sick

just one of those weeks ... blah. congestion and sinus gunk. at least, i'm hoping that's all it is ....

anyway, maybe i'll have something more interesting next week.

three weeks ...

... until the oireachtas!

... and remaining in school! (not counting finals week)!!


yeah!!

two of life's mysteries

i have heard before about women giving birth to babies when they don't even know they are pregnant. i didn't know a lot about it, but i looked it up a little bit and it's pretty interesting. can you imagine, not knowing? and suddenly, something seems very wrong, you seem very sick, and it turns out you are in labor? what a shock. it happened to these women. this is also an article that talks a little more about it. wow. certainly one of life's mysteries ...


another is foreign accent syndrome. i had never heard of it before, but it came up as a Yahoo! news story today. it is quite intriguing. i cannot imagine simply waking up one day sounding like a completely different person! of course, in these cases, it seems as though the joy of being able to speak at all (for example, after a stroke) was a blessing in the first place! i imagine they are happy to be able to speak at all, no matter what language or accent!

thirteen on thursday (barely) ...

even though i do not agree with all of future President obama's ideas, and i'm not sure how i feel about his as a person yet (i think he has lots of secrets ... ) there are still thirteen things i will commit to during his term as my President:

13. i will pray for him
12. i will not judge him
11. i will not believe everything i hear about him (especially living in republican oklahoma!)
10. i will respect him as a man
9. i will honor him as my President
8. i will appreciate him as keat's commander-in-chief
7. i will defend his role in our country
6. i will try to not laugh at the stupid things he says (such as calling himself a mutt or disrespecting nancy regan)
5. i will not let his wife michelle cause me to judge him
4. i will be the best citizen i can be
3. i will pray for him
2. i will PRAY for him
1. I WILL PRAY FOR HIM!

last will and testament, life-insurance, and the like

my mom and i are taking dave ramsey's financial peace university course together. it's been quite interesting. it's not exactly what i thought it would be. i didn't realize it dealt so heavily with getting out of debt. that doesn't really apply to me since i am paying cash for school and really trying to not take out any student loans.

but some parts of his program are really interesting. the last lesson talked about insurance. what kind of insurance you should have, how to keep your premiums down, that sort of thing. that's when it kind of hit me. man, it takes a lot of work to grow up!

right now, since i'm in college, i'm still on my parent's insurance. but i know in a couple of years i'll need to get on my own plan, hopefully through either my job or the military (through keat, if we're married by that time). there's a lot of stuff you have to take care of when you're getting married or getting out from under your parent's provision! life and health insurance is only the beginning. you also need to prepare a will; take account of any possessions you have in case of robbery, fire, etc.; get car insurance; change your address on everything; tons of stuff! whew, no wonder here in America it takes us 20 years to prepare to go out on our own. the paperwork alone is crazy!!!

thank you ...

... to all the veterans out there.

words cannot describe how grateful i am to you for the sacrifices you made for me. i was able to grow up in a country that is FREE. i will be able to raise my children in a place where they can go to free schools, choose to worship however they wish, and have opportunities abounding. all because of you.

while i will never understand what you've been through, the things you've seen, the places you've been and the things you've had to do, i can assure you that i will be forever thankful. from the bottom of my heart, thank you. what you've done is precious to me.

and a special note to all of you who were part of the vietnam era: thank you for opening the eyes of the public. it breaks my heart to think of what some of you had to go through upon your return to the states. but thanks to you, the man i love will never have to face the same return you did. while i never wish experiences like you had on anybody, i am still grateful that American learned her lesson. from now on, i hope every soldier who returns from war will be received warmly, with upmost respect and gratitidue. thanks to all of the vietnam vets, we as a people have learned how to receive our veterans. thank you.

happy veteran's day.

kenya

is anyone else a bit disturbed by the fact that kenya declared a national holiday because of the election of Barack Obama as U.S. president-elect? this seems so strange to me.

would the united states declare a national holiday if a person with an american father became the president of another country? ... i think not.

a new stage ... a new friend

i feel as though i am in a new stage of my life. i'm not sure why. because i'm not a teenager? because i am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in college? because my boyfriend is talking about marriage? i'm not sure why i feel different, but i do.

i guess i feel in a way that i am more "grown up", more "responsible". like i'm more of an adult. i just feel as though i've hit that next phase of life where i am more of an adult and less of a kid.

my absolute favorite part of this new stage in my life is my relationship with my mom. she is my best friend. i love this new phase of our relationship. she will always be my mentor, and she will always correct me when i'm wrong. but i feel as though we are more like "equals" and less like "parent-child". of course, her opinion will always be very important to me, and i will always yearn to have her approval. but it's like the "growing kids God's way" cirriculum states. by the time your children get to be adults, you should have moved from parenting and disciplining them to becoming friends with them. i feel as though my mom and i have reached that point.

