Home is where the heart is.

It's been over a week since I've posted anything - and that's because I've been insanely busy. Last Friday was my last day at Thompson Sales. It was definitely bittersweet, but I'm looking forward to new opportunities. Then, my mom came in town this past weekend! She stayed Friday until Monday and it was AWESOME.

Friday night we took my mom out to Nakato for her birthday. It was super delicious, as always. We got her the birthday special, so she got a dessert and a picture! Here's us:

It was so fun and so, so, so yummy! Then Saturday we went shopping and did all kinds of stuff. We went to Kohls, then to an animal shelter, then to Bass Pro! We got SO MUCH STUFF there. Knocked out a ton of Christmas presents. I love that Matthew works there because the discount is amazing! Then after our 2 hour spree there we went to Old Chicago for dinner. We had the best waitress ever. When I go back, I'm going to ask for her. After all that we went home and watched Water for Elephants. It was a long day!

Then, Sunday we went to a thrift store and found all kinds of awesome treasures. I got 20 new coffee mugs!

Aren't they cute!? After thrifting for a while, we went to Buckinham's to catch the end of the Chiefs game!

AND WE'RE TOTALLY 8-0!!!! GO CHIEFS! - Anyway, the food was delicious. I tried something new and LOVED it. We sat at the bar and had another awesome waitress. After hanging out there for a while we went back to the house and just kind of chilled. then we went to the Hotel of Terror!

It had been a few years since my mom had gone to a haunted house and I had never been, so we decided to go! I only cried once, and it was at the very beginning because the guy with the chainsaw cornered me. It was scary! The entire thing was so cool. It was only $11, which is super cheap. I'm so glad we went, and if I were going to be in Springfield next year, I'd totally go again. After that we just went home and watched Rush Hour 2.

When my mom and I woke up Monday we went shopping - AGAIN! I took her to Kirklands because she had never been. Of course she fell in love with it. I mean, it is an awesome store. After that though she had to leave. I was sad to see her go, but I'm so thankful she was able to come down for the weekend! This coming weekend, Matthew and I will be going to KC because his sister-in-law and niece are flying in from Hawaii!!!! I'm beyond excited for it. I always thought I was never going to be an aunt, and now in just four days I get to meet my niece!

Last night I went to Mardel - a Christian store here in town. I went looking for devotionals, and I left with three and a new Bible. Holy cow! I'm pretty excited about them though. The first devotional I found was this one:

This is a ten week Bible study that goes over Ephesians. If you know me, you know that I have a big love for Ephesians. It's also directed towards women, so that's exciting too. I'm going to work through this one first. The second one that I got was this one:

I'm not completely familiar with the parables of Jesus, so this one will be super awesome to work through. This also is a ten week study and I will do it once I'm done with Ephesians. (even though I want to start it now!) Then, as I was browsing, I found another devotional. But this one isn't just for me - it's for me and Matt.

There's 365 days worth of couples devotionals in this book. It's going to be super challenging but I'm really excited about it. I think this book will really help us stay accountable in keeping Christ in the center of our relationship. We're starting it today! I also got a new Bible. Mardel will put your name on your Bible for you, and so my first Bible has my maiden name on it. I asked if they could add my new last name, and they said no. I really wanted a Bible with my married name on it, so I bought a new one! I'm going to use it for my devotionals and studies and will use my other one for things such as Monday service and small groups and stuff like that. Here's my new Bible:

All in all, it was an amazing weekend. It really got me rejuvenated for this week. It even made it easy to get out of bed this morning when it was pouring rain! (which, by the way, my sweats are STILL wet). Weekends like this past one really just encourage me and remind me that God is so amazing! 

The Outsiders.

Great book, right? Well, that's not what I'm here to talk about today. I'm here to talk about what it feels like to be an outsider; what it feels like to be on the outside looking in.

