BREAKTHROUGH! Ellie came to me & said, "Stinky! Stinky! Change!" She was, & I did. Brilliant girl!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Gay Marriage, Revisited
I have decided to revist my feelings on Gay Marriage, just because it is such a hot topic right now. On 05/14/09 I wrote:
I have friends who are openly gay - some very close to me and my family. Some are men who like men, some are women who like women, some are men who like men AND women, some are women who like women AND men - but I'm going to lump everything under "gay" for the purpose of this post.
Here's the deal - I have no problem with this. You love who you love. You are attracted to who you are attracted to. If you're gay, your're gay, just like I'm a brunette because I'm a brunette, or like Ellie is Autistic because she's Autistic - it's how we were made. It just IS. You can be gay and struggle to hide it, to fit into outdated "societal norms," just like I could bleach my hair blonde if I didn't want anyone to know I was born this way, but that would be living a lie.
Listen, people - mind your own damn business! Who cares who's screwing who? Geez!
When it comes to the hot topic of gay marriage, despite being a Republican, I've discovered that I really don't care (to fight about it). If two people love each other and want/need to make that public, formal statement, then do so! They should be allowed to do so, regardless of gender/ethnicity/etc.
I needed to make that public, formal statement. Without that marriage license, Geoff and I might not have made it to 10 years [13 years now]. It's a lot easier to walk away from "a relationship" than it is "a marriage," regardless of how many years you've shared.
I wish very strongly that my gay friends (the single ones, not the already-not-quite-legally-married ones) would all find a special person who completes them, who fills that aching need to love and be loved, who is worthy of them, so they could grow old together. I want them to have a lifetime of memories, laughter and heartaches, to share and loook back on - just like we do. I wish that my gay friends who are in committed longterm relationships could sign that marriage certificate and make it legal, recognized, and formal, so there would be no question at the end of their lives as to who would get the kids/house/life insurance/etc. They are as deserving of that security as we are.
I am a Republican in the base foundation of what the party was meant to be - minimal intrusion of government into the private lives of citizens. If two men (or women) love one another, want to have joyful sex, and be married, it's not the government's business - or the business of anyone else! It's their own damn business! This is not political - it's basic...
So, here's the issue: I have no problem whatsoever with homosexuality or gay marriage. None. There is absolutely no part of me that has a problem with this. None.
None of that has changed. What I do in my house, in my bedroom, is my business. What you do in your house, in your bedroom, is your business. Politics, religion, etc - mind your own damn business and stay out of our bedrooms!
More people being married will not affect the sanctity of marriage, or have any effect on your own marriage (if you have one). It certainly will not affect my marriage! My marriage is my business - yours is not. I would rather restrict inmates with life sentences from being allowed to marry while incarcerated than I would restrict two free people who love one another and want to share a life - but neither choice is my business.
My relationships with other people and my relationship with God are between me and those chosen parties - they are not anyone else's business. The relationships of other people to one another and to God are their business - not mine, not yours, not the media's, not politic's, not even religion's. If you want to cry that gay couples are "sinning," that is still none of your business - it is between them and God.
And as for God and love shared between two people of the same gender:
[I originally quoted the King James Version, but I have switched to using the New International Version Bible, so I will re-quote in modern English]
... David and Johnathan [Bible] seemed to have an "extra special" relationship:
I Samuel 18:1-4 "After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house. And Johnathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt."
I Samuel 20:17 "And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself."
I Samuel 20:42 "Jonathan said to David, 'Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, "The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever."' Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town."
II Samuel 1:25-27 "How the mighty have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights. I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women! How the mighty have fallen! The weapons of war have perished!"
II Samuel 4:4 "(Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up, and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became crippled. His name was Mephibosheth.)"
II Samuel 9:1 "David asked, 'Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?'"
II Samuel 9:3-13 "The king asked, 'Is there no one still left of the house of Saul to whom I may show God's kindness?' Ziba answered the king, 'There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet.' 'Where is he?' the king asked. Ziba answered, 'He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.' So king David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel. When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, 'Mephibosheth!' 'Your servant,' he replied. 'Don't be afraid,' David said to him, 'for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.' Mephibosheth bowed down and said, 'What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?' Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, 'I have given your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master's grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table. (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.) Then said Ziba said to the king, 'Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.' So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons. Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica, and all the members of Ziba's household were servants of Mephibosheth. And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king's table, and he was crippled in both feet."
That seems like some powerful love to me. David said that the love he and Jonathan shared surpassed any love from/with a woman. David loved Jonathan so much that he adopted Jonathan's crippled son (who in those days would normally have been left to die or, if they reached adulthood, been homeless beggars because they couldn't contribute physically), elevated him to the status of his own sons, the princes, and gave him an inheritance. Okay, so it doesn't say they had sex, but they had LOVE. They had a relationship - a very close one. Now, why am I supposed to have a problem with this?
They had love - and that's what a marriage is really about, isn't it. Love, and the acknowledgement of love.
