Addendum to "Thoughts on the "The Election"

I have received a number of comments on my last post about the election. Perhaps some clarification is needed.

I in no way want it to be construed that I am not thinking this election through, only responding from anger and disappointment. I am using the lens of my christian worldview.

Yes, I believe that God is still on the throne.
Yes I believe that the the heart of kings are in the Hand of God.
Yes, I believe that this is may be a time of shaking and sifting in our collective national soul.

While I am not shaken as a Christian and my spiritual foundations remain strong and steady, I am angry as a voter, a Republican, a Conservative, a father and a citizen of both Heaven and Earth.

My friend, the Really, Righteous, Rev. Hanner had a recent post on antagoniz.com where the statistic cited was that less that 1/3 of our nation considered themselves "church goers." And this was in 2001! Imagine what it is today. We are witnessing the steady erosion of our cultural and spiritual morals. And the tide isn't turning in our direction. This is evidenced by the outcome of the recent Presidential election. Our country is shifting to the left, dragging the center and Right with it.

And the Right continues to get smaller and less effective.

I know that in the end, it doesn't matter. God's will will be done. But I just don't feel like joining in and celebrating the Democratic victory. However long God tarries, I still must make account for what I do during the time and in the space I occupy. I am still to be salt and light in a dying and darkening world.

Sunday in church, the New Testament reading was the passage about the 10 wise and 10 foolish virgins. I pray that I will do my utmost to keep my lamp full, ever watchful and ready for his return. I will continue to possess the land that I am in and, though I may sometimes complain and holler, I will continue to pray and be a faithful witness and keep to my place in the wall!

Look Busy! Jesus is coming!
Traveler

Thoughts on "The Election"

With the sting of defeat still resonating in the depths of my being, I thought now would be a good time to put thoughts to blog posting. I have posted 4 pictures this time instead of the normal 1. Take a moment to re-read them and let the sentiments sink into your conscienceness.

They sum up what I feel.

I do not look forward to the changes that this new administration and congress will impose upon the nation. I believe that we find ourselves in this position because of what my side, the Republicans, failed to do during the 8 years of the Bush administration. Admittedly, we were somewhat distracted by the war in Iraq, but we failed to do anything about taxes, Social Security, immigration and the border, the drug trade and jobs going overseas. And now it will be many years before we get that chance again.

We lost because our leaders abandoned Conservatism. We didn't, in the words known in Texas, "Dance with the one who brung you." We allowed ourselves, once again, to get sidetracked with the notions of fairness and being liked by the Left and the media. We have forgotten that no matter what we do as Conservatives, we will never be accepted or liked by the Left. They stand opposed to all that we believe in and base our principles on. We pandered to the Left's desire for unity, forgetting that their notions of "Unity" consists of me forgetting and leaving behind all of my Conservatism and becoming a Democratic Leftist. Being popular is more important that being right.

Which brings me to my next point. Having clear policies and a real understanding of government and leading is not a requirement for being POTUS (President of The United States). Because of the ignorance and shallowness of many of the voters in our country, Style won over Substance. Promising that " 95% of Americans will pay no taxes" still seems to be as effective as "a chicken in every pot" did a few decades ago. Our culture, accustomed to handouts of any kind, seemed loathed to bite the hand that feeds it. Rather, it just voted to continue the culture of corruption, big government and higher taxes with the belief that Government, not hard work and lower taxes, is the answer to the problem.

Many on the Left and some on the Right, on the day after the coronation of the Messiah, His Majesty Barak, gave forth the clarion call for all to come together and work for the common good.
I, for one, have no interest in "Unity" for Unity's sake. How can I "come together" and support those whose policies I vehemently opposed during the election? Just because the Democrats won does not mean that I agree with them on anything. I didn't before and I still don't now. If that makes me a sore loser, then so be it. I cannot join with them in the propagation of abortion, gay marriage, higher taxes, greater government intrusion, less privacy, decreased religion freedom and a weaker military.

Which begs the question. Must I be a gracious and compliant loser?

NO! And again I say, NO! I must not lie down and take the beating the Left feels I rightly deserve. I say NO to the spread of Socialism in my country. I say NO to the abandonment of Reagan and Conservatism. 57 million voters said NO at the polls. I was one of them. I will continue to stand for the principles that made this country great and I will trumpet the values, both Biblical and governmental, which make this the greatest nation on God's green earth. I will pray and study and be ready for mid-term elections in '10 and to cast my vote again in 2012 for real "Change."

