This week seems to be overstocked with head-shaking news. The only reason I happen to know about what's on the news is b/c Hubby loves to watch the news. Left up to me, my news inlet would be extremely limited. The news does not fall under Philippians 4:8-9, my favorite verse to nourish my overall wellbeing.
What on solid earth is Ahmadinijab doing in the United Nations holding a position for women's rights (yeah, you read right, see this: http://www.eyeontheun.org/ or, if don't mind Fox News version, here: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/05/04/ahmadinejad-defends-irans-seat-womens-commission/ ) ??? How does he get off saying women in his country are "highly respected?" A woman gets stoned for having TAN LINES, and yet they are "highly respected?" I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone here. I realize that today's Western (European as well as US) society, diplomacy and attitudes are quite different than those of the Middle East (then and now), and from our perspective quite oppressive and restrictive. For all our faults in this nation, I still believe the United States of America still remains one of the greatest nations in which to live. I thank God I live here. (...but I digress, lol)
Now, at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, that's more representative of the man, Ahmadinijab, we know and detest. I don't care one bit for the politics of Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, but I give credit where credit is due...I'm glad to see that she isn't afraid to address this maniac for who he is. You can't be a shy wallflower in her position. She's an extremely powerful and assertive presence. You can bet he's just getting started, and so is she. May the best woman win. >: )
Also in the news is Faizal Shahzad, a naturalized American citizen from Pakistan, who decided to use his American citizenship against us. http://dnainfo.com/20100504/manhattan/faisal-shahzad-claimed-work-on-wall-street-instead-he-lost-home-foreclosure How tragic. He is just one of many examples of "bad apples" causing a growing distrust between legal immigrants and law enforcement. While he's from another part of the globe, his actions heighten anxiety of our growing IL-legal alien trouble from south of the American border. Unfortunately, every time we look around, legal immigrants from any country are being eyed with suspicion and distrust, and unfortunately they don't feel the freedom we have in this country as guaranteed by our Constitution.
Speaking of suspicion and distrust....
Arizona's state illegal immigration laws http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070s.pdf and are causing quite a ruckus across the nation as well as Arizona. There are many tweaks necessary to make these laws successful, but I believe they're off to a great start. SOMEBODY has got to do something!! However, not only are Arizona's American citizens understandably upset by what these laws potentially bring~~chiefest of issues is the impromptu demand for possible immigrants to have their papers at hand at all times in case they are stopped by local and state law enforcement for unrelated issues; but nationally, there is question about its Constitutionality. Immigration control is supposed to be federal responsibility, but our national government has largely ignored the cries of Southern-Border Americans demanding that border security be one of their top priorities. Constitutional or not, I don't blame Arizona one bit for initiating state legislation in a vigilant attempt to reclaim our country...if a few more border states follow suit, our federal government just might take notice! >:( I remember about 5 or 6 years ago when a state representative sent a survey for me to fill out, and one of the questions was, "Do you think defending our borders is important?" I wrote out to the side, "YES, did you really have to ask this???" I know it was probably not "his idea" to put that on there, except to present our concerns to his higher-ups, but I still couldn't believe that the question even HAD to be asked. Look at us now. We're over run by IL-legal aliens and our government, is way too slow in responding.
Oh, and how about those California high school students who were requested to remove their American flag shirts that they wore during Mexican and Mexican-American Cinco de Mayo day at school?? http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/06/california-students-sent-home-wearing-flags-cinco-mayo/ These are AMERICAN students in AMERICA wearing AMERICAN FLAG clothing on a day that happens to be on highly-celebrated day for Mexican and Mexican-Americans IN OUR COUNTRY. Yes, I can understand why the Mexicans and Mexican-Americans are a little put off by this, and to a point I can understand why the school officials demanded these students to remove these articles of clothing, but let me repeat: THESE ARE AMERICAN STUDENTS IN AMERICA wearing AMERICAN FLAG clothing.
When in Mexico, do as the Mexicans do; when in America, do as the Americans do.
If we were in MEXICO and they were celebrating their holiday, I would greater understand not wearing American-inspired clothing in THEIR country at this time. If we were in another country celebrating our Independence Day by wearing American flag-inspired clothing, I would also EXPECT our host nations to be able to wear clothing reflective of THEIR nation at the same time. America is a melting pot of multiple cultures and heritage. Americans celebrate MANY different festivals, celebrations, observations, cultures represented from ALL OVER THE WORLD...but we're AMERICANS FIRST.
I'm praying that we can reclaim the America we used to know and love. In some ways, we've come a long way; in others, I think we need to go back in the time machine and recapture the ideals that made us Americans in the first place.
If interested, adjustments made to the AZ Immigration legislation:
Part 1: http://www.keytlaw.com/blog/2010/04/anti-illegal-immigration-law-part-1/
Part 2: http://www.keytlaw.com/blog/2010/04/anti-illegal-immigration-law-part-2/
Part 3: http://www.keytlaw.com/blog/2010/04/text-of-arizona%E2%80%99s-anti-illegal-immigration-law-%E2%80%93-part-3/
Part 4: http://www.keytlaw.com/blog/2010/04/text-of-arizona%E2%80%99s-anti-illegal-immigration-law%E2%80%93part-4/
Part 5:
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
"MEAN, SAY! MEAN, SAY!"
