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.

Dreaming of a white Thursday

SNOW!!!!

Its on the ground! Its still falling out of the sky! The ground is white! The roads are white! The trees are beginning to droop a bit because of the weight of the snow! How beautiful! The frost is on the windows around the edges like in paintings.... Its wonderful! I hope to go out in a little while and get some pictures - - it is a delicate balance though, I want as much snow to be on the ground as possible, but I also have to catch it before the snow turns to sleet and ice as is predicted for later today. (will post pics later)

Our house is not the most insulated house in the world - it was built TOO long ago! (More on that to come) However, I have all my windows open so that I can look out my window into the winter wonderland as many times as possible.

Which is good.... because....

Remember the post where I talk about losing our 55 inch TV and other electronics to the lightening storm because the house isn't grounded properly? Well, apparently snow has the same effect on our house. Last night, before going to bed, Ronnie and I watched the second hour of American Idol auditions in Dallas, Texas. (Ronnie's quote for the evening... after the girl that looked similar to Cher sang... "I can't believe I never watched this! This is hilarious! It's funny to watch people humiliate themselves on TV!" So - ok, I have a convert!) We turned the TV off, let the dog in so she wouldn't freeze.... put the cat in the laundry room so he wouldn't freeze (yes, somewhere deep inside of me is a heart even for a cat....) and went to bed.

This morning, the ground is white, all is peaceful in the Mayhew household, Ronnie leaves for work, and I make my coffee to sit and do as I do every morning. I read my emails, I read my favorite blogs, and I turn on the TV to get my morning dose of FOX news or something similar.

Click....

Nothing....

Hmmm... the TV must not have turned on...

Click...

Nothing...

Hmmm... is there a problem with my remote? (THE TRAGEDY!!!)

Click.... (this time I watch it... the green light turns on, then off again... JUST like my big TV did!!)

So, I sit here - blogging, with no TV. Only me and my internet... and my ipod... and the snow... and my coffee... and my electric fireplace... to keep me comfortable:) (I sound SO high maintenance!!!! Am I really??)

So, my house continues its tales... we have lost a ridiculous number of electrical things since we lived here.. and NOW you know why we don't have an oven - can you say "FIRE HAZARD!"?!?!?!?!

Anyway - - I AM thankful for the snow... and maybe I needed some peace and quiet this morning... Actually - I know I needed some peace and quiet this morning. Thanks God.

Devo time

Ronnie and I are going through several things together as a couple during our newly disciplined time together with God in the mornings. We have actually been steady at doing this for over 3 weeks now! Since I have had to walk so much with the campaign, our physical training has faltered in the mornings some, but I am proud to say that our spiritual training has continued every morning! I am learning to LOVE those times with my Savior and my husband together - (if you knew me in the mornings, you would realize what a HUGE deal this is! I am NOT usually a nice person prior to two cups of coffee and a couple hours of quiet morning time.)

Anyway, we are currently doing a devo book called "Pierced by the Word" by John Piper. Today's topic had to do with how much time we as an American culture waste via TV. He talked about how many times even if the name of the Lord is used - or if God is referenced in anyway, He is trivialized, and laughed at. He also referred to how much time is lost from doing things that we SHOULD or even COULD be doing. As I read this (in the mornings Ronnie reads the Scripture for hte day aloud and then I read from this book.) I was thinking of even last night. I got SO much stuff done when I got home from work. Ronnie was a bit late, so I went running, then got dinner ready before he got home. After dinner, we talked a while, I did two loads of laundry, he did dishes, I prepared my Bible study for Wednesday night, and the whole time we were having so much fun together. At 8:00ish, I turned on the TV. At that point, our conversation stopped, he got on the internet to find a remedy for our broken 55 inch TV - I didn't go get the last load of laundry out of the dryer, I didn't put away the clothes that I had earlier folded so diligently, and an hour later, after no more talking, we went to bed.

This morning - you can imagine the conviction. Even his time on the internet was spent trying to fix the one thing that stopped our time together, as well as trivialized EVERYTHING. I will not go into which sitcoms we watched, because that isn't important. They were "funny." The point is, that if the same conversation were happening in our home, we would not have approved. The jokes were crass, the family in one show is a humorus look at a divorced couple, the story in the other had to do with three men - one married, the other two simply dating - - but their conversation was almost 100% about things that should be sacred to a married couple. What were we thinking? I was the one that chose the channel... I cannot, and will not try to place blame here. Would I really have been comfortable with those conversations in real life? My answer is no. Why not? Because I have a Savior that died for my sins, and the sins of many - and to laugh at sin trivializes the death of my Lord. When TV and the American culture makes fun of things that should pierce my heart with saddness and pain for the state of our world around us - I should NOT laugh. I should be overcome with mercy, and compassion - and yet I should also be outraged at the way they take Jesus' sacrifice so lightly.

This scene echoed in my mind this morning. "So," Ronnie asked "Are we really going to try to fix that TV? Do you think if we fixed it that would help us get a little more money for it when we sell it?"

I am not saying that we are about to get rid of all TV and trivial entertainment in our home. Although there is a part of me that is afraid we should..... I am saying, that the next time Ronnie and I have time together, I will think twice before turning on the junk box and watching things that make light of the death of Christ. I also believe I will be evaluating my DVD collection soon as well. I am QUITE sure that there are some movies that need to go.

Anyway, that is my lesson for the day - I have to get back to work now.