Zeal without Knowledge

True to my aggressive nature, I spoke without research believing that I knew the truth. And the truth is, I didn’t.  No president will ever be elected by write in.  The laws that exist prevent that –even though a very few states have an open write in policy.  The numbers from those states would never elect a president and are not tallied with the rest anyway.  It is at best, a protest vote.

Most states have the write in ballot shrouded in legal ifs. 7 states –including mine- disallow write in votes for president whether in the primary or in the general election.  Best I can tell, these are to prevent us from having low quality, poorly qualified candidates rising to office. Now isn’t that a hoot?!

My anger in this election process is not because my candidate did not win.  I did have a candidate that I have confidence would have been a good president, but he left the race fairly early on. The other candidates offered a number of acceptable choices, most of whom have left the race as well.  The one candidate none of us took serious is now considered a done deal, leaving us feeling discouraged and frustrated.

Understand I am not frustrated or discouraged with my God or my faith in Him.  But I so hoped that we would have a chance to restore our nation to a functioning, godly nation under a ruler with integrity and conservative values.  If we have any chance of restoring our nation, it will be within the hearts and lives of believers and I fear we will have to struggle for any right to do so. I have had this discussion with my God before.  It’s not a new thing.  But the Bible says that when a nation has Godly rulers, they are blessed.  When the wicked rule, men are in turmoil.

So I will continue to pray and listen and sometimes write what I feel I have gotten.  I will hope for intervention and a break through.  I will fast periodically to clear my mind and soul of the things that war against my spirit.  Constant, sincere prayer by a person with right standards and respect for God accomplishes things.

A long shot!

Like so many other people in my country, I love my country but I am appalled at the events of this primary.  I’m discouraged at the offerings and at the division that has brought us to a spot no one can really love.  So many arguments fly about with insults and half truths and now the front runner for one party is amazingly inept and the front runner for the other party is a buffoon.  All the good guys seem to have fallen away for a lack of unity and finance.  You may say that’s how our system weeds out the weak, but it is close to being a failed system.

I’ve heard the frustration ending in “What can we do about it?” or “It’s already too far gone.”  I have been there: overwhelmed by stupidity for awhile now. I’ve felt discouraged and borderline hopeless. Hind sight is a great teacher, but doesn’t offer much of a near future.  I don’t want to be just another example for some distant generation.  But what can we do? 

People say “Get out there and vote!”  I have; you have.  We’re run over by sound bites and media manipulators.  They wear their pride as a medal.  They rejoice in the confusion of the American people based on their own elevation to supposed importance.  “We will help you sort this out.  We will help you decide.  No we cannot help you if the results go sour. We will, however, cover that on the news from our own perspective and let you know where you messed up.”

So you can see that I am worked up, I would imagine.  I am.  And yet we are not left without resource as the media dogs would suggest as they circle us for the kill.  If you are a serious conservative who wants a change, if you are a believer in an omnipotent God, we have a resource.  Our constitution allows for a write in vote.  Frankly it’s a mountain that will be more challenging that anything we’ve done in this generation.  If something should turn around and we have a decent candidate offered, well then we’ve learned and grown.  And if that doesn’t happen, it is possible to win this with a write in.

We must pray.  We must be aware of who is out there that will make a good leader.  We can offer those suggestions.  We must research to be sure this person is a leader we can count on to make Godly decisions and follow conservative principles.  It needs to be a person who can work with others and represent himself or herself well before the nations while holding onto good character and belief.  It needs to be a person who understands conflict and who believes in right and the power of God, a person with enough guts to do the best thing in every situation.  God can lead us to that person if we pray for it and research.  This media world allows us to connect with each other to the point where we could elect a person without the primaries.  The candidate must legally qualify.  Again, we must research. The person must be willing to serve and have good endorsements.

Could this fail?  Yes.  But is it worth a try? YES.  We must go unified in November to the polls knowing that we have each other’s backs, understanding that our vote may lose.  But it could win.  These are my thoughts this day.  I will start praying for wisdom and revelation.  Join me?

Diminishing the Call of the Wild

Sometimes I wonder if Willow remembers a time when he was not loved, when he was not my doggy and not spoiled rotten. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night because I realized it was raining and I had left my dog outside. But when he was a puppy he spent the night in cold rain by himself. He had no one to bring him in and rub him down with a warm clean towel. He had no warm house with carpet to lay down and sleep. 
He was outside for 4 hours in upper 50 - 60 degree weather because I fell asleep after letting him out. But when it started raining it wasn't even cold yet. I still felt bad for him.
This morning when feeding him in a shiny stainless steel bowl, I wondered if he has any remembrance at all of his days as a wild puppy. Sometimes I recall how long it took and how hard it was to change his feral characteristics. I learned to love him; he learned to depend on me, but I didn't quite trust him and he didn't quite trust me. For a couple of years I kept him on a long leash, both physically and figuratively.
Going through parvo-virus when he was a year and a half changed him a lot. Its been a long climb even after that, but I know now that he would rather be with us than anywhere else. It will always be in his nature to want to check things out, but he definitely wants his people more. He still doesn't mind always when he's distracted. When he gets scared he kind of loses his focus. But when he steps over the fence chasing a cat or a squirrel or a possum, he goes to the front door and wants back in. Every now and then, he jumps back over the fence.
One day I arrived home to find him sitting on the front porch dejected. I don't know how long he was out, but he wasn't happy about it. That doesn't stop him from stepping over the fence - and yes we have to get that fixed - but it's not because he wants to be free of us or feels the call of the wild.
He no longer cringes when we take him walking in unfamiliar territory, and his tail seldom tucks in with a confused, wild look in his eyes. He still isn't over friendly with strangers, but it's seldom fear based these days. Sometimes he doesn't want to mind. He'd like to be the alpha dog and decide how things go, but his love and respect for us bring him around.
There are those who say he's only an animal, he has no real allegiance, no understanding. But I will differ. The other night I was cleaning up after supper while he chewed on his fake bone in the other room. I said in a normal conversation voice. "If you want these sweet potato peels, come here and I'll give them to you." No whistle, no name, just 'if'. He left his 'bone' and came to the kitchen for the cooked peels, which he loves. There are times when I know he would speak if his mouth could make it happen.
It's a testament to change. Last night he was very loving after I brought him in. He licked my hand and rubbed against me over and over while I dried him. It's those times when I wonder if he remembers.