and I am a news cycle junkie. I did not realize how much of that stuff I had started watching over the past couple of months. Now that the election is over (or just beginning) what am I going to do with myself. I will have to become a contributing member of society!
Thanks for listening. Confession is good for the soul!
I have been surfing around facebook this morning trying to catch a glimpse of how my little corner of the world is handling the realities of yesterday. After reading a few of the comments, I think we are missing the bigger picture here. I don’t think we can appreciate the gravity of the situation because most of us who know how to use this “Intraweb” technology didn’t lived through the history that can bring us some perspective.
I know that we all do not agree with the Democratic agenda…Some of us are more upset that we will be living in a country that is run by the liberal party in our 2 party system, but that does not give us cause to pass over the significance of what just happened! So let me take you on a historical journey that will hopefully bring you some perspective.
In 1787, in order to reach a compromise over how to count taxes are representatives from each state, the writers of the constitution agreed in Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3 of the Constitution that slaves would count as 3/5 of a person.
In 1861, President Lincoln took office. Before he could take office, South Carolina seceded from the union. Whether you believe it was over “state rights”, or slavery, it was the start of the change we needed in America. Shortly after, the civil war started and we spent 4 years in a conflict that pitted families against one another.
In September 1862, Lincoln proclaimed all slaves to be free. Another watershed moment in our history, but it did not do the job completely…but policies never do. No piece of paper can change the hearts of men. But it was a start!
In 1865, the war ended and Lincoln was assassinated. In my opinion, the greatest president this country has ever known was murdered for his pursuit to make true the statement, “all men are created equal.”
In 1870, the 15th amendment was added to the constitution that allowed all citizens of the United States to vote regardless of race. Again, another step forward for our country, but it was not to be the end. From that moment forward, most blacks were not allowed to vote because they were either intimidated to stay away from the polls or they would have to pay a “poll tax” to vote. This would guarantee that most poor blacks would not vote.
We spent the better part of the next century in this dark place….
On December 1st, 1955 Rosa Parks refused to move out of her seat on the bus she was riding in Montgomery Alabama. 10 years later, thanks to God and the work of men and women like Ms. Parks and Dr. King, the federal government passed 2 pieces of law.
In 1964 the 24 Amendment to the constitution was passed that made it illegal to levy a tax on people who were trying to vote.
In 1965 Congress passed the Voting Rights Act that brought corrupt polling practices under accountable organizations set up by the federal government.
100 years after the civil war ended. 103 years after Lincoln made his Emancipation proclamation, people of color could go to the polls free to cast their vote as they choose, without fear of physical or financial repercussions.
In that 100 years, and the 80+ years before that, our black brothers and sisters have been fighting, praying, marching, living, and dying for a day like yesterday. It is hard for most of us to know what 180 years of oppression feels like. It is hard to understand the feeling one gets when they are told they can grow up to be anything they want, but know that it wasn’t entirely true!
So when we (I mean me and my white brothers and sisters) see people of color dancing in the streets, falling to their knees to praise the God of the universe, and crying tears of Joy, we must remember from where they came.
For those of you who cannot get over the fact that a liberal Democrat is in the white house (regardless of color),continue to believe that less government is the way we should live. Continue teaching your children what it means to be a people who live out their values without the federal government interfering, but above all remember that God is control of the Universe. Remember that he has a plan for your life regardless of who is in the White House. Care for the people God puts in your path everyday and love those who are in need the most. If we remember that, it does not matter which party is in control of the federal government.
Praise God that I have lived through such an awesome moment in our world History. Pray with me (regardless of your political views) that God will bless our country and our Leaders, including our President. President Barack Obama.
I was one of the first persons to vote at my precinct this morning. I voted on ballot #4. I arrived at 6:55 and there were already 3 people ahead of me and 5 or 6 more showed up after me. The people running the polling location were amazed they had a “crowd”! I know it it wasn’t anything like what you see on TV, with the lines running around the corner, but for Manteca and the elderly village where I voted, it was a big deal! Whether you are a democrat, republican, or somewhere in between, you have to admit that today is an exciting day. We are making history today. This will be one of those moments that you tell your grandkids about when they ask you about the first black president (with his liberal agenda), or the first woman vice-president (with her maverick-ee winks). You can tell them that you were a part of that history. I think that is pretty cool, but I am nerdy that way!
So if you vote today, enjoy the moment…and go get a free coffee from Starbucks…all you have to do is tell them you voted…
“According to a Starbucks spokeswoman, “Simply vote, and ask your barista for a tall cup of brewed coffee at no charge (limit one per customer). In the best tradition of democracy, we’re using the honor system so absentee voters shouldn’t have a problem.”” here is my source for this..
