I finished a box of mending that I've had around for 4 years this
weekend... I re-enforced seams on two items, re-glued a loose
decorative strand on another, and tossed the rest of the stuff in
the trash... most was too small for anyone to wear or had too many
memories associated with it. Sometimes, you just have to let things
go or, in this case, throw it out! 
Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pictoquotes/26998010707
Don't you have to pledge an oath to uphold the constitution - including the freedom to peaceably practice his/her religion (or lack thereof) - to become a member of congress? Doesn't that oath keep affairs of church and state separate? Wouldn't that veto the aspects of sharia law that people are concerned about? Just like it keeps radical Christians and Jews from killing off homosexuals, transgenders, and those who practice witchcraft according to the law of Moses (also listed in the Bible)
And, doesn't our freedom of religion allow Muslims to run for government office alongside Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Satanists, Wiccans, athiests and everyone in between - regardless of what we may think about their faith? Isn't that a fundamental part of being an American?
These are some questions that I am pondering...
Morning musings...
The other day, I watched an episode of Mike & Molly. In that episode, Mike had such a big fight with his best friend and police partner, Carl, that they started searching for other partners to work with. Carl, an African American, was paired with an older Caucasian man. This older man’s introductory sentence was something like: “I don’t mind working with ‘you people’ – just as long as you don’t live in my neighborhood.” I immediately bristled. It’s just a TV show, but there are so many people that still have that mentality!
It’s not just toward people of another skin color either. Sometimes, it has to do with their religion. A person will be likeable and maybe doing good deeds to help the misfortunate, but as soon as someone finds out that they belong to this or that religion, that someone, at some time, had a bad experience with then, that good person is condemned – regardless of his or her actions.
Now, I KNOW why the Muslims and Islamics are generally hated. Most of the terrorist activity that we are reminded of on a regular basis have been from radical groups branching from these religions.
People of a variety of religions (including Muslims) need to have a seat on Congress as they may have a view of a topic that others may not have considered yet. It brings balance.
Keep in mind…
“Over this period [2011-2017], white extremism — an umbrella term encompassing white nationalist, white supremacist, neo-Nazi, xenophobic, anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic ideologies — accounted for about 8 percent of all attacks in these regions [Europe, North America and Australia] and about A THIRD of those in the United States.” https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/03/world/white-extremist-terrorism-christchurch.html
That’s scary.
Do we need to be mindful of the mindset of terrorists and where they come from? Yes.
Do we need to be mindful of not allowing terrorists and other known criminals into the country? Yes.
Do we need to be mindful of how we encourage the mindset of terrorists? Absolutely!
Seeing all the slander against religions or what country people are from or what skin color they have on social media is all the encouragement extremists need and they LOVE to stir the pot and get the emotions running hot. I don’t know about you, but I prefer not to feed the monster.
Judge a person on his or her actions without dragging religion or skin color into the mix or we’re no better than terrorists.
I love how Rush states "...the Democrat Party is the home of
racism. And the Democrat Party is the home of bigotry, mean spirited
bigotry." Far more people than Omar (if she did, indeed, say
anything worth getting up in arms about - I've read conflicting
articles)... and it has nothing to do with religion. It is a
diseased mindset. Of course, we should also remember that not ALL
Democrats are bigoted racists and not ALL Republicans are wonderful
people Such mean-spirited people need to be removed from office
and replaced with people that value fundamental American principles.
Anyone want me to do their fencing? I used a 100 ft tape measure to
first lay the line, putting the posts in place, then unrolled the
tape next to the posts to make sure it was straight before stringing
it up... this is my first try... only took me additional 6 tries to
get it somewhat straight... 
Feeling a bit weak... thankful for the One who gives strength! 
Love this! This is what I was striving for as a parent without knowing what it was called!
It was often a fight being married to someone who believed in strict, unquestioning obedience to random changes of "the law" with no explanation, but... we survived! We have a few battle scars, but we're dealing with that 
Oh no! I've scrolled through FB and now I need to get some actual
work done 
I was able to spend a few relaxing days at my Dad's place this past
week, with the highlight being haltering the baby horses (I just
LOVE playing with horses and it has been far too long since I was
able to play with babies! ) Of course, seeing family (including
my oldest and grand baby) was awesome too
On the way home, Bob
was telling me about a fly infestation at the house (we finally
figured out that they were coming in from the attic via the
bathroom's light fixture) and I commented that we should have one of
those guns that shoot salt designed for bugs so that he could at
least have a little fun while having to destroy the pests... he
loved the idea! Here's my husband - the fly hunter!
I took a quiz on facebook... While I don't agree that I've lived multiple lifetimes or manage things in my life easily, this quiz result describes me pretty well!
"You are an Old-Soul Empath—the most empathic of the bunch. You have lived hundreds—maybe thousands—of lifetimes and are born with a heightened ability to feel other people’s emotions as if they were your own. Your mood can shift as you enter a room, just because of who’s there. Taking on the emotions around you sometimes makes life difficult—you can’t stand crowds, horror movies are a no-no, sometimes even family gatherings can throw you for a loop. Because you can often sense and see things that other people can’t, such as spirits, auras, and other “new-age” phenomena, you may feel as though you are strange or an outcast from society. You often hide your abilities or interests just to feel accepted by the world around you.
But it’s not all bad! Old-Soul Empaths are often skilled healers and are also likely to have what’s referred to as super traits: extraordinary levels of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and self-directedness. You are unusually optimistic, have a can-do attitude, and an excellent work ethic. You are compassionate, patient, and have the ability to see the best in everything and everyone. You are the one who uplifts any endeavor in which you’re engaged, and you’re likely very successful. You are likely the person everyone in the family or at work turns to when there’s a problem. You manage everything in your life with ease—except perhaps your relationships, which can be disastrous if they’re with the wrong person.
As long as you take care of yourself, you have the capacity to change the world. Your ability to feel and process deep emotions brings a light and joy to the planet that helps cast out the darkness that can make life miserable—for everyone.
One powerful thing to keep in mind in your self-care work is the importance of setting boundaries and saying "no" to people and projects that drain you. As an Old-Soul Empath, this is likely quite hard for you because you don’t want to hurt other people. But it’s an essential skill to learn."
I've taken most of June to reflect on what my life purpose is. I'm
writing an article about it, but have gotten distracted with
emotions that come up so it is taking me far longer to write my
thoughts than anticipated. My emotional self keeps needing time to
zone out. I've watched Season One of Jane the Virgin (I HATE
cliff-hangers! now, I HAVE to watch Season Two ) and I finished
reading a novel last night. The novel truly irritated me. I enjoyed
the plot, the author is a decent writer, but she used contradictory
phrases soooo many times. Here are two examples: 1. two people met
TWO days before and are "back to their OLD habit of
arguing". 2. A woman got pregnant ONE MONTH ago and has a
BULGING tummy What made it worst was finding out she had FIVE other
AUTHORS critiquing her book, besides the editor. I didn't let my
children write like this in high school. Irritating. It is
probably more irritating to me because I am such a perfectionist
that it takes me a month to finish a 2000 word article that half a
dozen people might read and I still manage to not fully express my
thoughts in an understandable way and there are a lot of authors
that spit out gibberish and get paid for it. I must admit though
that I am FAR better at critiquing and editing than at writing.
Image Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/beccapeterson/5448851027