I am an incredibly competitive person and have been known to hold a grudge for a while after losing at something. I have even gone on rants after a team I am rooting for loses. Case in point, the World Series. I cannot stand the Yankees and am constantly disgusted at their payroll. After my Angels lost, I put the full extent of my cheering abilities behind the Phillies. Of course, this year they were not up to the task. If it had been anyone else, I would have shrugged it off a little easier, but again….I intensely dislike the Yankee organization. It all seems a little silly as I have no personal stake in the outcome and I fully admit that this is poor behavior and I am trying to get better. I have considered that this type of behavior is a reflection of a deeper issue within me. Frankly, I have always had a hard time with how I measure up with others and usually feel as though I am on the losing end of things. I have an ideal in my mind of what I want to be (as I have mentioned before) and never quite seem to get there. Of course, this can be the driving force that allows me to continue to move in a positive direction, if handled correctly.

There is something to be said for being competitive. It is this type of personality that gets things done and usually done better. These are the people who are constantly striving and pushing themselves to be bigger and better. Even in the bible, we are confronted with this type of thinking. The apostle Paul in 1Corinthians 9:24 tells us that anyone who runs a race should do so in a manner to receive the prize (win). I don’t believe that he was referring to baseball, but the standard remains, give it your best.

Unfortunately, in our humanity, we have gone too far with this idea. It is no longer just a race or a baseball game, but a competition to be won at all costs. Many have gone to lengths that are beyond the realm of good taste, legality and basic human compassion. Many professional athletes have risked their paychecks, families and lives with the use of illegal substances. In every sport, the rule book has been thrown out in favor of the stats, by the players and coaches. Where this trend is especially disappointing is the area of youth sports. Kids are being taught to play with a level of aggression that goes beyond what their young bodies can sustain. My sons and daughters have always been athletes and have sustained many injuries in the process. Those most disappointing are the ones that come at the hands of an opponent with malice. This seems to be the trend.

This evening, my son shared a video on youtube with me that not only sickened me, but made me angry. It has gone too far. People should not treat one another this way. I am posting the link to the video, but I warn you, it is hard to watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNmPybFK2_o . This young “lady” needs someone to take her to anger management. There is no excuse for this type of aggression in the field of play. It takes no talent to be a bully or a hack and this is a sad commentary on the sportsmanship of this generation.

My bible tells me in Matthew that in the end times, the love of many will grow cold. Sad…..one can only hope that those with this kind of anger issue will get some counseling. As for me, I will continue to hold myself in check and limit myself to only yelling at the TV. I think I can do it!

Are there any sports fans out there? I love sports and am truly a highly competitive person. I can liken a lot of life to sports. For example, no matter what sport you like or participate in, there is an offense and a defense    <sidebar-well except maybe golf and bowling-really are these sports? If you can drink beer while playing, maybe it isn’t as competitive as you think>. Some people play only on offense and some only on defense. If you truly love the sport and are talented, you can play both sides. I find this idea works for real life also. Regardless of the situation, you can choose to act (offense) or sit back and react (defense). Think about it…..

Now stay with me on this…I have been mulling over this idea for several days. There are things that transpire everyday that require our thoughts and actions. We all have opinions. We express those opinions and usually respond from our convictions. Some things require a personal response like someone cheating you or being dishonest with you. This is a face to face conversation to resolve. But the real idea that I have been mulling over is those issues that are public in nature. For example, our government and elected officials make decisions for us everyday. Some we agree with and some we don’t. It is our right as.citizens to express our displeasure regarding the issues. Others may not agree with us, but it is our right, not to mention our responsiblity, to be counted. Isn’t this what our founding fathers were doing when they drafted the Constitution. They were stating unequivocally how they felt our country should be run. It is a patriotic duty to stay informed and involved. Back to my sports analogy- you cannot sit on your butt and be a Monday morning quarterback. You know, have an opinion after the fact without being involved in the process.

Well…..this thought process logically led into something close to my heart, my relationship with God. I have always believed in God and had a relationship with him through Jesus Christ. This kind of relationship requires conviction as well as action on the part of a Christian. We come across situations all the time that go against what we believe. So what do we do? Should we sit back and wait to see what will happen (defense) and then have an opinion (Monday morning quarterbacking) or do we go on the offensive, state what we believe and let the chips fall where they may? I personally advocate the latter. I believe bad behavior must be addressed and dealt with. Unfortunately, this doesn’t sit well with a lot of people. So I go back to the rule book…the bible.

