So... Anyone that knows me knows my religious views. And anyone that REALLY knows me knows my political views & that a lot of my religious beliefs influence those views greatly. For some things, I think they go hand in hand. For instance, my belief that life begins at conception, that a fetus is living, growing being with a spirit, GREATLY affects what I think about abortion & the politicians that condone it... That's just one example.
I came across this article awhile back & just never posted it. But I can't not post it because I FULLY agree with the things said in it! (Maybe not generalized to all liberals because I know people who share relious but not political beliefs...) What this article shows is a very bad thing happening happening in our country. History has shown what happens when you take God out of the picture... I just felt there were some terrific points & was very well put, overall. And a great warning American's would do well to heed...
God, Liberals, & Liberty
By Dennis Prager
In a recent column, New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow wrote: "It's sometimes easy to lose sight of just how anomalous our (America's) religiosity is in the world. A Gallup report issued on Tuesday underscored just how out of line we are."
Given Blow's leftwing politics and his point was that all rich countries except for the United States are secular and that all poor countries are religious, he was obviously not making this point in order to celebrate America's "anomalous" religiosity.
He should have. America's anomalous religiosity is very much worth celebrating -- not because it leads to affluence, but because it is indispensible to liberty. Had Blow made a liberty chart rather than an affluence chart, he might have noted that the freest country in the world -- for 234 years -- the United States of America, has also been the most God-centered.
Yes, I know that the Islamic world has also been God-based and that it has not been free. But that is because Allah is not regarded as the source of liberty, as the America's Judeo-Christian God has been, but as the object of submission ("Islam" means "submission").
Since the inception of the United States (and, indeed, before it in colonial America), liberty, i.e., personal freedom, has been linked to God.
America was founded on the belief that God is the source of liberty. That is why the inscription on the Liberty Bell is from the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible (Leviticus 25):"Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."
The Declaration of Independence also asserts this link: All men "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Because the Creator of the world is the source of our freedom, no state, no human being, no government may take it away. If the state were the source of liberty, then obviously the state could take it away.
Both reason and American values therefore make these claims:
1. The more important the state is, the less the liberty.
2. The more important God is, the smaller the state.
3. Therefore, the more important God is, the more liberty there is.
A proof of the validity of these assertions is that as this country -- the country, not the government -- becomes more secular, it becomes less free, just as has happened in other Western countries. We have far more laws governing human conduct than ever before in America's history. And Western Europe has even more, including limitations on as basic a liberty as free speech.
So, too, every totalitarian state except Muslim ones (because a religious government is the Muslim ideal) seeks to abolish religion. Stalin, for example, murdered virtually every member of the clergy, and came close to destroying all religion, in the Soviet Union. He understood that a totalitarian state cannot allow a competing allegiance.
And in democratic Western Europe, the ever-expanding state is inevitably accompanied by an ever shrinking God and religion.
This is largely what the current culture war -- actually a non-violent civil war -- is about. The left seeks an ever-expanding state with, by definition, ever-expanding powers. And a fundamental aspect of that program is the removal of God and religion from as much of American life as possible. This is pursued under the noble-sounding goal of ensuring "separation of church and state." But whatever the avowed aim, the result is the same: secularize as much of society as possible, its institutions and, most importantly, its values.
Over time, much of America has belatedly awakened to the realization that two counter-revolutionary (as in American Revolution) trends were occurring at a breakneck pace: God was being replaced by the state as the source of liberty, and liberty was eroding.
To use a Civil War simile, the secular Fort Sumter took place in 1962, when the United States Supreme Court (Engel v. Vitale) overthrew the decision of the highest court of New York State, and ruled that the following prayer, said in New York State schools, violated the Constitution:
"Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country."
Few rational, let alone religious, Americans believed that this non-denominational prayer, which no school child had to recite, violated the American Constitution. The purpose of the ruling was to impose secularism on America.
Since then, the leftwing attack on religion in America has proceeded at a rapid clip:
-- Though Los Angeles ("the Angels") was founded by Christians, the tiny cross on the seal of Los Angeles County was removed by the three liberal members of the five-member Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
-- Wishing a fellow American "Merry Christmas" has been widely rendered unacceptable.
