I received this in an e-mail and encourage you all to take the time to read it and hear what this one person is saying.  Continue to pray as a person of such influence is leading so many lost astray.

Basketball is not a new phnomenon.  I just wasn’t introduced to its intricacies until several years ago and had the pleasure of my team not only doing well, but winning (twice!).  I say this as Kyle has the NCAA championship on (Kansas and Davidson is currently in process…Davidson ahead at this moment but its back and forth…good game).  Now, I never got into basketball because I didn’t understand it.  I didn’t know the fouls and intricacies of the game that make it so interesting.  Since being educated on such things (via my fiance who loves the game and played some himself), I have noticed that my enjoyment in the game has multiplied and I also was to learn to play myself.

I don’t think this is uncommon, or for that matter that this observation is unique.  I do believe that taking note of this has helped me with others who feel the same way about things I love (such as football with my brother-in-law, who grew up on soccer).  This can (and does) extend outside of the sports arenas into everyday life.  Where we are faced with conflict how often is it that the conflict arises because one or more of the individuals just does not understand all of the intricacies of the issue?

Just a little food for thought.

I take offense to every man and woman who decides that it is now “uncouth” to say “merry Christmas” and force me at work to say “Happy Holidays” for fear of losing my job or other retribution.  I take offense to every person who decided that suddenly we are no longer allowed to sing carols in schools or hang Christmas decorations, such as a tree, at the risk of a child who doesn’t celebrate Christmas feeling intimidated or pressured by the greenery or pleasant music that most people have waited all year to hear.  I take offense that suddenly the holiday that I celebrate as the birth of my Savior, which had already been commercialized and celebrated by the majority of Americans unless Jewish or otherwise religious (in other words, not the ones complaining) is just now offending people that grew up celebrating the same holiday and will probably receive presents and get a Christmas tree (not a holiday tree).

I take offense that Christmas is now a political issue rather than a spiritual issue.  But most of all I take offense that it doesn’t matter what offends me, because I am Christian.  I take offense that my rights are not the same as atheists, agnostics, scientologists, or whatever else people want to call themselves.  I take offense that I am told to keep quiet about my views but am expected to hear others shouting profanities where my children are playing and learning.  I take offense that 5 year olds come home saying the f-word having learned it at public school from a classmate and I am told by others that it is simply freedom of speech, despite how I would want a child raised.  I take offense that I have to lower my morals to meet everyone elses.

I weep for this country that I love because when the men that created it wrote our constitution, they PRAYED TO GOD for guidance and for direction.  I weep for this country that I love because that same constitution is being walked all over by judges who have decided to overstep their boundaries and start creating laws (because our elected officials aren’t doing it anyway).  I weep for this country that I love because I see it falling to pieces and crumbling before my very eyes.  I weep for those who are lost and yell to throw me in jail because I speak against homosexuality (I don’t hate the homosexual..I hate their sin…the act of their lifestyle, I love them as persons and if that is worthy of a hate crime then I am guilty).  I weep for those who are lost and yell that they not only hate this war but hate the soldiers who hate been risking their lives to fight for their freedom to yell.  I weep and cry out to God to come save us from this and yet give us more time to save those souls who are so incredibly lost.

So here I stand wishing everyone a politically incorrect Merry Christmas, praying for the lost, and weeping for my country that is so lost in the sea if sin.

I have always been very vocal in support for my country and for its leaders (even when I don’t always agree with them) but when the 2008 presidential campaign began I felt discouraged and about as apathetic about the whole thing as I have ever been.  To be blunt, I didn’t like any (not a single one) of the candidates, republican or democratic.  As soon as I thought one might be hopeful, I read more and discovered some irregularities in their patterns (voting versus promised, outlandish campaign promises, all around crummy, dirty politics for some).  It broke my heart that I did not feel that I could back a single candidate, that America could have so many “poli-tics” running for office (Kyle says the definition of politics is “many blood sucking insects” and in this case I agreed with him).  Then I found my hope.

His name is Mike Huckabee, past governor of Arkansas and someone who hasn’t said one thing to one activist group and then the exact opposite to another opposing group the following day (a rare find on the campaign trail).  He is republican and conservative but has some views that would upset a lot of the GOP and bring a smile to the face of a Democrat.  He is a good guy who wants to bring a little civility back to the Capital (which is long over due).

He isn’t a front runner but he should be and has my vote.  If nothing else, I don’t care if you agree with my or not, please look at the issues of the candidate you are thinking of supporting.  Please don’t base your vote off of their campaign speeches; check them out.  Find out where they stand on the issues that make a difference to you and your family.  If you don’t know what those issues are, start there, making a list of some things you want changed or some things you want to stay the same.  I promise all of those will or should be on the candidates websites with their stance (and some with their voting record which always needs to be checked).  The most important thing in elections is to be informed on all of the issues, not the ones the media or the candidates decide you need to know.  You decide, educate yourself and make the vote worthwhile (especially the primaries which count more than most people realize).

