Holidays and atrocities should not be used in the same sentence. But often, and sadly, they are. Each and every one of us has our own story. Our own road that is paved with tears, with joy, with awe and wonder, with memories. We do not expect, nor should we, to be faced with such disgust as the shootings in Connecticut on December 14, 2012.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/15/at-least-26-dead-in-shooting-at-connecticut-school/

There are no words, not really. This is no one’s fault, save the shooter; this is no one’s fault. I hope and pray that the families, those that lost, and those that are among those that have lost, receive help via therapy, prayer, friends shoulders, the community. There will be severe survival guilt, most especially because it is so close to a major holiday that parents love to witness to their child’s joy. During this time, all of us, every last one of us, should keep the entire world in prayer. It sounds too large to pray for, but it is not too large for God.

This is all I will say regarding this situation because these people are hurting at a primal level. Words will not reach them for at least a few years. Their lives are forever damaged beyond human repair.

Please keep your neighbor in prayer.

God Bless ♥





Keep Yourself Informed!

FROM THE DESK OF THE AP..... NOT YOUR MEDIA THAT PICKS AND CHOSE'S WHAT TO SHOW.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez employed as an unpaid intern in his Senate office an illegal immigrant who was a registered sex offender, now under arrest by immigration authorities, The Associated Press has learned. The Homeland Security Department instructed federal agents not to arrest him until after Election Day, a U.S. official involved in the case told the AP.

Luis Abrahan Sanchez Zavaleta, an 18-year-old immigrant from Peru, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in front of his home in New Jersey on Dec. 6, two federal officials said. Sanchez, who entered the country on a now-expired visitor visa from Peru, is facing deportation and remains in custody. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of Sanchez's immigration case.

A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for further details.

Menendez, D-N.J., who advocates aggressively for pro-immigration policies, was re-elected in November with 58 percent of the vote. Congressional staffers who work for Menendez were notified about Sanchez's case shortly after the arrest. Sanchez told ICE agents that he worked on immigration issues for the senator. A spokesman for Menendez said she was looking into the matter.

Online jail records did not indicate whether Sanchez has an attorney. Immigration officials there were relaying a request from the AP to speak with Sanchez in jail.

The prosecutor's office in Hudson County, N.J., said Sanchez was found to have violated the law in 2010 and subsequently required to register as a sex offender. The exact charge was unclear because Sanchez was prosecuted as a juvenile and those court records are not publicly accessible. The prosecutor's office confirmed to AP that Sanchez registered as a sex offender, although his name does not appear on the public registry.

Authorities in Hudson County notified ICE agents in early October that they suspected Sanchez was an illegal immigrant who was a registered sex offender and who may be eligible to be deported. ICE agents in New Jersey notified superiors at the Homeland Security Department because they considered it a potentially high profile arrest, and DHS instructed them not to arrest Sanchez until after the November election, one U.S. official told the AP. ICE officials complained that the delay was inappropriate, but DHS directed them several times not to act, the official said.

It was not immediately clear why federal immigration authorities would not have been notified sooner about Sanchez's status.

During discussions about when and where to arrest Sanchez, the U.S. reviewed Sanchez's application for permission to stay in the country as part of President Barack Obama's policy to allow up to 1.7 million young illegal immigrants avoid deportation and get permission to work for up to two years. As a sex offender, he would not have been eligible. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which oversees the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, notified Sanchez of that shortly before his arrest, one official said.

During the final weeks of President George W. Bush's administration, ICE was criticized for delaying the arrest of President Barack Obama's aunt, who had ignored an immigration judge's order to leave the country several years earlier after her asylum claim was denied. She subsequently won the right to stay in the United States after an earlier deportation order, and there was no evidence of involvement by the White House.

 
In that case, the Homeland Security Department had imposed an unusual directive days before the 2008 election requiring high-level approval before federal agents nationwide could arrest fugitive immigrants including Zeituni Onyango, the half-sister of Obama’s late father. The directive from ICE expressed concerns about “negative media congressional interest,” according to a copy of that directive obtained by AP. The department lifted the immigration order weeks later.
 

