One of my dear friends (who is my one and only firned) posted a 'forward' status. You know, one of those "99.9% of people are cowards and they won't post this" forwards. I usually ignore those since I disagree with so many of them. I don't harbor sour feelings against anyone who does post these or who's feelings differ from mine. They have as much right to post any status as I do. Having said that, I would like to put down my thoughts on this recent 'forward' status and then I might attack a few more of them, just for some twisted fun. :) (And a heads up to my dear firned, this is not aimed at anyone in particular and most especially not at you. Love you, my firned!)
Here is the status that went up today: Shame on you America: the only country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment - yet we have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations. 99% of people won't have the guts to copy and repost this
My rebuttal: My first problem with this status is that last statement that you always see on these statuses. It calls me a coward! How dare it! It's not bad enough I get bombarded by tv shows and video games and movies and music and emails that all come against my happy little bubble, but now I have to add fb statuses to that list! How wrong is that?
We do live in a country that is unprecedented in privilege and human rights. And we've lived this way so long we don't understand how anyone else can't see the 'rightness' of our ways. How arrogant! How conceited! How much we take for granted. We are living on the edge of a precipice and the abyss is waiting to swallow us whole. But that doesn't mean I will sit around and not help when I see a need, a genuine, honest-to-goodness need. If your desire is to help the people in our own country, then do it! Don't berate others for making a choice to help in a different area! What if we all chose to help disadvantaged teens. Then what would happen to breast cancer research? What would happen to the World Wildlife Fund? What would happen to the rain forests? All these causes have their place. And we are so blessed to have such a diverse community that we can all help in some way. Why do we disparage the choices of others?
Now that I’ve tackled that part of this little problem-I replied to that status with this sarcastic comment. “See the thing is this. Most people here have jobs. And they can't understand why someone else doesn't have a job. They figure that person wasn't trying hard enough or else they must not care. And as for the homeless, it's their own fault of course. They should have handled their money better, right? (end sarcasm)
We all have the same rights and privileges as all the rest of the people who are citizens of our Nation. We can either choose to give up when bad things happen to us. Or we can choose to fight through those bad times to get to the good ones. I'm not saying there are no exceptions. There are always exceptions to the rule. The exceptions are just harder to find b/c of all the people who are the 'rule'. Until Obama has his way with the slaughter of our rights as a Nation, we all have the same possibility to succeed. The people in Haiti had a major disaster hit them. Why is it so wrong to help people who have a genuine need?
If you don’t believe me about Obama taking away our rights, if you don’t think he can, you should check out these links. These links will take you to info about how the UN plans to confiscate our guns (first link), an executive order to create a 'council of governors' to usurp the power of our senators and representatives and also demolish the states' rights (second link), an order allowing INTERPOL to invade our privacy (third link), and one more verifying link about our President's plan to let INTERPOL invade our privacy (fourth link).
http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/hostedemail/email.htm?h=0e2e19eb79463ccc98246e0d70ab7e17&CID=5589975108&ch=20346EBC934F8E7A034D958C48EE534E
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/2010executive_order.pdf
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-amending-executive-order-12425 (Amending of EO 12425)
http://threatswatch.org/analysis/2009/12/wither-sovereignty/ (More info on the amending of EO12425)
And that’s all I’m going to say on that score because concerning Obama, he’s not going to let anyone stop his agenda at this point. He will rip our country to shreds unless something drastic happens.
My friend is among the thousands of people who feel that their $10 could be put to better use somewhere else and that’s ok. But she also felt that her $10 wouldn’t make that much difference. I disagree. If $10 can buy 8 gallons of water or 6 packages of ground meat or a 20 pound bag of potatoes, that’s definitely something. $10 is $10 and it's still $10 more or $10 less than what they had before. We chose to make a donation b/c we couldn't actively go down there to help out. And honestly, I'd do that. I'll donate money when I feel there is a real need and sometimes, I'll donate money just because I feel like it. Everyone has to decide which cause is worthy on their own, though. And to disparage another person’s choice is a miserable thing to do.
