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Unreported cases on the rise

20/12/2010 13:44

Since July 2010, the women and Children Crisis Centre has seen an increase in the number of unreported cases coming to the centre. Domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse cases are now accounting for 20% of the centre’s cases.

Unreported cases are those that are not referred to the Crisis Centre from the Police.

The longest staff member, Counsellor Susana ‘Utahafe, puts this down to a change in methodology. “we started a new direction – ‘think local’. We started to visit house to house in our communities. We talked about the services at the centre, and educated any one who was interested about what counselling is. I was amazed – I have known most of these people my whole life. But the number of clients we received was a considerable increase. Now we have made it a regular part of our services at WCCC to provide home visits” said Susana.

Since July, when the counsellors begun the local initiative, 20% of referrals have come directly from the communities that the counsellors of the centre are based in, with a significant increase in requests for follow up appointments. Direct community referrals of cases of incest and sexual assault have also been increasing. The figures surprised counsellors who are familiar with the considerable cultural taboo around talking about issues that have been classified as ‘private’ and ‘inappropriate’ to discuss even with the closest confidant.

“I think it is the fact that in their homes people feel more comfortable, and also talking to people they have known their whole lives. Our clients are so brave to talk” said ‘Utahafe.

The increase in community cases – which may or may not lead on to an official report, depending on the client’s desires -  has been combined with co-ordinated community response meetings being held every two weeks, which involve all service providers involved in providing for survivors of all forms of abuse.  The Crisis Centre’s new approach has been the centre of many discussions between providers  in Tonga– it has brought to light the fact that institutions  are not providing safe space for survivors to receive report in, and that traditional reporting mechanisms are not substantial for the level of violence that is being committed in communities.

These meetings peaked the interest of the Ministry of Police statistics department, who have requested that basic demographics of unreported cases are sent over monthly in order to better inform all involved. The information from these community cases, combined with the reported cases from traditional referral sources (both the Ministry of Police and the Hospital), has been an effective way to highlight the importance of each stage that a client is handled. “WCCC works through a human rights framework – the needs of the victim must be heard and addressed at all stages . As service providers we are here to empower these women in every way –  the trick is that there are so many gaps. We all have to work together to create the safest and most empowering environment for survivors of abuse” said ‘Utahafe.  The Ministry of Police is currently working with all service providers to co-ordinate the statistics and ensure that the same definitions are used by all so that the numbers can demonstrate the level of violence taking place in the community.


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Willow Creek Elementary School

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Welcome to Willow Creek Elementary School

Welcome to Willow Creek Elementary School

Campus Spotlight

Willow Creek Elementary, located at 18302 North Eldridge Parkway, opened in 1998 and was Tomball ISD’s fourth elementary school. Since it is located in one of the fastest growing regions of Harris County, Willow Creek welcomes many new students every year. The Willow Creek Community takes great pride in our school. Willow Creek offers a wide range of academic and extra-curricular activities for our students. Please check out our web site for more information about our school.

In The News

Principal Partners Application

Parents, business, and civic leaders are invited to serve as a Principal Partner in Tomball ISD on Tuesday, Oct. 24. This program allows community leaders to partner with a Tomball ISD principal. If you are interested in serving as a Principal Partner, please click on the image to the left to complete an application. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, Oct. 11.

STEAM Dreams Conference Completely Booked

STEAM Dreams is a half-day conference designed to expose Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics to 3rd-12th grade girls. Due to overwhelming response, registration is now closed.

Annual Enrollment

Parents: It's time to update your Annual Enrollment information for each child registered in Tomball ISD. Click the image to the left to go to the Annual Enrollment webpage.

Show All News »

PTO General Meeting
Date: 9/28/2017, 5:30 PM 6 PM
Location: wces cafeteria
Parent Orientation Open House (Grades 3-4)
Date: 9/28/2017, 6 PM 7 PM
Location: WCES Classrooms
Watchdog Sign up
Date: 9/28/2017, 7 PM
Location: wces cafeteria
TISD Board Workshop
Date: 10/9/2017, 5:30 PM 7:30 PM
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TISD Board Meeting
Date: 10/10/2017, 5:30 PM 7:30 PM
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Friday, August 23, 2013

Bankhead Liaison Panel Meeting Scheduled for August 29

A public meeting of the Bankhead Liasion Panel will be held Thursday, August 29, 2013. The meeting begins at 6:00 PM and will be held at the First National Bank in Double Springs. The public is encouraged to attend this public meeting to learn more about the management of and issues affecting your National Forest. Agenda items for Thursday night's meeting include At Risk Rare Species Conservation, the Greater Collier Watershed Forest Health & Restoration Project including shortleaf pine woodland restoration, Horse trail maintenance project updates, and local Fall Landowner Worshop Series information. For additional information about the meeting or the Bankhead Laision Panel, please call the Bankhead District office at (205) 489 - 5111.

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Springfield Speedway robbed overnight

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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (WDTN) – Springfield Police are on the hunt for a man who robbed a gas station.

Police told 2 NEWS it was just before 1:00 Monday morning when a man walked into the Speedway on East Main Street and demanded cash.

Officers did not say if a weapon was involved or how much cash was stolen.

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Case of mumps confirmed at Miami University

OXFORD, Ohio (WDTN) – A case of mumps is now confirmed at Miami University.

The school sent out an email to students Friday afternoon.

It says a female student was reported to have the virus.

The Ohio Department of Health says a total of 310 cases of mumps were reported in central Ohio, many linked to The Ohio State University.

The virus is associated with fever, headache, muscle aches and tiredness. provides commenting to allow for constructive discussion on the stories we cover. In order to comment here, you acknowledge you have read and agreed to our Terms of Service. Commenters who violate these terms, including use of vulgar language or racial slurs, will be banned. Please be respectful of the opinions of others and keep the conversation on topic and civil. If you see an inappropriate comment, please flag it for our moderators to review.

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Turner beats GOP challenge

Mike Turner

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Current Ohio District 10 Rep. Mike Turner beat challenger John D. Anderson for a spot on the November ticket.

First elected to the 108th Congress and sworn in January of 2003, Congressman Turner was appointed to the Armed Services Committee. In addition to his work on the House Armed Services committee, Turner is a senior member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Rep. Turner released the following statement late Tuesday night:

“Thank you to all who voted in today’s primary. I am proud to have the support of the voters in the 10th Congressional District. This election is about securing America’s future and I look forward to continuing to work on behalf of our community to grow jobs and protect Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.”

Click here for all the election results.

WDTN.com provides commenting to allow for constructive discussion on the stories we cover. In order to comment here, you acknowledge you have read and agreed to our Terms of Service. Commenters who violate these terms, including use of vulgar language or racial slurs, will be banned. Please be respectful of the opinions of others and keep the conversation on topic and civil. If you see an inappropriate comment, please flag it for our moderators to review.

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How old are you?
I was born in January 1994, so currently I am 20.

Where are you from?
I currently am going from the Gold Coast to Brisbane due to University.

What are your favourite magazines?
Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue Living and Shop til you drop.

Who are your favourite designers/brands?
Chanel, Saint Laurent, Dolce & Gabanna, Marc Jacobs, Chloe, Valentino, Mary Katrantzou, Sass & Bide and Christian Louboutin.

What are you currently studying/working?
At the moment I am doing a diploma of professional styling at the Australian College of Professional Styling. I am doing a Bachelor of Communications at Bond University on the Gold Coast, where I am planning on doing a double major in Public Relations and Journalism. I am working in the Shoe department at David Jones where I am in charge of designer shoes.

What would you like to do career wise in the future?
I would love to do something in Fashion where I get to travel, I am highly interested in Marketing/Public relations, I would also love to do styling or journalism. Working in a Fashion magazine interests me highly and I currently have my heart set on Travel journalism.

If you have any more questions please send me a email at wearing-wanderlust@live.com.au

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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Happy Anniversary...

To 3rd LAR 1st platoon.

My husband, as most of you know, is a Marine combat veteran.  He was part of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.  They had to enter the country in hazmat suits not knowing what to expect. When we speak about that experience Brian says, "It was hot as balls!" Yup, that's my guy..

He is humble.

Today I receive a message from the guy that saved my husband's life.

