Category: Advice And Opinion

  THE JOURNEYS OF OUR LIVES

Nobody uses the term journey anymore.  No one says they are going on a journey.  They are going on a vacation, or a trip or just plain getting away for a few days.  When I think of the word journey I think of Lewis and Clark because the word journey to me implies discovery and adventure beyond just a vacation. A journey implies a level of risk that isn’t usually associated with a vacation.

A friend who has been fighting ongoing medical issues and has been hospitalized for weeks recently thanked her friends for their ongoing prayers as she continues her health journey. It got me thinking about all the journeys that we go on throughout our lives but don’t think of them as journeys as we are living them day by day. And yes, some parts of these journeys are fraught with risk.

I think our first journey that we are cognizant of is when we anxiously await turning ten years old.  We are thrilled beyond words to become double digits.  This journey includes gradually getting more privileges, but it also involves more responsibilities around the house.  It is during this journey that we begin to learn the concept of balance in our lives.  If we are lucky and have loving parents, and they provide a strong safety net, we can learn a bit about this world we live in and grow up in. It can be a difficult journey at times as it is during this journey that we learn to control and handle our frustrations, fears and inevitable failures as we take more steps into life. We also learn how to win graciously, how to share, and what empathy is and how important it is in our lives.

Our next journey, in my opinion, is the most difficult.  It is the journey of getting to our 13^th birthday.  Being a teenager is a huge milestone.  However, this journey includes the beginning of puberty and middle school.  You have hundreds of hormone erupting individuals all trying to understand the changes in their bodies and comparing them to all the other bodies they see around themselves.  Girls are discovering boys and boys are discovering girls.  Add to this acne and awkward growth spurts and you have total mayhem.  The meanness factor goes up and off the track. This is the journey when you really begin to comprehend just how big, and dangerous the world is and it is absolutely terrifying at times.  Hopefully during this journey you will have someone in your life who will talk to you about having a vision of what you want for your life. Many people will tell you, if you ask, that they don’t have a lot of fond memories of this journey.

Our next journey is the big step toward that elusive concept of “adulthood.”  I think it is infused with more hope as the ambition is to reach 16 years of age. A driver’s license is the brass ring of this journey. Although high school is riddled with emotional traps there is still more of a sense of belonging.  During this journey we find our group. We may not be totally comfortable with the other sex, but we are beginning to realize that relationships involving them are possible.  This is the journey that will usually include the first date.  It can be a time of great insecurity but with the right people around you, you will be able to grow in security and confidence.  It is a time of mystery as we begin to understand the differences in people and how those differences are okay.  If we have the right guidance, we can find this to be a very enriching journey.

The next journey is the shortest, but it is jam packed with growth inducing events.  The ambition here is to reach 18 because then you gain the coveted title of “Grown-up!”  Of course, you will realize quickly that you aren’t really a full adult as there are still things you can’t do such as drinking alcohol, and signing some contracts for example. Most adults you know will not treat you differently and that can be annoying but none of that matters because you are an adult and can do whatever you want. That is if you have the money.  More than likely you still live at home where you will listen to a litany of words and statements regarding higher education, joining the military or job training tossed your way on a regular basis.  It is during this journey that you may have your first job. At one time the Draft was an issue for young men at this point in their lives..

Your next journey has you wait anxiously for your 21^st birthday as now you are truly an adult.  You will find you are getting all kinds of advice on how to spend and save your money.  People who care about you will give you advice on all kinds of issues from not marrying too young to how to begin to prepare for your ultimate retirement. You are either in college or beginning your career. This can be a stressful journey because some decisions you make during this time can have long ranging effects. It is during this journey that you will begin to learn the importance of balance between working towards your objectives and having fun. It is during this time that you will learn that with great freedom comes great responsibility. Sadly, if our country is involved in a military conflict anywhere, you may experience the loss of a former student or friend who dies or is injured and comes home forever changed both physically and mentally. 

The next journey is a longer one.  From age 21 to 40 is a super busy journey. You will finish your postgrad education or be working your way up in the career you have chosen. It is when you will likely get married and start a family.  You will find that balancing the needs of your work and family can be daunting.  You will discover that life is not always easy nor is it predictable.  Family members die, loved ones get into accidents, not all babies are born healthy.  That beautiful woman you married doesn’t look quite the same after just three hours of sleep.  That handsome, rugged man you married snores and doesn’t like to pick up his dirty clothes. This is the journey when you start to listen to the news and politics, which you previously found boring. Politics may become a major talking point because you suddenly realize you want the government to not leave you penniless. You also realize that you have values, ethics and morals. You are cognizant of how other people live, especially those with children who are the same age as your children. It is during this journey that you realize how fragile life can be and for that reason your children are not going to spend the night at the neighbor’s house when you have seen the husband drunk at all different times of the day. Yes, it is during this journey that you find yourself being “judgmental” which is what you accused your parents of being. You will also find yourself saying the annoying things your parents said such as, “close the door! I’m not heating or cooling the outside” or the all-time favorite, “because I said so.”

