The Ramblings of an Independent Human Being.

There has been so much talk of politics lately. And before you get bored and exit out of this post, read on and see what a Mormon like myself thinks of all of this.

*Chik-Fil-A: Where to begin. First of all, this is a restaurant. Restaurants are about food. Not about gay marriage. So to me, this entire "people are up in arms about Dan Cathy, owner of Chik-Fil-A" is RIDICULOUS. You either like their food...or you don't. Use your freedom of choice and NOT spend your money there if you don't like what they're doing. But zoning them out is juvenile and nothing but a publicity stunt because someone got excited that they have a voice in America. Good for you for at least using your 1st amendment right. If enough people don't eat at Chik-Fil-A because of Dan Cathy's statement, then the rules of economics have been well played and he deserves to not have a business in that location. But are you really surprised that a God-fearing man, who closes his businesses across the globe EVERY SUNDAY so that their employees can attend church meetings if they choose to do so, made this statement? I mean- think about it! Sundays are one of the biggest money making days of the week for places like Chik-Fil-A because people are off work and families often go out to eat together. Taking a hit like this shows what kind of a person Mr. Cathy is because unlike most leaders in America, he is driven by his heart and passions instead of with his wallet. 


     For Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston, Massachusetts to concoct a document to Mr. Cathy letting him know he isn't welcome in his city, is despicable. Why are these arguments only swayed one way? If a community of heterosexuals muscled out a business owner who supports gay marriage, people all over the country would have heart attacks. I find it especially ironic that Mayor Menino wrote to Mr. Cathy,  "Incredibly - your company says you are backing out of the same-sex marriage debate. I urge you to back out of your plans to locate in Boston... I was angry to learn on the heels of your prejudiced statements about your search for a site to locate in Boston. There is no place for discrimination on Boston's Freedom Trail and no place for your company alongside it." Found here.  Really, Mr. Menino? You do realize that by shooing Chik-Fil-A out of Boston because you feel they discriminate, you are actually discriminating against Mr. Cathy and his business? And not only him, but all traditional-marriage supporting business owners. Kinda shoved your foot in your mouth there. 


     Am I against people being homosexual? NO! People feel what they feel and it isn't my business to tell them otherwise. Some of the greatest people I know are homosexual. But do I value the traditional family? Absolutely! To say I don't would be to say my own family is superficial. And how ironic would it be that someone like myself, who tries to walk in the ways of Christ, unrighteously judges another for feeling or acting in a way that I don't agree with or understand? It is close-minded, harmful and a waste of time. Christ wouldn't judge homosexuals this way, so why should I? People are also incredibly misinformed about Mr. Cathy's views. Taken from the same site as the quote above, I read, "The fast-food chain later said that it strives to "treat every person with honor, dignity and respect — regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender," the Boston Herald reported." You cannot tell me this isn't true. When was the last time you went to Chik-Fil-A and got anything less than awesome service? They serve homosexual customers. They hire homosexuals. 


     The story goes like this...for all of you who were too jumpy to read and gather the facts before making bold and crazy statements. Read the full article here. Chik-Fil-A had an agreement with The Jim Henson Company. Chik-Fil-A was going to fill kids' meals with Muppets dolls/puppets and any earnings would go back to The Jim Henson Company. However, Lisa Henson went to Chik-Fil-A's owners and told them that instead of sending the money BACK to their company, to go ahead and donate it directly to The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLADD). Because Dan Cathy believes strongly in the traditional family, the Henson's and Chik-Fil-A decided to cut ties. Let me ask you this. Couldn't Dan Cathy just as easily threw a fit and told Lisa Henson that because she didn't tell him about the donations up front, he was going to sue her for all she's worth and try to boycott her company? Yes, he could have. But did he? NO!!!! Of course not! Because he is a religious man who believes in being kind. INSTEAD, the Henson's publicized this up the wazoo, and did everything in their power to bring Chik-Fil-A down. Way to go, liberals! Always turning everything around and being the victim of EVERY SITUATION. What did Lisa Henson expect, doing business with a traditionally religious man? My mind is blown at the stupidity of people in America. 


     Again, do I love gays? Sure. Do I think they should love who they wish to love? ABSOLUTELY! Are they any different than the rest of us? No! We are all trying to get by and live a fulfilling and enjoyable life. Do I think gays should marry? Why not? They are often more dedicated lovers, better caretakers and more open-minded, Christlike individuals. But the reasons members of the LDS church keep things like Prop 8 in place is described below. 


