The election of 2012 has me disappointed.  I’d had enough belief that people would see the benefit of being fiscally responsible and cutting spending for the benefit of our children.  Then I looked back at the messages that worked and got enough people to vote for President Obama in the shape of give-aways. He has launched the largest give away in the history of man-kind with Obamacare, on the back of the largest tax increase in the history of mankind in terms of real dollars spent.  Regardless of what I think about it now, in the society in which I live, I can choose only to live with it until I’m able to assist in bringing about change. 

With that said, I got to thinking about what the problems that are facing those of us that believe in how WRONG this situation is.  Number one, we don’t have anything to GIVE to people other than self-respect coming from getting an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work.  Unabashed, I’m going to go back on the things I know in life that haven’t changed with this drastic wrong-ness from the political scene.  The number one is one I read on Facebook last night.  Jesus is still King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  My life’s problems can be solved by seeking the face of God and asking him to order my steps…then following them.  Even more important, I still love my wife and children more than life itself.

Jeremiah 29:11

New International Version (NIV)
¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Right now, I’m looking for the hope in the situation.  The only hope I have is that which is found in the Old testament and study of the promises God made to Jeremiah as God’s people were in slavery in Babylon.  We live in a Babylon of a sort today.

As drastic as it might sound, I wonder if perhaps Jews thought the same thing with the passage of the Enabling Act of 1933 and the successive Anschluss of 1938 and its resulting Kristallnacht?  I know it’s a long step, but as I was taught, “those that are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it.”  I have no desire to repeat this situation.  It’s bad enough that I fear that people appearing to want to do the right thing can be compared to the horrors of the Holocaust.  I get that.  The question is though, where do we stop the slippery slope?

Faith in God has to come from asking questions like this.  If as a Christian I believe God will guide us as a nation to select people to our benefit, then this selection of President Obama has to do with showing God’s greater glory.  I’m not sure how, but as a Christian, my job is to trust, follow and love.  As a servant of God as all Christians are called to be, I wonder if the thing we didn’t offer through this election perhaps was true change.  The willingness to do as Christ said and “love one another.”

John 13:34-35

New International Version (NIV)

³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The only thing I can draw from this, is we as Christians have failed in this basic premise.  Christ called for us to go Love One Another, and to go forth baptizing all in his name.  That means not only are we to love one another, we’re to share with them that we have an obligation to mankind: a responsibility. 

Love without Responsibility given and received is charity and pity.  I for one am all about giving others a hand-up.  I am not for giving hand-outs.  All that think this is aimed at people of a socio-economic strata are right.  But perhaps not in ways you’d believe.  There is the “low end” of the socio-economic, but what is spent on them is relative peanuts compared to the way that high-end companies live off of service to the US Military and others.  I refuse to believe that all the business with the Military is as it should be and an that there is a lack of corruption and waste in the billions of dollars used on the US military.

The part that is scariest through this entire experience is that we have marginalized our friends in the middle.  The ones that we all know, like to hang out with, enjoy and totally dislike their individual politics.  I think this is because there hasn’t been a leader that actually meant what he offered.  That’s true change.  Change in the way we think, believe and behave.  I believe that’s because we’ve forgotten some rather important things.

As Christians, we’re to be SERVANTS. People that glorify God through our service , so the world knows we’re disciples of Christ.  This means that while we are strong in our beliefs.  Above all, we love others.  What does it mean to love others?  To share with these others that we believe in things bigger than our selves, but that we have a responsibility to them and to society to be productive in what we do and to Glorify God in our actions.  Unfortunately, many hear “judgment” in this when they hear Christian.  Clearly the track record of Christians, this one included hasn’t been the greatest.  I hope we can change that as servants in the future.  Being a servant, doesn’t mean giving things away.  It means to do things to betterment of your benefactor. Who is to be the benefactor in this case?  Society, our fellow man, and God himself. 