I feel the next journey is from 40 to 50 years of age.  It is during this time that your children are very likely to be graduating from college or getting into their career choice.  Suddenly, you see a light at the end of the ‘never ending check writing tunnel.’ However, this is also the time when your children decide to marry, and you must learn to enjoy or at least tolerate the in-laws. The good news is that this is also the time when you may become a grandparent.  Life will take on a whole new meaning. You will find yourself tolerating behavior that would have made you crazy if your children had indulged in that same behavior. It is during this journey that you realize it would be nice if God let us live to 150 and have our first child at 50. We are so much calmer during this time in our lives. We know what a crisis is and what isn’t a crisis. We realize that democracy will not collapse if a child doesn’t eat his green beans. It is also during this journey that you will become more aware of your health. You will also begin to think of retirement in a more serious fashion.

The next journey is from 50 to 67.  This is when you begin the slide into retirement. Sometimes you will smile as you look back and sometimes you will wonder how you could have been so stupid regarding the decisions you made. You will be making major decisions regarding how you will spend your retirement years. If you are enjoying good health, then you may begin to think about those places you have always wanted to see. This is also the time when you realize that The Last Will and Testament you made when the children were little may not reflect where you would like your assets to go now. The needs of your children and grandchildren may have changed. . It is during this time that you may find yourself accepting the ugly fact that one of your children makes one bad choice after another. A friend of mine has six children that are all adults now.  He and his wife were quite successful, and their children were all raised with a good set of values and a strong work ethic. Five of them have college degrees and are successful in their chosen fields.  The other one is a homeless drug addict. This is the time when we must acknowledge that our children will make their own choices and will answer for them. It can be a bitter pill to acknowledge that except for praying for them there is not much you can do. On a lighter note; It is also the time when you can pursue your personal interests and not worry about taking time away from your children’s needs.

Our final journey is from 68 to whenever the Lord calls you home. In some ways I think this journey can be the most fulfilling.  Be careful, because It is easy during this journey to get complacent about our eating habits and physical and mental exercise.

This is a great time to use your talents in a volunteer capacity. As a Christian I remind people that retirement isn’t mentioned in the bible. I believe that we should always be striving to do something useful at all points of our lives. Sitting in front of a TV all day is not a useful way to spend your later years. The United States leads the world in the concept of volunteerism. If you are blessed with a retirement that does not require you to work, then this is the time to use your talents where they are needed most.  If you think you don’t have talent, think again, because you do. If you were a stay-at-home mom, then you have super talents. There is no end to the agencies looking for volunteers and trust me your talents are needed somewhere.  There is no better feeling than to help someone who will never help you but who given the chance will help someone else.

During this journey many will learn to live with the loss of a spouse. Memories will be bittersweet at this time. Some are unable to move past the loss even with family support. I had a relative who never moved on in any way.  Every day, for 45 years, she would repeat the mantra, “I would walk barefoot for the rest of my life for just one more day with my husband.” She became a bitter and sad soul who people avoided. Some will find themselves at a point where they are ready to move on. A relationship at this time can be refreshing as there is not the stress that is attached to relationships when we are younger. I think when two people find each other at this season of their lives it can be comforting and enriching.

 For some people their faith has always been a vital part of their life. Others will find themselves reaching back to their religious roots as they find themselves facing their own mortality. This time can also find people reassesing their lives and finding themselves lacking. Instead of rebuking themselves they should look back on the people they had a positive impact on. Sort of a “It’s A Wonderful Life” kind of review of our lives.

The bible says that “in many advisors is wisdom” and at this time in our lives we should surely qualify as an advisor. This is the time to share the wisdom, often hard won, that we have acquired. We can only hope the young people in our lives will listen better than we did.

 This final journey can be rich and full if we allow it to be.

I bet there isn’t a woman reading this who hasn’t had a moment in her life when she said, “Man, am I glad I am married. I would hate to be in the dating field with this…..”

