We do not remember what it was like to be born. I for one am rather grateful for that. Birth must have been an absolutely terrifying experience. I have been thinking a lot about the problems that our society is facing right now and my thoughts turned to birth, so I wanted to share a few of those thoughts on the subject. To help with my understanding I first examined what would be the ideal experience. The safest place for a child is within the mother’s womb. Their every need, ideally, should be met. There are no concerns or fears to face. There is a steady stream of nourishment to aid in the growth experience. There is constantly a familiar heart beat and the familiar voices of mom and dad and other loved ones. At birth a child is suddenly thrust out of the safety of the womb into an unfamiliar world, and the senses explode with new and frightening experiences. Taking a first breath for instance, how must that have felt? A child is born with a will to live, and along with that a fear of death. Imagine feeling hungry for the first time. No wonder they cry like they are going to die, they feel like they will. Fear of death, that is a condition of humanity. But, there is a way to quell that fear and it should occur at birth. Amongst all the noise and other sensations that the baby experiences there should ideally be at least one, and hopefully more voices that they recognize. Mom and Dad are both hopefully there. The love of their parents calms what felt like overwhelming fear for the newborn child. Love casts out fear. That experience of being afraid and then having love overcome the fear happens repeatedly in the life of a baby. Every time they feel hungry or uncomfortable or just out of sorts, the loving arms of their parents envelop their child and casts out the fear. That is what the ideal experience should be like.
If we do not experience a loving relationship than we are left with a fear of death and a will to live. Our focus then becomes survival rather than connection. Now, no one has experienced a perfectly ideal situation in life. We face trials, that is another condition of humanity. So, we all have times when we focus more on survival than we do on relationships. But, our emotional and spiritual health is dependent on our love being more powerful than our fear.
The natural state of mortality, this temporal world of ours, is decay. A while back I felt the need to purchase a new car. My old one just was not going to cut it for long in a snowy mountain area. So, I drove home in this shiny new car parked it in the garage and thought about how cool it is. The next morning I go out to the garage open it up and see how dirty it got during the drive home. I just laughed as I realized that is just the way it goes in mortality. Mankind makes all sorts of shiny new things and then nature gets it dirty, pretty quickly. That is the way it is with everything that is manmade. It starts to decay as soon as it is made. Then we start the battle of trying to stop the decay. I put it through several car washes the first several weeks. But, it just got dirty again. Because of this natural decay there is that tendency to become fearful, that we we are going to lose all of this mortal stuff including eventually our lives. Its true, but we need not be afraid of it.
The natural state of the soul, the spirit is growth. However, if we are caught up only in survival, the fear of death, than we stunt our ability to connect with the spiritual side and the growth that should come with that. To focus on the soul is to recognize who we really are, children of God, and who everybody else is, children of God. If we could see ourselves and others that way that would change everything. We would focus on our relationships and really love each other. We would also love our Creator and be able to feel His love for us. Can you imagine the difference that would make?
If we stay focused on mortality, fear and decay then we will be constantly trying to stop the decay, and trying to do it in man made ways. If instead we focused on the spiritual, on relationship and bond we would face each trial that mortality presents us with gratitude and a desire to learn something from the experience. We would turn to God, our greatest bond and be able to find His purpose for us and have our experiences sanctified for the benefit of ourselves and others.
My thoughts turned to some examples. I was thinking about this in terms of war, a rather drastic example. In war there is usually an aggressor and and a defender. The aggressor seeks power, which is driven by fear, the fear of not having enough to survive the way they want to. The defender could also be driven by fear, losing power, losing lands, life, freedom etc. Or the defender could be driven by love, love of God, country, family etc. I was recently reading in The Book of Mormon about a fierce battle between the two major sides of the Book, the Lamanites and the Nephites. The Lamanites were driven by a desire for power, the Nephites, led by Captain Moroni, were driven out of love and to defend their rights, families, and lands. Let me share a bit of what is written in
Alma 43
:39 And it came to pass that the Lamanites became frightened, because of the great destruction among them, even until they began to flee…
:42 And the Lamanites did flee again before them, towards the land of Manti; and they were met again by the armies of Moroni.
:43 Now in this case the Lamanites did fight exceedingly; yea, never had the Lamanites been known to fight with such exceedingly great strength and courage, no, not even from the beginning.
