Jill of Most Trades

My blog friend MaryMother wrote a quick post with this title. I can totally identify with having a zillion things running thru my brain that I'd like to blog about but never get around to. Her solution: serve gruel for family suppers; takes no planning at all! Just might have to try that myself :) Tonight's solution: Brain dump!

Since my pre-election posts, I have wavered between never wanting to write again and feeling a need to share my perspective post-election. I've opted for neither. In short, I'm choosing to trust God's sovereignty in my own life as well as in the life of our country. I am praying for soon-to-be President Obama and his family.

I am reminded of a verse I read this morning in Psalm 119 - "Your decrees are my treasure; they are truly my heart's delight." I am determining to delight in God's Word more than I delight in the financial or political or religious / moral situation in our nation. Hopefully that brings some peace to you as well.

OK. On to other things. Books I've checked out from the library:

• Oil! a novel by Upton Sinclair - There Will be Blood was based on this book. After reading Kite Runner and being turned off by its movie trailer, I have vowed once again to try read the original before / instead of watching a movie substitute. 
• Three Cups of Tea: One Man's mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time - I read about this book on MaryMother's blog. Looks interesting, but given the vast number of other books that I want/need to read, this one seems pretty low on the list.
• The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate - Given my election related posts, this probably comes as no surprise. But like I said with about the previous book, this one seems pretty low on the list.
• First We Have Coffee... and then we talk - I remember reading this book years ago and being very challenged but I don't remember much about it. Sometimes I need to reread something for it to really sink in.

And I have about a dozen or so books that I received either thru PaperBackSwap, or as Christmas gifts, or that I am finally just now thinking about that I want to jump into. Or read again.

• Tender Mercy for a Mother's Soul
• Don't Make me Count to Three!
• Premeditated Parenting
• Bringing Up Boys
• Love that Lasts
• Good News about Injustice
• The New Dare to Discipline
• The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child
• A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
• A Life that Says Welcome
• Jungle Pilot
• Sew Fast, Sew Easy, Sew On
• Vegetable Gardening in Florida

Whew! And these are just the books on my desk!! Just typing all of that makes me tired.

I am seeing (again) the need to have more of a plan, a better / actual schedule for my time in order to even have the time to read, and accomplish the things I want to do. The other day I decided to write down the things I need to do on a regular basis. Just the basic things, but I feel like I'm dropping the ball on so many of these right now. Having them written out is sobering but good. In no particular order...

• Building new relationships at Summit, in our neighborhood, and at CC
• Keeping up with local friends who's paths I don't often cross but who I truly value
• Cleaning
• Exercise
• Playing with the kids, outside daily and inside games and such
• Consistent/sufficient sleep
• Meal planning and grocery shopping
• Daily time in the Word
• Laundry
• Yard work, both maintenance and new projects
• Homeschooling and specifically, planning ahead!!
• Keep in touch with far away friends and family
• Practice my violin and get involved with our worship team
• Date time with Joel
• Talk about kids with Joel
• reading all those books I listed above!!
• Special/ Seasonal projects like preparing for our garage sale, reorganizing the kids closet, or working on Stockdale vacation plans

In some way, writing these things out is good for me. When these list just bump around in my brain, I get more and more overwhelmed. The thing I've identified as Priority Number One is going to bed on time. I'll write about the 309 unread blog posts I have to catch up on some other time.

I think Count Rugen said it best: "Get some rest. If you haven't got your health, then you haven't got anything."

Good night!

"The average man votes below himself; he votes with half a mind or a hundredth part of one.

A man ought to vote with the whole of himself, as he worships or gets married.

A man ought to vote with his head and heart, his soul and stomach, his eye for faces and his ear for music; also (when sufficiently provoked) with his hands and feet.

If he has ever seen a fine sunset, the crimson color of it should creep into his vote. …

The question is not so much whether only a minority of the electorate votes.

The point is that only a minority of the voter votes."

— G.K. Chesterton

Today, lets vote differently: with our whole selves. I'm on my way to the poles. I hope you are too.