It is hard enough to be a woman who, as the years go by, finds it harder, more expensive and some days just plain exhausting, to look her best. The first fact that we have to face is that no matter how hard we try; gravity will win. It is insidious, gravity, because it works slowly. Suddenly you are taut and firm and the next minute you’re not. You can work out at a gym all you want and although it is certainly good for you; gravity will eventually reign triumphant.

However, the most annoying fact is that men don’t have this problem. I talked to quite a few women before I started writing this blog and all of them said the same thing. Men and women are perceived by society with two distinctly different measuring sticks. Now, imagine you are over 50 and have to contend with the different measuring sticks.

Let’s start with my six months of constant ear infections after my second thyroid storm. I saw the ENT every other week to have my ear cleaned out. During a visit the doctor told me that he would be gone for two weeks and that if the problem popped up while he was gone, to buy some cream for athlete’s foot fungus and use a Q tip and put some in my ear. I was appalled!!

“Are you telling me I have athlete’s foot fungus of the ear?” I nearly screamed those words out. He calmly told me that I did but that once my body got its balance back it would go away. I remember thinking how glad I was that I wasn’t in the dating game. Can you imagine meeting some one and then having to say that you have athlete’s foot fungus of the ear? Now, let me be honest for a minute. Men would laugh and even brag about it. Yes, I asked several men who admitted they would have had to share that with their buds as it would be funny to have athlete’s foot fungus of the ear. Women have a different sense of humor and we do NOT share those medical anomalies. I did not tell anyone for fear the villagers would slap bolts on my neck and then chase me out of the Village with pitch forks and torches!!

Why is it men, when they start to get grey hair at the temples and hair line, look distinguished but women look old and haggard? No one asks why a man doesn’t get his hair colored but women can be cruel regarding other women when it comes to this issue. It annoys me to no end that women can be other women’s worst enemy when it comes to how we look. Women need to remember to straighten each other’s crowns when they tilt and not point out the fact that it is tilted. Yes, we do see advertisements for men’s hair dye but the advertisements for products for women are far more prevalent. Richard Gere got the title of “Silver Fox.” I have never heard of a woman getting the title “Silver Vixen.”

Crow’s feet and other wrinkles make a man look “weathered” or my favorite “weather beaten;” but women look old. Yes, we slather our faces with sun screen, moisturizers etc. to keep wrinkles at bay. We get Botox, eye lifts and even full face lifts, while men walk around looking ‘weather beaten.’ No one ever wonders if the man smoked, laid in the sun to tan or drank too much as those factors can contribute to wrinkles. Boy, are those factors at the top of people’s comments when it comes to a woman’s wrinkles. Personally, I prefer referring to them as “laugh lines.” After all, if you are a woman in today’s society you better have a sense of humor.

Now, I don’t want to forget eyebrows. We women pluck, wax, shave, color them in and dye them. Some women even go so far as to have permanent eyebrows tattoed on their faces. But men? Not so much. I have seen men with long eyebrows that I swear could pick up satellite radio. Walk toward one of these men with a pair of tweezers and he will whimper like a three year old that fell and stubbed his toe.

Trust me when I say that I have seen women in bathing suits that they truly shouldn’t be wearing but for the most part women wear bathing suits that cover their less favorable body issues. I remember an actress bragging about how she has been a size four for three decades. I thought, “Wow, I think I was a size four when I was a fetus.” Do men have these issues? Not so much. You will see men wearing speedos with huge pot bellies and a big flirty grin on their faces as they walk past women. They don’t seem to understand most women are not turned on by that view. However, why would they think otherwise? Stand up comics don’t mock them like they mock women. They think they look good and that women should be thrilled that they had walked past.

I don’t see much of this changing. Society is what it is and so we women will continue to slather our bodies and dye our hair. Don’t even get me started about waxing. Do you know what a Brazilian wax is? I’ll wait while you look it up. Now, I pulled a hangnail the other day and I thought death was imminent. I can’t imagine contorting my body into some yoga like pose to get wax slathered on my nether regions just to get that wax brutally ripped off by some sturdy German lady that once worked at Helga’s House of Pain. Yet, this is what some women do in the name of beauty.

For years women did not have the rights that men had. This is a fact. Over the last hundred years it is safe to say that the scale was evened out – maybe even went too far the other way – but that is a hot topic eliciting many different opinions. Looking back in the not so distant past there was a time when women couldn’t own property, vote, have a business in their own name, be protected against domestic violence or go to college to name a few major rights. Women fought hard to get those rights and now, the basic right to be a female is being eroded.

