My Stance on the Gay Marriage Debate

By Janet Walgren

Governments make laws that courts can rule are legal and constitutional; however, governments and their courts can not make something that is immoral moral; that’s God’s jurisdiction.

We are all brothers and sisters, literal children of a Heavenly Father who loves us. We are loving beings because of our heritage and Godly nature. God gifted us with physical bodies capable of expressing our love in a sexual way for a purpose, and He gave each of us a strong natural desire to do so. Along with the strong desire to express love in sexual ways came strict commandments limiting sexual expression to a man and a woman who were married. God’s purpose for giving us the ability and desire to engage in the sexual expression of love within the bounds of marriage was:

1. To provide physical bodies for His children and
2. To provide the necessary desire for a father and mother to cleave to each other and sacrifice all of their selfish desires, when required, in order to preside over, provide for, protect and nurture His children.

God, not governments began the institution of marriage in the Garden of Eden when He gave Eve to Adam as his wife. He then set the boundaries for the physical expression of love to be within the marriage covenant. This marriage covenant provided a contractual structure in which the institution of a family was to operate and came with heavy responsibilities that were assigned to both the husband and wife when they entered into this covenant or contract.

God also condemned unauthorized sexual activity and warned of extreme adverse consequences for individuals and nations who ignored his divine law in regards to sex and the divine marriage contract. History is replete with examples of civilizations that were brought to extinction because they perverted the right way of the Lord, altered divine contracts and ignored moral laws.

I am afraid that America is on the brink of destruction. Ruling something to be legal will not make it moral.

So, why do I care?

God has decreed consequences for those who ignore His laws… consequences that I prefer not to suffer. Here are a few examples from the Holy Bible and other scriptures that explain God’s mind on the topic:

The destruction of cities, nations and all the inhabitants therein:

24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

Gen. 19:5: bring them out unto us, that we may know them:

Homosexual behavior is an abomination:

22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:

25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.

26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:

27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)

28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.

Deut. 23:17: There shall be no … sodomite of the sons of Israel.

Famine and Oppression will result:

 1 For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,

3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.

4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:

7 In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.

8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory.

9 The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

Isa. 3:9 declare their sin as Sodom: (see also 2 Ne. 13:9 quoting Isaiah)

Nations will be cursed with bad leadership:

16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows; for every one of them is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

18 For wickedness burneth as the fire; it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forests, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.

19 Through the wrath of the Lord of Hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire; no man shall spare his brother.

20 And he shall snatch on the right hand and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand and they shall not be satisfied; they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm—

21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still…

25 Thy men shall fall by the sword and thy mighty in the war.

26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate, and shall sit upon the ground.

And for all those who think they are in the right because their stance on gay marriage is in alignment with God’s law:

God has just as much, if not more, to say in the way of condemnation of those hypocrites that commit sins of a financial nature.

Ask yourself: “Is my lust for money or immoral sexual gratification worth the consequences of war, famine, pestilence or the annihilation of an entire civilization? Do I really want to see my wife ravished and my children dashed to pieces before my very eyes? Do I want my sons, brothers or husband killed in battle? Are gay rights or riches really worth the consequences?

Perhaps = is not in alignment with the will of God, the one you should really love and fear.

Perhaps loyalties need to be reconsidered.

Perhaps some need to align their will to God’s will.

And even then, historically, the righteous suffered and even perished along with the wicked when their civilizations were destroyed. And, that’s why I care what others think and do. I don’t care to suffer the consequences that come from other people’s choices.

Just a few other references about what God has said through the mouths of His holy prophets on this issue:

• men … burned in their lust one toward another: Rom. 1:27 .
• nor abusers of themselves with mankind: 1 Cor. 6:9 .
• them that defile themselves with mankind: 1 Tim. 1:10 .
• as Sodom and Gomorrah … going after strange flesh: Jude 1:7 .

and there are many, many more.

The American Fool

I received an email that is, unfortunately, true not only for our last election but for several elections before it. As you read it, think about it, substitute the names of our ex-presidents and our congressional representatives for Obama… We are in serious trouble and we need to repent before it gets worse. Here is the email:

Some people have the vocabulary to sum up things in a way you can understand them. This quote came from the Czech Republic . Someone over there has it figured out. We have a lot of work to do.

“The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president.”

“The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince.

The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president.”

Hey Mom, I Caught a Troll

Once upon a time there was a school teacher with a 33 year old special needs son who functioned well enough that he was able to stay at home safely without supervision while his mother was away at work. And, his mother was able to go to work having peace of mind because she knew that her son would phone her in the event of an emergency. Time passed and all went well until early one morning the mother received a call at work:

“Mom, I’ve caught a troll. You’ve gotta come home!” exclaimed her son excitedly.

“Honey, you know I can’t leave work,” his mother calmly replied. “And, remember, you’re only supposed to call me if there is an emergency.”

The second time her son called that day to tell her he caught a troll and she needed to come home, she sternly reminded him that she could not come home unless there was a real emergency. By the fifth call, she definitely was not amused.

When she got home from work that afternoon, her son rushed to the car door as she opened it. “Mom, come see my troll!” He grabbed her hand and hurriedly led her upstairs to his bedroom. There she saw a chair propped firmly against his closet door to keep it shut.

“Be careful mom,” he warned as he removed the chair from the door. “You gotta see him but he really wants to get away!” When he opened the door, there sat a real live midget.

The poor fellow was a Jehovah’s Witness who had been out proselyting that morning. When the midget knocked on the door and the son opened the door and saw him, the boy picked him up and carried him upstairs to his bedroom and shut him up in his closet…where he had spent the last five hours.

