"At the table of hospitality in the South, kindness is the centerpiece filled with bright roses, rich greenery, and fresh babies breath. The essence of our breed of womanhood is to go out of our way to be kind to others either in word or deed." -Rhonda Rich
True dat Rhonda, except lets stop you right there. I'd like to counter that we replace the babies-breath-rose-bouquet (CrInGe), with something a bit more simple, and a tad less cliche. Wild flowers, daisies, sunflowers, or eclectic branches are friendly and cheap, lets go with those. Preach on sister...
"Pretty is as pretty does," our mamas admonish us from the nursery up, reminding us often that beauty lies in how we treat others and not in the creaminess of our complexions or loveliness of our faces. My momma preached "pretty is as pretty does" as often and as stridently as she touted John 3:16." -Rhonda Rich
16 ¶For aGod so bloved the cworld, that he dgave his eonly begotten fSon, that whosoever gbelieveth in him should not perish, but have heverlasting ilife.
17 For God asent not his Son into the world to bcondemn the world; but that the world through him might be csaved.
18 ¶He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that abelieveth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the bname of the only begotten cSon of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that alight is come into the world, and men loved bdarkness rather than light, because their cdeeds were evil. -John 3:16-19
"Of course, I welcomed knowing that I could be pretty in actions, since I was so plain in looks. Maybe I wasn't "as ugly as homemade sin," a favorite saying of my people and one I never understood, but my chubbiness, freckles, and overbite would never have put me on anyone's list of beauties.
"Why do you suppose that so-and-so didn't do such-and-such ?" my sister, Louise, will say from time-to-time, talking about someone who has not responded to kindnesses with similar kindnesses.
"Because not everyone thinks the way we do," I'll reply. "Especially like you think."
This line made me simultaneously wince, blush, chuckle, and nod in absolute agreement. We all could use a regular dose of those words:
"Because not everyone thinks the way we do. Especially like you think."
Yet, even if no-one else thinks the way I do on this, I'm still going to take a shot at defining "homemade sin" to myself, to you, to y'all. Preach on sister.
Homemade Sin: those actions which you likely have either a "love/hate" relationship with, or an intense desire for, and/or inclination towards, which when acted upon, brings you into a position of enmity with yourself, and with God. Homemade Sin is either a product or by-product of pride. Often with the acute inability, or reluctance to bend, kneel, and humble to the changes that He/She/We has in store for you. Changes which essentially include sacrificing your "homemade sin." Homemade Sin can often be a type of an indulgence, or a lack of control over emotional responses. It turns the most ugly when it is an action which places us in enmity with others and ourselves. Essentially our souls are our home. And if we craft and cultivate, and ultimately indulge in an act which places us at war with others, and with an element of our very self, such as our heart, mind, spirit, or body, then aren't we essentially sinning against our home? Against our self? Homemade sin is a form of self-deception. Some people will never feel at war for their self. For their soul. If you haven't? You've lived in a different existence than I. For me, the decisive rejection of and repentance from "homemade sin" is deep-dark-dirty soul work. Still, there is sacred ground in treading it. Especially, if it means putting your homemade sin on the pyre. And if I haven't mentioned already? I'm no pyro.
-as defined by, Janelle Jensen Fritz
Homemade Sin: those actions which you likely have either a "love/hate" relationship with, or an intense desire for, and/or inclination towards, which when acted upon, brings you into a position of enmity with yourself, and with God. Homemade Sin is either a product or by-product of pride. Often with the acute inability, or reluctance to bend, kneel, and humble to the changes that He/She/We has in store for you. Changes which essentially include sacrificing your "homemade sin." Homemade Sin can often be a type of an indulgence, or a lack of control over emotional responses. It turns the most ugly when it is an action which places us in enmity with others and ourselves. Essentially our souls are our home. And if we craft and cultivate, and ultimately indulge in an act which places us at war with others, and with an element of our very self, such as our heart, mind, spirit, or body, then aren't we essentially sinning against our home? Against our self? Homemade sin is a form of self-deception. Some people will never feel at war for their self. For their soul. If you haven't? You've lived in a different existence than I. For me, the decisive rejection of and repentance from "homemade sin" is deep-dark-dirty soul work. Still, there is sacred ground in treading it. Especially, if it means putting your homemade sin on the pyre. And if I haven't mentioned already? I'm no pyro.
-as defined by, Janelle Jensen Fritz