Wow! Thank you all for participating with me in this process! I am thrilled for those of you who are choosing to engage in this election because of my post! I hope those of you who agree with my concerns about Sen. Obama will continue to humbly seek God in making your final decision. None of us can discern fully what is in the heart of a man or God’s purposes for a particular person. Again, Psalm 75:7.

My dear Becca, I especially thank you for engaging in this conversation! I read your original comment last night right before I went to bed and tossed and turned late into the night. First thing this morning my thoughts turned to this conversation and asking God for discernment and humility. I feel he brought several things to mind to share but when I opened facebook to respond, I found Gayle had already expressed similar thoughts on the roles of the church and government. God created “Government [implements] law and justice. Love comes from the hearts of people that are able to impart love.” (Kudos to anyone who can guess who this quote comes from!!) Those “people”, of course, are God’s people, his presence on earth, the Church. Replacing the role of the church with government involvement becomes socialism. Socialism takes away individual freedom and ownership of private property, and generally doesn’t work because of its faulty view of human nature. (Full disclosure: the language of the last sentence is largely taken from an excellent article by my friend Tom Short. I hope to reproduce the article with Tom’s express permission in a separate post later today.)

A thought. Assuming power at a time of economic stress does not necessarily lead to dictatorship. I sincerely believe Sen. Obama does not intend to become a dictator. But the blind devotion of so many people in a time of trouble sets the stage for the outworking of his demonstratably (isn't that a word??) socialist belief that government knows best. Stronger and stronger governmental control is the result. Dictatorship is the furthest extreme of such a position.

One more thing. I think plans to encourage adoption, promote abstinence in teens and fund pregnancy centers sounds very noble. I don’t buy it for a second. NOTHING in Sen. Obama’s record indicates that he will follow through on any of those promises. If you are interested in getting the whole story, I urge you to read the most recent entry on Randy Alcorn’s blog. (Previous entries will also be helpful). He has done a tremendous job examining the issue thoroughly and humbly. I find Mr. Alcorn’s perspectives to be Biblical and winsome.

In closing, I am reminded of an article I read nearly two years ago by an Asbury Theological Seminary student. I posted his editorial on Sen. Obama on my blog back in the early days of the campaign. I still respect his assessment of the situation.

It can be argued that by not voting for him [Sen. Obama], we would only prove to the other politicians that taking this stance isn't ultimately worth it because it doesn't win the votes. I sometimes wish that we could cast two different votes -- one for the person to supply the ideas and the other for the person to deliver them.

I want to see a change in the way politics is run as much as anyone else, but are his policies and plans worth this kind of vote? So far, he has played things fairly close to the vest. He is much like a new recording artist who gets only one shot at a debut album. Obama and his advisers have decided that his music is ready for the charts, and it looks like it is going to debut high. But we need to hear the other songs before we can decide to buy the whole album, as opposed to simply the single off iTunes.

We must remember in the midst of our political daydreams, that if we cast our vote for the idea of Obama in 2008, we are going to get the real, live Obama as president. I don't know yet whether I think that would be good or bad.

Feel free to examine the entire article here in the February 2007 archive of my (seldom used) blog.

Politics aside :) I want you to know that I still miss you and we talk about you and Michael often. Just last week I was thinking of seeing when you might be in O-town next. I miss having you in our everyday lives. Let us know when you can come for supper! I love you, Becca!!

I've had a heavy heart over this election for some time. And now, a short 3 days before The Big Day, what can I say? If you've been watching or reading anything other than the "mainstream media" you understand the great battle that is taking place for hearts and minds. I can only address the people whose world I personally know: evangelical Christians. Kids who grew up in the church. Mostly GC kids, but others too.

Oh, the turmoil! I understand the appeal of Barack Obama. He's so cool, so winsome on many worthwhile levels. I understand the disillusionment with the Republican Party. It has as many sinful people in it as the Democratic Party. And it's track record isn't exactly God-honoring. I don't feel a lot of attraction to the person or politician that is John McCain. I don't like being labeled a one-issue voter. I fear being disdained for having a narrow minded view of America, as even remotely godly, righteous or good. I understand some of the different perspectives that my many expatriate friends have on American government. But I can't let the election pass without urging my friends to consider very humbly their choice for President. A shocking number of you are planning to vote for Sen. Obama and I plead with you to reconsider.