sometimes she confides in me about things going on in her life, and i love that! i love getting to know what's on her heart. i love when she shares with me things that are going on at work, or trials she's going through, or great things that are happening in her life. i love to pray for her based off of the things she tells me. i feel as though i know her so much better.

i feel like she knows me better, too. she knows my thoughts, my dreams, my concerns. she just listens. she doesn't judge. she doesn't interrupt or tell me what i should do (until i'm ready to hear it). so i'm not afraid to tell her anything. i know that no matter what my thoughts are she will be there to love me and supporot me. i feel like i can tell her anything, and i love that.

i wish everyone was as blessed as i am to have such a relationship with their mothers. i know not everyone grew up with a mom. i think that's a shame. it sure makes me hold onto my mom's and my relationship that much tighter. i don't want to take it for granted. growing up i was always a "daddy's girl". and honestly, i always will be. so i never dreamed i would be this close to my mother. we have a bond that i never imagined could exist. we have gotten so much closer over the last few years, and i wouldn't change that for the world!

thanks mom, for being there for me. thanks for confiding in me, and allowing me to confide in you. thanks for being my best friend. i love you!

thirteen on thursday

my top thirteen favorite baby names:

13. mckenzie
12. jackson (jack)
11. boston
10. declan
9. ace
8. mason
7. kyle
6. cale
5. bryce
4. dallas
3. ajax
2. lane
1. jason (in honor of jason veritek)



p.s. just for those of you who might be wondering ... no, there will NOT be a need for these anywhere in the near future ... just something that's on my mind.

some political thoughts ...

usually i'm not a very political person. i try to stay out of things like that because i tend to have pretty strong opinions that are different from the "mainstream media". i don't care for politics too much, so i try to just stay quiet and go about my business. i don't really care that much.

which is why it's sort of strange for me to be posting this. a sweet lady i know emailed me some concerns the other day when she heard me say i wasn't sure if i was going to vote in the presidential election or not. i decided to share some thoughts with her. then i began to realize the majority of the public is extremely uneducated about the political process, the electoral college, and the way voting works. i find that all very interesting and enjoy reading and learning about it. i myself don't feel i know enough about it, but i'd like to learn more.

here's what i had to say to this lady a few days ago. just so you know, since i wrote this, i have looked further into the electoral college. turns out oklahoma DOES have a state law requiring our electors to cast their vote the way they are pledged, which does give me some peace of mind.

anyway, here's some food for thought. let me know what you think. i'd love to hear others' opinions on this, and i'd love to become further educated on these issues myself. if you have something to add, please let me know! :) i'm also curious what you think are the most important decisions our country will face in the coming few years? abortion? war? something else entirely?

i've pasted the emails here in the order they were sent. to protect this family's privacy, i've removed some of the names.



EMAIL #1 (TO ME)
Okay, Kara, are you prepared for a lecture???

We have hit gov't and our responsibilities as Christians in our homeschooling very heavily in the last month. So my girls were shocked and appalled when they heard you say in class this week that you were not going to vote! They have mentioned it every day this week. Every time they mention it I think about emailing you...so I am finally acting on it. We so love and respect you and appreciate your influence in our girls' lives. I hope you will allow me a few minutes to hopefully influence you. There will never be a perfect president or perfect anything in this world. McCain would not have been my first choice either. There are two things I would like for you to do. One: read the excerpt below that I am typing in from something our pastor handed out in church today and two: watch this video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwLY_HRt-AM

"With the upcoming elections 8 days away, satan has worked hard to deflect attention off of the real issue. This has been relatively easy through the economic meltdown and an unpopular war. Many Americans, including Christians, will vote based on these two issues. While these things are obiously important, they pale in light of the real issue - the Supreme Court.

The cover story of USA Today, on Thursday of last week, spelled this out quite clearly. It stated that the real legacy of the next president won't be the economy or the war, but the Supreme court. The next president of the United States will appoint at least 2, and maybe 3, Justices in his first term. If he serves 2 terms, it could be 5 justices - there are 5 of the 9 on the Court 70 years old or older! Since the trend is to appoint younger and younger Justices, the next president will most likely shape the court for the next 30-40 years! This means we are not voting only for a president, we are voting for the Court we want for the next generation! The vote we cast on Novermber 4th will do more to shape the culture we give our children and grandchildren than any other vote of our lifetime! Our vote will be for what we want America to look like 40 years from now!"


EMAIL #2 (MY RESPONSE)
Hi (T),

I appreciate you taking the time to email me. Please understand that I was not trying to tell any of the kids that voting is wrong; in fact, I encouraged them to partcipate in the "kids' voting" and things like that. I was simply answering (A)'s question when she asked me who I was going to vote for.

