How do we end the occurrence of violent acts in schools and other public places?

There is a debate waging on capital hill and in the court of public opinion. The debate consists of just what can be done to curtail violence especially gun violence in America. For the past couple of years we have seen mass murders occur at colleges, movie theaters and most recently an elementary school.  The city of Chicago home of President Barack Obama  reached it’s 500th homicide on December 28th 2012 according to the Chicago Tribune.  Just what can be done about this violence? Some say its the accessibility to firearms; we must pass legislation  so that people will not be able to get their hands on these weapons.  The Chicago Suntimes posted an article on August 26th that proved that gang members don’t have to go too far to get their hands on guns. On September 27th 2012 Walter Jacobson of CBS news sat down with gang members from the Englewood area in Chicago to discuss violence in their city and one gang member told him there is no solution to violence and that killing is the solution. Should we bring in the national guard to cities dealing with this violence?  Will tougher gun laws stopping those who want to kill from getting their hands on guns? Is it true that guns don’t kill people , people kill people? Personally Mr. Openyonated thinks that it’s a combination of things but it must first start in home where the family is the nucleus of all that people believe in. We can discuss gun control all day but we need to discuss people control and self control. Of course there are those who point to countries where gun availability is at the minimum and there are very low numbers in regards to gun violence but one never mentions how the the family unit is structured and the moral code of the country. What do you think is the solution to our violence here in America?  Are the answers as clear cut as people try to make them? Join the discussion and put your 2 cents in!

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I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be nice if people went out of their way to care for others all through the year as opposed to the holidays? As I was out and about today I saw people going to and fro that need love on a more regular basis with some consistency. If we only show love to our families is that really a stretch for us? If we only give gifts to those in our circles do the gifts hold that much kick? We live in a dangerous world where selfish pursuit is king! It’s all about us and what we want and what we are getting out of what we do.  By all means I’m not saying that the holidays aren’t wonderful, but I am saying that we need more instances that invoke the spirit that is working through people during the holiday season. We need churches without walls who are not all about beckoning people to come in but are willing to go out and work in the ministry. Did Jesus spend most of his time in the tabernacle or in the field working? We need people visiting shelters and halfway houses regularly because those needs just don’t magically disappear after the holidays.   What if we had parties of thanksgiving during other times of the year isn’t GOD good all the time as we say or is he just good during the holidays? What if people said good morning and good afternoon like they do during the holiday season wouldn’t that be nice? Just some food for thought there are some things that don’t need to occur just on an annual basis they need to be part of our everyday lives. That’s just my 2 cents. I would love to know what you think!

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It’s that magical time of the year! Christmas carols are playing 24 hours a day. People are shopping nonstop in an effort to supply their loved ones with all the desires of their hearts. Anticipation is building to a fever pitch for that special day! It’s the pivotal day of the year that is designated to give until it hurts. Just what are people giving? Some people are giving toys, others electronics, and the list goes on and on. Everyone is not in a position to give, in fact many of the people who are consumed with giving go out of their financial means to buy trinkets that last as long as the attention span of a toddler which is not too long. The holidays have become so commercialized that they are meaningless to many people. They are just seen as days that you spend money, cook an extravagent meal and participate in gluttony.  If one does not take advantage of the true magic of this season they can easily get lost. I agree that is wonderful to give gifts but the what you choose to give is very important. The things that we should be giving are love, joy,peace, forbearance,kindness, goodness,self-control,faithfulness and gentleness. You just might be saying hey those sound familiar and you would be right.  The aforementioned are the fruit of the spirit from the book of Galatians in the Holy Bible.  We live in a time where mass murders occur, entire families have dinner in soup kitchens, and unwanted children are discarded in trash cans. A toy or a gadget won’t do ! We need to give gifts that will last beyond a short attention span and a selected time of the year. We need to give gifts that will uplift our fellow man and better their quality of life. I know that you’ve heard this all before but these are things that never get old and never go out of date. These are the things that will make earth a better place to live.  Instead of spending all of your money on things try giving out some of that free stuff that comes from the heart. Those are just my 2cents! What do you think?

