My Life

As I was chillin with God this afternoon, I decided to share some of my thoughts with Him so that He would be in the loop. Here are the basics of the conversation:

Me: God, I want to do something for Your Kingdom, I want it to be big, and I would like to get started ASAP.

God: Are you ready for what you are asking for?

Me: Uh, yeah. I've been a Christian for most of my life, I've read the Bible through multiple times, I've got a great education that includes 2 years at a specifically Christian grad school, and I'm ready to move on from my current profession.

God: Yes, I knew all that already. Are you ready for what you are asking for?

Me: Um, well, I am not as sure now.

God: Are you as close to me as you can be?

Me: Hmm, well, not exactly. I'm working on it.

God: So then, are you ready for what you are asking for?

Me: Ok, I get it. No, not yet.

I knew alot of black people were going to vote for Obama before the election, but I didn't realize it would be 95% of us. To put things in context though, 88% of blacks voted for Kerry in 2004.

My question then becomes - Why do blacks overwhelmingly vote democratic nowadays? Most blacks I know at least claim to attend a church with some frequency, so why so often do they identify with the party that should be in conflict with at least a few of their religious beliefs?

Do financial concerns become priority when it comes to elections?
Do they not see any conflicts between their beliefs and the Democratic party?
Do they see more conflicts with the Republican party's views?
Something else?

Someone enlighten me please!

When I was at my parents' house over Thanksgiving break I was told I needed to start taking all my stuff back home with me. For years now I've had a closet or 2 full of stuff from my childhood. As I was looking through all the stuff I came across dozens of certificates I received during elementary, middle and highschool. I had forgotten how good of a student I was and how in a lot of ways I enjoyed school. Upon even further reflection on that mound of certificates, I realized that one reason I liked school so much was because it had clear guidelines and goals. If I wanted to get attention and praise, I had to learn a certain set of material and reproduce it on a test. For certificates I had to plan my project and spend the time getting it done.

Life outside of school often does not seem to be as easy. What are the goals now? How do I achieve them? Where are my guidelines?

Even though it is not as specific, I have come to realize that my syllabus for life is the Bible. It does not tell you what date a paper is due on, but it does give goals and guidelines for my life. It also gives guidance about how to achieve them. I don't forsee getting more certificates for following the guidelines the Bible sets forth, but I have a strong suspicion that the reward will be just a tiny bit better.

She is starting to write more after pressure from multiple sides and is good at it. Check out her blog, which is currently housed at TrulyAccepted

During Obama’s ascent to the presidency, I have heard people try and connect King’s “I Have a Dream” speech with Obama. I emphasize “try” because I believe that the idea behind that amazing speech and the ideas that led to the election of Obama are diametrically opposed. King’s dream was for people to see past the color of another’s skin and see the person’s character. I believe the exact opposite of this dream happened in this election. The reason that this is so difficult to see is because Americans are not accustomed to seeing an individual benefit from being black.

Obama didn’t win the election based on his character; people were already too content with his color.

Many supporters voted for Obama simply because he was black and they wanted to see such a “historic moment” in their lifetime. Personally, I was not ready to make the most liberal senator in Congress my president because it would be “historic”. There were other supporters who would not admit to voting for Obama because he was black, but instead just refused to look at his negatives because they did not want find anything that would give them a reason to not vote for him. Either way, it was still not King’s dream of looking past color to character.

In trying to get others to pay attention to Obama’s character before the election, I personally had many discussions with Obama supporters that followed this general script:

Me: How do you feel about Obama’s extremely pro-choice voting record?

Obama Supporter (race irrelevant): He’s not really pro-choice. No one wants abortions.

Me: Really? Because politicians don’t usually vote for something controversial (like abortion) multiple times unless they really believe in it. Given Obama’s numerous votes for abortion, it is clear he is strongly pro-choice.

Obama Supporter: Whatever. Being pro-life or pro-choice isn’t as big of a deal in this election anyway. I’m all about the economy this time.

Me: Oh. Ok. Sure. How about this then - given our 10 trillion dollar debt, the recent bailout, and current budget deficit, how do you think Obama will be able to pay for all his economic and social initiatives?

Obama Supporter: Um, well, hmm, not sure, BUT, won’t it be amazing that just 40 years after King was assassinated, that a black man could be president?! It will be so historic!! Once-in-a-lifetime event!!! When black children are told by their parents they can be president, it will actually be true now. Isn’t that wonderful?!!!!

Me: Actually I wanted to talk about his CHARACTER as shown through his voting record, not his COLOR and how important that is historically.

Obama Supporter: You don’t understand what I’m saying!!!!!

Me: Well, at least we can agree on that.

AAAHHHH!

Today at a meeting I met a guy who I had to control myself from strangling. I was having a political discussion with him and we talked about Obama. Of course I discussed Obama's radical and crazy views on abortion, to which he responded, "Geez, if I had known that before I voted, I might have thought harder about my vote." AAAAAHHHH! And of course he is a Christian who considers himself pro-life. How often is this happening around the country? The media has done a fantastic job of keeping Obama's views out of the light. Ugh.

Recently is has made headlines that Gov. Palin is opposed to abortion unless the mother's life is in danger, while others like John McCain's wife, believes that in cases of rape and incest an abortion is a viable option. I almost understand the latter point of view, but I don't quite. If you are opposed to abortion because it is the killing of a human being, then why does it matter how that human being came into existence? If Cindy McCain came across a healthy 20 year old who was the product of rape, I doubt she would want them killed. So what's the difference with an abortion? I know a mother's mental health is a factor in taking a baby to term that was conceived during rape, but is the mother's mental health more important than another person's life? Just thoughts.
I think it is an interesting discussion and I don't pretend that the answers are easy.

Did you see Usain Bolt during the Olympics? Great googly moogly, that guy is fast. Not like, I am going to lean harder than you at the tape to win fast, but I am going to stop, take a nap in the middle of the race, eat a cheeseburger, watch some T.V. and then get back up and still beat you fast.
If you did not see his 100m race, you have to. Find it online somewhere, somehow. If you have ever been in a foot race, been asked to be in one or ever even thought about running, you HAVE to see that race. It is stupid. Like, stupid stupid. The gold medals in the 200 and 400 relay were amazing, but the 100m race was the best I have ever seen. Period.
They say the 2008 Olympics are about Phelps. Phelps who? With faster pools and new swimsuits, one of my grandparents probably could have been close to breaking one this year. They were handing those things out like cookies. In comparison, Bolt's world record in the 200 was not wind aided, but was actually wind hindered. He broke Michael Johnson's record with the wind blowing in his face. He's fast.
Really, all I am trying to say is that I wish I was that fast.

So Michael Phelps became the sole leader in Olympic gold medals today and will undoubtedly be referred to as the "greatest Olympic athlete ever". Well, that is great and all but I think that might be going too far. Besides the fact that I have enormous disdain for drunk drivers, Phelps is getting these medals in swimming, which is the best event to obtain multiple medals in. The next two being Athletics (track & field) and Gymnastics. Don't get me wrong though, Phelps is fast, really, really fast, but I am not sure he deserves the title of best Olympic athlete ever. Best swimmer ever, no doubt, but there have been a lot of great Olympians throughout the years.