Why the Nativity Gives Me Hope

   

 The last several months have been difficult for us.  Steve had been looking for a job.  I worried about how we were going to pay the bills, about how we were going to get Christmas presents for the kids, about food, and ........ everything.  It was exhausting.  But when I would come before Jehovah Jireh, my provider, my Lord, all of that disappeared.  You see, I have seen my God provide for me.  He has done it over and over and over again.  I know better than to worry, but I do.  Daily I would talk to my Father about our situation and He would give me peace and remind me of all the times He came through for me.

                (fun side note)

He even provides the silly things.  I was in high school when my journey with the Lord started.  My senior year for my birthday, I asked Jesus for a rose.  I didn't tell anyone else about my request.  I wanted it to be just from Him.  At the time, we had a sad sick rose bush outside the our door.  I thought that maybe in answer to my prayer He would make the rose bush to bloom just for me.  My birthday rolled around and I stepped out of the house to go to school with so much anticipation of what I KNEW was going to be waiting for me; when the sight of the same sad sick bush that had always been there greeted me, I was so heartbroken.  I hated that bush.  I was in a bad mood all day at school.  Towards the end of the day I was called to the office, I figured it was because of one of my siblings.  I walked in and the student aid said some guy named (Hey-sus) dropped these off for you.  I said who is (Hey-sus)?  It didn't hit me until I read the card attached to a beautiful display of peach colored roses (my favorite), It was signed... Love, Jesus.  Yes I am slow.  Yes He is amazing!  Not only did Jesus answer my prayer, he gave me more than I had even thought of.  I had never received flowers at school, and this was such and amazing display of love that I could not keep the tears from my eyes.

     All of us are waiting on something.  We wonder if He has forgotten us.  God doesn't always answer our prayers the way we think He will.  We get upset because things don't happen when or how we want them to.  We cry and shout and shake our fists in anger at the sky, thinking that He never heard us or He did but doesn't care.  Yet this could not be further from the truth.  God promised a savior through Isaiah.  God's people thought that their savior would come in the form of a king a warrior, someone that would deliver them from oppression.  The fulfillment of that prophesy came about 700 YEARS later!!  in the form of a baby.  Jesus was born surrounded by stinky animals, I'm almost positive that is not how even Isaiah imagined God would fulfill His word.

     Christmas is my favorite holiday.  I love the joyful songs, the decorations, and the promise.  The nativity scene reminds me that God is faithful.  He always answers prayer.  He has perfect timing.  While you wait for God, let the birth of Christ encourage you.  He hasn't left you, and he is working (even when you don't see it) for your good.

"Hark the glad sound! The Savior comes, the Savior promised long; Let ev'ry heart prepare a throne, and ev'ry voice a song.  He comes the broken heart to bind, the bleeding soul to cure, and with the treasures of His grace to enrich the humble poor." -Phillip Doddridge

Here Kitty Kitty Kitty

     I kind of.. ok, more than kind of, I do take school and especially writing seriously.  I have been wanting to blog for a while now but I just haven't found the time to even think about what I want to write.  Art Appreciation has eaten all of my time and Chemistry has dissolved all of my brain cells.

     But.. I have actually really enjoyed writing weekly art research paragraphs on the different artists that I have read about in my class.  My professor gives me a list of about 10-15 different artists and I get to pick which piece of artwork to write about.  I try to pick something that I enjoy looking at, makes me think, or transports me to a memory or life experience.  Although this is probably not the easiest way to get an A, it is what makes me feel good about what I am writing.  I am happy with the papers that I have written (even when I didn't get an A).  I wanted to share with you the most recent paragraphs, I rather enjoyed my professors comment... "Kaloni, I will give you a 10++++, just for the title of your article and your opinion paragraph."  Not gonna lie, it made me giggle.

                                                          Here Kitty Kitty Kitty

     Peter Paul Rubens painted with oil on canvas Daniel in the Lion’s Den.  The canvas is 88 ¼ x 130 1/8 inches.  He painted this work in 1615 during the Baroque period in Flanders, present day Belgium.  Rubens used tenebrism to highlight Daniel praying, and the lions are darker but no less dramatic. The light in the painting might come from the above where there is an opening in the cave where Daniel was placed in the lion’s den, but it looks as if the light is actually coming from the lower left corner.  Behind Daniel a lion’s teeth and maw are being highlighted against the dark cave background.  A few of the lions seem to be restfully sleeping while others are prowling.  There are clean human bones lying on the ground.  The look on Daniel’s face is desperate and maybe even fearful; the posture he is posed in seems to be one of cowering.  He looks up to the hole in the den as if someone is staring at him and pleas for them to pull him out.

