An interesting year

2013 has been a year that has brought happiness, tears, smiles and fears to my family and many others across the United States. It has been a year that we have seen many good things happen on our little piece of the world, but we have also seen many things that have brought sadness and tears to the hearts of many. The year has not brought world peace and happiness to others, but I am hoping that 2014 will be a year where we will see more peace and prosperity than we have in many years.

 While we seen things like the Boston Marathon bombing and the Sandy Hook elementary shootings that left many of us with wondering thoughts of what possesses people to do the things that the rest of us see as just unimaginable. Those injured and the families of those who suffered at the Boston Marathon were true victims of a monster and yet. as horrible as we all felt that was, the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school was so much worse in my eyes. Innocent children taken by a lone gunman who had no reason to be mad or want revenge on them. They were all so innocent and yet, teachers and adults at the school who tried to protect them, just could not. Why would someone attack innocent children? We will never understand that.

 Locally, I witnessed a family suffer a  loss of innocent babies who were killed in a fire and a few days later, their mother who tried to save them also lost her life as a result of the fire. One child and a husband /father were left behind to cope with the loss and yet, how does someone cope with the loss of a spouse and two innocent babies. Such sadness! Such tragedies! Yet, it seems to be a part of the news that I hear each day.

 Personally as I watch the news each day, I see another child lost. Miley Cyrus, has made the news so much lately with her twerking and performance on the music awards show along with other things she has done, but I see a child lost. She was the child star of a very popular show and yet, she is still doing so many things to get attention. This young lady is reaching out to find her own identity and she is seemingly doing it the wrong way.

 The completion of the Ground Zero memorial has been a great accomplishment as it shows the United States has recovered from such a tragic loss of human life and yet, it is also a sign that the world has not changed as we still see signs of terrorism each day. Just this morning, I heard of two attacks on Russia and I am sure that before the clock strikes midnight tomorrow night, there will be more some where in the world.

 People need to realize that the world changing to a more peaceful nation can begin by one person doing something nice for someone else. Maybe each of us should begin the year by agreeing to do one nice thing out of our way for someone else. Pass it forward should be our motto! 

Twas' the Day Before Christmas

Twas' the day before Christmas and all through the house, I am the only creature stirring except for the little dog. Actually, I am sitting here sending Christmas wishes to my friends and family while I am enjoy the lights from the tree and decorations before I go to work. Whether you work today, finish your shopping today, wrap gifts, or visit with family and friends today, try to slow down just a little and enjoy the Christmas spirit.

 The holiday season seems to be filled with rushing around and so many people missing loved ones and being caught up in the shopping that I believe it would be nice if stores would close Christmas eve just so there were less choices in where we could be. Unfortunately, I have to work today and although, my children are older I still feel that I should be home with my family. I am looking forward to coming home early, getting my prep for tomorrow done and enjoying an evening with my husband and my daughter. I am looking forward to seeing my son tomorrow and the rest of our family.

 This year, I have not been in the holiday spirit and my house and shopping shows it. It has been a rough year for many and ours has been tough at time. It seems as though the hustle and bustle as Christmas grew closer just put an even bigger disappointment in my heart, but as I set in my daughter's Christmas program at church Sunday night, I realized that I am just changing in the way I view Christmas. It is not about all the gifts and having a beautiful decorated home and following all of the yearly activities that I usually do this time of year, it is about being healthy and having my family near.

 My husband is always spending more money than I think he should for the holiday and always buying me more than I need or want him too, but he always makes sure that I have a nice Christmas and that I get a few things that I really asked for. I appreciate him more than I could ever tell him. I always buy him nice gifts as well, but he is hard to buy for and I could not afford either of the items that he truly wanted this year. I am disappointed in that, but it is what it is.

To each of you that are reading this during the holiday season, Merry Christmas to you and your family and remember Jesus is the reason for the season. For those of you reading this during the rest of the year, remember to treasure your family and loved ones as you never know when they will be gone. I thank each of you for the time you spend here and I hope many more of you will visit my site during the new year.

My thoughts on the "Duck Dynasty" s Phil Robertson

"Duck Dynasty" is not one of my favorite shows, but I do feel that suspending Phil Robertson from the show is going to cause network A&E some major issues. Fans of the show are outraged with this decision and I can understand why. As a Christian, I can understand his point of view and as an American I believe that he is entitled to his freedom of speech.

 He did not state his feelings about homosexuality on the television show, it was in an interview with GQ magazine and the interviewer asked for it. Why is it wrong for him to state his belief on it when it is not wrong for millions of homosexuals to march the streets of Washington DC and other places to ask for equal rights to marry their partners. As a country, it seems that we have double standards that we need to take a serious look at.

 It is well known that Phil and the entire cast of "Duck Dynasty" are devout Christians so the question in general is almost ridiculous to ask. I am sure that the interviewer knew that these men were Christian. Anyone wth any knowledge of the Bible knows that it says that homosexuality is a sin and whether as a culture we are accepting of it or not, it is still a sin in the eyes of Christians. However, the way he stated it was clearly not in a correct manner.

 Many Christians will find wrong in what he said, but as American's we need to take back our freedom of speech and realize that anything that we say can offend someone but that we can't always be worried about who we will offend. The world is made up of many kinds of people and not everyone thinks the same or words things in a way that others won't find offensive.

 Phil Robertson will recover from this backlash as did Paula Deen. Fans won't let this controversial decision that the network made stop them from buying products and watching the show, the same as Paula Deen fans did not stop buying her items. "Duck Dynasty" will survive whether on A&E on another network. These men have become reality stars and marketing icons and companies that produce their products are not going to give up their sales just to go along with a network's decision to suspend one man.