The interruption has come from a family that has allegedly formed a law suit against the governor of Texas for calling for the school days to begin with a moment of silence.  Not prayer, nothing spoken, students can do whatever they please for those 60 seconds as long as it is silent and if they wish to say a prayer (Christian or not) then it would be silent, as in unheard and unless we are becoming thought police then there shouldn’t be an issue.

What gets me so upset is that there was not a mandate for prayer or anything remotely religious by any stretch of the imagination.  Yes, the “moment of silence” is typically something that coincides with prayer but the reality is, it is optional (minus being quiet for a measly minute which a teacher can mandate alone without calling it that anyway) so I don’t see why these wimps can sit down and shut up for 60 seconds, amuse themselves however they care to as long as its quiet while the rest of us show a little RESPECT for those who deserve it (unlike these guys who just like to complain about everything that doesn’t revolve around their world the exact way they want it to–>THIS IS STILL A DEMOCRACY WHICH MEANS THE MAJORITY CHOOSE NOT ONE FAMILY THAT CONTINUES TO FIND SOMETHING NEW TO COMPLAIN ABOUT EVERY CHANCE THEY GET—they have already issued law suits about the boy scouts and a prayer group passing out flyers, which is entirely Constitutional).

Why can’t people stop complaining?  Every time something is slightly different from their idea, there is a law suit.  What would they say if all a sudden all of us who care about our freedoms and sudden told people like these over complaining people that we don’t care if we offend you because you know what?  You offend us more often than we care to count so stop complaining like the wimps that you are because everyone is tired of listening.

After not writing for nearly a week I wanted to come back with something meaningful.  I have plenty of useless ideals and opinions that don’t amount to much but when I look at the world I want to make more of an impact.  BarlowGirl recently came out with their newest CD entitled “How can We Be Silent.”  It is also a “campaign” of sorts for people to not just listen to the music, but to live the life.  They challenge listeners to submit their own stories about not being silent and standing up for Christ in a world that has long forgotten that He is in fact their Maker, Savior, and king of the world that they live so freely in.  It amazes me how simple this can be and yet how difficult we make it.  We create in our minds this idea that we have to travel to the far ends of the earth in order to make a difference.  The we have to somehow be in grave danger and in fact risk our very life for our ministry to be at all effective.  Why?  Why do we need to go into the depths of the world (though those ministries are in deed needed and greatly appreciated if you are in fact called into that work)?  But why do we feel that we can’t minister to our neighbors by living a life that Christ exemplified and being friendly even when they are not?  Why can’t we minister to the workers at the local grocery store by letting them know that it is offensive to see magazines like Maxim displayed openly when all they do is offer substantial temptation to any man who walks by them and can make women feel degraded or not pretty enough by not fitting the prototype displayed?  Why can’t we minister to our local restaurants and servers by respecting the work and service they are trying to provide and simply saying “God bless you” and meaning it before walking out the door?  These minimal actions are things that should be done in our life without over analyzing them but done with the heart of He who lead us in the example.  Why do we insist on being silent when we don’t agree and accept that the society is just going to change that way whether we do something about it or not?  If we all stood up for what we actually believed can you imagine the changes that society would have to make for us?  Christians have too long been silent and accepting of the ever demeaning changes that we are forced to accept without complaint.  God did not call us to be weak (meek, but not weak) and we should be strong for our God until the day of his glorious appearing which may be closer than we think.  Until then, speak up–> Never be silent for what you believe.

I created this site to be an outlet. At one point in time I believe that I counted a total of 6 different journals I was keeping, each for a different topic. When I finally brought myself to narrow it down significantly (I think to only 3 or so), I knew that I would need a general outlet, therefore, this random and often pointless blog was born.

Now, I took a public relations class as an elective and I switched to poli sci from journalism so I have always known about blogs and I even had a general knowledge how to create one when they first became known a while back, but I just could never bring myself to create one because so much of what I write is personal. Yes, if you have read my stuff you know I ramble a lot about nothing and then I also rant a lot about nothing (translation: my life and my opinions on politics, religion, and society; respectively). But if you have REALLY read my blogs then you would see that I write about me. I write about my confusion, my lack of direction. I write about my frustrations and irritations. I write about my loves and my passions. I write about me. It’s what I know, so thats what I write.

I know that doing this will probably never produce an avid following, nor a whole lot of interest, but thats not what this is about. I titled my blog a journey of a lifetime because I’m writing about life as it happens. I don’t expect to ever sign in and see my page on the homepage for wordpress and I don’t expect to become an author through a popular following started by a blog. I write about life and the life I know is mine. Right now, it’s not really exciting or interesting. More than anything it’s confusing and frustrating, but thats ok. So as my stats show minimal reading, know that I don’t care, thats not why I’m here. I’m here for me, for my time, to say what I need to say. If you want to make a comment, by all means, I invite you too and I welcome it, but if not, I’ll probably still be here tomorrow so check back, maybe I wrote something different that catches your fancy today.

