Patriotism in church

I just wanted to post a question that i know has been discussed on others blogs but I wanted to hear some input from you guys about it. What role do you all believe the church should have in patriotic celebrations? With tomorrow being Memorial Day, I know that many churches spent today having patriotic services. Although I definitely believe that we should take time to honor our veterans and those who sacrificed thier lives while serving in military, Im concerned that some churches may be chalking up patriotism as a required godly trait. In some Christian circles, I think that criticizing the U.S. government is considered equally as serious as blasphemy. This is something that I was thinking about in church today and I would love to hear your comments.

A Flawed System

Okay so last night a couple of my friends and I went to the drive-in and saw the movie "The Longest Yard". Now i know there have been several bad reviews out there about this flick but we thought it was hilarious and unexpectedly inspirational. I then watched the movie "The Hurricane" today which for those who arent familar with it, is a true story about a man who was wrongly convicted for murder and sat in prison for over 30 years. If you have not seen this movie I highly recommend you watch it. It shines a light on all the corruption and discrimination that exists within our criminal justice system . I had watched it before but yet it stills gives me an uneasy, sickening feeling throughout the entire movie. It makes me so infuriated that such injustices still occur and that there are probably many more innocent individuals in our prisons. Yet because they are labeled "criminals" they are ignored. No one wants to spend the time to plead thier case, especially if they have already been through court proceedings. It doesnt matter if that individual didnt have a credible court defender or that he had a racist panel of jurors. We need to remember that criminals are people too and do everything we can to ensure that every individual is given the right to fair trial and that justice is served to everyone. Of course this is impossible because humans run the systems that govern our courts and humans are flawed themselves. However, that doesnt mean we quit striving for it.

going to Ok next week!

So I've had advancements in my job search and Im headed to Oklahoma city next week for a couple of interviews and to check out some apartments! Isnt that exciting? I cant wait to see how God brings everything together in His timing. I need to remember that because I do tend to stress very easily. But anyways I'll keep everyone updated as to what happens. Please pray for me and that God will give me the discernment and wisdom needed to make good decisions in the upcoming weeks.

Blood diamonds

Since my engagement ring is not the typical diamond but a ruby instead, I have had to explain to several individuals recently what blood diamonds were. To state in simpler terms I found an article that states at least 10 reasons why you shouldnt purchase diamonds. Although this doesnt go into great detail about the history of blood diamonds in Africa it does illustrate how the diamond industry (DeBeers) brainwashed western culture. Without further ado, here is the article.

Econ-Atrocity Bulletin:
Ten Reasons Why You Should Never Accept a Diamond Ring from Anyone, Under Any Circumstances, Even If They Really Want to Give You One (2/14/02) y Liz Stanton, CPE Staff Economist
1. You've Been Psychologically Conditioned To Want a Diamond
The diamond engagement ring is a 63-year-old invention of N.W.Ayer advertising agency. The De Beers diamond cartel contracted N.W.Ayer to create a demand for what are, essentially, useless hunks of rock.
2. Diamonds are Priced Well Above Their Value
The De Beers cartel has systematically held diamond prices at levels far greater than their abundance would generate under anything even remotely resembling perfect competition. All diamonds not already under its control are bought by the cartel, and then the De Beers cartel carefully managed world diamond supply in order to keep prices steadily high.
3. Diamonds Have No Resale or Investment Value
Any diamond that you buy or receive will indeed be yours forever: De Beers’ advertising deliberately brain-washed women not to sell; the steady price is a tool to prevent speculation in diamonds; and no dealer will buy a diamond from you. You can only sell it at a diamond purchasing center or a pawn shop where you will receive a tiny fraction of its original "value."
4. Diamond Miners are Disproportionately Exposed to HIV/AIDS
Many diamond mining camps enforce all-male, no-family rules. Men contract HIV/AIDS from camp sex-workers, while women married to miners have no access to employment, no income outside of their husbands and no bargaining power for negotiating safe sex, and thus are at extremely high risk of contracting HIV.
5. Open-Pit Diamond Mines Pose Environmental Threats
Diamond mines are open pits where salts, heavy minerals, organisms, oil, and chemicals from mining equipment freely leach into ground-water, endangering people in nearby mining camps and villages, as well as downstream plants and animals.
6. Diamond Mine-Owners Violate Indigenous People's Rights
Diamond mines in Australia, Canada, India and many countries in Africa are situated on lands traditionally associated with indigenous peoples. Many of these communities have been displaced, while others remain, often at great cost to their health, livelihoods and traditional cultures.
7. Slave Laborers Cut and Polish Diamonds
More than one-half of the world's diamonds are processed in India where many of the cutters and polishers are bonded child laborers. Bonded children work to pay off the debts of their relatives, often unsuccessfully. When they reach adulthood their debt is passed on to their younger siblings or to their own children.
8. Conflict Diamonds Fund Civil Wars in Africa
There is no reliable way to insure that your diamond was not mined or stolen by government or rebel military forces in order to finance civil conflict. Conflict diamonds are traded either for guns or for cash to pay and feed soldiers.
9. Diamond Wars are Fought Using Child Warriors
Many diamond producing governments and rebel forces use children as soldiers, laborers in military camps, and sex slaves. Child soldiers are given drugs to overcome their fear and reluctance to participate in atrocities.
10. Small Arms Trade is Intimately Related to Diamond Smuggling
Illicit diamonds inflame the clandestine trade of small arms. There are 500 billion small arms in the world today which are used to kill 500,000 people annually, the vast majority of whom are non-combatants.

