Hoarding is now considered a mental disorder according to DSM 5

Every few years the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual gets a new edition.  This is actually a good thing.  For hoarding, a new classification as a mental disorder elevates the difficulty people have been experiencing.  At one time it would have just been considered that the person hoarding is lazy and dirty.  However, experience with hoarding has taught people more about it.  It does come with negatives. 

Let's bring back The Dating Game! (And forget The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.)

The Bachelor and The Bachelorette sequester men and women from their friends and families for weeks on end.  The locales are straight from fantasy.  Most people will never go there.  The stakes are high and the course is set for engagement at the end of a short and intense time period.  And it's totally fake.  Instead, I'd like for us to bring back The Dating Game!  Why?

E. W. Jackson: Give to the rich - even if the Bible says to give to the poor

St. George's Episcopal Church

There really is nothing new under the sun, just as Ecclesiastes promises.  But this one takes the cake.  In fact, Jackson would like for you all to eat cake since you have no bread.  The Prosperity Gospel is going thud in the same way the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch made his brands distasteful to anyone with a heart.  Some of the "cool kids with lots of friends" have a heart.  Look at all of the musicians and actors who support charitable causes.  Let's break down what's wrong with Jackson and send him some serious prayer since his "new" concept of "upward giving" sounds just like owing your soul to the company store.  The poor live in company houses so they aren't paid much, are paid only in a scrip that only can be used at the company store with excessively high prices.

Bachelorette said no to the "fantasy suite" but it's all fake

The Bachelorette is back - which is always good for some entertainment.  It's quite fake by all accounts.  I'd like to know who actually chooses from 25 guys to whittle it down to The One?  While I applaud Bachelorette Desiree for making it clear that she's "not that kind of girl,"  nothing happenson this show that the producers don't know about and haven't OK'd.  It's possible that if she were "that kind of girl" that she would have gone to the "Fantasy Suite," but let's be serious.  The Nice Girls from The Bachelor are the ones who become The Bachlorette.

Everyone seems so heartbreakingly sincere about their quest for love, but with the pressure on love is elusive.  Very few of the couples who got together on the show have lasted beyond a year.  Perhaps our expectations are too high for this show...that has me thinking...Remember The Dating Game?  I've seen some clips of it and it was often hilarious.  Perhaps the most we should expect of people we meet on television is a date with no expectation of anything after.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment! Commenting is now open to everyone! (Write to me for advice! SavvySingleChristian@yahoo.com)

Be happy as a single: You don't need a boyfriend or girlfriend

One of the joys of modern life is that you don't have to be in a relationship.  This girl definitely has the right attitude, however, it also helps her that she's 21.  I know that many of my readers are beyond their 20s and even 30s, so they may have a level of frustration that this girl in her vlog just hasn't been through. 

Why is it so hard to leave him? Is it sexual sin? Or something else?

I've written long and often about some of my past loves - those sweet Christian boys who seem to chronically ditch the DTR talk.  (DTR stands for define the relationship.)  There are a bunch of sexual purity and abstinence pushers who are teaching a false gospel that everything boils down to sex leading people into or staying it bad relationships, but that isn't always the case.

Oklahoma tornado brings out the good, the bad and the ugly in 2013

The Bad - A tornado hit Oklahoma Monday destroying homes and killing a few people.
The Good - A little old lady's prayers were answered when both she and her dog were alright.  Many people survived - even if their homes were decimated.

The Ugly - Pat Robertson's commentary.  Is this man really a Christian?  He shows no compassion for people whatsoever.  I wouldn't want him to be my pastor!  Videos below...

Second thoughs about #FitchtheHomeless

I posted some of my thoughts on a recent article by Relevant Magazine about the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch with his nasty remarks about people. 

The point should not be to level the playing field so that we can all wear A&F, the point should be that we stop wearing it because it has offended us.  (Not that I ever wore it being outside the target sizes.)  However, we ought to also stop wearing Hollister and Gilly Hicks since those are also A&F.  Homeless people have feelings too, though, and many would rather wear something that lines up with their ethics.  Yes, homeless people have ethics and morals because they're actual people and not just street detritus.  But yes, I do recall there being a preference that their clothing not be donated to non-cool people.  Note to exclusionary groups: best not let people know or put a positive spin on it so it's not so offensive.

Why Fitchthehomeless backfires.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment! Commenting is now open to everyone! (Write to me for advice! SavvySingleChristian@yahoo.com)

10 Dating Tips for the Christian Man video

This is one of the funniest things I have seen about Christian dating tips.  It's well worth the few minutes it will take you to watch.  The description says it is based on dating tips from the 1960s but slightly modified.  Egad!

This little shrt flick is peppered with subtle sarcasm which makes it uberfun!  Remember to pray before your date.  If you are truly saved you haven't even thought about an unsupervised date until you are 21.  For a Christian man every date is a potential mate!  And don't forget to grill her!



Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment! Commenting is now open to everyone! (Write to me for advice! SavvySingleChristian@yahoo.com)

Seeking Asian female? Maybe you shouldn't.

