This world in which we live becomes all the more distressing with each passing day. Friday morning twenty children and six adults were shot in cold blood in an elementary school. This kind of tragedy is horrific and beyond human comprehension. It is the most unthinkable of evils being perpetrated on the most unsuspecting and innocent. What the parents and families of those deceased must be going through is more devastating then words can describe.
The small, idyllic community of Newtown, CT has become a hotbed of media attention, overtaken by swarms of news reporters, TV cameras, journalists and ambulance chasers. Not to mention the investigation teams and federal officials who are now burdened with the task of trying to make sense of the senseless. Every news station is a non-stop reel of videotape that shows kids being escorted from their school building with looks of confusion and terror, parents pacing in the parking lots of news conferences and families holding on to each other for dear life.
Where have we seen this before?
The days following the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting, the days following the shooting in Tuscon, Arizonia that shot a House of Representatives member, the weeks after September 11th, and the days after the Virginia Tech school shooting. Each produced similar results: mourning painfully displayed on every TV station, magazine cover, newspaper article and internet post. The grief and pain is shown in brilliant color for all to see. But what can any of the viewers or readers do? Can we comfort these people or lend some kind of emotional support? Other than prayer, we are at a loss. We have nothing to offer and nothing to give. These people don't need or want our money. They want their children back. They want their husband, wives, brothers and sisters back. Yet, with each tragedy comes another media storm and we all watch in numb frustration. We have seen it before and the utter devastation of the evil is undeniable. Yet we become immune to the true pain it is causing because it feels like a repeat of the last tragedy.
I don't mean to sound callous or insensitive. What happened yesterday and in all the other cases of mass killings is beyond horrific and tragic. I cannot even comprehend the loss each and every one of those families is dealing with. Death is never easy, especially when it is unexpected and especially when it befalls the innocent by violent means. Everyone, it seems, questions why and how? How could someone do something so evil? Why did this happen and how could it be avoided in the future?
While I ponder these questions like most, I have a whole other set of questions rattling around in my mind. Such as, why are we surprised that this has happened? Just look at our culture. We have taken the act of an abortion and made it into a simple choice, a realistic and acceptable option in the course of a pregnancy. We have deemed the taking of innocent life in the womb as nothing more than a woman's right to make a decision, yet the killing of children out of the womb is a tragedy. We are right to call the killing of those kids a tragedy, don't misunderstand me. But we are wrong to assume that the ending of life in the womb isn't just as tragic. It is a travesty that is being carried out across America each and every day. Over a million abortions are performed in the US alone every year. Where is the outcry over such a massive loss of life? Where is the mourning for each child that never got the chance to even begin kindergarten in the first place?
The value of life is not ours to pick and choose. We cannot decide that just because we can't see and hold a baby it does not have value. That is not ours to determine. If God has given life it is never ours to take away. Most people realize and believe this when they can see, touch and feel the person in front of them. Somehow, when that person is still in the comfort and security of its mother's womb many people struggle to see the value of the miracle being formed. Millions of people don't see that the human being that is growing every day in the womb is actually a living being. They want to devalue the life by calling it a "fetus." But it is not some alien being that deserves a foreign name. It is a person with lungs, kidneys, fingers, toes, skin and physical characteristics totally and completely unique to that special and precious child. Someday, if given the chance, that child will go into the world and attend school, make friends, be in the Christmas play, learn to read and play on the playground. That isn't a fetus. That is a child in the earliest stages of development. That stage isn't unlike all the stages to come. The only difference is this: the earliest stage of development happens in the comforting and protective environment of a mother's womb.
But one million + babies will never get to develop any further. Their lives will be cut short by the choosing of the one person who is supposed to protect and nurture them at this critical time. Their mother will allow their life to be cut short.
We condemn with rage and anger the actions of a gunman who bursts into a crowded school, taking the life of the innocent, yet we protect the mother who ends the life of a baby in her care. How do these two coexist? How can we have a world where we pick and choose when life is precious and when it is disposable?
The answer is this: when we, as a nation, decide that we hold the value of life in our own hands, we devalue it greatly. We take something sacred and make it a matter of opinion, just another matter to be legislated and debated. It takes a work of God and makes it a work of man. And what man creates, he has no trouble destroying. But what God creates and sanctions is holy and sacred. When that is the value put on life we will see a world much different, and far greater, then the world we see now.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Thy Will Be Done
Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.
The Lord's Prayer is a traditional church reading. In contemporary churches it is becoming a memory, one of those rituals lost to the modern culture of emotional worship. But the Lord's Prayer is so much more than a jumble of words repeated in monotone voices, echoed from a stiff and uptight congregation. The Lord's Prayer is the inspired Word of God. It is a mandate from the Lord himself. This is how you are to pray. It is the blueprint for communication with Holy, Father God.
Still, when it is spoken in church it is often simply glossed over and rushed through as nothing more then a doctrinal ritual, a task to be crossed off the list. How often are the words really meditated upon, pondered and contemplated? Do we even know the gravity of the words we are speaking?
As I was reading through the Lord's Prayer today I was struck by the simple phrase, "Thy will be done".... It is so basic. It is a sentence that, upon first glance, doesn't shake the earth or stop the reader dead in their tracks. At least it didn't do that to this reader - until today. It was not until today that I realized the importance of those words that I have prayed a thousand times. Since I was a young child I've repeated this prayer and yet I have never been so impacted by its words.
