Dear America,

"Is there any doubt that the handwriting 

is on the wall for where we are heading...

look around...

manners have been corrupted, 

morality has sunk into depravity, 

indulgence is out of control and, 

above all, faith has been discredited and unbelief has become fashionable. 

When a culture reaches this point, 

it becomes so out of touch with truth 

that masses of people deny outright the existence of God.  

God's will for the nation has been abandoned 

and man has been made God."

that was said hundreds of years ago by William Wilberforce, and via the miracle of paraphrase, furnished to us through a captivating revised edition of a classic, written by Bob Beltz, we are able to tap into the same mindset, only with a modern view.

"...these are the things 

that keep you from having a proper sense 

of priority for the things of God.  

You will be tempted to settle for cultural Christianity 

and will not willing to pay the price for the real thing.  

The former fits your ambition better.  

Your faith will not be authentic faith at all....

You will think of yourself as a Christian 

because everyone who lives in the country is a Christian.  

You will bear no signs of transformation, 

either in your thinking or behavior...

If you are willing to listen to this warning 

and not settle for a cultural Christianity 

but desire to know  and possess authentic faith, 

it is time for you to step away from the crowd.  

God is at work in your life.  

Get away to a place where no one is around 

and get down on your knees and pray.  

Ask God to take away your spiritual indifference 

and insensitivity and enable you to draw close to Him...

ask the Holy Spirit to begin to work in you 

from the inside out, 

to make you the man and woman 

God designed you to be...

Embrace grace."

One man's Christianity "stirred the conscience of a nation"  -- redirecting every thought, word, and deed surrounding the cruel depravity of an entire group of people -- and ultimately, raising the level of compassion and truth and justice high enough -- to bring about the end of slavery.  As the story goes, "three days before he died, [Wilberforce] learned that Parliament would pass the legislation abolishing slavery throughout the British Empire."

The Wilberforce connections made --  God and Country, Truth and Values, Faith and Foundation -- directly linked for all the world; and to this day stand instrumental, fundamental, and essential in the creation of a civil, vibrant, productive society.  Naturally, these ideas became the cornerstone for the making of a new world, in America.

Our founding fathers, townships and settlements, future universities and curriculum, poets and countrymen, literary giants like Emerson and Thoreau, and the whole of government itself, carried with them the Wilberforce thread; and likewise, America created the very conditions to set in motion over two hundred years of our Judeo-Christian heritage in action, paving the way for freedom, liberty, and justice for all.

Was it perfect?  I think we can all agree -- it was not.

But what is?

Who is?

Are you  perfect in every way?  Am I?
Speaking only for myself, that would be a no.

Have some people acted out of character, shall we say, and done the nation wrong?  Indeed.

That is the beauty and the beast of free will; we are each accountable, individually, for our own actions, our own deeds -- whether they be good or bad;  we are each responsible for our own words -- whether they are respectable or dispiriting; we are each beholden to our own beliefs, our own religion, our own thoughts, our own God (or not), respective of our own mind, our own free will,  in equal portion.

What we do individually -- how each and every one of us responds to our inherent duty and delight of being our own person  -- when it is applied in the macro, the collective is made and fostered.

In other words, if we stop being good people, the entire nation suffers.

As a white girl, I can easily become unglued thinking back to the days following the Civil War and how southerners responded (not all, but who are we kidding, what does it matter -- as a whole, the south stood for so much reprehensible damage that, to this day, we will never forget).  As a white girl, I could reach a level of lividness unknown to man when contemplating the depravity of blacks throughout our history -- segregation, the horrid acts of the KKK, past administrations (like Wilson's) returning us to the dark ages with racial bigotry and separatism.   It makes me ill; and, being grounded in merely my little reality, left only to imagine how a black person must feel.

I can't take it back, you know, history.
I am powerless to take any of it back.
There is nothing I can say to make it better, to take the pain away.
absolutely nothing.
as a mom, there is no place to kiss to make it all better.
the damage is done.

But here's the thing -- and it's a big but and I cannot lie -- am I responsible for it?

Having been a child of the sixties, having grown outside of the south my entire life, having been educated in integrated schools all my life, having friends, coworkers, fellow congregants of color, right there along side me ALL THE DAYS of my life, and now, having entered into an era welcoming the first African-American president, when a black woman has become pretty much the most noteworthy, influential American that has ever lived -- and super rich on top of it, when all walks of livelihoods, interests, political views, activities no longer gravitate by color, how can we continue to break each other, and jeopardize our future, using the very injustices of our past to hold us back?