     I like the comical drama of this painting.  It is not at all the way that I have imagined this bible story when I have read it.  In my imagination, Daniel is a hero.  He is calm, faithful, and confident that God will save him.  The Daniel Rubens painted reminds me of a little girl, with legs crossed as if afraid to touch the floor because it is dirty and full of bugs.  His arms are folded together to one side clutching hands in prayer and pleading.  The look on his face looks comical to me, Daniel looks like he is a really bad actor in a B rated film.  For me, the lions are the best part of this painting.  I love the realistic detail of the lion’s expressions, especially the two lions in the foreground on the right side.  They look like they are fighting.  Was the lioness about to attack Daniel and the male lion is actually protecting him?  In the story of Daniel, an angel comes to his rescue to shut the mouths of the lions.  Maybe the light from the lower left corner is emanating from an angel just off the canvas?  As I compare my imagination of this bible story with the picture I see, I can’t help but put myself in this situation and ask what I would do.  I would like to think that I would be like the Daniel in my imagination, confident and brave.  In reality, I would completely break down into tears and probably be eaten.

     There are only a few more weeks of class left!!  Dec 8th starts final exam week.  Maybe I will find some time over break to write, until then these papers will have to do. 

You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut

-Dr. Seuss  

One Thing I Learned From Longest Job Interview EVER

Well... It is over.  The Republican Primary is over and we did not win.  Actually, Steve got beat pretty bad.  All is not lost though, because there were lessons learned and friends made.  Now, we are working on moving forward and what life is going to look like for the next two years.  Politics is not gone from my life; Steve enjoys it way too much for it ever to be completely gone.  We haven't discussed him running again in great detail because we are both still decompressing from the stress of the last year.

There is one thing that I learned that sticks out the most to me (which I already knew, but obviously wasn't living) is that... I NEED JESUS! I wrote in my blog "Steve Lane for Congress" that I would need to remember to lean on Him. Well, I forgot to remember.  That isn't completely fair.  I did lean on Jesus when I was REALLY stressed out, but for the most part.. I forgot.  I got so wrapped up in what was going on that I didn't even stop to share my life with the one that holds my life in his hands.

I am the kind of girl that feels love through time.  Even though I know without a shadow of doubt that Steve loves me... He was not around like he had been before.  Steve is so good at spoiling me that it is what I started to expect all the time, and as time went on during the election he spent less and less time with me.  When I told Steve that I could handle him running because I had been a single mom before and I am completely capable of taking care of a household on my own, I did not take into account the emotions involved in that decision.  Even though everything I said was true, it was way more stressful than I anticipated.  Before, when I was a single mom, I only had myself to depend on.  Running a house all by myself while I am married to a loving husband, that is completely different.

Anyway back to what I learned... I think for a relationship to be healthy, both people should be complete.  I did not find my missing half when I met Steve; he did not complete me.  I am already a whole person.  Independent and strong.  Self-sufficient and happy.  My happiness should not be completely dependent on Steve.  Somewhere after marriage, I lost sight of that. I am not taking away from any of the responsibility he has to love, care and protect me.  He still has to do all of those things, but if he fails (he is human... and a man LOL) my happiness should not take a nose dive ending in a death spin.

Jesus is my friend and my God and my defender and my Everything.  He earned my trust, and He deserves my time.  I should have let him fill my with His love so that I could better love Steve.  I should have let Him carry my burden so that I wasn't so stressed out.  I could name a million more "should haves".  I'm not being critical of myself; I do not feel bad.  Instead, I am thankful that today is a new day.  I am thankful that I can use all the experiences that I have had over the last year as stepping stones to make it through the next thing God has lined up for me.

Snowball's Chance in Hell

As you know, if you read my blog, my husband is running for US Congress (House).  I have been thinking of different ways to address writing this blog for a good two months at least.  Sometimes the things that I want to say aren't very nice and I would like to present a blog that is well thought out.