This is one of J7's cutest little phrases when he was learning to talk, and it gets Hubby and me giggling every time we think of it. :) My mantra with the boys growing up, and I still say it to this day (tho not as often), is "Say what you mean, mean what you say." T12 didn't repeat that much while growing up, but I had to say that a LOT to J7. I had to make him repeat what I said to make sure he understood what I said, and in this particular instance, "Say what you mean, mean what you say" somehow turned into, "MEAN, SAY! MEAN, SAY!" J7 gave his older brother some SERIOUS grief over that little four-word phrase, lemme tell ya!
Now comes the tough part...getting J7 to balance the literal with the general. Ugh. That boy sees EV-ER-Y-THING in black and white. There is no gray. No rainbow colors, either, come to think on it. ;) Figure of speech means absolutely nothing to him. He does not take jokes and pranks well, either. Okay, so maybe I have soooooomething to do with that. Sigh. I don't like jokes that potentially hurt feelings. I don't like them done to me, and I don't like them done to other people. J7 just takes it a ((biiiiiiig)) step further. The Bible talks plenty about joking around (you can find "jest" and "sport", as in meaning "fun", in your STRONG'S concordance), but there are some genuinely funny things that happen with words, especially if they're homonyms or homophones. He finds many things funny, especially if it's in the bodily noise department (I know, groan, lol), but if he gets the idea that you're trying to trick him with words, you are in for a whollop-packed, pint-sized showdown. After all, "MEAN, SAY! MEAN, SAY!" means "SAY what you MEAN, and MEAN what you SAY!"
It's a curious observation what he might do with this perspective. I have no idea if I have the best lawyer on my hands, or the absolute worst one you can imagine. : P
I mean, I know I'm a "wordee" myself, and from time to time I might inappropriately pick you apart about words, most times w/o even realizing that I'm doing it. ((for that, I'm horribly sorry!)) However, I'm also finding that I seem to be more scatter-speeched than ever before. I'm SERIOUS!! I feel like that I can't get a sentence together w/o inadvertently mixing up certain details in what I want to say, or I got off into a seemingly unrelated tangent. It's as frustrating as it can be! :( I know lots of parents and teachers end up naming the wrong child b/c they're talking to one while looking at another, or people will mix up a couple of words to make new ones. It goes beyond that. At any given time I might mix up some thoughts as well as words and come out with an entirely different speech altogether. My mind constantly scrambles through "the best way to phrase such-n-such", and I more often than not end up with stuff that makes no sense no matter how you slice it, dice it, or even julienne fry it. That is hardly an example of "MEAN, SAY! MEAN, SAY!"
Can you tell I do better at writing than talking?? At least I have to THINK for a long time how I want to say something, and I've got that ever blessed BACKSPACE key. : D I tell you, that's the first key that gets worn off my keyboard, lol. I thank God every day that I'm born in THIS age and time so that I don't have to spend so much of my writing time w/ the correction tape (although I should've bought stock in it the 5 years I typed!!) or the White-Out (another company I was too young to buy stock in b/c I was doing high school research papers, lol). I can spend my 3 hours to make my "perfect" two-paragraph story, lol. THAT most times ends up saying what I mean so that what I mean IS what I'm saying. : ) J7 will be happy to know that, lol. : )
Now comes the tough part...getting J7 to balance the literal with the general. Ugh. That boy sees EV-ER-Y-THING in black and white. There is no gray. No rainbow colors, either, come to think on it. ;) Figure of speech means absolutely nothing to him. He does not take jokes and pranks well, either. Okay, so maybe I have soooooomething to do with that. Sigh. I don't like jokes that potentially hurt feelings. I don't like them done to me, and I don't like them done to other people. J7 just takes it a ((biiiiiiig)) step further. The Bible talks plenty about joking around (you can find "jest" and "sport", as in meaning "fun", in your STRONG'S concordance), but there are some genuinely funny things that happen with words, especially if they're homonyms or homophones. He finds many things funny, especially if it's in the bodily noise department (I know, groan, lol), but if he gets the idea that you're trying to trick him with words, you are in for a whollop-packed, pint-sized showdown. After all, "MEAN, SAY! MEAN, SAY!" means "SAY what you MEAN, and MEAN what you SAY!"
It's a curious observation what he might do with this perspective. I have no idea if I have the best lawyer on my hands, or the absolute worst one you can imagine. : P
I mean, I know I'm a "wordee" myself, and from time to time I might inappropriately pick you apart about words, most times w/o even realizing that I'm doing it. ((for that, I'm horribly sorry!)) However, I'm also finding that I seem to be more scatter-speeched than ever before. I'm SERIOUS!! I feel like that I can't get a sentence together w/o inadvertently mixing up certain details in what I want to say, or I got off into a seemingly unrelated tangent. It's as frustrating as it can be! :( I know lots of parents and teachers end up naming the wrong child b/c they're talking to one while looking at another, or people will mix up a couple of words to make new ones. It goes beyond that. At any given time I might mix up some thoughts as well as words and come out with an entirely different speech altogether. My mind constantly scrambles through "the best way to phrase such-n-such", and I more often than not end up with stuff that makes no sense no matter how you slice it, dice it, or even julienne fry it. That is hardly an example of "MEAN, SAY! MEAN, SAY!"
Can you tell I do better at writing than talking?? At least I have to THINK for a long time how I want to say something, and I've got that ever blessed BACKSPACE key. : D I tell you, that's the first key that gets worn off my keyboard, lol. I thank God every day that I'm born in THIS age and time so that I don't have to spend so much of my writing time w/ the correction tape (although I should've bought stock in it the 5 years I typed!!) or the White-Out (another company I was too young to buy stock in b/c I was doing high school research papers, lol). I can spend my 3 hours to make my "perfect" two-paragraph story, lol. THAT most times ends up saying what I mean so that what I mean IS what I'm saying. : ) J7 will be happy to know that, lol. : )
Saturday, April 24, 2010
It's Official, I'm a Neighborhood Mom
As an adult, I always thought it would be neat to be a neighborhood mom. A place where my sons' friends would feel welcome, a place they might enjoy congregating, a place where they could feel safe. So far, after fast forwarding a few years, I've not been disappointed.
