The GOOD NEWS

God has been asking me some really tough questions lately. Do you really love ME? Do you really believe in My Son? Do you love your neighbors and your enemies? Do you love your family? I kept thinking 'Yes, Yes, why do you keep asking?'

But now I get it.... A friend of mine loaned me a book called ONE THING YOU CAN'T DO IN HEAVEN.
I say I love the Lord with my mouth and I say that I really believe in Jesus and I say that love my neighors and family. But words are easy. If I really loved them like I say I do then I would be sharing the gospel with them.

God has called us ALL to be missionaries whether its across the seas or in our own home. If we have heard and believed the gospel then we are qualified and expected to share it.

If we believe in God and his Son, Jesus Christ, then we believe that what the bible says is true. And if we believe that then we must believe that Hell is a very real place and those that don't put their faith in Christ will go there when they die. If we read our bible we know that we are not promised our next breath. That each breath we breathe could be our last and once we breathe our last breath there are no more chances. There is an urgency to sharing the gospel... it can't wait forever.

I have often bought into the lie of tolerance. And by that I mean to say.. that I felt some how wrong in sharing my faith with others that I presumed weren't going to be open to it. I didn't want people to feel offended, because I believe that their beliefs are wrong. But there is absolute truth and everyone needs to hear it. and who am I to judge who is open to it or not. Only God knows a heart. All I can do is lovingly share the truth that I know with everyone I meet.

Its a scary undertaking to face those people who are lost and present the gospel... especially if its family or close friends. But if we pray for God to open their hearts and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can't loose. If they give their hearts to God... we win. If they promise to think about it... we win (we have planted a seed). If they get mad and stomp off ... we win (I'll betcha they are thinking about what we have said and besides we have been obedient and we can't control others, just ourselves)

So step out and share your faith.... that's what I am going to do.

Oprah and Tolle Eckhart

I was plundering around on the internet today and happened upon a post talking about Tolle Eckhart's book and Oprah. The author, Greg Boyd, gave a book review. But it was great. He had alot of knowledge about eastern religions and how all these philosophies in Eckhart's book are basically just rehashes and not new thoughts at all.
If you've had questions about the whole book that have been unanswered then this will probably clarify alot of things. It did for me.
So here's the link.....gregboyd.blogspot.com

confessions of a former backslider

confessions of a former backslider I am not the brightest bulb in the pack. (Okay.. I know.. to those of you who know me ... that's a pretty obvious statement)

I have been loading myself up with 'works' over the past few years thinking that I am pleasing God with all that I do. But in truth alot of the 'works' actually separate me from Him not draw me to Him. God's ultimate priority for me is to have a close and intimate relationship with Him. And whether I am busy with worldly things or busy with church things.... busy is still busy. Busyness leads me to believe that I just don't have the time to spend in prayer or reading the bible, because I need to 'do' something for God.

Kind of comical when you really think about it. What could I do for God? Hmmmm. He created and sustains the entire universe. He is sovereign over all time. His breath sustains my very existence. The list goes on and on... and yet some how I have allowed myself to believe that I am just to busy 'doing' things for Him to spend time with Him. OOOhhhh, pride is such a sneaky, nasty little sin.

But here is the backsliding confession.... after years of backsliding I convinced myself some how that the grace that God merifully provided for me thru His Son, Jesus Christ, wasn't enough. That God couldn't possibly just forgive me...like it says nearly a billion times throughout scripture (that goes back to that whole brightest bulb thing). Confession and repentence couldn't possibly be what God wanted. He wanted me to do things... lots of things... make up for lost time... I had to pay Him back some how for all the years I have missed out on.... man...I am dense. (That plan is not found in the bible anywhere. I guess I must have just wrote my own chapter.)

Psalms 51:16-17
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

I think it goes back to the whole "Babel" mentality. They thought they could work hard enough to build a structure, a tower, that would reach to God. But just as they didn't have a hope of doing so neither do I. I could work 24/7 for the entire rest of my life and never accumulate enough works to please God or satisfy His requirements. All those works stacked up would barely even get me off the ground. If that is my motive and mindset for service then my service is in vain.