Will you be ready?

Still smarting from the Chicago-style mob whacking!
Traveler

What was I thinking? - Part 2

I always appreciate the comments that others leave in response to my blog. And sometimes its important to pass them on. These two arrived today and I thought posting them would be helpful and instructive. They come from 2 different parts of our great land, the first from Richard in the swamps of Georgia and the second from Margot in the Pacific Northwest. Thanks for your sage comments.


Excellent Post Bro, Appreciate the charactered candor. I hope your readers will follow your insightful anaysis. A wise man learns from experience-A wiser man learns from someone else's!
Richard


Hi Jeff,
I too got duped into seeing the Dark Knight. I came home so mad and up set it took me most of what was left of the evening to settle down. I based my decision on going on the previous Bat Man movies. What I ended up seeing was 2.5 hours of non stop senseless violence. As if violence ever really makes sense. The violence in this movie was not violence with even a motive but simply for the sake of destruction. This film was unbelievably dark.

So as I searched my heart to see if there was anything of redeeming value as a result of that experience. All I could come up with was that it was a wake up call for how dark our world has become. We as believers need to burn much brighter.

"All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing."
- Edmund Burke

It is time to be out shining the light of the gospel on every street corner. We have been too busy shining our lights at each other.

If this film does anything I hope that what the enemy meant for our destruction will turn out for our good. In that those unfortunate believers who had to witness the evil of this movie would wake up to the fact that our enemy is not flesh and blood but powers and principalities intent on destruction.

We need to wake up - no matter what end time scenario you choose to hold to the hour grows late and our lives are only a pittance of years. It is our personal end times. What will we do with our years for the glory of our Lord and King? Will we have oil in our lamps when the Bride Groom comes? Will he find us faithful?

For me, after repenting for not walking out after the first 15 minutes and subjecting myself to the entire movie. After I calmed down and turned to God in prayer with humble repentant heart.
I came to the conclusion that I needed to ask God to turn up the fire in my life. How easy it is to be lulled to sleep or to be carried away by all the distractions and things of this life. We have become desensitized to the evil running rampant in our land. Truly we need to allow the Lord to shake us up.

2 Chronicles 7:14
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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

It is time to wear out our knees!

Kudos Jeff for speaking out on this one.

Posted by Margot to A Wandering Traveler at October 12, 2008 10:00

Grateful for other travelers.
Traveler

What was I thinking?

A couple of week ago, I went to see a movie with a friend. I didn't want to particularly go to see this movie. While it looked interesting, I feared it would be as bad, with little redeeming value. Not bad as in horrible plot, acting and film making but bad as in content. The kind of movie where you leave and say, "What was I thinking?" I now say, publicly, that I was wrong to go see this movie.

Now at this point I could offer up some generic insights about how I felt, why I felt it and the lessons learned. But no matter what I say, the only thing you will want to know is, "Which Movie was it?" You would miss all the salient points and the nuggets of truth I might dispense. You might also take this opportunity to, silently and to yourself, pass judgment on me for my poor choice of movie and lack of moral certitude. "How could you see THAT?" or "DUH!" or even "What were you Thinking?"

So I guess before we continue any further, I must be transparent and tell you which movie I saw......

It was.......

Are you really certain that the title of the movie is That important? Shouldn't my pithy observations be enough for you? Shouldn't my revelation that I Was Wrong to see this film be enough to satisfy you?

No? Alllllllright!

It was "The Dark Knight", the second of the recent reincarnation of the Batman series starring Christian Bale as the Batman and Heath Ledger as the Joker. Not the Joker as I remember being in the comic books or earlier movies, but a more demented, evil Joker. So lets start with my observations. I my humble opinion, this movie had not one shred of redeeming value in it. It was dark, very dark, full of fear and horror, gruesome and base, demented and vile. And I ponied up $10 to see it! I had been harranged for weeks about going to see this follow-up to the first movie with Bale (which was pretty good and did have some redeeming value). Inside something told me not t go see it. And did I listen? No. I went. And the movie went on and on and on. Just when you thought it was close to the end, it took a turn for the worse and continued on its downward slide.

I think the thing that bothered me most was what I heard before I actually saw the movie then what I felt after I saw it. "The Oscar buzz for Heath Ledger, what an amazing performance he had, the depth of character he brought to the role of the Joker. Accolades and praise and great reviews abounded." Certainly it was heightened by his untimely death but that misses the point. "This was one of the must-see films of the year!" In all the reviews and effusive praise, never once did I hear anyone say, "That was a truly evil, demented film. Should he have made it all?"

