Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Fifty Shades of Grey vs. Fifty Colorful Shades of a Lifelong Love...




I haven't read the book, Fifty Shades of Grey, or seen the movie, and I don't intend to.
I don't have any desire to read or see something that depicts sexual immorality, 
promiscuity, and sexual abuse and domination as "sexy".
I am really flummoxed at why women's rights activists aren't being more proactive about making the movie, based on this book, the biggest box office flop of all time.
From what I've read, this book has sold more copies than the mega-selling Harry Potter series.
I wonder how many of the women who would say they are against human sex trafficking,
are actually contributing to the horrendous lie that feeds the whole industry,
the lie that women actually like being used and abused
by buying this book or paying to watch this movie.
Ladies, we need to wake up and stand up!
Real love dignifies; it doesn't degrade.
Real love makes you feel special, not shameful.
Will you join me as Valentine's day approaches and speak up for real love,
and speak up against women being used and abused in the name of love?
Speak up in your home.
Speak up with your friends.
Speak up in your church.
Speak up on Facebook, IG, and your blog.
Just say NO to Fifty Shades of Grey and say yes to real love,
love that builds up and doesn't bully.

My Fifty Colorful Shades of a Lifelong Love~
1) Waking up next to the same man for over 38 years.
2) Sex is still yummy after over 38 years.
3) The best kind of sex involves heart intimacy as well as body intimacy.
4) The way he knows every freckle, mole, scar, wrinkle, and stretch mark on my body, 
but still tells me I'm beautiful.
5) I love you texts in the middle of the day.
6) The way he brings me my first cup of coffee in bed each morning.
7) The way he looks out for my safety in little ways, 
like locking the front door when he leaves the house while I'm still in bed,
or getting the car checked out before I take a road trip.
8) When we're upstairs in bed for the night and he goes downstairs for something,
the way he always asks if I want anything from downstairs before he comes back up.
9) The way he buys me grocery store bouquets.
10) The way he has loved me through thick and thin, literally.
11) There's nothing that makes me love him more, 
than watching the way he loves his kids and grandkids.
12) His icy blue eyes.
13) His singing voice.  I love listening to him worship and play the keyboard.
14) The way he keeps my favorite boots polished.
15) The way he takes me shopping, antiquing and thrifting even thought it's not his thing at all.
16) He's the very best "heater" on cold nights 
and he doesn't protest too much when I warm my icy cold feet and hands on him.
17) He lets me have my way on decorating the house even though he doesn't "get it".
18) The way he's working hard to take care of himself and get fit so he can live a long life.
19) Decades of cards and letters from our dating years through now.
20) His encouragement to pursue my dreams and passions.
21) He knows and remembers the things that I like.
22) The way he wants to please me.
23) Friday date days.  I love our day off together!
24) Getaways together.
25) Talking about memories together.
26) Talking about the future together.
27) Forgiving each other.
28) Disagreeing and making up.
29) Disagreeing less the older we've gotten and the more accepting of each other we've gotten.
30) Whether it's a full course roast beef dinner or a tuna sandwich, 
it gets a "that was a good dinner" from him.
31) Seeing his hands and my eyes in our youngest grandson.
32) Never being too old to let God correct us and change us.
33) Being with each other through the loss of our parents.
34) Understanding each other when the grief still surprisingly hits at times.
35) Encouraging each other.
36) Listening to one another.
38) Laughing together.
39) Crying together.
40) Going on walks together.
41) Him taking me to Chipotle, my favorite "fast food", even though he doesn't like it.
42) The way he helps around the house with things like vacuuming.
43) The ways we've become more alike and the ways we will forever be different.
44)  Knowing each other's habits and routines, and having our own rhythm and routines as a couple.
45) Knowing how to be together and also how to give each other space to be apart.
46) Knowing each others strengths and weaknesses and choosing to love each other in spite of the latter.
47) Still remembering the naive and foolhardy nineteen year olds we were when we got married,
and thanking God that by His grace we've made it this long.
48) Learning the hard way the words that hurt each other the most.
49) Still discovering new things about each other after all this time.
50) Falling in love with the same person over and over and over again.

