Becoming Virtuous

A blog sharing my thoughts on life and what God is teaching me

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  • July 4th: Independence Day

    On this day, over two hundred years ago, our forefathers took a stand.  They decided that their God-given unalienable rights had been violated long enough, and they were ready to risk everything that they had to take back their liberties and rights.

    They pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their Sacred Honor.  Many of them lost everything they had for the cause of freedom.  Most of them lost their lives, fortunes, and Sacred Honor.  But was it worth it?  After that war ended, there began the greatest country that has ever been.  One that was founded on Christian principles, and was run by amazing, brave people, who’s Lord and Master was God.  Because these men were brave, and took a perilous stand when the odds were overwhelmingly against them, the Colonies were given their independence from England.

    However, let’s fast forward to present times again.  What is going on today?  Let’s first look at the list of grievances committed by the King of England against the Colonies.

    He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
    He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
    He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
    He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
    He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
    He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
    He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
    He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
    He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
    He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
    He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
    He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
    He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
    For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
    For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
    For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
    For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
    For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
    For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
    For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
    For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
    For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
    He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
    He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
    He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
    He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
    He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

    As you read those, did it occur to you just how many of those are being committed against us today from our own government?

    For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent

    Need I say anything about this one? 😉

    For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

    Though it may not be overseas, do any of you remember the unfortunate homeschool family in Colorado that was abused by the authorities?  It was all over a pretended offence of child neglection.

    He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

    What about all those new offices that are appointed only, and not voted on by the people?

    For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

    What about the lack of capital punishment?  The Bible, which our country was founded on, says an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, life for a life.

    He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution

    What about all the judges turning to other constitutions besides our own to govern their decisions?

    He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States

    Roe v. Wade?

    Need I go on?  In the past two hundred years, we have let our government slip into doing the same offenses for which we left England!  Yet what do we do?  Most of the U.S. citizens don’t even realize what’s going on, and even if they did, would they even care?  The few of us who realize just how much trouble our country is in, seems to be too small a number to make a difference.

    Today we lack the George Washington’s, John Hanncock’s, John Adam’s, Benjamin Franklin’s, Paul Revere’s, and the other countless men of yesteryear’s who were willing to take a stand and risk everything they had for a just cause.  Even when the odds were overwhelmingly against them.  What has happened to them?  Where have they gone?

    I strongly urge you to read the Declaration of Independence.  And I pray that it makes you weep over what we as a nation have given up.

  • The Star Spangled Banner

    By Francis Scott Key 1814

    Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light

    What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?

    Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,

    O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

    And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

    Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

    Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

    O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

     

    On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

    Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,

    What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,

    As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

    Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,

    In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:

    ‘Tis the star-spangled banner!  Oh long may it wave

    O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

     

    And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

    That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,

    A home and a country should leave us no more!

    Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.

    No refuge could save the hireling and slave

    From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

    And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

    O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

     

    Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

    Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!

    Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land

    Praise the Power that hath made a preserved us a nation.

    Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

    And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”

    And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

    O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

  • Still busy

    The title pretty much sums it all up.  We finished dance camp last week, and we won’t have anymore major going’s on til the county fair.

    Speaking of the county fair, we still have a lot to do concerning that.  In two weeks.  I think I will finish the bulk of my sewing for it today though, and most of what I need to do is the record books.  Apart from headache causing and time consuming, they shouldn’t be too bad. 😉

    In other news, we are praying and hoping that we will have the girl we are wanting to adopt in our home soon.  Mom and Dad got all the paperwork in, so now we are just waiting for the background checks to be completed.  They were told that getting those done could and probably will take up to three months.  There are many people who are trying to help us not be too optimistic and are telling us that there is no way that we will have her here by her birthday (July 17).  But we serve a big God.  If he wants her to be here by then, she will be here.  If he wants us to wait, then that is what will happen.  We are praying that it is His will to work a miracle and get her here soon.  If ya’ll feel called to pray for us, we would greatly appreciate it! 😉

    I would also like to ask for some prayer.  A few of the many changes that come with getting a roommate for the first time have started to hit.  I abhor changes.  The slightest change can make me cry.  Mom moved my furniture around in my room a couple of days ago, and I came close to throwing a fit.  I had a really stinky attitude.  I’m such a selfish person.  I know that I need to learn stretch myself and accept these changes.  So, if you feel called to pray that I grow up, I would appreciate it. 😉

    I suppose that’s all for now.