With that said, I call for those of us that don’t like the results of the election of 11/6/2012 to do the following: 1. Commit yourself to being a servant of God, and thus of the people.  Do this by showing a vision for a better future in a positive light.  What is the work that will make the future a better place?  What is the HOPE that we can take from this?  2. Find good PEOPLE that know the benefit of what they do is to the glory of something more than their ego to lead people.  Don’t ask these people to be GOD or a substitute for him, but a servant of the PEOPLE, who if our prayers are answered is guided by a personal relationship with God.  Providing for the betterment of the people and society as a whole has to be a part of a successful future that includes individual responsibility.  It seems that since the election of Ronald Reagan, each party has provided candidates that have been selected as the lesser of two evils.  How about we put “the lesser away” and a think about what a great future looks like and work toward that?  One where personal responsibility matches the betterment of society in what George H.W. Bush called his 1,000 Points of Light.  Frankly, that’s not enough!   Let’s look for and encourage service from these people to get there.

I think then, perhaps, we’ll have something.  No more “lessers.”  How about a vision for all of us to work toward in the future that includes personal, individual responsibility and service! Not some of one or the other, but both heavy quantities!  In my opinion we will have succeeded if we no longer vote against someone, but FOR someone. Who's with me?

Wisdom for my children

I was going to change this as I wrote it on my smart phone while on an airplane. I was feeling rather introspective about my children and trying to think about things I'd want them to remember always. It's not a comprehensive list, but ones I'd hope they could take with them to guide their lives. This isn't meant to be deep thoughts by anyone, but simply thoughts of me to my daughters...and hopefully, something they can in-turn share with their own children.

A Few Thoughts For My Children:

Happiness is a choice.

Please make happiness your choice.

No matter how bad things get, they can always get worse.

You are immensely loved. Please always remember that.

I love you. your Mom loves you. We both always will. even when we're not physically with you.

With love and happiness derived from hope you can do anything. Apply hard work to your dreams..most times they come true. If they don't, you have a lesson you've earned. Learn it. be thankful. Move on.

You can be hopeful with your happiness. Hope, next to love is the greatest of things. Hope too is a choice.

Look for the hope in every situation and person. You have helped me find it in my life.

There is a time to dream. Please never stop doing that. Dreams come from finding hope.

Work makes dreams real. Real dreams make life worth living in hope and love.

Showing others how to live with hope and love is a gift more valuable than money.

You don't need money to make hope or happiness...but it can help too...if used carefully.

Too much money can be a curse.

If you have an abundance, remember to share quietly with those that don't.

Nobody likes an arrogant giver.

Everyone likes a quietly generous person.

In short, be hopeful, happy, loving and hard working in life.

God will send many things your way in life. Choose to face those things with those four pieces.

People that do stuff make mistakes, even if the action is well intended.

From time-to-time, you will make mistakes. That's God's way of teaching. Learn from them. Ask forgiveness where appropriate.

A mistake is not the measure of a person, unless the person doesn't learn from it. The good news from a mistake is that if you don't learn from it, God will send it back around eventually. Learn the lesson you're supposed to.

When you've learned the lesson, give thanks to the people in your life you care for and to God. That's almost always part of the lesson.

The first effort

A friend of my wife recently started a blog. It's nice. It tells about her family. It speaks to her extensive knowledge of teaching how to read and write the English language. I saw her blog and thought..."Self, you can do that." I say those kinds of things to myself all the time. Unlike her and one of my writing Idols (Lisa, you know you're still the greatest), my grammar won't probably be the best. My sentence structure won't be the best.

Like many I'm here because I'd like to vent. Like many I have flashes of dreams of actually making a difference for someone with my written word. Frankly, however, I'm here because I need to share and vent. More often it's the venting rant. Sometimes it's the thankful vent, (thanks Patty and kids).

Topics I'll cover in the future will certainly be about health care and the "real" job I have. I'll also talk about my kids and my wife...sorry family, but good things should be shared, not hoarded. I may also speak about stuff I see on "space book" where I see things and think.."that's some wild, uh stuff." Do people really think that way?

If I'm feeling venturous, I may even post about how I see some business venture. I once thought I knew something about business. Now I'm not so sure.

Thanks for reading. Keep me in mind the next time you wanna blow five minutes!