Spreading misery doesn’t help anyone and only tears down those who choose to believe in it. One shame that our United States must own to is the tearing down of the spirits of her own people. Heaven forbid someone choose to be different! Heaven forbid someone choose to take a stand for someone or something that’s been disparaged by the masses! Heaven forbid we actually take literally all those rights we /are/ entitled to. And for the record, only CITIZENS (legal citizens, thank you) are entitled to these rights. If you want to talk about problems in our country, let’s talk about giving our rights away to illegal aliens in our country or the unconstitutional acts of the man who is supposed to be protecting our rights. But that’s another blog for another time.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Creative Energies! Aw, rats! LOL
If you thought you'd be reading a blog that worked with clock-like regular postings, you were mistaken. Did I ever mention that I have a problem with focus? :) I stay pretty busy with little nothings and many times nothing really gets completely finished. Sometimes that frustrates me to the core but most of the time, I just ignore it and move on.
One place I can't allow that to happen is in my schoolroom. Sometimes I have to really MAKE myself focus on what needs to be accomplished for the day. And thankfully, it works more often than not. We've been doing well with our lessons since we started a new year and we were doing pretty well before the last one ended. I will now pause for a smile. :)
I woke up this morning feeling really good. I mean I felt really good, at peace with myself and my surroundings and just really good. I was ready to jump through hoops this morning! Then my 5 yr. old (The Ro) decided to pitch a major fit. Her brother (NoJo) tried to help her with something she was trying to do. She was making a watery mess. He saved her behind, really. But that was just so totally unacceptable to her so she started screeching at him. I was unable to attend to the situation just right at that moment and my husband was at the college taking care of his classes for the day so he couldn't really help out either. So I yell at them to just be quiet and I'll take care of it when I can get there. The Ro can't wait to tattle on NoJo since she is truly convinced he's wronged her in the extreme. She comes to meet me and I have to get her to look me in the eye. It was quite a job convincing her that her method was fallible and her brother had done nothing wrong. And I still think she wasn't totally convinced I was right. She went right back to telling him to apologize. He replied, "For helping you?" I really do think he was quite confused this time. He's 13 and pretty practical for his age.
"What did she do?" you may be asking. She had wet a washcloth and was washing her whiteboard with it. This doesn't sound really awful, does it? Except she was washing her whiteboard in my living room on my carpet. :) NoJo realized this was a very bad thing. He took the washcloth away from her and brought it back to the kitchen. That's it. That's all he did. Oh! And he tried to explain that she was getting water everywhere and making everything soaking wet. What she didn't realize was that she should've been worshiping at his feet since he'd saved her from 'the wrath of the mom-demon'.
So after that long, drawn-out, dramatic episode, I was /really/ in the mood to enjoy school. We did school and got that done for the day. I got a quick shower, washed a load of dishes and cleaned the hall bathroom. I taught a piano lesson after all that. Here's a bright note. I have one new student and 3 more interested. This is indeed a very bright note. :)
On days like today, I just feel like I need to do something really energetic like planting a garden or herding sheep. Why the snicker? If you knew me really well, you'd know how awful I am at growing anything except bulbs and I'm not really an animal person. They are OK if they live outside and can take care of themselves or if they are behind fences at the zoo. They are just a bit too unpredictable for me. I might do alright herding sheep but I'm really not sure. Anyone else ever feel like the first sentence of this paragraph?
Right now I'm listening to one of my favorite songs by the Newsboys: "Lead Me To The Cross" and I know what some of you may be thinking. But really, it is a great song beautifully written with very lovely lyrics and it really speaks to me. That last bit is what won me over. :) Before that Sting and the Chieftains were singing "Mo Ghile Mear (Our Hero)". As you can see, my taste in music ranges wildly all over the place. That has also been a great topic of conversation with several of our friends and it is really a help when you have friends that only like a certain genre.
Well, I will try to post more often for you, my two faithful followers. LOL And I hope to be able to keep my posts honest and down to earth...OK, well honest. Talk to you soon.
