One of MANY crazy reasons I haven't posted much (but this one gave me a good smile!!)
(for those of you outside CA he is holding our "Yes On 8" signs posted everywhere around here!) Some days it really feels like all the arrows are being thrown at us!!! I just wish they understood that we look at homosexual people as our neighbors and respect all of their rights, but when courts allow them to marry WE will begin to lose our rights. For example if our bishops refuse to marry a homosexual couple for religious reasons they can get sued for discrimination and we will no longer be able to be married by our bishop. In Massachusetts Catholic adoption agencies had to shut down because they refused to place children in homosexual homes for religious reasons. I wish we could all get along and live nicely with each other but when certain groups try to take away MY rights to live my religion it's time to stand up. I wish people understood that the homosexual groups will not lose ANY of their rights such as tax benefits, hospital visitation rights, etc. Those are all protected under law and that's great! It is actually US that stands to lose. I have homosexual friends and I will continue to remain friends for we are all neighbors - but can't we all get along!
That was much longer than planned :) What else have I been up to - Daddy has been REALLY busy finishing his dissertation - he hopes to be done in another couple of weeks. The girls are busy with school, Mg loves preschool and gymnastics, A continues to cause trouble but manages to be absolutely adorable at the same time, our church's creche festival is coming up and I'm in charge of the live musicians for the event (REALLY busy with that!!!!) , Halloween is in a few days, Daddy's birthday is after that, my in-laws are coming for Thanksgiving, Mg AND M's birthdays are after that along with the actual creche festival, Christmas and heaven only knows if there is a move somewhere in there. It's not looking likely but still a slim possibility. We'll update if we ever know anything for sure :)
With everything going on Mommy was starting to really feel stressed out so I RAN AWAY!!!! It was wonderful - I spent last Saturday in San Jose on a impromptu trip to visit my grandparents. It was wonderful! A nice quiet 2 hour drive with beautiful colored trees to enjoy and CHRISTMAS music to listen to (HOORAY!) and no children to interrupt me, 3 wonderful hours with each of my grandparents, and a nice ride home to find a clean house and happy children and an amazing husband. I didn't think about any of the pressures going on and escaped it all and came back healthy and happy and ready to face the last CRAZY week (for awhile). THANK DADDY!!! I love you!
I'll try to get pictures up in the next few days but until then know we're happy, healthy, busy, enjoying fall and looking forward to the weeks festivities!
2 years ago
6 comments:
Running away is always lots of fun!
About Prop 8, be careful what you say and believe. I do not believe our Bishops can not be sued for refusing to marry gays. Private religious organizations do not have to follow the same laws as public institutions. All political sides like to use scare tactics to bring people to their side and I think such tactics and extremes are being used in this instance as well. It's great to support Prop. 8, just do it for legitimate reasons (like the prophet asked us too, or it's a moral issue) not for reasons people made up to scare people.
Love ya! Happy crazy week. I am so there!!
The problem with prop 8 is once homosexual marriage is legalized it then becomes discriminatory to preach against it - it is a moral issue that is becoming a state issue which is why the church has been SO involved because we could lose our rights. It is VERY possible that an extreme homosexual person could ask one of our bishop's to marry him and if he refuses on religious grounds he could still get sued since it is legal for homosexual couples to get married according to state law and therefore we are discriminating against them. Crazy. That is according to the literature we have been given as prop 8 volunteers. The religious agencies are already fighting for rights in Mass. We could also lose our tax exempt status. If you argue something just on the moral issues or following the prophet that doesn't matter much to those outside the church however there are a lot of other ramifications (including what will be taught in the public school system) that we have been asked to educate people about. Check out
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-divine-institution-of-marriage
for information from the church on it.
Picture it for a moment, sitting in a natural setting, the Sierra if you’ve been there, a lake, a stream, a forest, or some other natural locale. You know the place, a quiet place, removed from all the sounds and sights that beset us on a daily basis in our urban lives. You feel peaceful, contemplative, and closer to nature. Whether you believe in “intelligent design” or evolution, you see here a world in as close to its original and “right” state as we can get it, untouched and unsullied by man.
Can you not sense what Muir spoke of? Elton John referred to it as the Circle of Life. It’s this connection between everything. In nature, everything is connected, everything has a role, and if you change one thing, there are broader implications that extend out to touch all others.
We’re aware of this in California, and in the United States as a whole. It is a fundamental tenant that underlies many of our values. We’ve set aside land to remain unsullied, preserved, to remind us of what God or nature first created, and to provide shelter and protection for important pieces of our ecosystem that would otherwise be destroyed. We spend millions – perhaps billions – protecting nature, bringing endangered species back from the brink of annihilation.
We see all of this connectedness, we place such value on nature and what God (or evolution) has wrought, and yet, we toy with marriage.
In society, I can think of few things so fundamental, and so divine as marriage.
I’ve asserted that marriage is as interconnected with society as any element of nature is interconnected with the whole of nature. This implies that to degrade marriage is to affect society on a broader level. There are those who discount this belief; it’s just a slippery slope argument, they’ll assert. I say, there is no slope to this argument at all; to change marriage is not to initiate future changes to society; to change marriage is to change society at the same time.
To change marriage, as I have said, is to change society. Future decisions will therefore be made from a different plane, a different playing field. Proponents of Proposition 8 like to point out the possible impact it could have on religious institutions in the future, or on adoption agencies run by churches. Opponents like to point out that the law as it currently stands in California would not allow gay marriage to put religious organizations or adoption agencies at stake; they are protected.
However, if our society is changed in this fundamental way, will the question ever arise? Will the very laws that protect religions today ever be questioned? And if so, how will we decide? The decision will be based in some measure – probably in large measure – upon our values as a society; values that we are changing.
So Sarah, (soooo sorry for my huge comment), you are sadly dead on in your post. And thank you for posting it. I've been wanting to post something for awhile, but am a bit chicken on my own blog :s
Don't forget your own birthday in there, Sarah! You, too, need a nice big chocolate cake! Glad you had some "alone time"--that is always refreshing.
I appreciated your post on Prop 8 and completely agree with you in all that you stated! I am also so glad you got a way and I'd have to agree, you have an amazing husband who takes such good care of you and the girls!
Can't wait to see pictures!
I love your post, Sarah! I agree with you as well. We are going to win this and I am so excited! I am glad that you were able to get away, too. It really does make a huge difference when you can take a little bit of time to de-stress. :) p.s. Dawn's comment is awesome, too!
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