Brian is alive, well, a husband, and a daddy today, thanks to my husband's fellow Marine Juan.

The message was as follows...

"Hey max
give Webber a hug and kiss for me
today is our anniversary ...
today, eight years ago we were ambushed."

That was it. A short, and simple message filled with such complicated emotion.

I cried, looked at my daughter sleeping on the monitor, and prayed.

Here is his platoon the day they returned alive and well from Iraq.
Brian is the one holding the beer second from the right on the bottom.

  1. Brian looks like such a baby!!

    And I am so thankful for his angel that saved him!

    Thank you Brian for your service - and for marrying such an awesome chick that got pregnant at the same time as me so we could become friends!

  2. I am thankful for his angel too, and yes, he is a total baby here!!! LOL

  3. That's a very sweet message. Hope you both are blessed with love and togetherness always!

  4. I was engaged to a marine once :) I'll have to do a post on that one sometime!!! :)

  5. Max, this is such a touching story. You and your husband truly strong, brave and beautiful people through and through - this made me tear up. <3

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Graphic Design is a visual communication, an art, a profession, and a process of bonding texts, images, signs, symbols, photographs, colours and diagrams to communicate an effective language with an observer. The real art is not just in "creating graphics" but arranging them in conjunction with other text and images to produce a coherent and interesting piece of work, according to the end goal. This is what is meant by graphic design. The process of graphic design enhances the look of a layout, is attractive to viewers, simplifies the message and helps communicate a message effectively. As simple it may seem, it is lot of hard work.

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Monday, 22 June 2015

Can We Have Affordable, Beneficial Housing in Scotland?

I think we can, but we need improve its associated costs while we’re about it.

The sad thing is it needn’t take public money, just public and political will. The pride it can engender, the ‘we can’ mentality could also be another incremental stepping stone towards a ‘yes’ in the next referendum.

We, the Scots, need to quite literally ‘get off our behookies’ and light a fire under our politicians. It’s irrelevant as to who those politicians are, they need prodded into action.

The first thing to understand is that housing, like anything, follows a supply and demand value structure. The second thing to understand is that a great deal of that value structure is dependent upon the pricing of land, which I’ll deal with later. The second part of the equation to create affordable housing is obviously directly related to increasing the market supply.

It’s really not that hard to do, but….

For now, the one big thing I have to ask is why folk are so scared?

For many of them they’re so scared they don’t even think, can’t even allow themselves to think of the obvious solution?

I’m referring them to building their own home.

I’ve talked to lots of folk, their foremost thought is where they can afford to buy and will they get a mortgage?

I can’t recall anyone who initially said “I’d like to build….but” – it has in point of fact become something of an alien concept, building a house. If you discuss the subject there are all sorts of objections thrown up – like buying land, building costs and then, for many, actually getting planning permission, hooking up sewers, power, light, streets. It’s all seen as something only government or ‘big builders or investors’ can or should do.

I hear and see the SNP encouraging immigration, they say Scotland needs people, and I’ve got to agree with that. My question is where are we going to put them without driving up house prices and creating another false ‘bubble’ that in the end will burst while still mostly benefiting the bankers, because, let’s face it, in the United Kingdom, banker’s rarely lose, even when they should be jailed for the human misery their greed so often creates.

Scotland needs housing – I don’t think anyone denies that.

Scotland’s government could draft a universally supported bill and pass the law which allows it to happen, for minimal cost. Land could be set aside, perhaps what’s known as ‘Brownfield’ land, or perhaps simply land that’s already in public ownership and meets certain criteria. (Land reform will be my next blog).

Our government could then set forward a competition with several architectural firms for home designs which are ‘uniquely and traditionally Scots’ in both design and build, homes which won’t be ‘just Barratt-boxes’, but places folk will be proud to help build, create, develop or maintain. These plans should be free to anyone wishing to build, and subject to automatic planning approval at designated site locations. By doing that, much of the perceived obstacle is removed. It’d be good to limit these plans to single family or semi-detached and no more than two story. Ideally there’d be several plan options available for each classification. As codes and requirements change, so they’re updated.

Another big issue is financing; there’s absolutely no reason that the government can’t provide interest free construction loans to qualifying individuals for, perhaps, twelve months, renewable (for a set percentage) for two additional spans. Sometime during those three years you’ll have to convert to a conventional mortgage, so you’d better be finished. If this was done, folk could live in their present homes without undue financial burden. There would simply be no re-payment due during the construction process – funds would be released after proof the last lot were used for the intended purpose.

A big issue is the infrastructure, that’s installed at present under the public purse, but unlike at present, some half of that cost could be re-collected when the home’s complete. It’s really not as much as folk imagine, often as little as one or two percent of the cost of the home. It’s simply rolled into the final mortgage amount.

Next, we need to look into population density. I have a husband that spent his later youth in Livingston, he could only describe it as ‘soul destroying’, so densely packed were the houses. I’ve come to understand that it’s even in decisions like that the pervasive ‘too wee, too poor, too stupid’ is re-enforced, albeit subliminally. Force folk into what is in effect a commune and there is every chance you may destroy aspiration. Some will rise above it, not as many as should or could though. Imagine if we simply passed a law with two small considerations; that no home may be within ten meters of a boundary line, and that no window may look directly into that of another home within fifty meters. Effectively you’d ensure that homes were built on a staggered plan. Scots would feel they’d room to breathe. To see the sky, to expand their horizons with quite substantial ancillary benefits

In an advanced and wealthy nation like ours, these things shouldn’t be that difficult. When it comes to implementing this, there’d be challenges. Nevertheless I can’t accept that Scots can’t beat those challenges. For example the government itself, as part of the act, could set up a central hub for folk to register for these places. The government could underwrite the loans, and penalties could be severe for misuse. Folk who’s circumstances change, or who walk away simply lose the investment made, which could be as low as 5% funding lodged in an escrow account.

These communities can rebuild Scotland’s heart, a heart so wounded for so many by a recent referendum result, and they could truly do it if we abandon London’s egocentric, selfish and destructively capitalistic ways by limiting their size to perhaps a thousand homes, codifying a need for a mile or two of green-space between them and limiting the floor-space of any retail establishment to perhaps a hundred meters square, which could be very advantageously taxed, with penalties severely imposed on a sliding scale above that. We need to level the playing field between big corporate and the corner shop. Our new communities have to protect our independent trades-folk, for example the local butcher, simply being swallowed up by ‘Asda’ or ‘Morrison’s’, then discovering themselves unemployed on some future day through ‘corporate adjustments’. We can plan our new developments as we plan the future of our communal ‘high streets’.

If we focus on what we can do, with the powers we now have, we can rebuild the heart of Scotland’s communities, we can be a shining light, we can house any who need it. Like the next referendum, the changes required for a ‘win’ won’t happen overnight, but the can happen if we will it. They can also help to prepare the way for that future victory.

We do need more powers in Edinburgh because not all of those we’ve won so far are unusable.

Friday, 19 June 2015

Breach of Promise or Breach of Contract

Let’s consider a question I was asked recently, and to be honest, it sounded like it was a bit pointless at first blush.

The question was simple, and I’m reminding you I’m not a lawyer, but I was intrigued. The individual simply asked if Mssrs. Cameron, Clegg, Miliband and possibly Brown and/or their parties could be sued for breach of promise over ‘The Vow’ as it was published in the Daily Record in the dying days of the Referendum Campaign.

There was a second aspect to this – if it is possible to do it, did I think it could be crowd-funded?

Honestly, I’ve no idea, was my immediate and rather doubtful response, but it was worth investigating anyway. You see, my recollection of that ‘Vow’ at the time was that it could be read in multiple ways, have a dozen interpretations, and there were really no ‘cast iron guarantees’ built into it. It was, essentially, designed to take the switherer and give them a justification for not doing what they were then believing; that it might be right to vote ‘Yes’.

Interestingly, in spite of what others may say, do or argue every indication I’m discovering is that whatever impact the ‘Vow’ had on the referendum is irrelevant now. Many believe it was the deciding factor. I agree it had a major impact, so I was surprised, none of that is actually relevant. The Union parties seem to think it is though, that caused me to keep digging – what’re they trying to hide?

