It's no wonder

It’s no wonder I never finish anything.

My youngest went on a 100+ mile hike this summer and took a few photos; many others on the trek took photos as well.  I asked for copies of the photos and a couple of the leaders put them on the Boy Scout troop website.

I wanted to download the photos I wanted either to my computer or to my shutterfly account so I could make a digital album.  If I don’t get it done now; I’ll never get it done.  So, I wanted to view the photos to decide which ones I wanted to download.  On the website, I open up the first photo and select “full size”.  Move to the next photo and it moves back down to a thumbprint size.  At this rate to view 100 photos, it will take me about an hour.  I decide to select all the photos, copy them to my computer and view them in my photo editor, then dump the ones I don’t want.

I select all the photos and look for a way to download them all.  There is no way.  I right click; I try to drag them, and all the tricks I know.  No way. 

Now I email the webmaster to ask if there’s a way I’m missing to download the photos.  He’s a busy guy and it takes him two days to get to figuring it out.  He can’t find a way to do it, so he creates a “Dropbox” folder for me, sends me an invitation and then sends me an email explaining what he’s done.

So, now I have to download a new application in order to download the photos to my computer in order to download the photos to a digital book program online.  By this time I’ve spent about two hours and I still don’t have photos selected or into a digital book. They ARE downloaded onto my computer.

Is it too much to ask for things to work together, smoothly and quickly?  Am I the only one who stops a project because I need to ask for help (which takes time), download yet another program (add time for the learning curve) and then possibly get to the project?

All this while attempting to maintain my normal life.  It’s no wonder I never finish anything…

And I haven’t even been able to tackle the phone/calendar/laptop/Microsoft issues that are constantly changing and shifting and messing up my life…

BSA Leadership

 “It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” 

― Roy Disney

“On my honor, I will do my best 
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; 
To help other people at all times; 
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.”

Sitting in an Eagle Board of Review a few weeks ago I considered what the scout in front of me was swearing to. I considered this boy, almost a man, and the promise he made.  As I’d known him in his Cub Scout days as well, I had a pretty good handle on the type of young man he was.  I reflected on the Oath he was making and it struck me that I would no longer be able to be certain that future scouts would be able to demonstrate in honesty what the oath required.

“I will do my duty to God…”  Please notice this is not an all-inclusive “little ‘g’ god.  This is a term of reverence used to specify the Christian God.  Not Buddha, or Allah or Krishna or other gods.  Although Boy Scouts is not specifically a Christian organization, in this instance the oath represents a Christian God.

That same Christian God specifically calls us to stand for what is right, follow His judgments and obey His laws.  One of the laws that He instructs us to follow is to keep our bodies sexually pure.  And, in specific, He warns against sex between same-sex persons and encourages either remaining abstinent or marriage between a man and woman. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Romans 1:26-27).

“To keep myself…morally straight.”

BSA has made a financial decision to change their “timeless” values to reflect the current belief that sexual choices are a personal decision.  However, in a youth organization that presumes to protect those young people; whether physically or emotionally; allowing anyone with destructive sexual choices into an organization can only lead to injury and damage to the same youth it promises to protect. 

I have served the organization in many facets for many years and completely supported the program and the opportunities it provided for scouts of all beliefs and backgrounds.  The belief that the value of sexual morality is of no consequence to our young men and women as they become adults is a dangerous and harmful ‘compromise’ that neither reflects timeless values or strong moral code.

It is because of that decision that will impact the lives, morals, values and futures of many youth in the organization for years to come; I have decided to terminate my membership in all areas of BSA.  This was in some ways a difficult decision as I still believe in many of the principles of the scouting program.  The decision further saddens me as I’ve already discovered that in standing for my values, I have been labeled as hateful and phobic; a misunderstanding that unfortunately reflects the consequences of standing for what one believes, instead of following the crowd and the social wind.

I wish the scouting program and all involved the best as they struggle to remain protective and active in a society that is destructive and unproductive.