Each time I've prayed that prayer I've asked God to do his will. I didn't ask him for my own. This prayer isn't about the requests of the flesh or the personal desires of the human heart. No, this prayer is about fulfilling God's purpose. It doesn't seek to know what that purpose is, it simply trusts that God has a will and a plan. That plan and that will aren't always going to be revealed to us in our own timing. In fact, more often that not, it will feel like a great mystery that we wish we could unlock. But God doesn't work in the ways of his children. He doesn't give them answers when they think they should have them and doesn't chart out the path they expect or might think they want. He has his own plan and it is always better than our own.
Maybe by human standards the path God takes us on will look twisted and confused. By earthly standards it might seem to be a complete mess or at least undesirable. God's will might not include a fancy house, luxury, good health, physical comforts or honor in the public eye. God's will might mean persecution, sickness and struggle. But we must remember what we prayed for. "Thy will."
God's agenda is not our own. His agenda is not that his children have earthly gems and worldly success. His agenda is that his kingdom be glorified and magnified. Sometimes, in order to achieve that end, suffering must enter in. Jesus is the ultimate picture of this. He came to earth solely for this purpose. His entire life mission was to die so that others could know God personally and intimately. He lived so that others could be freed from the burden of sin that trapped them in a life separated from their Heavenly Father. He had to come as a baby, be raised in a world full of human failings and ultimately had to die the worst death imaginable: a slow, painful death on a cross. And this was all God's will.
Why? How? If God loved Jesus and if he loves us how could he possible let us suffer? So that his kingdom can spread. So that others can be brought into fellowship with him. In our eyes this might make little to no sense. It doesn't fit into our neat little box of "logic." And good thing, because God doesn't want it to. He doesn't want to be understood in earthly terms. He is so much greater, that our earthly understanding doesn't do him and his power justice.
This side of Heaven there will be many circumstances and situations that we don't understand. But God does. He understands them because he orchestrates them if we allow him to have that power in our lives. If we earnestly seek him and sincerely desire his will, he will lead our lives down a path of righteousness for his name's sake. Not for us. Not to glorify or magnify ourselves. Not to lift ourselves up. No, we will be humbled, persecuted and tried in this life. Yet, even in the midst of that suffering, God can be glorified. It is in these times when God can be glorified higher then in any other. When life is humming along with little resistance and no struggle it is easy to forget to look to God and to see him working. Instead we become lost in the comfort of an easy life. When things get tough and the road becomes bumpy we can see God at work. We see him in the peace he gives, the circumstances he can engineer, the lives he can touch and the hearts he can change.
His will is not our own and still we pray for it. We pray that it will be done in our lives and on this earth, just as it is in Heaven. We pray for his will so that his kingdom can come. We pray for his glory and his power, for ever.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Childlike wonder
I am often reminded of the innocence of youth. Having ten nieces and nephews affords those kinds of constant reminders. There is something sweet and precious about a childlike wonder that kids epitomize. The world can be dark, evil and uncertain, yet to a child those matters are as far away as Pluto. What takes center stage to them is the latest American Girl magazine, upcoming holidays and newest addition for their Lego collection. The politics of the day, the dreaded "fiscal cliff" and the crumbling of moral values in society don't make it to their radar screen.
This is cute when you're a kid. Not so cute when you become an adult. Ignorance is not bliss - especially once you pass the age of obtaining a drivers license, and even more so when you have the legal right and responsibility to vote in elections. When an adult shows a lack of understanding or concern for serious matters that shape and influence the future it is labeled as pathetic, not endearing.
Yet, here we are in a world full of the pathetic. Adults, like young children, don't seem to understand that what happens in their government, community and society ultimately affects their own lives. I am constantly hearing people on the news show their lack of knowledge and understanding when it comes to issues that directly effect their very lives. The health care bill? Ask people on the street and I doubt many could give you three solid facts on the law. How about the nation's debt, which each and every citizen is carrying around (whether they realize it or not). I doubt many people could give even an approximate dollar amount. And even if they could, would they understand the true meaning of $16+ trillion? That means over $51,000.00 billed to YOU. Yes you, young thirteen year old worrying more about a break out on school picture day. Yes you, Grandma recovering from hip replacement surgery. Yes you, college graduate with student loans from here to eternity and a job that barely covers the basic bills of food and shelter.
But people don't get it. They choose to live with their eyes shut tight or, even if they are open, they stick their head in a cloud. Either way the result is the same. They are missing reality. They are missing the stark, cold, hard truth of the world in which we live.
And this is when I want to be an innocent kid again. Wouldn't it be nice to escape, even just for a day, into the world of a child? How relaxing and refreshing it would be to truly slip into the innocence of youth. I can only imagine how their minds are turning - not with thoughts of responsibilities or concerns for the future - but with thoughts of which toys to play with next and the newest game to create with the kids in the neighborhood.
When we get older we lose this innocence and we lose the right to it. Instead, it becomes our job to protect that innocence for the young so they can enjoy it as long as we did. We are given the responsibility to protect them from the burdens of adulthood so they can revel in the joys of youth. If we abdicate this responsibility we rob them of a gift they will never be able to possess again. It is a one time opportunity that, once lost, can never be regained.
I know that I can never go back to the days when I didn't think about the seriousness of the world and the problems it faces. I can't go back to not understanding moral decay and Christian persecution. I can't go back to the days when I believed in Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny. At some point, all of those fantasies come to an end. Reality hits. You can't rewind. All I can do is pray for the innocence of my ten nieces and nephews to be protected. I can pray that they enjoy a peaceful and happy childhood, just like I had. I can uphold the Christian values and morals that I hope they too will carry into adulthood and throughout their lives.
