The battlefield of my mind

Has your life every felt like, well...

a battlefield??

I have been beat down, dragged out, and left for dead emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I'm sure we have all had these moments where it just seems easier to search for a white flag of surrender rather than muster up the strength to fight the enemy -- whatever that enemy may be. I'd like to share one battle that I have struggled with for several years. One that I am just NOW getting off my lazy and nervous rump to fight head on.

The good Samar... Atlantan?

It was 11:23 p.m. on Tuesday night when I woke up to a woman's scream. 

"Great. Just great," I thought. "Stupid neighbors are at it again."

I opened my eyes and saw light coming through the bedroom window. We live on the top floor of our building (the 4th floor counting the basement apartments facing the woods), and Josh and I are used to hearing raised voices coming from other apartment balconies below us. At first, I dismissed the yelling, but the lights went away and the one loud voice continued.

"PLEASE, SOMEBODY HELP ME," the woman screamed out. "HELP ME!"

I jumped out of bed and looked out the window. Brady barked. On the road behind the apartment complex, I saw a woman on the ground beside her car and thought the worst. Raped. Hurt. Mugged. Beat up. Something bad. 

We fear that which we do not understand

Over the last few weeks, we have heard the media speak and write about the plan of building an Islamic cultural center and mosque near the World Trade Center site. This plan has brought out a variety of emotions from the American people. I have heard all sides. One being that the Muslim community should know and realize that it would be an angry reminder that the extremists of their religion were the very terrorists that took thousands of lives on 9/11/2001. Another side saying that the Muslims have every constitutional right to build the mosque where they want--America was founded on religious freedom afterall. Some are extreme in their take on the debate. I have seen a hatred brewing against the Muslim community more so in the last month than I have in the last nine years!

Equality in marriage

As many of you know, yesterday a U.S. Court overturned the California same-sex marriage ban. Beliefs aside, I have a huge problem with both sides of the marriage argument.