Why is Religion important to our nation?

 Why is religion important to our nation? To me that is a question that should never even have to be asked. But, due to the uncertain times we live in and the mindset of a new generation I think the value of religion needs to be addressed.

 

Having watched many protests, riots, and listened to the words of many people I clearly see that millions of people were not raised up in the manner that I was. This is not only sad, it is scary. Having attended church regularly while growing up I was taught the meaning of right and wrong. Look around and you will quickly see that for so many this teaching is a way of the past.

 

A whole generation of kids are being taught to be selfish, to hate, and only what they can get from someone else matters. Religions, at least most religions, teach more than learning about God and Jesus. They teach how to be a good person. More than anything else right now our nation needs good people. We need to bring back integrity. We need the pay it forward concept to take hold and sweep across our nation. Can you imagine the impact if a million people suddenly walked out of their houses and did something nice for the first person they saw.

 

So yes, I believe religion is extremely important for our nation to grow, thrive, and in our case to survive. Those calling for our nation to turn away from religion, must not realize what kind of society we would have, if the majority of people no longer believed in God or a higher power. Bad people will always do bad things. Just imagine a time when even the good people have no reason to stay good people.

 

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Good morning world

It’s a beautiful cool Spring morning here in Alabama. For those of you reading in other parts of the world I hope your day is equally as gorgeous. For me I think at least part of my day will be spent doing yard work. Grass needs mowing and weeds need trimming. At least it won’t be hot today.

As April is just getting started I can’t help but remember this time last year. Violent weather seemed to rock the entire nation in one form or fashion. The evidence of that weather is still painfully with us today. At the same time I can’t help but remember how each and every community came together to help each other. People that didn’t know each other working side by side helping one another. There was no race, gender or political issues, only people helping people. Friends were made that will last lifetimes. The pay it forward attitude was abundant the weeks following the tornadoes and the amount of good done was immeasurable. To all of those who helped someone in need…thank you and God bless.

So...What is a Hero?

Since the passing of Whitney Houston I have grown tired of the negative comments about her. She was one of the greatest singers the world has ever known and should be remembered as such. When her home town lowered their flag to half mast it caused such a huge public outcry across our nation that really kinda makes me sick. Does anyone out there truly believe that the town intentionally tried to dishonor even one single soldier by doing this? They were simply showing love for one of their own. I just can’t even force myself to find fault with that.



There are those that want to argue that the flag should only be lowered for real heroes…not celebrities. The meaning of hero is a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. Whitney Houston certainly had ability and was admired by millions, so unless we change the technical meaning of hero, Whitney actually was one. Doesn’t matter that everything in her life wasn’t perfect and in order. She had a disease she couldn’t beat and had an addiction she couldn’t control and she paid a terrible price for it…her life. None of which in my eyes makes her a all bad person.



To all the little girls out there that imitated Whitney Houston during her hey day…she was a hero. Just as growing up we all had our own heroes. I can remember being young and to my moms horror I wanted to be Evel Knievel. He rode a motorcycle and jumped over things and that’s all it took for me and millions of other little boys. We didn’t care that he drank a lot, gambled on sports and blew lots of cash…he was still our hero. As I got older my heroes changed. Learning guitar as a teenager, Eddie Van Halen came along and took over the top spot for me. He remains there to this day. Does he have his faults and weaknesses, of course he does…we all do. Doesn’t take away from his ability.

What happened over the years to turn this nation from a compassionate one to such a angry spiteful one. Well the media plays a pretty significant role in this. Compassion stories simply don’t sell as well as bashing and name calling stories. Selling copy has become more important than real writers writing real stories. I agree that the men and women that fight on the front lines of war for us are heroes. But, so many others out there are heroes to others only in different ways. I believe every fallen soldier should be honored by not only their home town but by the whole nation. These soldiers simply aren’t known worldwide and don’t receive the same amount of attention and media longevity that the celebrities do. Doesn’t make it right, it’s just how it is. So…what is a hero? Guess that depends on who you are doesn’t it? We should all take the “pay it forward” concept and run with it. A little respect for others can go a long way.

Pay it Forward

Good morning friends,

With coffee in hand and the sun streaming in through my office window I wonder what I should blog about today. For the past few months my blogs have gotten farther and farther apart. It’s not that I have been lazy, it’s just that I started writing the rough draft on my first book. Once this project started all other writing seemed to have taken a back seat. I have however been encouraged my writing mentors to not let my articles and blogs fall by the wayside just because I have another project going. They say to remain sharp and to continue learning the craft one must write everyday. So here I am.

I’d like to touch on a problem today that affects us all in some form or fashion most everyday of our lives. That problem would be complaining. This problem often starts for me early in the morning at home and then seems to follow me to work as well. No one seems to ever be satisfied with anything anymore. Kids don’t like the groceries we buy or seem to appreciate the fact that WE buy them in the first place. Co-workers complain that breaks aren’t long enough…even though some take twice as long a break as others and the past few days we all are complaining about gas prices. I find no fault in that last one.

I must admit that I too have been known to be a complainer at times. But in all honesty, I don’t think it’s ever done me very much good except to maybe annoy those around me. I have to wonder what a difference it would make if the whole country decided on the “pay it forward” attitude for just one day. Just think about all the good and positive feelings that would quickly spread across the land. The taxi driver dropping the little old lady off at the grocery store might simply say “Hey this ones on me, have a nice day.” What if the media decided to dig a little deeper and find something positive to write about for a change instead of how bad things are getting. The power of suggestion truly is powerful and it does work. These are only a couple of things that can be done but there are millions more waiting for the chance to happen. Why not give it a try, certainly can’t hurt anything and it sure does feel good.

Pray for Andrew and Hunter, these two young men need all the help they can get.