The only hope I have is thru Christ. He knew I'd never be able to satisfy the requirements of God's holy law, so instead of encouraging me to work harder and just 'do my best', He went to the cross to bear something that I could never carry... the weight of my sin along with everyone else's. My only hope still is in Christ... thru His covering.

I don't say all of this to say that works aren't important. But our motives for service are everything. First, God wants me broken and humbled so that I can confess and repentent of sin... and then when my heart is clean and my relationship with God is restored that's when the works happen... but only with the right motive. Because I am so grateful for God's mercy that I want to please Him... which means no works of any kind can come between me and God. They can't steal His time. And they have to be His will... not mine.

ALL SERVICE IS FUELED BY SITTING AT THE FEET OF JESUS. Our time with God and time in prayer and the word feeds our service. If we have no relationship with God or we've minimized it until its negligible then the things we do lack power... that of the Holy Spirit. Only works that God calls us to do that we do with pure motives will last thru eternity.

freedom of speech

freedom of speech
Current mood: thankful

As Americans we have freedom of speech. We believe it is our right to say what ever we choose when we choose it and to whom we choose it .... but God has a little different perspective on our "freedom of speech".

Ephesians 4:29-31 Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.

Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.

Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

I have been memorizing this scripture and let me tell ya... its alot easier to memorize than it is to live.

The part about not talking dirty isn’t that hard for me now, but years ago I cursed like a sailor and said things that would make a sailor turn shades of red, but thankfully I have been able to clean the profanity out of my speech... but the next part is the one that gets me. "Say only what helps, each word a gift."

OOOHHHH... now that’s a tough one. When I yell at the kids or I am sarcastic to my husband that’s not being a ’help’ or I am critical of a friend or judgemental towards an enemy. that’s not exactly using my words as a gift.

And the icing on the cake is the forgiveness part.... man... it is so nice to be able to go to God and ask for forgiveness and recieve it with no strings attached, because Christ paid our penalty, but its a whole ’nother animal to be able to forgive others with that same forgiveness.... especially when we believe that we are justified in being angry at that person.

Forgiving people when we feel justified in our anger is the hardest. When the world is constantly telling you that you have every "right" to be mad and hold a grudge. The world would have you believe that you are a fool for extending forgiveness to someone that has wronged you. But... that’s exactly what God has called us to do.....

So I guess the big question is... who do we believe to be true... the world or God?

Good Friday

For so many people the only thing "good" about Good Friday is the fact that they don't have to go to work or school and they get a long weekend. I am so thankful that Good Friday means so much more to me.

I found this quote.......

Does God really love us? I say look to the crucified Jesus. Look to the old rugged cross. By every thorn that punctured His brow. By every mark of the back lacerating scourge. By every hair of his beard plucked from his cheeks by cruel fingers. By every bruise which heavy fists made upon His head. God said, "I love you!" By all the spit that landed on his face. By every drop of sinless blood that fell to the ground. By every breath of pain which Jesus drew upon the cross. By every beat of His loving heart. God said, I love you. ---Billy Lobbs

I am so thankful that my Savior did not come to be served like an earthly king and sit in a castle on top of a hill, gaurded and gated. He didn't separate Himself from the ordinary and afflicted and sinful. He ate with the tax collectors, gave forgiveness and hope to the adulterer, and healing to the blind, lame, and sick.

He came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. I am so thankful that even though He could have called legions of angels or literally just struck dead His persecuters at any point He choose to endure the suffering and the shame so that I might have a right relationship with the Father and spend eternity in His presence in heaven where there is no suffering, no tears, no pain, or sickness.

When people who don't know Jesus look at the cross I wonder what they see..... violence, ugliness... I am not sure. But when I look at the cross I am overwhelmed by the love and compassion that the Lord has for all of us sinners.

