It's a Day Feeling the Loss Thing

Dear America,

sorry for your loss.

think we have really hit bottom;

hoping, at least, we are getting close, right?

Can you even believe how far we have sunk, having a church council elect to take down its plaque honoring George Washington?  And not just any church -- it is Christ Church of Alexandria, where good old George, father of our country, was one of its founding parishioners, having paid for pew #5, being a loyal member who attended services for over twenty years.

From the post, as in, from the Washington Times (link, above):

“The plaques [one for George, another Gen. Robert E. Lee]  in our sanctuary make some in our presence feel unsafe or unwelcome. Some visitors and guests who worship with us choose not to return because they receive an unintended message from the prominent presence of the plaques,” the church leaders said in a letter to the congregation that went out last week.

seriously?  As I lay my coffee cup back down on the cardboard coaster advertising 

The Jefferson 

...as in, the hotel; 

and duly noting that the design, simply stating the hotel's name, is accompanied with the line,"AN AMERICAN LANDMARK SINCE 1895 RICHMOND, VIRGINIA"

Let's hope it stays; but  I digress.

Call me cynical, but would love to see the evidence of visitors and guests not returning due to feeling "unsafe or unwelcome" because of the plaques.  Maybe they weren't greeted properly?  Maybe, no one walked up to talk to them and said hello, or offered a cup of coffee?  Maybe, just maybe, one person in THIS day and of THIS age gave the little lowly visitor the wrong impression -- be it of the entire church or just a few of its members.   You know what they say, one bad apple can spoil the bunch, doncha know [as if apples even come in bunches].

But more than likely, this church, is victim of a higher fall -- allowing political correctness to undermine the integrity of what was once an honorable action of an earlier age --  an act bearing great significance in the course of American history, and marking for perpetuity, two men of high esteem in bronze.  

America has survived the battlefields of the Revolutionary War and the Civil War -- 

America has survived the battlefields of good and evil, large and small.

Speaking of bad apples, welcome to the Word from Isaiah 65:

8 God's Message: "But just as one bad apple doesn't ruin the whole bushel, there are still plenty of good apples left. So I'll preserve those in Israel who obey me. I won't destroy the whole nation. 9 I'll bring out my true children from Jacob and the heirs of my mountains from Judah. My chosen will inherit the land, my servants will move in. 10 The lush valley of Sharon in the west will be a pasture for flocks, And in the east, the valley of Achor, a place for herds to graze. These will be for the people who bothered to reach out to me, who wanted me in their lives, who actually bothered to look for me. 11 "But you who abandon me, your God, who forget the holy mountains, Who hold dinners for Lady Luck and throw cocktail parties for Sir Fate, 12 Well, you asked for it. Fate it will be: your destiny, Death. For when I invited you, you ignored me; when I spoke to you, you brushed me off. You did the very things I exposed as evil; you chose what I hate." 

so the logic back behind One Bad Apple perhaps depends on the perspective; perhaps, it all depends upon our own personal response, depending upon our own hearts and minds, and if we see things for the greater good,  acting on behalf of the greater good, and work for the benefit of the greater good above all else.  Sometimes, it may just be one bad apple; surely, there are plenty of good apples left..

The thing is -- the indictment of one bad apple doesn't have to reflect against the whole.

Case in point -- the low hanging bad fruit:  Manafort. Former campaign manager to the Trump campaign, and as such, part of the Russian Collusion/Mueller Investigation.   As soon as it was discovered that Manafort had some shady business dealings in his past, Trump fired him.  So let us not be afraid and take a look at this bruising blemish a little more closely, shall we?  GO TO THE PATRIOT POST.

Oh my -- why does everything lead us back to the Clinton's?

America can only wish for another real George Washington to show up, to lead us out of the mayhem, the mire, the cumbersome matters -- both large and small -- that lead us even deeper into temptation and trial, and all the while, accruing trillions in debt.

It's burdensome...and troublesome....letting the bad apples lead; as a whole, America is so much better than this.

We are not Harvey Wienstein, right?  Hollywood Correctness could only keep that quiet for so long...

We are not the NFL (although, in the olden days, it was sure good fun, wasn't it?  What a way to ring in the day, a Sunday afternoon, yelling and screaming for the common good and actually hurting nobody's feelings, respective of all, and to all a good time.   Those days are gone.  After the leftist infiltrated the sport, political correctness has pretty much taken over and killed it.).

We are not the likes of Kevin Spacey, offering up the unconscionable excuse, "I am gay;" as if that's why we should forgive him and move along as if nothing ever happened.  Although, about this Rapp guy -- must ask, why now?  The alleged sexual advance was made in 1986....and you say nothing until now?

But Really?  Seriously, Kevin Spacey -- who I happen to love to watch act, under normal circumstances, now you formally come out of the closet?

[Does he have a Hollywood star?  Cuz we best be pulling that out of the sidewalk, like yesterday.]

[And I'm kidding, by the way; begging the question, do his years of entertaining us so splendidly well really need to be erased?  Do we cancel House of Cards over this, or what?  Just trying to gauge what are the rules these days....What is the ratio of crime to counts to the number of years, to the number of charges, to the number of winners, to the number of losers, and how does it ultimately equate to a decision to allow or disavow?]

Speaking of Washington, once more, thank God we actually broke the chain and elected an outsider, like Trump; for without a doubt, Washington is a swamp; it is full of bad actors and bad seeds and bad apples -- and sometimes it's the bad apples who are in charge of deciding just who are the bad apples...  It's nuts, really.

I love my Instagram account; being private, I am only followed by who I want to follow me, and I follow only who I want to follow; picked through the bunch with a fine eye, only the truly worthy get on my feed.  Like for instance, the obvious winners:  Steven Furtick and John Gray and Joel Osteen; also, just because he really rocks -- The Rock; also, frenchie world, boston terrier love, juniperfoxx...to get my animalia fix; also,  cuz I'm a foodie at heart -- bon appetit, rapo4, andrew knowlton, pizzacamp, just to name a few; and of course, my friends and family.

The thing is, I get to pick and choose just who -- and this girl is pretty picky.  Only the good apples need apply.

And here we are.  Finally.
As we edge ever so closer to the thing itself....
America needs to be a wee bit picky, too.

But by all means,  not in such a way, in such extremes, as the Christ Church of Alexandria, Virginia.

In the big picture -- George Washington did more good, gave more good, and inspired more good, perhaps more than any other American, to date.   What's next, the Washington Monument?

omgosh...
just as I'm sitting here, coffee long gone, up pops a news notification:  "Fox News, Breaking News, House of Cards ending amid Kevin Spacey sexual harassment claim."

Perhaps we should just all line up, from one bad apple to the next, counting stars and unmasking blemishes, and see where we all end up...that should be fun.

and yes;
Fully aware this girl is babbling the day away, like the brook in the back forty who's only responsibility is to irrigate the orchard, the next generation of trees.

My mind is mushy like a bad apple; lines are tangled, like branches growing in and around each other over decades of disregard; and the only thing that gives me a sense of peace is knowing, really knowing -- that "ONE bad apple DOESN'T have to ruin the whole bushel."

It doesn't have to be this way.

But to fix things, would call for us to return to our roots.  And therein lies the rub.

It feels as if we should be giving our condolences already - - as it would seem, this thing called  America -- by all appearances -- oh, she's a goner.

All things having to do with our American heritage are being disparaged, erased, re-written, or buried into the basements of churches and foundations and museums, being left to rot; having been hijacked and ransacked by bad apples of leftist lineage, the America we know and love, and recognized the world over as the leader of the free world,  is being ripped up by her roots.

