I never thought I would describe myself as Liberal......

I believe that women have the right to make their own choices regarding their bodies, health, and welfare. It's between a woman, her doctor, and her spouse or significant other, period.

I believe that everyone, regardless of race or gender, has the right to live their own lives and be happy. If two consenting adults want to marry, absolutely no one has the right to deny that. Just because you might not agree with it doesn't make it wrong.

I believe that everyone is valuable. I don't care what your occupation is, what your ethnicity is, what religion you follow, or where you live.

I believe that diplomacy trumps force. We absolutely should be trying to talk out differences of opinion before ever considering military action.

I believe in the Affordable Care Act. I have said many, many times that it's not perfect. But it's a good start. And with over 7 million people having signed up, it is absolutely working.

I believe in equal pay for equal work.

I unequivocally believe in the separation of church and state. Our judges and lawmakers put their hand on a bible and swear to uphold the Constitution, not the other way around.

I believe we should be doing everything we can to help those less fortunate, not persecuting them.

I believe that your religion should be between you, your family, your clergyman, and your God. If you feel the need to use your religion to hurt others you're using it wrong.

I believe that education in this country should be our NUMBER ONE priority.

I believe in practicing random acts of kindness.

I believe in common sense gun laws. Should you be able to "open carry" in a bar, a school, or a shopping mall? Absolutely not! Do I think anyone needs to own an AK47? Again, absolutely not. This idea that the second amendment gives you the freedom to own an arsenal is absurd.

I believe in working hard in order to improve your life. I do think there are those that need assistance at times, and most of them are hard working people who want to better their lives. I also know that there are many people who take advantage of the system and stay on welfare, having more kids, without any thought to working their way out of their situation. I don't know what the solution is, but I certainly don't think that cutting welfare benefits and ending unemployment benefits is it.

I believe that all drugs should be decriminalized and addictions should be treated as diseases. Before you get your knickers in a twist, look up the data on that and see what happens when other countries do it.

I believe that there is a large "good-ole boy" network working furiously to prevent any and all changes from happening in this country. These old white men are out of touch with reality and with the voters.

I believe that lobbying should be completely outlawed. There should be no lobbyists in Washington at all. Legislation should be made based on the will of the people, not based on money from corporations.

I believe that every single Congressman should have to hold a "town meeting" of sorts in their districts once a month. Anyone who has a question or comment should be heard.

I absolutely believe in supporting our military. Whether it's our troops overseas or those who have come home, we owe our respect and gratitude to each and every one of them. The idea that any military veteran goes without food, medical necessities, or much less a home is appalling.

I believe in working to make sure my two daughters have the freedom and the opportunity to be whomever they want to be. This includes making sure they have access to appropriate health care, they have the opportunity to attend college, and that their worth is NOT defined by their gender.

I believe that we have a responsibility to ourselves and the generations that come after us to take care of our planet. At what point do we decide to use common sense? Solar power and wind power come from infinite resources, not so much with fossil fuels. The first thing I would do if I were president would be to install solar panels on the White House.

I believe that the office of the President of the United States deserves respect. You might not agree with his policies, you might not even like him (which is funny, because I'll bet you've never met him in person). But this constant barrage of disparaging remarks, disrespectful memes, flat out lies, and smears upon his character is just embarrassing. The rest of the world is watching, people.

I believe that the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" applies to EVERYONE, not just a select few.

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If all of this makes me a liberal, so be it. I can live with that.

So I went to church today.....

I know. You're going to think I'm a hypocrite. Remember, I never said I was atheist, I just don't believe the bible is literal truth. I consider myself more agnostic. Please read on.

The hubs and I have been talking, and we thought that maybe finding a youth group for D1 somewhere that some of her friends from school went might be good for her. She's been having a hard time since the move back to Texas. We had tried the smaller church in town, but once the recorded phone calls started inundating our answering machine, we were pretty turned off. The one that sealed their fate was the recorded voice of the pastor talking about a new series they were doing on "how to get sexual intimacy back into your marriage". D1 was standing with the hubs when that little gem played out loud. THAT was fun.

There's one of those mega-churches not too far from here, which has never been my thing, but they have a great reputation for their kids' programs, and we just want D1 to be more social and make some friends.

I don't know, maybe I thought I was going to have some kind of epiphany while I was sitting there. It didn't happen. In fact, I left in tears at the hypocrisy of it all. There was a very small church we belonged to in MA, and although we went primarily for our kids, one of the things I liked best about it was that the pastor was accepting of all and fairly progressive for his profession. He supports equal rights and a woman's right to choose, and he will tell you that it's not his place to judge. The people were genuinely nice and caring, the kids' activities were great, and they were active in the community. Unfortunately, now I'm back in Texas, in the bible belt. Things are different here.

So I drop off the girls in their respective classrooms, which were more like theater productions. The number of people in this place was crazy. Growing up, I never liked those big churches, but I wanted to try this for the girls. D1 balked at going into the massive room that was to be her Sunday School, but she finally did. (The hubs would not come with me, and he warned me that I was going to come back angry.)

