Pray for Jenna

I have a friend who's 13 year old daughter is in the hospital. She has had a heart problem since birth and on Friday, she collapsed at school. By God's providence, a nurse was beside her and kept her alive. She was taken to Eggleston and will have surgery today.

This girl has an amazing faith and is an incredible inspiration. She does not question why God has allowed her health difficulties and in every situation thanks Him for His love and provision. I have never actually met her personally, but the things I know of her from her mother and grandmother cause her to be an inspiration to me.

Please pray for Jenna and her family. She is a gift from God and He hears our prayers. Be an intercessor for her.

I love Fall!

I love fall! I love when I get up in the morning and it is a little chilly. I can't wait to wear my warm clothes and have a fire in the fireplace. I love decorating and buying pumpkins. I took the girls to Dellinger Park this morning and the air smelled just like in smells in Yosemite early in the morning (Just that is enough to make me fell great. Yosemite is the one place I miss as much as I would miss a good friend and relative. Yes, it is that awesome. Everyone must go before they die.)

I can't wait for the Apple Festival in Elijay and Oktoberfest in Helen. We took the girls to the North GA State Fair last night and they had a blast. Krissy even sat and watched part of the Lonestar concert without covering her ears. We all rode the Ferris wheel, they loved it but I was terrified that they would fall out. All in all, it was a great time.

I love fall!

Politics

I guess we will have to vote soon. Although I am honored to live in a country where we get to vote, and don't get some crazy dictator thrust on us, I actually get stressed out about voting. I feel such a burden to cast the right vote. My problem is that my beliefs don't ever match up with just one party or one person. So, I thought I would write out what I believe to see if it would actually help me to choose this year.

I do not consider my self conservative or liberal, although I have strong beliefs that would align on both of those sides. So here it goes:

I believe that we should respect all life, from the very minute of conception to the very last breath in a person's body. I am sickened by the murder of an unborn child and the way we treat the elderly in our country and feel that we must do a better job in this area. We also must respect the life of all living creatures including the lives of the animals that are our pets and the ones we use for our food. Maybe God is trying to remind us of an important spiritual truth every time we eat. Shouldn't it remind us to respect the fact that something had to die in order for us to live? I think so. This core value of respecting all life makes it very hard for me to believe in capital punishment. Although I understand the arguments for it's existence and I get the fact that it is even biblical; it is still hard for me to swallow. Until I am on a jury in a death penalty case, I reserve my right to not make up my mind on this issue just yet.

I also believe that we should be good stewards of everything God has given us, including the earth we live on. I think we should be moving away from using oil and towards using renewable resources. I think we should recycle, grow food on sustainable farms and not clear cut natural habitats. I think we should be more responsible with the way we build, think and live when it comes to our earth. We are only given one, let's not waste it. More specifically, I agree with the Pickens Plan when it comes to energy in our country.

I don't think the government has done a very good job handling money or programs for that matter. I think they have made a mess out of social security, welfare, education and immigration and can't even balance their own budget. Because of this, I certainly would not want them to run a national health care system. It's kind of like giving all your money to a financial planner with a gambling addiction.

I think the majority of our domestic issues could be solved with immigration reform. Our education system, hospitals, jails and welfare are overloaded because of illegal immigrants. And for those who would argue that we need the cheap labor, I say shame on you! What you are saying is that the value we place on the life of an illegal immigrant is less than the value that we place on the lives of Americans. We would never pay an American citizen a few dollars a day to pick strawberries in the hot sun for 12 hours yet we argue that it is OK to do that because they are illegal. We say that our whole economy would come crashing down without the cheap labor. Well, if that's true, than we deserve for it to crash! It goes back to my respecting all life, even the lives of those who are from other places. They deserve a fair wage and that means coming into this country through the proper channels in order to be here legally. I mean really, what part of illegal don't we understand?

WAR - OK, you are about to think that I am contradicting myself and maybe I am, but when it comes to people like Osama Bin Ladin and Saddam Hussein, I have no sympathy. They deserve to die. They have proven that they do not respect the lives of others and should not be allowed to further endanger those around them. Saddam Hussein's death was worth the cost of war in my mind. The search for Bin Ladin is worth the cost we are paying now. However, I do think we should give a deadline to be out of Iraq to ensure that we actually have the funds and the manpower available to fight where fighting is needed. Without a deadline, the Iraqi government will never be ready. They will lean on the US for as long as we let them, that is human nature. It may be time to push them out of the nest.

I don't think we should try "diplomatic approaches" when it comes to terrorists or crazy people. They aren't going to listen, they are crazy. Sometimes war really is the safest and most peaceful way to end a conflict. I don't think we should only go to war to guard our own interests either. We should care about the lives of everyone. That should include Darfur, the Congo and it should have included Rwanda when that happened as well. Who are we to play God and say who is worth our support and who isn't. We either love our neighbor or we don't, but to pick and choose is to be lukewarm and I think we all know what God thinks of that.

So those are the big issues for me. I don't think I am any closer to picking a president.

The Happiest Place on Earth

We just got back from our vacation to Disney World and the Beach (We spent the last weekend of vacation at Venice Beach, FL). The girls are pretty sure that Disney is heaven. They got to meet all the princesses and they, of course were dressed in their princess costumes the majority of the time. They both loved the "Small World" ride, Korey wants to be a pirate when she grows up (her words, not mine), but Krissy did not like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Krissy loved having lunch with the Little Einsteins and seeing the Little Mermaid Show. They both loved swimming in the guitar shaped pool.

Korey caught her first fish off of the pier at Venice Beach, FL. Krissy still hates sitting her royal fanny on the sand at the beach. She hates getting dirty.

It was a wonderful vacation. My parents went as well, which was amazing. We all got along famously and we didn't even feel rushed at all, although we were all pretty tired at the end of the day. I am so blessed to be able to take my family on this vacation and that we are close enough with my parents that they were able to go to. I can't think of a better gift that I could give my children than a relationship with their grandparents. My parents are wonderful with my girls. They are their biggest fans. What better gift could I give them than two people who will always think they are the greatest kids in the whole world. I thank God for them everyday and for the impact they are having in my life and the lives of my family.