The starting point is simple; what was actually promised, or less solidly, what would be reasonable to construe was promised. The fact that their names were signed to it, and they de-facto didn’t deny or refute any of it and in actuality did publicly (as the legal’s state) ‘aver and affirm’ if not specifically using those words, implies a promise or contract, in which they could now potentially be in breach.

If they did enter into such a contract, then it’d have been one with the people of Scotland, or even more specifically, those amongst us that altered our vote from ‘Yes’ to ‘No’ based upon that ‘Vow’ ‘Contract’ or ‘Promise’, but it’s most likely that a suit brought by specific individuals lodged and worded something as the ‘people of Scotland’ might suffice.

The second aspect was ‘were they protected by parliamentary privilege’, essentially meaning they can’t be sued. Categorically, the answer here is no. The announcement, undertaking or feel-good fuzzy, call it what you want to, was made by means of a daily tabloid “news”-paper.

So – was there anything specific enough to constitute a contract or promise?

In looking through the Record’s page on the day in question, reading it carefully, helped by someone who used to help actually make laws in the United States (so note the qualifier – it’s not Scot’s advice, but I’m told that although Contract and Promissory law has nuances, it’s overall pretty consistent) what I heard fell out as follows:

1. It stated the three main party leaders had all signed up to the incorporated statements – they’re therefore all on the hook for anything that followed, as long as the specifics could be defined. No specifics, no hook. No ‘No’ vote – it’s all moot anyway.

2. They promised to transfer more powers to Holyrood. That’d have to be in addition to anything that went before. If they give Holyrood the rights over its janitorial budget, and it hadn’t had them before then the promise is fulfilled. It still might be open to argument on ‘reasonable expectation’ grounds, but a near certain win has dropped into rather dubious ‘coin flip’ territory.

3. ‘No one, other than the Scottish Parliament can cut vital public services such as the NHS’ – This is where it might get interesting, because they (Westminster) hold the purse strings, and there was no guarantee they’d not cut funding thereby forcing the Scottish Government to cut services. On the surface it’s a loss here, especially as they already told us we’d be getting more budget cuts, a loss except for the fact that it could be argued it builds on the first point as to right of expectation.

4. The powers were then guaranteed to be ‘extensive’. Still, they could give you the right to pick your nose in addition to those ‘janitorial services’, then they’d argue that was ‘extensive’ – it’s coin flip territory once more, except it again builds upon the umbrella impression of realistic expectation.

5. They agreed that the Scottish Parliament is ‘Permanent’, unless they try to abolish it, there’s no breach of promise there. Even failure to enshrine it constitutionally doesn’t breach that promise – effectively it’s been so declared. Once more it builds on that expectation thing.

6. They promised to improve government in the UK in the years ahead. This might be a ‘gotcha’ with the Alistair Carmichael thing. Arguably, not requiring or requesting resignation shows intent to abandon this pledge. It’s still too early to make a definitive point though. Getting rid of corrupt members could be claimed as showing good intent, avoiding the subject, not so much. Might be a solid argument in a decade, not today. Again it builds on the ‘right of expectation’ thing.

In short, with one exception, this was effectively a media publicity stunt, and that very important exception is the right of expectation.

It was explained to me like this, that if I buy a car, and I’m promised it will be red, three years old, with less than thirty thousand miles and in excellent condition both bodily and mechanically, with the reasonable anticipation of many thousands of happy motoring miles in front of me, then that’s what I should get.

If that car is delivered as described above, but I subsequently discover it’s had a governor fitted, or been ‘wheel clamped’ then the letter of the contract has absolutely been adhered to, however the right of expectation has been thoroughly trashed. The goods are not fit for purpose as one had been led to believe.

This falls under the fact that in law, and Scot’s law too, it isn’t actually necessary to define every detail, but broad expectations are enough. The folk simply need to be competent. Working through the result of the referendum to the landslide in May for the SNP, it’s almost an inescapable argument that many amongst Scotland’s electorate believed one thing, acted in one way (No Vote) and now believe they’ve been sold what would be commonly referred to as ‘a Lemon’, oddly enough, there’s laws against that too!

It would appear that in drafting this vow Cameron, Clegg, Miliband and Brown had fairly good contractual advice, however it would appear they used English legal advice. However the offer was made through the medium of a Scottish Red-Top to the Scots electorate in such a way it could only be accepted in Scotland. Therefore Scots Law and NOT English Law would seem to apply and be the potential initiator of many problems for the “gentlemen” involved.

Effectively, using that massive vote swing as confirmation, it can be argued that a contract was offered, accepted and viewed as breached. In addition, that there was a poll showing a 51/49 vote split in favour of the ‘Yes’ vote with the ‘Yes’ vote steadily gaining momentum until that point at which the ‘Vow’ was made resulting a net six percent reduction in the ‘Yes’ ballot and a final 45/55 poll in favour of ‘No’ also speaks to the efficacy of the offer.

All aspects of this particular case say that, effectively, Scotland’s electorate was sold a wheel-clamped car.

On that, there is without doubt a case.

All that would remain to be answered would be if an unbiased judge heard the case, and on which side of the coin the result would finally land. Only the court itself could determine if it was a winning case.

As to other promises made during this time-frame, they could be viewed as ‘adjunct offers’ especially if not refuted in word or deed by the parties concerned before the vote took place.

One thing is certain, even if the case didn’t make it to court, even a moderately successful attempt at fundraising towards getting it there would prove intensely embarrassing to all the potential respondents.

Should the suit prove successful, and if properly worded, it could force anything from a re-run of the poll itself to utter upheaval in the constitution of the United Kingdom, for in an extreme case it’s entirely possible that a judge could (not would, could) order the establishment of a federalized governmental system.

Where it would go from there would be…..interesting.

Wednesday, 17 June 2015

David Cameron - The man with no Honour.

Even Maggie couldn’t truly be accused of being that shallow, but the current leader of the United Kingdom has this week categorically proven himself a snake oil salesman of the worst degree, a cad and a bounder in the Oxbridge parlance and utterly dishonourable.

David Cameron has taken the already low opinion of politicians that’s almost universally shared throughout the electorate of Britain, and flushed what little remained down Westminster’s porcelain bowl.

I had a look to see if any of this was libelous, so Cad is defined as a man (I think he might fit that description) who behaves dishonourably, especially towards a woman. In this UK Scotland is often portrayed the ‘wife’, Nicola Sturgeon was essentially promised the ‘VOW’ would be kept (look upon the Vow as a re-dedication of that marriage). So, by voting down the permanence of Holyrood, something enshrined in convention, and where supporting a vote would have been of no consequence or cost, especially after what was printed against his name on the Daily Record front page and which he affirmed through not denying or distancing then and has promised to keep since, Cad is entirely appropriate.

Dishonourable; per Google, has these synonyms; disgraceful, shameful, shameless, shaming, disreputable, discreditable, degrading, debasing, ignominious, ignoble, blameworthy, contemptible, despicable, reprehensible, shabby, shoddy, sordid, sorry, base, low, improper, unseemly, and unworthy. Consider the refusal of the Scotland office to release full details of the ‘Carmichael Memo’, ultimately the Scotland office reports to him, the minister in charge does anyway. Cameron was notable by his voice being absent for those calling for Alistair Carmichael to resign. This can only lead to speculation as to whether he himself was in that loop which authorized the release of the (at best) inaccurate details or (at worst) a fabricated smear. We weren’t told he was, but just like Mundell, we certainly weren’t told he wasn’t. The leader always carries the responsibility to act. He did or he didn’t, either way, it was without Honour.

A bounder; that popped up as ‘dishonourable, nothing but a fortune seeking man’, doesn’t really need elaborated on, does it?

The snake oil salesman bit? As his own back benchers are discovering over the EU thing, the man really can’t be trusted. He certainly is proving that he peddled ‘snake oil’ with that Vow.

The best that could probably be said for him, he’s taken these very despicable traits of human nature and absolutely exploited them to gain his best personal advantage – he is PM after all?

Jim Murphy made a statement recently; essentially he said that David Cameron is such an idiot that he’ll sleep-walk Scotland into another referendum – the implication being that now he’s quite categorically proved himself all of the above, then he’ll not win it this time. If that wasn’t the implication, why bother with the statement?

