Reasons Why I Am Against Publicly Led Prayer

Well, It's been quite a while since I have posted on my blog, but I have something weighing on me that I must write about.

I haven't really said this before, but I am against publicly led prayer. For example, prayers in school, prayers over the loud speaker at sporting events, city council meetings, etc.  I'm sure this comes as a surprise to many, because I do believe in the power of prayer. Whether that power is truly from the higher power or just something that makes us feel better, prayer is a comforting/powerful thing. Here are some of my reasons for my being against these publicly led prayers. 

In the vast majority of circumstances, prayer refers to Christian prayer. There are many people in this country who are not Christian. We have many religions represented here...Catholicism, Protestant Christianity, Jewish, Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, Pagan, Wiccan, Atheism, and yes, even Satanism, as well as many others. By only including the Christian prayer, we are excluding these other religions. If we are going to have prayer, we should be welcome to prayer from all religions. And bow respectfully or participate as required by that religion as we would a Christian prayer. 

Another reason I am against publicly led prayer is that prayer and religion are very personal to each person. My prayer and the way I pray may be different from the leader of the prayer. I may not believe the same way that person does. My relationship with God/Goddess/Higher Power may be different that that of the leader. We all pray differently, so why have one single person lead EVERYBODY in the same prayer?? This goes back to my other main reason, would a Christian welcome a prayer to Satan? Would a Jew welcome casting a Wiccan circle, etc? Even different sects of Christianity may differ in their view of prayer.

However, I am totally for the "moment of silence" that schools have nowadays. This way, each person can silently think their own special prayer or ritual or none at all if they so choose. I think this is a wonderful compromise for everybody.

 

 

Love With Food November 2014

This month's Love With Food box theme is "Baby, it's cold outside." Overall, I am very impressed with this month's box. There seems to be more snacks than usual. And it included a small Rachael Ray Recipe book. Here's a pic of the box.

Fruit Bliss Dried Mini Figs: They are actually pretty big, despite the name. All natural, preservative free, no sugar added. These are delicious!
Jers Chocolates Milk Chocolate Peanut Clusters: These are great, but I love chocolate peanut clusters.
Whole Spice All Purpose Seasoning Salt: Ingredients: Sea Salt, Sugar, Celery, Chili, Citric Acid, Onion, Turmeric, Garlic, Black Pepper, and Oregano. Will probably try this on chicken or hamburger.
Marlo's Midnight Soft Baked Biscotti: This is definitely softer than other biscotti's I've tried before. This one is Double Chocolate Espresso flavored. Very good!
Guylian Truffles: One is Milk Chocolate and one is Dark Praline. These have a very rich, chocolaty flavor.
Dick and Jane Baking Company States and Capitals Educational Snacks: These are vanilla cookies with a picture of a state on them with the capital. Cute concept, good cookie.
Grains of Health Laiki Red Rice Chips: Plain and simple. Three ingredients: red rice, oil, and sea salt. These are better than I expected.They taste similar to Original Bugles to me, and I love me some Bugles! I'd definitely buy these if I saw them in the store.
Chipz Happen Cinnful Sweet Heat Tortilla Chips: I liked the flavor, cinnamon with a hint of cayenne pepper. The only thing I didn't like about these is how hard they were. Harder than normal tortilla chips.  

I think Love With Food is still running a 1st month free promotion. To get your Love With Food subscription, go to Lovewithfood.com

Ipsy Glam Bag November 2014

Here is my Ipsy Glam Bag for this month.

 This month's theme is "Girl Meets Glitter." It included the following:
Marc Anthony Oil of Morocco Hairspray. Sulfate free. Infused with Keratin.
SeaRx Birchsap Moisturizing Lotion. This has a sweet, grapefruit-like smell. Might have to buy some of this. Also says it's for preventative aging.
it Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer in neutral medium. Says it is as award-winning anti-aging formula. Clinically proven to give you younger looking skin.
Starlooks Eye Pencil in Ultra Olive. It is a very sparkly green that I think will go great with my hazel colored eyes. Looking forward to trying this out.
Wonder Lip Paint in red 
Of course it was all in the awesome silver sparkly makeup bag.