So I went into the "sanctuary". I was immediately disgusted. It wasn't church, it was a rock concert. The lead singer (a woman) had on leather tight pants and knee high spiked boots. People are jumping up and down and flinging their hands into the air while singing. The stage was huge and there were two jumbo screens on either side so everyone in the stadium style auditorium could see. Now before you get your knickers in a bunch, it's not the people in the audience I was disgusted with. I knew where I was and I knew the types of people who would be there. I am sure there were more than a few who are truly good Christians. The few people I interacted with were very nice and welcoming, but I really didn't talk much to anyone.

So the rock concert finally ends, and I am sitting thinking about all of that stage equipment, the lighting (oh yes, there were synchronized lights), the building itself, and also thinking about how this mega-church pays absolutely no taxes. And it gets better.

The pastor comes out and starts talking about giving. I actually liked what he had to say at first, because he was right. We need to give in our marriages, give in our communities, and give in society. He said he could sum up the bible into two words: "God gave."

Then he started talking about Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Leviticus basically lays out the laws, and Deuteronomy reiterates them. And he's right about that. Murder, stealing, lying, cheating, adultery.....all are wrong, and he says the laws in our country are created on the basis of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. And this is where he lost me. Why? Because all of these things are wrong and are agreed upon as wrong by humanity, not just Christianity.

His next comment was, "I cannot imagine why this country is turning away from these laws when they are very clearly based on lessons in the Bible."

Cue the thunderous applause.

And I am sitting there thinking, Which laws would those be? And have any of you actually read the United States Constitution?

He then goes on to say that freedom, fullness, and joy are all things that you find when you enter the House of God. I am sure that is true for some people. Good for them. Really. But then he went on to say that people who hadn't found God couldn't know these things.

Seriously? So people who don't believe in God can't know joy? Or freedom? Or fulfillment? What a complete and utter crock of you-know-what.

So then he gets on to the business of money. And this is where I started taking notes.

He starts with saying that he is interviewed all the time about giving, because his flock is just so wonderful at it. And he's not talking about money, he's talking about their time, their talents, etc. Okay, I'm okay with that.

"But today I'm going to talk to you about the importance of tithing." Yep, I knew it. Now I will say this again......I don't begrudge anyone their religion. I don't. The problem I have is when people use their religion to persecute others. The people who were there that tithe, do so of their own free will, and that's their business. I did wonder several times what good that amount of money would do in the community......for food banks, homeless shelters, feeding hungry children, but I digress.

So he says this: "When we give to the Lord, tithing gets us out from under the curse of the decrepit financial system of this country, and giving over and over strengthens the House of God.....in fact, [my wife] and I give well over the standard amount every month."

"How much can you give over and above your usual tithe?"

The emphasis was on what could they could do with the money - they could build more campuses, expand the buildings, add more projects - all had to do with expanding the church size, adding more people. Nothing was mentioned about helping people in the community, building house for the homeless, aiding local food banks, etc.

He tells a story about a man who wanted to give a field to God, and the priest told him he could still reap the rewards of that field, but 20% of the rewards had to go to God.

Here's a question: How exactly does God get the produce?

Then the pastor gets personal. He starts talking about how his family gives 20% every month, when the standard is 10%. I'm trying to figure out the algorithm in my head of how that money gets paid back to him since he's giving it to the church that's paying him, but let's move on. He said he lowered his tithing from 20% to 10% for several months, and "our finances spiraled out of control and started falling apart. I felt like God was punishing me."

But then God came to him and said, "I"m hurt because you don't want to give 20% anymore." The pastor said he was so guilt-ridden that he immediately started tithing 20% again.

And I'm thinking: Damn. God's good at reverse psychology.

Next guilt trip story? He said a member of the congregation, who is very well off, asked God what he should give, and the Lord told him $100,000. He asked his wife what she thought, and she said the Lord told her the same thing. He said after he gave that, it was the greatest year ever of their spiritual growth.

Hear that, people? Give an exorbitant amount of money, God loves you more.

So then he asks everyone to pull out their "commitment cards" (given to you as you walk in). He asks you to fill out what you think you can commit to. Be sure and talk to your spouse first. Don't spend beyond your means (even though he just told you that the more you give the more grace you get). And then this: "Better a small commitment than none at all!"

Oh and this: "Not prepared to give today? GIVE ONLINE!"

Then they pulled out these huge black bins to collect the offerings. People couldn't get to them fast enough.

I wanted to run as fast as I could and get my children and get out of the building.

But first, we had to go to the Chuck E. Cheese type toy counter, you know the one that has all the chintzy toys for a ridiculous amount of tickets? Yes, they had one in the church. D1 got tickets during Sunday School that she could go use to get prizes. So basically, you get a prize for coming to church. Then she got to use a special ticket to do one of those claw-type chance games. And of course she gets a prize. She's thinking this is the greatest place ever, and I am appalled that this is done in a church.

D2 comes out telling me how baby Jesus was sick and died and then woke up. I see the paper she has in her hand, and they had been talking about Lazarus. WHO TELLS A GROUP OF FOUR YEAR OLDS THE STORY OF LAZARUS? She's going to try to kill the dog and see if she comes back to life, for all I know. Because they said in church it can happen. Smack. My. Head.

Maybe I'm just old-fashioned. We won't be going back.