Hey Folks,
We are no longer blogging here anymore.
Here is our new blog site...
http://iamatreasure.com/category/blog/
Let us know what you think of the new blog....
Love, Harmony
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Do you want to get well?
There is a well-told story of a man, lying on a mat, who had been disabled for 38 years. In it, Jesus asks him a question: ‘Do you want to get well?’ (John 5)
At that point, the man started coming up with excuses, saying that nobody would help him, and every time he tried to get better, somebody got in his way. Ultimately, Jesus instructs the man to ‘Take up his mat and walk.’ He follows this instruction and is miraculously healed.
I believe that Jesus is asking you and me the same question: “Do you want to get well?”
Sometimes we think we want to get better, but when it comes down to it, we have a million excuses as to why we can’t. We complain that “Nobody will help us” and “Every time we try, something gets in our way.” We become comfortable with our condition and content to remain paralyzed on our mats.
I spent many years wishing my life would change, stuck in patterns and relationships. But ultimately, it wasn’t enough to want to change—I had to decide to change.
Ultimately, the decision is in our hands. Nobody can want it for us. God can’t force it on us. Our friends can’t fix us. Finding the “right man” won’t miraculously make our life better. We must decide to get well. Once we do, I believe that just as the paralytic man discovered, Jesus will give us the strength we need in order to walk.
By Harmony Dust
www.ScarsAndStilettos.com
(Excerpt from my memoir, Scars and Stilettos.
Appendix Chapter on My Healing Journey)
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Does Jesus Love P0rn?
Does Jesus Love P0rn?
“Are you saying Jesus loves porn?” a half-dressed girl in a children’s bounce house asked us as she held the “Jesus Loves P0rn Stars” t-shirt up to herself. She was one of a few dozen girls hired at the p0rn convention to entertain the patrons by swinging on swings and playing on see saws and other children’s apparatuses.
“No. Because that would be weird,” Rachel a fun-loving, boisterous volunteer began,“but he loves p0rn stars and all of the people IN p0rn. I think if he were here today, he'd show up at p0rn conventions and say the same thing.”
Throughout the rest of the Exxxotica P0rn Convention in Los Angeles last weekend, the Treasures team partnered with XXX Church and shared that very message. Jesus loves people.
We were joined by Crissy, a stunning young woman who left p0rn at the height of her career, in order to follow Jesus. Her compassion for the women still in the industry seeps out of her pores and was evident in all of her encounters with them.
One moment I looked over to see her eyes filled with tears as she talked to one of the girls. “I was in the business for 6 years,” she shared.
The woman’s face softened upon seeing Crissy’s empathy. “It’s hard, isn’t it?” the woman responded.
Next to the bounce house was one of many tables of women signing autographs. But these women were not signing autographs for their p0rn-stardom. They were noted as being the “Scandalous Women of 2010”, a title awarded for having affairs with the likes of Tiger Woods and Jesse James. They were being given celebrity status for having sexual relationships with married men.
My stomach flip-flopped. Are we really living in a culture that rewards adultery with fame?
I was reminded of Jesus’ response to the woman at the well, a “scandalous woman” of her day. “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water," Jesus said to her.
Out of all of the people in the bible, this woman’s story resonates with me the most. I have been a scandalous woman in my own right and I identify with the depth of her need and the lengths she goes to in order to satisfy it. After years of looking to men, food, sex, attention, (you name it) to fill me, I have discovered that only One Thing will satisfy. Only Jesus can quench my insatiable thirst in a way that is true and lasting.
My heart broke as I handed each the women signing autographs a gift. Not BECAUSE of them, but FOR them. Because I believe that if they knew the “gift of God”, they would not be compelled to drink from the salty cup of infidelity. If they truly knew, they would walk away from that hollow well of fame, and instead thirst for Living Waters.
Jesus loves scandalous women. He loves p0rn stars and addicts. He even loves prideful, religious, judgmental folks. And when I contemplate my own heart and nature, it is just as awe inspiring that He loves me.
Love, Harmony Dust
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