I am somewhat disappointed. But is this going to ruin my Wednesday? Hardly. I can think of a lot of reasons that I have to be happy. Here's a few:
- I have a wife who is smart, funny, and hotter than 10 supermodels. And, she loves me a lot.
- I have 3 kids who make me laugh (and cry) all the time. And, they love me, too.
- God loves me, even when I vote for a loser presidential candidate.
- We have enough, more than enough, to provide for our needs. And a lot of our wants, too.
- God's going to take care of us, no matter how bad the president is.
- We survived one Clinton presidency, we'll get through another one.
- We even survived Jimmy Carter. Plus, afterward, we got Ronaldus Magnus.
So, let's count our blessings instead of our defeats! I think our job in the political process is simple: we need to be engaged and involved, but never consumed. Ultimately, we trust that God uses even deeply flawed people to accomplish His purposes...
4 comments:
Hi Richard,
Thank you for your comment on my blog and for linking my post to yours. We have SO much to be thankful for, as you mention. But nothing brings that home more than visiting countries where people have so little. You can read about it, see it on TV or a movie, but nothing - NOTHING - takes the place of visiting a developing country, then walking through slums or impoverished villages and being invited into people's homes. They will share their last crumb with you. And what do we do here? Spend our money on an amusement park to be entertained while Shorai wonders what he will eat tomorrow?
My kids spend summers in Ukraine where my husband is from (yes, we've visited orphanages there as well as family), so they've seen another way of life. But people in Ukraine aren't dirt poor, not like this: http://www.xanga.com/haitinurse4life/640138443/item.html. So now that my kids are older, I've started taking them on youth mission trips. My son built homes for destitute living on a dump(and digging through trash) in Mexico. He went back to build for the homesless in Guatemala last summer. And my middle daughter and I just got back from Honduras, visiting rural churches, teaching VBS, visiting slums and orphanages. She saw a lot. Our American kids need that kind of exposure to the world. Otherwise they get so self-centered and materialistic.
I agree that the only way to really get an idea what poverty is like is to see it first-hand. I've only experienced it in going to Mexico on a missions trip.
When my kids are older, I want us to do some missions trips. I think you're right, that is the best way to combat the materialistic bent of our culture.
A woman I went to high school with is actually in Kyiv, Ukraine, working as a missionary with street kids there. She hangs around here from time to time. Her blogs are:
http://greetings-from-ukraine.blogspot.com/
http://www.ukrainestreetchildren.blogspot.com/
p.s.--By the way, homeschooling is the best! You're going to be so glad you did it. It's hard, but really worth it...
I know where you guys can come for a missions trip!!!!! :)
Regarding the post, You also live in one of the most awesome countries in the world. (I'm from there but don't live there!) :)
Michelle Malkin wrote a great post after the election about fighting on....www.michellemalkin.com
M--If the kids were a little older, we'd already be planning the trip. I can't imagine a flight that long with a 4 year-old and a toddler.
We are so fortunate to live here. When I see what's happening in Kenya right now because of botched elections, I'm happy to be here. At least we don't kill our political opponents.
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