    Have a blessed Independence Day!

    ~Tee-Kaye

  • Help! I’m overwhelmed!

    Even though it is officially summer, the work doesn’t end with the school season.  I’m starting to get overwhelmed with everything I need to get done in the next few months.

    The general events going on this summer that I’ll have to work around are; a week long dance camp starting next Monday, the 4-H County Fair in July, helping at the Father/Son Retreat and going to Family Camp both in August.  Those are just the things I can think of off the top of my head.

    In between these activities I need to clean my room, start on my Apologetics cards, start researching our policy on China, find material for my speeches next year (an HI, a Duo, and possibly a Persuasive and a DI), finishing my five projects for 4-H (this includes doing all five record books, making a bunch of pies, baking lots of bread, sewing a dress, and making a skirt then decorating somehow so it will count for Decorate Your Duds.  I’m grateful Mom is letting me drop two others because of the lack of time), making a movie of Nationals, uploading speeches from Nationals onto YouTube, do more more sewing, I’ll probably have to finish my science, and practice violin and singing.

    So maybe you can see a little how I’m feeling overwhelmed right now.  In fact, I’m so scared of this task ahead of me, I’ve taken the high road and am acting lazy instead. (I’m being sarcastic.  I am being lazy right now, but I know I need to stop.)

    I guess I should stop posting about how much work I have to do and actually doing.  Excuse me, I need to go take a crash course on sewing a zipper on a dress.

    ~Tee-Kaye

  • Back from Nats

    Hey ya’ll!  I’ve arrived safely back home!  Boy, am I glad to be back!

    Nats went okay.  I got to see a lot of speeches, and taped a lot as well.  11 video tapes worth to be exact! 😉  I unfortunately did not break, and I don’t think I did my best with my speech.  My mom says that I looked almost bored with it.  On my ballots I got three 4th’s, one 5th, and five 5th & below’s.  I got one really funny ballot.  It said, “Content lacked in entertainment value.  Good delivery.”  LOL!  I laughed so hard when I read that ballot!  I remember seeing that judge scowling at me the entire time I gave my speech!  But that ballot didn’t hurt me any worse, so I can easily laugh at it.  😉

    I think my biggest problem was that I didn’t practice it at all before the tourney.  I had all of the words and general actions memorized, but I had forgotten over the long waiting period all of the specific movements I had come up with earlier in the year.  When I look back over the year, the tournament I did best at, which was Centennial, I had gone to a tournament a week before, and I had practiced a lot, and had laid awake at night thinking of movements to add.  But I never practiced after that, and I steadily did worse.  So I’ve resolved that next year, I will practice a lot more, at the very least a few days before the tournament.  Even if it is only rehearsing it in my head.  I think I’ll make sure that I tape myself every tournament and watch it so I can know what to change, and won’t forget things I did that I liked.

    As far as in between rounds goes, I was sorely missing my speech club.  Though there were a few people that talked to me every so often, there was no one that I really hung out with.  I am proud of myself however, for starting many a conversation with people that I didn’t know.  For those of you who know me, you will understand the importance of this accomplishment.  For those of you who don’t, I’m extremely afraid of talking to people that I don’t know.  I even hate calling friends on the phone, for fear that I dial the wrong number.  So I was quite proud of my boldness.  But I still missed my true friends.  The ones that I didn’t have to try hard to get them to talk to me.  Who understand my weirdness, who know how to comfort and support me and how to get me to laugh so I can forget my troubles.

    I am grateful though to the few people that would start up conversations with me when they saw me.  They were very sweet.  I’m also very grateful to God for one person in particular.

    After the award ceremony, there was an after party at a place called Vulcan Park.  This facility was on top of a hill, it had a museum, a pretty big lawn, and a three story tall tower with a humongous statue on top.  The view from the tower was stunning.  Alabama is very pretty.  Anyways, there was a paved area where they had speakers set up and was used as a dance floor.  Soon after the dancing started, I met a family of three girls and I taught one of them how to do the basic swing step.  When the song ended, I went with them up to the top of the tower.  After this, I hung out with them for the rest of the evening.  One of the girls and I danced together and talked about Pride and Prejudice and other similar topics.  At one point, they played a waltz, and she came up with idea that we Duo dance.  So we didn’t touch, or look at each other, and waltz around the floor.  It was very fun.  I enjoyed myself so much, and I am very thankful that God brought us together.  We exchanged e-mail addresses, so hopefully we’ll stay in touch.