The fruit is but a symptom.  We are allowing bad apples to negatively impact the whole bunch.

We are the product of years of decay, really; it's no wonder it seems to be spreading at such a rapid rate; it seems every day one more bad apple joins the pile.  Until we learn to do the right thing for the right reason, from one to another, we will surely continue to reap a harvest of one bad apple after another.

ugh

i have nothing else to say, but

Make it a GOOD Day, G

It's a Collision Course of Stories Thing

Dear America,

To save time, let's assume I know everything

teehee...

always a good way to start...

but you must know -- it's not that I really believe that, okay...

its like, half the time, this girl goes through hell and back just trying to figure out the proper use of the word, its -- is it it's or its ? It gives me a headache every time.  Having said that, if you are into rules, just go here.

Speaking of which, this girl can't wait for Kaepernick's book to come out.  A million dollar book deal!  Can you even believe it?  A million dollars!  And for what?  What story does he have to tell?

  

How his girlfriend twisted his little pee brain of his into thinking he could both raise awareness to his need for a better football contract (after deciding -- free will and all --  to go free agent, and dare I add, bringing a whole 'nother level to the phrase pee-wee football, badump ba) AND raise awareness to one of her favorite leftist causes, that police brutality is rooted in systemic racism -- and eventually growing into a full blown protest, using the national anthem as its leading protagonist. 

indeed.  that was a run on sentence.  shoot me.

But really now -- the thing is -- couldn't we all write Colin's story by now?  What is he going to tell us that we don't already know?  

We have watched his every move.

We have seen all the plays.

We could write his lack of a storybook ending from start to finish without skipping a beat, why? Because whining never prospers!  (And that's just the crib notes, k)

Kaepernick's pompous, imperious ego -- the one back behind the budding author of a million dollar book deal --  is evidence of an unfortunate transformation.  To think, after all these years, allowing for his natural humility to reign, respective of it being a team sport, and all -- practically sheltering his natural talent, impressive skills, hard work and rock star salary from the world;  its like, almost overnight, all the forces that were once with him, all collided on the field in full force against him. Oh what a reversal of fortune!

Oh don't get me wrong -- this girl is quite familiar with the kind of fuel that only a little sass can bring, okay?

I get it...I tend to start my day with as much of it as possible whenever I can.

What drives me crazy, though, is a sticky thing; it's called the truth.

1. The unrelenting anthem protests -- although enriched with the good idea to raise awareness for the common good in treating all people equally -- are actually based upon a lie (actually, make that multiple lies...but we've tackled that, here on the old gthing, one too many times before to rehash again, in the here and now.).  

2.  Before sitting on the bench, before taking his first knee, Kaepernick's own stats were on the decline.  

3.  As a general rule, what kind of all-American football team wants to pay a guy knee deep in controversy, and ripe with contempt, a salary of any kind --  let alone a handsome one?

4.  And here's the real kicker -- Kaepernick chose his path.  He elected to go free agent!  He elected to take his chances!  His little pee brain made him think he was worth more than he really was, naturally playing out a very simple principle of the free market.

5.  and about that claim of Collusion, the Lawsuit?

teehee

Now, speaking of collusion -- finally, we're here;  to the main fun and games we go....

Omaha, hut ....to the real collusion.

Pay Dirt.

Russian Collusion.

It's just a nod to Never Trumper's on a whole 'nother level, right?  As in, it was never a Trump issue and always a Clinton/DNC issue.  Oh what a reversal of plays on top of plays on top of plays.

Truth is, the truth is never down for very long; with incredible stamina and agility and grace, the truth will ultimately have its day.

So that's the news, as told through the twisted brain of me...G!

the end.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's About the Place Where Good Endings Begin Thing

Dear America,

"Do not be misled:  

'Bad company corrupts good character.'"

1 Corinthians 15:33

it is awfully important to recognize that which we conform to, voluntarily and of our own volition, while doing this thing called life.

are we conforming to the  things of this world, putting all of our attentions to the places, people, things of this world...things that may, or may not, be out for our best interests --- or --- are we conforming to something Not of This World....something of a Higher Purpose under Heaven, preordained by God Itself?

As the Corinthians had come to know quite well -- all things go according to this law, one way or the other.

Bad company -- can truly be bad for us; thus, let us be alert, aware, cognizant of the company we keep.

In keeping with the fullness of proper understanding, that thing called company can look an awful lot like our thoughts, our friends, our families....our vices and our politics....our teammates and our co-workers.... and here's a real shocker -- even our loves.  That very company --  along with the entire community of company that we keep -- reveals just who we are right now, in this present moment, as well as, who we ultimately grow to become...somewhere down the road; both light and dark forces share the road, and it takes courage and strength to continually choose the right side. 

And it is no more different now, then it was in the day of Corinth.  Human nature is the one kind of constant we can all depend; it's human nature, it's human nature, it's human nature.

When the Apostle Paul traveled hundreds and hundreds of miles -- preaching the Gospel --  he chose to leave everything behind and make a career as a traveling salesman, of sorts -- selling something he truly believed, with every fiber of his being:  the Word and the Absolute Presence of God, in, and of, this world; it is the beginning and the end. 

In good company, hand in hand with God, Paul spent his days and nights spreading the good tidings of God's Grace, God's Promises, and God's Word; this became his entire focus.  And certainly, to know and experience God's Good -- His Grace, Promises, Word, and Love -- is to also know and appreciate God's conditions and expectations upon this world, upon us, living in the world that God made; to demonstrate that kind of love right back, by following in the ways, in the truths, of God, is the very least we can do, right?  [But the greatest, of course, is love :) [1 Corinthians 13:13]

Taking this kind of Apostle-lonian faith even further, is to believe that no matter what comes our way (the good, the bad and the just plain stupid), that in the end, everything comes together for our good.

God always has a plan for us.  And if we are distracted in the ways of this world, if we are not in alignment with our gifts, our purpose, the plan designed and mapped out by God, then things happen to get our attention...
Things begin to happen in order to bring about the deeper mission -- a mission only meant for us, individually, and rippling out in the collective.  And naturally, as we grow closer to God, this awakening, this path, becomes better illumined, and more defined.  Nothing in our lives should be of higher priority/reality than the actual walking, and loving, and living, in a life with God -- making God first, for all else shall be added unto you...

From one of my favorite spiritual gurus, Ernest Holmes, founder, and author, of The Science of Mind (which has nothing to do with Scientology, just FYI...) --

"God is not only an infinite Presence, the Spirit is also an indwelling reality.  The silent whisperings of this inner Presence come to each as a divine revelation, an inner communion of the individual spirit with the Over-Soul; that vast and invisible Presence in which we live, move, and have our being."

The Apostle Paul knew of these things, because the Apostle Paul lived these things accordingly; he knew of this kind of intimacy with God,  intimately and firsthand and without wavering, in spite of horrendous things happening to him throughout his life, doing the work of God.  Paul was unshaken -- even through beatings, imprisonment, troubles, hunger, sleepless nights...with every bit of it being hard work and often bringing pain and anguish (paraphrasing 2 Corinthians 6:3-6); it would seem correct to say, that the work Paul was destined to do, with an unfathomable kind of love and devotion, was the ONLY true company he meant to keep.

If only a t-shirt could have been marketed way back when, for it would read:  eat, speak, sleep G  [as in BIG G! not little me, g, okay]

Oh happy day...

It's Sunday!  

and so of course this girl will be all up in praise, giving it her Sunday best!

And that was where we left it.....on Sunday....and in a huff and a puff.

