus.

It is for all of these reasons that I have decided, with the loving encouragement of my husband, to drop out of the competition.  Everyone has to follow God's leading in their hearts as they decide what to do with how things are turning in this competition.  I realize that some Christian Bloggers are remaining to shine the light of Jesus in the darkness.  I am NOT judging them.  I will praying that the light of Christ will shine through...but I had to do what was right for me, my family, and my blog.  

It is for these reasons also that I come to you and humbly ask for your forgiveness for not looking into it before joining in...for exposing you to the darkness through the Dark blogs that are listed...for getting caught up in a worldly competition that I should never have joined...for losing focus and taking my eyes off the mission that God has given me to share my humble journey to holiness in Him...

I hope you can forgive me...and that you honor me with your continued friendship as I continue learning and growing in my journey to holiness and move forward as we celebrate and follow God's instruction for what we should be focused on...

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."  Philippians 4:8 NLT

I take your trust very seriously and will make sure that I research and am sure of the sources of anything else that I share with you here on Seeds of Encouragement Sewn with Grace.  

God bless each of you and I hope you will accept my apology as I continue being pruned on my humble journey of faith in Jesus our Lord.

***Please note***I want you to know that your comments mean a lot to me...however, you need to know that anyone who leaves comments that attack me or the Gospel that I am standing up for will be deleted.  The attacks have gotten out of control and need to stop.  

I do not want to prevent all of my readers from being able to share their thoughts, wisdom and experience here so I have not turned off the comments for this post.  I realize that everyone reading this post does not agree with the Truth of Jesus Christ or my decision to share how God has led me to leave this competition.  I am praying for each person who visits this post.  And want you to know that God loves you so much that He sent His only Son to die for you so that you might be saved from sin and death and have eternal life with Him.

 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.  John 14: 6.

Sewn with His Grace,

Mary Joy

What she says about herself: 

Hi! I'm Mary Joy. I am so happy you stopped by! When the relationship between "The wise woman builds her home" in Proverbs 14:1 and being a homemaker hit me, I stopped short and was in awe! Over the last several months I have started really falling in love with my role as homemaker for my husband and family. My eyes filled with tears of joy and awe at the thought that Proverbs 14: 1 speaks directly to being a homemaker as very wise and of great value! What a privilege to be a homemaker...a home builder!!! The more I learn...the more I realize that I have to learn! I hope you will find some seeds of encouragement for your journey as a homemaker as I share what I am learning on my journey. Let's take a minute to encourage each other in our ministry of "building our homes".

Here is the comment I left in response to her blog:

It really saddens me to hear you say these things and feel this way. Just because someone's faith is different than yours, doesn't mean that they are evil or that their faith is wrong. There are many different faiths and sacred texts that go back thousands of years before the Holy Bible. 

I am glad that you dropped out of the competition only because spreading intolerance should never be acceptable. 

I am a proud Pagan who used to be Christian. I have studied with many different faiths including Baptist, Missionary, Catholic, Lutheran, Jehovah's Witnesses, and even Mormons. I've also studied Buddhism, Taoism, Wicca, and other ancient Earth religions. 

I am so thankful that I still love the book of Proverbs. A wonderful book written about the Goddess Asherah.

That is absolutely not true. She is free to believe and worship how she chooses. Her intolerance of any other faith is wrong, however. I may not agree with Christianity but I am thankful that I know many wonderful Christians who do not condemn others for believing differently than they do. They are free to believe how they want as long as they respect my right to do the same. Calling someone evil just because you don't understand their faith is wrong. I have great faith in my Lord & Lady and I am thankful that I studied and found out the truth that Christianity didn't start out Monotheistic. They actually started out Polytheistic and worshipped God along with his Goddess Asherah. 

You may not agree with me, but that is your right. I haven't been mean to anyone. Is your faith really so small that you cannot tolerate any other faith without insecurity? I'm so glad my faith in my God & Goddess is stronger than that. I truly am. )O(  ~Goddess bless you~

After reposting my comment she deleted I replied:

There was no reason to delete this post. You said yourself you would only delete hateful comments. Nothing in my comment was hateful, it just disagreed with your opinion. Are you really so small-minded that your faith cannot even handle that?

Cortney typed:

John 4:10-12 says "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us."  