    Through the whole tournament, we shared a rental car with another mother and her son.  They were a very sweet family.  I had heard many times from my debate partner about how cool this family was, but before now I hadn’t had the chance to get to know them.  So I am also very grateful for the chance to do just that.

    So, I suppose, over all, it wasn’t a bad week.  I believe I learned a lot from watching the debates and speeches and I made some new friends.  We even had a funny incident.  We had just picked up the rental car and left the airport when it happened.  My mom pushed a button on the rear view mirror and this car alarm started to go off inside the car!  Then there was a ringing noise, then the sound of a phone being picked up and someone answered, “Hello, I’m so-and-so from OnStar, how can I help?” My mom, “How do I turn this off!!!”  “First ma’am, is there an emergency in the car?”  “No, I just accidentally pushed a button, how do I turn it off?”  “I can take care of that, goodbye.”  LOL!!!  Though frightening at first, we laughed heartily about it later, and was the subject of a couple jokes.  I am happy to report, we never had a reason to call OnStar again! 😉

    Well, I believe that is all I have to say for now.

    ~Tee-Kaye

  • Goodbye for now

    Well, on the topic of my previous post, my dad sprayed my window seat and closet, so hopefully that will take care of the problem.  While I was cleaning things up so that Dad could spray I didn’t find any other beetles, but the other day I found one in a magazine so they were probably just hiding.  Hopefully it won’t take much more effort to get rid of them, especially since I’m not going to be able to do anything about it for a week. 😉

    As I am leaving tomorrow, I don’t think I’ll have another chance to post, so I want to say goodbye till after Nationals.  I’ll be sure to let ya’ll know what happened.

    See ya!

    ~Tee-Kaye

  • Return of the Menace

    Ladies and gentlemen, their back!  If they actually left in the first place.  On Monday I found another carpet beetle larvae scurrying around on a shirt that was on my floor.  The next day I found two extremely tiny (the size of the of head ballpoint pen) beetle looking things.  Without thinking, I squished them, so I wasn’t able to show them to my parents.

    Then today, I found another one running around on my curtain.  I got it on a Kleenex and took it to show my dad.  He typed “Carpet Beetle” into Google and immediately knew that was what my visitor was.  So now I am once again infested with carpet beetles, if they were in fact gone in the first place.

    So now I have to vaccum my room every few days to try to get rid of the larvae, and wash my curtains, and clean off my window seat and clean out my closet so my dad can spray.

    This seems to be a horrible time for this to happen.   I have my ballet performances every night the rest of this week, and I leave for Alabama on Sunday so I need to do laundry and pack.  I don’t particularly have time for this right now.

    But I know that God knows what he’s doing.  He obviously didn’t think there was enough on my plate right now.  He also knew that I needed another thing to remind me to come Him for comfort and sanity.  😉  As everything seems to be spinning out of control, I know the One who is in control, and He assures me that He will work everything out for the good.  I just need to trust.

    ~Tee-Kaye

  • Scared Silly

    I recently came to a very scary conclusion.  A week from today, I’ll be Alabama competing at Nationals!  You have no idea how that scares me!  I feel so much that I don’t belong there, that it was a fluke that I’m going and that I’m taking the place of someone who vastly deserves to be there instead of me.

    Whenever I’ve professed these fears in the past all my friends would just laugh at me and my (they believe) unfounded uncertainity in myself.  Though I don’t know how I can help my lack of faith in myself.  Even if I were to overcome it, I’m scared that I’ll become cocky as a result, thus I don’t try to overcome my fears.

    But enough of that.  The whole Nationals thing is very daunting for me, and the seconds to arriving there are quickly and steadily counting down.  But I am thankful for all the people who are praying for me.  People from our homeschool group, the CHEC committee, and elsewhere are all lifting me up in prayer and wishing me to do my best.  I am sincerely thankful for all of you. 🙂

    I know there is a weighty task ahead of me.  I’m going where no one in our club has gone before.  I’m going somewhere where I need to set a good example of the Christian faith, homeschoolers, and the state of Colorado.  Apart from my speech, I’ll be an ambassader as well.  I pray that I am equal to the task.

