Realization

It's so hard to see what you grew up to be.

I can't control you.

And you sure aren't controlling you.

Won't you be embarrassed when you wake up from your drunken stupor?

~B

My Heart is in Haiti.

I am hurting.

I have a dear Haitian friend that I took care of for about 6 or 7 months that's in her 60's, that lives in Port-Au-Prince.

Her name is Julia.

I know that she didn't get crushed in the earthquake, but I don't know much more.

She has diabetes.

She had a stroke about a year ago.

And I look at those pictures, and I wonder how she'll get the help that she needs.

And then I lay in bed at night, and I think: Take Julia and mulitply it by the thousands.

And all I can do is sit in my beautiful house in my beautiful clothes and do nothing.

Nothing.

But the Lord has reassured me that I can pray.



And pray.

And pray.

And you should pray too.

~B

What?!?!

A friend of mine from Lincoln, Nebraska went into a store this morning wearing a simple "Camp So&So" shirt that had a cross on it. A man that WORKED behind the meat counter starting yelling obscenities at her and told her that musl*im is the only true reli*gion and that he hopes she dies.......

What?!?! I mean, I know I live in America and we have freedom of speech--BUT what if HE was walking through the store and SHE was the one working and she screamed the opposite to him?!?!

What's the "new" America got to say about that?

~B

**I found this awesome drawing on the net--don't know who the artist is.

Heart-broken.

When people stop listening to the laws that God has placed in our hearts

and do whatever they want to-

-this is what happens.

Where are our hearts-can you not hear God anymore?

People wake up!

We will all meet Him one day and

have to explain ourselves.

~B

Police: Gang rape outside school dance lasted over two hours

By Nick Valencia, CNN

October 27, 2009 8:56 a.m. EDT

• NEW: Two suspects arrested in case and a third is being questioned
• Richmond, California, police say student was gang raped for over two hours
• Investigators: As many as 15 males stood watching; one person in custody
• A 15-year-old student remains in the hospital in stable condition

(CNN) -- A California high school student who police said was gang raped in a two-and-a-half-hour assault outside a homecoming dance remained hospitalized in stable condition Monday, two days after she was flown from the attack scene in critical condition.

As of late Monday, two suspects had been arrested in the case and a third was being questioned.

"There is one individual in custody who has made some spontaneous statements that have led me to believe that he is culpable for what happened," Richmond police Lt. Johan Simon said.

Nineteen-year-old Manuel Ortega, described as a former student at the school, was arrested soon after he fled the scene and will face charges of rape, robbery and kidnapping, police said.

A 15-year-old was later arrested and charged with one count of felony sexual assault. A third teenager was being interviewed, according to Lt. Mark Gagan of the police department in Richmond, California.

"Based on witness statements and suspect statements, and also physical evidence, we know that she was raped by at least four suspects committing multiple sex acts," Gagan said.

Investigators said as many as 15 people, all males, stood around watching the assault, but did not call police or help the victim, a 15-year-old student at Richmond High School in suburban San Francisco.

"As people announced over time that this was going on, more people came to see, and some actually participated," Gagan said.

Authorities had interviewed the victim, and the search for other attackers and bystanders who watched and did not report the rape was in "full-court press," according to Gagan.

"We have checked Facebook and YouTube to try to find any revealing evidence," he said. "We're looking in particular to see if anyone posted any video of the incident."

Several other individuals were detained at the scene but not arrested, Simon said.

The attack occurred on school grounds as the annual homecoming dance was under way inside the school Saturday night, authorities said.

The victim was found unconscious and "brutally assaulted" under a bench shortly before midnight Saturday, after police received a call from someone in the area who had overheard people at the assault scene "reminiscing about the incident," Gagan said.

"She ended up with those guys under her own will because she knew one of the boys who had gone to the high school before," Gagan said. "Right now, we're looking at toxicology reports to determine her blood-alcohol content and to determine if she was drugged."

According to authorities, the victim was flown to an area hospital in critical condition. She was in stable condition Monday, police said.

"This just gets worse and worse the more you dig into it," Gagan said. "It was like a horror movie after looking at the evidence. I can't believe not one person felt compelled to help her."

