Are you complaining about our presidential nominee choices?

If you find yourself complaining about the presidential options, please consider this commentary by Rick Green from Constitution Alive!:

"...instead of just showing up in November and complaining about the options...  It's easy to show up to the party and look at all the desserts on the table and say, 'Well, I don't like any of these.  Where's my gooey, chewy chocolate chip?' or whatever.  We complain about what's there. ---  It takes a little work to show up a little early and get in the kitchen.  We need to show up a little early and get in the kitchen and be a part of mixing up the ingredients that will provide for the options when everybody else shows up. --- That's what I'm asking you to do.  Get inside the mixing bowl of our process that [the Framers of the Constitution] created.  Don't just show up in November; get involved long before that. --- The options are going to be better if we're involved in the primaries...  If you do that, you'll get a better choice in November. --- I'm asking you to give up your lives (your time), your fortunes (supporting good causes and good candidates), and your sacred honor (the willingness to speak the truth and not be afraid and let the chips fall where they may)."

If you were instrumental in the primary process, then complain away! LOL!  Otherwise.....
Just sayin'.

Love you to pieces!  ...even if you were a sideliner. ;) But I wish you would engage!  Join me and so many others.  Let's save our nation!  (If it's not too late after this next administration.)

My son and I at the annual dance recital

A mom of boys, I never imagined I would have a dancer among the family...other than myself.  So imagine my elation at discovering that my Silas not only has rhythm but is a mover.

We had the joy of taking the stage in the same recital a couple of weeks ago.

Me:



Silas in "Lollipop":

The Shot Heard 'Round the World

Happy Shot-Heard-'Round-The-World Day!

"Stand your ground, men!  Don't fire unless fired upon!  But, if they mean to have a war, let it begin here!" ~Captain John Parker, Lexington Battle Green

All the things that occurred that day -- 

the desperate ride of various Patriots stirring the heroes of the countryside,

Lexington,

Concord,

the escape of Samuel Adams and John Hancock,

A new nation was birthed this day through the conviction, courage, and blood of people like you and me who were passionate for real freedom and fed up with tyranny.

Do you know that one wounded Patriot dragged himself to his own doorstep and died in the arms of his wife?

"Posterity, you will never know what it cost my generation to preserve your freedom.

I hope you make good use of it."

~John Quincy Adams

77 Patriots versus 700 redcoats.

"One man with courage is a majority." ~Thomas Jefferson

"If God be for us, who can be against us?" ~The Apostle Paul, Romans 8:31

Passion.

John the Baptist "was a radical and unafraid to let anyone know it."

"John needed passion to fulfill his God-given calling."

"Every pioneer needs passion.  Pioneers cannot be satisfied with mere maintenance, for they have nothing yet to maintain.  They create from nothing.  ...their passion attracts other pioneers."

"[John] felt consumed with his mission."  

Like Jeremiah: "Then I said, 'I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.'  But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not." (Jer. 20:9)

"Like a magnet, [John] repelled some and attracted others."

"He possessed a strong sense of justice.  This hunger for justice drove him.  He wouldn't sit still until he saw results."

"He felt dissatisfied with anything but action.  John was a doer.  He didn't want people to merely talk..."

"Associate with people of passion.  Hot coals stay hot when they remain in the fire."

From the John Maxwell Leadership Bible.

Korrupt Kamala.

"Pilate interrogated Jesus and found He had done nothing worthy of crucifixion.  But instead of leading -- instead of taking an unpopular stand and allowing this innocent to go free --- Pilate gave in to the outrage of an unruly crowd.  He released a notorious criminal and sentenced this guiltless man to die an agonizing death on a cross." ~John Maxwell, The Maxwell Leadership Bible (emphasis mine)

Leaders who vilify the innocent and protect terrorists and murderers: Kamala Harris, California Attorney General and candidate for Senate.

Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in America, has been shown to harvest baby body parts, to intentionally keep unborn babies alive so that their unharmed brains may be procured, to crush "above and below" so that the organs desired can remain intact, and sold to the highest bidder.  Video evidence and admission.  This occurred in California.  Yet instead of investigating Planned Parenthood for this inhumane, torturous treatment of life, the California Attorney General has decided it would be far more politically expedient to protect Planned Parenthood at all costs and to prosecute, malign, and raid the home of the law-abiding hero, David Daleiden.  After all, Planned Parenthood's coffers are well-funded by tax dollars and those tax dollars fund Kamala Harris' campaign so that Harris can keep making Planned Parenthood the sacred cow that it is, so that PP can give money back to Harris so that Harris can protect PP so that...  well, the cycle is obvious.