Overcoming Job Title Identity Theft

Do You Feel Erased?
By Janet Walgren

One of the challenges unemployed workers are facing in today’s job market is trying to find a new work identity after their old identity was erased. In my former position as Student Success Manager for EWI, I spent four years helping seasoned professionals and novices alike identify, utilize and monetize their transferable skills to create new careers as entrepreneurs.

In this capacity, I was able to help hundreds of people stay positive in the face of adversity, create new dreams and gain the courage to fulfill their dreams. I was also able to help entrepreneurs identify their needs and suggest resources to help them meet their business challenges.

I believe the current economy presents an unprecedented opportunity for both employers and prospective employees alike because of the incredible pool of talented candidates that was unavailable for employers to choose from in older more stable economies. Non-traditional crossover candidates bring with them a wealth of training and a diversity of experiences that can enrich and rejuvenate a stale corporate environment while fulfilling staffing needs.

A title isn’t who you are. A title doesn’t even necessarily tell what you did. You are a valuable person regardless of the titles others might bestow on you or take from you. If you have been downsized and feel like your identity has been erased, make a list of your skills, talents and experiences. Then, as you read job announcements, ask yourself, “How can my skill set fit in with [this] employer’s needs?”

You don’t have to be desperate and settle for a bad employer or a bad job. Remember, you were looking for a job when you found your last one so, don’t forget to make it a two way interview.

It’s not what you have been but what you are becoming that determines your future.

A New Year’s Challenge

There are so many things that can take up your time. As you can see, my new house is one of them. I have scarcely posted anything on my blog or twitter since I started doing the rehab on my house. However, I have kept up on Facebook and have found it most gratifying.

I cherish the ability to see at a glance what is going on in the lives of those whom I treasure most. After reading my children’s posts, one thing that I have become most grateful for is that all my children are decent, good, kind, loving people who I can be proud of.

There is so much coarseness in the world, so much immodesty in speech, dress and behavior. In fact it is at times shocking to see and hear how common some folks have become and how brazen they are in publicising their immoral and coarse behaviors. So, for this new year, I would like to invite everybody to join me in striving to elevate ourselves and the world around us. We can all become more refined, gracious and good.

Changing the world around us begins with elevating ourselves.

A Place to Call Home

Well it finally happened. My daughter and I closed on our new home this week. We got a new realtor who helped us with twice daily emails to show us every house that came on the market that fit our exact specifications. With the see it fast service he provided, we were able to find our perfect home and make an offer just a few days after it hit the market.

If you are looking for a home in Utah contact Nathan T. Olpin www.FindUTHomes.com  801-506-3166 or email Nathan@NathanOlpin.com You’ll be glad you did. He helped us do in a few weeks what we were not able to do in seven months. His superb customer service, custom MLS searches and immediate responses to our requests to view properties was beyond extraordinary.  Thanks Nathan!

Now on to the move – then the projects…  Hum… What color for the Venetian Plaster??? Yes!  We will have a library with room for thousands of books and a conference table. A cozy chair to read in by the fire place… yep, got that too:) What, a dojo and climbing gym in the 30′ x 40′ fully insulated RV garage? You’d better believe it! And the yard… what can I say? Half acre with mature trees including cherry, apple, walnut, maples and pine. A garden, actually several gardens.

DARE TO DREAM! We did and occasionally dreams do come true:)

P.S. – I will try to be better at posting after we get settled in to our new home.

Unclogging the Real Estate Market

By Janet Walgren

I’m sorry that I’ve neglected this blog for quite some time now. My daughter and I have been trying to find the perfect house to buy. With all the houses on the market, you’d think that would be a simple task. We are pre-approved for more than an adequate amount of money. We have our down payment. Our credit scores are terrific. We are motivated to buy… so what is the problem? Answer… the listing agent, the seller or the seller’s bank!

It is time for folks to get a reality check.

Imagine you own a 1996 Geo Metro with 250,000 miles on it. You are ready to get a new car. The used car lot says, “We’ll list it for $125,000″ and you say”_______???” If you said, “Great!!!,” you need a reality check. It doesn’t matter what “equity” some fool told you that you had accumulated over time. Truth is, the car is old. It is worn out. It needs rehabbed, renovated, restored and the cost of the rehab is more than the car is worth.

If you start shopping for a $125,000 replacement car, you need a mental evaluation.

If no one buys your car… what do you expect? Even if you were fool enough to pay more, or expect more, than the car was worth, do you expect the world is full of greater fools?

On the flip side:

The world is full of bargain hunters. Listing agents know this. Now, imagine the above Geo Metro was advertised for $50 dollars. You were looking at a similar car. It was clean, had less mileage and was still a bargain for $1000. You are one of two bidders and you are in the top position. You decide to relinquish your position and take the $50 dollar car so you can save for a new car. But, when you go to pay for the car, the dealer says, “I’m sorry, the bank wants $2,500 for the car.”

About that time you want to scream. You decide that the dealer is involved in fraudulent advertising and you call the Better Business Bureau. Apply this scenario to the short sale housing market.

Don’t you think a seller and the seller’s bank should be required to list the actual price they are willing to take for the property. Some potential buyers wait for up to 9 months only to find out that the bank holding the note said no. In the meantime, other honest sellers are waiting to sell their homes and end up in foreclosure because a potential buyer was sidelined.

I think it should be illegal to post a bogus asking price and that anyone doing so should be charged with fraud. I also think banks refusing to sell properties that have legitimate offers should be barred from bidding for the property when it goes to auction and barred from getting deficiency judgments on the foreclosed owner.