I can't go back to being a kid. But I can protect the kids in my life. They shouldn't have to grow up any faster then is necessary. Let them write wish lists to Santa for as long as they can because a day will come when they understand that Santa was actually Mom and Dad and that elves didn't make a single toy that showed up under the Christmas tree. That is a sad day for every child and for every parent. Until then, we can embrace the children in our lives and help to ensure that each day they spent in their blissful stage of youth is a memory worth cherishing. We can only do this by stepping up to the plate and taking hold of the responsibility of adulthood. If we don't arm ourselves with knowledge and the understanding of those serious matters facing our lives and world, we don't do the innocence of the young any favors. We only ensure that the world they will some day inherit will be fraught with problems that we didn't want to face. Is that the legacy we want to pass on?
This is cute when you're a kid. Not so cute when you become an adult. Ignorance is not bliss - especially once you pass the age of obtaining a drivers license, and even more so when you have the legal right and responsibility to vote in elections. When an adult shows a lack of understanding or concern for serious matters that shape and influence the future it is labeled as pathetic, not endearing.
Yet, here we are in a world full of the pathetic. Adults, like young children, don't seem to understand that what happens in their government, community and society ultimately affects their own lives. I am constantly hearing people on the news show their lack of knowledge and understanding when it comes to issues that directly effect their very lives. The health care bill? Ask people on the street and I doubt many could give you three solid facts on the law. How about the nation's debt, which each and every citizen is carrying around (whether they realize it or not). I doubt many people could give even an approximate dollar amount. And even if they could, would they understand the true meaning of $16+ trillion? That means over $51,000.00 billed to YOU. Yes you, young thirteen year old worrying more about a break out on school picture day. Yes you, Grandma recovering from hip replacement surgery. Yes you, college graduate with student loans from here to eternity and a job that barely covers the basic bills of food and shelter.
But people don't get it. They choose to live with their eyes shut tight or, even if they are open, they stick their head in a cloud. Either way the result is the same. They are missing reality. They are missing the stark, cold, hard truth of the world in which we live.
And this is when I want to be an innocent kid again. Wouldn't it be nice to escape, even just for a day, into the world of a child? How relaxing and refreshing it would be to truly slip into the innocence of youth. I can only imagine how their minds are turning - not with thoughts of responsibilities or concerns for the future - but with thoughts of which toys to play with next and the newest game to create with the kids in the neighborhood.
When we get older we lose this innocence and we lose the right to it. Instead, it becomes our job to protect that innocence for the young so they can enjoy it as long as we did. We are given the responsibility to protect them from the burdens of adulthood so they can revel in the joys of youth. If we abdicate this responsibility we rob them of a gift they will never be able to possess again. It is a one time opportunity that, once lost, can never be regained.
I know that I can never go back to the days when I didn't think about the seriousness of the world and the problems it faces. I can't go back to not understanding moral decay and Christian persecution. I can't go back to the days when I believed in Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny. At some point, all of those fantasies come to an end. Reality hits. You can't rewind. All I can do is pray for the innocence of my ten nieces and nephews to be protected. I can pray that they enjoy a peaceful and happy childhood, just like I had. I can uphold the Christian values and morals that I hope they too will carry into adulthood and throughout their lives.
I can't go back to being a kid. But I can protect the kids in my life. They shouldn't have to grow up any faster then is necessary. Let them write wish lists to Santa for as long as they can because a day will come when they understand that Santa was actually Mom and Dad and that elves didn't make a single toy that showed up under the Christmas tree. That is a sad day for every child and for every parent. Until then, we can embrace the children in our lives and help to ensure that each day they spent in their blissful stage of youth is a memory worth cherishing. We can only do this by stepping up to the plate and taking hold of the responsibility of adulthood. If we don't arm ourselves with knowledge and the understanding of those serious matters facing our lives and world, we don't do the innocence of the young any favors. We only ensure that the world they will some day inherit will be fraught with problems that we didn't want to face. Is that the legacy we want to pass on?
Monday, November 19, 2012
Growing Pains
All around me the holiday season is gearing up and before you know it the sounds of Jingle Bells and Marsh-mellow World in the Winter will be in every store. The Christmas tunes will be inescapable and the cheer will be in every store window and on the lawns of houses throughout America. I love this time of year. The season kicks off with a hearty dose of thanks and then the joy rolls on through the celebration of the birth of Jesus and tops off with a welcoming of the things to come in the new year. It is a whirlwind of excitment and activity. What's not to love?
I find it appropriate that the whole parade of holidays begins with Thanksgiving. It is fitting, don't you think? It puts our focus on what is important - an easily forgotten truth when the sales abound at the mall and shopping threatens to take over every spare moment. But on Thanksgiving we aren't worried about the stores (unless you happen to work at Wal-Mart or Target this year - but that is another matter). For most, Thanksgiving is a day set apart. It is special and sacred. It puts our thoughts on the blessings we enjoy. In this world it is easy to get caught up in what we don't have and our Christmas wish list but not on the last Thursday in November. On that day we look at all we have and thank God for it.