When we lived in apartments, we occasionally had T12's friends come over and play, and those friends would play w/ J7, too, including him in their games even though he was very young at the time. Those were very sweet kids. :) I always liked having a reason to have treats for them, even though we were basically broke during those days.
We moved into a neighborhood completely unfamiliar with us, and it took a little while, but gradually T12 made friends with classmates who lived right around us (one across the street from us, AND he has a little brother J7's age!), and occasionally they'll pop by to visit. Now that J7 has been in school almost 2 years now (the first year we were here was very tough :( ), he's getting his OWN friends to come over and play! Plus, last year, a new family w/ a little boy about J7's age moved across the street, giving us an isosceles triangle effect, lol! They're ALL basically having a great time, and it's a joy to be a part of their lives.
We now have a "neighborhood phone list" hanging on my cabinet door, complete with friends' parents phone numbers. We're all just a phone call away. :) Kinda feel a little like June Cleaver, but without the domestic goddess part...don't know how I'd deal with an Eddy Haskell, anyway, lol. :}
What is funny is when all these friends migrate from house to house w/i the neighborhood, and it's like we parents have walkie-talkies keeping up with them all. Love it! :) We've only had one incident in which T12 and his friend "forgot" to tell us where they were going, and when I called friend's mom to alert her about our boys, the hunt was ON! By the time they wandered back over to my house 45 mins later, those two boys got "The Lecture" about wandering off w/o notifying me (or whoever's mom they were visiting) where they intended to go. All is good now! :)
Gone are the days in which children could just wander off, doing whatever spontaneous ideas that crossed their minds...the good as well as the not-so-good ideas (lol)...just so they show up at supper time. Times are becoming weirder and weirder by the hour. We live in an age of virtually instant information, which can be great and not so great at the same time. We live in an age in which safety means diligently being accountable for our whereabouts. As my momma always said, "I don't care what you're doing...I may not even like or approve what you're doing...but I gotta know where my family is!" Daddy was quite an unwitting teacher for that lesson! Yikes! :O As an adult, NOW I know what she means. Yeah, I showed up at her house totally sauced one morning (yes, someone dropped me off at "home"~~while inebriated, her house directions was a lot easier to explain than to my own, lol), but she knew I where I was the night before. She was just happy I was safe, although dissapointed in the condition I was in, and knowing that in 4 hours I needed to show up for work in MUCH better shape! I hope that if a neighbor kid didn't feel comfortable talking to their parents about serious issues, I wouldn't mind helping as I can. Somehow its easier to talk with someone more objective than your parents. Children today have it TOUGH. I'm not talking about the generational differences in technology and materialism~~that's a WHOLE new post! >:D What I'm talking about is that it seems like parents today are soooooo caught up in trying to survive in this life, or so caught up in their careers or addictions of their lives, that they've lost sight of truly caring for these children. I see a growing trend in SAHMs and WAHMs, but right now, it's not enough to bring these children back home to safety. I realize that I'm not always going to be the desirable safety net for my boys, but I pray that they have SOMEONE of my friends (most of them their friends' moms/parents) who they'll feel they can trust. I pray that they'll always have friends whose parents I could trust to let them lean on w/o judging them as quickly as a subjective parent might or would.
I pray that my boys continue to pick good friends, and to continue to be wary of not-so-good people. So far I like being a neighborhood mom. Then again, I've not hit the true teen years yet! Maybe another mom will temporary adopt him/them if mine go out of my league of momma patience and understanding? I did not grow up with male influence in my life. As my momma always said..."boys are suuuuuuure different.... Maybe another's handful would click with me better, being the more objective party? I don't know. We've all got pretty green grass right now, so I don't think it's gonna be a case of the grass is always greener on the other side. :}
When we lived in apartments, we occasionally had T12's friends come over and play, and those friends would play w/ J7, too, including him in their games even though he was very young at the time. Those were very sweet kids. :) I always liked having a reason to have treats for them, even though we were basically broke during those days.
We moved into a neighborhood completely unfamiliar with us, and it took a little while, but gradually T12 made friends with classmates who lived right around us (one across the street from us, AND he has a little brother J7's age!), and occasionally they'll pop by to visit. Now that J7 has been in school almost 2 years now (the first year we were here was very tough :( ), he's getting his OWN friends to come over and play! Plus, last year, a new family w/ a little boy about J7's age moved across the street, giving us an isosceles triangle effect, lol! They're ALL basically having a great time, and it's a joy to be a part of their lives.
