I'm really paraphrasing the questions David posed this morning to us at Emmaus to "why do our actions not match our words"? Is it laziness, a lack of will, our own desire for ease and convenience gets in the way, a lack of an ongoing encounter with God and His power? Is it the fact that we live in a "me" centered world where our default setting is self? Yes, on all accounts, guilty as charged.
Now, I could start the blame game in order to slide out of actually feeling the implications of this. We live in a world that is focussed on appealing to our nature to be served and catered to. Watch any commercial, read any newspaper, look around you and start counting how many things you see that appeal to our self serving nature. Heck, even listen to our worship songs and count how many times the songs are all about us. Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful what Jesus has done for us and we can't fully lay down our lives until we experience the ramifications of his ultimate sacrifice for us, but maybe, just maybe, we dwell too much on how much we are loved, blessed, healed, rescued, saved, protected, etc and not enough on daily taking up our cross and following the Lord.
Jesus had thousands of hungry people who followed Him because he fed them and healed them and took care of their needs. When the rubber met the road, how many of those followers were there for what they could get out of Jesus versus in response to what they had received from him? I want to be like the woman who used her tears of love for Jesus to clean his feet. She was overcome in her emotions and captivated by His love. In that place, she didn't give a rip about what others thought about her or her actions, she only cared about what Jesus thought about her and what she could do to please Him and Him alone. It's a lot easier to say than to do but Lord help me to live that way.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
My take on the Tea Party
Here's my observations about the Tea Party that I have made through various conversations I've had with Tea Party affiliates over the past several years. Also, by reading the articles/videos sent to me via emails.
1. They are typically anti-government. As Grover Norquist stated "I don't want to abolish government, I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub" Republicans who don't sign Norquist's pledge to not allow any tax increases are faced with zero funding for their campaigns and therefore don't get elected. It is what has led to such intransigence in Congress which now has the lowest approval rating in the history of the US. The Republicans who have made this pledge are no longer beholden to their constituents and what will be best for the people they serve, they are beholden to the big money of the Corporations and the powerful lobbyists who work for those corporations.
2. Anyone who happens to disagree with the Tea Party are viewed as having sinister anti-American motives. In some ways, it;s reminicient of what was going on during the McCarthy era with the whole communist argument. Herman Cain said "Liberals want to destroy America and make it mediocre" While West, another tea party favorite, thinks liberals are a threat to the gene pool. Isn't freedom of speech in the Constitution?
3. Since they have signed a no tax increase pledge, it allows for a no compromise situation. Mitch McConnell, the head of the Republican Senate, says that his sole aim is to make President Obama a one term President. How can you get anything done when this is the fundamental goal? And you wonder why there is gridlock?
4. If you are poor, according to the Tea Party, you are either too lazy or too stupid to be rich.
5. Their ideological purity sees compromise as weakness. They typically deny the science of global warming, that's labeled as liberal mumbo jumbo.
6. Here's one of the biggest thing I see, they are unmoved by facts and undeterred by new information. If it doesn't fit with their perspective, then it must be wrong, even if the facts prove otherwise.
7. There is a hostile fear of progress and progressives are viewed as evil. I'm sure that Theodore Roosevelt would be turning in his grave to see this happening.
8. There is a fear of other religions. At the moment , Muslims seem to be the target of that fear.
9. They have a pathological hatred of the US government.
10. They are disingenuous in that they say they are for smaller government and less federal control, but look at the States first in line for the stimulus funds they voted against. Same goes for help from the Feds if there are any natural disasters. Where were they when huge deficits and unfunded programs were charging up the US credit card. Silent, right?
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Northwest Gems
It takes several hours to get to the end of the trail where a shuttle bus is waiting to take you and your equipment back to the first tunnel to bike back to the original starting point. The day would not be complete without dinner at the Moose Creek Grill in Kellogg, Idaho. We rave about this place because the food is always fabulous, all cooked from scratch with desserts that make my mouth water just thinking about it. The owners are so accomodating that they opened up early for us and started our order before the waitress had even arrived for her shift. Can't wait until next year!!!
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Which political party represents me the best?
Recently I was asked the above question along with what does that party do for me, so I thought I'd share my answers. They are in random order.
