That's just embarrassing.

Okay, so one of the Kansas representatives we have here in the legislature is a hardcore conservative. He introduced a bill that he says is supposed to protect Christians from being discriminated against... but what it's really doing is discriminating against gay couples. Basically, businesses and religious centers will be legally allowed to deny service to homosexual couples. I totally understand where he's coming from on this, trying to give people the chance to not have to wane on their religious views, but it's really stupid. I know him in real life and I'm just gonna say it: he's acting out of fear. He's nice...but honestly I believe he's mislead on this.
Christians are supposed to welcome persecution in the name of the Lord. Like, if you look at the Apostle Paul's life, you'll see that he never fought the discrimination that came his way. He welcomed it; rejoiced in it, even. He didn't complain, either. He used it as a platform to show God's love even more.
So to see Christians today being asked to do things they don't absolutely love and then they complain and throw a huge fit about it is just embarrassing.
I mean, think of it this way... many Christians don't approve of the consumption of alcohol. But a Christian photographer will still take wedding photos of a couple that has chosen to serve alcohol at their wedding. They more or less don't care. But if you change the perceived sin taking place at the ceremony to be the actual couple, then they freak out and won't do it. And all sins are supposed to be equal.
This is just my view on it. I think people should love each other and accept that they can't dictate how others live their lives. I don't think it's the government's business to be telling people whether or not they can deny business to people. People should be willing to give excellent service to anyone that comes along. Especially in this economy.

Happy Valentine's day. Let's be loving, not fearful and mislead in our attitudes.
As the great Yoda said, "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."

Old habits are hard to resurrect once you accidentally killed them

I used to be so good at doing things on a regular basis that were good for me. I would read my Bible every day. I would run almost every day. I'd eat salads almost every day. I think I've kind of reversed that these days. I mean, I'm glad that I've at least gotten to the point where I do things, though. I've recovered enough that I'm getting back to having hobbies. I have a hamster again. She's a sweetie and she's very healthy. :) She's not used to me yet, so she still bites me when I stick my hand out for her to smell... but she's biting less hard each time. Haha! I'm back into reading a ton. I'm working my way through The Hobbit right now, which I  know Joey is very proud of me for. He's been all up in arms all the time because I hadn't read any Tolkien yet. Boohoo. I started listening to music again. That's been fun. I love finding new good music these days. The Buzz is pretty good about playing new and interesting stuff, so I usually listen to them over any other stations. If they play too many commercials or anything lame, I just switch to The Fountain cuz they're the next best thing. My job is going well. I really enjoy it. For some reason, everyone seems to think I'm like the wonder employee of the year and it kinda drives me nuts. Cuz I'm definitely not. I see no reason for everyone to expect me to be this great person. It's nice that so many people have confidence in me, but it kinda sucks because then I feel like a huge disappointment or road  block when I do mess up. That really sucks. I'm sorry, guys. I just can't keep up with expectations that well.

So... anyways. The reason for this post. I need to get back into reading my Bible regularly, but with school and work and my inability to get enough sleep, I can't do these rigorous reading plans I used to do when I had nothing else to do with my life. I actually have time constraints. So I'm wondering where to start reading if I just want to hit the reset button on my Christian life. Any suggestions? I just wanna wipe clean the slate of everything I think I know about God, and start over. Get a clear view of Him without anyone else's input but His. Nobody else whispering in my ear, "God is this; God is that." Just God's actual words on who He is and what He's all about. Where shall I start? Suggestions, please!

Thanks, guys. :) You rock.

Natalie