So a couple of months ago I put up my little Facebook page to help my friends who are intimidated by the internet. What I failed to consider is that it wasn't the internet that scared them but the on button on the computer.
I have received more questions since I put up that blasted page than I did before, yet when I have asked my friends, "How 'bout asking me a question on my page?" the response is, "But I don't really get on the computer much. I really want to but I don't know a whole lot, and I'm not sure that I even know how to post things on Facebook -- even though my daughter [or insert some other relative] says it's easy. Can you just come over sometime and show me?"
Well, if I had lots of spare time, I would since I do love people and love solving problems -- at least of the computer kind. But I was sort of hoping I could answer some of those questions at 4am in the morning when it's quiet around my house.
Okay, so I'm not sure the page was a good idea, but I had fun making it and might just post things there anyway. Maybe I have more spare time than I thought. :D
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Abortion 33 years later
Maybe one day I'll write a book about my experiences as a pastor's wife -- or maybe not. But I've had some things happen that have surprised me and are noteworthy in some fashion. I guess it's going to be this blog. Kick in the head is that I thought very little or nothing would surprise me given my upbringing and experiences, which are decidedly not what is conjured up when someone says "pastor's wife."
One of the things that sneaked up on me is coming to know a large number of women who had abortions when they were much younger (some of them have had more than one or even two). Oh, I realize I probably know more of these women than most people because I can be trusted never to share their very personal information with others, i.e., deference given to "the pastor's wife." But even if I cut the number in half, it's still a lot no matter my husband's profession.
When I was younger, I knew women who had chosen abortion, but I never had any meaningful conversation with them about what they felt about it. Now I have, and it is overwhelming how many carry enormous guilt or numbness as a result of the guilt. It's pretty much all of them, and it seems to make little difference how long ago it happened. Several of the women are around my age (50 years), and they still struggle with their decision. I guess I tended to think much more than I realized that women who choose abortion are more driven by pragmatism than sentiment. But the reality of their guilt says otherwise, and it has become to me the dirty secret of abortion.
As much as I hate that someone has to endure that kind of pain, it is a healthy response. I take heart in the reality that no matter how progressive we like to think we've become as a society, the human response to sacrificing a life close to us is still usually great remorse sometimes followed by the self-preserving response of becoming numb to it. But the lack of response or care about such things is troubling indeed. The lack of response seems indicative of quite a selfish heart.
For those who are struggling with this regret, my prayers and compassion go out to you. My heart hurts for you. For those who feel little or nothing, my prayers and compassion also go out to you, and yes, my heart hurts for you as well -- even more so.
One of the things that sneaked up on me is coming to know a large number of women who had abortions when they were much younger (some of them have had more than one or even two). Oh, I realize I probably know more of these women than most people because I can be trusted never to share their very personal information with others, i.e., deference given to "the pastor's wife." But even if I cut the number in half, it's still a lot no matter my husband's profession.
When I was younger, I knew women who had chosen abortion, but I never had any meaningful conversation with them about what they felt about it. Now I have, and it is overwhelming how many carry enormous guilt or numbness as a result of the guilt. It's pretty much all of them, and it seems to make little difference how long ago it happened. Several of the women are around my age (50 years), and they still struggle with their decision. I guess I tended to think much more than I realized that women who choose abortion are more driven by pragmatism than sentiment. But the reality of their guilt says otherwise, and it has become to me the dirty secret of abortion.
As much as I hate that someone has to endure that kind of pain, it is a healthy response. I take heart in the reality that no matter how progressive we like to think we've become as a society, the human response to sacrificing a life close to us is still usually great remorse sometimes followed by the self-preserving response of becoming numb to it. But the lack of response or care about such things is troubling indeed. The lack of response seems indicative of quite a selfish heart.
For those who are struggling with this regret, my prayers and compassion go out to you. My heart hurts for you. For those who feel little or nothing, my prayers and compassion also go out to you, and yes, my heart hurts for you as well -- even more so.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Got Stupid Questions?
Okay, so there are things you've always wanted to know about the web, but you feel stupid asking. Or you fear an explanation that might wear you out. If you keep up that attitude, you will miss out on a lot of really cool things, and in fact, you're already missing out. So get over it and ask, and I've got the place for you to do it.
Just for fun (yeah, I think it's fun) I've set up a page on Facebook (see bZirkopedia) where you can direct your questions. I started this because I have lots of friends and neighbors who are always asking me questions, so I thought it would be fun to have a place online. Some examples of questions people are often too intimidated (or maybe irritated) to ask:
What's a url?
What's a browser?
What the heck is an ip address and how does that affect me?
What are cookies?
What does a firewall do exactly?
How can I use my bookmarks on any computer?
What are some good websites for housing my pictures?
Are they safe?
Or housing some of my documents so that I'll still have the stuff if my computer bites the dust?
My examples may even be too sophisticated, so please don't let my examples set the tone. Or maybe they're too simple. Whatever the case, just ask me what you want to know. If I don't know it, I'll try to find out the answer, and I will try to keep the explanation simple enough but not so simple that you get your backside in a sling. We'll see how that works out. LOL!
NOTE:
And oh, when I said this was for fun, I meant it. I'm not a professional service but rather a person who happens to be fascinated with a lot of things and has a bit of a technical background. Not guru status but enough to get around fairly well on a computer and on the web and help others do the same.
