presentsense

My goal for today...

...is to be a better witness for Jesus than Oprah is for weight-control.

Fleas

My dog has fleas. They are a real nuisance. I got a book today that has some pretty good ideas. I'll keep you posted...

First, stop feeding and watering the dog. That way, eventually, the fleas will run out of food themselves. Second, if that doesn't work, try shooting the fleas off the dog with a 12-guage, or a 50-cal if you have one.

(excerpted from the book "Flea Control For Dummies" by E. Olmert)

OK, so you voted, so now what?

Every 1461 days, as an American, you have the privilege to cast a vote for the highest office in the land. It's important, of course, but as a Christian, if you are one, what you did or didn't do today should not be the end. It's not time to take a nap. The Kingdom of this world is still warring against the Kingdom of our God, and of His Anointed One, and YOU still have a role to play. You can still vote. You vote every day.

You vote when you help your neighbor, and you vote when you don't.

You vote when you feed a hungry man, and you vote when you don't.

You vote when you love people who hurt you, and you vote when you don't.

You vote when you take in strangers, and you vote when you don't.

You vote when you love the unlovely, and you vote when you don't.

You vote when you give into fear, and you vote when you don't.

You vote when you hold on to what you have, and you vote when you don't.

A vote is a choice, and we all make choices, some large and some small, every day. In reality, the sum total of those daily votes is what will matter when our lives our judged at the end. Who we "voted for" in the dozen or more presidential elections  we have the privilege to participate in, will be far outweighed by the choices - votes - we make on all the other days of our lives.

Don't stop now.  Keep voting.

A Prayer for today

Good morning, America...

Your day may include a trip to the polls to cast a vote today, and you may not. Regardless of your plans, I think it would be good for us all to remember today, wherever we are, to pray. One way to do that is to follow the model Jesus offered (and I'll paraphrase...)

Our Father, who is in Heaven,

Your name is holy.

May you truly become our King

May your will be done

Here in our reality,

As it is in Yours.

Today, we only ask for the things we need...for today

Please forgive us what we owe,

As we forgive those who owe us

Don't take us down paths of temptation,

Instead, lead us away from evil.

For You have the authority, and the power, and the glory, from now on. 

You always have.

Amen.

This is why we are where we are

If you are more than just curious about what exactly is behind the global economic crisis, I cannot recommend this show highly enough:

http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=355

The Giant Pool of Money is entertaining and informative, and IN NO WAY has any political slant to it. It's quite refreshing actually to hear events reported on without a slant one way or the other.

And before you all bash me for linking you to public radio, listen to the show for yourself. The glorification of baby murder and sodomy is not alluded to in any way in this 59 minute episode.

You are a Christian who cares about abortion

If you are not, you may ignore this post. If you are, please hear me out. I believe very strongly about this.

With this post, I temporarily suspend my moratorium on politics (some say it never took anyway) on this blog. This is important.

I have had more than a few conversations with my Christian brothers and sisters (even my parents) on this topic. I know that for most Christians, the issue of abortion is A-1 - top of the list - it's going to swing our upcoming election.

Yesterday, Steve Knight and I visited with Don Miller (Blue Like Jazz) in a hotel conference room in Matthews, NC. Don is campaigning for Barack Obama. The audience were (for the most part) church-going folks - committed Christians - who all agree on one point. The abortion issue is the single issue that keeps them and their brothers and sisters in Christ on the fence with regards to the upcoming election.

The Republican campaign has done very litte to reinforce the view that to vote for a Democrat is to kill babies. They haven't had to. After many conversations with my churched friends, even broaching this subject seems foreign. It's not open for discussion. Well, look - in my opinion, it damned-well better be open for discussion. I am not going to allow conventional wisdom to end the conversation. Please read the following facts about abortion. I'll wait here until you get back.

OK, welcome back. Now, here's what I want to say about this topic. As I have prayed about this and mulled the platforms of the two candidates in my mind, I have come to accept the fact that the republican "strategy" against abortion is a one-pronged attack - to criminalize abortion. This is a pie-in-the-sky dream. John Roberts, the Supreme Court's most conservative member, has said himself that the chances of overturning Roe v. Wade are slim, and that other cases have already cemented it into "the law of the land". If he, being the most conservative justice, thinks this, and he got onto the court by the slimmest of margins, what are the odds that any president will be able to tip the court further in the favor of the anti-abortion camp? So then, if we could concede the fact that the law is set and not going anywhere, then the Republicans must have a strategy for reducing abortion rates in spite of the law, right? Nope. As was the case of the Pharisees in Jesus' day, "They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." (Matthew 23:4).

Democrats, on the other hand, while also conceding the law as it stands, are at least doing something to reduce abortion rates. Through the 95/10 initiative, social programs (including health care, tax credits, insurance reform) and -shudder- sex education - INCLUDING ABSTINENCE, Democrats are putting their money where their mouths are. These aren't your father's baby-killers.

I am pro-life. I oppose killing in any form, be it the innocent unborn, the unfortunate war-dead, and even those guilty of the most heinous crimes against humanity. I am not going to let one party or the other stop the conversation, and I am not going to let my church, my pastor, or my party make up my mind for me on this issue. I urge you to find out everything you can from both sides on this subject between now and the election. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into "all truth," as Jesus promised He would. Your vote is a precious thing. Don't let any party take it for granted.

What are we selling?

