...the more likely you'll hafta interact with other people. Why, oh, why have I not learned this yet?? Ugh. You guessed it, I did it again. :O
Don't tell me that I'm the only one on this earth who has done this, either. Most of you would be lying.
I am not particularly a morning person. I'm more of a night person. Therefore I tend to stay up most nights later than I should. This pushes my wake up time a little later the next morning, obviously, lol. Most times I don't need to be at work until later in the morning, so typically I think I'm doing good to have clothes on, shoes on, and maybe swipe a brush thru my hair.
Thankfully I wasn't at my most scroungy self, and thankfully my interaction with cheerful, casual-businessy dressed moms this morning was rather brief, but the horror still lingers for some time, lol. : }
I had just dropped the boys off at the front of the school, and I started to drive off when I hear a knock at my driver's window. I saw them b/f I drove up, but I thought they were in their own little meeting. They greeted me w/ their beautiful smiles, wishing me a cheerful good morning with a donut, while they hand me a flyer about the next PTO meeting this coming Friday night. I was utterly embarrassed. I mean, usually I can kind of stand off a bit so that I don't wipe out the entire parent congregation w/ my lethal morning/coffee breath. Not this time. They were literally face-level with my truck, and awfully close, too. I held my breath for as long as I could, tho I'm sure my noxious fumes reached them as I left. The exchange took place less than 30 seconds, but I'm sure my Medusa horror lasted them a lifetime. It's a good thing I didn't have last night's makeup on, too! That would've elevated me to a whole new horror.
As I drove away, I saw that the moms were still standing. But I wonder if they have my license plate memorized by now. My picture today could've easily made "Most Wanted" so they could lock me away...at least 'til I could make myself decent and fit for society again. :)
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Season of Thanks
"In every thing, give thanks."
As the year 2010 spirals to its end, we approach a particularly special time of year for many of us Americans. It seems like once Halloween is gone, we turn around and are making plans for Christmas! This is by far my most favorite time of year. :)
We have made it through another year with a roof over our head, food on our table, health in our bodies (nothing a little Claritin or Robitussin can't handle, anyway, lol), clothes on our backs (and fronts, lol), gas in our vehicles, paychecks in our bank, and a home for my spirit. I am indeed full. I am indeed blessed.
There are so many people experiencing some source of sorrow and pain this year, however. Some people have lost their homes, too ma-ny have lost their jobs which supported their families, some have lost their only means of getting to work, others have to decide whether to put food on the table or take medicine to help them function~~an inordinate amount of people feel their only choice is to live in pain because they have no insurance. Numerous others have lost loved ones in this world this year. Some of these precious people are fighting demons no one else can see; their symptoms cry out for help. Unfortunately, while many people are contemplating suicide, some have succeeded.
While this season should be a season of joy for most of us, obviously it's a season of pain and sorrow for far too many others. Looking back on our darker hours, I can't tell you how thankful I am for the people who reached out to us and blessed us with things we needed and leads to help us get on our feet. My boys have been blessed with Christmas presents from kind strangers when we could not afford anything for them. I am thankful for some neighbors who dropped off a bag of groceries for us so that we would not go hungry. I am thankful for doctors who had compassion on us and didn't charge us for needful medicines for the boys. I am thankful for my cyber friends who gave me a kind word right when I needed to hear them most. I am sorry to lose my parents-in-law, but God gave us the means, through their deaths, of getting us a wonderful home that we can call our own. I am thankful for my new neighborhood~~it is finally starting to feel like home. I genuinely believe God placed us here~~everything that we've gone through in our darker hours has led us to this place of hope, hope that I readily admit I didn't recognize at first.
"...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" Psalm 30:5
This is one of my favorite reminders when I go through difficult times. Life as a Christian does not mean that we have no trouble, that all goes well for us all the time...but our response rests in the hope and trust that God is always, indeed, with us. Jesus said that when we are at our weakest, then is He made strong. Not that Jesus was ever "weak" but Jesus' strength for us becomes more evident in our lives. While we are sometimes authors of our own troubles, our troubles are not always for our benefit, but sometimes for the world to watch us give opportunity to demonstrate our faith. Our faith should be in action. Our faith produces blessings. Those blessings are meant to be shared with others. Our blessings should lift others out of their darkness. Our blessings just might be that seed of faith they need.
