Who Would Dare to Love ISIS? (A Letter from the People of the Cross)

The Good Thing About "Fifty Shades of Grey"

Yep, you read that title right!   I didn’t’ see the movie, and I don’t have plans to see it. I sadly did however, read the book, (a choice I would not make again)

But in my opinion, there is a positive side to the movie everyone has been talking about and it most likely isn’t what you are thinking. I’m not going to rant on the violence and the out of control male domination the move glamorizes,  I won’t voice my confusion on how such a story is billed as a romantic love story or how our society has come to deem this kind of abuse ok.  Instead, I am going to look at the conversations started about it’s release and use it in a small way to make a positive change.

I personally view a movie like this as a slap in the face to women trying to live free from violence and abuse. I know there are women in this world who are trying to escape “Fifty Shades” type relationships that have been battered, traumatized and made to think it is their fault. The movie is more about one person’s pleasure and emotions rather than two.  

Instead of just writing a post about the degrading way the movie depicts a relationship, I am going to do something; and I challenge you to do the same.

Right now there are thousands upon thousands of women (and men) trapped in abusive relationships, or hiding in fear of their supposed lover. They live every day in their own private hell.  You can find them in your local shelters, or surf the net to see the different organizations all over the world aimed at saving women from abuse at the hands of the very person who is suppose to love them. I challenge you to seek out different organizations in your communities or in other parts of the world and find a way to help. Actually, chances are you know someone who is in an abusive relationship, and that is a great place to start. Your support and encouragement can be of tremendous help to someone who feels isolated and alone in their fight. Educate yourself to the signs of abuse, and how you can help. The possibilities are endless.

 Some may label my view as prudish; but I know that  sexual expression was created by God for us to experience the greatest joy that comes in the act of self-giving, not self-seeking.  I know that to sit idly by and not speak out and do something against the kind of pornography this movie depicts is to participate in it. I know that abuse of someone reaches far beyond the victim sometimes, as too often, children are involved. 

So my friends, I am finding ways to raise awareness of the fact that many men and women live every day in a “Fifty Shades” relationship.  I need to do something. How about you?

Nearer My God

This past Wednesday was a little different for me that some Wednesdays throughout the rest of the year. It’s a time I remember the words “we are dust, and to dust we shall return”

 I am flawed, I am weak, and I live in the darkness of my sins. But all I need to do to feel nearer to my God, is to sit still, close my eyes and listen to the sound of my own heartbeat, or the wind in the trees, or to some of the most beautiful music ever made and I don’t feel so lost anymore.

I am a big Piano Guys fan. Their music soothes my soul often, the videos they produce are amazing. Here is a link to one of my Favorites:     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gosY-UrpHcA

Happy birthday Dad

My daddy had the biggest heart ever!!!!

This is a photo of him, my grandma Mary, my sis, and me! (I'm sitting next to dad) Today is his birthday and I am sure he is in Heaven dancing and singing with the angels. I think he is extra happy today as he is celebrating together with my mom for the first time in many years. I have lots to be proud of having him for a father. He was kind, generous, extremely hard working and had a wonderful sense of humor. He loved to sing and dance, and in later years when he could, travel a little when he allowed himself to get away from his work. The calming force in our family, he loved my mom and us kids with all his heart and soul.. My dad had a hard life, lots of tough breaks and plans that never came to full realization, but he never gave up. He loved God with a depth I never truly understood until I was grown. He would read the Bible often, and frequently had our pastor over for long conversations and Bible study. Along with my mom, he held me when I cried, scolded me when I broke the rules, shone bright when I succeeded and most of all had faith in me when I failed. I owe what I am today to that man. Death changes everything, but time changes nothing, I still miss the sound of his voice,, the wisdom of his words, the stories of his life and just being in his presence. I miss you daddy as much today as I did the day you left us.

“The War on Women in America”: Rhetoric or A Real Issue?

Personally, I find the phrase "War on Women in America"  rather offensive . I would rather others view me on a world of other issues rather than female reproductive rights alone. Women are so much more!!

Today’s woman is educated: There are more with high degrees of education.  Women are earning most associate, bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees. (For every 100 degrees men got last year, women got 140)  

Today’ s woman has earning power like never before: Contrary to what some want us to believe, the wage gap has almost been entirely eliminated. (When you compare men and women in similar jobs, with similar experience, education, years in the workforce and hours worked, the wage gap all but vanishes)  

Today’s woman is competent: Census data shows women control over 50% of private wealth in the U.S. and make  about 80% of household spending decisions.