1. One that provides a safety net for the poor, the sick, the old and the unemployed. In a wealthy nation such as the US, we can afford to provide for the "least of these" among us. People say this should be the job of the church, but imagine if the church had to provide for all those needs, it would fall terribly short. It takes an entire nation to take care of and provide for the needs of a nation.
2. One that believes in the sanctity of life from the unborn to the end of life and everything in between. I call it hypocrisy to encourage a woman to not abort her baby but vilify that same woman if she needs government help to provide for that child. I was disturbed during the nomination process by the cheers of the audience when one presidential candidate announced how many executions he had approved of in Texas and another suggested electrocuting those trying to illegally enter the US. If you are pro-life, then it has to be consistent, even for convicted murderers. If you are fine with condemning murderers to death, then you should be fine with giving a woman an OK to abort a baby produced by rape or incest. I also expect elected officials to know some basic facts about the reproductive process in that a woman can't turn off her cycle under rape situations.
3. One that allows for a fair tax rate. If a person makes more in one day than the average American makes in one year but only pays half of the taxes of that same average American, then something is seriously wrong with this picture. For too long those making big dollar figures (over $250K/ year constitutes that and then some for me) have been given a large tax write off and have contributed to the bloated deficit. They have paid lobbyists to broker huge tax benefits for themselves. If you are looking to blame entitlements for our financial woes, take a look at where the real monied entitlements lie.
4. One that provides basic health care for it's citizens. The US pays more than any of the other developed countries for it's health needs but has one of the lowest survival rates. For those who can afford the high premiums and have good insurance, it's wonderful. For those who can't, they are one step away from a medically induced bankruptcy. Either that, or they wait until they get Medicare to take care of issues which could have been dealt with more effectively and cheaply had they had access to preventative care before reaching their golden years.
5. One that respects the religions of all the people. Would I have a preference as to what I would want that to be, yes absolutely, but nevertheless, people should be free to worship their god in whatever building they prefer. Or not.
6. One that respects the human rights of the citizens of the world. That would include respecting the life of the Palestinians as well as the Israelis. Upholding the treaties signed with the world to protect POW's and habeas corpus. A party that approves of torture would not be representing me.
7. One that calls an opportunistic jester and clown, who's bent on getting some free advertising and adept at using outrageous birth certificate claims to do so, what he is, rather than paying attention to his vapid ramblings.
8. One that treats premarital sex, adultery, multiple marriages and divorces and homosexuality with the same consistent approach, for we have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. One is not any worse or better than the other in God's eyes. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
9. One that values an educated citizenry and provides a way for those who are smart, but poor, to have access to our finest universities. One that has an immigration process flexible enough to allow doctors, or whatever profession we have a shortage of, that are educated in this country, and do not have criminal records, to become citizens. One that will not rip families apart in the name of immigration integrity while giving a pass, nod and wink to those who benefit from cheap labor.
10. One that values research and development to bring new products and ideas onto the world market. Particularity when it comes to alternative fuels. Anyone who has read anything about 'peak oil' has to see that the country who comes up with an alternative will rule the world in the future.
11. One that represents both the needs of business and protects the rights of the consumer. There are scammers in both categories and we need watchdogs to prevent the next installment of American greed.
12. One where the leaders of the country follow the example of it's founding father who said "if we do not hang together we will surely all hang." Politicians should be willing to fight and die for the country they desire to serve and not get preferential treatment for themselves in the form of multiple draft deferments. They should be willing to send their own children to fight wars they start instead of having the poor and minorities to do their dirty work.
13. One that will have the guts to take on the NRA and make stringent laws regarding the type of weapons and ammunition made readily available to the general public. No one needs machine guns to go out and shoot a deer or an elk!
There's probably more, but that's all for now anyway.
1. One that provides a safety net for the poor, the sick, the old and the unemployed. In a wealthy nation such as the US, we can afford to provide for the "least of these" among us. People say this should be the job of the church, but imagine if the church had to provide for all those needs, it would fall terribly short. It takes an entire nation to take care of and provide for the needs of a nation.