In anticipation of this day I have been mulling over what I am especially thankful for this year. Each year at Thanksgiving dinner every member of the family writes down on a scrap of paper what they are thankful for. We keep the papers anonymous and throw them all into a bucket. Then each person draws out one of the papers and reads it aloud so the rest of the family can guess who was thankful for that particular blessing. Sometimes it is silly like "The coin shop" (I can see my brother Danny writing this) and sometimes they are serious, such as "God's forgiveness" (my pick two years ago). I love this tradition. I think my niece came up with it or maybe it was an adult. I don't remember. Nowadays the kids in the family spear head the tradition.
So, what will I write this year? This is a big decision. I only have one scrap of paper and I need to make it count. But narrowing down my options is proving difficult. How do you pick one single blessing to be thankful for above all else? Every time I turn on the TV I realize that I have a million and one things to be thankful for. The world around me is full of turmoil, sadness, destruction and unrest; yet my little world in Erie, PA is so comfortable and peaceful. Sure, there are uncertainties and circumstances that are less than ideal but when I take account of my life I find that I am overflowing with blessings and reason for thanksgiving.
Thank goodness I don't need a million scraps of paper to give voice to all the things I have to be thankful for. I have a computer.
- I am thankful for Pippy. She gets me up and out, enjoy nature and the great outdoors.
- I am thankful for my bed. Hands down, the most comfortable bed: EVER.
- I am thankful for fuzzy slippers. I just looked down, saw my sheep skin, Acorn slippers. They keep my feet toasty no matter what the temperature.
- ....a warm cup of coffee....
- ...a book of witty humor and quirky remarks.... (thank you Lisa Scottoline)
- ....Oswald Chambers....
-.... Parkside Church....
-....American Thinker (website - check it out)
- .....a house full of books - from history to humor to Christian inspiration and a host of magazines, our house is a library....
.....
My list could go on but I've already decided what will be written on my scrap of paper this Thanksgiving.
I'm thankful for the past 3 years I've had to spend at home. It seems silly to say, but I wouldn't trade these 3 years for anything. This isn't how I expected my life to go. I thought I'd do the 4 years of college thing like most others I graduated with, but that wasn't my path. To be honest, I couldn't be happier about the road I've been taken on. I've been given experiences for spiritual growth that I would never have had without the trial of ill health that has forced me to add patience to my faith. Without this time of struggle I wouldn't have been given the opportunity to spend countless hours with my Mom; crying when times were tough, traveling around the country for answers to the health mystery and simply enjoying each others company over thousands of lunches and too many good books to count. I cherish the time we've had together.
This Thanksgiving when my family is mulling over their multitude of blessings, considering which to write on their scrap of paper, I will have mine prepared and ready. It hasn't always been easy to be thankful for this trial I've faced, but in the recent months I have been given eyes to see the wonderful gift it truly is.
You don't grow when things are easy. You grow when you are stretched. I guess that is why they call them growing pains.
I find it appropriate that the whole parade of holidays begins with Thanksgiving. It is fitting, don't you think? It puts our focus on what is important - an easily forgotten truth when the sales abound at the mall and shopping threatens to take over every spare moment. But on Thanksgiving we aren't worried about the stores (unless you happen to work at Wal-Mart or Target this year - but that is another matter). For most, Thanksgiving is a day set apart. It is special and sacred. It puts our thoughts on the blessings we enjoy. In this world it is easy to get caught up in what we don't have and our Christmas wish list but not on the last Thursday in November. On that day we look at all we have and thank God for it.
In anticipation of this day I have been mulling over what I am especially thankful for this year. Each year at Thanksgiving dinner every member of the family writes down on a scrap of paper what they are thankful for. We keep the papers anonymous and throw them all into a bucket. Then each person draws out one of the papers and reads it aloud so the rest of the family can guess who was thankful for that particular blessing. Sometimes it is silly like "The coin shop" (I can see my brother Danny writing this) and sometimes they are serious, such as "God's forgiveness" (my pick two years ago). I love this tradition. I think my niece came up with it or maybe it was an adult. I don't remember. Nowadays the kids in the family spear head the tradition.
So, what will I write this year? This is a big decision. I only have one scrap of paper and I need to make it count. But narrowing down my options is proving difficult. How do you pick one single blessing to be thankful for above all else? Every time I turn on the TV I realize that I have a million and one things to be thankful for. The world around me is full of turmoil, sadness, destruction and unrest; yet my little world in Erie, PA is so comfortable and peaceful. Sure, there are uncertainties and circumstances that are less than ideal but when I take account of my life I find that I am overflowing with blessings and reason for thanksgiving.
Thank goodness I don't need a million scraps of paper to give voice to all the things I have to be thankful for. I have a computer.
- I am thankful for Pippy. She gets me up and out, enjoy nature and the great outdoors.
- I am thankful for my bed. Hands down, the most comfortable bed: EVER.
- I am thankful for fuzzy slippers. I just looked down, saw my sheep skin, Acorn slippers. They keep my feet toasty no matter what the temperature.
- ....a warm cup of coffee....
- ...a book of witty humor and quirky remarks.... (thank you Lisa Scottoline)
- ....Oswald Chambers....
-.... Parkside Church....
-....American Thinker (website - check it out)
- .....a house full of books - from history to humor to Christian inspiration and a host of magazines, our house is a library....
.....
My list could go on but I've already decided what will be written on my scrap of paper this Thanksgiving.