Just for fun (yeah, I think it's fun) I've set up a page on Facebook (see bZirkopedia) where you can direct your questions. I started this because I have lots of friends and neighbors who are always asking me questions, so I thought it would be fun to have a place online. Some examples of questions people are often too intimidated (or maybe irritated) to ask:
What's a url?
What's a browser?
What the heck is an ip address and how does that affect me?
What are cookies?
What does a firewall do exactly?
How can I use my bookmarks on any computer?
What are some good websites for housing my pictures?
Are they safe?
Or housing some of my documents so that I'll still have the stuff if my computer bites the dust?
My examples may even be too sophisticated, so please don't let my examples set the tone. Or maybe they're too simple. Whatever the case, just ask me what you want to know. If I don't know it, I'll try to find out the answer, and I will try to keep the explanation simple enough but not so simple that you get your backside in a sling. We'll see how that works out. LOL!
NOTE:
And oh, when I said this was for fun, I meant it. I'm not a professional service but rather a person who happens to be fascinated with a lot of things and has a bit of a technical background. Not guru status but enough to get around fairly well on a computer and on the web and help others do the same.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
What price dignity?
So I've been thinking about Joe Wilson's shout out at the President's speech the other night (see video), and given the scolding Obama was unleashing, I think Joe's comment was appropriate. Okay, so it wasn't "dignified." Well, is being dignified always the best way? War is sometimes necessary, and it's a stretch to call it dignified. We're in a war if you haven't noticed. Maybe no shots are being fired, but we're in a war.
Oh yeah, there are some rules in Congress, but hey, there are some rules in the Constitution as well, and I don't see a lot of respect for those. To please our "liberal friends" I guess our conservative reps were supposed to sit there very dignified and let Obama mischaracterize the health care reform the Democrats are promoting. But don't take my word that it was mischaracterized. Read the Bill.
Frankly, my friends, we've dignified ourselves right out of a bunch of freedoms. The ugly truth is sometimes you have to fight fire with fire and hang whether or not someone thinks you're dignified or hip or intellectual. I'm sick of a few people cowing common sense because it's not always hip or nice or God forbid "intellectual."
Oh yeah, there are some rules in Congress, but hey, there are some rules in the Constitution as well, and I don't see a lot of respect for those. To please our "liberal friends" I guess our conservative reps were supposed to sit there very dignified and let Obama mischaracterize the health care reform the Democrats are promoting. But don't take my word that it was mischaracterized. Read the Bill.
Frankly, my friends, we've dignified ourselves right out of a bunch of freedoms. The ugly truth is sometimes you have to fight fire with fire and hang whether or not someone thinks you're dignified or hip or intellectual. I'm sick of a few people cowing common sense because it's not always hip or nice or God forbid "intellectual."
Saturday, August 15, 2009
So What Does the Healthcare Bill Say?
I've been wading through the House Bill (H.R. 3200), and I think my eyes may be permanently damaged not to mention the assault on my common sense. So in the interest of understanding, I went in search of some resources to help me. I purposely looked for resources that have much more detail than what we've been getting from the mainstream media. Below are a couple of links that I found helpful. Please note that I did not comb through every item detailed on these blogs, but I did enough to find them helpful. Hope it helps you as well.
http://healthcarethoughts.com/ -- this is a blog by the President and CEO of an insurance company. What is really helpful is the bill's page numbers are referenced.
http://www.christianblog.com/blog/greybear/what-is-in-the-obama-national-healthcare-bill -- here's another blog that has some helpful breakdown.
http://healthcarethoughts.com/ -- this is a blog by the President and CEO of an insurance company. What is really helpful is the bill's page numbers are referenced.
http://www.christianblog.com/blog/greybear/what-is-in-the-obama-national-healthcare-bill -- here's another blog that has some helpful breakdown.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
I Did Nothing
I hope that we as a people are not guilty of doing nothing when it comes to holding our government officials to account. Sadly, we've been guilty of it for way too long. We have been so free and rich (even if we're poor by American standards) that we couldn't be bothered. We no longer have that luxury, and frankly, haven't had it in a while. But now it's becoming very apparent.
The bill being proposed to fix our health care system is pretty far reaching. It will allow the government an entry into our lives as we've never experienced. Several passages present dangerous precedents when you read the bill, and I hope you will read it or make an attempt. If not, then you might live to regret it.
As for me, you may not know me and may think I'm knee jerking. It doesn't matter what you think of me, but it does matter what you think of this health care bill, and you won't truly know what to think if you don't read it for yourself. I hope you do. The link to it is listed below.
Link to the health care bill being proposed as of this date August 11, 2009:
http://docs.house.gov/edlabor/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any party. I am registered as an independent.
The bill being proposed to fix our health care system is pretty far reaching. It will allow the government an entry into our lives as we've never experienced. Several passages present dangerous precedents when you read the bill, and I hope you will read it or make an attempt. If not, then you might live to regret it.
As for me, you may not know me and may think I'm knee jerking. It doesn't matter what you think of me, but it does matter what you think of this health care bill, and you won't truly know what to think if you don't read it for yourself. I hope you do. The link to it is listed below.
Link to the health care bill being proposed as of this date August 11, 2009:
http://docs.house.gov/edlabor/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any party. I am registered as an independent.
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