2. One that believes in the sanctity of life from the unborn to the end of life and everything in between. I call it hypocrisy to encourage a woman to not abort her baby but vilify that same woman if she needs government help to provide for that child. I was disturbed during the nomination process by the cheers of the audience when one presidential candidate announced how many executions he had approved of in Texas and another suggested electrocuting those trying to illegally enter the US. If you are pro-life, then it has to be consistent, even for convicted murderers. If you are fine with condemning murderers to death, then you should be fine with giving a woman an OK to abort a baby produced by rape or incest. I also expect elected officials to know some basic facts about the reproductive process in that a woman can't turn off her cycle under rape situations.
3. One that allows for a fair tax rate. If a person makes more in one day than the average American makes in one year but only pays half of the taxes of that same average American, then something is seriously wrong with this picture. For too long those making big dollar figures (over $250K/ year constitutes that and then some for me) have been given a large tax write off and have contributed to the bloated deficit. They have paid lobbyists to broker huge tax benefits for themselves. If you are looking to blame entitlements for our financial woes, take a look at where the real monied entitlements lie.
4. One that provides basic health care for it's citizens. The US pays more than any of the other developed countries for it's health needs but has one of the lowest survival rates. For those who can afford the high premiums and have good insurance, it's wonderful. For those who can't, they are one step away from a medically induced bankruptcy. Either that, or they wait until they get Medicare to take care of issues which could have been dealt with more effectively and cheaply had they had access to preventative care before reaching their golden years.
5. One that respects the religions of all the people. Would I have a preference as to what I would want that to be, yes absolutely, but nevertheless, people should be free to worship their god in whatever building they prefer. Or not.
6. One that respects the human rights of the citizens of the world. That would include respecting the life of the Palestinians as well as the Israelis. Upholding the treaties signed with the world to protect POW's and habeas corpus. A party that approves of torture would not be representing me.
7. One that calls an opportunistic jester and clown, who's bent on getting some free advertising and adept at using outrageous birth certificate claims to do so, what he is, rather than paying attention to his vapid ramblings.
8. One that treats premarital sex, adultery, multiple marriages and divorces and homosexuality with the same consistent approach, for we have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. One is not any worse or better than the other in God's eyes. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
9. One that values an educated citizenry and provides a way for those who are smart, but poor, to have access to our finest universities. One that has an immigration process flexible enough to allow doctors, or whatever profession we have a shortage of, that are educated in this country, and do not have criminal records, to become citizens. One that will not rip families apart in the name of immigration integrity while giving a pass, nod and wink to those who benefit from cheap labor.
10. One that values research and development to bring new products and ideas onto the world market. Particularity when it comes to alternative fuels. Anyone who has read anything about 'peak oil' has to see that the country who comes up with an alternative will rule the world in the future.
11. One that represents both the needs of business and protects the rights of the consumer. There are scammers in both categories and we need watchdogs to prevent the next installment of American greed.
12. One where the leaders of the country follow the example of it's founding father who said "if we do not hang together we will surely all hang." Politicians should be willing to fight and die for the country they desire to serve and not get preferential treatment for themselves in the form of multiple draft deferments. They should be willing to send their own children to fight wars they start instead of having the poor and minorities to do their dirty work.
There's probably more, but that's all for now anyway.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Last kid off to College
It seems like only yesterday since I was saying goodbye to my folks and headed off to school. Alright, who am I trying to kid, it has been 35 years since then, but I can still remember some of the feelings that Heidi is experiencing right now. Leaving behind childhood friends and family, fear and self doubt about being able to handle the class load, wondering about surviving in a new environment and unfamiliar city. But also the excitement to dive into a new phase in life and learn and grow in what is a necessary step toward adulthood.
We've had our share of weighing the benefits of a College education versus using the money to start up a business. For the cost, she could buy a couple of houses in Spokane or a couple of coffee stands or...you catch my drift. But that's not where her interests lie since ever since she was little, she's wanted to be a news anchor. To go into the competitive field of broadcast journalism, she's going to need a good education. So like many other parents, we suck it up, bite the financial bullet and hope that she excels enough to be scholarship material. Barring that, that she'll have a successful career that will make the expenditure all worthwhile. Regardless, we believe in this kid and are very excited about what the future as in store for her. But, to make what is a major understatement, boy are we going to miss her.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
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