Laugh a Lot
One place I can't allow that to happen is in my schoolroom. Sometimes I have to really MAKE myself focus on what needs to be accomplished for the day. And thankfully, it works more often than not. We've been doing well with our lessons since we started a new year and we were doing pretty well before the last one ended. I will now pause for a smile. :)
I woke up this morning feeling really good. I mean I felt really good, at peace with myself and my surroundings and just really good. I was ready to jump through hoops this morning! Then my 5 yr. old (The Ro) decided to pitch a major fit. Her brother (NoJo) tried to help her with something she was trying to do. She was making a watery mess. He saved her behind, really. But that was just so totally unacceptable to her so she started screeching at him. I was unable to attend to the situation just right at that moment and my husband was at the college taking care of his classes for the day so he couldn't really help out either. So I yell at them to just be quiet and I'll take care of it when I can get there. The Ro can't wait to tattle on NoJo since she is truly convinced he's wronged her in the extreme. She comes to meet me and I have to get her to look me in the eye. It was quite a job convincing her that her method was fallible and her brother had done nothing wrong. And I still think she wasn't totally convinced I was right. She went right back to telling him to apologize. He replied, "For helping you?" I really do think he was quite confused this time. He's 13 and pretty practical for his age.
"What did she do?" you may be asking. She had wet a washcloth and was washing her whiteboard with it. This doesn't sound really awful, does it? Except she was washing her whiteboard in my living room on my carpet. :) NoJo realized this was a very bad thing. He took the washcloth away from her and brought it back to the kitchen. That's it. That's all he did. Oh! And he tried to explain that she was getting water everywhere and making everything soaking wet. What she didn't realize was that she should've been worshiping at his feet since he'd saved her from 'the wrath of the mom-demon'.
So after that long, drawn-out, dramatic episode, I was /really/ in the mood to enjoy school. We did school and got that done for the day. I got a quick shower, washed a load of dishes and cleaned the hall bathroom. I taught a piano lesson after all that. Here's a bright note. I have one new student and 3 more interested. This is indeed a very bright note. :)
On days like today, I just feel like I need to do something really energetic like planting a garden or herding sheep.
Right now I'm listening to one of my favorite songs by the Newsboys: "Lead Me To The Cross" and I know what some of you may be thinking. But really, it is a great song beautifully written with very lovely lyrics and it really speaks to me. That last bit is what won me over. :) Before that Sting and the Chieftains were singing "Mo Ghile Mear (Our Hero)". As you can see, my taste in music ranges wildly all over the place. That has also been a great topic of conversation with several of our friends and it is really a help when you have friends that only like a certain genre.
Well, I will try to post more often for you, my two faithful followers. LOL And I hope to be able to keep my posts honest and down to earth...OK, well honest. Talk to you soon.
Laugh a Lot
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Been a While Since I Last Blogged...
My grandmother came to visit with us during Thanksgiving week. I am happy to say it was a nice visit and all went well. We had a delicious meal and enjoyed being together as a family. All in all, it was much easier than I expected it to be. Of course, we were only cooking for 9. Later that day, some of our good friends joined us for supper. It was good to visit with them since their work schedules have kept us from our usual visiting habits.
We set up our tree Monday. It was fun and it's nice to have all of my children at that age where they actually understand the meaning of the words and directions coming out of my mouth. Noah helped with the lights and the girls joined us in putting the ornaments on. After it was completely done, I dared my girls to even look at it funny. It's one of those short trees and I have it set up on a table. I also put some of my "special" ornaments on the tree and would hate for them to break. Or it would be even worse if the kids were hurt because ornaments shattered. But it sure is pretty to look at. I remember enjoying the lights on the tree when I was kid. We always used icicles and never used tinsel garland. (I now know why we never used the garland. It's a pain.) The icicles made the lights even more sparkly and it looked cool when I took off my glasses. (Still does, actually.) I used to lay under the tree, as close as I could get and look up into it to see the lights. Without my glasses, the lights look like fuzzy globules. LOL My favorite part of Christmas was getting to be with my mother's family. There we would find order and harmony and peace. I miss that but with family growing and spreading out, it's difficult to join together. And also as we get older and find our place in the world, our dreams, goals and ideals morph and change. Sometimes those changes cause rifts that act like eggshells under our feet. Not a happy thing but better than out and out chaos. I'm hoping we'll have a lovely visit with friends and family for the holiday celebrations this year. My extended family celebrates Christmas. My core family celebrates the things we are thankful for and the blessings we feel God has given us, most of all for salvation from sin. My kids are made aware of the fact that Christmas was orginally a pagan celebration and had nothing whatsoever to do with the Messiah. They know that Santa is a fun dream. They enjoy the games of Christmas, the music, the gatherings, the presents (most of all), and the food. They have a fun time and look forward to it every year. Just because I don't agree with all the lies surrounding the holiday doesn't mean I have to deprive my children of joy or good things. Yea!