    The campaign so far has been a mixture of ups and downs.  Steve has to do a LOT of driving, we have a pretty spread out district.  He also spends lots of time away from home.  We are not rich; we can not afford for Steve to quit his job.. so on a normal day he wakes up early to go to work in Nashville and kisses me goodbye while I am still asleep.  After a long day at work, it is time for him to campaign.  He drives to any number of locations across Tennessee to meet voters and speak at events, by the time he gets home.. I'm sleeping.  There are weeks where I don't see him at all or only in passing.  Sometimes I have the opportunity to go to events with him and love it when I get to hear him speak.  Instead being upset or left out, I have decided to use this as an opportunity to become a better communicator.  One day I realized that I have become rather involved in my community and more aware of the issues that are all around me.  The best part of it all is all of the amazing people that we have met and the friends we've made that maybe we would have never met otherwise.

So, why a "snowball's chance in hell"?  We were at a donor's house and as we were leaving he said to me, "I think you have a snowball's chance in hell at winning, why don't you try to talk him out of this?" Then a few weeks later after one of Steve's speeches, a little old lady approached him and said," That was a great speech.  You have a snowball's chance in hell at winning, but I really like you".
     I don't believe they said this to be mean, but statistically we have a small chance at winning.  There is about a 93% re-election rate of sitting congressmen (even if they are disliked).  The sitting congressman has name recognition and usually has more money.

    We have met some people who talk about the changes that need to be made, they talk about how unhappy they are with how things are now or where they see our nation going if things stay the same.  Yet they do not want to be the first to stand.  The term 'slacktivism' comes to mind, which is defined as merely a feel-good effort or sacrifice on the part of an individual that has little practical impact in actually helping the cause.  Steve will sit down in meetings with people who want to see change, people who ideologically agree with his beliefs and still will not help.  Why? They don't want their name on an FEC report, they don't think you have a chance at winning and would rather support a 'sure thing', they want to wait and see what happens, they want to see someone else step up first, they want to be your friend behind your back but not to your face because of who they might upset otherwise.

When Steve tells me about these meetings, I get upset.  The meetings seem a waste of time to me.  My husband just spent time away from home, money for gas and food, and lost time he could have used on some other more productive campaigning.  Besides the personal reasons I have to be upset, it seems backward to me. The founders of this nation set up a system where 'We The People' have the freedom to choose who we feel will best represent us.  How can some complain about how things are then support and re-elect the same person and expect things to change?  This is the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different results.  Making ads and printing materials and gas and staff and ... and... and this campaign costs money and resources and time and we can't do it on our own.  We weren't meant to do it on our own... that's kinda the point of community

One last thing I'd like to point out, that I think some have forgotten.  The current congressman in our race was once a no-name candidate who won his first race with basically no experience either.  Soooooooo.... 
What would happen if people put their money where their mouth is?  I heard a pastor say once that you can tell where a person's heart is by where their checkbook is.  What would happen if we all supported what we believed in?  If all the people who believe in Steve and his message helped in any way (not just financially) we would win.. I have absolutely no doubt about that.

I would like to thank the people who have stood behind us!  I don't know where we would be without you.  And a special thanks to those of you who think we have "a snowball's chance in hell" at winning and still support us with your time and your money.  It means so much to me, Thank You for being genuine and generous and for giving your time and resources to support the value you see in my husband... there are not enough words to express how grateful I am to you.

"Onward up many frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. Oh! the places you'll go" -Dr. Suess

Daddy Dearest

My soul is going to be laid a bit bare for this post.  I am usually an open book, especially when asked so this isn't anything new or that I am ashamed of, it is just the first time that I have put it in print for the whole world to see.

This morning while getting ready for church my thoughts drifted to my dad.  I don't have many good memories of the man that raised me.  I don't think about him very often and thankfully when I do it no longer elicits feelings of hurt or resentment.  My dad wasn't very nice to me or my siblings.  To condense numerous stories into something shorter, my dad was verbally abusive to me.  I always felt as if I wasn't good enough, I wasn't pretty, I wouldn't ever make him or any other man happy, and that's just the way it was.  I never felt loved or accepted for who I was.  When my dad left our family, he told me that he didn't want me, he said I wasn't his anyway, so he disowned me.  I was 15 at the time, and completely shocked to find out that I was not my dad's biological daughter, not to mention the shattered heart that he left behind.  Certainly not my first brush with rejection, but at that time it was definitely the deepest.

Over the years, I tried to fill that place my dad had never really filled in various ways.  I am glad my mom made me go to church (after many fights) and I ended up getting involved there.  I have no doubt that it was my salvation on several levels.  I will be forever grateful to the men that stepped up in those years to lend advice, hugs, and shoulders to shed tears on.