And Harris must be sure to wrongfully accuse, condemn, and imprison, if at all possible, Daleiden because she needs Planned Parenthood's cyclical support to help her procure her next seat of power, the U.S. Senate.

And so California, Korrupt Kamala may very well be elected to Barbara Boxer's vacant senate seat in November.  And it is you who will put her there unless you stand firmly against corruption, evil, and murder.

“Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature….If the next centennial does not find us a great nation . . . it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.” ~James A. Garfield

Those pesky delegates

Every time an election season comes around, I'm on another learning curve.  This time it's all about the delegate process.  Primary vs Caucus.  Closed vs Open.  Bound vs Unbound.

I still can't wrap my whole head around it but the mussy water is clearing a teeny bit.  Here are some resources in case you have wanted to learn more about the process:

• This chart has been helpful to me to follow as we go from caucuses/primaries state to state.
• A good article about how to become a GOP delegate.
• This helpful page sheds light on bound vs unbound delegates.
• About rule 40B.
• An interesting vid.

I hope that helps.  It, at least, can begin to give us a little clue about how it all works.

This, of course, is a wacky system.  Our Founders did not desire a party system, but in a whopping two Presidential elections, the party system appeared.  So, it is what it is.  The states determine how their election process works.  And each party makes its own rules.  There, of course, can be much debate over this, but for the informative purposes of this post, we won't get into that now.

If the Lord wills...

"A man's heart plans his way,

but the Lord directs his steps."

~Proverbs 16:9

"There are many plans in a man's heart,

Nevertheless the Lord's counsel -- that will stand."

~Proverbs 19:21

And so our plans to spend a month away to start getting our Texas settled are no more.  Just like that.

Disappointing? yes.  Providential? yes.  Devastating? no.  Leaving us a bit wondering? yep.  But how we love and trust His ways.  

We were supposed to leave on Monday.  Basically packed up and mostly ready to go, I came down with a little hint of something that seemed relatively harmless and then proceeded to knock down me and my whole family.  When all is said and done (at this point anyway), my husband has pneumonia and we are on a boat load of antibiotics and canceling our trip.  So, we'll just have to suffer here in perfectly blissful Borrego Springs where it has been a temperate 80 degrees.  Our comfortable beds and home envelopes us and we are safe and cozy.  

Just a different kind of adventure.  

It has been four months since we were in Texas.  If we wait until summer, it will be another four months.  Though, it does seem a long time to wait - doubling our initial planned absence from Texas - it's all ok.  

"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will of to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.  For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.  Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.'" ~James 4:13-15

Ted Cruz's conversion to Christ

Last August I had the sweet privilege of hearing Pastor Rafael Cruz at an event where I was representing CWA.

The event organizer, Gina Gleason, invited me to attend a VIP luncheon. Much to my delight, I was assigned to sit at the same table as Rafael Cruz. When he came to the table, he took the seat beside me.

I was aware that his son, Ted Cruz, memorized the Constitution as a teen. As a mom who is trying to raise godly, patriotic heroes, I decided to ask Rafael what in Ted's upbringing inspired him to attempt such a feat at such a young age. Most teenagers I know have never read the Constitution or even care about it. How can I instill in my boys the pursuit of nobility?

Pastor Cruz told me that in 1980, he volunteered for the Ronald Reagan campaign and so the daily dinner table discussions often revolved around the campaign, Reagan, and the nation. He said that it lit a fire in Ted and he's been hard at loving and defending this nation ever since.

Enjoy this story about Rafael's conversion to Christ and the effect it had on the Cruz family.

"If your self-worth is defined by being an elected official - when that becomes their self-definition, their self-worth, they're terrified to lose it which means they will never rock the boat, they will never make the hard decisions, they will never do what we need to do to actually fix the problems because it might mean that they lose their job. 

My self-worth has nothing to do with being elected a senator or elected President of the United States. My self-worth comes from being a creation of God Almighty. Jesus Christ shed His blood for me. There can be no greater self-worth than God sent His only beloved Son to die for me." 