Today, the basic belief and protection of being a female is being chipped away at daily by the Democratic Party. I wish I could say it was only the severe left wing of the Democratic Party that is behind this attack on women but if that was true then the normal, sane Democrats would speak out. Sadly, they are silent.

This administration not only thinks it is okay but actually encourages men who want to dress like women to compete in women’s sports. Now, you can be for transgender rights all you want, but basic biology is a fact. Males have larger, stronger bones and joint surfaces as well as more development at the sites where muscles attach. However, the pelvis is the best sex-related skeletal indicator, because of distinct features found in females where the pelvis is adapted for childbearing. God knew what he was doing. Women have less muscle mass than men do. The volume of adult female lungs is around 10 to 12 % less than that of a male of the same height, weight and age. These are indisputable, biological facts. I love the way the left feels they can dispute these facts based purely on their desire and belief that disputing them makes them undisputable. They have forced these insane views on our female populace and we now have men putting on women’s swim suits and competing in women’s competitions as well as other women’s sports. The biological women can’t win. To make it worse we are supposed to applaud and say that a woman won the race!

We have doctors, who I assume have had anatomy classes, purporting that men can give birth!! They believe that if a woman opts to decide she is a man and then gets pregnant that we are to accept that a man had a baby. What crazy world are we in today? Where has the awe of a woman giving birth gone?

Hillary Clinton and other left wing women are constantly lamenting the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs Vs Jackson to give abortion rights to the states to decide. “We are not going back” is their mantra. Hello, women’s rights are going backwards in the grossest fashion ever but that doesn’t seem to bother these same women.

The Left has damaged the fabric of our nuclear families and continues to do so today. They promote women not needing men in their lives and the concept of a cohesive family unit where the father is a vital part of the unit, is mocked. For years the government has made it easier and easier for women to have children and be supported by the government rather than have a traditional family. Everyone is hurt in this scenario – the women struggling, the children with no real family foundation, children with no fathers in the picture. As this scenario is repeated over and over again we see generational poverty growing in all parts of the country. We now have to accept that our daughters are to not to be upset and should ignore men, when they decide they identify as female, and come into the women’s locker room and watch the biological females undress while they undress and in numerous cases show off their private parts. Now, is it just me who assumes these guys are laughing their tails off at the stupidity of the left? Is anyone surprised at the sexual assaults that are occurring at these facilities?

We now have this administration bending over backwards to help women who want to get an abortion but not one red nickel to assist an agency that wants to help women keep a baby after an unplanned pregnancy. This administration hired a man who dresses like a woman and even steals women’s clothing from airports and hired him as Assistant Secretary for Spent Fuel and Waste disposition at the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. If you can’t decide whether you are a man or a woman should you really be in charge of something so dangerous? President Biden even invited a man who now dresses as a woman to the White House and told him that God blesses him.

Now, keep in mind that the military is supposed to be a fighting force that has one job and one job only and that is to protect the United States and its citizens. It is not a social experiment but this administration has decided to make it a social experiment. Women in the military are now being told that they are the problem if they complain because a biological man decides he is a woman and wants to train, sleep and shower with the women.

So, here is my question. Where are the women? Women stood up to fight for women to get the protections they needed regarding domestic violence, the right to vote, own property in their own name, get fair child support etc. However, it seems that now they are silent. Why? Why aren’t women, especially older women who remember not having some of those rights, speaking up? Why is being a part of this “woke” culture more important to them than fighting for the young members of their gender? Why don’t they want to protect their identity as females? Why do they want to push the abortion agenda? Why aren’t they fighting against the sexualization of our children? Why do they not fight to protect the innocence of children and allow them to be, just that, children? Why aren’t they speaking up to protect the safety of our female students?

Those of us who see the wrong being committed against women need to get more vocal. We need to get involved in politics on both a local level and be extremely cognizant of what is going on on the state and federal level. We need politicians who will fight for the protection of pregnancy centers with as much fervor as they defend abortion clinics. We need politicians who will protect our girls and women against biological males being allowed to enter women’s bathrooms and showers. We need politicians to declare that the best unit for children to be raised in is one where there is a mom and a dad. We need to respect our girls and teach them to respect themselves and their bodies. We need to teach our sons to respect females and to honor their differences. We need to vote out members of school boards who want to push an agenda that I, and many others, find highly perverted and that puts our daughters at risk of assault or worse.