I'm thankful for the past 3 years I've had to spend at home. It seems silly to say, but I wouldn't trade these 3 years for anything. This isn't how I expected my life to go. I thought I'd do the 4 years of college thing like most others I graduated with, but that wasn't my path. To be honest, I couldn't be happier about the road I've been taken on. I've been given experiences for spiritual growth that I would never have had without the trial of ill health that has forced me to add patience to my faith. Without this time of struggle I wouldn't have been given the opportunity to spend countless hours with my Mom; crying when times were tough, traveling around the country for answers to the health mystery and simply enjoying each others company over thousands of lunches and too many good books to count. I cherish the time we've had together.
This Thanksgiving when my family is mulling over their multitude of blessings, considering which to write on their scrap of paper, I will have mine prepared and ready. It hasn't always been easy to be thankful for this trial I've faced, but in the recent months I have been given eyes to see the wonderful gift it truly is.
You don't grow when things are easy. You grow when you are stretched. I guess that is why they call them growing pains.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Five Days
The countdown is on. Five days to go. Five days left to grin and bear the onslaught of election rhetoric and ads. Only five more days of polls and pundits calling the election for "so and so" before polls are even closed. Thank God, only five more days of this election cycle.
This election has consumed my thought life. No longer can I park myself in front of an evening of sitcom reruns or goofy reality TV that follows brides down the aisle in dresses that cost as much as my car. Music with lyrics that repeat over and over just bore me. Fluff reading can't hold my attention. My every thought is consumed by the decision that will be made by our country on November 6. I know that giving it my entire attention does nothing to change the outcome from a practical point of view. I am not calling voters, designing ads, knocking on doors, driving voters to the polls, running a registration booth, or busing college students to the nearest polling place (like some political parties are apt to do). But I am reading and becoming more informed. The more I read the more I feel that I must read. The more I listen to about the campaign the more I am drawn to listen longer and harder. And what is the result of taking in all of this new - and sometimes much repeated - information? I am reminded to pray.
I wake up in the morning with one thought on my mind: November 6. And I remember to pray. I turn on the TV to Fox News, hear the lies spewing from the Obama campaign and I am reminded to pray for the truth to win out. I go on the internet and check my email. The daily news updates come pouring in from Life News and the Daily Caller. Both remind me that the issues that face our country are of utmost importance. Life News reminds me that this isn't just one political party against another. This is a fight for life. This is a fight for the most fundamental of moral principles: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Without these bedrock beliefs, our country can never thrive. It is doomed to utter decay and ultimate destruction.
It is a favorite phrase of the a-political to say that, "The election won't affect me" or "All politicians are the same" or, even more common, "All politicians are liars". But I believe those are misguided traps of ignorance that threaten the liberty this country is so famous for. When you stop believing in the function of your government and the ability of it to have true influence, you give power to someone else. Who is that someone else? That someone else must be someone who is looking to gain power. That is the trouble with the direction of our country. So many have abandoned the political process with the lame excuse that it doesn't matter; while others have abandoned principles for emotional rhetoric and uninformed opinions. The gap that they have left behind is being filled with power hungry politicians who aren't seeking office for the betterment of our country, but are looking to further their own agenda and personal egos. Americans have stopped holding politicians to the standard of civil servant. Instead they have become the servant to a political ruling class.
They may call this the land of the free and the home of the brave, but with each election that we fail to take ownership of the principles of this country we give away more of our future as the United States of America. We degrade this great country because we have stopped truly caring about how exceptional it is. Have the American people forgotten how unique an experiment America was and continues to be?
This country was built by people who were so invested in being free and having the right to pursue a better life that they risked everything in order to gain the liberty they couldn't find anywhere else. No other country afforded them the opportunity to pursue their dreams and worship their God.
Now that is all on the line. One person wants to control every aspect of the American life - from craddle to grave. For starters, he wants to control health care. What could be a bigger power grab? Giving control of the physical body over to a governing, ruling class is asking for trouble. It is singing over your right to yourself. Is that what this country was founded for? I think not.
The other person running for office wants each individual to have the freedom to pursue their own life and their own success. He wants people to be able to take risks, make a name for themselves, choose their own future and enjoy the promise of liberty.
So, do you see why I can't get my mind off of November 6? The decision that will be made is one of utmost importance to the future of this great nation. I want the country that our founders fought for and designed with great care. I believe that America is unlike any other place on earth because it values the individual and the unique attributes each person can bring to a community. I believe America is great because it was created to respect the rights of each and every person. I believe America is great because it values each life as special and worthy of opportunity.
If November 6 comes and our country goes down a road foreign to the Constitition and foreign to its founding principles it will be a very upsetting day in our history. Yet, I know that no matter what happens on election day our God in Heaven will protect his own. He will not abandon us - he never has and he has promised he never will. The days ahead may be bleak and feel dark and isolated under the oppression of a government taking control of our lives, still God will be a protector and father for those who seek him and trust him. Will that mean we will be immune to the evil and corrupt ways of the government? No, we will suffer along with those who voted them into office. But God never, ever forgets his own.
We must remember that God allows each elected official to take their place of power. Some times it is because the people need to learn a lesson the hard way. I pray that this country has learned lessons from the past four years. I earnestly pray that they see the corrupt direction this administration has taken our country and wants to continues upon; and I pray that we, as a people, want the original America back. I pray that transforming this country will not be the intent of the voters on November 6, but that their intent will be to uphold the greatness of our founding.