"RET ROW," (just being one of my favorite Scooby Doo lines ever).... It's no longer Sunday...it's not even Monday...it's now a Tuesday.  And a time warp has just snatched 48 hours from me like nobody's business.  What happened?

Computer Down is what happened...

Just as I was rolling along, almost singing a song, on Sunday afternoon -- suddenly, everything stopped.  The computer was having none of it; it logged off  Wi-Fi not to come back, no matter what coaxing and Spiritual Mind treatments this girl could muster -- and to add further mystery, not to be explained by even the likes of Microsoft some odd two hours later... ugh.

Then, after having left it alone, after a nap and a shot of Makers Mark, I came crawling on back --  crossing my fingers and toes and begging for leniency.  And boom.  Ping bada bing.  It can't be explained; it can't take away hours of frustration; it can't even make the day begin again on Sunday, pretending it never happened. 

Reality is, it's Tuesday.  And there is no fighting with reality here, right...

So this girl is heading straight back to center, returning to Holmes, in a little book called, This Thing Called Life:

 The Science of Mind teaches us to look for good instead of evil; to praise and not to condemn; to bless and curse not; to live each day as though the Spirit were guiding us; to have a firm conviction that we are counseled by Divine Wisdom and protected by Infinite Love.  We should at all times sense this overshadowing Presence and have implicit confidence in Its direction.

No matter what the doubts and fears of yesterday were, the affirmations of today may rise triumphantly over them.  If we persist in seeing beauty, beauty will appear.   Let us no longer weep over the mistakes of yesterday.  This is futile.  We must learn to forgive ourselves even as we forgive others.  Let us remember that 'each day is a fresh beginning, every day is the world made new'.''

Oh how essential the company we keep.

Lastly, before this girl must make her way to the rest of her busy day --- let me leave you with a really, really good read.  In one regard, it explains the company I like to keep -- linking with The Patriot Post; and in another, it explains the greater urge, deep inside, to further educate myself on how this great nation was made.  I firmly believe that these founders of ours, not only recognized the plan orchestrated by The Divine, but they also understood the great mandate before them, respective of each generation of ours being required to align, and fully unite, for the common good -- even knowing it was not a guarantee....as things happen.  Oh human nature, human nature, human nature...

1.  The Federalist Papers 230 Years Later.  yes, please. 
2.  Alexander Hamilton's Federalist Paper No. 1. 

It's just a good start to begin to explain how "bad company corrupts good character" and can be so vewy vewy bad for us, in so many, many ways.  But let us not weep over the mistakes of yesterday...or, even the last hundred years when this government of ours has gone completely off the rails, off the trails, and have landed completely upside down and ass backwards.  Not one thing can explain it -- for its innumerable. 

But please, let us not dwell here.

Let us go here, instead, for this is where good endings begin:

"There is a shelter of a rock in every man's soul."

Make it a Good Day, 
Keep Good Company,
G

It's a Day to Ring True Thing

Dear America,

just dial wine - one - one

teehee

it can be so overwhelming sometimes...these days, these times...

sorta wishing we were still living in the day when the only out-of-town news we would get was by Pony Express, when it took forever and a day to arrive.  Just imagine living an entire day -- even a full week, a month, or two! --  with no news from neighboring states, let alone from across the pond or the opposite side of the globe.

my usual modus operandi is to make grand observations by beginning with one little thing; then that little thing usually turns into another; but my intentions are to eventually go big or go back to bed. In a perfect day -- on a clear day, on a good day --  this girl thinks more of the greater good than about little old me.

But having said that -- no matter if I go big picture for the greater good, or small to feed the inner pangs of my own humble fits and stings, rest assured every day on the old G Thing is a day speaking to the things that I, for one, need to be reminded of, if only to refresh my spirit.... to set me  free...and hopefully set me right side up once again, preferably sometime before noon.

And so what's your point, G?
Well, glad you asked; all of this muttering is just a long about way to explain how yesterday's blog --  being all about no worries and prancing with the lilies -- can be juxtaposed with today's cries... "just dial wine - one - one."  Seems this girl never runs out of hills and valleys; reaching new peaks or new lows, almost overnight.   Desperate times call for desperate measures, or at the very least, something to soothe our frantic thoughts, if only for a moment. At the end of the day, a glass of wine goes a long, long way, no?  Upon eagles's wings and a prayer never hurt either.

Having saved some sage advice via a fortune cookie, this day seems better than most to actually use it:  "A good beginning is half the task," it says.

For what does a good beginning actually accomplish?  It begins to explain things; it offers up a foundation; it sets the tone; it gives direction -- acting more like the north star or the magnetic pull of a compass; a good beginning illuminates a certain path and gives sustenance to keep up the effort putting one foot in front of the other until you arrive at the end, or to the place you intend to go.  A good beginning is only half the task...for you must keep going; a good beginning has only just begun!

The thing is, AMERICA personifies the good beginning like no other.  It explains our claims of exceptional birth, because according to the day, according to the times, according to all the world's history, AMERICA was the exception!  Our founders designed a Republic around a Limited Government, pronouncing a system with Checks and Balances through: the Executive Branch, the Congress, and the Judiciary.  America created a system of government, lo and behold, designed to make the INDIVIDUAL reign, indefinitely beholden to the things that individuals MUST do to keep it so, in order to secure its forever after --  things beginning and ending with good self-government and self-reliance. 

I say, beginning and ending with good self-government and self-reliance -- because without good self-government and self-reliance, we may as well be lost in some deep dark and vewy scarwy woods, with monsters that jump out from behind the trees, where the sounds that go bump in the night go boom and then some.

No, America, way back when, wasn't perfect in the beginning -- but show me any place, any country, any people, without imperfections, shortcomings, and issues, and I'll show you a place called Never Never Land or that place where Mr. Roger's Neighborhood met up with The Land of Make Believe, for that kind of land does not exist.  And make no mistake -- there was a day, in America, when even a five year old recognized this simple truth.

We all have to pull up our big girl (or big boy) pants one pant leg at a time -- and walk the talk.  It's as simple as that.

It is not lip service to recite the National Anthem or to Pledge Allegiance to the flag -- for this is a foundation upon which we unite, not crumble, and by all means, not protest.

It is not in our best interests to rip each other apart, like it's a sport -- via twitter, or facebook; for this takes social media into the realm of social destruction in a twinkle of the eye.

It is not okay to dismiss the good that goes around, fixated upon the little things that are not quite right; for in the end, the goal must be to cling to the things we have in common, building connections through compassion and understanding, and from this perspective, and this perspective alone -- meet the challenges of our communities together.  No two neighborhoods are really alike; and that is why many of the answers cannot be found going big and broad; the response must be unique, individually analyzed and resolved.  Our founders recognized this -- and everything from education to police protection to the weekly sermon must heed this truth and basic understanding in the spirit of just pure, good old-fashioned, common sense; the local power of the people, by the people, for the people, is the part and the parcel and the people and the pony in communion with one another that binds, with exponential benefits.

It is not okay to ignore the law -- break the law -- usurp the law -- or even misunderstand the law.  It is not okay to not know the truth about homicide in America, police brutality in America, crime stats in neighborhoods large and small.  As provocative as this may sound -- it is not okay to not recognize who is killing who in America, and why, no matter the how.   [This is where I would get out the trail mix and give you some links, but I think not; not today.  You have your own two legs so get on with it; nobody needs my help thanks to Google; besides this girl has been here before; hate to appear like we are just going in circles, right...teehee]

Murder is wrong, and illegal -- pick your poison; prostitution is wrong, and illegal, with or without consent; stealing a bike is wrong, and illegal; street drugs are wrong, and illegal; selling unlicensed football gear is wrong, and illegal; selling knock-off designer handbags is wrong and illegal -- buying one, knowing it is a knock-off, is equally wrong, and illegal.  Please tell me you are getting my point, or shall I go on....