:44 …yea, they did fight like dragons, and many of the Nephites were slain by their hands, yea , for they did smite in two many of their head-plates, and they did pierce many of their breastplates, and they did smite off many of their arms; and thus the Lamanites did smite in their fierce anger.
:45 Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their Church.
:48 And it came to pass that when the men of Moroni saw the fierceness and the anger of the Lamanites, they were about to shrink and flee from them. And Moroni, perceiving their intent, sent forth and inspired their hearts with these thoughts-yea, the thoughts of their lands, their liberty, yea their freedom from bondage.
:49 And it came to pass that they turned upon the Lamanites, and they cried with one voice unto the Lord their God, for their liberty and their freedom from bondage.
:50 And they began to stand against the Lamanites with power; and in that selfsame hour that they cried unto the Lord for their freedom, the Lamanites began to flee before them.
Love wins. Not that it is not a struggle. But, love will win, it casts out the fear and changes our focus so that we can grow. And while fear did bring the Lamanites to fight like dragons and with great courage, it still lost out to the love the Nephites were fighting for.
Another thought I had about war is in the many wars this country has fought. The last time we actually won a war was World War II. The other wars since then have just ended without The United States being a clear victor. What drove us in World War II, sure there was a strong element of survival there. But, it really was love. We loved our freedom and fought to defend our freedom and our families. There was a mutual focus on prayer and beseeching the help of Our Creator. It was a horrible war, and so very many paid an ultimate price. But, the love won. Since then we have been battling out of fear. Fear of communism, fear of terrorism. I will always honor our soldiers, I believe that the majority of them do fight out of a sense of love for their country and for their families. But, while they fight, what are the people at home doing? There is not that united purpose, that connection to our soldiers and causes and mutual love of God, family and country.
When we get caught up in mortality, survival mode than we tend to just look for mortal answers. All of the problems that we face as a society can really be chalked up to this perspective. The more we look to ourselves for the answers the more man messes it up. We can certainly look at government interference to see that reality. This desire to “do something” and look to the government to do it has caused so many unintended consequences.
The Progressive mentality is one in which there is a desire to perfect man, a man made utopia. It is driven by fear, the fear that man as is, is just not good enough. There is a fear of pain and suffering and yes of death. Progressive politicians play on the fear of man, telling us we must do something to stop all the wrongs that occur. In a way I agree with them, something must be done. But, to continually look to imperfect fear driven
mortally minded mankind for answers is ridiculous.
To stop horrendous violence we look to the government. To improve education we look to government. To improve our health care system we look to government. And it gets worse and worse and we keep looking to them over and over again expecting some different result. One day the decay will be too much to overcome and collapse will occur.
The answers are staring us in the face and always have been . We need to love. I know that may sound cheesy and unrealistic. But, its reality, we need to let our love be in charge of how we respond to trials. We need to let the love of God fill our country again. If we truly did that, if we truly felt His love for us it would conquer the fear. And if we truly loved Him back we would trust Him and start living the way He has asked us to. He did not give us commandments as a way of trying to control us. He gave them to us because they provide the best way for happiness and bond and love. We would feel connected again to our families. Wouldn't that be amazing. The family would be in charge and kids wouldn't have to feel so damaged and trapped in survival mode so much so that they shut off their humanity and are willing to cause harm to others.
The answer is love and bond and family and God. Choose love.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
Come Ye Disconsolate
A song that my amazing sister Shanelle sang a while back has been running through my head and heart as the events of last week unfolded. I know I joined with countless others in having Boston and West in my prayers. I was touched to see the outpouring of love and of faith that occurred in our nation. I was reminded of the unity and faith we felt following the events of 9/11. The song is called Come Ye Disconsolate and I think it really hit the spot for me. God Bless America.The intro song is sung by Chelsea Echols, Shanelle Hess sings Come Ye Disconsolate
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Remember Who We Are
We have forgotten who we are. That is the real problem. There are many symptoms and many an argument on ways to mend them, but no one is talking about the real problem.
I recently have been working through a course on being spiritually centered and enjoying the day by James Cox (I highly recommend it). One of the key concepts is recognizing where our worth comes from. Too many of us (and I certainly have been guilty of this) base our worth on our performance. Our worth should be based not on what we do but who we are.
