Mockingbird

Odd title choice, I know. But I promise it fits. Have you ever read "To Kill a Mockingbird"? Chances are you have. While a lot of people feel it is overrated and boring, it is one of my favorite books. It depresses me a bit that TKAM was the only book that Harper Lee ever really published. She had such a way with words and tackled issues that were plaguing society at the time. One of the lessons that Scout learns throughout the novel is acceptance. Not judging someone before getting to know them. Boo Radley is the perfect example of someone who is desperately misunderstood. What does this have to do with my life right now? Well, I'm glad you asked. One of my guilty pleasures is watchin Biggest Loser. I love seeing the physical and mental transformations that the contestants go through each week. I consider myself to be pretty fit, but sometimes I wonder if I would be able to make it through the workouts they go through not only physically but mentally. I'm almost dead certain that Jillian Michaels would give me a wrong look and I would instantly burst into tears. She terrifies me. But that is off topic. I realized last night while watching that I kept saying that I don't like this person or that person. It hit me that I was doing exactly what drives me crazy about other people. I was determining how I feel about someone when I don't know them. While I may not like their attitudes or actions, I don't know them personally. This set off a chain reaction in my mind of how many "public figures" I have said I dislike and how many times I've read the trash people talk about celebrities as if they actually know them. Take Taylor Swift for example. Yes, her songs drive me absolutely crazy and I would rather listen to anything else than her singing, but I have no right saying that I don't like HER. I don't know her. While we are all entitiled to our opinions, it would benefit our lives so much more if we focused on positive things and stopped judging others that we have no contact with. Much like Scout in TKAM, we should just give others who are different a chance.

You must cross your heart and kiss your elbow...

What an amazing quote. If you can name the movie it's from, you and I are destined to be best friends. If you can't, it's alright, we can still be friends :)
It makes me think about promises. Pinky promises, cross your heart and other silly sayings that we hear as children. I still use pinky promises quite regularly. To me, breaking a pinky promise is one of the worst things someone can do. It's an unspoken rule that you just do not break a pinky promise. So many things going on in the world today. It can overwhelm a person if you think too hard about it, so I try to focus on the positive things in life. I'm blessed beyond belief. I have amazing friends, family and an all around great life. But, I can't imagine my life without a relationship with Christ. He has gotten me through the toughest times of my life. I realize that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and opinions, but not trusting Him and believing that it gets better after we leave this life is something I simply do not understand. How can someone be satisfied that this life is all there is? With all the pain and suffering in the world, it helps to believe in something. Someone. We are promised an eternity with God in heaven if we turn from the ways of the world and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. It's better than a pinky promise. Or crossing your heart and kissing your elbow. It's a promise that will not be broken.
I realize that I haven't been punctual with writing this blog, but I tend to forget about it at times. When I do remember to write, I have all kinds of different thoughts rushing around in my head and it's difficult to sort them out. I apologize if they are all quite confusing.
I used to have a serious problem with keeping my mouth shut. I tend to speak before I think. It's an issue that has gotten me into lots of trouble with my parents and probably cost me a few friendships. I tend to say what everyone else in the room is probably thinking but just doesn't want to say. Honesty may be the best policy, but in my case it's not. You can be honest and state an opinion without being so abrasive. I didn't realize how difficult it is to be around someone who is like that until recently. I was raised to believe that there are some things you just don't talk about in polite conversation. Politics and your health. The reason behind this being that everyone has a different opinion about politics and no one is really interested in hearing about your collicking baby or your nasty sinus infection. Politics tend to make my skin crawl and I usually refuse to discuss them. I'm not saying that others shouldn't, but politics center so much on personal experience and opinion that it's almost impossible to talk about them without someone being offended in some way before the end of the conversation. That being said, I should probably point out that while I'm not liberal I'm also not highly conservative. I'm kind of in the middle. I realize that people will say that's a cop out. That's fine. As I said before, you are welcome to your opinion. The problem I have is when people try and force their politics down your throat. The backhanded comments and cynical views expressed by so many over facebook and other social networking sites are simply ways to get attention. Liberals are not all crazy and conservatives are not all....well, never mind. I come from quite a conservative background. One thing I truly appreciated growing up was that my parents never shared their political opinions with me. They let me form them for myself. While I may not be the most conservative being, I still find it rather offensive when Republicans are called "uneducated".
Politics and religion (or lack thereof) tend to go hand in hand these days. Promises seem to be broken way too easily. The days of crossing your heart and kissing your elbow seemed so much easier.
By the way, the quote is by Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in case you didn't know :)

.....

By now, everyone in the world knows about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. For those of you who are religious, like myself, praying is what we do in times of trouble and every other day. It truly is a tragedy. The fact that the waves reached Hawaii and the coast of California is astonishing. Christine and I are leaving for San Diego on Monday and I can only say that I'm thankful we weren't there today. I have friends in Oceanside and I was incredibly grateful that they are ok.
The news has been bouncing back and forth from covering Japan and back to the Middle East. I understand that the world is in a state of panic, but worrying about things is not going to make them any better. God has a plan and there is nothing we can do but accept it. He truly knows what is best. One thing I find humorous is how everyone tries to sell their ideas about the "end of days". The Bible tells us that no one knows, not even the Son. God is the only one who knows when that time will come. Natural disasters happen all the time. The magnitude varies. Some are horrible while others barely leave a dent. This whole 2012 thing has our world up in arms. If the end of the world as we know it is approaching, then there is nothing we can do but deal with that. Make every day count. Live your life. Don't spend your time obsessing about negative thoughts.
Another thing this disaster has brought to my attention is how many people on Facebook and Twitter and even TV that have denounced God and mock Christians but yet urge everyone to pray for Japan and say God bless. Why are you asking a God to bless the world when you don't even believe in Him? This upsets me.
On another note, I truly hope everyone does pray for Japan and those affected. Pray for everyone every day.
I realize that this is a little more somber than usual, but I just needed to get these things off my chest. I don't want to end on a negative note.
I have come to realize that while my personal relationship with God is unique to me, there is something comforting about finding friends who are in a similar place with their relationships. I have been blessed in my life to find those friends and thank God for them every single day. The world is full of temptation and it is difficult to stay on track at times, but if you stay strong in your faith you always know that God is there for you. His unchanging love will pull you through anything. You're never alone.
"If His grace is an ocean...then we're all sinking."