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Wednesday, 22 April 2009

I love my chickens and don't want the government messing with them

(Dear readers, I had heard about this bill a while back but had almost forgotten. . .a dangerous thing to do when it comes to threats to liberty!)

Do you want a law passed that would give special interest groups and bigwigs detached from the average American the ability to dictate to you what pets you could have? H.R. 669 , the "Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act" would really do just that. By labelling common household pets such as ferrets, hampsters, reptiles, some fish, and many pet birds + even farmyard animals like chickens "Nonnative" (which they ARE) and then, under the provisions of this bill, "Invasive" (Which they AREN'T!). . .bam! There go your pets, courtesy of the U.S. government! (Or, of course you could be fined for non-compliance, thus covering the huge cost of implementing such a freedom-stomper bill.)

This is up for a vote before a House Subcommittee Thursday (4/23) at 10 a.m. Let's stop it dead here before this invasion of freedom bill gets any farther!!!

You can find more information and email your representative using the link below. They have a pre-filled email or you can write your own.

http://www.rallycongress.com/no-hr-669/1733/

As with many government bills--this one would go highly astray from its purported purpose. Granted, there are some Nonnative animals that threaten our ecological system (I'm thinking of that snake-like fish that has caused serious problems after being released into waterways)--and they can definitely ban Japanese beetles if they'd like-- but a wide-open bill like this is NOT the way to fix that problem.

I will give the bill's sponsor & co-sponsors the benefit of the doubt and say that they probably didn't understand the problems the bill would create or the freedoms it would endanger. . .but that's not exactly the most confidence-inspiring thought to have about members of our government.

Tuesday, 24 March 2009

For Love's Sake

1. Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour,
All for love's sake becamest poor;
Thrones for a manger didst surrender,
Sapphire-paved courts for stable floor.
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour,
All for love's sake becamest poor.

2. Thou who art God beyond all praising,
All for love's sake becamest man;
Stooping so low, but sinners raising
Heavenwards by thine eternal plan.
Thou who art God beyond all praising,
All for love's sake becamest man.

3. Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Saviour and King, we worship thee.
Emmanuel, within us dwelling,
Make us what thou wouldst have us be.
Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Saviour and King, we worship thee.

Friday, 20 March 2009

Spring is here!!!!

Saturday, 14 March 2009

I don't. . .but HE does

There are complexities of life that I don't understand,
Misunderstandings, confusion, that I can't untangle,
Hurts, anger, bitterness that I cannot rectify.
(What about you?)

The future is a shadowed road,
shot through with beams of light I know--
but the mist is over everything else.
(Are you unsure of your future, too?)

What is the right way to turn?
What direction does the road curve?
I don't have the map.

So, I will have to rely on the One who does. . .and Who has mapped it all with infinite wisdom and loving care. . . .and He will guide me, and His Word will be my light;
His eye pierces the swirl of confusion and reads all hearts, and He will make things clear in His time.
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". . .God is greater than our heart, and knows all things."

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts."

Saturday, 07 March 2009

Spring swinging

Yesterday evening I heard spring calling insistently to me. So I slipped out into the moonlit and stardusted night, and skipped about a bit before I perched on the old board swing* in the back yard.

Somehow, I felt too staid and suppressed to jive with the spring rhapsody that was swelling around me. So I loosened my hair from its ponytail, removed my socks and shoes, and, with a burst of song, began rapidly to soar up and down, my head thrown back, my eyes on the moon, and my hands firmly gripping the chains. The swing is a bit too close to the ground for me to swing back and forth without tucking my legs up a bit, but I didn't let that put a crimp in my joy. Bend back, bend forward, sail up, sail down, again and again. The air was warm, the breeze teased my hair, and in the distance I could hear the tree frogs beginning a spring chorus. I let my voice and heart soar along with my body, and I think the fresh breeze quite aired out some cobwebs that had been gathering in my mind. I don't know about y'all, but I need moments like this, when nature is just bursting with testimony about its Creator-- moments of sheer beauty, glorious promise, and tender grace.
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* (The swings have delighted many swinging children, and recently they needed reinforcement by Granddaddy. As long as one sits in the center of the seat, all is well; but if one edges over too close to the chain, your posterior discovers the reinforcements--a metal plate secured with bolts. )