We now have a "neighborhood phone list" hanging on my cabinet door, complete with friends' parents phone numbers. We're all just a phone call away. :) Kinda feel a little like June Cleaver, but without the domestic goddess part...don't know how I'd deal with an Eddy Haskell, anyway, lol. :}
What is funny is when all these friends migrate from house to house w/i the neighborhood, and it's like we parents have walkie-talkies keeping up with them all. Love it! :) We've only had one incident in which T12 and his friend "forgot" to tell us where they were going, and when I called friend's mom to alert her about our boys, the hunt was ON! By the time they wandered back over to my house 45 mins later, those two boys got "The Lecture" about wandering off w/o notifying me (or whoever's mom they were visiting) where they intended to go. All is good now! :)
Gone are the days in which children could just wander off, doing whatever spontaneous ideas that crossed their minds...the good as well as the not-so-good ideas (lol)...just so they show up at supper time. Times are becoming weirder and weirder by the hour. We live in an age of virtually instant information, which can be great and not so great at the same time. We live in an age in which safety means diligently being accountable for our whereabouts. As my momma always said, "I don't care what you're doing...I may not even like or approve what you're doing...but I gotta know where my family is!" Daddy was quite an unwitting teacher for that lesson! Yikes! :O As an adult, NOW I know what she means. Yeah, I showed up at her house totally sauced one morning (yes, someone dropped me off at "home"~~while inebriated, her house directions was a lot easier to explain than to my own, lol), but she knew I where I was the night before. She was just happy I was safe, although dissapointed in the condition I was in, and knowing that in 4 hours I needed to show up for work in MUCH better shape! I hope that if a neighbor kid didn't feel comfortable talking to their parents about serious issues, I wouldn't mind helping as I can. Somehow its easier to talk with someone more objective than your parents. Children today have it TOUGH. I'm not talking about the generational differences in technology and materialism~~that's a WHOLE new post! >:D What I'm talking about is that it seems like parents today are soooooo caught up in trying to survive in this life, or so caught up in their careers or addictions of their lives, that they've lost sight of truly caring for these children. I see a growing trend in SAHMs and WAHMs, but right now, it's not enough to bring these children back home to safety. I realize that I'm not always going to be the desirable safety net for my boys, but I pray that they have SOMEONE of my friends (most of them their friends' moms/parents) who they'll feel they can trust. I pray that they'll always have friends whose parents I could trust to let them lean on w/o judging them as quickly as a subjective parent might or would.
I pray that my boys continue to pick good friends, and to continue to be wary of not-so-good people. So far I like being a neighborhood mom. Then again, I've not hit the true teen years yet! Maybe another mom will temporary adopt him/them if mine go out of my league of momma patience and understanding? I did not grow up with male influence in my life. As my momma always said..."boys are suuuuuuure different.... Maybe another's handful would click with me better, being the more objective party? I don't know. We've all got pretty green grass right now, so I don't think it's gonna be a case of the grass is always greener on the other side. :}
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Resurrection Day 2010
((for whatever reason, I kept this in my draft folder. I guess I had this vision of adding to this, lol. well, this is what it is...on to the next blog entry, lol. : } sorry, folks!))
May you each have the most blessed Resurrection Day today. Today marks a day of reflection for me. My Saviour, Jesus Christ, was crucified, died, was buried, and was the first resurrected soul who opened the gates of heaven for the rest of us. Have a most Blessed Easter.
Who was it that is famous for saying, "And now, the REST of the story?" LOL. ;) Finally getting to the rest of this post (only Wednesday after Easter Sunday...at least it's this WEEK, right? ;) ). We'll see if I can complete it now, lol.
RESURRECTION DAY 2010
"Taste and see that the LORD is good."
No, not talkin' 'bout those chocolate bunny ears, Jelly Belly jellybeans, deviled eggs, ham, lamb, roast beef, hot cross buns, or any other food treat; tho they do have their place, lol. : }
The Lord IS good to me. I am so glad that I allowed Him to be Lord and Saviour of my life. I have had to make some decisions in my life, and while that process hurt and I felt like a fumbling failure, the results of those decisions have had the greatest impact on my life.
May you each have the most blessed Resurrection Day today. Today marks a day of reflection for me. My Saviour, Jesus Christ, was crucified, died, was buried, and was the first resurrected soul who opened the gates of heaven for the rest of us. Have a most Blessed Easter.
Who was it that is famous for saying, "And now, the REST of the story?" LOL. ;) Finally getting to the rest of this post (only Wednesday after Easter Sunday...at least it's this WEEK, right? ;) ). We'll see if I can complete it now, lol.
RESURRECTION DAY 2010
"Taste and see that the LORD is good."
No, not talkin' 'bout those chocolate bunny ears, Jelly Belly jellybeans, deviled eggs, ham, lamb, roast beef, hot cross buns, or any other food treat; tho they do have their place, lol. : }
The Lord IS good to me. I am so glad that I allowed Him to be Lord and Saviour of my life. I have had to make some decisions in my life, and while that process hurt and I felt like a fumbling failure, the results of those decisions have had the greatest impact on my life.
Friday, April 2, 2010
A HELL of a Message
It is not often that I speak of hell. However, belief in hell and heaven is critical to understanding my relationship with, and my faith in, My Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Understanding what He endured upon his death for me, for YOU, for each and every one of us--past, present, and future, fills my heart with unspeakable wonder and joy. The Bible tells us that Jesus was crucified, had died, was buried, was resurrected, and IS alive today, giving us the Holy Spirit to help us live this crazy world called LIFE. Today marks Jesus' descent into the place of, the torment of, and the spirit of, hell.
Hell is a hell of a place.
It's a REAL place. What scientists call the core of the earth is actually, Biblically speaking, the location of hell. Prov 15:24; Is 14:9; Amos 9:2, plenty of others. The abyssal depths of the sea contain creatures that live under phenomenal and rather "unearthly" circumstances. The Bible talks about worms that never die. Mark 9:44. Jonah talks of the deep depth of darkness in the pit in chapter 2. Jesus tells us repeatedly that hell contains unquenchable flames and fire (Luke 16:27-30; Mark 9:43-44.
