I rarely get political on here. I rarely say anything about world events. I won’t say never… but it is rare.

But then yesterday afternoon’s tragedy struck in Haiti. An earthquake with a 7.0 magnitude. Devastating. My heart breaks for the people, especially since I was just to that island in October (for my Dominican Republic Mission Trip.) I helped and was blessed by people that were of Haitian decent, living and working in the DR trying to make the best of their lives. Some of the people have never been to their native country…

…and now the country is broken, torn apart by a horrible earthquake that possibly has left thousands upon thousands of people dead. People that could have been – albeit distantly – related to some of the people I met a few short months ago.

And then while looking at different websites today that covered the story, I saw this story — or actually video — of Pat Robertson saying that Haiti is not a prosperous nation and a nation suffering because they “sold themselves to the devil” years ago.

I’m not sure where he gets this information… but as a Christian I am horrified that at a time of crisis — less than 24 hours since this event occurred –that he makes these statements. Not that I would ever agree with anyone making these statements EVER. This country is largely a Christian country… mainly Roman Catholic… so his statement makes me even more angry because it simply cannot be true. Our God is a loving God, and while horrible events happen like this at times, the heart of God breaks each and every time one of his children is suffering.

I’m not sure if Mr. Robertson is saying that the devil has control of this country — because that is simply not true. God is in control. And God loves His people — all of His people.

We as Christians are supposed to love our neighbors — and if I could drop everything right now (and I wish I could), I would go be a part of a team that could help restore Port-au-Prince to a bigger and better city than what it was before yesterday’s earthquake. In the meantime, the best that we as Christians can do at this time is pray for the country, for the survivors and for everyone in Haiti, and around the world, that lost people they loved in the past day. The other thing everyone can do is to go to Worldvision or Compassion and donate what you are able to help the relief efforts — as well as help the country rebuild in the coming months and years.

And as far as I’m concerned Pat Robertson can say “I must apologize for acting, stinking, treating you this way.”

*today’s lyric title is from Gwen Stafani’s “Sweet Escape.”

Is it just me… or does it seem like a lot more people have their holiday decorations up already this year. My neighbor put her tree up this weekend. I was thinking about bringing my (fake) tree in from the garage so that I can set it up sometime next weekend.

With the changes in my living room this year, I’m not sure where I’m going to set the tree up. Maybe in front of the slider — because when it snows, there’s no way I’ll be using it anyway — or maybe I’ll move the coffee table and put the tree in the corner by the television. Hmmm….

But I digress…

Maybe this early holiday set up is a phenomenon that’s just in this area… but I don’t think so. I’ve been hearing about others in various states being glad that they can hear Christmas music… or that they too have seen decorations popping up in their neighbor’s yards or houses.

I’m guessing that because the stores have all their displays up and various radio stations are playing Christmas music 24/7… that this may have gotten some people in the mood for the holiday already.

But why rush things so much? So many people complain about how life moves too quickly — how we rush things along… but by making Christmas appear so soon, aren’t we missing out on the everyday life that is November? Or is it better to start the Christmas traditions this early so that we are finally ready when the holiday comes upon us… because we all know it will be here in the blink of an eye.

Now I don’t have the spouse/family thing going on (as you know)… but I would hope that when the time comes for this, that my family could enjoy the fall events that are around us before the snow comes and don’t rush into the Christmas holiday anticipation so that it loses all of it’s wonder when the actual holiday arrives.

I’m really afraid that the more we lose the anticipation of the Christmas holiday — the more it becomes just like another day. When I was growing up, one of my favorite things about the holidays — really any holiday — was that the stores and restaurants were all closed. I loved the big streets with little traffic, loved the peacefulness of the parking lots, loved the silence of it all.

Maybe that’s really what this all comes down to. We (myself included) are all in such a rush of life that we don’t get to stop and reflect on the things we cherised as a child.

And maybe that’s why the holiday music and decorations go up earlier and earlier each year… because we are trying to capture this “wonder” for just a moment again.

So I’m dedicating this blog post to my dad… my brothers… my coworkers… and all you other golfers out there — just look at what you are doing!?!?

Did you know how bad golf balls are for the environment? This article from CNN lays out information from the Danish Golf Association about the impact of golf balls disrupting the environment when you leave your golfballs and then when you pick them up later after they’ve started to decompose. Not only that, but even during the decomposing process so many non-natural elements are put into the ground and water around it.

Now I am not a golfer… I do understand that a lot of people enjoy the game, the challenge of it and especially the feeling of achievement when things are going well. I guess rather than rant too much about the subject… I will simply encourage each golfer out there to use biodegradable golf balls. Good for the environment, good for future generations.