It's a Wonderful Life

I'm thinking of watching "It's a Wonderful Life" today. Yeah, I know, Christmas in July. But that's ok- I love that it's a story about life & what it's really all about.
If you haven’t figured it out yet— life is about relationships and how you treat others.

Your relationship with the grocery clerk.
Do you smile at them & ask how they are doing?

Your relationship with the video store girl.
Do you take time out & stop to hear her latest story?

Your relationship with your waiter.
Do you treat him with the respect and tip well?

Your relationship with you family.
Do you call them just to say “I love you”?

Your relationship with your co-workers.
Do you strive to do your best work and get along even when you don’t feel like it? Even if they treat you awful?

Your relationship with friends.
Are you someone they can count on and trust?

Your relationship with God.
Do you take time out to talk to Him & then stop to let Him talk back to you? Do you listen?

Notice that I didn’t list these in any particular order. I did that on purpose. I hope that you are treating the waiter just the same as you would your friends.
But I have to say- I would hope that your relationship with God doesn’t rank last on your list.

Luke 6:27-49 would be a good excerpt for you to read today. If you don’t have time, let me list a handful of the verses for you:
30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.
For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

43 No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers.
45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

the Rubik's Cube Lesson

Yes, it's been awhile. Things have been busy. I haven't been very good at keeping up the blog lately. Right now I'm working the 10 hour shift days at work in the month of January... so if you think of me... say a little prayer as I'm not especially looking forward to this month.
And in other news, I'm turning 30 this month. Hmm. 30. Weird. When I was a kid, I had lots of ideas of what my life would like at 30.

Anyway, I had a weird moment tonight. Tara Lynn (my roomie) went to bed early because she wasn't feeling well and I thought I might read a book and go to bed early too. But instead, I picked up a Rubik's cube. I guess I wasn't ready to sleep. After unsuccessfully working on it... I decided to look for tips online. I visited several sites... but none of them were very helpful. I was getting ready to put it down and call it a night when I saw another site. So I go to this site where it tells you to enter in the configuration of your cube... and it calculates the moves you need to make to solve the Rubik's cube. Ha. I thought I'd give it a whirl and see if it actually worked. So I fill in the blanks and the hit "solve". Ok... so then it tells me that I have 108 moves I need to make. 108 moves. Awesome. So I carefully begin to follow the step-by-step moves. Keep in mind, I've had a long day... and I'm kinda in this half-awake mode.
I get to about Step 26 and I'm thinking : what the heck am i doing? I hate Rubik's cubes. I should be going to bed and sleeping. No. I want to see if this works.

Step 35: I think this might be working. Cool. Only 73 more steps to go.
Step 50: Why am I doing this? 108 freakin steps? What's wrong with me? I'm wasting time.
Step 52: Did I mess up? Did I make one of the moves wrong? This just looks like a freakin jumbled mess.
Step 54: This website is probably just somebody's idea of a joke and they get bored idiots like me to fall for it... sitting here... carefully counting step by step. This is ridiculous.
Step 55: Over half-way there. But what if I messed up? Keep going. Pay attention.
Step 65: I just want to see this cube with solid colors on all sides for once.
Step 66: I'm not built for puzzles like this... I can't do this thing on my own.
Step 76: Hey, I think it's working!
Step 80: 3 sides look almost complete... but the rest still looks like a freakin mess.
Step 81: Is this what You do God? How many steps are there in my life? When all I can see is a bunch of different colors... and confusion... are You really solving the puzzle? Is this really working?
Step 87: All I have to do is follow Your steps?
Step 88: If I screw up on one now... then that will mess it all up. Pay attention. I don't want to start over.
Step 98: Still looks like a mess... I don't think it's working.
Step 103: Nope. Definitely not working.
Step 106: Wait... it might be...
Step 107: Maybe...
Step 108: Holy crap. It worked. Dang. That was ridiculous.
Step 109: Hmm, pretty sure God just taught me something through a freakin Rubik's cube.