Link: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SENATE_INTERN_ARRESTED?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

As a side note, it has been stated that ICE "categorecially denies" what the Associated Press has reported. Firstly, categorecially means 'flatly, unconditionally.' Me thinks you protest too much. When someone or a something (ICE) "categorically denies' anything it is usually true. Secondly, having worked in Public Affairs for a number of years, The Associated Press does not 'get things wrong,' they would not stay in business as a reputable news source if they 'got it wrong' too often. Please notice I say stay in business.

Do your research folks. People of power are putting a pretty bow, and sweet smelling cologne on crap, feeding it to you hook, line, and sinker. And, unfortunately, at least 53% of our American citizens are buying it, without doing the hard research. Sound bites do not qualify as fact. Let me repeat: Sound bites do not qualify as fact.

Why I Am A Conservative

 

Our nation, well some of our nation, voted for a new President on Tuesday the 6^th of November. Some of our nation did not. After witnessing and listening to a twenty three year Army veteran at my son’s middle school yesterday, the 7^th of November, I find it not only irresponsible but reprehensible that some refuse to vote. Because it will not make a difference? Are those men and women fighting for your right to vote making a difference? Is that family who does not have their daughter, son, husband, wife, aunt, uncle, mother, father at their table this Thanksgiving making a difference? Am I stepping on your toes? I mean to wake you up, not hurt you. There is no reason why anyone would choose not to vote.

And yes, I said new President. Perhaps the President who gained an additional four years in our White House will do a better job. My family and I, particularly my eight year old, is praying for this President. Equality does not mean exclusion. And fifty percent of the voters (I do not know if this is the country because many people did not vote) made it clear they do not care for the present administration, perhaps he will be more inclusive. We can hope. And we can pray.

Here are my personal reasons for voting for the opposing team, Romney/Ryan. First let’s address this talk of his firing people and liking it. He came into failing corporations, turned the ship around, and made the corporations viable, and prosperous. He liked firing the ones that destroyed 401Ks, that destroyed your future, that took advantage and who did not do an appropriate job running a corporation. Unless running it into the ground is considered appropriate. Funny how America’s been run into the ground, been taken advantage of, and the boss is less than what people hoped to see – it would have been nice to see Romney/Ryan do the same with our country as he has done with corporations. But, people like the sound bites, the rude behavior, the inappropriate use of the middle finger, and the less than honorable government of old. Welcome in the Jersey Shore. People want action? Ha!! Sure, Mr. President. We would like action, instead of the same old, same old.

Secondly, I believe that it is a woman’s choice to do with her body as she wishes, however, that does not include government sticking their noses into private religious insurance coverage. Here’s a fair exchange: If indeed the government can tell the religious establishments what they need to do, under the law, then the religious establishment must have a say in government. The Ten Commandments will be displayed at each and every government building in America, and in every Embassy overseas. Prayer will be mandatory before and after each and every government meeting. Bibles will be displayed in each and every room of the White House, and in every Embassy, available to all. That sounds like a fair exchange, don’t you think? Yes, it is. Because if church is not allowed into government, then there should be no government involvement in any religious organization, church, or school. Period. One Nation Under God.

Third, same sex marriage. Have at it! Make it a federal mandate that same sex marriage is absolutely legal. Again, do not force it on a religious organization, or a private citizen. If a religious institution is forced to perform same sex marriage, fine. Then you must attend church, you must tithe, and you must be in counseling prior to marriage. (None of which we very well know cannot be forced upon a citizen. So why force same sex marriage on those of us that believe the bible is God's breathed word?) Yes, that is a mandatory function under a right to marry within the religious institution. It is not the same sex marriage issue that is the problem; it is the rude push-your-way-in-until-they-give-up attitude that is causing people to dig their heels in. Hire a representative that speaks clearly, concisely, does not finger point (particularly with the middle finger), and acts in a civil responsible manner. More bees with honey my friends. More bees with honey than with vinegar. The bottom line of this argument is the bible supports a marriage between a man and a woman. You will not receive support, marriage wise, from a religious institution. You can, however, change the federal laws.

