McCain and Obama Camparisons

The information on the below chart is really scary, especially in relation to Obama's plan in relation to taxes. He is going to totally ruin our economy.

2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COMPARISON TALKING POINTS

ISSUE		JOHN McCAIN	BARAK OBAMA
Favors new drilling offshore US		Yes	No
Will appoint judges who interpret the law not make it		Yes	No
Served in the US Armed Forces		Yes	No
Amount of time served in the US Senate		22 YEARS	173 DAYS
Will institute a socialized national health care plan		No	Yes
Supports abortion throughout the pregnancy		No	Yes
Would pull troops out of Iraq immediately		No	Yes
Supports gun ownership rights		Yes	No
Supports homosexual marriage		No	Yes
Proposed programs will mean a huge tax increase		No	Yes
Voted against making English the official language		No	Yes
Voted to give Social Security benefits to illegals		No	Yes
CAPITAL GAINS TAX
MCCAIN	0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.
OBAMA	28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.)
DIVIDEND TAX
MCCAIN	15% (no change)
OBAMA	39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.')
INCOME TAX
MCCAIN (no changes)	Single making 30K - tax $4,500 Single making 50K - tax $12,500 Single making 75K - tax $18,750 Married making 60K- tax $9,000 Married making 75K - tax $18,750 Married making 125K - tax $31,250
OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)	Single making 30K - tax $8,400 Single making 50K - tax $14,000 Single making 75K - tax $23,250 Married making 60K - tax $16,800 Married making 75K - tax $21,000 Married making 125K - tax $38,750 Under Obama, your taxes could almost double!
INHERITANCE TAX
MCCAIN	- 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)
OBAMA	Restore the inheritance tax Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.
NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA
New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already) New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least....New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!

You can verify the above at the following web sites:

http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/election/2008/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.taxes.html
http://elections.foxnews.com/?s=proposed+taxes

http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/politics/articles/mccain_obama_offer_different_visions_on_taxes.html ;
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/barack_obama/

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/john_mccain/

Ramblings about Blogging

Sometimes I just feel the need to make another comment about blogging. Maybe I shouldn't. Maybe I should just keep the heat on in relation to some of the political stuff, such as my most recent; Abstinence, Safe Sex and STDs.

It's just that sometimes I feel frustrated and I don't know where to put my comments in relation to what I feel because so much of what's out there is political and let's face it, politics can be quite frustrating.

I do think that I've grown as a blogger. I used to get overwhelmed every time that my Email box fills up with comments relating to all the posts on all the blogs that I've made comments on. I click the "Sent Follow up Comments to my E-mail" boxes because that is the only way I know of keeping track of where I've been. I could keep notes, I suppose, but haven't gotten that organized. I know there are probably people who are going to tell me that I shouldn't check those boxes because it appears to be driving me nuts, yet I'm actually sort of proud of myself because I've been managing it much better that I used to.

Just as I was getting ready to say; I used to get overwhelmed every time that my Email fills up with comments relating to all the posts of all the blogs I've made comments on, yet more recently, I just shake my head and laugh at myself saying "Oh look, Lista! You did it to yourself again." lolol.

I comment on most of what I read because it makes me feel like I'm more likely to remember what I've read, for why read it, if I'm moving so quickly in my reading from one post to another without really thinking much or trying to analyze anything or if I'm not going to remember most of it anyway? I'd rather analyze it to death. Than I not only remember it, but know what my opinion on it is as well. This slows me down, yet I'd rather read less and remember it, than read more and not feel quite sure what all I just read. That's just me.

Anyway, here's my short break from all the political stuff, but I'm Ok now. I'll be back to responding to all the many comments on various different blogs soon.

Absinence Verses "Safe Sex"

I'll be adding a link soon relating to the research relating to Abstinence verses "Safe Sex" programs, yet for now, I'll just give you this one.

In my opinion, the main problem is not in the presence of teaching about methods of Birth Control, but in what is emphasized. Remember that Teens are greatly influenced by the messages that they receive about sex in school. Too often Abstinence is downplayed, whether than stressed, while sexual activity and condom use are encouraged. The idea that Children are going to have sex is assumed, whether than challenged. Surveys consistently show that parents want schools to include strong abstinence messages, not just a brief mention of it as an option.