-- A speaker at public high school graduations may not say "God bless you" to the graduating class.
-- The Bible, the basis of American values instruction for most of American history, is not taught at virtually any non-religious school in America.
Examples are too numerous to list.
And now, commensurate with the removal of God from American society, the most leftwing government in American history is expanding state powers to an unprecedented degree.
Our leftwing party has passed -- more accurately imposed, since it did so without a single vote from the opposition party -- legislation that will massively expand state powers. And it is preparing to govern more and more of Americans' lives without passing any legislation. As reported by the Los Angeles Times last week: "White House staff changes are being made with an eye toward achieving goals through executive actions rather than by trying to push plans through the next Congress."
It was inevitable.
From its inception, the left has regarded God and religion (especially the Judeo-Christian varieties) as impediments to its goals: "Trust in Us (Leftwing intellectuals)" has supplanted "In God We Trust." And so, God-based liberty gives way to state-based controls.
Whichever side you are on, at least you can now better understand why the non-left is fighting. For liberty's sake, not just for God's.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
In the "Spirit" of Halloween...
This has got to be one of the FUNNIEST things I have ever seen! So of course I had to share it... I have watched this video several times now & I think I just laugh harder everytime!!! She pretty much sums up what I think of haunted houses, or anything else scary for that matter! HAHAHA poor lady! Enjoy:)
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Good-bye Summer... Hello Fall!
As a whole, we are all finding it a little bitter-sweet to be saying goodbye to Summer... The boys miss the swimming at Nanny's & Grampy's but we're sure loving the cooler weather we've been blessed with lately. BRING ON FALL!!! We ended our Summer with a bang though, celebrating both Drake's 2nd & Jax's 1st birthday! Both boys, being the only 2 grandchildren on both the Hunsaker & Pedersen sides, were spoiled ROTTEN. They hated that, I tell ya.
 |
| Drake blowing out his candle with his new Buzz! |
 |
| My 1 year old Jax! I don't think he enjoyed that cake AT ALL!:) |
We kicked off our Fall season though with a much needed trip to Utah! LOVED IT! As always, we love getting to see both of my grandmas, aunts & uncles, and cousins that we don't usually get to see more than twice a year. And maybe it's just becase I was raised there in my early years but it just feels like going "Home" when we go. Added bonus: it was the beginning of FALL! My favorite season there:) So we got to see some leaves on the mountains changing...
 |
| Playing at a park our first day in P-town! |
 |
| I LOVE this photo of these guys... The Fall colors of the trees make a nice background too!:) |
 |
| My babies playing on the steps @ Grandma Pat's house. The same ones me & my Dad played on when we were little:) |
Shane & I had the opportunity to attend Conference for the first time in both of our lives. Thanks to my awesome cousins, we were able to go with them to the Sunday morning session which was AMA-ZA-ZING!!! I don't know that I've ever felt such a powerful feeling of love & respect collectively with so many people as I did when President Monson came in! He is such a great man & I LOVED having the opportunity to hear him, aw well as the other leaders of the church speak.
 |
| My Love & I! |
 | ||||
I had one item on my bucket list reassured- I am going to be part of Mo-Tab one day!!!;) We stayed with my fabulous Aunt Meg, Uncle Daniel, & their awesome kids! (Thanks again Laynes & Jessa for letting us take over your room!!! We <3 you girls!) We had such a good time with them... & we miss you all already! We did get to go to the Hogle Zoo with them & all our little ones! That was the awesome... A lot of changes since I was little but still really good! The boys had a good time (for the most part:)) A few pics from that...