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During the course of our lives we are usually consumed with doing two things, building and fighting.  We build to create better lives for ourselves. We work on making ourselves better people and building our families and friends up. This takes time and effort and LOTS of energy. Building is not something that can be done on the fly and takes time and planning.  Building is a strategic thing, you have to think about location, strengths and weaknesses and many other factors when doing so.  In the midst of building you may also have to fight.   That may sound strange how could the two go together? How can you build and fight at the same time? The book of Nehemiah contains such a historical account where fighting and building happened at the same time. Nehemiah inquired about his homeland and was disturbed to find out that it lay in ruins. The wall was broken and incomplete and its gates were burned. He felt compelled to do something so he appealed to the king to go home and complete the task of rebuilding the wall. In life when you set out to build something you can be assured that there are those watching who do not want to see you complete your task.  Those that heard about the work  tried to discourage Nehemiah’s team and when they could not do that they planned to attack them in the midst of their building.  Normally when you are putting all of your heart and effort into a project and someone comes along to destroy it two things can happen; you will either freeze in the face of fear or you will take up arms to defend the work that you are doing and that is exactly what happened. Nehemiah and those that he encouraged believed that the work that they were doing was the work of God so they continued to build with one hand and with the other hand they took up weapons to fight! Just imagine having to build with one hand and fight with the other. Do you think that you would be ready for this task? If you answered no it’s time to see how much you want what you are building. Is it worth the cost of a fight? Are you prepared to fight for what you believe in?  There may be some work that you have to do to get yourself in shape physically, mentally and spiritually. The most important thing that we must work on is our mindset. Nehemiah 4:6 stated that the people had a mind to work . If your mind is right and the task is of God then nothing can prevent you from doing what you are doing.

Being self sacrificing is a trait that many people have. They are  the ones who are always serving at dinner parties, they make sure that everyone is comfortable, they say yes to most of what people ask them and as a result people come to them all the time when they run into a roadblock. This is a wonderful trait to have and in an epistle in the Holy Bible we are encouraged to esteem others better than ourselves. (Philippians 2:3 ) This however can become a problem for a person that does not take the time to do anything for themselves in the process of serving others. Burn out is real! Taking on too many things without replenishing yourself is a recipe for disaster. While serving you need to be adding to yourself spiritually, physically, intellectually. Stay in tune with God he is the center of your strength. Take care of your body which means doing some form of exercise and balancing your eating and visiting the doctor when it’s warranted. In addition you need to do something that will help you grow intellectually; read a book, take a course, watch a documentary. Finally surround yourself with people who are supportive we all need someone to lean on.

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On Capital Hill EVERYONE is pretending like they have not sold us all out to other countries. Backroom deals with corporations, NAFTA, etc have destroyed the economy of our country. Everything is outsourced and who suffers? The American people have been sold out by its elected officials. Very few major companies make items in the U.S.  They say it’s much cheaper over seas but they sell the products to the American people who weren’t good enough to be employed by the companies.  This country is in a state of meltdown on all fronts. The housing market crashed, the tech bubble burst, education is a mess but politicians are living on high on the hog!  They do very little but have wonderful health packages, salaries, and other perks. Our people could use those jobs, we need to bring the work back to the USA!  These companies get many tax benefits but run most of their operations overseas.  When are the people of this country going to wake up? When are we going to start making demands of the people who we put into office?

YES WE HAVE BEEN SOLD OUT NOW WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

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Have you ever tried to squeeze into an article of clothing that you know was too small but you thought you would try anyway?  Have you ever worn shoes that were too small because you they made your feet look cute but they ended up giving you blisters?  That same thing happens everyday when we try to keep things in our lives that just don’t fit. Sometimes we have friends that simply are no good for us but we remain in their company and as a result get hurt and the same thing goes for relationships. When we are willing to go through pain and suffering for something that is not healthy that hinges on insanity. One must begin to ask themselves what am I getting out of this? Why is it that I stay in this relationship even though it hurts? Why do I hang around in that place that I always get in trouble at?  The hard questions deserve real answers. If it doesn’t fit and it’s bringing you pain it’s definitely time to give it up.