    Okay, I probably should end this random complilation of my fears.  I would really appreciate it if you all could pray for me.

    Love ya!

    ~Tee-Kaye

  • Constitution Party Platform – Gun Control

    The 2nd Amendment strictly limits any interference with gun ownership by saying: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

    The right to bear arms is inherent in the right of self defense, defense of the family, and defense against tyranny, conferred on the individual and the community by our Creator to safeguard life, liberty, and property, as well as to help preserve the independence of the nation.

    The right to keep and bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution; it may not properly be infringed upon or denied.

    The Constitution Party upholds the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms. We oppose attempts to prohibit ownership of guns by law-abiding citizens, and stand against all laws which would require the registration of guns or ammunition.

    We emphasize that when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have them. In such circumstances, the peaceful citizen’s protection against the criminal would be seriously jeopardized.

    We call for the repeal of all federal firearms legislation, beginning with Federal Firearms Act of 1968.

    We call for the rescinding of all executive orders, the prohibition of any future executive orders, and the prohibition of treaty ratification which would in any way limit the right to keep and bear arms.

  • The right to bear arms

    Most of you have probably heard about the Second Amendment, and the right that it supposed to protect.  But how many of you understand the extreme importance of it?

    Guns are seen by liberals as something very dangerous that should be kept out of the hands of the populace.  That is why we have had all of the gun laws passed in somewhat recent years.  Laws set up by the government that regulate who can have guns and who can’t.  (If any of you haven’t taken the questionnaire to get gun, I’ll let you know it’s pretty ridiculous.  Asking questions like, “Do you plan to use this gun to commit a grievous crime?” LOL!  Like they think a criminal is going to be stupid enough to say yes?!)

    Yet, in their great “wisdom,” they have overlooked a major flaw in their regulations.  In general, out of whose hands is the government trying to keep guns?  Murderers and other lawbreakers.  However, by setting up regulations, do you think that is going to stop criminals from breaking just one more rule?  Instead by keeping guns from being available to everyone, those of us who are peaceable now have no way of defending ourselves.

    Yet the government doesn’t seem to care about this right being taken away from us.  They continue to pass more laws prohibiting and regulating who can have guns.  We continue to let our rights be stripped from us and the ability to protect ourselves we are giving away.

    In the draft of Virginia’s Constitution, Thomas Jefferson said, “No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms.”  He understood the need from people to have the ability to protect themselves.  If we aren’t allowed to do so, just who do we think is going to protect us every second of the day?

    On our trip through the South last April, we stopped off in Georgia to visit some friends.  While there we were going to visit a museum which was in a different county.  Our friends warned us that a law had been passed in that county concerning guns that we should be aware of.  In this particular county, is is ILLEGAL not to have a concealed carry!  The government would have people believe that such a law, or similarly a lack of regulations, would cause havoc and mass killings.  But just what are the statistics from this little county?  There are virtually no crimes committed there!  Why is this?  Well, say a robber goes to rob a bank.  He won’t know who in that bank has a weapon concealed on them.  Even if it was slow in the bank at that time, the chances are, there are more good people in that bank carrying a gun than that lone robber.

    If us Americans were allowed to carry guns as we pleased, as we were in the old days, what do you think would happen?  Criminals would never know who has else out there has a gun.  I imagine this would cause them to rethink committing a crime at least once.

    But even more than that, by principle, we should never have to go to the government and ask permission to have gun.  All the regulations and laws are unconstitutional and should be removed.  But do you think anyone in the government is going to want to give up their control on this part of our lives?   :sarcastic laugh: No one who is currently there, I can assure you.

    On this issue, among many others, I am very pleased with the Constitution Party.  The desire of the Constitution Party is to get the government out of gun control as it was in the past.  They understand that the people deserve the right to protect themselves.

    [The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans posses above almost every other nation… (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.  ~James Madison

    It is our duty to take back the rights that have been taken from us.  One of the ways to do that is to elect a leader that will give them back to us.

    ~Tee-Kaye