I found it quite sad that Jim left what is perhaps his one comment which was worthy of preserving for posterity until after the time when things he says are more irrelevant than ever. He too, it appears, might no longer be Cameron’s political opponent, but he’s arguably supporting these words.

Sadly, we certainly suspected this before the referendum, before the May election. The evidence was clear though not fully unqualified.

In the end, in a very small way, I suppose my hat’s tipped to Nick Clegg for just one thing; it is becoming clear you did try to keep Cameron honest, though for whatever reason you had not publicly displayed the intelligence to articulate that properly, or the moral fortitude to walk away from an apparent shyster in 2010, 2011 or 2012, by which time you could have no doubt of the character with which you were dealing. You could have walked away with honour and respect back then.

As for Labour? Well, in or out of power, they’re irrelevant, and by this week’s abstentions and voting patterns alone (there are many more examples to select as well, like their refusal to condemn the ‘bedroom tax’ and support of the bankers, stripping of national assets, etc, etc …) they’ve condemned themselves to perhaps an eternity in the wilderness.

Labour could recover; they could act with honour and principle, with integrity and solidarity. That’s the way forward for them, they know it works too – just look at what happened in GE2015 when they ran up against such in Scotland. And no, the SNP isn’t perfect, far from it, but all the media spin, lies and dissemination still couldn’t fool the majority of the voters.

David Cameron is a product of his party, his society and of the London elite. It looks like the next Labour leader will be too. Everything emerging during the current Westminster and EU debates is indicating that David Cameron probably isn’t fit to lick Alistair Carmichael’s boots, and that’s some achievement by any measure. Perhaps it’s not one to be so proud of though?

In Scotland however, we can analyse these self-serving party and individual personalities, where we find them, we need to root them out from positions of responsibility or authority, because gods forbid we’d ever emulate, admire or elect them again!

Holyrood needs to pass just one law. It’d be a good, fair and just law, and I’d love to see any Westminster dominated party argue against it.

Simply, what you as a party or individual promise to win a vote, must be delivered or face being recalled.

End of.

Monday, 15 June 2015

They Gied Us Lemons.

FFA, Fiscal Autonomy, Federalism, call it what you will.

It started out that we Scot’s would be about a couple of billion a year in the hole. Westminster suddenly realized that was less than what we had to pay as a part of UK debt, heck, we’re getting up there on being charged our share of London’s Olympics, Cross-rail (they didn’t offer a hand out on Edinburgh’s tram’s, did they?), being charged a pro-rata for London’s new sewer system, and god alone knows what we’ll have to pay if the World Cup comes back to England?

It’s fine, I hear, we got the Commonwealth Games, look at the subsidies there? As in what subsidies?

Then of course, there are the massive energy penalties that all Scots pay.

The amount Scotland would need subsidised began to escalate.

Five billion, seven, in the Sunday Express, it was ten billion – any advances?

You see, the Unionists quite literally scared many elderly into a no vote, they convinced others through biased propaganda, and finally there was the “VOW”. Well, not so much a VOW, but more ‘THE CON’; however although that’s largely now irrelevant, what isn’t, is that Scots voted to stay. Scots voted to be part of this Union.

What the Unionists aren’t revealing is that FFA might in the worst case be hell in a hand-basket for Scotland, but being in the Union, Westminster would still be responsible for it.

The interesting thing is that these ‘new massive deficits’ aren’t what they seem. They’re all predicated on the status quo.

So, effectively, London and her media bubble are saying ‘you can’t have it, because you can’t handle it’ while saying simultaneously ‘that debt, by the way, you’ve already got it, and we’re already covering it’

You see, the biggest part of that referendum business last year, was the ‘better together’ and ‘pooled resources’ bit.

When you look at it deeply, you quickly come to understand that what it’s all about is Westminster’s awareness that they’ve truly screwed things up; that and their unwillingness to be seen to have done so.

Let’s look at the scenarios.

Scenario one is FFA for Scots. We decide to do things differently, it’s successful, and egg gets thrown all over faces in the Palace in London.

Scenario two is we blow it with knobs on. Scenario two will not happen overnight, economies just don’t change that fast, but if we did, Westminster steps in, removes FFA and slaps Scots for being idiots, perhaps by 2% more on income tax until we pay for ‘our folly’ – they could even propose that going in – it’s a bet I’d take.

Regardless, that extra levy couldn’t really be assessed, because Scot’s are only 10% of the UK, and the UK umbrella debt wouldn’t change by much. Even if we awarded all our underprivileged double benefits, and doubled the size of the NHS, it might only add 5% more to the UK debt burden. For me, that 5% isn’t a reason to say ‘NO’ FFA.

Imagine what Westminster would gain if FFA was achieved unfettered and implemented, without requiring the Governor General’s approval. Now imagine it failing, and that little penalty being imposed for a handful of years.

Effectively you’d do what George Robertson in fact claimed of Devolution, you’d kill the demands for ‘more’ stone dead, at least you’d do so in enough Scot’s eyes to stop the Nationalists movement in its tracks.

What will happen if FFA is an unmitigated success? You will end up with a thriving economy just humming along; an economy that benefits everyone, Scots and the Union alike.

If it’s just little different, then it’ll not cost either party more, if it doesn’t actually save money. Government is returned closer to the people, never a bad thing, and responsibility returns to a more local level.

Effectively, the only reason then for Westminster not following FFA is because they believe it will succeed. And they’re scared of that, because in that success they’ll see a demand for more powers and a lessening of their own prestige and influence.

Why should they believe that? They’ve every reason in the world. Just look at Holyrood, the ‘wee pretendy parliament’, which was just called an executive but is now in the eyes of the world an actual ‘Parliament’, with a respected ‘First Minister’.

We demonstrated with Holyrood that although they ‘gied us lemons, we made lemonade’. Westminster and her backers are truly terrified to see what we might achieve with FFA.

Friday, 5 June 2015

The Real Reason Why Labour Lost The GE.

I sat quietly, observing for most of the General Election campaign, partly because I was fairly confident that in Scotland there would be an SNP Tidal Wave and in England, a Labour Win.

As we well know, only one actually materialized. I innately knew immediately why the other didn’t, in fact, from about May 1st, I became certain it wouldn’t, but the polls said otherwise – right up until the exit poll.

Since then, I’ve watched the unfolding events in vague shock and awe.

In that vein I’m going to use some parallels and analogies, they might be unpalatable to some, but they’re accurate so deserve inclusion and use.

The Shock; that England could vote for and elect a party on a mandate which was arguably more right-wing than that which facilitated the election of Hitler’s Nazi’s in 1932/33, although they interestingly were elected on almost identical platforms of anti-foreign (Cameron’s ‘Scots’ and EU policies to Hitler’s internalized Nationalism [there really isn’t much difference between those two, the only kind of Nationalism that can be acceptable is the inclusive embracing type which seeks to look outwards in non-dictatorial friendship]). Both coupled this with restricting the rights of parts of their citizenship, in Hitler’s case, he attacked the Jewish community, academics, opponents and disabled; in Cameron’s case he’s attacking the vulnerable, the poor and the Scots, arguably also where much of academia of British Isles originated.

Amongst Hitler’s first acts was issuance of the ‘Fire Decree’, suspending Civil Liberties, essentially dispensing with a need to worry about Human Rights. David Cameron has literally issued his own vow – he wants the UK removed from the protection of the European Human Rights Act. He’s promised a ‘British Bill of Rights’, but who’s to say what’ll be in it? Or even who or what will be protected, or even if some will be “more protected” than others. Which I feel is a fair statement when you check on how unfair British society has become.

Incidentally, both Cameron and Hitler were elected with marginally 37% of the popular vote.

Hitler formed a secret police, the Gestapo. The UK didn’t actually need to do that; we’ve already got the Official Secrets Act (remember how the McCrone Report was buried?) coupled to MIs 5 & 6, our own secret courts and utterly compliant media – which were all Third Reich fortes. Now, our little cherry on the icing of our cake is the “Snooper’s Charter”. This permits those government organisations to go intelligence gathering on a level which couldn’t be conceived of in Himmler’s (head of the Gestapo’s) wildest dreams. He had to rely on neighbours reporting neighbours just as like Stalin did. Indeed, 21st century intelligence gatherers just use computer technology to collate their data.

