Character still matters…(to me)

I’ve never had to deal with or forgive a spouse who was unfaithful to me like Hillary Clinton has. So I don’t really know too much about that. I remember when it happened, I was all over Bill Clinton and so were most conservative people I talked to. As bad as a situation like that is, it was his lying afterward that nearly cost him his job and buried him in a lot of peoples eyes. What I can talk about with some personal experience is what it’s like to have to forgive one of your parents for being absent from your life, or for being preoccupied with either work or other activities. My parents divorced when I was nine, as a child this event left me vulnerable to anything I could find to fill the void…I chose drugs. For the next twenty plus years that’s what I did. I feel as though I could also forgive Sarah Palin for what I see as a similar situation within her family, but unlike Bill Clinton she’s being held to a much different standard by the Christian right and either just doesn’t feel as though it’s any of our business , hasn’t had Ken Starr to hold her accountable, or who knows? Maybe it’s just never been “the right time” for her to be able to discuss it without being ripped to shreds…I can understand that I suppose. For my own personal reasons I see what she has done to be quite a bit worse that what Billy did, and her holding onto the mantle of conservatism a curious thing given that most real conservative women don’t run for office,they support men that do, they raise their children and give them wise council. Here’s another curious thing, that it takes about four years for us as American people to forget the previous lies that we were told by politicians and that we’re all ready to not just hear some more but to believe them…again! It’s pretty confusing to figure out who’s telling us the bigger lies so I don’t bother, I just look at who they are as people, the judgments they have shown in their public life but also in their personal life… I believe in forgiveness, mostly for the sake of the one doing the forgiving, but also to the degree that I sense peoples sorrow or regret. I’d like to support Sarah Palin, but I need her to at least acknowledge this thing so that I can defend her and wholeheartedly support her. We’re the party of character,accountability and responsibility and it does still matter….to me.

Our Path,Our Purpose,and Gods Provision

At the core of my belief system is the idea that if we will do what we’re supposed to do in life our needs will be met, paramount among which is to be loved. That can be a tricky thing to know exactly what it is we’re supposed to be doing, to say the least. It also takes courage and trust to actually do that thing once you figure out what it is. So important is this concept to me that I named my blog “Seeking The Kingdom” to place an emphasis on how simple I feel that life can actually be.

Allow me to bring this down to a personal level… My current financial situation is not good, I’ve been out of work for over a year. (stay tuned blog fans, this has recently changed) I’ve tried a lot of different things during that time to make money but for one reason or another nothing has worked. I have clearly made some bad choices in that time but I’ve also had some bad breaks. What I have done successfully during that time is to do what I was compelled to do, to tell people the great news that God loves us all, that he wants to heal us, to provide for us, and to spend eternity with us in a perfect place he’s prepared for us. So far, I’ve never missed a meal, still have a roof over my head, a car to drive and gas to put in it! I’ve been imprisoned, and impoverished, and I can honestly tell you I’ve never been happier.

Recently I’ve written some things about the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. I’d like to clear up any misunderstandings if possible by first of all saying that in no way do I believe that a woman shouldn’t work outside the home. This is an issue that is also very close to me right now given my aforementioned circumstances. It’s an issue that me and my wife have struggled with recently. My wife home schools our seven year old daughter, she does all of the housework, attempts to cook and a host of other things in our home. What changed my mind as to her seeking employment outside the home is the basic premise that I started with…what my wife does here is SO much more important than the money that she could make at a job. Being here and doing what she’s doing IS what she’s supposed to be doing! If the choices that we’ve made together are selfish and self serving then I wouldn’t expect to see Gods provision in them…Our daughter is the most precious gift that God ever entrusted us with, I’d much rather lose everything I have than to give my consent to compromising that most sacred of stewardship’s. My problem with Palin is that she holds herself up as an example to young women of being able to “have it all” while the pregnancy of her teenage daughter is somehow seen as an acceptable trade-off for her career…And, she wants to be considered a Christian, well okay, I’ve made my share of bad choices in life and I’ll readily admit to them, I’ve turned from as many of them as I can,I use them as “cautionary tales” to anyone who will or who needs to listen. Sarah Palin is my sister in Christ and I love her, I’m pretty sure I believe in most of the same things that she does. But here we go again, instead of taking the opportunity to use her publicity to caution women about balancing family and work which in my opinion would really be a wonderful thing for her to do…I see her as sweeping it under the rug and once again making winning this election and her career the priority. That seems pretty self serving to me even though she would claim to be a public servant, which is fine, I know who I serve…

"I love my life" (Thank You God!)

Theres something about the month of May, it’s kind of the not summer yet but not used to it being spring month…normally here we go from winter to summer but this year WOW! we’ve probably had 30” of rain! It’s like Spring on steroids…I took these pictures today, I did a small logging job on this rather large farm (over 4000 acres) where there are HUGE tree’s. We were mainly just cleaning up some trees that had fallen over a fence and some that had been washed out by the flood.

whattaya think of this bridge? well, luckily we did’nt have to cross it loaded!

most of these are white oak’s, which are sometimes used to make “staves” or slats for barrels that they age whiskey in. If you smell white oak when it’s being cut it reminds you of where the “flavor” comes from!

This photo did’nt come out very well, the horse was camers shy! but LOOK at that hay field back behind him, A sea of grass, waist high, a windy day… mesmerizing to watch its undulations and flow. This is the part where I get all philosophical and talk about how life is like that too, and how we can’t really “see” the wind, but we see the effects of it…which is also an answer I give to people who say “I’ve never seen God, so how do I know that he exists”? (slick huh?) LOL…

And lastly, this photo of a cow trying to do the “limbo” under the electric fence…

well, good luck with that one! and to you as well, God Loves You!

What we value is the health,contentment,and independence we earn…not the money we are missing

I was born and raised in the city. In a suburban setting that taught me to value work over health, striving for more over contentment, and a superficial sense of control over simple independence. As I became older, I understood that I was “living to work” instead of the opposite. Keeping up with the Jones’ will keep you chasing the happiness there in your tail. There are few things worse than the realization that you control.. ZIP…NADA…nothing! (absolutely that is) the proof of which comes precisely when it would’ve been the handiest to have had it. Don’t even get me started on money! Have you ever looked into your over-stuffed wallet and felt mocked? As if your money laughs at you? Because you were fool enough to trade the only thing of value you had for the happiness it didn’t buy.
In the 49 years I’ve been alive I think that I’ve really “lived” perhaps two. Two years of feeling as if I belonged somewhere, that I had a connection with “something” that was more than worthy of all I could invest. All things are a process and so am I …but am I finally in a place where that can happen? It’s a little bit like spending your whole life looking for a restroom. Your body tells you “I need to go” so you seek out a place where you feel safe or have some privacy and you “go”.  I looked for a lot of years because my mind was telling me I had to “grow”. That I had to find a place where I could find “rest.” and that’s what I did…these are my stories, my blog is called “seeking the kingdom” because its Gods kingdom I’m seeking, and his blessings that I’ve found.