Abstinence education does more than just tell teens to say no to unwed sex. It teaches young people the practical skills they need to maintain their purity. They are taught about Self-esteem, self-control, decision-making, goal-setting, character education and communication skills. Please do read the link and I'll be back with more soon.

More Abstinence and STD Statistics

This post may seem sort of similar to the previous one, but I have posted some additional statistics.

The last post I did on this, that is the next post down, was mainly about how the attitudes about Abstinence and Virginity before marriage have changed over the years and then I gave some statistics relating to STDs and explained how teenagers are even more susceptible to them because of an immature immune system.

Here are still some more statistics on STDs. These are taken from a brochure entitled "Is Sex Safe? A look at:Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)", put out by Heritage House 2006. The bold emphasis is mine. Consider these facts.


- STDs are the most common diseases in America next to the common cold and flu.
- More than 1 in 5 Americans are presently infected with an STD.
- 19 million people become newly infected with STDs yearly - 52,000/day.
- 1/4th of STD infections occur in teens and 2/3rds of them occur in people under the age of 25.
- 65 million Americans are infected with an incurable STD.
- 35 - 50 different kinds of STDs exist. 25 of which occur commonly.
- 20 different STds are rampant among the young. At least 25 STDs are spread primarily through sexual contact.
- STDs infect 4.75 million teenagers each year, over 13,000 new cases per. day.
- 80% infected with an STD do not develop the initial symptoms.
- STDs are contagious even though no sypmtoms exist.
- New strains of STDs are resistant to treatment.
- STDs often cause chronic pain and permanent damage.
- STD infection can increase the possibility of contracting AIDS.
- Some STDs are incurable, life-long infections. Some can lead to life-threatening diseases and even death.


Another thing that is mentioned in this brochure is five risks that the sexually active need to be aware of.


- Your partner may not know he/she has an STD. 80% infected do not know their condition.
- Your partner may not tell you the truth if he/she has been sexually active in the past.
- You can have an STD and have no symptoms for weeks, months, possibly years. STDs are contagious even though no symptoms exist.
- Teens are much more suseptible to STD damage because they have lower level of antibodies than adults.
- According to the Centers for Disease Control, condoms do not provide complete protection from any STD or pregnancy. Infection can occur in both males and females whether or not a condom is used.


The conclusion given is that the only way to avoid the risks is to Save Sex for Marriage.


That was a quick preview of what some of the brochures at our center are like.


The concluding statement in the previous post is worth repeating here...

Dr Teresa Crenshaw, past President of the American Association of Sex Educators, said "Saying that the use of condoms is 'safe sex' is in fact playing Russian roulette. A lot of people will die in this dangerous game."

Do we really want to play this game with our young loved ones by leading them to believe that sex is Ok as long as they use "protection"?

Abstinence and STD Statistics

In the comment section of the previous post, BB-Idaho and I began discussing the pregnancy center that I work at, which lead up to a discussion of Pregnant Teens, Abstinence, Sex and STDs and I'm not even sure if I have the answer yet to all of the things he brought up, yet I do know that there is information at the center about Abstinence and "Safe-Sex" statistics. Since it's a long weekend, I won't be back there until Tuesday, yet I assure you that there will be more coming besides what I put in this post.

If you would like to read the previous discussion that was made on this subject, go to the next Post down entitled "Avoiding the Extremes in Both Parties", click on the title and then use the "Find on this Page" feature within your browser to find the words "Pregnant Teens". You might have to hit the "Next" button once to get to the mention of this in the comment section. This is where my discussion with BB on this subject begins.

Meanwhile, I though that I might post some of the statistics that I already have handy relating to Abstinence attitudes and STDs.

BB presented some information about birth rates. Here are some statistics about the rate of Abstinence over the years, as well as the current rates of STDs...


A poll conducted in 2001 revealed that 60% of Americans believe that there is nothing wrong with a man and woman having sex before marriage and of course, the media reinforces this idea. The problem is that as our attitudes about sex have changed over the years, so has the decline in those who practice Abstinence before Marriage.