*Gay Marriage: The Mormon church gets quite a bit of flack from people all across the globe because of their view on gay marriage. Even people within our own organization do not agree with Prop 8. But let me tell you a little something I learned. Churches like ours keep separate from the government and we do not pay taxes. All of our funding comes from members of the LDS church paying 10% of their annual income so that we can do a number of things with it, such as build temples and churches, pay for missionaries who cannot afford to go out and preach the gospel, help support needy families, and donate to charity. Our church strongly supports the traditional family and does not allow homosexuals to be married in our church buildings or temples. My guess is that MOST churches are the same way. Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Prodistant, Methodist, Buddhist, you name it. This is why many homosexual couples don't attend a specific church. Many churches do not accept the lifestyle. At least not yet. It is a new concept to them because it is only recently becoming widely accepted. 


     Am I threatened by homosexuals? Absolutely not! But I want to state the facts and expose the reality of WHY people feel the way they do. Continuing on, if there became a law that churches must respect homosexuality and honor it by allowing same-sex marriages within churches, churches like ours would lose our tax-free status and everything we preach in our churches would be shot to Hell. Why? Because we would no longer be able to keep the sanctity of only traditional marriages alive. One of the basic and most important principles we teach within our church is the marriage between man and woman. Taken directly from The Proclamation to the Family, it reads, "The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan." 


     We would be either forced to close our temples or forced to allow gays to marry in the same way heterosexuals are. Some of you ask, "What is wrong with that?" And to many, maybe nothing is wrong with that. But to others, this is a huge deal. When segregation was done away with, did people all of the sudden treat each other better? Absolutely not! Ask your grandparents what they think of interracial marriage and they'll probably keel over. Just because a law has changed, doesn't mean people's hearts do also. There is still segregation in the south. Last year my family and I lived in Georgia. One night, we went out to eat at a popular chain restaurant. We noticed all the whites sat on one side of the restaurant and the blacks on the other. We sat where we wanted. And we sat on the black side. Everyone in that restaurant looked at us like we were crazy. The blacks didn't want us eating near them and the whites couldn't believe we sat there. It's absolutely ridiculous, but people's hearts don't change too quickly. Segregation was technically outlawed decades ago, but it lingers on in the hearts of those who never got around to accepting it.


     Back to the religious talk- to ask members of the LDS church, or any church, to roll over and allow their religion to crumble like a piece of cornbread would be abominable. You'd probably use a long string of expletives and a certain finger to describe how you felt if someone asked you to throw everything you believe in the trashcan. Instead, we vote. And we vote for Prop 8. Most, but not all. And it isn't because we think homosexuals are awful. It's because we want to continue to practice our beliefs and we are only left with two choices in the end. Again, why are these things only swayed one way? People who don't love tattoos don't stand outside tattoo parlors with a sign that says tattoos are of the devil. I don't gather together my hundreds of non-drinking friends and try to get a business to shut down because they serve alcohol. If I don't want to drink alcohol, ALL I HAVE TO DO IS NOT DRINK IT! Brilliant! Mostly, you are allowed to do what you want to do without people bugging you. So let others do the same. There should not be a double standard on this. And although agreeing to disagree is probably a long shot, people should at least stop jumping down each other's throats and acting like this is a war. There should not be a gays vs. straights competition. If it wasn't for churches like ours having to change so much due to Prop 8 being overturned, then I say to Hell with all this stupidity and let everyone live as they wish. Do I care if gays cohabitate? NO! Do I care if they have children? NO! Often times I feel they make better parents than many out there. (As stated above). And because they have to adopt, they spend much time and many resources on getting their much desired child- which shows their dedication to parenthood itself. I have homosexual friends that I adore so much. One of my favorite celebrities is Ellen DeGeneres. She is the most kind and charitable human being, like many other homosexuals. To judge them for the way they feel or the life they live is just as despicable as all the other nonsense I spoke of earlier. And incredibly unChristlike, which is just ironic, coming from people who preach to be otherwise. Which leads me to my next and final point. 


*Mitt Romney: I have to admit, I used to not be a very big fan of his. He seemed arrogant. But he has grown on me. And between him and Obama, I say Mitt deserves the drivers' seat. Mitt stands for everything America was founded upon. Yes, times change. But can you really say America has changed for the better? We have a higher amount of illegal aliens than ever before. We have experienced an incredible economic downfall and the amount of unemployed citizens in America continues to rise daily. Our school systems are suffering. Children kill themselves because they are bullied, because often parents raise their children to be entitled brats that grow up to be small-minded idiots who eventually run our cities, businesses and other organizations. And although I do see eye to eye with many of Mitt Romney's beliefs on how America should be run, I have had a change of heart about pro-choice versus pro-life. But I urge you to NOT READ THIS THE WRONG WAY. Do I believe in the casual use of abortion? No no no no no. But do I believe women should have a choice? ....Yes and no. If I go out, get drunk, am irresponsible and make foolish choices which lead to unplanned and unwanted pregnancy, I should do the right thing and carry the baby for 9 months until I can give it up for adoption to a loving, deserving family. Same goes for girls who have consensual sex and get pregnant in any other situation, whatever age they may be. However, if I am raped, I should choose. If I am sick and my body cannot hold a baby and allow both the child and I to live, I eventually end up at a fork in the road. Do I die, when my child would most likely die anyways? Do I leave behind a husband and other children? No. But I would at least appreciate the ability to CHOOSE FOR MYSELF. For someone else to basically sentence me to death in this situation would be inhumane. Many do not realize that the Mormon church doesn't punish those who choose to abort in situations such as incest, rape or illness.


