I had a very surreal experience last night. It was Amanda’s back to school night. This is her first year in high school, and her high school was my high school. I’ve been in the building many times over the past 21 years. (Did I just type a number there????? Ignore that number!!!) But this was my first time in those classrooms since graduation. The halls and decorations have changed a bit. All of the administration and teachers have changed. But the most dramatic change that I was struck with came when I saw several posters on the walls around school. The first time I saw the poster, I actually stopped in my tracks. I had known that the organization advertised in the poster existed. In fact, I had discussed such things with my daughter over the years. Yet, walking through my old high school halls, now as a parent, and looking up at that poster, really made me understand the changes the years since I’d been in high school had brought.

So what was this terrible, horrible thing that shocked me so? Well, it was a very colorful, 8.5 X 11 poster for the Gay-Straight Alliance club meeting. Hum, I thought to myself. Now, I’m not naive. I’ve know that this club has been a part of the public schools for years. I also understand that the intention of the club is to promote homosexual awareness similar to an African American club might promote awareness to oppression, but is that really what it’s doing? Is high school really the place for this club?

I’m not writing to debate the writes or wrongs of homosexuality. That is not my intention in this post at all. But what struck me about this group is that it is a group designed around sexual orientation. Did you read that???? SEXUAL ORIENTATION! The entire reason (or perhaps need) for this group is because of an individuals sexual orientation! Our public school system is actually promoting sexuality by allowing a group in it’s system that is about sexual orientation! Is high school the place for such a group? Should this be supported by the school system with posters around every corner of the school? I don’t think so!

Homosexuality is a part of our society today. It is a hot topic in the political world. It is a painful reality for many (and even most homosexuals will admit that homosexuality is painful). But should we be supporting this group as a school sponsored organization? I think we are only promoting and encouraging sex (straight or gay) by allow such a group to exist. It sends a message that sexuality and sexual exploration is ok at the high school age. And I think that is wrong.

I strongly believe that NO ONE should be teased, oppressed, or treated differently because of their sexual orientation and I support discussions of that in the existing sexual education program that we are almost forced to put our children through in the public school system, but I do not believe we should be accepting sexuality at the high school level so boldly that we have a group designed strictly because of sexual orientation.

WOW! You may not agree with the positions of the republican party. You may hate everything they stand for. I personally am a conservative and I stand for the following: Pro-life, for amendments to define marriage as between a man and a women because civil marriage is not a civil right, open debate/curriculum showing both evolution and creationism in the public school system, for full support of our soldiers overseas and whatever timeframe it takes to secure the work being done and not leave a power vaccumm in Iraq, etc. So, with my positions in mind, how could I not like Sarah Palin??? I know not everyone agrees with my positions, but who can deny the charge, the spark she brings to this campaign. She was articulate, direct, truthful (perhaps to the point of making the opposition feel hurt), and she was smart. Yes, it was a prepared speech, but so are all political speeches. She help write it, in fact, some say she wrote most of it! She stands for what she says, she speaks from her heart, she speaks for her family and for our families! I think John McCain made an excellent choice for his VP McCain was not my choice for the Republican nomination. I believe him to be a much better candidate than Obama by far! But Sarah..and the combination….woooooo neilly! I’m much more on board now!

As for her experience: Here’s a link to an article I found online that is very insightful:

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13809

As for her 17 year old daugther Bristol’s pregnancy.  I have to say that I’m more interested in  seeing how a candidate handles adversity than I am in not seeing the adversity they face. The true measure of a person’s character comes out in times of trials.  What do we see in the Palin’s? We see a daughter who made a mistake, but is accepting the responsibilities for her actions and valuing life. We see a father and mother who have admitted that they believe their daughter made a mistake and have expressed pride in Bristol’s response to her actions. We see them supporting her while standing firm in the fact that this was not the best path for their daugther at this age. We see  consequences, forgiveness, love, and support. We see a picture of mercy. I am impressed!

Hi everyone,

This is a new, clean start for my blog. The old one was just not used enough, so hopefully I can be better about babbling! I’m not big on facebook, although I have a page there, so check in here to see what’s what.

Today, life is a bit stressing. My sister Michelle is scheduled to have her second major surgery in aobut 7 weeks. This one is the result of complications associated with her previous surgery. She’s been in the hospital, with the exception of a few nights, since her first surgery 7 weeks ago. I pray that this surgery will go well and will allow her to start on the road to recovery, something she has not done since the first surgery.

My dear friend Melanie’s 3.5 yr old daughter, Sofie, will be having open heart surgery in PA on Friday. This is the result of a defect in her heart that she has had all her life. For more information, you can go to http://www.caringbridge.org/md/babyhawk/ to see her story and follow her progress. Please keep them in your prayers.

We’ve been camping in our RV a lot this summer, opting to take long weekends instead of a weeks vacation. By the end of the camping season we will have spent something close to 4 nights in our RV this year. It’s been fabulous. We absolutly love building those family memories. Some of the pictures of those trips can be found on our pictures page at http://www.mapshug.com/pics Go on over and enjoy.

Phil and I are also watching the presidential race heat up. This is a truly interesting year! I’m thrilled with McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin for VP! From what I’ve seen and read, she’s a woman who can get things done, stands behind her conservative Christian morals, and supports a strong family value system. I love it.

Well, enough for now, as I have some things to get done, but check back for more updates! Enjoy!