I have been seeing a lot of this lately on Facebook posts or hearing people, out of ignorance, make the statement.
I totally disagree.....tell that to the child who was physically or sexually abused.....or the person who lost a loved one because of a drunk driver........or the victim of a random drive by shooting.......or a person dying of a horrible disease such as cancer.
My son and I have often had this discussion and we usually just have to call a "truce" and each one of us has to realize we are entitled to our own opinion.
I have heard people say - "well it must have been so and so's time to go......that is totally wrong...granted the Bible says our days are numbered but we can make that "time" come earlier by our poor choices in lifestyle or situations we put ourselves in.
Most of the time the things that happen are due to our own or others poor choices....not due to God's will.
Everything that happens in our lives does not come from God....but  nothing slips by Him either.
We can believe the promise that He is there no matter what happens and it is our choice to turn to Him in those times or turn away and blame Him.
Life is hard.....but He promises that He will be there to get us thru life's circumstances, He doesn't promise it will be easy...for if it were easy why would we need Him???
But the statement that "everything happens for a reason" is just wrong for the reasons I stated earlier.
Bad "stuff" happens on this earth because of SIN.  And it will continue to happen til Jesus comes again.
My rant is over.........for now.................Ritzywife out!

Just like the title of this blog suggests.......these are my thoughts on the word "love".....
As I was sitting here eating my breakfast this morning I just started thinking about love and all it means to me.
I was thinking about when Ritzy and I first started our family we knew/thought the day would come when it would be just the two of us again when the kids had family/lives of their own.  That has not happened yet or I suppose it never will and i will get to that.
There are folks our age that are going/doing/ running around doing their own "thing" whatever that is.....missing out on precious time spent with grandkids, kids.........but Ritzy and I still have our kids and grandkids very involved in our life and I would not have or want it any other way.  We put ourselves out there for our kids/family....they know they can count on us to be there for them.
                                                        LOVE = TIME, SACRIFICE, ACTION
We sacrifice our own time and resources for the ones we love.  Sure I could do all that for myself but at the end of the day where has that gotten me.  But............if I sacrifice that time for the kids or grandkids that is precious time spent with them to grow our relationship that I will never see again.  I just hope when Ritzy and I are gone that these kids/grandkids don't ever doubt that P-pa and Ni-maw loved them and was willing to show it and hopefully that will make them better people and they will pay it forward......
That "time" can be spent a variety of ways---babysitting the grandsons, staying up late (even tho I am exhuasted) to watch a movie with the son, going out with the family.....whatever...it all adds up to LOVE.  I love and cherish my family very much and I don't ever want those kids/grandkids to doubt their place in my heart. 
It warms my heart to hear the grandkids saying how much they like ni-maw's and P-pa's house or they always say they want to come to our house.  The other day the boys were giving kisses and hugs before going home and Calvin stands in front of me and looks over my head at our house and just smiles and says "I just love Ni-maw's house"...I told him that it made my heart happy to hear that he loved coming here.  A child knows if/when they are wanted.  I get to spend time just talking to them, watching them play, joking around with them where as their parents are focused on providing for their needs.  i told the daughter to not ever forget what is really important in life...it's not the stuff you can see....it's the "stuff" you can't see........relationships, love, stability, safety, letting that child grow into what God intended for them to be.......   providing a home where those kids feel safe and wanted... unlike so many others in this world.  I believe if you provide those things for a child there is no end to the possibilities of what that child can accomplish in his/her life......
And........ that's why they love coming to Ni-maw's because I have that time to spare---yes I could be out doing my own thing------but I choose not to - which brings be back to the title of this post.  I love those grandkids and our kids and like I said "Love" is not a noun.....it's a verb......it is an action!!!!
With that ......Ritzywife is out...............................................................