A study in 1992, (same year as a study presented by BB), 55.1% of all women born between 1933 and 1942 reported that they had abstained from premarital sex and only 27.4% of women born between 1953 and 1962 reported the same (Edward O. Laumann et. al., The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the US (University of Chicago Press: 1994)). Later studies revealed that between 1971 and 1995, the rate of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 who reported having premarital sex increased from 30% to 49% (Joyce C. Abma and Freya L. Sonenstein, "Sexual Activity and Contraceptive Practices Among Teenagers in the US", 1988 and 1995; "Data from the National Survey of Family Growth", National Center for Health Statistics, Wasshington, D.C., April 2001, Table1). As far as I'm concerned, these percentages are far too high.

This whole picture wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the rate of STDs going up as well.

Over 65 million Americans currently have an incurable STD and each year there are 15 million new STD cases in the US, of which 50% are incurable (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Tracking the Hidden Epidemics: Trends in STDs in the US", 2000). Also, at least 1 in 3 sexually active people are estimated to have contracted an STD by age 24 (The Kaiser Family Foundation, "Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the US", Feb. 2000).

Each year, over 3 million teens are infected with an STD (The Alan Guttmacher Institute, "Teen Sex and Pregnancy", Facts in Brief, 1999).

Gonorrhea rates are highest among females 15-19 years old (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Tracking the Hidden Epidemics: Trends in STDs in the US", 2000).

Also, at least 10% (that's 1 in 10) of all sexually active teens are infected with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, a condition most often caused by untreated Gonorrhea and Chlamydia that can lead to infertility and ectopic Pregnancy, or Pregnancy in the Fallopian Tubes (The Medical Institute for Sexual Health, "Medical Updates: Frepuently Asked Questions").


Young people are often led to believe that they will be safe from STDs and pregnancy if they use condoms, however conveying such a message can be dangerously misleading. Condoms protect against HIV/AIDs, but only at the rate of 85%, or put another way, they reduce the risk by only 85%. Personally, I think that 15% is a huge window and what's more, there's no evidence to support any protection at all against the many other STDs, now more than 50 strands, many of which are incurable and Birth Control Pills offer no protection at all.

Many sexually active young people do not view themselves as being at risk for STDs and tend to form perceptions of their own risks and their partners risks based on impressions, rather than factual information.

The unfortunate truth, though, is that an immature immune system places adolescents at increased risk for STDs and teenage girls face a greater risk because of an anatomical variance. The outer covering of a teenage cervix is more susceptible to infection by the bacteria and viruses of STDs.

Dr Teresa Crenshaw, past President of the American Association of Sex Educators, said "Saying that the use of condoms is 'safe sex' is in fact playing Russian roulette. A lot of people will die in this dangerous game."

Do we really want to play this game with our young loved ones by leading them to believe that sex is Ok as long as they use "protection"?

Avoiding the Extremes in Both Parties

In the comment section of one of Griper's posts, BB-Idaho said something very interesting.


"It's just perspective..

"Q: How do you tell the difference between a liberal and a conservative?
"A: Easy. Watch a man drowning fifty feet offshore.

"The conservative will throw out 25 feet of rope and shout 'swim for it!'

"The liberal will toss out 50 feet of rope, drop his own end, and go off to do another good deed."


I guess that this could be taken as a joke, but I found it to be rather profound and it's just the sort of thing that's right down my ally. I've often talked about the subject of what's wrong with both of the extremes within both the Republican and Democratic parities, and BB said it so perfectly.

The problem with the Republican approach, as described above, is that they assume that the drowning man has the ability to swim 25 feet, which may or may not be the case. The problem with the Democratic approach, as described above, is that they are so eager to do a large number of good deeds, that they do not put adequate thought into each one. Quite often they just give out food, such as a fish, but they do not stick around to teach the person how to fish.

Republicans are willing to teach someone how to fish, but do not give them enough fish in the mean time in order to give them the energy that they will need in order to carry out the lesson. Perhaps I should add that the fish can represent not only food, (what is needed for the body),but also counseling and emotional support (what is needed for the spirit and the soul). Too often, those who are drowning emotionally are expected to swim without any emotional support, just expectation and judgment.


Griper and I were discussing on his blog, not too long ago, about the contrast between Government Programs and Private Charities. I guess it's pretty plain that Government Programs are run pretty inefficiently, yet when it comes to free hand outs, sometimes Private Charities don't do as much better at this as one might think, for many of them do primarily give out hand outs as well.

At the place where I work, we help pregnant teens. We just started a new program in which we have decided to no longer just give out the cloths and baby supplies free, but instead to start requiring them to watch videos and tapes about pregnancy, health, child rearing, budgeting, relationships, sexuality, etc. Interestingly, the girls actually appreciate, whether than resent it.