The thing is -- today -- this girl is lamenting the loss of foundations, large and small.  Hence, the desperate call for wine -- one -- one (like stat)  upon the heading.  Oh sure, it's not even noon, so it will have to wait; the point is, a vicious pour is straight ahead and we should make landfall some time around 5 p.m. PST...but I digress while making rapid good time, doncha know.


America's good beginning is fully dependent upon each generation to know it, uphold it, honor it, cherish it, and make good on the mandates made certain and nonnegotiable to each and every one of us, separately as individuals,  and collectively... as whole communities, as country, as homeland; it is of no excuse not to know the necessity of good self-government and self-reliance being of firm duty, from one to another.  It is not up for debate.  It is a duty -- America's foundation was designed just that way, no lie (doubters look it up).

Nobody ever said it would be a cake walk; it is a duty, to God and to County, that never ever, never ever, lets up.  It is part of the permanent, long term, generational treasure map.  If we get to the end of life on this planet, being caretakers of this exceptional land, and feel good about how we participated in the protection and safe keeping of this land is your land and mine, then it is a good day, indeed; we have done our part.

So let me leave you with this, as a little pick me up, as a way to lead us through the forest of the next day or two aligned with a clear guide, one in keeping with a united front, from one to another, and with, or without, a full bodied red red wine with a side of whine  -- and it comes courtesy of The Quiet Mind:

RING TRUE  

Be true.  

This is the essence of the spiritual life.  

The note of the spirit 

is sounded on the higher planes, 

and the knocks you receive in everyday life

 are to test you, 

whether you can ring true.  

To ring true you must always 

sound the note of God, 

or good, 

which is within you.

that's all i got for this day; at the end of the day, as individuals -- we have the capacity to know right from wrong, legal or illegal, without anyone telling us so; when we have the courage and wherewithal  to be our own best mitigator and litigator -- being the sole navigator of all our days --- BEFORE...
every breath you take
every move you make
every bond you break
every step you take
every news you fake,
then consider the other half  of the task well done.

yeah, it stings a little, huh :)


Make it a Good Day, G

It's Considering the Lilies and the Liabilities Thing

Dear America,

"Consider how the lilies grow..." 

Luke 12:27

indeed

no worries, little lilies; no worries.

my sister of another mother and I were catching up over the weekend...

she is Vietnamese, and was one of the many, running for her life, in a day in the life when Saigon fell; and scripted like out of the movies -- her father, divined by God, just so happened to be in the area -- on an American destroyer.  Oh, it would be quite some time later before they were to meet; and even longer before that little lily from world's away would one day say to me, along with her distinct and genuine giggle, "I love America; I love my country.  I owe my life to this country." 

Now, in proper context -- this exclamation/proclamation/exasperation came just after the two of us were lamenting our broken marriages and finding ourselves never happier...

oh life!  life is funny, isn't it?

and of course, many times it is not (funny).

wildfires in the wine country comes to mind

Hollywood showing its true technicolors, is another

life truly rocks us like a hurricane all the live long day, and it gets right back up to do it all over again on the next.

It's an ocean out there.

One ocean after another.

We get to the other side; we find respite; and then suddenly something else happens.  We begin bobbing in deep waters all over again, having never seen it coming.

To be able to predict and fully prepare for what's ahead is futile...

But of course it is; for by definition, respite is a temporary position.

In my American Heritage dictionary, circa 1980 -- the word resplendent follows respite.  And isn't that a glorious word:  "filled with splendor, brilliant."  Lilies come to mind.  Sunshine dancing upon the water, like diamonds, is another.

And scripted like out of the movies, the very next word is respond v. 1. to make a reply; to answer  2. To act in return or in answer 3.  To react positively or cooperatively...

The thing is, life, itself, is full of surprises.  Indeed.  

Abut just about everything gets down to our response to these things, these things that happen in and around and through life's highs and lows, the ebbs and flows, that becomes the very thing that changes everything and makes a life.  

If we respond with a positive, forward thinking, vibe -- we actually move forward in positive, productive ways; if we respond with negativity, what else is life to do with that, but mirror that scrappy attitude -- add an award winning slap in the face, for special effect, and suddenly your life is worthy of an Academy Award.

Taking this idea further, like a ripple on a golden pond -- as individuals -- we are individually mandated to direct our lives with honor, with integrity, with grit, and with an understanding that every little thing we do is interconnected to every single soul bobbing  around us.  [Jane Fonda directs her blockbuster just like the rest of us.]

from ripples to tsunamis...

every action has a reaction.

But let's be clear, like Doris Day on a clear day -- Harvey put the hole in his own damn boat.  

It's called the law of life; and it has a first and last name, and she is widely recognized about town as Little Miss Cause And Effect.

Oh to be or not to be; oh to act in return or in answer; oh to every sordid action, and in proper turn, the mandatory reaction -- good, bad or indifferent.  Oh, I wish I was more brave, right Jane?  Oh I wish I hadn't positioned myself so close to the enemy...

Our response to life is everything; while, all the while, how we treat other people is another.  Like a whirlpool, what goes around comes around in crazy madness right on cue.

Oh my, my little lily -- my sister, my friend --  she recognized this little secret, somehow, some way, and in spite of horrific beginnings.  And while her story is turning out okay, it must be duly noted that she didn't just go from coming to America and landing within a loving family and getting married and having kids and eventually having a nostalgic conversation with little old G thing one day like she walked on the set of It's a Wonderful Life...Oh no.

She had trials from the moment her little toes touched American soil; she had  issues just like every other American girl, as in something metaphorically borrowed, something terribly blue.  Details omitted, this little lily could have given up on creating a life filled with resplendent favor, even for one day, being overcome with the moments that totally suck and appearing out of nowhere like a perfect storm.  

But that just wasn't in her God Given DNA -- better defined as the Divine, and that which is Naturally and Actively present in the every day, inside each and every one of us.   Making a habit into tapping into that feed -- that truly is the way, and the truth, and the life.  

Oh to consider how the lilies grow....

this is all about Luke presenting the case, answering to the doubters, that Christ lives; do not worry, for look at the lilies... Do you see them fret?  Portraying the little lilies as these little lowly creatures, a life expectancy of almost nil, as the lilies rejoice in resplendent joy all their numbered days. In the very next verse, Luke goes on to explain:  

"If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!  Do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.  For the pagan world runs after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.  But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."

The little lily of Vietnamese birth has kept her face to the sun, has kept her faith in Something Greater than any of the un-splendored things that have come her way.  Oh to the angels unaware, she is a living example of a life resplendent; never mind the riff-raff that was meant to take her to some deserted island and leave her there only to succumb to a life lost in heartbreak and loss.

Her mindfulness of being more than her circumstances gave her all the brute strength she needed to be truly brave; to live a life in constant connection to that which truly feeds her IS her ocean and her homeland -- it is where she lives in her soul.  Nothing can take It away, nothing can diminish It's Power and Might.

Only fitting that her most common response to things that don't go the way she imagined:  "oh well."

Oh well!

Spring up Oh Well!

