As Christmas is approaching I want to put some thoughts about what Christianity means to me...
There are a few quotes that have really touched me recently and I would like to share them.

The first one being: Christianity at it's best is a charitable organization.
I truly feel that my job as a christian is to love others and be a blessing to those I come in contact with. Meaning everything from giving of my time, resources and energy to help those who are less fortunate than I as well as simply sharing a smile with a stranger.

The second one being a bit more mystical in tone:
I am the hole in the flute that Christ's breathe flows through...listen to this music.

It feels so right to me, it speaks to my heart. I want more than anything in this world
to be of service. I am so grateful that my life has been lead in the direction of my work that
now offers me such an amazing opportunity to give of the gifts that were given to me.
I am so grateful this holiday season to be in a place in my life where my work means so much to me...and that I feel that I touch fellow human beings lives every day...quite literally as I am doing massage therapy for hospice patients. I am so blessed to be able to do this work. I feel so honored to be invited into people's lives at such a vulnerable time and in such an intimate way.
It is my prayer everyday that I am being the vehicle of comfort that I hope to be.

Well...8 days and I am actually touching the ground again.
I have been floating in the clouds since election day!
What can I say...I prayed my country would go to the light...and so they did.
President Elect Barack Obama...it gives me chills every time I hear it!

I wish our president all the cooperation, bypartisanship and support from every american
as he will be taking on a sizeable disaster in just about every area of government.
I found myself particularly awe struck at his presence on election night in Chicago when he make his victory speech...I did not see a man with an ego the size of the croud of 200,000 people,
rather I saw a man humbled by his awesome experience and his incredible task at hand. It seemed evident to me that he was quite clear and feeling the tremedous weight of the job ahead of him.
My prayer for our President Elect Barack Obama is to continue as I saw him do throughout his amazing campaign...do not let politics get in the way of progress and continue to listen with your head but speak from your heart to the american people. You have a tremedous opportunity here to do things that other presidents could not. In my eyes you are America, you embody all of us with your multi cultural experience and combined ethnicity you can approach all the citizens of this country in a way that can continue to be tremedously healing for our country.
I have the utmost faith in your ability to do so. I do not put the weight of the world's survival in your hands, but I wouldn't trust it to anyone else.
May God be whispering in your ear every day and guiding your direction for us all.
God Speed

I will be posting poetry that I have written over the years...this one is one that I wrote that I really love...it has a duality to it that I was trying to convey of the physical and spiritual and how ultimetely they are one.


MOTHER EARTH AND FATHER GOD


She captures your spirit with her mystical beauty
Opening herself to you unfolding the mystery
All the while keeping you enchanted
In the deep rippling waves of her vast waters
She allows you to see the beauty of her naked winding curves
With their swollen peeks and wonderous valleys
Her rich luscious blossoms open to you
Almost whispering beautiful love in song
Her essence bring forth sweet fruit to nourish your body and soul

His deep ever knowing presence is the strength that makes her spirit soar
She feels the gentle touch of his love in the whistling wind
As it blows gently through her
In the quite silence of her inner being is where his existence lives
His love is all of her never changing
Ever present beyond all space and time
His brillant wisdom encompassed in the purity of divine love
Flows through and all around her
Their essence together enmeshed in one another
completely intertwining perfectly
Without ever piercing each other's oneness
This is perfect balance

It's Sunday morning...30 days until the presidential election. I am ready for this to be over, I have been following this election for over a year and even a political junkie like me is exausted of it by now. I would like to say that I truly believe that the country has had a tremedous amount of opportunity to see the very clear differences between these two canidates and that not only are there policies polar opposites but the personal temperments, judgements and styles couldn't be more polar opposite. A friend of mine in the "undecided" catagory told me why she is still undecided and I found it interesting. She said that although she would agree that McCain represents the same policies as the Bush era, she felt that at least it was the enemy she knew, vs. the unknown of Obama. My advice to anyone that may also be in that mindset, is to be clear that when you do walk into that booth and make that decision, that you check your heart and your head and make sure that your vote is not based on your fears but rather on your hopes for the future of our country. I think politics ultimetely shouldn't be different than any of the other decisions we make in our lives. I believe the best decision are those that we make with our hearts and that making decisions based on one's fears often creates that which you are focusing on...more fear. I hope that everyone votes in keeping with their honest, true beliefs weather they be conservative, liberal or any number of space in between. I can accept that people have different morals, beliefs and ideas than mine, but I find it disheartening that people make decisions not based on those, but rather allowing thier fears to run away with them. I of course am hoping and quite honestly praying that my country elects Obama...not because I am afraid of McCain, but that I believe whole heartedely that Obama will offer not only my country but the entire world a 180 in direction that is what I believe it trully needed to start digging out of the very deep whole we are in...nationally and globally.

