The Cyrus Case: A Warning to Parents and Teens Alike

Dear Reader,

As I am certain most of you know, last Sunday Miley Cyrus - former star of Hannah Montana, a series loved by many, including me - shocked people with her performance at an awards show.

(Before you worry, no, I didn't watch the performance. I learned about it when I was reading Fox News. ^^ )

Many articles have been written concerning this (some links at the end of this post), social media platforms like Twitter and Tumblr have gone a-talking.

So why do I add yet another article to the pile?

Because there is something in what-I-shall-now-dub-as-the-Cyrus-Case that is hardly being emphasized.

It is the fact that Miley Cyrus had a somewhat Christian upbringing. She attended church, wore a purity ring, was even baptized.

She was clearly raised as a church kid.

That means she knew what was right and what was wrong, as shown in the Bible. But she made a series of bad decisions that led to the Miley we see now.

This should warn us teens and remind us. We can be raised as church kids. We can know everything there is to know in the Bible.

But that doesn't mean we have a personal faith. Personal convictions.

If we don't have personal faith and convictions, the chances of becoming like Miley are higher. Much higher.

Pray that God helps you to develop that faith, those convictions.

This should warn parents as well as remind them. Be careful with the decisions you make when it comes to your children's futures. And always keep them close, always keep a close eye on them.

Billy Ray Cyrus, the father of Miley Cyrus, has always said that he "regret" signing on for Hannah Montana and that he wished it never happened. In one heart-breaking interview, he said that he wished he had been a better parent.

Simply sobering.

Remember the Cyrus Case. And, as we pray for God's mercy on us and our families, let us not forget to pray for the Cyrus family and others like the Cyruses.

Remember that we are all sinners and that God can forgive if we reach for Him.

Yours Truly,
Joanna
A Minister's Daughter

Links to Articles:
The Church Learns a Lesson From Miley Cyrus by Larry Sparks
Did Your Child Discern the Immorality in Miley Cyrus' Vulgar Performance? by Joseph Mattera
Miley's dad regrets 'Hannah' by New York Post

You can search for more articles similar to what I have linked, but I limited mine to Charisma News and New York Post.

Song of the Moment: "He Is With Us" by Love & The Outcome

Twitter: @JOei2911

Ear Piercings and Listening to God

Dear Reader,

Last Sunday, as I was getting ready to go to church, I had a heart-stopping moment when my earring simply refused to go through either of my pierced ears. I had not worn earrings for a week.

"Mom, don't tell me the flesh grew back AGAIN?!"

My mother came over and, with her help, I managed to put my earrings on. Though she did tell me that the skin was starting to grow again.

Let me explain my reaction and why exactly my heart lurched in fear.

When I was nine years old, I requested to have my ears pierced. This wasn't an unusual request since most girls would have already had them pierced by that age.

My earlobes were pierced (ouch!) and I kept the earrings in for a month in order to ensure the holes would stay open for the rest of my life. After the month passed, my mom removed the earrings to let my lobes rest for a week.

And the flesh grew back in that one week! I couldn't wear earrings at all!

I had my ears re-pierced when I was seventeen. (I have no desire to repeat that painful experience!) Since then, I have noticed that when I don't wear earrings for a week, or even a few days, the flesh would grow back slightly. That is why I wear earrings almost constantly to ensure that complete coverage of the holes never occurs.

Which brings me to the point of this anecdote.

In the Bible, ears refer to listening. (No surprise there!) I bring to your attention the story of the Golden Calf, in Exodus 32.

"And Aaron said to them, Break off the golden earrings... And all the people broke off the gold earrings which were in their ears... And he received them at their hand, and... made it a molten calf" (Exodus 32:2-4, KJV)

Do you see the significance of this action? At that point, the Israelites told themselves that they were no longer going to listen to God. So they broke off the golden (gold speaks of divinity) earrings. And they cast those earrings into an idol, the golden calf. 

I don't know about you, but, whenever I think of my ear piercings, I think about this story. And when the incident at the beginning of this story occurred, I thought of this story even more.

