THINKING ABOUT 2008
Would you agree that our election was THE story of 2008? This fall Mike and I had that bronchitis where your throat hurts like a big dog and you lose your voice. Similarly, since November 4th we feel like we've lost our voice. We're not whining because our party lost and we want to take our toys and go home. We're scared because our country reached for "pie in the sky" without connecting any dots. When did America quit thinking?

The country seems to be on a crazy cycle with all the thought process sucked out. You know that's true if you've seen Jay Leno go out on the street and ask the simplest questions. People are busy emoting rather than deliberating. "How does that make you feel?" they wonder. Well, we feel like hollering "use your head!" When Grandmother said someone didn't have sense to come in out of the rain, she was talking about folks who lacked plain ole good judgment. Onto that palette, Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber "popped" like shining stars.

Miss Scarlett may have gotten away with "thinking about it tomorrow", but sometimes you HAVE to think responsibly...and on the spot. Take that spot in a New Jersey WalMart, where the crowd stomped an employee to death. Was that not crazy, criminal mindlessness? Then there's a new song out this month called "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow". A couple of governors from New York and Illinois danced like there was no tomorrow. Those boys embodied "to thine own self be true"; accountability must have come like a bolt out of the blue. It's hard to feel sorry for either one, but how devastating and humiliating for their families. Who could forget Mrs. Elliott Spitzer's ashen face at his press conference? Unfortunately, it's not news that power or sex or greed have often trumped logic. But this year we're talking about something else...two HUGE examples of rational disconnect.

First, some folks apparently thought you could lend money to people who couldn't afford it and somehow they could pay it back. Then compounding that, just keep rolling those bad debts into big wads of debt and one day it will either be all better...or at least it will be someone else's problem down the line. We seem to be down the line now, and the solution is to just print more money? This is nuts! Doesn't anyone know there's a day of reckoning?

Secondly, the big three carmakers are paying wazoo salaries to CEOs. Certainly there's nothing wrong with paying well, except they are paid millions to lose billions. And CEO pay is not the only problem; unions pushed contracts that are impossible. Who actually thought they could pay Saturn workers in the Columbia, TN plant for a whole year NOT to work? How many generations do we need to go backward to find some common sense people who would have KNOWN that dog wouldn't hunt?

We need to be saved. Saved from leaders who turn out to be profiteers, making decisions based solely on their gain...saved from corporate's greedy who show no regard for faithful employees' pensionless future...and saved from Democratic Santas with faux compassion who legislated economic collapse and now turn around and point to Wall Street.

This IS a wonderful life, but we sure need more George Baileys. Wonder if even George's angel, Clarence Odbody, could tackle our complicated dilemma? These days the non-thinkers and corrupt thinkers seem to have outnumbered the rest of us. We need a man to step up to the plate and "do the right thing"...a patriotic leader who can problem solve and do it with good judgment and common sense.

God grant us one.

"'Come now, and let us reason together' says the Lord." Isaiah 1:18

BARACK OBAMA

Seems even-tempered...certainly not the temperament of a radical. Seems sophisticated...understanding global nuances. Seems accomplished...a Harvard lawyer and United States Senator.  Seems to call for change...at just a glance he embodies change.  So what's all this about obamanation?  

Breathe in.  Get a whiff of The Wizard of Oz.  Remember how the front didn't match what was behind the curtain?

See with pragmatic eyes.  "Change" will come out of Chicago's corruption? See with spiritual eyes.  He found Christ where?  He took his little girls where?  See with eyes researching the records.  Senator Obama was unbridled in his votes for all abortions, even the worst type.  No one dared go that far left...no one but Barack Obama.

Now in our country we have reached for a man because he is black and because he offers hope. Those in the womb might argue about the hope part.  We have logged in a racial vote...to show we are not racist.  We have asked for a man whose "pro-choice" vote is an abomination to our Maker.

When theocratic Israel demanded a king, God gave them what they wanted.  Ah, the heady empowerment of free will.  Now we have asked for and received our choice.  But perhaps you are saying..."but I didn't vote for him!"  Either way, we are in this together.