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50 comments:

  1. One of our radio stations here is all abuzz and giving free tickets to callers. Everyone who calls in is so excited to see the movie. What a deplorable society we have become, I have been married for 48 years and so proud of it. I love your 50 points.
    Ann

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    1. Ann, I think I'd send a letter to the station protesting them promoting a movie that shows sexually abusive behavior toward women. YAY and congrats on 48 years of marriage! How wonderful is that!

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  2. I love how you made this about love is in your life! This is real love.

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    1. Thank you so much, Becky! Your post blessed me as well!

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  3. Amen! I agree with you totally! Our world today is so messed up. People need Jesus and most don't even know that they do.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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    1. People just need Jesus. Amen to that, Shelia. We all need Jesus, more and more and more as the culture seems to be in such rapid moral decline.

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  4. I don't even know about 50 Shades... although I have heard the title. Some would say I am out of it...but I am proud of that fact, actually. Yes, the world does not realize what is supported because of what their strong desires are for themselves and then do their best to ignore what they really don't want to see. Thank you, Elizabeth, for taking a stand and for encouraging me.
    I love your list. It is beautiful and very thoughtful.
    Caring through Christ, ~ linda

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    1. It's quite the rage and even Christian women are being seduced into reading or watching. If you read the information on the movie, it is about a young virgin falling for an older experienced man who introduces her to all sorts of abusive and demeaning sexual practices. I felt compelled to say this just isn't ok!

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  5. Awesome post. I hope you give him this as a 'Valentine' note. It is very dear to both of you.

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  6. Amen sister! It's been said that what one generation tolerates the next generation accepts. We've got to stop tolerating immorality for the sake of our children and grandchildren.

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    1. Patti, you are so right. There is no plumb line, no moral compass, in our culture anymore. It's so important that we speak up!

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  7. Amen from me too! I don't even like to see the commercials for that movie. Turns my stomach! I love your list and ours would be very similar to yours. Our 27th anniversary is Saturday....our fifty shades continues to grow and change. ♥

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    1. Blessings on your upcoming Valentine anniversary! That's awesome!

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  8. Another amen!! My man and I hit 34 years in August. He is the love of my life!

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  9. In total agreement with you Elizabeth! I feel that our world is continuing to allow & tolerate things that are destroying it. Thank you for standing up & speaking out about this. I stand with you! On a side note...Wishing you & your beloved many more years of adding to your list :-)

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    1. Thank you, Krista! Re. the movie, I'm just so confused that the same women who fight for their rights would watch a movie like this that is so demeaning to women.

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  10. This is a beautiful post! I agree with every word you wrote - and I am blessed to have the love of a wonderful man for the past forty-three years. Many things you shared are so true of my sweetheart, too.
    ~Adrienne~

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  11. What a testimony of grace here, Elizabeth. I cried as I read your 50 Colorful shades of love. Beautiful! Thank you!
    Blessings,
    Dawn

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    1. Thank you so much, Dawn, for coming by and for your sweet comment.

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  12. I LOVE your 50 colorful shades of love - so creative and so beautiful. You are blessed to have such a wonderful husband. I have been divorced since 2002. I pray God blesses me with another relationship but I don't lose sleep over it because He is my #1 and if He wants to be my only one, than that is good enough for me!!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!

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    1. God bless you, Susan! You have the right attitude, keeping God first.

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  13. Thanks so much for this post and beautiful tribute to your hubby! You are so right...we need to speak up for what is right. It is impossible to "un-remember or un-see" what goes into our minds so we must guard it closely. It saddens me how our society has become tolerant of the ungodly things and not tolerant at all of the things of Christ. Like you said, we need Jesus every hour of every day. What would we do without Him!
    Blessings to you and yours,
    Cindy~

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    1. Cindy, you are so right. We are tolerant towards wrong and intolerant of right.