It's called "Yellow Fever" in some circles.  Some guys want a cute, submissive Asian woman to love and serve them.  For some this is successful.  But often it ends in tragedy.  PBS will be showing a documentary called "Seeking Asian Female" about an older man who finds love online with a foreign woman.  In the comments regarding this show, a man tells his story of finding love online and being left in the dust after a few short years.  Actually, the rest of the comments flesh out about the same story.

Any woman would actually have to be quite ambitious to sign up to find love online and leave their families hoping to find a better life.  But once they find it, learn English, and catch up on the cultural differences, they don't need the man anymore, do they?  Well-unless he's very good looking and wealthy.  But, friends, a good looking and wealthy man wouldn't need to be seeking this kind of love arrangement, would he??? He would be able to find an Asian woman in the urban area where he lives.

Book Review: Heaven Is Real But So Is Hell by Vassula Ryden

Perhaps some of you might be familiar with the work of modern day prophet Vassula Ryden - but I'm betting that most of you live in blissful unawareness of this because the protestant church often doesn't accept modern miracles.

Vassula was a casual Greek Orthodox Christian who had spiritual visions as a child.  I know, I know; you're thinking what I was thinking.  She's got to be a nut or a charlatan or possessed by an evil spirit who makes her to this automatic writing.  Jane Roberts entered into communications with a spirit called Seth who spoke through her while he husband made audio recordings which they later transcribed.  The first book was called ever so aptly "Seth Speaks."  That communication was a bunch of New Age hooey that was pretty hard to swallow but there were many books and many devotees just like Shirley McLaine.  Vassula isn't like this.

College dating advice has a grain of truth

I wish I had found my future husband while I was still in college.  I might have had some boys interested in me, but the majority didn't make it very clear.  See, I wasn't a hookup kind of girl.  I went to church.  I tried to hang out with nice boys.  But in terms of dating, either nothing felt right that did happen or nothing happened.

Christians and the monster of love & dating

"Eaten By The Monster of Love" by Sparks was a popular song in the 1980s which basically begs, "don't let it get me!"  It goes on "It's worse than war, it's worse than death."  It certainly seems Christians approach love and sex as monsters about to devour us in apocalyptic doom.  Since dating can potentially lead to love and marriage, Christians have become overly wary.

Who decides what you or your kids wear? YOU DO! Victoria's Secret and the Christian or parent

What's the big deal?  They are just underwear, right?  Apparently there are some problems with this whole Victoria's Secret marketing campaign, but it's not necessarily based on complete truth.

Patrick Stewart talks about growing up in a violent home

Every weekend Dad would go on a bender and do despicable things to his wife and children.  Every Monday he was ashamed.  How many children around the world grow up like this?  How many women have husbands like this?  It's going to be a bad weekend for some. This starts off slowly and you can tell he's deeply emotional talking about this.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment! Commenting is now open to everyone! (Write to me for advice! SavvySingleChristian@yahoo.com)

My massage therapist, her man hands, and Jesus

I have a female massage therapist through my chiropractor who is gifted with what you could call "man hands."  Her name is Berta.  I realized she was gifted at the first visit. Her preferred lubricant on bare skin is just oil.  She skips the fragrance, that's for wimps.  She'd also prefer for you to strip as much as possible so she can slide her oiled hands over your aches and pains.

Brainteaser: How many squares?

well, this is a big time waster, but it's also and interesting challenge.  How many squares can you count?  Did you get them all?  Count again just to be sure!  To find out, I have a very helpful gif on the next page.  :)

 

A film about courtship? Really?

I got an email from a filmmaker recently.  I don't know what to make of this.  Perhaps this is bringing up some of my worst nightmares that courtship forces women into a more subservient role than the Gospel intends.  If you talk to women in Mexico (I did a mission there), many are thrilled when their husbands become Christians because they are taught to love their wives rather than follow the old machismo ways.  (It's sort of sad because macho once meant brave and valiant.)  I also overheard men sitting around talking about some of the mistreatment some of their friends doled out on their wives, showing off how badly they could treat their wives and still get them to do things for them.  One story involved making the wife get on her knees.  Another involved kicking the wife.  These men had no idea I spoke Spanish.  I just listened.

In any case, there are some things about these families and the way they comport themselves that really bother me.  Let's just say, I won't be donating to get this film made. And really, why not knock on the doors of the proponents of this lifestyle?  Here is my take on the series of videos the filmmaker posted online.

Surving Church As A Single in Stuff Christians Like Style

As we know, modern Christianity still doesn't quite know what to do with its burgeoning singles population.  Neither does any other religion.  John Acuff came up with a scoring system of sorts to help you deal with being single at church.  It got a few LOLs out of me to be sure!  Jon Acuff's "Surviving Church As A Single."

Dissecting Valentine's Day

Yesterday was Valentine's Day.  What did you do with it?  Did you curl up into a little ball or hide away at home hoping it would shrivel up and die?  Well, not Emily Graslie.  She may be a complete science geek without a date, but she had fun with it making a science video that was entertaining and informative.  Please check it out.  The gif below is just a preview.