My engagement story..

I promised to write more details of how Justin proposed, and now that things have settled down, I have a little more time to do so.
As most of you all know, our relationship has been a long distance relationship from the very beginning. So anyways, last Wednesday ( May 11th) Justin flew into Bloomington to be here for my graduation from ISU on Friday. However on Thursday we drove to downtown Chicago to eat at this gourmet Mexican restaurant we had been wanting to go to. Its called Frontera Grill and if you are ever in the Chicago area, you should definitely check it out! http://fronterakitchens.com/ It was amazing! (I also wanted to point out that I successfully parallel parked in downtown Chicago, which for anyone who knows me, this is a huge feat!)
Okay, so after a great lunch in Chicago, we drove to the Indiana Dunes, which is the beach area of Lake Michigan. Its actually very beautiful, and for anyone who lives in the land-locked portion of the United States its our version of the beach since Lake Michigan is so large and spans into the horizon. It also one of the places we went on Justin's first visit to Illinois this time last year.
So anyways it was kind of chilly on the beach, so we took a couple of blankets, found an area overlooking the lake watching the waves roll in with the chicago skyline faintly in the distance, and cuddled while having the beach completely to ourselves. We had been talking for awhile and all of a sudden the sun started coming out from under a cloud, making the moment picture perfect. I truly was thinking at this time, this is just beautiful. "Im with the man I love in such a perfect place" when Justin leaned over and said "I want to spend the rest of our lives together, will you marry me? My heart stopped, b/c I was so taken off guard that I immediately said "Are you serious?" He kind of smiled then got up on his knee, and took the ring out of his wallet. At this point, I realized he was serious and i think I said yes as he put the ring on my finger! Some of what happened is a blur since I was still in shock at the time.
That night we drove home, called some friends and told my parents. I also talked to his mom on the phone who welcomed me into the family, which i thought was incredibly sweet. The next day I graduated from college and on Saturday was my open house which became an engagement/graduation party, so all the family got to meet Justin and see my ring. Needless to say, its been a whirlwind of emotions the past week and a half and it has finally sunk in that Im getting married! Yeah for me! I couldnt be happier!

you can comment now...

Alrighty...so for the last couple months or so, I have felt as though no one really reads my blog, or its just incredibly boring b/c i never have any comments. However, I was informed last night that I had settings on my page that restricted those who can comment on my site. So ive adjusted those settings and now anyone should be able to comment. Let me know if this is the case..

IM ENGAGED! I will write more details later, but just wanted everyone to know how happy I am :)

Count your blessings

This afternoon at a student apartment building near the campus of ISU (Illinois State Univ) a fire broke out and completely destroyed the building, leaving over 80 college students without a place to stay. Apparently the fire started in the 3rd floor of the building and eventually caused the entire building to collapse. Although no one was injured, the students living there lost EVERYTHING, all on the weekend before finals. I cant even imagine...losing pictures, clothing, computers, textbooks, basic toiletries, etc... It seems as though it takes times like these for us to finally remember to count our blessings and then reach out to others.

Challenge from my professor

You are a woman,
of wisdom, courage, strength
compassion and creativity....
Go forth with the
fire of confidence
in your heart.
Kindle it with care &
never let it's brillant flame go out.

You are now a social worker!!!
Regardless of what direction you go
professionally from here...
that is the core of who you are.