This election has consumed my thought life. No longer can I park myself in front of an evening of sitcom reruns or goofy reality TV that follows brides down the aisle in dresses that cost as much as my car. Music with lyrics that repeat over and over just bore me. Fluff reading can't hold my attention. My every thought is consumed by the decision that will be made by our country on November 6. I know that giving it my entire attention does nothing to change the outcome from a practical point of view. I am not calling voters, designing ads, knocking on doors, driving voters to the polls, running a registration booth, or busing college students to the nearest polling place (like some political parties are apt to do). But I am reading and becoming more informed. The more I read the more I feel that I must read. The more I listen to about the campaign the more I am drawn to listen longer and harder. And what is the result of taking in all of this new - and sometimes much repeated - information? I am reminded to pray.
I wake up in the morning with one thought on my mind: November 6. And I remember to pray. I turn on the TV to Fox News, hear the lies spewing from the Obama campaign and I am reminded to pray for the truth to win out. I go on the internet and check my email. The daily news updates come pouring in from Life News and the Daily Caller. Both remind me that the issues that face our country are of utmost importance. Life News reminds me that this isn't just one political party against another. This is a fight for life. This is a fight for the most fundamental of moral principles: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Without these bedrock beliefs, our country can never thrive. It is doomed to utter decay and ultimate destruction.
It is a favorite phrase of the a-political to say that, "The election won't affect me" or "All politicians are the same" or, even more common, "All politicians are liars". But I believe those are misguided traps of ignorance that threaten the liberty this country is so famous for. When you stop believing in the function of your government and the ability of it to have true influence, you give power to someone else. Who is that someone else? That someone else must be someone who is looking to gain power. That is the trouble with the direction of our country. So many have abandoned the political process with the lame excuse that it doesn't matter; while others have abandoned principles for emotional rhetoric and uninformed opinions. The gap that they have left behind is being filled with power hungry politicians who aren't seeking office for the betterment of our country, but are looking to further their own agenda and personal egos. Americans have stopped holding politicians to the standard of civil servant. Instead they have become the servant to a political ruling class.
They may call this the land of the free and the home of the brave, but with each election that we fail to take ownership of the principles of this country we give away more of our future as the United States of America. We degrade this great country because we have stopped truly caring about how exceptional it is. Have the American people forgotten how unique an experiment America was and continues to be?
This country was built by people who were so invested in being free and having the right to pursue a better life that they risked everything in order to gain the liberty they couldn't find anywhere else. No other country afforded them the opportunity to pursue their dreams and worship their God.
Now that is all on the line. One person wants to control every aspect of the American life - from craddle to grave. For starters, he wants to control health care. What could be a bigger power grab? Giving control of the physical body over to a governing, ruling class is asking for trouble. It is singing over your right to yourself. Is that what this country was founded for? I think not.
The other person running for office wants each individual to have the freedom to pursue their own life and their own success. He wants people to be able to take risks, make a name for themselves, choose their own future and enjoy the promise of liberty.
So, do you see why I can't get my mind off of November 6? The decision that will be made is one of utmost importance to the future of this great nation. I want the country that our founders fought for and designed with great care. I believe that America is unlike any other place on earth because it values the individual and the unique attributes each person can bring to a community. I believe America is great because it was created to respect the rights of each and every person. I believe America is great because it values each life as special and worthy of opportunity.
If November 6 comes and our country goes down a road foreign to the Constitition and foreign to its founding principles it will be a very upsetting day in our history. Yet, I know that no matter what happens on election day our God in Heaven will protect his own. He will not abandon us - he never has and he has promised he never will. The days ahead may be bleak and feel dark and isolated under the oppression of a government taking control of our lives, still God will be a protector and father for those who seek him and trust him. Will that mean we will be immune to the evil and corrupt ways of the government? No, we will suffer along with those who voted them into office. But God never, ever forgets his own.
We must remember that God allows each elected official to take their place of power. Some times it is because the people need to learn a lesson the hard way. I pray that this country has learned lessons from the past four years. I earnestly pray that they see the corrupt direction this administration has taken our country and wants to continues upon; and I pray that we, as a people, want the original America back. I pray that transforming this country will not be the intent of the voters on November 6, but that their intent will be to uphold the greatness of our founding.
Monday, October 29, 2012
LIFE
....the mortal will be swallowed up by life....
This morning I opened my Bible to 2 Corinthians 5, the chapter in scripture that accompanied my Oswald Chambers devotional. Even though I have done this same devotional for the past three years I am continually struck by the unapologetic truth Chambers brings forth in his short writings. He never ceases to bring forth the truth of a scripture in a way I hadn't seen before. He doesn't sugarcoat the difficulty in the Christian life and he doesn't dance around the tough truths. He tells it like it is. And I need that.
But this morning it wasn't his words that struck me so deeply. It was the simple picture laid forth in the scriptures: the mortal life will be swallowed up by life. What a beautiful picture. This life, so temporary and fleeting, is just the mortal. True, eternal life is still ahead. Right now we know only this earth and the life we lead here. But it is just a temporary dwelling. While we are on this earth we are away from our true home and true life. While we walk on this earth we will encounter struggles and trials. These are all characteristics of the mortal.
Thank God it doesn't end there. The mortal is a blink of an eye. It is here today and gone tomorrow. We, those who have put their faith and life in the hands of God, have something marvelous to look forward to: life. This mortal condition we experience now is going to be swallowed up by life! That life is going to be so amazing and glorious words won't be able to describe it. We will be taken out of this flawed world. We will be united with God in Heaven. Can your mind even take that all in? It defies my comprehension and leaves me in utter awe.