This year, I'm thankful for so many things. I'm thankful that we'll have another celebration with my grandmother (Lord willing). I'm thankful we were able to have last year's celebration with my grandfather before he passed away. I'm thankful for my family who helped me to be firmly grounded in a godly way. Even though I feel those beliefs have held me back in some ways, I also am convinced those beliefs have made me stronger in other ways. I'm thankful that my husband and I are committed to making our marriage and our family work. I'm thankful that there is music and light and art. I'm thankful for the beautiful things of nature. I'm thankful for the insight of others. I'm thankful for the new acquaitances I've made through Twitter and facebook. I'm thankful for all the old friends I've found and been able to catch up with through those social websites. I'm thankful for so many things, yes, indeed.
We set up our tree Monday. It was fun and it's nice to have all of my children at that age where they actually understand the meaning of the words and directions coming out of my mouth. Noah helped with the lights and the girls joined us in putting the ornaments on. After it was completely done, I dared my girls to even look at it funny. It's one of those short trees and I have it set up on a table. I also put some of my "special" ornaments on the tree and would hate for them to break. Or it would be even worse if the kids were hurt because ornaments shattered. But it sure is pretty to look at. I remember enjoying the lights on the tree when I was kid. We always used icicles and never used tinsel garland. (I now know why we never used the garland. It's a pain.) The icicles made the lights even more sparkly and it looked cool when I took off my glasses. (Still does, actually.) I used to lay under the tree, as close as I could get and look up into it to see the lights. Without my glasses, the lights look like fuzzy globules. LOL My favorite part of Christmas was getting to be with my mother's family. There we would find order and harmony and peace. I miss that but with family growing and spreading out, it's difficult to join together. And also as we get older and find our place in the world, our dreams, goals and ideals morph and change. Sometimes those changes cause rifts that act like eggshells under our feet. Not a happy thing but better than out and out chaos. I'm hoping we'll have a lovely visit with friends and family for the holiday celebrations this year. My extended family celebrates Christmas. My core family celebrates the things we are thankful for and the blessings we feel God has given us, most of all for salvation from sin. My kids are made aware of the fact that Christmas was orginally a pagan celebration and had nothing whatsoever to do with the Messiah. They know that Santa is a fun dream. They enjoy the games of Christmas, the music, the gatherings, the presents (most of all), and the food. They have a fun time and look forward to it every year. Just because I don't agree with all the lies surrounding the holiday doesn't mean I have to deprive my children of joy or good things. Yea!
This year, I'm thankful for so many things. I'm thankful that we'll have another celebration with my grandmother (Lord willing). I'm thankful we were able to have last year's celebration with my grandfather before he passed away. I'm thankful for my family who helped me to be firmly grounded in a godly way. Even though I feel those beliefs have held me back in some ways, I also am convinced those beliefs have made me stronger in other ways. I'm thankful that my husband and I are committed to making our marriage and our family work. I'm thankful that there is music and light and art. I'm thankful for the beautiful things of nature. I'm thankful for the insight of others. I'm thankful for the new acquaitances I've made through Twitter and facebook. I'm thankful for all the old friends I've found and been able to catch up with through those social websites. I'm thankful for so many things, yes, indeed.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Just a Quick Update
I know it's been a while since my last blog post. I've been sewing like a mad fiend for an upcoming SCA event. I also started a new blog at Tumblr. As of now, I'm not switching but that could change in the future. If it does, I'll post notification here.
So, I just know what's going through your heads right now. What are you sewing? Well, in the past week I've sewn a princess dress for my youngest daughter and a tunic and vest/coat for my husband. They both came out very well and I can't wait for the event. I would like to sew my dress together but it's been pretty hectic trying to find all our gear. May not have time to sew that new dress.
This week has been History Fair week for my baby goats. They've been putting the display boards and reports together for some time but this week is crunch week...making sure everything is in order and getting ready to actually display their projects. I know! We homeschool! But in order for my kids to get some public speaking, I want them to do this. They will probably only give their presentations to family this year but I'm hoping for more support from other home school families in the area next year.
Well, back to the display boards...
Laugh a lot!