At our most basic inner core we are children of a loving God. If we truly recognized that about ourselves it would fill us with both humility and a sense of our true worth. Humility and self worth go together. It is a recognition that we all come from God and have great worth in His sight. None of us are elevated above another we are all His and deserve to know it and act accordingly. Pride on the other hand is the search for superiority. If there is superior that means there is inferior. Those who seek for superiority will always struggle with doubt and will struggle to prove that they are superior rather than its opposite.Those who struggle with their self-esteem are struggling with pride.
If we focused on our true identity and humility our performance would be an expression of our gratitude to Our Creator rather than a source for esteem. We would also see others as they really are and treat each other as we ought. Of course none of us would be perfect at it, life is about growth which means we learn from our mistakes. But, to have the knowledge of who we truly are as the base of our operations would make a tremendous difference.
As I was pondering what I was learning about my own individual worth my thoughts turned to the nation and how this same principle applies. At the founding of this nation there was a recognition of Divine Providence, that we are endowed by Our Creator with rights. There was a recognition that we are His, and have great worth in His sight. American Exceptionalism has been turned into a prideful statement about how amazing we are compared to everyone else. The reality is we are only exceptional because of Him. God is the one who is amazing, and as we humbly rely on Him and love and serve Him and each other He will continue to bless and strengthen us in our trials. The more we turn from Him the less exceptional we are. We are neither inferior or superior as individuals or as a nation, rather we are nearer or farther away from Our Creator.
There is in our society now a worship of the carnal, the body. We define and judge people not by the content of their character but rather their skin color, what they eat and drink and what they do for sex. It is degrading and symptomatic of the problem of not remembering who we really are.
The gods are political correctness as defined by some group of people whose desire is driven by greed for money and/or power. Those who stand and speak of traditional values are excoriated as not with the times and phobic. The reality is their, the Progressives, ideas are old, and the results are well documented. If we continue on this path this society/nation will one day end where it always has and always does, destruction and tyranny. We cease to be an exception when we follow the same path as everyone else who have turned to themselves and their supposed superiority rather than to God.
I recently heard that they are now trying to take the word Easter out of schools too, just as they are trying to do with Christmas. I immediately started wishing random people a Happy Easter. How is it that we have gotten to this place? Religion is treated as some sort of hateful thing that we must hide. When the First Amendment is discussed people focus on free speech. But freedom of religion is the first freedom discussed in the First Amendment. The founders made it so, knowing that a knowledge of who we are and where we came from was necessary for the maintenance of freedom. It is so much under attack and it is no wonder. If those who focus on their own superiority want to have power over whom they consider inferior than they must make us focus only on the temporal, they must take us from Our Creator and from our true selves.
There is much darkness in this world. But, I take comfort in knowing that the light always prevails. Wherever light is it rules over the darkness. We just need to shine it brighter. This is not an easy task but it is the most basic thing that we can focus on right now. Individually we must seek Our Creator and then as families, then as communities and on up from there.
This is a blessed country, but we must remember where those blessing have come from. We must remember who we are.
I recently have been working through a course on being spiritually centered and enjoying the day by James Cox (I highly recommend it). One of the key concepts is recognizing where our worth comes from. Too many of us (and I certainly have been guilty of this) base our worth on our performance. Our worth should be based not on what we do but who we are.
At our most basic inner core we are children of a loving God. If we truly recognized that about ourselves it would fill us with both humility and a sense of our true worth. Humility and self worth go together. It is a recognition that we all come from God and have great worth in His sight. None of us are elevated above another we are all His and deserve to know it and act accordingly. Pride on the other hand is the search for superiority. If there is superior that means there is inferior. Those who seek for superiority will always struggle with doubt and will struggle to prove that they are superior rather than its opposite.Those who struggle with their self-esteem are struggling with pride.
If we focused on our true identity and humility our performance would be an expression of our gratitude to Our Creator rather than a source for esteem. We would also see others as they really are and treat each other as we ought. Of course none of us would be perfect at it, life is about growth which means we learn from our mistakes. But, to have the knowledge of who we truly are as the base of our operations would make a tremendous difference.
As I was pondering what I was learning about my own individual worth my thoughts turned to the nation and how this same principle applies. At the founding of this nation there was a recognition of Divine Providence, that we are endowed by Our Creator with rights. There was a recognition that we are His, and have great worth in His sight. American Exceptionalism has been turned into a prideful statement about how amazing we are compared to everyone else. The reality is we are only exceptional because of Him. God is the one who is amazing, and as we humbly rely on Him and love and serve Him and each other He will continue to bless and strengthen us in our trials. The more we turn from Him the less exceptional we are. We are neither inferior or superior as individuals or as a nation, rather we are nearer or farther away from Our Creator.