Well it's 12:40am and what the Heck I am wide awake, I mine as well tackle the other biggie!

The death penalty.

I know people often are perplexed by a person being pro-choice and against the death penalty.
But, I will just take a second to clue you in to the fact that all the people I know who are anti-choice are also pro death penalty, and I assure you we are just as perplexed.
Once again, it comes down to govenment involvement for me.
Personally, I don't think the death penalty is justice rather I feel it is vengence.
And I do believe that it is said in scripture that vengence in my saith the Lord.
Speaking of scripture, I am completely baffled by Christians who are pro death penalty?
I just recently was made aware of where this position comes from. Apparently because in
the old testement God commanded men to kill other men for injustices. But, wait! I am a christian and this is one of the reasons that I do oppose the death penalty. I understand that
in the old testement things were done a certain way...it was the age of Law. Now, that Chirst
has come, he brought the Age of Grace. We no longer follow those principals, because Jesus taught us a new way. So, as a friend of mine recently said to me when we were having this discussion about the old testement, "keep reading".
So onto the secular part of this position, When a person is executed in our country, it is done by the state, "we the people". I don't want anyone executed in my name. I had this discussion with my brother, Barry, whom I have mentioned here before about this issue. He posed a question to me about a loved one being murdered and wouldn't I want that person put to death. My reply to him was a similar question, that if a loved one of ours was the murderer, would you want him put to death? He thought for a moment and replied, he would have to stand by his principals and say yes. I respect that, I really do. And with that, I replied to him, "why would he think that I wouldn't stand by mine?" Would that be one of the most horrible thing to have to deal with? Of course it would be. Would I be the first person whom had a loved one murdered but stood in a court room asking to please not have the dealth penalty sought? NO, I wouldn't. Let me finish up by saying that I am not a bleeding heart liberal, I think that violent criminals need to be kept off the street. I believe in life sentences with no chance of parole. I believe that the role of government is to protect it's citizens from those who would do us harm but not to protect us from doing harm to ourselves...but that is a subject for another day. I will leave you with one more thought that I will pick up on with my next post. That I also believe that the role of govenment is to do for the people what they can not do for themselves, such as make sure our water and food supply are safe for example...but I digress again...I will follow up on this subject soon as it is obviously timely to the upcoming election.

I knew as the political season started heating up it would give me a chance to address a lot of issues. I guess the introduction of Sarah Palin offers the opportuinty to discuss the one HUGE political football that I am certain we will never come to any collective decision on, however I would like to express my feelings about it.

As that would of course be; Abortion.

Here is my perception of this issue. I feel that it is important to determine what issues we feel collectively as a culture should be dealth with personally or politically. First I would like to state, that I personally feel that terminating a pregnancy is a tragic and painful realization for every woman I know whom has experienced it. Finding oneself pregnant at a time when it does not come as joyful news is a horrible situation for any woman to find herself in. I remember watching an episode of Sex and the City and the character Miranda was in this situation and was consulting her friend, Carrie whom had the experience of termination a pregnancy, she asked her, "how long did it take until you got over it?" Her reply was, "I will let you know." I thought it was very true to what I have seen the women in my life whom have dealt with the feelings that go along with this experience go through. I actually have friends in my life who have made all three of these choices. I have several who had their babies and gave them up for adoption, I have had friends whom terminated pregnancies and I have friends who chose to have their babies and keep them, in very difficult circumstances. I think all three choices come with life long consequences. Ultimetely there is no easy way out, although I believe that many percieve abortion as an easy way out...that has not been my experience as I have seen it. The feelings of sadness and heartbreak that go along with ending a pregnancy or giving a child up for adoption are tremendous and life long. When a woman chooses to have a child without the maturity/resources and ability to properly care for a child or to bring a child into the world with very difficult circumstances goes without saying, come with many trials and tribulations. I know many people think the issue is weather or not it is taking a life to terminate a pregnancy and I would imagine that range of opinions will be an ongoing debate until the end of time. However, I would like to take it one step further. Ultimetely, I think the discussion should be about weather or not we want our government telling women what they can and can not do in these very personal and often agonizing circumstances. My determination is NO. Do I think it is murder? Do I think that it is ok to abort a pregnancy morally? I would answer these questions, except for the fact that I don't think my opinion matters. I think what matters is that whatever my opinion is, I don't think I have the right to make those decisions for another woman. Personally, I believe she has to feel she has control over her own life and body. I personally think it is a tragedy for all involved and morally I think it is between that woman and God. But, I no more want my government telling women they are going to be forced to carry pregnancies to term than I want my government telling women they have to terminate pregnancies, as they do in other countries. I just don't want the government involved period. I look at Sarah Palin the Republican vp canidate and I see that she made a decision to have her child with down syndrome and it appears her daughter of 17 years old has chosen to carry her pregnancy to term. I respect both of their "choices", but just for a moment think of the idea that they wouldn't have had a choice, that they both would have been forced to carry their pregnancies to term by the government...how different that would be. I know that if you are under 45-50 years old you don't remember what it was like, in fact I don't. But, I have seen enough of the stories of women being butchered in back allies by illegal abortions they sought out of desperation and being left for dead. In fact the Philadelphia Police dept. had an entire dept for these homicides. I assure anyone who wants abortion to become illegal again, that they won't stop, there will always be women desperate to terminate pregnancies for any number of reasons and women will go back to dying under horrible circumstances. This subject is deeply upsetting to people on both sides of the issue and I am sure it will be for a long time to come...but I beg of everyone to not oversimplify the subject, it is one of deep emotional, personal and moral complication and deserves more concideration than to be a cut and dry; black and white conclusion.