And although it is a sad day in itself, because our Savior was crucified....we don't have to stay sad long.. because in the famous words of S M Lockeridge, it may be friday now.... but "Sunday's comin!!"

Prayer

The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion.

He laughs at our toil and mocks our wisdom,
But trembles when we pray.

---Samuel Chadwick

This quote reminds me that I can't do it on my own. Alot of times I let the busyness of life overtake me and I wonder why I live so defeated... duh... Its God that makes the difference not my vain effort. God has grown me so much over the past year or so. And the more He grows me the more I see how small and unimportant I am and how amazing and wonderful and sovereign and capable He is. I am beginning to understand Paul when he said... that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. Our inability makes Gods ability that much more evident.

Chosen people

I reread THE HIDING PLACE by Corrie Ten Boom last year. I don't know if a book has ever made an impact on me like that one has...aside from the Bible. I had read it maybe 10 yrs or so ago, but I really don't remember being moved by it or that interested in it. This time it was a different story.

I couldn't put it down. There were so many things that jumped out at me. I remember one particular that really hit. When Corrie was finally taken in. She had the flu and had been in the bed for days with a fever. At the time I got to that chapter I had picked up a stomach bug, so I read that section while I was sick and not feeling well myself. I just kept thinking what a blessing it was to lay in my nice, warm, cozy bed while I was sick. It was just unimaginable to me to have endure what people did during that period.

I don't know if its my age or what, but I just have such a hard time getting my head wrapped around the whole idea of the Holocaust. Since rereading THE HIDING PLACE, I have also read Elie Wiesel's biography. It is so hard for me to understand the mentality of those in the world who did nothing. I can 'get' why Hitler and his crew did what they did. I understand evil.. . I guess indifference and apathy is where I struggle.

When I think about this I wonder what most average, everday folks around the world actually knew about what was going on. I know that the leaders of the countries had to know, but I wonder how informed everyone else was. I want to believe they knew very little, because that makes it so much easier to understand.

I also wonder to myself... what would I have thought. It is so easy to see from the vantage point where I sit today and say that I would have cared. I want to believe that I would. But then I ask myself ...."how many places are there in the world today where people are persecuted and suffer horribly that I am apathetic to?"

I feel so insulated. I almost at times don't feel like I live in reality. I sit in my home here and it is hard to really fathom how the rest of the world lives. As Americans. even our own government isn't grounded in reality. We spend pretend money on things that don't really matter. Our kids think that they are living in poverty when they don't have the lastest gaming system or cell phone. We talk about being descriminated against, but even that alot of times seems so petty compared with the rest of the world's troubles.

I don't know why the Holocaust has gotten my attention so. I studied about it in high school and college and I remember thinking it was bad, but then forgot about it as quickly as I had heard about it. I think it may have to do with the fact that I really believe that we are doomed to repeat past mistakes if we don't study them and really get to the bottom and learn the lessons no matter how painful. So I guess this is the beginning of an education on the Holocaust.

I also have been reading a book about Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. It is written as a historical account. It is interesting to see how these three religions have interacted since about 70 AD. Having read thru most of that book I wonder if the Holocaust wasn't really stopped just because it was Jews. I hate to think that . But once you see in black and white how Jews and Christians have interacted throughout history. I am really ignorant on that subject as it pertains to the last 100 years. But I am thirty three and I can remember people saying things like 'jew someone out of something' or terms like that from my childhood... which was the late 70's to early 80's.

I can't really understand the issue especially for Christians. But maybe there is where my ignorance comes into play. I don't understand completely the relationship between God and the Jews, but there is alot that I don't fully understand. I know that they are His chosen people. Some people find that offensive... I really don't understand that, but I really don't feel one way or the other about it. God is God. He can do as He chooses. If He wants Jews to be His chosen people then fine with me. To me that means that I should pray for them and seek to protect them not destroy them and talk negatively of them.