Fourth: Obamacare. The big one. The ultimate argument. Everyone should have insurance. Yes, they should. Here’s where the argument becomes sticky, because it is a right to be taken care of, medically, correct? We all agree, right? Who will be paying for those that cannot pay, but still have “free” insurance? You do realize that nothing is free, don’t you? You do realize, that though the argument goes, “I paid into this, I should get something out of it” doesn’t apply here because, though you may have ‘paid into it, ‘that does not make the hand up become a lifetime hand out. You understand the principal? Welfare was started as a hand up, to get people back on their feet until they were viable citizens to then contribute once more to the country. But that hand up became a hand out that people made a lifestyle. And it became such an ugly, uncontrolled animal so quickly no one is able to verify if the recipient is in need of the hand up, let alone worthy of it – did they indeed pay into the system long enough to receive a hand out for X amount of time? And that is where the ugly words come into play. People of a different mindset start to overuse the word racism. This isn’t racism folks. It is common sense. And that is lacking in our society. So – who is going to pay for Obamacare? Oprah Winfrey? Bill Gates? George Clooney? Do you have their telephone numbers, because you may need to call them. The last I heard two of the three are giving a mass majority of their money (tax break!!) to Africa, and the third lives most of his time in Italy.

Those are the big arguments of this election. The other issues, such as his “catching” Osama Bin Laden – Seal Team Six caught Osama Bin Laden – not Obama. Seal Team Six, who is now dead. Seal Team Six, the members of which were named by the administration. Libya. Egypt. The list goes on.

For me, as a conservative (I do not consider myself a Republican until I hear the person speak), it was pretty clear cut who I wanted as my President. I believe that, because the House is not run by Democrats that there are people left to hold the President’s feet to the fire, to hold him accountable. This is good. I do wish the Senate was Republican run as well. The most prosperous times in history have been when our President is Democrat and the House and Senate were Republican majority. But a dangled carrot of free this, free that, do what you like as long as you do it my way government won out. As Rome goes there goes America. With prayer, particularly prayer with thanksgiving, America will be fine. But we’ve all got to pray. We’ve ALL got to pay our taxes. Every. Last. One. Of. Us. Has got to pay our taxes.

Let me end with a bible verse and a hope: I hope Mr. Obama proves me wrong. I hope he does a fabulous job. I hope that he prays for guidance, steadfastness, honesty, and clarity while doing his job. I pray he proves me wrong.

Romans 13, the message translation. I like to reference an entire passage rather than one verse, because so many take verses from the bible out of context, they take the writer as being intrinsically against, or meaning harm to, someone or someone’s. I never want that to be the case. I am human, therefore I will have judgment. I pray constantly for discernment, grace to myself and others, and that whatever I have to say is said in love and with the best of intensions. I mean no harm to anyone at all, merely a voice that is heard in the din. God’s Blessings on your day!

“To Be a Responsible Citizen

Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.

Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you’ll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you’re breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren’t there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. That’s why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it’s the right way to live.

That’s also why you pay taxes—so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders.

Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don’t sleep with another person’s spouse, don’t take someone’s life, don’t take what isn’t yours, don’t always be wanting what you don’t have, and any other “don’t” you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.

But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!”

I've not posted in my blog for some time. There are several reasons for that, paramount was the loss of a cousin, then two on Facebook, they did not die, they “un-friended me.” I've done some soul searching, praying, and talking with friends that are in my life, that unlike the past, support me even when we may disagree.

One of the most difficult lessons to learn as a human being, let alone a woman, is that everyone will not always like you. Let's break this down:

As a human being we're taught to keep others close to us for security, for body heat, for procreation. That is just the basics.