 What exactly is this women's war we are suppose to be fighting in this country? There are thousands upon thousands of women who are doing an awesome job in a challenging world. I know scores of single women, who are independent, fulfilled and happy; working hard to achieve their dreams. Of course, I face challenges every single day as does everyone; they are just not the challenges certain politicians of a more liberal mindset would like me to believe.

Is there really a Republican war on women?  If you are trying to convince me to side with you on that point, you will have to do more than try to make me believe we as women are lagging behind someplace. We are not; at least in the United States of America.

I am not a victim of any corporation or in today’s society at large; I am strong., I have rights, granted by the 19^th amendment . 

Access to birth control is not at the top of the majority of American women’s’ biggest concerns. Don’t patronize us in that way. There are many other more important issues to discuss.. Let’s take the focus away from this kind of rhetoric and put it back where it belongs on more important issues facing this country today.

Respect The Office Of The President

“True patriots really do exist. Which doesn't necessarily  mean this man is voting Democrat, but that he has an idea of how to act.” We need more of his kind....

Something that really bothers me is people don't have respect for the Office of the President of the United States. It doesn't matter if you disagree with or hate the occupant of the Office, you still need to show respect toward it. It is wrong to make fun of the president. Whether good or bad leadership, The Word of God commands us to pray for our government leaders, not make fun of their faults, mistakes, and wrongdoings. It drives me crazy when I see parts of speeches from presidents posted on various social media where things have been taken out of context, or when false propaganda is spread.  A good example of a president's speech being taken out of context, is something I saw recently on my Facebook newsfeed. If you are not familiar, let me explain. There has been a video circulating in which President Obama seems to be telling a group of college students that a people can only exist under strict government control. Now I realized right away that there was no way a president of this United States would make such comments. So I did a little research and found a video of the entire speech. Better yet, I found this video below explaining how the president's words had been taken entirely out of context. Click on this link to see how people manipulate the pubic by cutting parts of a whole speech out: 

found out today that the video I posted is not able to be viewed. So I found the full speech. It's over 30 minutes long, but If you watch from minutes 3 to 4, you will hear the words in context. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVZWLqkBtf0#t=337

 Now I have my reservations about our current president, but I research the facts, to try to get at the truth. and I have found that nine times out of ten, something that is really hard to believe is usually a lie put forth by special interest groups who will stop at nothing to sway our opinions to their way of thinking.

To be honest,  I was a bigger supporter of President Bush but I realize he too came up against extreme scrutiny. I am the first to admit I was not a fan of his "No Child Left Behind" act. But why do we have to bo so disrespectful of the highest office in the country?   Here is an example of propaganda spread to compare this former president to Hitler: (Please pardon the profanity here)

George Bush another Hitler? Really? Funny but I must have been on vacation when he sent  millions of Americans to the gas chamber! Here is is again, total disrespect for the man WE voted into office to serve and protect compared to a mass murdering madman! How do these things help our country? Frankly both these examples I take as an insult to my intelligence.

 The same point goes for my feelings on law enforcement officers. I may not like the attitude of some members of law enforcement, but we should still show them respect by addressing them as authority. There are bad cops out there just like there are bad presidents, teachers, pastors, priest...doctors...But they are in the minority. the vast majority are good, caring and decent human beings. Many times we get ourselves worked into a frenzy, over things we know little or nothing about!!  Our children are watching us people! What are we teaching them?

 Please don’t misunderstand me, we should do everything we can to expose corruptness, and those who misuse their authority, in fact, it is expected of us to call out all works of evil. But we need do it in a way that brings the real truth to light.  Too many of us today just don’t want to take the extra time to really research and find out the real facts about what goes on in government, law enforcement or education. Unless you are a teacher, an officer of the law, or even the president, we really  have no idea what it is like to walk in their shoes for even one day! 

 Please.  This is America. We are not barbarians!! And America's respect for everyone, even the office of President, seems to be spiraling to a new low.
It doesn't matter how much disrespect our leader 'invites', he still holds the Office of the President of the United States. Criticizing is one thing, but attacking him because of reasons not related to his Presidency or comparing them to the likes of Hitler or Bin Laden is not in line with Christian principles. Paul wrote: "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God" (Romans:13:1). Even the Roman government of Jesus' time had its own problems with corruption and abuse of power. But such behavior does not give people an excuse to disobey the law or disrespect the authority of their leaders. You can say Bush made some poor decisions or Obama made stupid decisions, you can say they are leading us in the wrong direction, but insulting them personally or spreading untrue propaganda is going too far. We have a system of government in place that I believe in, and I hold fast to the hope that good will prevail as long as we act as concerned citizens, not ravenous rebels. Once the election results are tallied and the Oath of Office is taken that person becomes the President of all Americans. Whether Democrat or Republican, Conservative, Progressive, Liberal or Independent, that person becomes OUR PRESIDENT. We all live in this country and we all need to come together in the spirit of love and concern for truth. The presidency is an office that shoulders massive responsibility not just as the American President but as the leader of the free world. Those who take on this job deserve our respect, regardless of party affiliation. Once elected, the person in office is the President of the United States and that alone deserves your respect as a citizen of the country they lead. If you are an American citizen it is your duty to respect the Office of the President of the United States. If you disagree, please let me know, by posting your comments; otherwise, won’t you join me in praying for our country and It’s leaders? I believe it’s the only way to real change.  The state of the world today and the way so many have turned away from Biblical principles should motivate us to pray, for Divine intervention.  If you love our nation and the independence we enjoy as I do, then I challenge you to kneel before the Lord and cry out to Him on behalf of our country and those who lead us. Ask God to send another Great Awakening to revive America and give us strength for whatever our future holds.

Things My Mother Taught Me

My mother is never far from my mind. This weekend was a little difficult, I was really missing her. Sundays are the hardest because we used to try to get out and do something fun together before she became too sick to leave the house anymore. This past Sunday was a beautiful day, and it got me to thinking about some photos I took the day after her funeral. I had taken a drive that day to her favorite places before heading home. I guess I wasn’t quite read to begin life without her just yet. So I traveled about that day.   One of those places was the Loess Hills.

Stopping at different places we used to go.

She loved those hills,  having grown up in them, and she love to go to an overlook  in the hills, where you could see for miles. There she would always recite to me the history of their geology. She would tell me how this particular chain of Loess is unlike any other in the country. “When you think of Iowa and Nebraska,” she would say, “you think of flat plains and rolling fields of corn. But here, we are standing over 200 feet above the plains,  on one of only two places like this in the entire world” She would proceed to tell me again how only in China are there a chain of hills like this, formed during the Ice Age, when glaciers advanced down into the mid-continent of North America, grinding underlying rock into a fine powder-like sediment called "glacial flour."  She would recite again as she had every time we visited that place that as temperatures warmed, the glaciers melted and enormous amounts of water and sediment rushed down the Missouri River valley and the sediment was eventually deposited on flood plains downstream, creating huge mud flats. She would go on, talking about prevailing winds, blowing in a cycle for thousands of years, creating dunes and eventually, the hills we stand on today. She talked of the creatures that once roamed these beautiful hills, now extinct and of the first peoples who roamed these hills as evident in the artifacts found all around. Then, she would stop, and listen to the sounds…..we would listen together in the silence….only the sounds of birds singing in their treetop homes and the whispering of the wind through those beautiful rises.  We would smell the air, and take in the beauty around us.

The Loess Hills are a rare and unusual landform, but they are not permanent; loess terrain is dynamic and rapidly evolving. The Loess Hills of Iowa are extremely fragile. They have one of the highest erosion rates in the U.S.. Erosion from rainfall and flooding removes loess from the hills and redeposits it on the flood plain from which it came, and the clearing of some of the land for agriculture has accelerated this erosion.

My mom was a master naturalist, long before that idea had a name, and  had a deep appreciation and love for nature and for it’s history. She worried about the future of places like this, and if they would be here for future generations to enjoy. She once said to me that we need nature to live not just physically but spiritually. “Nature feeds our spirit,” she would say. “In nature, we can get a glimpse of the majesty and wonder of Our Creator.”

 I know she was right.  I was oh so lucky to grow up with a woman who instilled in me her love of God’s earth and to appreciate it’s beauty.

Because of her, I can recognize a bird by it’s song, and name countless wildflowers and native vegetation. I can sit in silence, alone in the hills, and feel close to The One who created it all.

When I am lonely for her voice, her touch, her smile, I know I can go to those hills, and feel her presence. I know I will find comfort there, I can feel God’s presence in places like those hills better than I can any place else on earth. I can hear His voice, and, I can hear my mother’s voice too, echoing in my mind, telling me once again the stories of the land, and I am comforted.