How tragically sad that the last statement Heath Ledger made on this earth was the one of the Joker. This is how most people will remember him (and maybe for the gay cowboy flik as well). People gushed over his performance and called it Oscar-worthy. People talked about how he embodied the Joker and how his character was spot-on. How he really brought the character to life and make him seem almost likable. Yet no one seemed to be the least bit concerned about the content of the role, what he said and the seeds evil and mayhem he left in your mind. By the end of the film, you almost liked the Joker and thought "Yeah, he did kinda make sense, in a demented twisted sort of way." He was well spoken and used twisted logic to make his points.

I know I felt slightly nauseous and queasy when I left the theater. Interestingly, as we left the theater, we passed by a large group just letting out from seeing "Fireproof", the latest movie from the makers of "Facing The Giants." Completely redeeming, value-affirming and morally sound. People were leaving the theater with red eyes and with wet tissues. I, too, was crying inside because I has been seduced by the glitter of Hollywood and had parted with my hard-earned cash and left the theater feeling sick and, quite frankly, ashamed that I had been duped and used. We sat for 2 1/2 hours watched as evil and horror and death and destruction and torture and insanity played out before my eyes. I was not a guardian of my eyes that night. I let seep into my thoughts and soul the depravity of man, without a hope outside of the saving power of God.

Songs from years long past came to mind...."Be careful little eyes what you see..." Scripture exhorts us to guard our minds and hearts, being always watchful for the seeds of destruction that can lead to the crumbling of our walls and defenses. "Set no worthless thing before your eyes." Even if it seem fun and is "just entertainment" I must always be on guard.

That night, I was not. I am ashamed of my lack of conviction and my poor judgment. I can only hope that when I am faced with such a decision as that again, I will pass on it with flying colors, my head up, my defenses intact, my spirit and soul safe.

Being a little more watchful.
Traveler

Stale-Like a bag of opened chips.

I recently chided a good blogger friend about the state of his blog. It had not been updated in quite a while. His blog was crying out for some attention. And fortunately, he watered it with some excellent words. I, in my state of pridefulness, failed to realize that I was guilty of the same-said inattention. He rightly said that my blog was a little "stale." How correct he is. I have, over the last 4 weeks, been very busy and had a number of excellent ideas to blog on. But I failed in putting any of them in written form. And sure enough, I cannot remember a single topic that I found so scintillating. So before I decide, again, that I have nothing to say, I'll say the following.

I must be more conscious of doing now what I usually end up doing later or not at all. I am a procrastinator by nature and have not been doing a good job lately of "killing the old man." My intentions are the noblest and pure yet the results are unrecognizable and non-existent. I do that which I don't want to do and don't do what I ought. I recognize myself in the 7th chapter of Romans. Although we are talking about my blog, in reality we are skirting around the issues of my life.

Do you ever wish you were someone else? The one who is always on time, the one who is the best dresser, the one who's writing is flawless, the one who's life seems to be perfectly aligned with the world and God? That person is not me.

I know that I am flawed and unvarnished, a pot still on the Potter's wheel. Sometimes I wish that He would smash the pot and start again. I mean, can't he just add a little water and reshape me into a vessel for greater use? One who looks better and is more handsome? Does He really want to use me as I am?

While I know the answer, and so do you, this little bit of venting help me to see the perspective. He knows exactly what this vessel is made for, what it's uses are and what are it's strengths and limitations. And He still wants to use me. Amazing! It is I who must learn to be content in all things, I who must see the good in this vessel, I who must trust the purposes of the Master Potter. It is He who has made me and not me myself.

Does the pot say to the Potter, " Do you think it time for a Do-Over?"

I only get one shot in this lifetime. I must use what was given to me to the best of my abilities, and beyond with His abilities and Spirit. I must not complain, chafe at the bit in my mouth or allow my joy to be robbed. I can do all things in Him, who strengthens me.

Let the Spirit refresh your spirit and blow away any staleness. Keep your chin up! And your knees on the ground.

Watching for flying mud!
Traveler

Loyalty Beyond Reason

Its funny how one thing leads to another.

While doing some research for a college workbook I'm working on for a friend, I ran across a book that I found interesting for a variety of reasons. Only one of which I will elaborate on.
The name of the book is "Lovemarks: the future beyond brands" by Kevin Roberts. Now before you jump to the obvious conclusion concerning the title of the book, let me set you straight. It's not what you think. It has to do with well-known brands and the love they receive in being made and by consumers. Very interesting. Now what struck me.