I have friends who are openly gay - some very close to me and my family. Some are men who like men, some are women who like women, some are men who like men AND women, some are women who like women AND men - but I'm going to lump everything under "gay" for the purpose of this post.
Here's the deal - I have no problem with this. You love who you love. You are attracted to who you are attracted to. If you're gay, your're gay, just like I'm a brunette because I'm a brunette, or like Ellie is Autistic because she's Autistic - it's how we were made. It just IS. You can be gay and struggle to hide it, to fit into outdated "societal norms," just like I could bleach my hair blonde if I didn't want anyone to know I was born this way, but that would be living a lie.
Listen, people - mind your own damn business! Who cares who's screwing who? Geez!
When it comes to the hot topic of gay marriage, despite being a Republican, I've discovered that I really don't care (to fight about it). If two people love each other and want/need to make that public, formal statement, then do so! They should be allowed to do so, regardless of gender/ethnicity/etc.
I needed to make that public, formal statement. Without that marriage license, Geoff and I might not have made it to 10 years [13 years now]. It's a lot easier to walk away from "a relationship" than it is "a marriage," regardless of how many years you've shared.
I wish very strongly that my gay friends (the single ones, not the already-not-quite-legally-married ones) would all find a special person who completes them, who fills that aching need to love and be loved, who is worthy of them, so they could grow old together. I want them to have a lifetime of memories, laughter and heartaches, to share and loook back on - just like we do. I wish that my gay friends who are in committed longterm relationships could sign that marriage certificate and make it legal, recognized, and formal, so there would be no question at the end of their lives as to who would get the kids/house/life insurance/etc. They are as deserving of that security as we are.
I am a Republican in the base foundation of what the party was meant to be - minimal intrusion of government into the private lives of citizens. If two men (or women) love one another, want to have joyful sex, and be married, it's not the government's business - or the business of anyone else! It's their own damn business! This is not political - it's basic...
So, here's the issue: I have no problem whatsoever with homosexuality or gay marriage. None. There is absolutely no part of me that has a problem with this. None.
None of that has changed. What I do in my house, in my bedroom, is my business. What you do in your house, in your bedroom, is your business. Politics, religion, etc - mind your own damn business and stay out of our bedrooms!
More people being married will not affect the sanctity of marriage, or have any effect on your own marriage (if you have one). It certainly will not affect my marriage! My marriage is my business - yours is not. I would rather restrict inmates with life sentences from being allowed to marry while incarcerated than I would restrict two free people who love one another and want to share a life - but neither choice is my business.
My relationships with other people and my relationship with God are between me and those chosen parties - they are not anyone else's business. The relationships of other people to one another and to God are their business - not mine, not yours, not the media's, not politic's, not even religion's. If you want to cry that gay couples are "sinning," that is still none of your business - it is between them and God.
And as for God and love shared between two people of the same gender:
[I originally quoted the King James Version, but I have switched to using the New International Version Bible, so I will re-quote in modern English]
... David and Johnathan [Bible] seemed to have an "extra special" relationship:
I Samuel 18:1-4 "After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house. And Johnathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt."
I Samuel 20:17 "And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself."
I Samuel 20:42 "Jonathan said to David, 'Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, "The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever."' Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town."
II Samuel 1:25-27 "How the mighty have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights. I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women! How the mighty have fallen! The weapons of war have perished!"
II Samuel 4:4 "(Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up, and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became crippled. His name was Mephibosheth.)"
II Samuel 9:1 "David asked, 'Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?'"
II Samuel 9:3-13 "The king asked, 'Is there no one still left of the house of Saul to whom I may show God's kindness?' Ziba answered the king, 'There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet.' 'Where is he?' the king asked. Ziba answered, 'He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.' So king David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel. When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, 'Mephibosheth!' 'Your servant,' he replied. 'Don't be afraid,' David said to him, 'for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.' Mephibosheth bowed down and said, 'What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?' Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, 'I have given your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master's grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table. (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.) Then said Ziba said to the king, 'Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.' So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons. Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica, and all the members of Ziba's household were servants of Mephibosheth. And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king's table, and he was crippled in both feet."
That seems like some powerful love to me. David said that the love he and Jonathan shared surpassed any love from/with a woman. David loved Jonathan so much that he adopted Jonathan's crippled son (who in those days would normally have been left to die or, if they reached adulthood, been homeless beggars because they couldn't contribute physically), elevated him to the status of his own sons, the princes, and gave him an inheritance. Okay, so it doesn't say they had sex, but they had LOVE. They had a relationship - a very close one. Now, why am I supposed to have a problem with this?
They had love - and that's what a marriage is really about, isn't it. Love, and the acknowledgement of love.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Truths that I Know
I know that "luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." I know that we do go on. I know that I, the essential part of me that is Me, am more than this meat machine I drive around in every day. I know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, which for me also validates all of the above. I don't just have a soul, I am a soul.
I know that there is a God. I know because of a very personal and intimate experience in a moment outside of time, at a time in my life when I had no faith. I know because I was in His presence, because He brought me there, because He gave me a choice, and an answer.
