Rapture or Not: Let's Analyze.

Shut up... it could happen! Let me explain...

Monday morning my sister, Morgan, sent me this link to an article/broadcast on NPR, titled "The End is Near." Apparently, Harold Camping, an 86-year-old has predicted that Judgement Day will occur...

TOMORROW...?

Crap. 

Over the past 5 days I have done some serious thinking. What if it happens... am I ready? Besides, it's gotta happen sometime, right? Why not tomorrow? 

Now, my issue isn't with dying or the world ending per-say. It's with how the world will end. According to the bible, it is a very scary event. One that I wish to not witness. Surely the God I know wouldn't allow me, a sweet, innocent little girl witness this event...

I couldn't stop thinking about death, dying, heaven, hell, the end of the world, the whole sha-bang. I know... you're probably thinking: dramatic much, Mallory? But when was the last time you seriously thought about it? If ever? Everything sounds far too dramatic. Far too extreme. And to be honest, far too scary... for such a loving, peaceful, forgivable God that we all know and love. I mean... think about it: What if the words in the bible are literal and true? 

What if when the world ends it will be horror above all horror? 

Do those who don't believe really go to hell? 

What about teenagers who are simply in a rebellious phase? 

What about the mean people in the world that do terribly mean thing who simply weren't given enough love from their parents? 

It really doesn't seem fair to leave anyone behind. I feel like the God I love would allow everyone into Heaven. Some people weren't given the same opportunities like... wonderful parents, sufficient resources, support system... etc.

God must take all of this into account, right?

 I really hope.

I concluded these thoughts are occurring because of two reasons:

 1) I have far too much time on my hands right now (no job... no school... no kids...) 

 2) My relationship with God has drifted since the last time I thought about a rapture. 

Which I must say would probably be around the age of ummmm... 5!

For this reason, I met with my friend, mentor, and youth leader, Brenda Applegate, who is laid-back enough to understand where I'm coming from and competent enough to help me work through these uncertainties.

 So... what I know... now:

1) God is Just

He knows all hearts, all things. He has the ability to measure someones heart in a way we cannot conceptualize. Everything will be justified. It will be fair. It will be very fair. No need to worry about that.

2) God is in the world... right now. 

He witnesses and feels the temptations, pressures, choices, and decisions you make. Every day. He's there. He's a current, present God. Not just a God from ancient, unthinkable, olden-times. 

I learned a lot more than that in the past few days but those are the main things. I am not scared or worried anymore that I will witness the rapture. I have faith that God will not make me witness it. I hope. Most importantly, I learned I've got a relationship to work on. But, that's fine. I've got nothing but time... I guess I might as well invest some time into my eternity. 

I know this blog post was a bit heavy but you know what, sometimes we need to do some deep thinking... organize our thoughts and re-prioritize. 

Thanks everyone for reading.

Thoughts & Predictions

First off, I want to thank those of you who read my blog this week regarding Planned Parenthood and the government shut down. A special thanks to those who commented, e-mailed, or messaged me about your feelings and opinions. It's so important that we all work to be informed as possible.

On a lighter note, PIA went home. We all know she wasn't my first pick but it had nothing to do with her talent-she was more than qualified to remain in at least the top 3. My guess is voters assumed Pia would not have a problem with votes so they spent their time voting for the contestants that were more on the fence.

A similar thing happened in 2006 with Chris Daughtry. This was the worst year of American Idol history when the grey-haired, not that talented, Tayler Hicks won. What a joke. Chris Daughtry was hands-down the most talented and well-liked contestant but only made it to the top 4 due to votes.

The 2006 American Idol shocker:

Now, dry your eyes, there are plenty of super talented contestants left.

Thoughts: Who did I vote for?

LAUREN ALAINA!

I want her to win. Natural, effortless talent. 

The only thing holding her back is her confidence appears to be lacking... but with a voice like that she has the world in the palm of her hand. Besides, the past 2 weeks have been fantastic!!!

My advice for her would be to watch Stefano perform because she should be doing riffs just like the way he does them!

Speaking of Stefano...

Yes, I voted for him. His performance deserved it.

 I was in awe last night. He's in it to win it! 

I would be really disappointed if he goes home tonight. REALLY disappointed.

Jacob 

Still my favorite male. The past 2 weeks haven't been as impressive compared to his previous performances. I'm worried he took the judges a little too seriously when they told him he needs to be more controlled and less dramatic. Now he's a little too stationary. I want my dramatic man back!! I bet he'll bring it next week!

