Everything Feels Awful Right Now But It Isn't Really. We Still Don't Officially Have A Winner, But Regardless

What's your opinion on pregnancy outside of marriage?

(To skip all the words, scroll to the bottom where it says “in conclusion”)Let’s start this one straight up. Jesus said to save sex for marriage. That alone is a good enough reason for me, because I think that God prooobably knows what He’s talking about. But that’s just me. However, here are some reasons why I, in my 19-year-old, human, finite wisdom (so much sarcasm) agree with Him:1) Humans are made to be monogamous. It’s true! We’re always looking for ‘that special someone’. If you don’t know Jesus, a meaningful romantic relationship is sometimes the most…spiritual and transcendent experience in your life. And if you do, it’s probably the second-most spiritual and transcendent experience. We have an inherent tendency to be co-dependent, to define ourselves by someone else. Not saying it’s healthy, just saying it’s true. 2) Ergo, there is a lot of psychological and physiological crap that goes along with sex. For example, sex releases oxytocin, known as the “cuddle hormone” which stimulates feelings of well-being and affection for your partner. It strengthens bonds between sexual partners and between mother and breast-feeding child. Besides that, sex is such a high level of intimacy and vulnerability (you are literally surrendering EVERYTHING to the other person) that it has a huuge effect on our psyche. One of my friends had sex with a guy when she was like 15 or 16 and she could not get over the guy for years and years, even though he was an idiot. Up to TWO THIRDS of prostitutes suffer from post traumatic stress disorder! Because we weren’t meant to live like that. I am a firm believer that a girl who has many sexual partners with no meaningful relationships is showing the symptoms of very low self-esteem and a deep and abiding lack of self-respect. 3) And so, I think that such a level of intimacy, that will have such a big effect on your psyche, should only be achieved with someone to whom you have pledge the rest of your life. Because with such a person, you know you trust them. You trust them enough to let them see the real you, all of you, all your strengths and weaknesses. You are already completely vulnerable with them because they see all your flaws and love you anyway, therefore you are free to be physically vulnerable with them as well. And the psychological effects of sex will only strengthen your relationship, which is great! Okay so now we’ve gotten that out of the way. And that’s really the root “issue” here. Not pregnancy per se, but extramarital sex. You only said pregnancy outside of marriage, which is of course NOT synonymous with teen pregnancy, but I’d like to indulge in a little tangent, if you’ll allow me (haha you have no choice :P) and discourse on that subject briefly. Here are a couple more, rather pragmatic reasons why I think teen pregnancy is a bad idea: 1) When you have a baby, you have to care for a whole other entire person! That is a HUUUUGE responsibility, and I’m not saying you’re not ready for it (although I know I’m definitely not), but I am saying that pretty much EVERY SINGLE OTHER THING in your life becomes secondary to this baby. School, work, friends, hobbies, EVERYTHING falls lower on the priority list than this baby. That could really throw a wrench in your future plans. 2) It IS nice for a child to have the stability of two parents whom a) the child actually knows and b) are constant in the child’s life. That would be the ideal case in a perfect world. This world’s far from perfect. I know that’s not always possible. But if it is, I’d suggest that you do that for you child. Try to give them two parents who will always be there for them. Don’t let them wonder who their mommy or daddy is. Don’t let them watch a string of boyfriends or girlfriends go through your life and never stay long enough to form anything more than a superficial relationship with your child. You know that’s gonna haunt them their whole life.Okay moving on! Obvs, I don’t know your life. I don’t know what you’ve been through. I have had a suuuper safe, sheltered life. I’m 19 and still a virgin, and I wear a purity ring which symbolizes my decision to save sex for marriage. Of course, my opinion’s gonna be biased. Furthermore, like I said in my last answer to a question about homosexuality, Jesus loves you! In fact, imma just block quote that whole part of the answer. 