~Ted Cruz

Step-by-step, You lead me.

"A wise and wonderful Director will be with us to give us step-by-step instructions.  If we will listen, He will guide.  If we will follow, He will lead.  The result - a life well lived and a journey well taken." ~Priscilla Shirer 

This family has been on the edge of embarking on a new path, the full details yet unknown.  It is exciting and scary, heartbreaking and thrilling.

From our last instructed step.

I am asked so often what the big picture of our plans looks like.  I really don't know.  There is some fear in not knowing, but God is clearly asking us to just do the next thing.  And we are so glad to know what the next thing is.  I hope we will take great pleasure in the moment and not concern ourselves with the guessing game of what may or may not come.

"If our guide [in Israel] had looked us in the eyes on day one, given us a map with the major places circled, a rundown of each location's significance, and then sent us on our way, it would have been a catastrophe. It would have been far too much for us to absorb and would have resulted in confusion yielding a horrible tour.  Our amazing trip came as a direct result of following him from one destination to the next, leaning in and listening to each explanation, and engaging in his wisdom step-by-step.  This is what a good guide looks like."

~P. Shirer, Jonah: Navigating A Life Interrupted

The Holy Spirit is a good guide.

O God, You are my God,

And I will ever praise You.

I will seek You in the morning

And learn to walk in Your ways.

And step by step You lead me

And I will follow You all of my days.

People are mean

I used to think, actually really believe, that people were inherently kind hearted and good and sweet. I actually, really believed this. I never thought people would be intentionally mean or cruel to others. And that if they were, it was because they didn't realize they were being mean. I was a Pollyanna at heart and genuinely loved people with all my heart no matter what. I thought only the best of them. Naïve and hopeful in the good of humanity.

And then I met a monumental knave who hated me simply because he saw me read my Bible. He lived in a world that I did not support, but I still, as always, tried everything within my power to show genuine love to him. This wasn't my first rodeo with someone whom I happen to not agree in life with. It just didn't seem that big a deal to me. We're all different, right? As much as I tried to love him, care for him, and ask about his life to show my interest in him as a person, it made no difference. He made it his mission to make my life a living hell. And he practically accomplished his goal. I had never experienced anyone like this before...or atleast someone who wasn't eventually won with lovingkindness and sincerity. I had so often been able to make an enemy a friend. He caused such drama: the withholding of paychecks owed to me, he lied to my employer after using me to advocate for his concerns, he created dissension among those who worked alongside me, he caused me being fired from a job that I worked very hard at and gave my all to. As much as I fought his efforts, month after month, to break down my positive attitude, eventually he even succeeded at influencing me toward cynicism and negativity.

People (even unbelievers) suggested that his treatment of me was for one simple reason: because I am a Christian. I never believed this to be true because it seemed so lame to hate someone for what they believe.

But now, after watching Christian after Christian dragged into court for standing by their ideals, I realize that they were right. And Jesus was right. “They will hate you on account of Me.”

For many years I wondered what positive or useful purpose this experience could possibly have in my life. And finally, in the last year, as I have battled, on the front lines at times, for public policy and against the evil that is advocated in this country, I realized that what that horrid experience taught me was a unique insight into the cruelty and great lengths people will go to just because your ideals are different from theirs...and just because you are different from them. And because "men love darkness rather than the light because their deeds are evil."  And, boy, will they bite and kick and seethe and be unconscionably nasty so they can not only have their way but force you to submit to their demands, as well. It's not enough for us all to do as we please (save the harming of person and property), we must knock down and destroy not just those in opposition to us, but even those who are silent or neutral.

The battle is real folks. And whatever the motivation is for these people, whether spiritual or whatever, we can not pussyfoot around reality and we can not candy coat people's real intentions and we can not excuse evil, cruelty, or ugliness for anything other than what it is. Or it will overtake us. And it is overtaking us because we fail to do anything about it. “To not speak is to speak. To not act is to act.” As my son says, we can sit on the fence with God on one side and the devil in the other, but the devil owns the fence. Not to choose IS to choose.

Wake up. The battle is raging and most of us are sleeping right through it. When we awake, we'll wonder how this all happened. The responsibility will rest in our hands.

quotes by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jesus