Have you ever had a time where you saw a group of people having a grand ole time and thought "Man, why can't I be a part of that?" Ever had a time when you've felt completely excluded from a group of "friends"? Ever feel like you're just sitting on the sidelines? I have.

I've really been struggling lately with feeling like an outsider. I think social media really impacts this. I see all these pictures and statuses about my friends having a great time with one another. Now, don't think that I'm trying to whine and say "I'm not popular enough". Because that's not what I'm doing, AT ALL. I'm way beyond that stage. What I'm saying is this: it's hard to hear someone call you their friend, and then have them make very little effort. It's hard to see your "group of friends" having fun without you. It's hard to sit almost every night and try to figure out why you aren't good enough to want to hang out with. Why you aren't good enough to get an invite.

This is something that has been really heavy on my heart lately. In the last couple weeks, I lost a girl who was supposed to be my best friend. But I thought, "I'm okay because I have an entire community that I'm included in." But then when I really looked at it.. I kind of don't. I have a few friends that actually make a big effort. Other than that, I'm that friend you say hi to at sanctioned events. At least, that how it feels. I see other people move seamlessly into the groove of these friendships, and wonder why I can't fit in like that.

At first, I thought that maybe it was something I had done or said. Because in the past that was always a possibility. But I've worked very hard on my character. There's no way that I've said anything negative about anyone. I've worked really, really hard at becoming a better friend. I'd do anything to my friends. I've opened my home to them, multiple times. I've made an effort. But for some reason, I still can't break that barrier. I really was upset about it last night.

But then I turned to scripture. It doesn't matter how much of an outsider I feel, at least I will always have God on my side. In fact, I'll always be an outsider in this world because my heart belongs to God. It doesn't matter if I feel left out of my friends' group, because God accepts me just as I am. It doesn't matter if I'm married, or boring, or anything. For God, I don't have to change. He loves me just as I am. (Well, minus the sin of course.)

I found some complete comfort in that. I love my friends, even if I don't fit in very well. But even without them, I will feel loved by my God. Colossians 2:6-7

The winds of change.

Monday's must be a good day for change for the Gleaton's. Last Monday it was baptisms, and this week it's jobs.

Today, Matthew started his full time position at Bass Pro. He's working in their warehouse Monday through Friday. It's a guaranteed forty hours, and we're super excited about it. He will still be keeping his job at Gordmans and will just switch from stock room to the Home department. So some nights of the week he will be working there as well.

Today, I put in my two weeks at Thompson's. It was a hard decision at first, but I feel so relieved now that it's over. I have accepted a position at BYO Pizza, which is a new pizza place here in Springfield. It is only as a crew member, but there is a chance of being put up into management. At first I felt like this is a step down from where I'm at (I mean, I'm taking a pay cut), but the more I look at it, the more I see opportunity.

It's been a while since I've been in the food business, and I'm excited to get back into it, surprisingly. Pizza isn't something I've ever thought about doing, and I'm stoked to see what it's like. I also see opportunity because there is a chance to move up into management. I'm going to work hard to try and obtain that position. Here at Thompson's, I have no opportunity of moving upward. I'm stagnant and I hate it. It's time for a change, and I'm more than thankful that God put this opportunity in my path.

Also, since we're talking about change, Matthew got a ship date, finally. He's scheduled to be shipped out on March 4th. In case you're wondering, that's 140 days away. His job will be an airborne linguist. We weren't fully expecting that job, so we have a lot of details to work through. No matter what happens though, we know that God is in control and will put us exactly where we need to be.

There's a lot of other change that is going to be happening in our lives, and when it is official and stuff, I can't wait to let you all know! Change is good and change is fun. Praise be to God for opening all these doors for Matthew and I.

Ps: Here's a sneak peek at some of our wedding photos:

Getting older.

You know, getting older is pretty interesting. Yes, I'm aware that I'm only 20 years old. But there are days I feel much older than that. Being twenty is interesting in itself. I feel like between 20 and 25 is when you really start to move forward with your adult life. Friends change, people change, you daily life changes.