Million’s died to defend us from this – those million’s sacrificed to build a socially inclusive state after their victory. It was a hard toil, yet they did it.

The Awe; Cameron was campaigning on this platform, campaigning to get rid of these securities that so many gave the ultimate sacrifice for, and Labour had an open goal. The ball was never kicked. The striker simply fell flat on his face, and then looked around stupidly hoping for a referee’s whistle.

Cameron refused to say where his cuts would fall and Labour failed to offer a single ‘most likely’ scenario with which they could have hammered the Tories.

Cameron and his compliant media demonised the Scots. He effectively promised to make them ‘second class citizens’ through hobbling all three legs of the stool; firstly - our ‘avowed’ and exceptionally diluted new devolution settlement by handing primarily useless powers north (Smith); secondly, reducing the effect our MPs will have in Westminster (EVEL); and thirdly by neutering our Parliament by introducing a veto wielded by the Governor General in the Scottish Office; an office that makes no bones about undermining and discrediting the running of Holyrood.

The tools for Miliband were there to be utelised.

The Snoopers Charter was an easy one for Labour to tackle. All they had to do was remember those who died for those rights and ask if those millions of deaths were to be in vain; especially in these years of the glorification of WW1.

The removal of the Human Rights legislation should have been right up there. Labour should have been screaming “foul” at the tops of their collective lungs. But a pin could be heard dropping in the hallowed halls.

The EU Referendum – I’m all in favour of referendums and I’m reasonably in favour of Europe too. I know it’ll never be perfect, but I also know it’s a hell of a lot better than being tied to Westminster. Labour could easily have pulled that from Cameron too, they just had to support the referendum idea on the basis of democracy, but tell everybody ahead of time, they’d be campaigning to stay in while negotiating the best deal possible for the UK.

Essentially, the opportunities for a soft tap in to win the game and lead the next government were almost without limit as the election race drew down.

Any one goal could possibly have seen the Labour Party home free.

Combined, I really doubt if they’d have needed any sort of coalition to hold power. Having said that, I didn’t want anyone in sole charge; I believed a coalition – whether formal or otherwise - benefits everyone.

Essentially then, the Tories, Cameron’s folk, didn’t win the 2015 GE, Labour simply decided to walk from the field.
The only question that needs to be asked after that realisation is why? That’s got an obvious answer, but judging from what I see of their current leadership contenders, none of them are capable of uncovering it or remediating it.

Cameron’s Conservatives, any extreme right wing party, has no defense against that type of argument.

Labour needs a leader who recognizes this and will contest the field, and they could’ve used any or all of these arguments to do it – because if they do or if they had, they’ll win.

The issue that I can see, they’ve largely the same paymasters, so even if they do manage to uncover a principled and socially minded leader, that person will be hobbled before they’re even allowed to leave the dugout.

Effectively England now needs a new center left party.

Labour UK – R.I.P. – May 2010

Yes, 2010, because Ed Miliband wasn’t why Labour lost. Labour lost because they lost their soul in forming ‘New Labour’. But it took until then for the public to come to this understanding.

I don’t know where souls go when things die – I do know they don’t return to the old body, or body politic.

Monday, 1 June 2015

Problems and Solutions

Well, I didn’t do much writing during the GE, nevertheless I can express my limited delight at the result. I say “limited” for two reasons. Firstly, because we didn’t win all the seats north of Tweed and Solway, however this is a very minor issue. Secondly, because the Tories still managed to secure a majority through English constituency wins; and for me, that’s a biggie.

The problem is that it’s pretty much always been that way. In this Union, Scotland is irrelevant. That’s a major issue. We are politically irrelevant anyway. The S.E. of England still needs our resources, human and environmental, and these are the real reasons they fought against our Independence campaign so hard, that and maintaining their perceived prestige.

What we did do in GE 2015, was put the wind royally up London’s establishment; arguably our 45 created more panic there than Charlie did with his effort in ’45, especially as our 45% accumulated a few more voters to give Westminster not just 55 this time (percent) but 56 (MPs). Moreover we all know but for Union Media lies, half truth and innuendo it would have been 59.

Scotland’s problem is that 59 still wouldn’t have mattered.

By the time of the GE, not much we could have done would have mattered, mostly because the SNP has a policy of not fighting ‘non-Scottish’ seats.

Subsequently, as long as Scotland is stuck with 59 MPs and EVEL looks to be on the cards, it would appear we’re going to be on the wrong end of the stick, unless we get exceptionally fortunate and the English Electorate chooses to gift us the balance of power, nothing is going to happen to change anything. Nothing will change especially because the English Electorate have clearly just stated, they’d rather suffer a bad dose of Tory medicine, they’d even be happy to give up their human rights, rather than see Scots hold power at Westminster.

We might be able, under current SNP candidacy policies, to legitimately contest Berwick upon Tweed and environs, giving us a potential of 60 MPs speaking in support of Scotland’s interests.

However, that will still not be much of a concern the Establishment.

No, what is required is a long term solution, and it needs to embrace an English component. No matter how you address the issue, the SNP or any progressive force in these Islands needs English MPs. They just don’t need them in the party. However, if they were closely tied to the SNP as a voting bloc on key policies – wouldn’t that be interesting.

For instance, what if the SNP offered to assist ‘Independent’ candidates in England? What if they appealed to potential candidates willing to subject themselves to the SNP vetting process and promise to support an independent voting bloc within Westminster? That scenario holds almost limitless potential. The offer for the next GE could be made immediately after a motion and approval at the next SNP conference. This would be a motion where the party would pledge to support English folks standing as independent candidates, still with their particular region’s interests and requirements foremost, but who are willing to put themselves forwards to become part of a ‘progressive alliance’ at Westminster’s next Election.

They’d start the process now; perhaps only going so far south as Scotch Corner. Additionally the Welsh Nationalist’s could do the same, targeting perhaps an alliance with the fifty closest constituencies to Wales. The promise made, the overriding policy, not to do much at first (after all, Labour, Tory and Lib’s have made such a mess these last fifty years) until a good look is had at the books, well, there’s nothing that anyone can really guarantee. That’s an easy sell. Implementing 5 years of progressive social justice, usually sells well also. Dump WMD and increase the regular forces, probably a winner. Open government, get points there too.

Just imagine the consternation within the establishment. It’d start immediately too. They absolutely don’t want the apple-cart upset any more than it has been. Especially if those English prospective members promise constitutional upheaval, like voting for abolishing the lords in favour of a proportionally representative senate. Oh my?

Imagine the political power that would suddenly and in the short term come the way of the SNP and Plaid.

We’d just have created one exceptionally big stick, and we’d be using it to poke a really large hornet’s nest that’s just about settling down to the fact it’s got 56 cans of blue and white bug repellent inside its belly. The problem is, those 56 can only give the hive a mild indigestion, make the insects scurry a bit more. We have to find a nuclear option to blow the two party system out of the water in order to bring power back to the peripheries. Our folk said ‘No’ on September 18th, but in view of how many wanted to say ‘Yes’ to Nicola and the SNP on May 7th and right across the UK as well, I’d bet we could manage it.

So – keep the Union for 2020 (unless other events bypass that), and extend the hand of Friendship to English Independents. Create a progressive alliance – or three, one for the North East, one for the North West, one for the Midland’s. We might not hold a majority, but we’ll potentially ensure that nobody else does either, and nothing scares the establishment more than that, for without a majority party, they’ll probably have to listen to us.

In the name of friendship, and true neighborliness, isn’t it beyond time that we helped our friends across the border, especially if we could help ourselves by doing that?


text:
Wednesday, November 25, 2009

My heart has felt a heavy blow.
The weight of the world crashes down.
Color bleeds from the sky.
Darkness fills the empty space.
Time moves on.
Pain overwhelms and destroys peace.
Wake up, sleeping one.
Do you not see the beauty in your eyes?
There is freedom.
Break away the chains that hold you back.
The future remains a mystery.
Do not be afraid.
You are not alone.
We do not have to feel HIM to know that He is there.
This path is hard.
The way is narrow.
The path hardly traveled.
Blaze! Blaze a new trail!
Through the thicket!
Take my hand, we'll run together.
Into the arms of freedom.
The heartache will cease.
We will laugh once again.
Our love will shine like the dew shines when caught in a web illuminated by the sun.
Our love will sing.
Our love will dance.
Our love will warm the cold winter.
Our love will cool the hot summer.
Our love will last through the ages.
Our love will hold hands when our bodies start to fail.
Our love will never die, even when we are gone.
The glorious one hath made divine love.
His love is the example and the goal.
If only we could truly love like HIM.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

It's simple, kill the lazy man.