Don't Throw Your Pearls Before Swine

There are times in which I've felt like questioning God about the way He designed certain things on this earth and within the hearts of His people. For example, why has He created us in such a way in order to allow for the pain that we feel? It seems to me that our emotions are far too strong and our hearts far too easily damaged.

There is something else that happens too besides just the injuries that happen to human hearts. Another thing that occurs is how the truth about human hurts remains way too hidden. The very fact that we hurt so deeply hinders the communication that could aid in our healing.

One really good example of this is how a rape victim will so often fail to report the crime that has been committed against her. Sometimes the delay is so long that some will question whether or not she is telling the truth. Time and time again, it is necessary for a professional to take the stand and explain how it is not uncommon for the trauma of such an event to prevent and delay the reporting of the event and how such emotions can even remain buried in the victim's heart for years before the truth comes out.

In a similar way, sometimes people who are highly sensitive emotionally can be injured deeply by something that their loved ones do not think should be significant enough to cause pain, yet the pain is so deep, that the person can not even talk about it.

Finally, after a considerable amount of time has passed, the person finally talks, yet only to be met with the complaint, "That was so long ago. Why are you bringing up the past?" I never could figure out who wrote the rule that if too much time passes before a confrontation is made, than the complaint becomes mute, yet when the hurt is very deep, we are reluctant to talk about it. Sometimes we are even reluctant to talk about it too anyone at all, never mind the one who has caused us pain.

The problem is this...
The truth about the very deepest of hurts is not often enough expressed. Because of this, those who cause such pain continue to get away with it. The faults of the villains are not brought to light and some do not even realize that an injury has occurred at their hand. This reality troubles me.


As I've added to this a few principles that I've found in the scriptures, I've become puzzled even more. Consider for example what Jesus tells His disciples in relation to parables.

"10) The disciples came to Him and asked, 'Why do you speak to the people in parables?' 11) He replied, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12) Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13) This is why I speak to them in parables: 'Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14) In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15) For this, people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' 16) But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.'" Matthew 13:10-16, NIV.

"10) When He was alone, the Twelve and the others around Him asked Him about the parables. 11) He told them, 'The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables, 12) so that, 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'" Mark 4:10-12, NIV.

"He said, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'" Luke 8:10, NIV.


How odd this is. It is as if the truth is only for those who put a little effort into seeking it, for the Bible also says...

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Matthew 7:7, KJV.

And "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32, KJV.


The idea of concealing some of the truth is reinforced by the very fact that things that hurt are difficult to talk about. And than this is reinforced again by the verse that says, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." Matthew 7:6, KJV.

Yet there is a part of me that cries out and says, "But God, if only they really understood, maybe they would repent!" and this has continued to puzzle me.


I guess God wants us to be so concerned about others, that we actually pay attention to how others are responding to us. He wants us to desire to know and to care about whether or not we hurt those around us. Some people are just too absorbed in themselves and their own concerns to notice what is right there before their eyes.

Lord, please help us to want to know the truth. Please, reveal to us what we need to know about ourselves and our effect on those around us. Please seek out the motives in our hearts. Please, reveal to us the truth and set us free, so that we may more effectively love. Amen!

Back from Family Camp, so Please do Say Hello.

I guess I should do another post informing all of you that I'm back from family camp. It is taking me a while to actually post something that's significant. For some reason, it's often easier for me to respond to other people on their blogs than to initiate a post on my own blog. I do try to post once in while, but I'm afraid it's not always often enough to keep my hit count up.

Oh well. I guess I can only do what I can do.

We're Off Again

Well, I sort of hated to post what I just posted, leave you with that and than leave town, yet that is unfortunately exactly what I'm going to do. We are leaving sometime tomorrow morning and will not be back until Monday or Tuesday, so your comments are probably going to be left in the moderation mode again until then. Please do still feel free to comment, though, and we will talk about it when we get back. Until then, do take care and I'll see you very soon. Love ya' all.

Calm the Anger in My Heart - Poem

Well, I didn't think I was going to be posting anything of significance prior to our return from family camp after this weekend, yet I've been running into people lately that have got me thinking about the subject of anger. The Lord has actually healed me of a lot of the things I used to really feel angry about. Of course, this horrible beast still rears it's ugly head at times. We all struggle with anger at times, yet I'm so much more at peace than I once was.

