Just reading the news this morning over coffee (as I do), and ran across an article about some very unfortunate mother who left her baby in her car.  It is devastating to read, but it is even more devastating for the family. 

So, this is just a brief reminder for today: the days are hot, and the inside of a car is hotter.  Please don't allow yourself or people around you to become so busy that you forget about this.  The bank will be there tomorrow, the store isn't going to run out of bread in the next 15 minutes, the dishes may not clean themselves but they certainly aren't going anywhere either.  There is more to life than errands and chores...so, take some time out and spend 2 good quality hours with your family today.  No TV, no radio...go for a walk or play with your kids' favorite toy (or video game, if they're old enough, and if that would mean a lot to them).   Sometimes we need to re-prioritize our lives: maybe today's that day.  :) Enjoy!

This is a weird subject for some people, but apparently this guy really took the bull by the horns...so to speak.  It's a small article so I'll just paste the whole thing:

"

Bibles Are Hot Item At Porn Show

LOS ANGELES -- One of the hottest items at the weekend's Erotica pornography show was a Bible with a cover that said "Jesus Loves Porn Stars."The Rev. J.R. Mahon of the Web site www.xxxchurch.com said his anti-porn ministry handed out its entire stock of 3,300 Bibles on the first day of the three-day show.Mahon acknowledges that convention-goers did a double-take when they saw his ministry's booth and Bibles with the unusual covers. He said that gave him a chance to tell people in the porn business that Jesus loves them and offers an escape and a fresh start to those who want out.Mahon says the "Jesus Loves Porn Star" Bibles were printed by NavPress after the American Bible Society decided it couldn't fill the order."

This isn't the first ministry most people would go for, but it is totally awesome that he is making sure absolutely everyone is loved.  A lot of times, Christians are so worried about following protocol that they forget to actually love everyone.  Instead, they want to beat it into people's minds what sinners they are, and that isn't going to help many (maybe a few, but not me).  I've found that by following a few key things Jesus taught, and John the Baptist said, has made all the difference in the world in terms of how much love I offer to people and changing my perspective of who "deserves" it (which is everyone).  Love your neighbor (as you love yourself), love your enemy:   firstly, if you don't love yourself very much, you're not going to love your neighbor very much either.  Depression or other personal issues may get in the way, and the best thing to do is to "take the plank out of your own eye before you worry about the splinter in your brother's."  It just makes sense, and for some of us, we find it very difficult to serve ourselves first because we are shrouded in whatever sins or guilts or shames from our past (or present), and we think if we just ignore that and serve everyone else, it'll all be okay.  But that's really the silly way of going about it, and since God loves *you*, and if you want to be a servant of God it is essential that you love yourself as well.  It's very difficult for some of us; women are very succeptable to this mindset, but it really needs to be addressed, I believe.  Then you must love your enemy.  This means porn stars are just as valuable in God's eyes as us upstanding citizens are.  Hard to swallow?  Well, it's true...not a lot you can do about that.  The third thing I keep in mind is what John the Baptist said to the people after he baptized them and they asked, "Now what?"  He said (in short), "If you have more than you need of something, go give it to someone who needs it.  Go serve God by serving others.  Go love them too." 

There was a guy at the Post Office yesterday with a backpack and a guitar, but I noticed that his guitar had this really nice fuzzy neck-protector, and he looked really well-kept.  I had no idea what to say to him, but I knew someone who might; so I went home and called this person and told him about this guy.  He said, "was he homeless?"  And I thought about it and replied, " Well, he might be homeless but he looks more like a wanderer than anything," and this great guy said, "Well, I'm going to be going that way in a few minutes so I'll drop by and see him.  Wanderers need a home too."  Something like that.  I don't know what happened yet, but who knows. 

So anyway, my whole point is: everyone has their own weird place in the world, wanderers and suburbanites and porn stars alike.  And it does not belittle any of us to give everyone a little love, even ourselves.  So go treat yourself to a latte and buy one for the person behind you  :) 

Some people call it a coincidense, some people call it fate or luck...but I know His sense of humor when He hits me with it.  He did it a few months ago when I thought I was pregnant for a day; I am sure He was saying, "No, no...wait for it...wait for itt.....Okay now!" Oh sure, it's far fetched...but I just have a hunch.  And as a wise man once said: "Zaphod: This is the right one!  I have a hunch!" 

So anyway, Ben was probing my mind last night and I was confessing to how frustrated I am with the world.  All that stuff.  So I wake up this morning with this song in my head:

"Gray skies are gonna clear up
Put on a happy face
Wipe of the clouds and cheer up
Put on a happy face"

Fortunately I don't know any more of the words...but man, that's just messed up (ya, I'm looking at You).  I am going to have sunshiney camp songs going through my head all day.  I just know it.

I was so indoctrinated with "you can make the world a better place!" in school, it difficult to see how I can do that without going into politics.  And politicians....Lord have mercy on their souls.  And I mean every word of that. 