Hell is a place of torment and torture, containing unending and unrelieved pain, trouble and sorrow. Whatever "hell" you believe you are experiencing here on this earth will be incomparable to the ETERNAL hell described in Luke 16; 2 Samuel 22:6; Psalm 116:3. We have the promise that whatever sorrow you're experiencing now, there WILL be an end to it; sorrow it but for a time; weeping may endure for a night, but JOY cometh in the moring. There will never be joy in hell.
Hell wasn't even originally for humans, but for Lucifer, the one-third of the angels who followed him, and it grew (enlarged) to accommodate the wicked and the nations who forget God. Psalm 9:17; Isaiah 14:12-15; Mt 25:41.
We humans are creatures who each bear a body, a soul, and a spirit. Our bodies are destined to die on this earth. Our bodies were used to function in this world of earth and are barely (if at all) conscious, or aware, of the spirit realm. Once our bodies die, our soul and spirit are separated from the body, and we become more aware of the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm then becomes more real and permanent than our physical realm on earth. Our physical realm is the place where we MUST make the decision to believe on the Name above all names, Jesus Christ. Choose ye THIS day whom you will serve. Joshua 24:15. If we fail to make that decision, confessing with our mouths to men and believing with our hearts that He truly was the Son of the Living God, who was crucified, was buried, was resurrected, and is alive forevermore, then that decision WILL BE MADE FOR YOU upon your death as a rejection of God's only begotten Son and His gift of eternal life in heaven. I don't want that for anyone!! God doesn't, either.
Ye must be born again. Don't let Jesus' atonement for your sins pass you by! Jesus loves you so much that He was willing to die for our sins and became the sacrifice for all of mankind; giving us a new start in life with God. He wants His children to want to be with Him. He is THE Father of all fathers, and we become His children throughout eternity. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life...ETERNAL LIFE. NO man can come to the Father but by Me. There are many roads that lead to Jesus, but there is only one road that leads to God the Father. There are many gates to hell. The paths to hell are broad, and many people follow after that path. There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Prov 16:25. Let Jesus shine His Light, His Goodness, His Love, onto that narrow way. Put away that old man, and let Jesus make you into a new creature. Let His work begin in you.
Hell is a hell of a place.
It's a REAL place. What scientists call the core of the earth is actually, Biblically speaking, the location of hell. Prov 15:24; Is 14:9; Amos 9:2, plenty of others. The abyssal depths of the sea contain creatures that live under phenomenal and rather "unearthly" circumstances. The Bible talks about worms that never die. Mark 9:44. Jonah talks of the deep depth of darkness in the pit in chapter 2. Jesus tells us repeatedly that hell contains unquenchable flames and fire (Luke 16:27-30; Mark 9:43-44.
Hell is a place of torment and torture, containing unending and unrelieved pain, trouble and sorrow. Whatever "hell" you believe you are experiencing here on this earth will be incomparable to the ETERNAL hell described in Luke 16; 2 Samuel 22:6; Psalm 116:3. We have the promise that whatever sorrow you're experiencing now, there WILL be an end to it; sorrow it but for a time; weeping may endure for a night, but JOY cometh in the moring. There will never be joy in hell.
Hell wasn't even originally for humans, but for Lucifer, the one-third of the angels who followed him, and it grew (enlarged) to accommodate the wicked and the nations who forget God. Psalm 9:17; Isaiah 14:12-15; Mt 25:41.
We humans are creatures who each bear a body, a soul, and a spirit. Our bodies are destined to die on this earth. Our bodies were used to function in this world of earth and are barely (if at all) conscious, or aware, of the spirit realm. Once our bodies die, our soul and spirit are separated from the body, and we become more aware of the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm then becomes more real and permanent than our physical realm on earth. Our physical realm is the place where we MUST make the decision to believe on the Name above all names, Jesus Christ. Choose ye THIS day whom you will serve. Joshua 24:15. If we fail to make that decision, confessing with our mouths to men and believing with our hearts that He truly was the Son of the Living God, who was crucified, was buried, was resurrected, and is alive forevermore, then that decision WILL BE MADE FOR YOU upon your death as a rejection of God's only begotten Son and His gift of eternal life in heaven. I don't want that for anyone!! God doesn't, either.
Ye must be born again. Don't let Jesus' atonement for your sins pass you by! Jesus loves you so much that He was willing to die for our sins and became the sacrifice for all of mankind; giving us a new start in life with God. He wants His children to want to be with Him. He is THE Father of all fathers, and we become His children throughout eternity. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life...ETERNAL LIFE. NO man can come to the Father but by Me. There are many roads that lead to Jesus, but there is only one road that leads to God the Father. There are many gates to hell. The paths to hell are broad, and many people follow after that path. There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Prov 16:25. Let Jesus shine His Light, His Goodness, His Love, onto that narrow way. Put away that old man, and let Jesus make you into a new creature. Let His work begin in you.