Even after accepting Christ as my savior, I didn't fully grasp the depth of my heavenly Father's love.  I knew He loved me of course, for God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, after all.  I was all good with Jesus, my brother, my friend, the one I ran too.  Yet, Father God seemed to be distant and scary, if I messed up and sinned (and I did a lot) would He still accept me?  I wanted to please Him so badly but never quite met the mark. 

What I did, I believe, is what most people do.  We equate our earthly fathers with our Heavenly Father and assume they are alike.  This is probably safe for some.  There are some amazing dad's out there, who treat their children as Christ would.  But for me, it created a wall that separated me from my Heavenly Father for fear of hurt and rejection.  Who wants to be rejected by the creator of the universe?

It wasn't until my late 20's and after divorce that I really started to understand how deeply my Father loves me.  I was hurting, and I felt dirty.  I was certain that the church would crumble around me when I set foot in it.  I took my kids because I felt it was the right thing to do, but I didn't feel like I belonged there.   I had done too much wrong, I was divorced, and I had stayed away from the church for too long; how could Father God just welcome me back?  

One Sunday, I was sitting in my seat while waiting for the service to start, a man who I trusted and know to be faithful to his word, started talking to me.  It was just friendly chit chat, he had been a leader in the church and God had called him elsewhere for a while.  I had met him before but thought it would have been rude to point that out.  It was nice to just talk to someone, as more people filtered into the sanctuary the conversation died and other people vied for his attention.  But then, just before service started he tapped me on the shoulder and said that he just had to tell me what God was saying to him about me.  He said that God told him that I carried His beauty.  My thought process after that is a jumbled mess.  How did God see me as beautiful, when I felt so ugly?  If I was carrying his beauty, I certainly wasn't doing a good job of it.  But, God doesn't lie... Ever.  So, it must be true.

It was a long journey but I finally agreed with my Daddy. Jesus is the way to the Father.  Jesus is one with the Father (jn 10:30)  I saw someone post on Facebook today that Jesus is the Father's selfie.  I didn't have a problem with Jesus, I know that He accepts me and loves me. And if Jesus feels that way, and he is a perfect picture of the Father then that means that my Heavenly Father feels that way too.  It feels good to call him Daddy, Papa God.  He loves me.  I am His favorite one.  When the prodigal son returned, his father didn't wait in the house with his arms crossed scowling at his son.  Luke15:20 says "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." He ran to his son!!  Can you imagine the prodigal son's face as he watched his father run toward him, arms open wide, compassion on his face, tears in his eyes, robe kicking up with each step.  That's what my Father did for me.  My Daddy sought me out, he played peek-a-boo around the walls I had built to keep myself safe.  My walls cracked and fell, nothing is a strong as the Father's love for us, not even the walls we build ourselves.   

Papa loves us so much.  He wants the best for us.  He wants to know us and hear about our day.  He knows and sees all that concerns you.  I encourage you to crawl up in your Daddy's lap and tell him about your day.  You don't have to be formal, you don't need the right words in a certain order using a special formula for him to listen.  Just be you.. he created you the way you are after all.. and that is enough for Him (ps 139:14-18).

Where's the Colon?

In honor of Valentine's Day, I am going to post what I have been thinking about for the last month or so.  This is in no way something that I would argue with a theologian, but I think it just makes sense.

When I read Gal. 5:22 "...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..."  Sometimes (on days that I think deeply about it) I think, there should be a colon there.

Follow me on this.  What if when the bible was translated the wrong punctuation was put after love?  What if it should have gone something like this.. the fruit of the spirit of love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  

So this is what I think.  If you are needing joy, or peace or......  then pursue love.  If you consciously love the other things just naturally follow.  The greatest commandment is to love the Lord God with all your heart, mind and soul, and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself.  God is love (1 Jn 4:8), and it's by the way we love others that people know we are His (Jn 13:35).  It is in love that we find peace.  It is in love that we find joy.  We even find patience in love, isn't easier to be patient with those that we love?

Then if you look at the love chapter in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, it almost exactly lines up with the fruit of the spirit.  "Love suffers long (patience) and is kind (kindness); love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely (gentleness), does not seek it's own, is not provoked (goodness); thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth (joy); bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things (faithfulness), endures all things. Love never fails.."  This fits with my theory that joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are fruits of love.