It is sad but this is a new fight for Women’s Rights!! The previous fight was against ignorance and fear of what women were capable of doing. This one is worse as it is from the seeds of evil. It is a virulent attack on the fabric of our country. A country built on Judeo/Christian values. Biological females must not be allowed to fall prey to the whims of the radical left.

I don’t think that most of us think about conveyor belts. We use them all the time in stores so they don’t really seem unusual. However, the last time I was at the airport and I used the ‘moving sidewalk,’ or people conveyor belt as I call it, it got me to thinking about the metaphorical conveyor belt of our lives.

In a way we are put on a conveyor belt the moment we draw a breath. It starts moving and our adventure on Earth begins. Maybe we will be on it for 100 years or maybe just 20 years. We don’t know but while we are on this belt and moving along we need to be busy and hopefully living positive and productive lives.

We don’t think about the movement when we are young because we have this ability to think we are invincible. We take chances and make stupid choices and the belt just keeps moving. It moves at the same rate of speed for everyone but some people seem to lose sight of that and then suddenly twenty years have flown by. And the belt keeps moving.

We can’t jump off for a bit and get our bearings. We need to make choices as it is moving. We need to do what is right in our day to day lives and still look ahead at what we hope we will see down the line. We can’t see ahead so we can only hope and pray. God does give us wisdom if we ask for it and you can use that to help plan the future that the belt is moving us toward. We work, get married and have children and, because we are so busy we forget about the belt moving; but move it does.

Then we get a phone call that some we love and care about has been taken off the belt at a young age. We cry, we rage and wonder why some one so young or so good was taken off the belt but we don’t get an answer because if is not for us to know. The loss usually makes us aware once again of the belt and our significance on it.

As we get older we begin to worry about the loved ones in our lives, especially the younger ones and making sure they make the most of their time on the belt. Sadly, when we try to teach and use our own poor choices they don’t listen because they really don’t get the movement of the belt yet. However, understand it or not, it is moving.

As I look back on another year gone by I can only hope that along the way I helped someone with their time on this ever moving belt that we call life. I get emotional when I think about the dear friend that I lost this year but then I smile when I think of the person who entered my life this year and has enriched my life unmeasurably. I chuckle as I remember the times my young grandsons said something witty. I am grateful for the memories I made as I traveled to countries I have never been to before and saw so much more of this big rock we all call home. –

So, as we all get ready to start a new year on this conveyor belt of life, I think that instead of New Year’s Resolutions about dieting or finishing projects, that we just decide to remember each day to live our lives to the fullest but with a servant’s heart. Maybe that person who looks so sad in front of you in line would benefit from a smile. Maybe that elderly man with the hat on that shows he is a veteran would like to hear a simple, “Thank you for your service.” When your waitress is pregnant or older a few extra bucks in their tip is a way to make their day a little easier. Remember, nobody obviously pregnant or of retirement age does that work unless they have to do it. Your neighbor is facing a difficult situation? Maybe a meal with a note just letting them know you are thinking or praying for them would let them know they are not alone. We all have the ability, as the belt moves us along, to make life a little easier for others.

Yes, the belt is moving. We can have differences of opinion on a ton of issues but at the end of the day we are all just trying to manage day by day as the belt moves along. So, for a New Year’s Resolution how about deciding to be kind to each other? After all, it is the least we can do as we all move along together.