Monday, March 22, 2010
HR 3590, The Cancer of America
***WARNING~~~If you are easily offended in the political arena, this post may not be for you to read. Please feel free to bypass this post and return when I have something friendlier to write.***
The much touted, much debated, much heated, and most passionately fought HealthCare Bill passed last night at a very, very narrow margin: 219 to 212. This was not a sweeping victory, and I pray that the proponents of this bill realize this. Bart Stupak was the holdout vote until he foolishly fell for President Obama's "promise" to write an executive order (which can easily be overturned, and I'm having trouble understanding why he thought it would hold) against tax payer funding for abortions. It's an unequally-yoked promise w/ an unequally-yoked heart. I do not care for President Obama's leadership so far. He's a politician, not a national leader. President Obama is a smooth-talking, charismatic, emotionally-charged promise-making politician. While he is basically stoic and even robotic in speech and mannerism, he thrives on others' emotionally-led and emotionally-driven rally to change. He has already had an agenda in his head, he just needed the nation to join in the orgy. He, like Pelosi, will not stop until they accomplish what they set out to do; this is under the guise that it's for the American people. Those who desired the change he has proposed and is still proposing are not THINKING of the implications of what his changes will bring. We will visit that web soon enough. When the frenzy dies down, I'm seriously afraid the Americans who voted for this healthcare change may find themselves in compromising situations and Catch-22s in more than one area of life. I do pray I'm wrong, but God gives us the spirit of discernment, and just because it sounds good, maybe even looks good, "makes sense", it doesn't mean it IS good. The bill itself has been overhauled for over a year, it's over 2000 pages long, it hasn't been critically reviewed to its fullest, has grown more corrupt by political interests, it's been vehemenently protested by MANY Americans because of the afore-mentioned reasons, and yet it's now passed. What is this country in for now? What tie-ins did our politicians put into this rat's nest of a bill that has nothing to do w/ what is good for the average American? What kinds of hurdles are going to meet the Americans who try to use health care as defined by this bill? What is going to bite us in the rear when we are met with, "Well, you WANTED this!" This tumor of a health care bill has grown and metastasized in areas other than health care, and growing with each promise given to the politicians. Who is going to remove the tumor from the American people?? Not everyone wanted this!!! As a matter of fact, opponents were just as passionate as proponents about this health care bill, we simply didn't have a voice strong enough to overturn it. What do we have now?
Before anyone jumps me for "not understanding" the need for this bill, let me just point out that I agree that some kind of health care reform is in order. However, I firmly believe that this bill (HR 3590) should been scrapped, killed, and buried and burned. I believe that some things learned from HR 3590 should've been a fresh start for a less complicated, more understandable, less bureaucratic, and basically more beneficial health care bill for America. As it is, we must pray for the benefit w/o the corruption that may be attached to it.
My husband and I have been w/o insurance for 10 years. The boys are either on Medicaid, CHIPS, or nothing, depending on our income qualifications of the moment. Our income, which is erratic, puts us right on the poverty level or just above it. We are forever on the border of qualifying or not qualifying (more often) for insurance. We fall between making just enough to knock us out of eligibility but not enough to acquire our own insurance, or we might be able to squeak 6 months of coverage at a time; most times they fall between the crack. Logically, it seems like I'd be jumping up for joy that this bill passed. If I was only thinking of immediate gratification, I might feel that way. However, I try to look beyond the current circumstances and see the long-term, and the long-term issues of this current bill are yet to be seen.
When President Obama was first announced as our President in November 2008, my heart sank. His spirit troubles me greatly...still does. This bill, and the way it came to be, brought back yet another remembrance of my spiritual slap in the face from that election moment.
This is from 1 Samuel 8, KJV:
I'm glad to hear that a repeal of sorts is in the works, Texas seems to be spearheading this venture. We still have a chance to make things right, and to make it more usable by everyone w/o the risks involved in the current HR 3590 Health Care Bill. We need to achieve a balance, we need to re-establish and implement the checks and balances our forefathers had the foresight to establish. We need to get rid of the corruption that has taken place in this particular bill, and we must do so NOW. This cancerous tumor of a bill needs to be surgically removed and healing with a new bill needs to begin. Come November, we need to surgically remove those in office who are NOT voting according to constituent will and objectives.
The much touted, much debated, much heated, and most passionately fought HealthCare Bill passed last night at a very, very narrow margin: 219 to 212. This was not a sweeping victory, and I pray that the proponents of this bill realize this. Bart Stupak was the holdout vote until he foolishly fell for President Obama's "promise" to write an executive order (which can easily be overturned, and I'm having trouble understanding why he thought it would hold) against tax payer funding for abortions. It's an unequally-yoked promise w/ an unequally-yoked heart. I do not care for President Obama's leadership so far. He's a politician, not a national leader. President Obama is a smooth-talking, charismatic, emotionally-charged promise-making politician. While he is basically stoic and even robotic in speech and mannerism, he thrives on others' emotionally-led and emotionally-driven rally to change. He has already had an agenda in his head, he just needed the nation to join in the orgy. He, like Pelosi, will not stop until they accomplish what they set out to do; this is under the guise that it's for the American people. Those who desired the change he has proposed and is still proposing are not THINKING of the implications of what his changes will bring. We will visit that web soon enough. When the frenzy dies down, I'm seriously afraid the Americans who voted for this healthcare change may find themselves in compromising situations and Catch-22s in more than one area of life. I do pray I'm wrong, but God gives us the spirit of discernment, and just because it sounds good, maybe even looks good, "makes sense", it doesn't mean it IS good. The bill itself has been overhauled for over a year, it's over 2000 pages long, it hasn't been critically reviewed to its fullest, has grown more corrupt by political interests, it's been vehemenently protested by MANY Americans because of the afore-mentioned reasons, and yet it's now passed. What is this country in for now? What tie-ins did our politicians put into this rat's nest of a bill that has nothing to do w/ what is good for the average American? What kinds of hurdles are going to meet the Americans who try to use health care as defined by this bill? What is going to bite us in the rear when we are met with, "Well, you WANTED this!" This tumor of a health care bill has grown and metastasized in areas other than health care, and growing with each promise given to the politicians. Who is going to remove the tumor from the American people?? Not everyone wanted this!!! As a matter of fact, opponents were just as passionate as proponents about this health care bill, we simply didn't have a voice strong enough to overturn it. What do we have now?
