Here I am

As I am writing this, I am in Dallas with my grandparents visiting with them and also my Uncle Jim and Aunt Naomi who are here from Germany.    There visits are never long enough, but what time we do have with them is always fun, exhilarating and creative!    We have already played a couple of basketball games, talked a good bit and partaken of lunch. 

This afternoon we are to run over to Garland for some important paperwork for UJ and who knows what else we might do.  I will say this, it is so wonderful to have them here!  

Why not National Healthcare?

I ran across this excellent first hand experience of National Healthcare via twitter.  I hope that you will see why we should not want National Healthcare. 

Obama’s castle-in-the-air, pie-in-the-sky, wish-upon-a-star health care would never, could never, and should never be appropriate for Americans. As Dr. Seuss might put it, “not in a hush, not in a rush; not even if read; not even if…Red!”  ObamaCare is doomed to fail and Congressional members who support it will be the next to go. Leave. Lose elections. Be relegated to life again in the real world.
We frequently hear that Britons, Canadians, French, Swedes and others are often ill-served by their health systems. I understand their concerns and their experiences because I, myself, lived under a national health program for a year and found the experience utterly awful. Chances are that the care has grown far worse since I left it 32 years ago. 

Read the rest of the article here.

Senate Judiciary Committee votes to confirm Sotomayor

Not surprisingly, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted in favor by a majority of 13-6 to confirm Mr. Obama’s pick to replace the retiring supreme court justice David Souter.    The only Republican to vote for her was Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina.  

The vote for full confirmation will go to the full senate next week.  I will try to keep you updated on this news.

Earlier today the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13 to 6 to confirm federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. She would be the first Hispanic to be appointed to the court.

The vote nearly followed partisan lines. While Sotomayor had the full support of the committee’s Democrats, just one Republican, Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) crossed party lines to vote for her. 

Graham said, “I’m deciding to vote for a woman I would not have chosen.” He called President Obama’s choice to nominate the first-ever Latina to the highest court “a big deal,” and added, “America has changed for the better with her selection.” Senator Graham’s pragmatic vote reflects the deep division in the GOP.

Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) maintained that Sotomayor’s speeches and a few of her rulings indicate that she will allow her opinions to guide her decisions on the court, an allegation she and her supporters deny. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) stated, “There’s not one example, let alone a pattern, of her ruling based on bias or prejudice or sympathy. She has administered justice without favoring one group of persons over another.”

Republicans point to her decision in the Ricci case and continue to express concern over her views on the Second Amendment, which she did not clarify during the confirmation hearings. The latter prompted the National Rifle Association to publicize its opposition to her confirmation. The GOP has also expressed worry over President Obama’s comment that a judge should have “empathy” — an understanding of the effects of court rulings on people’s lives — holding Sotomayor up as a model.

On the other hand, David Souter, a judge with a minimal paper trail appointed by the first George Bush, turned out to be a liberal. Since it is Souter that Sotomayor will be replacing, many observers therefore conclude that her appointment will not change the overall ideological composition of the nation’s highest court.

 

The summer slips by…

The days are long, the evenings brighter longer, the temperature tells us that summer is here, at least for a while longer.   Each new day presents itself with a beautiful sun rise and a bursting of rays behind the clouds causing a glorious display of lights in the Eastern sky. 

For me, time seems to move ever so quickly.  “Wasn’t it just the 4th?”  “Didn’t we just celebrate Caleb’s 17, and Joel’s 23rd?”   Time marches on, mindless of my one million things to accomplish.

Some interesting things should occur this week.  They already have, as a matter of fact.  Yesterday it rained all day long and into the wee hours of this morning.  A blessing indeed.  The cooler weather makes it feel more like late spring instead of the middle of July in Texas.    Thursday, we are going to Dallas to meet with a man from the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) and discuss having someone from their ministry come to speak at our conference this fall.   After that has been accomplished, we are hoping to trek over to Carrolton/Farmers Branch to visit with our loved ones, including our Uncle Jim and Aunt Naomi who’ve just (last night) arrived from Germany, via Georgia.  The anticipation mounts with each passing day… oh the longing to be reunited with them after such a lengthy period of absence! 

