Memorial Day

Our son has been in the Army National Guard for some years now. We are extremely proud of his service to our nation. While his tour of duty in Iraq was a little nerve-wracking, SKYPE helped us through it until he came home safe and sound 1 year later. Not everyone has been so lucky. I deeply value our men and women in uniform- whether military, police or fire. They put their lives on the line every day. And they do it because they want to. They get tired just like we do. They are often frustrated and constrained. They lose friends and are grieved. They are afraid but rise up and move ahead. On occasion, someone will break down and need help. They are human, after all. And yet, they continue to stand between us and the bad guys every chance they get. They live with memories that would destroy most of us. Row upon row of white headstones bear the names of those who have died in the name of freedom. Memorial plaques and walls across the nation show forth the sacrifices of our sons and daughters, our grandfathers and grandmothers, our husbands and wives. Whether that sacrifice was on foreign soil or native soil, we owe them our gratitude, our respect, our compassion. God bless them.

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

As the revelations about big government scandals continue to roll out, one fellow blogger's post this morning hit home. It's not just the left wing Democrats being in charge that is the problem: it's BIG GOVERNMENT in whatever form that takes. We can't just trust that if Obama were gone, the Republicans would do better. It totally depends on who those Republicans are and whether or not they are in favor of big government.If they are, things would still not change for the better.

Traditionally, the Republican party has been the one who stands for LIMITED government. But as this entire big government trend plays before us, even some Republicans have condoned, supported, participated in, and pushed for government widening its control over the American people.

There's an old horror movie from back in 1962 called "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane," starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. It was about an older sister who tormented her baby sister, a former child actor. That scenario is occurring in America today. Our history is like that child actor- our current situation like the tormentor. Our congress, our WH, our very fabric is being torn apart- tormented, if you will- by our own people. We are systematically being destroyed from within, not to mention the jihad from without.

Hearing that our government actually targeted AP news agency, nonprofits -me too, by the way, but I was too small o' Idaho potatoes for them to pursue- tea party, churches, and allowed the murders of foreign embassy staff is just the tip of the iceberg of what big government does. Overweight, fat sloppy government torments its people. All we can pray for is that Americans will be shocked and dismayed at the scandals and find the courage to say no to the encroachment of the government in their lives. Let's stop that older sibling from tormenting all of us!

"State" Control

One morning a few years back we all woke up to the kind of "change" that would cause our Founding Fathers to roll over in their graves. But even worse, America rapidly became "state controlled." In the cold war, Communist Countries actively and viciously controlled what people heard on the television. When I visited a "Young Pioneer" youth camp as a high school student, I was appalled to learn that the children of Communist countries never knew what America knew: they were completely under both the mind and body control of their government. Removed from the custody of their parents by the "state" because the government didn't trust the parents, they grew up in a conformist paradise that destroyed individual freedom. Free thought was twisted. New ideas were discouraged unless they fell in line with the government's position. Their press was rigidly encompassed by a fence as real as the fields of land mines surrounding their countries. In the current headlines we find harbingers of the same government control. We have a cover up at a tragedy in Benghazi in which everyone is so busy covering their butts that no one cared a fig for the precious souls lost in that attack. We have an IRS that deliberately targeted political opponents for evil intent and a President who pretends not to know anything about it. The words "pausible deniability" come to mind. In short, I don't believe him. We have the DHS buying up ammunition in a massive effort to control guns and the congress desperately trying to destroy the ability of the people to own them. Then there's the Justice Department confiscating files of the Associated Press- which means that the words "free press" have been obfuscated by a government bent on bringing about the wrong kind of "change" to the nation. We are not only headed in the wrong direction, it's one that will ultimately bring about a division that may not be reversible. When good people rule a nation, it thrives. When evil people rule (or sit around thinking up new ways to control it), darkness floods the lives of the citizenry. As long as most of America remains in deception, believing the lies perpetuated by the government, we are all in jeopardy. I still believe that the vast majority of our military and law enforcement are good people with good intentions. I still believe that the values that made us a great nation are the foundation of our future and hope for our present. But take heed, America, vigilance, prayer, and faith are required to preserve us from this "state" control.

When Every Thought's a Prayer

One of the things I've noted over the years is that our thought life can run amok in the midst of serious situations. You know those, like a government that is desperately trying to destroy the bill of rights by subterfuge..that sort of thing.

When Paul told us to "pray without ceasing," (1 Thess 5:17) I have always maintained that he was talking about staying in constant communication with the Lord. That does NOT mean running off to the prayer closet every time something happens. It means we train our thoughts to become prayers and stay in touch at all times.

There have been some scary moments in my life, and some discouraging ones. In each of those things I am driven to change my thought process so that it allows the Lord to be close at all times. We shouldn't have to work ourselves up into a "spiritual place"- because Jesus already gave us access. We have access by training our thoughts.

In that place, we can know the mind of Christ. In that place we can see truth..which, considering our current situation in America, can cause us some anxiety. But also in that place we can feel and sense His heart. In case you think I do it right all the time, I don't. But when I do stay in contact with Him, things are easier to handle. We probably will never totally "pray without ceasing" while we live on the earth, but we can train ourselves to get as close as possible. The way things are going out there, such an ability might just save our lives in more ways than one!