I bet if I asked any of my friends if they would allow a vulgar drug addict or a girl dressed like a hooker who wanted to twerk in their living room to spend a couple of hours in their house or maybe even babysit their impressionable children they would look at me in shock.  Maybe a mentally disturbed alcoholic who likes to defecate wherever they are, or a young person who wants to sing vulgar songs? Would they allow that person inside to spend time with their children? I bet whoever I asked would give me a look of astonishment mixed with terror. They would then go into a tirade on how someone like that would never be allowed in their house. Good grief, alarm systems are almost a given today when you buy a house. None of us want the riff raff to come into our homes. Those are not the kind of people we want to be exposed to and we surely don’t want those people anywhere near our children. And yet, they are in our homes every day. If you have a TV, I guarantee you those people are flapping their jaws inside of your house. Except for “Blue Bloods” I can’t think of a TV show that doesn’t portray the father or husband as a fool who constantly needs to be rescued by his wife or the women in his life. What happened to strong male figures? Why is that offensive today? TV shows are notorious for having the children talk to their parents rudely and disrespectfully as the parents laugh. Then parents wonder why their children try it at home.  If  you think I am exaggerating just turn on Nickelodeon, You Tube or even Disney and pick any show with children in it.  One example is the movie Red Panda which was put out by Disney.  It has a 13 year old girl yelling at her mother that she is 13 now and can do what she wants.  I raised five daughters and I assure you that would not have gone over well with me. It isn’t just the shows anymore. It is the commercials. I bet there are people reading this who have had their children ask why there is a crooked carrot being discussed on TV. Or why there is special medicine for something call HIV that two men kissing need to buy? Feminine products aimed at any and all issues a woman might ever need to address are discussed in the most specific details imaginable. The advertisers don’t seem to understand that women know the issues they need to address, and they don’t need a graphic commercial to guide them and they don’t need their young children asking them questions about these commercials. If you are like most people, you have a plethora of channels to choose from and trust me the teens know how to find the ones you least want them to watch. They are inundated with music and videos using all kinds of vile and filthy words. Lyrics that degrade females and use an assortment of crude words to identify the women as well as their intimate parts are played on numerous channels. The promotion of drugs is done in a subtle manner that should make anyone’s skin crawl. So much of what is out there is insidious and it is all aimed at our young people. This is going on under your roof as you are trying to teach your children manners, class and respect. If the TV isn’t enough to worry about there are the smart phones and computers that nearly every teen or pre-teen has access to and which can give them a window to all the issues I mentioned above. To make it even more frightening there is the issue of Human Trafficking and the predators who know how to use the numerous sites that are popular with teens and pre-teens today in an attempt to suck them into their sordid world. There are people like my daughter who are qualified to discuss these issues and what to look for so that parents can be alert. She gives these presentations to schools, civic organizations and churches. You can call your local police department to make arrangements. It is not easy today to be a parent and parents must always be diligent. Even though everyone is busy; parents must find a few minutes each day to see what their children are accessing on their devices. Too many parents don’t want to offend their children and have them think they don’t trust them. Trust me they will get over feeling you don’t trust them. Bottom line: don’t over trust your child. Stay on top of what they are viewing and accessing.  Take time to watch one of the shows they like with them and if it isn’t acceptable explain to them why not.  Get engaged with your children.  This reminds them that you care; even if they say they wish you would leave them alone. As so many parents have jobs, and need to depend on sitters, they must make sure they know the person who will have access to their child for many hours a day. You can never let your guard down, as there are people out there ready to pounce and drag your child down a path you would never choose for them nor would they ever choose for themselves.

One of my favorite songs is “Walk A Mile In My Shoes” by Elvis. One of the stanzas is: “And before you accuse, criticize and abuse; just walk a mile in my shoes.” I think how true those words are and I can’t help but think that maybe things would be smoother in this country if we all followed the premise of that song.

It is easy to take a stand on a social issue that you aren’t personally affected by and of all the social issues today I don’t believe any is as polarizing as abortion.

Years ago I worked for a doctor who performed abortions. I was a counselor and every woman who came in had to meet with me for a bit and I explained the alternatives to abortion with them. I would say about 5% would reconsider. I considered that a win. If I hadn’t been there, I believe that those women would have had an abortion they really didn’t want. However, those that opted to get the abortion were treated with respect. Some of the stories I heard were horrifying. I also talked to women who didn’t give abortion the same attention they gave to picking out the color of polish for their pedicure. They were equally horrifying to me but in a different way.

The people outside protesting made me angry. Some of those people even went so far as to follow the girls home and knock on their door and tell who lived there where they had been! The majority of the protestors will tell you they are out because God wants them to be and I want to say that I doubt that is the case. I believe this because not one of those women and it was mostly women, ever offered to take a pregnant teen in to their home and help them. Not one offered to buy them a crib or offer any type of financial aid. Not one offered to babysit so the girl could finish school. When I asked one group of women if they had ever offered one of these young women any of the previously mentioned services ; one women looked at me askance and said she would never have one of “those” girls in her house. I don’t think any of those people heard the song because they were very good at accusing, criticizing and abusing.

I lost track of the number of girls that were brought in by their mothers because their mothers said they had to have an abortion. These same women had spent their entire time raising their daughters telling them about the evil of abortion. Now that their daughter was pregnant they were concerned about what the people in their family, at church, and in their neighborhood etc. would think about their daughter being pregnant. They would get furious when I told them that if their daughter didn’t want the abortion she couldn’t make her have it. Several threatened to leave their daughters with me and I would explain that we would find someone loving to assist them. Only two actually did that and family came and got them.