So, I just know what's going through your heads right now. What are you sewing? Well, in the past week I've sewn a princess dress for my youngest daughter and a tunic and vest/coat for my husband. They both came out very well and I can't wait for the event. I would like to sew my dress together but it's been pretty hectic trying to find all our gear. May not have time to sew that new dress.
This week has been History Fair week for my baby goats. They've been putting the display boards and reports together for some time but this week is crunch week...making sure everything is in order and getting ready to actually display their projects. I know! We homeschool! But in order for my kids to get some public speaking, I want them to do this. They will probably only give their presentations to family this year but I'm hoping for more support from other home school families in the area next year.
Well, back to the display boards...
Laugh a lot!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Interesting Thoughts...Well, Some Thoughts, Anyway
As I sat down to devour my 2 hamburgers and gulp my sweet tea, I felt the need to blog. There've been a lot of things going on and I would like to ponder these happenings.
The most publicized story at this point has to the Ft. Hood shooting. My own thoughts on this (gleaned from about 3 different sources and none of them mainstream media) are that this guy was simply trying to keep non-Muslims from going overseas to fight against Muslims. Sure, he may be fighting PTSD, but if you look at what happened,where it happened and the people who were killed or injured, you might come to the same or a similar conclusion. And since I believe that people like those fighting holy wars seek publicity for their acts of violence, I'm saddened by how much we help them. However, if we don't publicize these things, no one will know and no one will even think to be prepared for events such as this happening around them. A necessary evil, I suppose.
Some of the things that you may not know about (b/c of all the hype concerning Ft. Hood) are politcal actions that will affect our taxes, small businesses, insurance for workers at jobs, and I'm sure there are more. Can you believe they are considering a tax on things like hearing aids, pacemakers and other necessary medical items people need. These items already have such a high cost, to add a tax to them is preposterous. Rail against me if you wish (I'll just delete your comments if I find them rude and over the top) but I think we should legalize drugs, tax the hound out of them and require all drug dealers to have a license to distribute. Oh, so you want to import drugs to the USA? Sure, but you have to pay the appropriate exhorbitant fees.
Maine passed a law to forbid same sex marriage. I'm sorry but I believe if you've made a decision to marry someone, you should be allowed to do it, no matter race, color, creed, or lifestyle. I also can't believe some idiot JoP in some southern state (I live in a southern state, btw) refused to perform a marriage for a bi-racial couple! What in the heck is up with that? How stuck in the Civil War Era can you be? I hate to inform people like that but we are such a big country and so varied in ideas and ideals that we have co-mingled.
Speaking of co-mingled... We aren't African, Irish, German, French, Creole, etc anymore. Those terms refer to our ancestors and our heritage. Newsflash people! When you were born into this country, you were born a citizen of the United States of America and you are an American! If you went through the right channels to become an American, guess what! You left your other citizenship behind you! And you are probably happy with that choice b/c you wouldn't have gone through that process if you didn't want it to happen. If you are ashamed to be an American, go live somewhere else. No one's stopping you. It is, after all, the land of the free and the home of the brave. If you don't like the way we do things here, the same applies...just leave. Now if you're some kind of free-loader just trying to get some money you don't have to pay taxes on, recieve healthcare you're not entitled to, and make babies here so you don't have to leave, get with the program and become a citizen legally. I have no problem with my tax dollars helping fellow citizens (that are in need) get the care and help they need but I do have a problem with moochers. If you're just here to mooch and you have no intention of trying to become a citizen, get your lazy butt off our land. You don't belong here. Why don't you belong here? Because you didn't go through the process. You don't know how things work here. You didn't take the time to find out. Our country means nothing to you and therefore you can just trash it as much as you want to. So just leave.
Now if you are an American, please exercise your right to vote. That is so important, not just for electing presidents or governors but especially for the laws they want to pass. These laws affect our way of life, not the people that sit in a certain chair or a certain office. This is supposed to be a government for the people, by the people. If you are a new citizen of our country, read our Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Yeah, it might be like trying to work your way through Leviticus in the Bible but it's worth your time. You signed on to abide by the rules of our country. You ought to know the basis for our system of government. It's important so you can know what your rights are and how you can exercise those rights.