I know that Jesus was a real man, and the son of God in truth. I know that through His suffering and His sacrifice He paid the blood price for every sin every person who comes to Him has committed. I know that through Him I am Saved.
I know that I am Saved, and nothing can take that Salvation from me.
I know that Heaven is a real place, as real as the room I am in. I know that the New Earth is as real as this one, and my beloved critter companions have gone on before me to that New Earth. I know that they were perfect innocents who did not need to be judged, and so were allowed to go on ahead, to populate that New Earth as reward for lives lived in love and loyalty.
I know that Saturday is still the Sabbath, that never changed, and one of our most important commandments is to keep it holy. God never changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, the church changed it to make a difference from the Jews - but God's Sabbath is Saturday, and we are to keep it as a day of rest and reflection. Even Jesus rested in the grave on Saturday, keeping His Father's Sabbath even in death.
I know that Jesus was born on April 17th, not December 25th. The Star appeared in the eastern sky on April 17th, 6 BC. We know Jesus was born in the Spring as recorded in the Hebrew calendar, and during the lambing season (when shepherds combined and slept with their flocks in groups to ward off predators) (also a foreshadowing of His sacrifice). We know astrologically that the Star did appear, and it appeared in the night between April 16th and April 17th of 6 BC.
I know that I have faith at least as small as a mustard seed, and I will cling to that faith with white knuckles. I have seen miracles with my own eyes. I have seen the impossible path be cleared, and stood in wonder. I have had these things in my own life, not a second-hand story. I will not forget, and I will Believe.
I know that I am a shepherdess, and that I will continue to feed my hungry little sheep all the Truths that I know, regardless of the world's words or doubts. I know that I am teaching my children the way God wants me to teach them, the words God wants me to use, because He approves and rewards us.
Not my will, Lord, but Thine. Thy Perfect Will.
I am Your Sabbath Shepherd.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
My Bucket List
This will be a work in progress!
Visit England
See Stonehenge
Visit Scotland
Pet a manatee
Visit Egypt (Pyramids)
Visit Ireland
Visit Rome (Colosseum)
Visit Greece (Acropolis)
Visit China (Great Wall)
Visit Angkor Wat
Visit Japan
See the Northern Lights
Pet a penguin
Ride a draft horse
Finish writing a book
Have a book published
Tango
See Mt Rushmore
See the Grand Canyon
Take my kids to Disney World
Pet a manatee
Visit Egypt (Pyramids)
Visit Ireland
Visit Rome (Colosseum)
Visit Greece (Acropolis)
Visit China (Great Wall)
Visit Angkor Wat
Visit Japan
See the Northern Lights
Pet a penguin
Ride a draft horse
Finish writing a book
Have a book published
Tango
See Mt Rushmore
See the Grand Canyon
Take my kids to Disney World
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Family Movie Night, New Home
We had our first Family Movie Night in our new home tonight, only without the movie. Papa Johns DOES deliver out that far - thank God! So we had our Saturday night pizza together in the kitchen of our new house, using paper towels for plates, and afterwards played in the backyard. Marty was hunting bugs and Geoff was helping. Ellie and I mostly watched.
Marty saw a bunny rabbit and ran after it shouting, "Bunny! Bunny! Hey, Bunny! I'm friendly! Don't be scared!" as the bunny ran for its life. Of course I was shouting after him not to chase it because it would think he was a predator, but that was as effective as you would expect.
Ellie discovered that the texture of the family room floor is really super neat and very satisfying. She slid a wooden toy tomato slice back and forth over the floor for the better part of an hour. What a lovely clattery sound it made, too.
I cleaned up from the week long painting session and tonight's dinner while Geoff and his dad replaced all of the locks and almost all of the doorknobs with new oval knobs, locking or otherwise. The oval knobs are easier for Ellie, and me (arthritis in my hands), to turn than round knobs. The locking knobs went on the bathrooms so a key is needed to get in (keeps Ellie out of sinks, bathtubs, and toilets). All doors to the outside (including the garage) are now deadbolts that require a key from both sides (keeps Ellie in the house, she knows how to turn a deadbolt knob and escape).
Just part of making the house our own, and safe for us all!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Within Without
Forgotten by man
Abandoned by woman
Without Child
Without love
I seek
Within
Without
For Self
For Life
For Reason
For Need
I seek
Within
Without
No use
No love
No answer
No aid
Indifference
Within
Without
-Laura Brumback, September 1995
Abandoned by woman
Without Child
Without love
I seek
Within
Without
For Self
For Life
For Reason
For Need
I seek
Within
Without
No use
No love
No answer
No aid
Indifference
Within
Without
-Laura Brumback, September 1995
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Self-Absorption
I am
I hurt
I feel
I love
I think
I hate
I rage
I fear
I want
I need
I
I
I
I
I
Save me
I am drowning
In myself
-Laura Brumback, September 1995
I hurt
I feel
I love
I think
I hate
I rage
I fear
I want
I need
I
I
I
I
I
Save me
I am drowning
In myself
-Laura Brumback, September 1995
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