 Hehehe...  Props to my hubby for his mad photography skills!:)   The missing link??? HAHAHA Just kidding Hunny!!!;)  Daddy & Drake! One of D's favorites: The Elephants!  I was afraid we were gonna pull a "Harry Potter" here... Hahaha It just seemed to like him too much & I HATE snakes! THEN, as our grand finale to our stay in the Salt Lake/Provo area, we had lunch at.......... RIPPLES!!!!! This is a huge deal because I have been craving this since my 1st Trimester with JAXON! Hahaha :) (It is the best mom&pop burger drive-in you will ever eat at... Seriously.) And as our family tradition holds, we drove up to Bridal Veil in Provo Canyon for a small picnic. B-E-A-utiful, I tell you!  Aaaaah... The bottom of Bridal Veil Falls!  Drake sure loved throwing rocks in the water... Can't you tell??? And we stayed in St.George on the way home instead of doing a straight shot. We got to see Uncle Ry, Aunt Dede & the kids for a little bit and spend some quality time with my Mamma...... All I have to say is, I love that lady!:)  Her & everyone in & just plain old Utah.... I cry everytime we leave & I'm sure Shane just does a good job holding back the tears!;) Haha... Needless to say, we are looking forward to when we get to go back, whenever that may be! |
Hunsaker UPDATE!
Well I figured now would be a good time for one of these since we haven't done one in a little bit!:) So... Here goes:
3 years down, Eternity to go with my Hunny!
October 19th marked our 3 year anniversary! I've had a couple close seconds since then, but that was THE best day of my life, hands down. Sometimes it feels like time flew by! But then I start thinking of all the things we've done & that have happened since then and it feels like it's been forever... :) But I've loved every minute of it, the good & the bad times.
 |
| My gorgeous anniversary roses! I just love it when he brings me flowers!!! |
 |
| On our way to celebrate @ Olive Garden... an anniversary tradition that I so dearly love:) |
Jax Man is FINALLY walking & talking!
I know he's only 13 months and that's still not a SUPER long time to wait, but if it was you carrying this 30 lb munchkin around everywhere, you'd think it was taking forever too!;) He was just taking his sweet time... But he did it! He started taking steps a couple months ago but never more than 3. But on the 16th, it just clicked. We're still a little shakey (I love his little waddle!:)), but he's walking pretty much anywhere he can get to. Now he is working on running (Lol, sort of.) & trying to open doors... Just broadening his horizons, I guess:)
Now the talking... Haha it's just a few things & it's only stuff that only a couple of us understand, but it still counts! There's the stuff he's been saying for months like "Momma" "Dadda" "Budder (Brother)," stuff like that... But now he has "wow" & "ow" perfected. He says "doggy" "& sings "hot dog, hot dog" (The Hot Dog song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, for those of you without Playhouse Disney watchers:)) The funniest thing though is "good job!" Sounds more like "ood dob" but like I said before, I understand it so it counts:)
2 year old Drake = Sourpatch Kid!
Holy. Cow. I don't think anyone really quite understands the phrase "terrible 2's" until they have had the joy of experiencing a 2 year old of their own!!!!! It is exhausting! He has thrown some seriously impressive fits & happily he's never really tried one out in public. But at home, anything goes. And the fits can last anywhere from 1 minute to 15 minutes. Anything past that, Mom can't tolerate it anymore & pulls out all the stops... Even if it means bribing him with something; I am not above bribery! No worries, I'll make sure I'm not creating a monster with that;)
But he can also be the sweetest 2 year old in the world when he's not be a terrible one! Like just a second ago when I went to go get him out of bed from his nap- I open the door & he smiles & says "Good morning!!!" TOO CUTE! Hehe The other day, Shane & I woke up to him singing his rendition of the Happy Birthday song, "Happy day to you today! Hip-hip, HOORAY!" over & over. My favorite time of day that I can usually be sure he'll be sweet is at bedtime. He'll give us a fish kiss, point to his eye, then to his chest, then to us & say "I yuv YOOOOU!" followed by a "Nigh nigh..." Melts my heart! 50% Devil, 50% Angel... The thought that almost brings me to tears is the fact that his little brother isn't too far behind... Haha Just kidding... But not at the same time. That's why there's not another to follow behind Jax anytime soon. (KNOCK ON WOOD!!!):)
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Jaxon Tyger is 1!!!