On to a new subject: labels. I absolutely despise labels. But they are, again, a necessary evil. (Seems like there are a lot of those...) If I had to choose a label for myself, it would be "strange new creature". Why? Because I am weird and unique. Ask any of my friends and they will tell you. Also, I wish for God to daily work with me to recreate me (and this is ironic considering my rant above...) to be a better person. So really those above paragraphs should just have said the highlighted bits. OK, so there's no option to highlight. Just mentally edit the "ranting" bits and you'll just about have it. All in all, I'm just really disappointed in our country as a whole. We were not made into a country so we could babysit other countries. We were not made into a country so we could host more visitors than we can afford. Our deficit is too large to be playing around with such large sums of money and the way the officials are throwing more around has me really and truly annoyed. They keep telling us to "do more with less" but honestly! Heaven forbid they do the same thing. Hmmm..there I go again. Well, I guess it's better to rant here than go postal later on in life.
Remember to breathe...
The most publicized story at this point has to the Ft. Hood shooting. My own thoughts on this (gleaned from about 3 different sources and none of them mainstream media) are that this guy was simply trying to keep non-Muslims from going overseas to fight against Muslims. Sure, he may be fighting PTSD, but if you look at what happened,where it happened and the people who were killed or injured, you might come to the same or a similar conclusion. And since I believe that people like those fighting holy wars seek publicity for their acts of violence, I'm saddened by how much we help them. However, if we don't publicize these things, no one will know and no one will even think to be prepared for events such as this happening around them. A necessary evil, I suppose.
Some of the things that you may not know about (b/c of all the hype concerning Ft. Hood) are politcal actions that will affect our taxes, small businesses, insurance for workers at jobs, and I'm sure there are more. Can you believe they are considering a tax on things like hearing aids, pacemakers and other necessary medical items people need. These items already have such a high cost, to add a tax to them is preposterous. Rail against me if you wish (I'll just delete your comments if I find them rude and over the top) but I think we should legalize drugs, tax the hound out of them and require all drug dealers to have a license to distribute. Oh, so you want to import drugs to the USA? Sure, but you have to pay the appropriate exhorbitant fees.
Maine passed a law to forbid same sex marriage. I'm sorry but I believe if you've made a decision to marry someone, you should be allowed to do it, no matter race, color, creed, or lifestyle. I also can't believe some idiot JoP in some southern state (I live in a southern state, btw) refused to perform a marriage for a bi-racial couple! What in the heck is up with that? How stuck in the Civil War Era can you be? I hate to inform people like that but we are such a big country and so varied in ideas and ideals that we have co-mingled.
Speaking of co-mingled... We aren't African, Irish, German, French, Creole, etc anymore. Those terms refer to our ancestors and our heritage. Newsflash people! When you were born into this country, you were born a citizen of the United States of America and you are an American! If you went through the right channels to become an American, guess what! You left your other citizenship behind you! And you are probably happy with that choice b/c you wouldn't have gone through that process if you didn't want it to happen. If you are ashamed to be an American, go live somewhere else. No one's stopping you. It is, after all, the land of the free and the home of the brave. If you don't like the way we do things here, the same applies...just leave. Now if you're some kind of free-loader just trying to get some money you don't have to pay taxes on, recieve healthcare you're not entitled to, and make babies here so you don't have to leave, get with the program and become a citizen legally. I have no problem with my tax dollars helping fellow citizens (that are in need) get the care and help they need but I do have a problem with moochers. If you're just here to mooch and you have no intention of trying to become a citizen, get your lazy butt off our land. You don't belong here. Why don't you belong here? Because you didn't go through the process. You don't know how things work here. You didn't take the time to find out. Our country means nothing to you and therefore you can just trash it as much as you want to. So just leave.
Now if you are an American, please exercise your right to vote. That is so important, not just for electing presidents or governors but especially for the laws they want to pass. These laws affect our way of life, not the people that sit in a certain chair or a certain office. This is supposed to be a government for the people, by the people. If you are a new citizen of our country, read our Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Yeah, it might be like trying to work your way through Leviticus in the Bible but it's worth your time. You signed on to abide by the rules of our country. You ought to know the basis for our system of government. It's important so you can know what your rights are and how you can exercise those rights.