Divorce

My brother's wife served him divorce papers last night.

She has the kids in another town in her new apartment.

The custody hearing is on Monday, for her to get temporary custody until the divorce is final.

The weren't getting along for years, but I never thought that she would pull this with the kids.

The odd thing is, is that it's my brother that spends all of his time with the children.

Everywhere he is, when he's not at work, is spent with his children.

Just the past two weeks he drove his son to hockey practice EVERYDAY in a town an hour away from his work.

He is the one who makes the dentist appointments.

He is the one who takes them to get their family pictures taken.

He is the one who does almost everything for them.

Almost EVERYTHING.

And now she wants temporary custody of them? She suddenly wants to be in their lives all the time?

His kids are with him ALL OF THE TIME.

My heart is broken for my brother--broken.

Now remind me WHY there is any good in divorce?

~B

Projected Anger Ahead

To Whom it May Concern:

When I came up with the idea to get people interested in getting our church a power point projector, I had NO idea that everyone would get their undies in such a bind.

I talked to the treasurer and asked her if there were any steps that we needed to take in order to start raising funds for the projector, she told me, no-that the people that wanted to start the fund could just donate it into the general fund and designate it for this.

The people that did end up donating to this fund, were excited, to say the least. We thought about other churches and how they used their projectors and how cool it would be if our church could use one too.

Just think: we can let the pastor use it to enhance his sermons sometimes. We could use it to air certain videos or to do a slideshow at different venues. We could even STOP borrowing projectors from that other little tiny church in another town and instead use our OWN. Imagine that.

Last night at the meeting, I was SHOCKED at how stupid and tense people can be about things like this.

I know, I know... people don't always agree on things. I know, I know, there will always be disputes and all that--but over this? THE MONEY WAS ALREADY DONATED.

Can you read that people? The participants that donated this money, didn't stop tithing, they gave above and beyond their tithe so that this could be made possible-- they still donate their time to church and they are not just sitting there thinking how wonderful they are. THEY WERE JUST TRYING TO HELP.

So, I will write out my ANGER on this blog and I will keep my real feelings from YOU because I am thinking that people are pretty stupid right now.

HOW WILL OUR CHURCH GROW IF WE DON'T KEEP ON GROWING.

As far as I'm concerned, you can take the projector and shove it--it was supposed to be a gift.

B

Stupidity at Its Worst- aka: How to Make a Joke Out of Your Organization In Less Than One Minute

Dear Peta,

I'm assuming that you do not eat any meat because of your stance on animals. I am also assuming that you are all vegetarians, I have no problem with that....

When you poke your fork into that leafy green salad, please remember that the leaves cry out in pain. And when you take a big bite of that apple, the apple cries out to it's mother, the tree.

You are dealing with South Dakotans here, and telling them to rename their schools "Sea Kitten" instead of "Spearfish" is, well, a huge joke.

If you want your association to have some legitimacy here in a state that have people that enjoy tasty animals, then stop with the "Sea Kitten" stupidity.

Thanks,

~B

P.S. If you hadn't noticed. There's no sea around here.

PETA Wants Spearfish School To Change Its Name To ‘Sea Kitten’