I've lost a friend recently (no, she didn't die, we just aren't friends anymore), and it was hard. Harder than I expected. I know that we have both changed and that our lives have changed - we are friends with different groups at school and we are both really busy. But what I didn't realize was how much other people actually held our friendship together. Without that glue, we easily let life slip in between us.

I look back at all the friendships that have drifted away simply because we said "well, we're both just really busy." What kind of life is that? I don't want to live a life where I miss out on friendships and memories because I'm "too busy". I want to enjoy every experience I can.

Family (and friends) have always come first for me. It's how I was raised. But now it's taken on a new meaning. I'm not ready to move on and have hardly any friends just because I'm married and "too busy". I've given a lot more of my time to people this year, rather than work or school. Don't worry, grades are still important to me. But knowing that I'm leaving next summer has kind of rearranged my priorities this school year. I will get a degree whether I have C's or whether I have A's. (I'm still shooting for A's, so don't freak out, guys.) But I won't always get to spend an extra hour with my closest friends.

I want to be that person that everyone knows that I am a family (and friend) person. I don't want my life to revolve around work or school. I want it to revolve around people. I want it to revolve around those that I care about, and those that I'm just meeting. I want to live my life, not rush through it being "too busy". I want to show more love, more gratitude, more everything towards those in my life. I want to make an even bigger effort than I already am.

Swtiching cell services... what a PAIN!

Oh...My.....Goodness.

That's all I can really say about this morning (well, not really). It was quite the adventure between last night and today. I may or may not have mentioned this on here before, but we've been having a LOT of cell phone issues since about August. So we've been going on three months with this issue. Basically, we have been having some serious signal issues. I mean, SERIOUS ISSUES. To the point that yesterday I couldn't send a text all afternoon and then when I was driving home I tried to call my mom and my call dropped two or three times and it was so static-y and garbled that we couldn't even understand each other.

Matthew tried to call Sprint's customer service last night, but they just kept repeating that there were towers down and being worked on and such. Matt finally gave up last night. After I got home we decided that we were going to try to get out of our contract. Without paying. So this morning we went into a store and they told us that we had to call customer service to be able to talk about cancellations. So we did. And thus started an hour and a half long process. IT WAS SO HORRIBLE. They kept telling us about all the towers down - nationwide. Supposedly they are upgrading all their towers, but to do that they have to take them offline. Okay, cool. But that doesn't help us. We were so tired of paying for a service that we weren't getting. They said that if our signal success rate was 93% or below for three months in a row they could terminate the contract. My phone was at 93% for August, 90% for September, and they didn't have a conclusive number for October. So they "couldn't do anything". They offered to give us $30 off the next four months. Yeahhhh...NO. The first lady we talked to was super nice. Her manager was a jerk who pretty much hung up on Matthew. When we called back we got a guy that was pretty nice. Overall though, the service was horrible. It shouldn't have taken an hour and a half, if not longer than that.

Sprint refused to help us. It was seriously the worst customer service I've had in a long time. I'm not trying to bash them out of spite, it's just the truth. So we've terminated our contract with them. Yes, we are paying out the wazoo to do it, but we need service that can be counted on. Especially with Matt leaving soon. So we went straight to Verizon. The lady we worked with was AMAZING. And already we've had some serious improvements with our signal. Before, with Sprint, I had zero signal at home - with Verizon, I have almost full signal! HOLY COW! YAY! I'm really stoked to have a phone whose signal works all the time! Yes, Verizon is definitely a little more expensive, but to us, it's worth it to pay a little extra to get reliable service. Here's my new phone!

Lesson of the story: If you can use any service other than Sprint, DO. Especially if you're in Springfield. If you can afford it, use Verizon. LOVE IT.

