Bryan found this poem in a book he's reading about becoming a professional life coach.  I can certainly identify with the truth in this poet's heart, so I thought I'd share and see if y'all can too... Let me know your thoughts.  Which chapter is YOUR life right now?

An Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

by Portia Nelson, 1993

I

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost…I am helpless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I am in this same place.

But it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in… it's a habit…but,

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

V

I walk down another street.

Where should we draw the line?!

During this whole national debate on health care reform, I've listened to both sides of the argument with a (fairly) open mind. It's definitely a very emotional, controversial, politically-charged topic that will affect all Americans in some way. But today, I won't get into the gory details and talking points, because I want to write about some related questions that keep bubbling to the surface in my mind. They're not so much about the bill itself, but about to what extent our leaders will take this sense of entitlement.


Something really troubles me about this bleeding-heart Democrat mantra that "Every American DESERVES free health care."  Just because they repeat it ad nauseum (hey...maybe I should see a doctor about that!), doesn't make it true.  The thing that really concerns me is that the logic of this argument is riddled with fallacy. If every American is ENTITILED to free health care from the government, why stop there?!  "Every American DESERVES..."  (YOU fill in the blank! C'mon...This could be fun.)

• Take a look at the poor and homeless in every city across America - it's a complete tragedy that people are forced to live on the streets and eat out of dumpsters! Couldn't one argue, by the same logic, that every American ENTITLED to a free home of their own, free groceries every week, and free utilities? (Hey, why not throw in free basic cable and a toaster oven?)  Who is responsible to "fix" this problem in our country? 
• Hey...I've heard enough talk about the rising unemployment rate in this country - I say, "Every American DESERVES a job!" Better yet - Why don't we just work, and our employers could contribute our entire paychecks to the General Fund, so that our honorable elected officials can decide how best to spend it for us?  Everyone would have what they need, and nobody would be burdened with too much money.  
• If everyone is entitled to an education, why quit after high school? Let’s make college free for everyone too! Problem is, when colleges are forced to accept everyone and the government pays, the value of the college-level education drastically decreases.
• A friend of mine recently posted a statistic on Facebook that wonders “how 60 million Americans struggle with obesity, while 36 million Americans struggle with hunger.”  Why isn’t the government rationing food so nobody has too much and nobody has too little?

Where else does our government feel that they need to intervene in our personal lives?  If we give them an inch, will they take a mile? What will become of the principles of capitalism and free enterprise that have distinguished our economic system as one of the greatest in the world?


My husband had a really interesting point the other day... if everyone is SO concerned about people not having health insurance, then why don't we see any non-profit charities organized to provide financial aid to the 10 million "uninsurable"  Americans - either to help them purchase health insurance, or subsidize their health care expenses directly?  We have charities for helping the hungry, and for nearly every other imaginable social problem - why not health care? For that matter, what role should Christians play in helping those who cannot help themselves?

If we lived in this imaginary utopia where there was meant to be an even distribution of wealth, the government could just print all the money and pass out the same amount to everybody, just like the "Banker" does at the beginning of a Monopoly game. Problem is, in real life - just as in the game - some loser still runs out of money in the end. You either have to keep giving them handouts or call the game over!

homeschool funnies - language arts

I know I haven't posted anything lately, but I have a little "funny" to share from our homeschool lessons this past Friday. I was teaching the girls about the three basic types of sentences: declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory.

First, I told them that declarative sentences just make a statement, or tell something that happened.

Next, I asked them what they thought an exclamatory sentence would be. Hayden immediately exclaimed, "A SHOCKER!!" Yeah, I think she gets it.

Then I pointed to the word interrogative on their worksheet, and asked what kind of sentence they thought it might be. Hayden tilted her head with an inquisitive (or confused) expression and responded, "Huh?" So, I told her that she was exactly right!

Talkative Baby

I don't know who this is, but this adorable video makes me laugh every time I watch it! Enjoy!

passing by

I was reading this post on a friend's blog, and my heart was really touched by her thoughts. She said I could share them with you here, but requested that I not link to her blog.

Thoughts while driving through Southern Morocco

Zipping by in my climate-controlled shiny silver-mobile, I catch a glimpse of you - an old, bent-over woman battling the icy winds.

We pass you by.

Riding in a car full to the brim with suitcases, books, people, car seats and more, I avoid your eyes as you stand on the road, carrying a heavy load of firewood - hoping for a ride.

We pass you by.

Going on, I stuff my face with snacks, and barely notice you, little one, holding out walnuts or weeds (for tea?) – hollering at me to buy.