Published: Saturday, January 10, 2009 12:37 AM CST

SPEARFISH (AP) — The activist animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has asked school officials to change the name of Spearfish High School to “Sea Kitten High School.” The new name would “reflect the gentle nature of its current marine namesake,” the organization said in a letter to Steve Morford, Spearfish High School principal. PETA said the letter is part of a new Sea Kitten campaign aimed at children. If children were taught to refer to fish as “sea kittens,” reflecting that fish, like cats and dogs, are “individuals” that “do have friendships,” fewer fish might be killed for food or sport, said Pulin Modi, a PETA spokesman. “We want people to realize that more fish are killed each year than all animals combined,” he said. “They don’t have the sympathy of more popular animals like cats and dogs.” Morford said he did not want to share his feelings about PETA. “Obviously, it’s nothing we’re taking seriously,” he said. Spearfish students have access to the Internet at school and had started talking about the request. “It’s so illogical that it’s hard to comprehend it,” senior Zach Retzl said. “I really don’t think any student would necessarily go for that.” Spearfish High School is just named the same as its town and doesn’t promote hunting or fishing, he said. “I would say it probably has something to do with Native Americans and what they did to hunt for food to survive,” Retzl said. “Most parents would never dream of spending a family weekend torturing kittens, but hooking fish through their mouths and pulling them through the water is just as painful as hooking a cat’s mouth and dragging him or her behind a car,” Dan Shannon, whose title was listed as executive director, wrote in the letter to Morford that was posted online by the Black Hills Pioneer. “We’re hoping that this name change will encourage people young and old to start treating these gentle “kittens of the sea’ with respect and show them the kindness that they deserve. We hope that Spearfish High School will start off the semester right by changing its name to Sea Kitten High School.”

Children and Mothers

Psalm 127

A Pilgrim Song of Solomon

^{1 -2} If God doesn't build the house, the builders only build shacks.
If God doesn't guard the city,
the night watchman might as well nap.
It's useless to rise early and go to bed late,
and work your worried fingers to the bone.
Don't you know he enjoys
giving rest to those he loves?
^{3 -5} Don't you see that children are God's best gift? the fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior's fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children!
Your enemies don't stand a chance against you;
you'll sweep them right off your doorstep.

------

Did you see the differences in the last pictures and the scripture? Do you see the beauty in the other three illustrations?

How do a lot of women look at mothering these days? Do they look at their children and think that they are "like a warrior's fistful of arrows", being so absolutely blessed to have children? Or do they look at their children like little (or big) inconveniences in their lives.

Something has got to give.

I know that my opinion is not a popular one in this day and age, and I am somehow supposed to think that working and mothering go together. Well, from what I can see is that: they don't.

Think of these scenarios: A woman has a full time job, so does her husband. The woman is home in the morning for a while, the man home only at night. The mother comes home at suppertime to "visit" with the children, but then leaves again for work because she is a newscaster, hmmmm....something has to give and it doesn't sound like the news channel is losing, it's the children and the husband.

Take another example: two full-time working parents, a child unexpectantly comes along, this child majorly cramps their financial lifestyle. The child goes into full-time daycare, is home with the parents for 2 hours at night, the parents can barely handle it because it so crowds their lifestyles. The child is a burden, yet this is the happiest child ever seen. No fussing, no whining.

A child is born, loving and wonderful, it happens to have leg problems. I overhear the mother saying, "Oh, I'm so glad that the therapist comes to the daycare that Jane goes to, then I don't have to miss work." What?

A child is born, the grandmother takes care of the children in the summer, the grandmother happens to have to miss a day or two of taking care of them and it throws the mother into a tizzy. It's inconveniencing her life, to have to find someone else to take care of her children, even though the grandmother's husband is recovering from surgery in some hospital an hour away.

When is it going to end? When will we realize that is in an HONOR to have children? It is far more precious than any amount of money to have children. Something has to give and it's the children that are giving and giving and giving.

I heard an illustration one time about how we tell our kids: "You just hold this large rock here and soon I will be back and we will be able to spend time together, as soon as I pay off this huge house mortgage." So, the child holds and holds and holds the rock, all the while being happy, but soon the childs arms get tired, and one day, the parent comes home and the child is gone; the rock has dropped. The child doesn't want anything to do with the parent, because, well, the parents kept telling the child to wait. The child couldn't wait any longer......

I completely understand that there are many mothers and fathers out there that want their kids to be able to be taken care of by the parents and that they are unable to. I understand that there are widows, and single moms that have been devastated by their husbands chasing some dream and leaving them in the dust. I understand these circumstances, but can't we see the damage and the cycle that we are creating in most other circumstances?

Where did trusting God and His provision go? Do not one of us trust Him? Someone needs to care for our children, and do you want it to be the woman down the street that has 10 other children that she is watching at the same time? How can that woman give the same love as the love of the mother and father? How can it be possible that this is good for us and for the children.

