Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

I am a firm believer in the Declaration of Independence, and the words our forefathers put down for us as a nation to live by.  I am also a firm believer in the Bible and the words our Lord put down for us as Christians to live by.  Today, these two great works conflict. 

The Declaration states; We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

The Right to the Pursuit of Happiness means man’s right to live for himself, to choose what constitutes his own private, personal, individual happiness and to work for its achievement, so long as he respects the same right in others. It means that Man cannot be forced to devote his life to the happiness of another man nor of any number of other men. It means that the collective cannot decide what is to be the purpose of a man’s existence nor prescribe his choice of happiness.

“Textbook of Americanism,” The Ayn Rand Column

By the words of our Declaration of Independence, gay and lesbian men and women should be allowed to wed whomever makes them happy. 

My parents raised us to know no person or group of people are any better than another.  We are all God's children and we are all equal.  I know both gay and lesbian individuals and would NEVER think they are less of a person than I.  That kind of thinking is just plain crazy! The Bible is very clear on the whole 'love one another' thing. 

Here is where the conflict comes in for me.

The Bible (to me) is also very clear on the point of homosexuality.  The Bible is NOT in favor of it at all. 

Leviticus 18:22 - "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable."

There are several such scriptures through the Bible.  Can you see where my mind is on overload?  I love our great nation and the  principles it was founded on.  I also love the Bible and try to live my life by its teachings.   Unfortunately, this is not a topic that is easily discussed.  Most people are strongly on one side or the other, leaving those of us teetering in the middle, well...teetering. 

I strongly believe every individual is created equal, and should be treated as so.  I also strongly believe homosexuality is wrong...yet I accept everyone into my life, regardless of their sexual preference.  Clear as mud?? 

I'm thinking this is a subject that may never be fully worked out in my mind. 

 

 

Pre Spring Cleaning Declutter

It looks like a bomb has gone off in my home after the weekend.  It is that time of year to start my pre-spring cleaning.  Time to go through each room and get rid of items I know longer want or need.  Time to get everything in tip-top shape and ready for a good spring scrubbing. 

I started in the back room.  The 'someone is coming over, hurry throw everything in there and shut the door' room.  It also serves as a guest room and my office.  Up until just recently, I had two babies in my daycare which also put two playpens along with various other baby items in this small room.  Have you ever seen the show Hoarders?  Yep, that would be this room.

I started the declutter process by first removing all baby items.  These are now in the living room needing to be put in totes and taken to storage.  Let's see, two playpens, a potty chair, a bumbo, two high chairs, baby toys and a walker.  I next put all Boy Scout and pre-school items in two piles on the bed.  I know, I know, I am just going to have to put them away at a later date, this at least helped me to get a bit more organized though in my decluttering and organizing.  Anything else left sitting around was either put in its proper place, thrown out or put in the pile to give away/yard sale.    Once the floor was cleaned (REALLY cleaned), I set up a play area for the children.  They have all they need to play house and they are so enjoying it this morning.

Once this room is complete, I will declutter each room, one at a time.  My goal is to have this entire process complete by Easter.  Once Holy Week and Easter are over, the Spring Cleaning will begin! If all goes according to plan, my house will be a lovey clean, decluttered, organized home just in time for nice weather and yard work to begin. 

Tortilla chips and Avocado dip

I am a big fan of all things junk food.  However, I am getting no younger and my old body can no longer tolerate all the junk.  That being said, my taste buds are still wanting it.  It's a constant battle between the two of them.  One that I am caught in the middle of. 

I have been doing my best to try and make both of them happy.  The following recipes for chips and dip hit the nail square on the head.  My body is happy~my taste buds are happy~life is good!

Baked Tortilla Chips

As you can see, there are very few ingredients necessary for these chips. 
Soft flour tortilla shells
Non-stick spray
Seasoning of your choice

Preheat oven to 450*
Cut tortillas into 8 triangles.
Spray with cooking spray.
Sprinkle with seasoning.

Arrange triangles on cookie sheet or baking stone and bake for 10 minutes or until crisp.  You may need to turn triangles if they are not done at 10 minutes.

While chips are cooking, you can take a couple of minutes and make the:

Spicy Avocado Dip

2 Avocados
3/4 C. Salsa
juice of Lime or lemon
1/2 C. Sour cream

Scoop out and mash avocado.  Add rest of ingredients and mix well.  Serve with tortilla chips.