New Addition// Tattoo #2

Sunday I got another tattoo. Don't worry, just because I got 2 tattoos with little time spacing them out doesn't mean that I'm going to be covered by the time I'm 25. I've wanted a tattoo since I was 16 years old so for the past 3 years I've been thinking a lot about what I want and the Chesed one and this one are the ones that I've had my mind set on. Why wait? 

I really trust the tattoo artist near me, considering how in SA there's really no rules on how or who gets a tattoo (you don't have to be a registered tattoo artist and you can be below 18 without parents permission. Heck, a 6 year old can get a tattoo legally. Nuts.). He's very clean and he's a friendly guy so before we move I wanted to get these 2. 

This tattoo doesn't have any meaning for me. I just really love the way it looks. It's shining because I've got a hectic amount of Vaseline on to prevent bad scabbing. 

Since this one has more detail than my other one it was more painful but not too much. Apparently the thinner the lines the more needles he has to used. So for my Chesed one which has thick lines he only used 1 needle, this one though he had to use 3 needles. I didn't mind, some spots were more painful but no tears were shed :D. My Chesed tattoo the day after I got it was the worst. It was swollen and painful. I expected it to slowly get better day by day but the following morning it felt all better. So weird.

 This one is the same. Day after (right now) and my wrist is really sore. It's also quite swollen but i'm hoping that it will be a lot better tomorrow like my previous one.

You might wonder why on earth i would willingly inflict pain on myself like this. But honestly, it lasts for a few days and then it's forever gone and i'm left with an awesome tattoo that will last forever. Yeah ... forever. That doesn't phase me either BTW! I'm choosing my designs wisely and making sure that it can go with all different kinds of styles in case my style changes one day. I wanted a lion once, lol ... and then i thought better of it. 

My tattoo artist said that this is a nice design 'cause you can add anything on to it (if i want to later on) and also the lines are very thin and 'dainty' so as i get older it will hold a lot better than thicker lines. 

That's always good to know! My brother kept me company this time. Mom had to leave as Sebastian didn't like the sound of the ..... what is the tattoo, needle thing called? Anyway, you know that thing that makes that zzzzzzzzzz sound? Yeah, he didn't like it. My Chesed tattoo took about 10 minutes to do but this one took about 30 mins so by the end i did feel quite numb. Imagine a tiny needle poking through your skin for 30 mins non stop!

He uses a purple dye for the stencil. 

Thanks goes to my brother for taking the pictures.

I'm loving it. Truly.

My brother now wants a tattoo, lol. He's extremely scared of needles (i will never understand that phobia) so i'm not too sure how that will work out, lol. But he said that when he saw i wasn't crying or anything he's now rethinking it. Right ... you have to be really sensitive to pain to cry when getting a tattoo, exceptions being the ribs and the upper, inner arm. That is apparently extremely painful. Not going to test those waters!

1st Tattoo// 19

Hi folks. So today I turned 19 years old. I had a really great day today (so much better than my 18th birthday) mainly spending it with my mom! Woke up feeling really happy, my mom took me out for lunch, just the 2 of us which i really liked because then i don't feel the need to entertain.

It's my dog, Max's birthday too. We share a birthday, cool hey? I turn 19, he turns 6 :D.

My mom had a salad and water and i had a tremizzini and a strawberry daiquiri cocktail. It was quite nice but definitely something i won't have again. It just really brought down my mood and made me feel depressed and really tired, lol. My mom said that some alcohol can do that to you so that's scratched off my list. (for American's reading this, the legal drinking age here in SA is 18),

But my mood really perked up when i decided to a tattoo after lunch. It really wasn't planned at all. I've been wanting a tattoo, yeah, but i've never actually set a day to actually get it. Nerves maybe? Yeah ... lol. But today i braved it, i'm 19, why not? 

It was actually a really awesome experience. It did hurt quite a bit but the end result was so worth it. 

Intimidating equipment. This is when i really started getting nervous. What if i regret it? What if it's extremely painful? But thank goodness the artist is a really friendly guy so that's makes a big difference.

Preparation ...

And so it begins ... The beginning wasn't painful but when he kept going over the same spot to fill it in ... that hurt quite a bit and the middle of my wrist was also really sensitive.

Oooh, ink and about halfway through!

Skin turning red and time to fill in. Ouch ...

End result! He put Vaseline over it and then some cling film!

And then the sensitivity came ... along with some blood, eeew, lol. Had to walk around with a bloody tattoo through the mall.

My mom is so awesome. She was with me through it all and really being supportive. I have such a cool mom, truly. Da BEST!!!

Stopped bleeding.

