Where Am I?

And where has January gone??

I've been on my upside down schedule, and many things HAVE happened, but blogging hasn't been one of them. It seems having 3 adults with ever-changing schedules really knocks the wind out of having a routine, and I really need some routine to be productive around here. Somehow, the clothes are getting washed, we're getting fed, etc., but on any given day somebody is asleep while others arent, and vice versa, and going to work while others aren't, and so on.

I've been writing copiously, only not here. There has been drama happening in friends' lives, and much of it is along the lines of matters of faith and their religious organizations, and abuses that have been transpiring. Since that has figured largely into my own past history, I've been digging into scripture and doing writing for my own self, just to get it down on paper now that I have some perspective (for myself) that was lacking during those years when I was in the middle of it. I'm less and less tolerant of heavy-handed authoritarianism in the guise of religion, and I am even less tolerant of religious justifications for anti-semitism, in its various forms. Judaism is my CHOSEN faith, as I've alluded to here before, but I don't use this blog to air my particular beliefs. In the past, when I was formerly of another faith, I simply did not believe or accept the suggestion that there were really foundational anti-semitic elements to that history or my beliefs. I thought people just were carrying a chip around on their shoulders.

Now, I see much more clearly some of the ugliness I never used to believe existed. I won't elaborate. But I will write, even if just for myself. If some folks use scripture to justify their bigotry, it doesn't mean all do. But there are a lot of mainstream "justifications" along that line that I feel strongly should be addressed. I'm not sure how my writing about it is addressing it, but I'm very very sure biblical texts are not to be used as weapons of hatred, and it's those that I'm digging into and finding solid ground to hold onto. You can't just randomly pick and choose this and that passage to mold to an exterior agenda and then pass it off as God's will.

And so, this blog has been neglected, though the keyboard has been burning through the Word documents at a rapid rate.

Ah well, the blog is a chronicle of what transpires, and our beliefs are central to our lifestyle and the How and Why we do things. I've been keeping to a Good Southern Girl's upbringing of not introducing religion and politics at the "table" here, but sometimes it'll come up somewhat.

I'm working on a post, upcoming, on the flip side of how we're wanting to set up our homestead...once we have one to set up...along precepts we find in the Bible. It's interesting what is in there that I've never paid much attention to before we've concentrated our efforts to a more agricultural direction. I've mentioned one of the particulars before...the question of whether to castrate cattle or not. There are many other specific instructions given about planting, animals, and land care that I'll be digging into in an upcoming post. For now, I need a bit more sleep before tonight's longggggg shift.

I'll also be doing a long-overdue blogroll addition, so many apologies to the fantastic blogs out there I've been finding but have failed to add yet to the sidebar!

I hope all are well and enjoying your cooler weather, for those up farther north than I am :) I am so enjoying my few minutes here and there of down time reading your blogs. It beats TV any day, and keeps me encouraged and more focused.

Back in a day or so, hopefully!