The rest of the week who knows what will happen (only God).  That is one thing I love and hate about being a part of this family, we never know what could come up from day to day.  Saturday will be my parent’s 28th wedding anniversary and they are planning on going out to a fancy resturant for lunch or dinner.  Dad is also giving a devotional at a men’s breakfast that morning, and Caleb will be going out for the day with friends.  Me… I will be getting the house cleaned for company on Sunday. 

Life moves on, time continues to pass.  Surely, “my times are in Your hands.”

Stop HR 2749 “Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009″

The so called “Farm safety bill” that would severely restrict the small farms is expected to be voted on either today or tomorrow.   We must join together and stop this horrid piece of legislation!  Please take a few minutes and contact your Representatives, urging them to vote AGAINST this bill! 

Thank you for standing for Freedom and the American way! 

For liberty,
Abby

A question:

Q: Do you like my new theme?  I was getting kind of bored at how *blah* it was, if you will.   

The grass at the top looks pretty neat I think, but I’m going to have to do something with my CSS, and customize it a little more. 

Please leave your thoughts with me, give me tips or just tell me to change back (whatever it is you feel you need to share!) 

As always, thank you!!!

Morning and Evening – July 26th reading

I have been meaning to post these devotionals ever since my Mom got this wonderful devotional (earlier this month) but I just keep procrastinating.

I know why C.H. Spurgeon was called the “prince of preachers” just in these readings (2 for each day, thus the title) are such nuggets of spiritual gold.  I wanted to share todays readings with you, and I hope that you are blessed by them.  [I am posting the morning reading.]

Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge, etc.” – 2 Peter 1:5, 6

If thou wouldest enjoy the eminent grace of the full assurance of faith, under the blessed Spirit’s influence, and assistance, do what the Scripture tells thee, “Give diligence.”  Take care that thy faith is of the right kind – that it is not a mere belief of doctrine, but a simple faith, depending on Christ, and on Christ alone.  Give diligent heed to thy courage.  Plead with God that He would give thee the face of a lion, that thou mayest, witha consciousness of right, go on boldly.  Study well the Scriptures, and get knowledge; for a knowledge of doctrine will tend very much to confirm faith.  Try to understand God’s Word; let it dwell in thy heart richly.

When thou hast done this, “Add to thy knowledge temperance.”  Take heed to thy body: be temperate without.  Take heed to thy soul: be temperate within.  Get temperance of lip, life, heart, and thought.  Add to this, by God’s Holy Spirit, patience; ask Him to give thee that patience which endureth affliction, which, when it is tried, shall come forth as gold.  Array yourself with patience that you may not murmur nor be depressed in your afflictions.  When that grace is won to godliness.  Godliness is something more than religion.  Make God’s glory your object in life; live in His sight; dwell close to Him; seek for fellowship with Him; and thou hast “godliness;” and to that add brotherly love.  Have a love to all the saints: and add to that a charity, which openeth its arms to all men, and loves their souls.  When you are adorned with these jewels, and just in proportion as you practise these heavenly virtues, will you come to know by clearest evidence “your calling and election.”  “Give diligence,” if you would get assurance, for lukewarmness and doubting very naturally go hand in hand. 

Prayer request~

Hello friends, What a beautiful day it is here in N. Texas!  The weekend is shaping up to be an enjoyable one indeed.  

I spent the day yesterday at my grandparent’s in Dallas – Grandpa is not doing very well.  He has begun some new medication for his heart and it was effecting him negitively.  He was not well at all yesterday, and just laid around pretty much the entirety of our visit.  

You can pray that he will be strengthened, encouraged and empowered during this rough time, and that he will be able to get some much need rest and refreshment.  Also, lift my Grandma if you will, she is bearing many burdens… she loves her husband very much and it is hard for her to watch him feeling sickly. 

Thank you friends and may the Lord richly bless your weekend! 

We must defeat the “Obama plan!”