But its like with so many things. 15 people read the bible and come away with 15 different interpretations. All I can do is rely on the Holy Spirit's guidance and pray that I would understand the truth.

Wow... I didn't mean to just ramble on... But I did.

persecuted church

My eyes have just recently been opened to the persecuted church. I heard a man named Patrick Sookhdeo speak on a Focus on the Family broadcast. (I didn't get to hear all of it though). It is amazing how isolated we can be even in the midst of all the technology we have.

I guess in the back of my mind I knew that Christians were persecuted for their beliefs, but unfortunately, it was not something I thought or prayed about a great deal... or honestly ... at all. But after hearing him speak I decided to educate myself. ( I have earned several degrees from Google University... hahhaa) So I got on line and googled his name and the words "persecuted christians." I found out so much.

It is just heartbreaking... and convicting. To think.. we as Christians in America can meet together with no fear of being of our church being raided and our bibles being confiscated and yet we opt to lay in bed on Sunday morning and sleep late. We can share the gospel freely and openly with very few restrictions and yet we keep the good news to ourselves.

I talked to some ladies that I meet with on Fridays for prayer and they had no real clue about the persecution that Christians endure in other countries either. I really don't think that we are out of the norm.... sad to say. Even though we have access to the whole world I think that alot of times we don't want to be bothered with anything that isn't happening in our own neighborhood.

It is amazing how God works though. I heard Patrick Sookhdeo on the radio and that very night my son asked me to read to him about what heaven was like. So I turned to Revelations and read to him. After he went to sleep I just decided to read the whole book.. not normally something I would do, but as I was reading. in chapter 6 several verses jumped out at me.....

v9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal. I saw under the alter the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful to in their testimony. They shouted to the Lord and said, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us? Then they were given a white robe and told to rest a while longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters-- their fellow servants in Jesus who were to be martyred--had joined them

Then the next night my son asked me to show him in his bible the verse he currently is memorizing... I Peter 5:6. After reading the verse he randomly pointed to a block of text on the facing page and asked me to read it. It was 1 Peter 4:12-19 which talks about how we shouldn't be surprised at trials and being persecuted for our faith. And how we should keep on doing what is right even in the face of persecution and trust the Lord.

Its funny how the Holy Spirit illuminates what he wants you to see. I have been looking at that page in 1Peter for weeks now trying to help my boys memorize it.... but only at the right time did those other verses stand out.

I feel a burden... as we all should... to pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ that are living with persecution. I have had to ask for forgiveness for my ignorance and apathy and indifference. I hope that this lights a spark in anyone who reads it to do the same. And now that I know this truth I pray that I am faithful in telling others so that they may pray also.

Prayer crosses space and time and distance. Our prayers are heard by our Father in heaven and there is nothing that is out of his reach.

If you are interested in more info here are some great sights I found.

Open Doors USA
International Day of Prayer
Voice of the Martyr

a few political thoughts

Well, Super Tuesday is in the rear view mirror. Its looking like the Republican party is swinging out towards left field.... I guess whether that is a bad thing depends on who you are.

Mitt Romney gave his farewell speech.. probably one of the best speeches he has given thus far.. maybe he should have been writing his own speeches all along. Now we are down to McCain and Huckabee... two very liberal republicans. I have heard many people say that they would NEVER vote for McCain, but I think you need to be careful with your nevers.

I am still sort of in shock that the republican party for the first time... maybe ever.. doesn't have a true conservative candidate. I became elligible to vote in 1993 and I have voted in every election since. Most of the time I have a small feeling deep inside that I am choosing the lesser of two evils, but each year that feeling grows greater and greater.

It will be interesting to see how the rep party as a whole reacts to the recent turn of events and even more interesting to see who McCain will pick for VP. Romney was super complementary to him when introducing him after he stepped out... maybe he was trying to brown nose to get that vp spot. But I find it very unlikely that McCain would go for a vp that is as conservative as Romney... allthough he would probably make a great one.