There is in our society now a worship of the carnal, the body. We define and judge people not by the content of their character but rather their skin color, what they eat and drink and what they do for sex. It is degrading and symptomatic of the problem of not remembering who we really are.
The gods are political correctness as defined by some group of people whose desire is driven by greed for money and/or power. Those who stand and speak of traditional values are excoriated as not with the times and phobic. The reality is their, the Progressives, ideas are old, and the results are well documented. If we continue on this path this society/nation will one day end where it always has and always does, destruction and tyranny. We cease to be an exception when we follow the same path as everyone else who have turned to themselves and their supposed superiority rather than to God.
I recently heard that they are now trying to take the word Easter out of schools too, just as they are trying to do with Christmas. I immediately started wishing random people a Happy Easter. How is it that we have gotten to this place? Religion is treated as some sort of hateful thing that we must hide. When the First Amendment is discussed people focus on free speech. But freedom of religion is the first freedom discussed in the First Amendment. The founders made it so, knowing that a knowledge of who we are and where we came from was necessary for the maintenance of freedom. It is so much under attack and it is no wonder. If those who focus on their own superiority want to have power over whom they consider inferior than they must make us focus only on the temporal, they must take us from Our Creator and from our true selves.
There is much darkness in this world. But, I take comfort in knowing that the light always prevails. Wherever light is it rules over the darkness. We just need to shine it brighter. This is not an easy task but it is the most basic thing that we can focus on right now. Individually we must seek Our Creator and then as families, then as communities and on up from there.
This is a blessed country, but we must remember where those blessing have come from. We must remember who we are.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Darkness and Light
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
I think it is fascinating that light is a theme in the Holy Bible right from the beginning. God saw the light, that it was good, and then He divided the light from the dark.
We live in a world of increasing darkness. We live in a nation where 6 and 7 year old children have been massacred in their school. I thought about writing concerning the Sandy Hook massacre ever since it happened, but decided it would be best to get some perspective.
That day was horrific. It was a shock to all of our systems to see something that horrible happen to such young kids. I have 4 nephews that are in first grade. I held them all a little closer and a little longer when I saw them shortly after. They are so full of life and so little. As a counselor I’ve worked with parents who have lost children to tragedy. There is nothing that can really truly fill the void left behind. I’m grateful for the faith that I have that families can be reunited in the next life, that they are not truly lost. But, the separation is painful. I continue to pray for their families. I also mourn for the teachers and other faculty and staff who were lost that day. Their families are also in my prayers. I honor the heroic actions they took to save the children.
Our society has searched for blame, driven by a media bent on their own agenda. The ridiculousness is astounding to me. They keep talking about the government doing something, yes because one of these days they are going to finally figure out the magic law that every criminal is going to follow s/. How many laws did that maniac break? People keep looking to the government for answers when what we really need to do is look to ourselves and to God.
God separated the light from the darkness, and the difference is becoming clearer every day. I’ve written before that times of great light and truth have often been preceded by great darkness. The Exodus led by Moses was preceded by the murder of children, the murder of children also was present around the birth of Jesus Christ. We live in a day of preparation for His Second Coming, and satan is throwing his usual temper tantrum.
The solution for the darkness that is so present now is to seek the light. We must do so individually and as families. There is a healing balm, there is peace, there is light and truth. Life is not going to be easy, we will face uncomfortable and even horrific things. When those things happen we have a choice of where we turn for truth and comfort and light. It breaks my heart that so many turn to man and government. The solution is not there, government screws up every time they try to intervene on our job of mercy. They have proven themselves to be incompetent and in many ways evil themselves (the lies and manipulation and immorality coming out of them is putrid). We must turn to God. We must speak again of His truths and the safety that is in keeping His commandments.
While there is much darkness, there is also much light. And remember that no matter how dark it gets the light always rules, sun, moon and stars. Where there is light it wins. Love and serve each other. There is so much goodness, I see it all around me. I have hope for a better world, and that it is possible because He has made it so.
It feels like it is winter in our society. But, spring is coming. Of that I have great faith
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
I think it is fascinating that light is a theme in the Holy Bible right from the beginning. God saw the light, that it was good, and then He divided the light from the dark.
