I began a new career this week. I am working as a review coordinator @ Telligen, formerly know as Iowa Foundation for Medical Care.  After months of searching for a job that I believed would fit into my life, I was offered this position (Thank You, Cheri). It is a job unlike I have ever had.  I have worked crazy shifts, crazy jobs w/ lots of crazy people.  There may be crazy people here...I haven't met any yet.  It doesn't matter. I have a "normal" job.  The 9-6 normal job. No weekends, No holidays, NO NIGHTS!!! Do you want to get together the second weekend in August? OK, I've got it off!  How about dinner Friday night? Sure, I'm off. I know that sounds shallow and petty.  I am really looking forward to both learning a new genre in nursing/healthcare but also to have a similar schedule as my husband.  Is that so silly?  I hope not, because I have been is such a good mood since I got this job.  I hope it continues. 

In 2004 Barak Obama united the world with a wonderful speech at the Democratic Convention.  I watched live at that time and thought this man is going to be president one day.  The following are excerpts from his speech....
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal... that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is the true genius of America. Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America... the pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue States: red states for Republicans, blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states."
Who is dividing us, now?  Who peddles negativity? Who is embracing the politics of anything goes in this election?
Ever since his election victory President Obama has divided rich and poor with his policies and his rhetoric.... “We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by,” the president warned, “or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot and everyone does their fair share.”  According to a earnings chart @ the Heritage Foundation (http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/top10-percent-income-earners) the top 10% of earners pay 71% of federal income taxes. I'm OK with rich people being in our society. They pay most of the taxes and reminds me that there still is the opportunity to be rich. He has divided black and white over the course of his presidency. The issue with Henry Gates the professor @ Harvard, who refused to show his I.D. when police found him breaking into his own house because he was locked out.  Obama made a flippant statement about how the "police acted stupidly" without even knowing all of the facts.  He stated later he "regretted" his comment.  His justice department refused to press charges against the New Black Panthers in a case where they obviously, intimidated voters coming to a polling station, choosing to narrow charges in one account and dismissing the other.  On April 26, 2010 in a web video he called out blacks and Hispanics to vote for him. What happened to the "There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America.." sentiment?  Recently, he fueled a made-up "war against women" campaign started by George Stephanopoulos in January, by inappropriately calling a 30 year old women, perfectly capable of taking care of herself and her birth control, apologizing for stupid comments made by another man.  Why is our president making these kind of phone calls anyway?  Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, a national debt of almost 16 trillion and our president is making a phone call to a woman about getting her feelings hurt. A divisive action.  Pitting women against each other, the church and men. Very sad.  Now today.  He is on a bribery tour heading to NC, Iowa and Colorado trying to get college students to vote for him by telling them that the big, bad republicans are going to increase the interest rate on the student loans they hold, when in reality it was the democrats that voted in 2007 to allow the rate increase to take place this year.  I want to believe that women, students, Hispanics and blacks are not so easily duped.  Please, think for yourselves and don't be sucked in by political rhetoric.

I posted, on Friday, a link for Northpoint Church.  I takes you directly to the site for the series "Christian" and immediately starts the video on part 1.  The message I referenced in my blog entry was part 5 "When Gracie Met Truthy."  So, if you take the time to follow the link and NOT click #5, you will get a great message, but it won't make any sense to my blog entry on Friday.  Just wanted to let you know.