James Durbin

I hate the music and to be honest I don't know anyone who likes it. But then again, I'm a bit of a teeny-bopper. The only thing I can note on is that he is an entertaining performer and I like the fact that he positively represents Turrets Syndrome.  I don't mind him sticking around, even though I admittedly find his music a little ridiculous.

Scotty McCreepy

Similarly, I don't like Scotty's country twang but I realize there are plenty of people who do, and he is quite talented in that aspect. I still find him McCreepy. 

I anticipate trouble for the following 3...

Paul McDonald

I do like this guy but I haven't liked his performances or song choices lately. He needs like a John Mayer song or something. He's got a really unique voice which has a ton of potential. But lets be honest... 

if his outfit choices aren't distracting enough, his annoying dancing/tweeking/jittering around the stage like he's hyped on something will definitely do it. 

Haley Reinhart

I didn't love this performance. We all know I love this girl because I'm jealous of her hippie-chic style and her raspy voice. The last 2 weeks were fantastic but this week she fell short of impressive. 

Casey Abrams

Blah. I didn't like it. I think it's his time to go. I found it absolutely absurd he got a standing ovation for his lame-ass performance. If he makes it through, it's not because of his performance, it will be because of the judges promotion to vote for him. Even I was somewhat convinced he should make it through after the feedback from the judges. What crap!

Let's be real, all of these contestants are super talented. But there are still some contestants that if they won... I would be disappointed.

(cough, cough: Casey, James, Paul, McCreepy). 

Prediction:

I obviously have not had the best luck predicting but here goes nothing:

Between Paul, Haley, and Casey...

 PAUL will go home. 

Boom.

Depressed

During the past 4 years I have grown increasingly interested in politics and have played "catch up" to make up for my first 21 years of life in which I had little knowledge of anything beyond my little bubble of prairie prancing and rainbows.

GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN:
I finally took the time to learn what exactly they were debating about that was so damn complex... Planned Parenthood. 
You have to be kidding me!!!! One of the most vital programs offered in our society today was the center of federal government scrutiny. Of all the sick, twisted, unethical political debates I've ever heard, this is by far the most alarming to me.  

MYTH: Republican Senator Jon Kyl stated that over 90% of the services performed by Planned Parenthood were abortions. (more...)
FACT: Only 3% of services are abortion related. (more...)

Planned Parenthood is often the only source of family planning for a large proportion of the women served. 

-More than 90% of care is preventive, primary care.

         *Prevents unintended pregnancies through contraception

         *Reduces the spread of STI/STD's through testing & treatment

         *Screens for cervical & breast cancers

-Education on: Body image, relationships, men's health, sexual orientation & gender

-1 in 5 women in the US use Planned Parenthood at least once in her life. 

-With 535 members in Congress = statistically, at least 107 members of the US Congress or their spouse have used Planned Parenthood. 

To end or reduce funding to Planned Parenthood is counter-productive. 

1. No access to free birth control & pregnancy prevention programs     =   

 Increase in pregnancy for low-income, teenagers, and anyone else who is:

       * too broke to afford birth control

       *too afraid to tell their parents they're sexually active

       * too uneducated to know how to protect themselves.

2. No access to free Pap exams    =    

Increase in STI/STD, cervical cancer, & breast cancer for marginalized populations

I realize we need to start cutting major dollars, but I'm telling you, cutting this program will end up costing our nation more money. Mark. My. Words.

Let's talk: MEDICARE
Medicare paid 50 BILLION in doctor and hospital bills in the last 60 days of patients' life.
Are we afraid to accept death? Yes.
Are we afraid to talk about death? Yes.
Is death avoidable? No.

DING DING DING.

• We have got to stop believe death is a medical failure. 
• We have got to stop keeping our elders on a ventilator for months in the ICU only to preserve our own naive beliefs that our loved ones would want their life to be prolonged as long as possible... regardless of the severity of uncomfort. 
• We have got to START accepting death in this country. There's no other way to explain it. (more...)

American Idol: Thoughts & Predictions

Once again my ADD has gotten the best of me and I nearly forgot to make this post. For the record, I have been busy writing a grant to establish and develop a school vegetable garden at Saydel High School. However, yesterday not only did I learn that Saydel already had a school garden but I also learned all garden-related activities are pretty much required to take place during the summer. As we all know there is no school during the summer, so you can imagine my frustration.

All frustrations aside... I still have American Idol. Thank the Lord!!!

Lauren: She was really starting to annoy me with her effortless, dominating, flawless, and dynamic voice by not showing it off. It was like she's been on some sedating medication that made her turn bbblllaaahhh and it was driving me CRAZY! But... there is a God! She gave us a bit of flava! And showed off her voice that she's been covering up! 