Forgiveness is talked about a lot in the churches, yet my struggle was significant enough that I kept saying, "You know what? It's just not as simple as that." Forgiveness actually involves a little bit of a healing process and can often take a little time. It just plain doesn't happen over night.

Here is a poem that I wrote once when I was feeling angry.

Calm the Anger in my Heart

Calm the anger in my heart. Help me to release it unto You.
Pry my fingers from their grasp.
Help me to know You know the way.
Calm the anger in my heart. Show me hope that You are there.
You're the one who changes hearts. Help me, let You do it, Lord.

(Chorus)
What can I do, when the trust has gone away?
What do I do, with the hurt that still remains?
I give it to You, Lord. Heal my pain and make me love.

Calm the anger in my heart. Help me to see Your guiding hand.
Let me cry my tears to You. Heal me Lord and show the way.
Calm the anger in my heart. Help me to see the other’s pain.
Help me feel compassion, Lord. Ease my hurt and show me how.

(Chorus)
What can I do, when the trust has gone away?
What do I do, with the hurt that still remains?
I give it to You, Lord. Heal my pain and make me love.

Calm the anger in my heart. Please forgive me, Lord, I pray.
Help me to confront some one in love,
Yet not until You’ve calmed my angry heart.
Calm the anger in my heart. Take the pain, Lord, heal me now.
Take the tears and cleanse me, Lord.
Help me to let go and trust You, Lord.

(Chorus)
What can I do, when the trust has gone away?
What do I do, with the hurt that still remains?

I give it to You, Lord. Heal my pain and make me love.

A lot of what I have to say about anger is reflected in the poem. Anger involves more than just anger and lack of forgiveness. It also involves hurt; sometimes very deep hurt; and quite often there are trust issues, so to simply say, "You need to let go and forgive that person." does not address all of the issues.

Only God can fully heal us of our hurts and help us to love again and letting go of anger involves healing and therefore also tears.

Another thing that helps is the understanding that we all have areas of our life in which we feel pain. Even the ones that we are angry with have things in their life that cause them pain. In our own humanness, it is extremely difficult to see this because we are so caught up in our own pain that it is nearly impossible for us to imagine that that "horrible monster" that we are angry at feels any pain, or for that matter feels anything at all. Trying to see things from the other person's perspective is extremely difficult on a purely human level and most of us have mental blocks that prevent us from seeing the point of view of someone who has hurt us.

We also have such a strong tendency to hang on to anger. It is not at all easy to let go of. I know. I've most definitely been there, yet God can help to break through the issues in our heart and help us to release that which we cling to so tightly. As long as we keep holding on to the anger, it is impossible to find peace. It's like a strong hold in our heart and letting go involves a healing process that can often take considerable time. The reality of the long healing process has been too often ignored.

Sometimes too, there are issues of trust. Just because we have chosen to not trust someone does not mean that we have not forgiven them. It is foolish to not do what is necessary to protect ourself from further harm and unfortunately, lack of trust will usually change the relationship, yet trust is something that must be earned and once it is broken, it must be earned back. This is not an issue of lack of forgiveness. It is simply the natural result of broken trust.

The last concept in this poem is the possible need for confrontation. If the person who has caused the pain is someone that we care about, it will probably be necessary to tell that person how we feel, yet this should not be done in anger. Sometimes we need to ask God for help in this one, because it is really hard to express deep hurt without including anger. Anger, though, only begets more anger and accomplishes nothing, just as the Bible says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1, NIV.

Another very important thing to remember is that it is only God who can truly change hearts. Just as it is God who can help us to let go of the anger, it is also God who can change the hearts of those who have hurt us, yet in order for this to happen, the other person also needs to turn to God for help and this is a healing process, so we need to be patient.

Lastly, and unfortunately, quite often we never do get the apology that we were hoping for. This is what makes forgiveness even more difficult and the trust may also never be restored. Sometimes there can even be a rift in the friendship that will never be healed, so the most unfortunate and sad reality is that sometimes the process of forgiveness can result not in reconciliation, but actually letting go, not only of the anger, but of the relationship as well, or perhaps of what you hoped the relationship could be. This is the part of the puzzle that I struggled with for so long and wasn't willing to accept.