All in all -- no matter the imperfections -- America is this kind of land resplendent.  By design, America has always stood tall, as the pinnacle, as a free beacon, to all the world.  [Oh John McCain...you just don't get it; maybe at one time you really and truly did, but today you have surely lost your mind and your headings. Duly noted, you hate Trump.  Check.  Go ahead and raise your skull and crossbones flag.]  He says:

"To fear the world we have organized and led for three-quarters of a century, to abandon the ideals we have advanced around the globe, to refuse the obligations of international leadership and our duty to remain “the last best hope of earth” for the sake of some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history."

The irony is, when McCain calls out the "half-baked, spurious nationalism" kind -- he is attacking his own kind, the conservatives who have allowed him the good pleasure of serving in the Senate all these years.  Simple Americans, like myself, like my sister of Vietnamese birth and full blooded American spirit, take offense to this kind of nonsense.  

Nautically speaking, his speech seemed to be heading on a good course -- until it hit this spot.  This is neither time, nor place, to have your ego battle Trump's ego; this is a time to unify, to support the "last best hope of earth," beginning with supporting your fellow republican president!  

Speaking of SPURIOUS making this girl furious, the reality is -- with decades of evidence before us, revealing years of pure fraud against these very ideals, and principles, that have made America great -- the unconscionable usurpation of the rule of law and the unchecked growth of the national debt has created the very conditions on land for this kind of rare rise of a populist president in the first place! 

YOU are the cause, John McCain; you personify the very cause; welcome to the world of its ill-effects.  You bloviating, pompous, self-serving, half-baked bureaucrat, Little Miss Cause and Effect wants your autograph so she can throw it into the fire made of lilies and hot air.

Self-assured, you, sir, are a liability.  [antonym for resplendent anyone?] 

Oh well

Not to worry

All things will be given

this, too, shall pass

all things considered, especially considering how lilies and liabilities grow, it's all good -- it all gets us to where we need to go....eventually.

Sweet of you for dropping by -- it's just G, here, just responding in resplendent respite every day, on one thing or another.  Hope to see you again real soon...someday when you least expect it... like a tidal wave.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's A True Origins Thing

Dear America,

oh to be Dan Brown.

life must be good.

and thank the Lord that his latest book is upon us:  ORIGIN

Can I get an amen?

Now, being in full PR mode, his latest dribble, expanding on his latest creative marvel (link courtesy of yahoo!), goes a little something like this:

"Christianity, Judaism and Islam all share a gospel, loosely, and it's important that we all realise....Our religions are much more similar than they are different...We will start to find our spiritual experiences through our interconnections with each other....some form of global consciousness that we perceive and that becomes our divine...our need for that exterior god, that sits up there and judges us ... will diminish and eventually disappear."

Brown frames his latest musings as if with the rise of our technological advancement, the creation of artificial intelligence, society will evolve and transform this relationship with the Divine, en masse; his belief, that if we were to begin linking our consciousness through these modern modes, prayer and communing with God is made virtually obsolete.  I mean, who needs a God that judges, right?

Perhaps we should start with my first response, which is:  what a freaking idiot, this Dan the man.

If all this is about "consciousness,"  then doesn't he realize that we already have these kinds of religions already on the planet?  The book, The Science of Mind, by Ernest Holmes, is this!  Many eastern religions...is this!  Transcendental meditation, Spiritual Mind Treatments, to the awe to the Om, we humans have been in touch with this kind of higher consciousness and practices for centuries. 

If his point, now, is to simply mock the main -- the religions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam -- then consider it done already.  Let's move on to his next book, where Dan, the man, figures out the origins of his Origin, the book, and discovers that his talent and his life's work were pre-destined by God, himself, right down to the final exclamation point....you know,  being the One who knows Everything, and even what Dan the man will have the gall to say next.  Can I get an amen?  Oh sister, you are on fire this morning.  Oh indeed I AM and God's wearing frilly and flowery PJ's, too.

Wouldn't the global governance society, chock full of leftists and progressives, just love it if humanity simply moved on dot org from any ties that bind with organized religion -- beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelations.  Oh that indeed, can no longer be disguised.

Oh Dan the man.  When you say, 

"our need for that exterior god, that sits up there and judges us." 

Oh Dan the man, now you are just embarrassing yourself.

This must be precisely how intellectuals and scientist, and again, leftists, see it.  Oh you stupid, ignorant speck of humanity, believing, and keeping the faith, in such mumbo jumbo that no longer serves us, no longer is enough....and saying so with such snark, its a wonder it ever was.

It's just sad.

It's just sad that Dan, the man, is clearly not in relationship with this great God of ours, Creator of all things large and small, or clearly he would naturally, and sentimentally, and honorably, hold a certain reverence and understanding that surpasses all understanding of this kind of God, right?  

I mean, there is nothing greater than God. 

Oh how Great Thou Art  and It lives here, right here beside me, every moment of every day.  With all due respect, to know this kind of Love, Dan, you will truly be set free.  Does it hurt, Dan, to keep this charade up -- to think that mankind can actually become more wise, more knowing, more conscious and so much more important,  than God ITSELF?  Who's ignorance is showing now?

Words from Kahlil Gibran:

"Say not, 'I have found the path of the soul.'  Say rather, 'I have met the soul walking upon my path.'...The soul does not walk upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.  The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals." 

"Is not religions all deeds and all reflection, And that which is neither deed nor reflection, but a wonder and a surprise ever springing in the soul, even while the hands hew the stone or tend the loom?  Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupation."

"Your daily life is your temple and your religion.  Whenever you enter into it take with you your all...And to take with you all men:  For in adoration you cannot fly higher than their hopes nor humble yourself lower than their despair.   And if you would know God be not therefore a solver of riddles.  Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with your children.  And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in the lightening and descending in the rain.  You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in trees."

Oh Dan the man -- this kind of consciousness is HERE.  It is now.

All any one of us has to do is go to IT!

There is even a good book to read, that tells us all about It's Origins, too. (Of course, it's not the latest thing, it's nothing new, it's actually ages old...but I digress)

Just love that part when Dan, the man, duly notes that the main religions "all share a gospel, loosely." 

Loosely, he says.

Um, this girl begs to have that characterization mocked and poked fun of all the rest of this darned day.  Oh Dan, you are so funny.

"And what is word knowledge but a shadow of wordless knowledge?  Your thoughts and my words are waves from a sealed memory that keeps records of our yesterdays,    And of the ancient days when the earth knew not us nor herself,    And of nights when earth was upwrought with confusion. 

Wise men have come to you to give of their wisdom.  I came to take of your wisdom:   And behold I have found that which is greater than wisdom.  It is a flame spirit in you ever gathering more of itself,  While you, heedless of its expansion, bewail the withering of your days.  It is life in quest of life in bodies that fear the grave. 

There are no graves here.  

These mountains and plains are a cradle and a stepping stone.  Whenever you pass by the field where you have laid your ancestors look well thereupon, and you shall see yourselves and your children dancing hand in hand.   Verily you often make merry without knowing."

beautiful Kahlil.  oh beautiful Kahlil.

Oh to know that God made us Spiritual Beings having a human experience explains everything and nothing, right?  IT depends upon our personal ability and willingness and consciousness to find it within us.

The great in the WE --  the human mind and consciousness inside our God-given bodies, individually and collectively --  must come to find out all on our own, day after day, just how Great IS this Life Source of our one true origin, through which all THINGS large and small are made.  

It is this inkling to know God -- to live in  RELATIONSHIP with God -- that God, Itself,  places in our hearts and minds from the very beginning that we must encourage, from one to another.  Whether we consider that beginning to be at Adam and Eve, in Genesis -- or upon the day we are born unto this world -- it is all part of One Story.