This is after i cleaned it later in the day. The Hebrew word is Chesed. I love this word and it has such a deep, personal meaning for me! I loooooove my tattoo and can't stop staring at it. It is a bit raised/swollen but it will take 2 weeks to heal. 

I was also given a book by Bear Grylls called True Grit. He writes about different people throughout history who have overcome hardships. Definitely my kind of book!

My mom also bought me a mini cigar that i'm gonna spoke tonight with my brother and step dad.

I had a truly great day and i'm so grateful to God for everything that He has blessed me with today! 

Shopping/Wish List Part 4/7: Get Inked

I know that there are a lot of views out there on tattoos, whether they're right or wrong. Believe me, i've done my studying and research and yes, i've prayed about it. You can check out my post Judging on a brief overview of my views on tattoos. To put it short here, tattoos aren't a weighty matter of Torah. The weightier matters of Torah are all about helping the needy and treating your fellow man with respect and love. Me having some ink on my arms doesn't change my heart towards God or His Torah, or my desire to practice righteousness and justice.

I'm not going to explain myself too much here. If you have questions then you can e-mail me or message me on Facebook. Too many times in the past i've felt like i've needed to explain myself to people when i was doing something different or 'bad' in their eyes, i'm not doing that anymore.

I want a tattoo and i'm getting a tattoo. If you don't like that that's fine, each to his own. You have your opinions and i have mine and people's opinions about myself don't bug me as much as they used to. Believe me, i still question myself everyday on this season of discovery in my life where i'm questioning the things i've been told and discovering who i am after many years of trying to be like someone else.

I just happen to be the kind of girl that likes colour, dreadlocks, piercings and tattoos. But just because i think that piercings and tattoos are OK does not mean that going and covering yourself in metal and ink is alright. We represent God and things have to be done tastefully.

Moving on to what i plan on getting ... I'm probably only going to get my first tattoo on my 19th birthday in 2 months time. At this point i'm only planning on getting 3 and that's probably it. 99.9% sure that that's it. Maybe later, one day, my mom will be adventurous with me and we can get mother-daughter tattoos, or maybe when i get married one day i will get something done on my ring finger. But those are only thoughts and dreams right now.

The 3 that i want right now will all be on my left forearm. I don't want anything on my right arm for personal reasons.

I'm planning on getting some henna/bohemian flower design on my left wrist. Not for any meaning, just because i love the look.

A design like this 

The more intricate ones. My favourite right now is the one on the bottom right corner and the top middle one. But there's lots of different designs out there so i have to choose wisely. I love the look of the mandala but i think it has some eastern pagan meaning so that's a huge no go.

I also like how this looks but it's a bit too vintage for me. I like more henna looking designs.

At the bottom of the flower i'd like this Hebrew word tattooed, but nice and small, not this big.

The word is Chesed and it has such a beautiful meaning to it. The word means a lot to me as a few weeks ago God was teaching me a lot of lessons that tie up with this word.

I wouldn't have the vowels tattooed.

The next one was inspired a bit by the photographer, Rania Maria. I found her when i was researching dreads. I loved how she tattooed a quote on her arm that goes all the way around so that it looks like a bracelet.

The scripture verse in Joshua "Be strong and courageous" means a lot to me too. Eric Ludy calls it the ancient war cry. In Hebrew it's Chazak V'Ematz. I wanted the Hebrew tattooed on me but when i tested out the bracelet look (with the verse in English) i liked it a lot more and i can have more of that verse tattooed on me, like: "Be Strong and Courageous, Fear Not, For Adonai Is With You". I know that that's not the full verse but it's all that can fit on my arm.

Another example.

I know that maybe you guys can't picture all of this together but i have the image in my mind but it'll probably change as it's changed a lot the past few months. It's permanently being put on my body so i have to make sure it's perfect.

Judging

You know what i've been realizing more and more lately? How some people focus so much on the petty things in life and ignore the bigger issues.

Christians especially. They can judge a person so harshly by their external appearance and whether or not they drink or smoke and they forget all about the heart underneath. From my personal experience i find the tattooed, smoking people to be very genuine and open and the people covered in modest clothing from top to toe to be the most harshest critiques. You may throw around the cheesy quote "don't judge a book by it's cover" but in all honesty, the religious people do that most of all. The people who claim to follow the Bible can be such hypocrites. The people who are supposed to love those from all different kinds of backgrounds, all different kinds of skin colour, all different kinds of appearances, and all different levels in their individual walk with God, can do the complete opposite.

