Legitimate Rape

Republican Representative Todd Akin of Missouri is running against the incumbent Democrat for a Senate seat.


I am an independent voter and usually feel that either candidate in any given race is roughly as good or bad as the other candidate, and I feel the best plan is to have a nice distribution of Republicans and Democrats to fill the Senate so all sides can have a voice.

Until yesterday.

This arrogant man can back pedal all he wishes, and apologize for as long as he has breath. What he said boils my blood.

On Sunday, Akin went on television in St. Louis and spoke about the need for abortion in the case of rape.

He said, “It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare.”

And he kept going…

“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.”

Legitimate?!?! Are some rapes illegitimate? Please tell me this does not imply what I think it does…

So rape survivors should have the baby in this one’s opinion.

Did it not occur to him how devastating it is for a woman to carry the offspring of her RAPIST? Would he get visitation rights? Pay child support?

She would be forever tied to this animal…

The person who all but killed her with his violent aggression? Because rape is that. Violent. Horrible. Soul killing.

And given how rarely women report being raped (and with morons saying stuff like this, is it any wonder?), what criteria would be required to have an abortion in the case of rape if abortion is restricted? A police report? That may or may not exist and may or may not have positive findings?

If you don’t believe in abortion, ever, then don’t have one. But please don’t force what you believe on the most vulnerable. It just is not right.

Mr. Akin, a word of advice-

You really don’t have to say, out loud, every thought that runs through your head.

God help Missouri if you win.

Sunday's race

NASCAR had it's best finish I ever saw on Sunday. And I admit, I have watched it repeatedly (Thank God for DVR!)

Marcos Ambrose Slip-n-Slides to a win at Watkins Glen

It was edge of your seat madness with racing though the grass, bumping and rubbing. The Best Last Lap EVER!

Brad Keselowski was the best post race interview- so excited to have been in the middle of the chaos that second place was great too.

I can't wait to watch the end again with my son. He has not seen it yet. And even though Kyle Busch dropped to 7th place in the chaos that included a late wreck by Tony Stewart and well as spins from both Gordon and Earnhardt.

Simply breathtaking....

Election 2012

In case you were unaware, it is an election year, and the claws are out on all sides. And I am already counting the days till it is over… 93 long torturous days…


So to my friends on all areas of the political spectrum- please, I beg you, leave me out of the discussion. Stop forwarding me ridiculous e-mails full of conspiracies, real or imagined.

I DO NOT CARE!

I don’t care if Romney does not release all his tax returns. (Pretty sure the IRS has this, folks.) Or that he is wildly rich, Mormon, or that he will or won’t raise or lower taxes (cause he hasn’t decided yet). Mike Bloomberg is also crazy rich and has been running New York City for a while now- being a good business man hasn’t made him a terrible mayor.

I don’t care that Obama used to be Barry and is now Barak. Or that he’s letting illegal alien children stay as long as they are not felons and want to go to school. Or that he let professionals kill Osama bin Laden instead of offing him personally. Delegating is a good job skill.

I also don’t care if I don’t get mail delivered on Saturday. My bills can wait till Monday to arrive- the millions it will save are worth it.

I consider my DVR the best part of election season- because I can fast forward over all the political trash they show on commercial breaks.

I delete the political messages left by EVERYONE!

I DO NOT CARE!

There is a reason I am an independent voter- neither party makes me happy- both sides have made colossal errors over the course of my lifetime. And I am not nearly as stupid as some of you think I am.

Who on EARTH is doing the government books?!?! Does Greece not scare the crap out of these people? Somebody needs to get serious about reining it in, or we will be Greece…sooner, not later.

The recession was brought on by BOTH parties. The deficit was created by BOTH parties. Nobody elected to office is an innocent bystander.

Obamacare has issues- but so do most government programs. At least now all my patients who are children can be insured regardless of their pre-existing conditions. And maybe a couple of hospitals will keep from going bankrupt providing care to uninsured folks and then having to write off the bad debt… What a concept…

And to my republican friends- Romney’s plan is Massachusetts was the model, so quit griping about it. Doing NOTHING was NOT WORKING!!!

A lot of government is not working.

The Founding Fathers must be rolling over in their graves! And I want to be able to vote for "None of the Above"...

Praying

Somewhere, I found this and, touched by the message, I saved it without  noting where it came from.

In times of prayer we can be helped by others who have tried to put words on what is going on. Take the prayers of the Bengali Hindu poet mystic, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941).


His little collection, Gitanjali, Song Offerings to the Creator, has inspired many people and his songs have become Christian hymns in India. He celebrates the immense creating love of God:

“You have made me endless, Lord, such is your pleasure. This frail vessel you empty out again and again, and fill it ever with fresh life. Your infinite gifts come to me only on these very small hands of mine. Ages pass and still you pour, and still there is room to fill.”

Elsewhere he prays:

“Give me the strength, Lord, lightly to bear my joys and sorrows. Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service. Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might’. One song in particular could stay with us in our prayer, celebrating the mysterious and endless coming of God into our empty hearts: ‘Have you not heard his silent steps? He comes, comes, ever comes. Every moment and every age, every day and every night, he comes, comes, ever comes. In the fragrant days of sunny April through the forest path he comes, comes, ever comes. In sorrow after sorrow it is his steps that press upon my heart, and it is the golden touch of his feet that makes my joy to shine.”

Today I spent time with two very young parents who's son is gravely ill. I sat with them and listened with them as the NP talked over the course of their child's care.
 