It's been a long month, of August that is.
Now that we are almost a full week into September I can now say that change has finally come into my life.
Praise God.
My room is VERY clean and organized.
It's been this way for over a week now.
I am surprised in a way that it even lasted more than two days!
I better not get too excited, or else I might get lazy.
I am really enjoying this whole discipline thing.
I remember when I had gotten things together in eleventh grade, life seemed so simple and everything was organized and scheduled.
But here I am now, my second year out of high school.
I fell apart last year.
This new school year is different.
I'm not even kidding, I am so serious about these changes.
Get this, I even bought a....a.....a.....PLANNER!
I am literally writing things down!
It's so great.
I used to loathe planners, because I always forgot to write in them or even check them.
But this one-"it's" name is Henry.
Henry is my new best friend.
Henry supports my every decision and knows just what I need to do. ;)
He's really fantastic.
Oh, and Henry is rather stylish as well.
I really hope I keep this up.
My life is so much more refreshing.
I think way more positively and it is so much easier to really sit back and listen to what God is saying to me.
I'm just so happy right now.
I think after uncovering the hidden things that I kept from myself and from God, I have now become so vulnerable that it's freeing.
I am so thankful for what I have.
My parents have given me so much opportunity, it may not be much compared to some but it's still enough that I would call it a blessing.
I am fortunate to have such loving parents.
Getting back onto the topic of my laziness that I expressed in previous blogs and in this blog, I found a verse that REALLY relates to my life.
This verse is so applicable to my life, it's almost ridiculous how like me this is.

"The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich." -Proverbs 13:4

How perfect is that?
I look back on my life from just a month ago, I was pathetic always wishing and desiring for a better life.
But I did nothing about it, I was all talk and no action.
Now that I have stopped the talk and am actually getting things straight, I have been made rich in my life.
I'm going to say I have a lot of money because I don't.
But inside, spiritually my soul is filled.
I am rich in joy, my cup overflows with happiness.
This is just a side effect of doing things the proper way.
It's almost like a disciplined walk with the Lord, the more wrapped up you are in God, the more natural it is to find the good works and fruits that come from it to be something you produce.
This is a God honoring lifestyle.
What I had before seemed to be basically, lip service.
All in my emotions, but no action.
I pray that I never go back to that.
But God is good and He is bigger than my problems.

Can I get an Amen?

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Take Me As You Find Me

Today was definitely an interesting day.
Nothing extremely exciting happened, nor did anything terrible happen either.
My day was filled with little spurts of self realization.
The first realization I had came to me this morning when my dad tried waking me up about 50 times in and hour and a half.
I am worse off than I thought I was.
I can't seem to just GET UP.
Get up and go, get up and live life.
I roll out of bed, flop on the floor and drool.
(Not literally, but it seems that way.)
I have let myself become useless in my daily life.
There are all these little things, that I have let turn into BIG things.
Such as a small mess in the corner, grew, and grew, and grew, and grew.
Until there was nothing left in my room except for A HUGE MESS!
A mess, that spread into my whole life.
My room is and was unorganized, my thought processes are scattered.
Everything is inside out and upside down.
The very center of my being has become, well-OFF CENTER.
I know that my problems, and the issues I am working through are not problems that are so horrible that I'll never get through this.
These are issues that require will power and other things such as discipline.
Which I definitely lack.
Which brings me to another point in my self realization.
I function so much better when I have goals.
For the past few months I have had NO short term goals.
I definitely have a long term goal.
But what's the point of having a long term goal if you can't even obtain a short term?
Especially if you lack one.
Now, that I have been able to make plans and create a few short term goals, things are much clearer to me.
Which brings me back to motivation-er shall I say, "will power."
I have a goal, and I know what I need to do to get there.
The question is, "Will I go through with this?"
This whole motivation thing has made me realize even more that I have a severe need for organization, not only in the cleanliness of my room but organization for my schedule.
Writing things down is helping a lot.
I just hope I can keep it up, every time I try to keep that up I always end up forgetting to write it down!
Such is my life.
I have been thinking about so much lately.
Not just about ME and MY issues.
But about life, about God, and about why we as humans are so driven to "get things done."
And for what?
What does it truly accomplish?
I'm not saying it's bad that we work a lot and clean, and do all the normal stuff, don't think that I am against it.
I am just thinking outside of the box a little.
Have you ever just sat back, took a look around and just wondered WHY we do what we do?
Or why things are the way they are?
I know when I get in these thought processes I could sit and think for hours.
Or days.....weeks.....months.
I think it is so neat that God has created everything.
It's fantastic to me.
To think that he started my heart's beating.
My life has been given to me to do the work of the Lord, and to live fully in life with Him.
I am in awe of His glory.
I seriously still can't wrap my brain around Him sometimes, but I guess I'm not supposed to fully understand, since no one can fully know Him.
But at the same time, that's really AWESOME!
Meaning-we will never have a BORING relationship with God!
I love it!
You're probably thinking something a long the lines of, "wow this girl is so random just babbling on and on and randomly talking about different things, where is her point?"
(Well maybe not, but I'll get to the point.)
In all the lame, stupid, unfortunate, and really ridiculous imperfections and things I do, no matter how badly I mess up, or how perfect I can be, or anything, Jesus takes me as I am.
Like in the song Mighty To Save there's a verse that says, "So take me as you find me, all my fears and failures."
That's just a short part of it, but the point is clear, I mean really look at that up there ^ I am such a failure at times and I am so afraid of messing up.
And yet Jesus is sufficient.
He is always right there, the catch is, He won't or can't help me if I won't let Him.

So to sum it all up, I set myself up for failure quite a bit, I am afraid of my future, I am lazy, I have no motivation, and I basically know of everything that I need to change.
I also know how pathetic I am, but the best thing to know is that in my weakness my God is strong.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Shallow Water

Today was a very nice day.
I woke up fairly early, spent the morning with my mother, then went into town to buy a few things.
Picked up my friend Ebby on the way and spent time with her.
Over all today was great.
But a lot things about today really made me think about life in a way I have been sort of leaning towards a lot in the past month.
Just thoughts about WHY us humans get so caught up in emotions.
Why do we have this UNDYING need to be loved?
To be needed, to be wanted, to have purpose?
What is it that drives us to pursue such things?
Why is that in America, as a country we just suck and consume everything in our paths?
But in a country that is more poor, the people are content with what they have?
They have so little compared to us, and yet they're happy?
A lot of people who have a lot are still unhappy, they have voids in their hearts that seem to be permanently empty.
While the person who has little material things has happiness and is content?
Most of the time, all that the "poor" person has is family and sometimes friends.
That should be enough.
But consumer happy people fill voids with material things.
Not relationships.
Money isn't everything.
But there is one thing that both need more than anything, Jesus Christ.
Whether you like that or not, it's the truth.
Rich or poor, family or no family, good life or hard life, Jesus is the filler of that HUGE void.
The healer of wounds and giver of life.
I see so many people just so caught up in what's cool, what's hip, what's fresh, etc...
Or they are always up on the gossip, and know everything about everybody.
Where does that get you?
When all you talk about and think about are material things, and what so and so said, and what so and so did, there's no room for you to live.
To be truly alive.
To open up and express REAL feelings, REAL thoughts, REAL personality, and REAL struggles.
Does it not bother you to be so fake?
Open up your heart and let the savior in.
Start living.

Don't be a wading pool.

Friday, August 14, 2009

What have I become?

