Happy Thanksgiving! and Can You Guess?

This post is an anniversary of sorts, not an anniversary in my family life, but my blogging life. Can you guess what number this post is? I can't think of any little gift to offer you if you guess correctly, but if you want to make a guess in the comments, I will offer a special prayer for you.

It was nearly three years ago that I began my blog with a post about Christmas shopping and the Christian/Christmas spirit. Although I now have a different kind of part-time job, perhaps we can all be reminded, myself included, to make life a little lighter for retail workers, who serve us so faithfully. If you would like to read that first blog post, you can find it here.

But this week, it's time to start getting ready for our Thanksgiving celebrations. I've bought some of my food but still have to buy my turkey. I am so thankful that we can...and for so many other blessings, as well!

Last night I read a beautiful post on Thanksgiving by Cay Gibson at her blog Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks. If you'd like to enjoy the article, too, you can find it here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Where's the Freedom?

Where is the "freedom" in the Freedom of Choice Act?

If this bill is passed, hospitals, obstestricians, and their nurses will lose the freedom to choose whether or not abortions are something they want to provide. In other words, they will not be legally allowed to act according to their consciences.

If this bill is passed, the states will lose the freedom to pass legislation - or to enforce current legislation - regarding abortion. For example, in some states parents must be informed before a minor daughter can be given an abortion. In other states, information must be provided to the mother explaining her options. If the Freedom of Choice Act were passed into federal law, any related state laws would be wiped out in one short stroke of the pen.

The Freedom of Choice Act is so strong and broad, that in addition to other considerations, if it were passed, women could find themselves getting medically "unsafe" abortions. Although I believe that any abortion is medically and mentally dangerous for the mother, and it is certainly lethal for the baby, yet this was the original argument I heard so many years ago, before abortion was made legal - that illegal ("back alley") abortions were dangerous. They repeat that argument even now, even while they consider taking away the very minimal medical protections that exist (for the mother).

So, whether you believe as I do that abortion is always wrong, or whether you don't fully agree with me, please consider that the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is not a healthy piece of legislation. And please join us in fighting this bill, which is slated to be re-introduced with the new administration.

Thank you, and God bless us one and all.

Fight FOCA Website
(Sign a petition, and learn more about the Freedom of Choice Act)

National Committee for a Human Life Amendment - Action Page
(this particular page was posted in September but it is very informative)

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities

What American Accent Do You Have?

Lots of much more serious stuff is habiting my mind and I will be wanting to share some of it with you in the near future, but let's just have some fun for tonight.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West   Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Well, guess where I'm from? Grew up in Washington State until I was age 18. Lived in California from then until I was 40. Occasionally, though, people have asked if my accent (what accent?) is Midwestern or European (Irish maybe?...though ever so slight: the accent, that is, not the Irish, which I'm proud of).

Feel free to try the quiz for yourself and to share the results with us.



Hat tip to Alexandra at her Happy Hearts at Home blog.

And my apologies to whomever I got the "What Kind of Muffin Are You?" quiz from, the other day. Sometimes I wander from blog to link and forget where I've been. At least if I wander off when I'm on the internet, I know I can always click the X and find my way home. (Just kidding. I'm really not in the habit of getting lost in real life, only in this "virtual life".)

Help a Friend Help Others

Maureen Wittmann has helped me, and I'm sure countless other homeschool parents (and even parents who don't homeschool), with her literature recommendations, as well as with other advice and moral support.

Her most recent book For the Love of Literature helps parents in "teaching core subjects through literature".

She has been working on writing a new, much-asked-for book: 100 Books for Kids Who Love to Read, but she is finding it difficult to proceed on the research needed for this book. Why? Because her family moved a few months ago, and she now finds herself in a country library district that doesn't have an inner-library or interlibrary loan system.

How can we help? If you already make purchases through Amazon, you can simply make them by clicking through the Amazon link on Maureen's blog. It won't cost you a penny, and it will help her buy the books needed to keep working on her book.

What Kind of Muffin Are You?

I always hesitate to post things like this because...when you read the first two lines, you will see why... But, just for fun, just to step out of my over-seriousness, I share this with you. Try it yourself, if you'd like, by clicking on the link at the end. You might be as surprised as I was at how accurate the results seem to be.

You Are a Bran Muffin

Some people have accused you of being all work and no play. And that does describe you most of the time. You are very career oriented. When you're not working making money, you're working to improve yourself. You have very little room in your life for fluff. You want to live as good of a life as possible. You are competitive and driven. You like to surround yourself with other motivated people. While you are a go-getter, you are by no means self centered. Quite the opposite. You are a caring, together, and stable friend. You are grounded enough to be there for people.

What Kind of Muffin Are You?

Pray for Our President - Pray for Our Country

It was with a very heavy heart that I was unable to contribute to history by voting for a black person to be president. I think it is wonderful that our nation has come this far in its growth in recognizing that people of all races are equally deserving of respect.

At the same time that we have grown in this way, we don't seem to have grown as a nation in recognizing that a person who has not yet been born is also as deserving of respect as anyone else.

It was for this issue, as well as others, that I had to "vote my conscience". I had to vote according to the issues, not according to my long-time desire for racial equality and recognition in our county.

So what now? What about the rights of the unborn? What about the issues that some of us don't agree on? Is all lost?

First of all, we know that although God gives man free will and doesn't run things like a puppeteer, yet He brings a greater good out of all things. He knows what is in the mind of each man, woman and child, and everything that ever will be. I liked Especially Heather's blog post on this yesterday morning.

Secondly, we are a great nation - a republic - built on checks and balances. No one person makes all the decisions. Not even the senate and house, along with that man, make all the decisions. The constituents have their influence, by phone calls, letters, and by prayer. And as one of my sons was telling me this morning, the senate minority leader was re-elected. That should help with the checks and balances.

It is a time for us to be vigilant, a time for us to pray. It is always a time for us to be vigilant and to pray, but it is a time to be reminded of that.

At the same time, I think that even those of us who are dismayed about some of the issues can rejoice in the day, can rejoice with a grateful heart. We can be at peace, not to put aside our actions but to put aside our anxieties, with the words, "Be still and know that I am God".

Thank you, Lord, for helping us to recognize as a nation that people of all races are equally created in your image and likeness. Thank you for giving us a nation where we are not dependent upon the opinions and thoughts of one man or one group, but where we have a say in our government, even when we don't agree with the views of some of our leaders. Guide our president and all of our leaders in your will. Help us to exercise our privileges and duties, and help us to trust in Your divine providence each day. Amen.