A hard decision

I was very disturbed to hear on AFR (American Family Radio) this morning that Hallmark cards has recently announced that it will soon begin selling same-sex wedding cards, in order to satisfy "consumer demand." Although gay marriages are only legal in TWO of our 50 states, Hallmark is trying to be relevant to as many people as possible. Here's an article with more details and a picture of one of the cards we will soon see in stores.

I wrestled for a while with what I should do, because I love Hallmark cards. They're all I ever buy. I can always find exactly what I'm looking for whenever I visit one of their stores. But I don't want my money, thought it may not amount to much, supporting an organization that is actively promoting homosexuality. So I just sent Hallmark an e-mail, through afa.net, to let them know that I will never again buy a Hallmark card. I'm not happy about this and I hope they'll reconsider their decision, but until they do, I don't feel that buying their products is a wise use of the money that the Lord has given me to steward.

On the same note, about a month ago, McDonald's helped sponsor the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade and also paid $20,000 to become an official "organizational ally and corporate partner" of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. When AFA asked McDonald's to remain neutral in this culture war (not support OR fight it), the company refused, stating that they will continue to proudly support the gay agenda. We don't eat at McDonald's often anyway, but I've had my last happy meal unless they change their stance. It's really very sad, but Brian and I are trying to honor the Lord and His precepts in ALL areas of our life, even if it means giving our dollars to Wendy's instead of McDonald's.

The past few weeks...

I have been too busy to blog, and I apologize. I'll try not to let it happen again!

I am currently in Wichita, working for the next three weeks on the collateral for a big wedding (I had to leave all of my supplies here since I couldn't fit them in our car during the move). Poor Brian is now stuck in Lancaster, all alone, so we are hoping the time goes by quickly until we can be together again. 

Before I left, we had the chance to visit the Betchers (Brian's aunt, uncle and cousins) who live in Leesburg, Virginia, which is a suburb of DC. The drive to Leesburg took us through Gettysburg, so we briefly stopped and walked around the huge exhibit they have at the site of the battleground. It is one of the most extensive, impressive displays I have ever seen. We are hoping to go back before we leave the area because we could have easily spent the entire day wandering around the museum and driving to all of the different sites on the battlegrounds.

Since the Betchers live so far from the midwest, Brian hadn't been out to see them for years, so we had a great time getting a glimpse into their world on the east coast. They took us into DC on Saturday, where we went to the International Spy Museum (SO fun!), a presidential exhibit at the Smithsonian, the White House, the Capitol and several other memorials. I had never been to DC before, so it was really fun for me to see in person all of the buildings I have only ever seen in history books. We also got to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics with the Betchers - I'm sure everyone has seen it by now, but if not, here's a link to the entire first hour. Absolutely amazing. 

After an overnight delay in Memphis where she had to spend the night all by herself, we picked my brave sister Lesley up at the Baltimore airport and brought her back to Lancaster. She spent a week with us before we both flew back to Wichita together. We had a really fun time together, but unfortunately don't have many pictures to show for it since we are both very bad at asking strangers to take pictures for us. :) We spent a good deal of time at the largest mall on the east coast, picked peaches and apples in an orchard, tried our best to spot Jon and Kate plus 8 (they live in Lancaster County), found the best pretzels in the world and ate more chocolate than we should have in Hershey, PA. I love having a sister.

Until I go back to Lancaster in September, we won't have anything too exciting going on, but I'll try to take a break from all of my work and post some random happenings or deep thoughts. :)

Chapman family update

In case anyone didn't see Steven Curtis Chapman and his family speak on Good Morning America today, here's a link to the video clip. They are all so genuine and such a testimony to the hope of the gospel and of heaven. The family will also be on Larry King Live, for the full hour, on Thursday, Aug. 7.

Unruffling our feathers

During our drive out to Lancaster, Brian and I watched The Bucket List, which is a pretty funny movie about two guys who have cancer and decide to make, and then fulfill, a list of all the things they want to do before they kick the bucket. When we got to Lancaster, we made a "bucket list" of our own - a list of things we wanted to do before we leave the area in October. One of Brian's favorite childhood vacations was driving up the East Coast with his family and staying at bed & breakfasts along the way. Since I have never experienced one, we added a b&b to the list and started researching our options. We ended up choosing The Ruffled Duck, a cute little b&b in Oxford, MD, right on the coast of the Chesapeake Bay.

The Ruffled Duck is owned by the sister of some of our friends from Wichita, so we had been hearing wonderful things about it for a couple of years. It was everything we hoped it would be - a quiet old home with lots of character, overlooking the water in a quaint little town. We started Saturday off with a gourmet 3-course breakfast and then headed over, via a car ferry, to the nearby town of St. Michael's. After walking the main street and window shopping all morning, we spent the afternoon sailing around the Chesapeake Bay (the boat was operated by an oyster catcher, so we got to see him "drudge" some oysters). We had dinner that evening in the nearby town of Easton, where we got to try Smith Island cake, which is named for a local island and was just declared the Maryland state dessert. It was an impressive stack of nine thin layers of yellow cake with chocolate frosting between - here's the recipe if you ever want to attempt it. 

Sunday morning we enjoyed another delicious breakfast and spent the morning exploring Oxford by bike. For our drive back to Lancaster, we chose a different route so we could visit Annapolis, the state capitol of Maryland. The highway took us over the Bay Bridge, which is an absolutely unreal structure, 4. 3 miles long and 190 feet high, that crosses the Chesapeake. I was very thankful that Brian was driving because I couldn't have done it - I could hardly even look out the window because we were so high. Annapolis was just past the bridge, right on the water and absolutely gorgeous, with flowers and greenery everywhere. We spent most of our time in the Historic District, where we saw the capitol building, the Naval Academy, and boats and yachts everywhere!

Thanks for praying for our friends the Briscoes, who I mentioned in my post last week. Holly and Addison have had a great week and are progressing well. Unfortunately this week I have another request to share about some friends from Wichita. On Sunday, Clark and Erin (Davis) Moeller were on their way back to Wichita from Colorado in a soft top jeep. Right outside of Pueblo, there was a malfunction in a mechanism on their rear axle, causing the jeep to flip several times before being stopped by the guard rail. They were both pinned underneath. Erin's right wrist is intact, but she has lost everything but her pinky on her right hand. Clark is in ICU with several broken vertebrae, a fractured wrist and lots of gashes on his head. There are also concerns of potential infections in both because of all the gravel and dirt found in their wounds. Neither should be alive, so their families are praising the Lord for saving them, but healing and adjusting will be difficult, especially for Erin with the loss of her right hand. I know they and their families would appreciate your prayers during this time.