I Am NOT Just a Number

The official countdown for Valentines Day is 20 days. As we stare at the endless rows of cards, candy, and stuffed animals, either the day of, day before, or (for some overachievers) weeks in advance, we think of where this holiday actually began. It is interesting that Valentines Day is named after three Christian martyrs with the last name of Valentine. The "Valentines" were from Rome and were killed for their Christian faith. The Roman Catholics began a feast day (i.e. potluck or dinner on the grounds) on February 14th to celebrate the life of the Valentines. As the Medieval period came and went, history buffs, opportunists, and creative authors became the catalysts for what is today known as Valentine's Day. The first recorded writing, mixing Valentines Day with love, was by Geoffrey Chaucer who wrote "For this was Saint Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate." As time went on, romantic legends commenced and tales were told of o...

Arizona, the 48th state, (the last of the contiguous states), is back on the map... and not exactly for their tough stance on immigration.. Instead, all eyes are on a once easily forgotten man.. and a tough as nails, seemingly popular female representative.. What brought them together involved a handgun, one of the controversial stances held by many in the Copper state, yet silencing in its use... as vigils across the states were held due to its haunting and senseless exploitation... Slideshows of the characters involved.. splash TV's across the world as we all stare into the eyes of a madman whose words littered one of the world's greatest websites (i.e. Youtube).. and yet.. went unheard... until now... The haunting smile of Jared Loughner is not one we will soon forget... Jared the assassin.. will disgustingly litter the history books and websites like the terrorists before him... One man... who changed the lives of an entire grocery store parking lot.. in the second largest ...

One of the most popular articles in the New York Times recently is titled "The Happy Marriage is the 'Me' Marriage". For almost a week it has been one of the number one articles read and emailed. Published on the last day of 2010, the article talks about relationships and the need for "self-expansion". The article claims that if your partner helps expand your self-growth and you improve as a person, than you are more likely to be satisfied in your relationship. This is a far different outlook than the traditional one we are all used to but as the divorce rates continue to climb, America is desperately searching for answers. The article talks about those in a marriage that are completely unhappy and desperate. It suggests a "Michelangelo effect" in which partners "sculpt" each other in ways that help each of them attain valued goals" (see source below). "If your seeking self-growth and obtain it from your partner, than that puts ...

As we all either slept or watched the ball drop, a small town in Arkansas watched as thousands of red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky... Theories began swarming as approximately 10,000 drum fish were found dead that same day in the Arkansas river... we wont even get into the deaths of bumblebees all over Europe and Asia... but it definately makes us think... what is going on? and what a way to bring in a new year.. Some of us know all to well... we are 5 days in and though we may not find birds and fish littering our streets and rivers.. we feel like everything we know is changing and crashing around us... Christmas is over... time for the bills.. those of us who itemize our taxes wont see our checks for a couple months... our White House spokesman is quitting... theres absolutely nothing to watch on TV.. our holidays came and went so fast.. we barely had time to enjoy them.. and its back to the grind... On top of that our personal lives are put to the test daily as we literally ba...

My thoughts surrounding Christmas this year was to rediscover what Christmas was really about. I attempted to saturate myself with Christian radio, christmas music, giving, and the real history behind it all. What surprised me during this quest, was the chaos that erupted all around me that fought for my attention. I was steady sick with the flu almost the entire month and on top of that I had an incredible challenge with a person in my life that created a battle in a time I yearned for peace. Almost every day during the month of December, a new challenge would occur and my controlled chaos became uncontrollable. I was shocked that I was chosen for such testing during an amazing time of year. A battle between good an evil, forces beyond my control, fought for my attention and succeeded many times taking my eyes off who Christmas was really about and turning my focus on my own problems. Many times, I felt like giving up. This trouble was to great for me to bear but amidst it all, thoug...