I am a very opinionated person.  I will never claim to be any other way, nor do I care to be.  With that stated (and I think well known at this point if you have read my posts at all) I receive alerts from a non profit organization about certain legislative issues that are “noteworthy.”  Now, yes it is a Christian organization and yes, they do have to do with many “crazed right winged fanatic” issues and I would like to go on record to say that while I am a follower of Christ and I believe certain issues to be morally wrong, I DO NOT claim to be a right wing.  I am REGISTERED Republican and agree SOMETIMES with certain issues but NOT with the ENTIRE party NOR do I agree OR DISAGREE with the ENTIRE Democratic Party, there are issues I agree with from either side.  That said (and knowing that I will most still probably get a comment about it..thats ok, you can say what you want) I received word that there is a Maryland school board that has stated that (and I quote) “although a parent does have a right to control the upbringing of a child, “that right is not absolute. It must bend to the State’s duty to educate its citizens,”" WOW!!!  Now this is in regards to introducing new curriculum to 8th and 10th graders that includes homosexuality as a normal lifestyle.  Now the issue is that they won’t even LISTEN to the arguments and then they have the audacity to claim that its no longer a parents RIGHT in how they wish to raise their own child?!? EXCUSE ME?  I’m not here judging anyone who claims the lifestyle of a homosexual.  To be honest with you, as a follower of Christ, no I do not agree with the way that you are living but I do not judge you as a person.  I have friends who are gay (and I love them as a person but detest their lifestyle).  BUT HERE IS THE ISSUE:  IF I WERE A PARENT I WOULD NOT BE OK TO HAVE THIS TAUGHT TO MY CHILD AS SOMETHING THAT IS OK AND HAVE THEM TOLD THAT THEY CAN NOT EXPRESS THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEVES THAT IT IS A SIN.  THAT IS A GIVEN RIGHT OF MY CHILD AND MY GIVEN RIGHT AS A PARENT. And this is me BEFORE I have kids (ha, imagine how I’ll be afterwards when it is my kid).  It’s not ok that all a sudden the STATE is saying parents don’t have the right to raise their children.  I went to public schools elementary through college and I know that you can get a very good education from the public school system but when that same system that I so often defend is telling me that I can either deal with a secular teaching that goes against EVERYTHING that public schools were created and founded on or I can just take my kids and home-school or put them in a private school, then we are at a very, very sad state in our nation.  Yet another step back.  Just a single example, when the Northwest Ordnance was established in 1787 it included a provision for schools that stated “Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged” (Mansfield, 2007).  Amazing isn’t it?  That a state document could possibly include something explicitly including religion and education together?  What about separation of church and state, you may ask?  Don’t you find it ironic that there was not an issue before Everson vs. Board of Education in 1947?  I mean the Constitution was constructed so intricately and so diligently that there would not be a NATIONAL religion and yet in so many documents, religions was still encouraged not diminished.  Now, as shown with issues such as this article from the Washington Post (which is the article linked from the organization’s alert) we have become a secularized society where the only voices that are not allowed to be heard are the ones that speak out against this idea and actually support the ideas of religion and morality and where there disgust being shewn upon those who still believe it, there is proof that the men who wrote “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion nor prohibit the free exercise thereof” wrote this not for freedom FROM religion rather (as it rightfully should be for everyone) freedom OF religion.

Have you ever noticed how arguments are usually over, essentially, nothing? K and I got into a fight tonight as I was getting ready to leave-which needless to say delayed my departure substantially. You see, we are alike in about as many ways as we are different. One of the ways in which we differ is in conflict resolution (yeah…makes things lots of fun). Anyway, I’m not going to go into the details of the argument, basically we were both being selfish and inconsiderate and not noticing our own faults, rather taking in plenty of each others (the whole twig in others eye while having a log in your own…yep that was us) But not to get sidetracked, K likes to, well, steam/fume/let himself be mad for a little while and not talk about it in the time being. I, on the other hand, can’t stand that. I want to get things out, have a few minutes away (5-10 pending on the argument) and then lets go at it–which on occasion does lead to further arguments and extensive fighting but in the end it gets everything out and resolved. No, neither is particularly good (we both need to work on it, and we’ve gotten to a point of combining them anyway) but I guess I find it interesting that this started because I was in an off mood and didn’t respond well and he felt put off (like I said, nothing). This wasn’t the first fight we’ve had, and knowing the two stubborn selves that we are, it won’t be the last but how often is it that arguments are genuinely concrete versus a petty disagreement of misunderstandings? I know that’s a good thing overall but I wish I knew how to make note of these times before the argument took place as to prevent it in the first place rather than letting it escalate into a full fledged fight where we say things we both don’t mean. I suppose it’s all a matter of learning and growing together and we will just have to figure it out as we go along.

ok, side note…can anyone tell me how to get the CORRECT time for eastern standard time?  It’s driving me crazy to see the post show up as 10 something p.m and and it’s only 2 in the afternoon (I know, I’m just being quirky)  but I couldn’t get it right initially and I was so happy when I finally got it on the right day that I’ve left it until now.  I’d appreciate it!  Thanks