At Christmas, no one wants doom and gloom.  But this is no ordinary year and we need to be on our knees praying for this man from a very bumpy upbringing who has landed at the top with quite a lapful.  If Scripture is right, the king's heart is in Jehovah's hands.  And like water, Jehovah God can turn it wherever He wants.  We need to be begging the Lord to change the heart of this man...to give favor to whatever godly voice might be available to our President-elect's ear...and to have mercy on our country.

"if My people, who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land."  2 Chronicles 7:14

WEANED ON HATE

It breaks my heart to see videos of children in Muslim countries who are brought up in schools where all they hear are untruths about Westerners.  They are taught to hate something that they really know very little about.  My frustration for them is that I wonder how they can ever learn to evaluate if all they hear is one side.  And besides, how hard is it to hate?  Doesn't hating come a lot easier than loving?  The extreme madrasahs are factories for little haters, ripe for the next escalation.

Surprisingly, here at home we have experienced in the last eight years a similar phenomenon.  There are several "schools" who instruct in our country...our liberal universities and politicians, but mostly, the media.  Collectively they flood many hateful untruths about our president and our country.  The things they say are spoken and repeated and repeated until they seem like fact.  Charles Krauthammer calls this hostility "Bush Derangement Syndrome".  President Bush does not defend himself against the defamation. Perhaps it is his idea that such nonsense should not be dignified with an answer.  I've learned a lot about grace under fire from George Bush.  He may not have done everything I wanted the president to do...but when all is said and done, he led our country through a crunching time that could have sucked America down the drain.  He was strong on his watch.  He kept us safe.

And what about the haters?  They seem victorious because they took W's approval numbers to single digits.  Their spew, which went largely unchallenged, caused people who do not research and think critically...to hate and then hate some more.  It is pure evil to fan that flame.  Now these Bush-haters all but foam at the mouth as they deride a good man.  We have to listen as everything (including the weather) is blamed on him.  Unfortunately, their lack of honest discourse and civility has damaged the office of the presidency.

But the presidency is not the only thing that has suffered under these libels.  Just as the little Muslim children are affected and their life's course determined by their hatred...so hate will eat away the insides of an American who sets his/her heart against another person and willfully chooses to enjoy hating and destroying.  President Bush will soon be back in Texas with his wife who adores him.  His career took him to the pinnacle of power and service.  George Bush will have the confidence that he has pleased the Lord to the best of his ability.  He can smile at the future.

What will the haters do with their well-oiled fountain of venom?

"'Let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,'  declares the Lord."  Zechariah 8:17

THE NEW JERUSALEM

Mike gave me a cross that I wear almost every day.  He bought it after we finished our Revelation study.  It says "Jerusalem" on the front and it makes me think about the new Jerusalem and what's ahead one day.  I'm grateful that the Lord left us a description of His coming kingdom to encourage our hearts; He knew we would need to have our eyes lifted toward the prize.  Here are some thoughts from our study that I love to run over in my mind.

Our teaching leader is named Bill and he told us about a time when he was in the family engine-rebuilding business.  He said that such a business was not all that glamorous, but it did afford a nice perk...a trip to a piston rings convention in Europe.  Bill's dad was not interested in going and so Bill and his brother went and took their wives.  They all tried to talk their dad into going along.  But the dad said he had been to Florida and California twice, so why would he want to go to Europe?

When the four travelers came home, they brought slides and stories about what Europe had been like.  And Bill said, "I must have done a better job of selling Europe than I realized because the next year he and my mother WENT!"  Then Bill continued..."in this chapter of the Revelation, God has done a wonderful job of telling us what it will be like so we will want to go".

I LOVED that.

Also, Bill said that when he and April were first married, they were in school up in Fayetteville and lived in a 350 square foot apartment.  The first time the parents came to visit, they spent three days cleaning to get ready.  At this point I am already killing myself laughing about meeting "in-law expectations" and the length of time to clean 350 square feet.  So Bill says he goes in and April is cleaning the commode for about the third time.  She's standing on her head getting under the rim.  And Bill says "why are you doing THAT?"  April replied "my mother will look".  He says "you are crazy, she won't look THERE!".  But later Bill goes by the bathroom door and catches his mother-in-law inspecting.

