All in the Family!

"The happiest moments of my life have been the few
which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family."
~Thomas Jefferson

FAIL!

Another modern day educational crisis...

They must be teaching this new spelling in the same institutions that teach:

1) The Puritans were boring, dull, and parsimonious.
2) The government's job is to "take care of us."
3) There are two Thanksgivings.
4) The founding fathers were Deists who wanted a secular form of government.
5) The War Between the States was entirely about slavery.
6) We are derived from primordial soup.
7) The straight white man is evil.

Et cetera...

The Mark of a Man

Michael and I in 2006 at a wedding.



I was 6 months old when my soon-to-be husband was born--and no, I do not consider that "robbing the cradle." Fifteen years later, we met for the first time. Three years following that, we began dating; four years and a few breakups later, we got married! Just last Monday, we celebrated Michael's 24th birthday, the second birthday since we've been married. My family and I surprised him with cornhole boards--our dear friends Karl and Lydia handmade the beanbags for him. Thank you so much, Mitchells! We are so thankful for your friendship and can't thank you enough for being such wonderful fellowship :)

The reason for my post is not to enumerate each of Michael's gifts, or to highlight the day's events--in all honesty, a lot of our day was spent "studying"--he for his CFP exam, and me for... well, my job. Instead, let me regale you with glowing compliments of my husband! :-)

We live in a world that encourages women to take offense at chivalry and men to allow women to take offense. We live in a world that embraces meek, passive, or arrogant men--men who are more concerned with the way they look than the virtue they either lack or possess. Where are all the TRUE MEN?

In Elisabeth Elliot's book The Mark of a Man, she provides great perspective to her nephew Pete on true masculinity. It is interesting to read each quote in light of today's men.

"The world cries for men who are strong--strong in conviction, strong to lead, to stand, to suffer. I pray that you will be that kind of man."

"A leader is a man who does not groan under burdens, but takes them as a matter of course, allows them, tolerates them--and with a dash of humor. He knows how to keep his mouth shut about his difficulties and how to live a day at a time, doing quietly what needs doing at the moment. People will follow that sort of man."

"God's man takes the initiative, as he was meant to do, but he is not aggressive. He is strong, but not ruthless; sure, but not swaggering; hard, if need be, but not cruel."

"You expect her to be a real woman, but you can't expect that if you're not a real man. It is in response to the fullest expression of your manliness that she will be most womanly."

These are other quotes that do justice to the idea of true masculinity:

“To be a man, you must care about women. And you must care about them in the right way. You must care about them as creatures worthy of protection, honor, and love. This means genuinely appreciating them for their uniqueness as women. It means recognizing the preciousness of femininity over glamour, of homemaking over careerism, and of mature motherhood over perpetual youth."
-unknown

"He is most the man who can always govern himself. He who cannot is, to that extent, an imbecile.”
-R.L. Dabney


Since being married to Michael, I have come to truly appreciate how important true masculinity is. He is a man of honor and respect, and those concepts have become much more clear to me since we've been married. While many men our age have little responsibility, Michael has embraced all of the responsibilities he's been given, and he does each of those with joy (although I can't say he's never grumbled about mowing the lawn). He pays the mortgage, knows when our credit card bill is due, tends to our yard, and completes most of the home improvement projects on his own. He is joyful even in the mundane. He understands that his calling is to be a faithful husband to me, a faithful worker to his boss, and a faithful worshipper to God.

And he is ONE FUN MAN to be married to! Happy Birthday, Michael!

It's an English teacher thing...

Having taken a break from teaching English last year, it is wonderful to be teaching it again--if for no other reason than simply being able to relate to this cartoon! :-)

Don't cry over spilled milk!

The 912 Project!

Here a few highlights of our journey to Washington DC for the March on Washington. I've also included Glenn Beck's 9 Principles that have become our rallying cry over the past few months. Do you agree with these?

1. America is good place, not perfect, but good.

2. I believe in God and He is the center of my life.

3. I must try to be a better, more honest person than I was yesterday.

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority.

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness and not a guarantee of equal results.

7. I work hard for what I have. I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree or share my personal opinion.

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them. They answer to me.

Here we are waiting on the Tea Party Express Bus to arrive at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. This was Friday night, and at this location alone there were thousands of people--and there were events going on around the city just like this one!



When we arrived at Freedom Plaza after taking the Metro, we flooded into the streets and marched to the Capitol. One observer said he had been standing there for 45 minutes and a steady mass of people had been walking down the street the entire time.


More pictures of the crowd:


When we arrived at the Metro Station to go TO Freedom Place, we were met with hundreds of people going to the same place and waiting to buy tickets. It took us about an hour to get through this line and onto the metro.





One of my favorite signs, partly because of my former love of Family Matters--I grew up watching Steve Urkel! :-)

Hope and Change?

Can we still echo the sentiments of our Founding Fathers? Or are they lost in decades of governmental control, unnecessary taxes, and increasing dependence on the government as our "caretaker?"

Get involved. Do the research. The preservation of our country depends on it. It was a dangerous dictator who once said, "How fortunate for leaders that men do not think!"


"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government." -Thomas Jefferson "Each individual of the society has a right to be protected by it in the enjoyment of his life, liberty, and property, according to standing laws. He is obliged, consequently, to contribute his share to the expense of this protection; and to give his personal service, or an equivalent, when necessary. But no part of the property of any individual can, with justice, be taken from him, or applied to public uses, without his own consent, or that of the representative body of the people. In fine, the people of this commonwealth are not controllable by any other laws than those to which their constitutional representative body have given their consent."

John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776

"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer."

Benjamin Franklin, On the Price of Corn and Management of the Poor, November 1766

"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty. "
Thomas Jefferson