The following is an excerpt from the book. Read it and I will explain at the end what struck me about it.

"If you believe in Mystery, clap your hands.

Peter Pan got it right. When Tinkerbell was clocking out because no one believed in her anymore, he asked the children of the world to revive her by clapping. Loudly. It worked. That is what Mystery needs, a surge of faith in its power.

The power of Mystery. You know it when you feel it. Marilyn Monroe had Mystery. Still does. Russell Crowe has got it-as a dangerous skinhead in Romper Stomper to Maximus to a reclusive mathematical genius.

The cloak of Mystery forces us to find our own meanings, our own sense of what is important in our lives. And it often does it through a revelation, a thunderbolt. What the French call coup de foudre. Everything changes. This is what made The Lord of the Rings, Chanel No. 5, and Red Bull into Lovemarks for their devotees.

Mystery opens up emotion. Mystery adds to the complexity of relationships and experiences. It lies in the stories, metaphors, and iconic characters that give a relationship its texture. Mystery is a key part of creating Loyalty Beyond Reason."

And just like that, I realized, once again, why I am so drawn to the liturgical style of worship. The Mystery of it all. The "smells and bells". The beautiful robes and incense and lofty phrases and prayers, speaking the way we spoke to God years ago. The stained glass and scent of holiness. The sense that He is Holy and Pure, Righteous and Just, Noble and True. The greater cause to which I want to, each Sunday, join anew.

I love the last three word of the above passage: Loyalty Beyond Reason. While these were printed in the context of inanimate articles for consumers, I felt the Spirit stirring me to, once again, cultivate Loyalty Beyond Reason for Him again. Because sometimes following Christ is not always reasonable and I don't always feel loyal. But the Liturgical style of worship encapsulates the Mystery that many Charismatics and Evangelicals lack in our corporate worship, that which we long for but cannot put our finger on, that which is missing in our daily devotionals. God has become our buddy, our pal, our good friend. Someone we "hang out with." But it has been a while since we have related to Him as Holy God, Righteous and Powerful and Awesome, the One in whos presence I cannot stand.

"Take off your shoes, for you are on holy ground."

I, like many of you, take Him for granted many times, especially in the busy-ness of my day. But Mystery in the liturgy draws me back in and reminds me of my place.

It is at His feet.

With ringing bells, stained glass and incense.
Traveler

Who's behind the Curtain?

Before I get to the salient points of this post, I must give credit to whom it is due. The point of this posting is due to a brilliant comment brought to light by my lovely and gracious wife. Credit given, point is now made.

The similarities between B. Hussein Obama and the Wizard of Oz is striking.

Think back to the scene where Dorothy and the Tin Man and the Lion and the Scarecrow are meeting with the Great and Mighty Oz. How they trembled and shook and even fell down before him! Powerful, Magnificent, Great of Wisdom, the Mighty Oz was! Smoke and Fire and Sound! As we watch the spectacle unfold, little Toto, the scruffy yet lovable mutt, runs off to the side and pulls on a curtain and exposes the secret of the Wizard. With a tug of cloth, The Wizard of Oz was revealed for who he really was. A small, frail huckster playing on the fears of innocent people, ruling by might and guile and fear.

Remember what the Wizard said when the curtain was pulled?

Wizard of Oz: Don't pay attention to the man behind the curtain.

Wizard of Oz: [speaking in a booming voice into microphone] I am the great and powerful...
[then, realizing that it is useless to continue his masquerade, moves away from microphone, speaks in a normal voice]
Wizard of Oz: ... Wizard of Oz.

Or how about another mythical metaphors:

It reminds me of being a kid at Easter. Remember getting a chocolate Easter Bunny, biting into it and it was empty and crumbled and only left you with a small taste of chocolate? Remember that feeling when you realized it is wasn't a solid chocolate Easter Bunny. That feeling of being gypped and ripped-off? Behind the facade that is Barak Obama, we find only empty space.

That is what people are discovering about his Holiness, Barak the Messiah. The deeper you go, the more you find out how hollow his platitudes are and how shallow and toothless his policies will be. Even the potential Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, has more experience governing and legislating the does the main Presidential event on the ticket: The Great Black/White Hype!

I hope we, as a nation, don't wake up on the day after the election with a massive toothache from eating too much sugary candy and not enough Red (Republican) meat and potatoes!




Even ignorant canines got it figured out!

Making my appointment with the Dentist!
Traveler