It wasn't me.  And more than likely, it wasn't you either.

What one person, and with others conspired, to take from another -- be it life, liberty or happiness -- will remain forever wrong.  No question.  And the only way it will serve us, is to move forward, never forgetting AND letting it go.
 
Is it too naive for me to think we are all brand new?

I cannot be held responsible for another man's wrongdoings; it is just not fair.

I can care;
I can respond with compassion;
I can teach my own child to live without bigotry and hatred for another;
I can love and accept those who I come in contact of another race, unconditionally;
I can embrace ideas that foster unification, rather than division;
I can become educated in the history that has allowed untruths and false perceptions to shape us;
I can respect a president of color, even if I wholeheartedly disagree with his policy;
I can become awestruck at the celebrity of a woman who has changed America from the inside out for the better -- left with a wish to meet her one day;
I can enjoy the talents of all Americans, no matter the color of their skin, but the content of their character;
I can do my best to be kind to all people, even if showing a simple courtesy, like saying a please or a thank you, opening a door or giving someone my seat -- I can do that, with great joy;
I can be the best I can be, finding strength, courage, conviction, and love from a faith dating back thousands of years; all these things I can do moving forward.

I think I can, I think I can...
...slowly...
...but surely...
I believe, individually and collectively, we can make the grade.

Did you know they built the railroad tracks over the great heights of the Alps before they even had a locomotive engine with enough horsepower to take it?

We must have what we want in mind; first intention must be made clear and certain. Do we want to get along, or not?  IF the answer is yes, than what we do from here on out becomes elementary.  We set in motion the very thoughts and things and ideas to unite us, not divide us.  We take steps forward, not back.  We move in the direction our new found glory takes us, and with every step forward, we build momentum, setting forth the very conditions from which a new civil society can be made -- and fostered.  we continue to elevate everyone's freedom and liberties; we do not take from one just to give, lend, beg, steal, borrow to another..

Wilberforce set in motion --going back to the eighteenth century -- the power of authentic faith; it shaped a brand new world, it healed a country and centuries of oppression, and gave us, individually and collectively, ideas we can use to move forward with honor, all of us.

Our president is with the families of 9/11 today, marking the death of an international terrorist as a symbolic close in the history books; does it change anything?  will it take away the catastrophic loss of life and security of the last decade?  no.

nothing will really change from that which has already lived and died.  every measure of destruction is still gone.  what is left with us is the memory, and what we take with us moving forward is the lesson, the gift that only comes with grace of God, along with the inherent ability to raise our spirits to the Most High (if we so choose to accept it).

think about it; if we held tight to the things that did us harm all our lives, how broken would we be?  if we led our lives according to all the horrors done to others, whether last week or long ago, how heavy would our hearts remain? if we carried these burdens all the days of our lives, what capacity is left to wrap our arms around the good just waiting for us? 

I believe God wants us to live in joy with one another.  God wants us to learn to love one another.  God works in mysterious ways through the good, the bad and the ugly all over the world, every day.

There are powerful, wonderful, forces afoot; this is a day to give thanks to the glory of God. Spirit works, bringing life lessons and generous blessings, whether we are rich, or poor, or somewhere in-between; it makes no difference.  My connection to God is the same, but different, as Oprah's; prayers have no skin color; prayers are an equal opportunity for all people; prayers work in the same way for you as they do for me and so on and so on.  and if you don't want to pray at all, that's an option, too.

AMERICA has been founded, fostered, and prospered by a natural, deep connection to Spirit and all that is Divine and Good.  IT is a fact that will live on in a well documented history; it is a fact that our future, explicitly and undeniably, relies.

Perhaps you can take the Christian out of the country, but you can't take the Christianity out of a nation.

The president reminded us on Sunday night, we are "One Nation, Under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all."  All faiths revel and take liberties Under God; this beautiful, spiritual connection is what unites us as a people, and powerful enough to bring the end of slavery, oppression, and inequities large and small. 

AMEN to that.

Let us live it, breathe it, worship it on this day, and from this day forward, with joy and thanksgiving.

Of course, some will argue with the president indeed; some people might just say, there is no God, what about me, what about my rights;  while other people might say they were for It before they were against It but now they're for It again -- maybe -- but not quite sure; and then, some people might not even care if we do anything about It at all; and some people might just go wee wee wee all the way home; but history tells us, and our hearts show us, THIS nation, THIS foundation, THIS country built upon the Rock of Ages, indivisible -- THIS IS WHO WE ARE.

and much like history has repeatedly tested us, much like the days of Wilberforce -- rumor has it -- tomorrow is, once again, up for grabs.