Update on last month's bag: I bought the Indie Lee brightening cleanser. Love that stuff! I'm alternating it with my Olay Reginerist cleanser I already use.

For your own Ipsy Glam Bag, visit Ipsy.com

KitNip Box October 2014

Here is my KitNip Box for October 2014.

KitNip is a subscription box service for cats. And we all know, I love love love my cats! This box came with some toys and treats and my cats loved them. 
Toys: Loopies Mushroom, Catnip Apple Slice, and an Imperial Cat Dangly Door Bouncer. All the toys had catnip, so Molly and Meow both went crazy over them.
Treats: Smart N Tasty in Salmon Flavor.

Here is Meow playing with the Dangly Door Bouncer.

Can't wait to see what comes next month!

 

Ipsy Glam Bag October 2014

Here is my Ipsy Glam Bag for October.

This month's bag contains the following:
Nicole by OPI gold colored nail polish: This is very fast drying and has a matte look rather than shiny.
Noyah lipstick in Mauve: A very pretty mauve color. It looks darker than it actually turns out when applied. I actually like the way it looks on my lips. This is "all-natural, synthetics-free, and never-tested-on-animals"
Ayres Body Butter: Has a faint smell of jasmine and rosemary. Very nice!
Indie Lee Brightening Cleanser: Nice fruity smell. Can't wait to try it!
Tattooed Waterproof Eyeliner: It is a black liquid liner. I've never used a liquid liner, so we will see how this turns out.

And of course it all came in the cute little green bag!

For your own Ipsy Glam bag, visit Ipsy.com.
 

Love With Food Box October 2014

Today I received my 2nd box in my Love with Food subscription. Love with Food is a subscription food box service that arrives once a month. There are several options of boxes; I get the tasting box which consists of 8-10 snacks. The best thing about Love With Food is that with each box they sell, they donate a meal to a food bank. To get your own Love with Food box, go to lovewithfood.com.

This month's theme is Monster Mash.

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 Here are my thoughts on the products in this month's box.
Surf Sweets Organic Jelly Beans: These things are wonderful! The best flavored jelly beans I've ever had!
Justin's Honey Almond Nut Butter and Chocolate Almond Nut Butter: These are pretty good. I have bought these before. The only thing I don't like about these is the grindy feel it leaves in my mouth. Flavor is good though.
Flamous Organic Falafel Chips: I think these are really good. And even better if you put the almond butter on them. :)
Clairsquares Buttery Shortbread Squares: Another great product! Has a great buttery flavor.
J&M Original Cheese Straws: To me these taste like eating really think Cheeze-Its. I'm not a Cheeze-Its fan, but if you like them then you may like these.
Calbee Snapea Crisps: These had absolutely no flavor at all. But I'm not too sure how I expected them to taste.
Nutyvitta Cinnamon and Sugar Bananinha Banana Bar: This had a very nice flavor and it is definitely something I would buy if I seen it in the store.

So there you have it: This month's Love with Food box. If I have time, I plan to post these each month. 
 

"I'm With The Band"

Now that my daughter is in high school, I'm riding the bus with the band to the out of town football games. Most parents don't want to do this. They seem to want away from the teenagers. I on the other hand, actually enjoy being around them, most of the time anyway.  Most of the kids are well behaved most of the time. And usually the more adult eyes on them, the more likely they are to behave. Of course there are a few that you have to remind them to behave, but that is to be expected.

I'm a pretty goofy person and like to just sit in the bus and socialize and be goofy with the kids. I guess this means that I'm young at heart or maybe just a big dork. LOL Oh, I do use my "mom voice" when I have to. This does straighten them out. I have also found that distraction works well. If a kid is being a little unruly, I just distract them with a story of when I was a teenager or something.  Maybe say something like, "Oh man, I remember when my brothers used to do that! They got in sooooo much trouble!" Then the kid wants to find out more about what happened. Distraction successful!!!

I will admit. I do miss playing my horn. I played trumpet and baritone. Sadly the only thing I can remember how to play is the Bflat scale. Can't even really remember how to read music. So, I will just enjoy watching my daughter and her band play and maybe reminisce the good times of playing.