And in this perspective, and perhaps this perspective alone -- this girl must praise Dan, the man, in all of his human-ness; for this morning, we speak of God.  And How Great Thou Art!  Oh you small man, so limited by your own smugness and drowning in your own universe, I thank you!  For surely,  you have highlighted, precisely and magnanimously, the very things that keep the Almighty up at night (as if He sleeps...).

This One Story thing is validated with each and every generation of people who come forth, bravely, and faithfully, proclaiming the Truth; it is validated from millennia to millennia, and so on, and so on, and forever will be, amen.  There is nothing that precedes it nor comes after it -- for this God consciousness is Absolute, whether we choose to link our daily life with It or not.  It IS.

And the thing is --  leftists and globalists and progressives can't do a thing about it.

But oh, will they try.  Communists and Radicals throughout history have tried, oh have they tried; and good luck with that, as they say.

It lives and has It's Origins in Everything, everything we do and say.  From blogs to books, from sea to shining sea, this Thing Called Life is INSIDE us.

So today, let us celebrate -- let us let this Godly-consciousness show right now -- who needs to wait for the robots to catch up, right?    And you know what they say about Artificial Intelligence, right?  It's not real.  Badump ba.

Beginning to day, let us be kind; let us do the right thing, today and every day; let us take care of one another; let us link arms -- standing on football sidelines, in schools, while community organizing -- in wondrous unity, recognizing the splendid things we have in common, right, Dan the Man?  The Golden Rule lives, and it is in us.  Amen Amen Amen

Of course, it must also be said that even God knows the importance of staying relevant in an ever changing world; my belief is that it's less about judgement, and more about guiding us -- because God loves us so; because God MADE US so;  and so, God works through us to make Life so, as best we humans possibly can.   Between all the free will running around, and ramparts red glare of human nature all running amuck, chances are none of us will get out of here alive.  teehee

And so... all we ever really have is the present moment.

OMMMMMMMM

Although I will not buy the book, Dan, the man --  nor will I wait on bated breath for the movie to come out (the one not produced by Harvey Weinstein, no doubt) -- God bless you for being you; bless you, for today we speak of God and Godly things. 

Make it a Good Day, G

It's Life in the Dark Thing

Dear America,

"Don't divide your life 

into things 

you can do by yourself 

and things 

that require My help."

this tidbit came nearing the end of today's devotional, just this morning in Jesus Calling...The point being, in all things, keep the Almighty Present!   Don't do one single thing without help, without thought, without prayer, without continually connecting to the One Who Knows All Things.

And it made me think about what Chris Matthews said only a few days ago, when essentially mocking the Americans who still believe where this nation's true foundation comes from -- and the unwavering connection to our God given rights  along with the free-exercise thereof:

“Well you know what the Republicans say in their platform?” Matthews asked during his show “Hardball” on Thursday night. “The right to bear arms precedes the Constitution. It’s a god-given, sort of theological right. They treat this like religion.” 

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Matthews bemoaned. “It’s a sort of essential religious notion to them.”  (and THANK YOU, to the Daily Caller, for this clip/link)

 Yes, Chris Matthews --- it's called Nature's Law, and proclaims God as the True Authority over our lives, and as such, as not only the Divine Providence that guides us as individuals, but when Nature's Law works collectively, it's purpose is to protect the will of it's free people in THIS country.  And further -- that our natural rights and the natural law in place does, in fact, precede all other things...especially, and notably, man-made rule or government.

AMERICA is intended to be all about the people GOVERNING themselves; that good self-government provides the foundation, just as a mighty faith in God, provides the ROCK itself.  One by one, step by step, stone by stone -- we are a fortress when unified and living in integrity with certain and absolute Truths.  Chris Matthews, apparently, is either ignorant to our founding principles, the Spirit of Nature's Law altogether (and how it works), or to that which we call God, Itself, and encompassing all of It's Authority and Reign, being Creator of all things large and small.

From the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Proclamation of January 23, 1776:

"It is a maxim that in every government, there must exist, somewhere, a supreme, sovereign, absolute, and uncontrollable power; but this power resides always in the body of the people; and it never was, or can be, delegated to one man, or a few; the great Creator has never given to men a right to vest others with authority over them, unlimited either in duration or  degree."

indeed. 
UNALIENABLE rights, is where it's at, people.

William Blackstone describes it like so:

"Those rights, then, which God and nature have established, and are therefore called natural rights, such as are life and liberty, need not the aid of human laws to be more effectually invested in every man that they are; neither do they receive any additional strength when declared by the municipal laws to be inviolable.  On the contrary, no human legislation has the power to abridge or destroy them, unless the owner shall himself commit some act that amounts to a forfeiture."

As then, Skousen, author of The 5000 Year Leap, goes on to explain: "In other words, we may do something ourselves to forfeit the unalienable rights endowed by the Creator, but no one else can TAKE those rights from us without being subject to God's justice. This is what makes certain rights UNALIENABLE.  They are inherent rights given to us by the Creator."

And here's a short list of examples of Certain UNALIENABLE RIGHTS not articulated in the Declaration of Independence, when it broadly exclaims, "that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness"  ----

The RIGHT TO SELF-GOVERNMENT -- and this, probably being the most important, for this gives personal power to respond to all things in keeping with one's very ability to strive to live a life beholden to certain virtues; to be of sound mind and well educated; to live in accordance with a natural, lawful nature, respective of all things, being fully aware that to have and live in a life of integrity, and grace, and faith, begets a pure  and unconditional love for our fellow man and an unimaginable gratitude of life itself, and BEGINS in all ways with the INDIVIDUAL.  But let's continue....

The RIGHT to BEAR ARMS for SELF-DEFENSE.  enough said.

The RIGHT to FREE SPEECH
The RIGHT to FREE PRESS

The RIGHT to a FAIR TRIAL

The RIGHT to enjoy the fruits of ONE'S LABORS

The RIGHT of FREE ASSOCIATION

The RIGHT of FREE CONSCIENCE


The RIGHT to Life and Liberty and Property and Production --  all gallivanting around our individual right in the PURSUIT of Happiness -- ALL EXISTED long before man realized the need to protect such things.  These things are ALL pre-existing conditions!

Which now causes me to pause, in order to recognize something else -- the individual DUTY to protect and preserve that which the Creator has bestowed upon us, as a people, as caretakers:  Life itself, this earth and all of its inhabitants.    Surely, if we frame everything we do, individually and collectively, making an inquiry with conscience first, then how can we fail at nearly anything ventured from this day forward?  In other words, "Don't divide your life into things you can do by yourself and things that require My help."

We are living a life in the dark. The reason, the understanding, the knowledge of our founding fathers is no where to be found in keeping with the utmost respect.  It is lost on people like Chris Matthews, clearly.  And it may as well be considered a thing lost to the whole, if the growing unpopularity of the truth, our truths,  continue.

As the heading to Chapter 13 of The 5000 Year Leap, duly notes: "A Constitution Should be Structured to Permanently Protect the People from the Human Frailties of their Rulers."

indeed.
And therein lies the rub.

I awoke to more definitive news coming out of the Trump Administration of plans to tweak Obamacare by the stroke of the pen, by Executive Order --  and even Senator Rand Paul was pleased?   Tweeting:  "This will be a great plan & a big deal for millions of Americans. I’ve been working with @realDonaldTrump for months on this. Details soon!..
4:55 AM - Oct 10, 2017

and all this girl can say is 'ugh'  -- as much as the news naturally excites me, as it finally opens the free market healthcare system to competition (the missing link all along)...this move characterizes the natural law of Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right axiom to a capital T.  [Isn't there a Hippocratic Oath for Law Makers to do no harm, to uphold and protect America's Constitution, with a hand on the Bible and all?]

