Here's the picture for which you have all been waiting

Thanks to Kara who took this picture and also posted it to Facebook so I could just go get it and post it here.


This is, in fact, my baby son Jessup.
Cute, huh?
He's a happy guy, what can I say?



Blessings,
XOXO
Joce

Enjoy your money!

I am reading a life-changing book, Crazy Love by Francis Chan.
I would like to share a quote he shared in the book.

Robert Murray M'Cheyne, a Scottish pastor who lived in the early 19th century, wrote these words,

"I am concerned for the poor but more for you. I know not what Christ will say to you in the great day.... I fear there are many hearing me who may know well that they are not Christians because they do not love to give. To give largely and liberally, not grudgingly at all, requires a new heart; an old heart would rather part with its life-blood than its money. Oh my friends! Enjoy your money; make the most of it; give none of it away; enjoy it quickly for I can tell you, you will be beggars throughout eternity."

Blessings,
Jocelyn

Awesome giveaway!

Go to Life in a Shoe to see about a great giveaway of lovely modest women's clothing. And, even if you don't win, it's worth checking out because the clothes are beautiful and not too expensive.

Also- Life in a Shoe is quite an interesting blog to read anytime- there are nine kids in the family, and they're working it!

The response....

Dear Jocelyn:

Thank you for contacting me regarding Senate Bill S. 4779, and Assembly Bills A.778 and A.6702. I appreciate your initiative in writing to me with your concerns.

S.4779 and A.6702 would allow health care practitioners to provide health care related to the prevention of a sexually transmissible disease without parental consent. A.778 would require immunization against HPV to be administered to children throughout New York similar to other immunization schedules that are currently in place.

While I recognize that sexually transmitted diseases, particularly HPV, pose a serious threat to our children, and while I generally support the administration of vaccines against these diseases, I’m hesitant to support any bill which would exclude parents from their children’s health decisions and remove a physicians supervision from the administration of medical services.

As a strong supporter of parents rights, I appreciate your comments and will remember them if these bills come to the floor for a vote.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to call or write me should you have any further questions or comments with regard to this bill or any other State matter. Also, I invite you to visit my website, ranzenhofer.nysenate.gov, and to sign up for my email updates.

Sincerely,

MICHAEL RANZENHOFER
State Senator

Take this to heart

I heard today that yet another person who influenced my life has gone on to be with Jesus.
I haven't seen her in years, but I can still see her blue eyes flashing in the kid-watching mirror on the bus- letting me know I had better sit down or else.
Who needs bus monitors when you could have someone with eyes like that driving the bus?
She used to have the mouthy kids sit in the garbage basket up in the front right next to her.
She wasn't tall- she had big wooden blocks attached to the bus pedals so she could drive it. I remember her stress whenever she had to take her driver's test and had to drive without the blocks on.
She also was my 4-H leader. She taught me indoor gardening for a couple of years. She called (and kept) our meetings to order.
She put effort into the lives of kids in her community. She had a tie-dying meeting at her HOUSE once. She definitely had an influence on who I am.
But she's gone from this world. I won't see her again.
And I got the news this morning, right after reading this;

"It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart." Ecclesiastes 7:2.

I have been in the house of mourning for a while now. It seems that my losses just keep stacking up. But the author of Ecclesiastes is right. It has helped me to "take to heart" that death is my destiny. And, it is changing the way I live. Not in the fluffy chain email way of "wear your pretty underwear" but in the way of, "whose life have I touched for Christ today?" As Francis Chan writes in his book- Crazy Love "Friends, we need to stop living selfish lives, forgetful of our God. Our lives here are short, often unexpectedly so, and we can all stand to be reminded of it from time to time."

The people whom I have lost over the last 9 months have not been old. 18, 16, 56, 56, 62, 59. I think of my mom- did she know when she was my age (30) that she had already lived more than half of her life. No. And I don't have any guarantee that I will get to finish this post. Or that you'll get to finish reading it.

Go live.

For Jesus.

XOXO
Joce

Good News

Your calls and letters worked folks- the vote has been stopped on S04779.
This is a good reminder that we can indeed influence our representatives and the legislation that effects our lives.
Good work!
Blessings to you, and Happy Friday, too,
XOXO
Joce

When it rains...

So, I guess it's contagious- Congress heard NY had stupid bills in the works, so they had to have one, too.
I guess they are trying to regulate vitamins. You can read about it yourself. My main concern is that they would take away my right to be in possession of more than one packet of Emergen-C. Really. I love that stuff.
Go to citizens.org, read about it, and then feel free to use their orange link in the upper right hand corner to write to your senators.
It is really really easy.
Well, honest to goodness, I'll try to think of something more interesting for my next post.
XOXO
Joce

Parental rights

Hi folks-
It's time to write a letter.
Read these bills:
S04779
A6702
A0778
Your rights as a parent to know when your child is treated for an STD and to chose whether or not to vaccinate against STD's are at stake.
Write to your senator here, and your assemblyman here. All you need to know is your zip code.
If you don't know what to write, feel free to use my letter as template.

Dear ......
I am writing concerning bills S4779, A0778, and A6702.
I ask that you represent me as a parent in New York State by voting against these bills. They remove parental consent for treatment of sexually transmitted disease in minors, and legally enforce a vaccine that treats HPV. I have many reasons for asking you to vote against these bills, but my main concern is that they strip parents of their rights to make important decisions about their childrens' health and well-being.
I believe that our state and our country have been successful thus far because of a commitment to maintaining the rights of their citizens. Please vote no to taking away parents' rights to know when their children are treated for an STD and to choose whether or not to vaccinate against a sexually transmitted disease.
Thank you for your commitment to represent the people of western New York.
May God bless your work,
Jocelyn Rebisz

So, readers in NYS, please take the time to email your Senator and Assemblyman if you value your rights as a parent. Be aware that these bills are precedent setting and can be used in the future to justify legislation that mandates more STD vaccines, and to further strip parents of their rights to know about their childrens' medical treatment.

Thanks for taking time to be involved in your government- for the people, by the people. If you don't speak up- your representatives can't really represent you.

Use it or lose it. You know, your right to have an opinion.

And remember, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." What you can do is let your voice be heard.

Not yet motivated? I'll bake you some cookies. Really. If that's what it takes.

Blessings to you and your families (who currently know when a child is treated for an STD and has a choice as to whether to vaccinate against HPV),

Jocelyn