A couple of weeks ago I was telling a friend about the preacher Charles Stanley.  She said, "that name sounds familiar, but I don't think his name is Charles."  Well of course I have my 1 year Bible degree, so I know my preachers.  As, we continued talking she said she thought the name she was thinking was 'Andy.'  Well, she was right Andy Stanley is the son of Charles Stanley, and he is also a preacher. The interesting thing about this seemingly boring story is that, that conversation got me listening to Andy Stanley's messages while I walk/jogged.  I started listening to his most recent series "Christians." Over Easter weekend my daughter mentioned Jefferson Bethke a young believer with a bit of a different ministry than Andy.  She said she thought some of the statements he made about Christianity were judged to be a bit over-the-top by some people and it turned them off.  Well, that caused me to make a flippant comment about how I think that Jesus was young and immature (radical, quick to respond, not cautious about what he said or did) concerning his ministry, too; and that we can't deny the fact that there are inconsistencies in his ministry and in the Christian faith.  My mom, husband and daughter accused my of blasphemy.  There was more to it than that, and I can see how in my inability to explain exactly what I meant, I may have sounded like I was dissing Christ, but really I wasn't. Now back to Andy Stanley. Today, during my run, I downloaded the next message in the series and listened to it.  The title of this message is called "When Gracie met Truthy."  It completely explained what I was trying to say day to my family about my faith.  I love how God reveals himself to us in the most subtle ways.  I may not have been able to explain exactly what I was thinking, but this message does.  Please take time to download it and listen to it on your drive to work or while you are making supper or whenever you can.  No matter what your faith walk is, I really think you will get something from this.
http://www.northpoint.org/messages/christian

What is fair?

President Obama please answer me.  What is fair?  You spend a lot of your time talking about fairness and why "the rich" should pay their "fair share." It seems juvenile.  Every time I hear you speaking about this, I can't help but feel like I'm back in junior high with all of it's pettiness and selfishness.  You appeal to the more negative instincts of human nature.  You are generating an election base focused on those attributes that I grew up being taught and believed were wrong; selfishness, envy, jealousy, and stealing.  They also are characteristics I taught my own children to avoid.  Instead I encouraged hard work, appreciation for success, patience, the value of education, to realize not everyone gets what they deserve, and some get, but don't deserve; the characteristics to deal with this fact and that life isn't fair; move on.  So, back to my question.  What is fair? Is it fair that a wife is losing her wonderful, hard-working, handsome husband of 30 years to cancer?  Is it fair that some children die in accidents and some live? How about when millions of people run out and buy lottery tickets hoping to cash in on the 600 million dollar pay out, only to lose; is that fair? It is disheartening to me to see my president base his entire re-election campaign on such triviality.  I believe it is not only damaging to our country as a whole, but also the relationships we try to form through daily life.  Promoting an attitude of rich against poor only gives permission to others to form barriers, walls and anger because they feel things aren't "fair." We should focus on the kinds of values and characteristics that uplift, encourage and make us better people.

I know most of you know what my religious and personal views are on most things.  And I would hope that even though my friends would characterize me as opinionated, I do a good job of moderating myself...I hope.  I post many different opinions, although, most are conservative, I have admiration and interest that span many opinions.  With all that being said....Please allow me this one personal rant, not just a post or tweet.  I am an American Idol fan. I have become relatively fond of all of the judges, faults and all.  We all have our own journey in life and far be it from me to say that I am doing it all right compared to others, but I do believe in trying to live life w/ discernment, personal judgement, self-control, discipline...yada, yada, yada.  As, I said I'm not perfect, so those of you who have seen me not exhibiting those characteristics...keep quiet.  The point is overt sensuality, immorality and hedonism displayed as mainstream, is disturbing. I am referring to Jennifer Lopez's new "dance" video. The video is bad enough, but the fact that Jennifer defends it by saying "It's fun and dancy and full of joy. It's a good video. I can't wait for you all the see it! Enjoy it, enjoy the song, it's very close to my heart. It has a great message, and I hope everybody likes it" is sad.  I would be much happier if everyone would just be honest and say..."yes, it is a video depicting an orgy, and promoting "whatever feels good do it" and we have no problem promoting it to 12 year old girls.  Instead, Idol and Jennifer treat us like we are stupid to actually believe there is some sort of a higher message in this video.  By the way...what is the message to Dance Again?  Is it I can finally have sex again.  What was stopping her before?  Is it I can have sex with lots of people if I want?  Ok, if J Lo's worldview allows her to do that then what has stopped her before?  Is it that she can finally really dance again after not being able to before?  If that is the case what is the meaning of the naked people groping each other? Lastly, I was searching for a Bible scripture this morning to share with a good friend whose husband is passing and in doing that I came across this writing that fits in well with my post, I Peter 4- "Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.  For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry...."  The alternative lifestyle is provided, as well-"Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms..." Thank you for letting me wax eloquent (or not so much).  And please pray for the Clark family :)