The prophets of the old testament called out ungodliness when they saw it and warned the people of their faithlessness publically! It wasn’t hidden, it was direct. In the new testament, John the Baptist was beheaded because he called out King Herod for adultery. This was public. Behavior that occurs in public should be called out that way. I’m not talking about with malice, but with conviction. Of course, we will be castigated for this, but Jesus tells us to daily pick up our cross and follow him.

So…..one question. Are you the one carrying the cross or the one pounding nails into it?

The subject of love has been discussed in my house a lot this weekend. This is a touchy subject (no pun intended). I know that there are people who agree with my subject line without even thinking about it, but I would like to explain myself.

When I was a child, I was told that I was loved. Of course, the people telling me were abusive and cold in their delivery. This is a kind of old-school love. You know, I have to say mean things to you and hit you because I love you. Now don’t get me wrong, I agree with discipline, but not discipline without affection and communication. My children are well-disciplined (most of the time), but they also know that they are loved unconditionally. When love is used inappropriately, it hurts.

As I got a little older, love (or someone’s version) was communicated through inappropriate touching and being told that if I loved someone, I would…..(fill in your own words here). This type of love destroys. Consequently, I grew up with a view of love that was warped and in need of serious re-thinking. I always felt that I had to prove my love to someone instead of my words being enough. In addition, I didn’t trust those works from anyone. Now love does require action, but it also requires faith. We have to believe that the person saying they love us actually means it. This brings me to my point….

Love is a choice. It may begin with an emotionally feeling of joy and expectation, but eventually that fades and what is left is a choice to act in such a manner everyday. That doesn’t mean that you will never feel that emotional high again, but it will be a deeper feeling, a truer feeling, a more lasting feeling.

The most perfect expression of love was God’s sacrifice of his son for me (and you). I know of no one else who would give up so much for so little. God in his infinite wisdom has provided a definition for us in his word.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up. It does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. Love never fails!

That is pretty hard to imitate. I don’t know anyone that can do all those things without fail. So I am left with the thought, that while I cannot hope to love to that level, I can choose to love and display as much of these qualities that I can. I won’t be perfect, but I will choose to work at it. I also have to begin to believe that this love can apply to me. To those of you in my life, I love you and I choose to everyday!

After reading some thoughts from others regarding friendship and considering my own experiences, I have come to the conclusion that we as women have lost touch with how to treat one another. I think that the advent of technology and our busy lifestyles have played a big part in this process. For example, years ago, women stayed home and took care of their children. They exchanged recipes and had bake sales together. I know this because I watched the Brady Bunch and Leave it to Beaver not because I am old enough to remember it. Things are so different now. We have moved into the work place, which I happen to enjoy. We have become more adept at the financial side of life and how to manage many more details than ever before. I know for myself that I don’t have the time to interact with others like I used to. But if I were to be very honest, I would say that I have never been one for good friendships with women. I have always preferred men for friends as there is less drama.

By now, you should be remembering some time in your life when the “woman drama” was more than you wanted to deal with. You know what I mean. Women have a tendency to be so catty and rude to one another. The gossip and two-faced behavior is more than evident. Now before I get yelled at, I do know that some women are very good friends, but  I have a hard time allowing them into my life. Too many times, I have put myself out there only to get kicked in the teeth and treated poorly. This is a sad statement on woman to woman relationships.

Even the younger women of our times cannot seem to treat one another with respect. I have listened to girls associated with my daughters through sports and hobbies and their conversations with one another are horrible. They refer to themselves and others in the most inappropriate ways. I wish they had more respect for others and themselves than what I see.

So I would like to say to those of you out there that I consider friends, I will always support you. I will always listen to your problems. When you are wrong, I will tell you so in one breath and in the next, tell you I love you. That’s what friendship is really. The ability to be there for one another in the good times and the bad. Not just when we feel like it but always.

Seriously ladies, that is my promise to you!

 Did you ever have one of those days where it seemed you were at simmer for most of the day? I am dealing with that today. Of course, the events of the last few days involving my car have left me feeling helpless and broke. It is no wonder that I am sounding like an idiot trying to censor myself upon completely losing it over something trivial.