If Christianity is not a religion of love then what does it have to offer to the world. You claim a beautiful love of a wonderful god extended to all of mankind yet in his name you denounce as evil women you have never met probably never even opened their pages if you are willing to take a leap of faith you will find a lot in common. Women who dedicate their lives to being loving wives and mothers trying to bring a strong faith to their families.  They aren't attacking what you believe, calling you evil, or knocking on your door telling you their faith is the only way. All they meekly ask is to be treated with so small amount of respect, and just maybe  to be recognized as women of faith.-

You will most likely delete this post and that's too bad. It isn't evil for people to see divinity in different ways. May whatever gods and spirits you believe in be in your hearts in a spirit of love and peace.

I replied to Cortney:

Cortney, 

That was so elegant and so gracefully put. I couldn't agree more. I am a single mother who is a full time homemaker. I cook my children's meals from scratch, work hard to keep a nice home for them. I see them on and off the bus every day. I teach them to respect all the different cultures of this planet, to keep an open mind and see that everyone is entitled to live their life how they choose so long as it does not harm others. I teach them to treat others how they want to be treated. To be compassionate to others who treat them poorly because we have not walked in their shoes and do not know what has drove them to become what they are. 

I also teach them that so long as a person is seeking the Divine, living their lives treating others well and with love, that they are free to do so and should have respect. We have no control over what part of this Earth we are born to or what Faiths we will be exposed to in our childhood. All we can do is become adults, study, and discover what Faith suits us best. In doing that, we should become more a more humane species. )O(

Comment by Cymraes:

We do not believe in Satan. He is a Christian concept and therefore outside of Paganism.

I thought you should know that, and I say this with kindness and respect due to a fellow human being.

Most Pagans believe in more than one god and certainly they believe in a feminine form, the Goddess - we believe in the power of nature and our decisions are of our own making; from the heart.It pains me too, to see so much discord over this matter - Faith, belongs to all who have it, be they Muslim, Christian, Jew or Pagan - we have Faith in our Gods and Goddess' just the same as anyone else who has Faith... it doesn't make us evil just because we're not Christians...

Reply I left after I resposted my comment for the 3rd time:

Why do you keep deleting this? You are proving that you are not honest by your own admission! You stated that only comments attacking you or being hateful would be deleted and yet you delete every comment that does not agree with your view or commend you for your dedicated intolerance. Sad.

I also left this comment:

I just want you to know that I copied your entire post, your bio, and every comment I have posted, every comment every person whose opinion differs from yours, and I pasted them into a note and I'm sharing them all on Facebook for everyone to see.

I pasted the link to this note in her comment box along with the following reply:

To see all of the comments that Mary Jo keeps deleting (even though she claims she'll only delete hateful or attacking comments) please click on the link and see my note. I have copied Mary Jo's blog and credited her, along with every comment made that she does not agree with and therefore deletes.

I had to repost the link in a reply to someone's comment she does not disapprove of. Along with the following comment:

To see all of the comments that Mary Jo keeps deleting (even though she claims she'll only delete hateful or attacking comments) please click on the link and see my note. I have copied Mary Jo's blog and credited her, along with every comment made that she does not agree with and therefore deletes.

Then I posted this:

You can keep deleting my comments but I continue to copy them into the note for all to see. Since you delete my comments, I'll leave them in a reply. You'll have to delete the comments that commend you for your intolerance to delete my point of view as well. Sad that you try to appear open-minded, nonjudgmental, and tolerant, claiming to only delete comments that attack you or are hateful, and yet you delete every one not to your liking. 

Where I reposted Cymraes comment (in a reply) they posted the following statement:

Freedom of speech eh?

So I replied:

I hope you don't mind that I saved your comments and posted them in a note about this woman's blog. I think everyone has a right to see the comments that go on both sides. Not just the ones that she feels commend her for her intolerance. She deletes any that she does not agree with even when they are not hateful to her in any way. She obviously cannot tolerate any other  point of view. If I were Christian, I'd believe Satan had a hold of her soul....

Jane Reese posted this comment:

I have never read your blog before, and I don't have a blog, but you will become a regular for me now. I had been thinking the same thing about the contest. One of the pagan blogs may "win" the contest, but in the end they all will lose, unless they turn and trust Christ. Thank you for your stand.

To shich I tried to reply:  (At this point, Mary Jo blocked me from leaving any further comments so this did not post.)

You may feel that we lose, but my religion is older than yours. (By roughly 25,000 years.) You don't hear me saying that if you don't believe as I do, you will spend eternity in hell, do you? No, you're free to believe how you choose. I hope a Pagan does win this contest. It will prove there are more good people out there with open hearts and minds than what you would like to see. =}