Bill went on to explain, "we spent THREE days in preparation for our parent's visit.  God has spent TWO THOUSAND YEARS preparing a place for us!"  

These thoughts and all the other new thoughts collected from the book of Revelation have renewed our minds.  I guess my previous understanding of heaven had been that I would "go up" somewhere.  Now I have a different scenario of what the Lord will do as He makes a new heaven and new earth...and the New Jerusalem.  For me personally, just reading about all the precious stones in the city was a trip.  I'm a beader and I find it exciting NOW to drive to North Little Rock and look around in the bead shop.  One day I will have access to dazzling colors and varieties of precious stones that exist to declare God's creativity and reflect His glory.  I can just "see" the gold pavement and clear sparkly jewels.

Our Revelation study has increased our sight and made us thirsty for the city whose builder is God. 

"And the city (the new Jerusalem) has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb." Revelation 21:23

LAGUARDIA LIFE LESSONS

We were in our airline seats on the ground at LaGuardia as our flight was boarding.  I was chitchatting with an aisle passenger from Long Island named Stacey.  All of a sudden, the tenor of the air in the cabin changed magically.  It was like fairy dust had been sprinkled when a large group of children boarded.  They had been to a Down Syndrome competition in New York.  And as they came down the aisle, their joy was spilling over as they laughed and hugged and freely shared their love and excitement.  Their community's bubbly ways just seemed to lift all our collective spirits.  They were a force for good...true free love that the 60's would envy.

But five minutes went by and the boarding line got clogged up.  People who were backed up in the aisle pursed their lips and shifted carry-on loads.  A large man rudely hollered "CMON!  We need to get off the ground here!"  Stacey and I froze for a minute.  We were so hoping the problem was not coming from the special needs section.  But we couldn't see far enough in the back to know.

The line mercifully eased a bit and now the man was about three rows behind us.  We could hear him excoriating someone.  "Get up!  You're in my seat!  That's MY seat!"  Then he screamed..."MOVE!"  Someone down the line asked what was wrong.  The answer was relayed back "someone doesn't know their alphabet".  Stacey and I cringed again.  

Thank goodness now the stewardess was making her way down the aisle, offering "may I help"?  It turned out that the problem was a lady who did not speak English.  She was reseated across the aisle and back a few rows.  A very kind man spoke up and volunteered to sit by Irateman. The trouble was diffused until the next time life will meet Mr. Irate where he dwells...fixed on the edge of rage.

I wonder if our special needs friends were aware of what went on in the aisle that day.  I can't remotely IMAGINE one of them ever speaking to another person in that way.

Who knows what earlier events combined to bring Mr. Irate to his emotional state that day. But once on the plane, many people witnessed his co-performance in a seminar the Lord was offering about having regard for others.  Contrast is such an illustrative teacher.   I wish Mr. Irate could see the video replay.  

And maybe one day in eternity, he will... 

"In this act (of sending Christ) we see what real love is.  It is not our love for God, but His love for us.  Since God loved us as much as that, we surely ought to love each other."  1John 4:10,11

THE GOD WHO SEES

Lately I came home from a WalMart run with a huge blessing.  As I was pushing out my cart that was full of prizes, I noticed a teaching friend from years ago named Sue.  Sue was shamelessly hugging two WalMart associates.  She was flushed and emotional, so I went up and asked why she was loving on strangers.  Turns out she had just been a victim of a theft!  Sue had been checking out and her wallet was up on the little counter.  The felonious associate smoothly walked by and swiped the wallet without Sue even seeing. Then he just disappeared.

Sue was frantic.  She had $300 in cash, which was the least of her worries.  All those cards in the wallet brought vulnerability that made this over-seventy lady feel like she was twisting in the wind.  She did all she knew to do.  She prayed and went to tell a manager.  Then she sat down on one of those front benches to wait...afraid her goose was cooked.

