Opting Out of the Dark Winter

I try not to get too political these days. There’s too much hate, too much strife–on both sides of the aisle, and I’d just as soon none of it be directed at me. As I write this, we’re 10 days from a contentious Presidential election that I fear will leave our country even more divided than it is now.

But something was said in the debate this week that I feel led to talk about. In speaking about COVID-19, former Vice President Biden claimed more than once that the US is “about to go into a dark winter.”

The former VP is inferring that the upcoming months will be bleak, filled with sickness, death, and mourning. (although it’s important to realize that although many, many are likely to be infected with COVID in the coming days, weeks, and months, as it is a highly contagious illness, 99.75% of those infected will survive).

I don’t like fear mongering and I think we’ve seen a lot of it over the last nine months. So when I heard the phrase “dark winter” and the message that was clearly meant to play on our fears, I was immediately unhappy. For so many reasons.

Life on earth could basically be one long dark winter if we allowed it to be. Satan would love that. He’d love for us to just sit with our darkness and refuse the light and turn away from the hope.

But I firmly believe we have to CHOOSE to live in the light EVEN THROUGH THE DARK WINTERS. Choose to see the bright side. Choose to realize that GOD is the bright side.

I suspect that regardless of which candidate wins the upcoming election, there is the potential for a “dark winter” that’s likely to be filled with sickness, death, riots, and unrest. And it all feels so heavy. It would be so easy to slip into that dark winter and let it just consume us all.

But friends, there is still light in the future! It’s there. He’s there. God turns the darkness into light. Always.

And I know…you’re thinking, “but 2020 is a crazy year–nothing like this has ever happened in the whole history of the whole world.”

But that’s not really true. And remember that not one single thing that’s happened in 2020 has been a surprise to God. Covid, riots, lockdowns, even murder hornets–no surprise to Him. Remember that there’s nothing new under the sun. Our ancestors went through some pretty tough times. Wars and famines and illnesses and droughts. Resilience is in our DNA! Don’t give in to the fear. Choosing faith over fear isn’t always easy, but I think as Christians it is vital.

And now, we have a choice. We can spiral into the long dark winter and focus only on the bad—because let’s face it, the world has a LOT of bad. Or we can choose the light even through the dark times.

So while there may indeed be a “dark winter” approaching, I think I’ll opt out. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that there is always light to be found if you seek it out.

“You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light.” 2 Samuel 22:29.

Let’s Get Political

 

I never expected to put anything political on here because I’m one of the few who likes to keep that sort of thing private. Many of you may not know this, but I’m kind of a political junkie. I’ve often considered running for office, but chose instead to move my life into a different direction.

My social media feeds are filled with hate and judgment regarding the election. I’ve sat and watched a lot of name calling and I’ve seen people’s Christianity and/or character be attacked because they are voting for one or the other.

Guess what? If you vote for Hillary, I don’t think it makes you “not a Christian” and if you vote for Trump, I don’t think it means you’re “uneducated and ignorant.”

The right to vote is powerful. And we forget that because of the circus that is in the media. I fear that the media (liberal or not) causes far more problems in our country than we realize. Everyone has an agenda. Don’t ever forget that. We can claim “fair and balanced” news but really, that is hard (almost impossible) to come by.

I’ve seen people say they don’t like either candidate so they aren’t going to cast a vote. That makes me angry. Do you know how many people fought for your right to vote? For you to throw that away and sit home make me sick and sad.

I’ve seen people say that they’re leaving America if one candidate wins. If this is your attitude, I kind of think you should just pack your bags and go now, even before the ballots are in. America is so much more than who is in the White House.

I’ve seen a lot of people who want to support a third party. They don’t like Hillary and they don’t like Trump, so they’re supporting a different party or writing someone in. If your conscience tells you that’s what you should do, then I don’t begrudge you that. My opinion though, for what it’s worth, is that until we have a true 3 party kind of system where there are 3 solid candidates who have a legitimate shot and are included in the debates, etc., I would never do it. We all know at the end of the day either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton will be elected. If you don’t like either of them, I think looking past the presidency to the vice presidency is a great plan.