There are now 24 hour daycares, ack! 24 hour daycare...... what comfort can a child get when in the night she wakes up, having a nightmare and running into the arms of her..........assigned night-watchman(woman). My children, the first five years of their lives, desperately needed my help in the night, getting over leg pains, getting over nightmares, getting over being scared by a scary shadow. What are we doing to these children of ours?

I have been blessed, and I know it. I do not take my being at home for granted. I have been here for their sadnesses, their laughter, their hurts and their dreams. I have been blessed enough to be here for their growing. I have been here because the Lord has allowed it, and I have trusted Him enough to provide.

We are not rich in money. We live in a modest little house and have modest little things. We don't drive new cars. We don't have new clothes. But we are by far richer than most people in this town. In fact, I only know of one or two others that stay home with their children. My town is almost a population of 3,000. There are only a few that stay home. I think maybe three. I could be wrong.

What are we doing to our children? And why? Is it to get the "Pot o' Gold" at the end of our figurative rainbow? When all of these working parents are in their nursing homes and they don't know their little ones, do you think that those "Little ones" will want to come and visit them? Doubtful, they'll be too busy chasing their own dream.

They say that you reap what you sow. What in the world is America sewing? What good can come from most of the children being in daycare? What good is there? How can we expect to have a relationship with them, when all we do is work, and buy ourselves toys?

Is one hour a day, sitting and eating and reading enough to garner a healthy relationship for a child?
How can it be?

How can you not cringe, when you walk into a daycare and they have 10 highchairs lined up and the childcare provider is shoveling the food into the face and moving on down the line? What comfort and happiness is there? There is absolutely no relationship.

No wonder nobody cares about anyone else anymore~~we never cared for them in the past, what would be in it for them?

~B

Steven Curtis Chapman's Tragedy

This here is a photo of Steven Curtis Chapman and his daughter Maria. On Wednesday this little precious girl was accidentally killed in her driveway.

Steven Curtis Chapman is a Christian music artist, in case you didn't know this.

My heart has been so broken for him and his family. I don't know him personally, and I don't even listen to very much of his music, though I do enjoy it when I do hear it.

I just can't get over the pain that they are going through. I have been praying for them and crying for them numerous times since I found out.

The Lord is sovereign over everything. This will carry them through.

Oh Father, please be with this family. Please be with the brother that accidentally caused the accident. Please let this family weather this storm, this horrible storm. Oh Lord, surround them with love and peace. Help them, Lord. Help them. I cry out to my all-knowing and all-wise Savior. I love you, Lord, please shine Your hope on them.

~B

Homeschooling Deemed Illegal in California

Click here to find out how and why California appelate court deemed Home-education illegal.

It's easy for me to take these American freedoms for granted.

~B

What in the World!?!?!

Um, hello? I don't get it....... ~B
------------------------------

School Allows Second-Grade Boy to Dress as a Girl

A second-grader has decided he wants to dress like a girl — and his Denver-area elementary school has decided that's perfectly fine. Teachers will call him by a girl's name, and two unisex bathrooms have been made available — thus reinforcing the boy's gender confusion.

Dr. Dean Byrd, a member of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, said most children go through curious phases as they explore the world around them.

“Premature closure on such an important issue as gender identity doesn’t bode well for young children," Byrd told Family News in Focus. “Boys are curious about boys, and they’re curious about girls. I don’t want this to be translated to a label for a child so young.”

Whei Wong, Douglas County Schools spokesman, told NBC's Denver affiliate: "As a public school system, our calling is to educate all kids no matter where they come from, what their background is, beliefs, values, it doesn't matter."

From Citizenlink.org

What has the world come to......

This is an article that I happened to find via: blestwithsons.com

I find the incident that inspired this article to be revolting and nauseating.

Please read.

Here's the original url: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296683,00.html

~B

The Inaccuracy of Kathy Griffin's Remarks on Jesus
Thursday , September 13, 2007

By Lauren Green

I just don't understand comedian Kathy Griffin. Please understand that I like her. She's been on the FOX News Channel quite a bit and for the brief times we've talked, I've found her to be funny and self-effacing.

