Will you commit to 26 acts of kindness?

Yesterday our Children’s Choir sang Happy Birthday Jesus and they looked beautiful in their fresh white shirts and black skirts and pants. They looked so happy and excited and i could not help but think of the children lost in Newton who will not be celebrating the holidays with their families. They have have been a constant presence in my thoughts since the tragedy, and I know I am not alone. A few days ago I heard of the 26 Acts of Kindness challenge posted on Twitter by Ann Curry. Read the linked story and decide if this is for you. We will feel sad for a long time, but we can also commit to make a difference in the lives of the living.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/12/20/167713372/newtown-shootings-inspire-26-acts-of-kindness-campaign?ft=1&f=1001&sc=tw&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Wayne LaPierre suggests fighting firearms with firearms

Yesterday was one week since the tragedy at Sandy Hook. The nation observed a moment of silence Friday morning and about 90 minutes later The NRA made their long awaited statement. Wayne LaPierre said the “only way to stop a bad man with a gun is a good man with a gun.” He made no excuses or concessions. His tone was defiant and he took no questions. He blamed everything including violent video games, movies and our culture, but he did not blame guns, and that’s the real tragedy. No one is advocating eliminating guns, but some guns should not be in your home unless you are an inhabitant of a war zone. Last week when the evil killer took his mom’s assault rifle and mowed down 20 innocent children and 6 heroic adults he turned that school into a war zone and there has to be an answer for this, and I might know the answer, but I do know more guns is not the answer.

The Virginia Tech Tragedy and the Sandy Hook massacre share a sad similarity

This morning while cleaning my office I ran across this People magazine. The magazine was dated April 30, 2007. I was struck by the irony that I would find this magazine during this time of national mourning regarding a heartbreakingly similar incident. The magazine featured all 33 victims of the Virginia Tech massacre along with a short profile of each victim. The gunman’s first victims were senior Ryan Clark, 22, freshman Emily Hilscher, 18 and freshman Reema Samaha, 18. The gunman killed 33 people that day and then he killed himself, but who remembers the victims? There friends and relatives do, but sadly we do forget. We don’t mean to but life marches on. Now we are confronted with another killer who some are saying was always odd, but over the years he became a recluse and no one knew what had happened to him until he came out from the shadows and killed 20 precious children and 6 very brave adults. Everyone says this will be the tipping point, but what will actually change? We live in a violent world. We see so much that we are desensitized to it. We bring it into our homes through television, computers and video games. Most of us are sane enough to know that this is not real, but do we hold some responsibility for making violence a form of entertainment? All of this is now part of the national conversation. Over the past few days as we have shopped for Christmas I have seen so many happy children out smiling and laughing counting the days until Santa comes to town, but my heart still hurts for the 20 children* that will not be getting up early in anticipation of the arrival of Santa, they will not be here with their families to enjoy another Christmas and that is a tragedy, but hopefully we will honor their memory by making some real meaningful changes, and to just say gun control is the begining of the conversation not the endpoint.
*There were children of all religions killed in the massacre.