On a bandwagon...

I have so many things on my mind today that I feel like I am going to burst. : )
With all of the stuff in the news this morning, it just made my head swim!
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When I was a little girl, my parents, my brother, and I would all go for a "Sunday drive" after church & after we had eaten lunch. Funny... I used to really enjoy those drives, but as I got older, I didn't have time for them. Work around the house, laundry, meal planning for the up coming week. But, this weekend, my husband & I and our son, all took a little "Sunday Drive" and it was so nice to just drive through the countryside, looking at the farms & farm animals. Getting away from the daily grind for a few hours, simply to enjoy each others company.

After the drive it made me realize that too many people have fallen into the same trap that I had fallen into... not MAKING time for the little things in life. It seems we are all caught up in the hub-bub of every day living: work, kids, school, ball practice, soccer games, overtime, etcetera... We get too caught up in the goings on around us, that we don't take the time to see how others live.

I am so glad that my husband and I chose to live in the country. We built a house in the country last fall and my son will have the oportunity to view life in a different way. We have several Mennonite families that live in our area and I believe that it is important that he experience friendships with children from different Christian upbringings. I have alway been fascinated by their way of life and the life of the Amish. It amazes me at how simple they live & how complicated most of us have made our lives with all of the technology today. Don't misunderstand me, I mean, technology is a good thing, but I believe that some parents have let it take control over their families. With all of the video games out there that are so violent, I don't see how anyone could say that they are NOT affecting our children. I feel that is "desensitizes" them to the violence and heinousness of certain crimes.

For example: Look at what happened in Richmond, Virginia New Years Day of 2006. 2 men walked into a middle class home and murdered 2 adults and their 2 daughters. The reason that they gave for choosing this particular house, was that the front door was open. The information that was released after the autopsies was grizzly! It makes you wonder what kind of upbringing these men had as children? This was a crime of convenience and a very heinous one at that! Did they have loving homes? Did they grow up knowing that they were loved?

Take a minute or two today and hug your children! When I saw this story in the paper last year, I had a real hard time letting my child sleep in his own room. I wanted to hold on to him every moment of the day. Unfrotunately, my 2 nieces knew the young girls that were murdered and they took it really hard. One is still having issues about it... and it is a year later.

I pray that God blesses all who read this blog today. Watch over everyone and enlighten us to His plan for us.