So, God used a Rubik's cube to teach me a life lesson tonight. I'm not the type of person to put a spiritual context on everything... but I did learn something tonight. I'm 20 days away from my 30th birthday and my life is not what I expected it to be at this stage in the game. There's lots of different colors all over... on all sides... and I'm not real sure what goes where or how or when. I'm not made for figuring out puzzles like this on my own. I'm not sure how my hopes and dreams and passions and desires and abilities and talents and colors work together. I don't know how to make them come together and solve this puzzle called life... specifically the job side of life. But He does. And all He asks of me is to follow each step... one... by... one. It wouldn't work any other way. He has to get you to one place in life before He can move you up to another.
One thing I noticed as I was working on this thing: you had to get the piece or color that you wanted on the top.... you had to get it on the very bottom first. And then twist and turn and then... there it is... on the top. We have to be willing to be moved around... even when it doesn't look right or make sense to our heads.... as long as we hear God's voice directing us... that's what's important. It's through His steps that He will make sense of our lives. And if we mess up... He knows how to fix things. He knows how to solve the puzzle and make everything come together. Not only the things in my life and your life... but everything in everyone's life... and everything in the entire heaven and earth. I wonder how many steps that is? Probably a lot more than 108. I'm so glad we don't have to figure any of it out... we just have to follow His instructions.

Ephesians 1:9-11 (New Living Translation)
God has now revealed to us His mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill His own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan.

So, Happy New Year to you.

And Happy Birthday to me.

American History 101

Instead of talking about the election, I’ve had some other things on my mind lately. About why we’re here. And by “here” I mean the United States of America. Why are you here do you think? I mean, why weren’t you born in Ghana, or Egypt, or Indonesia? Ever wonder about that? I do.
I have to wonder how many of you will actually read this particular blog entry in it’s entirety. I think I’ll lose some of you… just because you don’t think it’s important... or it's just too much for you to read.
Anyway, a few of my close friends could tell you that in the last year or so I’ve become somewhat of a US history junkie. I’ve always been interested in history… but it’s become kinda like a hobby. I’ve been in search of true history… not the kind they make up in the movies… but the real, the true history… the kind you can only find in old history books… before they were revised and re-written. I went and bought some US history books and have become a student of a man who has a library of tens of thousands of original writings from the Founding Era. He’s kind of like the guy Nicolas Cage plays in those National Treasure movies… but way cooler because he’s actually real… and he owns more original writings of the founding fathers in his own personal library than anyone else in the United States. In fact, only the Library of Congress can compete with his library.
Every once in awhile I crack open one of those US History books and just read… but I think I prefer just soaking it in from my teacher. Wonder who it is? He has spoken to numerous state legislatures, consulted with both state and federal legislators on various bills, and has written amicus briefs in cases at the US Supreme Court. His exhaustive research has rendered him an expert in historical and constitutional issues and he serves as a consultant to state and federal legislators. He also addresses well over 400 groups each year. He has received numerous awards including several Who's Who honors and the George Washington Honor Medal.
He spent eight years as an educator and school administrator before founding WallBuilders. Did you know that Congress once printed Bibles for use in the schools? He owns one of the rare copies of that Bible. His name is David Barton.
The first time I heard him speak, I was in high school... it was probably 10 or 12 years ago. This man probably knows more about our US History and our founding fathers than any of us could ever hope to learn. That’s cool… I don’t care what anybody says… he’s awesome. Now I buy his DVDs and sit in my living room and take notes. No lie.
Besides there being confusion and indecision about the candidates in this election… there seems to be a new disease spreading… confusion about the founding of this nation. So, I thought that I would take the time to share some true American history with you.
I’m sick of hearing that the founding mothers and fathers of this nation did not intend for it to be a Christian nation. Really? The truth is that many of the original state constitutions actually sounded more like a requirement for seminary than a requirement for politics. You didn’t know that? Let me share some of those required oaths of office with you:

Delaware Constitution – Everyone [elected or appointed to office] shall make and subscribe the following declaration, to wit: “I do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed forever more, and I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration.”

Pennsylvania Constitution – Each member [of the legislature], before he takes his seat, shall make and subscribe the following declaration, viz: “I do believe in one God, the Creator and Governor of the universe, the rewarder of the good and the punisher of the wicked, and I do acknowledge the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by Divine Inspiration.”

Massachusetts Constitution – written by Samuel Adams
[All persons elected must] make and subscribe the following declaration, viz: “I do declare that I believe the Christian religion and have firm persuasion of its truth.”

North Carolina Constitution – No person who shall deny the being of God, or the truth of the [Christian] religion, or the divine authority either of the Old or New Testaments or who shall hold religious principles incompatible with the freedom and the safety of the state, shall be capable of holding any office, or place of trust or profit in the civil department, within this state.

