Did American Idol Find Jesus?

Last year I wrote a blog after being touched by the moving images and the heart felt giving by the American public during “Idol Gives Back”. This year I was as equally touch by the enormous charity effort but it was framed by something even more touching to me. Jesus has shown up on American Idol. He has been sung about, talked about and showcased on the show in the last few weeks. So many time Jesus gets left out of the pictures that he painted because of political correctness and an a fear of repercussion by radical groups like the ACLU. It was a breath of fresh air to see that a show I love to watch isn’t afraid to go there.

Idol Gives Back, is nothing more than people following the teachings of Jesus. I know a lot of my friends out there will have a lot to say about that statement. However, this is my God given, American protected opinion and if you don’t like it then don’t read it!

I know a show like American Idol is entertainment and the argument could be made that people get a little too involved in shows such as this. However, any outlet that allows you and encourages you to help others, love one another, and lend a non governmental helping help has to be worth watching every once in a while.

The over all message is that we can and should make a positive difference in the world around us. If you aren’t willing to fight for it then how can you complain about others not getting involved? So, if you have some extra money then give it to a great cause. If you don’t want to give to “Idol Gives Back” then give to Meals on Wheels or your local homeless shelter. If you don’t have any extra money then you can always donate your time and volunteer. If by some crazy misfortune you don’t have an extra dollar to spare and you have not any minutes left in the day to improve the world around you then you can pray.

On a much more non serious note I am really hoping that Carly Smithson wins American Idol and Brook White and David Archuleta are in the final three with her. Just one persons opinion!

Step out of your comfort zone and give something of yourself to something you believe in!

Matthew Hilley

Mom Very Dedicated to her Children but is Wrong when it comes to Adoption!

A response by Matthew to comments posted on this blog and on Amy Plummers Blog.

I have only known Amy Plummer for a short while. The only time we have really worked together was when we both, along with a few other concerned citizens were fighting against the nudist colony coming to Belton. On that we agreed it was bad for our area.

I appreciate her kind words towards me in her latest blog titled “Adoption should be Expensive”. However, I must vehemently disagree with her thoughts and reasoning behind thinking that people should have to pay a lot of money when they want to adopt a child.

A child that someone wants to adopt is a human being, not goods or services. It is NOT the more I pay for a child the more I will love and take care of that child. Money value put on the adoption process is not an indicator of the best candidate for being a parent. If that flawed philosophy were accurate that would mean that people in general are better people when they have more money and that kind of thinking is absurd and dangerous.

Yes, the process should be very detailed and responsible. We don’t want children going into bad homes with bad people. However, just because someone can’t afford to put down a $30,000 lump sum doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be able to give a needy child a good home. The end result of adoption agencies should be to place children in a good, well structured and loving home.

If we are to go by Amy’s standard then most of you reading this blog probably wouldn’t be good enough to have children or at least adopted ones. I surely would not be in her category of the best candidates.

For instance, I know of a couple that lives in my district that can not have children. They have tried many options and have not been successful. They are not rich but they are looking at adoption. They can not afford these sometimes huge adoption fees. These are very nice, caring people who go to church and do home bible studies. So, according to Amy they do not deserve a child if they can’t pay the huge down payment. According to her if they love enough they will pay more. That is wrong. No matter how you decorate it up it is still wrong. Love, want, need, desire, passion, compassion or charity is never measured by what you are willing to pay.

My bible states in 1 Tim 6:10” For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” KJV. The bible also states in 1 Cor 13 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered – It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. – And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest is love.” NIV.


Love is the greatest and it is not measured by money. If it is, it is not love. I am not mad at Amy for disagreeing with me. I love to debate people on many different issues. As far as I know Amy is a good mother and I applaud her for raising six kids in this world. She should be proud of her accomplishments. I just think she is looking at adoption in the wrong way. More expensive doesn’t translate into better or more when it comes to love!
Let the debating begin.

Matthew

Where is the Common sense when it comes to the Adoption Process?

These thoughts have been weighing on my mind for sometime now and I felt it was time to put it in writing and get some feedback on this subject. Adoption is a noble and wonderful process we have in order to place children from around the world and around the country with families that are willing to open their lives, their homes and their hearts to children that don’t have a family. It is an awesome way to not only help a child but to also change the world. That’s what you’re doing when you adopt a child, you are changing the world. In today’s world we literally have thousands upon thousands of children that are in need of a good home. The problem comes in when bureaucracy gets in the way. The fact of the matter is that you have a countless number of good willing families out there willing to adopt these children but will never be given the opportunity to do so because they simply can’t afford the adoption process. We are talking about families that could easily afford to raise a child but can not afford the often unrealistic and immoral adoption fees. It doesn’t make sense to me when we have organizations whose sole purpose is to place children in good homes but make it so difficult for good homes to afford it. Now as a side note it can be considerably less expensive if you adopt through the Foster Care system depending on your state. Otherwise the cost can range from $3,000 to $40,000, mostly leaning towards the high end.

