Category Archives: Humanity & Sin

On Art

As a favorite philosopher/theologian Francis Schaeffer stated quite appropriately in his thesis, How Should We Then Live, art  is merely the expression of a man’s mind.  I’ve spent many years processing this idea imparted to me by Dr. Schaeffer.  I knew I agreed with him from the moment I heard him utter it, but I think I knew there was more that needed to be said.

The true artist is of either the most courageous among us or the genuinely nonchalant; for he dares to create something abiding which will outlast his own existence here.  He is a person of conviction who boldly believes in his right and ability to impress on his own generation and on the ones to come his thoughts, his experience, or he is oblivious to his own place- maybe to his own identity, and in a whirlwind of reactivity leaves a piece of himself behind.

The importance of art certainly can not be overstated as it is of a permanence our physical bodies do not attain.   Art will endure and it will influence and persuade those whom it touches.  It will do these things with or without permission. It will do these things within and outside of boundaries, and it will remain our responsibility as individual souls to respond in a manner conducive to the blessing of our brothers and sisters in humanity.

Copyright 2018. L.L. Shelton.

 

Sensational Sexuality Diet

Steps To A Truly Satisfying Sexuality

Stop! Proceed with caution. This list has the potential to alter your life and is intended for married and soon-to-be-married eyes only. Not intended for minor use. Parental supervision suggested. You are on the honor system. You must not continue reading unless you fully intend to read through the last word and to the end. Please thoughtfully consider the terms. If you agree to the terms of use, you may proceed.

Steps to your satisfaction:

  1.  Binge! Throw out that one year Bible reading plan and read ahead to the next chapter. Ask God to join you through His Holy Spirit as you feast on The Word! Enjoy every morsel, each small bite so full of flavor and nutrition, created especially for your dining pleasure. Reconnect with the exciting authentic history, thrilling true tales of prophets and kings, the beautiful poetry, and miraculous moments of discovery and deliverance. Relate anew to the genuine Gospel and the establishment of the Christian church. Eat and drink until you begin to feel hopeful and content with your God.
  2. Purge! Now clean out that ridiculous clutter you’ve been stumbling over for so long. Is there a secret stash of soft porn somewhere? Do you only need to touch a screen to access it? Is there a Victoria’s Secret across the street from where you work? Is that Frederick’s or Chippendale’s catalogue someone brought in laying around somewhere? Are there steamy romance novels- you know the kind- filled with men human husbands could never manage to be, men who are perfect beyond measure, infallible heroes to the end? Are there lewd books, magazines  filled with pictures and stories of strange women- you know the type- perfectly built women with fabulous faces who beg to serve and to participate in aberrant sexual practice and couldn’t care less for a wedding ring? Is there legitimate pornography available to you and used by you, once in a while or regularly? Trash it! Toss it with the understanding that God abhors it. Ask your abba (your daddy) to give you the grace, strength, and courage to resist it. Ask Him to give you a new perspective (a new heart) toward those who are involved in creating these images to incite lust. Pity them. Pray for them as if they were your own people caught in a horrible self-destructive lifestyle. They are, after all, your human brothers and sisters.
  3. Starve yourself! Allow your thoughts of sexual satisfaction to rest on your spouse and only on your spouse throughout your waking hours. Ask God to continue the vigil as you sleep. Ask God to remind you that honest fulfillment in any arena is only possible when you are more concerned with giving than with getting. Recognize when your thoughts threaten to turn selfishly lustful toward your spouse, to linger lustfully on another or to turn sexual toward another, and refuse to stay; immediately command your mind in the name and power of Christ to turn back toward your spouse and toward your God. At this moment, God will remind you of some Truth in His Word regarding Himself. He is attempting to replace the potentially unwholesome thought with thought of Himself. Cooperate! Acknowledge the thought, embrace it and repeat it, again and again until you feel cleansed.  The more you listen to God, the louder He gets!
  4. Start over! When you fail, do not give up. Seek and ask for forgiveness, from God and from your spouse.  Use your will power given to you by The Holy Spirit, and in His strength, begin again. Together, with your abba, put one foot in front of the other, and proceed through these steps.

This diet is guaranteed to radically alter your life! Your sexual urges are designed by God not only to ensure procreation, but to drive you away from yourself and toward your spouse to aid in the development of a particular level of intimacy with God, as well as with your spouse, unique to marriage.  By implementing this plan you will find your own sexuality transformed! If your spouse is committed as well, your joy in one another will be rich.  It will not happen overnight, as with any diet, this one must be participated in fully and committed to as a lifestyle to result in lasting success.

Finally, we make authentic love because we are under the influence of the genuine love of God, and are inspired  to the giving of ourselves and receiving of another in a beautiful way because of it.  Anything less is ordinary loveless sex.

Disclaimer: Some participants will need to focus on God as someone other than “daddy,” as their earthly daddy (or mama) wittingly lead them toward or directly contributed to their sexually retarded development. I urge those to remember that God is a perfect father and cares tenderly for his creation as a good mother cares for her young. Though you may have no immediate earthly example of a Godly parent available, you may find it helpful to imagine such a leader through literary ideal, including biblical, and film illustrations, and to know that God (according to His Word) joins you in your grief.

Copyright 2016. L.L. Shelton.

Dissociation

Does winter have to last this long?
Did you really have to ask?
I think that I see flowers waving to me top the hill.
Right here. Right now.
It’s a game I learned to play while I was. bound.
Hands tied, face down, I basked
In the glow of sunshine spilling ‘ore the window sill.
Right here. Right now.
I sing songs, shivering, and sad while I am still.
I say see the jaunty laughing daffodils.
Right here. Right now.

Copyright 2017. L.L. Shelton.

About That

She was born into a war
being waged in suburban America.

Its origins were untold.
Soldiers frequently forgot
on which side they had enlisted.
Skirmishes were frequent and furious.

The match had been on
at least these fifty years,
though battles were less often.
Sometimes there was a cease-fire.

Then came a loud lull…

She mistakenly believed
they were in a state of truce;
sent the watchman home and gave
the guard a well deserved night off.

Gigantic force
collided with her tired skull
before she knew the fight was back on,
and so made suddenly aware she sprang,

Further injury was abated for now,
but as time would tell only to her face.

Copyright 2014.  L.L. Shelton.