Not if my prayers have anything to do with it; can I get an amen?

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

Last Sunday, Joel Osteen talked about how he wasn't ever going to apologize for God's blessings; he said it in front of his audience of thousands, an added television audience of tens of thousands -- basically, for all ears to hear, he made it perfectly clear, that he is not ashamed of how the Lord has blessed him, his family, and went on to tell us why, sometimes bringing himself to tears.

the long and the short of it seemed to fall back on a realization that for most of us running around in this world, unless we are privy to all the years leading up to the 'time of blessings' shall we say, we really don't see the whole story; we're getting in at the end, at a time when we witness the good stuff, like when the fair maiden finally kisses her handsome prince; we're finding ourselves in the audience of some kind of super power preacher, who by the looks of things is making millions in book sales and weekly tithes through his evangelical ministry, some people might even be wondering what the @%*#, he's so lucky...look at him all happy...I wanna big house, shiny new shoes and the ability to feed my family without a care in the world....all he does is say a bunch of mumbo jumbo about how good it is to be a follower of Christ, a child of God...really, Joel...really...easy for you to say...
 

What we don't see, is the time of struggle; what we are not witness to, are the innumerable times of drought and despair.

We, the people -- sitting from our sweet spot of judgment --  have no idea what in the world it took to get to this time of blessing.

absolutely no idea.

Similar to the attack on Sarah Palin, immediately following her arrival along side John McCain on the big presidential wanna-be stage, the media issued in a new era of character assassination; the left, then and now, pounced on her as if  asking 'what in the world did she ever do to deserve it...' -- all they saw was this beautiful, articulate, polished woman, with her gorgeous, American family standing up behind her, who would before the night is through, change the course of history, while welcoming in a new day -- overnight -- for the republican party and conservatives everywhere.

Upon first impression, whatever the left could see from the outside, could no way justify the ability for Sarah to simply waltz into blessings; she didn't have the right credentials, the proper Ivy League resume, or the recognition of years of public service -- at least for those of us in the lower 48 -- we never saw this locomotive comin'.

What the left refuses to see, to this day, is her years of putting herself through school, the years of service and hockey-mom activism in her own back yard, the years of living close to the land, as all Alaskans naturally do, respectful of the Alaskan environment and natural resources, including oil, fishing, game and the protection of all endangered wildlife.  If the left actually took a genuine interest to get to know who Sarah really is, I have no doubt they would love her -- instead, we get fear and loathing, but maybe that's just me being G.

IN any event, the world was introduced to Sarah long after her time of paying her dues, starting out small, beginning with city council, moving into the mayor's office, and reaching the Governor's seat of the entire state of Alaska -- and especially after taking on the good old boy network, her own party, and the oil industry all at the same time -- which, by the way, she accomplished nearly on her own, making more enemies than friends, and in the end being responsible for totally dismantling the crony capitalism of Alaskan politics; struggle?  the credentials?  the school of hard knocks? the payment of her dues in blood, sweat and tears? not to be seen by the naked -- and thoroughly, ignorant, left brain -- eye.

Likewise, is the business of getting America back on track -- a perfect segway into a quick comparison to the times; we have no appreciation, it would seem, of what got us here in the first place; we are surrounded in blessings, as if showing absolutely no respect for the days, weeks, months, or two centuries of struggle and strife to get us here, to this very moment in time.

We are so full of blessings, we have grown so spoiled, more enamored by looks over substance, we have forgotten each and every principle and value we have painstakingly realized to date, long after the due diligence, the struggle, the heartache...long after the worst part, for all intents and purposes, is over.

It would seem we have no respect for her -- America -- at all.

Nope; all we have left are the petty rushes to judgment; the critical thinking of someone who clings to 'outdated ideas', you know, the ideas that made America pretty wonderful to begin with; nope, now is the time of dividing, rather than uniting -- ever hopeful that our own issues will be heard over the deafening voices of another.

