2 then 1

Ok, I have 2 pretty useless things to mention and then something a bit more serious that has been festering in my mind this past week.

1. I just went over 10,000 views!!! YEA!!! We all celebrate!!! PARTY!!!!!!

2. I lost my FIRST pound yesterday!! (probably gained it back last night when I ate some ice cream while at a friends house... but that is NOT the point!)

3. And this one is longer.

The news this past week has been overwhelming. Gov. Spitzer's decision to have the call girl has become normal conversation around tables, in homes, at work, and on cell phones. I don't usually watch much TV, but it seems that every news channel in the mornings has had conversations on the topic. Some saying its all his fault, some blaming his wife, some blaming the girl, and even some blaming his parents and the way he was raised.
I know there are THOUSANDS of opinions out there. And I also know that there is a lot of the story that I don't know, nor do I want to know all of the story - however, here are my two cents, just in case you wondered.
1. The poor girl. Yes, she signed up for the agency and put herself out there. We don't know her hurts, failures, pains... and so who are we to judge her. She is someone's daughter. Someone, at some point in time loved, the little two year old girl. They helped her get ready for her first day of kindergarten, they taught her to ride a bike and watched as she fed the puppy for the first time. Her life will now be marked forever. She will not have the freedom to walk down the streets and not be looking over her shoulder wondering what someone is saying about her. The job market will be difficult. It will be tough. Her face, and now, even her name has been spread internationally with millions of people discussing her and her mistake. I don't know about you, but I sure would hate for someone to be parading my mistakes around on TV, Internet, and for my mistake to be the topic of dinner conversation around the country. The worst part is some of the people I have read that claim Christianity, but are showing judgement more than Christ would ever have allowed. I guess some people don't really want to see the lesson in the story of the woman caught in adultery. "Who condemns you? Neither do I. Go and sin no more."
2. The wife. Any wife that ever had to deal with this would feel pain I can only imagine. I can't imagine feeling that pain publicly, having every smile, tear, glance and movement judged by some "expert" on body language. This lady is smart. Has a Harvard Law degree - do the media really think she doesn't know what they are doing?
3. The daughters. They will spends most of their lives overcoming their last name. They will learn to deal with the pain of this as publicly as their mom will deal with it. When they meet people, they will learn to recognize the "facial expression" of the people when they realize who the girls' dad is. That knowing smile, that look of pity, that well intentioned "How are you doing?" The pain will echo for years to come.

He made the calls, he paid the price. He was a trusted elected official. I do have to say that I appreciate that once he was caught, he faced up to it as opposed to other officials caught in scandals who have tried to cover it indefinately. However, the pleasure of those nights will echo through his life and the price will be much greater than he ever intended to pay.

My mom used to tell us growing up: "Sin will always take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and make you pay MUCH more than you ever wanted to pay." I believe Gov. Spitzer will pay a price higher than he intended for a long time. But having said that - the forgivness and freedom in Christ that I feel should be offered to the girl must be offered equally to him.

Anyway, that is my soapbox. I will get off of it now. I have another that is forming in my head - but I will save that for another time.