I was reading something on my neices blog and it gave me pause.
I want to share a poem I wrote when I was about her age...
early adulthood is a time of pursuing life in a very different way...and for me I was desperate for freedom but freedom did not offer me peace.
Peace can't be found or unleased...rather it is a gift...that only comes with surrender.
The irony is that I thought freedom which gave me power would give me peace...
but what I discovered, was just the opposite.
What we resist persist...and what we look at disapears.
Ghost chase you until you look at them and realize they aren't real.
Just the fears you have made them out to be...
No challenge, obstacle or pain is ever as frightening to face as your thoughts have made them out to be.

It is titled:
Where I Finally Found Me

Can you see all of me...do you feel all that is real
Lean in close to me...and listen carefully
I need you to hear...what I feel is real
The truth my friend...is coming very near

I have traveled through the murky waters
Like a captured daughter
All alone in the sea
Never knowing who I might be
Afraid to look at the reflection
Drowning in the deception
Everything all around seems to be still
Almost completely at my will
As if I hold the power
Like the sun upon a flower

I thought it was you who held me in your hand
Like the creatures of the ocean deep beneath the sand
Feeling overcome of what had not yet begun
Sensing everything was living
As I was barely breathing
Until I had the courage
To no longer be discouraged
But to delve into the darkness
That was stabbing with such sharpness
Walking through illusions cast in my mind
Working to unleash the chains that bind
I began to unravel all the twisted lies
Know I see the awakeining of the sun beginning to rise

Like the thundeorus storms that cast the boat a rye
Eventually daybreak sets calmness over the waters with a quite sigh
Lost in our own perception we set the stage
To be free to fly or trapped in a cage
Understanding is the wisdom and truth is the key
Allowing my truth to flow through is where I finally found me

I would like to take a minute tonight to follow up on my post from yesterday. I want to explain how I feel that it is so important that we all show respect for each other's belief systems and how dangerous I feel it is when one belief system is viewed to have all the enfluence over us all. Let me explain. I think a great deal of the reason that this country functions the way it does...with so many different religions, ethnicities and cultural differences is that we all respect each others right to do so. This is peace. When one sect of society begins to be seen as the dominant force, that is when tension rises and unrest begins. There is a reason we let the kkk have parades in thier towns and picketers picketing them. This, as bizaar as it seems, is freedom. Freedom to express even hatred and freedom for others to express their distaste for that expression. It allows people to feel they are being heard. When people feel they are being heard they feel validated. When they feel they are not being heard they feel opressed; this of course leads to rage and aggression. Another words civil unrest and chaos. This is why in my opinion I feel that the Government that is for all the people must stay neutral in governing...they can not afford to be seen as bias to one religious sect or another. That in essence keeps the peace. For those that are familiar with biblical text...the bible says, give to God what belongs to God and give to Ceasar what belongs to Ceasar. My personal understanding of this is that we are to have a personal relationship with God and be a light to the world through the actions of our own lives; but pay your taxes and accept the idea of a collective community, that is not always going to be in accordance with your own personal understanding of God for the sake of peace in that community. I will express at a late time what exactly my idea of government is...but I will leave with one question that I think when answered, will give you a good understanding of what you belive as well. That question is; do you believe that government should be in the buisness of protecting us from others or protecting us from ourselves? Because the answer to this question will touch just about every potitical issue we face.
As for my ending in the oped...I do follow what I would call a liberal christianity. By this I mean, my concern as a christian is to follow in Christ steps as he asked me to. To my knowledge, Jesus never once spoke about homosexuality but spoke of the need to help the poor many times. He is the prince of peace and promoting peace in my own life and in my community to the best of my ability is my concept of christianity. I will explain a few of these concepts. I am more concerned with poverty than I am with corporate profit rights. I am more concerned with my country being a beacon of peace than a profitier of war. I am more concerned about the children that are here, living with abuse, neglect, hunger and dispair than I am of women terminating pregnancies. I more concerned about a divorce rate of over 50% than I am about gay marriage or civil unions. Mostly I'm concerned about my country's blue/red war over the idea of working together to solve problems we all share.