WalMart is a wonderful company.  We love to shop there and save money; we love to park there in the RV and feel their security cameras keep us safe.  And this day, those inside security cameras were doing their thing.  They recorded the incident and within minutes security found the perp before he exited the store.  Her wallet was brought back...$300 and all.

After we enjoyed her restoration, I said "I've been studying the names of God.  Let's think who took care of you this morning."  Sue said "oh, I have one of those charts in my Bible".  But she was still so discombobulated she couldn't think.  And I began to think out loud..."well, there's Provider God (Jehovah Jireh).  He provided help, but that doesn't seem just exactly right."  I thought a few more moments and then it hit me.  The One who took care of Sue that morning was El Roi, the God who sees.  He used the WalMart camera eye, but it was God who knew Sue's plight and answered her prayer.

Similarly, Genesis 16 tells the story of the outcast Hagar.  She was in the middle of the wilderness (think that's how Sue felt?) with neither water, food, nor options for her child or herself.  An angel came to Hagar with help and Hagar said "Thou art a God who sees!"  Our Bible translates the word that Hagar used as "God"...but in the original Hebrew, it was "El Roi", one of God's specific names that refers to a trait that He is displaying.

El Roi was very gracious to Sue that day at WalMart.  He saw and He acted on her behalf just as He acted for Hagar.  We've always heard of God's everlasting arms.  It's a comfort to know He also has all-seeing eyes that look to show Himself strong for hearts that belong to Him. 

"For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His."  2 Chronicles 16:9

TENDERIZING A SMALL HEART

Nate and I were hanging out one Saturday in the Pooch Coach; Beth and Mike had gone to the Razorback game.  We were watching the Noggin channel and there was a good program about three friends who have adventures in NoWhere Land.  There's Maggie, the imaginative little red-haired girl whose stuffed animal friends come to life... Hamilton Hocks, the pig who likes things to be in order, loves to cook for his friends, and bursts into song spontaneously...and Ferocious Beast, who is anything but ferocious with his tender heart and huge body with red polka dots (which fly off when he sneezes).

The storyline told of Hamilton getting a prize that he had won in a cooking contest.  The pig's prize was a pushtoy with popping balls and he was SO excited because he'd always wanted that toy.  His friends watched Hamilton as he gleefully played with the popper.  Then Maggie and Hamilton left on an errand.

Ferocious Beast told his friends he didn't want to go with them because he had something to do.  But the truth was that he wanted to stay behind to play with Hamilton's new toy.  And he had fun...until he stepped on the popper and the dome came off and the balls went everywhere.

FB was distraught because he had not asked to play with the toy and now it was broken and his friends were coming back.  The Beast began to cry.

At that point Nate got up from the floor.  That should have been a no-brainer clue to me. Everyone knows kids watching TV don't break their eye-lock, even if you yell "CANDY BAR". But Nathan came and stood beside me at the sink, then grabbed onto the side of my britches and held on.  His little heart is very tender towards the feelings of others.  I also found out later that Nate had been learning that same lesson about telling the truth the week before.

I gave Nate a hug, but hadn't really put it all together about how the program was affecting him. June Cleaver would have leaned down and talked Nate through his feelings.  I must have been in my "Martha mode" and it didn't dawn on me until later why my little buddy was standing there.  I missed a great opportunity and that reminded me that I'm too old to do two things at once.  So much for multi-tasking.  

And what about Hamilton's plight?  The segment ended well with Maggie (clearly the problem-solver of the three) gathering up the balls and popping the top back on.  Voila!  The pig's problem went away and he shared his toy with his friends.  Don't we all long for the simple life that ends so idyllically ?  Wouldn't it be great if everyone's motives and actions were pure? Wouldn't it be great if there were no hurt feelings?  Or that you could pack up your troubles as easily as Maggie snapped the top back on the popper?  But wait...isn't that day coming?

"He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  For the old world and its evils are gone forever."  Revelation 21:14 NLT