Urgent Prayers Needed!

If you can spare a couple of extra seconds please pray for Lauren Richardson. She is 23 years old, from Delaware, and suffered a massive brain injury two years ago that put her in a persistant vegitative state. She is currently not on life-support, but a feeding tube. Her mother wants to have the tube removed because she "believes" Lauren would not want to live this way. However, her father, Randy Richardson, is pleading and fighting to keep his daughter alive. Despite that fact, Judge Sam Glasscock ordered that her tube be removed in 2 weeks. This is obviously a horrible situation for the family, but also for our culture. Why does it seem that so many people are so quick to err on the side of death instead of giving victims a fighting chance?? When a family member is fighting to be able to take care of a disabled person, why don't we just let them? They're not asking for any help or charity from anyone. They just want to fight for their loved one. It has no bearing or burden on anyone else. I don't understand.

My husband sent me this paragraph regarding Nietzsche:

In Thus Spake Zarathustra, he said: “Far too many keep on living; they hang on their branches much too long. May a storm soon come to shake all this rotten and worm-eaten fruit from the tree!” In a section of The Gay Science entitled “Holy Cruelty” a Nietzschean “saint” advises a father to kill his disabled child, rhetorically asking, “Isn’t it crueler to allow it to live?” Twilight of the Idols includes a section entitled “Morality for Physicians” that calls sick people “parasites” who have no right to life and advocates the “most ruthless suppression and pushing aside of degenerate life.” And finally in his autobiography Ecce Homo, one of the last books he sent to the publisher before his collapse into insanity, he said: “If we cast a look a century ahead and assume that my assassination of two thousand years of opposition to nature and of dishonoring humans succeeds, then that new party of life [!] will take in hand the greatest of all tasks—the higher breeding of humanity, including the unsparing destruction of all degenerates and parasites.”

This line: "Isn't it crueler to allow it to live?" is one I hear from pro-"choicers" when it comes to aborting babies who *might* be born with a disability. Not only is it completely immoral, but it begins a slippery slope. Where does that sentiment end?? Do we think it's cruel to allow blind people to live then? What about people who have lost limbs? Ok, so now what about obese people? Isn't it miserable being fat in a society that demands perfection? Doesn't this sound absurd?

If you would like more information on Lauren, visit http://www.lifeforlauren.org/. Passing the word and prayers are greatly appreciated!

Brady, the True Patriot

In his latest attempt to be more than just a football player, Tom Brady is now jumping on the celebrity "Fight Global Warming" bandwagon. I think it's great. Anything he does to make himself look dumber is fine by me:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/01/heartache_at_super_bowl_media.asp

UPDATE
Maybe I should take that back. So true:

http://www.stephenbainbridge.com/punditry/comments/the_new_england_patriots_as_leading_indicator_of_defining_deviancy_down/

WORST...SUPER BOWL...EVER

My husband and I are officially boycotting Super Bowl XLII, and it's not even because my beloved Colts are not in it. It's mainly because it is the media's dream-come-true Super Bowl. New York vs. Boston?? What's not to love?!? UGH! Spare me. First of all, I'm sure you all know my animosity towards New England. But they have had the easiest road to an undefeated season and to the big game that is humanly possible. 1) No injuries; 2) Poor strength of schedule (their conference was one of the worst in the AFC, therefore everyone they played twice during the regular season was pathetic. Including Miami, who was 0-for for a LONG time!); 3) In all of their would-be difficult games, the opposing team had at least one major injury...this includes their AFC Championship game against San Diego where QB Philip Rivers was playing injured and RB Ladanian Tomlinson didn't play at all!

Second of all - Tom Brady is the most overrated QB in the NFL. If he played for any other team, he would be known for the true QB he really is (the 3 INT one he proved to be the other night). Watch him - all he does is throw lollipop jump passes to his receivers who push off and out-jump their defender. I can recall perhaps one strategic, talented, acurate pass he has ever thrown. He also has a pretty good line to thank for making him look good. I'm so sick of all the hype!

Then there are the Giants. Yes, I'm a Peyton Manning fan. But my adoration for the Manning ends there. NOT a fan of little brother Eli, mainly since his I-don't-want-to-play-for-San-Diego draft fiasco. They ended their regular season at 10-6 - a pathetic record for even making the playoffs. One that does not deserve a trip to the Super Bowl. But perhaps I'm just jealous that his older brother isn't going.

Keeping Your Family Fit

In my quest to drop some of those extra holiday pounds, I recently joined Weight Watchers. I am loving it. It's barely a diet, and I've found it's pretty easy to do! I'm also a long-time subscriber to Fitness Magazine, and just talked my sister into joining. It is a great magazine and also has a lot of useful information on their website. My favorite this month is how to keep your family fit and healthy. It gives you tips on activities to do with kids at any age, and how to get toddlers to eat their vegetables (my biggest challenge right now). We're huge fans of our local YMCA and use it regularly. My favorite part is their childcare drop-off area. My son gets to play with other kids and run around for some activity while I get an hour to myself to get some much-needed exercise. We're also members of a children's gym that he loves! Just like a Gymboree or Little Gym, it's a place we can go that is padded with gymnastics mats and has climbing structures for him to climb, jump on, or roll off of!

If you're not a member of a gym, club, or magazine subscription, I highly recommend it. Not only is it great for your health but it can also help you get out of the house and beat these winter blues. Best of luck!