Before anyone jumps me for "not understanding" the need for this bill, let me just point out that I agree that some kind of health care reform is in order. However, I firmly believe that this bill (HR 3590) should been scrapped, killed, and buried and burned. I believe that some things learned from HR 3590 should've been a fresh start for a less complicated, more understandable, less bureaucratic, and basically more beneficial health care bill for America. As it is, we must pray for the benefit w/o the corruption that may be attached to it.
My husband and I have been w/o insurance for 10 years. The boys are either on Medicaid, CHIPS, or nothing, depending on our income qualifications of the moment. Our income, which is erratic, puts us right on the poverty level or just above it. We are forever on the border of qualifying or not qualifying (more often) for insurance. We fall between making just enough to knock us out of eligibility but not enough to acquire our own insurance, or we might be able to squeak 6 months of coverage at a time; most times they fall between the crack. Logically, it seems like I'd be jumping up for joy that this bill passed. If I was only thinking of immediate gratification, I might feel that way. However, I try to look beyond the current circumstances and see the long-term, and the long-term issues of this current bill are yet to be seen.
When President Obama was first announced as our President in November 2008, my heart sank. His spirit troubles me greatly...still does. This bill, and the way it came to be, brought back yet another remembrance of my spiritual slap in the face from that election moment.
This is from 1 Samuel 8, KJV:
And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he madeI read that passage while listening to the news in the background, and my spirit was sorely troubled b/c I saw our first American king. This health care bill that recently passed is corrupted with the bountiful promises given to our politicians at the expense of the American people (verse 3). I don't believe this is what America is truly ready to embrace. I have a political cartoon image in my mind of Government force-feeding an American citizen this bill and him spitting it out like a baby not fond of peas. I hope the Government has a big enough bib to cover those rejections.
his sons judges over Israel.
Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of
his secon, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.
And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside
after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves
together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah.
And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons
walk not in thy way: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give
us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.
And the Lord said unto Samuel, hearken unto the voice
of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee,
but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.
According to all the works which they have done since
the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they
have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet
protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall
reign over them.
And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the
people that asked of him a king.
And he said, This will be the manner of the king that
shall reign over you:
He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself,
for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his
chariots.
And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and
captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his
harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his
chariots.
And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries,
and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and
your oliveyard, even the best of them, and give them to his
servants.
And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your
vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
And he will take your menservants, and your
maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
He will take the tenth of your sheep, and he shall be
his servants.
And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king
which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that
day.
Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of
Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us.
That we also may be like all the nations; and that our
king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he
rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord.
And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto their
voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.
I'm glad to hear that a repeal of sorts is in the works, Texas seems to be spearheading this venture. We still have a chance to make things right, and to make it more usable by everyone w/o the risks involved in the current HR 3590 Health Care Bill. We need to achieve a balance, we need to re-establish and implement the checks and balances our forefathers had the foresight to establish. We need to get rid of the corruption that has taken place in this particular bill, and we must do so NOW. This cancerous tumor of a bill needs to be surgically removed and healing with a new bill needs to begin. Come November, we need to surgically remove those in office who are NOT voting according to constituent will and objectives.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Incompetent Tooth Fairies
No, we did NOT see THE TOOTH FAIRY movie just yet. However, I don't even think HE could have been much more incompetent than me and hubby. I'm serious. This is one profession that just might need a renewable license!
As you probably figured out, J7 lost his first tooth yesterday at school. :) He'd been wiggling it to death the last few days, and it finally just fell out. He brought it home in a sandwich baggie w/ the teacher's neatly printed words "J's 1st baby tooth." That gave me an idea. We'll just encourage him to put the WHOLE BAG under his pillow so it'll be an easy grab, right?? WRONG. We could NOT have been more wrong.
Okay, T12's tooth missions were basically a cinch to perform. He was on the top bunk, so we just pole vaulted over to his wall and braced ourselves there if we couldn't find our stilts. Slipped an agile hand underneath that fluffy pillow, did the switcheroo, and somehow got back out of his room in perfect peace. If we say so ourselves, we used to be kind of graceful at this maneuver. Hey, we've done this numerous times now (I don't think he has any more teeth to lose, but you never know, I guess, lol) and got the hang of it.
Let's now go to J7. We should've known. ANYTHING THAT WORKED FOR T12 DOES NOT WORK FOR J7, and yet...here we try again.... ((insert rolling eyes and head smacking against a brick wall emoticons))
Unlike T12, J7 is PERPENDICULAR to the wall. That makes things tougher b/c he's kinda longer to reach than T12. I guess we got so used to the pole vault system that we were thrown at a loss as to how to handle the bottom bunk in which he's perpendicular to the wall AND the bed. You read right, he hasn't slept lengthwise on his bottom bunk yet b/c he is short enough to fit in that direction, and he's slept that way since he got out of the crib at 18 months. I got used to laying beside him to read him bedtime stories, so I didn't think anything about it.
There's also the issue of him being a relatively LIGHT sleeper. Not so much that he opens his eyes and is aware of stuff, but he moves around, A LOT when he does move. Most times he's just a hunk of lead until morning, remaining in the same position he went to sleep in.