Gotta admit though, she better do it even more next week. I'd rather have somebody like Haley win who at least pushes her voice to the limit than have Lauren who has a voice she hardly needs to push and watch her neglect it!

Haley: She rocked it, AGAIN! 2 weeks in a row!!! I hope people loved this as much as I did because I think she did awesome! She's cool. The song was perfect for her. Her best quality as a singer is not is her grunting (which I know annoys many people, but I like it), it's the fact she's the whole package: her voice matches her personality, her personality matches her clothes, her clothes match her music. I didn't get a chance to vote last night but I hope she's not in the bottom 3! Although, I think her fan base is somewhat smaller than other contestants. But maybe she'll be the black horse of the competition...

James: Boring. It was Rock N Roll themed night and he does a ballad? L-A-M-E  and C-O-R-N-Y!

Jacob: Love him. This week wasn't shockingly amazing like usual but he did a very good job. I still think he's going to win. He's improved his articulation and not crying on stage.

Scotty McCreepy: You wont catch me voting for him... ever... due to the way he looks into the camera and his bad hair cut. And I'm not gonna lie... I was terrified he was gonna break out in a hip shake or in his Elvis song but he didn't... phew! However, he showed off his personality, he had fun, it was a good performance. I liked it!

Pia: Does she remind anyone else of Britney Spears? I don't know what it is. Her outfit was so ugly I couldn't even hear her sing. Yeah... she's good. I admit it. I just don't love her.

BOTTOM 3 PREDICTIONS:

Paul: I am a fan of this guy. Considering he was in the bottom 3 last week and there wasn't anything special about his performance... I think he's in trouble. I hope he doesn't leave though. Brad has a prediction that Paul and Pia (ew that sounds bad together) are together. I'd hate to break up puppy love.

Casey: I didn't like it. I think he's in trouble. I still think he's a splash of creepy, although so unique he spices up the competition. Besides, according to tabloids he's rollin' with Haley! Again, I'd hate to break up puppy love!

Stefano: Goin' Home! I dare somebody to tell me he's not adorable. BUT I gotta say... I think it's time... to go. 

It's not that he's not good, he just isn't good enough. 

American Idol Predictions

I seriously almost forgot to post this... and I'm in class so I have to make this super quick!!

Due to last week's surprising results, in which Mr. Casey was voted off BUT got lucky and was saved by the judges. This means two things:
1. There will be 11 contestants to see when you go to the American Idol Tour!
2. There are 2 contestants voted off tonight.

Who were my faves this week?
PIA-- Yes, Pia. I've wanted to hate her because I simply think she is someone with a great voice, great body... with very little personality. Regardless, who can deny that performance? I loved it!
Haley-- I realize she's not a crowd favorite but if you know me, you would know she is totally my style. In fact, I'd like to think if I ever decided to audition for American Idol that I would be exactly like her. (only difference between us is the fact that I would sing bigger songs... like Aretha Franklin... thinking I sounded just like her! haha)


Bottom 3?
Thia--BOR-to the-ING. I still think she's beautiful and talented but I'm not voting for her, for sure.
Stefano-- I like to describe him as "soap opera meets Enrique Iglesias." 
Naima--I think we all know how I feel about her. I'm not even going to describe all the countless reasons why she needs to get off the flippin' stage. 


Who's going home?
1. NAIMA
2. STEFANO


I apologize for no pictures this week. Next week I'll be back on track!

Love your Social Worker!

March is SOCIAL WORK Month!

That's right... we have our own month! As a student currently earning my Masters in Social Work it felt absolutely necessary to share my beautiful, twisted, and very important profession with my beautiful, twisted, and very important readers.

Let me take this opportunity to enlighten you why the social work profession is not only important to me, but important to our kids, families, communities, states, nation, and general overall well-being of every single person in the world. Am I exaggerating? Perhaps.

There is even a "World Social Work Day"... which I just learned existed... and it was March 15th. Maybe next year I'll remember!

What is a social worker? 

A professional with a Bachelor's, Masters, or PhD in Social Work that promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships, and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. 

Demographics?

-85% are female. 
-15% are males... who have higher salaries than females... WTF?!?!

-A Bachelors in Social Work (BSW) will earn you roughly $30,000. A Masters in Social Work (MSW) will earn you between $40,000-$60,000.  I hope that will be sufficient to pay off my loans I had to take out to earn this degree!!

-According to Bureau of Labor Statistics the employment of Social Workers is expected to grow faster than any other profession through 2016.

Clarifying Fact:

-A Social Worker does NOT have a degree in: sociology, psychology, anthropology, or human services. Although some states... cough, cough IOWA... may call their employee's social workers, when in fact, they are absolutely NOT.  

