No one is poor in America

Ok, I know there are actually 'poor' people in America....somewhere, I met a couple living in a dumpster space in the alley @ the end of my block...but besides them....

This is the country of excess, EXCESS, I tell ya'! We're on a very LEAN budget. I'll be honest, we've made some financial mistakes & had many moments of financial mismanagement...but in our darkest hours...we've ALWAYS had a roof over our head, running water & STUFF up to our eyeballs!

I am really SICK of it. I'm SICK of all the stuff. It's like eating chocolate NON-stop, more & more & more. Gluttony in materialistic form, that's what it is.

It's barely a few days past Christmas.....they have a closet FULL of brand new, UNopened toys. I don't know if they will EVER get a chance to open them much less before their next b-day.

Something has to change.

I am now fully convinced that the MORE we give our children, the MORE UNsatisfied & discontent they will become. It will only breed & feed the lusts of thier flesh.

I have been hearing more & more arguing these past few days. IN theory, all these wonderful, new & tantalizing shiny toys would be keeping them busy right? No. Overwhelmed w/ what they 'wanted'...I believe they begin to EXPECT EVERYTHING they desire & then become gravely disappointed when they do not receive EVERYTHING they have desired. All the while becoming more & more selfish & inwardly focused on self!

And why not?...we have trained them to expect EVERYTHING. I think this is SO destructive to their character & nature.

The immediate intentions are good, well meaning relatives want to show that they love & care by giving gifts. In the long run, though, when you look @ the big picture, the 'intention' is actually very negative.

I was a bit concerned this Christmas that we would not be able to afford to give gifts to our children.....I don't know why! Every aunt & uncle & cousin gave them something. Plus, we got the brand new toys that co-workers had left over in their garages from Christmas's past. Plus I was busy making home-made gifts that I thought they would enjoy. And they did.

So WHY did I fall into that trap of worry? Knowing FULL well that they would be over-indulged?

I am hoping to spend this next year REALLY focusing on GIVING. I want my children to be moved inwardly to show compassion & caring outwardly. I want to focus on how RICH & blessed we truly are, so much that we don't NEED anything & that we can GIVE BACK to others who REALLY have less than us.

People are STILL starving, lonely & hurting the other 11 months of the year too. I want my children to know that & CARE. I am not sure HOW but I am going to focus on 'serving' these people in our community this year.

I think it's time to put my FEET where my faith is & I'm bringing the ktbunch w/ me!

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

I recently saw this movie. It kinda poses the question of possession vs. mental illness. Is possession REALLY just mental illness OR is mental illness REALLY possession? Well it posed the question TO ME.

The movie is supposedly based on a true story....this devout Catholic girl goes away to college & then develops either some sort of mental illness OR is possessed.

Now since it IS based on a true story & I haven't done the research to know HOW loosely or tightly based it is....I wonder then....I have been taught & always believed that if you are 'saved' you cannot be 'possessed'...so was this girl possessed & tortured & now she is in HELL? OR can you be saved AND possessed?

It certainly seemed that SHE believed in God & thought she was going to Heaven...so was she deceived? Was she really not saved?

It seems the emphasis of the movie was to get people to 'believe in demons'....ok...well WHY? Is it so that if you believe in demons then you will believe in God? Then why not just show people God. kwim? Does God really need to reveal himself to us through demonic activites?

What is the point then? And if you really can't be possessed if you are 'aved' then was that girls torture in vain?

OR was she really just suffereing from mental illness? Or is it BOTH? Is mental illness a form of spiritual oppression? Ten if you read yoru Bible daily can you avoid mental illness?

Are some people just more susceptible to 'this type of thing'? If so then why? The movie seeme dto put the emphasis ont eh demonic powers & realm MORE than God.....so the story was NOT told to get to people to see God. But then IF you believe in Demons than are you convinced that there is a God? Seems like a long way to go about it.


And this brings up something else I have been wondering about. ghosts. I don't believe ghosts exist, @ least not in the sense that most think of them. I believe they are demons taking on a ghostly manifestation, to distract us from 'truth'...that is God. ok, then...but if you see a 'ghostly' figure or apparatiion & it is not communicating w/ you or appearing to get your attention....what is the point? Will a demon just show itself but for no apparent reason?

I really want to know these answers. Especially about the possession thing...because if what I have been taught is wrong...then maybe there are other things that I have been taught that are wrong as well. kwim?

I will not lose faith over it...but I do not want to be misled.