You know, comparisons are dangerous because they always make you feel inferior to others, but there have been times in my life (like today) when I wish I could be like some others that I know.  I spend half my time feeling like I am going to explode for the stupidity going on around me and the other half apologizing for my bad attitude.

I have gone to church all my life and have counted God as my father since I was 8 years old. I have watched just about every kind of woman throughout my years in church and have always found those calm, sweet women were my ideal. Maybe that is because my childhood was anything but sweet and calm. Regardless of the reason, I have always wished I could be like that. You know, be able to react to bad news with thoughtful insight. Deal with others with patience and compassion. I keep trying and trying and I have many great role models in my church. However, try as I might, I just cannot pull it off. Some days (like today), I feel anything but the Godly woman I am supposed to be. I’m not feeling this way for any particular reason except that I am disappointed in myself.

I will get past this as soon as I feel sorry for myself a bit longer. After that, I will remember that I have survived a lot of junk in my life and can still call myself a child of God. I will remember that I have raised 4 great children who number themselves among God’s elect. I will remember that those noisy and loud people get things done that no one else can. I will remember that God loves me as I am as he works on my short-comings. I will remember that I am a warrior!!!! No matter how many times I get knocked down, I will get up and fight another day.

Mostly, I will remember that just because I am not sweet and demure, soft-spoken and patient, I am without a doubt a woman of God. HEAR ME ROAR!!!!!!

Okay, you knew it was coming at some point. I was going to get political. In my defense, our government makes it soooo easy. I am constantly amazed and usually offended at what transpires in the name of political correctness.

Currently, our country and our elected officials are dealing with a controversal hate crimes bill that in its essence would apply a different standard to any crime in which the victim feels violated due to their status (race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc.). Whaaaat????? See, that is where I get confused, because I thought that any violent crime was originated in hate. I mean you don’t decide to kill someone because it’s your time of the month. (Well sometimes, I feel that way). Seriously though, any violent crime is at its core, a crime of hate. Apparently, our elected officials, backed by some very loud interest groups, have decided that you and I need special protection and our current laws are inadequate for the job.

Now, before someone accuses me of being discriminating to any group of people, let me say that I have no enemies (except for the guy who pulls in front of me in traffic-covered in post on the first day). I tend to defend anyone who is an underdog. My problem here is the obvious hypocritical viewpoints that are evident in the media and with special interest groups. In one breath, these interest groups tell us how special protection is needed and in the next breath, they back pedal. I am sure you are wondering what I am talking about.  Well, I’ll tell ya…… 

In July of 2009, the Senate passed the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act as an amendment to a 2010 DoD authorization bill.  In addition, the Senate passed an amendment to the Act that would allow the death penalty to be applied in hate crimes cases under some circumstances. Now if I understand this correctly, this Act provides what the special interest groups want, increased punishment for hate crimes. But wait, they don’t like the amendment….death penalty.  The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
(LCCR)  and other civil and human rights groups that are supporting the Act do not support the Sessions amendment.  The groups said: “We strongly oppose this amendment…The death penalty is irreversible and highly controversial – with significant doubts about its deterrent effect and clear evidence of disproportionate application against poor people. Moreover, there are serious, well-documented concerns about unequal and racially biased application of the death penalty.” (http://www.civilrights.org/advocacy/letters/2009/oppose-the-sessions.html).

Are we trying to send a message with this bill or not? You cannot have it both ways! Either the crime is serious enough for this designation or it isn’t. Make up your mind!!!!!

By the way, I am not done with this topic as I feel this bill violates the state’s ability to govern itself and seriously endangers the freedom of speech that some of us in this country enjoy.

Sometimes life just borders on ridiculous. I mean you’re going along and dealing with the normal junk that happens in life and out of nowhere, you get smacked to the ground by something unexpected. Of course, we say unexpected because no one ever feels ready for something bad, we just get to react.

Several days ago, my car started making a noise that wasn’t on my happy list. I took it to our favorite transmission guy and found out that it needed a whole new transmission. Not happy, but the car has 163,000 miles on it and you have to take care of your stuff. So I am now tooling around with a new transmission and am about $2,600 poorer. Now here’s where the fun stuff starts…….