Now. let us look at the protestors who are furious because Roe was over turned on a federal level. These people are blind to states rights issues and that is unfortunate because we live in a country that is built on the principle of Federalism. What is sad in my view is that they are making time to harass the Supreme Court Judges who voted to over turn and to harass and even damage services that assist pregnant women who want to keep their child. It is almost as though they believe everyone should want to have an abortion and anyone who doesn’t want to is in need of help. Obviously, these people show no desire to assist a pregnant woman and don’t even respect the fact that there are people and organizations that want to help pregnant women. It is perfectly legal for this group to try to change the laws regarding abortion in their state but what good does it do anyone when they use their hatred to destroy property and threaten judges? I used the word hatred because I truly believe the extreme radicals on the left are powered by a hatred that borders on demonic at times.

One side spews too much hatred and the other side too much self-righteousness. Both sides need to listen to the song and let the words, “and before you accuse, criticize and abuse; just walk a mile in my shoes” resonate in their hearts.

Abortion will always to a part of life. There is recorded evidence of abortions from 1550 BCE found in Egyptian Ebers Papyrus. I would like to think everyone would like to see less of them in this country.

We don’t know what another person’s battles are and we need to be compassionate. Abortion is the most emotion laden issue in this country. Sadly, the issue has become the pro-choice group v the anti-abortion group. Lost in all of this is the baby whose life was ended before it started and the female who is facing the most difficult decision of her life. She is lost in all the protesting.

We all know what gravity is and I have never heard anyone say gravity wasn’t real. People will see an airplane flying and comment how gravity has been conquered. That statement, however, is not true. Yes, you can build an airplane, fill it with fuel and then four forces will kick in; lift, weight, thrust and drag and then the plane will fly. However, when the fuel runs out gravity wins again and the plane will crash. So, not even an atheist would attempt to stay in the air if a plane was running out of fuel because even an atheist understands God’s basic rules of nature.

So, if no one wants to fly in an airplane that is low on fuel why do they argue about or ignore God’s other rules of nature?

We have a President and his administration that is spitting in God’s eye regarding his creation. God made man and then He made woman from man. Just two genders. He didn’t say anything about the weird gender combinations that people are coming up with today. Who in the world came up with terms like “agender?” These are people who don’t identify as either female or male. What? Or, Cisgender. This is a person who identifies as the gender they were born with. We used to call that normal. Here is a fun one, Intergender. These are people who claim they fall between genders or have a combination or combined genders. There are a whole bunch more; each more twisted than the last one. Who in the world came up with this nonsense? More importantly, why are we trying to teach this nonsense to children as young as kindergarten age? What is the Left’s agenda? If you aren’t scared you ought to be, especially if you have children.

As adults read my blog I am going to be blunt here. The way God created things the parts fit. They don’t fit any other way. God’s word is very specific on this issue too. I Corinthians 6:9 says; “Or do you not know that wrong doers will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; Neither the sexually immoral nor idolators or adulterers nor men who have sex with men will inherit the Kingdom of God.” New International Version. There are other passages that show that God considers these kind of perversions to be abominations and not just sins. Yet, we have our country’s leaders pushing this agenda.

We have our leaders again spitting in God’s face regarding the differences between men and women regarding their bodies. Not just the sexual differences but the differences in muscle mass (men have more), lung capacity (men have more and thus and can get more oxygen quickly), more bone mass and less body fat than women. These differences make it nearly impossible for a biological woman to compete against a biological man in most sports. Yet, we have an administration that not only allows but encourages men who identify as women to compete in women’s sports. Then they applaud and reward the man who competed as a woman saying, “she” won. This is all from an administration that claims it is for Women’s Rights!

Climate Change is a concept that has been around for decades. The fear mongers have been around just as long. Their predictions have caused a lot of unnecessary fear in people all over the world. Here are just a few of their predictions: In 1967 we were told that there would be a world wide famine by 1975. In 1970 we were told that there would be water rationing by 1974 and food rationing by 1980. In 1980 we were told that Acid Rain would kill all life in lakes. In 1988 we were warned that the Maldive Islands would be under water by 2018. In 2005 we were told that Manhattan would be under water by 2015. There are a few dozen more. Not one has come to fruition. The people who espouse these beliefs forget that God made the Earth and God still controls all aspects of it. I am not saying we shouldn’t take care of the Earth; of course we should. However, that does not mean we are to crash our economies and make life tougher for people on a day to day basis. What has happened is that some people, like Al Gore, have made a ton of money spewing this nonsense. It has been estimated that Al Gore made 100 million dollars on the issue of Climate Change. Look at former President Obama who has warned over and over that the coasts will be under water in no time if we don’t get a handle on Climate Change and yet he has bought expensive coastal property recently! Hmmm, interesting. Psalm 24:1 tells us that the Earth and everything in it is the Lord’s. God made the Earth with balance; and people, with whatever intentions they have, will only make things worse for everyone if they try to alter the balance.

