John81

[John81]

So far I've been enjoying a winter that feels more like spring or autumn.

[SarahStrawberry]

It's been like that a lot here too. Though we've definitely had some winter cold mixed in with the nice weather.

[John81]

Weatherman says we have some winter weather heading our way. Cold temps and chances of some snow! And just yesterday I was out and about in my t-shirt!

[SarahStrawberry]

Yeah. January finally feels like January here. Why am I so surprised? lol

[John81]

Yes, we are feeling the winter now too! I much preferred the above normal temps we had going.

[SarahStrawberry]

Me too. :-) I wouldn't mind if it stuck to the 60's 90% of the year. :-)

[John81]

I could live with that! We are supposed to have beautiful sunshine this morning (what a beautiful sunrise this morning!) and then this afternoon it's supposed to cloud up with chances of rain and even a slight chance of snow mixing in there.

[Gabrielle A]

We are in the middle of summer here. Beautiful sunny days!

Edited January 27, 2012 by Gabrielle A

[John81]

Beautiful, sunny and warm this morning but then it turned cloudy and cooler. Now it's cold and windy.

At least I know there will be warmth in the Spirit come Sunday when we attend church service and Sunday school!

[John81]

Lowering of the flag to half-mast is meant as a sign of respect and honour for heroes and leaders. Governor Christie (a man many want to call conservative and wanted for president!) claims Houston deserves this honour because of her "cultural impact". Should someone try to follow her "cultural impact"? Houston took her talents to great worldly heights and then she chose to dive more into the world by marrying a drug addicted rapper and take on that lifestyle as her own. She refused get her life in order when given the opportunity and chose to continue living a destructive life. To say it's okay to honour her because he also honoured the celebrity sax player for Springsteen only points out his obesession with celebrities and his lack of true respect for those who have rightly had the flag flown at half-mast for their heroism and leadership.


NJ gov strongly defends lowering flags for Houston

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Gov. Chris Christie has strongly defended his decision to have flags flown at half-staff Saturday for Whitney Houston despite receiving emails and other messages disparaging the singer and criticizing him.
The Republican governor said Wednesday that he rejects complaints that Houston "forfeited the good things that she did" because of her struggles with substance abuse.
"What I would say to everybody is there but for the grace of God go I," he said.
Christie ordered flags flown at half-staff at state government buildings Saturday, the day funeral services are held for Houston at the Newark church she sang at as a child.
Twitter was abuzz Wednesday with reaction to the decision by Christie, whose home is in Mendham, a wealthy town where Houston also had lived.
In online postings, there were two main arguments against the honor for the Grammy Award winner who died over the weekend in California at age 48: One was that it should be reserved for members of the military, first responders and elected officials. The other was that it's wrong to honor a drug addict.
Heather Clause, a Richmond, Va.-based blogger who writes about teen moms and was tweeting critical comments, said in a telephone interview that she was appalled by the planned flag-lowering.
"It's just such a bad example for people," said 23-year-old Clause. She said the decision was like saying if someone sings well, drug use doesn't matter and "you can still be an idol."
In upstate New York, Rebecca Eppelmann, a newspaper copy editor, also tweeted her disgust at the Houston honor, then discussed her views.
"It should be for major events," she said. "It's horrible that she passed away. It's not something that should warrant this."
Christie said he was not saying that Houston, who was born in Newark and was raised in nearby East Orange, is a role model. Instead, he said, Houston deserves the honor because of her huge cultural impact and as "a daughter of New Jersey."
"I am disturbed by people who believe that because her ultimate demise — and we don't know what is the cause of her death yet — but because of her history of substance abuse that somehow she's forfeited the good things that she did in her life," said the governor during a briefing in northern New Jersey. "I just reject that on a human level."
The cause of Houston's death at a Beverly Hills hotel has not been determined, and the results of toxicology tests are pending. Investigators found several bottles of prescription medication in the hotel room where she died Saturday, but authorities said they weren't an unusually large number.
The governor noted he has ordered flags flown at half-staff for all 31 fallen New Jersey soldiers and every fallen police officer during his time in office.
He also ordered flags lowered last year for Clarence Clemons, the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
In Newark, residents were irritated to hear of criticism of the governor's decision to honor Houston, who acknowledged her drug abuse in interviews.
Resident Anna Simpson said she admires Christie for honoring Houston because "if it were Bruce Springsteen or Jon Bon Jovi, nobody would bat an eye."
Simpson was at New Hope Baptist Church Wednesday, where Houston's funeral will be held, to pay her respects on her way home from her airport job.
"She never forgot where she came from," Simpson said. "She was real. We would see her and be like, 'She's one of ours,' and she always made us proud, no matter what happened."
After Houston became famous she continued to make regular trips to the public school she attended in East Orange and to which her family has directed donations be sent in lieu of flowers.

http://news.yahoo.com/nj-gov-strongly-defends-lowering-flags-houston-201942290.html

[SarahStrawberry]

Wow. I think that post was totally out of the blue and took my by surprise at first. lol But I think I agree with you. I'm saddened by her passing but I don't feel that she "qualifies" for that particular honor that is reserved for certain people.

[John81]

I agree. Very sad when someone dies so young, especially when they seem to be without Christ. There are multiple thousands of celebrities and if they all come to receive special honours when they die then what true special honours are left for those who have done something truly special?

It seems we feel a need to honour those celebrities who die young and often at their own hands through drug and alcohol abuse. Elvis, Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, Houston and others. Yes, such deaths are a tragedy but they are tragedies of their own making by their own wrong choices. Should we hold them up as special heroes for that? Would it not be more honouring to use their lives as an example to help people see the dangers of drugs and alcohol? We can still point out whatever good they may have accomplished in life, but best to couple that with the fact that no matter how famous or rich one becomes, if we make bad choices they can bring it all to ruin, and worse of all, without Christ eternity will be much worse.

I just felt like saying something about all this but didn't want to bother starting a new thread.

[John81]

"Our lives must be as holy as our prayers. Our prayers prove their reality by the fruit they bear in the holiness of our lives. True devotion in prayer will assuredly be rewarded with the power to live a life of true devotion to Jesus and His service."

Andrew Murray

[SarahStrawberry]

That's a really neat quote!

[John81]

That's a really neat quote!

Great to "see" ya! Where you been, you left us high and dry for a time!