Two days after getting my car back, the engine light comes on and I get that sinking feeling in my stomach. Back to the mechanic (different guy as the other only does transmissions). Now I have a bad valve cover, an oil leak and the thermostat has to be replaced along with a radiator flush. As the dollar signs begin to flash in front of my eyes, I take a deep breath and say “okay, let’s take care of it”. Well now I have started a bad trend. My car now has the idea that I have unlimited funds and that everything should be replaced and/or fixed.

I picked up my car today all excited because I had been sitting at home totally relying on my children if I needed to go anywhere. Side note-those of you who know me, know that I require several cokes a day and if I have no car, I can’t get one. Baaaaadddd Mood!!! Anyway, back to my exciting tale- I picked up my car and realized it was almost time to pick up my son from school. It was raining and I didn’t want to sit in the car waiting as I had about a half an hour so I went to a store near the school to browse. Upon coming out of the store, I ran to my car (the rain) and plugged in the key only to turn it and hear that awful clicking sound that accompanies a bad battery or a bad starter. ARRRRGGGGG!. I actually just put my head back and laughed (it was that or cry). Just to make things fun, everytime I tried to start the car, the car alarm would go off and cause me no end of frustration.

At this point, I called Triple A (thank goodness I had updated my membership) and asked for help. Meanwhile, my son is now sitting in the rain wondering where I am. Triple A shows up and jump starts my car. I thank them and head back to the garage to give someone an earful. Did anyone hear me? You should have been able to. Again….not happy

So now I am standing in the rain arguing with this man about my car. He informs me that the connection is loose and he didn’t want to have to call me with more repairs. Now as the title of this blog states, I’m no rocket scientist, but I would have rather he told me there were additional problems than let me leave knowing I might be stranded later. Have I mentioned that I wasn’t happy? He fixes the problem, we test the car and now I am feeling badly for how I yelled. He apologized, I apologized and I get ready to get on my way.

Yep, you guessed it, the car refuses to start, again. By now I am sure you are wondering if I am embellishing this tale, but trust me I couldn’t make this crap up. Even the mechanic looks amazed. Long story short, my car is once again the hostage of a mechanic and I am truly feeling like a part-time job at Starbucks may become a part of my future as I am already into this little adventure to the tune of over $3,100 and I have no idea how much this one will cost.

I really don’t know how to end this except to say that while I hope this adventure has run its course, the week is young.

Wow, how exciting!! My first blog and I have so much to say. I’m a normal everyday person who has an opinion on just about everything. I can’t think of a better place to fascinate all of you with my opinions. I intend to be relevant as well as humorous (I hope). I have been told I’m funny looking so I should be able to build on that, right?

I don’t know that I will be able to update this everyday, but I hope to instill a little wisdom and a little common sense into the day. Of course, you are stuck with what I consider common sense and we may disagree on that.

Well as I said in my welcome, I tend to be a little outspoken. In addition, I don’t have much patience. I keep asking God to help me be patient and in his effort to help me, he keeps providing those opportunities to BE patient. I usually don’t have the time.

When it comes to common sense, the world has not picked up on this common virtue. Let me say as strongly as I can, I have no patience for stupidity. I’m not talking about someone who doesn’t understand something out of ignorance. I am talking about the guy who pulls in front of you after waiting through his cycle of the light. We’ve all seen this. I have come up with a solution-Stupidity should hurt!! I have always thought that if there were some kind of cosmic shock when a stupid act occurs, it would serve serveral purposes.

The first being that the person involved in the stupid action would know that he had done something STUPID! When  I was a child, I remember playing with an old record player (yes, I am that old and for those of you who don’t remember record players, substitute an electrical outlet). This particular record player had a frayed cord. I wasn’t supposed to be playing with it but I thought I knew better. You can see it coming , right? I got a huge shock that sat me down and put a hole in the front of my shirt. I never touched that thing again. My idea works the same. Stupid act = shock. Don’t do it again. Simple!

The second purpose would be that of a warning to the rest of us. I’m not hypocritical enought to say that I would never receive a shock as we all do stupid things, but I will say that I think there would be a lot of twitching people walking around. The rest of us would know who to stay away from.

Can I get an AMEN!?!!!