On to a new subject: labels. I absolutely despise labels. But they are, again, a necessary evil. (Seems like there are a lot of those...) If I had to choose a label for myself, it would be "strange new creature". Why? Because I am weird and unique. Ask any of my friends and they will tell you. Also, I wish for God to daily work with me to recreate me (and this is ironic considering my rant above...) to be a better person. So really those above paragraphs should just have said the highlighted bits. OK, so there's no option to highlight. Just mentally edit the "ranting" bits and you'll just about have it. All in all, I'm just really disappointed in our country as a whole. We were not made into a country so we could babysit other countries. We were not made into a country so we could host more visitors than we can afford. Our deficit is too large to be playing around with such large sums of money and the way the officials are throwing more around has me really and truly annoyed. They keep telling us to "do more with less" but honestly! Heaven forbid they do the same thing. Hmmm..there I go again. Well, I guess it's better to rant here than go postal later on in life.
Remember to breathe...
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Too MUCH!
It's been almost a month since I last blogged. Too much info is floating around in my head and it's just overwhelming.
Since my last post we've:
1. started hosting Torah studies in our home on Saturday mornings.
2. hosted a Redwall Feast
3. celebrated our youngest child's 5th birthday
4. started teaching piano lessons to an adult
Starting with number 1, it's interesting how the word "Torah" can create such various reactions. We are studying Torah with one person right now but we hope others will join us as we progress. This person's mother (he's in his late 40's or early 50's) had an absolute cow when he told her we were studying "Torah". I couldn't believe it! Just hearing the word "Torah" caused fear? Then I learned what the word "Torah" means, literally, teaching or instruction. It doesn't mean "law". (Power New Testament 3rd Ed. William J. Morford). Just hearing a Jewish word caused our friend's mother to think he was doing something awful and alien! I couldn't believe how she was so ready to jump on his case just because he was...wait for it...studying? I'm sorry. The man is old enough to make his own decisions. And reacting out of fear rarely accomplishes anything good.
Number 2-Our Redwall Feast took place on October 23. The kids dressed up and planned to read, recite or sing something. I cooked all day long. And we had a beautiful and fun time. Our friend mentioned above came, as well as my mom. We all enjoyed a wonderful visit and some really good food, even if I do say so myself! Rotfl! See the photos above. Noah was Zann Juskarath Taggerung from "The Taggerung", Ro was a molebabe, and Shi was Triss from the book by that name. Noah read the poem that tells about his character. Ro sang a song with me. And Shi read a riddle she learned out of a book. John read a song about brewing October Ale. Rotfl!
Number 3-For Ro's birthday, my mom and Noah were out of town helping my grandmother. But we still had some fun. The day before they left, we let Ro open her gifts. Then on her birthday I made a chocolate chip cake (dyed green) and we frosted it with cream cheese frosting (dyed purple). I let the girls put some of those pre-made candies on top. They had a blast and the cake was really cute. Tasted good, too.
Number 4-I'm really thinking I should focus more on teaching adult piano lessons. By the time you are an adult, you are taking things more seriously and you know how much work you have to put into something, even if it is just for fun. My new student is a real joy. She practices and enjoys it! Love that!
Well, better run. Still have other things to do and must also teach school today! Rock on!
Laugh a Lot!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Why Boycott?
When did boycotting become a popular hobby? We learned about boycotts that took place in history to protest the maltreatment of workers in a company. But boycotting has come a long way in the past couple of decades.
