Blogs and Religion.

I read. Alot. Not just books. Magazines. Forums online. And blogs. Several blogs. At the moment, I'm following 5 blogs religiously.

One of my favorite blogs is by Ree Drummond. You may know her better as The Pioneer Woman. I don't know her, but I love her. She's fantastically funny, an amazing cook and as far as I can tell, she seems to be a wonderful person. She's one of the reasons I finally sucked it up and started my own blog. She owns who she is, what she's about, and her flaws.

Another is Our Best Bites. This site is ran by Sara and Kate. They have some seriously insane recipes there. It is a temptation that a fat girl like myself does not need. They are very down to earth and easy to relate to. Apparently, all bloggers are clumsy in the kitchen.

Then there is The Other Ryan. I learned about him through The Pioneer Woman. Dude has skills. I'm talking serious culinary skills. And some amazing tats and piercings. And he's hawt. Yeah, I know. That seems wrong on so many levels, calling a pastor hawt. Oh wait. I didn't tell you he's a pastor? Why yes. Yes he is. Amazing right? The only pastors/preachers I've had contact with were all very old. And strict. And not very accepting of individuality. (I know this is tripping my dad out right now. That his daughter follows a religious blog... well, religiously.)

That leads me to the topic of religion. Maybe it's because it is Sunday. Maybe because most of the bloggers I follow are religious in some way and they've posted something religious lately. Whatever it is, today I feel... spiritual. I have a hard time defining my religion. I was raised Southern Baptist. Mike was raised Catholic. (Insert funny priest/alter boy joke here.) I never really agreed with Southern Baptist. Or Christianity really. Or maybe it's the Bible.

I just find it hard to belive that God doesn't agree with things He created. There are so many things you can't do, according to the Bible.

A few I agree with. Some, not so much. Honor your mother and father? I get that. Mom had you. They both fed you, clothed you, and took care of you. (Hopefully, anyway. If your parents weren't Teh Awesome like mine, I'm sorry.) No stealing? I get that too. If you didn't earn it, don't touch it. No killing? Yup, I'm totally down with that one.

Somethings I don't agree with. You shall have no other gods before me. Hmmm. I'm not so cool with this one actually. My personal opinion is that everyone has the right to choose the right religion for themselves.

Or what about this one? "Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day." How do we pick which day is holy? How do we know it should be Sunday? And what is up with the slave thing? Weren't all people created equal in the eyes of God? Why didn't he say way back then - "Hey! Knock that off! You don't own that person."? We wouldn't have half the drama we do today about slavery.

And this is one that really throws me. "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." Why? God created homosexuals. According to the Bible, God created everything. So why did he create it, if He didn't want it?

I know that several people will tell me, don't question God. Well too bad. I question Him because of the flawed world He created. Kids that die young? Cancer? Pedophiles? Bigots? Why create these things? They aren't necessary. These evil things are not from Satan. God created them. He also created Satan. Again, if He didn't want these things in this world, why create them?

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This is in the Bible. Why does God not hold himself accountable to this as well?

I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but, this is what's on my mind. All I ask for is respect. These are my beliefs. I'm not saying there is a God, or there is not a God. I won't know that until I'm dead or Jesus really does come back.

Please. Whatever your belief is, be tolerant and respectful of others beliefs.

Love to all
Allie

What I Done Went and Did Yesterday.

So yesterday. It started out on the right track. I got up, got ready and took my husband to his truck. Sent him out with a kiss and held back the tears until he was gone. You don't cry, cause it just makes it harder on him. It's hard enough for him to let go as it is. If I cry, he'll cry and hold me a little longer cause that's how he is.

After I dropped him off, Mom and I went to pick up my sister-in-law C and take her and the boys to Centre. M was testing for his orange belt in Tae Kwon Do.

This is M breaking his board. He's the 3rd from the back. His teacher, Mr. Mendoza is holding the board. I'm not sure who the first boy is, but the one who didn't break it is also from M's class. I was so worried about him breaking it because you only get 3 tries and you lose points for each extra try you use. As you see, I worried for nothing. He broke his board on the 1st try. It was such a loud snap. I was so proud. Mr. Mendoza came and took over Austin's board. You can hear me cheering for him towards the end. It isn't about one being better than the other. Sure, my nephew is my first priority, but I want them all to pass. He broke it on his last try. Yay, Austin!

He's so smug.

Look at how thick that was.

After that, I was supposed to go spend the weekend at a friends' house, but she got sick, so... I was stuck at home. Or was I? My friend Ryan had invited me to go to Buenavista in Scottsboro with him to listen to his friend, Austin Jennings, play live. So I called him up to see if I was still invited. I was, and he was ecstatic? I believe that is the right word.

We had so much fun last night. I had 2 margaritas. Ryan had 1, half a beer, and a "sup" as he called it, of vodka and redbull. Add in really yummy food and the hilarity of Ryan doing his youtube posts throughout the evening and you can understand how I feel so lucky to have him in my life. That was his first taste of alcohol by the way. Minion # 2?

So anyway, in my tipsy state, I allowed Ryan to video and post me singing along to The Way You Are by Bruno Mars. I love that song. Mike will call and sing it to me sometimes. I was singing that to Ryan last night because he sang Come On Get Higher by Matt Nathanson to me. That video is also on youtube. I'm only linking the one of me singing. A Gay At The Bar Part 4 Yes. The series was called A Gay At The Bar. There are 8 parts in all.

No. I am not drunk. I blinked. I swear.

We all made it safely home and to our respective beds. I was worried last night. What was I thinking, singing on camera and then putting it on youtube? I thought I'd look like an idiot. Well that may be true, but... I look like an idiot who had an absolute blast with her best friend. In the morning light, with absolutely no hangover, I might mention...I don't regret a thing I did. As a matter of fact, we've made plans to do it again the next weekend I'm off and Austin is playing. Or someone else we want to hear. Austin is really good by the way. He did a cover of Beyonce's Sweet Dreams. After I got over the initial shock, it was pretty good.

Alright. I'm gonna go. I have dishes to do and laundry to finish. Back to my normal everyday routine. For now.

Love to All,
Allie.

Acceptance.

People struggle with acceptance every day. I struggle to be accepted as overweight. (Yes, I'm working on it, but you still would not believe how many people are rude to me on a daily basis.) Other people struggle because of a mental/physical handicap. And then there are people like my friend, Ryan.

I love him. He's so dang sweet, and happy. All the time. This is him visiting me at work. Ryan is very open about who he is and what he likes. He's a very special person to me. Whenever he leaves, he always tells me he loves me. And I tell him I love him too. It never fails though, after he leaves, someone feels the need to say something mean. I've gotten to the point where I'll ask people, "Do you know him? No? Then don't say another word about him, because he's MY friend." Yes, I know. I live & work in a small town in the bible belt. It doesn't matter. I don't care. People need to stop being so judgemental. A few quotes from the bible for those who judge -Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

As for me, I'll just continue to do what I do best. Supporting my friends & family with a smile on my face. I love you Ryan.

Love to ALL,
Allie