Friday, January 23, 2015

Racism and bulling is alive and well...

 I saw this on Yahoo News this morning...I really cannot fathom how parents feel like they are doing a good job of raising their children while perpetuating a cycle of racism and bullying...don't they understand that the "sins of the father" are taught? I will warn you...there is some ugly language so if you choose to read or listen, be prepared!


Knowing your child is being bullied is heartbreaking for any parent, but when Brad Knudsen, a father of five, saw firsthand the nasty videos that a pair of twins sent his youngest daughter, he felt helpless. Until he decided to make a video of his own.
In a nearly six-minute YouTube video (below) posted Monday evening, a clearly upset Knudsen, who is white, explains that two kids sent his 14-year-old daughter Dee Dee, who is African-American, Snapchat videos using terms like the n-word and calling her a slut. In the video, the Minnesota dad shows the Snapchat and plays a voicemail he got from the twins’ father, which also uses offensive language. The video has since been viewed nearly 300,000 times.



Wednesday, January 14, 2015

No one likes shots...


but they can and do save lives!


“A one year-old just died. Paramedics were called but he was gone by the time they got there,” the resident spoke softly, obviously affected by the news. “What happened?” I asked. She told me that the child had been seen in the ER two days earlier, was diagnosed with measles and sent home. My heart sank. I had sent home a one year-old child with measles two days earlier. Was this the same child? It was. He had looked so good two days earlier, responsive, alert and in no distress. The careful follow up instructions that were given were not followed and the child developed complications and arrested. I will never forget how I felt when he died.

Read the rest of the story here...


This child and many others die because their parents do not immunize them. Fear of the shot is worse than fear of the disease...even though statistics tell us the immunizations are absolutely the best choice. I have 2 children and 2 grandchildren and would fight anyone who tried to keep me from keeping them safe from diseases that should be non-existent in our world.

I believe God gives us all gifts and doctors have a special one...he gives them the intelligence, skill and compassion to work what would seem to be miracles in any other age. I have witnessed first hand the skill of a doctor who took on my husband's case because he knew he could "fix" him. This doctor is the department head in a world renowned hospital in our area. Without red tape, without even seeing him face to face (he looked at the MRI images) he moved his entire schedule to get him into surgery. He also called each day leading up to the surgery to check on his patient...his final words with every call were "be gentle with him, one fall and he will be paralyzed from the neck down and there will be nothing I can do". He was asking us to give him a chance...and we did. And now my hubby walks and bends and plays with his grandchildren.

It breaks my heart to think that parents could be so careless...


Monday, January 12, 2015

The Line!

I read an article here....

It was entitiled, 7 Rules Not to break in the School Drop-Off (or Pick-Up) line! It is obvious the author has been there, done that!


Rule #1: Do NOT get out of your car. Ever. Not to “quickly grab” your kid, wave “come on” to your child over the playground fence, or just say “hi” to your friend in line behind you to tell her how much fun you had at Girl’s Night Out. Stay in your car. And when the car in front of you moves, you move.

Rule #2: Put down the cellphone. Don’t text or type emails. Waiting for your kid in your empty (and wonderfully quiet) car seems like the perfect opportunity to catch up on work – but it’s also a distraction. People on their phones don’t notice the car in front of them has moved, and as we learned in Rule #1, you know what to do next. More importantly, it’s dangerous. People on their phones don’t see children darting out between cars to the parents breaking rule #3.

Rule #3: Don’t double park. Maybe you’re thinking “I’ll just pull up alongside this nice lady here and my kid can run out in front of her and jump in.” No. “But I see my kid right there!” Good. Then you can wave at them to meet you at the end of the line when you circle back around the block. Plus, it’s illegal.

Rule #4: DON’T cut the line. It doesn’t matter that there is a gap the size of the one in Lauren Hutton’s smile in front of that BMW ten cars up. We’re all waiting for them to get off their phone and move up (pop quiz: “What do you do when the car in front of you moves?”). Zipping into that gap is like cutting the line at a cupcake shop. You wouldn’t pull that $#*% at Sprinkles, would you?

Rule #5: Leave the PDA at home. You love your little one and want to send him on his way to school with a kiss. That’s lovely. You’re cute. But if little Johnny won’t get out of the car or he’s not ready to say “goodbye,” go park your car and walk him in. Even better? Install an ejector seat. People are waiting, folks.

Rule #6: The rules of the car drop-off lane apply to everybody, no matter what kind of car you drive. So move your Maserati to the back of the line, dude. You’re giving the 1 percent a bad name.

Rule #7: Move swiftly. Once your kids locate you, get them into the car and get going. Don’t sit there in line and have the “how was your day?” discussion with them.

In short, a little politeness goes a long way in the car lane (and beyond). Remember, being behind the wheel of a car doesn’t make you invisible. We see you. We all see you. Including our children. So let’s try to set a good example. Now put the phone down… the car in front of you just moved up.


Amen!

( I must confess, I do read when sitting in line but I've mastered the art of reading with one eye while watching the car in front of me with the other...won't catch me holding up the line!!!)

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Beauty for the ears!

For no particular reason except that I think it is an absolutely beautiful piece by Gregorio Allegri...



To me, having the words in front of you just enhances the song!

Friday, January 9, 2015

Ant & Bees

The Bible teaches us that as a church, we are individual members of the whole...we are a “body” and as such cannot function without others...

When we see ants and bees out in the world, we often see just one, but this belies the reality of their situation. More than any other species, ants and bees function as parts of a whole. They cannot and do not survive as individuals; they survive as members of a group, and the group’s survival is the implicit goal of each individual’s life. There is no concept of life outside the group, so even to use the word individual is somewhat misleading. Often, humans, on the other hand, strongly value individuality and often negatively associate ants and bees with a lack of independence. And yet, if we look closer at these amazing creatures, we can learn valuable lessons about how much we can achieve when we band together with others to work for a higher purpose.

Most ants and bees have highly specified roles within their communities, some of which are biologically dictated, and they work within the confines of their roles without complaint, never wishing to be something other than what they are. In this way, they symbolize self-knowledge and humility. They also display selfless service as they work for the common good. In many ways, they are like the individual cells of one body, living and dying as necessary to preserve the integrity of the whole body, not to protect themselves as individuals. In this way, ants personify the ability to see beyond one’s small self to one’s place within the greater whole, and the ability to serve this whole selflessly.

Ants and bees can inspire us to fully own what we have to offer and to put it to use in the pursuit of a goal that will benefit all of humanity, whether it be raising consciousness about the environment, feeding the hungry, or raising a happy child. Each one of us has certain talents we were born with, as well as skills we have acquired. When we apply these gifts, knowing that we are one part of a greater organism working to better the whole world, we honor and implement the wisdom of ants and bees.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Who knew

...life would get so busy that I would allow it to interfere with one of my great loves. Putting words to page...it is my one artistic endeavor. Clay would just stay in it's original form, paints and brushes would stay clean, paper would be as pristine as the day I opened it, measures would remain lines on a page without any notes to grace them...but give me a chance to write and I am possessed! 

When I first began this blog, I had hopes that people would follow in droves! After a while, and with a few who read my ramblings faithfully, I realized that I write for myself more than anything else. 

I do love the written word...and I plan to share them regularly from this point on...

Hope you enjoy!