Thank you, Mr. President

I'm a day late for Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday, but it's never too late to thank him for what he did for our country.

I was privileged to be old enough and politically aware enough to not only vote for him twice (1980--I was 22; 1984--I was 26) but to understand his importance in appearing on the national scene during those tumultuous years.

The country was weary from dealing with Vietnam, Watergate, and four years of Carter's inept Presidency. Here was an optimistic, patriotic leader who saw the good in America and helped us feel good about being Americans. He was villified daily in the newspapers and nightly on the news by the left, yet he dealt with them with grace and gentle humor and managed to speak over their heads to us directly.

President Reagan was not afraid to take on the liberal elites in the media or in D.C. And who can ever forget those brave, heartfelt words in his Berlin speech, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Those words thundered across the globe. We believed them because Reagan believed them. We trusted the man because he had conviction and stood by his conviction, showed it in his actions. He didn't just make up speeches full of words to placate people; his sincerity shone through and he proved his sincerity every single day of his Presidency.

In truth there is freedom. Thank you, President Reagan, for speaking the truth, even when it was difficult to hear, and for living the truth and showing us the way.

Honor and Respect

In every area our culture has undergone a downward spiral since I was a child in the 1960's. But one obvious decline that we can do something about is the lack of respect and honor where respect and honor is due.

Civility begins with the heart. If the heart is turned to God, then we can begin to show respect for our fellow man and give honor where honor is due, even though it's not easy to follow these instructions in I Peter 2:13-17:

"Submit yourselves to every regulation of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king, as supreme, or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by Him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.

"For so is the will of God, that with well-doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.

"Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Respect the king."

One simple way to incorporate this is to refuse to pass along tacky and blatantly disrespectful emails. Note that God does not say, "respect the king (i.e., President) if you agree with him." I think about who the apostles had as kings and governors (godless Romans, some of whom wanted to exterminate all Christians) and I realize that this command goes way deeper than mere respect for a man; if we can't learn to respect the authorities that God has placed here on Earth, how can we respect the authority of the One who created the entire universe?

A slight change in direction

When I first began this blog almost two years ago, my intention was to present America's founding documents (Declaration of Independence, Constitution) one phrase at a time in order to remind myself (and any of you who actually read this thing) of what our nation was founded upon.

Since that time I have undergone a transformation even as many who have awakened to the real prospect of living under the tyranny of the Marxist elite. In addition to the formation of the Young Patriots Fife and Drum Corps, which continues to perform in our community and beyond as a visual and musical reminder of our Founding, I agreed to be secretary of our county Republican Party. It's a lot more fun to dress up in Revolutionary War era clothing and march with the kids and play my fife, but on a practical level I feel like I can do some small part to "get out the vote" for conservative candidates.

I have also come to terms with the fact that I can't, by myself, "save" the country. This evil is too big for me, so I have given it over to the One who is and always has been in charge. I'll continue to do my small part in the areas where God has given me talents (music, sewing, typing) and pray that each and every person will do the same.

May God continue to bless our nation, and may our nation turn back to Him before it's too late.

The source of all chaos

What do Cloward-Piven, radical feminism, Islam, political correctness, humanism, "science" of global warming and evolution, and the twisted notion of "separation of church and state" have in common?

All seek to dismantle and eventually destroy faith in the One True God, the structure of the traditional family, and a stable and moral society governed by the rule of law.

Who is the architect of this chaos and destruction? The same one who has been actively destroying God's creation since the beginning: Satan. And wicked people doing his bidding sometimes even give him credit, as Saul Alinsky did in his dedication to Rules for Radicals. (Most of the time, however, they deny the devil's existence or that they would be in service to anyone.)

We have to know our enemy, or as the Bible puts it, not "be ignorant of his devices" so he doesn't "get an advantage over us" (II Corinthians 2:11). If we try to keep our head in the sand and pretend there is no active evil in the world focused on our destruction, we will not survive.

"Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist stedfast in the faith..." (I Peter 5:8-9) "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 5:7)

The evil in this world sometimes appears insurmountable. It is too big for one person alone, but nothing is too big for the LORD, the Most High GOD. "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." (James 5:8)

Perspective

There's nothing like the untimely death of a long time friend to bring perspective to one's life. Fifty-two years was not nearly long enough for us to share Becky's vivacity and wit. It grieves me that she had to leave us, and suffer in the process. I hurt for the pain she endured so bravely.

But suffering, as I have to remind myself, is not a bad thing. Not at all. I've learned this on my own cancer journey, though it's hard to explain to most people.

"Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." James 1:2-4

Joy in the same sentence as trials? It's true because our concept of "joy" is not the same as God's. Joy is greater than mere happiness, because joy sees the bigger picture, beyond our present gratification. Joy is part of God's eternal plan. We endure today's pain and trials because we know by faith that they are a blink in comparison with eternity. If we endure whatever this life deals us and grow in faith in the process, we have the hope of heaven's joy to sustain us.

Becky had that faith. She now has the joy, the perfect joy that we can't even imagine. That's worth all the pain and suffering in the world.

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

The Best Weapon

For a long time now I have debated whether or not to purchase a handgun and take the course to obtain a concealed carry permit. What holds me back is the fact that I don't have great eyesight and that I am a total klutz. I would hate to think that someone's life could be endangered unintentionally.

The Scripture reminds me where the true battle lies: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." II Corinthians 10:3-5

And then I think about Ephesians 6:11-12, where we are admonished to "put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Our sword, our only offensive weapon? Verse 17 says our "sword of the Spirit...is the word of God."

It's so much more powerful than a handgun, or a real sword, or even a nuclear bomb. "For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

So I've decided, rather than purchase a handgun, I'm going to spend more time with God's word, to increase knowledge, and in prayer, to ask for wisdom and the courage to speak out without fear.

My letter to a local Presbyterian youth ranch

It has been brought to my attention that a group of Muslim youth will be at Mo Ranch during the week of Christmas. Since it is possible that you are not aware of the true goals of Islam, I would like to encourage you to make yourself informed. Their leaders masquerade as a "peaceful" religion, but they are also allowed by Sharia law to lie in order to achieve their final goal of worldwide Sharia law and death to all infidels (which includes Christians, Jews, Buddists, etc.).

It is incumbent upon all Americans, but especially those who claim allegiance to Christ, to educate ourselves about Islam and expose their lies. It is not possible to "get along" with Muslims for they do not worship the one True God, Jehovah. Their "Allah" is a servant of Satan, and we must not be "ignorant of his devices" (II Corinthians 2:11).

The Bible commands us to "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them" (Ephesians 5:11).

I pray that you and the leadership of Mo Ranch will look into this serious situation.