As for this life, this time spent in the mortal, I find 2 Corinthians 5:4 freeing. This life is just a blip on the screen. It isn't even really, truly life. The true life is still to come. That fact makes this life and all its struggles much less significant. Instead of being caught up in demanding my own way, this scripture frees me to endure the trials of this life, knowing that everything I am experiencing is fleeting. I don't need to feel the pressure of having perfection here on this earth. Instead, I am called to live a life devoted to Christ, walking by faith and carrying my cross daily. That is the command for this mortal life.
I look forward to my heavenly dwelling. Who wouldn't look forward to perfection? . Until I get there, I am here living out my life with my eyes on Christ. I don't know how long he will have me here or what plans he has for me on this earth but I do know that no matter what my circumstances I am to be fixed on him. As I do that, I am preparing for the life ahead where each and every day for eternity will be spent in celebration of God as I praise and worship him face to face! LIFE is something I am looking forward to with great anticipation!
This morning I opened my Bible to 2 Corinthians 5, the chapter in scripture that accompanied my Oswald Chambers devotional. Even though I have done this same devotional for the past three years I am continually struck by the unapologetic truth Chambers brings forth in his short writings. He never ceases to bring forth the truth of a scripture in a way I hadn't seen before. He doesn't sugarcoat the difficulty in the Christian life and he doesn't dance around the tough truths. He tells it like it is. And I need that.
But this morning it wasn't his words that struck me so deeply. It was the simple picture laid forth in the scriptures: the mortal life will be swallowed up by life. What a beautiful picture. This life, so temporary and fleeting, is just the mortal. True, eternal life is still ahead. Right now we know only this earth and the life we lead here. But it is just a temporary dwelling. While we are on this earth we are away from our true home and true life. While we walk on this earth we will encounter struggles and trials. These are all characteristics of the mortal.
Thank God it doesn't end there. The mortal is a blink of an eye. It is here today and gone tomorrow. We, those who have put their faith and life in the hands of God, have something marvelous to look forward to: life. This mortal condition we experience now is going to be swallowed up by life! That life is going to be so amazing and glorious words won't be able to describe it. We will be taken out of this flawed world. We will be united with God in Heaven. Can your mind even take that all in? It defies my comprehension and leaves me in utter awe.
As for this life, this time spent in the mortal, I find 2 Corinthians 5:4 freeing. This life is just a blip on the screen. It isn't even really, truly life. The true life is still to come. That fact makes this life and all its struggles much less significant. Instead of being caught up in demanding my own way, this scripture frees me to endure the trials of this life, knowing that everything I am experiencing is fleeting. I don't need to feel the pressure of having perfection here on this earth. Instead, I am called to live a life devoted to Christ, walking by faith and carrying my cross daily. That is the command for this mortal life.
I look forward to my heavenly dwelling. Who wouldn't look forward to perfection? . Until I get there, I am here living out my life with my eyes on Christ. I don't know how long he will have me here or what plans he has for me on this earth but I do know that no matter what my circumstances I am to be fixed on him. As I do that, I am preparing for the life ahead where each and every day for eternity will be spent in celebration of God as I praise and worship him face to face! LIFE is something I am looking forward to with great anticipation!
Saturday, October 27, 2012
New ad, new low
Alert to the American people: the office of the Presidency and his political campaign have reached new lows (I know, who knew it was even possible?) Have you been assaulted yet by the latest of the Obama rhetoric? This time it comes in the form of a morally bankrupt TV ad that is sweeping the internet and blowing up the blog world.
From the very start Obama's ads have been morally depraved, focusing on lies and covering up the truth of his own record, votes and opinions. Instead he has taken the office of the presidency to new lows by telling bold faced lies on network television and then making them into ads to make himself look like a hero. If this doesn't make any sense to you, don't fret. Pure evil and deception shouldn't make sense. It should cause us all to run - sprint, actually - in the opposite direction.
But back to the ad. This ad goes beyond lies, deceit, false-truths, twisted numbers and cut and pasted sound bites. This ad takes a sacred act, designed and given by God, and turns it into a benchmark of teenagehood, a simple step along the path to growing up, an act of pure pleasure and "fun". Yes, I'm talking about sex. His newest campaign ad focuses on sex and a girl's "first time". Apparently, to the Obama campaign, a girl losing her sacred virginity is the equivalent to voting for Romney or Obama on November 6th. This is the campaign's deplorable attempt at raking in the female vote.
Where to begin? Let's start with the degrading view the ad takes of women. This is what we care about? Having mind blowing sexual experiences while keeping up on our daily birth control pill courtesy of the US government? Is this truly of utmost concern for the female population? What about jobs, the right to life, the security of our country from foreign attacks? I care more about four Americans killed in Libya, at OUR embassy, then I care about some teenager getting birth control so she can sleep around and hope the pill is working so she doesn't receive any of the "consequences" of her actions. Obama must think women are so dimwitted that all we care about is our reproductive organs. Wrong. We are not objects, we are not the sum of our physical parts.