Yes, I watched the VP debate last night, and yes, I expected the worst out of Palin. She did pretty OK, but it dawned on me later just how she did OK. It wasn't about the substance of her words. Anyone with half a brain can tell she's reciting talking points and knows very little about the answers she was giving. That isn't to say she can't - or won't - learn on the job. We all do that. Very few people (almost no one) "interviewing" for the job of POTUS or Vice-POTUS has ever been one before either - we expect them to be able to learn on the job.

But it begs the question, "Why would the Republican machine pick her, when she's so obviously inexperienced?" The easy answer, and the one most have already offered, is that Palin is a dyed-in-the-wool Left-Behind-Series, CCM listening Christian. No on disputes this. Facebook has a "Sarah Palin Prayer Covering" group, for heaven's sake. So lets agree to that one up front.

The second reason is that she's a middle-aged mom. That's a direct demographic bullseye that McCain couldn't really match.

The third reason for their choice is more obvious while at the same time totally off limits from mainstream conversation. She's sexy. Way sexier than John McCain. She's flirting with the camera. Winking at the camera. Mugging for the camera. Flipping her hair. Flirting with Biden, and ..ahem.. flirting with America.

Let me ask you this...Why did she do so poorly with Katie Couric, but so much better last night? Sure, she had more time to prepare, but I think it might also be because she couldn't flirt with Couric. Last night was a different story, because she was talking to the camera, and she could imagine that camera was anyone she wanted it to be.

Is anyone else seeing this?

Taking bets on the October surprise

OK, all. I am now taking bets on what you think the October surprise might be. Something is going to happen this month in an effort for those in power in this country to remain in power. Here are some ideas I have:

• Osama bin Laden will be found, dead or alive
• Osama bin Laden will release a "tape" in which he urges US voters to vote for Obama. The portions of the tape where the voice speaks these words will not show his face. Instead it will be - convincingly - dubbed over some other stock Al Queda footage
• Another major terrorist attack will occur on or close to US soil
• Sarah Palin will back out of the race, citing "an underestimation of the time it would require her to be away from her family". She will be replaced by Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee, or General Petraeus on the ticket
• The US will strike Iran, North Korea or both

Anybody else got any ideas?

p.s. - if my blog mysteriously goes silent after this post, you can assume I was right about one of these...nice knowing you all - Eli

Strange days indeed...

It's funny how no one that I talk to is saying much about just how surreal it has been to be a USAmerican the last couple weeks.

The US government - under a Republican administration - is just about to make the biggest move towards socialism the world has seen since...well...since Sarah Palin's neighbors did it. I guess the difference here is that we are being led to that territory by duly elected (mostly) representatives.

Oh, and I drove for an hour last night looking for gas. Nada. Steph is out again looking for it - and she's about to run out. One station I pulled into last night had the sheriff called in - while I was there - so they could tell everyone they were out without staring a riot. The police car drove around the station with its lights on, and the deputy yelling through the loudspeaker - "Disperse! This filling station has no more gas!"

Hey Exxon, Texaco, Valero, BP, Shell - wanna buy some bank stock? Once our government (including the former Goldman Sachs exec who's running the whole damn show) figures out what it's worth, us taxpayers will be looking for a buyer. Seriously. Why are you running away laughing? Well, can you at least give my van another hit - just a taste? C'mon, I promise I am kicking this stuff...tomorrow.

Distractions...

Grabbed some quiet time this morning (had to get up early  - that's my only option), and during the time of sitting and thinking, I kept getting the impression of the word "Distractions." I just kept chewing on that word and thinking about what it might mean for me - and maybe for us. I thought I would take a moment and write down my thoughts, and what I think I am going to do about it...

First of all, I should say that I don't think of myself as easily distracted. Try as they might, it's hard for my wife and kids to distract me from whatever it is I am working on at any given moment. And when I am focused on them, I am likewise not easily derailed from that either. So I guess for me the issue is not necessarily even about everyday and immediate distractions. It's got to be deeper than that, and I think it is.

Think about the movies - the bad guy that throws a trash can against the front door to distract the security guard while the bad guy's accomplice jimmies the lock on the back door. The security guard is a good and attentive employee. He's a good security guard, but he's just been distracted by the bad guys. He played into their hands, and the consequences may be dire.

That's what I am sensing is going on with me, and with much of the church. We are being willfully distracted. We are being deceived into thinking that the things that have our attention right now are the important things. Meanwhile, no one is minding the store. The guards and watchmen are good, but they are watching and guarding the wrong things. I can think of three things off the top of my head that are trying to distract me from the Kingdom of God right now:

• Politics
• Economy
• Homosexuality in the church

Perhaps you can think of others. I won't address each one individually, because I think that will maybe add to your distraction. I just want to put right what isn't right, and I would like you to prayerfully consider doing the same.

What isn't right for me is that I am focusing on an election which will go on without me. I have already made up my mind on it, and any more time I spend on it now is time that I won't be able to spend expanding and supporting the Kingdom of God.

What isn't right for me is that I am focusing on Ceasar's money. It never belonged to me anyway!

What isn't right for me is that I am focusing on what is or is not sin for another person. Need I say more about that?

So now, in front of God and everyone that reads this blog, I am making the following resolutions:

• I resolve not to watch, listen to, or read anything intentionally about the US presidential election until it is over.
• I resolve not to put my trust in money or in people who claim to know anything about money.
• I resolve not to point out or argue about another person's sin

I don't know about you, but I don't want to miss what's important. I don't want to miss the bad guy trying to come in the back door. Please pray for me on this, and comment and let me know what you think. What does this mean to you?