Now Is the Time When We Dance

Maybe we can at last stick a fork in this immigration bill. I find Bush's comments in the article to be annoying. Legal immigration *is* important to me. I'd like anybody to lives and works in this country to come here *legally*. Not sneak in. Get it?

My grandmother, great-aunt and great-grandmother were left behind when my great-grandfather first came to this country in the early 'teens of last century to try to make a better life for his family. I'm not sure if this was because of immigration laws of the time, of my great-grandfather having to prove he could support them before they could come over, or a simple matter of getting the boat fare together. However, World War I intervened when these three family members were still in the old country, and they ended up becoming war refugees in Russia, along with a great-great-grandfather, who died there. My family could have just stowed away on a boat and sneaked into the country, but they didn't, and they suffered a lot in pursuit of their dream. Yes, the living conditions in Mexico are horrible for many. Perhaps Bush should be putting pressure on his big-wig buddies down there to clean up the problems with their government and economy instead of just sending all the poor people they don't want up here. There's no reason why Mexico can't do better as a country.

Another happy thing, I've discovered via Ace of Spades that those good folks at Despair, Inc. have come up with a DIY parody motivator generator, good for laughs in all kinds of situations. In (dis)honor of Voinovich being one of the Senators from Ohio, and having the absolute last vote, probably the cause of his pulling a 180 at the last minute, here's one I lifted from Dave in Texas.

And this one is just too good not to share as well. Done by this guy. Yeah, I could just point you to the appropriate thread at Ace's place, but the last time I sent anyone there, Ace had just unloaded on a bunch of nasty people who were emailing him nasty things, and the person I sent there ended up needing to bleach his brain. So, you know.

And I'm just not feeling clever enough today to come up with my own. Sorry. I enjoyed being a recliner potato and watching the Indians win the series over the A's. And Jason Michaels is one of my favorite players, too!

Looking Forward to a Better Home

I was running on auto-pilot for the last four days, but I think it is just because I was tired. My husband has to be in to work earlier, and I had to drive him every day, so I had to get up earlier too. It was just harder adjusting to a different schedule, I think. I am feeling better today, and ready to face a new week. I have a lot to do! I am frustrated with myself because I haven't been getting as much sewing done as I wanted. But I've made progress in other areas, so it's not all bad.

This story really angers me. Those Mexicans have a lot of chutzpah, don't they? I'm wondering how much longer our government will keep being patient with Mexico. I really can't see how it's just about cheap labor; I keep thinking there must be something else behind it. In the meantime, I guess the best our family can do is not buy products made in Mexico, just like we already try to avoid products made in China. Oh, and we can mow our own lawn. BA-DUM-BUM.

It's good to know that God is sovereign, because there are so many things that could affect my family, and so little I can do about many of them. Thinking about it though, we do have a lot more freedom than other countries to prepare ourselves for the future, whatever it may hold. For one thing, my husband was able to get an education in the field he wanted, I was able to get an education, and we are able now to educate our own children. We need to pray for wisdom to make the right decisions now, and train our children to be good citizens of this country, and most importantly let them be nurtured through God's word towards being citizens in heaven.

Strong Fences Make Good Neighbors

Certainly not a popular quote today, judging by my quick research to double-check that I had it written correctly. We are to be tolerant, open to all viewpoints, multicultural, full of "positive emotional energy." Pfaugh! Complete and utter nonsense! As confessional Lutherans, for example, we know that God has given us His truth in His Word. As humans still in a sinful condition, we won't always follow this truth, but we always need to look to His Word for the truth, certainly not to other sinful humans. So we need to create a fence, to block out that which would come in to corrupt us, and cling only to God's Word and Sacrament.

On a worldly corollary, my church building also has fences, to help protect the property from being defaced and destroyed. I have gotten the impression over the years that many who claim to follow Christ look rather askance at property rights. Perhaps this comes from the early believers in Acts who chose to live together and share everything among each other. I think more often, we are told to be good stewards of what God has given us. Does this mean throwing our property to the four winds? No, we need fences, walls, locked doors and gates to protect and take care of that which God has given us.

This quote occurred to me originally in conjunction with the current problems on our southern border. I thought there would be more protests today, it being a Hispanic holiday. I should have known that the socialist and communist groups quietly organizing things behind the scenes would instead choose the communist holiday of the first of May. In any case, the fact that we are letting so many people come into this country illegally completely disgusts me. While some argue that building an actual, physical fence along our entire border is not logistically, practically possible, we must have some way to protect the citizens of this country. Letting landowners along the border protect their own property would be a start. If the rights and privileges of being a citizen of this country are not worth protecting, they will soon be not worth having. God help us all when that time comes.

This means something to me on a personal level right now as well, however. I have been battered emotionally for many years by outside family members. Now I am receiving protests and nasty words because I have chosen to retreat for a time. I have locked myself behind a fence to protect myself, my children, my husband, my marriage. My family, the four of us that share these walls, are most important to me. The family is our foundation here on earth. Without it, we have nothing, so I have to protect it first and foremost.

We cannot as Christians always hide behind walls and fences. Sometimes with God's help we must ride forth and do battle with the forces of evil and darkness. But I thank God that we have places of safety, that He protects and shields us through this life. I think fences and boundaries are essential to surviving with others in this world.