It seems to me that every time I turn around I hear about people (usually people who profess to be Christians) boycotting something because of their support of a "taboo" cause. I'm sick and tired of it. Why is it necessary to boycott a company for their support of something they believe in? Do you honestly feel that threatened? Doesn't "perfect love cast out all fear?" If you don't like what they stand for, just choose not to purchase their product. Did you know you had that option? Honestly, in my own opinion, it is a waste of time and money to boycott companies who are, like everyone else, just trying to make a living and supporting the causes they believe in. When we boycott those companies, we are making it hard for the “little people.” You know who they are. They live right next to you or just down the street from you. When you boycott a company, you are really saying, “Everyone should believe the same way I do.” Since we live in a country that allows us the freedom of religion, religious beliefs should not be a basis for boycotting a company. That doesn't make any sense! Let's look at that again. We are thankful for the freedom of religion but we want to force everyone to believe the same way we do. Yep. It still doesn't make any sense. You aren't hurting the person who owns the company. They have enough money and experience to start again. You are hurting the average, everyday Joe who is probably just barely making ends meet. Is that really the way a Christian is to behave? I thought we were to be examples to others, not dictators lording it over others. I thought the fruit of the spirit consisted of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I think if we remembered this and truly understood what it meant, we would be very hesitant to boycott anything on the basis of belief. And just to let you know, I am a believer in Jehovah God. I will take every opportunity that I can get to go to Disney World. I will buy any car I can afford from any place that will accept my money. I will choose to buy a product that works the way it is supposed to over a product that doesn't. Why should I spend more money on a product I can ill afford just because they practice the same religious beliefs? If purchasing “holy” products from “holy” companies continues to put me deeper in debt, I'm sinning! Hello! Yep, that's right. I did say that. If I can't afford the food I need to feed my family b/c I refuse to purchase from a certain company, I'm sinning. We are called to be good stewards of what we are given. We cannot behave this way and be good stewards. I am fully convinced of that. Boycotting is a waste of time and though it may get a company's attention, it really doesn't change anything about the way the company feels in general. Wasting our time on things like this is so stupid. We could better spend our time in prayer for those in charge of the companies. I think God can accomplish more on His own. I'm tired of getting in His way. And I'm tired of seeing people stomp all over their own beliefs! Get real! Open your eyes. Don't be so afraid. Don't let fear ruin your witness or your life. Yes, we should laud the companies that stand for the things we believe in. But we should not ever stomp on someone else's beliefs! Ever! I will take a risk here and say that if we participate in these boycotts that hurt people just because they follow a different belief system, we are just as guilty as they are and we should be ashamed to call ourselves Christians after the Holy Son of God. I could say more but I'll stop for now.
It seems to me that every time I turn around I hear about people (usually people who profess to be Christians) boycotting something because of their support of a "taboo" cause. I'm sick and tired of it. Why is it necessary to boycott a company for their support of something they believe in? Do you honestly feel that threatened? Doesn't "perfect love cast out all fear?" If you don't like what they stand for, just choose not to purchase their product. Did you know you had that option? Honestly, in my own opinion, it is a waste of time and money to boycott companies who are, like everyone else, just trying to make a living and supporting the causes they believe in. When we boycott those companies, we are making it hard for the “little people.” You know who they are. They live right next to you or just down the street from you. When you boycott a company, you are really saying, “Everyone should believe the same way I do.” Since we live in a country that allows us the freedom of religion, religious beliefs should not be a basis for boycotting a company. That doesn't make any sense! Let's look at that again. We are thankful for the freedom of religion but we want to force everyone to believe the same way we do. Yep. It still doesn't make any sense. You aren't hurting the person who owns the company. They have enough money and experience to start again. You are hurting the average, everyday Joe who is probably just barely making ends meet. Is that really the way a Christian is to behave? I thought we were to be examples to others, not dictators lording it over others. I thought the fruit of the spirit consisted of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I think if we remembered this and truly understood what it meant, we would be very hesitant to boycott anything on the basis of belief. And just to let you know, I am a believer in Jehovah God. I will take every opportunity that I can get to go to Disney World. I will buy any car I can afford from any place that will accept my money. I will choose to buy a product that works the way it is supposed to over a product that doesn't. Why should I spend more money on a product I can ill afford just because they practice the same religious beliefs? If purchasing “holy” products from “holy” companies continues to put me deeper in debt, I'm sinning! Hello! Yep, that's right. I did say that. If I can't afford the food I need to feed my family b/c I refuse to purchase from a certain company, I'm sinning. We are called to be good stewards of what we are given. We cannot behave this way and be good stewards. I am fully convinced of that. Boycotting is a waste of time and though it may get a company's attention, it really doesn't change anything about the way the company feels in general. Wasting our time on things like this is so stupid. We could better spend our time in prayer for those in charge of the companies. I think God can accomplish more on His own. I'm tired of getting in His way. And I'm tired of seeing people stomp all over their own beliefs! Get real! Open your eyes. Don't be so afraid. Don't let fear ruin your witness or your life. Yes, we should laud the companies that stand for the things we believe in. But we should not ever stomp on someone else's beliefs! Ever! I will take a risk here and say that if we participate in these boycotts that hurt people just because they follow a different belief system, we are just as guilty as they are and we should be ashamed to call ourselves Christians after the Holy Son of God. I could say more but I'll stop for now.
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