If you’re still undecided, that’s fine. Do some research. If you don’t like either candidate, look to their VP choices. Are you comfortable with either of them being President should something happen? Look toward the Supreme Court. This is what I am basing my vote on this year.

If we elect Donald Trump or if we elect Hillary Clinton…they could have 4 years in office and be gone. But the Supreme Court Justice(s) that get appointed, and at least 1 will…their average length of service is 16 years, with some service much longer. This is huge, y’all! I implore you at this point to think long and hard about that. Where do you stand when it comes to things like abortion, gun control, healthcare, and immigration? Consider that when you vote, and remember that the candidate who takes office will have a hand in shaping those things for the future simply based on the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice.

Are you happy with the way the last 8 years have gone? I’m not. I see one candidate who promises more of the same, but on steroids. The other is a loose cannon, I’ll give you that, but has a history of surrounding himself with highly successful people who are good at their jobs.

Some of us are going to be very upset later today. There will be words said that shouldn’t. You may get into a political argument with a loved one or co-worker. And that makes me sad. Sad because in the end, we know the outcome of ALL OF THIS. In the end, good will triumph over evil. And I’m not talking about at the polls.

God is so much bigger than a political race. He can handle this. Regardless of who takes the oath, I beg you to PRAY for that person. Even if it isn’t who you voted for. Even if they make your stomach turn. Even if you secretly are one of the people researching a move to Canada or Brazil. Pray for the person who is elected and for our country. No President can heal our country. Only God can do that. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that our country needs some major healing.

 

2008 Presidential Quiz

Not really any big surprises here, but I took a Presidential Candidate Quiz to see which one has views most like mine:

70% Mike Huckabee
69% John McCain
62% Mitt Romney
62% Tom Tancredo
59% Fred Thompson
51% Rudy Giuliani
50% John Edwards
49% Hillary Clinton
46% Barack Obama
46% Chris Dodd
44% Joe Biden
43% Mike Gravel
42% Ron Paul
41% Bill Richardson
35% Dennis Kucinich

Here’s the link in case anyone wants to take it for themselves:
2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Fall Down, Go Boo

So Miss USA (from Tennessee) had a pretty bad time at Monday night’s Miss Universe Pageant. By now pretty much everyone in the world with TV or Internet access has seen her infamous fall during the evening gown competition.

But it sounds like her bad experience started long before she fell. Earlier in the week, she was booed during the “Parade of Nations” as she represented Tennessee/the USA in an Elvis suit. Booed not because she was ugly. But because she was from the USA.

Now I am probably one of the most patriotic people you’ll ever meet. I get teary-eyed during the National Anthem, no matter how poorly sung. And I also have pretty strong political views, which I’m going to try not to go into too much. (for those I need to start a new blog entitled “I am an angry white woman” or something like that) So I am going to try and be nice as I write this.

Most news outlets are saying that Miss USA was booed because of the Immigration Laws here. Interesting, because aren’t there at least 12 MILLION illegal immigrants from Mexico living here? Hmmm.

And let me say for the record, I am a fan of immigration. LEGAL immigration. That’s what our country was founded on. Immigrants from all over the world have come here to make better lives for themselves. And I think that’s great.

But don’t boo Miss USA because there may be stricter immigration laws. While she is a representative of USA, she certainly doesn’t have anything to do with immigration. And I can’t help but think that if the pageant were held in USA and an American audience booed someone from another country, it would be a national scandal. The headlines worldwide would blare about “Rude Americans” and such.

Incidentally, when the lovely Miss USA took her unfortunate tumble, she kept her composure. And when she was booed again, this time on national TV, she was very gracious, even speaking Spanish to the crowd.

I guess we can all learn a little about grace under pressure from that.

And to think people say you can’t learn anything from beauty pageants!