Add in being an American and we're taught that we are supposed to be inviting, encouraging, an open door to show others what a wonderful life an American can have. This is more old school than it is for today's very young American. Nowadays young Americans seem to have front and center me, me, and oh yeah, more me.

Then you've got the woman's complex nature. This is also dependent upon whom they were raised by, what time frame they were raised. Were they rich, poor, middle class. I was born in the late 60s', I was raised by a conservative Republican family who remembered what it was like to live in Germany during Hitler's reign, and in Ireland during the potato famine. We are from humble beginnings, but a back bone for hard work, and hard play. I was taught I was to put others before myself, I was to make sure that everyone was happy, settled, comfortable, and well nourished. We were lower middle class, paycheck to paycheck living. My mother was insistent upon my being a worker from the get go, factory work was the easiest fastest route to this way of life. She did not know better, she did what she knew what to do at the time. A common saying our home was, “All I have to do is pay my taxes and die.” It was what it was.

Then you put this woman who is an American, people pleaser, overly concerned with everyone else, stay at home mother which can be very isolating, especially if your budget does not allow for frivolous activities… put her on Facebook. Holy Crap!! I mean seriously? Seriously!?! It's amazing no one's thought to create a movie about someone like.... me!

Now, here's the kicker. I was hurt years ago because a recording of my mom's voice was erased. What was frustrating to me was that I had stated how I heard my own voice, I sounded just like my mom - how beautifully, painfully, wonderful is that? It is truly a gift from God. Because I can hear her at any time if I so wished. Was that part of my previous post read by my family? No. It wasn't. What was read is how the recording was erased. It was made about them once again. Let me get this straight, and for once be brave: This blog is not about you, it is about me. Hence MY BLOG. I will not be held prisoner any longer by someone else's perceived wrong. Believe you me; they're not worried about anything that might hurt me. If that were the case they would have been there when my mother passed. My husband, father, and brother were.

Now, here's the beautiful part of all of this. I have friends that have lost their moms. And do you know what a gift it is that I can minister to them? Do you know what a joy it is to share their grief? Do you know the shear humility I feel at being there with them while they walk through what I did? My first born was 4 months old when my mother passed. To say that I was suicidal is to put it lightly. By the grace of God I am here today. My family was not there for that. No one reached out, but my goodness, when something happened in their lives the presses stopped. Now – I tell you this because you need the back story, who I am today is not who I was then. I was extremely fragile. I was damaged beyond words. I was wounded at a fundamental level. I was one step from death every single day for years. By God’s grace I am here.

So, where do we go from here? First, I needed to come to an understanding that it wasn’t about me. My perception of others attitudes, actions, lack of involvement was not about me. It was on them. I, at my core, had not changed – my personality has always been one of making sure that others were happier than me. That’s not touting who and what I was – I was put on this planet to make sure everyone else was safe, comfortable and well provided for. Period. No ulterior motive. Period. What people pleasers do not realize, they are too close to their addiction to see it, they are taken advantage of. They are used as door mats, they are used as the proverbial horse that is kicked when it is down. It is an addiction, have no misconceptions of this. It is an addiction. An addicted to feeling useful. Never mind that the usefulness is really a sickness of filling time with others needs, wants, addictions that they need filled – when we should fill our time with the Lord’s Word your time becomes easy to navigate – you become free! God is good all of the time, all of the time God is good. Never will God treat you as people have. Never will God let you down like people have. Never will God hurt you like people have. God is good all of the time. All of the time God is good.

After much prayer. Quiet contemplation. Taking myself out of situations that were not healthy, even situations that I was truly enjoying, such as my husband and my clan on Playstation 3, where players were treating others in a fashion that I recognized and which disgusted me. I could not condone it, so I backed myself out of it. We cannot change others – we can only change ourselves. How many times had I heard that same comment but could not wrap my mind around it. With change comes liberation! If you can liberate yourself slowly from each and every thing that you do not do for the glory of God – words cannot describe the absolute joy and freedom you feel from that choice. Make no mistake – it is painful! It is difficult beyond words! God can move mountains, do you believe He can change one small thing at a time that will make your life that much more fulfilling each and every day, thereby bringing glory to Him? The easy answer is YES!