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  14. Elizabeth, You have beautifully articulated my thoughts about this movie, AND about the everlasting love I have with my husband of 33 years. I got teary eyed reading your list as I could see us in each one. Isn't the Lord wonderful in blessing us with true romance? Have a blessed weekend, my friend!

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    1. Anne, God bless you and your dear husband. The best witness is people actually seeing stable, loving, godly relationships. That is what their hearts truly long for.

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  15. Loved this post Elizabeth, as I have heard the 50 shades of Grey referred to
    as pornographhy, but don't know much about it myself, but sure have no interest in reading or seeing that sort of stuff myself either.
    Great rebuttal I would say, and so true all the benefits of marriage when
    you do it God's way.............

    Blessings and Happy Valentines day to you your hubby,
    Nellie

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    1. Nellie, not seeing it or reading it, I looked up what it was about online. Wikipedia's info on it was enough to make me grieve that even Christians are supporting it.

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  16. Your 50 love notes are a beautiful way to counteract 50 shades. Love this, Elizabeth.

    "Real love dignifies; it doesn't degrade.
    Real love makes you feel special, not shameful."

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  17. I love that you've come up with 50 wonderful things about your marriage.

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  18. I love that you've come up with 50 wonderful things about your marriage.

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  19. Elizabeth, I'm in complete agreement with you about the movie, book, etc. Your 50 beautiful mementos to your love were just perfect and they really made me smile. We do Chipotle together too and yes, while we have only have 15 years under out belt, it is all just yummy! :) I stand with you - well spoken truth.

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    1. Speaking of Chipotle, he's taking me there today! Yummy!

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  20. Ann, I had to look twice to see if I'd written this because those are exactly things my sweet hubby of 54 years this July does for me! Thank you for writing this. I don't know much about the movie except that I know I care nothing about seeing it. It's such a blessing to find Christian women who share the same values as I do. My sweet man is a Christian Counselor and I have the privilege of being his Secretary. I still get the same excitement today as I did 54 years ago anytime I see him, whether here at the office, or if he's driving through town, or when he comes walking in the house! I'm so grateful that God put us together and it's nice to find like minded women!

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    1. JoAnn...54 years! Congratulations! What a wonderful witness a life long love is to this broken world.

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  21. Well, I see my brain took a vacation while I was typing my comments! I had look away and instead of writing your name Elizabeth, I wrote "Ann" since here's was the first one I saw on the page! I guess talking about my hubby got me all excited and I couldn't think straight!!!!!!!!!!

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    1. HaHa! I didn't even notice that until I read this!

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  22. True love Elizabeth! Heartbreaking that so many women are broken and used and blind to the love and worth they have in God. Let's pray for them to see with eyes of truth and turn from wicked lies.

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  23. Elizabeth, absolutely Love this. This is for sure what true love is all about. Thank you for this beautiful blog!!

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    1. Thank you for being such a sweet encouragement to me!

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  24. I love your 50 colourful shades, this is exactly what marriage and love is all about. I haven't the book either and also don't intend to and I agree we need to stand up against it. Thank you for sharing this great post on Good Morning Mondays. Blessings to you and your family

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    1. Thank you so much for your encouragement to me!

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  25. Such a sweet list! I wish all women could understand real love is so much better!

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  26. Loved your fifty shades! There is a Christian fiction response to the 50Shades books and movie though:
    http://amzn.to/1Ac2x9c
    We've been reading it at my church group and it's very well done. (I didn't expect too much when we started and imagined it'd just be a poorly written thing with Jesus as a character or something but it's nothing like that and whereas 50shades settles - from what I've read - for very superficial aspirations and aims - this really throws down the gauntlet as to what real love is and at the same time challenges us as believers to really do something with our faith and love.
    Tha main character - I can't say who he turns out to be as it'd be a bit of a spoiler - is the best Christian fiction character I think I've ever read.
    I really like that it's taken hold of this whole franchise of control and manipulation and put a Christian take right back in the middle of it all.
    It's only on Kindle though which is annoying when u try to recommend it to people who don't have one!

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