Oh life how it throbs my brain and attacks the deepest parts of my soul.
When I was a little girl, I had dreams and hopes of who I wanted to become when I grew up.
I wanted to be breath taking, in more than one way.
I wanted to be organized, to do well in school, to succeed.
To be healthy, physically fit and FREE.
Instead I've become a slave to my laziness.
I am unorganized, I spend WAY to much time sleeping.
I waste my money, I failed most of my classes in college, and I am NOT physically fit.
I have become rather disappointing.
I am not saying that I "hate" myself or anything of the sort, I am simply unhappy with who I have let myself become.
I have always said, "All I want is to be used by God."
How can I be used by God if I AM NOT ALLOWING HIM TO USE ME?!
Living this way has done nothing but enslaved me to a person who does not respect what God has blessed her with.
My imperfections have been magnified lately, in that I am really starting to see my faults.
I believe God has been pointing these things out to me a lot lately.
Through His word, and in the messages I have been hearing in church, chapel at camp, and through my own family and my readings on my own time.
I mean, I can just sit in my room and look at the mess that has devoured what used to be a very comfortable room.
I have no refuge from the outside world anymore, it's been destroyed by clothing and stuff I never put away.
In a way, my whole life has become like my room.
Messy, unorganized, smelly, and gross.
Here I am 19 years of age and what do I have to say for myself?
I have hardly any money saved up because I just spend it on USELESS things.
I seem to be more interested in having a pop then saving up for a car, or to be able to move out and pay rent somewhere.
Where are my priorities?
Where is my head at?
I don't smoke, I don't drink, and I don't "PARTY"...etc...
Or do anything that can happen at such events.
And yet, I have let the small things in my life become so unorganized that I can 't even keep the big things together.
I can think of only ONE thing that I have kept together quite well.
My job, I'm never late, I never call in, [I have never truly needed to do so] nor have I cheated my employers of any work time.
I work hard and I give them the best I can give, to get what in return?
A pretty LAME paycheck.
I put in all this effort for a measly paycheck, and I'm feeling pretty good because hey, I EARNED that!
Then what do I do?
I don't understand how I do that to myself.
I mean what's my problem?
How can I basically and somewhat literally put in all that effort for "free" -remember I waste my money a lot so it's as if I never got paid- and yet I can't keep "workin hard" in the SMALL areas of my life.
I know for a fact that I feel really good about myself when I do things right, exercise, and accomplish goals I have set for myself.
I repeatedly backslide into my old filthy habits.
I can honestly say that I AM A PIG.
I say this in total honesty.
Writing this really helps me to see who I am, allowing me to examine the depths of myself and to really open this up and shed some light in the dark corners of my heart.
I have become such a fake.
On the outside, to all of my friends I put on a face that shows a totally put together girl who really loves the Lord and trusts Him with everything.
I really do love the Lord, this is true but I am NOT the girl I should be.
There are so many things that I am starting to realize that I need to change.
I can't do this alone, and I am fully relying on Christ's strength and wisdom to guide me.
Who I am at the moment is a girl who knows the truth and the things she must do, but hasn't done anything to get to where she needs to be.
I've done all the thinking, all of the realizing, all of the things it takes to gain wisdom, and yet I haven't done a thing about it.
My room is a mess, I still haven't unpacked from camp and I've been home over a week, my bathroom still isn't clean, my savings account is VERY LOW, I'm still overweight (A LOT OVERWEIGHT), I still say one thing and do another, I stay up WAY to late, sleep in too late, sit around to much, waste beautiful days, and mope about how my life sucks a lot and how I mess everything up.
Seriously, I am sick of myself and when I even get to the point of being sick of myself then I know for a fact I need change.
My dad has always told me, "Say what you mean."
Which I hardly understood a long time ago, and how often to do I say one thing, and then do another?
Or say something, then slightly alter what I say to conform to an opinion of another?
Just tonight he said to me, "You came home from camp saying how you have realized what you need to change and how you're gonna start doing things better. But you haven't changed at all, or done anything different. If you're going to say something, do what you say you're going to do or don't say anything at all."
I don't think he realized how much that hit me.
It really hit me deep.
It reminded me of a verse, Ecclesiastes 7:5 "It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, Than for a man to hear the song of fools."
Imagine how foolish I must look to an unbeliever?
Being a follower of Christ isn't just about believing and appearing happy.
I've gotta be REAL.
Hard to the core living it.
It takes discipline and effort.
Which I have NONE.
I have become a lazy idiot.
Proverbs 13:4 "The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing. But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich."
I am the lazy man, or woman in this case.
I desire to be so much.
And yet I create my own destruction.
But praise God that He is my strength!
Praise Him that He is the comforter, the forgiver, and my refuge!
Psalm 116:5-7 "Gracious is the Lord, and righteous. Yes, our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you."
He has done so much for me, and I have wasted my gift of life.
I'm not saying that I'm going to be perfect from here on out, but I am definitely going to make the necessary changes to become the woman I am meant to be.
For those of you who are believers, please pray for me.
For those of you who are not believers:
Proverbs 16:20 "He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he."

I must say in all of this struggle and self realization of my idiot ways, I am truly happy-no even better-I have pure JOY. I would not have this if it weren't for the Lord!
I've been on the other side of life, a life without Christ, and it's darkness.
I am changed, truly changed.


text:
“We build on foundations we did not lay.
We warm ourselves at fires we did not light.
We sit in the shade of trees we did not plant.
We drink from wells we did not dig.
We profit from persons we did not know.
We are ever bound in community."

Rev. Peter Raible (paraphrased from Deuteronomy 6:10-12)

Friday, August 15, 2014

Love Reaches Out

           Robin Williams and Mike Brown died two days apart.  Robin Williams was 63 and took his own life on August 11th. Michael Brown was 18 and was shot to death by police officers in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9th. Both deaths break my heart. I imagine the pain and suffering that Williams must have lived with. I know that many of us live and struggle with such pain and suffering, and despite apparent successes, or the happy faces we wear, inside we ache or are numb.

And when I see pictures of a once living, smiling Michael Brown, I can’t help but think of a once living, smiling Trayvon Martin. While all of the details are not yet clear, what is clear is that once again, a young, unarmed black man has been shot. I grieve for everyone involved, including the police office who pulled the trigger. I can only begin to imagine the grief and anger that Brown’s family and the Ferguson community feel.  Despite strides made around racial equality in this country, the fact remains that much of this country was build upon the bodies of black men, women, and children, as well as the resources and land of Native Peoples. We are still living with the aftermath of centuries of slavery and violence against people of color.  We are still living with a racial narrative that says black men are dangerous and violent, their lives worth less than white lives.

Depression and despair are real. Racism, and the daily verbal, emotional, and physical violence against people of color, is real, as well. Our broken hearts, anger, and suffering are real. So when we are suffering, let us remember that we need not suffer or struggle alone. If you are carrying a great sadness about Williams, Brown, or anything else, please reach out to me, or Rev. Jen, Rev. Elaine, or Rev. Ruth.

 At First Universalist, we have promised (covenanted) to dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love, and to help one another.  We can’t bring back Williams or Brown, but we can reach out to one another; we can strengthen our commitment to work for a racially just world; we can break the silence around depression and mental illness. Even with broken hearts, we can reach out to one another in love.

 *The title of this post is inspired by this video:

Anonymous said...

Struggling through depression and despair-- holding onto the LIGHT

Justin Schroeder said...

Dear Anonymous, you were in my morning prayers and reflections. May moments of grace and beauty surrounding. May you remember you are not alone.


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Thursday, 11 October 2012

A new arrival.

Hello everyone,

Today, I thought I would share with you a cherub cot that I made for my husband's PA's daughter's baby. Blimey, that was a mouthful!!

Jenny, the daughter and her partner knew that they were going to have a baby daughter, so I had a little longer time to make this, longer than I normally have! The baby is called Lily and is beautiful, so congratulations Jenny and Lee to your new addition.

The template is by Arty Farty. I used the double sided A3 card that I bought from Carol at Arty Farty. The cots are a bit faffy but worth it when they are done. Although I have a Craft Robo and a Cricut machine which I am sure there will be cutting template files out there somewhere, I haven't really got to grips with the machines and at the moment prefer to use the Arty Farty templates. People keep saying that the Silhouette is an easier machine to use, but I'm not sure Mr H would be too impressed if I bought yet another machine. There's hardly any room left in my Craft Room already. In fact, crafters, as you probably know from your own experience, there is NO room in there!!