Even worse, this ad campaign erases all consequences of sex. Liberals tout Planned Parenthood as their savior for the women of the world (Notice - not just our country. Thanks to this President and his funding of abortions in Mexico, we can now say that his Planned Parenthood agenda reaches beyond the borders of our sovereign nation.) The Democrat agenda has been obviously pro-sex, yet against the very life that sex creates. Their health care plan gives women free birth control. AKA: have as much sex as you want! Free of charge! Then, if by chance that 1% failure rate of your pill strikes with the natural results of a child (gasp), just make an appointment at your local Planned Parenthood and they'll take care of that in a jiffy. Twenty weeks along in the pregnancy? The answer is still the same. Just schedule an appointment. They wouldn't want you to actually have to birth the child that you brought onto this planet through your actions. The official Democrat platform makes it clear that it should be a right of all women to get rid of their child at any point in their pregnancy. And Obama, in his own personal opinion, believes that even after the child is born there is still wiggle room as to whether or not that child needs to be cared for. If, lets say, the women had an abortion yet the child survived and lived to full term, Obama thinks it is okay to let that child simply die ONCE IT HAS BEEN BORN.
But voting is just like sex, remember?
There is only one way this logic makes any sense to me - and you'll see it put into action on November 6. The American people voted for you - they engaged in the activity. And now, we will remove the consequences. We will vote you out of office. You deserve much worse. You deserve to be prosecuted for the lies you have told - too many to count and far beyond what we as an American public are aware of. If for nothing else, you deserve to be behind bars for your inaction in saving American troops on September 11, 2012. And that, I'm sure, is just the tip of the iceberg of your corruption.
You have caused enough damage to this country. You and your administration have taken the constitutional principles of this country and replaced them with a Socialist agenda in which Communism reigns supreme. But there are people in this country who believe in something greater and far more powerful then your evil schemes. We are a people founded on the principles of God. We believe that life is special and sacred. We believe that freedom is something worth fighting for. You may have fooled enough people with your promise of free stuff and a rosy picture of hope. Well, fool us once and shame on you. Fool us twice, shame on us. I'm praying, trusting and believing that you won't get that second chance.
From the very start Obama's ads have been morally depraved, focusing on lies and covering up the truth of his own record, votes and opinions. Instead he has taken the office of the presidency to new lows by telling bold faced lies on network television and then making them into ads to make himself look like a hero. If this doesn't make any sense to you, don't fret. Pure evil and deception shouldn't make sense. It should cause us all to run - sprint, actually - in the opposite direction.
But back to the ad. This ad goes beyond lies, deceit, false-truths, twisted numbers and cut and pasted sound bites. This ad takes a sacred act, designed and given by God, and turns it into a benchmark of teenagehood, a simple step along the path to growing up, an act of pure pleasure and "fun". Yes, I'm talking about sex. His newest campaign ad focuses on sex and a girl's "first time". Apparently, to the Obama campaign, a girl losing her sacred virginity is the equivalent to voting for Romney or Obama on November 6th. This is the campaign's deplorable attempt at raking in the female vote.
Where to begin? Let's start with the degrading view the ad takes of women. This is what we care about? Having mind blowing sexual experiences while keeping up on our daily birth control pill courtesy of the US government? Is this truly of utmost concern for the female population? What about jobs, the right to life, the security of our country from foreign attacks? I care more about four Americans killed in Libya, at OUR embassy, then I care about some teenager getting birth control so she can sleep around and hope the pill is working so she doesn't receive any of the "consequences" of her actions. Obama must think women are so dimwitted that all we care about is our reproductive organs. Wrong. We are not objects, we are not the sum of our physical parts.
Even worse, this ad campaign erases all consequences of sex. Liberals tout Planned Parenthood as their savior for the women of the world (Notice - not just our country. Thanks to this President and his funding of abortions in Mexico, we can now say that his Planned Parenthood agenda reaches beyond the borders of our sovereign nation.) The Democrat agenda has been obviously pro-sex, yet against the very life that sex creates. Their health care plan gives women free birth control. AKA: have as much sex as you want! Free of charge! Then, if by chance that 1% failure rate of your pill strikes with the natural results of a child (gasp), just make an appointment at your local Planned Parenthood and they'll take care of that in a jiffy. Twenty weeks along in the pregnancy? The answer is still the same. Just schedule an appointment. They wouldn't want you to actually have to birth the child that you brought onto this planet through your actions. The official Democrat platform makes it clear that it should be a right of all women to get rid of their child at any point in their pregnancy. And Obama, in his own personal opinion, believes that even after the child is born there is still wiggle room as to whether or not that child needs to be cared for. If, lets say, the women had an abortion yet the child survived and lived to full term, Obama thinks it is okay to let that child simply die ONCE IT HAS BEEN BORN.
But voting is just like sex, remember?
There is only one way this logic makes any sense to me - and you'll see it put into action on November 6. The American people voted for you - they engaged in the activity. And now, we will remove the consequences. We will vote you out of office. You deserve much worse. You deserve to be prosecuted for the lies you have told - too many to count and far beyond what we as an American public are aware of. If for nothing else, you deserve to be behind bars for your inaction in saving American troops on September 11, 2012. And that, I'm sure, is just the tip of the iceberg of your corruption.
You have caused enough damage to this country. You and your administration have taken the constitutional principles of this country and replaced them with a Socialist agenda in which Communism reigns supreme. But there are people in this country who believe in something greater and far more powerful then your evil schemes. We are a people founded on the principles of God. We believe that life is special and sacred. We believe that freedom is something worth fighting for. You may have fooled enough people with your promise of free stuff and a rosy picture of hope. Well, fool us once and shame on you. Fool us twice, shame on us. I'm praying, trusting and believing that you won't get that second chance.
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