Have you ever noticed that there is almost always someone who tries to tell you how to live your life? Whether it's your boss, your family, your enemies, or your friends? There is always another opinion who tries to change the path that you're on. Sometimes the opinions and advice can be good and sometimes it can be bad. Sometimes it just doesn't really matter.

Sometimes this fact just overwhelms me. So often I feel like I'm making decisions based on what others think and what others want for me. I'm constantly thinking of things that I want to do and then I stop to consider what others in my life would want. If I want something, is it possible that I could be taking something from someone else I care about? Is it possible that I could be acting selfishly?

These thoughts can consume me sometimes. I am so willing to give up something that I may desire, whether it be material or an experience, for someone else. And usually, I'm okay with it. But I've started noticing that with some things, it can make me feel inadequate. Sometimes when I base my life decisions on what others are telling me, I feel like I'm not capable of making these decisions on my own.

For example, when Matt and I got engaged and then said we wanted to get married this summer... so many people were against it. They thought it was too early, too fast. But we stuck by it anyway. Then, with the military, there were some who were against it. Another topic in our life that people are against is whether or not we have kids now or later. So many people have told me that we are just too young to have kids.

My opinion on that is younger, unmarried women have children and they do just fine. They are great mothers who love their children very much. Yes, I'm only twenty. But I am adult. I'm married and I'm about to get my bachelor's degree. When people tell me that I'm too young, or that I'm not ready, or that I just couldn't handle it right now, it frustrates me. How can anyone, other than myself, know if I'm ready to have a child or move away or whatever the circumstance?

I respect other's opinions. Highly respect them. But I've pretty much hit a point in my life where I'm going to start making my own decisions. I've started with making the decision with Matt to move away with the military. When it comes time we want a baby, we will make that decision. Or rather, God will make that decision. From here on out, I want to make decisions based off what's right for me and for Matthew. I want to just do our own thing sometimes. I want to follow the path that God has given me.

I'm not here to say that I don't love those in my life and that I don't value their opinions. Because I do. I really, truly do. But I'm tired of feeling like a child who can't do anything unsupervised. Some may think that I'm acting childish by posting this. But sometimes, having to write something out is the best way to get things out there. At least here I can go back over my words.

I'm ready to trust in God to get me where I am meant to be. He knows what's best for me.

My hope is built on nothing less.

Last night was seriously awesome. There's no other way to explain it. Part of me still feels the same, but another, much bigger, part of me feels completely different. A 45 second ceremony means so much to me and will have such an impact on my life.

Chi Alpha service last night was so great. Andy's message was ON POINT. He talked about how a good way to gauge how much you love God is to look at how you treat and love other people. The more you love other people, the more you love God. I've never heard anyone put it that way, but it's seriously so true. My life is a perfect example. Over the last year, as I grew closer to God, I loved on others more. I sacrifice for others more. (Which was another point Andy made - sacrifice and love go hand in hand.) By the end of the service, Andy was tearing up. It was so powerful and so true. Then, the worship team did wonderful! One of my very good friends Ashley sang last night and did amazing. I've been getting more and more into my worship and last night was definitely the most I've been into it. I had both hands so high in the air. It was so.... just wow.

Right after that, we went to Hammons Student Center for the baptisms. There were 13 people that were baptized last night! Some of them were some good friends of mine. It was so awesome to see them go through that. And it was awesome to see Matthew get re-baptized!

I was second to last. Sarah performed the baptism for me, and I'm so glad I chose her. She has been such a huge influence on my life and I literally don't know where I'd be without her. Honestly, she is one of the reasons I decided to go to XA this year. It may have only taken 45 seconds, but those 45 seconds mean so much to me. I've only been a Christian for a year and a couple months. To be able to publicly announce that Jesus is my Savior.... WOW. It was an amazing feeling. I literally felt like a new person when I resurfaced.

