Hosea

The study I have been doing (or trying to do on the mornings I can without one child or the other fussing at me) is on the book Hosea. The interesting thing and the reason I'm actually blogging on it is because after each chapter there are questions and a lot of times they ask you to compare your current society to Isreal in Hoseas day. I cant help but compare both the society in the States and in Mexico because I still feel so close to the one in the states and hear about it a lot from friends and family. But after being in Mexico almost a year I really feel that to say "my society" it would be Mexico.
The first question I came across like this was: Do you feel encouraged or discouraged about your society?
When it comes to the states I know everyone is all freaked out about the economy and the war and the change in government. But even with all this I see the U.S. as a strong country that will pull through. And that Americans as a whole will hopefully learn to appreciate what they have through this. I already know a lot of people who appreciate their jobs a lot more than they did less than a year ago. And Ill be the first to admit that I didn't appreciate my job like I should have when I was there. As far as how I feel about Mexico, things are not as bad as people may think. Like in the states if you really want a job you can find one, and you can cut back to live with in your means. Since my husband has been here (for 3 years now) he has lived in 2 states and 3 towns and has been able to find a job the whole time. We are living on one income right now and sure sometimes we don't get to buy all the crap we want but we have yet to go hungry. I will have to admit that we do dip into savings at times to indulge in things like extra junk food or pictures for me to make a scrap book. And we can only hope that when the savings are out I will be able to work to replace the amount we are using out of it. But even if I cant we know that we can survive on what my husband is making. So I have to say although things are rough in both societies I am encouraged that things can and will get better for both. I see changes here everyday that seem to be moving in the right direction. And although things in the States seem to be going south I know the American people can withstand it and that the country will pull through.
The other comparison question was how I would compare my society to the society in Israel in the time of Hosea. I think here in Mexico and in the States things could deff be described similar to Isreal in Chapter 4. Although the type of sexual sins have changed and although there may still be prostitution I feel things have shifted slightly. But as far as the idolatry I know that both places have a lot of that. In the states the idolatry is centered around money, and things. Here in Mexico the Catholic faith idolizes the saints and Mother Mary. I'm sure Noncatholic Christians at times still idolize things, I know I still have this as an issue to continue working on.