Tonight we were watching Barack Obama’s 30 minute commercial. Whether you are excited or not about his possible presidency, this is not about that…this post is about my daughter and how she taught me something about prayer tonight…
While we were watching the commercial, there was a story about an elderly couple struggling with costs of her medical bills. I was really not paying that much attention. I was mostly surfing the net and so I really don’t know much more of the story than that. Beth and Maggie were across the room talking…I thought they were playing some game on disney.com or something…
Maggie came over and asked me to pause the TV. (We have Tivo! Thanks Jesse!) I thought they were leaving the room and they wanted to watch the show…but that was not the case. Maggie said, “Daddy, can you pause the TV so we can pray?” I asked her who we were praying for…she replied, “We need to pray that God will take care of those people on TV.” I know that she doesn’t understand the complexity of our nation or even what Barack Obama is trying to do. She just saw the need of another human being and knew that God could take care of it. Now that is something I can believe in…
Vote for who you want…I don’t think God cares as much as you think…He is neither a Republican or a Democrat…
He cares more about whether or not you have a conversational, intimate relationship with Him. I which I thought like Maggie more…If we all did, we would care about those in need more than we cared about which party was running our country…I think that would change the world!
I have not written anything in while. We have been in an adoption process with CPS here in California. We are now fostering 2 children under 3 years old. We are hoping we will be able to adopt them, but the court will have the last word! Needless to say, we are a bit busier than we were last week!
So beyond my excuses for not writing lately, I wanted to have you guys read this article that my friend Matt (aka-Snoop) posted. I was intrigued by what was said. I haven’t decided how I feel about it, so I thought I would put it out there and see if I could get any comments on it. So go read it and come back and tell me what you think…or how you feel! (trying to reach both the thinkers and feelers!!)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/28/usforeignpolicy.useconomicgrowth
Last night Maggie exchanged emails with her memaw (Beth’s mom) in Georgia. I don’t know why she has to talk about her rear with her grandmother, but the following interaction is a direct quote…I laughed so hard I thought it must be shared with the world!
On Sun, Sep 21, 2008 at 6:23 AM, <Memaw> wrote:
Hey Maggie, I love your email address. You are so darn cute. I love you and miss you!!!!!
Memaw
On Mon, Sep 22, 2008 at 6:50 PM, <Maggie> wrote: (She dictated, her mother typed!)
Dear Memaw,
I liked-ed that. I am the maggiest girl. my booty is not powerful, it’s just a crazy old behonkey. Your behonkey has super powers!
Love,
Maggie
And Newdoggy is not real! (Newdoggy is Memaw’s favorite stuffed animal…but she acts like it is alive!)
This email came on the heals of a conversation I had with her one night while putting Maggie to bed. She told me that her “booty” hurt and so I was making up funny stuff to say about her “booty.” After a while, she was tired of the teasing and she told me to stop being “So jealous of her booty” I asked her if she knew what Jealous meant and she knew that it meant that you “wanted something someone else has.”
Maybe I should be worried that my daughter is confident with her booty!
Signed - Concerned Father!
We had some new family pics taken the other day. Here are a couple of my favorites.
Last night Mitt Romney was one of the many warm-up speakers before Sarah Palin gave her acceptance speech for the V.P. He ended his speech with the lie we all secretly want to believe! You can watch it here…I will comment below…
Ok, maybe you don’t believe that “America is the hope of the earth” is a lie, or maybe you know that Jesus is the hope of the Earth and not some country that has been around for a couple hundred years. Ultimately, that is the problem with our government…they have read their own press…believed all the hype…and now it has all gone to their head.
If you call yourself a Christ follower, you know that you are citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven…you also know that Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” He also said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” But if we are Christ followers we know that. So why is it so tempting to believe what Mitt said last night? I think it is because people like to be on the winning team. We are winning right now because we the dominant country in our world. What happens when that changes…will the hope of the world die with our dominance? The true danger in believing in Mitt’s rhetoric is that we begin to blend our faith with our nationalism…eventually you will not be able to see where your faith ends and your patriotism begins.
We do have a tremendous responsibility because of our status in the world. But it isn’t about our brand of government, but about our responsibility to serve the world and be the light to a world who needs to know that the hope of the earth is found in Jesus Christ.
Sorry for the delay on announcing the giveaway winner. I have had some computer issues the last few days and I am still trying to resolve them.
Without further ado, the winner of my free book giveaway is Yan Lin of Pennsylvania. Thanks to those who sent me emails with your info. I appreciate you participating.
Have a great day!
Ok…here are a few things that have frustrated me over the last couple of days.
1. I just bought a brand new Dell computer to replace the one I am I currently typing on. You can guess that since I am typing on my old computer, my new one doesn’t work. That is right, my 1 week old computer’s motherboard fried. So I have to continue to hit this one every 5 minutes so I can type out this blog. I guess I should be happy that I have a computer to hit!
2. Beth and I went to a meeting with our adoption social worker. We sat for 45 minutes waiting until the receptionist found out that she was sick and would not be coming in. So we wasted our time. I have to say that if we did not feel called to do this, we would have quit a long time ago. While the state wants to help these kids, they must be so overwhelmed that caring for their clients must be low on the priority list.