I overflow with amazement and joy that the love we need to have all these wonderful fruits is just freely and abundantly given to us, it is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5).

Not just on Valentine's Day but everyday loving people is the best thing that we can do not only for others but for ourselves.  Honestly, it doesn't really matter whether there is supposed to be a colon there or not, the point of the scriptures are clear-- Love is what we should be pursuing.

What's In The Bag

Did you ever have to really think about who you are?  Really looking inward and saying something more than my favorite color is blue. Are you what you do? or are you defined by life experiences?  Are we the sum of our thoughts and actions?  How do you properly define yourself in 2-5 minutes to a room full of people that don't know you?  This is the task that I have been given.  A 2-5 minute speech introducing myself using 5 objects that best describe me.

Hi, my name is Kaloni Rose.  Kaloni is Hawaiian for "something of heavenly beauty" or "beautiful".  So essentially I am a "heavenly rose"!  Before you ask, you should know that I am not Hawaiian.  My heritage actually traces back to Denmark.  I actually got my name from Gilligan's Island.  There was a girl that rode in on a log to the island and her name was Kalani.  My mom liked it, looked up what it meant, liked it even more and that became my name.

The first thing that I would use to describe myself would be a butterfly.  Butterflies symbolize change to me.  They change from ugly and crawling to beautiful, colorful, and flying.  Butterflies are a hope and a reminder to me that all things are made beautiful in their own time and that life is a process.  We are continually changing and evolving in the way we think and act based on our beliefs and experiences.  I feel like as long as I continue to be teachable by choosing to learn from both the good and bad experiences in life that I will continue to become a better person.

 Next up is running shoes.  I love to run.  I have been running since I was a kid.  I have always been active (except for those few years after my last baby).  Running is more than exercise for me, it is therapeutic.  Running clears my head of all the thoughts that seem to get stuck there.  Running helps me to relax with the added benefit of keeping me healthy and fit.

Third item out of the bag is a picture of my family.  I am a mom and a wife.  I take my job seriously and try my best to take care of my family.  I try to teach my kids how to be capable adults one day, I try to balance giving them freedom to make their own decisions with keeping them safe from stupidness.  I try to show them that it is possible to have fun and be responsible at the same time.  I am not Susie Home-maker (just ask my husband), but my home is a home. A place to be comfortable and accepted, a place for love and family.

Number four is a tattoo.  I have 10 of them so far.  Though I don't really think that they really define me as a person.  I like them and I like to use them to tell my story (when I have the money).  I have several butterflies.  The word grace and the symbol for 'everlasting love and friendship' is on my wrist.  There is a mostly black heart on my other wrist that is a Song of Solomon 1:5 reference.  I also have roses, a stargazer lily, ants, a wedding ring, a sparrow and a t-rex.

Last but certainly not least is a unicorn.  Steve started calling me a unicorn while we were dating.  I am like the unicorn being the rare and mysterious creature that it is.  I do not act or react the (stereotypical) way he expects me to. I am unique and awesome. A few examples: I like looking good, but I don't stress about it; I know that I am beautiful (inside and out).  I am real all the time (even if that's weird); I don't pretend to be something that I am not to gain approval.  I figure it's better you love me or hate me for the real me.  I didn't want a wedding ceremony and I didn't care about a ring.  Now he likes to say that even though I am a unicorn, I am still a female unicorn, because every now and then I fit into a female stereotype.  Like, I ask him how I look in an outfit (he says I look great like always) then I change anyway.

Over the years, I have become a confident person.  I know my strengths and my weaknesses.  I try to live my life out of a place of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Some days I succeed and some days I fail, but everyday is part of the journey and I try to remember to enjoy it.

You are you and that is true, there's no one in the world who's you-er than you

-Dr. Seuss-

Chili and Communication

Tonight we went to a chili dinner as part of Steve's "retail" campaign.  Don't ask me what retail campaigning is because I don't know (this is just what I heard him call it).  The gymnasium of the school the rally was held at was packed with people.  It seemed everyone was having a good time eating and socializing.  They had chili dinner for everyone and a gospel band singing.  The main candidate gave his speech and then let any other candidates who were running for office announce themselves.  Steve got up and spoke a little bit then started introducing himself around the room.