Just after I have to deal with the fact that Drake isn't so much a baby anymore & is 2, Jaxon has to go & turn 1!!! I can't believe he is so big... And I can't believe this blog is so LATE!!! Well he knows I love him just the same:) So this blog is dedicated to my Jaxon Tyger & this first year (that has FLOWN by!) that we've had him in our lives... Happy belated 1st Birthday, my Jaxie Love!!!!
 |
| JAXON TYGER HUNSAKER Born 09/10/09 @ 5:50AM 8 lbs. 7oz. 19 1/2 in. |
 |
| Only minutes old & I already loved him to death!:) |
 |
| One proud Daddy... Holding Jax for the 1st time |
 |
| Brothers meeting for the first time... One of the sweetest moments EVER! |
 |
| Everyone getting to know Jax :) |
 |
| Cute man! 4 days old |
 |
| Jaxon Tyger with his tiger that Grampy Tyger gave him |
 |
| Momma's & their monkies! :) |
 |
| Happy Jax! 3 months old |
 |
| SMILE! Happy New Year!!!!:) |
 |
| Wiped out... |
 |
| Easter with Uncle D! You can't fake smiles like those :) |
 |
| Little stinker... |
 |
| Helping with laundry! |
 |
| Baby Mozart!!! |
 |
| "I'll be back." LOL :) |
 |
| A favorite past time... Chilling in the pool w/ girlfriend Izzy! |
 |
| That's my boy!!! |
 |
| Jaxon LOVIN' the beach in San Diego!!! 8 months old |
 |
| This kid sleeps in the weirdest positions! |
 |
| CHEESE!!!! |
 |
| What a stud muffin!!! Looking spiffy for Uncle Kyle & Auntie Kelsie's wedding... |
 |
| Good morning SUNSHINE!!! |
 |
| Always a happy Jax with a FULL belly! |
 |
| PARTAY!!! The big numero 1!!! |
 |
| He sure enjoyed that cake... made his birthday! WE LOVE YOU MR. JAX!!!!! |
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Drake is 2!!!
I cannot believe it... My baby boy is 2 years old now!!!
Wow... Time really does fly when you're having fun:) & I've been told it's not even really begun...
So in honor of my big boy, this post is dedicated to him, my
Drake Alan Hunsaker
& the 2 years of smiles & happiness he has brought us!
We love you Drake & are so very blessed to have you in our lives...
 |
| Minutes old... 08/08/08 was a good day for us! |
 |
| So little but already loved bath time! |
 |
| 1st hair cut @ 2 months old... Still feels the same way about it. |
 |
| Always a happy little guy |
 |
| Blessing day! |
 |
| 1st Halloween! |
 |
| One of my very favorites... :) |
 |
| So cute! |
 |
| NOT happy!!!!! |
 |
| Love those big, beautiful blue eyes... |
 |
| BASEBALL!!! |
 |
| Lil' stinker making messes... |
 |
| Hehe CRAZY hair! |
 |
| First D-Backs game |
 |
| Mobile & getting into everything!!! |
 |
| Helping Mom with laundry:) |
 |
| Smiley guy... |
 |
| What a nice big brother...... Redheads!:) |
 |
| Big eyes... LOVE! |
 |
| So pretty... Hahaha |
 |
| Double bogie... Boy to the core. |
 |
| Mmm-mmmm good! |
 |
| CrAzY face |
 |
| Big boy playing on the computer... |
 |
| MUDDY!!! |
 |
| "Don't bug me... I'm watchin' my movie!" |
 |
| Hehe my little Leprechan!!! |
 |
| "CHEEEEESE!!!" |
 |
| Such a cutie! |
 |
| Can't have the good times without the bad times, right?:) |
 |
| So messy... But so cute! You can't get mad at a face like that. |
 |
| Cool man! |
 |
| Dirty little stinker! |
 |
| Little Tarzan!!!!!! |
 |
| Play hard, crash hard!:) |
 |
| Why, Alfalfa! |
 |
| Where there's dirt, there is Drake. |
 |
| Nose kisses for Nanny! |
 |
| What an artist... BUSTED! |
 |
Looking good for Uncle's wedding! |
 |
| Party with The Hunsaker's |
 |
| Party with the Pedersen's & friends |
 |
| WE LOVE OUR BIG MAN!!!!! |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