We live in a world of increasing darkness. We live in a nation where 6 and 7 year old children have been massacred in their school. I thought about writing concerning the Sandy Hook massacre ever since it happened, but decided it would be best to get some perspective.
That day was horrific. It was a shock to all of our systems to see something that horrible happen to such young kids. I have 4 nephews that are in first grade. I held them all a little closer and a little longer when I saw them shortly after. They are so full of life and so little. As a counselor I’ve worked with parents who have lost children to tragedy. There is nothing that can really truly fill the void left behind. I’m grateful for the faith that I have that families can be reunited in the next life, that they are not truly lost. But, the separation is painful. I continue to pray for their families. I also mourn for the teachers and other faculty and staff who were lost that day. Their families are also in my prayers. I honor the heroic actions they took to save the children.
Our society has searched for blame, driven by a media bent on their own agenda. The ridiculousness is astounding to me. They keep talking about the government doing something, yes because one of these days they are going to finally figure out the magic law that every criminal is going to follow s/. How many laws did that maniac break? People keep looking to the government for answers when what we really need to do is look to ourselves and to God.
God separated the light from the darkness, and the difference is becoming clearer every day. I’ve written before that times of great light and truth have often been preceded by great darkness. The Exodus led by Moses was preceded by the murder of children, the murder of children also was present around the birth of Jesus Christ. We live in a day of preparation for His Second Coming, and satan is throwing his usual temper tantrum.
The solution for the darkness that is so present now is to seek the light. We must do so individually and as families. There is a healing balm, there is peace, there is light and truth. Life is not going to be easy, we will face uncomfortable and even horrific things. When those things happen we have a choice of where we turn for truth and comfort and light. It breaks my heart that so many turn to man and government. The solution is not there, government screws up every time they try to intervene on our job of mercy. They have proven themselves to be incompetent and in many ways evil themselves (the lies and manipulation and immorality coming out of them is putrid). We must turn to God. We must speak again of His truths and the safety that is in keeping His commandments.
While there is much darkness, there is also much light. And remember that no matter how dark it gets the light always rules, sun, moon and stars. Where there is light it wins. Love and serve each other. There is so much goodness, I see it all around me. I have hope for a better world, and that it is possible because He has made it so.
It feels like it is winter in our society. But, spring is coming. Of that I have great faith
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Change: Can We Become Exceptional Again?
Change. It is a difficult task. Much was promised about change in 2008, with the result that the only change we really saw was the speed and volume of the direction we were already heading towards. True Change is possible but it requires an intense commitment. I have seen it in some rather dramatic ways. I have done quite a bit of counseling work with alcoholics and drug addicts for instance. I have also done work with individuals in our prison systems. Changing from those circumstances is difficult and unfortunately lasting change is the exception. But, it does happen, which always gives hope that it can happen for each individual given enough clarity and conviction.
This past election did not turn out as many, including myself, had hoped. I’m not going to dwell too much on the candidates or even the specific results. It was interesting to watch history repeat itself, I refer to an earlier post about whether or not we are elephants or squirrels (alas that was answered). I would rather focus on the general outcome and what the results will likely be. I was praying and fasting about this past election. I did not ask for a result except that the country would have clarity and wisdom. I feel like the answer to that is still forthcoming. Things are going to be quite a bit more clear and hopefully the majority at least will find some wisdom.
America is certainly on a downward turn. There is all sorts of reasons for this turn, but I think one of the big reasons is that we have forgotten who we really are. America is supposed to be an exceptional nation, but we are trying to be like everyone else. Why? It does not take much research to realize that continuing in the same fiscal and moral trajectory will just end in well an end. We are following the path of so many others before us who have faced their own ends.
It feels almost as if we need to hit a rock bottom somewhere to wake the country up out of its apathy. It also feels like we are imprisoned and addicted. We are imprisoned by our debt, and we are imprisoning future generations with mountains more. We are addicted and even dependent on social programs. Mostly we are imprisoned by arrogance, apathy and ignorance. Do we really believe we can continue on this course? Do we even know how bad it is?
So, what is it that we really need to change? Ill tell you what made the biggest difference for the people I had the blessing of working with and seeing lasting change. Moral clarity and conviction to God and family. Most individuals who are incarcerated re-offend at some point, usually fairly quickly. Most people who are attempting to overcome addiction, especially on a first attempt, turn back to it. Being clean, being innocent of crime, is an exception, they are exceptional individuals.
In order for America to become an exceptional nation again, we must do what those exceptional people who have overcome do, humbly turn to God. We must repent and make amends with those we have harmed with our lack of morals and our apathy.
I believe in miracles. I have seen many. But, in order to have the miracle of being exceptional again we must put ourselves in a position for that. Humility, openness to the hard honest brutal truth of how bad it really is.
Perhaps the clarity will come when we hit some sort of rock bottom. Perhaps wisdom will be borne of suffering. But, I know this, I will continue to speak of and write about truth. I will seek Our God, and supplicate His grace on this nation still. I know I will not be alone in that. Gather together, be His people, love our families, love each other.
This past election did not turn out as many, including myself, had hoped. I’m not going to dwell too much on the candidates or even the specific results. It was interesting to watch history repeat itself, I refer to an earlier post about whether or not we are elephants or squirrels (alas that was answered). I would rather focus on the general outcome and what the results will likely be. I was praying and fasting about this past election. I did not ask for a result except that the country would have clarity and wisdom. I feel like the answer to that is still forthcoming. Things are going to be quite a bit more clear and hopefully the majority at least will find some wisdom.
America is certainly on a downward turn. There is all sorts of reasons for this turn, but I think one of the big reasons is that we have forgotten who we really are. America is supposed to be an exceptional nation, but we are trying to be like everyone else. Why? It does not take much research to realize that continuing in the same fiscal and moral trajectory will just end in well an end. We are following the path of so many others before us who have faced their own ends.
It feels almost as if we need to hit a rock bottom somewhere to wake the country up out of its apathy. It also feels like we are imprisoned and addicted. We are imprisoned by our debt, and we are imprisoning future generations with mountains more. We are addicted and even dependent on social programs. Mostly we are imprisoned by arrogance, apathy and ignorance. Do we really believe we can continue on this course? Do we even know how bad it is?
So, what is it that we really need to change? Ill tell you what made the biggest difference for the people I had the blessing of working with and seeing lasting change. Moral clarity and conviction to God and family. Most individuals who are incarcerated re-offend at some point, usually fairly quickly. Most people who are attempting to overcome addiction, especially on a first attempt, turn back to it. Being clean, being innocent of crime, is an exception, they are exceptional individuals.
In order for America to become an exceptional nation again, we must do what those exceptional people who have overcome do, humbly turn to God. We must repent and make amends with those we have harmed with our lack of morals and our apathy.
I believe in miracles. I have seen many. But, in order to have the miracle of being exceptional again we must put ourselves in a position for that. Humility, openness to the hard honest brutal truth of how bad it really is.
Perhaps the clarity will come when we hit some sort of rock bottom. Perhaps wisdom will be borne of suffering. But, I know this, I will continue to speak of and write about truth. I will seek Our God, and supplicate His grace on this nation still. I know I will not be alone in that. Gather together, be His people, love our families, love each other.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Looking Beyond
The political atmosphere is irritating. I could probably just end this blog post right there, but I’ve been trying to decide why I find that to be true. I started thinking about it when I again became irritated by the Republican party’s continual disrespect and disregarding of Sarah Palin. It is no secret that I’m a support of the Governor. I find her to be one of the few politicians who is genuine and congruent with her beliefs. That does not mean I agree with every single decision she has ever made, I don’t agree with any human being 100% of the time. But, I don’t know any other politician who has put up with as much as she has, and maintained a good attitude, perspective and a willingness to continue standing up for her beliefs and what she knows are the best principles for freedom in this country.
Why is it so beyond the majority of the Republican politicians to stand by Governor Palin, to support her and to echo her principles in a way that will resonate with Americans. I think they have just become so caught up in power that they have forgotten what is most important in life, not what we have but how we live and love and serve. They abandoned an ally who fought for them and for what? Supposed vestiges of power. We are filled by love, if what we love is power we find that it passes like a sieve and the collection of it is futile. Its not so much that they lose their souls in politics it is that their souls are empty. Watching their behavior is disheartening and enlightening all at once.
There is some hope. It is interesting to watch the process of the Republican Party Platform being formed. There is a greater distinction developing between the two parties, as the platform is going more Conservative. But, I’m realizing more and more the importance of looking beyond myself and beyond mortality.
How blessed we are to know the reality, that there is more to life than life. One day we will greet eternity and realize we’ve been in it all along. In that perspective history itself will fade away and our most important memories will be of who we loved and how we loved them, God, family, fellow man.
We catch glimpses of eternity here and there, in a baby’s first smile, in a warm embrace, in feeling the tender merciful forgiveness of God and in countless other ways.
I want to leave something better behind for the next generation, that’s about loving those who follow me. I do so with the hope that they too will greet eternity with hope and joy and a knowledge that their lives, that all our lives lead to something greater, beyond mortality. In life we should learn to love and serve on this earth, we seek to live it well and in congruence with what we know to be true. May we open the windows in our lives that release eternities view. May we cherish every opportunity to love and defend freedom and that which is right.
So, we carry on, learning from the past, preparing for our future and the future of generations to come. But, mostly we live with and eternal perspective and hope that guides our lives to greater service and love. We seek out like minded people, and seek leaders who have that perspective too. Look beyond today, that today may be greater for the perspective we keep.
Why is it so beyond the majority of the Republican politicians to stand by Governor Palin, to support her and to echo her principles in a way that will resonate with Americans. I think they have just become so caught up in power that they have forgotten what is most important in life, not what we have but how we live and love and serve. They abandoned an ally who fought for them and for what? Supposed vestiges of power. We are filled by love, if what we love is power we find that it passes like a sieve and the collection of it is futile. Its not so much that they lose their souls in politics it is that their souls are empty. Watching their behavior is disheartening and enlightening all at once.
There is some hope. It is interesting to watch the process of the Republican Party Platform being formed. There is a greater distinction developing between the two parties, as the platform is going more Conservative. But, I’m realizing more and more the importance of looking beyond myself and beyond mortality.
How blessed we are to know the reality, that there is more to life than life. One day we will greet eternity and realize we’ve been in it all along. In that perspective history itself will fade away and our most important memories will be of who we loved and how we loved them, God, family, fellow man.
We catch glimpses of eternity here and there, in a baby’s first smile, in a warm embrace, in feeling the tender merciful forgiveness of God and in countless other ways.
I want to leave something better behind for the next generation, that’s about loving those who follow me. I do so with the hope that they too will greet eternity with hope and joy and a knowledge that their lives, that all our lives lead to something greater, beyond mortality. In life we should learn to love and serve on this earth, we seek to live it well and in congruence with what we know to be true. May we open the windows in our lives that release eternities view. May we cherish every opportunity to love and defend freedom and that which is right.
So, we carry on, learning from the past, preparing for our future and the future of generations to come. But, mostly we live with and eternal perspective and hope that guides our lives to greater service and love. We seek out like minded people, and seek leaders who have that perspective too. Look beyond today, that today may be greater for the perspective we keep.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Thoughts and Prayers and Patterns
Several weeks removed now from a horrific tragedy in Colorado and I have some thoughts that I wanted to commit to writing. When these tragedies occur there is an outpouring of questions and usually an outpouring of prayer. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by such awfulness. That is a beautiful and appropriate sentiment, one that I certainly share. I continue to keep them in my prayers that they may be comforted and blessed.
But, all to soon the sentiment seems to fade. While those directly affected will carry the scars of the incident for long term, the country at large seems to move on to a slightly different normal, but not much different. It is an all too common pattern.
They are cries for us to "do something" to prevent such things from happening again, but those cries to tend to fade until another event brings them out again and we are reminded about just how many mass murders have occurred. It seems that the knowledge that there is little we can do to prevent all crazy intent murderers from committing their crimes sinks in at least a little and the cries cease for a time.
The cries of "do something" to me seem rather arrogant. Have we become so reliant upon our government that we look only to them for answers to our problems? The government continues to prove it is incompetent at anything that is really not their responsibility. Making more laws will not prevent criminals from committing crimes, but it somehow makes some people feel better that "something" is being done.
The answer for bettering society does not lie within government. It lies within us humbly turning back to God, acknowledging our weakness and our need and committing to living His standard. This cannot be enforced upon us, it has to individually decided. Compelling does not equal conversion. But, it must be freely said that we need Him.
Every tragedy that strikes affords us the reminder to return to God, and it is done for a time. However, the pattern indicates a short return marked with a lack of true and lasting conversion.
We should well remember our Founding Fathers and Mothers whose reliance on God was paramount to their victorious revelation and then the creation of a free nation. When I think of George Washington who added into the oath of the office of presidency "so help me God" I marvel at his reliance on Divinity. The phrase "so help me God" strengthens the oath and makes a person more accountable not just to man but to Him. It also seems to be a plea, "help me God" a recognition that the task requires guidance and strength beyond human capacity.
We should also remember how a reliance on God is what brought about the end of slavery in this country and elsewhere. A true conversion to Christianity brought people to the commitment to fight to end it. I will reiterate again Abraham Lincolns quote, "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!
It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness."
We are in the same place, we've forgotten God. Do we have national sins? To be sure. We have allowed a debt to accrue that will enslave generations. We have allowed men and women (Republican, Democrat, Independents) of deplorable character to be our representatives. As a society we continue to devolve to a place where statements supporting God and His commandments are considered hateful.
Do we recognize that the simple answers for solving so many of societies problems are found clearly and simply in His commandments?
We need a lasting conversion, a return to God. He is the true source of freedom. Without Him we will be a mass of people with little guidance searching for any leader who will be bold enough to lead in any direction he/she pleases. History has borne that out to be true.
My prayers are that we will take the opportunities presented to us, to return to Him humbly and fully and freely.
Update: At the time that I wrote this I was unaware of yet another mass shooting that occurred in Wisconsin at a place of worship. It was certainly saddening to learn of this horrific incident, and thoughts and prayers go out to those affected. As with the shooting in Colorado I hope also that people will choose to look to God and to follow His patterns in order to find healing.
But, all to soon the sentiment seems to fade. While those directly affected will carry the scars of the incident for long term, the country at large seems to move on to a slightly different normal, but not much different. It is an all too common pattern.
They are cries for us to "do something" to prevent such things from happening again, but those cries to tend to fade until another event brings them out again and we are reminded about just how many mass murders have occurred. It seems that the knowledge that there is little we can do to prevent all crazy intent murderers from committing their crimes sinks in at least a little and the cries cease for a time.
The cries of "do something" to me seem rather arrogant. Have we become so reliant upon our government that we look only to them for answers to our problems? The government continues to prove it is incompetent at anything that is really not their responsibility. Making more laws will not prevent criminals from committing crimes, but it somehow makes some people feel better that "something" is being done.
The answer for bettering society does not lie within government. It lies within us humbly turning back to God, acknowledging our weakness and our need and committing to living His standard. This cannot be enforced upon us, it has to individually decided. Compelling does not equal conversion. But, it must be freely said that we need Him.
Every tragedy that strikes affords us the reminder to return to God, and it is done for a time. However, the pattern indicates a short return marked with a lack of true and lasting conversion.
We should well remember our Founding Fathers and Mothers whose reliance on God was paramount to their victorious revelation and then the creation of a free nation. When I think of George Washington who added into the oath of the office of presidency "so help me God" I marvel at his reliance on Divinity. The phrase "so help me God" strengthens the oath and makes a person more accountable not just to man but to Him. It also seems to be a plea, "help me God" a recognition that the task requires guidance and strength beyond human capacity.
We should also remember how a reliance on God is what brought about the end of slavery in this country and elsewhere. A true conversion to Christianity brought people to the commitment to fight to end it. I will reiterate again Abraham Lincolns quote, "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!
It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness."
We are in the same place, we've forgotten God. Do we have national sins? To be sure. We have allowed a debt to accrue that will enslave generations. We have allowed men and women (Republican, Democrat, Independents) of deplorable character to be our representatives. As a society we continue to devolve to a place where statements supporting God and His commandments are considered hateful.
Do we recognize that the simple answers for solving so many of societies problems are found clearly and simply in His commandments?
We need a lasting conversion, a return to God. He is the true source of freedom. Without Him we will be a mass of people with little guidance searching for any leader who will be bold enough to lead in any direction he/she pleases. History has borne that out to be true.
My prayers are that we will take the opportunities presented to us, to return to Him humbly and fully and freely.
Update: At the time that I wrote this I was unaware of yet another mass shooting that occurred in Wisconsin at a place of worship. It was certainly saddening to learn of this horrific incident, and thoughts and prayers go out to those affected. As with the shooting in Colorado I hope also that people will choose to look to God and to follow His patterns in order to find healing.
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