Life and death. Then life?

This past year has been interesting... to say the least. I thought we were getting close to reaching a point of sanity... I was wrong. As I am facing 2 funerals and 3 almost funerals, I'm realizing the severity of what it's like when the final reality of a non-believer as that person enters eternity... to be forever separated from those who are believers. Scary, isn't it?

I'm not scared of death. Or at least, I'm not supposed to be. What's on the other side? The reality of doing nothing but praising the Maker of the Universe with no pain or suffering. What's on this side? Pain, poverty & pride. Why should I be afraid of death? I shouldn't be. Rather, I'm afraid of HOW I'm going to die.

Life... eternal life. How incredible of a gift; so thankful for the blessing of the redemption that covered my sins, though I'm so undeserving.

Oops!

I obviously had forgotten that I had become a "blogger". Temporary identity crisis we'll call it. Or something like that...

Either way, my opinions are still strong (if not stronger). If I wrote a post for everything on my mind right now, I'd be still typing next week at this time... maybe even the week after too. So instead, I will make a list. And as I see fit, I will edit and add to that list. So, here goes...


1. OIL SPILL: Yeah, it sucks... for a lot of reasons (namely the already hurting economy down there), but the finger pointing that the executives did? So doesn't bother me. At all. Why? Because it's ALL of their faults. They're all guilty, and yes... what they all said was probably true. However, I'm not one for "buck-passing". If you did something wrong, you need to take responsibility and fix it. But hey, that's just me. Thankfully we have such a "great" president to blow the whistle on their finger-pointing... besides, it's not HIS fault he didn't respond! It's the Bush administration's... DUH. Like you didn't already know that? Obama can do NO wrong... it's impossible. And all of these issues we have been dealing with? Total result of the insane George W. Bush's. Yep, allllllll G.W.'s fault. Every last thing. Especially this health care bill- I mean honestly, what was he thinking? Thankfully, Barack was there to reprimand the finger pointers... since he never does it, I'm just so glad he was there to "save the day". Give me a break.


2. CNN is running a special (I believe it's tomorrow... I watch it at the gym because it's on; not my fault they don't know the RIGHT news network to watch...) regarding how white parents are teaching their white children to hate black children. Wait, WHAT?! Yep, that's right... in 2010, white supremacy must have somehow reached its peak. Now, please... do NOT get me wrong. I am in NO way prejudiced, and in NO way do I think it's right to judge someone on the color of their skin. I have friends of varying races & religions and my thoughts on this are certainly not supremacist... simply my feelings and observations and blatant dislike for "political correctness". Gag me with a spoon.

OK, so that being said (please note that I am writing this in a stressed out mood and there is a lot of sarcasm laced into the wording of some of this)... do you know what the worst thing to be in today's world is? An American. For some reason, we're hated. Whatever. Let's focus on our country... what's the worst thing to be in our country? An evangelical Christian. Yep, can't beat it. Due to some of the stereotype (which unfortunately is based off truth that arises from a small group of people), we are pompous/judgemental prudes who think we're better than everyone else. So, so sad. But, that being said it's bad to be an American. It's REALLY bad to be a Christian American. Worse than that? A WHITE Christian American. Still more? Being an affluent/educated, white, Christian American. Finally? Being an EDUCATED, WHITE, CHRISTIAN, AMERICAN MALE.

Where am I going with this? Tebow... I'm going Tebow (which on another note, could totally become a slang term, but I'll wait on that...). What is the deal with people HATING the Tebow family? Is it really THAT hard to believe there are good people left in this society? If they were of another race, religion, starving and all girls, would it be different? Is it so bad to not use your fortune to grow your ego into womanizing and wasting money on harmful things? Ok, whatever; I guess that's two soapboxes in one.


3. Obamacare. Yep... won't go there. Been there; still feel the same. I will leave that stone unturned. For now.


4. Carmel bullying/hazing case. This is a tough one. I will start with the disclaimer that it was WRONG. Very wrong. I am in NO way condoning what those boys did. I think it's unfortunate and I absolutley thing they should be punished. However, kids are kids. And they are mean. REALLY mean. Obviously, I've never experienced the bullying of boys, but I have dealt with the bullying of girls, and maybe it's just my bias, but I am convinced that what girls do is WAY worse.

Granted (thankfully) there isn't the sexual humiliation and contact like there was in this particular case, and no real physical harm. But, the emotional/mental harm? It's unreal. And it lasts for forever. It's not an isolated event. It goes on for a long, long time. Hard to detect, hard to "catch", and even HARDER to recover from. There are no visible bruises on skin, no tests that can be run at a hospital to check for penetration, no nothing. Instead there is unbelievable pain, the brutal murder of one's confidence, and the robbery of one's ability to trust.

This case isn't just about the horrible things that happened to that freshman basketball player. No, this case represents how awful kids (and adults for that matter) have been allowed to behave and treat other people. This is the "exhibit A" if you will of what happens all over this country every single day. I don't know if it's a lack of security so people need to hurt others to feel fulfilled, or if it's the sheer entitlement mentality, but whatever it is, it has gotten WAY out of hand. It's so sad that people really don't know what it's like to be a friend anymore.


4. MARK SAUDER: Give me a break... x2. He's a good friend of my mom's... they grew up together, went to high school together. Mark's dad & mom's dad taught Sunday school together at the AC church (yet another post for another day). Mark's mom still goes to church there... with Gramps. Grabill is about the size of a pea. That pea, however, is larger than Cedarville. Leo, now Leo, is the booming metropolis. The "triple cities" as they're known.

But come on, really Mark? Highlight of his speech was this: "I'm sick and tired of politicians who...". Um, hello? Last time I checked, he IS one of those politicians he's sick and tired of. His wife of 30-something years? So she's not a size 4 anymore. So what? Does that entitle him to someone younger, thinner, more attractive? He's been in Congress longer than he said (exhibit A of him not having a problem breaking his word and not following through) and now this. Just when the middle of the road begins to think the left has all the answers, we, the "judgemental, conservative, right-wing prudes" back up our hypocrisy. Now, I am CERTAINLY not saying I am innocent. No, I've never cheated on my spouse, but I will say that every day I live, it is "by the grace of God, go I...". It just makes me sad. Sad for Mrs. Sauder and their children. Sad for the husband and family of the mistress. Sad for all of the people who bought into him and now feel deceived. Sad for the conservatives who now have to try to repair the damage that was done. Just sad.

Ok... enough of that. I shall return... eventually.