I would like to offer up a parallel predicament that is a much less serious issue but is being mismanaged in the same way. When is the last time you heard your kid say “I want a puppy” or “can we get a dog”? Well, if you are like most good and decent Americans you might have thought about going to your local animal shelter an adopting a pet. However, after doing a little research you run across the same kind of bureaucracy that runs human adoption agencies just on a much smaller scale. The end result is the same; you have to pay way to much money to adopt. In my county it is anywhere from $40 to $60 depending on cat or dog, age and an optional microchip being implanted. If the people at the animal shelter and organizations that promote animal protection were serious about saving these animals in shelters it would not cost you what it does to adopt a dog or cat from your local animal shelter.

I know that these two very different examples are like night and day when it comes to the emotions involved when you are looking to adopt a child or a family pet. However the problem seems to be the same. It costs too much money to put a needy adoptee with a good adopter. I am not suggesting that it should be free even though that would be nice. I am however suggesting that we work to lower the price and work harder to build great families at a bargain price. I realize we live in a world where money seems to be the driving force behind most motivation. However, we need to start being motivated by something greater than government paper. I don’t pretend to have the solutions to this huge problem other than to start injecting common sense into bureaucracy. Do away with some red tape and cut out some of the flaming hoops. Start allowing love, compassion and the greater good become the driving force behind what we do.

In no way do I intend for this to be an insult to the great men and women who work hard everyday trying to place children and pets with loving families. Most of the problems are at the top of the mountain not in the valley where most of us reside. We need to fix this problem with cost reduction and stream lining of the process. I am grateful to those who work hard to help others. I just wish that more would step up to the plate and then possibly we could change the system itself. We, as a family plan on adopting a child one day. As far as getting a pet, I’ll stick to the Iwanna and the local paper for the free pets.

Matthew

Being Politically Correct Isn’t Always The Best Way To Get Results!

I was on a date with my wife the other night (Yes, I date my Wife) and we went to Books-A-Million as we often do when we don’t have our son with us. As we were walking around commenting about different books to each other my wife stumbled across a book titled Stop Dressing Your Six-year-old Like a Skank by Celia Rivenbark. After reading the title of this book I had I guess what most people would refer to as an epiphany! At first I thought wow that is a little in your face, then I thought “you know what, that is what it is going to take”! Maybe it is time we start being a little more in your face about important issues!
Think about it for a moment. How many time have you been to a local event, or the Mall or Wal-Mart and seen some little girl being paraded around with or without her parents wearing make up, and ear rings with her nails painted and wearing clothes that show off her mid drift, her cleavage and then has some inappropriate word written across the rear of her pants? This is Wrong people! No one should want their young daughter running around in public dressing like this! By allowing young girls to do this you are teaching them all the wrong lessons and you are putting them in danger! Yes DANGER, whether or not people are willing to admit it to themselves or not we have a lot of predators out there looking for little innocent children to prey on. By allowing your daughters to dress like that, you are essentially enticing the predators even more and risking exposing her to the real evil in this world. I can already here my critics now with statements like “you have to let them grow up” or “I just can’t get her to wear anything else”! Like I have said before, you are the parent and your sole mission in life is to protect, teach, raise, love and discipline your children. You are totally and completely in charge until around 18 or so depending on your personal situation with your children. So, as a leader, a guide, a mentor and a parent you are responsible for how your child dresses! Think about that the next time you see someone with their very young daughter walking around Wal-Mart with the word “Sexy” written across their rear! What are you saying to the world when you allow this to go on?
Now of course this wasn’t the only example I could have used but I wanted to stay on subject with the title of the book. I could have talked about overweight people that claim they want to lose weight but would rather ride around the parking lot for 5 minutes rather than park a little further away from the store. Or people who are on oxygen but yet they continue to smoke. I could have said that if you choose not to vote you should never complain about anything that comes from the government because you aren’t willing to spend 15 minutes every two years or so to improve it yourself. I could have went off on an hour long tangent about people claiming to know Jesus but all that ever comes out of their mouths is hateful and mean things directed towards others.
My point is very simple, maybe we should start speaking up and warning others when they are headed down a dangerous path instead of standing by smiling and patting them on the back while they head for certain disaster. Sometimes the best way you can show your love and concern is by being honest. So many people are willing to go out of their way not to offend someone because they think that is the most important thing they can do for that person. Well maybe, just maybe if you gave them some encouragement and guidance and told them how you really feel then they wouldn’t continue on the same path. Sometimes we just need to be a little more in your face! Do it with Respect, Kindness and Love but if it needs doing then do it!

Matthew Hilley