Social workers might appear frumpy or weird... which, sorry... sometimes we are (I say we loosely)... which some might argue is due to limited income but we are good-intentioned, caring, sensitive, empathetic, well-educated, and culturally competent group. There is one thing we are not, which is stupid. We spend more money on educating ourselves than we do in our first 5 years of pay. 

What convinced me to pursue this crazy-ass career? 
In high school I wrote a paper titled: "The purpose in life is to be happy." While researching and brainstorming for the paper I learned quickly that most people don't live in La La Land like I did when I was 16. I developed a deep passion to help others make their life better because I felt.. and still feel, everyone deserves the right to be happy. And I don't regret for one second that my entire professional career is dedicated toward working to make that happen!


Secondly, my mom, who is a social worker in the ICU at Methodist hospital. As you can imagine, the job is emotionally taxing but somehow she makes it appear effortless. I admire her because she has shown me the importance of helping others and the significant impact one person can make to help improve someones life. 

Have I convinced you to change your career to help others? Go to: http://www.beasocialworker.org/

Appreciate a social worker... tomorrow... as it is the last day of the month. 


"To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to."
- Kahlil Gibra

I want to disclose that AmericanIdol.com is officially on my Top 10 most visited websites. 

Pathetic? Maybe...

Moving on:

Re-Cap: Who went home last week?

Unfortunately Miss Karen went home. She was bi-lingual, sweet, pretty... but I wasn't disappointed about this because she wasn't the best contestant but she was certainly better than Naimi.  

I would say this means: Miss Mallory had nearly perfect predictions last week. 

Thoughts & Predictions

Thoughts

Casey Abrams

This guy is so weird. I honestly wouldn't vote for him, simply because he's not my cup of tea (Not to mention my sister, Allison, kinda ruined it for me when she said Casey seems like the kind of guy who would sneak a camera into the girls bathroom) But I like his style, he's unique... but, a little too harry. 

Haley Reinhart

I know most people don't agree with me when I say this but I like her! I do! She's cute and smiles a lot. She reminds me of a little cub bear who tries to be really scary and intimate other animals but really is just harmless. She wants to be Christina but she's simply not good enough. And I've gotta admit, it was super entertaining last week when she smeared her "sexy" red lipstick all over her face!!

Lauren Alaina

I'm getting frustrated with Lauren because I feel like she's got the talent of "The one and only Miss Kelly Clarkson" but she doesn't take advantage of her skills!!! I wish she would sing what Haley sings because Haley's got the attitude and awesome song choices, but lacks the talent.

She should sing Christina... Kelly... that type.

 I'm still on Team Lauren but I'm gonna need more from her next week or else I will have to move on and pick a new favorite girl. COME ON LAUREN! 

Paul McDonald
He's becoming one of my top favs. I prefer someone with pipes but he's got such cool sound to him I could totally drive in my car and listen to his CD. (only if my OprahRadioXM isn't working, of course) I seriously would like to see him make it to the top 5. I think he's got a lot of talent.

Thia Megia
She's adorable but I would never vote for her. Let's be honest, she's not gonna win. Just because she's got a good voice doesn't make her entertaining or a good performer. Kinda boring.

Jacob Lusk

Wow. I'm callin' it: Winner! 

That's all I'm gonna say.

Pia Toscano

I don't argue with the fact that she's good... but where's her personality? Her perfectionist nature annoys me. However, after she preformed I told Brad she lacked personality and he told me I was probably jealous because she's hot. There might be something to that but whatever.

Naima Adedapo

Dear Lord, please save me from this torture of watching her sing any more! Amen!

No... actually since she's made it this far she might as well make it one more week so she can go on the Top 10 tour this summer so she doesn't have to go back to cleaning toilets. Maybe it's the social worker in me talking but...

Besides, she at least is super entertaining with that crazy-ass, ridiculous dancing!

Scotty McCreery

Or Scotty McCreepy?? Something weirds me out about him and NOT in a good way! Poor guy had to sing MoTown with a hideous country slang. Urg. I'm sure he's got some cowboys rooting for him but... woof woof.

Stefano Langone

What a freakin' cutie. He is surprisingly theatrical but he does bore me a little. Luckily he's cute enough that he'll go through. I appreciate how he looks like he's really trying. Ooo I just wanna pinch those little cheeks! (weird... he's like 22 years old)

James Durbin

I think my attention span failed me at this point. I don't remember anything that he did cool but I do remember a standing ovation. I think I missed something. 

Predictions

1. Haley

2. Naimi

3. Thia