A Smattering of Thought

Christmas is an enchanting time of year. The sights, sounds, smells, stories, and sparkling snow. The snow softly coming down outside while Christmas music softly plays. The smell of cinnamon rolls baking fills the house. Sounds of giggles, laughter and chatter fills the air.  Each year I feel like a little kid once again.  Heading off to bed with eager anticipation for the new day. Truth be told, if I still lived at home you would likely find me creeping upstairs in the middle of the night to see what appeared.  For as long as I can remember my mom would still wait to fill the stockings and put out the gifts until we had gone to bed.  Even while in college, the tradition continued.  {side note: my mom rocks} One aspect I love about Christmas is giving gifts.  I love to find the perfect gift for the perfect person.  It is not that I need to spend a lot of money, but I want it to be something unique and special, just like they are to me.  So...

A new day.    A fresh start.  A new day to start over. A day to strive and correct yesterday’s mistakes. A new day to realize you will never get it perfect, but rest in the One who is perfect. There are days when I can honestly begin with the mindset above.  But, there are other days when I day begins like this: A new day. A new day to mess up and disappoint. A new day to remind myself of the past and feel the dissatisfaction again. A new day to yell at someone. A new day to use words as knives intentionally and unintentionally. A new day to blame my mood, frustration, anger on " lack of sleep” or “stress” than recognize selfishness. A new day to elevate self and leave out God. A new day to strive to will it away, stay in bed, and pull the covers over my head. {sigh} One of these options is certainly better.  Which one do I choose more often?  My desire is for the former but more often, if I am honest with myself, it is ...

I recently stumbled upon some articles that have caused me to step back and contemplate our current state of government verses religious organizations.   In an interview with Kyle Duncan, counsel for the Beckett Foundation (Hobby Lobby) with Kathryn Jean Lopez of the National Review Online, Lopez asks, “ What is the government arguing when it says Hobby Lobby   is looking to become a law unto itself ? What is the Obama administration arguing here and is it consistent with it posture toward religious liberty ? ” Kyle responds,  " The administration’s arguments in this case are shocking. Here’s what they are saying: once someone starts a “secular” business, he categorically loses any right to run that business in accordance with his conscience. The business owner simply leaves her First Amendment rights at home when she goes to work at the business she built. Kosher butchers around the country must be shocked to find that they now run “secular” businesses. " K...