Unclean?

Are we unclean? I was recently invited to my bosses church to speak or rather give my point of view on why my church abstains from certain "unclean foods". During our discussion their church pastor ask me what does it mean when the bible says unclean. He made reference to passages in Leviticus which speaks about a woman's uncleanness when she is menstruating or when a man passes his semen or has any other discharge. I had never thought of it. As a matter of fact I had never read that passage of scripture. So it got me thinking are we unclean during this time? What does the scripture mean? And if we are now not unclean, does that mean we can eat all the other foods formerly prohibited in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.

I went home and began reading these passages in Leviticus to see the real reasoning behind this. I must admit I'm still confused. So this is a genuine question, Do you think that in these modern times as women we are to be "put away" during our time of the month?

thanks for reading, please comment and you can follow me on twitter @OnenOnlyShorna

Is it Sinful to Relax Hair?

As a Christian living in Jamaica I get asked often about why my hair is relaxed. It would appear that most people in my culture, view relaxed hair as un-Christlike and worldly. But is this true? 

As a black woman, I find that my hair is pretty hard to manage. It is thick and uncontrollable. Even when my hair is relaxed it presents a challenge. My natural hair requires a lot of maintenance which I cant manage on my own and have no time for. But as a Christian, do we send a wrong message to those who we try to convert? What does the Lord require of us Christian women?

Without a doubt I can say that the Lord would rather us leave ourselves the way He created.( We are fearfully and wonderfully made...." Psalms. 139 vs. 14). But since the inception of sin, life on Earth has become challenging for even the simplest of life tasks. As a woman my hair is my beauty, and I will honestly say that when my hair is not done up properly I don't look good and my self esteem is significantly lowered. Many women can attest to this fact. Could this be because sin has cast a veil over our eyes that we can't appreciate God's creation? Is this a ploy by the evil one to get us to further destroy ourselves?

Science has proven in studies all over, that some of these chemicals that we use on ourselves are hazardous to our health. I personally believe that these unnatural chemicals that are found in our beauty products are carcinogenic.(though I cannot prove it). And this gentle folks is where I believe we are wrong. Its not the perming or relaxing of our hair that is wrong, its the fact that the products we use are potentially harmful to our bodies which is God's temple. Just as how God commands us not to eat unclean foods I believe that we are to also stop using these harmful chemicals.

However, is it that easy? Tell me what do you think. To go natural or stay relaxed till Jesus comes and makes me immortal and incorruptible. Thanks for reading. I leave you with the a scripture for thought 1 Corinthians 6 v 19...What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Being a Christian in a Harsh working environment

Being a Christian isn't easy, our faith is being put to the test on a daily basis. Things get even more challenging when we have to interact with non believers especially those with whom we work. Its is known to all Christians that it is the plan of the enemy to discourage others from joining our faith. How then do we deal with the animosity and strive that plagues the work place.

I have personally struggled with this issue because I am what people would call "thin-skinned". I am introverted, shy, and withdrawn with a mild case of OCD. You may even go as far as saying that I am, or was, seeing that I am making a U-turn in my life, antisocial. These rather negative traits have always landed me on the wrong side of other people with temperaments different than mine. I have always thought people hated me and I thought it was something I did. At some point in my life I came to the conclusion that the just disliked me because of their own jealousy and self esteem issues seeing that my "haters" were all women.

Now that I have matured both mentally and spiritually, I realize that the enemy is at work on God's children. I no longer blame people for their actions. However, the question still remains of how to deal with them. Do we disconnect ourselves from those that deceitfully use us? Should we try to fraternize with those who would rather not have our company? Doing the right thing isn't always easy. It can be such a mental, physical and often times spiritual strain when try to deal with difficult individuals.  Yes, we are to do good to those who hurt us. But from a working environment perspective, are we supposed to be friendly with these said people or is being professional good enough to cover us from a Christian standpoint.

In all honesty I withdraw from people who I think are against me. Their actions do prove me right. But when you're trying to get on the straight and narrow, one can't help but think that this is not the best approach. When I try to be friendly, be the "bigger person" it always ends up as a slap in my face. What should I do? Help, anyone?

As Christians we are to willingly protect and develop our mental, physical and spiritual faculties in order that we may honor our Creator and Redeemer. Rom 12 v. 1,2 says" I beseech you therefore brethren  by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be ye not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." 

As always thanks for reading and comment as freely as you like. I am willing to learn.

Women: our role in our men's lives

As women we are faced with difficult tasks when it comes  to the men in our lives. We are support systems, chefs, night nurses, confidant, housewives etc. Lately I've been hearing women say things that have gotten me thinking. So I need your feedback. As a woman what is your purpose in life? Are we placed on this Earth to MAKE men happy?  Is it our life's mission to GET a man, and HOLD him? Should we dress up cause we want to look good FOR our man? Ladies tell me what you really think. Is this what we are really worth? Why should our entire lives be centered around men. I personally hate to hear women say these things and some women say it as if its an accolade. I believe that when I dress up and do my hair and wear make-up its to make me happy and to make me feel good. I believe that women should be secure in themselves, hold themselves in high esteem. If you want to lose some weight don't go at it to impress some guy, do it because you want to boost your esteem and you want to get healthy. Do it for you. Gents what do you think? Is the woman whose aim in life is to get a man more attractive to you than the woman who is secure and is waiting for the right man who can maintain her happiness?
I do not believe that if a woman doesn't get married or have children, she's any less than a woman. that's not our purpose in life. We have no skill to prove.

Let me know what you think.
p.s this is my first blog  not sure if I'm doing it right. Feel free to share your views, I am willing to learn.