I'm speaking from experience here. I write a lot about such topics, judging people, and i speak about it a lot because it makes me really mad to see 'Christians' push people away and condemn them because they happen to swear or they struggle with smoking, or they have tattoos.
There's more important things to focus on.
How many blogs and YouTube channels out there do you get on women's appearances? Modesty. I'm not saying that women who have blogs or YouTube channels primarily speaking on modesty is wrong but for most young, female bloggers out there to only speak about modesty? I mean, there's more for young women to focus on other than the fact of wearing skirts is more holy than wearing pants. What are you doing in those skirts or pants? Are you helping the needy? Are you feeding the hungry? Clothing the naked and doing whatever you can, going out of your comfort zone, to restore someone's dignity?

That's what's important. Not how much flesh your covering up or how long your hair is.

I say this because i'm sick of people judging other people so harshly, purely based on appearance and meanwhile their neighbour or someone in their congregation needs a roof over their head and they can't do it? Seriously?

Why is modesty so emphasized for women and not men? Most modesty videos i watch they focus about 2 minutes on the guys and the remaining 8 minutes on women. Modesty teachings need to go in my opinion. Yes, modesty is important for BOTH men and women, don't flash your flesh around and don't dress in a sensual way. But if i want to wear shorts that go above my knee to swim in or if i want to wear a tank top when hiking then let me be. I refuse to believe that guys are so sensitive to knees and shoulders that they utterly can't control themselves when they do see that bit of flesh. If you do struggle with a woman wearing casual shorts and a t-shirt on a casual day but instead she has to wear looooong skirts and looooong tops just to cater to your sensitivity then you have issues. I've met men who are normal. Who don't require women to dress according to such standards in order to not lust after them. So i know those guys exist and that's what guys should be like.
Modesty teachings can do the exact same thing that the world does. Make women into sex objects for men's pleasure alone. I have legs, i have arms, they're not sexy unless you make them to be in your own mind.

I really don't care if a person swears, drinks, smokes, has tattoos or piercings. You know why? Because no where in the Bible do you see God pointing these issues out and making it into a weighty matter. I used to be very offended when a person swore. How dare they? But seriously, it's not worth my time and effort to get offended and be upset with that person.

Is swearing a sin? No. You don't see it mentioned anywhere in the Bible. Sure it's not nice to hear and i utterly do not condone swear words to be directed towards any person. But if a person lets a 'bad' word slip out of their mouth for some reason ... there's no reason to blow it up and now think that person is just an utterly horrible, bad human being.

Is drinking a sin? No, not at all. Everything in moderation. Obviously you don't go now and get drunk just because it's not a sin. But if a person wants a glass of wine with their dinner or if someone wants a beer then why not? My brother drinks. When we go out to a nice restaurant he'll order a drink and that's it. Something to fuss over? Nope. It's a drink. I personally do not like the taste of alcohol. I've tasted many different drinks including some pretty bright coloured ones but i hate the taste of it all. Whisky? Probably one of the worst flavours i've ever tasted. A Savanna is nice but not something i'd drink for pleasure. But i still want to try Amarula.

Is smoking a sin? Nope. It's not the best thing for your health but no reason to condemn a person. I know a Torah observant man who's very zealous for God but he just so happens to smoke. Do i criticize him? Judge him? No. Because it's his heart that matters.

Are tattoos and piercings a sin? Obviously i believe that piercings are perfectly alright and i've been studying up on tattoos lately to understand the Word in context and not believe something just because everyone believes it and it's something that i've grown up believing because of my parents or pastor. The more i research the more i lean towards the fact that tattoos are bad only if you get it to honour the dead or a pagan idol. I know people who love God and keep his Torah who have tattoos. When i see their heart and their desire to follow their King i honestly don't see how some ink on your arm can change that. How God is further away from you because of that. It doesn't seem like God's character.

Everything in moderation. There's a difference between having one drink and getting drunk, having a filthy mouth or just saying the odd swear word because you're upset, having tattoos:

And having tattoos:

The weightier matters of Torah are helping the needy, honouring people and treating them as equal and not oppressing them. That's what's the Torah is all about. Treating your fellow man with respect and dignity in your home, in your business, and just in general. Surprisingly a lot of people don't do that and i'm learning all about that in this stage of my life. How people can sit down for a Shabbat meal and praise God for everything that He's doing in their life but they can't be friends or help a person because he's/she's black. Does the amount of melanin in a persons skin define how you're supposed to treat them? You're following Torah, you're claiming to follow the God of the Bible, the God of Israel, you're supposed to be a light to the NATIONS. The many nations out their, not only to the white people. So really, don't sit down for a Shabbat meal when you can't even invite your workers to join you because they're black.

So be careful when you judge a person on their appearance because you don't know what their heart it like beneath.