So, it puzzled me at first, then angered me second, that she would accept an award and then insult a man who preached love and acceptance. Why would someone do that? William Donohue of the Catholic League was so angry that he used the “b” word to describe her (rhymes with rich).

In case you haven't yet heard, on Saturday night at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Kathy Griffin won a trophy for her show, "My Life on the D-List." Griffin is sort of the female Rodney Dangerfield. Her gimmick is that she's an entertainer who doesn't get a lot of respect. When she accepted her long-awaited award, she said: "A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus."

Now I could have been mildly insulted at that and turned the other cheek, as the founder of Christianity taught. But then she went on to say "Suck it, Jesus. This award is my God now."

Needless to say, she offended me and millions of other Christians.

I don't know what went through her mind and why she would think that was cutting edge or even funny. But first, I want to actually show you that, in fact, Kathy Griffin is wrong. Jesus had everything to do with her winning that award. And here's the reasoning.

Jesus died on a cross 2,000 years ago. His dying words were, "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do." He died and they buried him in a rock cut tomb. Three days later, as the Bible says, he rose from the dead. That day is what Christians celebrate as Easter.

After the resurrection, Christianity began to take off like wildfire, spreading from the Middle East northward to Europe and westward into Ethiopia. In 300 A.D. Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity and it beccame the religion of Europe. Rome soon became the seat of the faith. After several years of human failings, the church went through conflicts and quite a few unbiblical years — the crusades and the inquisition to name just two. Out of that came the Reformation — the reforming of the Church, sort of a back-to-basics Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Out of the Reformation emerged a vision of law by Samuel Rutherford, called Lex is Rex, Law is King. From that, others devised a secular version that is used to help lay the foundation of government for a new land called America. Ninety-four percent of America's founding era documents mention the Bible; 34 percent quote the Bible directly. The idea of bringing unity to the universal is a particularly Biblical concept.

The freedoms we enjoy in this country to speak freely and to live freely are directly related to that man who died on a cross 2,000 years ago.

So, you see, Kathy Griffin, Jesus has everything to do with you winning that award. You live in a free country where your abilities can be recognized if you're willing to work hard enough. That's at least the dream of America. If you'd been born in many other parts of the world, your daily activity might involve seeking out a way to survive, or even trying to avoid persecution and death. Luxuries like pursuing a career in the entertainment industry would never have been realized; luxuries like being able to insult the founder of a religion of forgiveness and acceptance would not have been possible.

Kathy Griffin, just because you "can" say something, doesn't mean you "should." When you say "suck it, Jesus," you didn't just insult Christianity … you insulted the very reason you've prospered.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Lauren Green serves as a religion correspondent for the FOX News Channel. Prior to this, Green served as a news anchor for “Fox and Friends,” where she provided daily news updates and covered arts for the network.

Oh Good Grief!

I don't know much about this guy. I think his name is Ted Haggard, a used-to-be major leader of the Evangelicals of the U.S. He led THOUSANDS of people and now here he is caught with his pants down.
What a doof.

He says that there was nothing s*exual about his "m*assage" from a male "pr*ostitute".... my hubby and i just wonder WHAT sort of a M*SSAGE does a pr*stitute give anyway? I don't want to find out. What is it about people and their "issues", keep your pants on dude, you've got thousands of people hanging on your every word
and not to mention.....a wife and 5 kids.

Psalm 12:1 "Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth!"

Psalm 37:7 "Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.
Don't worry about the evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes."

Please pray for this poor family that has been left behind and crushed by this man's indiscretions and pray for all of those people that he led. Please let them realize how faulty man is, but how perfect God will always be.

~B

If it makes you happy, it must be right, right?

I"m struggling right now with an article that I read on the internet news. I can't get my mind around this story, I can't see the "good" that the article is supposedly portraying.

Okay, so the article speaks of how this man, while his wife was in the hospital after giving birth to HIS child, was having an affair.

The article goes on to tell of how now this man is with this person that he had an affair with and no longer with his wife. How he explained to his wife and family that this is the way that it is meant to be..... with this other person.

He speaks of how his life is "more authentic" and he goes on to explain to the interviewee his life with his "new" love.