well, it has been a while since I have gotten a chance to post. I work in sales for an ice cream company and what can I say? I am busy, busy, busy! I look forward to the fall when I can really spend some quality time posting. There has been something on my mind that I have wanted to share on this blog. The issue of seperation of church and state is something that a few years ago was beginning to cause me great concern, as the lines seemed to be getting blurrier and blurrier. I want to share an oped that I submitted to my local paper back in 2005. The article speaks for itself as to my opinion on this subject amoung a few other thing I will expand on a bit later.
The paper titled it;
To Maintain democracy, all voices have to be heard...
Our forefathers had the foresight to realize that in order for religion and politics to maintain thier integrity, it was imperative they remain seperate. In order to allow people of all faiths to be free and allow government to function for all, it was of the utmost importance. I am a bit baffled in recent years how the seperation has become so enmeshed, the lines becoming blurred. I don't understand why religious conservatives are under the impression that this a Christian nation. This is not a theocracy of any kind. This is a democracy where Christians and members of all faiths are free to live and worship. There is a lot of debate about "In God We Trust" on our money and "One Nation Under God" in our pledge of allegiance. May I point out that these things were added in the mid-20th century. Our forefathers did not put them there. Our forefathers did mention the name of God on government documents. I agree they were men of faith. They were men of several different faiths. In fact they were hardly fundamentalist. Benjamin Frannklin was a quaker and several were unitarians. I see the name of God, but I have never seen the name of Jesus on any document created by our forefathers. This notion that our country was based on Christian principals is unfounded. It was created by men who believed in a higher being who had given each of us free will and freedom of liberty. They were not going to allow a governmment to take that away from them ever again. I fear this country is headed down a dangerous path. If we want to maintain our democracy all voices have to be heard. I myself am a believer in Christ and I am baffled by so many Christians who feel so convicted about their positions on homosexuals and abortion rights. But they seem to have no problem with the death penalty, war, poverty-so many things Jesus denounced. Remember the prince of peace? No more eye for an eye, but forgiveness and love. Feed the poor and love they neighbor: Why have you all forsaken his message?

Well,
I am going to post my very first time on my blog. I have been thinking a lot about the up coming election in the US. To any of my friends and family it is no surprise that my support is for Obama. I worked for him here in my state of Pa. There are a lot of subjects that will be discussed this summer and fall heading into November. One of them is about of course oil..oil...oil! Gees, over 4 bucks a gallon and I am lucky enough to have access to NJ where they have the cheapest gas in the country...so at 3.85 a gal...I think I am getting a deal?! So, what is the answer? My brother who is a conservative republican...has asked me to engage in a little conversation about this with him sometime soon. To drill or not to drill? We enjoy doing this from time to time. We very much enjoy discussing political issues as we are usually on oposite sides of the issue. It's a wonderful relationship...my brother is a good man and I respect him deeply. We disagree on just about everything...but the fact that we love and respect each other. He is very busy with 2 businesses and 7 children...so he and I try and catch a conversation a couple of times a month in our vehicles...via cell phone. I love the fact that he hits me up for the current events and debates...being that I am single with the ablility to devote 5 hours a night to msnbc...LOL. I really love the idea that he knows he can trust me...that I wouldn't ever sway the events in the news...that I am very capable of seeing both sides of the issue...I may not agreee with the other side but I understand and respect their view. I will be posting a lot of information about all of the political issues over these next few months as it is obviously current to all our lives. But, for tonight I am trying to do some research about the drilling issue. It seems that the problem is that gas prices are astronomical and then what to do? Well in keeping with the idea of this blog what would be the most peaceful way to resolve the problem? I understand that drilling for oil is an option...that comes with risk of real damage to the enviroment if there were to be a spill. But what I didn't know is that we would not get that oil for years to come even if we were to start the process today. I also understand that the amount of oil that is estimated to be off the shore of Alaska is enough to meet the US needs for about 2 years. Needless to say this is not a quick fix to our problem...and we obviously need to weigh the risk against the outcome for that limited amount of oil. So where does that leave us? If the soonest we could get any relief would be years, what other options that would take the same amount of time be? If we raised gas emissions standards to 40mgp we would no longer be dependent at all on foreign oil. Is that doable? How about other energy sources for all of our enegry needs...what about say nuclear? Solar? wind? are these options viable? Is it possible that we could pursue in the same amount of time a solution to our problem that not only is peaceful and friendly to the earth we have to live on but also frees us from the chain and ball to oil that we currently have in this country? Is it possible that it could be a win win solution? I will keep pursuing that idea.