And maybe I'm still way top excited about it, and maybe I'm putting way too meaning in it, but I don't even care. For me, it was an amazing moment. I've literally never felt more close to God than I do now and than I did in that exact moment. I don't care what other people think - I know that sometimes having a child-like faith (and child-like excitement) can be an exceptionally good thing. I'm not ashamed of how excited I was to get baptized, and I'm such as heck not ashamed to show everyone how much I love God.

Here's the group of those who got baptized and those who performed the baptisms:

I cannot even put into words how much this Chi Alpha family means to me. They've have become my closest friends, and they'd do anything for me. It's my third and final year at Missouri State, and I finally found my passion, and my place.

After the baptisms were over, Matthew, Grant, Zach, and I went out into the lobby. In light of our problems we had been having, Matthew drafted a Resolution, much like the one from the movie Courageous (if you haven't seen it - you should!). We went out and bought nice paper and a nice frame for the document. Grant read each line aloud and Matthew agreed to follow it. After everything was read, all three of us signed it. It's now hanging on our wall, right next to the door.

If you want to know exactly what it says, just let me know. I can either send you the text or send you the document. While we were signing it, Andy walked up to see what we were doing. We had extra copies of the Resolution, so we gave him one. He read through it and told us how proud he was of me and Matthew. That moment right there was another one of my favorites from the night. I respect Andy so much, and to have him say he was proud of us... MAN. I think it's safe to say that I was just floating on a cloud all night last night. It even overflowed into today. I'm one very lucky and blessed girl. 

Weak made strong in the Savior's love.

I seriously just can't get over the song Cornerstone. It's just so relevant!

The dictionary defines cornerstone as:

1. a stone that forms the base of a corner of a building, joining two walls.

2. an important quality or feature on which a particular thing depends or is based.

The second one really gets to me. I mean, Christ alone, cornerstone. YES. For my life to be able to stand, it needs to be on a cornerstone, and what better cornerstone is there other than Christ himself?

Last night, while eating a DELICIOUS dinner at Ruby Tuesday, Matthew and I started talking about my faith and how it has grown over the last year. A year and a few months ago, I was so against religion and God. I thought it wasn't possible for such a thing to be true. Luckily, God moved within my life and showed me the truth. Since then, I've tried to learn as much as I could about this God of mine and how to have a relationship with Him and how to live out a Christian life.

I didn't even know it, but before having Jesus in my life I was so lost. I thought I knew what I wanted out of life, but I couldn't have been more wrong. What is so sad is that I didn't even know that my life was missing anything. I have people in my life who are still going through life so lost and missing this important element, and that saddens my heart. Getting to know God has literally been the absolute best thing to every happen to me.

Getting closer to God has been a rough, but enlightening path. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. As I grow closer to God, I grow as a person. I'm not saying I'm growing into a perfect person. Because I'm not. And I never will. But a lot has changed about me. Those who personally know me and have seen this change know it's true. I'm a completely different person than who I used to be. Yes, I still have pretty much the same sense of humor, and I still talk a lot and still love to laugh. But the way I approach my life is totally different.

Through God showing mercy and grace with me, I have in turn have (tried) to show the same to others. I'm not as quick to speak; I consider my words before blurting them out. I'm quicker to forgive. I'm generally more upbeat. I love everyone I know and those I don't know more deeply because I know how much they are worth. I don't judge as quickly or as harshly as I used to. I am willing to inconvenience myself for others.

Every single day I can see how God is moving within my life. A great example is the other day at small groups I excitedly volunteered to pray out loud for one of my good friends, Ashley. I had no intention of volunteering until after I already had. Even Ashley gave me a surprised look. I know that was God moving through me. He's building me up because He wants what's best for me. He knows what's best for me. His Will is better than mine could ever be. And I am so glad that I have a God who knows me personally and who loves me so much and so unconditionally that He wants the best for me. I mean, seriously, how cool is that?

