Thanksgiving

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

(Psalms 51)

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Thanksgiving here was good, in that it brought our family together, but as with some family gatherings, there were it share of misgivings that put a damper on things. I’m just praying that I remain strong through this attack on our family unity. I praise God that He is with Mary and me  through this time. I pray for peace.

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It seems like a lot going on

Today, while it was a day off, seemed to have a lot happening. It started around 1 pm when Brandon came home, rather unexpectedly, and said that despite getting clearances to work for the Mountain, there was a hold on him working there from personnel.

That leads into the second thing. Brandon had been paying the truck payment when he lost his job. We have no margin in our finances right now, because our renter didn’t have a job until recently, and hadn’t been able to pay their rent the last couple of months. They are now planning to move out in another week. Oh yeah, the truck, so I get a call from the credit union about the payment. Luckily, the bank person told me that if we pay $50 we will be out of being 30 days overdue.

Mary came home around 4 pm and we got dinner started with Ben, Trisha, and Boys coming over. I  made spaghetti. It was a good time, but then we had a long talk with Brandon, he’s not sure that the hold will come off of his job at the mountain.

So we are now praying and holding down the fort. Things seem to happen just when they need to, but it does make for busy time.

This wouldn’t fit on Twitter

I have a Google gadget on my iGoogle page that daily gives me C. S. Lewis quotes. Sometimes if I like them I twitter them. In this case it is too big to fit the 140 characters. Here it is:

If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair. -C. S. Lewis

Tyra ‘shocked’ by risky teen sex

Tyra ‘shocked’ by risky teen sex – Parenting & Family – TODAYshow.com

I guess Tyra doesn’t get out much. While I don’t doubt some of the information, this survey is skewed by who goes and takes it. It doesn’t have any scientific validity, so I question the statistics.

But when some of girls surveyed came onto her show and described their sexual activities, “I was shocked again,” she added. “I don’t think they were trying to be sensational. I really do believe that they were telling the truth.”

Well, some of them may be telling the truth, but knowing that people fake stuff just to get on Jerry Springer, then I think that Tyra is really naive.

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Vote for Mary!

Mary’s Wii vote link

A response about stem cells and legalization of marijuana

My Bro-in-law asked some questions on my wife’s blog the other day. I’m going to try to answer some of these bit by bit as I have time.

Stem cell research is a hot button for sure. What about unused in vitro embryos? A great many would be destroyed anyway. Is that destruction as abhorrent to you as stem cell research? I’m kind of agnostic on the stem cell issue, so I’m not baiting you here, just curious (this goes for you, too, Jeff).

As a first point as I have learned more about in vitro the more I am against it. Simply because of the reason you state. Although, the extra embryos don’t have to be discarded. There have been successful adoptions of the “snowflake babies.” I feel that it is under utilized. I feel for people that want a baby, but I would much rather see children adopted than the use of in vitro. I put my feelings out about the stem cell issue in a previous post.

Next he asks,

“Also, you reference statistics that indicate increases in violent crime being linked to medicinal marijuana legalization. This doesn’t jive with my experiences living in one of the states that passed medicinal marijuana laws. I’d love to read your source, if you’ve got it handy.”

To be up front about the vote, I voted for the medical marijuana prop. One of the local politicians who was against it said that we can’t keep other drugs from being abused so we shouldn’t do it with this. I think that’s an awful answer. With that logic, we should get rid of most of our prescription drugs.

Mary said that she had a big post in response, but the post was lost in the transfer. She got her statistics the Michigan Family forum voter’s guide. I had to dig out the cached version to find the pdf. I have to say that one point is from anecdotal evidence. Which is that it leads to more crime. I saw an article from the LA Times prior to the election that would imply that, part of which was letting people grow their own, and when word gets out then people begin breaking into homes looking for it. To me that is anecdotal evidence, if the state regulates it strictly, then you just have to worry about prescription abuse. Here is one quote from the forum about “pot shops” in malls:

Proposal 1 allows one person to grow and provide marijuana for people “in an enclosed, locked facility.” Pot shops in strip malls are a reality in California and a dangerous possibility in Michigan under Proposal 1. There are more than 400 pot shops in Los Angeles. Where located, information shows a rise in serious crimes such as robberies, burglaries and aggravated assaults has followed.

That will have to be monitored and regulated by the legislature or by proposition. They were a little low on siting statistics to research, so I can’t vouch for the veracity of them.

But like I said, I voted for it, on the grounds that if it is a drug that helps and it can be regulated, then there shouldn’t be a block on the medicinal use.

I’ll try to do some more tomorrow. I have a couple more days off coming up.

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The Pro-Life Obama Voters: What Do They Want?

My brother-in-law pointed me to site on his twitter feed the night of the election, or somewhere around there, about this. It was about a pro-lifers who support Obama. Then Scot McKnight posted a link to this beliefnet.org article on his Jesus Creed.org This was the breakdown of the statistics.

So what do they [Obama pro-lifers] believe? They are fundamentally different from McCain Pro Lifers because they simply don’t believe that criminalizing abortion is the most effective means of reducing the numbers.

Here’s the key:
11% believe the best way to reduce the number of abortions is through legal restrictions
87% believe the best way is “by preventing unintended pregnancies (through education and birth control) or providing financial assistance to pregnant mothers.”

Just as surprising, is that a third of McCain pro-lifers, and 42% of McCain voters, agreed that the second approach was more effective.

The Pro-Life Obama Voters: What Do They Want? – Steven Waldman

I have stated (maybe not on the blog) that I could vote for someone even if they don’t want to reverse Roe v.Wade, if they have good plans to do the “preventing unintended pregnancies (through education and birth control) or providing financial assistance to pregnant mothers.” However, I didn’t see enough proof of that from Obama, and a few other things. I didn’t vote for McCain for the same reason I didn’t for Bush Sr. v Clinton (I voted for Clinton.), no vision and a disorganized campaign.

I really would like a two pronged attack on abortion. It would be both of these options. Surprisingly to most, I came to my beliefs about abortion through my science roots. The fact that I oppose all life ending things (death penalty, abortion, euthanasia, etc.) comes from my faith as well. I look at life starting from conception and ending any life should have legal consequences. However, I think that before we can get to that point we need to look at how we defend the weak and oppressed. I think that there are better ways than to terminate a pregnancy when one comes along. I think that a child should be looked at as a blessing, whether that blessing is meant for the mother, or possibly to another if she carries it to full term.

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Students say the darnedest things

This site is hilarious. Some youth workers put the statements of some of their youth on the site.

Students say the darnedest things.

HT: Youth Specialties blog

Day-by-Day Cartoon from 11/15/2008