So, I have ideas on how to help others, but I really want to hear other peoples' ideas.  No matter how crazy (they can't be weirder than my ideas, believe you me).  Because a lot of mine are "good" ideas, but they aren't implementable.  Like, I wanted a "Run" in town for our church.  Because, a lot of people feel that there is "something" in them that they don't understand, but it might be God...but it is hard getting to church and making the big step of meeting new people.  And some churches are great and others aren't "your" type; it's a big leap for a lot of us, so I wanted this "City Run" to be for the church to go out for "them," instead of just waiting for "them" to find "us."  I was already talking with the City and getting liability forms and I had quite a few booths all lined up and everything.  We would have music and free water and free bread and just a ton of great things.  It really is one of the best ideas I've had, but it's just not implementable.  There are smaller things, like giving supplies for living to people who need some help.  I made a laundry basket full of easy food and laundry soap and a Bible, and "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis, for a man who was the son of a lady I knew in church; rather sad story, because he had one heck of a life and was dealing with HIV, Cancer and a heart arrhythmia.  I thought he just needed something tangible from a church to maybe give him hope when he was alone.  Right after that I got an incredible letter from his mom telling me that all of his tumors had "melted away" (doctor's words), and he thanked my women's Bible study for the prayers (to which he credited for the miracle). 

So, anyway...there are a lot of little things I can do around here, but it isn't helping women in the Congo or anything big.  I can barely affect my own town (which, granted, is pretty big).  It's frustrating, but I'm stubborn, and I think I can do it.  But, I don't think I'm a leader so I have that going against me. 

How would you make the world a better place?  Difficulty: you can't just throw money at the problem.  Yes, funds are wonderful to help a cause, but dammit...we can do better than throwing money at a problem and delegating service.  That drives me nuts. 

So what would you do?

Well, here's some depressing news:

"Murders, robberies and aggravated assaults in the United States increased last year, spurring an overall rise in violent crime for the first time since 2001, according to FBI data.

Murders rose 4.8 percent, meaning there were more than 16,900 victims in 2005. That would be the most since 1998 and the largest percentage increase in 15 years.

Murders jumped from 272 to 334 in Houston, a 23 percent spike; from 330 to 377 in Philadelphia, a 14 percent rise; and from 131 to 144 in Las Vegas, a 10 percent increase."

Fantastic stuff.  I know every newspaper loves putting what is happening in Iraq on their front covers, but look at what is happening at home.  No protesters for Americans on every streetcorner.  16,912 murders and 92,837 rapes in America last year.  You figure 365 days a year, that's 46 people every day being murdered, and 254 people getting raped daily (at least, those are the ones being reported).  It is so damned frustrating.  What are you gonna do about it though...

" Criminal justice experts said the statistics reflect the nation's complacency in fighting crime, a product of dramatic declines in the and the abandonment of effective programs that emphasized prevention, putting more police officers on the street and controlling the spread of guns."

This is very true, and I am hesitant to admit that while I'm living in a rather comfortable suburbia, my view of the 2nd Ammendment is along the lines of, "Oh I don't see what's wrong with owning a gun, it's my constitutional right to do so," while in much rougher, urban areas I'm sure mothers of 2 would see a vote for looser holds on guns would be whether her 15 year old angst-laden neighbor has access to 1 gun or 10 semiautomatics.  This is all hyperbolic, of course, but it isn't too far off. 

"Still, Fox said, "We're still far better off than we were during the double-digit crime inflation we saw in the 1970s."  Robberies were up 4.5 percent and aggravated assaults 1.9 percent, according to preliminary data. Alone among violent crime categories, the number of rapes fell 1.9 percent.  Violent crimes peaked at 1.9 million in 1992 and fell steadily through the end of that decade. The number has been relatively stable for the past six years...

Fox cautioned against reading too much into year-to-year changes in individual cities, saying some differences result from random variation and marked swings the previous year. Also, some large statistical increases result from some small numerical changes.

In Hartford, Conn. for example, murders jumped more than 50 percent, from 16 to 25."

It's just so hard to know what to do to save the world sometimes, when you can't even help your fellow man at home.  You can give him bread and coffee, but that doesn't stop a bullet. 

I know I shouldn't find bugs so cute...but these really are super cute.
   I'm not too wild about them in person, but pictures are easy to deal with.  We have tons of garden spiders in our lawn in the backyard, but they eat the tons of bugs (rolly pollies, ants, etc) that live out there, so I can't be too bothered.  The gophers, on the other hand....don't really know what to do about them.  Anywho, here's some good spider pictures

found in Vietnam

I've seen these in my backyard...they're like, a centimeter wide and are crab spiders.  They just stay on a petal for about 2 weeks waiting for food.  It's supah cute.

This looks like an Orb Weaver, and it is in NewZealand

This is actually an Orb Weaver as well, but it is labeled as a Marbled Spider 

This is a spiny spider, also in the Orb Weaver family.  They're pretty crazy.

doodeedoo..test n stuff