Many times, if I'm really honest, I don't want to follow God's will. To me, it seems painful to do so, especially when it means that my flesh, my worldliness, is going to get cut again. There have been times that I stopped reading the Bible just because what I read cut me through and through. 

But we have to read the Bible. If not... our worldliness can grow. Like the flesh in my ear. 

And, trust me, it is painful to get rid of that excess flesh. Spiritually and physically. 

That incident reminded me I needed to return to reading the Bible in order to hear God's voice. It's interesting to see how God can minister to a person and speak to a person through little incidents.

So. Are you listening to God this week? You never know when a little incident could bring something crucial to your growth as a Christian. :) 

Hope you all have a blessed day. :) Do drop me a letter sometime. :)

Yours truly,

Joanna

A Minister's Daughter

Exodus 32

Update: Those images have all but disappeared from my mind, praise be to God! God is so wonderful. I no longer have the desire to read that sort of graphic material. The battle can be won, thanks to Jesus. Okay.. now I'm crying. Moving on. I'm still recovering from that teensy-weensy obsession with the pop group. It's not as bad as before. Trusting God to remove this unhealthy obsession from me.

Instagram and Twitter: JOei2911

I'm Not Him

Dear Reader,

I am not like my younger brother.

My brother is very diligent in his studies, got perfect scores, and could learn languages easily.

And me? I was a girl who would procrastinate, would get not-so-perfect scores, and would have a difficult time learning languages, no matter how hard she tried.

Take note. My parents NEVER compared me with my brother.

In fact, they would always say, "As long as you do your best, it's ok that the score isn't good. Just try to do better next time."

I would always try to do better. From a young age, I was very aware that my parents didn't exactly have much money, even though they didn't talk much about that subject to us kids. And, as the eldest child, I felt I had to set an example for my younger siblings.

So I was determined that I would do my best in studies to somehow make up for it.

But I would often fail to accomplish my goals. The first time I got a sixty-two on an exam I got so upset and angry with myself. Why did I keep failing?

Why could I not be like my brother?

After many years of this, of trying to get scores that would equal my brother's, I got so frustrated that I simply gave up. I no longer cared to strive for excellence in my studies.

What was the point of trying to excel when, in my eyes, I would always fall short of my brother? When I would always fail to be a good example?

I would still get grades good enough to pass my exams. But I no longer strived to achieve a mark higher than my brother.

But I clung to one consolation: I did well in Literature, unlike my brother.

So when he got 100 in a Literature exam, a score I had not achieved, it was a huge blow to me.

Would I never be enough?

All of that frustration made me think seriously of suicide.

You might laugh at it. But to my mind at the time, my reasoning was that my parents would no longer have to worry about having a worthless daughter. (My words and thoughts, not theirs.)

My brother would be everything a good child should be.

I also started hurting myself for my perceived failures. I could not cut myself, since I knew my parents would find that out easily. So I resorted to other methods. I'd scratch myself, pinch myself, bite my arms, bang my head against the wall or other hard surfaces like books. I would do as much as I could without leaving a permanent mark.

I also set up secret schedules to "atone" for my wrongs. I'd stay up late or get up early to reflect on my wrongs or to study hard as punishment. I would lessen the amount of food I ate in attempts to punish myself.

I felt like a failure who deserved all of that.

Yes, I know the Scriptures. They say, "We are more than conquerors." "You can overcome all things through Christ." "You are precious in God's eyes."

But they meant nothing to me at the time.

I had convinced myself that my self-worth laid in my studies and in being a good daughter and sister.

When all of that is taken away... What am I worth?

On the days when I really hold on to what God says in the Bible, I don't think that I am a failure. I remember that I am a child of God, created in His image. I remember that it is okay to be not like my brother, because God made each of us unique and special. He knew us when we were in our mother's womb.

On the days when I can't really feel what God says, when it feels tempting to just use my own strength to atone for my failures, I remember that Someone already has atoned for me and that He sees me for me. He never compares me to my brother because He created us differently, with different strengths and weaknesses that complement each other.

I'm not my brother. That's okay.

We are all special in God's eyes. Each and every one of us.

We just have to remember that.

Love you all dearly.

Yours truly,
Joanna
A Minister's Daughter