Whew! Let's recap, shall we?


*Do I love homosexuals? Yep.
*Should they love who they wish? Yep. 
*Would it be okay if they chose to live a straight life and fight gay tendencies? Yep. And good for you if that's what you choose. That would be very difficult. 
*Should gays raise children? If they wish.
*Was Dan Cathy wrong in making his statement? No. He was answering a question honestly. He should be given credit for that, especially when he probably realized so many would persecute him for his answer. 
*Were people wrong to be offended by Dan Cathy? Not necessarily, but don't hang the man. He has opinions just like you do. 
*Was Mayor Menino wrong to tell Dan Cathy to take a hike? Yes. It was immature and uncalled for, not to mention ironic because of his reverse discrimination.
*Is gay marriage wrong? In the eyes of many, yes. In the eyes of many others, no. To me? I say let whoever wants to marry, marry! But because it conflicts with the way I live my life from a religious stand point(my religion is more than a Sunday thing for me, it's an entire lifestyle), I must always vote in favor of Prop 8. It's definitely a bittersweet thing because I truly do not believe others should be told by the government how they should live their lives. I wish there were another way. 
*Are people wrong to not support gay marriage? Absolutely not. People should always be allowed to feel what they want without someone telling them otherwise. It's like me saying you shouldn't be allowed to dislike onions. Ridiculous. 
*Do Mormons hate homosexuals? No! But many are also close minded and do not get the concept that you can love someone entirely without loving their lifestyle or choices. 
*Do I believe in casual abortion? No way. Those people will answer for the murder of innocent children. 
*Do I believe women should have a choice? Yes. Especially under life-threatening circumstances. 


Wow, what a crazy blog post. I had to get it all out. Opinions? Thoughts? I'm ready to be hated, and I'm ready to be praised. But I at least did my homework and attached links to articles from where I got my information. Any other questions or comments can be emailed to me at laurensikora@hotmail.com


-Lauren

Things I Love!

 

I have been thinking about things that I love and I wanted to share. 


1. Sun bursting through my window in the morning


2. My beautiful children waking up happy 


3. Looking for houses and picturing my belongings there


4. Eating healthfully and feeding my kids healthy foods (if they'll eat them)


5. Rolling over in the night and getting a whiff of my clean-laundry smelling pillow


6. Claire's gigantic gummy smile


7. Titan's sweet spirit and the way he goes "ppptttthhh" to get my attention sometimes


8. When my husband laughs at my jokes and commentary


9. Getting up and making breakfast for Derek and eating it with him while the kids are still asleep


10. Finding bargains


11. Pictures 


12. Feeling connected with people. I LOOOOOVE Facebook and Blogs


13. Toaster Strudels 


14. Pinterest


15. My beta fish. He's my third baby


16. A clean house


17. Blankets, especially quilts


18. Being able to sleep with the windows open


19. A freshly vacuumed rug


20. Modern Family


21. The Draw Something app (Wanna play? Username is laurenslover08)


22. Friendly strangers


23. Free samples at Costco


24. A stocked up refrigerator and cupboards from a recent trip to the grocery store


25. Good music (Anyone else love Enya?)


26. The home section of Anthropologie (things normal people can actually afford and are cute)


27. When my kids play together and giggle. I die every time


28. Naps


29. Good books. Just finished Heaven Is Here and I'm a believer. I am currently reading The Book of Mormon. (Wanna read it with me? I started 4 days ago and I'm reading a chapter a day. I'm on 1st Nephi 4)


30. The weekends




This is just a small list of many things I love. The big things that I love the very most in my life are my family and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which allows me to live the happy life that I feel many people seek but never find. I don't usually get religious on my blogs or Facebook, but what better way is there to share the happiness I know than to put it up here for people to explore if they'd like to? Learn more here. 

When I Have Money...

I've been thinking lately. I have slowly come up with a "When I Have Money Wish List". So, without further adieu, I will jump right in. When I have money, I'd like: 


* To get my rug cleaned. By a real cleaner. Not me and my power sprayer with my gigantic rug draped over my cinderblock wall. 


* To buy a house! With a backyard for my kids to roam around in. 