Monday is going to be a big day for Matthew & I. Not only will I be getting baptized, but Matt will be getting re-baptized. That day Matthew will also be signing a Resolution that is similar to the one from the movie Courageous. It may be just another Monday to so many people, but for Matthew and I... it will be a brand new start. We've always put God in the center of our relationship, but we are going to re-focus that. I can't even fathom how lucky I am to be married to a man who loves God so much. Matt has been one of my most influential guides over the last year or so, and I'm beyond thankful for it.

I know that people have seen the change in me because they've made comments to me. This blog has seriously been such a blessing to me. Getting my thoughts into words has done wonders for me. And strangely, it's actually strengthened some of my relationships. (Plus it's a good way to keep everyone in my life super informed!) My hope for this blog is that God uses it to move in other people's lives. I hope they can learn from my mistakes and I hope that through this blog they too can feel the love that Christ has for them. Because it is unconditional and it is very real.

 

Christ alone, Cornerstone.

Take a gander at that song. It's probably one of my favorite songs of the moment. It was definitely something both Matthew and I needed to hear today.

Things have been difficult lately. There's been fights and hurt feelings, on both sides. I'm not sure why it's been happening, but I know it's going to turn around. I know that Matt and I can get through anything.. but it sure is hard. It also doesn't help that we have both been looking for jobs and it's been pretty discouraging, especially from my end. Life's kind of been a rollercoaster lately, and it's hard to keep up.

I'm so lucky that I have a God I can have a relationship with. Even though I'm a flawed sinner, He still loves me. He always has, and He always will. That fact alone has kept me going the last couple weeks. I've been getting frustrated with God lately, but this song totally turned that around. The chorus goes like this: "Christ alone, Cornerstone. Weak made strong, in the Savior's love. Through the storm, He is Lord, Lord of all." Perfect. Just what I needed. Just what Matthew needed. God always knows how to get the message across when He needs to.

God also answered some of our prayers today. Matthew got a full time job with Bass Pro today. It doesn't pay quite what we were hoping, but it's a guaranteed 40 hours every week. I also got a call today for an interview on Monday morning. I'm hoping this job can give me enough hours that I can quit where I'm at currently.

We were both getting discouraged because we couldn't find anything. But God opens the right doors at the exact right time. We needed good news today, badly. It was just the right amount of good news to tip the scale back where we needed it. So today, and everyday, I will thank God for provided for us every time. Now, more than ever, I am so excited to be baptized on Monday.

Matthew and I have dubbed tonight date night. After I get off from work, we're going out to dinner to just enjoy ourselves. It's been a while since we have had time to do this, and I'm really looking forward to it. I believe it will be good for us. We've both shown a lot of mercy towards each other, and I'm beyond thankful for it. I know that God put Matthew and I together for a reason. I can't imagine facing any of life's challenges with someone else. We are both striving to strengthen our faith and strengthen our relationship God. It's going to be a slow process, but it's happening and I couldn't be any more happy about it.

For those of you who are still looking for that special someone - keep praying. When it happens, it'll sweep you off your feet, in the best of ways. In the mean time, remember that Christ is your cornerstone and in Him alone you are whole.

Upcoming Baptism

Next Monday, after service, Chi Alpha is doing baptisms. Andy has talked about it for a couple weeks, and I've been debating over whether or not I thought it was the right time for me. As you probably know, I've never been baptized. Naturally I was (and still kind of am) a little nervous about it.

But after I talked it over with both Matthew and Sarah and I have decided that it's something I want to do.

I'm always telling Matt how I want to share with other people how much Jesus loves them. I bring it up at least once a week. It's one reason I feel so drawn to missions. But now I have something else I want to do. I want to share with other people how much I love Jesus! I'm so ready to publicly announce that I follow God and that I love Him with all my heart. I've grown so much in my faith over the last year, and I just am so excited to be doing this. And I'm even more excited to do it in front of my Chi Alpha family and to have Sarah actually perform the baptism. - It's safe to say that I'm beyond stoked for Monday.