The democrats haven't been quite as interesting. Hillary has went from ripping Obama's head off to basically engaging in a lovefest with him at times. Who knows? I like Obama. Even though I don't believe in a thing he is pushing for. He is inspiring and engaging. The dreamer side of me buys it all hook, line, and sinker. I am ready for a new America when he thru talking, but then a few seconds later the true pragmatist comes back out and that warm fuzzy feeling is gone. His competitor, Mrs. Clinton, absolutely grates me to the core. She is like fingernails down a chalkboard.

Really none of the parties represent me... maybe I am a closet independent. I believe that our government should be fiscally responsible. We should balance the books each year. We should only spend what we have and we shouldn't spend anything until we pay off our gigantic debt. We should be the generation that sucks it up and makes it right for future generations.... not a very popular mindset...

I believe in healthcare for everyone... but not provided by our government. I believe that our government has way too much power and they have abused it. I don't know about you, but I have been to government offices before.. take for instances the DMV... I do not want the same people running the DMV in charge of my healthcare. no way.

Enough... I could go on for days and days about pork spending and all of the other abuses of the power that they have been given, but it just raises my bp to no avail.... so I won't.

r-e-s-p-o-n-s-i-b-i-l-i-t-y

I have just recently started to homeschool the Banimal and a friend loaned me a really neat little curriculum called Five in a Row. It takes children's library books and makes at least a weeks worth of lessons out of them. The first one I am going to do is called Katy and the big Snow.

Okay.... by this point you are probably wondering what this has to do with responsibility. Well, the theme of Katy and the big Snow is that Katy finally gets an opportunity to work and fulfill her responsibilities. As I was preparing the lessons and deciding how I would go about everything I realized that I should really get a concrete definition of what responsibility means. We use the word often with our boys, but I don't know that I have ever explained it to them.

I just couldn't come up with a defintion that I liked so I ended up lookiing it up in a dictionary. And then I had a blast from the past. I spent nearly every night in the 6th grade writing the word 'responsibility'. I had a teacher that would make the whole class write the word 500 times every time someone in class misbehaved.

I remember alot of writer's cramp that year.... but here is the sad part. I probably wrote that word over 10, 000 times in her class, but in a year's time she never took the time to fully explain what it means. We left knowing how to spell a word... which is great... but we had no clue what those letters stood for. Looking back, it seems like her time would have been better spent trying to help us to understand what true responsibility really meant.... personally, socially, corperately....

It seems like in our world there are way too many people that can spell it, but don't understand what it means.

fear

I think that in the society that we live in today it is hard not to be overcome with fear. Everywhere you turn someone is bringing up some new thing that you hadn't ever thought of to be fearful about.

I have quite a few well intentioned friends that send me these 'must read' emails. They are about new ways to be carjacked and scammed. And then there are the ones where someone in some place you've never heard of has some random something happen... but everyone needs to be aware of it. This past Autumn I got an email about a kid that decided to pile up leaves and hide in them and his dad didn't know and ran over him with a truck.

You hear of children being abducted from their own yards.. and of insane people cutting babies out of pregnant women. You watch Oprah and realize that should your minivan wreck into a body of water that you are not prepared to rescue yourself and your kids. You watch the news and they tell you about meth that is made to look and taste like candy. Of course, I don't want some horrible thing to befall me or my family... but my goodness... the knowledge of all of the things that could possibly go wrong is insane. We can't eat spinach, because we might get food poisoning and die.... we can't play in the leaves, because we might get run over by a truck. on and on and on and on.

I tell myself that I trust the Lord with all my heart, yet when I watch Megadisasters or one of those shows about crazy natural disasters that maybe, possilby, might happen and I feel my anxiety level rise and my stress level shoot up.

Life is risky business and in the end.... no one gets out alive. But I think sometimes we should spend a little less time worrying and fretting about what 'could' happen and just live a little. God doesn't promise us that nothing bad will ever happen to us, but He does say that He will never give us more than we can bare, that He can use any situation to make us more like His Son, and that He will always be there with us... no matter what we go thru... to give us His peace and comfort.