In 1892, the Supreme Court noted that each of the forty-four states then in the union had some type of God-centered declaration in its constitution. But yet, you’ll have people tell you that our founding fathers weren’t Christians.
When Tara and I went to Boston last year, we went on one of those bus tours of the city. I remember the guide saying disrespectful things about the “original settlers” and called them “hateful Puritans”. Well, I’ve got news… not all of them were “hateful Puritans”. It doesn’t take much research to find that out. Want to know the religious affiliations of the Founding Fathers? Find some info here.
We also visited the Granary Cemetery. This is where Paul Revere, three signers of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Robert Treat Paine are all buried… among other Revolutionary heroes and Boston Massacre victims. Anyway, while we were visiting that honored burial ground, there was a tour going through that we happened to find ourselves in the middle of. I was surprised to hear some of the things coming out of the tour guide’s mouth. He’s lucky that the dead didn’t rise up to choke the lies coming from his mouth. I’d hate to see what Paul Revere would have done to him. I couldn’t believe it… we stopped to challenge him and question him on some of his points… which he could not defend. When did American tour guides start spreading bias and untrue statements? These experiences still bother and concern me. I’m afraid that these things are becoming more and more common… and there’s not many who know any better… like kids… I guess that’s why I started buying US history books and filling myself with the true historical facts… before they try to re-write and take that away from us too.
I’m hoping to visit Washington, D.C. in the spring with some friends. Last time I was there, I really wasn’t able to see everything I wanted to see. On this visit, I’m hoping to see the Library of Congress. The intent and beliefs of the founding fathers can be found inscribed all over this building.
Two Bible verses can be found inscribed on the ceiling and walls:
The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth not. John 1:5
Wisdom is the principal thing therefore get wisdom and with all thy getting, get understanding. Proverbs 4:7
In the Main Reading Room, statues of Moses and Paul represent Religion, with the inscription, What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, And to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God. Miach 6:8
And in the another example of their beliefs can be found in the Science area, The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handywork. Pslam 19:1

If the founding fathers didn’t intend for American patriots to make following God a priority in this nation, then why is it that when you visit Washington, D.C., you run head first into something about God inscribed in stone? Why is it they required statements of faith of the elected leaders like the ones I've shared with you above?
I wonder how the founding fathers would feel about us just removing and taking that stuff out… taking God out of the picture... and making up our own version of history. Well, it seems another revision of America's religious history has been underway – this time at the new $621 million, 580,000 square feet Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C. Want to help keep God in the picture? Write or call the Architect of the Capitol communications officer (202-228-1793 or emalecki@aoc.gov) and tell them to correct the religious omissions that they’ve made to our US History.
And I’d appreciate if you’d think twice next time you hear something about our founding fathers & religion. Think twice when you hear people like Bill Maher… actually, if you hear Maher on the TV just go ahead and change the channel or turn off the TV… because not only is he absurd… but he’s also a complete idiot.
Don’t take the movies word for it. Don’t take the tour guide’s word for it. Don’t take my word for it. Find out for yourself. Go visit Washington, D.C. and go read some history books… go buy some Wallbuider DVDs… go investigate for yourself.

“A true patriot must be a religious man… He who neglects his duty to his Maker, may well be expected to be deficient and insincere in his duty towards the public.”
Abigail Adams

i wish we could time travel

I am under 45 years old.

I love the outdoors and hunting.
I am a Republican reformer.
I have taken on the Republican party establishment.
I have many children.
I have a spot on the national ticket for Vice President
with less than 2 years in the Governor's office.

Who am I?
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States

Who did you think?

When did it become okay for people to question faith? I thought it was politically incorrect to question one's faith? Or does it just depend on which faith is in question?
I really wish that Charlie Gibson could go back in time and ask President Lincoln and our previous leaders the same questions that he's asked Gov. Palin. Wouldn't that be cool to hear their responses? I'd love to hear what they'd have to say... and I'd love to see what they'd do.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was a five-star general and the Supreme Commander during WWII, was instrumental in the addition of the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954, and the 1956 adoption of "In God We Trust" as the motto of the US, and its 1957 introduction on paper currency. My guess is that if Gibson could go back in time and ask these same questions to President Eisenhower.... well, I'm thinking Gibson would get his ass kicked.

Lastly, I would like to know what Gibson would ask of President Lincoln's beliefs? This is how our beloved Lincoln said it:
"The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's purpose is something different from the purpose of either party—and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect His purpose. I am almost ready to say this is probably true—that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet. By his mere quiet power, on the minds of the now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds."