No fear...

Thanksgiving was nice this year, we had several families and 27 people, so it was really fun. The weather was finally nice here in Texas after the really early arctic blast we've had for almost a week with unseasonably really cold temperatures. And no one talked politics, so no arguments ensued!
Today was "Black Friday," and black is an accurate adjective with all of the videos popping up of all of the fights all over the country. They literally make me nauseated. Those of us over 40 are shaking our heads at the new norm. Each year the stores have opened progressively earlier from Friday at 9 am, to 6 am, to 3 am, to midnight, until now when it has advanced to Thursday evening at 6 pm. Videos today even had two women fist fighting, and one used a stun gun or taser on the other one. Is this what we've become?? We've become so desperate and so selfish, that we will fight someone for a flat screen TV (or electronic of your choice?) Is it because the economy is so terrible, that our fellow Americans will subject themselves to this sort of thing, just to get the coveted item??
The bottom line is that our country has lost it's way. God has been dethroned in America and we are paying the price. I was thinking today that if you want to be a missionary, it's not necessary to travel to Africa to witness to the "heathens." No, they are the vast majority in our country now, so you only need to go to your literal neighbors to find the lost souls.
I'm wondering how this happened, in what seemingly is a short period of time. And I could say thousands of reasons, but ultimately the majority of "Christians" stopped putting God first. Most have put something else first in their lives and can give you all the reasons why they had to, but good people gave up and stopped trying. When good men (and women) do nothing, THIS is what happens. Young people either don't care and their goal is partying, or they put making money as the end-all goal, and never have time for God. I think THIS happened because Christian denominations started preaching "once saved, always saved" and my fellow Americans lost their fear of God. They figured they could live like hell, and still make it to heaven. No Fear.
Well, the Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, (Proverbs 9:10.) We are not supposed to have the spirit of fear ("For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind.") That kind of fear is the opposite of faith, but I'm talking about a Godly fear, a reverence, a respect. Most Americans have lost that. They see the Almighty God as some wimpy, impersonal, yet friendly presence who is going to allow everyone in heaven. If you ask people who is going to go to hell, they usually answer Hitler, and serial killers, and only those who have committed the most heinous of crimes. But that's not what the Bible says. It says the way is narrow.
I've thought about it a lot and here is a good analogy - and it's true. I heard a story at church recently where a group of armed men stormed a church (I think it was in a third world country) and aimed their guns at the church people and said something to the effect of this, that they could proclaim their love for Jesus and die, or deny Him and leave. After most of the church people left, they put down their guns and said they wanted to separate out the ones who weren't serious, and worship with the true followers of Christ. And I think this is what God is saying to us. We have one life. And if we truly love Him and truly follow Him, then He will say "Well done, good and faithful servant, come into my kingdom."
It reminds me of men with a lot of money, and there are all these gold diggers out there looking to share that money. Men of character will weed out the gold diggers who want something for nothing, and God is no different. He will bestow eternal life, living forever with Him, as the ultimate gift if we follow Him in this life, and follow Him by faith, not by sight. In the mean time, this life is a test. A long test.
Stay the course...

Happy Thanksgiving

While London is burning...

Well, it's the last day of school before Thanksgiving vacation, at least for my high schooler, since I work every day but Thursday this week. All of her teachers have been cramming last minute essays and projects (don't even get me started about that.) DD has had about 10 hours sleep over the last week, but that's also due to being in musical "Grease" at her high school, and losing the second playoff game on Friday night in Austin - truly one of the coldest I've ever been, and now she's half sick... or more...
Anyway.
While normal working people like me are going to the grocery store and buying ingredients to cook for our extended family on Thursday, and helping our school kids with their busy lives, and going to church and praying for our faltering nation, the "other side" is plotting, planning and executing the take over of our great country. They are working overtime in collusion with an evil regime and mainstream media destroying this once great and awesome nation.
Let's see, so while we're busy getting ready for the holiday(s) - over the past week we've had stories on the "purging" of military leaders at an alarming number, we've made a deal with the devil (Iran) and are going to give them billions while they continue to build their nuclear arsenal, Islamic terrorists are coming over our borders,  the TSA unveils Nazi-style detention pods at airports, police are getting DNA samples of blood and urine at checkpoints, oh and here's a personal favorite, "HHS to spend $7 BILLION to find out ways to reduce costs under Obamacare."  Of course, there are TONS more, these are just some of my recent tweets. But what is our media covering? The crack-smoking mayor from Toronto. And how great Obama is. And how Bush still sucks.
I think that about covers it all...

High school Musical - Grease is the word

State of the Union...

I spoke to my brother earlier today about Thanksgiving and he is struggling SO hard to find a job.... So is my ex-husband, and my brother-in-law. These are all professional men with college degrees and many years of experience, who are Baby Boomers. At least my brother's wife is a teacher with income, and my sister is a teacher with income for my brother-in-law, but my ex has no back up plan and unemployment runs out at the first of next year. I'm trying to be positive for them, but they are all so discouraged, and bordering desperation - and we live in TEXAS where there are supposed to be more jobs than the rest of the nation.
As my brother says, things APPEAR normal, but if you scratch the surface, things are falling apart and everyone is hurting. And with the holidays starting next week, NO one hires in the holidays. Well, yes, the seasonal stuff but my ex can't even take those or his unemployment (which is higher dollar) would stop.
As the only sales rep for my weekly newspaper, my boss is pressuring me non-stop for sales, and will not believe me when I tell her that many of my accounts are really suffering and telling me they are barely keeping the doors open. These people are all my friends now, and I only tell them what they need, and I don't try to sell them something they should not be in. I'm a Christian. I have to look at myself in the mirror. I have to face my Maker some day and account for every action and every word. I want them to trust me because I have good character.
Anyway.
I have some distractions that are helping. Our high school is moving on in our second week of football playoffs on Friday night in Austin and DD is in her high school's musical "Grease" all weekend.
I'll take what I can get...

Hopelessly Devoted to you...

DD is going to be in her high school's musical "Grease" this weekend!! So fun, more pix to come - here is rehearsal...

Bi-District Winners!

Friday Night Lights

And the strong shall lead...

Tonight my youngest, DD, was inducted into the National Honor Society at school. I am so proud of her because not only do they get chosen due to good grades (Academic) but also on Character, Leadership and Service. As I looked at the group of inductees, I saw that a lot of them went to DD's Catholic School (through 8th grade) because they emphasized leadership and service - actually all four points. The public schools here only emphasized grades, and since God is removed from public schools, they have a hard time stressing character because it goes hand in hand with faith and God and Biblical themes.
It's really what's wrong with America - we've lost our way - we've lost our soul. In the town I work in, it's a retirement town so even as a Baby Boomer, I'm still a "spring chicken" compared to all of the World War II veterans there. It makes me so sad to watch that generation dying off, knowing that my age group will be replacing them, but I digress. The thing I've noticed is that anyone over the age of 50,  were all pretty much raised right, and understand the gravity of what's happening in America. We had prayer in school, and character was stressed, and being good was respected. Now, the opposite is popular - nasty rappers saying the most foul things you've ever heard, and God is removed, and everyone worships pop culture. Sex is the "end game" always, and public schools are turning out people who are totally unprepared for the "hard, cruel world" of making a living and working hard. Drugs are still rampant and none of them "choose" to be adults until they are 30, or often even 40. Having children is being put off until 30's, thanks to birth control, so playing and partying and having random sex is the name of the game.
It's comforting to be around the older set in the town I work in because we all have the same values. Yet the under 40 crowd are mostly the uninformed voter, yet they sure know how to navigate food stamps and free stuff through the government. They don't watch the news and make fun of the older crowd and say things like, "Turn off Fox News," as that's considered uncool and geezer-like.
As I've mentioned, I've decided to get more political on Facebook, but I've noticed that no one will "like" what I post, since no one wants to be controversial or lose any "friends" by offending someone. And the wealthier people here seem to snoot down their nose at those who post conservative things, acting as though it's gauche to do so, but we ARE talking about the end of our country as I know it, so I don't understand why others aren't "going to the mats" over what's happening in the U.S. It's our future and our children's future; we can't just stick our heads in the sand and pretend everything is okay. The vast majority of my acquaintances refuse to discuss politics and think it is beneath them. Some are afraid to say anything bad about Obama, either for fear of reprisal, or offending someone, or thinking they sound racist. Ugh. This country was NOT ready for a black president; it has divided this country even worse than before, and black on white crimes are much, much worse when common sense would dictate that the opposite should be true.
It really does go back to your belief system and God and putting Him first.
Nothing else makes sense....

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive....

"Cold-hearted orb that rules the night, removes the colors from our sight, red is gray and yellow, white but WE decide which is right... and which IS an illusion." - Moody Blues "Days of Future Passed"

I guess what I'm noticing is that almost everyone is really sick of politics and has given up. I've heard lots of sane people I know say that they want to leave the United States. They mention Mexico (since I'm from Texas and it's close) but other places like Canada or Costa Rica are mentioned as well. Even today I called on customers all day long, and since they are all older, they mentioned they missed when life was simpler and wished it would all go back. We ALL talk about how fast everything goes now, and that we have to keep up with the latest electronics, so we are not considered dinosaurs. Everyone older hates Obamacare, but is too tired to fight. So much discouragement, like I've never seen.
But the liberals have only begun to fight. They smell blood and they want to finish the fight. They want permanent victory.... Something that is puzzling, is the mainstream media's partnering in crime, and yet they too will suffer the same fate and lose their freedom of speech, along with many, many other freedoms like freedom to own a firearm or freedom to choose what job they want to pursue or freedom of religion. And don't liberals realize that in their push for Islam in textbooks, for example, pushes a religion that wants to 'kill the infidel' and enforce Sharia Law which is, for instance, archaic against women and is the most intolerant "religion" of all.
I've been convinced for years that those who vote Democrat usually have one issue that interests them, and they don't care about anything else. It's either pro-"choice" or pro-homosexual, but basically it's all about them not wanting to feel convicted about sin in what Jews and Christians believe in the Bible. I find myself not wanting to talk about a one subject post like I used to, and comment about my general thought process. So here are my recent tweets and commentary:
-- Senate passes gay-rights non-discrimination bill, House GOP says it's "dead on arrival" -- but for how long?? Until the libs keep pushing and pushing and pushing until we finally say "uncle"??
--White House: on second thought, the Obamacare website might not be working properly on November 30th -- Duh. What we OUGHT to be saying is, this is so totally unacceptable, and push our senators to dump this craziness, but no one is sane anymore...
-- Barack Obama high school classmate reveals that he was a well known homosexual -- Um, well, I've read lots of stories to corroborate this, but no one is listening. If I tell someone this, they don't believe me. If the MSM doesn't say it, no one truly believes it. 
-- Liberals: Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood are 'rich, white' racists for mocking Obamacare at CMA's; wow... what a surprise.... oldest trick in the book. Everyone who disagrees with the black president is now a racist. Ironically it is THEY that are the racists; they won't let us judge Obama on his actions or his words. We simply must accept everything that he does or we're racist?? Don't forget it is these same people who despise conservative blacks like Clarence Thomas, Walter E. Williams, Col. Allen West and Dr. Ben Carson. They call THEM "Uncle Toms" if they don't follow the lib way of entitlement. 
The ones who claim to be the most tolerant are actually the least...

"You can't beat a person who never gives up." - Baby Ruth

It's been almost a week since I've posted - ughhhh... What a crazy time of year, and even more so this year... I'm finding myself continually stressed, and over the past week it is affecting my health. Today I had to just stop any negativity coming in, and only listen to positive things, and curtail the negative. It's our busiest time of year, and even with troubling pains, I don't have the time OR the money to address them. Our small town high school made district champs on Friday, so this week will not be our last game. Ordinarily this would be a really happy thing, but I'm so tired and stressed that it's bittersweet.
At church the past two Sundays, my pastor (who is my age) has mentioned that he doesn't think being super political is a good witness and implied that it actually turns people off, and then they won't listen to our "good news." I've contemplated about this and am not sure if I agree. I asked my co-worker, a part-time writer and pastor (Baptist) of a small church (who also chews tobacco and drinks alcohol quite often) and he said he agrees with my pastor, and thinks my conservative Facebook posts don't convince anyone of anything. He says this country is "too far gone" and only huge consequences will make people listen and change.
Sigh.
I am not a quitter. I think that's a quitter mentality. I've gotten really political on Facebook and have lost some "friends" over it, but sticking our heads in the sand while we go to hell in a handbasket is not my idea of correct. It is recorded in history that the Germans did the same thing as Hitler was coming to power, and did nothing. (Well, some did but not many.) I'm not going to meet my Maker some day and have to answer for THAT one. I'm going to live out loud. I'm going to preach from the mountain tops. I'm going to tell people about Jesus AND tell them the TRUTH about all of the lies that have been sold to us as a bill of goods in this country.
Who could have EVER imagined that this country could deteriorate this quickly?? But the measures that are being implemented now, will make this country a totally different place in the next generation. Already the seeds planted 20 years ago are coming to fruition and it's so disturbing. The generation in this country in their 20's grew up without God in school, and with entitlement mentality, and don't know the meaning of hard work. They sit around and play video games and go into fantasyland, and don't watch the news (not that mainstream news would tell them the truth anyway) or learn about what is going on that WILL affect their future.
Yes, I understand what my pastor is saying - that someone's heart will have to change before they see things the right way. Even my older son and daughter, who don't follow the news, have believed the lies and think Obamacare will help them.... But I'm not giving up.
Ever.