So when I flip the channels and see the financial news talking about impending economic crisis or the weather channel talking up the next possible disaster, I just take a deep breath and realize that My Heavenly Father spoke the very planet on which I stand on into existence.... so I am in good hands.

learning to read

I started 'officially' teaching the Banimal to read this morning. Scary thought. He has been asking me for a while and I told him he had to learn his letters and the sounds first. He accomplished that, so I went and bought the book I had decided to use.

Who would think that something that you learn to do in kindergarten could be that scary for me to teach. But I just keep thinking that everything he will do in his academic career will be built on this foundation. I hope that I don't let him down. But... after I thought it thru I calmed down a little. Most of the greatest minds were taught to read by their mothers and fathers who had little to no education themselves. So with that thought I embarked on this journey.

I was pretty uneventful this morning when I did his first lesson. He breezed thru it and I only had to correct him once. Even Pteradactyl boy jumped in and did the lesson with us. He is still working on recognizing his letters, but he got the hang of m and s as quickly as the Banimal. Who knows, maybe I'll kill two birds with one stone... so to speak. He may pick up alot as I teach the Banimal. That's the way its been with most everything else.

I was surprised at how well the adapted to the new schedule I came up with. But I did make it with them in mind. We do a 'sitting at the table being still activity' like learning to read followed by a 'moving around one' like playing games or doing chores. I think with both of them being so young still I would be shooting myself in the foot to do anything that required more than 15-20 mins of sitting still. I noticed the reading lesson took about 15 mins and towards the end they were fidgety.

Well, one day down..... thousands more to go.

MORE POLITICS

I didn't watch much of the coverage on Iowa.... not that there wasn't enough. Every news channel is running their own little breakdown of what happened. I don't know that I really believe that it even matters that much what Iowa or New Hampshire or South Carolina... etc .... think. Those are just little fish bowls. I don't see how any of those states would come close to being representitive of the US as a whole.

Like I said in the previous post... I am not a democrat. But I do keep up with what is going on with our kooky counterparts. I still really think that Obama is the best of the bunch. I caught some snippets of his speeches and he is really gettng or he has a great speech writer... or both.

I can't wait to see what Hillary does over the next few weeks. She can see that Obama is a huge threat so I believe in true Hillary fashion she is going to show her fangs and go after him with negative attack ads. Which, in my opinion, is great, because it will sink her ship. Now from a purely republican stand point I hate to see her not get the nomination. I really think that if she is the dem nom that people will come out of the woodwork to vote against her which is great for the rep party.

I honestly don't know that I could sleep at night knowing that she is at the helm of the ship I am on. You know, its funny that I can't stand her now, because I used to just love her. Of course, at that time I was in college with no husband and no sons and I was a member of NOW (scary, huh?). My how things change.

As far as the rep. side of Iowa. There isn't much to say. One of the biggest contenders didn't even show up. So I don't know that what happened there even matters. Although, I did have one thought. I saw some footage of Huckabee jamming out on an electric guitar and it reminded me so much of another Governor of Arkansas that became President that played the saxophone. hhhhhmmmmm. Do you have to be musically inclined to get voted in to office there?

Politics......

Yuck!!!! Man... what a depressing thought. I can't believe that it is election time.

Don't get me wrong... from a disconnected perspective I love politics. If I imagine that all of these less than stellar candidates will have no impact on my life... I love the whole process. But when I come back to reality and realize that one of these people will be making decision that will effect almost every area of my life.. that's when I get queezy.

From an unattached perspective the politicians antics and audacity is almost comical. They constantly change their views according to their audience.. .and in their minds they have no clue that anyone is really keeping track. They give these vague answers that really don't answer anything. And then you kick in all the personal stuff... the tabloid type news about them and its like a side show for your own personal entertainment and amusement.