This is not how America was supposed to operate.

Oh, yes indeed, this fortress in which we live -- it has a lawn out back....And we cannot flip from one administration to the next in a perpetual game of bad-mitten, lobbying and lobbing the birdie back and forth at one man's whim after another, thereby usurping the law itself.   How many times has an unconstitutional action been justified simply because it was for a "good cause.?"   Answer:  too many.

We mock our foundation, and our Constitution, every day we allow this kind of nonsense to proceed, no matter how worthy the cause, how grand the payback, how fresh the air, or how wonderful it makes us all feel.

It is wrong.
And it is no way to run a true republic.
Somebody turn on the lights!

Oh to have the true freedom to try, buy, sell and fail, is what remains truly at stake when we allow government to take the place of all of our needs and control all of our days and decisions; this is where the little birdie gets stuck in the proverbial net that we call government dependency.  It wasn't meant to be this way; our decisions, our days, were intended to live under a Higher Power, leaving only a small, essentially unseen power delegated -- more like, relegated --  to government.  ALL limits were placed on what government cannot do... by our Constitution.

From John Fiske, an American and historian:

"If the day should ever arrive (which God forbid!)  when the people of the different parts of our country shall allow their local affairs to be administered by prefects sent from Washington, and when the self-government of the states shall have been so far lost as that of the departments of France, or even so closely limited as that of the counties of England -- on that day the political career of the American people will have been robbed of its most interesting and valuable features, and the usefulness of this nation will be lamentably impaired."

oh indeed.
And we are there.

Here, there, and everywhere.
It would seem, that We the People have let it all go.

Welcome to the new world, right Columbus? 

America -- now, lamentably impaired -- being  an unconscionable, corruption of our foundation, of that which always was, and ever will be, the reign of natural law, enumerated or not, into Law, as Divined by God and written by our founders. Our beautiful Constitution may as well begin, 'wee the little people.'   

And then again,
maybe this girl is just being over dramatic.

Anyone?

What do you think Harvey -- any thoughts on self-government?  Here's the latest...

While this is a good quote from Jimmy Kimmel: “I’m not defending Hillary Clinton. Her campaign did take money from what turned out to be a high-profile man who has been accused of sexual harassment multiple times. But not just one of them, by the way—she took money from two of them: Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump.”    However, Kimmel -- you left out the chronic sexual harasser she was married to,  Bill Clinton; pretty sure there was a little monetary benefit exchanged there over the years.  just sayin'

And speaking of which, anything?
What say you, Hillary? 
Please, do tell, speak of self-government or anything else that may come to mind....

After five days of ignoring the Weinstein reality, Hillary finally broke her silence to say (through a spokesman):   "I was shocked and appalled by the revelations about Harvey Weinstein. The behavior described by women coming forward cannot be tolerated. Their courage and the support of others is critical in helping to stop this kind of behavior." ["The statement made no mention of returning contributions from Weinstein"...also noted in the CNN post.] 

Hypocrisy IS Hillary's kingdom, and she is president.

oh this is getting old.

Hill, Bill, Harvey...Matthews and Jimmy and Jolie... Trump and Judd....frantically fill our days leading us back to the dark ages sometimes;  while Washington mocks everything our founders ever intended and constructed, with their ever-firm reliance upon the people to keep it so, in duty and delight, in morning, noon, and night.

If there ever was a time to take heed in the words,

"Don't divide your life 

into things

 you can do by yourself 

and things 

that require My help," 

this is IT.

May God bless America.

and think that's all this girl has left to say for one day.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's About Nefarious Things

Dear America,

"The most 

dangerous animal 

in the world is a 

silent, smiling 

woman."

indeed

and just like so we begin a new day.

I'm in the midst of waiting for a large pizza to arrive at my door: ordered "the works" from a local woodfired brick oven pizza joint, Pizza Nova --  and when I say "the works," it's including bait (but on the side).  "Bait" -- the anchovy -- needs to be monitored by the bite in my book.  But I mostly want the bait, served on the side, so that I can add it to the small Caesar Salad that is coming along with, as an accompaniment to the gluttony about to take place  -- it's what you do as a single girl ordering enough pizza for a crowd...a LARGE! When in reality, its only you; and we all know salad doesn't keep.  But, if all goes as planned, aiming to have the pizza last for at least three days...we'll see though...as this girl loves her pizza.

Besides, now beginning to rationalize a rash decision that was decided in about three seconds,  I walked today...about three miles worth, too.

But, who's counting?

Bet Harvey Weinstein stopped counting in the mid 90's...

Just a shame, though.  As Ashley Judd didn't seem to be affected by nasty men until Trump came along on the scene, am I right?  yes.  It's like, seriously, Ashley?   I mean, where were you with the nasty gal poems and the pu***y hats way back when?   Just another brick in the wall.

Here's how the now resigned attorney for Weinstein, Lisa Bloom,  puts it  --- oh he's just “an old dinosaur learning new ways.”  Yeah, yeah.  Just an old dinosaur learning new ways.  right.  [Now, only a few days later, she is walking away from defending Weinstein, and being his "adviser;" seems not wise for the old dinosaur of a resume now in shambles.  It's also what you have to do when Gloria Allred is your mom.]  Just another brick in the wall.

But isn't Harvey, in reality,  just behaving the way Hollywood has always been? 

ah yea. that would be a yes...

Thus, it's about time for all Hollywood hypocrites to come up on stage and receive their award...oh, don't be shy now...c'mon.  Starting with Ashley Judd, then to Madonna -- who made her own picture book titled "Sex."  I mean, c'mon....really?  That book came out in 1992; perhaps about the same time Harvey was begging for Judd to watch him take a shower; it's only fitting to the era, right?

Of course, Harvey puts a whole new spin on his movies -- as "Good Will Hunting" and "Pulp Fiction" meet up on a Hollywood couch with the "Sex. Lies, Videotape" to record every sordid minute.  Oh the shame,  Oh the horror. Oh the comedy for all the rest of us -- mostly conservatives --  as we watch and listen to this nonsense play out like a bad fiddle.  Just another brick in the wall.

Nefarious.  Naked.  Hollywood.

No.

None of us are perfect. 

There is that.

None of us are perfect.

Yours truly included; like a side of bait, my imperfections and weaknesses are served up on the side of me, in a little container. It's doesn't take over the whole of me, but they are there just the same.

But it's like, really Ashley -- you're gonna raise Cain now?  Seriously?  Considering the line of work you are in, you are gonna act like Donald Trump is the first nasty guy you have ever come across? Or, at least, come across with the strength to truly fight back and say something?  Really, after all this time of protecting a Hollywood movie mogul?

Sorry.  

Not buying it, nor will I accept the blatant hypocrisy. 

And Lisa -- Lisa Bloom -- what is with this "old dinosaur" business?  Did you have a martini with three olives before you said that out loud?

Just another brick in the wall.

In other news today -- Sunday -- apparently Colin Kaepernick would consider standing for the anthem if he could get signed on with a team.   Oh that is rich, isn't it?  Of course, his radicalized girlfriend is denying that that's what he said, and there is still no sign of any franchise interested in taking him anyway...you know, considering all the controversy served up along on the side...a protest built upon a lie, framing a leftist hidden agenda.  So what has really changed?  Nothing.

Now this girl is all for free speech; but this kneeling for the anthem is different sort of animal -- it's as if Colin, and others, are committing a crime against community.... the community of good will, the community of supporting all those who protect us, the community of unity and standing together to fix our issues.  It's as if they throw a brick against America and stomp on the flag every time.  [And I know Pence is with me...]