Gone are the good old days, when we actually understood why we are a nation of faith; gone are the days when we recognized free market principles out-shined all the rest; gone are the days when self-reliance was taught, nurtured, cultivated into every process of society while fully and bountifully rewarded; gone are the days when we celebrated another man's riches, for we could very well make it happen too...next; gone are the days when we protected the sanctity of life, the preservation of our own bodies, and honored real love; gone are the days...

gone are the days when we totally got it --  that we are only as good as the character of the people we make -- teaching our children with the highest level of standards and expectations and morals, and, in the end, actually gaining something in return; gone are the days when we lived within our means; gone are the days when we opened the door for the person behind us; gone are the days when we sat down for dinner, with the family, eating a home-cooked meal, when it wasn't a holiday or special night of the week; gone are the days...


gone are the days when we understood why the founders had to have a 3/5th clause; gone are the days when we fought, with real guns and ammo, a civil war to protect the lives and future for all Americans; gone are the days when we made it through the Great Depression saying we would never do that again; gone are the days when we said no more taxation without representation and threw tea into the sea;  gone are the days when we cried, as one nation, after the twin towers collapsed from the direct attack by Islamic Suicide Bomber Terrorists; gone are the days when we truly melted into ONE America -- not about being Irish or Italian, not about Protestant or Catholic, not about Black or White or Yellow or Brown, not about my special interest over yours; gone are the days...

My father sent me what would seem to be a rather innocuous email this morning, telling an age old story of how we got the width of train tracks -- which, by the way, is a strange figure, an exact 4 feet 8.5 inches, between the rails.  SO!  Sitting here, hearing a raging chorus of 'so what' I will leave it at that...

or will I?

...what's this...
underneath it all...
I am hearing...
a still small voice begging for more --

alright, alright, shooosh now and sit down, I will tell you:

It is a story as old as time -- and I kid you not one bit....the railroad gauge got it's specifications from the English, who got it's country roads dating back to the beginning of civilization, a time when chariots of fire flew through town raping and pillaging and stealing all they could find, or simply just setting up camp -- the specifications of the chariots were all the same...going back to specifications that were arrived by a calculated mass of 'two horse's asses'; the roman empire was simply conforming to a width to meet the demands and abilities of the times, and more important, stuck to it; the dimensions never changed.

Over time, the ruts in the road became permanent roadways, and from then on, basically, all things invented to move continued to operate using the same standards all through the years.

Sadly, I have not replayed the story to you giving full justice of each and every moment in time, to reflect the rich history, but you get my drift; the specifications of today's railroad goes all the way back to the Roman Empire!

The added budump ba at the end included a tie to NASA -- for the two rockets cradling the space shuttle -- the ones that most people pay absolute no attention to whatsoever -- have to be moved by rail; what specifications to the width of the rockets do you think they had to use?  Good class...now run outside and play.

Some things in our history -- set up by our founders to create the so-called limited government, with limited powers, to allow for the unlimited blessings of the people to truly rise to their highest heights -- were specifically and conscientiously designed using steadfast specifications, of lessons learned long ago, molding fundamental principles with sound, exemplary values that were already tried and true; they knew, and warned us, veering away from one, or in part, could lead to untimely, unimaginable, unintended consequences of the highest order.

The thing is, we have reached a point now that either we have chosen not to see, or simply prefer not to pay homage to, the blue print handed down to us  -- dismissing the past as if it were irrelevant, unimportant and old school; we have no respect for the lessons of a past, a past wrought with struggle, strife, and reminiscent of the true depth and breadth of the real makings of America; we no longer cling to a natural yearning to capture the back story, the who, what, when, where of our history -- absolutely uninterested in everything up until now.

Everything that has led to this moment of blessings is being left by the wayside; all we are into these days is the outcome, the end game, the end no matter the means...and make it snappy, if you will, we are kinda in a hurry.

Our rich history, everything we have worked for, is brushed off, ignored, misunderstood, or entirely miss-characterized; the long and shaky beginning, that just so happened to really date back a couple of millenniums no less, has been reduced to rounding chorus of 'who cares' --


America -- she is beautiful -- and look at her, with the substance to back it up... oh, the things she could do, the places we could go  -- if only we could truly set her free (again).

Make it a Good Day, G

so the president has the State of the Union speech tonight -- word is leaking out that he will call for a 5 year spending freeze.  That is great news -- and if only I could leave it at that; 

what about his last two years of unprecedented spending?  adding a huge health care entitlement to the nation's woes and basically adding 3.5 Trillion dollars before the day is done (the total of five trillion under  Nancy Pelosi's congressional lead)?  

"a five year spending freeze" -- can't wait to watch him say this with a straight face.