* A puppy. A french bulldog named Pierre. 


* More Disney movies, like Tangled, Cars 1 & 2, Toy Story 1 2 & 3, A Bug's Life, Tarzan and The Jungle Book. The VHS's have slowly become fuzzy and some don't work at all, but my little guy loves them.


* A real haircut. I think I cut my hair once a year (if that) and I usually just go to some cheapy haircutting place that always messes my hair up. 


* To go on a small vacation with my lover! I'm thinking a cruise...


* To buy Derek tickets to a Jack Johnson concert. 


* To put my kids in the Infant Rescue Swimming courses.


* Have a gym membership.


* Regular date nights with my best friend!


I'm sure there are more, but some have slipped my mind. We HAVE been saving up some money lately, just as a "whatever" fund. We usually put Derek's  bonuses in there. So yesterday we were talking about how out of shape we are and how time consuming and expensive it is to go to to a gym or join a city sports league. A lightbulb turned on in my little head and I thought, "Bikes! Let's buy bikes!" So hopefully pretty soon we can buy two bikes and some kid-friendly bike carriers/carts so that after dinner every night, we can toot around town on our cruisers. We'd be 1. Spending time with family still 2. Getting exercise 3. Getting fresh air 4. Having fun and 5. Wearing out the kids before bath and bedtime. Love, love, love the idea. It's a win all around. So stay tuned for pictures of our awesome bikes in the near future. 

Never A Dull Moment.

At our house, it truly does seem like there just never is a dull moment. When the whole fam damily walks out the door, here's how it goes. (Every time.)


*I buckle Claire into her car seat and carry her to the door. 
*I put Titan's shoes on. 
*We all four gather at the front door. 
*I ask Derek if he has the keys. 
*He says "They're in my pocket."
*I manually lock the bottom lock and shut the door behind me once our small herd of cattle makes its way through the door jamb. 
*Derek locks the dead bolt. 
*We head to the car. 


Like I said, this is the routine EVERY SINGLE TIME. Even the "they're in my pocket" comment about our keys. After nearly four years of marriage, I've learned that if I am missing ANYTHING, it is most likely in one of the 27 pockets on Derek's cargo shorts. 


Well, today our routine got a little out of whack. We got to the part where we were all gathered in front of the door, and then me...assuming the keys were in Derek's pocket (and why wouldn't I), manually locked the bottom lock and shut the door behind me. As it is swinging shut, his big eyes look at me and then we hear, "Click". The door closed. He shoved his hands into his pockets and said, "I don't have the keys." My eyes widened and then went back to normal thinking that my silly jokester of a husband was trickin me. No trick. The keys were, indeed, on the dang key rack. So not only could we not get back inside, we couldn't get into our car either, since the keys are all on one keyring. Luckily, I brought our "survival kit". Also known as frozen Otter Pops (A pink one for me, a red one for Derek and an orange one for Titan.), a Sobe bottle full of ice water, and a Cars 2 sippy cup full of White Grape Juice for Titan. Turned out handy, having some things to cool us down in the 109* weather that rose to 111* within minutes. With beads of sweat dripping down Derek's forehead, Claire making a fuss in her carseat (already. Not even in that seat for 7 minutes and she's bugged.) and Titan sitting in the rocks throwing things into a bush, we whipped out our trusty ole Fry's Grocery Store V.I.P card and tried swiping it over the lock to pop it open. Yeah, that was harder than it seemed. Then we pulled two bobby pins out of my hair, straightened them, and like criminals tried to strategically hit all the right parts of the lock to make it open. (Note: it is also harder than it seems and no amount of crime-related TV show watching will help you out on the matter.) I told Derek, "Hey, I think I know how to pick a lock. I remember it somehow. I think I did it in another life one time, maybe." That's when he stared at me and I could almost hear that awkward "crickets chirping" noise you hear in movies. Then I said, "Wait. I know it can be done. Because Tai Lung does it in Kung Fu Panda and he does it with a feather. He breaks out of his hand cuffs". Then I realized that is anything but real life. But, it it were real, I'd better be able to break into my house if a tiger can break out of handcuffs. 


After all that crazy jazz outside, and wondering how many of our neighbors started making popcorn and pulled up chairs at their front windows to watch us try breaking into our own house, we had an idea. Derek said he was *pretty* sure he could bust into our house by kicking the door in. It didn't sound wise to me. I didn't want to pay out the nose for a new door. But our landlords live in China (not really, but they live about an hour from us) and it was only gettin hotter outside. I said go ahead. But go easy! So he kicked the door in, taking off the entire left side of the door jamb and the paint, and the bottom lock guard, and screws and all that nifty stuff. I thought he was pretty bad A, except that now our door is wrecked.