Oh where or where art thou?

I recently logged onto my blog and saw that it had been horribly neglected for almost a month. This was not what I had envisioned when I started this. I honestly thought I would be on here at least 1 x a week writing and sharing my thoughts and bits and pieces of our life as a mosaic of different people brought together as one family. Little did I know, that when I embarked on this little adventure that life would begin spinning out of control!

Since the conception of this blog we have battled issues with our children that has run the gamut of petty theft to mental breakdowns. We have had our 16 year old boys (not twins) each take turns at running when they didn't like being confronted on their behaviors or lies. We are currently in the midst of this situation with our son Ben who having been caught in a myriad of lies and sneaking up after midnight when all were in be to watch porn on the Internet. Instead of facing his misdeeds and taking responsibility he instead ran out the door and has been gone for over 24 hours now. He had earlier last week stolen money from the till of his place of work and been caught playing with fire. We don't know what has been causing him to take this path but have been praying without ceasing that God will reverse this and bring him home for healing and making our family whole again. It is like a piece of the mosaic has fallen off and the picture just doesn't look the same without it. Our hearts our breaking but we are still believing for a happy ending.

It has been a battle for us but we have the promise of restoration and deliverance and believe that for our family. On the good note, the other 16 year old Jake has stabilized and is doing very well. It is really a day at a time process but one that we know will reap wonderful results if we stay steadfast and resolved. Each of our precious little pieces are so worth everything we go through, so we keep fighting and believing.

I realize that no matter what the outcome our beautiful art that we call our family, will continue to be as beautiful as before. Like most great mosaics we are a work in progress, God continues to change and mold each piece to shine like never before and for every piece that gets lost all effort is made to find it and place it back where it belongs. For those pieces that are lost to us, (at least in this world!) God finds a way to put different and new pieces that might change the landscape just a little but makes it even more beautiful!

I will try to be more faithful to this little blog, not because I have to but because I really believe that one day someone will run across these words and hopefully they will help, encourage or just make someone smile who is going through similar issues. Be blessed and see you soon!

Celebrating Freedom this Fourth of July!

It seems a good time to revisit my blog. I know I have been away for a few weeks but I hope that over the next few months that I will be better at writing. It’s really funny because I love to write. I enjoy reading (I inhale everything I pick up) and I have always loved to write funny little stories about my life, my family and anything else that might come to mind. But lately, it has been hard. I find myself unable to find humor but instead reflecting on some of the difficulties that I and my family face as a blended family with special needs. Not that there is anything wrong with that but it has been the more melancholy part of me and not the goofy fun loving part that somehow has been beaten up lately.
Which brings me to my today to my blog; the celebration of freedom. I figured that it would be appropriate to celebrate freedom on the 4th of July, I mean duh what else is the 4th about? I write today because I have the freedom to do so, afforded to me by the blood of my ancestors who fought and died for this right. It is in the constitution, freedom of speech as well as many other unalienable rights. This great piece of paper gives me the right to bear arms, practice my religion without fear of persecution, gives me the right to own property and choose who will represent me in what is suppose to be a very limited government. The writers of the constitution knew what they were doing when they wrote this paper. They had come from a country that had dictated almost every aspect of their lives, including their rights as an individual to choose the way they liked to live their lives. They had seen that Government that had too much power became tyrannical and power corrupts. So they said, lets not make the same mistakes, lets give the people the right to decide what and how they want to live and keep Government doing the most important thing protecting its people.
One big area where people have twisted and misrepresented the constitution is the separation of Church and State. It was never meant to eliminate God from the equation, it was to limit Government in the equation so that it could never tell the people what or where they could worship and not let Government control the Church as it did in England. These men built the foundation of our Nation on the principles of God and our country has thrived as long as we did not forget who we owed our thanks for our great Country.
So today I celebrate my freedom to write melancholy or spirited, happy or sad, about my family or my Savior who set me free and has showed such favor to our Country over the years. I thank God that I have had the blessing to grow up in a Country where I do have those rights and freedoms, there are so many places where that is not the case. I am sad to see that a radical agenda has swept into power on our tv news and other places that does not seem to believe in those same rights for everyone, only for those that adhere to their own agenda and beliefs. This Fourth of July I look around and wonder if my children and grandchildren will be able to do this same thing, or if they will be like other Nations that are suppressed, imprisoned or killed for their beliefs or opinions. I would like to think that couldn’t happen here, but I have to wonder if that is what they said in Germany as their rights and choices were taken from them by a great speaker who had the ability to fool a nation of people until it was too late.
Our forefathers and founders knew that Government couldn’t save them and wanted nothing more than to have the ability to stand or fall on their own two feet. I want that for myself and for my children and their children. I want them to know that life is more precious when you work hard and cherish that which you have, not what is given to you. I want them to have the same hard work ethic that my Dad handed down to me, that taught me that whatever the job do it to the best of ability so that you can look in the mirror at the end of the day and know that you did everything right. I want them to be honest, not cheaters or liars or unscrupulous as many in our Nation sadly are portrayed. I want them to be able to know that it is ok to have your own opinion and be able to speak or write about it without fear of being subjugated. Thank God for these brave men who stood for what they believed and built a foundation that has kept us free and safe for all these years. Lets stand and protect these rights and not give them away because we are promised that Government will take care of us. Government can’t take care of us, only we can do that. So lets celebrate this day and fight for those rights and freedoms that made our country great. Happy Fourth of July!