Note to self...gotta get him a NEW pillow that fluffs!!! Do you have any idea how heavy a self-propelled bowling ball feels on your momentarily arthritic hands??? If I found the bag, I never knew b/c the pain in my hand cancelled whatever mission I had in mind.
Hubby's turn.
He gets this notion to have a flashlight...y'know, one of those weird blue-white lights (LEDs?? not sure). It's not particularly bright but it shines weird. He shines that thing behind J7's head trying to peek under the pillow. He moves that big head o' his again and "looks" straight at hubby. He waits for about 10 minutes b/f proceeding. J7 has been quiet during this time, so we're thinking we've got a chance to find that bag w/ the tooth. He lifts the corner of the pillow, and that bowling ball moves again. He thrashes around a little more, pulls the covers up on himself a little more, and again drops back into deeper sleep...we think. Hubby repositions himself so that he's kinda poised above him. He flashed the light around J7, lifting corners of the covers and pillow, and J7 turns some more. He evidently got a little aggitated in his sleep b/c he outright turned over and there where his shoulder was gleamed that sparkly bag containing that troublesome pearl. Hubby grabbed that okay. Now came the hard part. He was trying to be legitimate about leaving the money under the pillow, J7 had his hands under the pillow at this point. Hubby finally was running out of patience and just put the money beSIDE the pillow. Turns out that worked out perfectly. J7 had an itchy nose or som'n rolled over and the pillow went right on top of the money like hubby planned it there all along.
This is his first tooth. Obviously we're just gettin' started w/ him. :{ Anyone got the Tooth Fairy Manual for Dummies you can give us? We are seriously lacking skill for handling restless sleepers who wouldn't fall asleep at bedtime when he USUALLY did. Of course, part of that could've been my fault. He DID ask me for a glass of warm milk so he could go to sleep. Had I read page 22 of that book, we might've saved ourselves a lot of restless anxiety taking that Tooth Fairy exam.
As you probably figured out, J7 lost his first tooth yesterday at school. :) He'd been wiggling it to death the last few days, and it finally just fell out. He brought it home in a sandwich baggie w/ the teacher's neatly printed words "J's 1st baby tooth." That gave me an idea. We'll just encourage him to put the WHOLE BAG under his pillow so it'll be an easy grab, right?? WRONG. We could NOT have been more wrong.
Okay, T12's tooth missions were basically a cinch to perform. He was on the top bunk, so we just pole vaulted over to his wall and braced ourselves there if we couldn't find our stilts. Slipped an agile hand underneath that fluffy pillow, did the switcheroo, and somehow got back out of his room in perfect peace. If we say so ourselves, we used to be kind of graceful at this maneuver. Hey, we've done this numerous times now (I don't think he has any more teeth to lose, but you never know, I guess, lol) and got the hang of it.
Let's now go to J7. We should've known. ANYTHING THAT WORKED FOR T12 DOES NOT WORK FOR J7, and yet...here we try again.... ((insert rolling eyes and head smacking against a brick wall emoticons))
Unlike T12, J7 is PERPENDICULAR to the wall. That makes things tougher b/c he's kinda longer to reach than T12. I guess we got so used to the pole vault system that we were thrown at a loss as to how to handle the bottom bunk in which he's perpendicular to the wall AND the bed. You read right, he hasn't slept lengthwise on his bottom bunk yet b/c he is short enough to fit in that direction, and he's slept that way since he got out of the crib at 18 months. I got used to laying beside him to read him bedtime stories, so I didn't think anything about it.
There's also the issue of him being a relatively LIGHT sleeper. Not so much that he opens his eyes and is aware of stuff, but he moves around, A LOT when he does move. Most times he's just a hunk of lead until morning, remaining in the same position he went to sleep in.
Note to self...gotta get him a NEW pillow that fluffs!!! Do you have any idea how heavy a self-propelled bowling ball feels on your momentarily arthritic hands??? If I found the bag, I never knew b/c the pain in my hand cancelled whatever mission I had in mind.
Hubby's turn.
He gets this notion to have a flashlight...y'know, one of those weird blue-white lights (LEDs?? not sure). It's not particularly bright but it shines weird. He shines that thing behind J7's head trying to peek under the pillow. He moves that big head o' his again and "looks" straight at hubby. He waits for about 10 minutes b/f proceeding. J7 has been quiet during this time, so we're thinking we've got a chance to find that bag w/ the tooth. He lifts the corner of the pillow, and that bowling ball moves again. He thrashes around a little more, pulls the covers up on himself a little more, and again drops back into deeper sleep...we think. Hubby repositions himself so that he's kinda poised above him. He flashed the light around J7, lifting corners of the covers and pillow, and J7 turns some more. He evidently got a little aggitated in his sleep b/c he outright turned over and there where his shoulder was gleamed that sparkly bag containing that troublesome pearl. Hubby grabbed that okay. Now came the hard part. He was trying to be legitimate about leaving the money under the pillow, J7 had his hands under the pillow at this point. Hubby finally was running out of patience and just put the money beSIDE the pillow. Turns out that worked out perfectly. J7 had an itchy nose or som'n rolled over and the pillow went right on top of the money like hubby planned it there all along.
This is his first tooth. Obviously we're just gettin' started w/ him. :{ Anyone got the Tooth Fairy Manual for Dummies you can give us? We are seriously lacking skill for handling restless sleepers who wouldn't fall asleep at bedtime when he USUALLY did. Of course, part of that could've been my fault. He DID ask me for a glass of warm milk so he could go to sleep. Had I read page 22 of that book, we might've saved ourselves a lot of restless anxiety taking that Tooth Fairy exam.
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