Well, We're Back. It was a Fun Trip.

It was a fun trip. I guess I almost could have made a post out of the comment I just left on the next post down. I'm hoping to one day soon write about the trip in even more detail, yet for now I just wanted to put something on the top of my blog that says something other than we're gone on vacation, though, to tell you the truth, we have family camp coming up this week end, so I will be away from the computer again this weekend, yet I'm here for now in case anyone wants to say hi.

If you are new to my blog, please do read some of my earlier entries and check out the labels on the right. Thanks for dropping by.

Gone on Vacation to Canada

This is officially my last post. Mom and Dad are arriving here sometime on Monday afternoon and we will be headed out of town on Tuesday morning. I'll be checking the computer up until sometime Sunday night and responding to comments as I have time. After that, the comments will sit in the moderation mode until I get back sometime on August 3 or 4. I'm going to miss you all, but plan to have a really good time.

California Fires - God Answers Prayers

I couldn't help but to be a little amazed by the fact that the one and only night that we had unexpected 45 mph winds, the fire that was effected by it was quite a ways away from here. Though this fire was blown quite a distance in a short time, it was pushed through a lot of empty fields and forest that contained no houses or buildings. By the time it reached the back door of our community, the wind had died down and the fire fighters were able to get a handle on it.

They expected the same sort of wind to happen again, but night after night, it never did. Why do you suppose this is? Could it be because lots of people were praying? Could it be because God knew that there are quite a few residents in our community and also limited escape routes? Could it be that God knew that there might actually be casualties if the fire rushed too quickly into town?

On the news, they said that fortunately, "Mother Nature" has been on our side, yet several of my friends have said, "No, not Mother Nature, but Father God." I tend to agree.

I was praying the whole time for the community, because let's fact it; if the fire reached our house, it would have to burn it's way through a whole bunch of other houses first and the devastation would have been massive, so I pleaded with God and told Him that I didn't find that sort of devastation acceptable.

A friend of mine, who is a little more Pentecostal in her approach, commanded the fire, in Jesus Name, to not enter the town. Interestingly, the homes that were destroyed were outside of the city limit. The more resent fire that was caused by the thunder storms did not destroy any homes in our community at all. It really does appear that God was on our side. Praise God!!

Keeping that in mind, I think that my husband and I can go on vacation now and not worry about leaving our house in His hands. Praise God!!

Summing it Up

They removed the Precautionary Evacuation Status from our area last weekend. I don't remember any more exactly when it was that ours was removed. I guess it was on Sunday, but it may have even been on Saturday night. When they did that, though, they sent the out of town fire fighters either home or to other fires.

We remained a little nervous at first because the last time that they did this, there was an unexpected wind the following night and we were put on Precautionary Evacuation again. Because of this, I was reluctant to unpack at first, since I had already done so twice, but we did finally unpack a little each day throughout the week and I think that we've gotten it all back in the house again. It sure is good to have my things back inside the house and the smoke has been much better. Praise God!!

We are getting ready now to go of a trip to Canada. I was really nervous about going because the fire is actually still burning. It has been 70% contained since Monday and is now 80% contained and the fire fighters continue to report good progress on it, but it is still not out.

Interestingly, in the next post down, the men who commented thought we should go on the trip and the women who commented understood my reluctance. Well, it looks like we are going. It's only been postponed by a few days. Mom and Dad will be here either Monday or Tuesday and soon after that we'll be heading out.

Please continue to pray that the fire fighters will get every single one of the Northern California Fires out. Thanks.

Finally, Some Encouraging News

Well, it looks like they are finally getting a handle on the fire again. They actually removed the Mandatory and Precautionary Evacuation Status from a lot of different areas and are letting some of the evacuees come home. It's just like I said on the last comment that I wrote, as of the time I posted this, "At present, the fire that we are personally threatened by is moving in a different direction, threatening a different community other than ours." I guess that's not so good for this other community, yet I must admit that we have been on Precautionary Evacuation for so long, that I really think it's high time for a break. Perhaps it's someone else's turn for awhile.

Actually, though, our particular neighborhood is still on Precautionary Evacuation, but I'm not as nervous because they're making progress. Since they have removed some of the Precautionary Evacuation areas, hopefully, it will only be a matter of time before they remove ours as well, so I'm praising God!!

Thanks for all of your prayers.