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Abortion: Why I fight for me

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In every decision, argument, bill, law, etc. ever made there will always be two sides with differing opinions. Democracy thrives on this principle, and although many of us wish to silence the side we disagree with, I believe that a difference in opinions and the ability for those opinions to be heard strengthens moral character. The ability to hear two sides (our own and another), truly seek for understanding, and then make a decision, helps us either move closer to principles that are correct (should we be wrong in our opinion) or helps us in strengthening our personal resolve in our own opinions with new and added perspective (should we be right). So today, I wish to give my side of the coin. If you don't agree feel free to challenge it, like I said I believe that two opinions can be a great force for good in the world; a force for either changing hearts or strengthening our own personal resolve.  Abortion  Abortion is one of those topics where sometimes it is hard to know w...
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How do you talk about family?

Today rather than going in detail over specific statistics on one subject regarding the family, I want to discuss how we talk about families in general. How do you personally talk about marriage, children, divorce, commitment etc.? How does society speak about marriage, children, love, divorce etc? What are the messages that we are portraying to the next generations of the most foundational aspect of our society? Jim Bunning, a well known baseball player and a member of the United States senate, once said "A loving family provides the foundation children need to succeed,  and strong families with a man and a woman-bonded together for life - always have been, and always will be, the key to such families." Now for those of you that don't believe in the traditional family of a man and a woman, I make no apology that the statement says the foundation comes from families with both a mom and a dad. No matter how politically correct we try to make things sometimes, there is simp...
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Surface Level Connection

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How many of you have heard the phrases, “I just hate everyone,” “I got a dog because humans suck,” “the only thing I love about people are their animals.” While I laugh at these phrases and as I have even flippantly stated them on occasion, I think it is important to remember that we all need people. People have an inward and innate longing to be around others and to feel loved and accepted. A song by a popular artist states, “What if you had it all But nobody to call? Maybe then, you'd know me 'Cause I've had everything But no one's listening And that's just lonely I'm so lonely Lonely I'm so lonely Lonely” ( Justin Bieber: Lonely ) I think the song points to an interesting concept, the concept that even someone who is famous and constantly surrounded and supported by people can feel utterly alone. So how does it work, how does someone in a sea of people come to feel like they have no one to lean on. Bieber shows us the answer in just three ...
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Family Work

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 Sophocles once stated, "Without Labor nothing prospers." So let me translate that into family terms; without family work, the family suffers.  Let's look at the history of families really quick and see how this has played out and changed throughout history. History of Family Work I'm going to start from a religious text, but if you aren't religious don't worry because there is material coming for you too. The Bible starts with the story of Adam and Eve when cast out of the garden of Eden. The Bible states " And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy  wife , and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it:  cursed   is  the ground for thy sake " ( Genesis 3:17 ). Notice how the text says FOR thy sake, meaning from a religious point of view, God meant for work to be a blessing from the beginning, and because God made family as the central unit of society, it means that the cursed gr...
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Communication

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We've all heard phrases like "God gave you one mouth and two ears for a reason" or "think before you speak," in all of these phrases comes the cultural theme of communication. As a culture we seem to value communication. Phrases like the ones above have been passed down by parents, teachers, and other leaders throughout generations. So if communication is something we value, something that is so important to us, how are we doing at it? The reality is, is no one is a perfect communicator; and although that is hard for us to grasp sometimes, the truth is we could all use some improvement. Now we all have different aspects of communication that we personally could work on; but today I am going to give basic principles that can be applied to a multitude of scenarios and then I am going to take them and apply it to conflict.  The Five Secrets of Effective Communication David D. Burns E mpathy:             1. Disarming Technique: Find some truth in what...
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Family Crisis

 Family Crisis is such an interesting concept because quite frankly it entails a wide variety of situations. A family crisis can range from a parent losing a job, a child dying, unforeseen illness, affairs, imprisonment, infertility, a child struggling with drug use, abuse, and the list goes on and on.  So how do you cover such a wide variety of situations, problems, perspectives, attitudes and feelings in one single article? The reality is, is that you can't. Each of you have a unique situation, a situation that I don't know about, and that I don't understand because I am not in it and don't know the dynamics of how it is all playing out.  However, there is one thing that each of us in our own situation can apply; and that entails how we cope with our crisis. When family crisis hits, there are many ways to begin coping with it and some ways are much more effective than others. So let's take a look!! Methods of Coping Denial: You won't admit to what you know is...
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