We pass you by.

In a tourist-frequented village, we rest in the shade, glugging our filtered, bottled, super-clean spring drinking water down as you stumble past us under the weight of two huge jugs of muddy river water.

I watch you pass.

Back in the car - dreaming of the hot showers we will have to wash away one day’s dirt, we dodge a little boy in the road who can’t even remember being clean.

We pass him by.

Changing our cold, wet socks and shoes for fresh clean ones, I catch your eye as you wade through the freezing stream because your bridge was washed away in a flash flood. 

We pass you by.

Planning to do multiple loads of laundry the minute we get home, I look up through the window and see you – precariously perched on the edge of a cliff, laying your clothes out on the rocks to dry.

We pass you by.

With pockets and a bank full of money, we haggle with you, our tour guide, who is trying to rip us off by charging an extra four dollars.

I can hardly wait to pass you by.

Our girls, carsick from reading too much, gaze out the window at grubby girls their age, babies on hips, who will never own one book.

We pass them by.

Explaining God’s love for us yet again to our questioning children, we drive through an entire village who has not heard this once.

We pass them by.

It’s not that I don’t want to help. It’s not that I don’t want to make a difference. We even try to do little things for people along the way. But there are so many on every single kilometer of road. I’m overwhelmed. If I got out of the car in even one tiny village, we’d never get home. After all, we are on a tight schedule. Where would I start? Where would it end? My heart is heavy.

But You – You got out of the car. You sheltered us, lifted the firewood off of our backs, and gave us bread and water surging with life. You cleaned us up and then gave us new clothes to wear. Your words were so simple that it was the illiterate who understood first. And you poured treasures and love into our hearts. 

You stepped out of the car so long that you spent your entire life here. And most amazing of all – you even made a way for us to go where you go. And be where you are.

You did not pass us by.

Doesn't this put our daily hassles & inconveniences into perspective?  

It's so easy in American culture to get wrapped up in ourselves, and yet we can see similar scenarios here in our homeland if we just open our eyes.  

If Jesus had passed us by, where would we be? 

But He couldn't. 

And He didn't. 

And we are His.

signs of life

Hints of springtime are finally peeking through the dead leaves (and snow!).  

This week I've seen...

- cardinals flying

- day lillies blooming

- kudzu vines creeping

- children playing outside

Praise God!  Here's hoping spring comes quickly...

one more

since you've been gone

from this earth,

so often

i want to call you for advice,

or to tell you the cutest thing

the kids did today --

i almost pick up the phone.

while you were here

you always gave me so much,

but maybe i'm just selfish -

because i would give anything for 

just one more...

...word

...day

...joke

...vacation

...smile

...talk

...note

...movie

...picture

...phone call

...laugh

...play

...visit

...shopping trip

...birthday party

...Christmas morning

...Easter egg hunt

...family dinner

...hug
...kiss
..."i love you"

...good-bye

It's just not the same here without you, Mom.

I miss you every single day.

stars

The other day, as I was running (well, driving) between gymnastics and guitar lessons, I was listening to the local Christian radio station.  There was nobody else in the car with me at the moment, so I could actually hear the lyrics to the Switchfoot song "Stars" that was playing.

"Stars"

Maybe I've been the problem, maybe I'm the one to blame

But even when I turn it off and blame myself, the outcome feels the same

I've been thinkin maybe I've been partly cloudy, maybe I'm the chance of rain

Maybe I'm overcast, and maybe all my luck's washed down the drain

I've been thinking 'bout everyone, everyone you look so lonely

But when I look at the stars,

when I look at the stars,

when I look at the stars I see someone else

When I look at the stars,

the stars, I feel like myself

Stars lookin' at our planet watching entropy and pain

And maybe start to wonder how the chaos in our lives could pass as sane

I've been thinking bout the meaning of resistance, of a hope beyond my own

And suddenly the infinite and penitent begin to look like 

I've been thinking 'bout everyone, everyone you look so empty

But when I look at the stars,

when I look at the stars,

when I look at the stars I see someone else

When I look at the stars,

the stars, I feel like 

everyone, everyone we feel so lonely

everyone, yeah everyone we feel so empty

When I look at the stars,

when I look at the stars,

when I look at the stars I feel like myself

I don't look at the stars enough.  I watch too much TV.  I spend too much time in front of the computer, wandering aimlessly through cyberspace.  

When do I feel like myself?  What would it feel like to feel like myself?  These are questions that I need to explore... how about you?