Recently in Soapbox Category

My children receive proper medical care when sick.

Think this incident is rare? At every school in my school district, my inhaler was considered contraband. Naturally, I always chose a possible detention or expulsion rather than forego carrying my inhaler secretly in my purse. Breathing is one of my priorities in life.

Have you received your 2010 Census Form? Be sure to fill it out and send it back. Census records have always been an important part of genealogy and I want my descendents to be able to look me up in 72 years.

At my house, we have 2 White Puerto Rican guys, 1 White Puerto Rican girl, and 1 plain ol' White girl. In truth, we're a bunch of ethnic mutts here at my house - something we're proud of but something the census, unfortunately, does not capture.

So, here's my Census 2010 addendum:

1 male Spanish/French/Basque/African or Puerto Rican Indian

and

1 female Irish/Scottish/English/German?/American Indian

married with a boy and a girl

The census asks what color our skin is but I think the bigger question is whether America is a melting pot or salad bowl. I was taught by a teacher in high school that we are a salad bowl, but I am sure now that America is a melting pot. Why else would my little Puerto Ricans eat Colcannon on St. Patrick's Day?

The Tim Tebow commercial which aired during the Super Bowl was supposed to lead to the destruction of life as we know it. This was the event that the Mayans warned would end the world.

Or not.

I'm waiting to hear a lot of backtracking today. More than likely, though, those who made such a ruckus will pretend nothing happened. Maybe being exposed for the Chicken Littles that they were will wake a few people up. I doubt it.

I hope the good folks at Focus on the Family are enjoying all the free press the pro-abortion folks have given them. This tempest in a teacup is still providing press this morning as most news outlets are discussing how non-controversial the ad was. Even the celebrity gossip website TMZ is shocked that this benign commercial was the source of so much hoopla:

After weeks of hype and outrage, the Super Bowl commercial with Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow finally aired Sunday night -- so what was all the fuss about?

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what the rest of us have been asking since the story on the Tim Tebow commercial first broke: What is all this fuss about?

In case you missed the ad, take a look for yourself:

A successful son and his loving mother - definitely a recipe for apocalyptic mayhem 

Ok, either President Obama has a serious bowing fetish or he's getting a lice check. Really, I can't think of any other reason why the man would bow to Mayor Pam Iorio of Tampa, Florida. She's an Italian who was born in Maine and grew up in Temple Terrace, Florida, so we can't say it's an Asian or Middle Eastern custom.

All this bowing has me thinking of a cute little movie by my favorite pint-size actress:

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God:
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it, and pluck blackberries...

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh - Book VII

I can't say that Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a hero of mine, but long before my own body fell to ruin I admired her ability to learn, live, and grow despite illness and pain. The quotation above, taken from her nine book blank verse novel, is certainly a gem of truth.

Even a common blackberry bush is as full of God as Moses' burning bush. Some recognize this and honor the Lord; others can see nothing beyond a bush of blackberries.

I find it difficult to understand atheists. How can anyone observe the natural world and not acknowledge the Creator? Every living thing around us is born from the breath of God and possesses a touch of His majesty.

The whole world is afire with God. Let us behold His works and stand on holy ground.

I only started learning about the lives of the Saints a few years ago. Many Protestants (and Christians, in general) know too little of the history of our faith and reading about the Saints has taught me a lot. I have many favorites, but here are a few I've learned from:

Patrick - Kidnapped and sold as a slave, this Romano-Britain escaped to freedom and became a priest. Returning to the land of his enslavement, he faced danger at every turn in his quest to bring Christianity to Ireland - and act which would later allow for the preservation of learning in the Irish monasteries during the destructive Dark Ages.

Returning evil with good and suffering with mercy is never easy but can lead to amazing events we can never anticipate or imagine.

Columba - This hot-tempered prince and priest of Ireland started a dispute over possession of a book and caused the deaths of many men. His punishment was exile and Columba chose to go to Scotland. There he brought Christianity to the Picts and transformed pagan Scotland forever.

Our darkest transgressions sometimes lead to our greatest works and even an angry sinner can become the "Dove of Christ".

Margaret of Scotland - This Anglo-Saxon princess loved and married the king of Scotland and devotedly raised eight children.  She trained her children to follow Christ and encouraged learning and Christanity in Scotland. Her dedication to the poor made her beloved by the Scots. Many of her children and descendents were also Saints.

A caring, teaching mother is a missionary whose dedication is rewarded, generation upon generation.

In our desire to serve God, I think we all can learn much from those who have gone before us.

While I missed the holiday on October 29, I did wear a skirt that day - as I do most every day. Avoiding dresses? Check out Erin at A Dress a Day and her responses for anti-dress excuses. The holiday's Flickr pool has dressy-goodness for those of us who missed the celebration.

Life is short. Use the good china, wear the pretty outfit.

"If the issue is not resolved by the end of October, a judicial review has been tentatively scheduled for November 10." 

• Her father turned her private diary over to CAIR, (Council on American-Islamic Relations), who then turned information over to the Orlando Sentinel newspaper for publication. Classy. What does it say? About the same stuff I've read from First Century Christians. Lots of fear, lots of faith.


• Rifqa's older brother, the brother who injured her eye years ago back in Sri Lanka, gave out the phone number of her foster care home and the address has been published on the internet by a Muslim blogger who is stalking Rifqa.


• Rifqa's eye, the one whose injury allowed the Barys into the US for Rifqa's medical care, has never received medical treatment here in the United States.