In 15 days it will be my mother’s 12^th anniversary of leaving her earthly body and joining the Lord. My loss, my father’s loss (they had been married 41 years on her 57^th birthday, which was only 3 weeks prior – they were literally childhood sweethearts), my brother’s loss was profound. To look back at who and where I was, it saddens me to the core. How I wish I had a relationship with Christ at that point in my life. I believed in Him, no doubt about that. But there is a distinct difference between believing in and having a relationship with Jesus. My prayer for you is that you begin a lifelong journey in discovering Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior. He is real, He is a part of you, He is within you. He loves you. He will not let you down like people have. He will not abandon you like people have. He loves you so much that He died for you.

Here is Psalm 42. I’ll put it up in three different versions, The Message, Amplified, and NIV (New International Version). The Psalms were written primarily by King David. David was a man after God’s own heart. He also sinned against God. What is most beautiful about the bible is the stories of all of the people that were damaged beyond words, but loved by God – those called are usually not equipped. God equips them, thereby showing YOU how much more you can do with Him than without Him. God’s blessings on your day ♥

Psalm 42:1-11 (MSG)

 

“^1-3 A white-tailed deer drinks
from the creek;
I want to drink God,
deep draughts of God.
I’m thirsty for God-alive.
I wonder, “Will I ever make it—
arrive and drink in God’s presence?”
I’m on a diet of tears—
tears for breakfast, tears for supper.
All day long
people knock at my door,
Pestering,
“Where is this God of yours?”

⁴ These are the things I go over and over,
emptying out the pockets of my life.
I was always at the head of the worshiping crowd,
right out in front,
Leading them all,
eager to arrive and worship,
Shouting praises, singing thanksgiving—
celebrating, all of us, God’s feast!

⁵ Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He’s my God.

^6-8 When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse
everything I know of you,
From Jordan depths to Hermon heights,
including Mount Mizar.
Chaos calls to chaos,
to the tune of whitewater rapids.
Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers
crash and crush me.
Then God promises to love me all day,
sing songs all through the night!
My life is God’s prayer.

^9-10 Sometimes I ask God, my rock-solid God,
“Why did you let me down?
Why am I walking around in tears,
harassed by enemies?”
They’re out for the kill, these
tormentors with their obscenities,
Taunting day after day,
“Where is this God of yours?”

¹¹ Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He’s my God.”

Psalm 42:1-11 (AMP)

“¹ As the hart pants and longs for the water brooks, so I pant and long for You, O God.

² My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?

³ My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, Where is your God?

⁴ These things I [earnestly] remember and pour myself out within me: how I went slowly before the throng and led them in procession to the house of God [like a bandmaster before his band, timing the steps to the sound of music and the chant of song], with the voice of shouting and praise, a throng keeping festival.

⁵ Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my God.

⁶ O my God, my life is cast down upon me [and I find the burden more than I can bear]; therefore will I [earnestly] remember You from the land of the Jordan [River] and the [summits of Mount] Hermon, from the little mountain Mizar.

⁷ [Roaring] deep calls to [roaring] deep at the thunder of Your waterspouts; all Your breakers and Your rolling waves have gone over me.

⁸ Yet the Lord will command His loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹ I will say to God my Rock, Why have You forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

¹⁰ As with a sword [crushing] in my bones, my enemies taunt and reproach me, while they say continually to me, Where is your God?

¹¹ Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my God.”

Psalm 42:1-11 (NIV)

“¹ As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
³ My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
⁴ These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
under the protection of the Mighty One^[d]
with shouts of joy and praise
among the festive throng.

⁵ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

⁶ My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
⁷ Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.

⁸ By day the Lord directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹ I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?”
¹⁰ My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”

¹¹ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.”