Let us remember those who are struggling this year. Let us see if we can help lighten their burdens, if only for a moment. Sometimes that moment is all we need to push through to our breakthrough. Sometimes a bag of groceries is what is needed. Have you looked in your closet lately? Is there something someone else can use now that you're not using? Sometimes a job lead is what will turn their lives around. Sometimes mercy and grace is needed to heal a broken heart. A sympathetic ear and an empathetic heart is the start of a beautiful healing. Let's not forget...a smile and a kind word can be the simplest and yet most priceless offering.
It is not because of the tribulation that we give thanks, it's because of the hope that can be borne out of that tribulation. Tribulation can be what gives you some of the fruits of the spirit. (Galatians 5:22) The time of trouble is indeed sorrowful, but if we can encourage each other to hang in there long enough, the results can be a more powerful faith you never knew you had. That faith is something to celebrate with joy. That joy is what we give thanks for.
"In every thing, give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
As the year 2010 spirals to its end, we approach a particularly special time of year for many of us Americans. It seems like once Halloween is gone, we turn around and are making plans for Christmas! This is by far my most favorite time of year. :)
We have made it through another year with a roof over our head, food on our table, health in our bodies (nothing a little Claritin or Robitussin can't handle, anyway, lol), clothes on our backs (and fronts, lol), gas in our vehicles, paychecks in our bank, and a home for my spirit. I am indeed full. I am indeed blessed.
There are so many people experiencing some source of sorrow and pain this year, however. Some people have lost their homes, too ma-ny have lost their jobs which supported their families, some have lost their only means of getting to work, others have to decide whether to put food on the table or take medicine to help them function~~an inordinate amount of people feel their only choice is to live in pain because they have no insurance. Numerous others have lost loved ones in this world this year. Some of these precious people are fighting demons no one else can see; their symptoms cry out for help. Unfortunately, while many people are contemplating suicide, some have succeeded.
While this season should be a season of joy for most of us, obviously it's a season of pain and sorrow for far too many others. Looking back on our darker hours, I can't tell you how thankful I am for the people who reached out to us and blessed us with things we needed and leads to help us get on our feet. My boys have been blessed with Christmas presents from kind strangers when we could not afford anything for them. I am thankful for some neighbors who dropped off a bag of groceries for us so that we would not go hungry. I am thankful for doctors who had compassion on us and didn't charge us for needful medicines for the boys. I am thankful for my cyber friends who gave me a kind word right when I needed to hear them most. I am sorry to lose my parents-in-law, but God gave us the means, through their deaths, of getting us a wonderful home that we can call our own. I am thankful for my new neighborhood~~it is finally starting to feel like home. I genuinely believe God placed us here~~everything that we've gone through in our darker hours has led us to this place of hope, hope that I readily admit I didn't recognize at first.
"...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" Psalm 30:5
This is one of my favorite reminders when I go through difficult times. Life as a Christian does not mean that we have no trouble, that all goes well for us all the time...but our response rests in the hope and trust that God is always, indeed, with us. Jesus said that when we are at our weakest, then is He made strong. Not that Jesus was ever "weak" but Jesus' strength for us becomes more evident in our lives. While we are sometimes authors of our own troubles, our troubles are not always for our benefit, but sometimes for the world to watch us give opportunity to demonstrate our faith. Our faith should be in action. Our faith produces blessings. Those blessings are meant to be shared with others. Our blessings should lift others out of their darkness. Our blessings just might be that seed of faith they need.
Let us remember those who are struggling this year. Let us see if we can help lighten their burdens, if only for a moment. Sometimes that moment is all we need to push through to our breakthrough. Sometimes a bag of groceries is what is needed. Have you looked in your closet lately? Is there something someone else can use now that you're not using? Sometimes a job lead is what will turn their lives around. Sometimes mercy and grace is needed to heal a broken heart. A sympathetic ear and an empathetic heart is the start of a beautiful healing. Let's not forget...a smile and a kind word can be the simplest and yet most priceless offering.
It is not because of the tribulation that we give thanks, it's because of the hope that can be borne out of that tribulation. Tribulation can be what gives you some of the fruits of the spirit. (Galatians 5:22) The time of trouble is indeed sorrowful, but if we can encourage each other to hang in there long enough, the results can be a more powerful faith you never knew you had. That faith is something to celebrate with joy. That joy is what we give thanks for.
"In every thing, give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Election Hangover 2010
Well, what can we say? No matter if your party won or lost, there is a sense of a hangover~~some made worse by anxiety about what this new election results hold for our nation now; others thankful by the results, but knowing full well that just means there's work to be done; hopefully they are thankful for the opportunity. Time to take that Alka-Seltzer and get to work. For those who have lost and are wondering just what went wrong...time to take that Alka-Seltzer and get to work.