I'm also stoked for tonight at small groups! It's finally testimony night. Ever since this night was mentioned at the beginning of the year, I've been excited for it.

Since I mentioned missions earlier, I suppose I could talk about something else too. On Monday night, we had a wonderful speaker come an talk to us at Chi Alpha. He is an awesome man who is doing such cool things overseas. For his protection, I won't go into detail on here. However, he said something that completely changed what I want for my future. Before I tell you exactly what changed.. let me give you a little background.

Since Matt scored well, he will learn a hard language. He will get to put preferences down of what language he wants and then he will be assigned one based on what the Air Force needs. We also have a list of possible places we could be stationed. Our top three, in order of how bad we want to be there, have been Hawaii, Maryland, and South Korea.

But that's changed. Monday night the speaker made a statement. He said "With some people, God will put it on their hearts to go outside of the U.S. borders to do missions." In that moment, God put it on my heart to attempt to get South Korea. I was so confused at first. I mean.. SOUTH KOREA!? Uhh... not my first choice... EVER. But I know God is calling me there, and I'm hoping the Air Force will be the way for us to get there.

Matthew can try to get Korean as a language. If he can, that's what he wants. Something I would love to do over there is open a coffee shop/cafe and get to know the people there. I want to build friendships there. One awesome thing about Matt's job in the Air Force is that he not only gets taught the language, but also the culture of where the language is most spoken. So if we got stationed in S. Korea, not only would he know the language, but he would know the culture too!

Something else that could be really super cool about doing something as such is that we could get Matt's parents involved. His dad just started a business that coaches young entrepreneurs to help them start businesses in other countries. I would totally be down to take some lessons from Miles! Also, Matt's parents love South Korea - it's where they met.

I know that living in South Korea would be hard. It's so far away from home. I would definitely miss my parents, my family, and my friends. But luckily, there are planes and passports and we can always visit. I can feel God pulling me that way, and I will make sacrifices for Him.

A House Divided Cannot Stand.

I posted this status on Facebook just moments ago...

You know what makes me sad? Seeing all these "Democrats" and "Republicans" pointing their fingers at each other saying the other is at fault for shutting the government down. The Democrats say it's the Republican's fault; and the Republicans claim it's the Democrat's fault. Fact of the matter is... it's all of Congress's fault.

"A house divided cannot stand." - We are all Americans. Maybe if we stopped trying to throw blame around, and we actually worked together, something might get done.

In the meantime, seriously pray for our country right now.

 I stand by that. Seriously. Yes, there are issues. I get it. Obamacare is a huge topic of debate. There are people on both sides who want to stand by what they believe. And there are also a lot of people who are wanting to stand by what their Party wants.

I believe that somewhere in the debate and the fighting it was kind of forgotten that we are all on the same team. We are all citizens of the same country. Yes, there will be problems - no country is perfect - but we can successfully get through them if we work together. It's very true that a house divided cannot stand. Right now, we are a house divided. And look what happened. Our government shut down, which led to over 800,000 people being furloughed from their jobs (meaning they aren't getting paid!). How is that being productive?

A lot of people have said terrible things about Obama. Not just about this, but in general. Fact is, he's our president. You may not like him, but you have to respect him. He's running a country that's very hard to run. One thing that I've seen a lot since Monday is people saying, "Obama, since there are people not getting paid, you should give up your pay too!" The problem with that is the Constitution mandates that the spending on his salary be spent. Regardless if there is a budget passed or not, the president's salary must be paid.

It makes me sad that so many people are turning against each other in the light of this. I've seen way too many fights on Facebook, on Twitter, and in person. There may not be a "right" answer this problem, but our country can get through this. It has before. But bear in mind... the longer there is fighting and finger pointing, the longer our house will stay divided.

I pray the Lord will watch over our country during this time. I pray He will give peace to those who need it. Lord, I pray that You will provide for those families whose jobs have been furloughed. America may have a separation between church and state, but we seriously need God to move in our country right now.