Sound nuts? Does this sound like something that needs to be paraded as something to be proud of?

I can hear it now: "Men all over the world are searching for their more "Authentic Life" and leaving their wives and children by the hundreds. They are leaving for a more "authentic life". Let's shout "Hurray!!" for them!

Huh? When did committment become a bad word? When did it become okay for someone to leave their wife and THREE kids for someone else? When did it become something that gets proudly displayed on the news?? What is going on in this world? Where in the world is it all headed. IS anyone willing to commit to someone for an entire lifetime, warts and all, even if it's not what "feels right"?

Good grief, if we are dictacted by our feelings, then hey, I'm leaving this house and four kids and running off with the man down the street. It's what I'm feeling, it's what my heart is telling me is fine and good, so it must be good, right? It's okay for me to follow ONLY what I want and not care for other people, right?

So what does Mr. Affair do when he feels like having another affair.... would he say that he was finding his other "Authetic Self"?

If I would follow every feeling I would ever have trying to search for my authentic self, I would be all over the map, I would never find a happy spot, I would constantly be picking up the posts and moving around.

Life is SOOO much more than one just finding their "Authentic Selves", we don't always and usually don't get what we want. It's not that easy and while we are finding these selves, what are our left-behind families supposed to be doing to find their "authentic selves"? Maybe they thought that they had found their "selves" with the person that they just had 3 kids with. Maybe that's what they had pictured as authentic, so who is right? Her wanting to be with him and the kids or him wanting to run off with another?

Ugh, people have spun out of control.

And we Americans are applauding it.

Link to article: click here.

~B

Yow.

"As the mouth speaks, it shows what is in the heart."

This is a paraphrase from the Bible. It tells us that when we speak, especially when we speak passionately, it is like putting a mirror up to our heart.

Recently, Mel Gibson~ famous actor, heart-throb, "Passion of the Christ" movie director~ was arrested on drunk driving charges. It is said that he spoke unkindly of God's precious Jews. That he was belligerent and awful to all who were present.

Wow. It's one of those moments in one's life where they wish that they could hit rewind and never go back again.

The ramifications of his actions will not go unnoticed, but this is where I need to hit pause and reflect on my own mistakes.

I was 23 years old and pregnant with my first child. It was Thanksgiving Day and we are were getting together with all of the family at my parents house. I wasn't in a very good mood and the large amounts of food that were being consumed didn't help the situation at all. My sibling and their spouse were having marital trouble. This said sibling was having an "emotional affair" with another person and I guess that day, I decided that I needed to let them know how awful they were for doing this.

I didn't do it in the right way.....

I started to yell at them and be mean and just basically I wasn't being the person that I truly had pictured myself becoming. I even upset the other people that were there and they ended up yelling at me (which was neccessary). After everyone and everything had been upset by all the terrible, awful things that I said, we all left to go to our respective homes. People hurting from MY actions of stupidity.

I sat on the couch and cried and cried and cried. I have never cried that hard before.I couldn't believe what I had done. I had never recognized how hatred filled my heart like that. It. Was. Awful.

The remorse and horrifying guilt I felt is completely undescribable. Later that night, I called my family members and apologized~ they all accepted.

The hate that I spewed out that day came from within my heart. I was letting people see my true insides.... how embarrassing, how truly humbling.

After that day, I told myself and God, that I would never allow myself to get to that point. That I would just work on my huge issues instead of building them up and blowing them out. It made me grow up. A lot.

My story in my mind somewhat follows what has happened to this Mel guy. He got drunk (bad), he drove (worse), he got caught (eeck) and he said really, really, really awful and hard-to-forgive things (even worse). He went home, sobered up and sat on the couch and cried (let's hope so). He issued his apology. Now what? Do we forgive him or do we hold it above his head? It's hard to say, you know, because the things that he said about the Jews were so awful. BUT, which one of us can raise our hands and say that WE ourselves haven't done something stupid like this before. Which one of us can cast the first stone?

Hopefully he'll see that his mouth is a mirror into his heart and he'll hate what he saw and he'll grow up. A lot.

~B