The video link you sent actually did not work for some reason. Can you try to resend it, or tell me what to search for on YouTube, and I promise I will watch it!

To be honest, I am undecided about whether or not I will vote on Tuesday. I do not feel I have any reason to participate in the presidential election - simply because I am not actually voting for for the next President of the United States. Rather, I am voting for an elector. That elector is not required by the constitution to vote the way the majority of the people vote. Therefore, to get quite technical, no individual citizen's vote actually "counts". All that matters in the end is how the electors choose to vote - and they can vote any way they choose, no matter how the people vote. Also, I do not feel I am informed enough to make a good voting decision. I have followed the campaign process a little bit, but I do not know enough about all of the issues to make a good decision.

I understand that it is my right as a citizen to vote. But this a right I may choose to not exercise this year. When it comes to local elections, where my vote actually does matter, I feel differently on the matter. Several people have given me grief about my stance on voting in the Presidential election. However, I am using my freedom of choice as a U.S. citizen. No one can force me to vote; voting may be a right, but it is also a choice. I do understand how blessed our nation is to have the freedom to vote - trust me, I have a boyfriend who can not WAIT to go to Iraq and risk his life fighting so that country can have the same rights we do.

If I felt strongly about one political party or candidate over the other, I might go vote. However, I do not entirely agree with either party's stance on many issues. And as far as the Supreme Court justice issue, I believe what matters here is the cabinet the future President chooses to surround himself with. On that issue, I do not know which man would make a wiser decision.

I know you did not ask for an explanation on why I may choose to not vote this year, but those are the reasons I have. I might feel differently in the next Presidential election. I may choose to go vote on Tuesday - I hear you get free Chick-fil-a chicken strips if you do!! - Just kidding!! Anyway, thank you for taking the time to share with me your thoughts. I do appreciate it.
Kara


EMAIL #3 (TO ME)
The girls did tell me that you were only answering (A)'s question. Anytime they suspect that I might be upset with you they are so quick to defend you!

For some reason the video says no longer available...Here is another one done by Catholics that our pastor showed in church this morning because he thought it was so good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61wj4tJICcc

I don't think there will ever be a person, president or not, that we will agree with 100%...but the most important issue here is abortion. The Bible is very clear about what God thinks about the shedding of innocent blood.

I am by no means an expert on the electoral college thing. In fact, I didn't even know it existed until the 2000 election! I don't know about what the law requires regarding if they have to cast their vote according to the popular vote but it couldn't happen any other way because on the ballot when we vote for president the electors are listed underneath. There are different electors for each candidate, McCain's electors and Obama's electors. Each party chooses their own electors so it is highly unlikely that a Republican elector would cast a vote otherwise. So according to the popular vote determines which electors get sent to the electoral college. But I know I was quite disillusioned the first time I heard about the electoral college. I need to study up on it because many people who understand the whole thing have told me that there are many reasons it is done that way...

The Supreme Court is much more important than the candidate because, although it shouldn't be this way, the Supreme Court now makes laws! The decision of 5 justices in Roe v Wade has led to the killing of 50 million babies! Here is some more evidence of the importance of the Supreme Court that is from the same article that I quoted earlier.

Without question, no institution, organization or agency has shaped the current culture of America in the last 50 years more than the Supreme court. You don't need millions of people, the majority in Congress, or the President to shape the culture of America. You only need 5 people - the majority of the Supreme court. Five people can kill 50 million babies (the number aborted since Roe vs. Wade), legalize homosexual marriage, remove parental rights, put God out of schools and government, rob from us our godly heritage, etc.
It is now split - sometimes 5-4 toward life, family, morality, our godly heritage, the intent of our forefathers when they wrote the Constitution; sometimes 5-4 toward death, immorality, legislating their beliefs from the bench (though not their constitutional role or right, this is esy - they simply say the Constitution is a fluid, living document and therefore must be changed to accommodate the times), removing God from our nation, etc.
2-3 Justices will retire over the next 4 years, their replacements chosen by the next president; possibly a couple more will step down 5 to 8 years from now, making it 5 potential Justices that could be appointed by the next president if he serves 2 terms. This will determine how the Court rules for a generation.
The first two Justices to go will almost certainly be Stevens who is 88 years old and Ginsberg who is 75 and ill. They are the two most liberal and are no doubt waiting to retire, hoping for a president that will replace them with 2 more liberals. These two replaceements alone, if they are good, conservative judges could shift the Court toward righteousness for many years.