Jesus said that the most important commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (okay, cool, makes sense) BUUUTTT….the SECOND most important commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:29-31) And there are entire chapters of the bible devoted entirely to the importance of loving people (1 Corinthians 13) So! Here are the facts: Fact Number 1: Jesus loves you. Like, He really, REALLY loves you. Deeply, passionately, intimately, overwhelmingly. He loves you enough to die for you. He loves you so much that He DESPERATELY wants to have a personal relationship with you - to talk to you, to hear your thoughts and to walk with you through this life. Fact Number 2: I love you. I think that every single person in the world deserves to be loved and deserves to be respected simply due to the fact that you are a person and God made you and loves you. Okay, so now we’ve established that Jesus loves you and I love you, for no other reason than the fact that you’re alive, and no matter what. That cannot be altered, edited, ignored, abated, cancelled out, destroyed or denied. 

So if someone has had sex, or did get pregnant outside of marriage, IN NO WAY does that make them a bad person, or make them unholy, or make God mad at them, or make God (or me) love them any less. You are still a beautiful person, worthy of love! Just because I personally have made different choices in my life than you  does not mean that I disapprove of you or am judging you or think any less or you, or even any differently of you! In fact, if one of my close friends had a baby, I would actually probably be SO happy to be their auntie Katherine. In conclusion, I think sex outside of marriage is a bad idea. But Jesus loves you and I love you even if you have had sex outside of marriage. Peace and love!-KatherineP.S. Just to establish this, I don’t like abortion (since it’s kind of a propos). So now that’s out there. P.P.S. I am loving these questions! Keep them coming! 

On Celebrity Gossip

So I was at the grocery store today, where I work, working. And next to each check-out, there are racks of magazines. And on these racks are magazines such as People, OK, InTouch and Star. And would you like to know the main topic of the cover page headlines on these magazines? It doesn't matter cause I'm gonna tell you anyway.  Kim Kardashian's weight.  I'm serious. I don't know if you've been following this riveting story, but apparently Kim's pregnant with Kanye's baby, and she's eating a lot during her pregnancy and she put on a lot of weight and now Kanye doesn't love her anymore. Oh, and Khloe has been reported to have said "I'm the hot sister now." This is all information that I surmised simply by reading the covers of these magazines while I didn't have any customers! I can't even imagine what awful, sordid details I might find in the pages.  Like honestly, there are so many levels of wrong that I could talk about. So many societal issues that sicken me. But I'll just take one for now. 

Blazoned across one of the covers, in big yellow letters, were the words, "six months pregnant and already 200 pounds".  Um, excuse me, but in what universe is it okay to broadcast a woman's weight on the cover of a magazine? You and I both know that precious few of us will admit our weight to even our closest confidantes, and yet it's okay to tell the whole world Kim Kardashian's weight? Why? Why is it okay to talk about private matters like health crises, addictions, relationships and such just because these people are actors, or musicians, or royalty, or politicians? Why is it possible for me to pick up a magazine at a doctor's office and find out Kim Kardashian's weight or Jennifer Lawrence's bra size (36C, in case you're wondering)? Why are we so obsessed with these people's lives? Why do we thoughtlessly participate in the violation of their privacy? Why is it that their daily lives are a consumable commodity to us?  WHY DO WE EVEN CARE?  You know what, I don't even know why. I am legitimately asking you. I think it's despicable how much we crave it. We just can't get enough! Oh Angie's jealous because Brad still has feelings for Jen! We eat that crap up! We are so desensitized to the humanity of celebrities that we analyze and judge and ridicule their lives as if it means nothing.  Because of this, I am a fervent boycotter and protester of reality tv. Why is 16 and pregnant even a thing? How did this happen? Or the bachelorette? It is not possible to fall in love that fast! We are taking serious life events, like choosing a partner and having a baby, and turning them into entertainment! That is not okay.  See, these people aren't characters on a show. They seem like it, but they're not. They're not the protagonist or antagonist in your favourite book, movie or show. No one made them up. No one gave them strategic character flaws. No one made them heroes. No one invented a history for them. They're real people. They have lived through situations and circumstances that made them the way they are today. They make choices that affect the rest of their lives. They have feelings and talents and struggles and goals and dreams. They love, they hurt, they fear and they triumph. They experience the same range of emotion you and I do. It still hurts when someone calls them fat. Somewhere in the world right now, they're actually living and breathing. Just because you don't know them personally and they live far away, doesn't mean that they're immune to your criticism and caprice. It is still not fair and not okay to talk about them as if they're invented characters. It's still not okay to pick apart the details of their lives. We've all made really stupid mistakes. We've all messed up badly. But none of our mistakes get published in the tabloids. When we mess up, the whole world doesn't have to know. 