After Pearl Harbor the Japanese took over the areas, mainly Indonesia, where the United States had gotten their rubber from. People forget that natural rubber comes from trees. To prove the adage, “Necessity is the mother of invention”, our government began to research how to make artificial rubber and that is what is predominantly used today. By March of 1942 the combined effort of companies that were normally competitors brought forth the first reliable synthetic rubber. I believe that one day there will be a sensible, cost effective alternative to fossil fuels but in the meantime I will go to the gas station and fill up my car even at these ridiculous prices.

Years ago if we were going on a trip we would get out the big road map and look at the routes and then try to plan the trip as efficiently as possible. There were all kinds of factors that interfered such as roads being closed, construction and accidents that could ruin the best laid travel plans. Now, we have GPS (Global Positioning System.) As I have absolutely no sense of direction and can get lost in our backyard, which is fenced, I love my GPS. It warns me of speed traps, accidents, traffic jams, construction and even reroutes me if necessary. Wouldn’t be nice if we had that technology in our personal lives? Well, guess what? We do!! God has a GPS System. It is God’s Positioning System for our lives.

As a Christian I believe that there is a still small voice that we all have and I believe that is the Holy Spirit. God’s GPS uses that voice just like your car’s GPS has a voice to tell you what to do to reach your destination. I also believe that all of us ignore that voice way too often.

We often ignore that voice because we want something so badly that we do not want it pointed out to us that what we want isn’t the best choice for us. How many of us married someone even though people and circumstances who were put in our path were showing us the error of that choice? Maybe you did not take a job because another opportunity caught your eye even though your gut told you it wasn’t the best option. The job you took looked more prestigious but time would show it wasn’t. Sometimes the temptation to make fast money has us not listening to that still small voice. Fast money is often tied to dangerous or even illegal options. Slow money is usually the best option but it is not as glamorous as fast money. Temptation in our path should be a big red flag but the glitter attached to the temptation can definitely lead us to once again ignore that voice. Young people are more inclined to ignore the voice especially if they haven’t been rooted in God’s word. Let’s be honest; those of us who are older and far more rooted in God’s word can find ourselves shoving that voice aside on occasion. However, when it comes to money issues young people often ignore the voice because they figure that they know all there is too know – plus they have plenty of years to earn more. That is not always the case and those of us that are older know how quickly circumstances can change and not always for the better. Just as we sometimes ignore the GPS in our car and go the way we want and then find ourselves in horrid traffic jam; we can ignore God’s GPS in our lives and find ourselves in mess that could have been avoided.

The Bible is also clear about making major decisions. Proverbs 15:22 tells us that with many counselors comes wisdom. Sadly, some people when they are making a poor choice will only go to people who they know will support their poor choice. A smart person will use their personal GPS and seek wise people, who have established themselves in the field they need advice in, and who known for their wisdom.

A friend of mine mentioned recently how he always tried to teach his children, when they are making a major decision to listen to their first gut reaction. That still voice behind that gut reaction is the Holy Spirit leading you.

There isn’t a person alive who hasn’t pushed that still voice aside and then made a decision they later regretted. However, if you get rooted in God’s Word you will find that those moments are far less common in your life. Wisdom comes with age; but the journey to that point doesn’t have to be so painful if we start at a young age to seek wise counsel to help us recognize that voice and then to listen to it.

I know people who are older and have never learned to hear that voice. They continue to make one bad choice after another and then they blame everyone but themselves. This is not a healthy way to live and certainly not what God wants for us.

If we are honest with ourselves, and that is not always easy to do, we can look back on our lives and see the times when we didn’t listen. Sometimes the damage is life long and can affect not just us but others in our lives. We can’t go back but we can move forward; and by reading God’s word we can learn how to be even more receptive to that still small voice.

Life has ups and downs and some are more severe than others. Circumstances that we never imagined can come crashing down on our otherwise smoothly running lives. We may find ourselves facing a life altering choice when we least expect, it but if we have our hearts open to God’s GPS then events will fall into place more easily. Life is hard sometimes but we can find events easier to accept if we know that God is still on the throne, and with HIs guidance we can get through even the darkest of times.