Shocking? Did I just use that word? Don't I respect people's right to chose for themselves? Of course! Surely you know me better than that. I know the arguments on both sides. Believe me; I've been voracious when it comes to election material and commentary. Now it's approaching 2:00 AM and my brain is hurting, but my soul won't let me sleep until I at least take one last opportunity to invite you to consider with me what might be happening in our country right under our noses.

This video of children singing Obama's praises prompted Lori Kalner to recall a portion of her youth in 1930's Germany. She recorded her reflections as Hymn to Hitler and they were published on Brock and Bodie Thoene's blog. Some of you will snicker at those names. Fluff literature perhaps? Perhaps. But in my brief research, Lori Kalner is actually a real person, one of the Thoenes original sources. And what a source she is.

If you follow and read no other link on this post, follow and read Hymn to Hitler. Now.

Are Lori's words a complete disregard for logic? Is she only instilling fear in people? After all our beloved Constitution would never allow such abuse of power by a President!! (Really? See Laura Hollis's very valuable treatment of the subject here.) I found the second comment by BelovedSword to such mockery to be very insightful: 

As for comparing THE ACTIONS of Barack Obama to Hitler’s, why do you turn away from it? Do you fear to see similarities in behaviors and attitudes? No one has come close to saying the Mr. Obama will kill 6 million people, that he is Hitler reincarnated. If Mr. Obama’s behaviors don’t give you pause, then you should simply state so. If you don’t believe his behaviors are similar, simply state so (remember to add the 250,000 citizen watch group he has just added to his list of ideas he wishes to implement). Ms. Kalner has compared similarities in behaviors between the two as well as, and more importantly, the populace that did/does nothing to stand up against it. You may refuse to engage in such a lesson in comparisons on the grounds that it is an “emotional gotcha,” but your refusal is notably void of reason. (I also do apologize, but I could not find your “central thesis” anywhere..this may be because I cannot navigate well or because you have poorly communicated it.) In addition, declaring yourself a “winner” doesn’t make you one, except of course to yourself which only feeds the ego for so long.

Like I said: Turmoil. So, what's a voter to do?

Am I asking you to believe that Obama is the Second Coming of Hitler? Of course not. But I am asking you to look clearly at the policies and potential outcomes of Obama's plans. Putting him in power (and don't be naïve about the checks and balances!) could take us down the road to a both a great loss of freedoms for those who love Truth and more importantly, for the weak and vulnerable that those who love Truth are supposed to defend.

Some of this is vague, I know. But a few of you know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm sure I ticked off a number of good friends tonight. You who truly know me understand that is not my intent at all. I am available for personal dialogue at any time. This is not something I plan to loose friends over. But there can be no doubt that I have urged you to consider humbly, before our God, the potential result of your vote.

Psalm 75:3,6-7 spoke directly to my troubled heart earlier this week.

3) When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil, I am the one who keeps its foundations firm.... 6) For no one - from east or west, or even from the wilderness - can raise another person up. 7) It is God alone who judges; he decided who will rise and who will fall.

Does this mean that we don't have to do anything? Of course not. God has invited us to be partners in his work. Thank God that it is not up to us to "judge". Amazingly, however, He has allowed us to live in a country where we have the privilege in participating in the system of justice. It's a huge responsibility and I pray you will not take it lightly. I know you won't. Voting for Barack Obama seems completely unwise to me. Now you know a little bit about why.

Whoever you will or have voted for, I truly appreciate you taking the time to hear me out. May you draw near to God through your decision making process, no matter what, or who, that looks like.

God's grace to you.

Just a quick reminder to my Florida readers to remember that the election this November isn't just about the presidency. We have our own state issues to fight for and the Florida Marriage Amendment is at the top of that list. I really appreciated this interview of John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council explaining why the amendment is worth fighting for.

Take some time to understand the issue, help your friends get informed and be sure to VOTE IN NOVEMBER!!