BUT.... like I said, eventually reality comes crashing down on me and it hits me that in 10 months I am going to have to enter a voting both after alot of prayer and consideration and vote for one of these jokers. And then whoever the American public deems least likely to ruin us all will take office, eeeekkkk!!!! Its like a bad dream.

I am typically not a Democrat, but I will vote for whatever party I feel best represents me. So I'll start there.....

Hillary Clinton... The thought of that woman running our country runs cold shivers down my spine. Alot of people are under the impression that women will vote for her just because she is a woman. I think that is insulting. And most women I know don't really have any warm fuzzy feelings when it comes to her. I think that Bill was pretty low down in alot of ways, but I think he had alot of personality. Even though, he was far from perfect people could identify with him. Hillary has about as much personality as a Stepford wife.

Barack Obama.... Now even though I don't plan on voting for him I could sleep at night should he become President. I don't agree with alot of his ideas, but I feel that he is thoughtful and does want to make a better America. But on the downside.... I don't know if he has the kind of experience to make the cut. And then there is the fact that he isn't a good ole white boy. To me, it should not make a difference. And the PollyAnna side of me would like to think that most Americans would feel the same way... but I am not so sure that is the case. Sad to say.

Oh yeah... I can't forget my sort of fellow North Carolinian, John Edwards. He has nice hair.... well, that about concludes all I have to say about him. I just don't think he can get it done. Who knows, maybe he'll surprise me.

Then we have the republicans.....

Its even more sad....and I am one, so that is scary

Rudy Gulliani... I am not sure about him I think he would probably make a good vice-Pres. But I am just not sure about him being the man. His platform mainly seems to be playing on peoples sentiment from 9-11. I guess his actions during that time show that he is good under pressure... but the Pres has more to tackle than just terrorism... although that is pretty important.

Mitt Romney...I kind of like him, but I am not 100% sure that I could vote for him. I can't really get a feel for how everyone really feels about him being LDS. I have alot of Christian friends that believe that its a deal breaker. But living here in the Bible belt its hard to gauge how the rest of the country really feels about that. I have seen his nice looking family with him in their perfect pictures, but I haven't heard a whole lot about how he really feels about the big issues.

And then there is Fred Thompson... he could have went all the way, but now that the writer's strike is happening I think he is sunk. hheehhe!!!!!!! I think if he is going to do anything he is going to have to muster up a heck of a lot more enthusiasm than he has in the past few months. He might make an okay vp as well.

And how could I forget Mr. Huckabee. I am going to have to do a little more research before I make a comment on him. I am just not sure how I feel about him.

And then their is Ron Paul. I have to say ... I kind of like the guy... in a crazy, sort of demented way. He is really a liberatarian dressed up in Rep clothes. I am not sure if he thinks everyone has forgotten about his past go at it. I don't think he has a snow balls chance at being elected but I sure do like to muse about life under lib. rule. No IRS... No federal gov... it just brings a smile to my face..... oh wait... what was that I heard... oh man... it was reality knocking at my door. Okay, I am over the whole smiling thing.

Man, that is a depressing list. and I haven't even really began to think about state and local politcs...ugh.

But I can take heart, because I know that no matter what becomes of this whole political mess that the Lord is in control.

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the
Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but
this is what they heard;

'Heavenly Father
We come before you today
To ask your forgiveness and
To seek your direction and guid ance.
We know Your Word says,
'Woe to those who call evil good'
But that is exactly what we have done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium
And reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and
Called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness
And called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn
and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists
And called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline
Our children and called it
Building self esteem.
We have abused power
And called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's
Possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air
With profanity and
Pornography and called it
Freedom of speech and expression
We have ridiculed the time
Honored values of our
Forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh, God,
And know our hearts today;
Cleanse us from every sin
And set us free.

Amen!'

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked Out
during the prayer in protest.

In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is
pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 Of those
calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international
requests for copies of this prayer from India ,Africa and Korea .

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio Program, 'The
Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program
than any other he has ever aired.

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our Nation and
wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'one
nation under God.'