I also used some largish daisy braid, again from Arty Farty to decorate the box and cot. I made the mobile using the card and also cut up some teddy ribbon that I had bought from Carol previously. Instead of using paper to make the quilt, I use fabric from my stash and fill it with wadding and then put lace around the edges. I just think it adds to the 'wow' factor. I recently made some without the mobile and I don't think they looked as good.

Hope you like it as much as I did.

Hope to see you soon.

No comments:


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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

FREE Valentine's Printables

Love is in the air! With Valentine's quickly approaching here are a few fun designs you can use as easy gifts for your loved ones!

"Mint" to be cards are a fun way to tell the people around you that you're thinking about them :) They are quick, easy, inexpensive and not to mention super cute!

Click Here for instructions and supplies you will need to make the "Mint to Be" Valentines!

Here for your free "Mint to be" Template!

Or for any other time of the year, a "Love" notecard is perfect for sending to friends, family or whomever!

Click Here for your free "Love" Notecard!

And for your young ones, a handprint note is a great craft project and a perfect gift for any family member!

Click Here for your "Handprint Note"!

Enjoy! Brit

Chocolate Pretzel Hearts

Heidi also found these fun pretzel hearts you can make for or with your kiddos! A special treat for everyone to enjoy:)

  • Pretzels – the regular minis look like a heart shape already!
  • Bag of Hershey’s Kisses OR Almond Bark Chocolate Melts
  • Valentine M & M’s (I just saved the red from our Christmas M&M’s)
  1. Spread out pretzels in a single layer on a cookie sheet covered in tin foil.  Place one chocolate  on top of each pretzel.
  2. Place in a 275 degree preheated oven for 3 minutes to soften the chocolate.
  3. Remove from oven, SLOWLY push down Hershey’s Kiss with an M&M.
After they’re cooled you can start snacking – these are so yummy but highly addictive!  Also – you may want to seal them up in a big ziploc bag quickly, so they don’t get stale.

(Recipe can be found here!)

Elegant Beef Blue

Heidi has had someone make this meal for her and she says it's delicious! A yummy, Valentine's Dinner you can cook up for your Valentine if you plan on staying home!
Elegant Beef Blue

  • (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks
  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup beef consommé
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half
  • small asparagus spears
  • 1 1/2 ounces crumbled blue cheese

  1. Rub steaks with chopped thyme, salt, and pepper.
  2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add oil. Add steaks, and cook 1 to 3 minutes on each side or to desired degree of doneness. Remove steaks, and keep warm; reserve drippings in skillet.
  3. Stir wine and consomme into drippings; increase heat to high. Cook, stirring often, until reduced to 1/2 cup. Stir in half-and-half, and cook, stirring constantly, until reduced to 1/2 cup or desired consistency. Keep warm.
  4. Snap off tough ends of asparagus; remove scales with a vegetable peeler, if desired. Cut spears in half, and place in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Top steaks with asparagus, and sprinkle with cheese.
  5. Broil 6 inches from heat (with electric oven door partially open) 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve immediately with sauce.
(Recipe can be found here!)

Restaurant Pick--Five Restaurant Bistro

Five Restaurant Bistro
650 Edmonds Way

Hip décor and a friendly staff in addition to delicious food make Five a great date night (or date lunch?) pick.  Wood fired pizzas, fresh salads and a selection of thoughtfully constructed entrees, such as the amazing carne asada , will be sure to please most palates.  Open weekdays for lunch, and 7 days a week for dinner service, this restaurant is easily accessible and their large dining capacity enables a party of 2 to get in with relative ease on most occasions. Also to be noted is the daily happy hour where $5 personal pizzas are served from 2-5pm daily, along with other food and drink specials.  A personal favorite is the Five Caesar, or the fish tacos both available on the happy hour menu.  While this restaurant selection is dedicated to a “date night” pick, it also should be noted that Five is kid friendly, and is actually the favorite spot for mac and cheese for my children.  Kids and adults alike devour this gooey, oven baked dish!  Enjoy the atmosphere, the food and the time away at Five, and be sure to end your meal on a sweet note; the Bolinhos (think homemade donut holes rolled in cinnamon and sugar) equate to a warm delectable indulgence, are a guarantee to please you and your sweetie!

--Quinn Manning

Appreciating Valentine's Day

I remember thinking Valentine's Day was exciting as a kid. We would make little mailboxes for our desks and pick out cute Valentines to put into each mailbox, saving the really cool ones for the friends we liked best.

As I got older, and giving Valentines weren't an obligation made by my second grade teacher, the holiday lost its appeal. Every time I was single, the day was just a square on the calendar that may as well have been a box of salt pouring itself into the glaring wound that no one liked me that year. The term 'Single's Awareness Day' is what we called it.

Now that I'm married and have kids I'm trying to figure out if I am not a fan of this holiday--which seems to be a marketing ploy for sugary sweets, overpriced Hallmark cards, and flowers that will die in 2 days (at least on my watch). Or if maybe, there is something important to love about all of this.

A common response from people who give a big, fat thumbs down to celebrating February 14th is, 'we should show people we love them everyday, not just Valentine's Day.' I hear ya, I can get on board with that train. But, the problem is...we don't! Thinking back, my Facebook newsfeed glittered with people giving thanks and appreciation for life during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then came January and the post-holiday blues and it went back to people complaining about how much Mondays suck and how people suck at driving and how the weather sucks and how life...sucks. Unless of course you just won the Super Bowl;)

So, while I risk the label of "jumping on the Valentine's Day bandwagon," I have to say I appreciate the marker that reminds us to love our people. To do something nice and fancy and out of the ordinary that February 13th and 15th don't call for. To send our friends, spouse, parents, or kids a card or gift reminding them we don't just appreciate them during Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, and anniversaries.

But, that we love them in the middle of February, too.

--Lisa Barton


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Preventing bad choices tomorrow, today

Photo Credit: Franklin White

Imagine knowing what would be said at your funeral. That's what freshman at Charlie A. Gray High School in Moultrie experienced as they learned hard core life lessons.

On Thursday, Teen Maze, organized by the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development Committee organized a real life, lifespan maze where students got the chance to see what life would be like if they made bad decisions.

Different life stages included understanding life if you were a teen parent, what it would be like if they were drunk and had to talk on a straight line to pass a sobriety test, and what life would be like if they had to pick out their own casket for their funeral and writing their own eulogy.

Teen Maze Chairman Katrina Bivins says, "this vital information is important because what they do today lays the path for their future." More than 200 volunteers with Teen Maze attended the event. This is the second year they've done this.


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Lunchbreak: Tomatillo chicken and biscuits, prepared by Preservation Bread and Wine chef Hannah Gebhardt-Wojick

Chef Hannah Gebhardt - Wojick

Preservation Bread & Wine
513 S. Third Street
(630) 208-1588

Tomatillo Chicken and Biscuit

Tomatillo Sauce

6 whole tomatillos
1 whole serrano pepper
1 whole avocado
2 bunches cilantro
1 garlic clove
juice of one lemon
1 Tbs salt
1 Tbs pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Remove husk from tomatillos by soaking in cold water. In a sauce pot cover tomatillos and serrano pepper with water and bring to a boil. Do not boil too long or the tomatillos will burst. Combine Cilantro, Avocado, Garlic, Lemon Juice, and Olive oil and a blender or food processor. Pour Mixture into a bowl. Blend Tomatillos, Serrano, Salt and Pepper. Add to Cilantro mixture

Cheddar Biscuits

1 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbs baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
3 Tbs sugar
2 tsp salt
1 stick butter
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup cheddar cheese

Melt butter. Add butter to buttermilk. Measure and combine all dry ingredients including cheese (shredded). Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients. Divide dough evenly into 8 biscuits. Allow to chill for at least 1 hour before baking. Bake biscuits in preheated 350 degree oven until golden brown

1 lb pre-cooked chicken
tomatillo sauce
4 oz sour cream
8 cheddar biscuits

Using 1 pound of precooked and shredded chicken, combine chicken and tomatillo sauce. Place in a baking dish. Dollop sour cream over chicken and bake a 350 for 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Top chicken with warmed cheddar biscuits and dollop the top of the biscuit with sour cream.