This mother waited to cry till the NP left us, and then, her strenght used up, she let out the sorrow in her heart.
 
"How can NO antibiotics work?"
 
I offered the observation that the development of antibiotics was slow work, and how these bugs are so smart.
 
It did nothing to comfort her. I only hope my presence gave her some solace.
 
I hate when medicine is helpless to help.
 
Please God, these are amazing good people. Ease their pain, no matter what happens. Please love them and hold them and help them.

“Now that this is my reality, what am I supposed to do with it?”

Today I read Lysa’s post, “When God hurts your feelings” http://lysaterkeurst.com/2010/03/when-god-hurts-your-feelings/ and she asked herself the question:


“Now that this is my reality, what am I supposed to do with it?”

I had been there…

A long time ago, my faith was broken into small pieces after a violent assault.

The physical assault was soon matched in a verbal assault that likely did tenfold the damage. The verbal assault was not loud, was not profane… it took place in a chapel and was quiet and controlled as it stripped me of hope.

I was left broken, aching and alone. And the words haunted me. God might have been with me, but I sure didn’t know it. For years, I struggled with believing. It wasn’t a test of my faith. I had no faith left to test.

Hate I had. Distress. Pain. And shame. A whole lot of shame. Shame so overwhelming I could not breathe.

I said nothing for a very long time. I was ashamed. It is still a time I hesitate to share. That fear of judgment. There is still shame, decades later…

What did I do?

I changed to meet my new reality. I took a path in life that was greatly changed from what I had always envisioned. I grew up to be a different person than I thought I would become. I am more tolerant and less judgmental. I know that there are worse things that can happen to people. Bad, horrible life changing tragedies happen every day.

I am blessed with healthy children. I am blessed with a loving family. I am blessed with friends who are family. And there are still really dark days filled with lonely pain.

I do work that I hope makes a difference, even when it changes nothing.

My beliefs no longer fit in the textbook full of rules that I was raised on. I believe that had Jesus Christ been in the chapel that day so long ago, He would have held my hand and said, “I am so sorry.” He would have held me as I cried and told me over and over how much He loved me. And as He loves me, He loves all of us- even those of us who don’t fit in. He loves us.

I am good with that.

Glassblowing

I took a glassblowing class on May 26th. My 21st new thing. I am writing about it now because I had to wait till I stopped feeling sick to my stomach and my hands stopped sweating.

What was I thinking?!?!

Glassblowing involves FIRE. Really HOT fire.

I am clearly an idiot. I am absolutely terrified of fire and took a class that is done in front of not one but two huge furnaces, plus a flaming grill for keeping the pipe ends hot.

The young man (Josh) running the class made it all look so easy, and the actual blowing of the glass was easy, but making the cup (our first project) is a complex project.

My classmates all seemed to have no trouble at all, with Josh giving basic guidance and stepping in for minor adjustments as we assisted with the blowing and paddle as needed. And when they had all finished their cups, it was my turn. And here my day went off the rails.

I had to scoop up molten glass from this bowl in the center of the furnace which is like 3000 degrees when Josh opened the door. I froze when the heat blasted out, and spilled the molten glass on the floor.

Yeah, that was me, spilling liquid glass… Ask yourselves- how hot does glass have to be to go into a liquid form?

Pretty seriously hot…

Then shaping the glass by rolling/cooling it on the metal table is followed by reheating it… I couldn’t turn the pole and reheat the glass while still being far enough away from the fires of Hell to feel even vaguely safe.

And my cup was a crazy shape...

I was clearly out of my element. Josh helped me with each step and, by what must be considered a miracle, I had made a glass cup by the end. It is all still a bit of a blur, which happens when the” fight or flight” adrenaline rush takes over. One thing I know for sure: nobody will have any difficulty believing I made the cup- it is uneven and lopsided and I am fine with it. Or as Josh says… it is organic…

Just so you know, at that half-way mark in class, when everyone was finished with the first project, I seriously considered bolting at lunchtime and never going back.

I did not scoop out my own molten glass for my paperweight (the second project) and with fewer steps, I only needed a little help. (The others all made cool looking bowls, but I needed something easy)

I was exhausted by the end of the day- terror does that- and getting in my air-conditioned car after being in heat like the bowels of hell was a divine experience.

The pieces need to be "finished" whatever that means, (I am sure Josh told me but I have No Memory of it...) and then we can pick them up. And Josh let me have a piece of the now cooled and hardened glass that I had spilled.

I am just proud that I stayed and finished the class.

Glass-blowing now joins traveling in the Arctic on my list of things I NEVER intend to do again.

The Love of the Lord will stand

Though the mountains may fall
and the hills turn to dust,
yet the love of the Lord will stand
as a shelter for all who will call on His name.
Sing the praise and the glory of God.



Could the Lord ever leave you? Could the Lord forget His love?

Though a mother forsake her child, He will not abandon you.


Should you turn and forsake Him, He will gently call your name.

Should you wander away from Him, He will always take you back.


Go to Him when you’re weary; He will give you eagle’s wings.

You will run, never tire, for your God will be your strength.



As He swore to your fathers, when the flood destroyed the land,

He will never forsake you; He will swear to you again.


Back in 1981, we sang this in St. Frances de Chantal Church during our 8th grade graduation. Angela and I whispered in practice, after the yet the love of the Lord will stand line, "OH YES IT WILL" and planned to do so at the ceremony, but we chickened out.


But still a happy memory.