There is another very good thing to read if you have not seen it already and that is a letter from a famous black man, Huntley Brown, on why he cannot vote for Obama. I have been praying all day today for God to convict black pastors across our nation that God doesn't look on the color of the skin but on the heart and that they would encourage their congregations to do the same. I think it will be great to one day have a black president but it has to be a godly man. http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/huntleybrown.asp

Oh, and here is the VERY BEST video: A warning from a Cuban American to Obama supporters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdRLGYOiyc8

Okay, I think I'll go to bed now!
(T)


EMAIL #4 (MY RESPONSE)
Hi (T),

Thanks for the video links. I can't watch them now (as I am at a Panera in Tulsa without any headphones!) but will watch them this evening at home.

As far as the electoral college, check out this article. It has some good information and spells it out plainly: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepoliticalsystem/a/electcollege_2.htm. It pretty much describes my stance on why my individual vote does not "count" for anything. That very thing happened in the 2000 election when Gore won the majority of the popular vote (individual citizen's votes on that Tuesday in November in 2000). However, Al Gore did NOT become President because George W. Bush won the majority of the electoral college votes in December 2000. Turns out the way the people voted did NOT determine who became President of the US of A. Also, as the article mentions, the electors (across the nation) are not required to vote the way the majority of the people in their home state vote; however, some states have established laws against this. To be honest, I am not sure how Oklahoma stands on this. Electors are "pledged" to vote for a certain candidate, but can - and several times throughout history, have - gone against their pledge when it came time for the electors to vote in December.

On the other issues, I am VERY against abortion. I believe with my whole heart that when someone performs an abortion, they have committed murder. However, because I have not followed the campaigns that closely, I could not quote word-for-word each candidate's stance on the issue. I have heard that Obama is pro-choice, which is not okay with me. However, while I absolutely agree that abortion is murder, my heart is very distressed on this issue. I have some very dear friends who were expecting their first child. The mother has an intestinal disease (I cannot remember the name of it) and became very ill during the first few months of her pregnancy - so ill she was admitted to the hospital and wound up in a coma. The father was placed in such a difficult position - he was forced to choose whether the doctor should take the life of their infant, or whether his wife AND child should die from the pregnancy. He chose to have the doctor perform an abortion. I cannot imagine the pain he suffers. How does this look in God's eyes? I do not know what the right decision in this case would be - but it sure makes me glad I am human and not God.

If the law were changed to make all abortion illegal, what would happen in cases such as this? Would a man be forced to live without his children or his wife? Or be allowed to have his wife live?

I simply do not know enough about what each candidate's ENTIRE stance is. While I cannot support Obama's view on the acceptance of casual abortion (murder), I also do not know how "far" McCain's campain takes their belief. I am simply uninformed about their specific policies.

For me personally, I believe the war is a greater issue in this election than abortion. I believe they are of equal importance; however, I do not believe any legislation at all will be passed any time soon regarding abortion; I believe politicans of all parties and all organizations and all levels of power are too wimpy to take a public policy stand on it for fear of alienating voters and their own job security. I do believe the next President will have an enormous impact on the war. We will never have 100% of our troops withdrawn from Iraq. And I personally believe this a good thing. The U.S. still has troops from all branches in every single nation in which our country has ever fought, so I know we will never be completely "out". On the war, my personal stance is we need to 1) finish the win and 2) get as many troops out as possible .... AFTER terrorism is eliminated. I do not agree entirely with either party's stance on the war, but I am much more in agreement with McCain's policies than Obama's.

As for the Supreme Court issue, I absolutely agree with the importance there. However, as I said earlier, I firmly believe the candidate who makes a wiser decision about the cabinet he will be surrounded with will make better decisions regarding the Supreme Court. Let's face it - whichever candidate wins and has the power to appoint several justices in his first term will be looking towards re-election for a second term. Therefore, I believe either candidate will make comprimises to satisfy both Democrats and Republicans to ensure they will be re-elected in 2012. Besides, the Senate questions each nominee and chooses whether or not to approve each nominee - shouldnt we be more concerned with who is sent to the Senate?

For me, the BIGGEST reason I was considering not voting was not so much because I am not a fan of either candidate - but rather, because I am not voting for a candidate at all, but an elector! I do not feel strongly one way or the other, or I would go vote without a doubt. I agree that it does not matter if the President is a black man, or a woman, or a white man who's old as heck. I agree it is much more important that the person be a godly person. But if I am not even voting for that person, I don't see the importance. You can bet I'll be voting in local elections. And I will enjoy it. To be honest, I'll probably vote tomorrow, too, just to make Keaton and my mom happy. But that doesn't mean I have to be okay with the fact that my vote will not make a difference. And if I choose to not exercise my right to vote, I will not complain if the person I agree with "more" (McCain) is not elected. To me, it's just not worth all the fuss.

Sorry this got kind of long. I will see you tomorrow - and I might just have an "I Voted!" sticker on!

Kara