I am thankful that we (Republicans) won the House. I am also thankful that, while we did not win the Senate majority, the loss is very shallow. I pray the Democrats realize that they are on the hot seat just as the Republicans are. I listened to President Obama today. As always, he's saying the "right things", but time will tell if he's blowing smoke or if he's truly finally realizing that the American people are fed up with the way things are currently going. What bothers me is that he keeps saying that he needs to "work harder" to find, reach, and implement solutions to the messes we are in as a nation~~it's my opinion that the problem is NOT how hard he's working, but who's agenda he's trying to implement to solving these problems.
Former President George W. Bush was accused of doing his own thing and not following the will of the people, especially regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but yet President Bush pushed forth his agenda because he thought it was truly the right thing to do based on the information he was given. However, it was incomplete or inaccurate information.
I feel like President Obama is carrying out his own agenda because he truly believes this is the right thing to do for this country. However, I feel like President Obama is receiving (consciously or unconsciously) incomplete or inaccurate information.
There are some good things that are in the "Obamacare" bill. Unfortunately, what good there is in the bill is overshadowed by the mysterious unknown and considerably painful aspects (costs and penalties) of the bill. This is why I feel like the Health Care bill needs to be repealed and started over again from scratch, reformulating the good aspects of the bill into a better one for the nation. I shook my head in utter dismay when Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi declared that we need to pass this 2000+ page bill "...so we can find out what's in it." Saaaay whaaaaaat????????? American populace are warned not to sign anything without having read and understand the fine print. And yet, the majority of our government officials passed this spider web of a monstrosity without having a concrete idea of what all are in this bill. Left alone, it will only be a matter of time before Americans find ourselves in penalty traps and loss of freedoms we currently take for granted.
Having said all this, I must say that presumptive Majority Leader John Boehner has a really rough road ahead of him. He indicated that he understood that the Republican party is on probation by the American people, that it was not a case of embracing the party. I pray that remains on the forefront of his mind as he embarks on this journey. I pray he CAN find ways to work with not only the Democratic party, President Obama, but even other Republicans to get AMERICA'S agenda accomplished. For different reasons, Presumptive Majority Leader Boehner faces the same personal tenacity as President Obama, and I pray that, for the sake of our nation, they can at least put aside their differences, listen, brainstorm, and create a bill that is reflective of the benefit of the people~~no more, no less.
These past two years have revealed a runaway government left to its own device. That followed a few decades of mischievous underminings committed by the government to see what they could get away with. I'm thankful that Americans have awakened, come out and voted, and have demanded the beginning process of restoring the checks and balances of our government which was created "of the people, by the people and for the people."
I am thankful that we (Republicans) won the House. I am also thankful that, while we did not win the Senate majority, the loss is very shallow. I pray the Democrats realize that they are on the hot seat just as the Republicans are. I listened to President Obama today. As always, he's saying the "right things", but time will tell if he's blowing smoke or if he's truly finally realizing that the American people are fed up with the way things are currently going. What bothers me is that he keeps saying that he needs to "work harder" to find, reach, and implement solutions to the messes we are in as a nation~~it's my opinion that the problem is NOT how hard he's working, but who's agenda he's trying to implement to solving these problems.
Former President George W. Bush was accused of doing his own thing and not following the will of the people, especially regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but yet President Bush pushed forth his agenda because he thought it was truly the right thing to do based on the information he was given. However, it was incomplete or inaccurate information.
I feel like President Obama is carrying out his own agenda because he truly believes this is the right thing to do for this country. However, I feel like President Obama is receiving (consciously or unconsciously) incomplete or inaccurate information.
There are some good things that are in the "Obamacare" bill. Unfortunately, what good there is in the bill is overshadowed by the mysterious unknown and considerably painful aspects (costs and penalties) of the bill. This is why I feel like the Health Care bill needs to be repealed and started over again from scratch, reformulating the good aspects of the bill into a better one for the nation. I shook my head in utter dismay when Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi declared that we need to pass this 2000+ page bill "...so we can find out what's in it." Saaaay whaaaaaat????????? American populace are warned not to sign anything without having read and understand the fine print. And yet, the majority of our government officials passed this spider web of a monstrosity without having a concrete idea of what all are in this bill. Left alone, it will only be a matter of time before Americans find ourselves in penalty traps and loss of freedoms we currently take for granted.