So please, I beg of you, don't be a part of the industry. If you don't watch reality tv, or buy the magazines, or read the websites, that's awesome! Keep doing what you're doing. If you do, pleeease, stop. Have some empathy and compassion for your fellow human beings. Let them live their lives without your commentary. And live your own life instead of reading about someone else's. It's like a reality tv show, except nothing's scripted, and you get to decide how it ends. So much better than normal reality tv, amiright?  Goodnight my darlings! Hope I gave you some food for thought.  Love,  Katherine

Hate in the name of God is still devil worship.

“To speak of the suffering God is dangerous language, and we need to beware of any tendency to glorify suffering and to forget that suffering is bad, that God is opposed to suffering and seeks to end it, and that Jesus was not abandoned but supported by God throughout the anguish of the passion and death. Yet, in spite of these qualifications, such language is demanded of us by the truth to which we bear witness. God on the cross means God in pain, God in distress, a suffering God. Only the suffering God can help.”

— Kenneth Leech, We Preach Christ Crucified

May God break every weapon.

Christianity stands or falls with its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness, and pride of power and with its plea for the weak. Christians are doing too little to make these points clear rather than too much. Christendom adjusts itself far too easily to the worship of power. Christians should give more offense, shock the world far more, than they are doing now. Christians should take a stronger stand in favor of the weak rather than considering first the possible right of the strong.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Sermon on II Corinthians 12:9 (via bonniekristian)

Happy Easter!

Just a quick post to remind you the whole reason behind the Easter story. I told it to a bunch of three-year-olds today, and I figure I should tell you too.  It's the same thing I've been preaching since the very beginning. It's really the ONLY thing that mattes. It's the very character of God. It's love. God knew that the curse of mortality we brought upon ourselves separated us from Him, and that broke His heart. So He devised a plan to bridge the gap between us and Him. That was Jesus. Jesus, the incarnation of God in fleshly form, came to earth and lived our miserable, wretched, human life, and then died the most inhumane death possible. Why? Because He loves us.  Oh, you guys, He loves us so much. His love for us is so inclusive, so unconditional, so vast, so immeasurable, so outrageous, so scandalous, that our minds could never fathom its incomprehensible depth. He loves us deeply, intimately, and personally. So much so that if you were the only person who had ever existed in the whole history of the entire world, He would have gone to the cross just the same, to save you.

And when they pounded the nails into His palms, as He grit his teeth in agony, and as even His own lungs became instruments of torture, His thoughts were not on Himself, but on you. As sweat drops of blood dripped down His face, He saw your addictions, your hurt, your self-loathing, your fears, your mistakes, and your regrets. He took it all upon Himself. So that you could be free from all that. 

Because His heart aches for His children. He can't bear to see us along and hurting, cut off from the warmth and comfort of His embrace. He's been drawing us steadily back to Himself, ever since the day we ran away. Because He loves us. So, so, so much.  Like Lilly loved Harry.  Except, way, waaaayyyy more.  Happy Easter, guys. Remember how much you're loved. :) -Katherine

GOOD MORNING to the guy in my stake conference that told us that, if we experience or witness racism on campus, we should feel free to use the "laying on of hands" to combat it.

"Punching racists is morally acceptable and spiritually strengthening" was not the message I was expecting to hear this morning but gosh dang, am I excited to hear it

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Edmund Burke (via anamorphosis-and-isolate)

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