I am not comfortable doing this.  What do I do with myself?  I can't inject myself into any conversation because I have no idea what they are talking about.  Talking about the weather doesn't feel appropriate, besides I really hate small talk.  I can't just hang on his arm and smile, I am more than arm-candy (Ha!).  I've really got to work on my communication skills.  I'm jealous of my husband.  He can walk in to a room and talk to anyone about anything. He is genuinely interested in what people think and what they have to say.


Steve appreciates me coming to events with him and he is proud to be seen with me.  He likes that I am next to him when we meet people. For myself, I'd like to be able to go to these meetings and have fun meeting people because that is what it is all about right?  I love standing next to the love of my life and watching him do what he is best at (talking lol), but I also want to feel like I am an equal part of him and contributing in some way.  I think that I will be making a concentrated effort to just talk to people.  Maybe I will start at work with the patients that come to the pharmacy and practice small talk even though I really really really hate small talk.  And if that fails, maybe I will just start taking selfies with politicians unknowingly photobombing in the background.. it would make for some interesting posts anyway.

Overall I had a decent time tonight.  Steve is working so hard, I am so proud of him.  Every day that goes by, I just see more and more potential and momentum building for the campaign.  I really think he has a shot at winning and I'm not saying that just because I love him.

The Trees Inside City Hall

My daughter's art was entered into a competition that the city held for the local schools.  Rachel's art was selected to hang in Murfreesboro City Hall!!!   I received an email that her art was going to be displayed there and the information that I needed to attend a reception and the announcement of the winners for each category.  Unfortunately, because I was not able to get home in time, we missed the announcements but we were still able to walk around and see all of the art that had been submitted to the competition.

We found Rachel's masterpiece and took pictures, spoke with her teacher and took more pictures.  The kids wanted to stay for a while and wonder around looking at all of the art.  Watching them made me so happy, it was also pretty funny to see them acting so big.  They were drinking lemonade and eating cookies while looking very intensely at the pictures like it was the most natural thing in the world.

I am so proud of Rachel.  She felt so honored and mentioned several times how awesome it was that her art was in City Hall and would be there for

almost a month.  She was so excited to know that the people who work there would be walking by and seeing what she had created every day.  When we finally went back to the car to leave, she asked, "What do they do at City Hall anyway?"  I told her government stuff and she was like oh cool.

A week later, to Rachel's surprise, we had arranged for her to see what happens at City Hall.  We were privileged to get a tour of the council chamber and how the cameras work in the control room and the kids were able to sit in the mayor's seat and bang the gavel.  They acted bored but I could tell that they were having fun.  We stayed for the meeting and Rachel was introduced and congratulated for having her art chosen to be displayed.  She felt so special.  She kept saying, "Mommy, I am getting all this special treatment".

It meant so much to me to see her honored like that.  She is such an amazing girl and (like most girls her age) she struggles with confidence and is still looking for the place she fits into.  I am so thankful for Eddie Smotherman for making my daughter feel as special as she is.

It doesn't matter what it is.What matters is what it will become.

-Dr. Seuss-

Did I hear that right!?

I have to take some social/ behavioral science classes to get my degree so I decided to make the best of it and take something that might help me in my personal life and it couldn't be helped this semester (it was the only thing that fit into my schedule since the calculus class that I wanted to take is full).

Politics holds no interest for me.  Not only do I not understand it, but it seems that behind every "good deed" is a scandal: Someone lied, misuse of money, selfishness, and greed.  What was once meant to help maintain people's freedom, has more often than not taken freedom away.  Good intentions lead to empty promises and then to blatant lies.  Mostly, I don't really have time to keep up with it.  I have work and school and kids and all that entails. Yet, liberty can not be preserved without general knowledge among the people (John Adams). That quote pretty much says it for me, I am responsible for my own freedom.  Right now, I don't know enough to know that something is going to be taken away until it is already gone.  I was looking for a specific quote (that I still haven't found) but I found a few that I really like, and Steve says that I am starting to sound like a libertarian.  LOL

All of that being said; I am actually looking forward to my spring semester.  I will be taking my first American politics class.  That's right, I'm actually pretty excited about it.  Steve shared this clip from the show Newsroom once a few months ago and I have to say.. it really touched me.

"This is America.  Why are we settling? We can do better." 

-My Husband-

I'm excited because I hope that I will learn about some of the things that Steve talks about or at least know where he is coming from.  Hopefully, I will learn things that will strengthen what I already believe and be able to form (even more) opinions of my own, and what it is that Steve will be doing when he wins.  At the very least, it will make for some interesting conversation at home!

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not.

-Dr. Seuss