Having said all this, I must say that presumptive Majority Leader John Boehner has a really rough road ahead of him. He indicated that he understood that the Republican party is on probation by the American people, that it was not a case of embracing the party. I pray that remains on the forefront of his mind as he embarks on this journey. I pray he CAN find ways to work with not only the Democratic party, President Obama, but even other Republicans to get AMERICA'S agenda accomplished. For different reasons, Presumptive Majority Leader Boehner faces the same personal tenacity as President Obama, and I pray that, for the sake of our nation, they can at least put aside their differences, listen, brainstorm, and create a bill that is reflective of the benefit of the people~~no more, no less.
These past two years have revealed a runaway government left to its own device. That followed a few decades of mischievous underminings committed by the government to see what they could get away with. I'm thankful that Americans have awakened, come out and voted, and have demanded the beginning process of restoring the checks and balances of our government which was created "of the people, by the people and for the people."
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Election Day 11/2/10
Today was the day to vote for the House and Senate seats, along with state governors and whatever local positions need to be filled. I was very surprised that Texas (or my area, anyway) did not have any amendments or proposals to vote on this time around. Made me wanna check somebody for a fever or something.
I voted my candidates. I'm happy to see my congressman on the ballot.
I'm SURE he won his position. I don't remember a senate race in my area. Many of my local positions are held by uncontested incumbents, so there isn't much you can do there.
I'm disappointed in my neighborhood turnout for elections, tho. Coming from a neighborhood which was VERY politically active, I was stunned to see my voter count being so low. The demographics become painfully clear during election times here.
I've done my duty to remind everyone to vote today. Any message board I attended, I made mention of voting. I've come a long way, but I admit I've still got a long way to go in HOW I vote. I'm extremely thankful that I don't live in an area completely driven by negative ads and mud-slinging this time around. My friends in other states have lamented about the smear campaigns of some of their candidates, and it just makes it so difficult to be an objective judge for those elected officials. As soon as I hear a name, I try not to listen to the ads anymore and do my own research and investigation and vote from there.
I am a classic republican. I have very classic conservative views. I believe both parties in all branches of government have miserably failed America these last couple of decades. I greatly appreciate Marco Rubio's comment he made during his acceptance speech:
I voted my candidates. I'm happy to see my congressman on the ballot.
I'm SURE he won his position. I don't remember a senate race in my area. Many of my local positions are held by uncontested incumbents, so there isn't much you can do there.
I'm disappointed in my neighborhood turnout for elections, tho. Coming from a neighborhood which was VERY politically active, I was stunned to see my voter count being so low. The demographics become painfully clear during election times here.
I've done my duty to remind everyone to vote today. Any message board I attended, I made mention of voting. I've come a long way, but I admit I've still got a long way to go in HOW I vote. I'm extremely thankful that I don't live in an area completely driven by negative ads and mud-slinging this time around. My friends in other states have lamented about the smear campaigns of some of their candidates, and it just makes it so difficult to be an objective judge for those elected officials. As soon as I hear a name, I try not to listen to the ads anymore and do my own research and investigation and vote from there.
I am a classic republican. I have very classic conservative views. I believe both parties in all branches of government have miserably failed America these last couple of decades. I greatly appreciate Marco Rubio's comment he made during his acceptance speech:
"We make a great mistake if we believe tonight these results somehow
are an embrace of the Republican Party," Rubio said. "What they are is a
second chance, a second chance for Republicans to be what they said they
were going to do not so long ago."I pray the Republicans are listening, should they indeed
get their chance to regain control of the House as anticipated. America is
losing patience...and FAST.We are on the road to utter self-destruction if we do not heed the mistakes made by past civilizations and empires. There is a very real consequence to the unraveling the effects of the Constitution as our Founding Fathers based the government of this nation. Men are to be free, and the government is to be limited. BOTH parties have tampered with its foundation to the point that heightened awareness needs to be made, and our government elected officials need to be held accountable for them.
We'll see what happens. In the meantime, America has its eye on the government. The jobs need to come back. The tax rates need to be subdued, and the entrepreneurs need to be able to redevelop our capitalistic economy. I believe the entire health care bill needs to be scrapped and started over...I don't care WHO has the solution, but the better solution needs to be implemented if we're to turn this country back around.
I have a book that I've not read yet, but it's frequently referred to by quite a few Christian evangelists. I do need to read it, as the reason I acquired it was because I figured it was rather insightful into how our lives are observed today, over 200 years later. The book is THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE by Edward Gibbon. Is history truly destined to repeat itself? If we are not observant of history, then yes, we are in big trouble and just may live long enough to see our own deline and Fall of the American Empire.
I hope that you voted. If you don't vote, you have no right to complain about the affairs of this country, which is still the greatest nation of the world.
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