As Kaepernick tweets: "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on," while attributing the quote to Winston Churchill.  (Even though history proves that that, too, is in question.)  OH okay, Colin, then if that rumor is not true, keep on keepin' on with your approach then...yeah, yeah...everything should turn out just fine.

Oh it's just so entertaining, isn't it?

But I do love the Churchill quote.  Even if it isn't his.  It's a good quote.

It kinda describes everything going on in this world right about now, right?

The truth is missing in action; and when it finally arrives, it's almost too late.  The damage has been done, and not only done, but it's been tweeted, and re-tweeted, way too many times to count; and all the while, the real truth, the whole truth, is forced under a cushion somewhere seedy and dirty, hoping that no one finds out.

It all ties together -- this business of...by the time something catches up to you, what does it matter anymore  -- right, Weinstein? Living a lie catches up to us one way or another every time.  Right, Miss "what difference, at this point, does it make" Hillary?  Let's just add the nefarious, and naked -- as we can see right threw her, Hillary to the mix.  She knew, that we knew, that she knew, she was telling a lie all along.  She knew she threw a brick the moment she said it.  Ah but that was so long ago, right... 

Harvey/Hillary had to have known that one day, this charade would all catch up to him, whether it took a few years or a couple of decades.  One day, it would become too much of a good thing to continue to be hidden.  One day -- the lie(s) would become so big, so ugly, so damaging, that it could not contain itself any longer. Just another brick in the wall.  Kudos Pink Floyd. 

So as Harvey is rushing to get his pants on;

as Hillary is rushing to get her pants suit on and maybe give it a go for a third time (which is just stupid, by the way.  please don't.);

as Kaepernick is just hoping to get a football uniform back on...

all of these American stories simply depict one thing...

just how easy it is to fall from grace.

Our humanity can get the best of us at any time; none of us are immune.

But let's just leave the hypocrisy at home along with the American Express card, shall we?

This girl has had enough of it.  Enough already.

Nefarious.  Naked.  America.  What's next?  Who's next?  We see everything eventually.

And on that note, I'm gonna take my not so silent, smiling face back to the kitchen for a second slice, or is it my third?  

Oh, who's counting, right?

it's just me, sitting with my own conscience with nobody watching...

But let me tell you, in about three seconds I will be spinning the floor with a slice in my right hand, and a shot of whiskey in the other, and dancing to a little R&B, or maybe Pink Floyd, or maybe Michael Jackson, or maybe Cigarettes After Sex (and yes, that's a real name of a real band; and they are really good, too.  A yummy sound that makes you wanna sway, even if your only company is a big fat pizza to eat all by yourself.)  ....Cuz that's just the kinda day it's turned out to be.

If we are being honest, it's not about any one thing.

As foundations keep crumbling, America is breaking brick by brick.

It's a slow death; the whiskey and the pizza are merely dulling the pain for one night.  
[No need to freak out; it's a temporal solution; a passing thing.]
But feel free to check on me in the morning...teehee.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Small World Thing

Dear America,

"I am the Creator of Heaven and Earth: Lord of all that is and that will ever be.  Although I am unimaginably vast, I choose to dwell with you, permeating you with My Presence.  Only in the spirit realm could Someone so infinitely great live within someone so small.  Be awed by the Power and Glory of My Spirit within you!"  Sarah Young, speaking to us, as Jesus, in Jesus Calling

to be clear, this excerpt is actually the beginning words from a devotion set up for tomorrow -- October 4th; it was simply on the opposite side of the page today, and, having caught my eye, it seems to offer more of what I needed to hear.  So, be it impatience, or be it the feeling of total loss that has settled into my heart after the tragedy in Las Vegas Sunday night -- I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come to read its entirety.

for i feel so small.

"I thought in my heart,

God will bring to judgement 

both the righteous 

and the wicked,

 for there will be a time 

for every activity, 

a time for every deed."

Ecclesiastes 3: 17

This book of the Bible is speculated 

as to have been written 

by King Solomon

If it is true -- Solomon being the author -- he is deserving of praise for such work, penning wisdom and folly, framing humility and vanity, with such grace, and just so beautifully (no matter how harsh the message).

Clearly, his offerings in prose and poem, verse after verse, were designed to praise and worship God above all other things, and written as a guide to humanity --  for all the generations of people to come.

"Better a poor 

but wise youth 

than an old but foolish king 

who no longer knows 

how to take warning."  

Ecclesiastes 4:13

Sensing that Solomon was feeling his smallness, too, in no small way, throughout the book of Ecclesiastes; as he continued to plead to all at liberty to hear his words, "Stand in Awe of God...."

It is precisely this awesomeness of God, that feels so very far, far away, from our feeble, little spirits, considering the level of devastation and loss of life at the hands of one evil man.

Free will can cut so deep.

"Wisdom, like an inheritance, 

is a good thing 

and benefits those who see the sun.  

Wisdom is shelter, 

as money is a shelter, 

but the advantage 

of knowledge is this:  

that wisdom preserves 

the life of its possessor."  

Ecclesiastes 7:11-12

We don't need more gun control, when, in fact, a gun just sits still until the moment the trigger is pulled.

More of mankind choosing to do the right thing, is more of what we need. [And we already have plenty of Law giving rise and precedence to that!]

Re: the politicization of this day:   The day we can legislate morality will be the day pigs fly.

We need less evil --  and more good -- operating freely, independently, fully armed in both spirit and upstanding good character, perhaps with a gun in the holster or that cross-body kate spade purse, in pink.

Now this guy, in Vegas, planned this massacre against innocents for days, weeks, months, having re-calibrated his stash of weaponry to operate as heavy duty automatic machine guns, emphasizing his intent to kill as many people as he possibly could; while sending large sums of money off-shore to the Philippines, and more than likely, revealing to his girlfriend the knowledge that something evil, or just not good, was about to go down and adding an additional level of pre-meditation (if not also, and horrifically, directly connecting her to the knowledge of all of it!  Thereby making her actions fully culpable of a charge.).

This guy, who I will not name, nor link to a page elsewhere on the web, pre-calculated that he would not come out of this alive.

So, this day....

This day in the life of an American girl, will not be a long one.

This day will remain small, in equal proportion to the limits of our understanding; the smallness of our humanity is revealed once more, merely pointing us in the direction of the Only One Who Knows Everything, once more, if we so choose.

It is this Spirit -- this Awesome Spirit -- that dwells in us, and brings us calm in a storm man-made by a mad man.  

It's a small world that we live in and have our being, divine our work, and fill our hearts and souls and our days with the things that matter.  

The thing is -- with regard to this belief, this faith, in this Awesome Spirit -- this is the only way, as human beings, to come out of this experience on earth truly alive!  Our bodies are meaningless, in accordance to what lies ahead in heaven, in accordance to the Greater Law, the Word of God, accompanying us in the every day with It's Presence.

Be awed 

by the Power 

and Glory

 of My Spirit 

within you!

This girl prays far and wide to reach all those affected by the loss of 59 of our fellow countrymen; this level of sadness knows no bounds.  (and au contraire, Elizabeth Warren -- our thoughts and prayers not only matter, they permeate every Awesome Quantum Bit of God's Heart and Soul and God answers!)

God Bless the victims and their families.

God Bless our first respond-ers -- today and every day.

God Bless the city of Las Vegas.

and

God Bless America...
for indeed, this day is a time to mourn.

Make it a Good Day, G