Obama’s Health Care Plan Can Be Defeated
July 17, 2009                                                                                by Phyllis Schlafly

The Democrats’ most recent answer to the question of how they will pay for their trillion-dollar health-care reform was just announced by Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel. He wants to impose a surtax on incomes over $280,000, which would be a staggering blow to small businesses that create most jobs.

Another option floated by the Democrats is to tax employer-sponsored health coverage. Obama-supporter and union boss James P. Hoffa calls this “a bitter, bitter pill for middle-class wage-earners,” and has vowed to fight it.

The real purpose of Obama’s health care “reform” is to seize control of another major industry (health care) and move us rapidly into Socialism. The Democrats’ plan involves mandates to force individuals to buy insurance, employers to provide insurance, and private insurance to offer an expensive list of benefits.

Instead of allowing insurance to compete by offering different benefit packages, the Democrats are considering insurance mandates to cover exotic benefits that individuals may not want to buy such as in-vitro fertilization, hair transplants, rehab services, hearing aids, sex-change operations, prescription drugs, abortions, mental health, and substance abuse programs.

The Democrats intend to prohibit low-cost policies for catastrophic care. They want to bar you from buying cheaper insurance in other states.

The Democrats intend to impose community rating on a federal level, which means all customers will be offered the same rates regardless of age, obesity, smoking or other lifestyle differences. This forces young people to subsidize older patients.

The Democrats intend to launch a “public option” to compete with private insurance. Government subsidies for the public option would soon drive private insurance out of business and become the “single-payer” (government plan) that the liberals really want.

Obama promised that if you like your current insurance, you can keep it, but that option will soon be gone under Obama reform. Your employer could cancel his company-paid insurance (because it’s cheaper to pay a fine instead), or your insurance (because it can’t compete with government subsidized insurance) could cancel your company.

Obama’s choice of White House Health Czar, Nancy-Ann DeParle, shows the conflicts of interests that surround many of his appointments. In the past three years, she pocketed $5.8 million from her work for major medical companies ($2.3 million from serving on the boards of six firms to be affected by the health-care bill, and $3.5 million from director’s fees, stock sales and awards from health-care firms).

Czar DeParle was paid $471,000 as a member of the board of directors of Cerner, a leading developer of electronic medical records systems. Cerner has already boasted that it is well-positioned to take advantage of Obama’s push to modernize medical records (for which $19 billion was allocated in the Stimulus law).

Modernizing health-care records means putting all your health-care information on computers where it will be accessible to government bureaucrats to help them decide the comparative effectiveness of proposed tests and treatments in relation to your age and health (a.k.a. rationing). Private information can leak out and be used against you by employers, prospective employers, health and life insurance, ex-spouses, or political opponents.

The elephant in the Obama health-care room may be abortion. Time Magazine is asking the explosive question: Will Obama’s national health care cover abortions?

The majority of Americans do not want their tax dollars to pay for abortions. Because of the Supreme Court decision in Harris v. McRae upholding the Hyde Amendment, federally-paid health care (such as Medicaid) does not now cover abortions.

Hillary Clinton, the National Abortion Federation, Planned Parenthood, and NARAL are already bragging that nationalized health care will include abortion. Feminists believe that abortion should be covered just like an appendectomy.

Unless it is excluded, abortions will be covered by national health care, thus making the taxpayers pay for hundreds of thousands of abortions every year. That’s why 19 pro-life Democrats, organized by Rep. David Boren (D-OK), sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi warning that they “cannot support any health-care-reform proposal unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health-insurance plan.”

The Obama plan will permanently put unaccountable bureaucrats (who have never treated a patient) in charge of decisions about if and when you can get the procedures and treatments you and your doctor believe are necessary.

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) believes this is “a make-or-break moment for Americans” and a battle we can and must win. As a physician, he reminds us that we can’t effectively treat a problem unless we get the diagnosis right, and the Democrats have misdiagnosed the problem as too little rather than too much government intervention.

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Please call and urge your senators and representitives to vote against this horrific, un-constitutional and destructive bill!  Click here for contact info.

These “blue dog democrats” need to be persuaded to vote against this bill, please call them and encourage them to do so!

Ron Paul: Don’t Tread on Me

An awesome video of one of my heroes